The Collected Edition

Hello everyone! This is just a short bonus episode where Brian and I talk about movie trailers. Specifically, the Superman and Fantastic Four trailers. This was recorded during our ElfQuest episode that ran waaaaay too long, and some things had to be cut for time. But I didn’t want this to get lost in the aether of the podcast universe, so we are releasing this here. Not essential listening, so I won’t be offended if you skip it, but it’s fun.

As always, thanks for listening.

WE STILL WANT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!

And if you’d like to contact the show, you have options:

Email: [email protected]

Go to any or all of those places, leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts.

And as always, thanks for listening, everyone!

Keep reading comics. Be well. Cheers.

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Today on the program, we talk about The Micronauts…the Marvel toy adaptation from the 1970s written by Bill Mantlo and drawn by Michael Golden that should have just been a bit of fluff…but holy cow, there is so much more. There’s political intrigue, revolution, some truly disturbing moments, and some questionable places to hide a disruptor pistol. And a lot of goofy fun too.

And we talk about toys. That’s it, just two old guys talking about toys.

As always, thanks for listening.

WE STILL WANT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!

And if you’d like to contact the show, you have options:

Email: [email protected]

Go to any or all of those places, leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts.

And as always, thanks for listening everyone!

Keep reading comics. Be well. Cheers.

Music played in the episode:

The post Collected Edition: Episode 120: The Micronauts appeared first on The Collected Edition.

On today’s episode we talk about the nonsensical, psychadelic, batshit insane comic that is Shade the Changing Man. Created and drawn by the legendary Steve Ditko with scripting by Michael Fleisher, this is 1970s weirdness to the extreme. Is there any narrative coherence to the story? No. Is there a hell of a lot of great, crazy art to make you say, Wow? It’s a Steve Ditko joint, of course it does.

In addition, we talk about the life and legacy of Steve Ditko. He’s a complicated guy.

As always, thanks for listening.

WE STILL WANT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!

And if you’d like to contact the show, you have options:

Email: [email protected]

Go to any or all of those places, leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts.

And as always, thanks for listening everyone!

Keep reading comics. Be well. Cheers.

Music played in the episode:

The post Collected Edition: Episode 119: Shade the Changing Man appeared first on The Collected Edition.

One of the more controversial crossover event comics ever released. It has a bad reputation among fans in general and Captain America fans in particular. Written by Nick Spencer and drawn by a roster of superstar artists, Secret Empire sees Cap implementing a fascist takeover of the US. It is an action-packed political thriller with superhero overtones. It tells an alternate-universe story of a USA that gives in to its baser instincts, one that commits evil in the guise of doing good. And there are elements of this story that seen in the political landscape of 2025 seem downright prescient. So is it as bad as its reputation suggests? Find out.

In addition, we talk about the issues with Diamond and the problems shops are reporting about delays and damaged products. Not good.

As always, thanks for listening.

WE STILL WANT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!

And if you’d like to contact the show, you have options:

Email: [email protected]

Go to any or all of those places, leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts.

And as always thanks for listening everyone!

Keep reading comics. Be well. Cheers.

Music played in the episode:

The post Collected Edition: Episode 118: Secret Empire appeared first on The Collected Edition.

Today on the program Selina’s Big Score a Catwoman comic (sort of). It is a noir crime drama, a gumshoe detective story, a heist caper, but mostly it’s Darwyn Cooke just being Darwyn Cooke. Great art, great story, great characters. Pretty much it’s just great.

In addition, we discuss the Neil Gaiman situation (WARNING: bad language used) and the finale of Creature Commandos.

As always, thanks for listening.

WE STILL WANT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!

And if you’d like to contact the show, you have options:

Email: [email protected]

Go to any or all of those places, leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts.

And as always thanks for listening everyone!

Keep reading comics. Be well. Cheers.

Music played on the episode:

The post Collected Edition: Episode 117: Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score appeared first on The Collected Edition.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!

Today on the program we discuss what can best be described as a “completely bonkers” comic…The Brave and the Bold #148: The Night the Mob Stole Christmas written by Bob Haney and drawn by Joe Staton and Jim Aparo. In this epic holiday tale, we find Batman and Plastic Man teaming up to foil the nefarious plot of cigarette smugglers (buttleggers) to steal a holiday display from downtown Gotham and thus ruin Christmas. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say it would be a dark night if that happened!

In addition, we give our annual list of “Best Of” comics. They are as follows:

As always, thanks for listening and have a very happy holiday with those you love!

WE STILL WANT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!

And if you’d like to contact the show, you have options:

Email: [email protected]

Go to any or all of those places, leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts.

And as always thanks for listening everyone!

Keep reading comics. Be well. Cheers.

Music played on the episode:

Music by Maksym Dudchyk from Pixabay

The post Collected Edition: Episode 116: The Night the Mob Stole Christmas appeared first on The Collected Edition.

On this episode, we discuss The Scarlet Witch by James Robinson. This is a beautiful book with a rotating roster of artists that takes Wanda Maximoff on a world tour to redo/retcon/reimagine her origin story and find redemption. She also gets to be a bad-ass witch.

In addition, we discuss the finale of Agatha All Along and the first few episodes of Creature Commandos.

As always, thanks for listening.

WE STILL WANT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!

And if you’d like to contact the show, you have options:

Email: [email protected]

Go to any or all of those places, leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts.

And as always thanks for listening everyone!

Keep reading comics. Be well. Cheers.

Music played on the episode:

The post Collected Edition: Episode 115: The Scarlet Witch appeared first on The Collected Edition.

On this episode, we discuss the epic that is The Dark Phoenix Saga. There are certain works that we call “seminal” “iconic” or “classic” but none truly live up to those monikers like this story.  Written by Chris Claremont and drawn by John Byrne, this is the big one, the story that dwarfs all others. It is the culmination of years of storytelling and soap opera narrative. Does it live up to its reputation? Yes, its really good.

In addition, we talk about the greatness that is Chris Claremont.

As always, thanks for listening.

WE STILL WANT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!

And if you’d like to contact the show, you have options:

Email: [email protected]

Go to any or all of those places, leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts.

And as always thanks for listening everyone!

Keep reading comics. Be well. Cheers.

Music played on the episode:

The post Collected Edition: Episode 114: X-Men The Dark Phoenix Saga appeared first on The Collected Edition.

On this episode we talk about we talk about a horror crossover that launched and entire sub-genre: Afterlife with Archie by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla. The Archie gang meets zombies. It is an unlikely horror comic that is genuinely horrific and genuinely moving.

In addition we talk about Agatha All Along (again) and the relaunch of Vertigo. Both great things.

As always, thanks for listening.

WE STILL WANT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!

And if you’d like to contact the show, you have options:

Email: [email protected]

Go to any or all of those places, leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts.

And as always thanks for listening everyone!

Keep reading comics. Be well. Cheers.

Music played on the episode:

The post Collected Edition: Episode 113: Afterlife with Archie appeared first on The Collected Edition.

On this episode we discuss The Suicide Squad: Trial By Fire by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell – the seminal run that pretty much defined the Suicide Squad right up till this very day. Lots of moral ambiguity and pragmatic decisions.

In addition we talk about Marvel and DC losing the trademark for Super Heroes. Related note: did you know Marvel and DC losing had the trademark for Super Heroes? Also, we discuss the first few episodes of Agatha All Along. Spoiler: its good!

As always, thanks for listening.

WE STILL WANT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!

And if you’d like to contact the show, you have options:

Email: [email protected]

Go to any or all of those places, leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts.

And as always thanks for listening everyone!

Keep reading comics. Be well. Cheers.

Music played on the episode:

The post Collected Edition: Episode 112: Suicide Squad appeared first on The Collected Edition.