If you don't know who Matt Fraction and Brian Michael Bendis are, you probably weren't reading Marvel comics in the first decade of the 21st century, because they pretty much wrote all of the best ones. Two hundred thank-yous to Brian for making his second appearance on the pod, and to Matt for making his fifth (!!) for this milestone occasion!

For an additional 45 minutes of bonus content — including the 12th part of the Avengers/Defenders War, plus our conversations about the evolution of storytelling, the 1973 box office, MacGuffin quests, onomatopoeia, how to encourage an artist, Harrison Ford, the sexiness of Namor, and Kurt Russell's grudge against Jim Bouton — support us at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth. Subscribers at the $4/month level get instant access to our bonus feed of content that contains nearly 90 extended and exclusive episodes — with more being added every week!

Stories Covered in this Episode: 

"Below Us the Battle!" - Avengers #115, written by Steve Englehart, art by Bob Brown and Mike Esposito, letters by Jean Izzo, colors by Stan Goldberg, ©1973 Marvel Comics

"... If Atlantis Should Fall!" - Defenders #8, written by Steve Englehart, art by Sal Buscema and Frank McLaughlin, letters by Charlotte Jetter, colors by Petra Goldberg, ©1973 Marvel Comics

"Betrayal!" - Avengers #116, written by Steve Englehart, art by Bob Brown and Mike Esposito, letters by John Costanza, colors by Petra Goldberg, ©1973 Marvel Comics

"Divide... and Conquer!" - Defenders #9, written by Steve Englehart, art by Sal Buscema and Frank McLaughlin, letters by Artie Simek, colors by Petra Goldberg, ©1973 Marvel Comics

"Holocaust" - Avengers #117, written by Steve Englehart, art by Bob Brown and Mike Esposito, letters by June Braverman, colors by Petra Goldberg, ©1973 Marvel Comics

"Breakthrough!" - Defenders #10, written by Steve Englehart, art by Sal Buscema and Frank  Bolle, letters by Tom Orzechowski, colors by Petra Goldberg, ©1973 Marvel Comics

"To the Death!" - Avengers #118, written by Steve Englehart, art by Bob Brown, Mike Esposito, and Frank Giacoia, letters by Tom Orzechowski, colors by George Roussos, ©1973 Marvel Comics

"Marvel by the Month" theme v. 3.0 written and performed by Robb Milne and sung by Barb Allen. All incidental music by Robb Milne.

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Much of our historical context information comes from Wikipedia. Please join us in supporting them at wikimediafoundation.org. And many thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics, an invaluable resource for release dates and issue information.

Thank you to our fans, friends, and families for 200 episodes of support! Onto the next 200!