There’s a new convention happening this weekend in California called Comic Con Oakland and we’re delighted to bring back Director, Writer and Event Organizer Jim Demonakos to learn all about it! We talk with Jim about developing the new convention for the Bay Area, building a guest list, Panel programming, fostering a good community around comics, collecting original art, and other Convention and Geek Chat! (1:10:25)

It’s an oversized Comic Talk episode as we welcome back Adam Chapman of the Comic Shenanigans Podcast. We give updates on our Free Comic Book Day plans, celebrate the legacy of Gerry Conway and Len Strazewski, do a lot of Star Wars Movie & TV Talk, review a bunch of new comics including the Fury of Firestorm, Thundarr the Barbarian, Bizarro Year None, Groo the Prophecy, Usagi Yojimbo: Kaito ’84, Daredevil and even more! (2:03:10)

The editing team of Jim Amash & Eric Nolen-Weathington return to CGS with their new hardcover: Jim Aparo: Brave & Bold Artist from TwoMorrows! Along with guest Mike Atchison, we get to celebrate the amazing work of an artist that defined Batman for many of us and along the way learn about Aparo’s work before comics, his impact on Phantom Stranger, Aquaman, the Outsiders and others, and discuss our first Aparo issues, favorite stories and so much more. It’s another comprehensive reference book of a Comics Master for your shelves! (1:48:14)

We revive Let’s Talk Shop, our comic retailer focused episode, to talk with Gralin Hughes, Jr., co-owner of Multiverse in Philadelphia, Pa. Along with his wife Sara, they have fostered an amazing space for curated nerd stuff and speculative fiction. Listen in to hear about Gralin’s personal geekdom, building a small business of comics and books, responding to market trends, the power of the Absolute DC line and much more! (1:31:33)

We start this episode by catching up with JK Woodward, comicbook illustrator and creator, as he fills us in on his new thought experiment: The Last Year of Life! And then we tackle all of the latest Previews catalogs to give our recommendations for June comic coming attractions! It’s one of the better months for solicitations as we get excited over the Summer of Supergirl, M.A.S.K., new titles from Jae Lee, Jonathan Hickman and Ghost Machine, the DC Silver Age Artist’s Edition, the Crisis Companion and so much more! (1:36:37)

Divinity Calls Shotgun by Joshua Ross is a new Kickstarter we’re happy to feature in this episode for your consideration. Especially because Joshua is a former Golden Eagle Comics employee! We get to catch up with Joshua, throw in some Golden Eagle and Crusaders memories and chat about his inspirations, his personal geekdoms, creating autobio comics, tattoo art, working with color artist Colin Johnson and Source Point Press and more. It’s a project worthy of your attention! (1:21:58)

The CGS gang recount their trip to the Allentown Toy Show and a visit to Comic Masters in Whitehall, Pa. And then it’s a variety of Comic Talk topics including thoughts on the new Daredevil first issue and Superman/Spiderman, new Crisis collections, what comics would you buy in April 1986, listener feedback and shout-outs, plenty of CGS related updates and the surprise return of one of our oldest segments! (1:46:07)

We cover a number of topics in this Comic Talk episode starting with recent reads of Barefoot Gen, Nice House on the Lake, Sugar & Spike, Aquaman and D’Orc. And then Off the Rack reviews of DC Next Level’s first batch of titles: Batwoman, Deathstroke and Lobo; as well as X-Men United issue 1. From there, we cover recent purchases, the new G.I.Joe Kickstarter, an update on the Death of Superman original art auction, TV Talk on newly found Doctor Who episodes, remembering Sam Kieth, listener feedback and even more Geek Chat! (1:35:54)

Crisis on Infinite Earths is a favorite topic on CGS, and in this episode we talk with award-winning filmmaker and lifelong comic book fan Kevin Miller, author of The Crisis Companion from TwoMorrows Publishing, due out this summer. From early multiverse crossovers to the cultural impact of Crisis even to today to new discoveries, Kevin talks about putting this companion together as a way to analyze, unpack and celebrate DC’s monumental event. (1:51:39)

The final battle - and the final issue - for the Heart of Apokolips is here! We take an in-depth look at DC K.O. issue 5 along with longtime listener Matt Williams to unravel the ending of the tournament to be King Omega. Who will wear the crown? Can they defeat Darkseid? And what will become of the DC Universe? Questions and answers and more questions await! (1:24:17)