The Comics Canon

On this episode, we get an early start celebrating the spookiest time of the year with a look at the frightfully fun first appearances of Jason Blood and Etrigan in The Demon #1-5 by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer, published by DC Comics!

As Camelot falls to the forces of Morgaine Le Fey, the wizard Merlin dispatches his faithful demon servant, Etrigan, to await further instructions. (Why does Merlin have a faithful demon servant? No idea!) Centuries later, brooding demonologist Jason Blood reads an inscription on Merlin's tomb and transforms into (can you guess?) … that's right, Etrigan!

Can Jason Blood and his chaotic alter ego defeat Morgaine Le Fey and foil the plans of the deadly Reincarnators? Can they survive the threat of Ugly Meg and the cuddly lil' fear monster known as the kamara? And can they withstand the sinister scrutiny of that cursed cabal known as … The Comics Canon?

Also in This Episode:

• Why was Kirby's Fourth World canceled?
• Harry Mathews: World's Worst Friend
• So, like, what is Merlin's deal?
• The Devil Rides Out
• Resident Evil
• Mooncop by Tom Gauld

Join us in two weeks as Etrigan visits everyone's favorite muck monster (and a certain cute lil' demon creature returns) in The Saga of the Swamp Thing #25-27!

Until then:

Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

The Vision gets his turn in the MCU spotlight next month with the Disney+ series VisionQuest, so it seems like the perfect time to turn the Comics Canon spotlight on the origin of everyone's favorite synthezoid with a look at "Behold … The Vision!" from Avengers #57 and "Even an Android Can Cry" from Avengers #58, published by Marvel Comics!

When Janet Van Dyne is attacked by a strange, unearthly being, she enlists the aid of her fellow Avengers to figure out who he is and why he's been programmed to kill Earth's mightiest heroes! Joining forces with the newly christened Vision, the team confronts the villainous robot Ultron-5 and begins to unravel the mystery of their new friend's murky past!

What in the world does the late Wonder Man have to do with all of this? Will the Avengers accept their new friend, who just recently tried to kill them, into their ranks, without even running a background check? And will Curt and Kevin invite him to march with them in that Robot Parade known as … The Comics Canon?

Also in This Episode:

• Matthew Modine as the Vision
• Kevin's favorite Shakespeare play
• Percy Bysshe Shelley OWNS Ultron
• Stop trying to make synthezoid happen!
• Curt makes a promise for 2027
• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
• Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne
• Furious on Hulu

Join us in two weeks as we get ready for spooky season with a look back at the first five issues of Jack Kirby's The Demon!

Until then:

Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

It's back-to-school time, and we celebrate with a look at the first volume of the mega-popular manga Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo, published in the U.S. by Viz Media!

The unflappable super-spy known only as Twilight has just received the most challenging mission of his career: In order to get the goods on a reclusive politician, he must marry and produce a child – a child who must be accepted into the ultra-elite Eden Academy in one week's time!

In short order, he adopts 6-year-old Anya and recruits shy office worker Yor to pose as his wife. But what he doesn't know is that Yor is secretly the deadly assassin known as Thorn Princess, and Anya is a telepath!

Can this lone wolf learn to rely on Yor and Tanya and complete his mission? Can Yor survive the dinner party from Hell without killing everyone in sight? Will Anya be accepted into Eden Academy? And can these undercover operatives that treacherous volcanic island base known as … The Comics Canon?

Also in This Episode:

• Those dumb Mission: Impossible masks
• Let's cast the Spy x Family movie
• Housemaster Henderson's very specific kink
• A special cameo from a certain vampire cow
• Spoiler for the 1976 film Taxi Driver
• The Castle of Cagliostro
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith on Amazon Prime
• The End of Oak Street

Join us in two weeks as we gear up for Vision Quest with a look at Vizh's first appearance in Avengers #57-58!

Until then:

Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

On this episode, Dark August Knights, our two-part miniseries on Batman and Batman-adjacent stories, concludes with a look at Gotham Central Vol. 1, In the Line of Duty, collecting Gotham Central issues #1-5 by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, published by DC Comics!

In the criminal justice system, offenses committed by members of Batman's Rogues Gallery are considered especially heinous. In Gotham City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these crimes are members of an elite squad known as the Major Crimes Unit, for whom a search for a missing young girl might lead to a deadly encounter with Mister Freeze and a scorching-hot encounter with that pyromaniacal perp known as Firebug!

Can Detective Driver solve the murder of Bonnie Lewis and move past the death of his partner? Why don't Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen get more to do? And can these casefiles make it onto the desk of those loose cannons known as … The Comics Canon?

Also in This Episode:

• Homicide: Life on the Street
• Hey, is that Alan Moore?
• Kaya and the Lizard Riders
• Matt Goldberg on Sadie Sink's character in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
• Mischief: A Novel of the 87th Precinct, by Ed McBain

Join us in two weeks as we discuss Spy x Family Vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

On this episode, we kick off a two-part miniseries, Dark August Knights! That's right, we're focusing on Batman and Batman-adjacent stories during the month of August!

And first up is the introduction of the Dark Knight's iconic villain Ra's al Ghul – as seen in 1971's Batman #232 and 1972's Batman #243-244, by the titanic team of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, published by DC Comics!

After Robin the College-Aged Boy Wonder is kidnapped, Batman is visited by the mysterious Ra's al Ghul, whose daughter, Talia, has also been abducted! The trail takes the World's Greatest Crime-Fighter and his enigmatic new acquaintance to Calcutta and the Himalayas, where a showdown with the lethal Brotherhood of the Demon awaits!

Later, the Dark Knight Detective and a team of allies travels to the Swiss Alps to take down this international crime lord – who turns out to be immortal!

Can Batman defeat the Head of the Demon in a desert duel to the death? And can this trio of tales infiltrate that mountaintop lair of villainy known as … The Comics Canon?

Also in This Episode:

• Batman, International Man of Mystery
• Sit, Ubu, sit!
• The Caped Crusader's implausible detecting skills
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day
• Dungeon Crawler Carl, narrated by Jeff Hays
• Taking work from cat actors

Join us in two weeks as we wrap up Dark August Knights with a look at Gotham Central #1-5!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

On this episode, in true Comics Canon fashion, we look ahead to the July 30 release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day with a discussion of (what else?) a pair of classic battles between the Hulk and Wolverine, natch!

First up are "And the Wind Howls … Wendigo!" and "And Now … the Wolverine!" from 1974's Incredible Hulk #180-181, featuring the debut of the first and greatest Canadian superhero!

Then we jump ahead 13 years to 1987's "Vicious Circle" from Incredible Hulk #340, for a rematch between a very different Hulk and a very different Wolverine, in perhaps the most 1990s comic of the 1980s!

Will Marie Cartier succeed in her plan to turn the Hulk into the Wendigo? (And how would that work, exactly?) Can Wolvie be the better man and avoid a knock-down, drag-out fight with a very irate Gray Hulk? And which of our combatants will emerge victorious from that Brawl to Settle It All known as … The Comics Canon?

Also in This Episode:

• Where's our Wendigo movie?
• Bobcat Goldthwait and Deadpool
• He's the best there is at what he does … and it's not what you think
• X-Men 97 Season 2
• The Odyssey
• Incredible Hulk #182: Between Hammer and Anvil!
• Triptych by Karin Slaughter

Join us in two weeks as we kick off a month of Batman-related tales with a look at the Caped Crusader's first run-in with Ra's al Ghul in Batman issues 232-234!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, we mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S.A. by looking back at the origin and first appearance of the nation's greatest super-soldier, Captain America, in 1941's Captain America Comics #1!

We also look back at the first appearances of two other Golden Age Marvel characters who are still around today – Cap's fellow Invaders the original Human Torch and Namor, the Sub-Mariner – in 1939's Marvel Comics #1!

And just for kicks, we throw in the first appearance of the Red Skull – well, a Red Skull, anyway – in The Riddle of the Red Skull, also from Captain America Comics #1!

Join us as we ask the burning questions: Does Captain America really punch Adolf Hitler in the face? And are these stories eligible for the senior discount at that VFW (Very Fine Works) hall known as … The Comics Canon?

Also in This Episode:

• Professor Horton buries the lede
• Are we supposed to root for Namor?
• Take it down a notch there, Bucky
• One World Under Doom
• Men of a Certain Age
• Kirby: King of Comics by Mark Evanier

Join us in two weeks as revisit two classic Hulk vs. Wolverine battles in The Incredible Hulk #180-181 (featuring the first appearance of Wolverine) and #340!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

Content warning: If the title didn't tip you off, this book deals with sex -- in graphic, often hilarious ways. Consequently, we're slapping an Explicit label on this episode, for both language and subject matter.

In this episode, we look ahead to Amazon's upcoming Sex Criminals streaming series with a look at Sex Criminals Vol. 1: One Weird Trick, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky, published by Image Comics!

When Jon and Suzie hook up at a party, they discover that they both possess a unique gift: When they orgasm, time stops for seemingly everyone but them. When Jon proposes they use this power to steal from the bank he works at to save the library she works at, it seems like the perfect crime. But it turns out they're not the only ones with the ability to inhabit the frozen world Suzie calls The Quiet.

Like, what's the deal with the woman known as Kegelface? Is Jon a little too good to be true? And can our modern-day Bonnie and Clyde evade the Sex Police long enough to pull off that crime of the century known as … The Comics Canon?

Also in This Episode:

• Everyone's favorite porn search engine
• Kevin's newest crush
• The Fermata and Vox, by Nicholson Baker
• The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything
• Superior Foes of Spider-Man
• Richard Parker's The Score, by Darwyn Cooke

Join us in two weeks as celebrate America's 250th birthday with a look at the first appearances of Captain America, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and the original Human Torch!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

Content warning: Sexual assault

It's finally happened! After 10 years and more than 250 episodes, we finally get around to discussing the elephant (or, rather, the aardvark) in the room: Dave Sim's 300-issue magnum opus, Cerebus! And to help us grapple with the weight of one of the longest-running, most creative and most controversial comics in the history of the medium, we're joined by longtime friend of the show Bryan Stratton of Marvel by the Month!

Self-published by Sim's Aardvark-Vanaheim, Cerebus paved the way for many other independent comics creators to self-publish their work. And its ambitious, experimental approach to comics storytelling expanded the artistic possibilities of the medium, as it grew from a parody of swords-and-sorcery comics into a complex, sprawling saga that would take on politics, religion, and other weighty issues.

But while there's a lot to recommend Cerebus, there's also a lot to give potential new readers pause—namely, Sim's contentious, divisive views on women, which ultimately begin to exert greater and greater influence over the series itself.

As the Will Eisner Comic Awards prepare to induct Sim (among other creators, including Gerry Conway and Rick Veitch) into its Hall of Fame at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, we take the opportunity to dive into this massive work, touching on topics including:

• What exactly IS Cerebus?
• Our personal histories with Cerebus
• The detailed background artwork of Gerhard
• The "Walking on the Moon" arc and the Cerebus creation myth
• Would we recommend that you read Cerebus?

We also share suggestions for other long-running, impactful series (in comics and otherwise) you might enjoy.

For further reading on the subject of Cerebus, we recommend:

Tom Ewing's great and insightful blog Aard Labour

Curt's 2004 Slate article on the endings of Cerebus and Bone

The Onion A.V. Club's notorious 2004 interview with Dave Sim

Join us in two weeks as we return to our regular format with a look at Sex Criminals Vol. 1: One Weird Trick, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, we conclude our two-part look at Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons with a discussion of Books 2 and 3, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Gene Ha and Nicola Scott, published by DC Black Label!

The Amazons accept Hippolyta and other disenfranchised women into their ranks as they continue their mission to hunt down those who abuse and oppress women. But it isn't long before their activities catch the attention of a wrathful Zeus, sparking an all-out war between the Amazons and the gods of Olympus!

What is Hera's long game? Why is there a baby made of sand? And will the Amazons prevail and take their rightful place in that League of Their Own known as … The Comics Canon?

Also in This Episode:

• Curt makes a shocking announcement about A.I.
• Widow's Bay and Margo's Got Money Troubles on Apple TV
• Age of Bronze Volume 1: A Thousand Ships

Join us in two weeks as we take a hard left turn to discuss … Dave Sim's Cerebus! This is not a drill!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!