http://theworkingdraft.com/media/podcasts2/WaitWhat216.mp3 0:00-34:58: Greetings, and wishes for a happy new year!  Believe it or not, we are super-hasty in this part and in literally less than a minute we are discussing….Rogue One: A Star Wars Story!…

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0:00-48:32: Very quick greetings so we can move right to talking about the rumors of the June DC relaunch, the news of which literally broke the day after we last recorded.  Graeme has written about it on the website but he is kind enough to bring us all up to speed about what’s going on, giving Jeff plenty of time to do nothing by speculate mindlessly. Also discussed: worries about DC’s leadership; the near-total failure of the DC You; theories about the Tumblr crowd and comics (SPOILERS: Jeff sounds like a nerdier Norman Schwartzkopf by repeatedly using the phrase “force of engagement” a lot]; is Rebirth pivoting toward Batman Vs. Superman, or is it pivoting toward Suicide Squad; the different reactions of creators leaving DC as opposed to leaving Marvel; and more.
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48:32-1:01:58: A lot of retailers appear to be saying that All-New, All-Different Marvel is selling badly, with one book, Black Knight, already being announced as cancelled with four other books selling lower than it. Also discussed: seasons as opposed to series, and how long those seasons should be; where the bump in Image’s marketshare came from; and more.
scooby-doo-jim-lee-600x9101:01:58-1:13:30:  And another bit of surprising news coming from DC: the revamp of some Hanna-Barbera properties by DC talent, such as Scooby Apocalypse co-written by Jim Lee and Keith Giffen; Future Quest by Jeff Parker and Evan “Doc” Shaner (woo!); Wacky Raceland featuring re-designs by Mark Sexton of Mad Max: Fury Road fame; and The Flinstones with redesigns by Amanda Conner and scripts by Mark Russell of Prez.  Discussed: Keith Giffen doing Scooby Doo?; whether inspiration came from Marvel and Star Wars or Archie and Afterlife With Archie; and more.
Harry Potter comic

                            This excellent comic yoinked from http://floccinaucinihilipilificationa.tumblr.com/image/101960092787

1:13:30-1:23:45: Jeff read 16 comics before the podcast, only four of which were superhero books…arguably, five if you factor in Scooby-Doo Team-Up which featured Aquaman (and us being us, we do argue about it, a little).  And this somehow segues off Jeff’s point to talk about the third issue of Sheriff of Babylon and the fourth issue of The Vision, both written by Tom King (art by Mitch Gerads on the former and art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta); as well as wondering where the Harry Potter comics are, and why there might be more Sandman mythos comics overseen by Neil Gaiman; and more..
Enigma That page
1:23:45-1:47:01: Speaking of Neil Gaiman, Graeme has looked at the Marvel books that are selling less than Black Knight, and one of those books is Neil Gaiman’s little-seen Miracleman material with Mark Buckingham.  Why is this material selling around 15,000 copies?  Does it have to do with the way Marvel packaged the material?  With Gaiman’s fans and their responses to what looks like more straightforward superhero work?  Discussed: 1602, which Kubert did the art for 1602, Richard Isanove and digital painting, and the standard of digital painting today, Steve Oliff’s colors of Marvel’s Akira reprints, and the miracle that is, was and will be Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh’s colors on Milligan and Fegredo’s Enigma, Milligan and McCarthy’s Sooner or Later, before moving back into Gaiman’s Miracleman material and more.
Miracleman Golden Age
1:47:01-1:58:07: “Okay, so here’s a question,” sez Graeme to Jeff.  “And talking to you as someone who (a) loves the classics, and (b) loves Alan Moore…is there really a next chapter after where Alan Moore left [Miracleman]?”  And Jeff…well, Jeff has an answer for that.  It’s an answer that involves a trip to Road-Not-Taken-ville, with a lengthy amount of time in Almost-Forgotten-Pitch-Town, but we hope it’ll be worth your time.
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1:58:07-2:11:53:  And that should be where we end things, since we are right on the cusp of two hours, but a quick opportunity for us to give quick picks of the week—Sheriff of Babylon and The Vision, High School Debut—leads to a long talk about Black Magick by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott.  Discussed:  emphasis in comic books, televisionetic comic books, Rucka and his plotting; and more.
2:11:53-end: Closing comments with one more slight digression about our appearances in letter columns and comic books (inspired by Matt Terl’s awesome column from a few weeks ago)! Look for us on  Stitcher!Itunes! Twitter together and separately: Graeme and Jeff! MattTumblr!
Our special thanks to the kind crew at American Ninth Art Studios for their continuing support of this podcast, as well as our continuing special thanks to the Empress Audrey, Queen of the Galaxy…and to all 115 of our supporters on Patreon who make all this possible.
NEXT WEEK:  Baxter Building Ep. 14!  The Fantastic Four without Kirby begins to find a focus again! Read up on issues #111-118 and join us!
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Empress Audrey

“I, for one, welcome our feline overlords.”

Okay, so this may well be a bit on the hasty side shownotes-wise  (I won’t ever bore you with it, but let’s just say I’ve spend over three hours chatting with tech support in the last few days) but on the plus side:  OUR FIRST NEW PODCAST OF 2015! Featuring a great giveaway! Lots of chatter! And maybe possibly the bitchiest Graeme and Jeff have been to each other to date?  Check out the notes below, fire up the podcast (remember, we provide just the link itself in the first comment to this post if you don’t want to mess with the RSS feed or the player above), and dive in!

00:00-3:39: Happy New Year Greetings! And, of course, apologies—apologies for not being able to successfully wish one another a happy new year. “Start as you mean to go on,” as Graeme puts it. If I were Graeme, I’d make it a point to explain that when we recorded this, we were both pretty knackered by the week and so therefore a wee bit on the crotchety side…but I’m not Graeme! So I’m going to totally leave you in the dark about it. You’ll never know!
3:39-27:38: This podcast is being recorded on the day of Image Expo 2015 and we have some things to say on the subject: Graeme made a list of all the projects announced at previous Image Expos that still haven’t come out yet (including two from 2012); Jeff kind of just wants to talk about Sandman Overture #4; Graeme wants to correct Jeff about when Sandman Overture first came out; J.H. Williams III’s playlist; the problems with shipping irregularly and perhaps even regularly; bimonthly vs. monthly for six months followed by a break; context after a break; Graeme vs. the third Hobbit movie; feeling weird about the fourth Casanova series that is almost out; our new mantra for 2015: “whatever schedule is whatever schedule” and more.
27:38-29:16: Still part of the above conversation but I’m pulling this section out because we talk a bit about (a) our podcasting schedule for 2015; and (b) how, in February, Jeff is going to screw up our podcasting schedule for 2015.
29:16-42:23: Back to comic scheduling! Would we rather have bimonthly books, or monthly with a break? Which would we rather lose, our hearing or our sight? If we had to choose between having no legs or no arms, which would we choose? Also, less loaded topics: pull lists, the second season of The Wrong Mans; spoiler via TV recap; back to Sandman Overture #4 again; a HORRIFYING PUN; Captain Victory #4; etc.
42:23-56:25: Superman #37 by Geoff Johns and John Romita, Jr. Jeff is pretty annoyed by it and wants Graeme to explain to him (SPOILERS, by which I mean that Jeff describes the entire issue to Graeme): why can’t people tell good Superman stories anymore? (You know, as long as you ignore the people who are?) Why is a Superman story so much harder to tell than, say, a Batman story? Discussed: Superman’s new power (!?) (and, as long as we’re at it, #%$&* as well); Peter Tomasi on Superman/Wonder Woman; and then:
56:25-58:07: Another section pulled out here for your attention: we are super-grateful we have passed the $500 mark; it is an honor and a delight and a humbling experience, and we are especially grateful to the generosity of Audrey the cat, who helped put us over the $500 mark. All hail Empress Audrey! See her above, sitting so regally next to some Legion comics!
58:07-1:04:05: Back to the comic talk! Jeff has read Wonder Woman #37 by Meredith and David Finch and has a theory about it that Graeme does not agree with. [SPOILERS about the issue, obvs.]
1:04:05-1:11:48: There are other things we should be talking about! Such as the Image Expo! Remember, that we started talking about an hour ago? And books Graeme’s looking forward to?
1:11:48-1:18:04: Segue! Pivot! Parkour! Now we’re talking about The Ant Man trailer. Listen to Graeme not so discreetly mock Jeff for basically liking it! (To be fair, Graeme appears to be far from alone in thinking it a very dull trailer. Far from alone.)
1:18:04-1:39:18: Pivot! Transition! Parkour! Top Shelf being bought by IDW! Graeme has some thoughts! Jeff has maybe two thoughts! (Three, if you count, “Is Graeme eating chocolate right now?”) Also discussed: those liquidation sales; direct market consolidation; grinders; is Graeme eating chocolate right now; Alan Moore writing Ghostbusters; Neoconicon; and more.
1:39:18-1:47:38: So which companies should buy out which other companies in the direct market? We brainstorm!
1:47:38-2:17:00: It’s time for that part of the podcast where Jeff realizes he’s never going to get a chance to talk about all those damn comics he read and so just starts blurting out titles and hasty impressions. So: Bucky Barnes, The Winter Soldier #2 and #3 by Ales Kot and Marcos Rudi! Men of Wrath #1-4 by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney! Batman Eternal #36 and #38-40 by a lot of people! Wild’s End #4 by Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard! The Humans #1-3 by Keenan Marshall Keller and Tom Neeley! ODY-C #2 by Matt Fraction and Christian Ward! By contrast, Graeme has been reading: Memetic by James Tynion IV (and sorry, James Tynion IV for always calling you James Tyrion IV—it’s the Star Trek fan in me) and Eryk Donovan! Sleepy Hollow by oh my god this Entertainment Weekly link is taking forever to load! the collected Casanova (the first thing) by Matt Fraction and Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon! 2000 A.D. by lots of people! And so: Jeff has also read The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North and Erica Henderson! (by the way, doesn’t a second Inhumans title seem kinda insane?) Scooby-Doo Team Up #8 by Sholly Fisch and Scott Jeralds! Outcast #6 by Robert Kirkman, Paul Azaceta, and some fantastic coloring by Elizabeth Breitweiser! Deathstroke #3 by Tony Daniel, Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea! Flash Gordon #7 by Jeff Parker, Evan “Doc” Shaner and Jordie Bellaire! Shaft #1 by David Walker, Bilquis Evely, and Daniela Miwa! Star Trek-Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive by Scott and David Tipton, Rachael Stott and Charlie Kirchoff! Abigail and the Snowman #1 by Roger Langridge! McBain #1 by various (thanks, Bongo!)! Lady Killer #1 by Joelle Jones, Jamie S. Rich, and Laura Allred! They’re Not Like Us #1 by Eric Stephenson, Simon Gane, and Jordie Bellaire! (Autmnlands) Tooth & Claw #1 & #2 by Kurt Busiek, Ben Dewey and Jordie Bellaire!
2:17:00-2:18:34: And here’s a transition to the final part of our podcast where we give away stuff.
2:18:34-2:25:21: And now here’s where we return to give away stuff: four copies of IDW’s Rogue Trooper: Last Man Standing, one of them signed by writer and Whatnaut Brian Ruckley! Jeff ended up digging the four issue mini by Ruckley and artist Alberto Ponticelli, so we are delighted to give these away to four lucky listeners. Listen to the rules and enter to win!
2:25:21-end: Closing comments! Things we will be doing in the coming year, things we should be doing, and a head’s up to read those first dozen issues of the Fantastic Four since the next episode of our podcast, dropping January 19, is an exclusive look at exactly that. And then:
Gravity’s Tote Bag! Places to look for us at—Stitcher! Itunes! Twitter! Tumblr! And, of course, on Patreon where, as of this count, 94 patrons are keeping us groovy and making this whole thing possible.

(p.s. Hail Empress Audrey.)

Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy!

 

 

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