Episode 165: Whiskey Tango Motherbox

Justice League was released to theaters in the United States last weekend, and, to put it mildly, it underperformed. In the same way that the Atlanta Falcons underperformed in last year’s Super Bowl.

Sure, there was a lot of weird buzz about reshoots and rewrites and new directors surrounding the movie, but none of that answers the question: was it any good? And did it deserve to underperform as compared to, say, Batman Vs. Superman, or Suicide Squad?

So we discuss the movie: what worked, what didn’t, what could have been improved, and why we think it didn’t do nearly as well as Suicide Squad, let alone The Avengers. We also talk about ways forward for a cinematic universe that includes starts with Superman killing a guy, and ends, for now, with redacted, under cover of darkness, robbing a damn grave.

This episode was recorded live to tape, so if you want to find out why Amanda think Aquaman went to Bowdoin, you’ve come to the right place!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:36:15 — 104.4MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 164: Get Opie

There’s a new Thor movie out. If history were a guide, this would excite us not at all. While we have been, and still generally are, fully in the tank for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we have not seen any of the Thor movies in an actual movie theater, and that’s saying something considering we did see The Incredible Hulk in our local theater.

Thor: Ragnarok, however, promised to combine Thor with the most important elements of Greg Pak’s Planet Hulk, which we did like. So we made our way to the theaters this weekend, and we spend a good chunk of the episode talking about the flick. Did we like it? Was there more to it than just the thrill of seeing Hulk in full gladiator dress with his Warbound? Is there anything there to make us care about Asgard? Does the movie make the living envy the Doug? Tune in and find out!

We also discuss:

• The Jetsons #1, written by Jimmy Palmiotti with art by XXXXX, and:
• Captain America #1, written by Mark Waid, with art by Chris Samnee!

This episode was recorded live to tape, so if you want to know why Rob has the completely wrong idea about what it means to get romantic with a guitar, you’re in luck!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:23:03 — 89.5MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 163: Batgirl’s Gap Year

We are now fully into Marvel’s Legacy initiative to step back from years of event overload and senseless character deaths, and to reintroduce simpler, more classic versions of the character back into the monthly issues. And as we glory in the reintroduction of series’ original numbering, and the inclusion of classic Stan Lee / Funky Flashman-esque Mighty Marvel Marching Society hype into each issue, we also wonder: where the hell are the simpler, classic versions of the characters?

In that vein, we talk about:

• Invincible Iron Man #593, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Stefano Caselli and Alex Maleev, and
• The Mighty Thor #700, written by Jason Aaron with art by almost everyone.

But Marvel is not the only one reintroducing older characters, so we also discuss:

• The WildStorm #8, written by Warren Ellis with art by Jon Davis-Hunt, and
• Mage: The Hero Denied #3, written and drawn by Matt Wagner!

This episode was recorded live to tape, meaning that you will learn the reasons why we would treat Marvel Legacy: Starfox in the way we would 80s VHS porn!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22:21 — 88.7MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 162: Hey Girl, Are You An Electric Sheep?

DC has been teasing the inclusion of elements of Watchmen into DC Rebirth for nearly a year and a half now, which has made us, Rob especially, very nervous. That inclusion has been kept down to a dull roar until this past weekend, when DC released an ashcan of the first six pages of Doomsday Clock, the 12-issue mini-series that will make good on their threat – I mean, their promise.

So we read those pages, and, to be honest, we read them cold, without noticing that the date in the first panel was 1992, not 1985. So our reaction is based on the misconception that the events of these pages was taking place three weeks after the end of Alan Moore’s Watchmen… not that knowing seven years have passed really change our opinion much. And what did we think? Listen to find out, and thank God that modern digital recording can modulate Rob’s shrieking!

We also discuss Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to one of Rob’s favorite movies, and a flick that he had no intention of seeing until decent reviews started to come out. But see it we did, and we discuss it from two opposing viewpoints: one rabid about Ridley Scott’s 1982 original, and one who went into the sequel almost cold about the first movie. Once again: digital modulation is your friend.

We also discuss:

• Batman: White Knight #1, written and drawn by Sean Murphy, and
• Batman #32, the conclusion of The War of Jokes and Riddles arc, written by Tom King with art by Mikel Janin!

This episode was recorded live to tape, meaning that “tossing Joi onto a hard drive” could have any one of many meanings!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:13:32 — 109.9MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 161: Forbush Man: The Motion Picture

With everything that’s been going on at the Crisis On Infinite Midlives Home Office (goodbye flood, hello nine-foot curtain hanging!), we’ve been a little late to the party on Marvel’s latest Netflix series, The Defenders. Again, this is purely because of unrelated life events, and is in no way related to the fact that the final count for Rob falling asleep through Iron Fist, Marvel’s last Netflix series, stands at six. And that’s not a final count, because it includes the final episode. But we digress.

This past weekend, we finally caught Marvel’s second attempt at putting together a filmed superhero team, and we discuss the effort. Including what worked, what was fun and interesting and surprising, why Netflix can’t seem to create a superhero series of ANY length that doesn’t feel like it’s dragging in the middle, and why Iron Fist is the Poochie of filmed superhero drama.

We also discuss:

• Action Comics #987, written by Dan Jurgens, with art by Viktor Bogdanovic, and
• Mr. Miracle #2, written by Tom King with art by Mitch Gerads!

This show was recorded live to tape. Which is why you will learn the etymology of the phrase “Kneel before Zuck!”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:17:12 — 81.6MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 160: Rye and Moxie and a Little Cranky

It was yet another berserk week at the Crisis On Infinite Midlives Home Office, with more workmen in the house, the building of massive shelving that, Tardis-like, is somehow bigger on the inside, and family members evacuating South Florida to escape Hurricane Irma… before turning around to drive right back into Hurricane Irma. Let’s just say there might be a genetic component to why Rob never seems to think things through.

As such, this week hasn’t been conducive to a well prepared episode. For which we apologize, but we saw a few things we wanted to talk about. We finally saw the first season of Alan Tudyk’s Con Men as it premiered on the SyFy Channel, as discussed how it reflects and makes fun of actual convention culture.

We also caught the first episode of Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville, which is a weird show by the creator of Family Guy in that it’s a riff on Star Trek that will make Star Trek fans crazy with rage, and that will make Family Guy fans baffled and confused.

We also discuss Spider-Man #20, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Nico Leon, and Venomverse #1, written by Cullen Bunn with art by Iban Coello!

This episode was recorded live to tape. So if you ever wanted to know why Star Trek conversations with Rob and Amanda quickly turn to Romulan Ale, here’s your answer!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:22 — 64.6MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 159: Cthulhu Sausage

We are back, after a lengthier-than-expected parental visit, an unexpected recording studio flood, extended remediation of water damage, and a certain amount of recording equipment replacement and testing. So please: be gentle.

While the ratings were abysmal (meaning you may well not have watched it), this week gave us the first planned ending to Twin Peaks ever, after 27 years. And, since Rob is a huge fan, and maintains with a straight face and a certain vehemence that Twin Peaks has a lot in common with comic book storytelling (this week’s finale alone gave us time travel, dimensional teleportation, evil twins, and a dude defeating evil by punching it to death with a green Hulk fist), we discuss the series as a whole. We talk about what worked for fans and non-fans (hi, Amanda!), whether the visual beauty was worth the sometimes terrible pacing, if the wait for the return of Special Agent Dale Cooper was worth it, and whether the ending was yet another unsatisfying cliffhanger, or just enough to tell us what we really need to know.

This is, however, a comics podcast, so we also dive into another ending: Secret Empire #10, written by Nick Spencer with art by Steve McNiven, Rod Reis, David Marquez, Paco Medina, and anyone else needed to keep this mess on schedule. Like Twin Peaks, this is a story where we’ve waited literally years for the return of its hero, where the theme requires buying into weird metaphysics with rules that are seemingly made up as they go along, and where the ending can dictate whether it was worth the infuriating journey or just a waste of time.

This episode was recorded live to tape. So if you ever wanted to know why no one in college would watch Twin Peaks with Rob, here’s your chance to find our why!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:24:18 — 91.3MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 158: SDCC 2017 Wrap-Up, or: Hall H Can Smell Your Fear

We are back and recovered from San Diego Comic Con 2017. SDCC is a show we’ve attended more than almost any other, and yet this year it seemed, I don’t know… bigger. More oppressive. More willing to empty your wallet and leave you for dead, while showing you genre spectacle you couldn’t get with an all access pass to Industrial Light and Magic.

So after recovering (and even the recovery from Con Crud seemed more difficult than past years), we were joined by longtime SDCC attendee, Los Angeles comedian Gariana Abeyta, to talk about being assaulted by childrens’ strollers on the floor, taking revenge by trampling young cosplayers on the way to ask panel questions, the horrors of Hall H (and how they compare to the horrors of a malfunctioning RFID badge), “Resting Crime Face,” and whether the experience is still worth the time, planning, exhaustion and literally thousands of dollars it can take to attend.

Oh yeah: we also have the panel audio of Rob asking Nick Lowe about the status of Miracleman.

As a reminder: this show contains adult, profane language, and is therefore not safe for work. Take a look at the episode’s title, and know that fear is not the only convention smell we discuss. Get yourself some headphones.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:21:09 — 62.8MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 157: SDCC 2017 Part 1, or: Live Your Truth, Just Not on My Pants

The first official day of San Diego Comic-Con 2017 was yesterday, and we are doing shows live (to tape) from the belly of the beast.

Being our first day back to SDCC in three years, we discuss what’s changed in the intervening time, including a brand new requirement to bend the knee and pledge fealty to Rick Grimes. We also discuss some of our strategies for working the floor, some interesting observations about the state of the convention, and some protips on how to ask a question at a panel (The protip being to ask a question, and remember that your life story is not a question).

We also discuss some observations and news tidbits from the Karen Berger / Paul Levitz panel, and the DC Meet the Publishers panel!

And a few points to remember:

• We encoded this episode at a slightly lower bitrate than usual. We did this to try to save bandwidth and to ensure we’d have enough space to deliver episodes from San Diego Comic-Con. So we apologize if the sound isn’t quite as clean as it usually is. Luckily, you don’t need a lot of bits to record drunken profanity.
• This show contains adult, profane language, and is therefore not safe for work.
• While we will be uploading podcasts periodically throughout the convention, you should follow us on Facebook for uploads of photos and other media we grab during SDCC.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:07 — 39.1MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 156: Weaponized Continuity, or: Michael Keaton’s Rhinoceros

We’re a little late to the party when it comes to Spider-Man: Homecoming, which opened a week and a half ago to the tune of 200 million dollars and 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. But late or no, there’s a lot to unpack in the movie, given that it’s the third reboot of the cinematic Spider-Man, which is a lot for a franchise that’s barely as old as its fifteen-year-old protagonist.

So we invited special guests – comedians Ross Garmil and Benari Poulten – to talk with us about it. And we dig into how Tom Holland stacks up against earlier actors, both as Peter Parker and as Spider-Man, whether there’s a place in classic Spider-Man for a costume that speaks with the voice of Jenny from The Rocketeer, how Michael Keaton stacks up against Marvel’s other (admittedly normally poor) cinematic villains, whether Spider-Man joked enough, and whether Tony Stark had any reasonable place in this movie that wouldn’t possibly hurt the plot.

Ah, the disclaimers:

• We encoded this episode at a slightly lower bitrate than usual. We did this to try to save bandwidth and to ensure we’d have enough space to deliver episodes from San Diego Comic-Con later this week. So we apologize if the sound isn’t quite as clean as it usually is. Luckily, you don’t need a lot of bits to record drunken profanity.
• This show contains spoilers. While we try to shout out warnings ahead of time, just assume that we will be ruining the entirety of Spider-Man: Homecoming, plus Guardians of The Galaxy 2 and maybe Batman V. Superman just for giggles.
• This show contains adult, profane language, and is therefore not safe for work. At one point, we talk about Nickelback. If you think the swearing doesn’t come out there, you’re delusional. Listen with headphones.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:18:43 — 51.1MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!