Alex De Campi

Episode 73: And Now, The Hulk, For Chuck Norris Stretchy Action Pants

While it might not be the biggest comics-related news of the week, it was an item that particularly infuriated us: the confirmation that DC Comics would be running half-page ads on two comic pages in their June comics.

While the news isn’t as dire as the original rumor made things out to be, putting advertising on comic pages even for just a month is potentially a slippery slope. So we talk about not just being enraged by more and more intrusive advertising, but the effect that accepting half-page ads could have on comic storytelling, story length, creator compensation, the secondary comics art market, and worst of all: people thinking that Twix is an acceptable candy choice.

This week also brought us the end of DC’s Convergence event. Which, as promised, seems to have opened up the entirety of DC’s history to modern storytellers… but at what cost? We talk about Brainiac’s passive characterization at the end of the story, and more importantly, DC’s seeming off-camera utter nullification of one of the biggest and arguably most important comic stories of all time.

We also talk about:

Fight Club 2 #1, written by Chuck Palahniuk with art by Cameron Stewart,
Grindhouse #5: Lady Danger: Agent of B.O.O.T.I, written by Alex De Campi with art by Mulele Jarvis, and:
Where Monsters Dwell #1, written by Garth Ennis with art by Russ Braun!

And now the standard disclaimers:

We record this show live to tape, with minimal editing. While this might mean a looser comics podcast than you are used to, it also means that anything can happen. Like Rob’s discussion with beloved and abused parts of his anatomy.
This show contains spoilers. While we try to shout out warnings ahead of time, just assume that we are not following the first rule of Fight Club.
This show contains adult, profane language, and is therefore not safe for work. You want your boss to hear about some slightly shadier (and made up) Twix products? Trust me, you do not. Get some headphones.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:09 — 96.9MB)

Thanks for listening, suckers!

May 31, 2015 by Rob

Episode 64: My Safe Word Is Phantom Menace

NO COMMENTS YET

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)

Enjoy the show, suckers!

Categories: Podcasts Tags: Alex De Campi Archie Vs. Predator Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Convergence Fernando Ruiz Keith Giffen Matt Hawkins Rahsan Ekedal Star Wars Star Wars: Episode VII Supergirl The Tithe Timothy Green II

April 19, 2015 by Rob

Episode 62: A Parasite On Brainiac’s Crotch

NO COMMENTS YET

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)

Thanks for listening, suckers!