Episode 149 – Spider-Man: One More Day

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Kevin Moreau

In anticipation of the eagerly awaited Spider-Man: No Way Home, we look back at one of the most universally reviled stories in comics history: 2007’s Spider-Man: One More Day by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada, published by Marvel Comics!

Quesada, then Marvel’s editor in chief, wanted to reset everyone’s favorite wisecracking wall-crawler and magically undo his longstanding marriage to Mary Jane Watson. So of course what better way to return Spidey to his roots than to … shoot Aunt May and have ol’ web-head make a deal with the devil??!

Can this poorly conceived, editorially mandated event possibly be as bad as its reputation? Or can it somehow rise above its bad rap and swing its way into that Brand New Day known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 148 – Tales From the Crypt

Posted on October 27, 2021 by Kevin Moreau

(Content warning: Lots of people get buried alive.)

Greetings, boos and ghouls! Gather ’round the campfire as the Curtkeeper and Kevin From the Black Lagoon wrap up The Tomb of the Crypt, their miniseries on horror comics, with a handpicked selection of spooky stories from EC Comics’ Tales From the Crypt!

Join us as we dig up The Curse of the Full Moon, The Maestro’s Hand, Ghost Ship, The Hungry Grave, A Fatal Caper, A Shocking Way to Die, and The Thing From the Grave, from The EC Archives: Tales From the Crypt Vol. 1, published by Dark Horse Comics!

How scary are these stories, really? And do they belong in that Vault of Horror known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 147 – Swamp Thing: Love and Death

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Kevin Moreau

(Content warning: This story contains references to rape by deception and incest.)

Our horror-comics miniseries The Tomb of the Crypt continues with Swamp Thing: Love and Death—specifically, Swamp Thing Vol. 2 issues #29-31 and Swamp Thing Annual #2 by Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, John Totleben and others, published by DC Comics!

Swamp Thing’s nemesis, the evil scientist/warlock Anton Arcane, returns from the dead in one of the most horrific revelations in mainstream superhero comics—making 1984’s Swamp Thing #29 the first mainstream comic not to carry the seal of the Comics Code Authority since the 1950s!

Eager for revenge against our muck-encrusted hero, Arcane unleashes a cadre of undead serial killers upon Southeast Louisiana, and casts his own niece—Swamp Thing’s friend and not-so-secret crush Abigail Arcane—down into the depths of Hell itself!

Can Swamp Thing prevail against the hordes of Hell and rescue the woman he loves from eternal damnation? And will this chilling slice of contemporary horror fantasy take root in that Garden of Earthly Delights known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 146 – Infidel

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Kevin Moreau

The Tomb of the Crypt, our miniseries on horror comics, continues with a look at 2018’s acclaimed Infidel by Pornsak Pichetshote and Aaron Campbell, published by Image Comics!

Described as a haunted house story for the 21st century, this five-issue series explores issues of bigotry, xenophobia and racism as Aisha and Medina, two young women of color, move into an apartment building where a bomb built by a Muslim tenant detonated a few months earlier—and soon find themselves confronting a terrifying spirit that feeds on the dark emotions of the building’s residents.

Can our protagonists defeat this gruesome specter before its body count grows any higher? And can this smart, tense thriller gain admittance to that rent-controlled co-op of chills known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 145 – Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Kevin Moreau

(Content warning: Body horror and a couple of anatomical references)

We kick off The Tomb of the Crypt, a miniseries on horror comics, with our very first manga title—Umuzaki: Spiral Into Horror by Junji Ito, published by Viz Media!

In this chilling tale that Nerdist referred to as “the Watchmen of horror manga,” a small Japanese town becomes plagued by … spirals. This everyday shape begins showing up in increasingly unsettling ways: A spiral-shaped scar on a girl’s forehead grows in size until it consumes her; two boys slowly mutate into giant snails; and a sentient hurricane becomes obsessed with a teenaged girl, to name but a few. And then things REALLY get weird.

Can high-schoolers Kirie and Shuichi figure out what’s happening to Kurouzo-cho before their lives are irrevocably altered? And can this superbly realized saga twist and shout its way into that widening gyre of graphic-novel gruesomeness known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 144 – All-Star Superman

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Kevin Moreau

Because YOU (well, one of you, at least) asked for it, we finally get around to discussing All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant, published by DC Comics!

Superman is dying, his cells flooded with solar radiation thanks to his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor. But before he goes, Kal-El has a few things to scratch off his to-do list. This acclaimed 12-issue series combines fun Silver Age concepts and a contemporary sensibility to distill the Man of Steel to his essence and explore what makes him one of the most iconic and inspiring characters in popular culture.

Can the Last Son of Krypton celebrate Lois Lane’s birthday, protect the Earth from the Bizarro world and boorish Kryptonians, and defeat a monster that eats time and a living, evil red sun?

And can he project himself into that Phantom Zone of funnybooks known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 143 – The Eternals (1976)

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Kevin Moreau

In anticipation of the Nov. 5 debut of the Eternals movie, we take a look at The Eternals issues 1-7, published by Marvel Comics!

A few years after defecting to the Distinguished Competition to create the ambitious Fourth World saga, Jack Kirby returned to the House of Ideas, where he set to work on … another ambitious cosmic epic!

Drawing inspiration from Erich von Däniken’s mega-successful Chariots of the Gods? Unsolved Mysteries of the Past, he conjured a tale of humanity’s sibling races: the monstrous Deviants, the godlike Eternals, and the even-more-godlike Mega Space Gods, the Celestials, one of the most visually striking assemblages in all of comics!

Join us as we probe the cosmic mysteries: What are the similarities and differences between this book and the arguably better-known Fourth World titles? Why do the Eternals reveal themselves to a college anthropology class? And will these issues receive the Thumbs Up of the Gods and become part of that Uni-Mind known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode!

  • Curt likes Big Barda and he cannot lie
  • Fantastic Four: Forever
  • Nomadland
  • Some thoughts on the upcoming Eternals movie
  • Avengers: The Final Host by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness
  • Eternals (2021) by Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribić
  • Kirby: King of Comics by Mark Evanier

Join us in two weeks as we discuss All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely!

Until then:
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Episode 142 – What If We Did a What If Episode? (With Alonso Duralde)

Posted on August 4, 2021 by Kevin Moreau

Alonso Duralde, the hardest working man in podcasting (Maximum Film, Breakfast All Day, the Linoleum Knife family of podcasts) returns as we prepare for the Aug. 11 launch of What If…? on Disney+ by gazing upon the alternate realities of Marvel Comics’ What If!

First published in 1977, this anthology series explores what might have happened had key moments in Marvel continuity happened a little differently: What if Bullseye Had Not Killed Elektra? What if the Original Marvel Bullpen Became the Fantastic Four? What if the Avengers Had Become Pawns of Korvac? And what if a host of Marvel creators were let loose to create an issue full of rapid-fire dad jokes?

Can this quartet of issues ascend to that not-so-sacred timeline known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 141 – The Golem’s Mighty Swing

Posted on July 21, 2021 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, our Myth Takes miniseries concludes with a story that combines the mythic grandeur of America’s pastime with Jewish folklore—The Golem’s Mighty Swing by James Sturm, published by Drawn & Quarterly!

In the early 1920s, money problems force a traveling Jewish baseball team to agree to a promoter’s plan to increase ticket sales: Henry Bell, a Black player pretending to be Jewish, will take the field as a golem, an animated creature from Jewish legend!

When racial tensions come to a head during an ugly game in an anti-Semitic town, will the Stars of David make it out alive? And will this powerful tale hit a home run and slide into that All-Star Game of graphic storytelling known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 140 – The Sandman: Fables & Reflections

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, an actual Greek myth gets retconned as Myth Takes, our miniseries on comics and mythology, rolls on with a discussion of three stories from the Sandman collection Fables & Reflections—specifically, Thermidor, The Song of Orpheus and Ramadan!

You may be familiar with the myth of Orpheus, the balladeer who journeyed to the underworld to retrieve his lady love Eurydice. But you might have skipped class the day they covered the fact that Orpheus was the son of Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams!

 

Did Orpheus’s bodiless head really help bring about the downfall of Robespierre, one of the architects of the French Revolution’s bloody Reign of Terror? What role did the Dream King play in the storied history of ancient Baghdad? And will these stories make their way into that campaign of myth-information known as … The Comics Canon?

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