Before we start any new interviews (the first of which is already recorded…), we have a repeat of part 1 of my interview with legendary author J.M. DeMatteis, starting at the beginning and going through to the genre-defining “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” (Part 2 next week, or can still be found in the archives)
J.M. DeMatteis (Don’t worry. Proper pronunciation is the first question)
We wrap up the very first interview done at Welcome to Geektown, covering Evan’s work on Ultimate Alliance 2, his time as a professor, as well as listener questions.
In Part 3 of the Evan Skolnick interview, we start on his time at Acclaim during the comic book bust, then move on to his video game career.
Continuing the re-run of older interviews in anticipation of the new interview format of the show, here’s part two of my talk with Evan Skolnick, focusing on his time with Marvel, and especially as the writer of the New Warriors.
We’re re-running the interview episodes that have already aired in anticipation of the new interview format for the show. First up, Evan Skolnick: writer, editor, and professor of video games!
But first, an apology...
My first interview (well, for this podcast. My very first interview was with Megan Mullaly, but I don’t have those tapes)
An example of Evan’s self-deprecating humor, as he created Khaos, then sent him up the river in this roast…
A comparison of pre-computer coloring (left), and Marvel’s first computer colored book (right). Many more gradients, and that was just the start…
After an illness-driven break, I return with a new installment in the “Lesser-Known X-Men” series. Rogue (herself a former villain) recruited two villainous ladies (plus Sabretooth) to her team in 2006: Lady Mastermind and Omega Sentinel. How did that end up working out? Take a listen and find out!
Lady Mastermind is a true believer in double-sided tape.
Omega Sentinel in her early “big hair” period.
And in her more recent “No hair” period.
Returning again to the “Lesser Known X-Men” feature (or “Why-Men” as I’m affectionately referring to it), we hit the mid-2000s with a pair of siblings, not to each other, but each one to a previously covered X-Man in this series. If you haven’t already done so, meet Husk and Warpath!
Is skin recyclable?
Again I will point out…the woman walking away: Paige’s mom. Inappropriate to say the least…
He joined the X-Men in the 2000s, but there’s a lot of 90s to Warpath…
Anne (who helped me discuss both seasons of Loki) fills in for Joel on this final Deep Dive on Agatha All Along. We discuss the final episode, which fills in quite a bit of the past, and discuss what it means for the future; of these characters and their place in the MCU.
You couldn’t have had her say she’s been “Agatha All Along”?
The final two episodes of Agatha All Along were released at once, but my conversation with Anne (filling in for Joel) was too long to put out in one go, so this is the penultimate discussion. Secrets galore are uncovered and we get a fight to the death…with Death.
Hey Rio…
Last episode I mentioned the “half-skull/half-flesh” face look for Death. Here’s one example.
It’s Episode 7 of 9, but the Voyage is All Along the Witches Road! Joel and I continue our Deep Dive on the latest MCU show, with quite a bit of discussion on Tarot thanks to some extra expertise from friend of the show Johnnie Breen.
Of course, after the podcast was recorded, they announced an official Tarot deck that you can pre-order now.
Well, hello there, Billy! It’s (mostly) a flashback episode, where we fill in a lot of the gaps of how we got to where we are with Teen (aka William Kaplan, aka Billy Maximoff, aka Wiccan). Some questions get answered, though others are asked, as Joel and I continue our Agatha All Along Deep Dive.
This makes sense as a related image if you’ve seen the episode. Trust me…
We’ve reached the halfway point of Agatha All Along, with some major reveals, and Joel and I have plenty to say about it, as well as a fairly long conversation at the end about our feelings on the MCU in general, post-Endgame. Take a listen and let us know what you think!
Don’t scroll down until you’ve watched the show, otherwise you’ll learn that this Teen…
…is this guy in the comics…
…who we all previously saw in Wandavision.
We may have lost Mrs. Hart (Sharon!), but we’re continuing to talk about the rest of the coven in our Deep Dive of Agatha All Along. Hear Joel and Kurt’s theories about who Teen and Rio really are, and their relationships to the title character, plus some musical talk from a recurring contributor.
Some of the people we think inspired their second trial outfits, including Agatha’s…
…Alice…
…Jen’s…
and Teen.
We’re moving on down the road in Episode 3 of Agatha All Along. As the coven faces their first trial, Joel and Kurt are surprised to discover an old name get mentioned that they had relegated to the dead theory pile at the end of WandaVision.
Speak of the Devil…
We begin the Agatha All Along Deep Dive with a double episode dose of witchy goodness. There are many questions raised to theorize on, and tons of new characters to discuss and compare to their Marvel Comics counterparts. Take a listen, and then let us know your thoughts!
I mentioned it on the show twice, so I figured I should link it as well.
The comic versions of our new coven: Lilia Calderu…
Jennifer Kale (on right)…
and Alice Wu-Gulliver (or Alice Gulliver, whose title is “The Wu”)
Since the next few weeks will be devoted to a Deep Dive of the Agatha All Along show, I thought it would be a good idea to edit together some of the thoughts Joel and I had about Agnes/Agatha as she appeared in WandaVision, along with a comparison to her comic book counterpart, edited together from the WandaVision Deep Dive.
Wait, it was who?
Continuing to work towards completing the “Lesser Known X-Men” feature, we cover four characters this time; three short-term members, and one who is possibly well-known enough to not qualify, but is important enough to merit inclusion to make sure as many learn about him as possible.
That’s Iceman she’s talking to, before he came out of the closet.
Her New Warriors look.
Lifeguard as her powers originally manifested.
And her look after the Shi’ar DNA kicked in.
And this is how her brother reacted when he saw the “difference.” Um, overreact much?
Northstar in his John Byrne-y goodness.
Can you guess in what decade this issue came out (pun intended)?
Congrats, guys! You only get the wraparound cover for very special occasions!
Returning to my Lesser Known X-Men feature (affectionately dubbed the “Why-Men”), we break from chronological joining to cover twins who were recruited at different times, but are so close that they may as well be one character, as well as a mutant mentioned briefly in the “New Warriors Vol 4” episode of the show.
“Make me one with everything…”
As someone reading the books at the time, this was a big twist!
Zorn, as opposed to Xorn. (Babylon 5 fans, insert “Zathras” joke here)
Does he have to get his shirts custom made, or do they just do that when he puts them on?
So, apparently the lines on the face are built into Apocalypse’s DNA.
Jono as Decibel. Although at the volume he could produce, he probably should have been called Bel.
Thanks to some recent big news announced at San Diego Comic-Con, I was inspired to discuss the connections between Iron Man and Doctor Doom. Sure, they’re both guys in armor, but what else connects them, and how will the MCU handle this? I’ve got a theory…
I believe this imagery inspired the dance in Pulp Fiction.
They’re probably not going this literal, but who knows?
Doom was not trying to hide who he was, just trying to live up to someone else.
Trust me, the helmet does work in some images…but not many.
With so many super criminals in comics, it only makes sense that they’d have their own prison, and thanks to a question from listener Scott P., we’ll be discussing those, from the real life locations, to the made up super-prisons, then to the dark halls of the asylums.
Welcome to The Rock! (Even real life prisons can get a superhero like name)
Nice Raft you’ve got there. Shame if something were to happen to it.
Somehow, wherever you look, the moon will always be rising over Arkham.
As the co-host of Gothamites, I am contractually obligated to include this version of Arkham Asylum in the images.
“We have Arkham Asylum at home!”