Episode 67 – Ultimate Spider-Man: Venom

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, Curt and Kevin prime the pump for the Oct. 5 release of the Venom feature film with a discussion of the sinister symbiote’s origin story — that is, as portrayed in issues 33-39 of Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, published by Marvel Comics!

Peter Parker’s childhood friend Eddie Brock reveals that their fathers were working on a cancer-fighting super-suit shortly before they died in a mysterious plane crash years earlier. When Peter investigates, the suit bonds with him, making him more powerful, and soon attempts to turn him into a homicidal monster!

 

When the suit bonds with a vengeful Eddie Brock, can Peter hope to prevail against this stronger, bloodthirstier version of himself — and save his friend in the process? And can he swing his way into that worldwide web of comic book stories known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 66 – Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, Curt and Kevin put superhero slugfests aside to confront a subject far more frightening than Doomsday, Thanos or the Annihilation Wave! That’s right: We’re talking about the award-winning graphic memoir Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, written and drawn by Roz Chast and published by Bloomsbury!

Chast, a critically acclaimed cartoonist for the New Yorker, paints an unflinching portrait of the final years of her nonagenarian parents, anxious George and overbearing Elizabeth, as they come to grips with physical frailty, encroaching dementia, and leaving their cluttered Brooklyn apartment for an assisted living facility.

Can Chast, an only child suddenly forced to become a parent to her parents, successfully navigate the thorny thicket of managing their care and finances and prepare herself to say goodbye? And can this funny and heart-wrenching book earn a spot in that eternal resting place known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 65 – The Death of Superman

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, Curt and Kevin turn their attention to one of the most famous Superman stories of all time?the headline-grabbing, multi-part event storyline The Death of Superman, written and drawn by a rotating cast of creators and published by DC Comics!

The hulking, mysterious figure who comes to be known as Doomsday arrives out of nowhere, destroying everything in his path! Not even the Justice League can slow this raging brute as he plods toward Metropolis, leaving death and ruin in his wake! Only one man has a chance against this inhuman monster. But is even Superman up to the task?

Can the Man of Steel stop Doomsday’s relentless onslaught without paying the ultimate price? (Well, the title of the story is a dead giveaway.) And will his name be added to that memorial of monumental epics known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 64 – Zot!: The Eyes of Dekko and Hearts and Minds

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, Curt and Kevin observe the 25th anniversary of Scott McCloud’s landmark Understanding Comics with (what else?) a discussion of a pair of stories from McCloud’s lighthearted comic Zot!: The Eyes of Dekko from Zot #17-18, and the webcomic Hearts and Minds!

Jenny Weaver, a high schooler from a world similar to our own, and her boyfriend Zot, a free-spirited superhero from another Earth, grapple with issues of teen angst, art, divorce and mortality as they clash with the insane cyborg Dekko, a formerly human artist who wears the Chrysler Building on his head!

Can Jenny and Zot prevent Dekko from killing a group of hostages … oh, and eradicating all of existence? And can they fly off into that alternate dimension of sequential storytelling known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

Join us in two weeks as we turn our attention to one of the most famous (and infamous) comics stories of all time: The Death of Superman!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

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Episode 63 – Fantastic Four Part 4: Three (With Paul Melancon)

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, Curt and Kevin welcome singer-songwriter Paul Melancon! And despite some intermittent microphone issues, the three of them wrap up this four-part exploration of the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine with a discussion of Fantastic Four: Three, by Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting and many others, published by Marvel Comics!

These issues are jam-packed: Reed Richards fights to save an artificial counter-Earth before it’s destroyed by the world-devouring Galactus! Susan Storm-Richards struggles to prevent an all-out undersea war! The Thing becomes just plain old Ben Grimm! And Ben, Johnny Storm, and the genius kids of the Future Foundation are all that stands between the Earth and an insectoid invasion from the Negative Zone!

Will all of the foremost family of super-powered science explorers live through these extraordinary ordeals? (Spoiler: No.) And can they break through into that alternate dimension of fascinating four-color fictions known as ? The Comics Canon?

(Also, stick around after the episode to hear “Hyperventilate” from Paul’s forthcoming album, The Get-Go’s Action Hour!)

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Comics Onscreen – To Infinity War and Beyond!

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Kevin Moreau

Photo by Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios

In this episode, Curt and Kevin take a long look at the current landscape of comics-based movies?a landscape dominated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With only one big-ticket DC Comics film (that would be Aquaman) on the horizon for 2018, we’re truly living in the Marvel Age of Movies.

Spoilers are as thick on the ground as armored rhinoceroses as we ponder whether Marvel Studios can the critical, commercial and cultural one-two punch of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, which have conquered a staggering $3.3 billion and counting. We also dive into Deadpool 2, and put Ant-Man and the Wasp under the microscope.

Last but not least, we tune in to the current slate of comics TV properties, including the latest seasons of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Legion and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; a quick sprint through The Walking Dead; a flash of Black Lightning; and a brief interrogation of Cloak and Dagger.

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Ant-Man and the Wasp Enjoys Playing With Proportion But Short-Changes the Characters

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Kevin Moreau

Review by Curt Holman

Marvel Studios

Fans of Star Wars and Marvel superheroes alike expressed concern when Disney bought their respective parent companies, envisioning their favorite fantastical epics reduced to kiddie fare.

But so far, the only film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to seemingly reflect a Disney influence is the 19th installment, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and that seems entirely deliberate on the part of the filmmakers. After the universal threats of Avengers: Infinity War and the MCU’s other cosmic adventures, Ant-Man and the Wasp embraces more modest, whimsical ambitions that feel closer to the Disney tradition of The Absent-Minded Professor, Now You See Him, Now You Don’t and, of course, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. It’s not a sprawling spectacle – it’s not even terribly memorable – but it’s cute.

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Scott “Ant-Man” Lang (Paul Rudd) Continue reading →

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Episode 62 – Fantastic Four Part 3: Unthinkable

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, Curt and Kevin continue their Fantastic Four-part series on the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine with a discussion of the FF’s greatest villain via two very different tales: The Fantastic Origin of Doctor Doom from Fantastic Four Annual #2, and Unthinkable, from Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #67-70 and #500, published by Marvel Comics!

First, it’s a quick time-hop back to the 1960s as Stan Lee and Jack Kirby recount the not-so-humble beginnings of everyone’s favorite mad monarch, Victor Von Doom! Then it’s on to 2003, as Mark Waid and the late Mike Wieringo depict a demonic deal that may defeat Marvel’s quintessential quartet once and for all!

Having embraced his sorcerous side, will Victor finally emerge victorious? Or can our science-loving squad outsmart their arrogant arch-nemesis and thus gain entry into that Magic Castle known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 61 – Fantastic Four Part 2: The Trial of Reed Richards

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, Curt and Kevin continue their four-part exploration of Marvel Comics’ first family of super-powered science adventurers! This time around, they turn their attention to two titanic beings who cast a large shadow over the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine – the cosmic entity Galactus and writer-artist John Byrne – with a discussion of Fantastic Four #242-244 and #261-262!

Terrax, the evil herald of Galactus, forces a fight between the Fantastic Four and his world-devouring master. When Galactus falls, near death, Reed Richards saves his life, earning the wrath of the many races whose worlds Galactus has destroyed.

When Mister Fantastic is captured and forced to stand trial for saving the planet-eating giant, can the rest of the Fantastic Four convince an armada of angry aliens not to execute their elastic leader? And can they convince the galaxy’s toughest jury that this story deserves to be sentenced to that murderer’s row known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 60 – Fantastic Four Part 1: The Early Years

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, Curt and Kevin launch into a four-episode deep dive into the world’s greatest comic magazine, The Fantastic Four, with a look at three key stories from the 1960s and 70s!

First up, it’s the book that started it all (and gave birth to the Marvel Universe): Fantastic Four #1! Who are these mysterious figures who answer a strange signal in the sky? Where and how did they get their fantastic abilities? And when bizarre monsters attack atomic plants across the globe, can they stop the reclusive Mole Man from destroying the surface world?

 

Next, it’s a race against time in Fantastic Four Annual #6! Reed Richards, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm must brave the outlandish antimatter universe known as the Negative Zone to save the life of Susan Richards and her unborn child. But can they survive the murderous warlord Annihilus and his dreaded Arena of Execution?

After that, it’s on to the swingin’ 70s for Fantastic Four #140-141! Annihilus is back, and he’s got Susan and the Richards’ young son Franklin in his deadly clutches! To save the universe, Reed Richards pays a terrible price, resulting in The End of the Fantastic Four!

Do these fantastic fables have the pedigree to join that First Family of fabulous funnybooks known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

Join us in two weeks as we time-travel into the 1980s for a look at two titanic figures–John Byrne and the world-devouring Galactus–in Fantastic Four #242-244 and #261-262!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

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