Crisis On Infinite Midlives

Justice League was released to theaters in the United States last weekend, and, to put it mildly, it underperformed. In the same way that the Atlanta Falcons underperformed in last year’s Super Bowl. Sure, there was a lot of weird buzz about reshoots and rewrites and new directors surrounding the movie, but none of that […]

Thor: Ragnarok promised to combine Thor with the most important elements of Greg Pak's Planet Hulk, which we did like. So we made our way to the theaters this weekend, and we spend a good chunk of the episode talking about the flick. Did we like it? Was there more to it than just the thrill of seeing Hulk in full gladiator dress with his Warbound? Is there anything there to make us care about Asgard? Does the movie make the living envy the Doug? Tune in and find out!

We also discuss The Jetsons #1, written by Jimmy Palmiotti with art by XXXXX, and Captain America #1, written by Mark Waid, with art by Chris Samnee!

We are now fully into Marvel's Legacy initiative to step back from years of event overload and senseless character deaths, and to reintroduce simpler, more classic versions of the character back into the monthly issues. And as we glory in the reintroduction of series' original numbering, and the inclusion of classic Stan Lee / Funky Flashman-esque Mighty Marvel Marching Society hype into each issue, we also wonder: where the hell are the simpler, classic versions of the characters?

In that vein, we talk about Invincible Iron Man #593, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Stefano Caselli and Alex Maleev, and The Mighty Thor #700, written by Jason Aaron with art by almost everyone.

But Marvel is not the only one reintroducing older characters, so we also discuss The WildStorm #8, written by Warren Ellis with art by Jon Davis-Hunt, and Mage: The Hero Denied #3, written and drawn by Matt Wagner!

DC has been teasing the inclusion of elements of Watchmen into DC Rebirth for nearly a year and a half now, which has made us, Rob especially, very nervous. That inclusion has been kept down to a dull roar until this past weekend, when DC released an ashcan of the first six pages of Doomsday Clock, the 12-issue mini-series that will make good on their threat - I mean, their promise.

So we read those pages, and, to be honest, we read them cold, without noticing that the date in the first panel was 1992, not 1985. So our reaction is based on the misconception that the events of these pages was taking place three weeks after the end of Alan Moore's Watchmen... not that knowing seven years have passed really change our opinion much. And what did we think? Listen to find out, and thank God that modern digital recording can modulate Rob's shrieking!

We also discuss Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to one of Rob's favorite movies, and a flick that he had no intention of seeing until decent reviews started to come out. But see it we did, and we discuss it from two opposing viewpoints: one rabid about Ridley Scott's 1982 original, and one who went into the sequel almost cold about the first movie. Once again: digital modulation is your friend.

We also discuss Batman: White Knight #1, written and drawn by Sean Murphy, and Batman #32, the conclusion of The War of Jokes and Riddles arc, written by Tom King with art by Mikel Janin!

This past weekend, we finally caught Marvel's second attempt at putting together a filmed superhero team, and we discuss the effort. Including what worked, what was fun and interesting and surprising, why Netflix can't seem to create a superhero series of ANY length that doesn't feel like it's dragging in the middle, and why Iron Fist is the Poochie of filmed superhero drama.

We also discuss Action Comics #987, written by Dan Jurgens, with art by Viktor Bogdanovic, and Mr. Miracle #2, written by Tom King with art by Mitch Gerads!

We finally saw the first season of Alan Tudyk's Con Men as it premiered on the SyFy Channel, as discussed how it reflects and makes fun of actual convention culture.

We also caught the first episode of Seth MacFarlane's The Orville, which is a weird show by the creator of Family Guy in that it's a riff on Star Trek that will make Star Trek fans crazy with rage, and that will make Family Guy fans baffled and confused.

We also discuss Spider-Man #20, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Nico Leon, and Venomverse #1, written by Cullen Bunn with art by Iban Coello!

While the ratings were abysmal (meaning you may well not have watched it), this week gave us the first planned ending to Twin Peaks ever, after 27 years. And, since Rob is a huge fan, and maintains with a straight face and a certain vehemence that Twin Peaks has a lot in common with comic book storytelling (this week's finale alone gave us time travel, dimensional teleportation, evil twins, and a dude defeating evil by punching it to death with a green Hulk fist), we discuss the series as a whole. We talk about what worked for fans and non-fans (hi, Amanda!), whether the visual beauty was worth the sometimes terrible pacing, if the wait for the return of Special Agent Dale Cooper was worth it, and whether the ending was yet another unsatisfying cliffhanger, or just enough to tell us what we really need to know.

This is, however, a comics podcast, so we also dive into another ending: Secret Empire #10, written by Nick Spencer with art by Steve McNiven, Rod Reis, David Marquez, Paco Medina, and anyone else needed to keep this mess on schedule. Like Twin Peaks, this is a story where we've waited literally years for the return of its hero, where the theme requires buying into weird metaphysics with rules that are seemingly made up as they go along, and where the ending can dictate whether it was worth the infuriating journey or just a waste of time.

We are back and recovered from San Diego Comic Con 2017. SDCC is a show we've attended more than almost any other, and yet this year it seemed, I don't know... bigger. More oppressive. More willing to empty your wallet and leave you for dead, while showing you genre spectacle you couldn't get with an all access pass to Industrial Light and Magic.

So after recovering (and even the recovery from Con Crud seemed more difficult than past years), we were joined by longtime SDCC attendee, Los Angeles comedian Gariana Abeyta, to talk about being assaulted by childrens' strollers on the floor, taking revenge by trampling young cosplayers on the way to ask panel questions, the horrors of Hall H (and how they compare to the horrors of a malfunctioning RFID badge), "Resting Crime Face," and whether the experience is still worth the time, planning, exhaustion and literally thousands of dollars it can take to attend.

Oh yeah: we also have the panel audio of Rob asking Nick Lowe about the status of Miracleman.

The first official day of San Diego Comic-Con 2017 was yesterday, and we are doing shows live (to tape) from the belly of the beast.

Being our first day back to SDCC in three years, we discuss what's changed in the intervening time, including a brand new requirement to bend the knee and pledge fealty to Rick Grimes. We also discuss some of our strategies for working the floor, some interesting observations about the state of the convention, and some protips on how to ask a question at a panel (The protip being to ask a question, and remember that your life story is not a question).

We also discuss some observations and news tidbits from the Karen Berger / Paul Levitz panel, and the DC Meet the Publishers panel!

We're a little late to the party when it comes to Spider-Man: Homecoming, which opened a week and a half ago to the tune of 200 million dollars and 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. But late or no, there's a lot to unpack in the movie, given that it's the third reboot of the cinematic Spider-Man, which is a lot for a franchise that's barely as old as its fifteen-year-old protagonist.

So we invited special guests - comedians Ross Garmil and Benari Poulten - to talk with us about it. And we dig into how Tom Holland stacks up against earlier actors, both as Peter Parker and as Spider-Man, whether there's a place in classic Spider-Man for a costume that speaks with the voice of Jenny from The Rocketeer, how Michael Keaton stacks up against Marvel's other (admittedly normally poor) cinematic villains, whether Spider-Man joked enough, and whether Tony Stark had any reasonable place in this movie that wouldn't possibly hurt the plot.