Classic Comics Cavalcade

Amir and Jason begin their deep dive into Jack Kirby's Marvel war comics, with a look at a couple of standout stories in the Kirby War & Romance book, along with a discussion of who deserves credit between Lee and Kirby, and a discussion of the great coloring in early prime period Marvels. Geek out with us for a fun and slightly controversial 25-minute podcast episode!

Amir and Jason are still talking about love, Jack Kirby style, as they dig into four stories from the Kirby: Love and War collection and find them to be... not so great? But still kind of fascinating in what they do and don't tell.

Most fans primarily think of Jack Kirby as the co-inventor of the Marvel Universe and the genius behind classic series like the New Gods. But Kirby also created the whole genre of romance comics, in collaboration with his partner Joe Simon, and together the pair created some truly memorable stories. In today's episode, Amir and Jason look at three of those stories and are frankly amazed by how great they are. If you only know King Kirby from stuff like Fantastic Four, you know only part of the story!

Wouldja believe Jack Kirby co-created the romance genre in comics as well as some of the greatest comic book romance stories ever created? Amir and Jason dig into two more classic romance stories by the Simon & Kirby team (and some apparent collaborators) in this fascinating 24-minute podcast.

Amir and Jason were intrigued to read the romance comics of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, so they dug out their copies of the 2012 Young Romance anthology and read a couple of the stories from that volume. And the stories weren't just good - they were great! Hear the guys rave about these amazing comics and then come back next week for more fun conversation about the most suprising romance comics ever published.

Amir and Jason have had their complaints abou the first three issues of Punisher: POV  by Jim Starlin, Bernie Wrightson and Bill Wray. But they loved issue four, with its totally awesome '80s action vibee and its superlative art by Wrightson. Come hear the guys analyze why the comic deserves to be read -- even if it doesn't quite rise to the level of Batman: the Cult, the comic it sort of its a sequel to.

Amir and Jason complained about issue 2 of Punisher: POV. But with issue 3, either the comic hits its groove or Amir and Jason just get attuned to it, because the third issue is like a John Carpenter film or a Nightmare on Elm Street film, a strange, spooky, occasionally scary monster movie from the early 1990s. The guys dig into that insight and have fun enjoying this comic's odd vibe.

Despite an all-star cast of creators - the same group who created the excellent Batman: The Cult - the later series Punisher POV is very disappointing. Jason and Amir look at this comic and call out some of the places it fell short - and some of the places the creators could have improved it.

Amir and Jason really enjoyed reading Batman: the Cult, so they had to move ahead and discuss the proposed sequel to that powerful mini, Punisher P.O.V., which juxtaposes a psychological horror story with an intriguing meditation on vigilantism. Join them for a very interesting discussion.

This week, Amir and Jason wrap up their discussion of Batman: the Cult by Jim Starlin, Bernie Wrightson and Bill Wray, with a discussion of issue 4, which intends to wrap things up, but doesn't quite do the job perfectly. The guys bat around the brilliance of Wrightson's art, the superfluesness of Robin, and the small touches which might have made this final issue even more satisfying.

Join them for 27 minutes of spirited discussion!