X Is For Comics: An X-Men Podcast

It all began with X-Men way back in 2000 and stretched to New Mutants in 2020 before finding a new life in 2024 with Deadpool & Wolverine: of course we’re talking Foxverse Marvel X-Men films! X-Men, X2, X-Men The Last Stand, Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, Logan, Deadpool, Deadpool 2, New Mutants, Legion, Gifted – ITS ALL HERE! Nico, TK, Kevo, and special guest Tori weigh in on the franchise –...

It’s the Action Pack back again with another exciting twofer. Both Marvel and DC are in major refocusing places, where everything from what a crossover is what a single issue truly represents is up for debate and the two companies are examining multiple avenues – which leads to some expected and then unexpected expected places. From The Ashes FINALLY begins – this was a slow burn for sure. The Act...

X-Men ‘97 has stirred up the best of 90s comics nostalgia for so many of us – and that brings the Action Pack to a favorite topic – the legendary Marvel vs DC match-up from the 1990s! The series ran 4 issues, led to a new line of comics and countless new universes fans would all but never see again. Join the team as they look at the matchups, the winners, and the ones we feel may have happened if...

It’s another killer ep bringing together two great or noteable issues from the Big Two by your two fav comics gaybros - Nico & TK! First off, Nico’s mic did a thing – sorry for the weird audio. But the bigger thing? This is what happens when you let the books guide you – instead of the original plan of discussing Batman with #150 and discussing Wolverine: Deep Cut, the team read and vibed, and the...

It seemed impossible, then like a dream – Disney+ brought X-Men: The Animated Series back! And then it was a mature, adult, considered, thoughtful experiment that sometimes missed the mark completely - BUT far more often, accomplished what seemed like the impossible: capture the spirit of the best of the X-Men. And now, after the three-part finale, “Tolerance Is Extinction,” the Action Pack examin...

Comics LOVE magical girls – and Marvel & DC are NO different. In one corner, Illyana is recovering from the loss of Krakoa and the great age of mutants while fighting against the dark age of vampires in the crossover highlight (for most of the team) of this summer’s blood-and-money-sucking event X-Men: Blood Hunt - Magik #1. Then, journey to DC with Nico for more of the exciting Reducation of TK H...

It’s the penultimate episode of X-Men ‘97 before we go into the three part finale! Or was this maybe the first episode of a four part finale? Heroes are tested and villains revealed. Plus if you recognized the references from Grant Morrison’s New X-Men in X-Men ‘97’s destruction of Genosha and wondered where the villain got to, we found Cassandra Nova! She’s in Deadpool & Wolverine. We’ll talk abo...

What do you do when a long-running comic universe ends and years later, fans long for it? Revisit. Return. Resurrect. And so often, these can be cash grabs. But in these two cases, Ultimate Spider-Man and John Constantine: Hellblazer, the attempt to carry on these legacies is full of nuance, informed by years of storytelling from predecessors, contemporaries, and bold ideasmiths. Join Nico, TK, an...

X-Men ‘97 continues its streak of taking on the big X-comics storylines, this time rounding out its adaptation of the iconic Storm story Lifedeath with some choice re-workings of a few early 90’s issues of Uncanny X-Men. While, sadly, we didn’t get any Swedish europop added to the soundtrack this time around, there were still some excellent cameos, and even another magical girl transformation. As...

It’s a two-for-two-with-an-extra-two! Nico & TK, with help from Kevo, talk about X-Men: Heir Of The Apocalypse before turning their attention a major Marvel initiative for 2024: The Giant-Size Line. For a Giant-Size issue, the guys need a Giant-Size Guest-Star, and there’s no bigger XI4P DD GS for GSDD on XI4P than Tori! The team discusses ALL of Saladin Ahmed’s & Erica Schultz’s Daredevils runs b...

The X-Men are good at fighting and winning and fashion and reboots – but also sex. The X-Men are real real good at sexy sexy times. And when it comes – ugh, came – to the Krakoan era, the X-Men celebrated the idea of romance, sex, and beginning new relationships like never before. The liaisons ranged from the boring and predictable (Scott & Jean) to the exciting (Scott & Jean…& Logan?) to the crin...

It’s hard saying goodbye to five years of storytelling we all became so attached to but somehow, the era that started our modern coverage has come to an end, and now Nico & TK must say goodbye. X-Men #700 or #35 or whatever isn’t really the goodbye the team hoped for and leads to a twisting, complex discussion with a lot of complicated feelings and a lot of questions. Then, with the new Marvel/DC...

X-Men ‘97 is taking big swings, big chances, and adapting some big stories. This week featured part Hellfire Gala, part Krakoa/Genosha, part E Is For Extinction genocide event, and then a huge helping of new, wild ideas to challenge the status quo of the X-Men. Also, Ace Of Base? But beyond these core elements, there’s a ton of crazy cameos, some shocking character deaths, and over all, a few too...

Nico & TK continue their examination of Marvel & DC with the end of one mini and the beginning of another. The X-Men’s Krakoan era comes to an at times awkward, but very well-intentioned finale with Rise Of The Powers Of X #5, seeing Jean rise up against the dark specter of Mister Sinister, marching the mutants towards their From The Ashes reboot. Then, Nico takes TK somewhere he’s never been – BA...

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve checked in with the end of the Krakoan Era. We’ll see if time and a little distance has given any new perspective as we check out the latest issues of X-Men, Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Power of X. And of course it’s Wednesday so we have to talk about this week’s X-Men ‘97! All this and more on an all new X Is For Show!  X Is For Show is your premiere...

Nico & TK tackle the end of Fall Of The House Of X & Alan Scott: Green Lantern, but it’s really just beginning. The team discusses big X-News before driving fullsteam ahead on the final installment of Gerry Duggan’s regular storytelling on X-Men as the Krakoan era continues to march towards its fiery end. From there, move from the fires of the Phoenix to the Emerald and Crimson Flames at DC as the...

With the explosive success of X-Men ‘97, the eager anticipation of Marvel Rivals and Marvel 1943, and the insane hype for Deadpool & Wolverine, Marvel seems to be entering a new era of their media. We’ll be getting into the third episode of X-Men ‘97, trailers, rumors and news as we look at the expanding future of Marvel Entertainment. All this and more on an all new X Is For Show!  X Is For Show...

Krakoa inches closer to its end as Lantern Lore continues to evolve! The Action Pack expand their coverage to include both sides of the Big Two with Pull List Quick Takes, where your two favorite comic geeks, Nico & TK, their faithful (and patient) producer Kevo plus guests break down their top pick going into their pull list each week, as Nico helps grow the show and its cast to include to the DC...

X-Men ‘97 is live! The follow-up to many millennial X-Fans’ favorite Saturday morning cartoon - and the first X-Men production by Marvel Studios to fully include mutants - is here and we’re stoked to talk about it! Plus we’ll take some time to look at the main characters of X-Men ‘97 and compare them to their comic counterparts. Join the team for the first two episodes of the new series and more o...

Echo finally has her own show! It’s been a wild ride since the debut of Maya Lopez in 2021’s Hawkeye series. Between rumors of rewrites (true), reshoots (true), and problems with quality (blatantly untrue), the series dropped the full five episode season in early 2024 on Disney+ & Hulu. So who is Echo and what is she doing in the MCU? We breakdown her origins in the comics and TV show, that way-to...

The Marvel Universe is relaunching and launching in an endless cycle of events, miniseries, and new directions – and this week is no different. Nico, TK, & Kevo take a look at the much-awaited and very-hyped Avengers: Twilight #1, before finding themselves in the familiar territory of the Rise and Fall of House and Powers of X with a new Cable book featuring old Cables by a classic writer! Then, c...

This week we’ve got two big issues out with Rise of the Powers of X and Ultimate Spider-Man. We’ll discuss these in the contexts of two big stories that preceded them: House of X & Power of X (recently re-released in chronological order) and Ultimate Invasion. Marvel’s making some big leaps to get to a new status quo. Can we learn anything new about what we’ve already seen in HoXPoX & the Ultimate...

It’s 2024, a Brand New Year, and the Marvel Universe is ready! Check out Marvel’s solicits for March, featuring the X-Men’s continued destruction in new debuts with Fall Of The House Of X, Rise Of The Powers Of X, X-Men Forever before finding the Spidey spring launches in Web Of Spider-Man & The Spectacular Spider-Men! It wouldn’t be the MU with the Avengers who have traded in their eponymous titl...

The Fall of X has finally concluded, but was it with a whimper or a bang? We got a huge stack of mini-series featuring phenomenal creators writing about some of our favorite characters, but did they fall into the same frustrating miasma of limited series that prevent the readers from getting invested? Meanwhile, some of the most beloved on-goings of the Krakoan Era were brought to an end. Will fan...

The Spider-Man event of the season is upon us with Gang War, and along with his endless carousel of baggage, Peter Parker’s brought along some friends, including Miles Morales, Jessica Drew, Luke Cage, even Cloak & Dagger! As the many super-villainous gangs of New York City fight for territory, Webhead and his cohorts try to keep civilians safe and unravel the web of machinations these villainous...