The Fantasticast

Real-Life Clobberin' Time!

Hello, and welcome to episode 292 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Hey there, Kirby fans. This week, we're covering the final major contribution of Jack Kirby to the world of the Fantastic Four. Working off an idea from Roy Thomas, Jack imagines a world where Stan Lee, Sol Brodsky, Flo Steinberg, and The King himself become imbued with the powers of the Fantastic Four, and have to track down the mysterious 'S Men' while putting out some of the most notable comics of the 1960s. With hilarious consequences.

Jack Kirby, Mike Royer, Carl Gafford, Bill Wray, and Roy Thomas present What If? #11, an issue that breaks all the rules of What If?, has a ton of fun along the way, includes some astonishing late-period KirbyTech, and casually reveals that Atlantis exists in the 'real' world. Join us, as we bid a final farewell to one of the creators of the Fantastic Four.

Don't forget to join Steve at 3pm on Saturday 28th July at London Film & Comic Con as he interviews Dan Slott and Sara Pichelli about the upcoming Fantastic Four relaunch!

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter 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.

Narrativium Concludo

Hello, and welcome to episode 291 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This is the story of community service gone wrong, of the fall of Olympus. This is the story of the dangers of smoking near children, and of naming your youth program 'Camp Runamok'. This is the story of Hercules casually flying a chariot down a New York street. This is the story of some truly hilarious wisecracks, a titanic team-up, and a bunch of cowardly gods. This, however, may or may not be an imaginary story... aren't they all?

Joining us to cover Marvel Two-in-One #44 is writer and Punisher podcaster Kelly Kanayama. Together, we dive into this delightful comic, examining if Hercules is truly a fan of The Bay City Rollers, what the placement of a comma before the 'TM' symbol means, and utter the immortal phrase: "Horny's catching up with us!". Come and join all three of us!

Find Kelly on twitter, where she is @KellyKanayama. Find Kelly's writing at Nerdist at https://nerdist.com/author/kelly-kanayama/. Frank Discussions can be found at https://www.mixcloud.com/KellyKanayama/, including the live episode, Bullseye For The Skull Guy, featuring occasional Fantasticast guest host Al "To Astonish" Kennedy.

Don't forget to join Steve at 3pm on Saturday 28th July at London Film & Comic Con as he interviews Dan Slott and Sara Pichelli about the upcoming Fantastic Four relaunch!

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter 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.

Dick Sprang, David Banks

Hello, and welcome to episode 290 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 join the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing as he teams up with the Definitely-A-Man Called Nova to defend the Earth against the might of the Monitors. Aided only by a trio of giant women and a plasticine railroad-building dog, it's up to these two heroes to save the planet from imminent destruction at the hands of Marv Wolfman, Sal Buscema, Frank Giacoia, Dave Hunt, Phil Rachelson, Joe Rosen, and Jim Shooter.

Joining us for this episode is podcast and three-time Fantasticast guest host, Al Kennedy. He's one of the most vocal New Warriors fans out there, and he was the perfect person to invite along to experience an early adventure of Nova with us. Along the way, we discuss The Penguin & The Queen, The King Ralph Scenario, the adventures of S.T.R.I.K.E.Monitor, Nova's 'Human Rocket', how eggs make everything more exciting, a giant Airfix woman, and why Cannonball wouldn't have gone 'boing'.

Al is the host of House To Astonish, a comics news and review podcast featuring The Official Handbook Of The Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe, available at http://www.housetoastonish.com/. You can also follow him on twitter where he is @housetoastonish

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter 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.

Lethal Lettering

Hello, and welcome to episode 289 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 enjoying our last look at a Fantastic Four book with a three digit issue number that begins with a '1'. This might seem like a tenuous thing to celebrate... and it is! An incredibly melodramatic Doctor Doom who doesn't know how to democracy prepares to abdicate and transfer power to someone who is definitely his son, and the Fantastic Four can only rampage through his dungeons.

Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, Joe Sinnott, Janice Cohen, John Costanza, and Jim Shooter present Fantastic Four #199 - The Son Of Doctor Doom. Because concealed clones, smuggled weaponry, detailed crowd scenes, expositional equations, unoccupied orbs, unclear transfers, and suspicious statues make for a great comic.

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter 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.

Little Blue Bastards

Hello, and welcome to episode 288 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 return to the mystical swamps of Florida to witness the battle of life and death personified, as the Man-Thing goes up against the physical embodiment on entropy, inexplicably named Jude, while The Thing and Captain America try to recover the cosmic cube. Swamps will live, swamps will die, and the cube will never be the same again...

Ralph Macchio, John Byrne, Some Friends, Phil Rachelson, Bruce Patterson, Roger Stern, Walt Simonson, and Jim Shooter present Marvel Two-in-One #43, which features lots of Smurfs, the inadvisable stroking of Jude The Entropic Man's tummy, and Andy's inability to recognise a basic narrative device.

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter 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.

Victor Von Doom II: This Time It's Personal

Hello, and welcome to episode 287 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 well on the road to the 200th issue of The Fantastic Four, and it's time to put the focus on the newly-restretchenatorised Reed Richards. Is there nothing he can't do? Swing from a mountain, Impersonate the brother of a victim of a harpsichord-activated laser? Incite revolution in the kingdom of Latveria?

Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, Joe Sinnott, Janice Cohen, Rick Parker, and Jim Shooter present Fantastic Four #198: Invasion! In which Latveria is invaded, our hosts can't remember notable fictional headlines, Ultimatum is spoiled, we discover an edge-teeterer, the Latverian NHS is explored, and a robot is shagged. Sort of.

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter 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.

Non-Jumping Jumpers

Hello, and welcome to episode 286 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Following a successful series of birthdays, Steve and Andy return to Marvel Two-in-One for a series of firsts. The first appearance of Project Pegasus, the first script from new regular writer Ralph Macchio (not that one), the first appearance of Jude The Entropic Man, and the first credit for assistant editor Jim Salicrup. Oh, and the first non-consecutive returning named guest star, in the form of Captain America.

Ralph Macchio (not that one), Sal Buscema, Alfredo Alcala, Sam Grainger, Nel Yomtov, Sam Grainger, Jim Shooter, and Jim Salicrup present Marvel Two-in-One #42, which includes the return of Wundarr, the return of Blacksun, the return of Victorious, some first-class time-wasting, and the astonishingly suspicious ethics of Captain America.

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter 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.

Do You Know Who The F--k I Am?

Hello, and welcome to episode 285 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

As we all know, the best way to celebrate that landmark 197th issue (excluding annuals and Giant-Size issues) is to return to the beginning of a title, but for only of the cast of characters, and only to restore his missing powers, and only if the co-host's least favourite recurring villain makes an appearance.

Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, Joe Sinnott, Barry Grossman, John Costanza, and Jim Shooter present Fantastic Four #197, which takes Reed to outer space, returns the Red Ghost, stars Rik Mayall as Doctor Doom, decides that Doom would be a Morrissey fan, racism and all, and exclaims, By Jon Bogdanove's Beard!

There's also a song, at 12 minutes into the episode, that has an awful lot of unbleeped swearing in it. But it's not as bad as the singing. Sorry about that... You can hear the original version of the parody at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVmVVkbx3jE

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter 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.

Guest-Starring- Oh, No...

Hello, and welcome to episode 284 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 returning to T'Challa's apartment, visiting a remote airfield, and journey to, uh, Uganda to meet, uh, genocidal dictator Idi Amin. In one of the more baffling writing choices of the 1970s, Brother Voodoo and Black Panther are overshadowed by this real-world, very unwelcome guest appearance.

Roger Slifer, David Kraft, Ron Wilson, Pablo Marcos, Francoise Mouly, Joe Rosen, and Jim Shooter present Marvel Two-in-One #41, in which Brother Voodoo does very little despite being the named guest star. There's also a terrible FBI agent, a narratively-convenient urn, some really badly-structured flashbacks, a misunderstanding as to the meaning of the word 'resourceful', and... well... him.

For more on this unusual and unwelcome guest appearance, please spend some time with this article from The Middle Spaces. https://themiddlespaces.com/2016/05/24/marvel-five-in-one/

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter 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.

Psycho Man, qu'est-ce que c'est?

Hello, and welcome to episode 283 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 off for a proper, slap-up Hollywood dinner, complete with ghostly father, soup that fights back, and absolutely no children. The Psycho Man('s armour) is back, the Invincible Man is also back, Reed's having nightmares, and Ben's having bouillabasse.

Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, Pablo Marcos, Glynis Wein, Joe Rosen, and Jim Shooter present Fantastic Four #196, in which a babysitter is despatched, stars are spotted, Johnny Storm definitely isn't Luke Hamill or David Cassidy, and nobody notices a fight in a restaurant. Just your average issue of the Fantastic Four, then.

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter 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.