The Secret Origins of Mint Condition: Comics, Movies, TV, Sports, Gaming and more

Every New Year begins with a list of resolutions. Hopes and dreams abound, as excitement and anticipation of a fresh start hover in the frigid January air like a chariot of wonderful dreams. And then you flash forward to October and The Mets and The Yankees get shot down in the 2022 playoffs like a World War One biplane over the English channel. But I digress. Well, your hosts James and Joe,...

Who needs Christmas With The Kranks, when you have the guys from Mint Condition willing to share their Holiday cheer? Join James, Chris, Joe, and special guest Richie, as this fab four not only regales you with their Christmas reminiscences but also instigates a time-honored holiday tradition--a feud!  A Family Feud! The boys bring the classic game show to the podcast in what can on...

When we are talking about The Fastest Man Alive there are few--if none--who can keep up with him. But perhaps one mere mortal can "run" with The Flash? Someone who channels "the creative force" to bring all Flash Fans the "runs" they love and treasure? In this latest segment of Joe's Comics Corner, join your hosts Keith and Joe as they catch up to legendary Flash scribe Geoff Johns. How do yo...

The ship's bell stoically rings a rhythmic tone that reverberates through the spacious courtroom located within the transparent aluminum and neutronium walls of Star Fleet Headquarters Seated behind the curved tribunal table are three Star Fleet officers--all active commodores in service to the Fleet. At opposing ends of this station are two prosecutorial captains and one defense co...

In this episode of the podcast the SOMC crew takes time to about the recent passing of the great Kevin Conroy, who it is agreed upon is not only the definitive voice of Batman but also the definitive Batman across all media. They talk about how his acting choices and personally history created the Batman we all love. They also talk about our favorite moments from Batman: TAS, Batman: Beyond, Justi...

In this episode, we celebrate Thanksgiving by taking time to talk about indigenous characters and creators in pop culture. We also take some time to do some thanksgiving updates, give a list of popular thanksgiving desserts and of course mention what we are thankful for. 00:00 James introduces the show but before they start talking about the topic they do some Thanksgiving updates&n...

The time-honored tradition of "breaking bread" with those you love, admire, and respect was very evident in the community where Mint Condition thrived. In this episode, as we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday we thought we would talk about food, but more importantly talk about the food around Mint Condition. Mint Condition was located on Port Washington Blvd. in Port Washington NY and it held a tr...

The clocks have moved back an hour, Fall has firmly set in, The world Series has given way to free agency frenzy, The NFL has passed the mid-season point, The NHL is picking up steam (mind the ice), and The PBA is set to roll again in 2023. Join your hosts, Chris and Joe, as they report on the above events, with candor, confidence, and clarity. MLB: "First Pitch". Anthony Rizzo resigns with The Ya...

In this episode, the SOMC crew celebrate their 100th episode by talking the troupes that the pop culture industry uses, mainly comics and TV shows, for  milestone events. Leading to a discussion about Doctor Who, Superman, Star Trek and more. Also hanging around till the end for a bonus surprise. 

The Sports Desk is littered with smartphones, tablets, laptops. and yes, even paper all bestowing upon your two hosts, Chris and Joe, the pertinent, profound, and ponderous sports news of the day. The seemingly endless stream of data on the NFL, NHL, And NBA has been carefully collected and collated by the boys into a cohesive and informative new Sports Short! They start with their scrutiny o...

Hey sports fans, Chris and Joe are back with another Secret Origins of Mint Condition Sports Short. And Holy Cow, to quote the late, great Yankees broadcaster Phil Rizzuto, it's short! Under an hour! But truth be told, it's a "fifty-minute hour" as Joe slowly, but with ever-increasing mania bares his beleaguered and bellicose soul to Chris. Mad enough to chew neutronium, Joe tries to wrap his...

In today’s episode, you once again get to learn more about your hosts but this time James and Joe put Chris in the interview chair. They ask all types of interesting questions ranging from what superhero would Chris want to baby sit his son, how he got into acting, who he would want in the foxhole with him, and was there anything at Mint that he wish he had gotten for himself.  We think you w...

In this week's episode we celebrate Halloween with the first ever Mint Condition Monster Bash. The crew of SOMC along with the King of Halloween Patrick Louie and special guest judge and pop culture professor Jack Adrien to determine who would win in a battle of monsters. Things get heated and the fans in the stadium go wild as they watch the Xenomorph fight Pennywise and Dracula vs The Wolfman. W...

In this episode, grab your pulse rifles and your flame throwers as the SOMC crew of James and Chris with special guest Patrick Louie take on the most deadly creature in the universe, the Xenomorph. That's right we are talking all things Alien and the Alien franchise, just like Bishop dissecting a Facehugger, we go through all the varied inconsistent layers that make this franchise such a huge...

It's Halloween, so naturally there are some things that go bump in the night. But what if those things are not Ghosts and Ghouls, but instead three young comic writers who have stolen away into the stygian darkness of the DC and Marvel editorial offices? They work feverishly by candlelight as a massive maelstrom rages outside. Their goal, to create the very first inter-company comic book crossover...

This week, the SOMC crew, along with guests John and Jack, enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Their next stop—The Twilight Zone. Yes, we talk about this classic series, discussing why it's still relevant today, how it impacted science fiction and TV in general, and of course we name some of our fav...

Dateline: The World of Pro Sports: Yankees/Mets, Division Champs, or Wild Card? A Judge throws out the record BOOK on the AL single-season home run record! Albert--the Einstein of hitting--smashes #500! A players union for MLB minor leaguers? Nothing minor about that hardball proposal! Big Blue continues to 'offend' their fans at the line of scrimmage! Gang Green can not get past Pop Warner's Our...

In this episode, the SOMC crew are joined by long time customer of Mint Condition Andy Shaffer. We talk about how Andy got into collecting comics, favorite characters, how he found Mint, where his comic book collection will eventually go, and we take a deep dive into current TV shows.   3:35 Andy talks about passing his comic collection to his son son Bradley. 4:45  James asks Andy...

Look up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's Superman! That's right, everyone, in this episode, we are talking all about the Man of Steel through the lens of classic TV show, The Adventures of Superman. We are joined by Mint legend, Richie Garofalo. Richie and Joe talk about how this show ignited their love of Superman, how amazing the show was for the time, and how amazing actor George...

In this episode James, Chris and Joe are joined by guest Josh Murray to talk all things, Batman. Josh bravely admits that his dislike for the Dark Knight that main comes from how movies and fandom have taken the man out of Batman and turned him into unbeatable godlike being. However, Josh was open to and eager to have a more nuanced conversation about the character from his comic book roots and ab...

Hey, sports fans, your two favorite fanatics are back with another Sports Short. Well, not that short. Hey, Chris and Joe have a lot to say about MLB & the NFL as one season draws to a close and the other commences. Of course, our protracted absence can be blamed on Joe as he has been crying in his beer watching the Yanks and the Mets go down like The Titanic and The Hindenburg. But the guys s...

In this episode, we continue our talk about The Expanse and dive into season 2. Having now grounded themselves in The Expanse universe James and Joe with Chris as their guide dig deeper into the plot, themes and characters of the series in this overview discussion of season 2. 00:00 James opens the show and turns it over to Chris to start our discussion of season 2. Chris starts by giving us an ov...

As we continue to celebrate one year of podcasting, here is a new segment "Joe's Comics Corner"  "The Secret Origins of Mint condition goes to the corner! No, not the corner bar, but to the comic book spinner rack  into the corner of the drugstore.   And what did we buy with our soda bottle deposit money? How about Amazing Spider-Man #'s 121 and 122, and Strange Tales #110.&nbs...

In this episode we continue to celebrate the one year anniversary of the podcast with us looking back on this first year of podcasting. We talk about highlights, favorite episodes and moments, tease some future guests and topics, and wrap up with a fun question that James poses to Joe and Chris. If you are enjoying the podcast, we would appreciate you taking a moment to rate and review the show ho...

In this episode we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the podcast by honoring and talking to all the owners of the store Mint Condition. Joining James and Chris are Richie Garofalo, Joan and John Gross and of course regular host of the podcast Joe Peluso. We answer questions asked by former customers and current listeners of the show Keith Tarnowski, Jack Adrien, Josh Bernhard and Arco Esposito...