Episode 40: Press Play For Zola

In case you didn’t notice, this week was all about Marvel Studios. They released the extended trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron on Monday, and Tuesday they announced their Phase Three slate of movies to be released between 2016 and 2019, including Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Avengers: Infinity War.

So we talk about those things, along with a brief rundown of some of the news coming out of this weekend’s Rhode Island Comic Con (That news being that it was impossible to get in… less in the “I can’t get tickets!” way than in the “I have VIP passes and you’re telling me I can’t enter the building?” way), and an analysis of the greatest living threat to your comic collection: unsupervised little brothers.

And on the actual printed comics front, we talk about:

• Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy #3, written by Kyle Higgins with pencils by Jonathan Marks,
• Death of Wolverine: Deadpool and Captain America #1, written by Gerry Duggan with pencils by Scott Kolins, and:
• Thunderbolts #32, written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker with art by Kim Jacinto!

And here be disclaimers:

• This show is recorded live to tape. While it might lead to a looser comics podcast than you are normally accustomed to, it also means that anything can happen. Like trying to cast Benedict Cumberbatch as Squirrel Girl.
• This show contains spoilers. While we try to shout out warnings ahead of time, be aware of it before going in.
• Amanda and I use adult, profane language, and therefore this show is not safe for work. You want your boss to hear a conversation about whether the final shot of an adult video is better shot in 24 frames per second or 60 frames per second any why? Didn’t think so. Get some headphones.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:36:36 — 76.1MB)

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Enjoy the show, suckers!

Episode 38: Slash Sausage Fiction

At last week’s New York Comic Con, Marvel announced that writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Esad Ribic would be bringing us an updated version of Secret Wars. And after months of Marvel hyping up their version of the Multiverse in Avengers, New Avengers, and Spider-Verse, we can honestly say that: yeah, this looks just like DC’s Crisis On Infinite Earths. Except for the big stakes of a reboot, and written by a guy who sometimes seems to value intricate plots over character.

So we discuss that, as well as the dual announcements that Marvel Comics is bringing back some version of 2006’s Civil War in 2015, and that the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be addressing that same storyline. Specifically, how this might be a smart practical move for Marvel Studios (in that it could allow them to replace some key actors), and a not-so-smart story move (in that Marvel Studios has no Spider-Man).

And finally, we discuss The Death of Wolverine #4! The Canucklehead’s dead! So why are we having a hard time caring?

And now, the disclaimers:

• We record this show live to tape. While this might mean a looser comics podcast than you are used to, it also means anything can happen. Like discussing why one might need a tissue to read certain books of The Bible.
• This show contains spoilers. While we try to shout out warning ahead of time, please consider this your official heads-up.
• Amanda and I use adult, profane language, so this show is not safe for work.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22:50 — 65.3MB)

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Enjoy the show, suckers!

Episode 35: Do The Brokeback

Between the new female Thor, Falcon taking over as Captain America, and this week’s rumors that X-23 will take over as Wolverine (after Sabretooth takes over as Wolverine), Amanda and I talk about succession in superhero comics in general. We start with the idea that DC is all about succession while Marvel never has been, the kinds of stories that could work as new people put on the old costumes, what probably couldn’t work, and what ulterior motives Marvel could have for such recent character churn.

We also discuss:

• Batwoman: Futures’ End One Shot, written by Marc Andreyko with art by Jason Masters, and:
• Edge of Spider-Verse: Gwen Stacy, Spider-Woman, written by Jason LaTour with art by Robbi Rodriguez!

And now the legalese:

• We record this show live to tape. Which might mean a looser show that you are used to from other comics podcasts, but it also means anything can happen. Like ruminations over the flat affect of people rescued by Superman in 1970s Hostess Fruit Pie ads.
• This show contains spoilers. While we try to shout out a warning ahead of time, consider this a master, blanket warning.
• This show contains adult, explicit language, and is not safe for work. You no longer need to sell Grit subscriptions to get headphones, so go out and do so.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:21:59 — 64.2MB)

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Enjoy the show, suckers!

Episode 34: Drunken Irish Space Jesus

Over the past week, announcements have come down that TV versions of Teen Titans and Supergirl are being developed… mere weeks before the premieres of Gotham, Constantine, The Flash, and a new season of Arrow. And all this on top of DC’s efforts to build a Marvel Studios style cohesive universe with their own movies.

So Amanda and I discuss who they could possibly use in Titans, what with all these other disconnected properties being released (spoilers: if we see Jericho, there will be blood). We also talk about whether, with these series as well as Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, and the four Netflix series, we could be driving the non-comics reading public into superhero burnout, and if DC is fouling their own nest by pulling possible movie characters out of play for basic cable TV shows.

We also talk about:

• Batman: Futures’ End #1, written by Ray Fawkes with art by Aco, and
• The Death of Wolverine #2, written by Charles Soule with art by Steve McNiven!

And now the disclaimers:

• We record this show live to tape. While that might mean a slightly looser show than you are used to, it also means that anything can happen. Like talking about Matthew Perry wearing Leifeld leg pouches stuffed with Vicodin.
• This show contains spoilers. While we try to shout a warning ahead of time, consider this the official one.
• This show contains adult, explicit language, and is therefore not safe for work. If you don’t have headphones, find Jericho, clock him in the head and take his. He’s got it coming, and besides: he can’t cry for help anyway.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:31:20 — 71.9MB)

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Enjoy the show, suckers!

Episode 33: Unlikely Voice Of Reason

There are two types of people in this world: superhero comic fans who love Miracleman by Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, and superhero comic fans who haven’t read all of it yet. Rob is in column A, and Amanda is in column B. Which means that they had very different reactions upon hearing that Marvel has announced that they will be publishing a Miracleman annual, with stories by Grant Morrison and Peter Milligan. This announcement begs the question: should new creators be allowed to jump into a story like Miracleman, which is a combined yet singular vision between two epic creators? And being two different types of people, Amanda and Rob have differing views on the announcement.

But there is more to comics than a couple of new short stories tacked onto a 30-year-old narrative. So Amanda and Rob also discuss:

• The Death of Wolverine #1, written by Charles Soule with pencils by Steve McNiven,
• Original Sin #8, written by Jason Aaron with art by Mike Deodato and
• Big Trouble In Little China #4, written by Eric Powell and drawn by Brian Churilla!

And now the legalese:

• We record this show live to tape. While this might mean a slightly looser show than your normal comics podcast, it also means that anything can happen.
• This show contains spoilers. While we try to throw out a verbal warning before we cut loose, consider this fair warning.
• Amanda and Rob use adult, explicit language, and therefore this show is not safe for work. The janitors portrayed in Miracleman had Walkman headphones for work, and that was 1984. What’s your excuse?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:27:35 — 70.5MB)

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Enjoy the show, suckers!