Episode 109 – Kurt Busiek’s Astro City: Life in the Big City

Comic book worlds don’t come any more vividly imagined or painstakingly detailed than Astro City. The metropolis that gives this anthology series its title isn’t all that different from the one outside your window—you know, except for all the high-flying heroes, insectoid invaders and mystical menaces that share the sidewalk with everyday citizens like you. Life in the Big City, collecting the first six issues of this long-running series, allows the reader to imagine what it would be like to live in a world of magic and wonder.

Will the super-powered Samaritan ever be able to slow down long enough to enjoy life, or go on a date? Can a young woman from the ethnic neighborhood of Shadow Hill trade her talismans and traditions for those of the city’s bustling downtown? Is the boorish Crackerjack really all that stands between Earth and an alien assault?

And can these stories move on up to that shining city on a hill known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 108 – Superior Foes of Spider-Man Vol. 1: Getting the Band Back Together

It’s hard out here for a C-list supervillain. You’ve got the basic lack of respect, your super-powered parole officer … and then there’s the constant bickering and backstabbing that threaten to tear your crew apart faster than your not-so-friendly neighborhood Spider-Man ever could!

At least, that’s the problem facing the five members of the Sinister Six in the hilarious Superior Foes of Spider-Man Vol. 1: Getting the Band Back Together, by Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber, published by Marvel Comics!

Can these fractious felons survive the machinations of the Chameleon, the Owl and their own leader, the double-crossing Boomerang? And can this quarrelsome quintet graduate into that Secret Society of Super-Villains known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 107 – Superman and Batman: World’s Funnest

It’s April Fools’ Day, and while most of us aren’t in the mood for pranks given the current state of affairs, we could all use something a little light and fun. And what’s more fun than … Mister Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite deconstructing (okay, detroying) the entire DC multiverse? That’s why we’re discussing Superman and Batman: World’s Funnest, by Evan Dorkin and an all-star cast of artists, published by DC Comics!

Join us as we ask the burning questions: How DO you pronounce Mxyzptlk, anyway? And can these two interdimensional imps manage the imp-possible and make a favorable imp-pression on that imp-maginary world known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 106 – Starman: Night and Day

Just as Jack Knight was one of DC Comics’ more interesting second-generation superheroes, the book that chronicled his saga from 1994 through 2001 was one of the more literary-minded and ambitious mainstream superhero comics of its time. And that ambition is on full display in issues #9-16 of the series, as collected in Starman: Night and Day, by James Robinson and Tony Harris!

Having reluctantly accepted the mantle of Starman from his father Ted, Jack Knight puts a decidedly Gen-X stamp on the role, complete with tattoos, a leather jacket and a staggering knowledge of obscure pop-cultural ephemera. But all that edgy ’90s attitude can’t keep the past from encroaching on the present as he contends with Nash, the vengeful daughter of his dad’s arch-nemesis, the Mist!

Can Jack, Ted, the blue-skinned alien Mikaal Tomas and the red-haired O’Dare siblings survive as Nash cuts a swath of murder and destruction through Opal City? And can this story blow the mind of that Starman waitin’ in the sky we like to call … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 105 – March Book 1

In this episode, we take a break from talking about fictional superheroes to discuss a real-life superhero with a look at March, Book 1, the first in a three-part series of autobiographical graphic novels examining the life and career of U.S. Congressman John Lewis, published by Top Shelf Productions!

Join us as we trace the civil rights leader’s early days, from his humble beginnings preaching to chickens on his family’s farm to his first meeting with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and his efforts to desegregate Nashville department store lunch counters. Will this gripping account of one man’s journey to gain freedom and equal rights through nonviolent means make its way to that hallowed hall of heroes known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 104 – House of X and Powers of X Part 2

In this episode, we conclude our two-part look at the two 2019 miniseries that reset the status quo for the X-Men: House of X and Powers of X, by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz and R.B. Silva, published by Marvel Comics!

The mutant nation of Krakoa faces its first major setback when a mission to stop Orchis from activating the Mother Mold meets with disaster! Meanwhile, 1,000 years in the future, Wolverine and Moira MacTaggert must act as the Man-Machine Ascendancy prepares to be assimilated into the alien techno-collective known as the Phalanx!

Mutantkind seems destined to suffer a terrible fate. Can Charles Xavier and Magneto prevent that dark future from coming to pass? And can they hope to survive the judgment of that Not-So-Quiet Council known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 103 – House of X and Powers of X Part 1

In this episode, after a brief delay, we tackle one of the biggest superhero comics events of 2019: the game-changing series House of X and Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz and R.B. Silva, published by Marvel Comics!

The mutant telepath Charles Xavier shocks the world by announcing the formation of Krakoa, a nation of mutants. In return for recognizing its sovereignty, Krakoa will gift mankind with miracle drugs that drastically improve human life. Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for the X-Men, who undertake a suicide mission to a sun-orbiting space station to prevent the eventual rise of one of mutantkind’s greatest foes!

What do these events have to do with a mutant war against the Man-Machine Ascendancy 100 years from now, or the plans of the mysterious Librarian 1,000 years hence? What surprising role does Xavier’s former flame Moira MacTaggert have to play in all this? And can our not-so-merry mutants survive long enough to make it to that island sanctuary known as … The Comics Canon?

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Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn’s Hot Mess with High Spirits

Warner Bros.

Review by Curt Holman

If you had any doubts about who’s the star of the comic book movie Birds of Prey, look to the subtitle. The parenthetical (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) signals that the Joker’s former sidekick/love interest has claimed the spotlight for herself. Continue reading

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House of X Programming Note – and a Bonus Top 10 List!

“Hey, where’s my House of X episode?” we hear you asking. Well, Kevin’s here to answer that question in this special bonus announcement. And to make up for the delay, we’re throwing in a little something extra—Curt Holman’s Top 10 Superhero Adaptations of 2019!

Thanks for your patience—and as always, thank you for listening!

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Episode 102 – Locke & Key Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft

In this episode, we look ahead to the Feb. 7 debut of the Netflix series Locke & Key with a look at the six issue arc that launched the popular saga—Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, published by IDW!

The Locke family falls prey to a violent home invasion in which guidance counselor Rendell Locke is shot and killed. His widow and three children move across the country to Keyhouse, the family’s ancestral home, which houses a few secrets. Meanwhile, Rendell’s killer, Sam Lesser, is on their trail, under the thrall of an unearthly woman imprisoned in a well on the Keyhouse estate!

Can this fractured family overcome their inner demons and stop the devious Dodge from acquiring the mysterious Anywhere Key? And can they unlock the right door to gain entry into that house of horrors known as … The Comics Canon?

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