Gobbledygeek

What happens when a stoner working at a deli comes face-to-face with a psychic rat with a hunger for irradiated sandwiches? The answer can be found in "Rat King," Thomas Dorton's contribution to The Deli Counter of Justice. AJ and Eric talk with Thomas about how the superhero cartoons he grew up on were surprisingly decent, how his 9th grade English teacher encouraged him to write, and how his (really quite impeccable) taste in music influences his writing. Next: on October 14, AJ and Eric rap with our cover designer, Karen Wellenkamp (@QuoterGal). That's also when you'll get to see the cover she and Blair J. Campbell worked so hard on!

Rahne Ehtar has been writing since she first got her hands on a pack of Crayolas. That long and winding road has led her here, to The Deli Counter of Justice, wherein she's written the story "Without Masks," concerning a young superhero who would love it if her life would allow her just one normal night out. Paul and AJ chat with Rahne about her history writing fan fiction; her "long and laborious" writing process, which involves writing the first draft out longhand; and how she submitted eight different ideas to the boys, so of course the one they picked was the one she didn't really want to write. Next: AJ and Eric sit down with "Rat King" author Thomas Dorton.

After scaling the high point of The Sandman last week with Brief Lives, Paul and AJ fall a little closer to earth with a discussion of Vol. VIII - Worlds' End. Joining them is Wanna Cook? author Ensley F. Guffey...and they all agree it's likely the series' weakest collection. But weak Sandman is still better than most comics, so there's still plenty to say about Neil Gaiman's final attempt at telling short stories in the Endless' domain. There's the return of Hob Gadling, a look at the mythic side of American politics, and a funeral procession passing by the inn at the end of all worlds. Plus, the gang grouses about Gotham and discusses Marvel's settlement with the Jack Kirby estate. Next: Gobbledyween 2014 gets off to a slashing start with Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 classic Psycho. The boys are joined by Mike Brooks.

For their first interview with authors from The Deli Counter of Justice, Paul and AJ talk to the other man who makes up the Deli braintrust: Eric Sipple. Eric discusses his start writing SeaQuest fan fiction, his introduction to the world of superheroes via Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film, how he created Carl Cook's daughter Tabitha for his story "Pixelated" (who may wind up becoming the anthology's Wolverine), and much more. Next: Paul and AJ sit down with Rahne Ehtar, the author of "Without Masks."

For the past year-and-a-half, Paul, AJ, and third Gobbler Eric Sipple have been working on the short story anthology The Deli Counter of Justice. It's been quite a while since we've told you about it, but here's some good news: the book is out soon! November 5, to be exact. In this re-introductory podcast, the boys give you the lowdown on what the book's about (namely, a retired superhero opening a deli), tell you why they're so excited about it, and tell you about the author interviews we'll be releasing every Tuesday and Thursday in October. It's a good time to be a fan of capes, masks, ham, and rye. Next: this Thursday, October 2, we'll be talking to our very own Eric Sipple about his creation of The Pixel.

Change is important. It's also a bitch. The Endless turn and face the strain as Paul and AJ continue their Four-Color Flashback exploration of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman with Vol. VII: Brief Lives. Joining them by request (his request) is Broken Magic author and The Deli Counter of Justice cohort Eric Sipple. The gang discusses Dream and Delirium's quest to find their brother, Morpheus growing as a person (or whatever he is), the brief stories and briefer lives embedded within the volume's arc, and how nothing ever stays the same. Brief Lives is the pivotal installment of the series...everything after is fallout. Plus, Paul and Eric gush over Gwen Stacy's resurgence in Edge of Spider-Verse. Next: before Gobbledyween takes over the month of October, the boys are joined by Wanna Cook? authors K. Dale Koontz and Ensley F. Guffey to discuss the next Sandman book, Vol. VIII: Worlds' End.

Here it is. It finally happened. Someone somewhere decided to let these guys run off at the mouth for so long they eventually made it to 200 episodes. To celebrate this cosmic blunder, Paul and AJ have invited their good friend Greg Sahadachny of The Debatable Podcast to turn the tables and interview them. How did Paul and AJ meet? How terrified were they to discover their age difference? How did the show start? What do the boys think represent the show's highs and lows? I'd say this is the most self-indulgent thing we'll ever do, but hey, get back to me on #300. Next: the status returns to quo, as third Gobbler Eric Sipple drops by to help continue the year-long Four-Color Flashback exploration of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. This time, it's Vol. VII: Brief Lives.

For the first time in a very long time, Paul and AJ are joined by On the Rocks co-host (and AJ's cousin) Nathan Burdette. This time, there's no main topic; the boys have a hodgepodge of recent pop culture developments to discuss, including Paul and AJ's fundamental disagreement over whether this episode actually has a main topic. Exciting! The gang gets started talking about the new claims that Jack the Ripper has been unmasked, before AJ proffers a public apology to Anna Kendrick. Then they take a gander at trade show art of the Vision as he appears in The Avengers: Age of Ultron. This leads to two larger subjects: the new documentary Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the ill-advised #GamerGate. Next: here it is, ladies and gentlemen. We've hit the magic number 200. That's right, two hundred episodes of Paul and AJ blathering on about nothing in particular. To celebrate, we've invited our good friend Greg Sahadachny of The Debatable Podcast to take the reins, interviewing the boys about life, the universe, and everything.

After their discussion of Alien for the epic Alien/Predator podcrawl (see information on participating podcasts in the show notes), Paul and AJ now turn to John McTiernan's 1987 sci-fi actioner Predator. Arnold Schwarzenegger stalks the jungle, joined by the likes of tough guys Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and...uh...Shane Black? Sure. They in turn are stalked by a nasty dreadlock-wearing mofo with one ugly mug. Is there anything to this movie? Not really. Does there need to be? The boys are a little divided, with Paul enjoying its macho silliness and AJ doing the opposite of that. One thing they can both agree is that there are a lot of biceps in this movie. Plus, speaking of biceps, AJ starts watching Starz's Spartacus on frenemy Eric Sipple's recommendation. Next: old friend of the show/AJ's cousin Nathan Burdette makes his triumphant return to Gobbledygeek.

Before there was Juno, there was Alien, the ultimate film about unwanted pregnancy. Eggs shooting down throats, penile heads devouring yours, a brand new lifeform bursting forth from your body...Ridley Scott's 1979 classic pokes and prods you where you don't want to be poked and prodded. Paul and AJ kick off an epic podcrawl (see information on participating podcasts in the show notes) about the Alien and Predator films with a look back at the one that started it all, in all its psychosexual glory. Of course, there's more underneath its skin, including gorgeous photography, eerie sound design, slow-mounting tension, a realistic ensemble, and a star-making performance from Sigourney Weaver. But it's mostly about dicks. Plus, Gwen Stacy returns to the pages of Spider-Man comics in an unexpected way. Next: Paul and AJ continue the podcrawl on September 3 with a discussion of John McTiernan's 1987 classic (?) Predator.