Gobbledygeek

After nearly seven years of fruitless podcasting, Gobbledygeek has reached its 300th episode. For some time now, Paul and Arlo have semi-jokingly referred to episode 300 as the "therapy episode"...so, what the hell, here's three hours of the boys discussing the skeletons in their closest. Acting as guest host and amateur therapist, friend of the show and So Let's Get to the Point host Kenn Edwards grills the guys about their childhoods, their families, their romances, and what they really think of each other. You'll learn more about Paul and Arlo than you ever hoped to, and then some. Will you survive the experience? Will they?

Next: after a week off to recuperate, the boys return to discuss The X-Files season 4 with that roguishly charming Brit, Wesley "Wezzo" Mead.

FIVE SECONDS AGO: Arlo cracks open the first volume of Y: The Last Man. FOUR SECONDS AGO: Paul berates Arlo for not turning on his mic. THREE SECONDS AGO: Arlo rolls his eyes, turns on mic. TWO SECONDS AGO: Arlo loudly eats into the microphone. ONE SECOND AGO: Paul presses record. NOW: Gobbledygeek's 2017 Four-Color Flashback series is here. This year, the boys will be discussing all ten volumes of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's acclaimed Vertigo series Y: The Last Man, in which every male mammal on the planet drops dead at the same time...save one young escape artist cum layabout and his pet monkey. With Vol. 1: Unmanned, the boys dive into the adventures of Yorick Brown, the laconic Agent 355, and the many varied women they come across during their adventures. Under discussion are the series' politics, its place in Vaughan's career, and what makes Guerra's simple and clean artwork so effective. Plus, Arlo was on a boat, Paul sang along to Moana, and they both struggle to find the joy in discussing pop culture during this incredibly despairing time in American history.

Next: the mythical episode 300 is upon us. Dr. Kenn Edwards, PhD will plumb the tender, fragile psyches of Paul and Arlo. The show will never be the same. They will never be the same. You will never be the same.

Wait, what's that? Not only did someone listen to our Grendel episodes...but they decided to join us on air?! Wonders never cease. Joining Paul and Arlo to finish last year's Four-Color Flashback series on Matt Wagner's Grendel is Chance Mazzia, who actually discovered the show thanks to Wagner's whacked-out opus. The gang discusses "Devil's Reign," collected in Grendel Omnibus: Vol. 3, which is not technically the end of the sprawling series but marks a fine endpoint for their analysis. Orion Assante seeks to unite the world, but at what cost? Among this week's subjects are vampirism and Elvis, Trump and Obama, and the subtle art of dick jokes.

Next: a new Four-Color Flashback is upon us. This time the boys will be discussing the presumably much more popular series Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. Up first is Vol. 1: Unmanned.

A band of dirty rebels go to extreme lengths to send a transmission that will change the fate of the galaxy...yes, that's right, Paul and Arlo are risking everything to get the Gobbledygeek season 8 premiere out there. After a months-long hiatus, the boys make their triumphant return to discuss Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, joined by So Let's Get to the Point and Welcome to Paradise's Kenn Edwards and The Deli Counter of Justice co-editor Eric Sipple. Gareth Edwards' prequel (ooh, there's the p-word) could be taken as a proof of concept for Disney's slate of standalone Star Wars films. The gang debates its merits as a Star Wars movie and a movie on its own terms; wonders why the characters don't stick out more; and asks the question that will unlock Rogue One's many secrets...why is the door stuck?

Next: to the delight of almost no one, Paul and Arlo clean house following last year's abbreviated season by finishing their Four-Color Flashback analysis of Matt Wagner's Grendel with "Devil's Reign," collected in Grendel Omnibus: Vol. 3.

We're back! Sort of. Before Gobbledygeek's official return next month, Paul and Arlo explain the terrible real-life circumstances that led to the hiatus. The boys discuss grief, loss, tragedy, depression, and a whole bunch of other super fun and upbeat things! To end things on a positive note, they also discuss some happy news and the pop culture they've enjoyed during the hiatus (Westworld! Arrival! Moonlight!).

Next: the show returns toward the end of next month to make another journey to a galaxy far, far away with a discussion of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

We are devastated to report that on Sunday, October 9, 2016, Arlo's mother Kim passed away. This has been a difficult year for many of us, but a death in the Gobbledygeek Family hits especially hard. So we hope you'll understand that Arlo, and the show, will be taking a much-needed hiatus to process and grieve. We will return in January 2017 with a brand new season, Season 8, but in the meantime we appreciate all the thoughts, prayers and comfort you can give to our friend and his family.

We've set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with medical expenses and funeral arrangements. We understand everyone is on a budget, but no amount is too small. If you're able, please go to https://www.gofundme.com/arlo-wiley-support-fund-2tsqaec?ssid=767925923&pos=1.

Armed only with a glass of water and his trusty baseball bat, Kenn Edwards of So Let's Get to the Point invades the podcast this week to help Paul and Arlo kick off Gobbledyween 2016. This year's month-long horror-fest gets off to a miraculous start with a discussion of M. Night Shyamalan's sci-fi thriller Signs. After the runaway success of The Sixth Sense and the lukewarm contemporary response to Unbreakable, Signs is often considered the last film Shyamalan made before a precipitous decline; that is, when it's considered at all. The gang gets to the core of what makes Signs a worthwhile film, including a question you may hear repeated about the other movies on this year's slate: Is it a horror film at all? The boys also delve into Shyamalan's exploration of faith, how the film functions as a response to 9/11, whether or not it's okay to still enjoy a Mel Gibson performance, and more. Plus, Paul violently shames Arlo for not watching Luke Cage, and the mythical episode 300 is teased.

Next: Gobbledyween 2016 grows fangs for Kathryn Bigelow's 1987 vampiric neo-Western Near Dark.

Vampires, bananas, and Weird Al-esque song parodies, oh my! Paul and Arlo may be winding down their coverage of Matt Wagner's Grendel, the subject of this year's exceedingly popular (ahem) Four-Color Flashback series, but the story shows no signs of letting up in "God and the Devil" chapters 7-10. A cosmetically altered face from the distant past returns, incest is rationalized, and produce is used in an attempt to rape the sun. The boys question some of the story's leaps in logic and the general coherence of the Grendel cycle while admiring its utter batshit insanity and dynamic artwork. Plus, Paul watches TV (Arlo does too kind of) and Arlo's life has exploded.

Next: fall is in the air and blood is on the silver screen. Gobbledyween 2017 kicks off as Kenn Edwards of So Let's Get to the Point swings by to discuss M. Night Shyamalan's Signs.

Live from Denny's, it's Donora Hillard! The Jeff Bridges poet returns to talk about...pretty much everything with Paul and Arlo. While enjoying late-night diner ambiance, the gang discusses driving and the anxiety it causes; dance, of the So You Think You Can variety (featuring, upon special request, a rendition of Paul's classic Black Swan diatribe); tiny houses, one of which Donora owns; and what's in everyone's bags (Arlo's answers will amaze you). Plus David Lynch, Bunheads, arrested development (neither the rap group nor the television series)...everything.

Next: the boys take their penultimate trip to the hellish world of Matt Wagner's Grendel as this year's Four-Color Flashback nears its close, with a look at "God and the Devil, Part 2," collected in Grendel Omnibus: Vol. 3 - Orion's Reign.

Are you in the mood to Bone? I hope so, because Paul and Arlo are returning to the world of Jeff Smith's cartoonish epic, which they explored in last year's Four-Color Flashback series, to discuss the newly released 25th anniversary book Bone: Coda. The new adventure included in the volume is described as a "completely superfluous" addition to the saga of the Bone cousins--Fone, Phoney, and Smiley--which proves that there is indeed truth in advertising. The story picks up right where Smith's magnum opus left off in 2004, but it's merely a cute little one-off. The boys debate the merits of such an inconsequential return while discussing the other two-thirds of the book, which consist of Smith's memoir-esque piece "A Moveable Pizza Party" and Stephen Weiner's A Bone Companion (what, they couldn't get Hy Bender?). Plus, Paul spent his summer vacation reading 131 comic books and Arlo describes Akron's diverse grilled cheese climate.

Next: Jeff Bridges poet Donora Hillard returns to the show to talk about whatever she damn well pleases.