Behind the Yellow Boxes

To celebrate the spooky season, Steph dives into the history of crime comics, their censorship, and their relation to today's true-crime fascination. Brook shares anecdotes about margarine fortunes, the inevitability of a My Favorite Murder Graphic Novel, and her rankings for worst movie adaptations ever. We're on patreon! Support us at patreon.com/yellowboxespodcast Follow us on twitter...

It's our first Patreon Request episode! Brook and Steph dive into the webcomic-turned-manga My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness and talk about its themes of queerness, mental health, and the struggle to find self-love and acceptance in a capitalist system. And they only occasionally get distracted trying to figure out if the creator of Glee is actually gay.  This episode is explicit and con...

With the release of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Shang-Chi , Steph invites Brook to walk down the annals of history to examine the role of Asian and Asian-American superheroes over the years. Other topics for consideration: a coyote pope, Kung Fu movies, and Brook having yet another excuse to gush about Cassandra Cain. This episode contains discussions about various forms of anti-Asian rac...

To belatedly recognize Suicide Squad 2021, Brook and Steph embark on an investigation of the sixty year history of the team, examining some of the books, and talking about their likes, dislikes, and absolute love for Doctor Amanda Waller, voted "best comic book war criminal" by your local podcast hosts. This week's digressions include the Nu52, our need for an episode just about Bar...

Steph wraps up the saga of how Marvel went from top of the world, to the bottom of the barrel, to the omnipresent blockbuster franchise we know today. Sidebars include the Streisand effect, how Blade saved comic book movies, and why Tom Holland has permanent job security.  We're on patreon! Support us at patreon.com/yellowboxespodcast Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , email us at yellow...

Brook and Steph talk about webcomics, and particularly Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu, a story about hockey, baking, and college life. Other topics include sports, the internet before the world-wide-web, and Steph's continuously growing collection of printed webcomics. (Steph had a technical difficulty so her audio sounds bad this week!) We're on patreon! Support us at patreon.com/yellowb...

Steph continues the story of how a comic company with a 70% market share ended up in bankruptcy court despite its owner making hundreds of millions of dollars. Brook muses about her favorite action figures, the highs and lows of local comic book stores, and how Magneto was right.  We're on patreon! Support us at patreon.com/yellowboxespodcast Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , email us a...

In preparation for Black Widow (2021), Brook takes Steph on a first: a decades long character retrospective, examining Natasha Romanov's origins, backstory, and what kind of solo books she's had over her fifty-year long tenure at Marvel. Conversations along the way include chicken and dumplings, stupid sexy Tony Stark, and that time that Natasha drove a motorcycle off the Helicarrier. We...

Steph emerges from a research spiral months in the making to try to explain the whys, the hows, and the whats of the Marvel Bankruptcy Saga. Brook has questions about how Marvel, at the peak of its popularity in the 1990s, went completely and utterly broke, and how the decisions made during those years still affect pretty much everything in comics to this day. Topics of discussion include comic st...

Brook and Steph review Marjorie Liu's  Mosntress , an award-winning independent horror fantasy comic that has a whole new perspective on both the queer experience and the fantasy genre. Also up for discussion: the importance of representation in genre fiction, how not  everything  in fantasy is always Lord of the Rings, and the importance of using cute fuzzy critters to do your world building...

Steph and Brook invite their friend Iz onto the podcast to talk about the history of zines and the queer community, and go on many a tangent along the way. These tangents include the nature of fanfiction, the US Postal Service's role in censorship, and what Ninja Turtle would be Steph's favorite. This episode contains discussions of homophobia. Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , ema...

Continuing the Pride Month series, Brook and Steph revisit one of the oldest teen-aimed queer comic books in the Big Two: Marvel's Young Avengers , and talk about what it did well, and where it falls short in hindsight. Also features: not one, but two instances of Steph singing script cues,  your regular reminder that Spider-Man sold his marriage to the devil, and a shocking revelation about...

For the first entry in their Pride Month series, Steph and Brook do a very short, very dirty rundown of the history of LGBT representation in mainstream superhero comics. Topics of note include a very detailed explanation of the origin of Batwoman and Bat-Girl, how many years Northstar had to wait before kissing his boyfriend, and Brook's grudge against Jim Shooter. This episode contains disc...

In preparation for Sweet Tooth's release on Netflix on June 4, Brook and Steph examine the first volume to see what kinds of adventures a deer-boy got up to. Topics include: a history of Vertigo Comics, Brook's love of Zoids , and Steph over-achieving when it comes to doing her homework. This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, pregnancy, and anti-indigenous racism and violen...

After eleven episodes, Brook and Steph concede defeat and finally do a proper Batman episode. And where better to start than with a Frank Miller story? Sidebars include: the first dramatic script reading of the show and strong opinions about bat-summoning sonic technology from both parties. This episode includes discussions of police brutality, sex work and violence against sex workers, and a ment...

Steph and Brook share their comic book backstories, and talk about cartoon adaptations. Featuring: valiant attempts to ignore Brook's microphone malfunctioning, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Steph's sense of foreboding over the inevitable episode about Spider-Man's copyright. Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , email us at yellowboxespodcast@gmail.com, and find our full...

The Walking Dead is an international phenomenon that reintroduced horror to comic books and kick-started a zombie craze throughout Hollywood. So of course, Brook and Steph decided to read it. Tangents include: Disney Channel Original Movies, Steph's complete and utter lack of background when it comes to zombies, and Brook's deep-seated love for Day of the Dead . Follow us on twitter @ ye...

In which Steph chooses to write an episode about Superman's sex life rather than picking a fight with a stranger on the internet, and drags Brook along for the ride. Also includes: Twilight comparisons, far too many jokes about the year 1969, and Brook's very real concern about Steph's grade in high school biology. Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , email us at yellowboxespodca...

Just in time for Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to wrap up, Brook invites Steph to read the comic which started it all, Ed Brubaker's Captain America: The Winter Soldier . Also included: a literal mic drop, Steph's Smithsonian rage, and who the hell is Bucky? Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , email us at yellowboxespodcast@gmail.com, and find our full show notes o...

Steph and Brook tackle a multi-layered story that spans over seventy years of comic book history; the tale of Superman and the KKK. Digressions include Steph betraying Brook, colorful methods of insulting white supremacists, and why you should ensure your children are properly entertained at the office in order to cut off their podcasting career. This episode contains discussions of racism and whi...

Brook and Steph are joined by special guest, Nina to provide insight about one of the most globally popular comic books that Americans have never heard of, Asterix the Gaul.  Other topics include surreal music numbers, Brook not being the comic expert for once, and butchered attempts to pronounce French names. This episode contains discussion about racism. Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , e...

Steph invites Brook to talk about one of her least favorite topics (comic book gorillas) and one of her favorite topics (real life gorillas). Also discussed, Wonder Woman's evolution gun, DC's first supervillain, and Nicholas Furry. No, we did not misspell that. This episode contains discussion of racism and animal sexuality. Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , email us at yellowboxe...

Brook and Steph talk Wonder Woman. Includes: Steph flexing about her Wonder Woman merch, Greek tragedies, and minor misuse of university resources. Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , email us at yellowboxespodcast@gmail.com, and find our full show notes over at yellowboxespodcast.blogspot.com . Feelin' Good Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution...

Steph and Brook talk about how, according to Fredrick Wertham, comic books turned them gay in this deep dive about bad research ethics, moral panics, and the inability to separate fiction from reality. This episode contains discussion of homophobia. Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , email us at yellowboxespodcast@gmail.com, and find our full show notes over at yellowboxespodcast.blogspot.com...

Brook and Steph break down the classic Marvel story, as well as delving into the environment it was published in and the story of editorial interference that changed comic history forever. This episode contains a brief discussion of anti-Black violence. Follow us on twitter @ yellowboxespod , email us at yellowboxespodcast@gmail.com, and find our full show notes over at yellowboxespodcast.blogspot...