0:00-21:49: Greetings! And then a story about greetings!  And then, because we are such professionals, we have an honest to God addendum about our last episode with the news that Jaws, Jaws 2, Jaws 3(-D), and Jaws: The Revenge are all leaving Netflix on March 1st.  Quick, call in sick!  Us being us, we then return to back to touch on all things we didn’t touch on in our first discussion (and some of the things we did).  Things like:  after Jaws, what is the second best Jaws movie?  Ryan North’s study of the novelization of Back To The Future? And who the hell were some of those movie novelizations written for?  And as long as I’m doing all these links, get this.  I’m buying one for Graeme right now!
21:49-32:44: And from there, Graeme drops a pretty big spoiler bomb about Kong: Skull Island that blows Jeff’s tiny mind!  And then Graeme drops a serious spoiler for The Lego Batman Movie! And then Jeff talks…waffles!
 
Also discussed: the best Twitter account still not on Twitter, the best Captain Beefheart album, etc.
32:44-37:26: Comic books!  We also talk about those!  Or, maybe more to the point, we talk about websites that talk about comic books…occasionally.
37:26-49:24: But Jeff is part of the problem certainly, because he read those issues of IDW’s Rom Graeme recommended last episode and all he could think was: man, what a great TV show this would be! Also discussed: those damn Transformers movies, Anthony Hopkins, Shia LaBeouf, the best title for the most recent Indiana Jones movie, and more.
49:24-1:02:30: Graeme has a comic book question for Jeff.  Marvel has Generations and the upcoming Make Mine Marvel initiatives.  Could they make Jeff jump back on to Marvel’s bandwagon? Discussed: Marvel Unlimited acting up, the first four issues of Civil War II (but not really because there are all these other issues of Civil War II before you even get to the first issue), and then…TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
1:02:30-1:10:17: But then we are back, better than ever!  So that Jeff can complain some more about Brian Bendis.  Lucky you.
1:10:17-1:55:45: And then Graeme talks about the recently released solicits for the first three issues of Secret Empire, the upcoming Marvel event that is now apparently weekly?  Also discussed:  Marvel’s disappearing act, “the weird Marvel machismo,” the possible fall of the direct market and Jeff’s frustration at retailers not changing things up enough over the last few years, handselling people on Image titles and so on.  But then, partway through this narrative, we kind of find ourselves thinking, “well, hmm, what about Image these days?  Are they really that safe a bet for a retailer trying to keep his weekly customers happy?” We look at the publication schedules of  several Image mainstays many retailers *did* handsell that have gone awry.  It’s a potentially important story—is anyone talking about it?
1:55:45-2:00:09:  So, yeah, now that it’s been about two hours, we should at least briefly talk about the comics we’ve been reading, don’t you think?  Graeme starts by talking about something he’s read that’s excited him more than any comic he’s read recently—the new Nobrow catalog!  Just check out the image at the top of the post and just above.
2:00:09-2:03:08: The other comic Graeme wants to talk about the 2000 AD 40th Anniversary Special, featuring a Zombo strip that Graeme says is “everything I wanted.”
2:03:08-2:22:22: And then it’s Jeff’s turn!  Jeff speed-talks his way through the comics he’s read so you don’t have to! (Wha?)  Also featuring additional additions from Graeme!
2:22:22-end:  Closing comments!  Look for us on  Stitcher! Itunes! Twitter together and separately: Graeme and Jeff! MattTumblr,  and  on Patreon where a wonderful group of people make this all possible, including the kind crew at American Ninth Art Studios and Empress Audrey, Queen of the Galaxy, to whom we are especially grateful for their continuing support of this podcast.
Next week:  Next week is a skip week!  And then the week after that is a Baxter Building! Read issues #248-260  of The Fantastic Four and then come listen to us misunderstand them!
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8 comments on “Wait, What? Ep. 219: Skull Kingdom

  1. Jeff Lester Feb 26, 2017

    And for those of you who are of the cutting and pasting ilk:

    http://theworkingdraft.com/media/podcasts2/WaitWhat219.mp3

  2. I think you’re a bit blowing this Image thing out of proportion.

    The Walking Dead and Saga are Image’s pillars, and they are clockwork.

    Out of the nuMarvel-Exodus Gillen and McKelvie had very dependable work and gained a pretty sizeable following, Brubaker and Phillips are regular as well, even with Brubaker’s writing for TV, while Hickman and Remender manage to keep on track at least a series at a time. They’re all still present. The only ones who after a point fell to the wayside are Fraction, DeConnick and Aaron. And even that happened after they put out at least a trade or two. And considering that most Image books are expected to take a break between arcs to leave room for the trades to bring in new or lapsed readers I don’t think the schedule is as apocalyptic as you’re making it seem.

  3. BringTheNoise Mar 1, 2017

    Jeff’s book sounds amazing, but I wonder how the evil society of ninjas fits in with the evil voodoo curse on the shark from the (actual) novelisation of Jaws: The Revenge.

  4. Another great episode, gentlemen. I always look forward to your discussions.

    Your talk of the drastically late titles from the big Image creators took me back to when I was hitting the comic shop weekly . . . a while ago. Two books that were on my pull list were Xenozoic Tales by Mark Schultz and Rocketeer by Dave Stevens–whenever they showed up, they showed up, and it was like Christmas. I never begrudged either artist the time it took to get their books out (I had plenty of other reading material, and when a new issue arrived it was an event, like Christmas in July), but I will never forget walking into my local comic shop one Wednesday in early 1995 and finding the latest issue of each series on the “new books” shelf. Doing a quick internet dig, I found that it was the final installment of Stevens’s Rocketeer adventure–issue #3 of the “Rocketeer Adventure Magazine”–and #13 of Schultz’s Xenozoic, which happened to be the next to last issue published . . . though I often run across stories that Schultz plans to return to these characters someday, possibly as a prose novel or something similar. Not holding out for that.

    Anyway. Looking forward to the next installment. Thanks, as ever, for the time you put into this endeavor. It is much appreciated. And take care,

    chris

  5. Re: the ‘spoiler’ that Graeme shared about Kong Skull island

    Jeff’s comment about the trademark note about Godzilla being a red herring opens up all sorts of potential nerd press pr that other films could do. What if GetOut’s poster had a small print note saying that Power Pack belongs to marvel, imagine all the insane articles and buzz that would have generated.

  6. Mike Murdock Mar 3, 2017

    I think the thing that stands out more than anything else with Civil War II is it’s almost impossible to remember what happens in which issue. I’ve had to check three or four times when the Hulk thing happened, when the trial happened, etc. And then good luck remembering what happens in the next thirty issues before it mercifully ends. It’s such a poorly paced, poorly plotted, poorly designed story that it’s impossible to retain any information about it.

  7. David Morris Mar 10, 2017

    I’ll be 58 soon and Marvel was my first big comics love. I was completely convinced by Stan’s spiel and Jack Kirby was the first artist I knew by sight. That led to my first big shift in my comics understanding – following Kirby to DC let me realise it wasn’t companies, characters or comics titles I was most interested in, it was creators. That said I have some fondness for Marvel, but mostly it’s nostalgic. If I buy current comics it’s things like Squirrel Girl. I don’t like events, but on the other hand the experience growing up reading comics when I never knew when or if I’d read the next issue means I’m not bothered not knowing what happens in a poor comic that Doreen turns up in. Marvel’s business practices have led to a situation where if they get good creators on their core characters, it’s only going to be variations on old stories, there’s so little that’s new. I’d rather read the old comics than slicked up re-treads. There’s plenty of exciting new comics to read from around the world. I don’t have time to read everything I’d like to. I can’t imagine being excited about Marvel or DC’s efforts to increase market share.

  8. You complain about late Image books, and now Casanova and (final, sob!) Island turn up. Circuit Breaker is scheduled for next week, plus Lazarus is on the two-week-out list.

    Is this a power innate to podcasters, or do I detect the mighty paw of Empress Audrey?