The Comics Canon

In this episode, Curt and Kevin take a long look at the current landscape of comics-based movies—a landscape dominated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With only one big-ticket DC Comics film (that would be Aquaman) on the horizon for 2018, we're truly living in the Marvel Age of Movies.

Spoilers are as thick on the ground as armored rhinoceroses as we ponder whether Marvel Studios can the critical, commercial and cultural one-two punch of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, which have conquered a staggering $3.3 billion and counting. We also dive into Deadpool 2, and put Ant-Man and the Wasp under the microscope.

Last but not least, we tune in to the current slate of comics TV properties, including the latest seasons of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Legion and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; a quick sprint through The Walking Dead; a flash of Black Lightning; and a brief interrogation of Cloak and Dagger.

Things Discussed in This Episode:

• Is Black Panther the least interesting character in his own movie?
• The MacGruber of superhero movies
• Josh Brolin vs. Josh Brolin!
• Who is Luke Cage's best villain?
• Where is Stilt-Man, already?
• Just get to the zombies!
• Have we seen the last of Phil Coulsen?
• The Death of Stalin
• All the shows we haven't seen
• DC's upcoming streaming service

Join us in one week as wrap up our Fantastic Four-parter with a look at the Three storyline from Fantastic Four #583-588, by Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting and Nick Dragotta!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, Curt and Kevin continue their Fantastic Four-part series on the World's Greatest Comic Magazine with a discussion of the FF's greatest villain via two very different tales: The Fantastic Origin of Doctor Doom from Fantastic Four Annual #2, and Unthinkable, from Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #67-70 and #500, published by Marvel Comics!

First, it's a quick time-hop back to the 1960s as Stan Lee and Jack Kirby recount the not-so-humble beginnings of everyone's favorite mad monarch, Victor Von Doom! Then it's on to 2003, as Mark Waid and the late Mike Wieringo depict a demonic deal that may defeat Marvel's quintessential quartet once and for all!

Having embraced his sorcerous side, will Victor finally emerge victorious? Or can our science-loving squad outsmart their arrogant arch-nemesis and thus gain entry into that Magic Castle known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

• Roger Corman's Fantastic Four film
• Some unfortunate Romany stereotypes
• Books of Doom
• Noah Hawley's Doctor Doom script
• Does Unthinkable get Doom wrong?
• Victor Von Doom's Dungeons & Dragons Alignment
• Billy Bob Thornton
• Doomsday
• Authoritative Action
• Infamous Iron Man Vol. 1
• Marvel Two-in-One Annual
• Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment

Join us in one week for our annual selective look at the year so far in comics movie and TV adaptations! And then set your time machine for the following week as we close out this Fantastic foursome of episodes with a discussion of Three from Fantastic Four #583-588, by Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting and Nick Dragotta!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, Curt and Kevin continue their four-part exploration of Marvel Comics' first family of super-powered science adventurers! This time around, they turn their attention to two titanic beings who cast a large shadow over the World's Greatest Comic Magazine – the cosmic entity Galactus and writer-artist John Byrne – with a discussion of Fantastic Four #242-244 and #261-262!

Terrax, the evil herald of Galactus, forces a fight between the Fantastic Four and his world-devouring master. When Galactus falls, near death, Reed Richards saves his life, earning the wrath of the many races whose worlds Galactus has destroyed.

When Mister Fantastic is captured and forced to stand trial for saving the planet-eating giant, can the rest of the Fantastic Four convince an armada of angry aliens not to execute their elastic leader? And can they convince the galaxy's toughest jury that this story deserves to be sentenced to that murderer's row known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

• Curt likes Incredibles 2
• Was Uncanny X-Men he World's Greatest Comic Magazine?
• Marvel Comics in the early '80s
• Terrax and Terra of the Teen Titans
• The Batman/Joker dilemma
• The Coming of Galactus
• Julie Angel and John Byrne's male gaze
• The wackiness that was Assistant Editors' Month
• Artists inserting themselves into their stories
• Did Chris Claremont inspire The Trial of Reed Richards?
• The Watcher as Galactus's hype man
• The Book of Job
• Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules
• Hercules: The Prince of Power

Join us in two weeks as we size up the Fantastic Four's most iconic villain with discussions of The Fantastic Origin of Doctor Doom from Fantastic Four Annual #2 and Unthinkable from Fantastic Four #67-70 and #500! (Marvel numbering…don't ask.)

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, Curt and Kevin launch into a four-episode deep dive into the world's greatest comic magazine, The Fantastic Four, with a look at three key stories from the 1960s and 70s!

First up, it's the book that started it all (and gave birth to the Marvel Universe): Fantastic Four #1! Who are these mysterious figures who answer a strange signal in the sky? Where and how did they get their fantastic abilities? And when bizarre monsters attack atomic plants across the globe, can they stop the reclusive Mole Man from destroying the surface world?

Next, it's a race against time in Fantastic Four Annual #6! Reed Richards, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm must brave the outlandish antimatter universe known as the Negative Zone to save the life of Susan Richards and her unborn child. But can they survive the murderous warlord Annihilus and his dreaded Arena of Execution?

After that, it's on to the swingin' 70s for Fantastic Four #140-141! Annihilus is back, and he's got Susan and the Richards' young son Franklin in his deadly clutches! To save the universe, Reed Richards pays a terrible price, resulting in The End of the Fantastic Four!

Do these fantastic fables have the pedigree to join that First Family of fabulous funnybooks known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

• Incredibles 2
• Has the MCU been trolling us?
• Jack Kirby at the height of his powers
• The iffy science of the Negative Zone
• Reed Richards' bizarre defense of Sue in FF #11
• IS this the World's Greatest Comic Magazine?
• FF#141's cameo in The Ice Storm
• The problem with following the FF blueprint
• Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius
• Black Science
• Marvel Two-in-One
• The Terrifics

Join us in two weeks as we time-travel into the 1980s for a look at two titanic figures—John Byrne and the world-devouring Galactus—in Fantastic Four #242-244 and #261-262!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, Curt and Kevin answer the eternal question "Why the last man?" with a discussion of Unmanned, the gripping first volume of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's post-apocalyptic series Y: The Last Man, published by Vertigo/DC Comics!

After a catastrophic event kills seemingly every mammal with a Y chromosome, only two living males remain—unemployed escape artist Yorick Brown and his monkey, Ampersand! With the aid of top-secret operative Agent 355, Yorick reluctantly sets off to discover why he, of all people, is now the last man on Earth!

On his quest to save the world and reunite with his girlfriend, can Yorick survive a cult of aspiring Amazons, gun-toting Congressional wives, an Israeli commando and an out-of-work supermodel? And can he mansplain his way into that boys and girls club known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

• The Y: The Last Man pilot
• Similarities to The Walking Dead …
• … and Avengers: Infinity War
• Beth, we hear you calling
• Children of Men
• Curt's Deadpool 2 review
• Crosswinds Vol. 1
• Bitch Planet Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine

Join us in two weeks as we begin a four-episode deep dive into The Fantastic Four, with a look at Fantastic Four #1, Fantastic Four Annual #6, and Fantastic Four #140-141!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, Curt and Kevin gear up for the upcoming release of Deadpool 2 with a look at one of the Merc With a Mouth's most popular adventures: the time-traveling tale With Great Power Comes Great Coincidence from Deadpool vol. 1 #11, by Joe Kelly and Pete Woods, published by Marvel Comics!

But first, they take a quick detour to Forest Hills, Queens, circa 1967, to dissect a (let's be honest) somewhat ridiculous story involving Spider-Man, Norman Osborn, Kraven the Hunter and Gwen Stacy rocking some sweet dance moves: In the Hands of the Hunter! by Stan Lee and John Romita, from Amazing Spider-Man #47!

Can Deadpool (and Spider-Man) defeat that most fearsome of leopard-print-wearing predators before he totally harshes the buzz of Flash Thompson's going-away party? And can they Twist, Mashed Potato and Loco-Motion their way into that American Bandstand of superhero sagas known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

• 60s youth culture
• Our Luke Cage episode
• Trials and Tribble-ations
• Archie Meets the Punisher
• The Coyote Gospel
• Curt and Kevin's reading list
• X-Force: The Apocalypse Solution
• Fear Agent
• Spider-Man/Deadpool Vol. 1: Isn't It Bromantic
• I Kill Giants

Join us in two weeks as we take a break from talking about Marvel Comics to discuss Y: The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned, by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and José Marzán Jr.!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

In this special bonus episode, Curt and Kevin welcome writer and artist Ed Piskor (Hip-Hop Family Tree) to discuss X-Men: Grand Design, his six-issue "remix" of Marvel mutant history through the end of the Chris Claremont era! (A "Marvel Treasury Edition" collecting the first two issues is available now.)

Things discussed in this episode include the Twitter conversation that started this ambitious project, the X-Men story arcs covered in the next two installments, the unexpected role Carol Danvers plays, Chris Claremont's relationship with his characters, the surprising X-Man the cartoonist identifies with most, the storytelling challenges inherent in time travel, and the current state of Piskor's apartment! All that, and Kevin's dogs make a cameo appearance!

Join us next week as we prepare for the May 18 release of Deadpool 2 with a look at With Great Power Comes Great Coincidence! from Deadpool #11 and In the Hands of the Hunter! from Amazing Spider-Man #47!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, Curt and Kevin welcome filmmaker and author C.D. Brown as they wrap up their preparations for Avengers: Infinity War with a look at the landmark limited series The Infinity Gauntlet by Jim Starlin, George Perez and Ron Lim, published by Marvel Comics!

Oh, crap! Thanos the mad Titan has the six infinity gems, granting him dominion over the mind, the soul, space, time, power and reality itself! And in an attempt to please Death herself, he's eradicated half of all life everywhere!

Can the assembled might of Earth's heartiest heroes, cosmic champions and assorted space gods possibly be enough to outwit this omnipotent oppressor? And can this mind-bending saga gain the favor of our own Living Tribunal and gain entry into that pantheon of power-packed periodicals known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

• Vamp City
• Our first "lost episode"
• A potential movie spoiler alert
• Thanos and Darkseid
• Chekhov's Law of Mephisto
• Layla and Other Love Songs
• The Ceremonial Eyepatch of Sorrow!
• Marvel's trippy cosmic entities
• Adam Warlock is a jerkwad!
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe
• The Death of Captain Marvel
• Thanos Returns
• Captain America #700
• Warlock by Jim Starlin: The Complete Collection

Join us in two weeks as we look ahead to the May 18 release of Deadpool 2 with a look at With Great Power Comes Great Coincidence! from Deadpool #11 and In the Hands of the Hunter! from Amazing Spider-Man #47!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, Curt and Kevin make a left turn at Albuquerque to discuss a pair of stories featuring crossovers between DC Comics heroes and Looney Tunes characters: Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1 by Tom King and Lee Weeks, and Grant Morrison and Chas Truog's The Coyote Gospel from Animal Man #5, published by DC Comics!

First, a fearsome hunter tracks his prey through the mean streets of Gotham City. His name is Elmer Fudd, and he's hunting pwayboys—specifically, a biwwionaiwe by the name of Bwuce Wayne! When the urban vigilante crosses paths with Gotham's Dark Knight Detective, Fudd and the Batman discover they have something in common: the femme fatale known as Silver St. Cloud!

Then, the hunter becomes the hunted as a crafty coyote (who bears a striking resemblance to a certain Warner Bros. character) is stalked by an unnamed man across the California desert. But a grief-stricken pursuer is the least of this wily carnivore's worries as he endures an eternal cycle of death and resurrection at the hands of a capricious creator!

Can Animal Man, the Caped Crusader and their animated cohorts prevail against the unseen adversaries manipulating them from behind the scenes? And can they sneak their way into that superheroic sanctuary known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

• Shame on Griffin Newman!
• Corporate synergy
• Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit, Duck!
• Curt has a theory about Silver St. Cloud
• The artwork of Lee Weeks
• "Roadrunner" by The Modern Lovers
• Prometheus, Lucifer and Sisyphus
• Duck Amuck
• Our Ms. Marvel and The Dark Knight Returns episodes
• Dark Nights: Metal
• The Terrifics
• Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist
• The Flintstones by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh
• Upcoming DC/Hanna-Barbera crossovers

Join us in two weeks as we look forward to a little movie you may of heard of called Avengers: Infinity War with a look at the 1991 Marvel Comics miniseries The Infinity Gauntlet!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, Curt and Kevin conclude their trilogy of Marvel origins episodes with a look at the comic book beginnings of everyone's favorite mutants! Then, they gear up for the new season of FX's Legion with a look at the issue that inspired a key moment from the show!

First, the comic that started it all: X-Men #1! Who are these mysterious teenagers with bizarre super-powers? Who is their stern, slightly scary taskmaster? And when the mysterious master of magnetism known as Magneto threatens a U.S. missile base, can our milquetoast mutants save the day?

Next it's the book that launched the X-Men as we know them today: Giant-Size X-Men #1! When the X-Men are captured by a mysterious foe, Charles Xavier assembles a new squad to rescue them. This international mishmash of mutants—including Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus—has some impressive powers and even cooler costumes. But when it comes to defeating Krakoa, The Island That Walks Like a Man, do they have any chance atoll?

And last but not least, Charles Xavier recounts his own quasi-origin story in Uncanny X-Men #117, including a no-holds-barred psychic skirmish with the nefarious Shadow King … a mental melee dramatized (after a fashion) in Legion's first season!

Do these uncanny tales have what it takes to graduate to the top of that class of peerless periodicals known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode:

• Curt's got Legion fever
• Were the original X-Men a cult?
• Jean Gray's problematic welcome
• The disappointing truth about what the "X" stands for
• The colorful diversity of Giant Size X-Men #1
• Aye, an' Banshee sure is Irish, me boyo!
• The trouble with Thunderbird
• Kevin questions Krakoa's mutant bona fides
• The Hollywood backlot version of Cairo
• Our Jessica Jones episode
• Curt breaks down the blackboard scene from Legion
• X-Men: Schism
• Wolverine and the X-Men Vol. 1
• X-Men: Deadly Genesis

Join us in two weeks as we make a left turn at Albuquerque to discuss a pair of stories that pair DC superheroes with Looney Tunes characters: The Coyote Gospel from Grant Morrison's Animal Man and 2017's Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!