The Fantasticast

Agents Of F.O.U.R.

Yes, the episode title is a blatant piece of attention-grabbing, what with the release of the TV show.

This week, we welcome back Charlie Niemeyer to the show. Host of Superman In The Bronze Age and Charlie's Geekcast, and co-host of Starman Observatory, Charlie is just the guy we wanted to have sit around whilst Steve summarises this week's issue!

And what an issue. Having been teased with Gorgon last week, we now get a full bevy of Inhumans this week. Crystal. Lockjaw. Karnak. Triton. Black Bolt. Kirby's opened up his imagination and letting everything spill out.

Along the way, we find time to do the Ninja Rap, have a gimp on the show, and sing the Dogtanian theme.

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

The Gentleman's Name Is... Niemeyer!

Hello and welcome to the landmark milestone never-to-be-reached-again-unless-we-restart-the-numbering fiftieth episode of The Fantasticast! In case you hadn't guessed from the title, this week Steve and Andy are joined by veteran podcaster Charlie Niemeyer. Known by some as the host of Charlie's Geekcast, by others as the host of Superman In The Bronze Age, soon-to-be-known by some as one of the co-hosts on Starman Observatory, Charlie is best known for his four-second appearance in our trailer as Doctor Doom.

This time around, we get to be ridiculously relevant and contemporary. Literally as I write this, Marvel are hosting a liveblog revealing the scope of the upcoming Inhumanity event. Two days, ago, Marvel released a trade paperback collecting this issue and several others, chronicling the origins of The Inhumans. And it all begins here: Issue 44 of The Fantastic Four - The Gentlemen's Name Is Gorgon. And as if this wasn't enough, the title welcomes its new regular inker, the legendary Joe Sinnott.

Along the way, we discuss Jack Kirby's influence on Bruce Timm, the best Golden Age penciller, and realise that just one corpse of Jon M Wilson in our basement isn't really enough...

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

You Are Cordially Invited...

Andrew Leyland and Stephen Lacey would like to invite you, the listener, to the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm.

Venue: The Baxter Building. Time: To be confirmed upon RSVP.

Speeches to be given by the hosts and Samuel Savage.

Warning: S.H.I.E.L.D., upon advice from the groom, have issued notification that due to the high public profile of the wedding, there may be uninvited guests. Please be vigilant and comply with all security protocols.

Artists and writers need not attend.

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

Lo, There Shall be An Episode

Lo, there shall be a cover image. Redesigned by Sam Savage (more on him later) to better show off both the glorious Kirby cover artwork and the glorious Georgiou artwork.

Lo, there shall be a guest host. Sam Savage (see? I told you there'd be more of him) joins us this week to try his hand at speaking out loud. He does a pretty good job of it!

Lo, there shall be a coverage of Fantastic Four #43, featuring the wrap-up of the Frightful Four trilogy quadrilogy pentalogy wait, just how long has this story been going on for anyway?

Lo, there shall be an announcement about the future of the show that is completely genuine unlike the one where we fooled a couple of people into thinking we had quit the show.

Lo, there shall be an overly-dramatic and tedious joke throughout the shownotes for this episode.

Lo, there shall be feedback, which can be sent to [email protected], left in the comments below or left over at fantasticflameon.wordpress.com

Lo, there shall be an ending to these notes. Verily, forsooth, thou shalt listen to the show until I say thee nay.

Because Once Just Isn't Enough

Hello and welcome to the 47th episode of The Fantasticast. There's a strong sense of deja vu in the air today, as thanks to a recording failure, Steve and Andy are doing it all over again. So, for the second time, we're covering Fantastic Four #43, wherein an evil Ben Grimm does his best to help the Frightful Four defeat the Fantastic Four. We're also checking in with X-Men #13, wherein a slightly-brainwashed Johnny Storm does his best to help the X-Men defeat the Juggernaut.

Along the way, we discuss Omnibuses, the departure of Matt Fraction, the awesomeness of Karl Kesel, the un-awesomeness of the original X-Men logo, and we have special guest-appearances from every guest-host we've had on the show to date.

There's also some singing. Sorry about that...

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

Change, My Dear, And Not A Moment Too Soon

After 19 months and 46 episodes, Steve and Andy have decided to call it a day. Join us at the start of this episode as we broadcast live to the world to exclusively announce who the next hosts of the Fantasticast are. The betting has been hot, Rich Johnston keeps naming other potential hosts other than the ones who will be announced, and shortly, the secret will be revealed. Here's hoping all of the anticipation isn't in aid of a 30 second opening gag that ultimately changes nothing...

Hello and welcome to the 46th episode of the show. For real. Steve and Andy are trying a new way of recording, hoping to make Steve sound like a normal human being, and we hope you'll notice an improvement in the sound quality of the show.

It's a shorter episode than normal, as there's only one comic up for coverage this time around. So, we take a bit of time to trawl through the e-mails and feedback we've been receiving recently. Then it's into Fantastic Four #41 as the Frightful Four make their return with devastating consequences for the team.

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

The Final Strange Tales

Hello and welcome to the 45th episode of the show. This time around, Steve and Andy are once again joined by Christine Hanefalk of The Other Murdock Papers to examine the guest appearances of Daredevil in the Fantastic Four. Well, half a guest-appearance at least. In Fantastic Four #40, the team, along with the Man Without Fear, take part in the Battle of the Baxter Building against none other than Doctor Doom. Then in Strange Tales #134, everybody's favourite non-interferer turns up to interfere. That's right, The Watcher is back.

This is our final episode covering Strange Tales as a core Fantastic Four title, and instead of leaving on what you might assume to be a down note (come on, there is a small chance that the story might be pretty good), we decided to produce a list each of five things that weren't terrible about Strange Tales.

Check out The Other Murdock Papers here, and follow @Chris_TOMP on twitter here.

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

The Other Other Murdock Papers Podcast Podcast

Hello and welcome to the 44th episode of the show. This week, Andy and Steve are joined by Christine Hanefalk, writer of the The Other Murdock Papers blog and host of The Other Murdock Paper podcast. Why do we have such an incredibly awesome co-host who has dedicated large amounts of time and creativity to a blind lawyer who is definitely not a super-hero oh no not at all?

Well, Fantastic Four #39 is the first of a two-part epic featuring an attack from Doctor Doom, a powerless set of heroes, and a special guest-appearance from Daredevil! As well as this, Strange Tales #133 sees the return of the Puppet Master in a tale that... well... it's an issue of Strange Tales. 'nuff said.

All this, and singing, mispronunciation, impressions of Jackie Mason, some thoroughly filthy suggestions regarding what Reed can do with his technology, and a special appearance of Stan's ability to completely forget the names of his characters.

Check out this special post from The Other Murdock Papers here, and why not drop Christine a follow on twitter?

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

From Rorschach To Father Jack

Hello and welcome to the new look for the Fantasticast. The wonderful Mike Georgiou has designed a band-spanking new image for the show, which you'll have seen on our facebook page, on our twitter account, and, if you've grabbed the episode through itunes or another podcatcher, you'll be seeing it on the show's page there. Check out Mike's work at his website, follow him on twitter, and maybe grab a copy of his great comic, Elemental Micah. And huge thanks go to Samuel Savage for adapting the image into our new format episode cover image!

Anyway, in today's episode, Andy and Steve face off against the returned Frightful Four, featuring the first appearance of The Trapster, in Fantastic Four #38. Then, a spot of undercover work at NASA goes awry in Strange Tales #132. Along the way, we've got masked psychopaths, Man of Steel spoilers, a reluctant admission that Strange Tales may not be crap, some new Avengers (no, not New Avengers!), and a sweary priest.

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

Happy Birthday Us

Hello and welcome to the latest Fantasticast episode. Steve has just turned 30, and Andy has just turned a little-bit more, so it's celebration time. Or at least it would be if we hadn't recorded 2 weeks in advance and forgotten when this was due to be released...

This week, we look at Fantastic Four #37, as the team head into space to exact bloody vengeance upon the party responsible for the death of Dr Storm. Then, in Strange Tales #131, Johnny and Ben face off against the Mad Thinker, who has clearly been watching The Dam Busters.

If you're looking at the image and thinking 'gosh, that looks different', then you're right. Michael Georgiou - http://www.mikedraws.co.uk/ - has created a wonderful cover image for the show that you'll see rolled out across the websites, facebook and twitter pages very soon. Then, Samuel Savage took a shot at creating an episode cover image, so we thought we'd use it. Thanks to Mike for his amazing talent, and to Sam for the episode graphic.

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