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Since the advent of the Direct Market, event comics have been a staple of Marvel and DCs sales strategy. But, while some are huge successes still fondly remembered, others are mocked or completely forgotten. We go back to the start of the Event Era and look at some of the most famous and infamous to see if we can figure out what is the winning strategy.

The saying the listener asking this week’s question references used to be: “No one stays dead but Bucky, Jason Todd and Uncle Ben,” but two of those three have also returned from the grave. So, why are so many characters brought back to life after being given a “permanent” end to their story?

Following up on last episode, instead of the elemental planes for animals, plants, and other forms of life associated with colors, this time we go over the emotional forces associated with colors in the DC Universe, and how entire Corps of heroes and villains have been built around them.

While many superheroes and villains have colors in their name (Green Arrow, Scarlet Witch, Blue Beetle, etc.), in the DC Universe there are two ways that colors influence some characters powers, and vice versa. This episode, we discuss the elemental forces that are associated with a few different colors in the first of this two part look.

Although we’ve finished our blow-by-blow of the individual episodes, guest John Mulhall and I still had some thoughts on the show in general, as well as the Disney+ MCU shows overall, which I decided to include as this special “Wrap Up” episode.

We’ve reached the finale of the show, and while John and I both have our issues with it, we still find a lot to enjoy and discuss as we talk about the characters, the story, and the connections and references to the original source material in the comics!

Continuing our look into the Moon Knight show with author John Mulhall (johnmulhall.com), we get into the penultimate episode. If you’ve seen the show, you should know there are content/trigger warnings that should go along with this episode, including parental abuse, so be advised.

Continuing our look into the Moon Knight show with author John Mulhall (johnmulhall.com), we get into Episode 4. Of course, we talk about that final shot, but we also discuss everything along the way to there, which includes some storytelling issues that John has.

Continuing our look into the Moon Knight show with author John Mulhall (johnmulhall.com), we get into Episode 3. John has a few nitpicks this episode, but overall we’re both still enjoying the show, and exploring Marc and Steven’s world (and relationship)!

Continuing our look into the Moon Knight show with author John Mulhall (johnmulhall.com), we get into Episode 2, where Marc Spector gets a little more spotlight time, as well as introducing us to an original character, Layla, who turns out to be…well, spoilers abound in the show, but not in this intro!

Moon Knight is a mysterious enough character that I thought it deserved a Deep Dive, and I brought along a guest, author John Mulhall (johnmulhall.com) to discuss the ins and outs of the show, compare and contrast with its comic origins, and do some light theorizing as to where it’s headed.

Continuing the anniversary tradition, Kurt moves forward in his chronological look at Speedball and the New Warriors team. Having finished up the 75 issue Volume 1 last year, we now move on to the short lived Volume 2, focusing on how they got back together and on the new members that joined, mutant teen Bolt, and the inner city youth turned mythological champion, Aegis!

In anticipation of the upcoming Disney+ show (and the Deep Dive I’ll be doing with author John Mulhall), it’s time to take a look at the origins of Moon Knight, why some call him “Marvel’s Batman,” and most importantly what makes him completely unique.

You may have heard of Earth 1, Earth 2, and possibly even Earth 616. But, how did all these names come to be, and who decides which is which? Wouldn’t they all want to be Earth 1? That’s what listener Joel L. asks, and Kurt answers for both the Marvel and DC Universes this episode.

Following up on last episode’s discussion of board game mechanics, we move into some game mechanics and other terms that are specific to games with cards. We define some of the more common terms and mechanics, using examples from some of the more popular card games.

Resource Management, Worker Placement, Area Control. You may have heard some of these terms and others as people discuss their favorite board games. But what do they mean? Using some of the most popular games around, we discuss these terms and others to help you learn more about how many board games are played.

Continuing this recurring series on the lesser known members of the X-Men, Kurt dives into the history of the mutant team to find the lesser-known characters that deserve some additional attention. This time we focus on the retconned “second team” introduced in the “Deadly Genesis” mini-series: Vulcan, Petra, Sway, and Darwin.

For readers of fantasy, especially those with a history of role-playing “Dragonlance” is a well-known property. But, did you know that it was also available to readers of comic books? Thanks to a listener question, we go through the various incarnations of comics tied to the World of Krynn, including both adaptations and original stories.

Happy Holidays, everyone! Like last year’s episode, I thought it fitting (considering the timing) to go over some of Santa’s appearances in various comic books, this time focusing on Marvel Comics (other companies may be featured in future years), as he meets the X-Men, Spider-Man, and Howard the Duck (twice!), among other appearances. Warning: Ironically and unfortunately, this episode may not be...

Not just a list, because that would be boring. Instead, we go through the team’s history, starting with their very first appearance all the way up to the recent “Sinister War,” to find out how the various versions formed, and who was on each team. It appears we’ll be seeing them in “No Way Home” coming out soon, so this should get you caught up.

I don’t usually go for “Who Would Win” type questions, but I think this one has a more definitive answer, so we make as many direct comparisons as possible using the given evidence to find out who truly is the speediest of the speedsters.

With 10 different games in the series out, the Batman: Arkham video games have pulled from all over the history of the character for their villains. One player of the series was curious to find out if any of them were original to the game, or if they all come from the past comics somewhere, and why weren’t they used in the animated series. We discuss all that and more in this episode of Welcome to...

With Halloween just days away, it seemed like the perfect time to answer a question about the history of Horror comics. From the very first, all the way up to a current favorite, we discuss the ups and downs this particular genre has experienced, especially as it was affected by the Comics Code Authority.

A young listener caught the name of a character I mentioned briefly in Episode 85, and asked me to follow up with his history. This made me realize I had messed up in that episode, so I go over the history of the character I did name, plus dive into the backstory of the similarly named character I actually meant.

In this milestone episode, I look back to some earlier episodes, including the very first, to see what stories need updating. In addition, I talk about questions I’ve received that, while appreciated, will not be the basis for a future episode.