Let Me Know How It Is

With San Diego Comic-Con going virtual for 2020, we thought it would be fun to do a reaction show for all the exciting news, and announcements that came out of Comic-Con at Home. Come have a seat and join the party as the panel sits back and surfs the net for anything and everything from this year's San Diego Comic-Con aka Comic-Con@Home.

In the world of superhero storytelling, the villain is crucially important. While providing the hero with something to fight against they also offer a countering point-of-view to contrast against the good-natured purity of the hero. Over the years though, audiences have gotten a glimpse into the mindset of the bad guy as villains' motivations and philosophies have been explored. In some cases the...

One of the most exciting things for comics fans is seeing their favorite characters come to life on the big or small screen. From time to time however, fans are sometimes treated to a version of the character that doesn't resemble their comic book counterparts. That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending. Sometimes a change can be a welcome addition and can add a new dimension to their perso...

All good things must come to an end, but do they have to come to an end so soon?  The comic industry is full of stories of a fan-favorite series coming to an abrupt end, for a multitude of reasons. You can't please everyone, but what if you could bring back your favorite defunct comic series for just one more issue? Perhaps you want to get some closure you feel you might not have gotten before. Or...

Timely. Atlas. These are some of the names for the comic book company that would one day eventually become known as Marvel Comics: home to such beloved characters as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, and the X-Men. It was with the creation of Fantastic Four that creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby laid the foundation for the Marvel Universe, and still decades later, af...

In 1938 Action Comics #1 debuted on comic stands and introduced the world to Superman. It was on that day, in a sense, that the DC Universe was born. The same universe that would become home to later creations like Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern and many others. Over the course of 82 years, readers have been enthralled by the silver age, the inclusion of the Charlton library of cha...

Now, audiences can find any number of superhero movies released per year, but before their relatively recent boom in theatres, superhero movies were a rare occurrence. Often, a sort of quasi-superhero movie would come around, but instead of showcasing a popular comic book property they would focus on characters that originated in pulp magazines or newspaper comic strips. That's exactly the climate...

That is the question. There are many ways to categorize types of storytelling, but one way is serialized versus episodic. One strings together multiple installments to tell a larger tale where the other utilizes a single installment to tell a single story, sometimes called a one and done.  Both can create for an  immensely satisfying experience but both also have advantages and disadvantages and o...

Disco. Westerns. There are many examples of things that were once popular that have since died out. The question is, are we in the middle of one of those scenarios as we speak? Thanks to their incredible success at the box-office, today superheroes are as popular as they have ever been. Whether its kids or adults, women or men, everyone seems to enjoy stories of a mild-mannered somebody learning t...

How many times have you read a comic or watched a show and encountered something that made you think, ”this is such a great idea, why don’t they do more with this?" What properties exist out there that could be huge if only given the opportunity? Every fanboy and fangirl has their list of movies or shows they would like to see made about some property they love that just can’t seem to make the jum...

Darwyn Cooke is an Eisner and Harvey award winning comic creator. Probably best known for his seminal 2006 love letter to the DC silver age The New Frontier, his resume as both a writer and an artist consists also of memorable tales on a who’s who of classic characters in the industry such as Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Jonah Hex, The Spirit, and an enduring stint on Catwoman where he introduced...

Superheroes are not just found in comics, they're in all of our media these days. They are in the movies, on tv, and in animation. But, sometimes we forget that before they came to be done so superbly well there, they could be found in the video game arcades and home consoles of yore. The panel takes a stroll down memory lane as they look back at their favorite superhero video games.

All good stories have a beginning, middle, and an end, but sometimes there's more after the screen turns black and the lights come up. What happens after the good guy rides off into the sunset? What happens after the couple says I do? Hence Movie Sequels. A chance for the audience to get to see our favorite characters again and watch them develop and grow while having new adventures. For this epis...

Darth Vader is [CLASSIFIED]! Rosebud is [REDACTED]? Spoilers are all over the place and you can accidentally stumble upon one anywhere. For this episode, the panel discusses Spoiler Etiquette, and how we can make endings safe for everyone who still likes to be surprised.

Tommy issued the challenge. He would choose five episodes of Justice League Action for Zack to watch and in return he would watch five episodes of Ducktales from Zack's choosing.  The episodes were selected, the entire panel has viewed them, and now it's time to see who has come around to becoming a fan of the other show.

Saved by the Bell was a mega popular teen comedy show that ran for four seasons on NBC in the 90s. The show followed Zack, Kelly, Jessie, Slater, Lisa and of course Screech as they navigated love, relationships, teachers, parents, and homework. The characters were all modeled off of teen archetypes and were brought to life by incredibly charismatic performers. A fun, wholesome show that undeniably...

Very few concepts in comics have been as revolutionary as the introduction of the teenage superhero. Their introduction has opened the door to many new creative opportunities for tension and drama. On the cusp of a marvel event focusing on their stable of young heroes, the panel unpacks the idea of the teenage hero to try and understand just what makes it so darn successful.

Creating something that maintains its relevance for 80 years is a remarkable achievement, and this year three enduring characters will reach that milestone. The Joker, Catwoman, and Robin: three characters that have pierced the zeitgeist of the pop culture outside of comics and three characters deeply important to the world of Batman -- but which of these three is the most important? The panel tri...

The exciting conclusion of Animation Madness is here! The panel thought it would be fun to introduce their own style of March Madness with a tournament to crown their favorite cartoon series of all time. We started with 64 and now we've made it down to the Elite 8! Tune in to part three to find out which show gets crowned the winner! Be sure to listen to Part One and Part Two first, if you haven't...

Animation Madness Continues! The panel thought it would be fun to introduce their own style of March Madness this year with a tournament to crown their favorite animated show of all time. What started as 64 great cartoons has now been painfully whittled down to 32. This is Part Two (of three) and showcases The Round of 32 followed by the Sweet 16!  Listen and find out which of your favorites survi...

The panel thought it would be fun to introduce their own style of March Madness this year with a tournament to crown their favorite animated show of all time. The panel will match up 64 of the best cartoon series out there as they comb through each matchup until only one victor is left standing.  This is Part One (of three) and showcases all of the first round matchups.

The Comic Cover: The very first thing we see on the shelves. So often it can be the deciding factor in whether we pick up that issue or not. But what is it about them that pulls us in? What is it that entices us, excites us, turns us off, or makes us not notice it in the first place? The panel goes in deep discussing the role of the comic book cover in the past and present.  To see a gallery of ma...

J.M. DeMatteis has had an extensive career as a writer in comics, tv, and animation. Best known for his legendary run on Justice League International with collaborators Keith Giffen and Kevin Maguire, as well as the seminal Spider-Man story Kraven’s Last Hunt with Mike Zeck. We talk to him about some of his latest, exciting animation projects including the Warner Brothers produced Animated Film Su...

What defines a hero? Is it their power set? Is it their origin story? One can argue that the people that they surround themselves with play an important part. The panel takes a look at supporting casts and why they are so essential to fleshing out the world of a hero.

The advent of the trade paperback or graphic novel collection created a huge shift in the comic business.  It was an easier way to attract new readers through these easily packaged collected editions rather than overwhelm them with the daunting numbering system of individual issues. But has the graphic novel collection affected the comic business in more ways than just sales?  The panel examines t...