Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
Tuesday, March 19th, 2024  
Squirrel Flower on “Tomorrow’s Fire,” Going Demon Mode on Tour, and Smashing a Guitar

Oct 13, 2023

While speaking with Ella Williams, known by her stage name as Squirrel Flower, it’s easy to see how the ideas of control have been on her mind lately. As paradoxical as control can be at certain times, Williams finds it important to know when to let go of modern life cynicisms and allow the natural world to remind her she’s still alive. Williams’ newest album, Tomorrow’s Fire, is out today on Polyvinyl and in it she explores those ideas of control through the lens of distorted guitar, introspective lyrics, and ethereal vocals. More

Andrew MacLean On the Magic & Mayhem of Head Lopper

Oct 19, 2018 Web Exclusive

Andrew MacLean is the artist and writer behind the wonderfully kinetic fantasy comic Head Lopper. More

Crime In Conversation: Alex Segura and William Boyle

Apr 02, 2018 Alex Segura

Crime fiction is fraught with dark corners, menacing villains, shady double-crosses and twisty plots — usually with unique and memorable backdrops and conflicted, morally ambiguous protagonists. Authors William Boyle and Alex Segura are no strangers to the space, both prepping to unleash their latest works on the world. Blackout, the fourth in Segura’s acclaimed Miami-based Pete Fernandez PI series, finds the recovering alcoholic ex-journalist getting pulled back into a crime he’d failed to solve years before, which also happens to be entangled in the tentacles of a dormant and deadly Miami cult. Boyle’s second novel, The Lonely Witness, tells the story of Amy Falconetti, an ex-party girl now living a solitary life helping the house-bound receive communion in Brooklyn’s Gravesend neighborhood. While following the son of one of her elderly friend’s caretakers, she stumbles into a deadly crime that she feels compelled to solve—but completely unprepared to face. More

“The Archies” - Alex Segura and Joe Eisma on the New Comic Book Series

Nov 22, 2017 CHVRCHES

Comics’ perennial teenage band, The Archies, are back for new musical adventures. The new comic book series of the same name, written by Alex Segura and Matt Rosenberg, with art by Joe Eisma, sees the fictional band interact with illustrated versions of real life musicians, while, as ever, The Archies fret, bicker, and try to remember that, despite the many difficulties, being in a band is about the fun of it all. More

Peter Bagge on “Fire!! The Zora Neale Hurston Story”

Apr 14, 2017 Web Exclusive

Peter Bagge is a multi-award winning cartoonist perhaps best known for his series Neat Stuff and Hate. Immediately identifiable by their streaks of dark humor, impassioned and opinionated characters, and intentionally exaggerated aesthetic, Bagge’s work has been shedding light on different facets of American life for decades. More

Gerard Way on His DC Comics Imprint Young Animal, Music, and Making Art to Make a Difference

Nov 28, 2016 DC Comics

“I believe there is an artistic subconscious that people share. I feel like artists and creative types gel up. It’s really strange but it happens all the time, that elusive Zeitgeist thing that people talk about. People just unconsciously end up on the same wavelength in the world.” Gerard Way and I are sitting in the Donor Lounge of Durham’s Carolina Theatre on the second day of North Carolina Comicon. More

Brenden Fletcher on Writing DC Comics’ “Black Canary” and “Batgirl”

Apr 06, 2016 Batgirl

Two of the most interesting ongoing DC Comics titles are Black Canary and Batgirl, and writer Brenden Fletcher is lucky enough to work on both. While Batgirl is a touchstone of DC’s dedication to diversity and relatable characters that buck the trend of hyper-masculine superheroes, Black Canary is a full-fledged rock band drama, as the title character tours the country fronting a band that also goes by the name Black Canary and fends off mysterious villains. More

Black Canary: Brenden Fletcher and Annie Wu on the Musical Influences on the DC Comic Book

Apr 05, 2016 DC Comics

In 2015 DC Comics staged another massive relaunch, shaking up the DC universe yet again. Among the superhero classics to enjoy a fresh take is Black Canary, aka Dinah Lance, a badass crimefighter whose powers include a supersonic scream that can level a building, which sparked writer Brenden Fletcher’s idea of putting her in front of a band. More

Geoff Johns and Gary Frank on “Batman: Earth One Volume Two”

May 18, 2015 Web Exclusive

Nearly three years ago, prolific writer and DC Comics Chief Creative Officer, Geoff Johns, and his frequent collaborator, artist Gary Frank, made a splash with their fantastic reimagining of Batman, Batman: Earth One. The first volume of the on-going graphic novel series witnessed a young, relatively inexperienced Batman whose driving mission was to find—and punish—his parents’ killers. More