Episode 171: The Replacements - Green Lantern (Pt. 4; Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz)

Finally finishing up the Green Lantern “Replacements” episodes with the New 52 recruits of Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz.  But, before we get to those, one last bit of business from the Loki Season 2 Deep Dive, thanks to a listener comment.

“Hi, Loki!”

The gun was an identifying feature for a little while.

Hey, look ma! Character growth!

Jessica in her “Power Ring” costume.

And in her (much happier) Green Lantern outfit. She kept the eye tattoo, however.

Episode 161: Comic Book Characters with Disassociative Identity Disorder

Thanks to listener feedback, we’re looking at another group of heroes with a specific mental disorder. This time it’s DID (or Disassociative Identity Disorder).  Moon Knight, Legion, Crazy Jane, and others are members of this unique club discussed this episode.
Thank you to DisassociDID for her videos discussing her experiences with DID. Anything I got right about can be credited to her. Anything I got wrong is totally me.

R.I.P. Arleen Sorkin, the original Harley Quinn.

The Void, Robert Reynolds, and The Sentry.

You will believe a Hulk (or two) can cry.

That’s less than 64, so they’re not all there yet…

I don’t actually think that’s the scientific term…but glad to hear you’re feeling good.

Episode 152: Unusual Superhero Vehicles (1 of 2) - The Spider-Mobile

For the next two episodes, we’ll look at a couple of unusual vehicles driven by famous superheroes.  We skip over the Batmobile, the Invisible Jet, and other well-known vehicles and go straight to the bizarre, starting with the wall-crawler’s ill-fated car, the Spider-Mobile.

A display with a few iterations of the Batmobile inspired our listener’s missive.

I feel like the “Spidey” license plate is redundant. And also probably not an actual NY license plate.

…with a vengance!

You can’t get rid of it that easily, Spidey!

It will haunt you forever…

The Spider-Verse is a little nuts.

Episode 149: The Why-Men (Lesser-Known X-Men; Banshee, Sunfire, & Thunderbird)

Continuing our look at some of the less-famous X-Men roster, we’ve reached the Giant-Sized issue that reinvented the team, and the three members who never quite reached the fame of their compatriots like Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, and Wolverine.

Only one of the three we discuss even makes the cover. That’s got to hurt.

Banshee in one of his early villainous appearances.

…and what he looks like after joining the good guys. Amazing how much more attractive heroes are.

Sean in his “Horseman of Death” aspect.

And now as “Vox Ignis.”

Welcome to the team!

Well, that was quick…

The always pleasant to be around John Proudstar…

Welcome to the X-Men, John! Hope you survive the…Oh. Never mind.

45 years later…finally back!

Episode 148: Who Are The New Warriors (Volume 3 and Civil War)

Celebrating five years of Welcoming people to Geektown, Kurt continues his anniversary tradition of going over the history of his favorite character Speedball and his teammates on The New Warriors, this year reaching the short-lived Volume 3, leading into the epic event, Civil War.

Microbe usually isn’t front and center of combat. Usually, he looks more like…

this. Note the flies buzzing. He doesn’t shower, as to avoid losing his germ “friends.”

A bunch of debris, thanks to Debrii.

A promotional image of the TV show roster. Can you see why I believe the reality show was part of the concept?

Episode 145: Who is Kang? (aka Rama-Tut, aka Immortus, aka…)

Kang the Conqueror makes his first full appearance in the MCU with Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, which came out earlier this weekend. But who is Kang, and what makes him so threatening that he’ll be the next Big Bad after Thanos? Learn his comic book history, including his many aliases by listening to this episode.

Damn, early 60s Janet is thirsty! Also, thank you Marvel Studios for adapting the Kang Lounge Chair.

Narrator voice: No, he is not.

Why you hittin’ yourself? Why you hittin’ yourself?

Okay. Maybe early 60s Janet had a point…

Just a few of the Avengers seen in “Avengers Forever.” Go read it!

Episode 144: Who Are The Legion of Super-Heroes?

Inspired by a question from a co-worker during a regular (albeit off-topic from work) conversation, this week we’re looking at the history of the 30th/31st Century team known as The Legion of Super-Heroes! From their first appearance, to the “Reboot,” “Threeboot” and beyond, why does this team have such a hardcore fanbase?

Cosmic Boy eventually lost the fishbowl helmet as well, thankfully.

The Five Years Later Legion. They’ve grown up a little…except maybe Shrinking Violet.

Just a few of the members of the Post Zero-Hour Legion.

Jim Shooter returns to the Legion, although not the same one he wrote years earlier.

Some classic George Perez “get every member in there” shots for the Legion of Three Worlds mini.

The latest Legion being introduced to Superboy.

Episode 143: Whatever Happened to The Legion of Super-Pets

Watching the DC League of Super-Pets movie inspired this look at the original members of the first super-animal team, the Legion of Super-Pets.  After discussing each of their origins, we see what happened with each of them after Crisis wiped them out of history, and how they were brought back.

As mentioned at the end of the episode, writer Peter David could use help from his fans funding the recovery from a series of mini-strokes. If you can, please donate to his GoFundMe.

Why do I read Streaky’s “Gee” as being sarcastic? Perhaps because I know cats.

I would not be surprised if Flexi was just Plastic Man moonlighting.

Romance between Supergirl and Comet?

Well, it’s not unprecedented…

Episode 141: Santa Claus in Comics - Savage Dragon

Having discussed Santa showing up in Marvel and DC the last couple of years around this time, we finally branch out of the Big 2 and start looking at some of Old Saint Nick’s appearances in other comic books.  This year the focus falls on Savage Dragon, where Father Christmas is an important part of three issues. Warning: Not for younger listeners.

Dragons roasting on an open fire…(Actually, his origin story)

The cover does not lie, other than him wearing the outfit and the beard.

Episode 140: S.H.I.E.L.D., H.A.M.M.E.R., S.W.O.R.D., and Other Marvel Acronym Agencies

Sure, S.W.O.R.D. and S.H.I.E.L.D. make sense together.  But, where did H.A.M.M.E.R. come from?  S.T.R.I.K.E.? W.A.N.D.? And what the heck does U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. stand for? This episode, we go through various groups in the Marvel Universe that use acronyms and go through some of their history.

Total Recall totally ripped the “gun in the x-ray” off!

SHIELD’s first Director after 40 years of Fury…Maria Hill.

Tony doing his best to get in on that sweet Bond action.

Norman Osborn was going through a bit of a “What if I was played by Tommy Lee Jones” phase.

Until they gave her the gauntlets, I had a hard time telling Daisy and Maria apart. How about you?

If by “markedly different,” you mean “treasonous,” then you’re spot on!

Abigail Brand, Director of SWORD. With her sometime boyfriend Beast behind her (to her right, our left).

Episode 138: The Replacements - The Flash

More so than most episodes, you’ll want to be sure you’re familiar with all the DC Universe eras in order to fully understand what I’m talking about, so here’s my first episode where I go through them in detail, as a YouTube video.

The original…but not the one who’s replaced.

It happens a lot…

Wally in his various outfits, while Barry watches over.

The Flash of China, and now the multiversal Flash!

You can see why they refer to this version as “Dark Flash.”

John! You forgot the rule: Flashes before lasses!

Bart looks more and more like his grandpa every day.

Episode 124: A History of Events (Why Some Succeed and others Fail)

Since the advent of the Direct Market, event comics have been a staple of Marvel and DCs sales strategy.  But, while some are huge successes still fondly remembered, others are mocked or completely forgotten.  We go back to the start of the Event Era and look at some of the most famous and infamous to see if we can figure out what is the winning strategy.

When Heroes Gather…Sales Follow.

Without Secret Wars, there would be no Venom. You’re welcome, Tom Hardy.

Worlds live…worlds die. Well, mostly, worlds die.

Of course there was a foil cover. Sigh

Is he though? (Insert Thor meme here)

Episode 123: The Revolving Death Door (Why all the Resurrections in Comics?)

The saying the listener asking this week’s question references used to be: “No one stays dead but Bucky, Jason Todd and Uncle Ben,” but two of those three have also returned from the grave. So, why are so many characters brought back to life after being given a “permanent” end to their story?

Yes, I see where this is going…

Yes, that makes sense…

Wait. What?

This is…not how lightning works. Except the “you dying” part.

This will work out fine, I’m sure.

Or…not.

He got better.

Episode 105: Who Has Been in the Sinister Six?

Not just a list, because that would be boring. Instead, we go through the team’s history, starting with their very first appearance all the way up to the recent “Sinister War,” to find out how the various versions formed, and who was on each team.  It appears we’ll be seeing them in “No Way Home” coming out soon, so this should get you caught up.

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad the multi-colored logo didn’t stick…

No, Spider-Man doesn’t get shrunken down…in this story.

Spider-Man joins the 90s!

Yeah, good luck with that…

Episode 99: Who Are The Eternals?

Started as their own separate story, the Eternals are now completely ingrained into the origins of the Marvel Universe.  With the Chloe Zhao-directed movie on its way in less than two months, now seems like a good time to give a primer on these characters, their powers, and what their introduction means for the MCU going forward.

You may recognize one of these “faces” from the trailer above.

When Kirby was on his own, he really liked go out there.

Episode 89: LGBT Characters in DC (with JennytheGeek)

Celebrating Pride Month, we are looking at some of the characters in DC Comics that belong to the LGBTQ+ community.  I invited JennytheGeek on to discuss the topic and get her feelings as a trans woman (and fellow superhero fan), on how these different characters were handled.

One slight correction. I referred to Danny the Street as gender-fluid in the show. I meant to say non-binary. My apologies for the mix-up in terms.

Really? I am?

Close your jaw, Wally…

If you know who the one on the right is, you also know this is a bittersweet ending for Wanda.

Look at that castle. Is this Dannyland?

With a few exceptions, comic book romances rarely end well. This is no exception.

Neither is this…

Yay! An exception!

crickets

Anyone else distracted by the cat in the last panel? Just me? Okay…

To be appearing in a comic near you soon!

Whoops! Forgot one! Thanks for the reminder, Jenny!

Episode 74: Santa Claus in Comics - DC Edition

Happy Holidays, everyone!  As this releases on Christmas Eve, I thought it fitting to go over some of Santa’s appearances in various comic books, this time focusing on DC Comics (other companies may be featured in future years).  Three team-ups with Superman and two other special Christmas stories are discussed.  Warning: Ironically and unfortunately, this episode may not be suitable for kids. (Mostly due to the topic. Language-wise, it’s safe)

The lower right area is where the various stores were able to put their logo.

Woah! Watch the hands there, buddy!

Presents and elves flying off the back. Santa really needs to watch his sleigh driving…

Please heed the warning on the cover.

Black Adam is in the book (unlike some of the others here), but sadly didn’t make the cover…

Episode 72: The Justice Society of America (and Thanksgiving)

With this episode being released on Thanksgiving day (in America), I wanted to touch on the heroes that I most associate with the holiday, and that is DC’s first super team: the Justice Society of America.  From the Golden Age up to today, we go over how they’ve changed over the years, while keeping true to their original vision, and touch on the two Thanksgiving stories that inspired this particular topic to come out today.

Poor Johnny Thunder gets left out of the picture, even though he’s mentioned on the cover.

They seem to be happy to see the Justice League holding hands.

Things do not go well for the team in the 80s.

Home Again…but not for long. Sorry guys, the early 90s were even less kind.

Not actual size.

This would be what we call an homage…

Feet off the table, Atom!

The New 52 Earth 2 heroes.

Episode 65: Comic Captains and a COVID Conundrum

Two questions are being answered this episode.  First, is Wolverine a spreader of disease?  Then, we look at various comic book Captains, Majors, Generals, and other characters named for military ranks to see who has earned those honors.

He got better! Seriously, his healing factor took him from this to perfectly fine in minutes.

#humblebrag

As someone who had to have gravel removed from a large abrasion, I can definitely say…”Ouch.”

So, is he a Captain pretending to be a Private, or is a Private who calls himself Captain? Either way, seems like some part of the Army is being lied to.

The two bars mean Captain!

Major is better than Captain, but Captain Marvel’s better than most!

You know you’re pinning a medal to his skin, right?

RODE Microphones Contest Episode - Comic Book "Doctors"

For a little more “normal” content, enjoy this short mini-sode written as an entry to a contest sponsored by RODE Microphones, about comic book characters who use “Doctor” in their superhero/villain name, and whether or not they have earned that title.