Pick of the Week #990 – I Hate Fairyland #43

August 17, 2025·1 hr 24 min·5 clips

Josh picks 'I Hate Fairyland' #43 as his surprise favorite, only the second time it's ever been chosen.

I Hate Fairyland #43 gets picked. The setup is very iFanboy: beans, a spoiler warning, a 20th-year note, and Josh admitting he is not exactly locked in. Conor keeps the rails in sight. Josh brings up Scotty Young and Derek Laufman, including the useful note that Laufman is not the regular artist. The talk refuses to stay tidy. It moves like a weekly stack conversation, from the chosen book to whatever else on the table needs an argument. Small publishers come up early. The panel sounds honestly surprised when some books get enough time and care from publishers like Dark Horse, Boom, and IDW. That turns into a quick bit of comics math. If a second volume exists, they figure the first one probably found enough readers to earn another shot. Then they drift into history. Horror, sci-fi, and romance once dominated comics and sold more than superheroes. That matters to them. The market may be tightening, but they still like any little corner where those older genres can breathe. Uncle Scrooge comes next. Earth's Mightiest Duck #1 becomes the most Italian book on the market that week. The creator roll call is the joke: Jason Aaron and Mahmoud Asrar start it, then the names keep going until Joe Caramagna gets named an honorary Italian. The art talk stays nicely nerdy. They notice how the artists lean into Don Rosa and Karl Barks instead of showing off their usual signatures. The close turns to business. Patreon, TalksBloods, Jeffrey's deep dives, the old archive, and the extra show at the higher tier all get a mention. Even the sign-off cannot quite behave. Conor starts closing, the next show already happened, and the episode leaves with the same loose timing it came in with.

As heard by us

A fast, shop-talk comics panel that turns one pick into a full week's reading.

iFanboy Pick of the Week #990 settles into the sort of comics chat that feels lived-in rather than staged. It starts with I Hate Fairyland #43 and then wanders where the conversation wants to go, folding in story, art credits, and broader talk about why a book like this still…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a sharp, unhurried weekly comics argument about the Pick of the Week.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from iFanboy - Comic Books