The Comics Canon

(Note:You may just ever-so-faintly hear a neighbor's barking dog occasionally adding his two cents in the background for the first half or so of the episode.)

A perennial Spider-Man foe gets a horror-monster makeover (and our Spidey Super Stories miniseries concludes) with 2010's Shed from Amazing Spider-Man #630-633, by Zeb Wells, Chris Bachalo and Emma Rios, published by Marvel Comics!

After a long struggle, scientist Curt Connors loses control of his scaly alter-ego, the Lizard, who's clearly been working out during the offseason! The reptilian rogue immediately embarks on a killing spree, and Connors' young son Billy is his next target!

Can Ol' Web-Head keep this cold-blooded criminal from turning all of New York into a mindless horde of murderous, lizard-brained zombies? And can he tip the scales in favor of inclusion in that tangled web known as ... The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Spidey's relationship with Catwom—we mean, the Black Cat

· The true villains of this story

· Six Degrees of Peter Parker

· Beef on Netflix

· Why Curt's interested in the Thunderbolts movie

· Amazing Spider-Man #44-45: "Where Crawls the Lizard!" and "Spidey Smashes Out!"

· Amazing Spider-Man: Civil War

· Becoming Superman, by J. Michael Straczynski

Join us in two weeks as we return to Alan Moore's Swamp Thing: American Gothic arc with a look at Swamp Thing #46-50!

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 the platform formerly known as Twitter!

And as always, thanks for listening!

Despite popular demand, our recurring comics-themed quiz returns! This time, Curt surprises Kevin with a pop quiz on everyone's favorite unstoppable X-Men villain, following last week's episode on Amazing Spider-Man: Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut!

In this episode, we swing back into our Spidey Super Stories miniseries with a pair of acclaimed Spider-Man tales from the early 80s: The two-part Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut from Amazing Spider-Man #229-230, and The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man, from Amazing Spider-Man #248!

First, everyone's favorite wall-crawler races to stop the X-Men villain Juggernaut from kidnapping the psychic Madame Web, only to find that such a task is easier said than done as the relentless behemoth leaves a trail of destruction in his wake!

Then, Spider-Man pays a nighttime visit to his biggest fan.

Join us as we ask the burning questions: Why does ol' web-head reveal his greatest secret to young Tim Harrison? Can our overmatched, outclassed hero prevail against an unstoppable force as the Juggernaut? And can these stories make a dent in that immovable object known as ... The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Seriously, why does the Juggernaut need a force field?

· Assistant Editors' Month at The Daily Bugle

· 1977's Iron Fist #11-12

· Silver Surfer: New Dawn and Worlds Apart, by Dan Slott and Mike Allred

· Doctor Who: School Reunion

· Nothing can kill the Grimace

Join us in two weeks as we wrap up our Spidey Super Stories miniseries with Shed from Amazing Spider-Man #630-633!

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 the platform formerly known as Twitter!

And as always, thanks for listening!

Media critic Matt Goldberg returns as we temporarily pause our Spidey Super-Stories miniseries to discuss the unstoppable cultural phenomenon known as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with a look at the book that started it all—Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (and also #2) by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird!

Before the seven different movies (including the well-received new "Mutant Mayhem"), the animated series, the video games and the action figures, there was just a self-published black-and-white comic riffing on Frank Miller's Daredevil run with a brilliant title.

How did this modest 40-page comic spawn a decades-spanning multimedia juggernaut? And does it have what it takes to enter that Forbidden Kingdom known as ... The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· The Turtles Generation

· The part of the Turtles' origin that requires suspension of disbelief

· "What if Ultron was a chicken?"

· The 80s rash of Turtles "parodies"

· Usagi Yojimbo

· The Last Ronin

· Lynda Barry's Poodle With a Mohawk

· The Police Story trilogy

· Batman: Failsafe Vol. 1

· Check out Matt's Substack, Commentary Track

Join us in two weeks as we swing back into Spidey Super Stories with a Juggernaut two-parter from Amazing Spider-Man #229 and 230 and The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man from Amazing Spider-Man #248!

Until then:Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!

And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, Spidey Super Stories swings into a different gear as we examine yet another version of everyone's favorite wall-crawler with a look at Ultimate Spider-Man: Learning Curve, with a special emphasis on issue 13, Confessions, by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, published by Marvel Comics!

We discuss the ways in which the Ultimate Universe Peter Parker and his supporting characters differ from their Marvel Universe counterparts, the sharp contrast between this title and Spider-Man comics from the 1960s through the 90s, and a conversation with Mary Jane more monumental than supervillain slugfest—especially when Aunt May barges in!

Can this Peter Parker make it through his first meeting with this universe's Kingpin? And more importantly, will he survive the scrutiny of ... Your Friendly Neighborhood Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Wait! What happens to Carson Daly??!

· The Archie Comics era of Spider-Man

· Zot! #35: The Conversation

· Spider-Gwen Vol. 1: Most Wanted

· Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 3: Double Trouble

· Fantastic Four (2022) Vol. 1: Whatever Happened to the Fantastic Four?

Join us in two weeks as we temporarily pause Spidey Super Stories for a look back at the origins of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Until then:Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!

And as always, thanks for listening!

Bryan Stratton and Robb Milne from the Marvel by the Month podcast join once again us as Spidey Super Stories continues with a look at The Superior Spider-Man: My Own Worst Enemy, collecting The Superior Spider-Man (2013) issues 1-5 by Dan Slott, Ryan Stegman and Giuseppe Camuncoli, published by Marvel Comics!

Doctor Otto Octavius, one of Spider-Man's deadliest enemies, is in control of the wall-crawler's body! And he's vowed to be a better Spider-Man than Peter Parker ever was, utilizing his technological genius in a more aggressive approach to crimefighting in a story that not-so-subtly pokes fun at the Distinguished Competition's Caped Crusader!

Can Peter's hapless spirit keep the former Doc Ock from ruining Spidey's reputation—or wooing his ex, Mary Jane Watson? And does this "superior" Spider-Man have what it takes to Face/Off against ... The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Are there fewer "great" Spider-Man stories than there should be?

· A good couple of minutes on the Spider-Buggy, of all things

· Sandman Mystery Theatre Compendium One

· Black Phoenix Omnibus

· The Death of Captain Stacy from Amazing Spider-Man #88-90

· Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 5

· Radiant Black Vol. 1: (Not So) Secret Origin

Join us in two weeks as Spidey Super Stories continues with Ultimate Spider-Man: Confessions!

Until then:Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!

And as always, thanks for listening!

We kick off Spidey Super Stories, a series dedicated to everyone's favorite web-slinger, Spider-Man, with a look at "Spider-Man No More!" from Amazing Spider-Man #50, along with two early clashes with the Kingpin in #51-52 and #69, by Stan Lee and John Romita, published by Marvel Comics!

Fed up with a public that hates and fears him, Spider-Man hangs up his web-shooters to devote more time to his studies, his social life and his sickly Aunt May (not necessarily in that order) ... just as a mysterious crime lord known as the Kingpin is tightening his grip on New York City!

Has the wall-crawler given up crime-fighting for good? (C'mon, what do you think?) More importantly, will he come to his senses in time to win over those Amazing Friends known as ... The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Spider-Man vs. the Spoiler

· The stones on Frederick Foswell

· The 1967 "Spider-Man" theme

· Spider-Man: The New Sinister

· Captain America and the Falcon #176-176

· Thor: Goddess of Thunder

Join us in two weeks as Spidey Super Stories continues with Superior Spider-Man: My Own Worst Enemy!

Until then:Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!

And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, we wrap up our two-parter on The Sandman Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones, with a look at issues 64-69, published by Vertigo/DC Comics!

Lyta Hall and the Furies descend on The Dreaming, intent on destroying the dream realm and killing the Dream King. Various characters meet untimely ends, while others move on to new locales and one steps into a new role.

Can Morpheus defeat the Erinyes and save The Dreaming? And can he make his way past those dream warriors who stand guard at the gates of ... The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Curt reveals Kevin's M.O.D.O.K. name

· What Titanic has taught us

· Morpheus makes a joke!

· The Bear Season 2

· Our episode on New Avengers: Illuminati

· New Avengers Vol. 7: The Trust and Mighty Avengers Vol. 3: Secret Invasion Book 1

· My Bad Vol. 2: Thirty Minutes or Dead

· The Charlie Parker series by John Connolly

Join us back here in two weeks as Spidey Super Stories, a miniseries on everyone's favorite wall-crawler, swings into action with a look at Spider-Man No More!

Until then: Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!

And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, our series-within-a-series on The Sandman begins winding down as we kick off a two-parter on Vol. 9, The Kindly Ones, discussing issues 57-63, published by Vertigo/DC Comics!

When her young son Daniel is abducted, Lyta Hall embarks on a quest to find the trio of goddesses known as the Furies and exact revenge on the being she holds responsible: Morpheus, the Dream King! Meanwhile, we revisit some old friends as this rich fantasy epic moves inexorably toward its violent endgame.

What do returning characters Nuala, Thessaly and the Corinthian have to do with all of this? Why are Loki and the mischievous Puck gaslighting Lyta disguised as cops? And can this penultimate arc avoid apprehension by those Dream Police known as ... The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Marc Hempel's artwork

· A brief aside about Cormac McCarthy

· Curt reviews The Flash

· She-Hulk: Jen, Again

· Jazzy John Romita and Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection Vol. 3: Spider-Man No More

· X-Men: Starjammers by Dave Cockrum

Kindly join us in two weeks as we conclude this two-part dive into The Kindly Ones with The Sandman #64-69!

Until then: Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!

And as always, thanks for listening!

On this episode, we look ahead to the June 16 release of The Flash with a little story that established the concept of the multiverse as a canonical part of superhero comics: "The Flash of Two Worlds" from The Flash # 123, by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino, published by DC Comics!

Performing for children at a fundraiser, the Flash (Barry Allen) vibrates at super speed and finds himself on another Earth! And it turns out this world is home to ... The Flash (Jay Garrick), whose "fictional" exploits thrilled Barry (and DC Comics readers) several years earlier! Faced with the existence of multiple realities, what do our heroes do? Why, team up to fight bad guys, of course!

We also run through two subsequent Barry Allen/Jay Garrick team-ups: "Double Danger on Earth" from The Flash # 129 and "Vengeance of the Immortal Villain" from The Flash #137! How well do these stories stack up, six decades later? And do any of them cross over the finish line into that multiverse of madness known as ... The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Curt ... has some thoughts ... about the Flash's super-speed powers

· The Thinker leaves millions on the table

· The Flash Vol. 2 No. 1: "Happy Birthday Wally!"

· Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

· Fear Agent Final Edition Vol. 1

Run, don't walk, to join us in two weeks as we return to the world of The Dreaming for the first of a two-part look at The Sandman: The Kindly Ones!

Until then: Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!

And as always, thanks for listening!