This week we look at the first chapter of Timothy Zhan’s classic novel Heir to the Empire. This is the book that really kicked off the expanded universe. There were Star Wars novels before this of course, but they adaptations of the movies or direct tie ins…and they were all released within a few months of the premieres. When Heir to the Empire was released there had been any Star Wars books in print since the early eighties, it shot to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List and stayed there for months.

It really did change Star Wars in profound ways.

I can’t recommend this book (and its two sequels) enough.

The Thrawn Trilogy:

Heir to the Empire

Dark Force Rising

The Last Command

Contact:

Twitter @Fearless_Fred

Facebook @fearlessfredontheradio

Contemptible Harpy: Dila Velazquez

Twitter @diladeyanira

This week we have another chum cast where we just chat about what type of content people are consuming during the Covid-19 pandemic. After a heated text-versation with my producer about various Star Wars related topics we opted to just run the gambit of the Star Wars related content there is out there. It’s a universe that spans multiple formats with something for everyone. Specifically we discuss…

The final season of The Clone Wars

The Gendy Tartakovsky version of The Clone Wars

Star Wars Rebels

The ORIGINAL Thrawn Trilogy

The confusing Star Wars timeline

Battlefront 2

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG

Yeah. It’s a big deal.

Contact:

Twitter @Fearless_Fred

Facebook @fearlessfredontheradio

Contemptible Harpy: Dila Velazquez

Twitter @diladeyanira

So as we continue to huddle down in our hovels, reading, gaming, binging, and possible snuggling other humans and fur babies. I figured I’d reach out to some o0f my fellow comic creators and other creatives to see what exactly they’re doing in these times of uncertainty. Specifically I wanted to speak with J Torres. He’s done loads of work with Oni, DC, and even Kids Can Press. One of the big reasons I wanted to talk with J is that he does a lot of YA stuff, and wanted to focus on content you can watch with your kids.

That’s a big deal it’s one thing being stuck indoors on your own, but doing it when there’s wee ones involved is extra taxing cause you need to keep them entertained as well as yourself. So EVERYTHING J brings up today is kid friendly…within reason. Just listen, you’ll get the idea.

Contact:

Twitter @Fearless_Fred

Facebook @fearlessfredontheradi

Guest:

J Torres: @jtorrescomics

This week we continue our look at what content people are consuming during quarantine. We talk to writer/editor Steph Cooke about what she’s been reading/watching/playing since the Covid-19 shut down began.

I also go on a rant about how I am once again obsessed with a videogame that was first released in 2003…because I am an old man with no taste.

Steph Cooke - @hellocookie

So a few days ago…well weeks ago, Diamond Comics Distributors Inc issued a statement saying they would no longer be sending out product effective April 1st. The announcement effectively put the entire comics business on pause. No new books would be going out, period. That’s what the internet was saying, anyways. But is that the case? Are comics effectively halted? What does this mean for digital sales of comics?

There’s a lot of questions that need answering so I contacted three people with different experiences, and different takes on what will happen in the coming months.

Contact:

Twitter @Fearless_Fred

Facebook @fearlessfredontheradi

Guests:

Heather Antos – Senior Editor at Valiant Entertainment

Twitter - @heatherantos

Christopher Butcher – Founder and Organizer of TCAF

Twitter - @comics212

Jay Bardyla – Former owner of Happy Harbour and Friend of Comic Book Legal Defense Fund  

Twitter - @JBardyla

COVID 19 has affected all of our lives, BUT the worst thing we can do is panic, or let it get you down. We are all in this together and for sure there is a lot more downtime we hunker down and self isolate to slow down this coronavirus. 

Today on Issue Zero we’ll be throwing the format into the fire and creating a list of what to check out with all that extra down time. Fred Kennedy and our contemptuous harpy of a producer, Dila Velazquez, give you a list of what they're watching and doing to get through these weird times.

Required viewing:

https://youtu.be/dj9VF7LyffU 

Contact:

Twitter @Fearless_Fred

Facebook @fearlessfredontheradio

Contemptible Harpy: Dila Velazquez

Twitter @diladeyanira

DC Comics seemingly tossed the idea of shared universe aside and just keep releasing a whole bunch of movies made by different people with different takes on their characters.

Wonder Woman and Joker aside DC seems to be struggling with their movies. Team up films like Justice League and Suicide Squad were panned by critics and who could forget Aquaman? It’s like DC kinda wants their movies to be all interconnected.... like they tease that they are, but are they? It’s a confusing discussion to have...even with a nerd like myself. 

So is DC even trying? are they looking to build a DCMU? Fred Kennedy is joined by Screen Rant’s Editorial Director Rob Keys to try and figure out what’s the deal with DC?

Host: Fred Kennedy

Twitter @Fearless_Fred

Facebook @fearlessfredontheradio

Guests:

Rob Keys @rob_keyes Editorial Director & PR Director @screenrant @cbr Creator of @gamerant

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) wrapped up its first major event in the spring of 2019…but since then I've wondered who were the REAL villains of that event?

Sure, Thanos snapped his fingers and killed off half the galaxy.... but was that worse than what the Avengers did in Endgame?

Fred Kennedy looks at the evidence, breaks down the numbers and drops some hard science to find out who truly wreaked more havock to our fair planet…the Mad Titan or Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?

Host and Silver Surfer: Fred Kennedy

Twitter @Fearless_Fred

Facebook @fearlessfredontheradio

Thanos: Dila Velazquez

Twitter @diladeyanira

This is a love letter to Star Trek, and as such we break all our own formatting rules. Instead of an argument or question where we tackle multiple perspectives, this episode is just a list of five episodes that best lay out what kind of captain Jean Luc Picard is. If you're gonna watch the Picard series but don't really know or really remember who Jean Luc PIcard IS, give this episode a listen.

There are no guests. It's just me and my feelings. Enjoy.

Host: Fred Kennedy

Twitter @Fearless_Fred

Facebook @fearlessfredontheradio​

The Tick is one of the weirdest comic book creations. It started first as a newsletter for a comic book shop and has since been rebooted countless times and none of them have really lasted more than a few seasons. Each one of those iterations is a little different than the last, and true fans have followed him every step of the way. On today's show we’re going to investigate how a character with so much awesome going for it is still SOMEHOW lurking in the shadow of greatness.

Ben Edlund’s interview just before the 2001 Live action series debuted… http://www.thetick.ws/ben.html

Ben’s Slashdot discussion with fan’s about his thoughts on The Tick… https://news.slashdot.org/story/01/11/26/2219219/thus-spake-tick-creator-ben-edlund

Host: Fred Kennedy

Twitter @Fearless_Fred

Facebook @fearlessfredontheradio

Guests:

Zander Cannon @zander_cannon

Susan Hurwitz Arneson @batdorkgirl