Episode 70: I Cannot Super Today

It is Mother’s Day today, which means a somewhat shorter and truncated show this week. Because when you’re a son or a daughter, you need to honor your mother on Mother’s Day. And it turns out that you need to do that whether you remember she’s visiting that day, or whether they need blind telephone technical support for several hours. Because she’s the woman who gave birth to you, and saying, “But we have a podcast to record!” isn’t a good excuse. Particularly when you don’t want Mom to know that you have a podcast.

So this week, we take advantage of the fact that Convergence is half over to discuss the previews of post-Convergence books, both new and old, that DC has released this week. The books run the gamut from humor to sci-fi to action to apparent political horror, so we talk about Doomed, Red Hood and Arsenal, Starfire, Midnighter, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Omega Men, Detective Comics, Section Eight, and Prez.

But the big deal in this week’s comics was the first issue of Marvel’s Secret Wars, where Jonathan Hickman spits on his hands and takes Marvel the whole Crisis route. However, Secret Wars #1 isn’t Crisis. So we talk about how Hickman has put Marvel through it’s own Kobayashi Maru test, and given us a superhero story where nobody acts like a superhero, everyone seems to act in their own self-interest, and heroes act like they never have before in order to make sure everyone’s in the right place to service the plot. Ultimately, we talk about how this is a story that is very consistent with Hickman’s general style… and how that might not be the best thing for some of these characters.

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 that anything can happen. Like speculation about the musky flavor profile of Dead Guy Whiskey.
• This show contains spoilers. While we try to shout out warnings ahead of time, just assume that you are going to learn exactly why Reed Richards is a d**k.
• This show contains adult, profane language, and is therefore not safe for work. Unless you want your employer to learn our new cocktails based on Dead Guy Whiskey, get some headphones.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:31:13 — 80.0MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 69: The Hulk Whisperer

Let’s not pussyfoot around: the only thing any superhero comics fan is talking about this weekend is Avengers: Age of Ultron, which was released in the United States this past week. And we have seen it more than once, so we are ready to discuss it… but this week, we are not alone. We are joined by Boston comedian Tim McIntire, and New York comedian Benari Poulten – old friends and fellow Travelers in The Way of The Longbox – to tear the thing apart.

We discuss the things we liked about Age of Ultron, the things we thought could have used some work, and some of the specific character work done in the flick. We also talk about whether Black Widow really loved Bruce Banner (or whether she was simply continuing her mission, as an expert liar and manipulator, to keep Hulk on the team), how crazy Scarlet Witch might actually be, where Ultron stands in the ranks of Marvel movie villains, and why the end of the movie stands with the traditions of The Avengers in the comics (when it comes to rotating memberships and heroes that might not exactly meet the definition of “World’s Mightiest”) throughout the years.

We also peel off on a tangent as to whether Man of Steel deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as even Thor or The Incredible Hulk. Or in the same breath as The Trial of The Incredible Hulk. Suffice it to say that that this show is a load of contentious, hysterical fun.

And here, now, on a day unlike any other, come 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 that anything can happen. Like a discussion about the sexual history of Captain America.
• This show contains spoilers. Frankly, we spoil just about all of Age of Ultron. So if you haven’t seen the movie, go do that right now. And then listen to this podcast.
• This show contain adult, profane language, and is therefore not safe for work. If you don’t want your employer to hear about how Vibranium can apparently cure particular infestations, get yourself some headphones.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:52:57 — 106.2MB)

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Enjoy the show, suckers!

Episode 68: C2E2 Panel Recap, Part 2: Hot Bullock Action With Pizza And Hookers

We conclude our coverage of C2E2 2015 with a recap of the Caped Crusaders, Dynamic Duos and Darkest Knight panel (or just the Batman panel when it’s at home), featuring Batman writer Scott Snyder as moderator, with Batman Eternal writer James Tynion IV, Detective Comics writer Brian Buccallato, Gotham by Midnight writer Ray Fawkes, and the upcoming Robin: Son of Batman writer / artist Patrick Gleason.

So in this episode, we bring you a ton of audio clips of these guys (well, mostly Scott Snyder) talking about upcoming storylines in Detective Comics, Gotham by Midnight and Robin: Son of Batman… but at the time of this panel, we were only four days away from the conclusion of Batman: Endgame in the core Batman title, and only a week away from the debut of the new “RoboBunny” Batman in DC’s Free Comic Book Day offering, Divergence. So we feature a bunch of clips of Snyder and company talking about the new Batman, the process in creating him, the reasoning behind the new direction, and a few new tidbits about him that you might not have heard elsewhere, all from the mouths of the creators!

And, since Batman #40 has been released since this panel, we not only feature several clips of Snyder talking about what Batman: Endgame means to him, but we review and discuss the issue!

Thanks for listening to our C2E2 coverage. We return to our normal weekly schedule on Sunday, May 3rd, with an episode about Avengers: Age of Ultron, featuring a couple of very cool guests!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:35:37 — 84.2MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 67: C2E2 Panel Recap, Part 1: Spider-Man GWAR

We’re a bit later than we originally intended, but proud to present the first part of our C2E2 2015 panel recaps. But these aren’t your normal panel rundowns; these are chock full of audio from the panels, including quotes direct from Dan Slott, Brian Azzarello, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Charles Soule, and a bunch of other creators!

We start by going through the Secret Wars: Last Days panel from Marvel, where the panel talks about the Last Days miniseries leading to Secret Wars for characters like Ms. Marvel, Black Widow, Silver Surfer, Punisher, Ant-Man and the Inhumans. While there’s not a lot in the way of revelations in this panel, there are one or two really interesting new tidbits… as well as the name a of supervillain that, by the end of the episode, will haunt your nightmares.

We then recap the New DC Universe panel, where the post-Convergence storylines of books including Harley Quinn, Starfire, Bizarro and Catwoman, as well as some details about the upcoming We Are Robin, are laid out. This was the panel where Dark Knight 3: The Master Race was made, and we have that audio (and our opinions) as well.

We plan to tape and release our recap episode about the Batman panel (where Scott Snyder talks openly about the Bat-Bunny) tomorrow or Friday, so stay tuned!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:39:07 — 91.0MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Recap In Our Ass

Well, we had good intentions.

Yesterday, I was able to pull good audio clips from two of the three panels we taped at C2E2, with the plan being that I would get up bright and early today to edit down audio from the Batman panel so Amanda and I could get home from our day jobs at a reasonable time and tape our final recap episode about the convention.

And I did get up bright and early. Only to notice that, thanks to contractors ripping out drywall in our garage to begin repairing the damage from the Hoth-ish winter here in Boston, our garage door opener was hanging perilously from tiny framing screws completely unfit for mounting a garage door opener. You know, hanging over my convertible. Which I was suddenly afraid to remove from the garage. Since that would require using the garage door opener. Hey, previous owners of the Crisis On Infinite Midlives Home Office: if you are mounting a heavy piece of equipment to a ceiling, and find that you don’t have the right screws? Go out and buy some fucking screws. And what kind of an asshole puts most of the load-bearing responsibility for a 40-pound motor on drywall? Someone who never went to college, that’s who. Otherwise, they’d know that drywall disintegrates when gently butted by a ten-pound drunken head.

But I digress.

The point is that events have conspired to make it impossible to tape our recap show tonight. But fear not: Out current plan is to release two recap shows:

• A show running down the New DC Universe and Secret Wars: Last Days panels will be available tomorrow night, and
• A recap of the Caped Crusaders, Dynamic Duos and Darkest Knights panel (otherwise known at the Batman panel) should be available Thursday.

Thanks for your patience, and sorry for the delay. Now: anyone know how much Elmer’s Glue it takes to remount a garage door opener?

Episode 66: C2E2, Day 2: As English As Spotted D**k

We are back in Boston after attending day two of C2E2 2015, and let me tell you: Saturday at that convention is a very different experience than Friday. The crowds are much, much bigger, the cosplayers are everywhere (you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a Deadpool… note to self: try to sell Deadpool’s Pet: Dead Cat idea to Marvel), and the drunken rubberneckers began to rear their ugly heads.

But there were also cool creators to meet, awesome purchases to make (unless the purchase you want to make is, completely by accident, related to a major Hollywood announcement, in which case you were all out of luck), and some solid panels to attend. So we talk a little bit about the C2E2 Saturday experience in general, the Secret Wars: Last Days and Batman panels specifically, and why a certain Chicago restaurant will never be visited again in unfortunate detail.

Again, this is just another brief recap show. We will publish a detailed recap of the convention, including a lot of panel audio, tomorrow or Tuesday.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:16 — 52.9MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 65: C2E2, Day 1: 86’ed At The Convention

We are in Chicago, attending and reporting from C2E2 after years of having San Diego Comic-Con be our main convention. The first day is concluded, and it is a very different experience from SDCC… starting with the fact that I’ve never eaten anything in San Diego that made me spend several hours shivering and vomiting on a marble bathroom floor.

As such, we don’t have as much day one news as we’d like, but we spend some time discussing how Friday at C2E2 is a day where you can actually walk the floor without having to stutter walk around people like you’re trying to avoid calling a sandworm. You can actually meet and interact with creators without having to elbow crowds out of the way (with some exceptions – hi, Scott Snyder and the 500 people waiting to meet you!), and still get some big comic news.

This is just a quick recap show covering the first day; we’ll have a second quick show to briefly cover Saturday going up on Sunday night, with a complete recap show, including panel audio, coming on Monday or Tuesday.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:26 — 31.1MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!

Episode 64: My Safe Word Is Phantom Menace

The big genre news this week came in the form of about four minutes of film assembled by marketing departments: the second trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which debuted at a panel at Star Wars Celebration last week), and the first for Superman V. Batman: Dawn of Justice. So, like everyone else in fandom, we discuss them: the content, how they play with expectations by showing us glimpses of long-loved characters and / or story beats from classic comics, and how they really tell us nothing while promising us everything… and how that can drive one mad with useless speculation based on roughly 45 seconds of footage, combined with slightly more dialogue than a Vine video and some kickass music.

We also talk about our plans to cover next weekend’s C2E2 convention in Chicago, including our planned schedule for this show during and after the convention:

• We will release a recap of Friday at the convention sometime on Saturday, 4/25,
• We’ll release a recap of Saturday’s programming at our show’s normal time on Sunday, 4/26, and:
• We’ll release a full recap, including panel audio, on either Monday, 4/27 or Tuesday 4/28.

We also discuss:

• Convergence: Supergirl Matrix #1, written by Keith Giffen with art by Timothy Green II,
• The Tithe #1, written by Matt Hawkins with art by Rahsan Ekedal, and:
• Archie Vs. Predator #1, written by Alex De Campi with art by Fernando Ruiz!

And, the usual disclaimers:

• We record this show live to tape. While this might mean a looser comics podcast than you are used to, it also means that anything can happen. Like arguing over whether Chewbacca has had plastic surgery done, and where he gets his hair colored and highlighted.
• This show contains spoilers. While we try to shout out warnings ahead of time, assume that you will discover which members of the Riverdale Gang have had their spines removed.
• This show contains adult, profane language, and is therefore not safe for work. You want your employer to hear which sexually transmitted diseases are most reminiscent of Midichlorians? Get some headphones.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:52:08 — 101.2MB)

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Enjoy the show, suckers!

Episode 63: Sprayed With Genetic Rage

Let’s be honest here: if you’re a comic book fan who’s connected enough to be listening to comic book podcasts, there’s a good chance that you have a subscription to streaming Netflix. And if you do, you probably spent this weekend the way we did: binge-watching Daredevil. And possibly binge-drinking Daredevil beer.

So we discuss the show, including the parallels between Kingpin’s and Daredevil’s character arcs, how effective the characterizations of other supporting characters were, and the general adult nature of the show (vis a vis violence and alcohol). We also talk about how the show stacks up against Mark Waid’s current comic book version of Matt Murdock, what we hope to see in the future from the show, and whether a certain relatively high-profile character’s unexpected death amounts to Suicide By Kingpin.

We also discuss:

• Convergence: Nightwing and Oracle #1, written by Gail Simone with art by Jan Duursema, and:
• The Walking Dead #140, written by Robert Kirkman with art by Charlie Adlard!

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 that anything can happen. Like an impromptu pitch for Batman: I Punch Your Groin.
• This show contains spoilers. This show especially contains spoilers for the Daredevil TV show. Like, we ruin the whole thing. Like, we air recordings taken of us watching the show, that include dialog of the show. So consider yourself warned.
• This show contains adult, profane language, and is therefore not safe for work. For example, we talk about “Jerk Hawkman.” Only we don’t use the word “jerk.” So get some headphones.

Oh, and by the way: if you’re looking for that Web site that has transcripts of at least some of the episodes of Daredevil? Here you go. And that reference to Bullseye maybe being in the show? Here’s the source.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:08:49 — 114.8MB)

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Enjoy the show, suckers!

Episode 62: A Parasite On Brainiac’s Crotch

This week, we are joined by Crisis On Infinite Midlives contributors Trebuchet and PixieStyx. And we discuss the last couple of episodes of CW’s The Flash, which featured the introduction of the effects of time travel in this corner of the DC Universe, as well as the return of Mark Hamill as The Trickster from the 1990 TV series about the character.

So we talk about how a show that, for some, is just a superhero soap opera featuring whiny 20-somethings in jobs they wouldn’t be qualified for until 2025 in real life, has very quickly become a byzantine story about multiple universes, branching timelines, character legacies, and the consequences of trying to alter your own history. And we present our theories about what’s to come in the future, ranging from the very DC idea of The Flash being a Doctor Who-style fixed point in time, to the idea that it might have been someone very different behind that red blur Barry Allen saw as a child.

We also talk about:

• Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #1, written by Cavan Scott with art by Blair Shedd,
• Convergence #0, written by Dan Jurgens and Jeff King, with art by Ethan Van Sciver, and:
• No Mercy #1, written by Alex De Campi with art by Carla Speed McNeil!

And, as always, the disclaimers:

• We record this show live to tape (although a few small edits were made to this week’s episode due to technical issues with our mobile recording studio). This means this might be a somewhat looser comics podcast than you are used to, but it also means that anything can happen. Like an adamant demand for scotch with extra cheese.
• This show contains spoilers. While we try to shout out warnings ahead of time, just assume that we will ruin things for you. Like learning that the Ninth Doctor was in the Time War and is totally bummed about it.
• This show contains adult, profane language, and is therefore not safe for work. Trust me, you do not want your employer to discover Trebuchet’s favorite strawberry dessert. Get some headphones.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:26:52 — 82.8MB)

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Thanks for listening, suckers!