Open World Chat

Three comics geeks drooling over the Netflix Sandman series and comparing it to the comics. What's not to love? Ryan Higgins of the Comics Conspiracy store and podcast joins us.

John and Jim geek out over legendary comics writer John Ostrander who talks to us about his work, his writing process, the artists he gets into a groove with, the treatment of creators, and more more more! Don't miss this one!

Bleeding Cool Editor-in-Chief and lead film critic Kaitlyn Booth joins J&J to discussed the recently-passed 2022 San Diego Comic Con, Warner Brothers' new clear-cut business model (Batgirl, we hardly knew ye) , and other stuff too.

Musician and author Jim Infantino joins John and the other Jim to talk about his Wakeful Wanderer series and his life as a musician. We also get into some tales of his uncle, comics legend Carmine Infantino, before digging into Jim's song "The Ballad of Barry Allen." Fun stuff.

Joe Glass (Young Men in Love, The Pride) discusses his own work and career (so far) as a creator, as well as the state of queer representation in comics - the good, the bad, and the meh.

Jim is joined by Luke Thompson (A.V. Club, SuperHeroHype and more)  ostensibly to talk about the recently concluded Obi-Wan series, which they do - before the conversation goes full tilt into all things Star Wars. Big fun with perspectives that'll make you pump your fist, and some that'll make you leave the room (with even a little ThunderCats thrown in...).

Mark Card returns to look at the ways Captain America, Superman, and others have reflected, represented, and refined the meaning of patriotism over the generations. 

Okay Zelda fans, this is your show. Jim and John talk all things The Legend of Zelda with Matthew Byrd from Jim's online home, Den of Geek. We go from our favorite games to speculation on coming games, to convoluted timelines - and even that 80s cartoon.

Stuntwoman, musician, actor and all around polymath Elisabeth Carpenter talks with us about life and work as a Hollywood stunt performer including her work in genre projects such as Divergent, Captain Marvel and the Obi-Wan Disney+ series ..... where we try to get her to give us something insider-y, but she knew better than to incur the wrath of the House of Mouse. A great and truly unique episode...

Hugo-winning Author and writer of the new BOOM! comic "The Vampire Slayer" joins Jim and John to talk about the comic, the impact of Buffy 25 years later, their upcoming novel, almost-wardrobe-malfunctions at the Hugo Awards, and more. Big fun!

John and Jim are joined by International Conflict specialist Mark Card to poke, prod, pry, and dissect the Federations' legendary "General Order One" - Starfleet's "Prime Directive" barring interference in other cultures. Does it work as foreign policy? Is it portrayed consistently? How does it stack up to other international norms and rules?

Tackling the rich politics of the ongoing Krakoa era of the X-Men with Elana Levin (Graphic Policy). Jim, Elana, and John look at the Krakoan X-Men's relationship to capitalism, governance, and more in the world that Hickman built.

Carolyn Brennan, Co-Director of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier Vermont, Joins Jim and John for a discussion of Maus and other targets of book banning across the country, and how Librarians resist the pressure to censor (oh, and we ask her what games she's playing these days too).

Writer, editor, and general comics industry force-of-nature Nate Cosby (Cow Boy writer, editor of about a zillion things...) talks with Jim and John about his latest: the crowdfunded superhero character study Alter Ego.

Special video episode! John gets to talk with one of his heroes, the legendary Roy Thomas! We discuss his life in comics, antics at the legendary Rutland Vermont Halloween parade, singing at Carnegie Hall, his old band, Supersnipe, and what makes a hero super! How can you miss all that? Click on the episode link for the video, which includes rare photos of Roy from ages past!

Lacy Baugher Milas (Den of Geek, The Nerdist, SyFy Wire, and more), Jim, and John discuss Star Trek's "generations" and the way the series has changed over the decades -- and on the way we digress all over the place. Big fun.

John and Jim are joined by Weekly World News CEO and Editor-in-Chief Greg D'Alessandro on the rebirth of the revered publication and the many new projects in store for Bat Boy and more. We're joined in the introduction by last episode's guest, cartoonist Shannon Wheeler.

John and Jim have a freewheeling chat with Shannon Wheeler (God is Disappointed in You, The New Yorker) about Shannon's work, The Bible, social media, Too Much Coffee Man tattoos, and what's still funny in this world. 

John and Jim are joined by RPG company Paizo (Pathfinder, Starfinder) staffer Jenny Jarzabski (a member of the United Paizo Workers union) and freelancer Joe Blomquist to discuss the recent successful organizing campaign at the company. We discuss their efforts, along with the burgeoning organizing campaign at Image comics -- and what future efforts to organize at more "geek" companies m...

Caitlin Rosberg joins Jim and John to discuss the Dune film and the sometimes uneasy handshake between movie adaptations and their source material with a few digressions along the way, of course (who should play Alia in the next Dune movie?).

George Marston of GamesRadar+ is here to explain Non-Fungible Tokens to you. We discuss their appeal, their limitations, and their implications to artists, the comics industry, and the very nature of the art marketplace - as well as some perhaps unexpected environmental impacts...

DC Fandome has passed. What sounds good? What looked good? What looked "meh," and what's the buzz around the Milestone Initiative, the new bisexual Superman, and more.

John and Special Guest Co-host Maryscott O'Connor break out of OWC's usual paradigm for an in-depth discussion with Author, Scholar, and Diplomat Peter Galbraith. From the perspective of his own involvement in the interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, Peter shares his uniquely qualified analysis of what went wrong, and what an ethical foreign intervention should look like. (Yes, we were...

John and Liane talk with Nathan White, the District Archaeologist and Tribal Liaison, US Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District. We discuss portrayals of archaeology and archeologists in genre film, how those portrayals perpetuate stereotypes and promote marginalization of indigenous peoples, and how the actual practice or archeology over the decades has itself been responsible for these and...

Steve Benen joins us to discuss his book The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics , living with a post-policy Republican Party, and blogging. We talk about Steve's early days as a blogger and podcaster, what's changed about our politics since the Trump presidency, why there is reason for optimism... and since this is OWC, we also talk some sci fi and com...