Marvel by the Month

Miles Stokes is one-half of the podcasting duo behind Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men, the Marvel history show that's basically what we do, except: they only cover mutant-adjacent Marvel books, they've been doing it for more than twice as long as we have, and they actually have some idea of what they're talking about. Also very much worth checking out is Miles' Thor podcast, The Lightning and the Storm, which he co-hosted with Elisabeth Allie.

SEE MILES AND MBTM AND MORE LIVE AT BOOKS WITH PICTURES! On Saturday, September 10th, the Eisner Award-winning Books with Pictures will host Block with Party, an official Rose City Comic Con afterparty. At 7 pm, four of Portland's hometown Marvel-themed podcasts — Miles from Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men, Voice of Latveria, Werewolf by Night Podcast, and Marvel by the Month — will team up for Fan-Castic Four, a comics podcasting event, where we will come together to walk you through a milestone Marvel comic with something in it for each of us. Plus special guests! It's gonna be fun!

For an additional 20 minutes of this episode, which includes our discussion of Amazing Spider-Man #106, support us at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth. Subscribers at the $4/month level get instant access to our bonus feed of content that contains over 50 extended and exclusive episodes — with more being added every week!

Deep Dives in this Episode: 

"The Horror That Walks On Air!" - Fantastic Four #120, by Stan Lee and John Buscema w/Joe Sinnott, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The Beast!" - Amazing Adventures #11, written by Gerry Conway, art by Tom Sutton and Syd Shores, ©1971 Marvel Comics

Quick Summaries in this Episode:

"And Behind the Hordes of Hydra..." - Captain America #147, written by Gary Friedrich, art by Sal Buscema and John Verpoorten, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Night Flight!" - Daredevil #85, written by Gerry Conway, art by Gene Colan and Syd Shores, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The Inheritor!" - Incredible Hulk #149, written by Archie Goodwin, art by Herb Trimpe and John Severin, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Doomsmasque!" - Sub-Mariner #47, written by Gerry Conway, art by Gene Colan and Mike Esposito, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The Well At the Edge of the World!" - Thor #197, written by Gerry Conway, art by John Buscema and Vince Colletta, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Marvel by the Month" theme v. 3.0 by Robb Milne, sung by Barb Allen. All incidental music by Robb Milne.

Visit us on internet at marvelbythemonth.com, follow us on Instagram at @marvelbythemonthand Twitter at @MarvelBTM, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth.

Much of our historical context information comes from Wikipedia. Please join us in supporting them at wikimediafoundation.org. And many thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics, an invaluable resource for release dates and issue information.

For an extra 45 minutes of this episode, including Bendis's behind-the-scenes commentary on how Marvel approaches producing comics events, how Secret Invasion came about, Roy Thomas's underrated contributions to the concept of a "shared universe," the fundamentals of good collaboration, the pros and cons of the Marvel Method, and NEAL FREAKIN' ADAMS' pitch for a Secret Invasion follow-up, in his OWN WORDS, subscribe at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth for just $4/month and get access to our bonus feed of more than 50 extended and exclusive bonus episodes, with more being added every week!

As for our guest: we're pretty sure that the Venn diagram of "listeners of this podcast" is completely encircled by "people who know who Brian Michael Bendis is," but here's the TL;DR just in case — he's the second-most important writer in Marvel Comics history after Stan Lee.

Here's the slightly longer version: Brian Michael Bendis is a five-time Eisner Award-winning comics creator who spent 18 years writing virtually every character in the Marvel Universe, with critically and commercially successful runs on Jessica Jones: Alias, Daredevil, Avengers (Dark, Mighty, New, and original flavor), Moon Knight, X-Men (Uncanny and All-New), Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man (Invincible, International, and Infamous), and Defenders. 

He was one of the chief architects of Marvel's Ultimate Universe, writing story arcs for Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate Power, Ultimate Origins, and every single issue of Ultimate Spider-Man. His 111-consecutive-issue run on Ultimate Spider-Man with Mark Bagley holds the record for longest continuous writer/artist partnership in Marvel Comics history.

Bendis was also the driving creative force behind Marvel's biggest events of the 21st century, including House of M, Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, Siege, Avengers vs. X-Men, Age of Ultron, X-Men: Battle of the Atom, and Civil War II. With his artistic collaborators, he's responsible for co-creating some of Marvel's most significant new characters of the last two decades, including Miles Morales, Jessica Jones, Maria Hill, Ronin, Riri "Ironheart" Williams, and Daisy "Quake" Johnson.

That doesn't even include his creator-owned work, currently being published by Dark Horse Comics, which includes Joy Operations, Pearl, United States vs. Murder, Inc., Scarlet, Cover, Powers, and the Jinxworld line of crime comics (Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, and Torso).

He's also writing some "detective comics" about a league of justice or superhero legion or something, but we weren't able to find any information about that. Sorry! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Issues Covered in this Episode: 

"This Beachhead Earth" - Avengers #93, written by Roy Thomas, art by Neal Adams and Tom Palmer, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"More Than Inhuman!" / "1971: A Space Odyssey" / "Behold the Mandroids!" - Avengers #94, written by Roy Thomas, art by Neal Adams, John Buscema, and Tom Palmer, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Something Inhuman This Way Comes..!" - Avengers #95, written by Roy Thomas, art by Neal Adams and Tom Palmer, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The Andromeda Swarm!" - Avengers #96, written by Roy Thomas, art by Neal Adams, Tom Palmer, and Adam Weiss, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Godhood's End!" - Avengers #97, written by Roy Thomas and Neal Adams, art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Marvel by the Month" theme v. 3.0 by Robb Milne, sung by Barb Allen. All incidental music by Robb Milne.

Visit us on internet at marvelbythemonth.com, follow us on Instagram at @marvelbythemonth and Twitter at @MarvelBTM, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth.

In addition to being the voice of our favorite Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing in Marvel's Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show!, Hal Lublin is the multi-talented writer, actor, and host of the Good Morning Night Vale, We Got This, and Tights and Fights podcasts.

For an additional 20 minutes of this episode, which includes our discussion of Incredible Hulk #148, support us at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth. Subscribers at the $4/month level get instant access to our bonus feed of content that contains over 50 extended and exclusive episodes — with more being added every week!

Deep Dives in this Episode: 

"The Spider Slayer!" - Amazing Spider-Man #105, written by Stan Lee, art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"And Men Shall Call Him... Warlock!" - Marvel Premiere #1 (Adam Warlock), written by Roy Thomas, art by Gil Kane and Dan Adkins, ©1971 Marvel Comics

Quick Summaries in this Episode:

"To End In Flame!" - Astonishing Tales #10, written by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, art by Barry Smith and Sal Buscema, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Mission: Destroy the Femme Force!" - Captain America #146, written by Gary Friedrich, art by Sal Buscema and John Verpoorten, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Night of the Assassin!" - Daredevil #84, written by Gerry Conway, art by Gene Colan and Syd Shores, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Three Stood Together!" - Fantastic Four #119, written by Roy Thomas, art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Beneath the Armor Beats a Heart!" - Iron Man #45, written by Gary Friedrich and Steve Englehart, art by George Tuska and Vince Colletta, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Even the Noble Die!" - Sub-Mariner #46, written by Gerry Conway, art by Gene Colan and Mike Esposito, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Within the Realm of Kartag!" - Thor #196, written by Gerry Conway, art by John Buscema and Vince Colletta, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Marvel by the Month" theme v. 3.0 by Robb Milne, sung by Barb Allen. All incidental music by Robb Milne.

Visit us on internet at marvelbythemonth.com, follow us on Instagram at @marvelbythemonth and Twitter at @MarvelBTM, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth.

Much of our historical context information comes from Wikipedia. Please join us in supporting them at wikimediafoundation.org. And many thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics, an invaluable resource for release dates and issue information.

*except for that one jerk on Twitter.

For an additional 30 minutes of this episode, including recaps of Fantastic Four #118 and Sub-Mariner #45, support us at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth. Subscribers at the $4/month level get instant access to our bonus feed of content that contains over 50 extended and exclusive episodes — with more being added every week!

Deep Dives in this Episode: 

"Armageddon on Avenue 'A'" - Iron Man #44, written by Roy Thomas, art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The Beauty and the Brute!" - Amazing Spider-Man #104, written by Roy Thomas, art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia, ©1971 Marvel Comics

Quick Summaries in this Episode:

"-- In His Hand --- The World!" - Amazing Adventures #10, written by Gerry Conway, art by Mike Sekowsky and Frank Giacoia, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Skyjacked!" - Captain America #145, written by Gary Friedrich, art by Gil Kane and John Romita, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The Widow Accused!" - Daredevil #83, written by Gerry Conway, art by Alan Weiss, Barry Smith, and Bill Everett, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The End of Doc Samson!" - Incredible Hulk #147, written by Gerry Conway, art by Herb Trimpe and John Severin, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Heaven Is a Very Small Place!" - Incredible Hulk #147, written by Roy Thomas, art by Herb Trimpe and John Severin, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Nightmare On Bald Mountain!" - Marvel Feature #2 (Defenders), written by Roy Thomas, art by Ross Andru and Sal Buscema, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"In the Shadow of Mangog!" - Thor #195, written by Gerry Conway, art by John Buscema and Vince Colletta, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Weep For a Lost Nightmare!" - Iron Man #44, written by Robert Kanigher and Gerry Conway, art by George Tuska and Vince Colletta, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Marvel by the Month" theme v. 3.0 by Robb Milne, sung by Barb Allen. All incidental music by Robb Milne.

Visit us on internet at marvelbythemonth.com, follow us on Instagram at @marvelbythemonth and Twitter at @MarvelBTM, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth.

Much of our historical context information comes from Wikipedia. Please join us in supporting them at wikimediafoundation.org. And many thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics, an invaluable resource for release dates and issue information.

For an additional 22 minutes of this episode, including recaps of Incredible Hulk #46, Sub-Mariner #44, and Thor #194, support us at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth. Subscribers at the $4/month level get instant access to our bonus feed of content that contains nearly 50 extended and exclusive episodes — with more being added every week!

Stories Covered In This Episode:

"Walk the Savage Land!" - Amazing Spider-Man #103 - 20¢ issue, 24 pages, written by Roy Thomas, art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The Legend of the Lizard Men!" - Astonishing Tales #9, written by Stan Lee, art by John Buscema, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Now Send the Scorpion" - Daredevil #82, written by Gerry Conway, art by Gene Colan and Jack Abel, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The Flame and the Quest!" - Fantastic Four #117, written by Archie Goodwin, art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Hydra Over All!" and “The Falcon Fights Alone!” - Captain America #144, written by Gary Friedrich, art by John Romita and Gray Morrow, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Marvel by the Month" theme v. 3.0 by Robb Milne, sung by Barb Allen. All incidental music by Robb Milne.

Visit us on internet at marvelbythemonth.com, follow us on Instagram at @marvelbythemonthand Twitter at @MarvelBTM, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth.

Much of our historical context information comes from Wikipedia. Please join us in supporting them at wikimediafoundation.org. And many thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics, an invaluable resource for release dates and issue information.

Jacob Balcom and Matt Howell are just about to kick off the third season of their podcast devoted to Marvel's #1 lycanthrope. Listen and subscribe to the Werewolf by Night Podcast wherever you get your audio entertainment.

For an additional 45 minutes of this episode — including our deep dives into the second half of the debut of Morbius the Living Vampire in Amazing Spider-Man #102 and the first(-ish) appearance of Xemnu the Living Titan in Monsters on the Prowl #11 — support us on Patreon at the $4/month level to unlock our super-secret bonus feed of content, with nearly 50 extended and exclusive episodes!

Stories Covered In Detail This Episode:

"Werewolf by Night" - Marvel Spotlight #2, written by Gerry Conway, art by Mike Ploog, ©1971 Marvel Comics

MONSTER by the Minute Stories In This Episode:

"I Turned Into a... Martian" - Fear #4, art by Steve Ditko, ©1960/1971 Marvel Comics

"Gigantus, The Monster That... Walked Like a Man" - Where Monsters Dwell #10, art by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, ©1960/1971 Marvel Comics

"Where Walks the Werewolf" - Creatures on the Loose #13, written by Len Wein, art by Reed Crandall, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"What Lurks on Channel X?" - Fear #5, art by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers, ©1961/1971 Marvel Comics

"MONSTER by the Month" theme and all incidental music by Robb Milne.

Visit us on internet at marvelbythemonth.com, follow us on Instagram at @marvelbythemonth, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth.

Much of our historical context information comes from Wikipedia. Please join us in supporting them at wikimediafoundation.org. And many thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics, an invaluable resource for release dates and issue information.

In addition to being the only person with an @marvel.com address who doesn't immediately flag our emails as spam, Tom Brevoort is Marvel Comics' longest-tenured editor. His official titles are Executive Editor and Senior Vice President of Publishing, but he's basically been shepherding Marvel comics to our local shops for more than two decades, and he's an integral part of charting the editorial direction of Marvel's line on a daily basis. Ensmarten yourself about the history of comics by reading his website and subscribing to his newsletter, and also picking up a copy of the Eisner Award-nominated Fantastic Four No. 1: Panel by Panel.

For an additional 55 minutes of this episode, including our deep dive into Thor #193, our rundown of seven more Marvel comics from this month, and a whole lot more Marvel history (like whether or not Johnny Storm was supposed to be a member of the Fantastic Four, and how Marvel got in trouble with the Nixon administration), support us at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth. Subscribers at the $4/month level get instant access to our bonus feed of content that contains nearly 50 extended and exclusive episodes — with more being added every week!

Stories Covered In Detail This Episode:

"The Alien, the Ally, and -- Armageddon!" - Fantastic Four #116, written by Archie Goodwin, art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"This Beachhead Earth" - Avengers #93, written by Roy Thomas, art by Neal Adams and Tom Palmer, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Marvel by the Month" theme v. 3.0 by Robb Milne, sung by Barb Allen. All incidental music by Robb Milne.

Visit us on internet at marvelbythemonth.com, follow us on Instagram at @marvelbythemonthand Twitter at @MarvelBTM, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth.

Much of our historical context information comes from Wikipedia. Please join us in supporting them at wikimediafoundation.org. And many thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics, an invaluable resource for release dates and issue information.

In this episode, Elliott Kalan begins his Rocky-style training montage to prepare for The Flop House's first LIVE show in over two years! If you're going to be anywhere near Brooklyn, NY on Sunday, August 7th, you owe it to yourself to buy a ticket today and see The Original Peaches live at The Bell House!

And hey, while you're on the internet, how about leaving a five-star review for The Flop House as a 15th birthday present for the world's best podcast! (And then check out Elliott's other podcast, The Who Was? Podcast and buy a copy of Maniac of New York: The Bronx Is Burning.)

For an additional 50 minutes of this episode, including deep dives into Doctor Doom's quest to save his mother's damned soul in Astonishing Tales #8 and the debut of the Defenders in Marvel Premiere #1,plus our listener recommendations, support us at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth. Subscribers at the $4/month level get instant access to our bonus feed of content that contains nearly 50 extended and exclusive episodes — with more being added every week!

Stories Covered In Detail This Episode:

"A Monster Called... Morbius!" - Amazing Spider-Man #101, written by Roy Thomas, art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia, ©1971 Marvel Comics

Other Stories Covered in This Episode:

"The Battle of New Brittannia!" - Astonishing Tales #8, written by Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich, art by Herb Trimpe and Tom Sutton, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"This Badge Bedeviled!" - Astonishing Tales #8, written by Len Wein and Mike Friedrich, art by George Tuska and Mike Esposito, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"All Things Must End!" - Avengers #92, written by Roy Thomas, art by Sal Buscema and George Roussos, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"And In the End..." - Captain America #142, written by Gary Friedrich, art by John Romita and Joe Sinnott, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"In the Eyes... of the Owl!" - Daredevil #80, written by Gerry Conway, art by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The Secret of the Eternals" - Fantastic Four #115, written by Stan Lee and Archie Goodwin, art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"The Monster and the Madman!" - Incredible Hulk #144, written by Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich, art by Dick Ayers and John Severin, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"When Demons Wail!" - Iron Man #42, written by Gerry Conway, art by George Tuska and Frank Giacoia, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"And a House Whose Name... Is Death!" - Sub-Mariner #42, written by Gerry Conway, art by George Tuska and Jim Mooney, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Conflagration!" - Thor #192, written by Stan Lee, art by John Buscema and Sam Grainger, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Marvel by the Month" theme v. 3.0 by Robb Milne, sung by Barb Allen. All incidental music by Robb Milne.

Visit us on internet at marvelbythemonth.com, follow us on Instagram at @marvelbythemonthand Twitter at @MarvelBTM, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth.

Much of our historical context information comes from Wikipedia. Please join us in supporting them at wikimediafoundation.org. And many thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics, an invaluable resource for release dates and issue information.

Douglas Wolk is the brilliant but twisted comics scientist behind All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told, the best book ever written about Marvel Comics, ever. He's also the Eisner Award-winning author of Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean, as well as the host of Voice of Latveria, the best podcast ever recorded about Doctor Doom. Partake in his four-color genius at the 616 Society, the one-issue-a-day book club for Marvel Comics nerds.

For an additional 50 minutes of this episode, including the next chapter of the Kree-Skrull War in Avengers #91 and rapid-fire summaries of 10 more stories from June 1971, support us at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth. Subscribers at the $4/month level get instant access to our bonus feed of content that contains over 40 extended and exclusive episodes — with more being added every week!

Stories Covered In Detail This Episode:

"The Spider or the Man?" - Amazing Spider-Man #100, written by Stan Lee, art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Marvel by the Month" theme v. 3.0 by Robb Milne, sung by Barb Allen. All incidental music by Robb Milne.

Visit us on internet at marvelbythemonth.com, follow us on Instagram at @marvelbythemonthand Twitter at @MarvelBTM, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth.

Much of our historical context information comes from Wikipedia. Please join us in supporting them at wikimediafoundation.org. And many thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics, an invaluable resource for release dates and issue information.

Elana Levin is the host of the outstanding Graphic Policy Radio podcast, which talks about comics, genre movies and television all through the lens of politics and social change. Bryan recently guested on a roundtable tribute to the great Neal Adams and didn't mention Expanding Earth Theory even once.

For an additional 40 minutes of this episode, including Doctor Doom's invasion of Wakanda in Astonishing Tales #7 and rapid-fire summaries of eight more stories from May 1971, support us at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth. Subscribers at the $4/month level get instant access to our bonus feed of content that contains over 40 extended and exclusive episodes — with more being added every week!

Stories Covered In Detail This Episode:

"A Day In the Life of --" - Amazing Spider-Man #99, written by Stan Lee, art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"They Shoot Hulks, Don't They?" - Incredible Hulk #142, written by Roy Thomas, art by Herb Trimpe and John Severin, ©1971 Marvel Comics

"Marvel by the Month" theme v. 3.0 by Robb Milne, sung by Barb Allen. All incidental music by Robb Milne.

Visit us on internet at marvelbythemonth.com, follow us on Instagram at @marvelbythemonthand Twitter at @MarvelBTM, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/marvelbythemonth.

Much of our historical context information comes from Wikipedia. Please join us in supporting them at wikimediafoundation.org. And many thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics, an invaluable resource for release dates and issue information.