comics podcast

It’s back! ELSEWEEK finally returns, just in time for Halloween, and this time MJ & Jarrod are cracking the macabre, operatic, and downright weirdo Elseworlds masterpiece, 'Batman & Dracula: Red Rain'! 

It's an absolutely packed 200th episode spectacular: MJ & Jones discuss DC Fandome and the trailers for THE FLASH, BLACK ADAM, SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE and, obviously, that THE BATMAN trailer! Also on the docket: our fifth annual Halloween Recommendation Episode!

Time Stamps: 

DC Fandome Recap: 4:39
Halloween Recommendations: 29:08
Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues: 50:45
Listener Question: 57:12
Outro: 1:04:00

The DC Comics January 2022 solicitations are around the corner, and there’s so much to talk about: Mark Waid is teaming with Dan Mora, Nightwing's got a new costume (sorta), and Tini Howard is a full-fledged CATWOMAN writer now! All this plus: a new origin for Marvel Studios' FANTASTIC FOUR and... could Spider-Man be a killer?

Time Stamps:

News: 3:36

• Nightwing's Duds: 4:13
• Tini Howard's 'Catwoman': 7:13
• Mark Waid & Dan Mora at DC: 11:36

Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues: 15:12
Listener Question: 21:12
Back Matter: 27:13
Outro: 33:32

Holy Hannah, it’s time for another solicits episode! On the docket this week: the long-awaited Batgirls series, Chip Zdarsky’s next move in his much-longer-than-we-anticipated Daredevil run and—stop the presses—The Amazing Spider-Man has FIVE issues out this month! FIVE! All this plus trailer talk for the much-anticipated Netflix adaptation of The Sandman! 

Time Stamps:

December 2021 Solicits: 6:53

• Image Comics: 7:51
• Dark Horse Comics: 13:10
• DC: 17:14
• Marvel: 27:24
• BOOM! Studios: 47:37
• Lightning Round: 49:55

'The Sandman' Trailer Talk: 1:03:46
Outro: 1:10:13

It’s another five-week month, which means MJ & Jones are scrambling for content—er, have made space for an all-new Junk Drawer Episode! On the docket: What did Brian Michael Bendis really mean by that Batman tweet? Is IDW jumping to Penguin/Random House another nail in the coffin for Diamond Distribution? How good is STARGIRL? All this and, at long last, a brand-new WIZARD flip-through!

Time Stamps:

News: 4:40
'Wizard' #76 Flip-Thru: 22:20
Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues: 47:52
Listener Question: 54:36
Outro: 1:04:03

On the docket for this week: HAWKEYE trailer talk, new SWAMP THING comics and a little SWAMP THING discourse, Taylor & Redondo’s upcoming big swing for NIGHTWING, and maybe Mark Waid is writing SUPERMAN again?  (Yes, please!)

Time Stamps:

News: 3:44
'Hawkeye' Trailer Talk: 22:56
Top 5 Most Anticipated Comics: 39:44
Listener Question: 44:53
Outro: 57:10

The November 2021 comic book solicitations are here! On the docket: DC's gone more Bat-crazy than usual, 'Black Panther' #1 gets a resolicitation (fingers crossed!), Chip Zdarsky is busier than ever, AHOY triples down on Mark Russell, and oh so much more. Plus: 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' gets a trailer (for better or worse), and MJ & Jones are here with their speculator caps on!

Time Stamps: 

November 2021 Solicits: 4:09

• Image Comics: 4:09
• Dark Horse Comics: 10:25
• DC: 13:19
• Marvel: 30:00
• BOOM! Studios: 43:52
• Lightning Round: 45:15

Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues: 54:28
'Spidey: No Way Home' Trailer Talk: 59:43
Outro: 1:14:29

Stop the presses! It’s been a wild news month for the comics industry, and it’s everything MJ & Jones can do to keep up! Time for another News Round-Up Episode! On the docket: Tini Howard is Marvel exclusive no more, Brian Michael Bendis moves Jinxworld to Dark Horse, and Batman’s leaving Gotham in December! All this and ETERNALS trailer talk, too!

Time Stamps:

News: 3:46
Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues: 23:56
Listener Question: 29:18
'Eternals' Trailer Talk:  41:11
Outro: 56:01

On the docket this week: the insane comic creator exodus to the online platform, Substack; a spoiler-filled discussion of THE SUICIDE SQUAD; and a quick flip-thru review of DC’s BATMAN ‘89 #1!

Time stamps for this week's episode:

News: 3:42
'The Suicide Squad' SPOILER Chat: 17:29
Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues of the Week: 34:19
Listener Question: 38:45
'Batman '89' SPOILER Chat: 45:26
Outro: 55:22 

This week MJ & Jones get into the Task Force X spirit by reviewing Azzarello & Maleev’s DC Black Label joint, Suicide Squad: Get Joker!

Time stamps for this week’s episode:

Intro: 0:00
News: 3:48
'Suicide Squad Get Joker!': 15:05
'Get Joker!' SPOILER Chat: 15:38
Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues: 32:29
Listener Question: 37:00
Outro: 44:27

It may look like July outside (and feel like it, too), but in our hearts it’s October, which means it’s time for October 2021 solicitations! 

Time stamps for this week’s episode:

Intro: 0:00
October 2021 Solicits: 3:23
Image Comics: 4:51
Dark Horse Comics: 12:06
DC: 14:19
Marvel: 30:04
BOOM! Studios: 40:00
Lightning Round: 40:39
Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues: 50:52
Listener Question: 54:33
Outro: 1:01:02

'Black Widow' is here and MJ & Jones are losing their minds in this spoiler-filled episode!

Time Stamps:

Intro: 0:00
News: 2:49
'Black Widow' Spoiler Talk: 15:58
Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues: 40:49
Listener Question: 47:18
Outro: 56:39

NEWS

• Full line-up of Free Comic Book Day 2021 titles announced
• Kickstarter partners with Bookshop.org in new deal which could stoke comic sales
• Simon & Schuster signs deal with AHOY and Heavy Metal
• Dark Horse announces ‘Black Hammer: Reborn’ for June 23rd
• Dark Horse launching ‘Norse Mythology II’ #1 June 16th
• Dark Horse announces ‘Parasomnia’ #1 by Cullen Bunn and Andrea Mutti
• Marvel Solicitations for June are here!
  • Al Ewing’s ‘Immortal Hulk’ to get ‘Gamma Flight’ spin off this June
  • Marvel’s X-Men are a triple thread in new Russell Dauterman costume designs
  • Marvel Comics reveals new hero Captain America of the Railways
  • ‘Captain America’ #30 marks Ta-Nehisi Coates’ final issue
  • Star Wars Pride Month variants coming at ya
• Archie to publish Rob Liefeld’s ‘The Mighty Crusaders: The Shield’ #1 for June
• DC's adult-oriented Black Label has a new boss: Chris Conroy
• Image dropping Vinyl and Compass in June.
• EXCLUSIVE BOOM! First Look: New series Good Luck

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Iron Man (2020) #7 (W: Christopher Cantwell, A: Cafu, C: Frank D’Armata)
2. Nightwing #78 (W: Tom Taylor, A: Bruno Redondo)

Nathan:

1. Ultramega #1 (W/A: James Harren, C: Dave Stewart)
2. Radiant Black #2 (W: Kyle Higgins, A: Marcelo Costa)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Detective Comics #1034
• Nathan: Batman: Black & White #4 (Various)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Carnage: Black, White, And Blood #1 (Ottley Cover)
• Nathan: Alien #1 (Skottie Young variant)

Off Topic Top Shelf: Snyder Cut

NEWS

• Former DC comic book artist fetches $1.85M auctioning Wonder Woman NFTs
  • Also https://twitter.com/slitheryss/status/1370476985001119750?s=21
  • DC launches ‘Batman Black & White’ NFT statues — Marsha Cooke, Gary Frank respond: https://www.gamesradar.com/darwyn-cookes-widow-asks-dc-not-to-use-her-husbands-work-in-batman-nft-crypto-art/
• BOOM! reveals ‘BRZRKR’ #1 sells out and goes back to print
• Marvel reveals Spider-Man story arc ‘The Chameleon Conspiracy’ for June 2021
• Marvel announces ‘Planet-Size X-Men’ #1 for June 16th
• Marvel Comics to wrap up ‘Heroes Reborn’ with ‘Heroes Return’ #1 in June
• Marvel Comics reveals Pride Month special 'Marvel's Voices: Pride' #1
• DC news:
  • DC Comics announces ‘DC Pride’ anthology comic for June 8
  • DC Comics announces ‘Crush & Lobo’ comic miniseries launching June 1
  • DC Comics announces ‘Batman: The Adventures Continue - Season 2’ launching in May
  • DC Comics sets June 22nd for ‘Wonder Woman Black & Gold’ #1
  • DC Comics reveals more ‘Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point’ covers
  • DC Black Label to release creator owned horror comic ‘The Nice House on the Lake’
  • DC Black Label series Batman: Reptilian
  • Green Arrow’s 80th anniversary spectacular

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Non-Stop Spider-Man (2021) #1 (W: Joe Kelly, A: Chris Bachalo)
2. Home Sick Pilots #4 (W: Dan Watters, A: Caspar Wijngaard)

Nathan:

1. Batman: Urban Legends #1 (various)
2. Home Sick Pilots #4 (W: Dan Watters, A: Caspar Wijngaard)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Orphan And The Five Beasts #1 (W/A: James Stokoe)
• Nathan: Ultramega #1 (W/A: James Harren)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: King in Black: Spider-Man #1 (Carlos E. Gomez)
• Nathan: Ultramega #1 (1:10 incentive variant cover)

Segment: Pornsak Pichetshote Interview - The Good Asian #1 - May 5th artist Alexandre Tefenkgi

1. Thanks for coming on the AIPT Comics podcast! The Good Asian is out this May and Nathan and I can’t be any more excited, in part because we adore Film Noir. Can you talk about your relationship to noir and why the genre speaks to you?
2. What was the onus on kicking off this project, was it the genre, the Chinese Exclusion Act and how it fit into the story, something else?
3. Was there anything you were surprised by or that Alexandre Tefenkgi went above and beyond with?
4. How do you approach staying creative while quarantined? Do you have a set routine?
5. The Good Asian is rooted deep in American history, but it also reads like a classic noir. What led you to combining the two? - i think we covered this.
6. From hard-boiled dialogue to shadowy street corners, what do you think is the key to creating the right atmosphere for noir? Color artist lee loughridge
7. It’s clear that a lot of research went into telling this story. Did you discover anything in your research that genuinely surprised you?
8. Something that made reading the first issue of The Good Asian so strong for me, was how it captures a lo tof the hidden American history we don’t talk about. If readers wanted to explore more about this kind of history, do you have any resources fans might pick up?
9. There are so many great indie publishers today, more than ever, what made Image Comics the right fit for this project?
10. Are there any other books you’d like to discuss today?

Off-Topic Top Shelf - Pichetshote - Rewatching first two seasons of Fargo, Inside Chinatown

NEWS

Starting with the biggest news, we discuss the May 2021 Marvel Comics solicitations which include the new Star Wars event ‘War of the Bounty Hunters. Also in marvel news, a new teaser for the Fantastic Four 60th anniversary was revealed.

DC Comics stunned the world this week with big news like their celebrating classic films with new series Superman ’78 and Batman ’89, DC teased new 2021 series at the ComicsPro retailer event as well as showing off new Snyder Cut variant covers.

Image Comics made waves this week too as Todd MacFarlane announced four new Spawn titles in a new shared universe push. Image Comics also revealed plenty of new series like the reworking of Savage Dragon #259 into North Force #0, Aquarius: The Book of Mer, and The Good Asian. Sadly though, news revealed Die is coming to an end with its last story arc starting in May. It was also reported The Department of Truth is getting optioned for a television series. Finally, Dark Horse is coming in hot with a new The Witcher miniseries and Far Cry series.

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Iron Man (2020) #6 (W: Christopher Cantwell, A: Cafu)
2. Immortal Hulk: Flatline (W/A: Declan Shalvey)

Nathan:

1. TMNT: The Last Ronin #2 (W: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz, A: Esau & Isaac Escorza, Kevin Eastman)
2. M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games #3 (W: Jordan Blum & Patton Oswalt, A: Scott Hepburn)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy #6 (W: Jeff Lemire, A: Tonci Zonjiv)
2. Nathan: The Department of Truth #6 (W: James Tynion IV, A: Elsa Charretier)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

1. Dave: Spawn #315 (Capullo & McFarlane Cover)
2. Nathan: Batman Black & White #3 (Sana Takeda cover)

Segment: Interview - Karla Pacheco and her mother Alison

Visit our Patreon page to see the various tiers you can sign up for today to get in on the ground floor of AIPT Patreon. We hope to see you chatting with us in our Discord soon!

Forrest News

NEWS

• Rejected cover breaks world record for comic book art
• Adult graphic novel sales figures reveal nearly 30% sales jump in 2020
• Marvel pre-solicits!
  • Spider-Man Clone Saga on the way
  • Marvel Comics launching ‘The Mighty Valkyries’ #1 April 2021
  • Champions gets a new creative team with issue #6
  • Marvel launching ‘Aliens: The Original Years Omnibus’ Vol. 2 to Earth in August 2021
  • Marvel to celebrate Darkhawk’s 30th anniversary with anthology one-shot
• DC solicits!
  • DC Comics launching Damian Wayne led series 'Robin'
  • DC Comics sets ‘Green Lantern’ for Geoffrey Thorne and Dexter Soy
  • DC Comics launching digital first series ‘The Next Batman: Second Son’
  • Flash Facts curated by Mayim Bialik
  • Batman gets new villains and allies in ‘Batman: The Dark Knight’ April 13th
• Sixth Annual Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics finalists named

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

1. Home Sick Pilots #2 (W: Dan Watters, A: Caspar Wijngaard)
2. Seven Secrets #6 (W: Tom Taylor, A: Daniele Di Nicuolo)

Forrest:

1. Home Sick Pilots #2 (W: Dan Watters, A: Caspar Wijngaard)
2. Haha #1 (W: W. Maxwell Prince, A: Vanesa Del Rey)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Dave: Future State: Superman - Worlds Of War #1 (Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Mikel Janin, Brandon Easton, Valentine de Landro, Becky Cloonan Michael Conrad, Gleb Melnikov)
• Forrest: Crimson Flower #1 (W: Matt Kindt, A: Matt Lesniewski)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

• Dave: Future State: Superman - Worlds Of War #1 (Mikel Janin)
• Forrest: Pulp TP (Sean Phillips)

Segment: Interview - Jordan Blum on M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games Head Games (first two issues out)

1. Modok Head Games has been fun, funny, and action-packed. What is your scripting process like with Patton Oswalt?
2. Do you think MODOK is a relatable character?
3. What does every MODOK story need?
4. Scott Hepburn has been extraordinary in making the book funny and fun, when it comes to comedic timing how do you approach the scripting for the comic?
5. On the reverse side, how do you approach comedic timing and comedy when writing the upcoming Hulu show?
6. Is there a chance we could get more MODOK comics?
7. I have to ask...if MODOK has a family, does that mean MODOK has the ability to make babies? Have you guys thought about that aspect?
8. After MODOK, what is your #1 series you’d like to write (with or without Oswalt)
9. SUPERFIGHT: Modok vs. Dazzler

Off topic Top Shelf: Hill House, Kobra Kai

As our faithful listeners know, Comfort Food Comics is all about that media collaboration--so this week we have a special selection to coincide with the release of the latest MCU series.  Talk about synergy folks!  Listen in as we rank and discuss the titular Vision and Scarlet Witch mini-series event in The Vision and Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #1 - 12, with a little side of West Coast Avengers #2 mixed in to keep the story going.  Enjoy!

News:

Before we dive into the interview we recap the biggest news of the week. We start with DC Comics who is launching a new era with ‘Infinite Frontier’ in March 2021. They also revealed a ton of creative teams and new titles like Phillip Kennedy Johnson taking over Superman and Action Comics, Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo tapped for Nightwing March 2021, a new 64-page monthly anthology Batman: Urban Legends is on the way as well as the announcement of Superman: Red & Blue. 

In indie comic news, Archie Comics announced Mighty Crusaders by Rob Liefeld, a new limited horror series is on the way at BOOM! with Grant Morrison co-writing, and Vault Comics teased creative teams for 2021 all week long.

In Marvel Comics news, Mariko Tamaki and Gurihiru team up for ‘Thor & Loki: Double Trouble’ this March, Marvel is kicking off ‘Silk’ solo-series in March 2021, Marvel taps Daniel Warren Johnson for ‘Beta Ray Bill’ series in 2021, and Steve Orlando is set for Man-Thing.

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:                              

1. Black Cat (2020) #1 (W: Jed MacKay, A: C.F. Villa, Nina Vakueya)
2. New Mutants #14 (W: Vita Ayala, A: Rod Reis)

Forrest:

1. King in Black: Immortal Hulk (W: Al Ewing, A: Aaron Kuder)
2. Wolverine: Black, White, and Blood #2 (Various)

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

1. Dave: King-Size Conan #1 (Various)
2. Forrest: King-Size Conan #1 (Various)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

1. Dave: The Department of Truth #4 (Tradd Moore)
2. Forrest: King In Black #2 (Ryan Stegman)

Segment: Interview Zac Thompson talks about I Breathed a Body
Release date: Wednesday, January 20, 2021.  FOC December 28, 2020
Artist: Andy MacDonald

Off Topic Top Shelf: Memories of a Murder, Zardoz, Ishtar

This episode of THE Underground Source of El Paso, TX features Brandon Bloxdorf and Brandon Moncada of Apollo City Comics Podcast - a local comic book podcast! The Brandons - Bloxdorf is local and Moncada is based in San Francisco - talk about their podcast and passion for comic books, upcoming plans and their love of Swamp Thing! They even provide some comic book and movie recommendations! Follow them on Instagram - @apollocitycomicspodcast -

This episode produced by M. De Santiago and G. Armendariz. Hosted by M. De Santiago. Intro/ Outro music by J. 'DreamPill' Castro. Cover image courtesty of Apollo City Comics Podcast. Rated CHLL