Podcasts Archives - Geek Hard

Welcome friends to Back Issue Bloodbath, a comics-centric podcast presented by Geek Hard. Join hosts Andrew Young and Petula Neale as they get down and dirty in the four-colour world of comic books, focusing on classic stories, new issues, comic creators and hot button topics.

If you’re a long time listen to Back Issue Bloodbath, you already know that Andrew loves all things Noir. If you’re a comic book fan, you know that Darwyn Cooke was one of the greats of the modern era. His classic style was a throwback to yesteryears of the funny book business yet always felt relevant. He left this world far too soon, leaving behind some of the best comics and graphic novels any comic fan could ask for. One such graphic novel is Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score.

Before Darwyn became a big name at DC with his masterpiece The New Frontier, he produced a graphic novel in 2002 that would help redefine Catwoman for the 21st Century. Selina’s Big Score is the heist story we always wanted, showcasing the cat burglar’s grand ambitions. Everyone thinks Selina Kyle is dead. She takes advantage of this and plans a great train robbery to steal a large amount of unmarked cash from the mob. Nice work if you can get it. In order to pull off such a feat, she needs a plan, a crew, and a little bit of luck. That last one is a bit hard to come by.

Listen as Andrew and Petula dissect this graphic novel that helped set the table for the Catwoman series by Cooke and Ed Brubaker that would shortly follow. Get ready for some fun as we talk Selina’s Big Score on an ALL NEW Back Issue Bloodbath!

Have an idea for a certain topic we should cover? Have an indie comic book you’d like us to review? Send us an email at [email protected] with “Back Issue Bloodbath” in the subject line. We’d love to hear from you. And be sure to join our Facebook page for exclusive content. Support us on Patreon.

If you’re gonna geek out, GEEK HARD!

Originally Aired: 02/07/20 – We review Birds of Prey. We celebrate our 10th anniversary with Kelly Thompson and Kristian Bruun.

Show Notes:

Our review of Birds of Prey starring Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. It’s open season on Harley Quinn when her explosive breakup with the Joker puts a big fat target on her back. Unprotected and on the run, Quinn faces the wrath of narcissistic crime boss Black Mask, his right-hand man, Victor Zsasz, and every other thug in the city. But things soon even out for Harley when she becomes unexpected allies with three deadly women — Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya.

We celebrate our 505th episode & 10th year on air at Reality Radio 101. This week we also broadcast from the studio on Facebook Live.

That’s right is that time of year again where we present our Froggy Awards to the guests we have spoken to in 2019. Up first is our award for the Best Comic Creator Guest of 2019 – aka The Golden Grant Award. Kelly Thompson called in to accept her award and speak with us about Captain Marvel, the upcoming Black Widow and more. Next up is our award for the Best Video Interview of 2019. After much deliberation, we gave this award to Bruce Campbell who Mr. Green spoke with at Fan Expo 2019 for his work on the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! reboot, Ash vs. Evil Dead, his thoughts on superhero films and more check out the full video here. The award for our Guest of the Year 2019 went to actor/wingman/dad bod Kristian Bruun (Dave Leigh on Carter). Kristian joined us via phone to accept his award and talk with us about the Carter, dad bods all with his mom. Finally, we also gave our first Froggy to our pick for Guest of the Decade!

It was a great show!

Geek Hard is brought to you by Durham Escape Rooms! If you’re looking for a fun time in the Toronto area, make a trip out to 1121 Dundas Street East, Unit 9 in Whitby. Bring your friends, family or co-workers and solve puzzles and clues in an exciting escape experience. Find out more info HERE!

Geek Hard Extra:

Plus exclusively for our $4/month+ Patreon supporters, our latest Geek Hard Extra episode we look back on 10 years of Geek Hard with some stories and memories from the last ten years.

If you’re gonna geek out, GEEK HARD!

Production Credits:

Geek Hard Logo – Candice Hibbard and Rich Robbins Technical Production – Gary LaBarr, Recorded at the Reality Radio 101 StudioHosts/Producers – Andrew Young & James Green

Music Credits:

Opening Music “Eterna Teen” by Mark Holman“Sure Shot” by Beastie Boys“Black Hole Sun” by Stories featuring Jennah Bell“Joke’s On You” by Charlotte Lawrence“Experiment on Me” by Halsey“Titans Spirit” by Trevor RabinClosing...

Welcome friends to Back Issue Bloodbath, a comics-centric podcast presented by Geek Hard. Join hosts Andrew Young and Petula Neale as they get down and dirty in the four-colour world of comic books, focusing on classic stories, new issues, comic creators and hot button topics.

This week on Bloodbath, we take a trip into the world of Young Adult Graphic Novels! DC Ink, an imprint of DC Comics, has a new line of graphic novels geared toward pre-teen and teenage readers showcasing some of the company’s biggest characters. Over the past year, they released books starring Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman), Raven from Teen Titans, Mera, and Batman. Each of these books have great production value and sport awesome creative talent. Back in September, they did it again with Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass.

Written by Mariko Tamaki and featuring the artwork of Steve Pugh, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is the retelling of Harley’s origin and her introduction to Gotham City. With only 5 dollars and a knapsack, 15 year old Harleen Quinzel is sent to live with her estranged Grandmother. When she arrives, she finds out that her granny is dead. But things are not all that bad when she’s taken in by Mama, Gotham’s finest Drag Queen. She also enrols at Gotham High and meets her new best friend, Ivy. Things are great until they’re not. A story of gentrification, anarchy and true friendship follows.

Join Andrew and Petula as they look at Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass and give their thoughts on the story and art. There’s also talk of drag shows, film clubs and creepy guys in masks. What else would you expect from Back Issue Bloodbath? Give it a listen!

Have an idea for a certain topic we should cover? Have an indie comic book you’d like us to review? Send us an email at [email protected] with “Back Issue Bloodbath” in the subject line. We’d love to hear from you. And be sure to join our Facebook page for exclusive content. Support us on Patreon.

If you’re gonna geek out, GEEK HARD!

Originally Aired: 01/31/20 – We give our Best Films of the Decade. We talk with actor Gabriel Darku of October Faction and with actor Nelson Leis of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Show Notes:

We talk with actor Gabriel Darku. Gabriel plays Geoff Allen on the new Netflix series October Faction. We had star J.C. MacKenzie on last week to talk about the show. Now we find out more from the guy that plays his son on the series this week! Gabriel Darku was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and raised in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Gabriel’s interest in acting started when he was cast in a McDonald’s commercial in 2012. His first big break came when he was cast as a lead role in REBOOT: THE GUARDIAN CODE. Gabriel has appeared in several major film and television productions including SHADOWHUNTERS: THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS, PRIVATE EYES, AMERICAN GODS, SLASHER, and IMPULSE, among others. Coming up next, you can catch Gabriel as Geoff Allen in the new highly anticipated Netflix series OCTOBER FACTION which follows the adventures of a retired monster- hunter and his family.

This episode is one week away from our Tenth Anniversary on the air! As a pre-celebration, we give our picks for the best films we’ve reviewed over the past decade. There have been so many films that we have reviewed, previewed or discussed on the show for interviews it made the selections difficult. However, we both managed to come up with our Top 5 movies after a decade of Geek Hard. Sadly there are some films that are not on the list because of our rule that it had to be a film that was previously released and on the show in the past decade. Between us, we have seen over 1000 films in the last decade we needed a way to help cut that list down to a more manageable selection. Tell us what you think and what we missed on our lists.

We also talk with actor Nelson Leis. If you heard last week’s show, you know we gave our review of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 3. Most of the season takes place in Hell. Nelson appears throughout the show as Beelzebub, one of the Demon Kings of Hell. Nelson Leis is a dynamic character actor with a diverse and extensive resume. Not only is he accomplished in the worlds of film and television but over the years his brilliant energy has also been seen on stage. Up next Nelson will reprise his recurring role as the demon Beelzebub in part three of Netflix’s wildly successful series “Chilling Adventure of Sabrina” out January 24th. Nelson has had the pleasure of working opposite huge talent such as Kevin Bacon in the Lifetime film “Story Of A Girl” directed by Kyra Sedgwick, Steve Zahn in Nat Geographic Channel’s “Valley of the Boom”, Rainn Wilson in FOX’s “Backstrom”, Freddy Highmore in A&E’s “Bates Motel” and Joel Kinnamen in AMC’s “The Killing”. He has also guest-starred on The CW’s “Supernatural”, “The Flash” and “Arrow”.

It was a great show!

Geek Hard is brought to you by Durham Escape Rooms! If you’re looking for a fun time in the Toronto area, make a trip out to 1121 Dundas Street East, Unit 9 in Whitby. Bring your friends, family or co-workers and solve puzzles and clues in an exciting escape experience. Find out more info HERE!

Geek Hard Extra:

Plus exclusively for our $4/month+ Patreon supporters, our latest Geek Hard Extra episode we discuss WWE issues in a post Royal Rumble world.

Welcome friends to Back Issue Bloodbath, a comics-centric podcast presented by Geek Hard. Join hosts Andrew Young and Petula Neale as they get down and dirty in the four-colour world of comic books, focusing on classic stories, new issues, comic creators and hot button topics.

On this week’s Bloodbath, we revisit everybody’s favourite topic: REBOOTS! That is, everyone except Andrew. Much like retcons and event books, reboots are a staple of the comics industry. They are a complicated endeavour when done right and a dumpster fire when handled incorrectly. Of all the types of reboots out there, “Ground Up Reboots” are the hardest to pull off.

What’s a Ground Up Reboot? That’s when you start the character back at zero, throwing away most or all of the previous continuity. We’ve seen it recently with House of X and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. We’ve seen it back in the day with Hawkman. DC and Marvel have done Ground Up Reboots on their entire lines. Crisis on Infinite Earths, The New 52, and the 2015 Secret Wars were all Ground Up Reboots that might as well have been Scorched Earth attempts. The Ultimate Universe at Marvel was an imprint line but it almost replaced the 616 Universe. As previously stated, Ground Up Reboots are just a staple of the business.

Join Andrew and Petula as they look back on the more popular Ground Up Reboots. Some are good. Some are bad. All left their mark on the comics industry. It’s all coming your way on an ALL NEW, ALL DIFFERENT episode of Back Issue Bloodbath.

Have an idea for a certain topic we should cover? Have an indie comic book you’d like us to review? Send us an email at [email protected] with “Back Issue Bloodbath” in the subject line. We’d love to hear from you. And be sure to join our Facebook page for exclusive content. Support us on Patreon.

If you’re gonna geek out, GEEK HARD!

Originally Aired: 01/24/20 – We review Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – Part 3. We talk with actor J.C. MacKenzie of October Faction and with stunt performer Zandara Kennedy of Nancy Drew.

Show Notes:

We talk with actor J.C. MacKenzie. J.C. has appeared in 5 Martin Scorsese films including The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street and most recently, The Irishman. He talks about his new Netflix series, October Faction, available now. J.C. MacKenzie was born in Peterborough, Ontario on October 17, 1970. He later studied at Concordia University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His first television success came as Arnold Spivak in the Emmy Award-winning television series Murder One, which ran for two seasons on ABC. He was cast as Reagan “Normal” Ronald in the series Dark Angel, which won a People’s Choice Award and ran for two seasons on Fox. Some of his more recent notable roles include Fred Allen on October Faction, Dr. Arnold Spivak on Hemlock Grove and Skip Fontaine on Vinyl. He has made over 150 television appearances.

Our review of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 3 starring Kiernan Shipka, Ross Lynch and Lucy Davis. Though she defeated her father Lucifer, the Dark Lord remains trapped within the human prison. Sabrina can’t live with herself, knowing that Nick made the ultimate sacrifice and is suffering, burning in Hell under Madam Satan’s watchful eye. So with an assist from her mortal friends, “The Fright Club” (consisting of Harvey, Rosalind, and Theo), Sabrina makes it her mission to free him from eternal damnation and bring him back into her arms. However, the Dark Lord’s unseating has sent shockwaves through the realms—and, with no on the throne, Sabrina must assume the title of “Queen” to defend it against a challenger, the handsome Prince of Hell Caliban. Meanwhile, in Greendale, a mysterious carnival rolls into town, bringing with it a threat to the Spellmans and the coven: A tribe of pagans looking to resurrect an ancient evil.

We also talk with stunt performer Zandara Kennedy! Zandara is the stunt coordinator and leader of the stunt team for the CW series Nancy Drew! She talks to us all about the work that goes into choreographing, creating and executing stunts for film and television productions. Zandara Kennedy is a force to be reckoned with. When Zandara discovered stunt work was a profession, she worked diligently to become a stunt performer, honing her skills in a multitude of disciplines that would help her achieve this goal. As a stunt performer, Zandara has worked on high profile films such as MONSTER TRUCKS, DEADPOOL 2 and DARK PHOENIX. Her t.v. credits include “Arrow”, “The Flash”, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, amongst others. Most recently, she was brought on to head up the stunt department as coordinator on The CW’s hit new show “Nancy Drew”, which premiered October 9, 2019. 

It was a great show!

Geek Hard is brought to you by Durham Escape Rooms! If you’re looking for a fun time in the Toronto area, make a trip out to 1121 Dundas Street East, Unit 9 in Whitby. Bring your friends, family or co-workers and solve puzzles and clues in an exciting escape experience. Find out more info HERE!

Geek Hard Extra:

Welcome friends to Back Issue Bloodbath, a comics-centric podcast presented by Geek Hard. Join hosts Andrew Young and Petula Neale as they get down and dirty in the four-colour world of comic books, focusing on classic stories, new issues, comic creators and hot button topics.

This week on Bloodbath, it’s another creator spotlight as we look at the works of artist Mike McKone. Mike’s been working in comic since the early nineties and has always produced solid artwork. He started out as a fill in artist but eventually had memorable runs on Exiles, Teen Titans, Avengers Academy, Spider-Man and Fantastic Four. Over the past 3 decades, Mike has drawn practically every character at Marvel and DC in one book or another. Even with this great accomplishment under his belt, there’s still some folks not familiar with him. But to the hardcore fans, he’s one of comics’ greatest workhorses.

Join Andrew and Petula as they look back on Mike McKone’s career and some of the stand out series he’s worked on. There is much love for his work on team books. There’s a lot of love given to McKone’s characters’ facial expressions as well.

You’ll also hear a brief snippet from an interview Andrew conducted with Mike back in 2012 at the Toronto Comicon. Andrew asked him the hard question: Who would win a fight? The Teen Titans or Avengers Academy? Find out his answer on an ALL NEW, ALL DIFFERENT episode of Back Issue Bloodbath!

Have an idea for a certain topic we should cover? Have an indie comic book you’d like us to review? Send us an email at [email protected] with “Back Issue Bloodbath” in the subject line. We’d love to hear from you. And be sure to join our Facebook page for exclusive content. Support us on Patreon.

If you’re gonna geek out, GEEK HARD!

Originally Aired: 01/17/20 – We review Dolittle. We talk with actor Zahra Benthem and we play Andrew’s interview with Paula Brancati and Erin Berry of Majic from the Blood in the Snow Film Festival.

Show Notes:

We play Andrew’s Interview with actor Paula Brancati and director Erin Berry of their film Majic. Andrew got to speak with them back in November as part of the Blood in the Snow Film Festival. An anti-conspiracy video blogger thinks she is slipping into an alternate reality after being approached by an old man claiming to have worked for the legendary Majestic-12 (aka majic), the covert US spy agency, created after the UFO incident at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. Andrew had a great time talking with both about the film.

Our review of Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas and Michael Sheen. Dr. John Dolittle lives in solitude behind the high walls of his lush manor in 19th-century England. His only companionship comes from an array of exotic animals that he speaks to on a daily basis. But when young Queen Victoria becomes gravely ill, the eccentric doctor and his furry friends embark on an epic adventure to a mythical island to find the cure.

We also talk with actor Zahra Bentham. Zahra appears in episodes Spinning Out, a new series now streaming on Netflix. She also stars in the upcoming Netflix Series Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker. She talks about these shows and more! Zahra Bentham is a fast-rising star who was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. To date, Zahra has amassed a significant body of work in several film and television productions including ROOKIE BLUE, CRACKED, PRIVATE EYES, RANSOM, SAVE ME, QUEEN OF THE MORNING CALM and WHITE LIE. She can be seen in SPINNING OUT about a figure skating Olympic hopeful. Zahra plays Alana, an upperclassman in college and the concierge at the Sun Valley Lodge. Zahra also stars as Nettie Ransom in the new and highly anticipated series MADAM CJ. WALKER about African American entrepreneur Sarah Breedlove who built a haircare empire that made her America’s first female self-made millionaire, premiering in 2020 on Netflix. 

It was a great show!

Geek Hard is brought to you by Durham Escape Rooms! If you’re looking for a fun time in the Toronto area, make a trip out to 1121 Dundas Street East, Unit 9 in Whitby. Bring your friends, family or co-workers and solve puzzles and clues in an exciting escape experience. Find out more info HERE!

Geek Hard Extra:

Plus exclusively for our $4/month+ Patreon supporters, our latest Geek Hard Extra episode we discuss HBO’s Watchmen series and a possible second season.

If you’re gonna geek out, GEEK HARD!

Production Credits:

Geek Hard Logo – Candice Hibbard and Rich Robbins Technical Production – Gary LaBarr, Recorded at the Reality Radio 101 StudioHosts/Producers – Andrew Young & James Green

Welcome friends to Back Issue Bloodbath, a comics-centric podcast presented by Geek Hard. Join hosts Andrew Young and Petula Neale as they get down and dirty in the four-colour world of comic books, focusing on classic stories, new issues, comic creators and hot button topics.

The X-Men comic franchise is one of constant change. Much like it’s natural being, the series has evolved to new and interesting results throughout the years. The titles have sported adjectives like Uncanny, and Amazing, and Extreme! This week on Bloodbath, we look at the series that was Astonishing!

2004 saw the launch of Astonishing X-Men. Written by television writer and producer Joss Whedon with artwork from the fantastic John Cassaday, the book was an instant success. The series built on the stories previously done by Grant Morrison but also payed tribute to the works of Claremont and Byrne. The first story arc, Gifted, set the stage taking away the focus from the more popular Wolverine and Cyclops and giving it to fan favourite Kitty Pryde. New villains were introduced and an X-Man returned from the dead! Just another day at the office for Marvel’s Merry Mutants.

Join Andrew and Petula as they take a look back on this X-citing chapter of the Children of the Atom. They look at what came before and see how it influenced Whedon’s run in this first story. They also unpack the emotional scenes of the return, the aftermath, and all the comedy and high jinx that came with it. Things get Astonishing indeed in this look back of Astonishing X-Men! It’s all happening on an ALL NEW, ALL DIFFERENT Back Issue Bloodbath!

Have an idea for a certain topic we should cover? Have an indie comic book you’d like us to review? Send us an email at [email protected] with “Back Issue Bloodbath” in the subject line. We’d love to hear from you. And be sure to join our Facebook page for exclusive content. Support us on Patreon.

If you’re gonna geek out, GEEK HARD!

Originally Aired: 01/10/20 – We review Underwater. We talk with actor Sandy Sidhu of Nurses and with writer Matthew Rosenberg of Hawkeye: Freefall.

Show Notes:

We talk with actor Sandy Sidhu. Over the past decade, Sandy has popped up on some of your favourite t.v. shows. Now she has a starring role in the new series Nurses, premiering this week on Global. She’ll be on to talk about the new show and more! Sandy Sidhu is a fast-rising star who was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. After landing her first role ever as a recurring guest star on STARGATE UNIVERSE, Sandy would continue to be cast in other prominent roles in major television series. Sandy’s big break came when she was got the role as Priya on GREY’S ANATOMY playing the love interest of Jackson Avery portrayed by Jesse Williams. To date, Sandy has amassed a significant body of work in several film and television productions including SUPERNATURAL, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, FALLING SKIES, YOU ME HER, and SUPERGIRL (THE CW/CBS). Sandy can be seen in her first leading role starring as Nazneen Khan in the new medical drama NURSES.

Our review of Underwater starring Kristen Stewart, T.J. Miller, Jessica Henwick. A crew of aquatic researchers work to get to safety after an earthquake devastates their subterranean laboratory. But the crew has more than the ocean seabed to fear.

We also talk with writer and the winner of the 2018 Geek Hard Comic Creator Guest of the Year, Matthew Rosenberg! Matthew currently has a new Marvel series hitting the stands – Hawkeye Freefall. Matthew will be on to tell us all about the new comic and more. Issue #1 of the series is now available! Pick it up and give it a read much like Clint Barton, Rosenberg’s stories never miss!

It was a great show!

Geek Hard is brought to you by Durham Escape Rooms! If you’re looking for a fun time in the Toronto area, make a trip out to 1121 Dundas Street East, Unit 9 in Whitby. Bring your friends, family or co-workers and solve puzzles and clues in an exciting escape experience. Find out more info HERE!

Geek Hard Extra:

Plus exclusively for our $4/month+ Patreon supporters, our latest Geek Hard Extra episode we discuss recently released The New Mutants trailer and a few others as well.

If you’re gonna geek out, GEEK HARD!

Production Credits:

Geek Hard Logo – Candice Hibbard and Rich Robbins Technical Production – Gary LaBarr, Recorded at the Reality Radio 101 StudioHosts/Producers – Andrew Young & James Green

Music Credits:

Opening Music “Eterna Teen” by Mark Holman“What is Hip” by Tokyo Groove Jyoshi“I’m Fine” by Hazel English“With You” by Jack and Rai“Get Ready” by The Temptations“Ocean Man” by Ween“Main Attraction” by Jeremy Renne...