The great thing about Marvel Unlimited is that, if you’re willing to be patient, you get to have a feeling of superiority that can only come from knowing that you were perfectly right to not spend money on buying something when it was first released. The not-so-great thing is that, in order to come to that conclusion, you have to read a bunch of potentially-promising-but-no-just-not-very-good comics.
In a related story, the Secret Wars tie-in series have started appearing on Marvel Unlimited, you guys! Continue reading →
00:00-29:40: Greetings from Graeme “Happy Holidays!” McMillan and Jeff “Who to the What Now?” Lester who start off by talking about 2016 right around the bend and all that will bring but also the oddness of recording on December 17: “Star Wars Day (Unofficially).” Yes, by the time you read these words, you probably will have seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie and Graeme probably will have as well. We try our hands at fake spoilers, Graeme tells us when he will be seeing the film and, more importantly, what it was like to attend a press screening of Twilight with specially invited fans of the books. Discussed: the phrase “vocal fans,” the phrase “you’re not MY Grand Moff Tarkin,” Star Wars “line frenzy,” the career of Kenny Rogers, Graeme insisting that Jeff knows the plot of the The Force Awakens, and Jeff insisting he doesn’t, rumors from months ago about the third act reveals, the very strange rumor about Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, the return of Jaxxon and the very first Marvel Star Wars comic arc after the adaptation of the original movie, learning to do Star Wars right, the career of Don F. Glut, Abhay’s interview with him, and more.
29:40-44:42: “Hey, Jeff!” sez Graeme. “Because this is the last episode we’re recording this year, I know I made a totally half-assed attempt at a ‘Best of/Favorites of 2015. Did you?” And Jeff did! HOWEVER, we also had promised to address certain other topics in this podcast before we got around to that. (We had? asks Graeme. We had, confirms Jeff.) Because Whatnaut Kris Peterson had requested it, we read The Horror of Loon Lake, an anthology of comics edited by Carl D. Smith. [EDIT: Ooo, really big oversight on our part as pointed out to us on Twitter: Smith wrote all the stories, which were drawn by different artists. A real mistake on our parts, but also maybe a good sign at how many different types of stories he undertook? You decide!] Discussed: Smell A Rat by Stan Chou; all-ages horror comics; House of Scary by Jeff Manley; Cartozia Tales; and more.
Batman and Robin Eternal #11 by Snyder, Tynion IV, Brisson, Blanco, Duce, Rauch
44:42-1:10:02: And as for our second “we promised we would do this last time (we think?”), we are discussing the first eleven issues of Batman and Robin Eternal, plotted by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV, and executed by a fleet of talented writers and artists. We discussed it as part of our first issue roundtable on the website but here we dig in to discuss it length. FULL SPOILERS for the first eleven issues so, y’know, spoilers and all. Discussed: Genevieve Valentine, Alvaro Martinez Bueno, and Raul Fernandez; Valentine’s Catwoman; the first few issues of Robin War; more plot-heavy discussion of B&R Eternal; the possible character-breaking plot twist that might be coming; and more.
1:10:02-1:16:30: Graeme steers us back to our Best of 2015 lists, which we finally dig into. Our lists are kinda problematic, in that we didn’t necessarily try to read to keep up with everything, and also because so much of what we thought as the “best” reads of the year either existed before it was published this year or because we just finally got around to it. As we say in the podcast itself, the difference between ‘new’ and ‘new to you’ is almost meaningless these days.
That said: lists! Graeme’s pick for favorite book of the year is Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona (which was a webcomic before it was collected by First Second). Jeff’s only read a page or two but we still get a chance to talk about it for a bit.
1:16:30-1:18:22: Another pick by Graeme for his favorite thing he read this year is 2014’s This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki, also published by First Second. “It’s so beautifully illustrated, so beautifully observed,” sez Graeme.
Giant Days by Allison, Tremain, and Cogar
1:18:22-1:24:16: Also on the list? Giant Days by John Allison, Lissa Tremain, and Whitney Cogar about kids going off to college. It’s not as magically realist as Bad Machinery but it’s equally funny for Graeme, if not more so. In a similar vein, but more superhero-y is The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (which made both of our lists for best of the year). And even more superhero-y, and also on both our lists are the two issues of Convergence: Shazam! by Jeff Parker and Evan “Doc” Shaner which is, as Graeme so perfectly describes it, “another joyous superhero book that embraces the superhero.”
1:24:16-1:28:28: Graeme goes from that to almost the opposite with Martian Manhunter by Rob Williams and Eber Ferreira. Graeme’s review is kinda spoilery, but makes the book sound intriguing as hell. Not on Graeme’s list but definitely considered and most definitely discussed is Action Comics by Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder.
The Omega Men by King and Bagenda
1:28:28-1:34:34: But on the list: The Omega Men by Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda, and which Graeme refers to as “I think I’ve come to terms with it being my favorite Tom King.”
1:34:34-1:36:25: Another book from Graeme for which he has some complicated feels: Zero by Ales Kot and collaborators. With The Surface and Material as both runners-up and also of a piece.
1:36:25-1:37:54:Transformers vs. G.I. Joe by Tom Scioli and John Barber: it’s on both our lists (despite Jeff being four to five months behind).
Nameless by Morrison and Burnham
1:37:54-1:49:06: “Okay, I’m going to speed through the rest so you can do yours,” announces Graeme, so here goes: this year’s 2000AD Judge Dredd material from Rob Williams and Henry Flint, particularly their sequel to Titan(which Graeme actually talks about for longer than his last two picks put together); The Wicked and Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie; Multiversity by Grant Morrison and collaborators (also on both our lists), as well as other Morrison works this year: Annihilator with Frazier Irving, and Nameless with Chris Burnham; Unfollow by Rob Williams and Mike Dowling (also on both of our lists); and finally Drawn & Quarterly: Twenty-five Years of Contemporary Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels, edited by Tom Devlin. With special runner-up status for two monthly books that are too early in their run to call the “best” of 2015 (but which both Graeme and I dig a lot): Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, and Unfollow by Rob Williams and Mike Dowling.
1:49:06-2:17:55: Jeff’s turn! And since he wrote them all down and is the guy doing the show notes, you can get them in one big pile with notes as to how he read them, albeit one he divided up in a few different categories: manga, stuff that was published this year, stuff that was not published this year, and honorable mentions. (Please note Graeme thought to limit his list to roughly ten titles. Jeff wasn’t that organized.)
Black Hood #1-5 by Duane Swyerzsinski and Michael Gaydos (print, published by Archie/Dark Circle)
Multiversity by Grant Morrison and various (print, DC); Nameless by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham (print, Image Comics); Annihilator by Grant Morrison and Frazier Irving (print, Legendary Comics)
Batman ’66 #20 by Rob Williams and Ruben Procopio (print, DC Comics)
The Fade Out by Brubaker and Phillips (print and digital, Image Comics)
The Humans by Keenan Marshall Keller and Tom Neely (print, Image Comics)
Monstress #1 by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (print, Image Comics)
KFC: The Colonel of Two Worlds by Shane Edwards and Tony Bedard, and artists Tom Derenick and Trevor Scott (digital, DC Comics)
“Merry the Girl with a Thousand Gimmicks” from Adventure Comics #416
Stuff Not Published This Year:
Adventure Comics #416 for the silver age Supergirl story and Merry The Girl With A Thousand Gimmicks, but basically that run of reprints through issue #420 or so. (digital, DC Comics via Comixology)
Captain Marvel #35-39, the Trial of the Watcher by Steve Englehart and Al Milgrom (print, Marvel Comics)
Hawkeye #1-6 by by Fabian Nicieza and Stefano Raffaele (digital, via Marvel Unlimited)
The Brave and The Bold #140 “Death Aboard the Hellship” by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo (print, DC Comics)
Daredevil #105-107 by Steve Gerber, Don Heck, Don Perlin and Sal Buscema (digital, Marvel Comics via Comixology in the Avengers vs. Thanos digital trade)
Night Nurse #1-4 (digitally, Marvel Comics via Comixology)
Revenger by Charles Forsman (print and digitally, Oily Comics via Comixology Submit)
(With the surprising conclusion that, although he dearly loves his Marvel Unlimited all-you-can-eat subscription, he probably read more comics digitally via Crunchyroll’s all-you-can-eat subscription and also via sales and subscriptions on Comixology…and both of these experiences are still being overshadowed by print. Huh!)
Fantastic Four, by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee
Oh yeah, and truth be told, Graeme and I both really enjoyed reading the first 102 issues of the Fantastic Four by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee for the Baxter Building podcast. Good ol’ Reed Richards has a way of grating on a guy’s nerves, but it was also an *amazing* ride!
2:17:55-end: Closing comments! Our special thanks to the kind crew at American Ninth Art Studios for their continuing support of this podcast..as well as our special thanks to the Empress Audrey, Queen of the Galaxy…and to all 115 of our supporters on Patreon who make all this possible.
Look for us on Stitcher!Itunes! Twitter together and separately: Graeme and Jeff! Matt! Tumblr! And, of course, where, as of this count, 112 patrons make this whole thing possible!
Next week: Keep your ears open for perhaps a holiday stocking stuffer around you-know-when? And then after that, we will be taking the last week of the year off and we’ll see you in 2016!
I apologize: both Graeme and Matt got their posts up this week and I…did not. The last few days have been kind of savage, work-wise, and then I really wanted to get the podcast(s?) done for this week so today was crazy amounts of time taking notes and editing out constant bronchial coughts and no coming up with stuff to write about.
Sooo…once again, I owe you one? I think/hope/pray the count is still at one. Maybe two? And I don’t remember what Graeme and I decided but I *think* we might be taking the last week of the year off from posting here…maybe? So maybe I owe you two?
Anyway, enough of “watch Jeff count.” Thank you for being understanding—certainly feel free to throw brickbats in the comments if you feel cheated. Stay tuned for Wait, What? Ep. 191 coming up next!
Most of my comics reading this week has been (finally!) buckling down and working my way through the IDW Transformers Humble Bundle from, like, a year ago. It’s pretty terrific, but I don’t think I have anything to say about it (not yet, anyway) other than “More Than Meets The Eye is the greatest replacement for the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League that I’ve ever read,” and that’s the highest praise I can give. It’s terrific, and if you’ve been dragging your feet like me, un-drag ’em.
But second issues came out for a number of books whose first issues had underwhelmed me. And since we did a whole roundtable about “What makes a good first issue,” I figured it was only appropriate to look at these second issues in light of what I thought of the firsts. Would they improve? Would the added space allow for added depth and therefore added enjoyment? WOULD I BE A HAPPIER, BETTER HUMAN BEING?!?!?
Mostly, the answer was no. But read the details below anyway!
Previously on Baxter Building: Having built up a template for modern superhero comics — a template that still informs today’s comics, more than five decades later — Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s creative pairing is on the downswing, with Kirby becoming visibly disinterested in the material and Lee distracted by other Marvel duties. Having contributed the final lasting character to the FF mythos (Agatha Harkness, who showed up in Fantastic Four #94), it’s time for this particular good thing to come to an end.
0:00:00-0:06:04: Welcome, dear Whatnauts, to what Jeff and I admit is going to be the saddest of the Baxter Buildings to date. It’s not just that we’re covering Jack Kirby’s final issues on the series — Fantastic Four #95-102, for those playing along at home — but that those final issues are, to put it mildly, not very good. How not very good? Jeff and I consider whether Stan Lee is the episode’s MVP, which should put things in some kind of perspective. As the cold open and the introduction to the ep make clear, I decide to try and limit how long we spend on each issue to try and speed through the horror. Do I succeed? Wait and see!
0:06:05-0:20:57: How terrifying is the man called Monocle? So terrifying that he doesn’t even need a declarative “the” before his name! Which, sadly, might be the most interesting thing about Lee and Kirby’s latest creation, and FF #95 as a whole, really. “This is an issue that makes no sense,” I complain at one point, and when Jeff adds, “in a charitable sense,” then you know that things aren’t looking good. It’s well-drawn — especially the splash on page 13! — but it’s a mess of a story, even with the entire United Nations at risk. “You can see Kirby lose interest after panel 3,” Jeff says about the last page, and that’s what this entire issue is like.
0:20:58-0:40:39: A shocking turnaround in Fantastic Four #96: the Mad Thinker turns out not to be too great at thinking. “He really should be called the Think Madder,” says Jeff as we examine the many flaws in the Thinker’s latest plan, to use a group of exact Fantastic Four duplicate androids to defeat the Fantastic Four as opposed to doing almost anything else with them. Is the plot defeated by Reed Richards being Reed Richards? Well, yes and no; Jeff even supports the logic behind that decision. On the plus side, Jeff describes the Thinker as “fat, angry Beethoven” and gets into gendered mechanisms, so it’s not a complete waste of time. Just almost a complete waste of time.
0:40:40-0:53:06: I’ll just spoil it here: the most surprising thing about FF #97 is the debut of Marrina from Alpha Flight when you least expect it. But before you get to that, “The Monster From The Lost Lagoon” includes some wonderful Kirby/Giacoia renditions of water and some fascinating dolphins:
Not for the first time, the actual plot of this issue — the FF (sans Sue, as in most of these issues because girls, right?) investigate the mysterious disappearance of a number of ships, and run across a mysterious sea creature — is the least interesting thing, with the various ways in which Lee and Kirby try to distract the reader from just how derivative the story is, including a Sea World-esque display of aquatic acrobatics and Stan Lee not understanding what “without provocation” means. All this, and a shout-out to our Avengers re-read from 2014’s Wait, What? episodes, too! Oh, and because Jeff compares Marvel Unlimited coloring to scans of the original pages… Here’s MU and then the scans, to see what he’s talking about:
0:53:07-1:08:40: In theory, a 1970 tribute to the previous year’s moon landing might make Fantastic Four #98 a highlight of this run of issues, and it kind of does… but mostly because it’s such a strange read. Why celebrate something that the FF themselves did (not to mention the Red Ghost) way back in FF #13? What is the Kree Sentry actually trying to do with (Jeff’s favorite name for a piece of Kirby tech, apparently) The Stimulator? How long does the Apollo mission take in the Marvel Universe? As Kirby would later declare on a Jimmy Olsen cover: don’t ask — just buy it.
1:08:41-1:25:40: What’s that you say? You want to read a comic where your fave is, as the kids say, problematic? Well, if your fave is Johnny Storm, then — as Jeff puts it — “the super-stalker-y” Fantastic Four #99 is your bag, Daddio. From the accidentally created euphemism of “downhill skiing” to the Human Torch’s mission to rescue Crystal from the clutches of the Inhumans, as long as we all agree that “rescue Crystal,” we just mean “be super creepy and not care about what Crystal wants whatsoever.” He’s not just creepy; he’s also apparently very bad at clearing his path through international airspace, but at least it looks good. As Jeff puts it with no little understatement, “bringing genocide onto your girlfriend’s race just because she moved away from you, of her own free will, is a super dick move.”
“I don’t like this Storm coming up!” Johnny speaks for the readers, accidentally.
1:25:41-1:38:17: You can tell from the fact that Jeff’s response to my bringing up Fantastic Four #100 is to moan, “Oh God,” that this isn’t a great anniversary issue. But, really, this is an actively bad anniversary issue that not only includes villains that the FF have never actually met, but also manages to forget what the main villain’s powers actually are. Stan Lee, I know you were busy and all, but come on. Want to see the FF and their villains seem utterly ineffectual, mostly drawn in a Watchmen-esque nine panel grid that, as Jeff points out, completely robs Kirby of his visual dynamism? Then you’ve found your ideal comic; the rest of us will be over here, crying at the disappointment and wasted potential.
1:36:18-1:45:05: From the sublimely shit to the ridiculous but awesome, FF #101 has Marvel’s fake mafia “the Maggia,” a plot that genuinely involves the FF being evicted and Sue Richards kicking ass and taking names. Oh, and the Thing dancing.
What could be wrong with this? Jeff, why don’t you fill us in? “Imagine an issue of FF on fast forward and making no sense, and you have FF #101.” Well, sure, it’s got weirdly rushed pacing and the story doesn’t really have the greatest logic in the world. But it’s still got the Invisible Girl being amazing, and we end up talking about the origins of Willie Lumpkin for a brief instant, so good luck convincing me that this isn’t the highlight of everything we’ve been talking about so far.
Namor displays clear Kirby’s excitement for his final issue.
1:45:06-1:57:16: How does the final Kirby issue — well, aside from some re-purposed art a few issues from now — hold up? Fantastic Four #102 is “a sad-making issue,” as Jeff puts it, and that’s entirely fair: the first of a multi-part story, it lacks both the narrative verve of even the last few issues and the visual flair that we’ve come to expect of Kirby. Moreso, it pulls in ideas from greater Marvel Universe continuity for the first time in the series. It’s… a mess, and a really, really sad end to one of the greatest runs on any superhero comic ever. 1:57:17-2:19:48: “So let’s actually get to the most interesting part of this issue, which is not the story,” says me. What it is, is Stan’s Soapbox from the Bullpen Bulletins page, which looks a little something like this:
“It’s such a weird way of talking about this massive blow,” as Jeff puts it. “I’m intrigued and also appalled and kind of saddened by that.” Did Stan see Jack’s departure coming? Did he understand what was actually happening? We discuss. Was the bravado just for show, or was Stan really that unaware of what was going on with his creative partner? When did Jack stop caring about the material?
2:19:49-end: “If you had to pick an optimal last issue for Kirby, what would you have picked?” asks Jeff, and the two of us struggle to work out when we would have rather Kirby left the book and avoided these awkward last issues. (The answers might surprise you, if you’re thinking we’ll choose the obvious jumping off points.) Jeff then suggests a surprise change in direction for the podcast next year — don’t worry, we won’t be taking it — and as always, we let you know all of the places we can be found on the Internet: Twitter! Tumblr! Patreon! To all who’ve listened and enjoyed this first year of Baxter Buildings, thank you very much. We can’t say “the best is yet to come,” because the Kirby era is over, and we’re headed into some strange territory in 2016 (starting with next episode, where we cover #103-112), but it’ll certainly not be dull. Where do the FF go without their primary creative force? Where does Baxter Building go without the opportunity to talk about the luscious Kirby art? Next episode: Into the unknown!
“We have a new type of rule now. Not one-man rule, or rule of aristocracy or plutocracy, but of small groups elevated to positions of absolute power by random pressures, and subject to political and economic factors that leave little room for decision. They are representatives of abstract forces who have reached power through surrender of self. The iron-willed dictator is a thing of the past. There will be no more Stalins, no more Hitlers. The rulers of this most insecure of all worlds are rulers by accident, inept, frightened pilots at the controls of a vast machine they cannot understand, calling in experts to tell them which buttons to push.”
― William S. Burroughs, Interzone
Unofficial ‘Cave Canem’ notice: I wish I knew how to integrate things a little better. If I did, this post would be one part industry speculation, one part graphic novel reviews, and one part informed expert advice. But because it’s me, it’s just gonna be at best a jumble of stuff, all of which will boil down to: “Hey, I merged my Comixology and Amazon accounts. Wanna hear about it?” If your answer is “eh, why not?”, then join me after the jump!
Well, with Jeff writing about TV shows and Graeme recommending podcasts, I was gonna join the non-comics parade. I figured I would either review the new Momofuku outpost in DC or present and annotate my Best Music of 2015 list (that new Grimes album!).
Then I read a whole bunch of comics in the ongoing Robin War crossover from DC and figured I should write about that instead.
(To alleviate the disappointment from the two of you who got fired up by those two other options, though: I found Momofuku CCDC to be underwhelming — the things that must’ve made David Chang’s restaurants so interesting when he started feel commonplace now, and I was hoping for more. And my top album of 2015 is probably either that Grimes album or the CHVRCHES one, but I haven’t really worked it out yet.)
Anyway: ROBIN WAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Programming note: There’s a new episode of Wait, What? if you haven’t heard it! Scroll down past this entry to find it. And then scroll down past that entry for Jeff’s epilogue to a conversation therein, which he posted a day before it went live, because… recording things in advance can be weird. Oh! And also, if you’re a Patreon supporter and haven’t received the details about the Wait, What? Advent Calendar, email us and let us know. And now, on with the show — or rather a post that, like Jeff’s Sunday entry, isn’t about comic books at all. Who says this isn’t the Wait, What? age of, uh, not writing about comic books?
There’s something appealingly meta about using the website spin-off of a podcast to review another podcast, but it’s accidental; midway through listening to The Message — a mini-series that tries to do for podcasting what Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds did for radio way back when — I found myself thinking, oh, I should write about this for the website. And so. Continue reading →
The holidays are upon us, and we are working hard to make sure you have more than enough Wait, What? with which to ring in the new year. So I hope you’ll understand if I move right into the “shownotes” portion of this afternoon’s entertainment so I can hustle on to the next podcast-related project:
00:00-01:47: Greetings from Graeme “Making Tea” McMillan and Jeff “Making Lemonade” Lester who start off by talking about tech problems, and worrying about whether or not we’re going to have them (SPOILERS: we are.)
01:47-38:26: Before we get to the comic book talk, we thought it might be worth doing a bit of comic book media talk first—more specifically, the relatively recent first trailer for Captain America: Civil War, and the very recent new trailer for Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. We discuss, compare, and contrast both. The cameos! The dialogue! The course corrections! What Jeff’s wife lady thought! Head’s up: because BvS:DoJ was fresher in our memory, we discuss that one in far more detail, including intentionality, dream sequences, Stucky and the possibility of cleaner motivation for Cap in the film version of Civil War as opposed to the comic; Jeff’s not especially correct “Rule of Three” for Marvel trailers; and much more.
38:26-1:15:58: And from there we go to the Marvel/Netflix show, Jessica Jones, via the pivot of wondering if the show—which Jeff has seen all of, and Graeme turned off after the first episode—feel like it’s happening in the same place, the same shared universe, as Daredevil and the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Also discussed: Agents of SHIELD;Heroes; Girls; Mike Colter as Luke Cage; Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones; Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple; David Tennant as Killgrave; Veronica Mars; what they could do for Season Two; Jessica’s transition in the comics from main character to supporting character; the appearance of [VILLAIN] that seems certain to appear on Season Two of Daredevil; the cutesy little thing Jeph Loeb does that drives Jeff crazy; the appearance of Ernie and Gus-Gus in apparent defense of Jeph Loeb; Jessica Jones vs. The Flash; the very low standards of viewers of Agents of SHIELD; Jessica Jones vs. Supergirl; the slow development of different tones for superhero shows and movies; and more. (And if you’re interested, there’s a whole bunch of stuff Jeff didn’t get around to saying that he finally does just below this very post.)
1:15:58-1:29:28: “But, yes! Comic books! I would like to discuss those!” Jeff announces, a slight and subtle transition for us to move on to the four-colored side of things (although that phrase really isn’t applicable any more, is it?). First up: The Sheriff of Babylon #1 by Tom King and Mitch Gerads, about a military contractor in Baghdad 2003 tasked with training a new Iraqi police force. Jeff utters words he never thought he’d ever say; Graeme admits to reading the first issue multiple times; the phrase “it’s not a perfect comic” utterly multiple times in multiple ways; the movie Green Zone is brought up in a less-than-fond way; and more.
1:29:28-1:35:14:The Vision #2, also by Tom King, with art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta, also came out this week, so Jeff gets compare and contrast it a bit with The Sheriff of Babylon. Discussed: playing out the string; compelling arguments for trade-waiting; the heyday of Marvel decompression; a mix of Alan Moore and Brian Bendis; the second chapter in a trade versus the second issue of comic; which leads to…
1:35:14-1:42:47: The second issue of Unfollow by Rob Williams and Mike Dowling! Graeme thought that Ravan was an utterly compelling lead for the second issue which turns the book into a ensemble book. Interestingly enough, we do our best to avoid spoiling the climax of the second issue which is a thing we do not usually even try to do. As Graeme points out, this is a sign we really like the book and want to encourage people to read it? Also discussed: the stunning art by Mike Dowling and colors by Quinton Winter; Jeff being more willing to tradewait; Graeme feeling like the second issue takes what we see in the first issue and twists it or challenges versus Jeff feeling eh, not so much; and Jeff’s weird feeling that maybe Unfollow #2 might’ve stood out more if he hadn’t already read The Sheriff of Babylon and This Damned Band #5 by Paul Cornell and Tony Parker.
1:42:47-1:50:26: “Where are you on Batman and Robin Eternal?” asks Graeme, and so the truth comes out: Jeff, Batman fanatic who had read all of Batman Eternal, hasn’t made it past issue #2 of the book yet (although continuing to buy and stockpile issues) while Graeme is completely up-to-date on the series and is still digging it. That said, Graeme has been worrying about the future of Batman and Robin Eternal’s satisfying single driving plot approach after getting and reading Earth Two: World’s End Vol. 2 (issues #12-26 of the weekly series) by Daniel Wilson, Marguerite Wilson, Cullen Bunn and, as is usually the case with weekly books, a veritable infantry of comic book artists; Jeff talks about getting in the weeds for weekly comics, the presence of James Tynion IV on both Batman Forever and Batman and Robin Forever, and its sequel; and more.
1:50:26-2:11:38: In discussing the recent Action Comics and Superman storyline, Graeme brings up a great point about how much depends on his mood when he’s reading. Among the topics discussed: underground fight clubs for mythical creatures; the return of Sand Superman; Robin War #1; mainlining Phonogram, The Wicked & the Divine, and Black Magick; an insightful Secret Convergence post about how podcasts are assembled and the risks of reading too many comics; Spidey #1 by Robbie Thompson and Nick Bradshaw; Spider-Man Chapter One by John Byrne; The Ship of Theseus paradox, as mentioned by both Matt Terl in our DK3 roundtable and Paul O’Connor’s review of Amazing Spider-Man #1 over at his terrific Longbox Graveyard website; and then Graeme starts cutting out in his spirited argument of Ms. Marvel as a great Spider-Man figure but then we do manage to more or less talk about what does make for a great Spider-Man figure and then…
2:11:38-end: Closing comments! Our special thanks to the kind crew at American Ninth Art Studios for their continuing support of this podcast..as well as our special thanks to the Empress Audrey, Queen of the Galaxy…and to all 115 of our supporters on Patreon who make all this possible.
Look for us on Stitcher!Itunes! Twitter together and separately: Graeme and Jeff! Matt! Tumblr! And, of course, where, as of this count, 115 patrons make this whole thing possible!
Next week: Episode 12 of Baxter Building. Read up on issues #95-102 of the Fantastic Four and join us for your monthly dose of semi-historical comic analyses!
Ugh. I have become snared in, as the scientists call it, “timey-wimey stuff.”
I’m writing this on Saturday to go live on Sunday. A few days ago, on Thursday, Graeme and I recorded Wait, What? Ep. 190, which will be released on Monday, the day after this post goes live. During that podcast, I spent a lot of time recounting my impressions of Jessica Jones, the 13 episode Marvel show currently streaming on Netflix. Graeme, who hadn’t seen it, asked questions and, being Graeme, told me stuff about the show I didn’t know despite the fact I’d seen it and he hadn’t. By the time we were finished, I felt the show had been very thoroughly discussed.
And then I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I’d left out a huge, and kinda important, talking point about the show. And it was lengthy enough I just couldn’t drop into the audio during post-production…although we’re pretty big fans of keeping it organic here at Wait, What? and I can’t really imagine doing more than trimming down my endless stammers and Graeme’s constant tsk-ing.
So, behind the jump, are my additional thoughts about Jessica Jones, the 13 episode show currently streaming on Netflix. If you want to play along with the time travel paradoxes, feel free to read it after Episode 190, so you can experience as it’s intended: as supplemental thoughts to an already existing, yet-to-appear conversation.
(Oh, and full spoilers for the show, by the way! We’re equally indiscreet in talking about it on the show, too.)
Recent Comments