Comic Book Bears Podcast

This is the first of a number of special edition episodes when the Bears and their extended family will have a chance to talk about topics outside of four-color funnybook goodness. In this episode regular CBB co-host Bill Zanowitz and past guest and geek culture commentator Chris Cummins spend some time talking toys. You'll get to hear what toys Bill and Chris enjoyed as kids, their history with toys as certified manchildren, toy lines they would love to see exist and a lot more.

Mego's World's Greatest Super-Heroes! Mattel's Secret Wars! Fisher Price's Adventure People! Kenner's Star Wars! Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces! Shogun Warriors! Star Trek from Playmates! Defenders of the Earth! Milton Bradley's Duran Duran boardgame! These are just some of the toys we unwrap in this episode!

The bear boys welcome Steve Bryant, the writer and artist of the adventures of that angelic and adventurous aviatrix Athena Voltaire. Dark Horse/Sequential Pulp will be releasing the Athena Voltaire Compendium later in the year, collecting Athena's complete adventures and Steve drops in to talk about her publishing history, what to expect next with Athena, his influences and much more. Plus Billy Z and Steve talk a little football! Then the bears get down to recent comic talk discussing Original Sin, Mike Deodato, John Byrne's Wonder Woman, the influence of comic book movies, Superman in the late 70's, Sensation Comics #1, Future's End, God is Dead: The Book of Acts, Uncanny Avengers, Axis, Attack on Titan, X-Men #18, Star Wars #20 not to mention Bill and Bryan's Washington DC adventure.

Intro: Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"

00:40- The Comic Book Bears welcome Steve Bryant for an interview about the Athena Voltaire Compendium

36:00 - Steve and Billy Z talk football. (Deal with it.)

41:18 - Justin and Bryan manage to get a few questions in for Steve despite interview hog Billy Z

51:00 - Bill and Bryan's Washington DC Adventure

58:20 - Original Sin/Mike Deodato/Wonder Woman

1:05:00 - The influence of movies upon comics/Superman/Guardians of the Galaxy

1:07:29 - Sensation Comics #1

1:11:26 - Future's End

1:14:59 - God is Dead: The Book of Acts

1:18:22 - Uncanny Avengers/Axis/Onslaught

1:27:54 - Attack on Titan

1:32:52 - X-Men #18/Marc Guggenheim

1:39:04 - Star Wars #20/Marvel's Star Wars plans

1:44:20 - The Woofs of the Week

Outro - The James Gang - "Funk 49"

http://stevebryant.weebly.com/

http://stevebryant.deviantart.com/

http://atomictiki.blogspot.com/

The bear boys come back to you with a three-pronged attack in their latest episode! First up, Billy Z interviews Dave O'Hare and Sal Zurzolo, the co-producers of the Garden State Comic Fest, happening in Morristown, NJ on Saturday, July 23rd. Dave and Sal discuss the guests and the events at the upcoming convention. Then Billy takes Dave and Sal through a series of trivia questions about comics. (Wonder what that means?)

After that Justin and Bryan join Billy and Sal to discuss the Guardians of the Galaxy film. Did they like it? (What do you think?)

Then finally Billy Z, Justin and Bryan get down with a cosmic level of new comics talk. Saga, Storm, Rocket Raccoon, Legendary Star Lord, Robin Rises, Low, Afterlife with Archie, The Devilers, G.I. Zombie, New Suicide Squad, Guardians 100th Anniversary, Secret Avengers, Supreme: Blue Rose and more! Plus you come away learning way too much about the underwear preferences of the hosts.

Intro - Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"

1:05 Dave O'Hare and Sal Zurzolo of the Garden State Comic Fest

33:20 Guardians of the Galaxy

1:00:03 Current Comics Talk

1:53:40 The Woofs of the Week

Outro - Suzi Quatro - "48 Crash"

Links -

http://www.gardenstatecomicfest.com/

http://charlesthurston.com/

http://www.bearbust.org/

http://nerdyshow.com/nerdy-showcase/flame-on/

http://www.bearskn.com/

http://aftertwilightcomics.com/

Get ready for our biggest episode yet! Over 3 1/2 hours! We had originally planned to get an episode out to you earlier in the month but ... life happens. So instead enjoy a grizzly-sized double dose. First, author Clifford Meth returns to the show. This time Ciff brings along Jim Reeber, his partner in Aardwolf Publishing. Cliff and Jim take us through their Kickstarter campaign for a project involving the late Dave Cockrum's Futurians. (Fitting that we talk Cockrum in an episode we can banner our own Giant-Size #1!) Before his passing, Dave wrote and drew an unreleased Futurians story and Aardwolf's Kickstarter has its sights set on seeing it finally in print! Then geek culture writer and prior guest Chris Cummins rejoins us! Chris and Billy Z recently attended the Marvel Universe Live arena tour in Philadelphia and you get to hear all about it. It is impossible to have Chris on the show and not talk Archie so you get that as well along with some comic book musical talk. Then Justin and Bryan join Billy Z for comic conversation. Topics in the final section of the show include #firerickremender, Captain America, Original Sin, Fantastic Four, All-New Invaders, All-New Doop, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Flash CW pilot, Superman:Doomed, Adventures of Superman, Infinity Man and the Forever People, Batman 66 vs. The Green Hornet, Dead Boy Detectives, The Private Eye, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and more!

INTRO: "Where You Get Love" - Matthew Sweet

0:25 - Introductions and Explanations

2:14 - Clifford Meth and Jim Reeber of Aardwolf Publishing talk The Futurians

55:05 - Chris and Billy Z talk Marvel Universe Live

1:51:10 - #firerickremender, Jet, Falcon, Captain America and much more Marvel

2:47:30 - The Guardians of the Galaxy preview and the CW pilot for The Flash

2:59:01 - Superman: Doomed, Adventures of Superman and more DC/Vertigo

3:17:40 - Vaughn and Martin's The Private Eye

3:22:45 - Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (A Woofs of the Week false start)

3:25:41 - The Woofs of the Week

OUTRO - Jack Hylton Orchestra - "Forty-Seven Ginger Headed Sailors"

Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger have returned to analyze T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #3, originally published by Tower Comics and cover dated March, 1966. And what do we get in this issue? Dynamo vs. The Subterraneans! NoMan vs. Vibraman! Dynamo vs. The Red Dragon! The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad vs. gray make-up! And best of all - Menthor vs. Dynamo! We also cover what was on TV and what comics were on the spinner rack at the same time T-Agents #3 was on newsstands.There are also tangents galore to enjoy in this one as well, ranging from Northern Soul, Bill's grandfather and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid!

Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are joined by guest bear and fan of the show Steve Mowry! Steve and Bryan recently attended HeroesCon where Bryan presented a panel about gay characters with Los Brothers Hernandez (Love and Rockets), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise, Echo, Rachel Rising) and Kate Leth (Kate or Die!, Bravest Warriors). Bryan covers how the panel was put together and how it went down coupled with other con stories from Bryan and Steve. Billy Z was also in attendance at the inaugural Special Edition NYC from Reed Pop as well as the latest AnimeNext convention. In keeping with the subject matter of the latter, all four bears offer their recommendations of anime and manga that they like. They round it out with a small splash of current comics talk and, best of all, we got hate mail!!!

Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are back together in the comic bear den. First up, a little X-Men: Days of Future Past talk. Then it is a big 'ol helping of current comic book talk which includes Forever Evil, Teen Titans, Superman: Doomed, Batman/Superman, Earth 2, Future's End, Firestorm, The Wake, Secret Origins, Cyclops, Amazing Spider-Man, Afterlife with Archie, C.O.W.L., Prophet, Velvet and Thanos Annual #1 (sort of). Then the mega funny and uber sexy Brad Taylor of Warner Brothers Studios Tours joins in on the fun to discuss the Batman at 75 tour of the studio that Brad has initiated. He talks with us about what you can expect to see if you go on the Batman tour, the Warners lot, the Conan and Ellen shows (both of which Brad also works for) and so much more! Let's just say the second half involves cameos from Madonna, Darla from The Little Rascals and Optimus Prime (sort of).

A final word about this episode. We were dogged with technical issues left and right when we recorded. There were a couple of dropouts. (Lying - MANY dropouts.) We edited all of it together but left a portion of the nods to the dropouts in for poops and giggles. Enjoy!

Intro - "Where You Get Love" - Matthew Sweet

1:06 - Days of Future Past

13:29 - Forever Evil Wrap-Up

25:23 - Teen Titans Annual #2

30:00 - Superman: Doomed

35:43 - Batman/Superman #10

37:41 - Earth 2

41:40 - DC Weekly Books and Firestorm

47:46 - The Wake

51:24 - Secret Origins #2

53:00 - Original Sin

1:00:46 - Cyclops and the other X books

1:08:00 - Amazing Spider-Man #2/Amazing Spider-Man: Learning to Crawl

1:10:02 - Thanos Annual #1 (sort of)

1:12:13 - Afterlife With Archie #5

1:14:31 - Image - Prophet, C.O.W.L. and Velvet

1:18:56 - We bring on special guest Brad Talylor

1:41:09 - The Woofs of the Week

Outro - "45" - Elvis Costello

As Brother Bryan is sequestered on the job, Billy Z and Justin start the show off with a terrific interview with writer Clifford Meth. Cliff has compiled a series of his past columns about the comic book industry into Comic Book Babylon, out now from Aardwolf Publishing. Cliff takes us through his history in comics and his advocacy for creators rights, why he decided to put together Comic Book Babylon and where he thinks the industry is at today. Dave Cockrum, Gene Colan, Stan Lee, Neal Adams, Harlan Ellison and many other figures work their way in and out of our conversation. Cliff also discusses what's coming up from Aardwolf Publishing, the continuing sale of Dave Cockrum's comic book collection and hella more!

The show wraps up with a discussion about comic books that were cancelled before their time in light of the recent New 52 cancellations from DC. Listen in as the bear boys offer up their picks for brilliant-but-cancelled books which had the axe fall on them way too soon such as Captain Britain and MI-13, Agents of Atlas, Fearless Defenders, O.M.A.C., The Thing, The New Invaders and more.

Links to Clifford Meth's work

http://thecliffordmethod.blogspot.com/

http://aardwolfpublishing.com

And if when you buy Comic Book Babylon, make sure you purchase it directly from Aardwolf!

And because we love you, here is the full episode breakdown -

Intro - "Where You Get Love" - Matthew Sweet

1:11 - Introducing Clifford Meth and what Comic Book Babylon is all about

2:41 - Clifford's first comic book experiences

4:18 - Cliff's original art collection

5:19 - The inspiration behind putting together Comic Book Babylon and the pitfalls of creators from the Silver and Bronze Age

15:37 - Harlan Ellison and Neal Adams

18:53 - Dave Cockrum and Gene Colan

27:57 - Artists who have had 2nd or 3rd "acts"

31:43 - Where Clifford thinks the comic book market is at and how the industry has changed

36:90 - Aardwolf Publishing

41:29 - Selling Dave Cockrum's comic book collection

45:38 - Creator credits, Stan Lee and more

1:02:39 - DC Cancels six New 52 titles and comic books that died before their time

1:06:54 - Captain Britain and MI-13

1:09:13 - The New Invaders

1:12:00 - Agents of Atlas

1:16:03 - Justice Society of America (1992)

1:19:49 - Fearless Defenders

1:23:05 - The Thing

1:24:10 - O.M.A.C.

1:27:40 - Man-Bat

1:34:01 - The Woofs of the Week

Outro - The Zombies - "Care of Cell 44"

Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger return to cover T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2, cover dated February 1966. Hear all about the terror that is Dynavac, a big reveal about The Warlord, Dynamo's love interest, Mr. Fong, the Junior T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, NoMan's cloak in Newfoundland, and the best mutated fish-man of all time! All that plus Thundercorn, Rob's wife Kathy makes a brief cameo appearance and we let you know what you should ask Rob Liefeld to sketch.

The Comic Book Bears are very pleased to welcome Kyle Schmidt to the show for the first time! Kyle is the comic book editor at Milwaukee’s Crimespree Magazine. Both Kyle and Billy Z attended the C2E2 convention in Chicago recently and they both recount their con experiences. Billy also talks about the Batman at 75 program at the Paley Center in NYC that he went to. After that the bears all join in for some Free Comic Book Day and Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie talk. Then they shift over to current comics talk, hitting on DC’s Future’s End, Shutter from Image, Batman: Eternal, Southern Bastards #1, Cyclops #1, Amazing Spider-Man #s 1 and 1.1 and Dan Slott, Black Science, Rick Remender, Original Sin, Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man , Stormwatch #30, Secret Origins #1 and lots more. The show is end capped as always with our Woofs of the Week.

Also this episode marks the first of our Semi-Annual Bob Joy Drinking Game episodes! Take a shot every time you hear us bring up Bob Joy. Follow this instruction and you will be hammered by the end of the ep!

Intro – Matthew Sweet – “Where You Get Love”

0:00:25 – Bears Intro and Welcome Guest Kyle Schmidt

0:03:53 – Kyle’s Experiences and Interviews at C2E2 and Crimespree Magazine

0:09:02 – Billy’s Experiences at C2E2

0:17:51 – Billy at the Batman at 75 Program at the Paley Center in NYC

0:20:26 – The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Movie Talk

0:37:40 – Free Comic Book Day

0:51:58 - DC’s Future’s End and other FCBD books

1:09:13 – New comic talk starts off with Shutter (Image), Rachel Rising/Strangers in Paradise, Ms. Marvel

1:16:04 – Batman: Eternal, Southern Bastards #1, Cyclops #1

1:26:00 - Amazing Spider-Man #s 1 and 1.1 and Dan Slott

1:36:00 – Black Science, Rick Remender, Uncanny Avengers

1:44:37 – Original Sin and Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #1

1:55:00 –Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

1:58:36 – Stormwatch #30 and Secret Origins #1

2:01:32 – The Woofs of the Week

Outro – Jethro Tull – “Hymn 43”