The Comic Source Podcast

Jace and Rocky from Comic Boom! welcome the creative team from Future State: Aquaman to the show to talk about the series. Writer Brandon Thomas and Daniel Sampere discuss getting involved in the project and the collaboration and this awesome two part story that gives as a glimpse at a possible future for Jackson Hyde and Andy Curry. Brandon discusses drawing on the relationship with his own father to get at the heart of Jackson's desire to have a meaningful relationship with his father, Black Manta. Daniel talks about the freedom to create beautiful underwater scenes with a touch of an alien feel and how working with talented color artist Adriano Lucas elevates the line work. The guys also chat about impactful moments, the emotion in the story and the growth of the characters in only two issues. Everyone congratulates Daniel on his recent DC exclusive contract and they talk a bit about his current run on Action Comics & chat about how highly anticipated his next project is. Brandon's incredible series Excellence returns to comic shops this week and along with Noble and Horizon the guys comment on how much emotion & relationship drama brings to his work. It's a deep look at Future State: Aquaman and a fun chat with two creators at the top of their game.

Jace and Jay chat about a few of the books hitting comic shops the week of September 1st 2021. There are quite a few storylines coming to an end in the books they discuss, but many of them show promise for more to come.

Miles to Go #5 - Amara learns why she is being hunted and it isn't' just her they want. Her pursuers may want to reassess the situation because if there is anything we know about Amara it is that she is a fiercely protective mother. We can't see how she will be anythign but even more formidable armed with the information she just received.

Writer - B. Clay Moore, Artist - Stephan Molnar, Letterer - Dave Sharpe

Commanders in Crisis #12 - The end of the crisis may not have been the biggest surprise, but this issue still lands with tons of emotional impact. We really appreciate the creative team giving the story room to breath and allowing us to see the impact this event has had on the characters in terms of their lives and relationships. This series has been a celebration of comics throughout it's run, but even more than that, it has managed to balance that celebration with an interesting commentary on the world outside our window.

Writer - Steve Orlando, Artist - Davide Tinto, Color Artists - Francesca Carotenuto & Francesca Vivaldi, Letterer Fabio Amelia

Inkblot #12 - Inkblot ends for know as the Lady Seeker eventually finds her way back home is immediately asked to go on further adventures. Will we see those adventures? I suppose only time will tell, but what we do know is this has been a humorous and fun romp so far with the cutest cat in comics.

Pencils & Colors - Emma Kubert, Story & Inks - Rusty Gladd

Undiscovered Country #15 - The Zone of Possibility is starved for new ideas and it is up to the Undiscovered Crew to see if they can solve the problem. As has been doen to them throughout this series though, they don't know they full truth as the denizens of the zone are intent on their own agenda. We love the real life echoing here of the creative process, the idea that the zone has become bereft of new creativity because of their isolation and lack of new stimulation to foster new creativity is very meta.

Writers - Scott Snyder & Charles Soule, Artists - Giuseppe Camuncoli & Leonardo Marcello Grassi, Color Artist - Matt Wilson, Letterer - Crank!

Geiger #6 - We reach the end of Tariq Geiger's adventures for now, but the haunting quality of the character & narrative we got in this first arc will have us carryign Tariq along with us for a very long time. Also the line & color work from the creative team brought a perfect melancholy feel to the story that so perfectly captured the subtext of who Tariq is. We can't wait until we get more stories of Tariq and what has us even more excited is the news we get in this issue of many more characters and stories set in this new universe that Geiger inhabits.

Writer - Geoff Johns, Artist - Gary Frank, Color Artist - Brad Anderson, Letterer - Rob Leigh

Jace and Rocky from Comic Boom! are here with a special episode dedicated to all the incredible stories contained on the Aquaman 80th Anniversary Special. A huge celebration of Aquaman over the years, we see many members of his supporting cast as well as many different iterations of Arthur Curry himself that remind us of so many of the classic era f the character over the years. Plus we have several stories that lead directly into upcoming Aquaman related titles and series. Not only is this a must-read for Aquaman fans, it is a must-read for all DC fans.

Aquaman 80th Anniversary #1

Writers - Jeff Parker - Geoff Johns, Michael Moreci, Stephanie Phillips, Shawn Aldridge, Marguerite Bennett, Cavan Scott, Dan Watters, Dan Jurgens, Chuck Brown & Brandon Thomas, Artists - Doc Shaner, Pop Mhan, Hendry Prasetya, Tom Derenick, Trung Le Nguyen, Steve Epting and Valentine De Landro, Pencillers - Paul Pelletier, Scot Eaton, Miguel Mendonca and Diego Olortegui, Inkers - Norm Rapmund, Daniel Henriques and Wade Von Grawbadger. Color Artist - Hi-Fi, Tony Avina, Ulises Arreola, Nick Filardi, Jordie Bellaire, Romulo Fajardo Jr, Jeromy Cox, Marissa Louise and Adriano Lucas, Letterers - Rob Leigh, Josh Reed, Wes Abbott, Travis Lanham, Pat Brosseau, Clayton Cowles and Andworld Design

Jace and Rocky from Comic Boom are back with another week of DC Comics. It's the fifth Tuesday of the month and that means ... tons of Annuals! We also get Batman: Fear State Alpha #1 and Infinite Frontier #5. Plus don't forget to check out the celebration of Aquaman's 80th anniversary in today's other episode.

Batman Superman Annual 2021 #1 - We get to experience more tales from the universe of The Archive of Worlds as this version of Batman & Robin and Superman switch worlds to deal with the respective foes they are facing. The Silver Age fun feel of the recent arc continues here!

Writer - Gene Luen Yang, Artist - Francesco Francavilla, Penciller - Paul Pelletier, Inker - Mick Gray, Color Artist - Hi-Fi, Letterer - Troy Peteri

Static Season One #3 - As Virgil Hawkins begins to learn more about the powers he has, he also realizes he will need the help of his family and friends, just as he allows has, if he is going to rise up to the challenges he faces. Also Hotstreak makes deal & shows just how despicable he truly is.

Writer - Vita Ayala, Penciller/Inker/Color Artist (Pages 1-12) - Nikolas Draper-Ivey, Penciller/Inker (Pages 13-20) - Chriscross, Color Artist (Pages 13-20) - Wil Quintana, Letterer - Andworld Design

Batman: Fear State Alpha #1 - Fear state kicks off in this excellent issues as the creative team fires on all cylinders to start all the different plot threads and elements of this event in a very intriguing way. Rather than feeling derivative or repetitive with respect to this event following so closely after the end of Joker War we get several in story reasons why this event MUST happen right now. Plus Tynion's desire to level up the menace of Scarecrow works to perfection as we see what Jonathan Crane desires more than anything ... the acknowledgement of his self-proclaimed genius.

Writer - James Tynion IV, Artist - Riccardo Federici, Color Artist - Chris Sotomayor, Letterer - Clayton Cowles

Infinite Frontier #5 - We learn what Darkseid has planned for the multiverse and how it's going to be carries out. Plus an all out battle between Justice Incarnate and the team Darkseid put together that he is calling, what else but ... Injustice Incarante.

Writer - Joshua Williamson, Pencillers - Paul Pelletier, Jesus Merino & Tom Derenick, Inkers - Norm Rapmund, Raul Fernandez & Tom Derenick, Color Artist - Hi-Fi, Letterer - Tom Napolitano

Harley Quinn Annual 2021 #1 - We should really call this the Kevin Annual, because this issue is all Kevin, all the time. Harley's current sidekick gets to show his agency and skills as Harley is taken prisoner by Keepsake. Will Kevin have what it takes to rescue her? If so how will he do it? Also we learn all there is to know about Keepsake, his connection to Harley's past and why the heck he calls himself Keepsake in the first place.

Writer - Stephanie Phillips, Artists - David Lafuente, Marco Failla & Jon Sommariva, Color Artist - Miguel Muerto, Letterer - Andworld Design

Teen Titans Academy #6 - Some of the academy students attempt to go on a little weekend getaway but end up in the middle of a classic DC supervillain's plan to take over a small town. We aren't going to tell you who it is, but let's just say Gregg may end up on the wrong side of this fight.

Writer - Tim Sheridan, Penciller - Rafa Sandoval, Inker - Jordi Tarragona, Color Artist - Ulises Arreola, Letterer - Rob Leigh

Midnighter Annual 2021 #1 - We reach the end of the Midnighter time travel saga that kicked off in the possible future of the DC Universe in the pages of Future State. It isn't all quite as it seems though because despite Midnighter's best effort and him breaking out of the paradox he was in, Andrev Trojan is still around. The fact that Midnighter doesn't know this may be what leads into Future State for him all over again.

Writers - Becky Cloonan & Michael W Conrad, Artist - Michael Avon Oeming, Color Artist - Taki Soma, Letterer - Dave Sharpe

Jace chats with writer David Pepose who returns to tell us all about the second issue of his huge hit, The O.Z. The campaign for issue #1 was very successful and this time was no different as David funded in less than an hour! Jace and David talked a lot about the motivations & world world ideas of loss & trauma that were explored in the first issue. Now we add to that as the second issue explores even more of the civil war that has engulfed the beloved land of OZ. Pitch perfect linework and colors push the narrative forward with a balance of the fantastical whimsey of OZ mixed with the grittiness of war. David and his co-creators have really captured lightning on a bottle here so listen in to find out what makes this book so special and go pledge to join the campaign.

The O.Z. #2

Writer - David Pepose, Artist - Ruben Rojas, Color Artist - Whitney Cogar, Letterer - DC Hopkins

Jace and Jay, who is back after a bought with Covid, are here to chat about some of the books they have already had the chance to check out for the week of August 25, 2021. All reviews are spoiler-free so take a listen for all the fun. Also Jace gives a rundown on some other titles you might want to be on the lookout for.

Jace and Rocky from Comic Boom are back with another week of DC Comics. It's a pretty solid wee , but with so many books, the guys are dividing it up into two episodes and here is the part 2!

Detective Comics #1042 - We've reached the end of the Hue Vile saga as that villain meets his ultimate fate, but like anything in Gotham, we aren't sure we've seen the last of him. Also while this is a satisfying conclusion and certainly does a great job leading into Fear State, where the story really shines is in the humor and quieter moments writer Mariko Tamaki brings to the story. The back-up story, Task Force Z is always a pleasure to read. Writer Matthew Rosenberg is quickly becoming Jace's favorite when it comes to dialogue and both the guys really enjoy the characterization of Deb Donovan and the interesting contrasts that exists between her and Vicki Vale.

Writers - Mariko Tamaki & Matthew Rosenberg, Artists - Viktor Bogdanovic, Daniel Henriques & Max Raynor, Color Artists - Jordie Bellaire & Diego Rodriguez, Letterer - Aditya Bidikar & Rob Leigh

Icon & Rocket Season 1 #2 - The best thing about a comic when it gets into accurately portraying social issues is for it to feel natural and that is exactly what we see in this issue. As the background of Augustus Freeman is explored and we see the consequences of his actions as Icon affect his present, the subtext of his agency as a person of color is always there. As we are introduced to a potential powerful new threat to Icon and Rocket, the subtext is there. It's fantastic storytelling that makes this story so relevant and grounds it in a realism for present day issues. Plus the artwork is FANTASTIC.

Writer - Reginald Hudlin, Penciller - Doug Braithwaite, Inker - Andrew Currie, Color Artist - Brad Anderson, Letterer - Andworld Design

Superman Son of Kal-El #2 - Jon Kent attempts to re-establish a secret identity but it falls apart quickly. That leads him to have a very serious conversation with his father about there respective rolls as earth's protectors. What is interesting is how Kal-El sees Jon's role as different than his own, but how does Jon see it and how will the events of this issue affect him going forward.

Writer - Tom Taylor, Artist - John Timms, Color Artist - Gabe Eltaeb, Letterer - Dave Sharpe

Superman vs Lobo #1 - Lobo takes offense when Superman swoops in and not only helps him save people at an interstellar resort, but gets all the credit for the rescue while Lobo doesn't even get mentioned. This leads the Main Man to come to earth where he plots a rather sophisticated and very meta revenge by attacking Superman on Lex Luthor's recently released social media platform Lexer. It's wild times on this Black Label title.

Wonder Woman Black and Gold #3 - Some great stories celebrating Wonder Woman and her different roles throughout her history. A particular highlight is the ESPIONAGE story which hearkens back to the Mike Sekowsky error of Wonder Woman when she was much more spy, than superhero.

Writers - Janet Harvey, Robert Venditti, Paula Sevenbergen, Nnedi Okorafor & Aimee Garcia, Artists - Megan Levens, Steve Epting, Inaki Miranda, Jack T. Cole & Sebastian Fiumara, Color Artist - Eva De La Cruz, Letterer - Becca Carey, Andworld Design, Pat Brosseau & Rob Leigh

Robin #5 - We see the Bat-family confront Damian about his recent disappearance and what he's been doing while out on his own. There is an especially heartfelt moment between the first Robin, Dick Grayson and the last, Damian himself. How will this affect Damian as the League of Lazarus tournament finally gets underway? Also what is the mysterious book Mother Soul has given so much to acquire?

Writer - Joshua Williamson, Artist - Gleb Melnikov, Color Artist - Luis Guerrero, Letterer - Troy Peteri

Wonder Woman #778 - The journey continues for Wonder Woman and Siegfried as they travel through both the Phantom Zone & the Fifth Dimension. The guys feel like this story may be starting to drag a little and Janus herself, as an antagonist, may be a little too derivative. If this story sticks the landing maybe all will be forgiven?

Writers - Michael W Conrad, Becky Cloonan & Jordie Bellaire, Artists - Travis Moore & Paulina Ganucheau, Color Artists - Tamra Bonvillain & Kendall Goode, Letterer - Pat Brosseau & Becca Carey

Jace and Rocky from Comic Boom are back with another week of DC Comics. It's a pretty solid wee , but with so many books, the guys are dividing it up into two episodes and here is the first!

Superman '78 #1 - This six issue series gets off to a great start as we are introduced to Braniac. A classic Superman villain that would have been the antogonist of the story Richard Donner would have brought to life in Superman III if he hadn't left the franchise. Both the art & scripting of this first issue, perfectly capture the tone of the classic Christopher Reeve version of the character.

Writer - Robert Venditti, Artist - Wilfredo Torres, Color Artist - Jordie Bellaire, Letterer - David Lanphear

Harley Quinn #6 - Harley makes her way to Alley Town where she teams up with Catwoman to try and find the drugs that are being developed that will lead to Fear State. The problem is, Selina is not exactly in the mood for a team-up, but that has never stopped Harley before and likely won't this time. This issue definitely feels like a lead-in to the Fear State event.

Writer - Stephanie Phillips, Artist - Laura Braga, Color Artist - Arif Prianto, Letterer - Andworld Designs

Checkmate #3 - Just when it seems like Checkmate may be one step ahead of Mark Shaw, the tables are turned and it appears he is two steps ahead of them. Still not sure what to make of this story or the confusion inherent with the non-linear story structure Bendis is using. However, we love the agency that Lois Lane has in this issue.

Writer - Brian Michael Bendis, Artist - Alex Maleev, Color Artist - Dave Stewart, Letterer - Josh Reed

Batman Superman #21 - We have reached the end of the Gene Luen Yang Archive of Worlds story and it went out the same way it came in. The story has been a celebration of the fun of comics & feels like an instant classic with different versions of the World's Finest heroes & spectacular artwork from Ivan Reis , Sabine Rich & co.

Writer - Gene Luen Yang, Penciller - Ivan Reis, Inker - Danny Miki, Color Artist - Sabine Rich, Letterer - Saida Temofonte

Batman Reptilian #3 - The Batman in this incredible Garth Ennis story continues to exhibit a dark humor & his relationship with Alfred is a real highlight. It is easy to see how this version of the Dark Knight would indeed strike fear into the hearts of the criminal element of Gotham City. Meanwhile, the art from Liam Sharp perfectly captures that same dark whimsy & is spectacular in its ability to set an emotionally charged setting.

Writer - Garth Ennis, Artist - Liam Sharp, Letterer - Rob Steen

Action Comics #1034 - Superman makes a tough choice and the repercussions may have a lasting impact. While back at the Fortress of Solitude, Thao-La has a decision of her own to make. Can she put the horrific way she was raised behind her and refuse to follow the orders of Mongul? Is she strong enough to overcome the innate servitude for the space-faring despot she has experienced since birth?

Writer - Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Artist - Christian Duce. Color Artist - Adriano Lucas, Letterer - Dave Sharpe

Mister Miracle: Source of Freedom #4 - This series continues to impress. We have had a few character moments so far, but the majority of the book has been all out action. This issue we get a chance to catch our breath as Oberon re-introduces himself to Shilo Norman and we learn just how much Shilo meant to the previous Mister Miracle, Thaddeus Brown. It's inspired storytelling & certainly adds a feeling of legacy to the character beyond anything that has come before.

Writer - Brandon Easton, Artist - Fico Ossio, Color Artist - Rico Renzi, Letterer - Rob Leigh

Jace chats with veteran comic illustrator & writer Ray-Anthony Height & co-writer & editor Chris Robinson about their current Campaign for Cornerman. Jason "Drex" Drexler has always been the "guy behind the guy", a martial artist instructor & mentor to many of the super powered individuals in the world he lives in. He's never wanted to be out there on the frontlines fighting and instead has mentored & fostered many close relationships with those heroes who are out there day in and day out saving lives. However, when circumstances change, Drex is forced to do the very thing he said he would never do, he's going on a mission. What could have compelled him to finally get out of the corner & into the ring? Listen to our chat with the creative team to find out & join the campaign so you can get the WHOLE story.

Cornerman: Exhibition Match #1

Writer/Artist/Creator - Ray-Anthony Height, Co-Writer/Editor - Chris Robinson

Jace chats with writer Stephen Kok about his current campaign for Terralympus. A sprawling Sci-Fi epic about the fight for survival as humanity has left earth behind and is desperately searching the stars for a new home. In this hard science fiction story so much is dependent on engineers like Mia to keep the station working, but that may not be everyone's goal. The stakes have never been higher as Mia is sucked into a conspiracy that may decide the very fate of the human race.