Jace welcomes Mark Waid back to the show to talk about Justice League Unlimited. Mark talks about coming onto the project and bringing a similiar energy that he and Dan Mora had on World's Finest with bringing in many characters from DC's extensive history. He is always cognisant of keeping a balance between the big stars, some of the more complimentary characters and also some deeper cut characters. Specifically when it comes to the debut issue, Mark mentions using AirWave as a POV character and throwing in the curveballs that engage him as a writer and us as readers. The artistic collaboration with Dan Mora is a source of inspiration for Mark, as well as the amazing colors by Tamara Bonvillain. It's clear as Mark talks about this title, that it will be a core book for the DC All In era. Do you have to read everything? No, but you may want to when you read JLU and see the interesting hooks that reference what's happening to other characters in their own books.
Jace and Rocky chat about their favorite independent titles for the week of October 30, 2024. Ghost Machine is here with another two fantastic titles, the most heartfelt issue of Redcoat to date and perhaps of the entire Ghost Machine era. Meanwhile, Devour gives us a horrifying glkimpse into Hyde St that is that much more terrifying in it's realism. Meanwhile Knights vs Samurai continues the historical narrative with tons of bloody action and we get the second of the Underworld Universe titles from Mad Cave with Hour of the Wolf #1.
Jace and Rocky chat about the DC Comics titles for the week of October 30, 2024. It's a fifth week of releases for the month and that means a small week for DC, but we have some great titles out this week. Action Comics continues it's weekly release as the story ramps up and Superman finds himself in a very unexpected place by the end of the issue. We also celebrate the Penguin with a title reprinting some of his most iconic stories. Plus an amazing team-up between Swamp Thing and Poison Ivy.
Jace sits down with writer Garl Moloney and artist Daniel Romero at NYCC 2024 to talk about their series from Madcave Studios, When the Blood has Dried. A deeply emotional story about a woman who has tried to leave the blood-soaked adventure of her past behind, but when that past comes to the sleepy little town she now calls home, she may not be able to keep her secrets from spilling out. The guys chat about the evolution of the main character, Meabh, the richness of the supporting cast and Daniel's incredible visual storytelling at the climax of the story. Join us for the fun.
Jace is joined by Jackson Lanzing at NYCC 2024 to catch us up on what's been happening in Star Wars. The line has been a huge hit for IDW and rightfully so. The guys talk about how additive the series has been and how Jackson, along with his writing partner Colin Kelly, have been able to evolve some of our favorite characters beyond where we last saw them in their respective shows. Plus, Jackson previews the upcoming event Lore War, which has been building since the very beginning of this current run of Star Trek, He shares everything you need to know to jump on the event and see what Lora has in mind when remaking teality.
Jace chat with writer Dan DiDio at New York Comic Con about his Mad Cave series, Defenders of the Earth. Based on the hit cartoon that debuted in 1986, it follows some of the first characters to appear in comics and pulp magazines. What makes Defenders of the Earth special is that it brings in the next genreation as the children of Flash Gordon, Mandrake, The Phantom and Lothar join them in their adventures. Dan talks about exploring these characters and the challenge of writing such a large cast. The guys also discuss what artist Jim Calafiore is bringing to the series, Plus The Mets!
Jace is joined by Bryce Gold, Head of New Talent at DSTLRY and Sean Edgar, Senior Marketing Director at DSTLRY who are co-editors on the upcoming holiday offering from the award-winning publisher. In a very short time, DSTLRY has established itself as a publisher to watch both in terms of the plethora of very talented creators under their banner and the quality of the titles coming in print and digital. Specifically for this project, the diversity of creators is matched by the diversity of story which will celebrate the holiday season with stories rooted in science fiction, horror and fantasy. Leaning into the the earliest roots of the holiday and it folklore origins rather than a westernized view of Christmas allows the creators the creative freedome to tell tales about the the fellowship of the holidays, the darkest days of winter, or the winter soltice itself. Join us for this chat to learn about the project.
Jace welcomes Ringo and Emmy award winning cartoonist Dean Haspiel back to the show. Dean is running a Kickstarter to expand on the story of Chest Face, a charcter that made his 2023 debut in Spider-Squirrel & Trash Panda Titan-Sized Special! In addition to talking about the origins of this project, the guys dive into the personal feel of Dean's work and touch on all his previous Kickstarters that are available in this campaign. Plus, some talk about what makes the comics medium so special.
Jace is joined by writer Richard Ashkley Hamilton to chat about his series at Maverick, Scoop. Set in Miami, where Richard himself spent his chlldhood, Scoop tells the story of young Sophie Cooper as she interns at a local news station in the hopes of using it's resources to clear her father's name after he is wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit. The story packs a lot in its first two volumes, including some wild Science Fiction like time travel, extraterristrials and talkign aligator men. When you add in the culture and family from Sophie's Cuban heritage, a wonderful supportign cast and even a little teen romance, you have something truly special. Two more volumes of Scoop are due in 2025, so listen in, check out the first two volumes and get caught up before the rest of the story unfolds. Richard also gives us a sneak peek of his next project coming in December 2024, Tectiv. Also starring a teenage girl trying to make the world better, but this time in a post-post-apocalyptic world.
Jace and Rocky dive into a great week of independent books with another installement of the Horizon Experiment, this time it's the Sacred Damned focusing on an exorcist from Middle Eastern Culture. Also the fun and nostalgic Grommets continues with a wild party that gets out of hand, Rook Exodus concludes it's first arc and the feel of hte book shift slightly with seemingly embracing his role as a warden and committing to saving the planet Exodus. Meanwhile, Power Fantasy, the superb character drama that harkens back to the cold war with meta-powered beings as an analog for weapons of mass destruction shows some origins of those beings in it's thrid issue as well as showcasing a timeline for upcoming events. Standstill is as fast paced as ever with it's unique presentation of double page spreads for the entireity of the issue and we love the furiosu pace of the action contrasted with the slow-burn of the mystery that is being revealed. Also, Tin Can Society is unveiling a mystery of its own with great character work as well, with the once tightly knit eponymous group trying to learn to trust one another again. Join the guys as they talk about all these titles and more!
Jace and Rocky chat about the biggest week of the DC Comics All In Era yet as they tackle the books for the week of October 23, 2024. We get a glimpse into the gloomy world of Green Lantern Dark, while Hellblazer: Dead In America is dark in a enitrely drifferent way with the continued cynical look at America that has just one issue left. Batman Brave and the Bold has a heartwarming story that reminds us all of the impact of Alfred Pennyworth and a while new era of Detective Comics gets under way with an incredible debut issue for Tom Taylor. Green Arrow provides a bit of an epilogue for the Absolute Power Event while we see the ramifications of that event on the pages of Superman as Lois is displayign incredible powers as Superwoman, plus two amazing villains show up to challenge the Supercouple. Absolute Wonder Woman gets off to a somewhat slow start, but has some magical moments and great art that carry the book. Speaking of magic, the Zatanna Black Label book reaches its conclusion with her magic on full display. Join the guys as they talk about these titles plus a whole lot more, including NYCC DC News!
We move to the third week of the DC Comics All In publishing initiative and the books continue to be great. Wonderful jumping on points for Titans and Catwoman. Green Lantern continues with tons of action and a classic feel, while the current era of Nightwing comes to a close in a hugely satisfying issue. Plus Batman and Robin Year One and Action Comics feel like timeless books that allow readers to jump on with no prior knowledge of what's been going on in the DCU. Join us to hear all about these books and more!
Jace and Rocky talk about some of the independents books for the week of October 16, 2024. We have the end of the Catalyst War in Radiant Black and it is just as action-packed and balanced with emotion as you would expect, an absolute amazing comic. Falling In Love On the Path to Hell continues to surprise with an interesting mix of emotion and action in it's own right. The new volume of Witchblade is also amazing as the creative team is managing to honor the classic origins and touch points of the character while introducing new ideas and concepts to make it feel llike something new. Destro is a fitting finale before leading into G.I. Joe and Vicarious is of to a fantastic start. Join us to hear about these books and more. Plus Jace gives a rundown on some other titles you may want to be on the lookout for!
Jace is joined by writer Sabir Pirzada to talk about his Horizon Experiment book, The Sacred Damned. Drawing inspiration from some of his favorite horrow movies, including The Exorcist, Sabir has crafted a tale focused on a Muslim exorcist who looks at the spirit world quite differently that characters with Western origins. Sabir talks about the relationship that middle eastern cultures have with the supernatural and that may influence how they deal with the occult, add in excellent artwork from Michael Walsh
Jace chats with the creative team for Heebie Jeebies a young reader title with a spooky story just in time for Halloween. The team chats about the art style which perfectly suits the story they wanted to tell. Plus the relevant themes fo the book whuch speak to readers of all ages, but especially readers the same age as the main characters of Blue and Herchel as they navigate the 5th grade. There's a lot ot love about this timeless story so join us for the conversation.
Jace and Rocky are back to chat about some of the independent titles for the week of October 9, 2024. We get a second printing of the first issue of Life from DSTLRY and #1 hits stands as well, action packed with an intriguing heist story set on a planet where life sentences are taken very literally, the story is told from two very different perspectives. Meanwhile, the Scarlett mini-series finishes up and it feels like her story will continue in the pages of G.I. Joe. Geiger gives us a set up issue as the forces of Vegas still are in pursuit of the titular character. Minor Arcana continues to showcase the excellent character work of Jeff Lemire, while Chip Zdarksy is also providing excellent character interplay in his very meta title Public Domain.
Jace is joined by writer Jeff Lemire to talk about his plans for the upcoming JSA title. The most recent JSA series nonwithstanding, as it was plagued by delays, this will be the first time since pre-New 52 that the JSA takes a prominent role in the DCU. Hear what Jeff has to say about making sure the JSA feels like an important part of the new All In Era. Also find out which character surpised Jeff and has taken a more prominent role. Plus Jeff explains why he chose the Injustice Society as the first villains for the venerable team to take on. All this plus a whole lot more!
We get a sneak peek at Absolute Superman #1 and chat with Jason Aaron about crafting a new Superman who has a very different path into the DCU. JAson discusses how he is buildign the story and statying true to the core of the character without the touchstones that Superman fans are familiar with, such as the Kents, growing up in Smallville, Metropolis and the Fortress of Solitude. Also Jason talks about the way the general public will perceive the news heroes that have been showing up in this new world that is so heavily influence dby Darkseid. Plus some talk about the costume and visual collaboration with artist Rafa Sandoval. There's a lot to unpack, not too mention the preview pages with the ominous green color tinging everything. Is this a nod to Krypton or a sign that Krptonite itself will be more readliy available on this new Earth?
The All In era for DC Comics continues into its second week. We get the first series set in the Absolute Universe with the debut of Absolute Batman offering a new and interesting take on the Dark Knight. Action Comics begins it's Mark Waid era with the first of 12 weekly installements focusing on a Phantom Zone story with incredible Clayton Henry art. Meanwhile over in Green Lantern Civil Corp, we may be seeing the beginning of the end for Lord Premier Thaaros, but he isn't going down without trying to bring everyone else down with him. Gotham By Gaslight continues to expand it's universe and is an absolute blast while we get what might be the best issue of DC VS Vampires yet. Every DC title this week is entertaining and the All In Era is off to an excellent start.
Jace is joined by father and son co-writers Andrea Molinari and roberto Molinari to talk about The Shepherd. An intensely personal story about family and the lengths one will go to in order to stay connected to those we love. They have built an incredibley immersive world that lends itself to an incredible amount of potential for stories. Beyond the theme of family, there is are many other intersting aspects to the stories such as self-identity, history and dealig with trauma. Join us to learn all bout it and be sure to check out the Kickstarter.
Jace is joined by Rocky from Comic Boom! to chat about some of their favorite independent comics for the week of October 2, 2024. They cover titles from Image, Boom and Oni while discussing the overall excitement that the stories in independent titles are generating which seems to be out pacing the books from the big two.
The DC All In era is finally upon us and Jace and Rocky each pick their top five titles for the week to take a deep dive into. They also mention the other titles dropping this week. The one book they don't talk about is actually the most important book of the week, the DC All In Special, but you can cath a giant-sized episode on The Comic Source YouTube channel with a page by page breakdown of the book and what it means for DC going forward. For the new story arcs startign up this week, they show lots of promice but the All In age of DC has only just begun!
Jace and Rocky from the Comic Boom! YouTube Channel take a deep dive into the DC All In Special #1. This is a monumental book full of action and long term consequences for the enitre DC Universe. Find out how the Absoilute Universe is formed! Discover Darkseid's new powers! Find out which hero may be lost in a new unvirse! Who are Darkseid's new army? We have all the answers, plus tons of speculation for the future.
Jace is joined by Rocky from the Comic Boom! YouTube channel to talk about some of the previous DC titles, events and storylines that help to inform the DC All In Special and what's to come for the venerable superhero universe. The guys also talk about some concepts and characters that will be emphasied in the DC Universe going forward, plus a little bit about the concepts you will see in the special itself and how and why they happen. The All In Era of DC is upon us and so much of what DVC has planned is amazing, fidn out what you need to know to be up to speed on this storyline as weill as future events and developments for your favorite DC characters. Plus, the guys even speculate on what they expect to see.
Jace welcomes CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Mad Cave Studios, Mark London to the show. Mark founded Mad Cave ten years ago with several titles he himself was writing. Battlecats was one of them and to help celebrate the 10th anniversary, there is currently a Kickstarter for the Battlecats Omnibus, so be sure to check that out! Mark also talks about the challenges of his expanded role as he has gone from creator to executive as Mad Cave has grown. When you hear Mark talk about comics and story, you know that his heart is still in the creative side though. Which makes the growth and business acumen Mad Cave has displayed in recent years only more impressive. They are growing on several fronts and Mark tells us all about the exciting things to come. There's plenty of talk about the origins of Battlecats also and what you can expect in the Kickstarter as well as a rundown of the publishing history for this incredible, medieval, Arthurian-inspired, action-packed world Mark, series artist Michael Camelo and his other collaborators have crafted.