Make Mine Manga!

Join us for another episode where the boys valiantly strive - and fail - to stay on topic. The topic: Iron Man “Armor Wars” and Ms. Marvel… mutant? The tangents? Hololive, the Flash’s Rogue’s Gallery, and Whoopie cushions. The usual.

The boys get back to that far, far away galaxy for another crack at Marvel’s Star Wars. First, we check in with that lovable scamp Dr. Aphra to see where her adventures have gone. Then, we tackle an unconventional (manga) adaptation of… possibly the greatest sequel ever? It’s The Empire Strikes Back, and boy does the anime aesthetic add… something.

A bit late this week, but this discussion is worth it. We cover all things Sins of Sinister, including: The extreme stylishness of Sinister himself The horror of a teleporting baby The return of the gun fired in the first act How to make cool characters by copying other cool characters All this, plus a spider attack and more!

An odd double-feature this week, covering issues of Mockingbird and Hulk. What do the characters have in common? How about deep psychological themes? Folks are into that sort of introspective storytelling nowadays, right?

This week, it’s the Merc with the Mouth facing off against America’s Founding Fathers (and more) in Dead Presidents - a story which feels maybe more timely now than it did when published in… oh. Oh dear. How old we all are now. Let’s try to recapture some of that fleeting youth by also visiting a new spin on a classic character. Can Rise of Ultraman help us feel young again?

For decades, scholars have wondered about Darkhawk. Who is he? Are his books any good? Can he introduce me to Wolverine? How good, exactly, was the Kyle Higgins-penned miniseries from a few years back. We aim to resolve these disputes today. Also: dads. What are they? Is Reed Richards a good one? Why not, exactly? Fantastic Four: Life Story paints a compelling picture of Marvel’s first family that...

After a couple of real bummer weeks, the boys tackle some stories guaranteed to lighten hearts and tickle sides: A series of delightful super heists starring Marvel’s own Catwoma… I mean, Black Cat! A reality (and fourth-wall) shattering adventure featuring everyone’s favorite anthropomorphic animal sendup of an established big-name superhero, Spider-Ham!

The X-Men are known for fun, world- and universe-hopping adventures with incredible dialogue and deep, interpersonal relationships. They are also known for being… just REALLY heavy. We’re here to talk about a couple of stories from the latter category, so… get ready for some bummers, I guess. Theyre good stories, though: God Loves, Man Kills, and Worst X-Man Ever.

Rumors spread about the return of the Ultimates universe… but how did it begin in the first place? Well, with Spider-Man, but we’re not reading that one this time. Join us for a look at the early days of Ultimate Marvel Classic (TM) with Ultimate Iron Man and Ultimate Fantastic Four!

Personal obligations again keep the boys apart, but never fear! John is here, and he brought his sisters Erin, Christina, and Lauren along for a very fun pub quiz. Does watching the movie give you enough information to pass the book report? Let’s find out!

Whenever we need some easy reading, we remind ourselves that comics are a serialized medium and look for single issue stories. Are any of these stories (about Cloak and Dagger, Spider-Man, and Daredevil) buried treasures! Yes! But which one?

What better way to pass your post-holiday food coma than by listening to a couple of knowledgeable blokes discuss the life and death of the most important literary figure in history? Comics history, that is. And the assertion is that Wolverine is the most important. Discuss.

Planet Hulk is empirically one of the best Marvel comics ever made… but what about the stories that came next? The boys tackle World War Hulk and Banner’s vengeful rampage. Then we turn our attention to Hulk’s companions in Aftersmash: Warbound, and find ourselves surprisingly moved by the relationship between a couple of rocky bros.

This year, we’re thankful for… comics! But are we thankful for THESE comics? Give the episode a listen and find out what we thought of Photon and Love Unlimited featuring Ms. Marvel and Red Dagger.

As long as it’s still seasonally appropriate to watch Over the Garden Wall, it’s still seasonally appropriate to have a Halloween episode. Our annual return to Marvel Zombies brought some surprises in the form of Marvel Zombies 5, and our nostalgia buttons were definitely pressed when we read the RL Stine-penned Man-Thing. Did we actually like the stories? Listen to the episode and find out!

Once again, the demands of the real world have preempted out usual schedule, but never fear! John is here to reminisce about a series of short stories he holds in high regard: the frequent Marvel collaborations between Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.

Legacy superheroes often star in compelling stories. How do the children of Wolverine fare in Orphans of X? Plus, the boys take a look at the future past (or is the the past future) of a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars: Legacy. Now a Legends title!

The Masters of Evil may take center stage on this week’s discussion of Avengers: Under Siege and Thunderbolts, but you won’t believe how much Burn Notice we can manage to talk about at the same time.

The real world has been a beast lately, so the boys are taking a week off from the grind of… reading… comics. To help pass the time, though, Stephen is here with three recommendations for favorite comics books. That’s “books about comics,” not “comic books.” Here’s a good opportunity to practice those language comprehension skills that may have been left fallow for a while!

Personal drama is getting in the way of getting an episode out on time, but hopefully a surprise drop helps your hump day along! We’re continuing our read through two fantastic Dan Slott runs: Silver Surfer and Superior Spider-Man. Grab your trades and follow along!

Episode is a bit late this week, but we think it’ll be worth the wait. The boys take a look at the career of the late, great John Romita Sr. through some of the amazing comics he left behind. We always love the chance to flex our art critic muscles, and we enjoyed seeing the way JRSR influenced the industry. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

The High Evolutionary - star of the big screen and of this week’s episode, where the boys take a look at 1989’s Evolutionary War saga. The landscape of Marvel events looks dramatically different now from 25-ish years ago. How well does this event hold up?

New babies mean the boys are taking a break this week, but that didn’t stop Aldo from doing a deep dive into the career of one of our favorite art teams: the incomparable Gurihiru!

The comics Star Wars universe keeps getting bigger, and we continue to poke around out there with another installment of the Doctor Aphra series! Plus, the tendrils of Marvel/Disney have been grabbing different properties for years. We take a look at a more obscure offering in Mystic, an old Crossgen property with a fresh coat of paint.

IT’s JEFF!!! …no, seriously. It’s just Jeff. We did a whole episode about Jeff the land shark and the Infinity Comic dedicated to his adorable antics. If we had the chance, we’d do it again.