Mutant Menace

Oh boy are we covering some all-timers in this episode, folks! We're back with the X-Men in their single-issue-story era, which includes Claremont and Barry Windsor-Smith's terrific follow up to Lifedeath, and the iconic Trial of Magneto! And you'd better believe we're talking a lot! Tune in! TOPICS DISCUSSED: Emptying Claremont’s notebook. A Canadian family. X-Men murder mystery. Advanced Genetic...

Join us on our journey back up North, folks, as we say good riddance to John Byrne, and good god what have we done to Bill Mantlo! Alpha Flight reaches some real high and real low points in this arc, and you'd better believe we're gonna tear it all apart! Plus, the Hulk shows up! Tune in! TOPICS DISCUSSED: John Byrne’s in the news. Pokopia. Secret War. The Hero’s Journey. Walter Langkowski the dip...

You may, occasionally, think to say to yourself, "What is this podcast? Just two grown men reading comic books for teenagers?" WRONG. We've got RANGE. In THIS episode, we read a bunch of comic books for CHILDREN! The X-Men meet the newest little super-team on the block, the POWER PACK. We get introduced to the writing of Louise Simonson through four little dorks who Pat can't keep straight in his...

ISSUES: X-Men and Alpha Flight #1 & 2,New Mutants Special Edition #1, X-Men Giant-Sized Annual #9 With everything going on these days, wouldn't you like to take a trip to Asgard and party with gods? Or bring Asgard to earth?? What would you be willing to give up? Find out what the X-Men, New Mutants, and Alpha Flight are and aren't willing to in this really rad crossover story! Plus, a bunch o...

This week we return to the New Mutants, and boy are we glad we did! This story is stuffed with twists and turns so crazy we can't even tell you about em in the description! Plus we get really mad about some editorial choices, which is always a good time. Tune in! TOPICS DISCUSSED: Send us your names. X-Men video games. “Bagel.” Cyclops at Pride. The ups and downs of James Idiot. I guess they were...

In this super-sized episode, the boys recap 5+ ears of Dazzler, including her pre-appearance history, her graphic novel, and her love story with The Beast! Come learn all about the origins of the Disco Dazzler and her brushes with real world and Marvel Comics fame. Topics Discussed: Boogie these suckers out. Why roller skates? Spider-Man! The X-Men! THE BLAZING LORDS weren't invited to the dance....

This girl is on fire! That's right, folks, tune in to hear two sweet goofballs work their way through the 616 introduction of FIRESTAR, years after being created by a licensing issue! It's deeper and more complex than you'd expect for a comic origin of a Saturday morning cartoon character. Tune in, it's a good one! TOPICS DISCUSSED: Recording under a desk. Firestar! How many grapes are in a bunch?...

This one is WILD! Special guest Matt's Son Toby joins us to follow the X-Men through a couple of their most bizarre side quests to date; one wholesome, one not so much! I promise, you aren't really prepared for either. You gotta listen to understand! Tune in! SPECIAL FREE SURPRISE FOR LISTENERS: we have digitized, for the first time (to the best of our knowledge), The X-Men at the State Fair of Te...

Tune in this week, folks; the New Mutants are fun again! Join us as the gang tackles a severe psychic threat, Xavier reckons just a little with his past, and Bill Sienkiewicz cements his legendary status. Plus, a couple of goofy adventures with Spider-Man! Issues: New Mutants #26-28; Marvel Team-Up #149 & #150 TOPICS DISCUSSED: Matt won’t be home. Random number generator. Ti West’s X-Men trilo...

Buckle up, listeners, because these issues get weird! Join us as we join the X-Men in medieval Manhattan, campfires, adjacent properties, and even fairytale outer space! We've got bizarre villains, dragons, aliens, and hacky-sacks! Tune in! Topics Discussed: Rogue is Green. Wilfred Brimley argues for mutant rights. Xavier/Caliban. Warlock looks like Peter Parker. "Ensorcelment". We wouldn't know i...

Alpha Flight continues its hot streak on this episode, covering everything from time travel to haunted houses to old Fantastic Four villains. It's funny, it's dark, and it's an open book on the weird thoughts of John Byrne! Join us as we tour Canada in this 4th installment of our Alpha Flight series! TOPICS DISCUSSED: Marvel 616 museums. “I was a little bit of a rapscallion.” Grapes vs eggs. “You...

The Bunkies are BACK, buddies!! Along with our favorite least favorite super-villain THE LIVING PHARAOH/MONOLITH! Matt and Pat read this graphic novel that has very little to do with the X-Men and we have a ton of fun absolutely savaging it. Enjoy! Topics Discussed: Crazy Abdol. Getting suspended for being dumb. All humans are evil. Rutting males. All humans are good. "Let the nice men kill the wo...

Hey, have you noticed anything strange about Bobby and Rahne lately? Like how they keep staring off at the Holy Ghost Church with a haunted look in their eyes? Or how they keep writing fairy tales and attacking Colossus? Well, it's time for Matt and Pat to dive into this mystery and figure out what the heck is goin' on! And we think it might involve a racially insensitive superhero duo created by...

If you like Storm, folks, then tune the heck in to this one! We delve deep into the identity of Ororo Munroe through an incredible, character-driven run, including Chris Claremont & Barry Windsor-Smith's iconic LIFEDEATH! Plus Selene, the Hellfire Club, Rachel Summers, and even some ROM Spaceknight-adjacent stuff!  Topics Discussed: ROM Spaceknight. Drowning survey. Egg. We’re two guys wi...

There comes a time in every little girl's life where she must shed the follies of youth and grow into a super-cool secret ninja assassin mutant with her big hairy friend Wolverine. And this, for Kitty Pryde, is that time.  Matt and Pat dig into the 6-issue miniseries KITTY PRYDE AND WOLVERINE from 1984 and are pretty damn stoked about it. Topics Discussed: Family-owned banks. A sumo wrestler...

We're flying back up north this week, and visiting our favorite Canadian Super Team, Alpha Flight! But it's not all fun and games, as we work through pain, loss, and a pile of scrambled eggs. This is where Alpha Flight realllly gets good, so tune in! TOPICS DISCUSSED: Pee-wee Herman. John Byrne, fashionista. Bing-bonging Namor. Ursula K Leguin. Solemn, respectful silence, except for the screeching...

Bill Sienkiewicz arrives on the New Mutants to deliver us the absolutely fantastic Demon Bear Saga and the super fun arrival of Warlock and Doug to the book! It's so much fun, we had to bring along a guest to enjoy it with us.  So Matt and Pat welcome Stephen Hesson from the Batting Around podcast to dive into it with us. We talk about X-Men: Evolution, Baseball, Marvel Movies, and then rave...

We're finally back to the regular ol' X-Men, and boy oh boy folks, did our patience ever pay off! Join us as we tackle some truly top-tier X-Men issues and start setting things back on course in the Marvel Universe. Plus, two (count em! two!) appearances from Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine! Tune in! Topics Discussed: Professor X fanfic. Pilk. Basketball and improv. Is Astro Boy real? Sunfi...

Here it is, folks. The Big One. The Event to End* All Events (*start). It's the Toy Company-mandated Jim Stupid-penned Super-Hero Epic SECRET WARS! And, of course, the X-Men are in it. Or something approximating the X-Men. Matt and Pat struggle their way through this very long saga and have a lot more fun discussing it than reading it.  Issues: Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars (1984) #1-12 Top...

Oh boy, folks - good episode, bad subject matter! The X-Men visit the Microverse, the Micronauts visit the Macroverse, and Kitty gets punched square in the face! Join us as we tackle what might be the worst run of X-comics so far, and as we spit on the graves of the Micronauts! ***CONTENT WARNING*** for discussion of sexual abuse, manipulation, and grooming from 1:25:00-1:30:00 Topics Discussed: T...

ALPHA FLIGHT IS BACK! And we get a bunch of solo adventures until the team comes together and IMMEDIATELY comes apart. This is a wild ride, folks. Join Matt and Pat on a trip to Canada with our favorite incredibly bad super-hero team. Topics Discussed: DEADLY EARNEST. Homosexual implications. "Why are you mushing my face?" The smartest man in the mall. Bashing through a window... sneakily. NEMESIS...

What if there was another school for mutants? Well, there is! You'd know if you've been paying attention. But we're not holding that against you - instead, we're diving deep into what's going on at the Massachusetts Academy, and the weird team of fighting mutants that they've put together. Plus, more Doug Ramsey! Tune in! Topics Discussed: 30 minutes of emails. More about Pilk. Jeremy Bear and Jer...

This week, we're not hanging out with the X-Men, we're hanging out in Hell with a little girl! Colossus's little sister, to be clear. Illyana Nikolievna Rasputin, who spent an entire 7 years of her life in Limbo, consort to a Demon-Lord, surrounded by dead or corrupted versions of the X-Men we know. The time has come to learn what happened between those 2 panels in X-Men #160 in the MAGIK: STORM A...

Issues: Uncanny X-Men #177-179,  Moon Knight #35, & Marvel Fanfare #24 Happy February, folks! Bundle up with us as we dive back into the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants...gets away with it? We worry as every X-Man seems to die more than once, and Kitty marries a Morlock?! Oh yeah, and we swing by Moon Knight, the ballet, and the Avengers Mansion, too.  Topics discussed: A l...

For an issue this big, and a crossover this wild, our ONLY option was to bring in a guest who is nerdier (and cooler) than us: Ernie, the BLERD WITHOUT FEAR. We have a goddamn blast discussing the weirdness that is The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans! Darkseid and Dark Phoenix? What's next, Dark Seidnix? Topics Discussed: "You only love me for my psi-con wave." Spatial Geometry Brain. Kitty...