Multiverse Comics

The Multiverse Comics podcast records from Scott’s childhood home after the shop’s air conditioner fails, then dives into upcoming comics and collected editions they’re most excited for next year. They discuss the confusing legacy of multiple Legions of Super-Heroes and highlight upcoming releases like the Legion of Super-Heroes by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson omnibus, DC Finest lines (including The Question, Blue Beetle, Warlord, Jonah Hex, and Superman family material), more horror and western collections, and DC facsimile and “Work In Progress” oversized sketch editions for Watchmen #1 and The Dark Knight Returns #1. They also touch on Absolute Universe titles (favoring Absolute Superman’s current arc), upcoming events like Batman: Bad Seeds and Superman: Kingdom of Zod, the Golden Age Black Label Superman: The Stranger, and a few notable oddities and miniseries they’re enjoying.

00:00 Audio Apology Intro
00:50 Podcast From Scotts House
01:49 New Legion Confusion
04:17 Legion History Deep Dive
08:24 Legion Entry Points
09:30 Absolute Cassandra Cain
10:05 Ranking Absolute Line
12:54 Wonder Woman Myth Vibes
17:25 Elseworld Rules Debate
19:56 Ultimate Universe Comparisons
21:11 Upcoming DC Events
25:38 DC Finest And Facsimiles
28:16 WIP Editions And JSA News
29:18 Golden Age Stranger Tease
29:51 Caped Crusader Talk
32:34 Weird Al Crossover
33:38 DC Omnibus Highlights
38:51 Deadman And Jonah Hex
41:49 New Avengers Lineup
47:03 Hickman And Endings
51:21 When Stories Should End
56:05 Recording Wrap Up
00:00 Comics Previews & Next Year’s DC/Marvel Highlights | Multiverse Comics Podcast

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Jason and Scott review HBO’s Lanterns premiere, grading it a B+ for respecting Green Lantern lore while leaning into a gritty “True Detective” tone, and discuss how Hal Jordan is portrayed as reckless and jaded. After warning about spoilers, they unpack the episode’s structure across 1996, 2016, and 2026, revealing Hal is dead by the end and his ring is missing while Guy Gardner appears to still have it, raising questions about the show’s “one ring per sector” premise and whether John Stewart ever becomes a Green Lantern. They speculate on the Guardians pressuring John, the mystery surrounding Abin Sur’s crash and alien activity in the town (including Manhunters), and how the timeline might connect to Superman. They praise certain scenes, performances, and the companion podcast, and say they’re excited to keep following the series weekly.

00:00 Premiere Reactions
00:19 Lore Respect and Tone
01:44 Hal Jordan Character Take
02:48 Spoiler Warning and Trailer Clues
04:37 Big Twist and Time Jumps
05:21 One Ring Problem
07:21 Podcast Insights and Timeline Questions
09:12 Favorite Scenes and Cast
11:01 More Ring Action Wanted
11:38 Streaming Wars and Weekly Plans
12:42 Final Thoughts and Recommendation

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Marvel is about to turn its heroes into monsters. What if Spider-Man actually became a spider? What if the good guys were the horror?

This week Jason, Steven, and Scott dig into the new Midnight line — Absolute Midnight X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man from Hickman — plus the DNX mutant-virus event, the road to Amazing Spider-Man #1000, MJ as Venom, a brand-new Miles Morales, and Claremont coming back for Gambit: Wanted. Then we jump over to DC for the Batman: Bad Seeds event with Mayor Poison Ivy running Gotham, the Kingdom of Zod crossover that finally brings Superman back, Ryan North on Flash, a World’s Finest issue where the Justice League plays baseball for the soul of humanity, and two books we can’t stop talking about — Supergirl: Survive and Ram V’s Black Tower. Somewhere in the middle we go fully off the rails debating why a great Marvel writer can flop at DC (and the other way around), and whether it’s finally time to get Bendis back on a Marvel team book.

The Multiverse is your comic shop for all of it. Grab your pre-orders and back issues at multiverse.shop — the Midnight X-Men pre-order is already up. We’re also live on Whatnot three days a week running shows and building the crew, so come hang out and dig through some books with us.

Chapters: 0:00 Intro — Marvel’s Midnight Universe 0:24 Absolute Midnight X-Men, Spidey & Fantastic Four 2:50 Hickman’s horror chops & our House of X love 4:45 MJ: Face It Tiger #1 (DeMatteis) 5:10 Midnight release dates (Aug–Oct) 6:10 DNX — the mutant monster virus (Jed McKay) 8:00 Amazing Spider-Man #1000 & MJ as Venom 9:55 Felicia Hardy & Silk tangent 11:15 A new Miles Morales: Spider-Man (Brian Hill) 11:40 Thor #800 & Ewing’s Immortal Thor 12:40 Marvel’s architects, old and new 15:00 Why DC and Marvel writers aren’t interchangeable 20:00 Gambit: Wanted — Claremont’s back 20:40 Batman: Bad Seeds & Mayor Poison Ivy 21:30 Kingdom of Zod & Superman’s return 26:00 Green Lantern: Hal & Kyle 26:40 Ryan North’s Flash 28:00 World’s Finest — baseball for humanity’s soul 28:30 The Legion of Super-Heroes question 30:00 Should Bendis come back to Marvel? 36:10 Supergirl: Survive (Elseworlds) 37:30 Black Tower: The Raven Conspiracy (Ram V) 38:15 Nothing But Nightwing 39:30 Wrap-up & Whatnot shoutouts

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Is Doctor Doom actually the hero we deserved all along? That’s the question that ends up on the table — and nobody has a clean answer.

Jason, Scott, and Steven dig into what makes Doom work as a character (and what breaks him). They get into *One World Under Doom*, Hickman’s Fantastic Four run, Doom’s unlikely relationship with Valeria Richards, his alliance with Namor, the "Doom would never strike a woman" John Byrne moment, and why RDJ has a lot to prove. They also make the case for why Doom sits somewhere between villain, despot, and reluctant hero — and why that’s exactly what makes him dangerous to get wrong in the MCU.

Grab the books they talked about at multiverse.shop. Singles, trades, back issues — we’ve got you.

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0:00 Intro — Doomquest and the comedic turn
0:46 How Doom has to be written to work
1:35 One World Under Doom — are we better off?
2:30 John Byrne’s best Doom moment
3:15 Doom riding a bear
3:27 Doom and Valeria Richards — Hickman’s run
3:57 How Doom became Valeria’s godfather
5:00 Doom on Mephisto’s throne in Captain America
6:00 Doom vs. Darkseid — who can carry a story?
8:39 The MCU risk: don’t make him Ultron
9:34 Super Villain Team-Up and the Doom/Namor alliance
10:05 Dark Reign and the Cabal
10:44 "I’ll take the land, you’ll take the ocean"
11:14 Namor in the MCU
11:30 Buy all the Doom books
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multiverse.shop

If you’re enjoying the show, subscribe and drop a comment — where do you land on Doom?

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**What Are We Reading? | Comic Talk**

The guys sit down and dig into what’s been in their read piles this week.

Steven can’t stop talking about Bruce Jones’ run on *The Incredible Hulk* — a horror-conspiracy thriller that puts Banner front and center and only unleashes the Hulk when it hits hardest. If you loved *Immortal Hulk*, this is required reading. JR Jr., Mike Deodato, and some of the most underrated covers in Marvel history.

Scott’s on *Justice Society*, where the Spectre is back — and it’s actually Jim Corrigan this time. Plus a very unexpected panel from old-school *Hellblazer* sends the conversation somewhere nobody expected.

Jason picks up *MASK #1* — now in the Energon Universe with Transformers, Void Rivals, and a villain who everyone thinks is crazy... until you remember what universe they’re in. Also: *Absolute Catwoman* impresses with a first-issue reveal that could steal the whole Absolute line.

Then all three dig into *Avengers Armageddon* — is it an event? Is it the Avengers book right now? Does Cap being naked in hell work? They break it all down, plus where Doom fits into all of this before he shows up on the big screen.

Also: blind bags, Rom rights, Chip Zdarsky’s hits and misses, and a deeply unsettling plan to share a reading space.

**Timestamps**
0:00 — Steven’s pick: Bruce Jones’ Incredible Hulk omnibus
9:10 — Scott’s pick: Justice Society & the return of Jim Corrigan’s Spectre
10:40 — That British comic website, Hellblazer, and a panel nobody saw coming
14:55 — Jason’s picks
15:08 — MASK #1 in the Energon Universe
19:29 — Absolute Catwoman #1
21:42 — Avengers Armageddon — all three weigh in

**The Multiverse | Hurst, TX**
📍 multiverse.shop
🔴 Whatnot Live Shows — 3x a week: whatnot.com/user/themultiverse
📸 Instagram: multiversehurst

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Jason, Scott and Stephen discuss the heavy hype leading into Absolute Batman #20 and how many assumed it would feature the first appearance of Robin, only to realize that key “new Robins” first appear in issue #19, which arrived with less warning and left shops unable to prepare orders. They debate whether publishers owe advance clarity, noting Scott Snyder’s approach to holding back covers to avoid spoilers, and compare this surprise rollout to past unannounced first-appearance situations that caused shelf raids. The conversation shifts to comic-shop ordering strategy, balancing subscribers, regular buyers, and new readers while deprioritizing speculators who buy to flip and can destabilize the market. They note the Absolute line’s unusually strong demand, multiple printings, and that their shop now has back stock and may be nearing saturation after sustained interest.

00:00 Issue 20 Hype
01:06 Robin Tease Cover
01:36 Surprise In Issue 19
02:45 Retailer Prep Problem
03:30 Counterpoint Robin Program
04:43 Trust The Brand
06:02 Star Power Examples
09:20 Back To Absolute Batman
09:44 Speculators Versus Readers
10:51 Ordering Issue 20
10:58 The Ordering Tightrope
11:23 Second Prints And Backstock
12:38 New Readers Drive Demand
14:31 Speculator Spillover Worries
16:13 Subs First Then Growth
17:14 A Rare Sales Phenomenon
18:08 Snyder And The Cover Secrets
19:15 Wrap Up And Goodbye

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Stephen, Scott and Jason discuss the resurgence of anthology comics—standalone stories that avoid heavy continuity—citing modern horror and sci‑fi anthologies like Oni Press’s all-new EC-licensed titles (Epitaphs of the Abyss, Cruel Universe, and Cruel Kingdom), Boom Studios’ Hello Darkness, and Twilight Zone comics. They highlight how rotating creative teams and varied styles make anthologies easy to jump into, and note notable contributors. Looking ahead to next year’s 50th anniversary of the long-running British sci‑fi anthology 2000 AD, they explain its weekly “prog” format and its role as an early proving ground for major creators, while also covering Rebellion’s plans to restore U.S. availability after Diamond distribution stopped by printing and distributing 2000 AD domestically through Luna with a short delay from the UK.

00:00 Anthology Comics Return
00:13 What Makes an Anthology
01:08 Continuity Fatigue and Lost
02:14 EC Revival at Oni Press
04:18 New EC Style Titles
06:41 Surprise Stories and Spoilers
07:48 Boom Studios Hello Darkness
09:28 Twilight Zone Comics Love
11:41 UK Anthology Tradition
12:47 Fourth Wing Romance Detour
17:39 2000 AD History Lesson
21:16 US Distribution Goes Weekly
25:45 Why UK Weeklies Work
27:14 Airport Reading Hunt
28:24 Short Stories vs Longform
30:06 Attention Spans Today
31:15 Streaming Release Debate
32:24 TikTok Algorithm Whisperers
33:58 2000 AD Creator Pipeline
36:12 Battle Action Revival
38:24 Britain’s War Culture
43:16 Rebellion Reprints Classics
44:46 D-Day Dawson Twist
47:22 Rogue Trooper Movie Talk
49:12 Weekly Comics in America
50:48 Anthology Variety Appeal
53:49 Wrap Up and Farewell

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It’s New Comic Book Day!! Jason and Scott spotlight Absolute Batman #20 with Mech Robins! They also discuss Barbara Gordon being jailed for vigilantism as Batgirl, with Vandal Savage as police commissioner and Poison Ivy as mayor, noting parallels to the anti-vigilante tone in the current Daredevil TV season and mentioning a new Punisher release. Additional pickups and recommendations include Captain America building toward an Avengers Armageddon summer special and a Magic-style variant cover, Dork reprints and the latest issue, The Fury of Firestorm #2, Iron Man #5, Uncanny X-Men, Transformers, Ultimate Endgame #4, and notable facsimiles and anniversary issues, plus collected editions like Bendis’ New Avengers and Planet Hulk, before encouraging pre-orders and pull lists.

00:00 New Comic Day Hype
00:11 Absolute Batman Robins
01:16 Robin Mechs Talk
03:01 Batgirl Behind Bars
03:44 Disney Plus Side Quest
04:21 Captain America Update
04:54 Indie and DC Picks
06:11 Iron Man Run
07:07 Facsimiles and Spidey
08:44 Trades and Collections

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New Comics May 6th

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