Xtinction Agenda

"The War and the Warrior" Written by Tom DeFalco, pencilled by Pat Olliffe, inked by Al Milgrom, coloured by Mick Rockwitz, and lettered by Michael Heisler. March 1992 "Twenty Million Light Years From Earth" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencilled by Rik Levins, inked by Danny Bulanadi, coloured by Christie Scheele, and lettered by Joe Rosen. April 1992

God this collection of stories sucks. Somehow though, because Chris, James, and James are True Professionals, they still manage to talk for nearly two hours. This is the nature of the beast that is The Sandman: Fables and Reflections . Like this podcast, it is a great yawning chasm of words that numb you into complacency. Do you wish to submit to our discourse? "I do not dance. Not even with you,...

Spoiled western rat children are run amok. A psycho has seized Santa's village. The Federal government has activated the contract. James and James are on the scene. Santa is here to clean house. And clean house he does. Christmas is back everyone. No worries. "Fentanyl. Yeah. That'll get the job done."

Deck the halls with gore and monsters, fa la la la la, lalala. 'Tis the season to be sorry, fa la la la la, lalala. Don we now our dreadful horror, fa la la la la, lalala. Christ Mass time is Junji Ito time. Your time to connect with the one you love. Tomie . The only one you love. The one who's love consumes you from the inside out. The one who's love just makes you want to cut her into pieces. D...

This December, Chris, James, and James celebrate the Mass of Christ. And what better way to celebrate the flesh and the blood than a cannibal flick? Eli Roth had a beautiful experience deep in the forest of Peru. He shows us how beautiful. We gaze into the crimson mirror of gore. We are the enemy. There is nothing we can do. "Only a freshman would speak with such insolence."

"Storm Gathering" Written by Bob Harras, pencilled by Steve Epting, inked and coloured by Tom Palmer, and lettered by Bill Oakley. "Decision in a Vacuum" Written by Len Kaminski, pencilled by Paul Ryan, inked by Bob Wiacek, coloured by Mike Rockwitz, and lettered by Michael Heisler.

Chris, James, and James sit down to a banquet of authentic Indian cuisine, including snake surprise and chilled monkey brains. The child ruler assures us that the Thugee are no more. We rest comfortably, fattened in our ignorance. All is well until an interloping grave robber sees fit to insult our hallowed palace... "Indie, I love you!"

Chris, James, and James, like a myriad of eyes winking across the desert floor, squat firmly among the blackness of sleep. We pull back the curtain of self-deception and insecurity to reveal the final drama of a forgotten land. The Cuckoo is our mistress. We obey. We give all to obey. "Um. Are you okay?"

"The Tomb of Mar-Vell" Written by Marc Gruenwald, pencilled by Greg Capullo, inked by Henry Candelario, coloured by Joe Rosas, and lettered by Janice Chiang. "Shared Space" Written by Gerard Jones, pencilled by Jeff Johnson, inked by Dan Panosian, coloured by Joe Rosas, and lettered by Pat Brosseau. March, 1992

Chris, James, and James discuss Misery . Not the book though, none of us had ever read that. In fact, of the three of us, only one soldier had ever read a Stephen King novel before. Mind you, that one soldier read, like, a lot of Stephen King novels so we felt sufficiently qualified to tackle the matter. Besides: great movie. Real classic. Who even reads nowadays anyway? Losers. "Oh Darling, it wi...

Chris and James meow me ow meowmeow meow me ow meowme ow moew Kazuo Umezz meow me owmeowmeow meow me Cat Eyed Boy Vol. 1 and 2 ow meow meowmeow Viz Media meow meow adolescent horror meow me owmeow no innocence meow me owmeow. Meow. "They got my eyes and throat!"

This episode, Chris, James, and James are enveloped in a radiant, indescribable light. Their bodies, mutated, fused together, struggle like amoebas--hungry, monstrous, internecine war stomachs. A Colour Out of Space compels them, drives them, burns them into and against one another. An Alpaca screeches its unholy misery while Tommy Chong passes the blunt. "Drink? I'm having one."

"Turn of the Sentry" Written by Roy and Dann Thomas, pencilled by Dave Ross, inked by Tim Dzon, coloured by Bob Sharen, and lettered by Joe Rosen. March, 1992

Chris, James, and James are back at it! The Sandman: Season of Mists . We look it over from stem to stern. But be warned! At the 50 minute mark or so some communist infiltrators attack the podcast--YOUR podcast--with a sonic weapon, leaving our hosts mildly irritated and apologetic. Rest assured, we've destroyed the enemy and you needn't worry about anything at all ever again. "Hell is closed."

Chris, James, and James hit the LZ running, moving straight into the ruined heart of a once vibrant but oppressed country. Tom King guides the way. Mitch Gerads makes it real. We are smitten (almost). We are troubled (completely). But at least there is progress. At least there is that. "I want a cigarette before you kill me"

"It Came From Outer Space" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencilled by Rik Levins, inked by Danny Bulanadi, coloured by Christie Scheele, and lettered by Joe Rosen. March 1992

James and James are very enthusiastic this week. Our breathless passion will give you pause. Can you trust us? Do you know, really know, where we stand? And where you stand? In Sin City ? I doubt it. I really really doubt it. "Everybody calls it Blitz"

To be powerful as a man, you must be corrupt. The truth-seeker is inept and jailed. Listen to Chris and James marvel at their hero's uncompromising purity of purpose. Ponder the meaning of his love with the innocent foreign boy. Grow concerned as they elaborate upon the strange world contained within Akimi Yoshida's.... Banana Fish ! "Of course, if he's been infected with HIV, that's a different s...

James and James are hunting snark. They look for it under the logs and in the forest of the night. But something is killing the children. And so they ask whether James Tynion IV or Werther Dell'Edera have anything to do with it. A steady drum beat wakes the dawn. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

Chris, James, and James explore yet another of the comics industry's extended reactions to the Image Revolution of the 1990s. This week: The Reign of the Supermen crossover. But only the middle part. That's right, the boring part with the lowest imaginable stakes. The part where you can have the least amount of fun. That was a good idea, right? "Toast 'im!"  

Chris, James, and James renewed their passport. The flight for Dream Country leaves anon. And although the journey may be short, our intrepid explorers vow to wander among the byways and corridors and cul de sacs of this furtive realm. There are mysteries and secrets to unearth. Open a page. Start the adventure. "A beautiful child. Most pleasant. Will I meet him?"

This week, Chris, James, and James march merrily along into a murderous multitude of serial killers and mask our faces with our mitts as the machinations of Desire unfold! That's right! We're back at it with Neil's Gaiman's The Sandman. Pierce the veil of haunted sleep with us. Dream a little dream. "Like every true citadel since time began, the Threshold is inhabited."

James and James cap off this year's Avatar August with a return to the man from the Thames Delta himself: Warren Ellis. Steampunk Sherlock Holmes? Check. Cast off ideas from Planetary ? Check. Half-baked ideas drawn from popular science websites? Check. It's a perfect storm. Get your galoshes and brew your tea. "But once you've heard the song of a spaceship, you'd never be anything but a royal nav...

Chris, James, and James continue with Avatar August. In 2014 and 2015, Alan Moore (you may have heard of him) took some time out of his busy Northampton schedule to dig deep into his ongoing concerns about global ecological and civilizational collapse. The result was Crossed +100 #1-6. We decode the lingo, unlock the keys of meaning, and otherwise pull this thing apart, showing our esteemed collea...

Chris, James, and James kick off this year's Avatar August with yet another look into the mind of Garth Ennis. Ever seen Alien ? Event Horizon ? Ever find yourself worried about Body Snatchers ? How about all three? Drop out of warp, quick! We've encountered something: Caliban . "...the implications are enormous. And simultaneously, meaningless unless we survive."