Morituri Mondays, Episode 6 - Strikeforce: Morituri #6 (5/87)

For all y'all in the know... this is the big one.  For all y'all that don't... buckle in!

When our Strikeforcers are sent to Holowood for a little R & R, their time off is anything but restful or relaxing!  It doesn't take long for the baddies to show their bulbous chins, and interrupt our team's attempt at tripping the light fantastic in scenic Los Anheles!  The Horde is bored, the team's going stir-crazy, Aline and Robert are losing their marbles... and we've got an ending nobody saw coming!

It's a pulse (and pillow) pounding issue, make sure to hold on to your Ugly Balls!

ReMarvel, Episode 4: X-Force #71 (1997)

They say you can't go home again... and today we will test that theory on multiple fronts!

After sharing a brief audio-version of a vacation slideshow (please listen anyway!), I tell the story of how a strange and X-Perimental new direction for X-Force helped bring me back into comics fandom after walking away two years earlier!  All that, and a deep dive into the first Road Trip-era issue!

Episodes Mentioned during this Program:

Chris is on Infinite Earths, Episode 23: The Move from NY to AZ

ReMarvel, Episode 3: Walking Away From Comics

Reggie’s Comics Stories ep.19 - Collecting: Try it With a Friend!

Hey folks! In this episode of Reggie's Comics Stories, continuing our look at the habit and hobby of collecting, we talk about collecting as a group, and talk to Jeremiah Jones-Goldstein, who has been collecting with his brother for decades! Reggie also talks about his experience collecting alongside his sibling, which was not as chummy. Check out the episode, and keep those stories coming!

Morituri Mondays, Episode 5 - Strikeforce: Morituri #5 (4/87)

Mori-Tuesday?  Sure, why not!

A day late, and a dollar short... Morituri Mondays is at it again, and this time out our team of heroes are in mourning... the lovely Lorna wound up succumbing to the strain of the Morituri Process!  The crew doesn't get to mourn for long however, as the Horde has chosen just this moment to invade the hearts, minds, and skin of suburban Illinois!  Will the team be able to fight through the paranoia of propaganda... or will they lose yet another member?!

Also: Fun with Accents!  Hivemind Mentalities!  A Smarties Update!  Selling Prizes for Cash!  The final two parts of Gumby and Pokey in Gum-Dinger Land!

ReMarvel, Episode 3: X-Men (vol.2) #45 (1995)

There are many times in the life and times of a comics enthusiast where walking away might be smartest option.  Naturally, as comics enthusiasts, very seldom do we actually do so!  Today, I'm going to share the story of the first time I ever "walked away".  All that, and we get to go through a pretty great issue of X-Men!

The concept of "walking away" is one I'm very interested in as a fan... and I would love to hear any stories you might have about times in which you might have stopped collecting or reading... why you finally pulled that trigger... and, since we're all still comics enthusiasts: what brought you back?

Chris is on Infinite Earths, Episode #32: Superman & Me / Me & Superman

Hey Gang... got something a little bit different this week.

Instead of discussing a single issue, I've decided to go "off the cuff" and share my life and times as a Superman Fan!  From my humble and wide-eyed speculatory beginnings, through times wherein I walked away from the character completely... to my many returns.  We're talkin' Death & Return, Electric Blue, City of Tomorrow, the post-Infinite Crisis "nebulous interim", Secret Origin, New Krypton... and yes, even Grounded, the New-52!... through Rebirth and back again!

Are you a Superman fan?  I'd love to hear all about your fandom!  When/how you started... times you left... what brought you back, and how it all turned out!

Morituri Mondays, Episode 4 - Strikeforce: Morituri #4 (3/87)

T.G.I.M. ... is probably what nobody thought as they hurled their alarm clock into the wall this morning... but, we'd like to hope that our journey through Marvel Earth-1287 puts a little spring into your step as you embark upon a brand new week... so full of possibilities!  And if not, you can still say to yourself, "At least I'm not Harold!"

This time out, Chris and Chris (@Charlton_Hero @acecomics) join our team of Super-Celebs as they take in the adulation of their adoring public... it's a "Media Bash" for Strikeforce: Morituri... their own line of comics, their own set of home videos... moy-chandizing, moy-chandizing!  Their party, however, might just be crashed by the Horde looking to even the score from their defeat last issue!  It's a party... not everyone is guaranteed to survive!

Cosmic Treadmill ep. 144 - Uncanny X-Men #287 (1992)

Greetings, fellow mutants! In this episode, time-displaced soothsayers Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) look at one of the longest-running (and now, solved) X-Mysteries when they read Uncanny X-Men #287 by Jim Lee, Scott Lobdell, and John Romita Jr., beginning the "X-Traitor" story line that ran for several years! After explaining the unusual conditions of the X-Men editorial office at the time, and providing biographical information on the key creators involved, our mutant mavericks read every page of the issue at hand. Then, they delve even further into "X-Traitor," reading some fan mail and commentary from pertinent Marvel Comics staff members, and even following the mystery to its stunning conclusion! It's time-traveling fun, you don't want to miss it!

ReMarvel, Episode 2: X-Men (vol.2) #8 (1992)

Hello Fellow Hunters!

This time out, I reminisce over my first-ever comics "white whale" as I discuss X-Men (vol.2) #8!  Before hopping into the issue proper, we talk about where I started as a fan of the X-Men family of titles, how different the comic collector's journey looked for a kid growing up in the early-1990's, and how a love of lore turned into a life-long relationship with this particular franchise!  Also, looking for Betamax tapes in Satanic Bookstores?  Trust me, it all fits... sorta!

Reggie's Comics Stories ep. 18 - On Collecting feat. Chris Sheehan

Hey everyone! Continuing our look at collecting and collectors, Reggie (@reggiereggie) interviews his partner in podcasting and comic book collector Chris Sheehan! We look at how he got into collecting comics, and some of his own rules when it comes to the hobby. Plus: Reggie talks about the ancillary things one can accrue when they begin collecting. We hope you enjoy it!

Morituri Mondays, Episode 3 - Strikeforce: Morituri #3 (2/87)

Happy Monday... soon to be your favorite day of the week!  Okay, maybe not... but, never fear... Morituri Monday is here to help you muddle through!

This week, the Chrises (@acecomics @Charlton_Hero) join the fledgling Strikeforce on their first actual mission!  Lemme tell ya, they're not failing to protect a chocolate factory this time around!  Our team is sent into the Soviet Union (which was apparently still a thing that existed in the not-so-far-flung future of Marvel Earth-1287!) to go head on with the Horde... and make a few discoveries about just how gruesome and cruel the alien invaders could be!

Also: Some assorted chatter about our early mp3 Players/digital devices, hotel amenities, the "heelish" portrayal of Soviets during the 1980s, plus YOUR FEEDBACK!

Chris is on Infinite Earths, Episode 31: Ghost World - A Tale of Two Enids

"And now for something completely different..."

Today I bring to you a discussion regarding adaptations between comics and film, and read from a piece I had written for a Humanities class nearing on a decade ago (consider this my preemptive apology).  We will be addressing Pascal Lefevre's "Four Main Problems in the Adaptation of Comics into Film" from his essay, Incompatible Visual Ontologies? which appeared in Film and Comic Books (University Press of Mississippi, 2007).  Here we will examine the portrayals of the cast of Daniel Clowes' Ghost World (Enid in particular), both in comic book and film.  Think inch-deep, mile-wide... it wasn't too long a paper.

If you are unfamiliar with Ghost World, much of this will likely make very little sense.  This episode does not include a synopsis of either the film or the comic... though, Enid and Company will likely be taking a trip on a certain Treadmill in the not-too-distant future.

ReMarvel, Episode 1: Omega the Unknown #1 (1976)

Long before I was a coffee cup with the DC Bullet logo on it, I (Chris) was a bona fide Marvel Zombie!  That all changed during the mid-2000's, and my fandom only dwindled from there... to the point where I now have zero (count 'em, zero) Marvel Comics on my pull list.  Being an all-or-nothing sort, I kinda let the perceived "Sins of the Sons" be visited upon the "Father", so to speak... and found that I could no longer appreciate anything that ever came out from Marvel.  New, old, whatever... I was no longer able to dig it!

I'd like to rectify that... and this program is the first step toward that goal.

Chris is on Infinite Earths, Episode 30: Legion of Super-Heroes (vol.4) #28 (1992)

Today Chris (@acecomics) talks about something very near and dear to his... err, no, actually he talks about one of his intentional comic book "blind spots" in the Legion of Super-Heroes.  We also discuss the concept and currency of "information"... why we want it, how we get it... and how not having it might lead to unpleasant and embarrassing situations!

Do you have any intentional comic book "blind spots"?  Daunting families of titles you've long ignored rather than digging your heels in and learning about?  Let me know!