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First time guest Valentino Zullo joins Joe to discuss “Kamen’s Kalamity,” a story from the EC Comics Tales from the Crypt #31. We discuss the place of EC Comics in pop culture history, and also dig into this particular story which is a fantastical semi-autobiographical story of how the artist Jack Kamen came to draw horror comics for EC Comics. 

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Returning guests Lena English and Tayler Iverson join Joe to discuss the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You. Based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, this film moves the plot to an American high school in the late 1990s. Starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, the film follows the tangled love lives of a group of teenagers.

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First-time guest Joseph Darowski (hi, Dad) joins returning guest John Darowski and Joe to discuss to stories about supernatural dangers faced by humans as they take to the skies. “The Horror of the Heights” is a 1913 short story by Arthur Conan Doyle about the mysterious deaths of pilots who are attempting to break altitude records in the early days of manned flight. “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” is a classic Twilight Zone episode about a man trying to overcome his fear of flying who is the only one on a flight who sees a gremlin damaging the wing of the plane.

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Returning guest Josh Allen joins Joe to discuss the animated series Gravity Falls. The series is animated fantasy/comedy/cryptid/coming of age/mystery/adventure show and it is fantastic. We’re talking about the 12-year-old twins Mabel and Dipper, who go to spend the Summer with their Great Uncle Stan in the small town of Gravity Falls where they start to discover strange supernatural conspiracies.

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Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe to discuss the long history of adapting Superman into additional media outside of the comic books where the character first appeared. John is the editor of the essay collection Adapting Superman, making him an expert on this topic.

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Returning guest Andrew Deman joins Joe to discuss the comic book issue X-Factor #87 which had a cover date of December 1992. This classic issues sees a therapist meet with each member of the team and provide new insights into their personalities and motivations. The issue was written by the legendary comic book writer Peter David, and we take some time to discuss his legacy and impact on the industry.

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Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss the classic western film Shane. Based on the 1949 novel by Jack Schaefer, the film was directed by George Stevens and stars Alan Ladd as Shane and Van Hefline as Joe. It tells the story of a drifter cowboy coming into town and helping the homesteaders fight off an evil cattle baron.

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Returning guest Kestra Darowski joins Producer Andrew and Joe to discuss the novel Castle of Water. This novel by Dane Hucklebridge tells the story of a stranded pair of strangers trying to survive on a deserted island. 

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First-time (sort of) guest Stephanie Siler joins Joe to discuss the classic tv mystery show Monk. Adrian Monk, played by Tony Shalhoub, is an obsessive compulsive private investigator who struggles with all of the phobias while also solving a mystery each week. We’re discussing why the show was so successful, the strengths of the performances, and what distinguishes it from other shows in the same genre.

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Returing guest Chris “Mav” Maverick and Stephanie Siler join Joe to discuss the inverted detective story, also sometimes called the HowCatchem instead of the WhoDunIt. In these stories, the audience knows how the bad guy is (often the murderer), and the tension is in how the protagonist detective figures it out and catches them rather than in trying to work out the mystery of who the perpetrator is. We discuss the effect this change has on the audience, popular examples of the genre, and why this tweak on an established genre has proven enduring.

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