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

After being saved by a Borg attack, the crew of the USS Mint Condition were beamed aboard the newly re-fitted USS Enterprise D to continue their discussion of Picard Season 3. James, John, Joe and visiting guest Jack talk about the entire series but most of all the events of Episode 9 "Vox"

Show Notes Provided by: Joe Peluso  It's an early spring afternoon, and both the front and back doors to Mint Condition Comics and Baseball Cards are open to promote a wonderful flow of cross ventilation. Of course with the increased airflow comes the raucous rumblings of the boulevard traffic and a strong helping of nature's springtime dandruff--grass and tree pollen. But can even environ...

NHL Playoffs Update

Show Notes Provided by Joe Peluso   Spring has sprung, and like the swallows returning to Capistrano, the "boo-birds" have returned to ballyards all over the country! Baseball, with its legion of maniac fans, is back baby! But just because the thermometer has started to rise is no reason to think the ice has started to cool, as the swift sport of Hockey prepares for the biggest puck drop...

Beyond good, beyond evil, beyond your wildest imagination, join your host James and his team of Transformers experts Arco, John, Jack and Keith as they talk about a Transformers movie before Michael Bay was involved. They travel back to the time of 1986 to talk about a movie that was of its time and defined a generation of 80's cartoons lovers "Transformers: The Movie". They travel a...

Star Fleet's J crew of James, Joe, Josh and John hop aboard the USS Mint Condition to discuss Picard season 3 episodes 6 & 7. RED ALERT Spoilers Ahead.

Put on your party hat and grab a piece of Strawberry shortcake as we celebrate our co-host and friend Joe Peluso's birthday. We celebrate in the only way we know how by having a back of the store catch up centered of the three things that anyone who listens to this podcast knows Joe loves, Baseball, Superman and Star Trek.

"A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt, or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes."  Christopher Reeve  (Hero to millions on and off the screen.) Self-sacrifice, courage, goodness, empathy, and resolve are qualities that we all admire. Sometimes we fall short and fail to exhibit these attributes in our daily lives. But our heroes--the men and women we look...

The crew of James, Joe and Josh beam aboard the USS Mint Condition to talk about everything that happened in Picard season 3 Episode 5 "Imposters". Red Alert Spoilers Ahead!

Show Notes Provided by Joe Peluso The typical 21st century family reunion usually takes place in a banquet hall, on a picnic ground, or at one member's large back yard (swimming pool preferred). But in the 25th century such a homecoming might occur in deep space, within an eerie nebula, accompanied by an uninvited "guest" who "drives" up in the scariest war-ship this side o...

Show Notes provided by Joe Peluso "Nice outfit." Jack Napier to The Batman (1989 film) From one fashion plate to another. From unstable molecules to tight-fitting spandex, from durable leather to textured body suits, "the costume is the thing". You are not striking fear into the hearts of criminals if you are dressed as a giant canary. But if your intentions are to mete out judgment, and you...

The Superbowl is in the rearview mirror. Both the NHL and NBA are hurtling toward the playoffs. MLB is in full swing (spring?) in Florida and Arizona. The PBA season is underway. And Brooklyn--my hometown--is now a Kyrie-free zone. And Chris and Joe are back! Were they in hiding? Well, wouldn't you be after some of the sports picks they made in the previous year? Remember this no-brainer of a pick...

Meriam Webster defines the 'back door' as..." A subsidiary entrance to a building or house at its rear, normally away from the street". Not too inviting, right? Joan and John Gross, Richie Garofalo, and (that baseball maniac) Joe Peluso define the 'back door' as..." As a portal that leads to a place of familiar faces, spirited--but always--respectful conversations, and a good time to be...

Show notes provided by Joe Peluso With sincerest apologies, and endless love, to STAN LEE "Well pilgrim it is time for me to once again ascend to the top of my can-tankerous crate, amidst the mindful meandering masses trodding through the town square, and seize their attention with relevant rhapsodies! Today's tantalizing topic: The Silver Age of Marvel Comics. Riotous Rich Garofalo and Jolti...

Taking an interruption in the Star Fleet hearing about Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the crew of the U.S.S. Mint Condition heads out of space dock to explore the first episode of the new season of Picard. The crew of this mission is James, John and Josh, tackle all the easter eggs, fan theories and hopes for this "Next Generation" reunion season of Picard.

Krona,  The Spectre, and The Anti-Monitor are all personifications of ultimate power in the DC Universe. Power to create and destroy, but ultimately just rendered characters on the printed page. But now in 2023 a new, and more powerful, "presence" has emerged in the real world that will shape the new DCU. Not powdered by solar energy, or wielding a magical emerald ring, but ins...

"I win! I always win. Is there no one on this planet to even challenge me?!' (Terence Stampe as General Zod in Superman II), In pop culture, they're the characters we love to hate!  They are the --VILLAINS! So bring on the *#%$&* bad guys!! Clad in cloaks, scheming to undermine the free world, and toying with forces better left to the gods, the bad guys and girls who habitually harro...

Beaming down from the bridge of the USS Stargazer, New York Times bestselling author Michael Jan Friedman once again visits that "strange new world" known as The Mint podcast. This "away mission" is filled with more morsels of info than the average replicator could produce in an episode of Next Gen. Join your hosts James and Joe, as they give Michael the center seat for an hour of lively...

Once again The NFL takes over! With back-to-back weekends of gridiron greatness America's pastime thrills, shocks, disheartens, and just plain inundates the land. But that doesn't mean that the NHL and MLB have high-tailed it to higher ground to avoid the kickoff wave. Forwards, defensemen and goalies proudly protect their permafrost perimeters as the sport barrels toward its midseason b...

In the scintillating sixties, bursting forth in a paroxysm of powerful proliferation, the imaginative minds at Marvel gave birth to a cosmic tapestry of characters, settings, and revelations that has entertained a legion of fans for nearly seven decades. Many talented individuals plied their trade at the loom of creativity, weaving stories that would become the very fabric of T...

Gathered together from the four corners of the galaxy are assembled the four greatest sci-fi nerds in existence! James, Adrienne, John, and Joe! Their mission: to speak candidly, to converse intelligently, and to serve all geek kind! Yes, the crew is back to speak to the fun, relevance, and entertaining merits of Seth MacFarlane's The Orville. This wonderful homage to Star Trek: The Next Generatio...

Hey, look! It's Chris and Joe with yet another sports short!? And in such a short span of time. Shorter than a typical Yankees/Red Sox game! And with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring camps around mid-February, there is little time to waste on commencing some serious sports talk. Having already tackled the NFL postseason in a previous episode, the boys are now ready for the first pitc...

On Monday, January 2nd the sports world was shaken to its core. What was to be a battle for a possible top seed in the AFC turned into a battle for life. Seconds after Damar Hamlin of The Bills sustained a "typical hit" he fell to the ground critically injured. Heroic individuals stepped decisively in to save the young man's life. And the thoughts and prayers of a nation were answered. W...

Uh! Oh! Joe's been sent to the corner again. Has he been naughty and not nice? Did he really put that caterpillar in Sister Bridget's hymn book? Is he hiding out from irate Brooklyn Nets fans? NO! He's just reading comics! Silver Age Comics! And this time he's got a buddy reading along with him--Mint legend Richie Garofalo! Join Riche and Joe for a "trippy" trip down memory lane to the s...

It's the bottom of the ninth on a steamy July evening at Yankee Stadium, The Bombers are down two, with two out, and two on. Aaron Judge strides to the plate.  A pin-striped wave of excited anticipation ripples through the crowd of 44,000. For Joe, the rest of the world is on pause. But man does not live on homers. touchdowns, and short-handed goals alone. There's a pop-culture world out...