Classic Comics Cavalcade

Jason and Amir find the fascinating subtext behind Jack Kirby's brilliant Mr. Miracle #1, including praise for the inking of Vince Colletta(!).

The Hunger Dogs is often called one of the worst comics Jack Kirby created. but Jason and Amir disagree. As they read this standalone graphic novel, they find some outstanding storytelling, some fascinating thoughts on the nature of knowledge, and a real sense of closure for many of the lead characters. Far from being bad, this is yet another exploration of Jack Kirby's rich inner life as channeled through the magnificent characters he created. We hope this 53 minute pod helps change your mind too.

Matt Wagner's Grendel Cycle is one of the longest running independent comic books in history. Eric Hoffman joins Jason to discuss Grendel Omnibus volume 3, which includes the fall of a society, a giant gun powered by bananas (!) and vampires in Vegas, among much, much more. It's an hour of smart, in-depth analysis we hope you'll enjoy!

Jason and Amir Talk New Gods: "Even Gods Must Die!" This is one of the final New Gods stories by Jack Kirby, and it's a surprisingly poignant story about aging, technology, fear of the future and anger at the past. We dig into some of the subtext of the story and see how even late period Jack Kirby is sublime.

One of the most unique projects on the Internet is Galactic Journey, a website that recreates the world of 55 years ago, with a focus on science fiction, comics and classic movies. Jason is delighted to be part of the project. Galactic Journey also has a YouTube channel, on which Gideon Marcus, the mad maven of the site, hosts friends to discuss relevant topics. A few weeks ago, Jason was lucky to join Gideon along with the brilliant Natalie Devitt and the trenchant Lorelei Marcus to discuss classic sci fi, fantasy and post apocalypse films from 1950-65, from the standpoint of someone looking back at history from 1965. It's a fun, tight and delightful hour that we hope provides some respite during these challenging times. 

We'll be back to discussing comics very soon!

"Darkseid and Sons" in New Gods #11 is yet another astonishing volume of Jack Kirby's masterwork. It deepens our knowledge of Darkseid's tragic past, explores the deep sibling rivalry between Orion and Kalibak and shows the devastating effects of his massive battles on Orion's anger. It's a way better comic than both Amir and Jason expected, and a fascinating conclusion to Kirby's original run on this epochal series.

In New Gods #10, Mantis and his army of bugs invade Earth. Thankfully Forager comes to Earth to fight back, and enlists Orion and Lightray to help him. What ensues is a breathtaking Kirbyesque battle. There's typically breathtaking Kirby work here, with a lot below the surface about class structure, the futility of man fighting gods, and the nature of heroism. Jason and Amir dig deep into this one and find yet another fascinating, breathtaking issue of Jack Kirby's masterwork.

New Gods #9 kind of lives in the shadow of the previous three issues, but "Bug!" shows Jack Kirby continuing his unparalleled vision for his comics. This issue is full of action, passion, smart storytelling, intriguing characters and some intriguing work building. In other words, it's typical Kirby! Jason and Amir bring the insights and fun in this 30-minute chat.

Matt Wagner's Grendel Cycle is one of the longest running independent comic books in history. It's about time we did a systematic reread of the series. Nick Hanover and Eric Hofffman join Jason to discuss the first several storylines, from the original black-and-white Grendel up to the much more sophisticated Comico series. It's an hour and twenty minutes of smart, in-depth analysis we hope you'll enjoy!

This week, Jason and Amir Talk New Gods #8, "The Death Wish of Terrible Turpin" and discover yet more brilliant Jack Kirby comics mastery. In a way this issue acts as a kind of summing up of Kirby's career, because it includes moments which could have appeared in Kirby's crime romance and war comics whole transcending superhero comics. We think you'll enjoy this and more insights during this 35-minute show.