Gobbledygeek

This week, Paul and Arlo transcend obscenity with Donora Hillard, whose writing takes many forms, including that sequined distillation of anxiety: poetry. Her new collection Jeff Bridges finds poetry in the man himself, an actor me and you and everyone we know loves instinctively. What is it about Bridges? What about him inspired a book's worth of poems? Paul and Arlo attempt to find the answer while discussing with Donora their struggles with poetry, why people think words are scary, and the Bridges-starring 1984 film Starman.

Next: in lieu of starting yet another spin-off podcast, Paul and Arlo are going to begin analyzing the seminal '90s sci-fi series The X-Files within Gobbledygeek itself. Wesley "Wezzo" Mead beams over from the UK on his flying saucer to discuss the first season.

In this corner: striking terror into the hearts of cowardly and superstitious criminals, a creature of the night, black, terrible, it's the Dark Knight of Gotham City...Batman! And in this corner: faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, unable to get his own sequel not stuffed with a thousand other characters, it's the Last Son of Krypton...Superman! With Zack Snyder's hands in the toybox, they must now v each other in preparation for the dawn of next year's Justice League. Kenn Edwards, host of So Let's Get to the Point, joins Paul and Arlo to discuss the superheroic epic Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Is Snyder's Superman a Randian superman? How does Ben Affleck fare as the Caped Crusader? Is the film as much of a mess as you may have heard? The boys get to the bottom of all this, not to mention another of Kenn's metatextual monologues. Plus, Arlo's had a name change, and Paul saw Hamilton on Broadway.

Next: poet Donora Hillard joins us to discuss her new book Jeff Bridges. Plus a discussion of Starman!

It's happened again. Paul has become obsessed with another movie, necessitating a bonus episode that simply couldn't fit in the regular Gobbledygeek schedule. This time, Paul is wild about Disney's Zootopia, which tells the story of bunny cop Judy Hopps and con fox Nick Wilde, who team up on a case that goes to surprising lengths in uncovering systemic oppression in the animal kingdom. Paul and Arlo discuss the film's take on racism and sexism, debate its effectiveness in shedding light on those subjects, and discover some truly hideous "fan art."

Spring has sprung, which means it's time for another Four-Color Flashback! In years past, Paul and Arlo have explored the dream worlds of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and the cartoonish fantasy of Jeff Smith's Bone. They'll be devoting 2016 to Matt Wagner's magnum opus Grendel. There's a wealth of material out there, but the boys will attempt to stick to the original series, which has been collected in various formats. For this introductory episode, they turn to the first Grendel story, "Devil by the Deed," which can be found in Grendel Omnibus: Volume One - Hunter Rose, pp. 7-45. What's it about? Good question! You see, there's this wealthy playboy named Hunter Rose who writes bestselling novels while also masquerading as Grendel, who seeks control of the mob underworld. In his downtime, he fights an Algonquin werewolf called Argent. Paul recalls what initially drew him to Grendel, while first-time reader Arlo finds it...interesting. The boys discuss Wagner's manga-meets-Art Deco style, his experimental storytelling, and how he inverts the whole hero/villain thing. Plus, there's talk of Daredevil season 2.

Next: after a week off, it's Paul v Arlo: Dawn of Kenn.

When the apocalypse happens, wouldn't you want to wake up in an underground bunker, shackled to a wall and pricked with a makeshift IV by none other than American screen luminary John Goodman? Well, cult icon-in-the-making Mary Elizabeth Winstead isn't thrilled by her new circumstances, while the amiably bearded John Gallagher Jr. just wants everyone to get along. Paul and AJ, meanwhile, contemplate 10 Cloverfield Lane's connection to 2008's found footage monster mash Cloverfield, debate its effectiveness as a psychological thriller, and stick up for child killers (wait, no, that's just Paul). Plus, AJ's dying. Again.

Next: Four-Color Flashback 2016 kicks off with a look at the first story arc of Matt Wagner's Grendel, "Devil by the Deed."

Later this month, Paul and AJ will begin a new Four-Color Flashback series exploring Matt Wagner's Grendel. Before they do, though, they're making a return trip to the Dreaming for another look at Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, which they pored over in 2014. Their The Deli Counter of Justice collaborator Eric Sipple joins the boys to discuss The Sandman: Overture, which takes place both before and after Gaiman's original 75-issue opus. The gang raves about J.H. Williams III's mind-expanding artwork, discusses how Overture fares as a prequel, questions its additions to the mythos, and compares the Dream we met in the first chapter of The Sandman to the one we know by the final chapter of Overture.

Next: after a week off, the boys visit their neighbors down at 10 Cloverfield Lane.

Paul and AJ take one final plunge into Hitchcock Month for a look at 1945's Spellbound, in which Ingrid Bergman falls in love with Gregory Peck on the way to psychoanalyzing him; and 1958's Vertigo, wherein James Stewart becomes obsessed with Kim Novak, or at least his (and Hitchcock's) icy blonde ideal of her. Joining them on this downhill drive is Broken Magic author and The Deli Counter of Justice co-editor Eric Sipple. The boys discuss how the films deal with love and dreams, how much Hitchcock intentionally revealed of himself in his work, Salvador Dalí's surreal contribution to Spellbound, and what Vertigo's reputation as the new greatest movie ever made means for its legacy.

Next: Eric is back for another dreamy outing, as we return to the series we covered in 2014's Four-Color Flashback for The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman and J.H. Williams III.

How many walls does a podcast have? Can we break them? Because movies have four, and Deadpool takes a wrecking ball to the fourth one. In the midst of Hitchcock Month, Paul and AJ are rolling out a bonus episode about the Merc with a Mouth's meta movie. Neither one of them are particularly enamored with the Deadpool of comics fame, but how does that affect their view of Ryan Reynolds' passion project? (Spoiler alert: they disagree. Kind of.) Under discussion: the movie's raunchy sense of humor, whether or not it has a heart, Reynolds' RDJ moment, and what Deadpool's success could mean for the future of offbeat superhero movies. Nary a chimichanga in sight.

For the penultimate installment of Hitchcock Month, Paul and AJ continue their tour of Hitch's limited-setting films with a look at 1944's Lifeboat, wherein a group including Tallulah Bankhead's socialite reporter winds up sailing under Walter Slezak's Nazi; and 1954's Dial M for Murder, in which the dashing Ray Milland conspires to murder the unfaithful Grace Kelly. Joining them is Ensley F. Guffey, one-half of Guffey und Koontz, the writing team behind Wanna Cook? The Complete, Unofficial Companion to Breaking Bad. Ensley is also admittedly not much of a Hitchcock fan, which makes for some interesting discussion. The boys debate the merit of these films, which by some accounts may be the least interesting selections so far; delve into the political climate that birthed Lifeboat; wonder what Dial M for Murder would have looked like in 3D; and take a guess at what drew Hitchcock to confined spaces.

Next: Hitchcock Month closes with a leap of faith from Broken Magic author and The Deli Counter of Justice co-editor Eric Sipple, as the gang talks 1945's Spellbound and 1958's Vertigo.

Three men. One room. Now the fun begins. (Feel free to interpret that any way you wish.) Hitchcock Month continues, as A/V writer-director Joseph Lewis drops by to discuss 1948's Rope, wherein John Dall and Farley Granger's perfect murder is in danger of being unraveled by Jimmy Stewart; and 1954's Rear Window, in which Stewart's busted-up photographer spies on his neighbors, including a potentially murderous Raymond Burr. Paul, AJ, and Joe discuss the one-take gimmickry of Rope and how it translates the stage to screen; the homosexual subtext (or text) of that film; what Hitchcock had to say about voyeurs; and Hitch's subversive casting of the all-American Jimmy Stewart.

Next: Hitchcock Month continues, as Wanna Cook? co-author Ensley F. Guffey discusses 1944's Lifeboat and 1954's Dial M for Murder.