Show Notes Provided by Joe Peluso

This is an imaginary story...aren't they all." Alan Moore, page one of Superman #423, September 1986.    When Alex Ross approaches DC comics with an epic tale of a possible future--an imaginary future--for the DCU, people sit up and listen intently. Which is what we hope you will do for the next hour plus. This second installment of James' Tales from the Back Issue Bin Book Club has The Mint Crew of James, Chris, Joe, and returning guest Richie, diving deeply into the greatest Elseworlds story of them all--KINGDOM COME.    Alex Ross and Mark Waid marshal all their creative talents to depict a super-human future gone awry. Stunning artwork and spot on characterizations explode form the pages of this seminal work. There is much here to dissect and disseminate as your hosts critique the imaginary what-ifs of an otherwise else world of tragedy and triumph.    As comic book fans we would care not to" imagine" a comic book rack without a Kingdom Come. "'Nuff Said!"

Show Notes Provided by Joe Peluso

Ghosts, goblins, ghouls, witches, and monsters, (Irving, Hardine, and Durant! Sorry, I couldn't help myself.) all descending on Mint's back door! Horrific figures of dread, clawing and scratching their way into Mint Condition for another Halloween observance.   

Once again join your "hobgoblin hosts" James, Chris, Joe, and Patrick for an hour of macabre musings that range from paranormals to poltergeists.      

Bigfoot, haunted bridges, "ghost lights", aliens, and the terror that is known as Mr. Met are discussed and dissected until the guys can no longer stave off the dreaded advance of doom.       

"There's something else trying to get in through the back door!"      "What is it!"   

"It's the entire 2023 New York Yankees roster!!!"     

"THE HORROR! THE HORROR..."

Show Notes provided by Joe Peluso

Well, it's time for another Comics Corner, but a word of caution first: Sometimes when you wander down to the corner in the dark you can get lost. A wrong turn or misstep might lead you to "the nexus of all realities", a murky place of stifling humidity and fearful denizens. An ancient area that is home to the muck-encrusted monster men have FEARfully named--THE MAN-THING!

Join your hosts James and Joe as they dare to traverse the stagnant waters and gnarled foliage of the swampland that is the doorway to horror, mystery, and mayhem. Creatures large and small, sorcerer and wizards, and evil elitist corporatists repeatedly attempt to invade the realm of The Man-Thing and learn to their unforgettable horror the lesson that--"all who know fear burn at The Man-Thing's touch".

Creatives Gerry Conway, Steve Gerber, Val Mayerick, Mike Ploog, and others gave life to their fevered dreams and spawned a classic comic book character that would stalk the dark corners of the Marvel Universe for the next half century!

Be forewarned friends. Leave your fears behind when you tune into this episode--or you too might get burned!

Show Notes Provided by Joe Peluso:

What would happen if you gave carte blanche to construct the "ultimate haunted house" to the Mint Crew? Would you get something so dark and twisted that you would swear that spectral shadows were reaching out to snatch you into the nether realms of hell and damnation? Would your screams echo forever down curving corridors only to die unheard on the musty floorboards of an ancient attic?     Well, Halloween has rolled around again, and Mint's "frightful four" are caught up in a "haunt" of their own making. Join James, Chris, Joe, and returning guest, Patrick, (The King of All Hallows' Eve) for an hour fraught with fright, fear, and fun as the guys seek to "build" the definitive haunted house. When money is no object and imagination is allowed to run rampant, the completed edifice might very well freak out the entire Green Lantern Corps!     It would be advisable to listen to this episode during broad daylight. Once the sun dips below the horizon, we are not responsible for whatever creeps out of the stygian darkness--BEHIND YOU!!!

Show Notes Provided By Joe Peluso

  Muck encrusted mire! Fetid brackish waters swirling in putrid pools of pestilence! Misshapen monstrosities meandering menacingly through gnarled foliage and slithering creatures! The incessant chittering of avians in the cloying blackness. Who would dare enter such a world? And even more unbelievably, who makes such a horrific realm their home? If it's The Bronze Age of Comics, and DC has tasked Len Wein and Bernis Wrightson to scare the bejabers out of their audience, then the master of this macabre manor of the bayou is THE SWAMP THING!     

Join your hosts James and Joe for another segment of The Comics Corner. The guys leap from their fan boat to the relative safety of the muddy shore and dive (Oops, poor choice of words!) into the early issues of one of the great horror comics of the early 1970s. Monsters, mutants, werewolves, and witches (and even a Bat-Man) encounter a shambling "man-monster" who seeks his (its?) lost humanity.     

Two young creators begin their journey to legendary status with tales of horror, adventure, and pathos that would leave comic readers breathless. Thanks to Len and Bernie, Swamp Thing set the comic book world on its ear back in the day!      This episode was long overdue. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.      

P.S. If you stick around to the end, you will discover why The Swamp Thing is playing third base in Joe's twisted headcanon. "What? We're not discussing horror?"

Show Notes Provided by Arco Esposito

We all love the X-men right? So many great characters through the years, so many great stories. What’s your favorite X-men storyline? The awesome age of apocalypse? The heartbreaking fatal attractions?? Or maybe it’s the insane Inferno?? Well those are all amazing of course but what if I told you that there was one storyline that came years before them all and is STILL as impactful today as it was in 1980?? That’s right true believers, that’s the year Stan “the Man” Lee blessed us with The Dark Phoenix Saga, a nine issue comic masterpiece from

the epic creative team of Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Join James, Joe and myself (Arco) as we take the deepest dive into the origins of the fieriest of redheads, The Phoenix! But wait!! There’s more!! We not only go back to the start of the Dark Phoenix saga, we gleefully take you away to where we find our favorite mutant heroes in their darkest hour (til that point anyway). Listen in to the joy we had bringing you this special episode and  I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did! 

The gang of James, Joe and Chris is back together again. After putting away the new Wednesday books and getting some lunch at Hink's they hang out and remember the great Arleen Sorkin and all she has brought to pop culture with Harley Quinn. James then gives his thoughts and on the summer movies he finally caught up on and finally Chris lays the ground work for a future episode by giving spoiler free thoughts on Across the Spiderverse.

Show Notes provided by Joe Peluso

When it's time to literally bring one Of DC's classic heroesback to Earth, it might be wise to choose a super-star creative team. Starting with issue #172 (vol 1) of Green Lantern, legendary creatives Len Wein and Dave Gibbons traverse the cosmic void, from Oa to Earth, to chronicle the adventures of the Silver and Bronze Age "emerald warrior"--Hal Jordan! Hal is back on terra firma, but there's no time for a walk in the park. When old and new associates--friends and foes alike--are more than "happy" to welcome back a wandering space cop, is there any downtime to be had? Can you go home again? (Apologies to Thomas Wolfe)    Join your hosts James and Joe for a special Comics Corner, as they explore a somewhat forgotten period in the publishing history of Green Lantern! And stick around as the guys review the remarkable careers of Len and Dave. You might be surprised.

Warning Spoilers ahead.The J-Crew of James, Joe, and John Whittemore return to the bridge of the U.S.S. Mint Condition-A to explore, discuss, and wrap up Strange New Worlds Season 2.

Show Notes Provided by Jack Adrien:

American educator, author, businessman, and speaker Stephen Covey wrote “[f]ind your voice and inspire others to find theirs.” From the age of 15, Larry Kenney used his distinctive voice to begin his career as a disc jockey in Peoria, Illinois. Kenney continued his radio work as deejay for the early part of his career, hosting radio shows in Chicago, Cleveland, and New York. Most notably, Kenney was a regular cast member on the “Imus in the Morning” radio show from 1973 to 2007. Billboard magazine recognized Kenney’s vocal talents, naming him the Best Country Disc Jockey “…at a station in a metropolitan area of one million, or more” in 1976. Kenney extended his voice work to include breakfast cereal television commercial characters such as Count Chocula and Sonny the “cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs” Cuckoo Bird to name a few. He also enjoyed a stint as the New York “Bowling for Dollars” game show host from 1976 to 1979. Kenney was later cast as the voice and motion-capture actor for several video games, including as JB Cripps in the 2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 Western-themed action-adventure video game. But Kenney is probably best known for lending his voice as Lion-O, “Lord of the ThunderCats,” to the Rankin-Bass Productions’ ThunderCats animated television series that ran for 130 episodes from 1985 to 1989. Fans and nonfans alike can easily recognize the show’s heroic battle cry:

“Thunder-…Thunder-…Thundercats, Ho-ooo-ooo-oe!”

It was Kenney’s voice that brought the character of Lion-O and the ThunderCats to life, making us believe that somewhere or somewhen, good and evil continue a never-ending battle on the planet of Third Earth. Join the Mint Condition crew as the incomparable Larry Kenney shares his sixty years’ behind-the-scenes experiences as one of the entertainment industry’s premier voice actors and performers.