It’s been a good week for comic books: Hellboy turned 20, and Neil Gaiman’s latest Sandman story is out — making it 25 years with still the occasional Morpheus story. It also marked the week when we thought, “How the hell did we get to 59 episodes and not talk about comic books?!”
We couldn’t go another week without fixing that problem.
We kick off the episode talking about why comic book properties are so valuable in recent years before moving on to talking about why one comic book movie (Avengers) made more than the entire comic book industry in a year. With comic book characters becoming more mainstream, we harken back to the days when many hid their comic book fandom…or kept it secret in the hope it never blew up to something popular. Then we step even further back and talk about the first comic books we remember reading.
While in the past, we devote a bit of time to the first characters or series we really got into. After that, we talk about well done comic book adaptations to other media…and not-so-well done adaptations.
Want to know our favorite series and character of all time? Listen in (Christopher couldn’t limit it to just one…and he cheats and adds something he forgot before this podcast even begins!) Next, we talk about certain pop-culture icons and their love of comics…to the point of even working in the industry (Kevin Smith writing Green Arrow, for example). Does that help or hurt the industry? Was Maus the point where comic books stopped being “just for kids”…or was it sooner or later — and what do we feel signaled the change? When comics were mainly aimed at kids, what were the silliest story lines out there?
Find out where in their history we feel our favorite characters were tops…as well as the most underused character in comics. (We call this section, “An Ode to the Awesomeness that is Solomon Grundy.” And some others, because — again — Christopher couldn’t pick just one…)
We close the episode with two questions:
- What’s the best comic book you’ve ever read? (Surprise, Christopher couldn’t pick just one!)
- [Shawn to Christopher]: “Having worked in indie comics — any desire to re-enter that world one day?”(You can almost hear the pain in Christopher’s voice…)
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Funny, as a kid, I wasn’t really aware Swamp Thing was a comic. I used to watch the TV series religiously, though. Mostly for Mad Scientist Anton Arcane. 🙂
My fav comic was and is Captain Marvel.
SHAZAM!
Captain Marvel is pretty intense.
Netflix needs to have the Swamp Thing show. I was vaguely aware of it when it was on, but I read the comics quite a bit later. I’d love to watch it now and see how it holds up.
CMS: My father in law was a HUGE Captain Marvel fan. His nose was crooked, the result of leaping from a high porch with outstretched arms and shouting SHAZAM!!! in the hope of flying. Obviously, it didn’t work…
I would love to see a good relaunch of Swamp Thing in a movie or on TV. I’ve seen the movie and show and…well, just any Swamp Thing is great in my book! (Especially since there was some Solomon Grundy in Swampy…)
LOVE e-books, if for anything the convenience of wanting a comic or collection of comics after hours of the brick and mortar store and bam – you have comics to read!
I’m actually reading the Guardians of the Galaxy series right now and really digging it. Already on Vol 4 (Issues 20-25) and now can’t wait for the movie.
Funny enough, other than DC’s Vertigo titles, I never got into DC. I did Marvel for a while, then went indie and Vertigo but just never really got into DC itself (Except maybe Grant Morrison’s Animal Man, which Chris, myself and our friends ALL were reading at the time)
Chris Claremont’s X-Men was my usualy meat-n-potatoes in the 80s, up until about late 80s when they just kept introducing plot-point after plot-point without resolving anything else I just got fed up (I remember the issue as well, already I was complaining about how they had like 4-5 unresolved plots with the mutant massacre, Nimrod, and a few others) when the last page had Havok with someone in a jeep driving in the desert and came across a dead body of the Brood, signaling they’re coming back. A table-flip later and I was done with them. 🙂
I’m the only comics guy I know who was never an X-Men guy. I was an X-Men *poser*, mind you — I dug the cartoon in the 90s and all. But I didn’t pick up the books until just recently.
So, Curtis, where do you fall on Grant Morrison? I’m in the “insane genius” camp. 😉
Honestly, his Animal Man I think was the only thing I read of his that comes to mind. I was REALLY into idies around that period with The Elementals, Grimjack, Grendel (Christine Spar series, not Hunter Rose…couldn’t afford those ) and Vertigo like Sandman, Sandman Mystery Theater.
Curtis has fine taste in comic books. I loved Elementals when it was on it. I have some of the Hunter Rose Grendels collected, but yeah…they shot up fast with regular issues.
Another thing I forgot to mention…an all-time fave: Terminal City!!!
I didn’t read X-Men forever…even after it was clear Cynthia and I would have a shared comic book collection to the end. Then…I read some of hers. I think the first one was a Claremont issue, with Wolverine (?) telling Kitty a bedtime story? I know there was a bedtime story…
Like Curtis, I like comic books on an iPad or other device. Such a great experience and…you can read in bed with the lights out without a pile of comic books and a flashlight!
Vertigo was huge for me. Sandman and Shade the Changing Man and Doom Patrol making a leap from DC to Vertigo. Loved those times in a big, big way as you know.
And then there was The Tick… 🙂