To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Marvel Knights, we welcome Joe Quesada to tell the origin story of the imprint and contextualize it within Marvel history. One lucky break he got early in his career came full circle with the launch of Marve

48: Enforceable Curfew and Women in Towers

Nov 16th, 2016 55m 51s

John interviews Dean Haspiel pre-Election 2016 about what it is that he's afraid of and the infinite emptiness of the internet, while Moisés talks with Alex de Campi about the glorious darkness of certain fairy tales and the importance of being

One-Shot 7: The Death Of

Oct 19th, 2016 34m 28s

As a coda to our creator spotlight on Dan Slott, we look at the just-released Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy #1. There's a spoiler warning at the point where we start spoiling, so don't worry. In the outro, we tease some upcoming guests and

47: Monkey's Paws with Dan Slott

Oct 16th, 2016 1h 36m

Dan Slott injects danger and fear for our hero's life wherever he can, and that's why we love his work on Spider-Man. Those choices extends to how he has brought unexpected, sometimes-hated (and then loved), but always interesting changes to th

One-Shot 6: The Amazing Cube

Jun 30th, 2016 33m 57s

Special Cameo Appearance by Stan "The Man" Lee! We waited until the second issue of Captain America: Steve Rogers came out to talk about the whole "Hail HYDRA" thing. How many people read comics versus read headlines about them? What is and isn

One-Shot 5: Emotional Payoff

Jun 17th, 2016 56m 52s

This is either a "Triple-Sized" One-Shot or a Regular-Sized regular episode (or both!) coveringDC Universe Rebirth #1. There was confusion we were aware of before starting, and all-new, all-different confusion we discover while recording. We s

46: Teaser Trailers for Other Superheroes

Apr 21st, 2016 1h 8m

Neither of us liked Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. We hadn't spoken to each other about it until we recorded this all-spoiler-filled discussion. Weeks later, neither of us can really tell you what the movie was about or trying to say other

45: Do Your Thousand Pages

Apr 6th, 2016 1h 41m

Southern Cross co-creator Andy Belánger has done Big Two, licensed, and is now a loud-and-proud "creator-owned or GTFO" advocate who is all-in with Image Comics. We discuss his work, fandom, and wrestling. This live episode was recorded at Dall

44: I'm Not Stan, You're Not Jack

Mar 8th, 2016 1h 35m

Storyteller artist Paul Ryan was more than just a "pencil guy". A consummate draftsman who came to comics work in his mid-30's, Ryan embodied a work ethic seldom seen then or now. The news of his sudden passing this past weekend took everyone b

One-Shot 4: Dream Big, Jimmy Olsen

Feb 19th, 2016 32m 51s

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #125 is one of the best values you can find for a comic from the 1960’s. Spurred by a Nostradamus prophecy discovered under the sea (you read that correctly), Jimmy Olsen collects the tears of four people, including S

43: Collaborative and Non-Compliant

Feb 5th, 2016 1h 42m

Kelly Sue DeConnick has a massive, loyal, and deeply passionate following for a very good reason: she makes comics that mean something to people. In this Creator Spotlight episode, we discuss her body of work, and the distinct humanity of her v

One-Shot 3: Sentient Dough

Jan 30th, 2016 13m 20s

Captain America gets a lot of Avengers Middle Management Work done! The Red Skull has (consensual) sex with a lady in a hot tub (how does she kiss him?)! Thor (Eric Masterson) is put on probation! Red Skull’s ancestral family house…drips dough!

42: No Children Were Murdered

Jan 21st, 2016 1h 24m

What is the aftermath of two of the biggest of Big Two Mega-Event Crossovers in comics history? Are our buying habits…FOREVER CHANGED??? (Yes.) How or can we justify $5 cover prices? Find out in a truly 80-ish-“page” (minute) Giant episode of t

One-Shot 2: Issue Ten Out of Eight

Jan 16th, 2016 32m 22s

Secret Wars (2015) is complete as of this, the second week of 2016. Since we did a mega-event-scale series on crossovers last year that was kicked off by the announcement of Secret Wars, we dig into our spoiler-filled thoughts on the final issu

41: Definitely Wedge

Jan 9th, 2016 1h 16m

A primer on Star Wars comics from 1977 forward, covering everything in general from early movie adaptations to the lengthy Dark Horse work in the Expanded Universe to the "New Marvel Era" and speculation on what is (and we hope) to come.

One-Shot 1: The Comic That Kept Marvel Afloat

Jan 1st, 2016 23m 33s

In our first-ever, short-length, One-Shot episode, John relates the personal and historical significance of Marvel's Star Wars: Special Edition #1. Coming on Giant Size #41, a full episode covering all of Star Wars in comics.

40: Muscle Memory

Dec 6th, 2015 1h 13m

“Breaking in” stories from Steve Epting, Jim Cheung, and Val Mayerik. Neal Adams tells us why people call him an idiot and end up calling him a genius. We also look at how this convention in particular marked an artistic turning point for your

39: Re-Hooked on Comics

Sep 8th, 2015 1h 16m

In the first installment of our 2-part Fan Expo Dallas Special, we and our special guests talk about the importance and impact of Archie, working with material well-known in another medium, and the vital importance of major publishers staying t

38: When I Was a Kid

Aug 20th, 2015 1h 41m

In our Comicpalooza 2015 Special, we discuss childhood influences and the importance of licensed properties in comics with a wide array of guests: World Champion wrestler (and comic creator) Booker T, Katie Cook, Peter David, J.M. DeMatteis (al

37: Color Theory

Jun 23rd, 2015 1h 18m

We look at the vital role of the more-precise-than-ever art of comics coloring, shining a spotlight in particular on the work of Elizabeth Breitweiser and featuring special guests Neal Adams, Steve Epting, and Walt Simonson. NOTE: audio gain a

36: T-Shirt and Jeans Look

Jun 15th, 2015 1h 7m

In framing a conversation with writer Greg Pak about the new direction for Superman in Action Comics (as well as his new creator-owned project The Princess Who Saved Herself), we find ourselves also indulging in preaching the gospel of Adam War

35: Slap-in-the-Mouth Guarantee

May 21st, 2015 1h 4m

In the first installment of a new recurring series, we recommend great, currently running reads that we've never discussed on the show.

34: Reading Orders

Apr 28th, 2015 43m 27s

ComiXology co-founders David Steinberger and John D. Roberts join us for an annual check-in, discussing library expansion, the changes post-Amazon acquisition, and the possibility of new UI/UX features in the future.

33: Heart and Soul

Apr 21st, 2015 1h 14m

In our first-annual STAPLE Special, we dive into some of our mutual comfort foods: autobiographical and otherwise-great indie comics. Intercut throughout are interviews with an all-star, all-woman super-team lineup of comics creators.

32: Every Flavor is Chocolate!

Mar 28th, 2015 36m 20s

In the Epilogue to our comprehensive, decades-spanning, senses-altering Crossover Event(s), we each name the five events from each publisher we would "save" if forced to choose. Stay tuned for a shocking conclusion in the conclusion that will