The Comics Canon

Content warning: Sexual assault, cruelty to animals

In this episode, We're With the Banned, our miniseries on banned or challenged comics and graphic novels, continues with a discussion of Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon, published by Vertigo/DC Comics!

Based on a true story, this absorbing graphic novel follows four lions who escape from the Baghdad Zoo following a bombing by American forces in April of 2003. Filled with smart dialogue, sharp characterization and rousing action, it quickly makes you forget you're reading a book about talking animals as it draws you into its vividly realized world and makes you care for its four protagonists.

Will Noor, Zill, Safa and Ali find food and safety on the deserted, shell-shocked streets of Baghdad? And will they at last roam free in that heavenly habitat known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Curt's no good, very bad day

· Why don't more people talk about Brian K. Vaughan?

· Why has this book been challenged? It's not because of the Iraq War

· Three Kings

· Four Lions

· The New Gods by Ram V. and Evan Cagle

J Join us in two weeks as We're With the Banned continues with a discussion of Assassination Classroom Vol. 1 by Yusei Matsui!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense FundImpress 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 kick off We're With the Banned – a miniseries on banned or challenged comics and graphic novels – with a discussion of This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki, published by First Second Books!

In this delightful, finely detailed coming-of-age story, friends Rose and Windy contend with their impending adolescence during a summer beach trip, set against a pair of contrasting conflicts revolving around pregnancy, communication and depression.

Will Rose get over her crush on store clerk Dunk and realize she's backing the wrong horse? Will Windy ever slow down and take a breath? And can they prevail in that high-stakes game of Beach Blanket Bingo known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

· We welcome a surprise guest

· Petit Maman

· The Power Fantasy Vol. 1: The Superpowers

Join us in two weeks as We're With the Banned continues with a discussion of 2006's Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon!

Until then: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, blind lawyer Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, is behind bars – but so are Hammerhead, the Kingpin, and a host of other hardened criminals in 2006's The Devil in Cell Block D, by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark, published by Marvel Comics!

When someone close to him suffers a grisly fate, a spiraling Matt Murdock is bent on revenge! And if that weren't bad enough, Bullseye and the Punisher join the fun as simmering tensions come to a boil, resulting in an all-out riot!

Who is the mysterious figure manipulating things from behind the scenes? Who is the fake Daredevil patrolling the streets of Hell's Kitchen while Matt cools his heels in the slammer? And can ol' Hornhead prevail in that four-color courtroom known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· A brief discussion of HBO's Oz

· A flaw in the design of Ryker's Island

· A question about comic-book aspirations

· The Devil Takes a Ride

· Daredevil Vol. 1 by Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera

· A VERY SPOILERY discussion of the first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+

Join us in two weeks as we kick off a miniseries focused on banned and challenged comics with a look at This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki!

Until then: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!

A mere 16 years after the Kingpin learns Daredevil's secret identity in Frank Miller's Born Again, that secret becomes front page news in 2002's Out, by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, published by Marvel Comics!

Returning to his indie crime-comic roots, Bendis puts attorney Matt Murdock through the wringer in this compelling story grounded in street-level atmosphere by artist Maleev and colorist Matt Hollingsworth.

Is gaslighting your friends and loved ones okay if it means you can put on a costume and fight crime? Just how much are we supposed to root for a hero who doubles down on lying to the entire world? And can Matt Murdock get a fair shake from that sleazy tabloid known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Homicide: Life on the Street

· A few words from our sponsor

· Some random podcast ideas

· The Origin Story podcast

· The Big Empty by Robert Crais

· To Live and Die in L.A.

· Daredevil: Underboss

· Amazing Spider-Man: Civil War

Join us in two weeks as join ol' Hornhead behind bars for The Devil in Cell Block D (issues #82-87), by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark!

Until then: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!

Our six-episode, six-decade overview of the Thunderbolts and the Masters of Evil comes to a close (for now, at least) as we discuss two time-hopping tales from 2011 and 2012: The Great Escape from Thunderbolts #163-165 and Like Lightning from #172-174, published by Marvel Comics!

Following the events of the Fear Itself crossover event, most of the Thunderbolts manage to escape their prison home, only to end up in World War II Austria, side-by-side with Captain America and Prince Namor, fighting the Nazi forces of Baron Zemo! Then, we skip ahead a few issues (and decades) as they find themselves confronting the original Thunderbolts, led by (Son of) Baron Zemo!

Can these temporally tossed antiheroes repair the timeline before they cease to exist? And will these issues be deemed an excellent adventure or a bogus journey by that Time Variance Authority known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Hey, it's Centurius!

· Thunderbolts #163.1

· The tearjerking tale of Techno vs. Fixer

· Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

· MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios

· A Thunderbolts movie theory (recorded before the new trailer was released)

Join us in two weeks as we use the March 4 release of Daredevil: Born Again on Disney + to discuss Daredevil: Out by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev!

Until then: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!

Our decade-by-decade series on Marvel Comics' Thunderbolts rolls into the 21st century as we discuss Burning Down the House, collecting Thunderbolts #126-129 and #132 by Andy Diggle and Roberto de la Torre, published by Marvel Comics!

After saving the Earth from the Skrulls' Secret Invasion, Thunderbolts director (and Green Goblin) Norman Osborn is headed for bigger and better things … but not before he turns the Thunderbolts against each other on his way out the door!

Then, it's high-flying mayhem aboard Air Force One as we meet an all-new T-Bolts squad led by Black Widow (no, not that one – the other one) and Osborn protects President Not Barack Obama from … the Green Goblin???

Will Songbird survive against the combined might of Moonstone, Venom and Bullseye? And will this new black-ops hit squad succeed against that Wild Covert Action Team known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· The inevitable Talking Heads chatter

· Wait, what happened to covering Faith in Monsters?

· Why the Irredeemable Ant-Man is the best(?) shrinking character

· How lame is Mister X? Pretty lame, right?

· Dark Avengers: Molecule Man and Siege

· Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Join us in two weeks as the Thunderbolts reach the 2010s, only to hop right back out in two time-traveling tales: The Great Escape (Thudnerbolts #163-165) and Like Lightning (#172-174)!

Until then: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 look back at one of the best-reviewed graphic novels of 2024: Final Cut by Charles Burns!

When Brian, a shy, socially awkward artist, meets Laurie, the soon-to-be star of his new amateur sci-fi horror movie, she quickly becomes his muse, sharing space in his drawings and his mind with the film's giant, pod-spewing aliens. Like him, Laurie is an outsider, wrestling with her own inner demons. But as his obsession with her grows, his grasp on his mental health weakens.

This vividly drawn tale of longing – to create and to connect – is part love-triangle teen romance and part love-letter to the science fiction creature features of a bygone era. But is all of that enough to make the cut with that Invasion of the Body Snatchers known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Curt and Kevin's 8mm adventures

· We have to talk about Tina

· The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn

· Curt's existential crisis

· Brief thoughts on Madam Web and The Northman

· Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1: Married With Children

Join us in two weeks as we return to our decade-by-decade look at the Thunderbolts with a look at 2007's Faith in Monsters!

Until then: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!

You read that right – it's time for another installment of our recurring comics-themed quiz! As we briefly pause our miniseries on Marvel Comics' Thunderbolts, Kevin grills Curt with a series of questions loosely related to the theme of comics villains turned heroes!

We'll be back in two weeks with a look at one of the best-reviewed graphic novels of 2024, Charles Burns' Final Cut! Then on Jan. 29 we return to the Thunderbolts with a look at 2007's Faith in Monsters arc by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato!

THE WAIT IS OVER! Our decade-by-decade series on Marvel Comics' Thunderbolts continues as we finally discuss Thunderbolts (1997) issues #1-4 and the Thunderbolts 97 Annual, by Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley, Vince Russell and a host of others!

In the aftermath of the deadly Onslaught event (hey, you guys remember Onslaught?), the world is shaken by the apparent deaths of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four! But there's a new superhero team in town … the Thunderbolts!

Who are these mysterious do-gooders? What's their connection to Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil? (Hmmmm…) And can the Marvel Universe's newest heroes face down the mind-boggling menace of that Wrecking Crew known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· What we talk about when we talk about the 90s

· Who will protect us from Blastaar, the Living Bomb Burst???

· Bada bing! It's the Rat Pack, baby!

· How to Baby by Liana Fink

· Creature Commandos on Max

· The Lightning Round podcast

Join us in two weeks as ring in 2025 with a fun mini-episode! Then, on Jan. 15, we discuss one of the best-reviewed books of 2024 (probably Final Cut by Charles Burns) before returning to the Thunderbolts on Jan. 29 with the Civil War-adjacent tale Faith in Monsters, by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato!

Until then: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, our-decade-by-decade series on Marvel's Thunderbolts (NOT the Thunderbirds, as Kevin erroneously calls them in the intro) continues as we discuss The Avengers: Under Siege – specifically, The Avengers #273-277 by Roger Stern and John Buscema!

Helmut Zemo, the son of one of Captain America's greatest enemies, and a waaay-overstuffed Masters of Evil take over Avengers Mansion and begin systematically taking down Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Hercules, the Prince of Power, lies at death's door! Monica Rambeau, the new Captain Marvel, is trapped in the Darkforce Dimension! And the Black Knight … is taken out rather easily.

This action-packed epic has it all: Squabbling supervillains! A quick stopover in Paris! Tons of property damage! And a galaxy of guest stars including Ant-Man! Paladin! The Shroud! And Doctor Druid! But is all of that enough to mount a hostile takeover of that impregnable fortress known as … The Comics Canon?

Recommended in This Episode:

· Fantastic Four #177: "Look Out for the Frightful Four!"

· Star Trek: First Contact

· The Suicide Squad

Next episode: At long last! We discuss Thunderbolts: Justice, Like Lightning…! featuring Thunderbolts (1997) #1-6! WHO are the Thunderbolts? And WHAT is their connection to the Masters of Evil? ALL WILL BE REVEALED!

Until then: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!