The Fantasticast

Daniel Bedingfield Is Ultron!

Hello, and welcome to episode 330 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 loiter in the aftermath of the Wolfman run on the Fantastic Four. Following all the high-stakes cosmic drama, it's time for something a little more grounded. Well, as grounded as a hyper-evolved scientist and an incursion from the Negative Zone by Blastarr can possibly be. Can our favourite blasting baddie twist the next stage of man's evolution to his will?

Marv Wolfman, Bill Mantlo, John Byrne, Pablo Marcos, Carl Gafford, Irv Watanabe, Michael Higgins, Mark Gruenwald, Rich Buckler, and Al Milgrom present Fantastic Four #216 - Where There Be Gods! Featuring an arse-less Ben Grimm (no, really - those rocky buns are definitely missing in action), and the realisation that it can't really be Franklin's fault that he's badly written...

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

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

Laptop Or Cigar Box?

Hello, and welcome to episode 329 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

How many issues of downtime do you need following one of the greatest stories of the late-1970s? We're glad the answer is 'more than one', as it allows to us to enjoy an evening in the company of Ben Grimm, Alicia Masters, The Thing's purple-and-green hat, and... waitaminnit! That's not a hat! That's The Impossible Man!

Ralph Macchio, Mark Gruenwald, George Perez, Gene Day, Roger Slifer, John Costanza, Roger Stern, Bob Budiansky, and Joe Rubinstein present (and, for some of them, star in) Marvel Two-in-One #60, featuring the return of The Impossible Man, three unlikely villains, and an poorly-timed spot of life drawing. In addition, we revisit Spider-Man's first encounter with the Fantastic Four as to take a peak at What If? #19, and prepare for future episodes in the Microverse with The Micronauts #14.

The Fantasticast is sponsored by Wolverine: The Lost Trail, the new scripted podcast drama from Stitcher and Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head to wolverinepodcast.com and use the promo code FANTASTICAST

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

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

How To Evolve A Watcher

Hello, and welcome to episode 328 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

The door to the Negative Zone has been opened. From within the depths comes one of the most terrifying beings, raw power personified, fueled by a lust for conquest. Only four beings can stand in the path of this mysterious fig- oh, they just named the comic after him? Oh, right. Hey, everyone - Blastarr's back!

Marv Wolfman, John Byrne, Joe Sinnott, Carl Gafford, Joe Rosen, Jim Shooter, Ron Wilson, and Joe Rubinstein present Fantastic Four #215 - Blastarr! In which hyper-evolution doesn't mean becoming amoral, New York suburban street life gets a harsh lesson in the practicalities of privately-funded scientific research, and a long-anticipated reveal regarding one of the podcast hosts is... uh... revealed.

The Fantasticast is sponsored by Wolverine: The Lost Trail, the new scripted podcast drama from Stitcher and Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head to wolverinepodcast.com and use the promo code FANTASTICAST

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

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

Nose-Operated Alarms

Hello, and welcome to episode 327 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

The Pegasus Project is over. It's time for some much-needed downtime for our hero, Ben Grimm. Maybe with some Conan the Barbarian comics. Let's hope that he doesn't get roped into a series os shenanigans involving a very unfortunately-designed piece of peril simply to save the life of a serial idiot out to prove his masculinity - that would be an absolute nightmare!

Marv Wolfman, Ralph Macchio, Chic Stone, Al Gordon, Ben Sean, Irving Watanabe, Roger Stern, Jim Shooter, and Bob Budiansky present Marvel Two-in-One #59, in which being a man apparently means being a colossally-irresponsible pillock, being a cowboy means being out of control, being a detective means doing no detection, being a Fantasticast host means resisting an incredibly childish joke, and fire is not a universal cure.

The Fantasticast is sponsored by Wolverine: The Lost Trail, the new scripted podcast drama from Stitcher and Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head to wolverinepodcast.com and use the promo code FANTASTICAST

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

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

THEY MELTED MY ROBOT BRAIN!

Hello, and welcome to episode 326 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

The 1980s are here, and what better way to celebrate the dawning of a new decade by finally wrapping up some, but not all, subplots from the last year's worth of stories? The time has come to address both Skrull X and the artificial aging of the Fantastic Four, while at the same time, almost-completely ignoring the events that set this cosmic epic in motion.

Marv Wolfman, John Byrne, Joe Sinnott, Carl Gafford, John Costanza, and Jim Shooter present Fantastic Four #214 - And Then There Was One, in which The Human Torch grapples with having to actually do stuff, experiences a case of Extra! Mel! Oh! Draaaama!, and Sue Richards makes for an intriguing corpse (her most substantial contribution to the book in several issues).

The Fantasticast is sponsored by Wolverine: The Lost Trail, the new scripted podcast drama from Stitcher and Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head to wolverinepodcast.com and use the promo code FANTASTICAST

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

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Age Of The Aquarian

Hello, and welcome to episode 325 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

The finale to both the Project Pegasus Saga and our coverage of books cover-dated in the 1970s is finally here. Many questions will now be answered. What is Bill Foster really doing at Project Pegasus? Why is Wundarr so important to the story? What exactly was Dr Lightner up to? Why were so many villains being kept in the basement? Just how long did this entire saga actually last?

Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, George Perez, Gene Day, Carl Gafford, John Costanza, Roger Stern, Jim Shooter, and Terry Austine present Marvel Two-in-One #58 - To The Nth Power. Can this issue really put The Thing against a second dimensionally-powered villain whose body functions as a gateway to another realm in as many issues? Well... yes... but this one is much better! Join us, as we bit farewell to the 1970s.

The Fantasticast is sponsored by Wolverine: The Lost Trail, the new scripted podcast drama from Stitcher and Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head to wolverinepodcast.com and use the promo code FANTASTICAST

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

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

Bin-Juice-Ridden Sh*t-Clothes

Hello, and welcome to episode 324 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Who's ready for an annual comprising two planned issues of the main title? Well, thankfully, we are, as we join Ben Grimm, Black(agar) Bolt(agon), and the master of gravity himself, Graviton, in New York, for a titanic tussle-'n'-throw-down.

Allyn Brodsky, David Michelinie, Jim Craig, Bob Budiansky, Bruce Patterson, Irving Watanabe, George Bell, Roger Stern, Jim Shooter, and Joe Sinnott present Marvel Two-in-One Annual #4. Featuring: A rational and logical explanation for Black Bolt's electron powers, another explanation for those powers, a further explanation of those powers, a gravity arsehole, and somebody reverse-farting their way across New York. Yes, it's going to be that kind of show.

The Fantasticast is sponsored by Wolverine: The Lost Trail, the new scripted podcast drama from Stitcher and Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head to wolverinepodcast.com and use the promo code FANTASTICAST

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

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Susan Storm Affair

Hello, and welcome to episode 323 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

After 88 issues, Marvel Team-Up finally gets around to featuring Sue Richards. Well, better late than never. She's joining forces with Spider-Man to escape the rigour of a society event, rescue her son, pay off the Maggia, and chew bubblegum. And, unfortunately, she's all out of bubblegum. Although, would the Maggia really have missed a few cents from the $3 million she'll give them?

Chris Claremont, Sal Buscema, Eduardo Barreto, Bob Sharen, John Costanza, Al Milgrom, Jim Shooter, and Rich Buckler present Marvel Team-Up #88. In which some things happen, some of then which can be trivially described to create an alluring episode blurb, probably in a list. And Claremont does some great stuff with Sue's powers.

The Fantasticast is sponsored by Wolverine: The Lost Trail, the new scripted podcast drama from Stitcher and Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head to wolverinepodcast.com and use the promo code FANTASTICAST

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

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

But He Really Illustrates

Hello, and welcome to episode 322 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

The Fantasticast goes giant-sized once again, as Steve and Andy get to grips with Fantastic Four Annual #14. Nicholas Scratch and Salem's Seven are back, the Fantastic Four are out of action, and only Franklin Richards and Agatha Harkness can stop them. It's the team-up you never knew you wanted!

Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Pablo Marcos, Carl Gafford, Jim Novak, Jim Shooter, and Joe Sinnott present Fantastic Four Annual #1 - Cats-Paw. Warning: This annual contains extraneous Sandman, a happy town, lots of people dying quite horribly if you think about it for more than a few moments, gratuitous cameos, a confuzzling ceremony, and a last triumph from a writer about to jump ship.

The Fantasticast is sponsored by Wolverine: The Lost Trail, the new scripted podcast drama from Stitcher and Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head to wolverinepodcast.com and use the promo code FANTASTICAST

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

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

A Paradox-Free Bow

Hello, and welcome to episode 321 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

We're back, and we're weekly again! Yes, after a couple of months of rest, we're back to our regular weekly schedule, just in time for a momentous climax to the long-promised Sphinx/Galactus battle. And, as an extra bonus for our listeners, we manage to uncover more than a few things that we really liked about the issue!

Marv Wolfman, John Byrne, Joe Sinnott, Ben Sean, John Costanza, Jim Salicrup, and Jim Shooter present Fantastic Four #213 - In Final Battle, featuring an unconvincing backdrop, an unlikely transatlantic cargo shipment, an entire panel featuring someone who isn't a man, and the revelation that John Byrne doesn't know what one of the most famous deus ex machinas in comics actually looks like.

The Fantasticast is sponsored by Wolverine: The Lost Trail, the new scripted podcast drama from Stitcher and Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head to wolverinepodcast.com and use the promo code FANTASTICAST

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

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.