The Fantasticast

Hello, and welcome to a special midweek minisode of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

It's finally here. An official trailer for this year's Fantastic Four film. Even the best of expectations were low for this, following lots of silence from the studio, some unfortunate mis-speaking from the cast, and lots of rumours.

In this special episode, Steve and Andy are joined by Micheal Leyland to discuss the trailer, their reactions to it, and some notable observations that have been made. We discuss the influences of Ultimate Fantastic Four, and Andy gets very distracted by Philip Glass.

Send in your feedback to [email protected], leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at fantasticflameon.wordpress.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Generic Quote Regarding Anniversaries

Hello, and welcome to episode 115 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week, we're covering Fantastic Four #100, Jack Kirby's antepenultimate issue of the Fantastic Four and the first Marvel anniversary issue. Nowadays, Marvel celebrate an anniversary at the drop of a hat (did we really need a 25th issue anniversary celebration for All New X-Men?), but in 1970, this was the first time a milestone was celebrated.

You know that old saying about learning to walk before you can run? Well...

Send in your feedback to [email protected], leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at fantasticflameon.wordpress.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

Oh, The Inhumanity

Hello, and welcome to episode 114 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week sees Steve and Andy tackle Fantastic Four #99, Jack Kirby's preantepenultimate issue of the title. There's a new Inhumans strip in the offing, so Kirby's treasured creations make their final appearance under his pen in the Fantastic Four. Johnny's got all hot-headed (pun!) and the rest of the team have to get to him before he destroys the Inhumans. Why? I can't explain.

We also take a very brief look at how the Fantastic Four help SHIELD defend against an attack by the Silver Surfer in Silver Surfer #17. And, for extra fun, we both decide to answer the 1970 Marvel Readers' Survey as featured in this month's Bullpen Bulletins.

Send in your feedback to [email protected], leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at fantasticflameon.wordpress.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

How Not To Celebrate The Moon Landing

Hello, and welcome to episode 113 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

We kick off our journey through 2015 with Fantastic Four #98, a celebration of the first landing on the Moon. Ish. There's a Kree Sentry, a mysterious island, something dormant beneath the surface of the moon, and Neil Armstrong's foot. And if this sounds like a mash-up of Doctor Who's Kill The Moon and The Impossible Astronaut... well... that's just a coincidence!

We're not sure what sort of comic ended up being produced, to be honest. Join us and see if you can make up your mind.

Send in your feedback to [email protected], leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at fantasticflameon.wordpress.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

Hello, and welcome to The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

But not this week. We're taking a well-earned post-Christmas nap, and have woken momentarily to produce a new trailer for the show. It's been three years since our first trailer, and we wanted to produce something a little shorter, and a bit more relevant to our upcoming episodes.

Hope you enjoy!

To Save You, Why Must I Floss?

Hello, and welcome to episode 112 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey (for it is he) and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

It's Christmas time at the Fantasticast, and Steve (for it is he) and Andy are continuing their annual tradition of pulling an issue of a Fantastic Four related title from outside of the reading order and covering it. Due to time pressures, Steve (for it is he) abstained from choosing an issue, instead throwing himself on the selection of Andy. And what a selection it is!

Steve (for it is he) is not prepared for the Onslaught of one of the most unique project of the 1990s. The X-Cution alone is worthy of comment, there's Zero Tolerance for the insanity contained within this book. For lo, there shall be an issue of What The--?!. Steve (for it is he) can't wait for the next episode of the show where the Heroes Return. And the terrible crossover-based puns finish.

Send in your feedback to [email protected], leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at fantasticflameon.wordpress.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

In The Kingdom Of The Mute, The Phlegmatic Man Is King

Hello, and welcome to episode 111 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

It's the final episode of 2014, and taking advantage of the wintery season, Steve and Andy are taking a look at Fantastic Four #97, featuring a summer holiday, a trip to a marine mammal park, and a magical, size-changing submarine. Sensible plotting has been put on hold, as the motivations (and, indeed, the vocal properties) of the antagonist seem to change from page to page.

As an extra seasonal treat, we're also taking a look at Silver Surfer #15, featuring a pitched battle between the Surfer and the Human Torch. Just like the Surfer's own series, we also get a bit philosophical, looking at the flaws and failings of Stan Lee's most personal superhero series.

Send in your feedback to [email protected], leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at fantasticflameon.wordpress.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

Lurgi Strikes Britain. Well, Manchester...

Hello, and welcome to episode 110 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week on the show, Andy's been hit with a terrible cold, and it sort of shows... However, this doesn't stop him from teaming up once more with Steve and tackling the final Lee/Kirby Mad Thinker story. Can a good Mad Thinker issue be produced in the dying days of the run? And is it mere coincidence that Steve has been watching lots of Battlestar Galactica in the lead-up to recording this episode?

Send in your feedback to [email protected], leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at fantasticflameon.wordpress.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

Stuck In The Middle(ton) With You

Hello, and welcome to episode 109 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week, Steve and Andy are joined once again by Emily Middleton of the Relatively Geeky Podcast Network. As host of Uncovering The Bronze Age, co-host of the Shortbox Showcase, and having a few familial connections to Latveria, Emily is the perfect person to help us take a look at Fantastic Four #95.

We have international assassinations, dastardly distractions, and a compeltely terrifying beard as the Monocle makes his first (of two) appearances. We're also taking the briefest of brief looks at X-Men #65, with a rare portrayal of the team by Neal Adams. Oh, and Steve raps. Sort of. It's not good.

Send in your feedback to [email protected], leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at fantasticflameon.wordpress.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage

How Many Seamen On The Love Boat?

Hello, and welcome to episode 108 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week, Steve and Andy welcome Emily Middleton of the Relatively Geeky Podcast Network to the show. As the host of Uncovering The Bronze Age, Emily is ideally positioned to help us transition from the 1960s to the 1970s. And, as the daughter of previous guest-host Alan Middleton, she even has our Skype contacts already on her computer!

We're covering a veritable stack of comics this episode. Fantastic Four #94 features the first appearance of Agatha Harkness, the return of the Frightful Four, the naming of the younger Richards, and a very scary cat. We're also taking a look at Incredible Hulk #123, where Reed is responsible for a big change for Bruce Banner, and Namor, The Sub-Mariner #21, where Ben Grimm records a voicemail message.

As well as all of this, we're also taking a very brief look at our experiences at the recent Thought Bubble convention. Spoiler: It was awesome!

Send in your feedback to [email protected], leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at fantasticflameon.wordpress.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.