Episode 213 – Comics, Surf Rock, and the Weirdness of Time: On Tom Manning's 'Eric'

Episode 213 – Comics, Surf Rock, and the Weirdness of Time: On Tom Manning's 'Eric'

Author: SpectreVision Radio May 27, 2026 Duration: 1:19:15
Tom Manning's 2018 graphic novel Eric is that rarest of gems: the self-published masterpiece. Available only on the author's website, it's the story of a washed-up surf rocker who stumbles into a cosmic conspiracy involving elite cultists, post-apocalyptic cowboys, renegade magicians, and three-eyed djinn. In this episode, Manning's work serves as a shining example of what makes comics such a unique and potent art form. There's no need to have read the book before listening—but know that you'll probably want to do when you're done. You're welcome. Visit the Weirdosphere website to sign up for the Weird Studies Vol. 3 listening party on May 30, 2026. Join the Weird Studies Patreon and support the show. References Tom Manning, ERIC Leslie Stevens, “So So Surreal” “Beach Bum #1” Mike Relm, “Change the Channel” Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, What is Philosophy? Sarah Heston, “Magical Los Angeles: An Interview with Tom Manning” Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics David Mamet, On Directing Film Richard J. Lewis (dir.), Whale Music Joel and Ethan Coen, The Big Lebowski Darren Aronovsky (dir.), The Wrestler Jorge Luis Borges, “The Garden of Forking Paths”  Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time  Jean-Paul Sartre, Nausea Jean-Paul Sartre, The Transcendence of the Ego David Lynch, Twin Peaks: The Return Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the heart of Weird Studies, a podcast from SpectreVision Radio, you’ll find long-form conversations between Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel. Their discussions aren’t simple reviews or straightforward analyses; instead, they wander through the tangled undergrowth where art and philosophy meet, giving generous time to concepts that resist easy understanding and to creative works that fracture our ordinary sense of the world. This podcast deliberately lingers in that ambiguous space, treating the “weird” not as a genre but as a particular mode of experience-one that reveals the cracks in what we comfortably assume is real. Each episode feels like joining a deep, meandering dialogue between two friends who are both deeply knowledgeable and endlessly curious, covering a vast terrain that includes literature, film, music, and esoteric thought. It’s a show for anyone who suspects that the most profound truths are often found in the shadows, the anomalies, and the strangely beautiful. As part of the SpectreVision Radio network, which specializes in content that explores the uncanny edges of creativity, Weird Studies builds a unique community of listeners who are eager to think differently. You won’t find pat answers here, but you will encounter compelling questions and a shared sense of exploration that makes each installment a distinctive journey.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Weird Studies
Podcast Episodes
Episode 212 – Beyond Music and Back Again: On Glenn Gould [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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The pianist, composer and sound artist Glenn Gould once wrote: "Art on its loftiest mission is scarcely human at all." What becomes of art and humanity when they are allowed to vary independently of one another? Which se…
Episode 210  – Angels & Daimons, with Cristina Campo and M.C. Richards [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33:25
In this episode, JF and Phil bring together two visionary essays on the daimonic and the imaginal: Cristina Campo’s “On Fairy Tales” and M.C. Richards’s “Wrestling with the Daimonic.” What emerges is a conversation about…
Episode 209 – At Home in the Labyrinth, with Murakami and Borges [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33:25
In this episode, Phil and JF discuss Haruki Murakami’s “Cream,” from First Person Singular, alongside Jorge Luis Borges’s classic tale, “The Garden of Forking Paths.” Together, these two stories occasion a meditation on…