I don't know if you've heard, but there's a new prestige cop drama on HBO. It's called Lanterns, and instead of guns, the cops have rings. Well, at least one of them does. As a fan of the Green Lantern characters, your trusty host Devin R Bruce was keen to talk about it. So he enlisted his pal Juliet to be the John Stewart to his Hal Jordan, and the two of them started Brownest Day, Greyest Night: A Lanterns Podcast.

In this second episode, Juliet and Devin discuss Lanterns Episode Two: Trust Fall, speculate on whether or not Paul Ben-Victor is a Weaponer of Qward, and spoil the critically-acclaimed Danish film The Celebration. They also take detours to discuss of a variety of DC Comics aliens (none of whom actually appear in this episode but trust me, they come up organically). Juliet makes us think about Dolly (RIP). Devin talks a lot more about The Wire than anyone expects. Scotch & Comics contains multitudes.

I don't know if you've heard, but there's a new prestige cop drama on HBO. It's called Lanterns, and instead of guns, the cops have rings. Well, at least one of them does. As a fan of the Green Lantern characters, your trusty host Devin R Bruce was keen to talk about it. So he enlisted his pal Juliet to be the John Stewart to his Hal Jordan, and the two of them started Brownest Day, Greyest Night: A Lanterns Podcast.

In this first episode, Juliet and Devin discuss the pilot episode (as well as their favourite Green Lantern characters, True Detective Season One, Garth Ennis & John McCrea's Hitman, and Andrew Lloyd Weber's Cats: The Movie). Do you want to hear two Canadian nerds talk about a single episode of television for longer than the episode's runtime? If so, you're in luck: Scotch & Comics has you covered.

This episode of Scotch & Comics made its host an offer he couldn't refuse. Maybe he should have, because this one almost goes entirely off the rails. Powered by multiple Godfather cocktails, Devin R Bruce talks about: Animal Man by Jamie Delano, Steve Pugh, Tatjana Wood, and more; The Muppet Show comics by Roger Langridge, The Mighty Thor by Walt Simonson, and a secret fourth comic book whose analysis will never see the light of day. (For the record: it was The Invisibles, a book that is frequently difficult to talk about without first consuming a bunch of whisky.)

It's a surprisingly abrupt episode for the shortest month of the year, but it's jam-packed with heart and, surprisingly, a few tears. You never know what to expect when you check in with Scotch & Comics.

Show Notes:

• International Bartenders' Association
• Canadian Professional Bartenders' Association
• Found a fancy Bull Shot recipe that I'm curious to try.
• I'm "getting old?" Sure thing greybeard, let's get you to bed.
• My favourite whisky glass is the Rauk heavy tumbler. It's a beast.
• Animal Man
  • Tatjana Wood died a couple days before this episode was published at age 99, and was instrumental in the creation and design of many of my favourite comics. What a life.
  • Animal Man's first appearance was in Strange Adventures #180 published in September 1965, so smack in the middle of the '60s.
• The Muppets Omnibus
  • The Muppets Noir is real. Thank you, Dynamite.
  • Variant Edition Graphic Novels & Comics
• Walt Simonson's The Mighty Thor The Return of Beta Ray Bill Artist's Edition
  • Fun Fact: I watched the men's gold medal hockey game, got sad, and then went to sleep for four hours.
  • Clarification: "Favourite Marvel hero" should have been "Favourite Marvel series/publication."
  • Voltagg The Voluminous teamed up with Captain America once and it was teriffic.

What's a guy to do when he's ready to drink whisky & record a podcast and a minor calamity strikes? Well, if he's me (Devin R Bruce), he drinks whisky & records a podcast. And reads some comics, and learns a little about fluid volume measurement. (Very little.)

So join me as I discuss a variety of comics: Prince of Cats, The Jack Kirby Omnibus Vol. 2 (Featuring Super Powers), We're Taking Everyone Down With Us, What If? Classic, and Absolute Martian Manhunter. On an episode featuring Shakespeare, Apokalips, vaguely-familiar super spies, and so much more: can you let your fingers do the walking? Through the podcast app, to push play?

2023 was kind of a rough year around the opulent Scotch & Comics estate, but we're trying to enter 2024 at a different angle. And thanks to That Boutique-y Whisky Company's Whisky Advent Calendar, we've come prepared. Armed with a small stack of books and fistfuls of tiny whisky bottles, your slightly-dimmed-but-not-completely-snuffed-out host Devin R Bruce takes you on a tour of various of tastes, sights, and emotions. Featuring comics such as The Compleat Terminal City, Vowels, Moving Pictures, Abandon The Old in Tokyo, and Vext. Though our path be plagued with terrors, we have puns on our side. So, so many puns. Scotch & Comics: five times the flavour.

Show Notes:

• There's some cussin' in this episode! We really earned the explicit tag.
• Look at Devin, using the term "art deco" when he doesn't really know what that means, despite having asked multiple knowledgeable people and having read a couple of chapters in art history books.
• Fun fact: I visited Australia in 2014. That is a decade ago, for those of you who are bad at math or admitting how old you are.
• Hero Squared was co-written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis and illustrated by Joe Abraham. According to DeMatteis, it's his favourite comic he worked on with Keith.
• Who's Zauriel? Glad you asked! He's an angel, from Heaven, who voluntarily falls to earth to protect humanity and join the Justice League. He was created by Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Howard Porter, and John Dell in 1997 for the JLA ongoing series. He kind of rules.

Different Whiskies Consumed:

• Benrinnes 17 year old, batch 7: Speyside, flowers and peat on the nose, really sweet at first and then the peat comes in; water doesn't really smooth it out but the initial sweetness is dulled.
• Glenburgie 16, batch 8: Speyside, sweet and light nose of banana & vanilla, smooth & sweet taste, butter & spicy finish.
• Corowa 4, batch 2: Australian whisky; deep deep amber, reddest whisky I've ever seen (aged in Muscat casks), chocolate and dates on the nose, dried fruit taste, long finish with a little spice and sweetness.
• Port Dundas 8, batch 3: single grain Scotch whisky from a defunct distillery in Glasgow, nose full of raspberries and cream and graham cracker, very oaky with a little vanilla, short-to-medium peppery and raspberry cream finish.
• Glen Moray 12, batch 6: Speyside, grass and slight lemon nose, tastes like grass/malt and…Corn Pops?, light oaky finish.
• Loch Lomond 21 year, batch 5: Highlands, lemony and acetone nose, slightly sweet & spicy, sweet finish that disappears almost immediately.

Featured Music:

• "Iron Man" by The Bad Plus
• "Subterraneans" by David Bowie
• "Pieces of Me" by Jacksoul
• "This Traveling Around" by Lyle Lovett
• "Flipher Overture" by Esthero

Opening and closing theme is "The Graveyard Shift" by NoMeansNo. Album art by Brandon Schatz.

After a slightly extended intro extolling the virtues of Hedonism and Record Store Day, your host Devin R Bruce comes in with a platter of stories, featuring The Comic Book Story of Beer, Rogues, Creepy, and Elephantmen. Will this episode be defeated by hedonism, hubris, or (GASP) the dreaded hiccups? Only one way to find out!

Additional Notes:

• Hedonism is a blended Scotch whisky from Compass Box, who produces a variety of other delicious whiskies as well.
• I neglected to mention the publisher for CBSoS! It's from Ten Speed Press
• If you think you don't like sweet vermouth, you need the Cocchi, it's AMAZING.
• Rob Roys and Grant Morrison! It's all very Scottish.
• The Rogues: I was wrong! From Flash 126, they were created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino!
• For the record, I think Elephantmen is, in fact, pretty dang good.
• Article about mycelial communication: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/06/fungi-electrical-impulses-human-language-study
• Definitely tried to be quieter after Rogues because my lovely girlfriend went to sleep and I can get pretty loud if I'm not careful.
• Fun Fact: 67% of Canadians prefer donairs to egg yolks and tabasco for hangover cures.
• Frank Coghlan Jr. was 25 when he played "teenage" Billy Batson. He looks it.
• Update: I do not have a new appreciation of Iron Man 2. It is still just as bad as it was the first and second times I watched it.
• I really need a new outro, now that I have abandoned Instagram and Twitter is a Nazi hellscape…

Featured Music:

• "Climbing Up The Walls" by Radiodread
• "Sweet Dew Lee" by Belle & Sebastian
• "Space Ghost The Twins & Blip" by SNFU
• "Three Renats, Slit Drum" by The Thai Elephant Orchestra
• "Cryin' In The Chapel" by Elvis Presley

Opening and closing theme is "The Graveyard Shift" by NoMeansNo. Album art by Brandon Schatz.

Welcome back to Scotch & Comics! It's me, Devin R Bruce, coming to you with the first episode in...over two years? Really? It feels like shorter than that. So join me as I kick the tires and take this old podcast out for a spin.

In this episode I talk about a lot of different comic books, including: Jonah Hex: Riders of the Worm and Such from DC/Vertigo; Goodnight Paradise from TKO Studios; We Stand On Guard from Image; Dork from Dark Horse; Hex Wives from DC/Vertigo; and Three Fingers from Top Shelf. Which book made me surprisingly angsty and depressed? Which book explains the real reason for the death of Marilyn Monroe? Which book had an unexpected appearance by a late nineteenth-century giant of English literature? All these questions will be answered, and more. Plus: the debut of a new segment (which is also the first segment)! It's a bold, strange new era for Scotch & Comics. Thanks for being here.

Additional Notes:

• A quick guide to the Whisky Producing Regions of Scotland.
• The crest of Ballantine's Finest, a sight to behold.
• Bill Nye's confusing Canada commentary.
• I strongly recommend checking out previews of all the first issues from TKO Studios online. They're truly excellent.
• This episode was recorded the week before it was announced that Hex Wives was cancelled with issue 6. I'd still recommend the trade when it comes out, though.
• If you haven't heard it, the Thrilling Adventure Hour is a must listen.

Featured Music:

• "San Ber'dino" by Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
• "The Kids Are All Right" by The Who
• "The Hideout" by Sarah Harmer
• "Chew" by Jello Biafra & NoMeansNo
• "Memories of You" by Charles Mingus
• "Chariots of the Gods" by Duck Sauce

Opening and closing theme is "The Graveyard Shift" by NoMeansNo. Album art by Brandon Schatz.

If I don't post a show on Robbie Burns Day then I feel like I'm probably doing something wrong. Also: hello! It's 2017 and I'm still occasionally rambling on about comic books while walking arm and arm with John Barleycorn. This episode John is rather silent but I talk about Astro City, The Anchor, Deathlok, and The Punisher MAX. It's a kind of a short episode but don't worry: the next one is going to be extra-long to make up for it. Just you wait.

Full show notes available on the website!

I've tried to write the show notes for this episode five or six times now and it always just comes down to me trying to not talk about how it's been a while. So I figure the less said the better!

Long story short: if you want to hear your intrepid host Devin R Bruce talk about awesome independent comic books like Polly & The Pirates, Bitch Planet, The Hypernaturals, and Injection, then this is the episode for you! Also if you are interested in the fantastic comics in Showcase Presents Metamorpho and the unbelievable talent of Ramona Fradon, that's here too! Enjoy!

Full show notes available at my website.

This episode of Scotch & Comics is trying something a little bit different. This episode isn't the result of a single evening's "hard work" but rather a handful of books spread out over a few days, then stitched back together. (It's fun to spend an entire evening sipping whisky and reading comic books, but sometimes it can be difficult to find five consecutive hours to set aside for that Herculean task.)

In this patchwork of an episode your intrepid host Devin R Bruce takes a tour of a wide variety of comic book stories, from Marvel and WildStorm's World War 3 crossover, Warren Ellis' rocketpunk adventure Ignition City, psychedelic espionage book Change, and Scott Morse's mind-expanding Strange Science Fantasy. Wrap yourself up in the warmth of this episode of Scotch & Comics. It's hypoallergenic and breathable, and made from 100% natural ingredients!

Full show notes on the website.