Episode 221: Captain America and the Falcon – Secret Empire and The Coming of Nomad

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, our-decade-by-decade series on the Thunderbolts intersects with one of the biggest political scandals of all time as we discuss Secret Empire and the short-lived career of Nomad, as brought to us by Steve Englehart, Sal Buscema and Frank Robbins, published by Marvel Comics!

First, the shadow of Watergate looms large over Captain America and the Falcon #174-176, as the Sentinel of Liberty and his partner-in-crimefighting take on the sinister Secret Empire, leading to a shocking moment that changes Cap’s life forever!

… or at least for a few issues, as Steve Rogers adopts a new identity as the blandly generic Nomad is issues 180-183!

These issues have everything: The X-Men! S.H.I.E.L.D.! The Sub-Mariner! The Serpent Squad! A cameo by the Red Skull! And the surprise guest appearance of 1974! But is all of that enough to earn membership in that clandestine cabal known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

  • Wheel! Of! MUTANTS!
  • A few words about Frank Robbins
  • What is up with the Gamecock?
  • What’s Redwing’s favorite music genre?
  • The Bog Wife
  • Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles

Join us in two weeks as we discuss Avengers: Under Siege!

Until then:
Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise!
Rate us on Apple Podcasts!
Send us an email!
Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

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Episode 220: The Avengers vs. the Masters of Evil

Posted on November 7, 2024 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, we kick off a decades-spanning series focusing on the hot new superhero team of 1997: the Thunderbolts! And we begin with some early Avengers issues introducing Captain America’s arch-nemesis Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil!

But first, we begin with Avengers #4, in which the Sentinel of Liberty himself is fished out of the North Sea and joins the Marvel Universe!

Then it’s on to Avengers #6, in which Baron Zemo enlists the Black Knight, the Mysterious Melter and Radioactive Man in the inaugural lineup of the Masters of Evil, a team of supervillains that might have some role to play in the formation of the Thunderbolts some 30+ years later!

In Avengers #7, Zemo is joined by a pair of Asgardians, the Enchantress and the Executioner—who, in Avengers #9, hatch a scheme that involves the debut of future Avengers mainstay Wonder Man!

Will this concept of a villain who turns into a hero have some bearing on the Thunderbolts? Is Avengers #6 the silliest comic we’ve ever discussed on this podcast? And can these pulse-pounding issues pass muster with that eternally youthful Middle-Aged Brigade known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode: Continue reading →

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Venom: The Last Dance Review: Tom Hardy’s Dual Role Still Steals the Show

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Kevin Moreau

Review by Curt Holman

How popular is Spider-Man? So popular that Sony Pictures has a franchise of live-action films of Spider-man characters, but the web-slinger himself is never seen or mentioned.

The Venom movies are the best of the lot, but that’s not a proud accomplishment: By the standards of Morbius and Madame Web, the bar is so low it may as well be part of the flooring. Nevertheless, in 2018 the first Venom earned more than $850 million worldwide and cast Tom Hardy as both hapless reporter Eddie Brock and the rumbling voice of the titular alien symbiote. Continue reading →

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Canonical Conversations: Marvel Monster Mash (With Marvel by the Month)

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, we relax our usual format a bit as Bryan Stratton, Robb Milne and Jamie Wenger from the Marvel by the Month podcast join us to discuss (and assign ratings to) some iconic — and less-than-iconic — Jack Kirby monsters from before Marvel’s superhero era!

Monsters discussed in this episode:

  • Diablo, the Demon From the Fifth Dimension! (Tales of Suspense #9, 1959)
  • Taboo, the Thing From the Murky Swamp! (Strange Tales #75, 1960)
  • Groot, the Monster From Planet X! (Tales to Astonish #13, 1960)
  • Xemnu, the Living Hulk! (Journey Into Mystery #62, 1960)
  • The Blip! (Tales to Astonish #15, 1961)
  • Goom, the Thing From Planet X! (Tales of Suspense #15, 1960)
  • Googam, Son of Goom! (Tales of Suspense #17, 1961)
  • Fin Fang Foom! (Strange Tales #89, 1961)

Recommended in this episode:

  • The Ultimates
  • The Atlas Comics Library No. 1: Adventures Into Terror Vol. 1
  • The Shadow Over Innsmouth by Gou Tanabe
  • The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • Dracula Vol. 1: The Impaler by Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones

Join us in two weeks as we look ahead to next year’s Thunderbolts movie with the beginning of a series of episodes exploring the origins of the Thunderbolts and the Masters of Evil through the decades, beginning with Baron Zemo in Avengers #4, 6, 7 and 9!

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Episode 219: Chainsaw Man

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, we kick off a month of horror-themed comics with a look at Tatsuki Fujimoto’s incredibly popular manga Chainsaw Man, a fresh and creative mixture of body horror, supernatural devil creatures, superhero-adjacent action and 80s boob comedy!

In these chapters from Chainsaw Man volumes 1 and 2, we meet Denji, a down-on-his-luck teen whose body fuses with Pochita, a devil in the form of an adorable dog with a chainsaw sticking out from its head. Denji gains the ability to sprout chainsaws from his arms and face, and is soon conscripted by pretty Makima into a government devil-hunting agency and partnered with Power, a brash and uncontrollable blood fiend. But all he really wants is … to touch some boobs!

Can the not-too-bright Denji triumph over the fearsome Bat Devil and the creepy Leech Devil, not to mention his mentor Aki? Will he wise up and realize that Makima seems to be bad news? And can he join the hallowed ranks of those Devil’s Advocates known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode: Continue reading →

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Episode 218: The Joker Episode

Posted on September 25, 2024 by Kevin Moreau

With Joker: Folie à Deux rolling into theaters next, the time seems right to dive into Batman’s most famous nemesis, the Joker, with a trio of stories highlighting different, pre-Dark Knight Returns iterations of the Clown Prince of Crime!

First up is “The Man Who Wrote the Joker’s Jokes” from 1951’s Batman #67, in which everyone’s favorite mass murderer seeks a gag writer!

Then, in 1976’s The Joker #7, a scientific accident gifts the Joker with Lex Luthor’s intellect, and Luthor with the Joker’s madness!

Last but not least, we switch gears with 1978’s “The Laughing Fish” and “Sign of the Joker,” from Detective Comics #475-476, featuring one of the Ace of Knaves’ most bizarre schemes yet!

Can the Grand Mogul of Mountebanks win the day against Batman, Lex Luthor, and the Gotham City Copyright Commission? And do these stories have what it takes to win over the crowd at that Ha-Hacienda known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode: Continue reading →

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Episode 217: Will Eisner’s The Spirit

Posted on September 11, 2024 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, we take a long-overdue look at one of the most acclaimed crimefighters in comics history, Will Eisner’s The Spirit!

Published in its own special insert in Sunday newspapers in the 1940s and early 50s, The Spirit featured seven- and eight-page stories about a masked hero in a suit and tie who helped the police of Central City fight criminal masterminds, underworld figures and slinky femmes fatales. Initially influenced by the pulps, The Spirit soon became known for short stories that showcased Eisner’s genre-defying imagination and visual invention—stories in which the Spirit himself often wasn’t even the main character!

Starting with the 1940’s “The Origin of the Spirit,” we dive into eight tales that demonstrate the wide range of this influential comic. But does The Spirit have what it takes to kick back in that tastefully appointed crypt known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode: Continue reading →

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Episode 216: V for Vendetta Book 3: The Land of Do-As-You-Please

Posted on August 28, 2024 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, we conclude our three-part look at V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, as collected by Vertigo/DC Comics!

V disables Norsefire’s surveillance apparatus, nudging the citizens of London toward revolution. Rose Almond takes action. Schemes are hatched as Helen Heyer and Peter Creedy vie to take control of the government. Detective Finch takes a bad trip. And Evey prepares to fulfill her destiny.

As society collapses, will any of our players get a happy ending? And will they finally step into the spotlight of that vicious cabaret known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:  Continue reading →

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Episode 215: V for Vendetta Book 2: This Vicious Cabaret

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, we continue our three-part look at V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, as collected by Vertigo/DC Comics!

Abandoned by V on the streets of London, Evey Hammond knows a brief moment of happiness before she’s captured, tortured and interrogated about her role in V’s crimes. Rose, widow of the late Derek Almond, suffers a series of humiliations.

Meanwhile, V’s body count grows as he issues an ultimatum to the people of London.

Can Evey hold on to that last little inch of herself, even if it costs her her life? And can our cast of characters make it past the bouncer into that Kitty Kat Keller known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

Join us in two weeks as our three-part series concludes with Book 3: The Land of Do-As-You-Please!

Until then:
Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise!
Rate us on Apple Podcasts!
Send us an email!
Hit us up on Facebook, Bluesky or The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter!

And as always, thanks for listening!

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Episode 214: V for Vendetta Book 1: Europe After the Reign

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, for … oh, no particular reason … we kick off a three-part look at the classic graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, collected by DC Comics!

Originally published in serial form in the British anthology magazine Warrior, this dystopian fantasy follows the anarchist vigilante known only as V, clad in a creepy Guy Fawkes mask, who’s hell-bent on taking revenge on the staffers of a post-war “resettlement camp!”

This mysterious, magnetic revolutionary rescues a 16-year-old would-be sex worker named Evey from a horrible fate at the hands of the nation’s secret police, and soon enlists her in his one-man war to bring down the fascist British state!

But is there more to the strangely powerful V than first appears? (Spoiler alert: Yes!) And can he hope to silence that Voice of Fate known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

  • The scourge of … THE BEATNIKS!
  • Pynchon, V? Really?
  • Maybe we shouldn’t have given the guy in Room V so much freedom…
  • The Abominable Dr. Phibes
  • Kite Man: Hell Yeah!

Join us in two weeks as we roll merrily along with Book 2: This Vicious Cabaret!

Until then:
Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise!
Rate us on Apple Podcasts!
Send us an email!
Hit us up on Facebook, Bluesky or The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter!

And as always, thanks for listening!

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