Talking in Circles

The hosts dive into Marvel's Doctor Strange, discussing how it stacks up against other MCU films. They break down Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Strange's arrogant-to-humble character arc, the film's visual style and its fast-paced action sequences, the supporting cast including Mordo and the Ancient One, and what the movie sets up for the broader Marvel universe. They also explore themes of time, ego, and power.

Chuck, Greg, and Dan explore the world of urban legends just in time for October, from historical tales like the origin of "saved by the bell" and the Galveston ghost face, to famous legends like Black Aggie and the Lost Colony of Roanoke. They also share personal encounters, including a close encounter with bears in the woods and a chilling local story from a butcher shop incident in the late 1970s.

Chuck, Greg, and Craig dive deep into Netflix's Luke Cage with full spoilers. They discuss the show's strong performances, especially Mike Colter as Luke Cage and Rosario Dawson returning as the Night Nurse, the compelling villains in Cottonmouth, Shades, and Diamondback, and how the series uses Harlem's culture and contemporary themes to enrich its narrative. They also touch on the show's biblical undertones, sparse action sequences, and what might come next for the character, including the possibility of Heroes for Hire and the upcoming Defenders series. Before diving into Luke Cage, they share stories from their New York Comic Con trip, including meeting Stan Lee, and discuss trailers for Rogue One and Power Rangers.

The hosts count down their favorite Halloween scary characters from movies, TV shows, and books. Before diving into the top five list, they discuss the Luke Cage Netflix series and its Cage comic book tie-in, along with Greg's thoughts on Stranger Things. The episode features character picks ranging from classic creature features to modern horror villains.

In a change of pace from typical news coverage, the hosts share uplifting stories from around the world. Featuring a teenager donating his new Air Jordans to a homeless person, a 19-year-old giving away a year's worth of free pizza to a youth shelter, a five-year-old using his allowance to help police, domestic violence shelters, and animal rescues, a bus driver safely evacuating 26 children from a burning school bus, firefighters rescuing a horse from a septic tank, and a stranger comforting a distressed baby on an airplane. The episode also includes reviews of the Lethal Weapon TV series, the Image comic Eclipse, and the graphic novel Lazarus.

Dan reviews Kill or Be Killed issues 1-2 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, a psychological crime story about a man who must kill someone within 30 days or face his own demise. Chuck shares his unexpected find of Jurassic Strike Force, a fun kids' comic with dinosaurs and ninja turtle vibes. Greg discusses Magneto Vol 1, exploring the character's identity crisis after losing his powers, and the new Archie reboot by Mark Waid, which modernizes the classic teen drama with genuine character depth. Then the crew plays Best Known For, a game where they guess how many of actors' most famous roles they can name from IMDb.

The crew recovers from illness to recap their third year at Baltimore Comic-Con. They discuss panels from Boom Studios, DC, Marvel, and Valiant, share stories about collecting original art and meeting creators like Frank Cho and Jim Starlin, and recount surprise celebrity encounters with Hayley Atwell and Sean Astin. Dan reviews Frank Cho's new series Skyborne, and Chuck discusses recent Avengers comics including issues with the Sentry character.

The crew drafts the lamest, dorkiest, and most ridiculous characters from comic book history to create the worst possible superhero team. They discuss characters like Goldballs, Arm-Fall-Off Boy, NFL Super Pro, Asbestos Lady, Matter-Eater Lad, Elongated Man, Cipher, and Big Bertha. Listeners can vote on which team would be the most god-awful.

Sorry for the delay in this release as we were dealing with sickness with both people and computers. Luckily this episode is worth the wait. Let's just say this week's topics include the down side of sending to everyone in your office.(True Story) We are Gregless this week as he is off on super special assignment. Chuck and Dan hold down the fort as they review Jason Bourne and discuss DC’s rebirth. In the second half we have a grab bag of questions that include our favorite Superhero costumes and what comic characters we’d like to see on the big or small screen.

Chuck returns to discuss San Diego Comic-Con announcements and trailers. The hosts review the animated Killing Joke film, weighing its faithfulness to the source material against the effectiveness of its added Batgirl storyline. They dive into TV and film news including Wonder Woman, Thor Ragnarok, Doctor Strange, Suicide Squad, The Walking Dead, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Defenders, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Ghost Rider announcement, and Justice League. Chuck also shares stories from his beach vacation, including a high-speed dolphin tour, before a Skype spam interaction interrupts the show.