Comic Belief

What's this?! Comic Belief podcasting on something the week it comes out?! No, we haven't been taken over by sinister beings from the Null Realm ... we're just enjoying DC's pandemic-time streaming experiment, since our toddler already demands that we keep streaming her favorite street in New York City full of colorful monsters!

Megan and Ben take on Wonder Woman 1984 in a SPOILER FEST of an episode! You've been warned, Believers, make sure you've seen the movie first! Then jump in with us and laugh along with the good, bad, and hilarious that we found in the movie.

Plus! How does Cheetah relate all the way back to William Moulton Marston's vision of a perfect society? What goes into making Max Lord the villain for this movie? And is Diana Prince faced with a version of Jesus's choice from the Desert Temptations? We're hiding all the answers inside a certain jet you might have heard of. Come check it out -- it won't cost you a thing!

Tired of sewers? This week we blast back to a galaxy far, far away to recap Rogue One, A Star Wars Story. We celebrate how great the movie is and where this kind of storytelling fits in the bigger Star Wars universe.

But more than that, we dive deep into how this is a story about the everyday people of the galaxy, and how they learn to make their lives matter in the face of an Empire. We talk more about what makes THIS group of oddballs so heroic ... their ability to be honest with themselves and each other. And we talk about how this shows people having faith and learning it from each other, even when they aren't the ones who can do signs and wonders.

Ready to be one with this podcast and have this podcast be with you? Go ahead and click play, Comic Believer!

Wait, who's this guest?! In an episode that smacks of nepotism, we bring on Ben's brother Peter for a ranging conversation about how different approaches to mental health can respect people's differences. And what's more different than the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?! Turns out, he knows some stuff!

You could really clean a turtle shell with all of our waxing nostalgic about a 1990's classic, and how a joke comic went from being a knockoff of a different New York superhero (can you guess who?!) to a movie with a surprising amount of depth about being different on a team, dealing with anger while growing up, and good and bad parenting.

Plus, we talk about where and how faith should show up to support people, and how there's no substitute for deep formation in a community.

So grab some pizza or pick out your favorite training gear for the dojo, and check out some Turtle Power with us!

What happens when nerds become heroes? Your hosts might be far too timid for wild adventures, but not-so with Peter Parker! Ben and Megan dive in to what changed for Stan Lee that let him crack open the Marvel universe -- and maybe comics writing itself? -- with a different kind of protagonist. Is Spidey less-super, more-hero? Is he more real than reality? Did Stan Lee so love the world that he sent for us a Spider-Man?

Swing right into this episode and find out more!

"This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Falala, la!" Happy Haunted Day, Believers! We've been spending some time feasting with the King of supernatural suspense and horror, and are happy to share our thoughts on some tales of Derry'ing-Do!

Why are we drawn to what scares us? How do you break free from a cycle of fear? What does it mean for ordinary things to become extraordinary tools to help us fight evil and build communities? And of course ... why clowns?

Here's some ear candy that you don't have to do any tricks for -- enjoy!

We're copying the pun from Dr Travis Langley's book, Batman and Psychology, which gave us some insight ... but mostly this is just a fun chance to dive right in to the mind of Batman. What drives him, and why does he drive us? And is there a better way than Batman's? Find out on Comic Belief!Plus: which villains do we love the most! And what church did Batman grow up in? Wild speculations are here for you, Believers!

We're back, Comic Believers!

We're kicking off Season Two with a special prologue mini-sode. We spend some time talking over what we had fun doing in Season One and then introduce the theme that will run through our episodes in Season Two. And that theme is ... [Spoiler Redacted]!! We're excited to focus in on characters through the theme of [Spoiler Redacted], and we've got some fun episodes planned! Stay tuned as we start releasing episodes this fall, holding up what's fun and what's deep in the fantastical stories of fiction!

Ben and Megan wrap up season one of Comic Belief with Captain Marvel! Keep your head on a swivel, Patriarchy, because she's coming for you! Need a quick guide to which Captain Marvel is which (including the DC ones)? We've got it! And you won't believe some of the stuff this character is put through in her pre-MCU comics.

We dive into what it means to have Marvel's first female lead spend most of her movie without her memories, and talk about the war and refugee themes, along with the powerful question of who gets to be your "family of choice" because they love and take care of you.

Plus -- if you listen VERY carefully -- have a cameo appearance from our very own Flerkin, Jonesy, who is CONVINCED that she didn't get enough dinner (spoiler: she did).Comic Belief will be on a recording hiatus for the rest of August, 2020, so keep your eyes peeled in September, Believers, as we launch Season 2!

We're joined by the Reverend Deacon Jess Elfring-Roberts to talk Wolverine! She shares why he's so easy for so many of us to connect to, and what's really going on with the so-called loner who seems to keep helping others connect to the team they need. How much depth can there be to a guy who seems to want to just scratch the surface of his relationships? Come find out on Comic Belief!

We're publishing this one early on Thorsday ... Does your Comic knowledge need some en-lightning? We do a quick pass covering the Norse origins of the god of thunder, a quick word on who Stan Lee thought would win in a fight between Thor or Hulk, and then it's off to the MCU races to talk about the big ideas around Thor, Loki, and the Avengers! What is worthiness? What's in a throne? And is Taika Waititi, in fact, the greatest director ever? All this and more as Comic Belief bicep curls our way into double digit episodes!

Show Notes:Need more Vikings? We mention and heartily recommend The Saga of Bjorn, which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV5w262XvCU ... it's the one ending we don't spoil on the podcast, so enjoy!