Jace goes page by page to explore the 20+ stories of various X-Men by a huge roster of comic creator talent. Whether it's Charles Soule & Ryan Browne giving a Hanukah tale about Wolverine's hot claws or Jamie Madrox duplicating a gift 200 times to give to each and every X-Men, this is a fun holiday romp through the X-Men corner of the Marvel Universe.
Jace takes a look at the classic DC's Christmas with the Superheroes from 1988. This collection, edited by Mark Waid when he was relatively new to the industry and hadnt' embarked on his writing career yet, showcases some of the most famous and beloved holiday tales from DC's history up to that point. With 50 years of stories to pull from it as interesing to see what is chosen as it is to experience the varied tones of the stories from different eras. This is a must read for any fan of Christmas and most certainly any fan of DC.
It's the first of our holiday episodes for 2020 as we celebrate 12 Days of The Comic Source. Join Jace as he takes a look at the first Marvel Holiday Special from 1991. It's chock full of great stories with some of your favorite Marvel characters. Most of the stories are written and illustrated by the very same creative teams who were working on the monthly books for those very same characters. Plus it kicks off with a great X-Men story that would be right at home in Giant X-Men #1 with the introduction of the new X-Men, Scott Lobdell does a great job channeling Len Wein and the Dave Cockrum art is straight out of 1975. So grab some eggnog and join us for this fun holiday trip down memory lane!
Jace and Manny talk about a ton of books that hits stands on the week of December 9th. They give a spoiler free run down of a surprising number of anthologies out this week like Death Metal Last Stories of the DCU and the DC Multiverse Holiday Special, Plus we see what the winners of the Top Cow Talent Hunt can do in a Postal Special. We get the next two chapters of the Endless Winter form DC in Flash and Superman books and the best Wonder Woman issue since Tamaki's debut on the title in Wonder Woman #768. Meanwhile Damian shows why Jace dislikes him so much in Detective #1032 and Tales of the Dark Multiverse Flashpoint and Captain Marvel are very worth your time. Manny highly recommends American Vampire although his book of the week is the aforementioned Last Stories of the DCU. Finally the book of the week for Jace is Crossover #2 from Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw as the story picks up steam and really starts to show what a celebration of comics it will be.
Jace talks with the legendary comic creator Mike Grell about his humble beginnings in northern Wisconsin to breaking in at DC and being a creator who helped to pave the way for creator owned work and royalties. Plus they chat about Mike's current Kickstarter campaign where you can get deluxe editions of Mike's ground-breaking series Jon Sable in an over-sized omnibus edition with tons of extras. Mike will share process material for developing the series and stories "warts and all". Also tons of art that has never been published before. Be sure to go and check out the campaign and enjoy our talk with a master storyteller who has left an indelible mark on the industry.
Jace is joined by Brazilian comic creator Felipe Cagno to chat about the wildly successful Kickstarter campaign for The Few and Cursed. We learn Felipe's secret origin of breaking into the world of comics via film school with a stop off in Hollywood. The guys chat about the burgeoning comic scene and the biggest convention in Brazil, Comic Con experience. Then they finish up the conversation with a great overview of the post-apocalyptic supernatural western that is The Few and Cursed. There's of great comic talk and Kickstarter advice in this episode so don't miss it!
Jace chats with writer Ed Brisson about his return to creator-owned content with his Original Graphic Novel Catch & Release. The campaign for the project is running on Kickstarter until December 16, 2020
Jace and Manny chat about a few of the issues that they have had a chance to read form this weeks new releases. Jace also gives a run down on some other titles you might want to be on the lookout for. The guys also disagree on the worth of Clownhunter from the pages of batman #104, but are warming to the character of Ghost Maker. Meanwhile AfterShock has a couple of quality titles hitting stands, Tom King, Doc Shaner and Mitch Gerads continue to impress in Strange Adventures. Also speaking of Tom King, the long awaited Barman and Catwoman hits stands with its debut issue and three timelines are being explored with gorgeous art from Clay Mann.
Jace talks about a ton of the new books hitting stands the week of November 25, 2020. Including a deep spoiler free dive into John Ridley's The Other History of the DC Universe and it's implications both on the DC Universe as well as out own. Another great boo out this week is Doctor Doom #9 which perfectly encapsulates the work Christopher Cantwell ahs been doing with Victor Von Doom which is bringing a humanity and relatability to the character like never before. Department of Truth #3 is so relevant it is actually disturbing on multiple levels. We have a great end to the latest arc of Flash as well as Fantastic Four Antithesis ending on a pitch perfect tone for the FF. All this, plus Jace gives a rundown on some other titles you might want to be on the lookout for.
By just about any metric you want to use, this has been the biggest year for Kickstarter ever in terms of creators self-publishing comics. We have seen big names like Scott Snyder & Tony Daniel and publishers, such as Top Cow and Boom Studios all have very successful campaigns. However, we certainly don’t want to overlook that many smaller creators who have also successfully funded their projects on the platform just as they have been doing for many years.
One such project is Like Father, Like Daughter. This superhero comic is currently in the midst of successfully funding it’s seventh issue and is working towards stretch goals at the time of this writing. In this episode Jace chats with series creator and writer Kat Calamia about her experience funding successfully through Kickstarter for previous issues of the property, we also touch on the higher profile creators and publishers turning to crowdsourced funding as a means of producing their projects. Finally we discuss the project itself and how themes of family, belonging and responsibility inform this classic superhero story she is telling.
Jace and Manny take a spoiler free look at some of the books hitting stands today that they have had a chance to read already. The slick Michael Mann feel of Catwoman continues and makes it Jace's Book of the Week. Manny's pick is the latest issue of Dark Nights Death Metal as we take another step closer to having every story matter in the DC Universe. Over in Nightwing we have the resolution of the final threads form Dick Grayson losing his memory and in Aquaman we finally see Arthur and Mera tie the knot. Meanwhile in Batman the Ghostmaker makes his move in Gotham while it appears Harley Quinn will be a big part of the series moving forward. All this and a lot more, plus Jace gives a rundown on some other titles you might want to be on the lookout for today.
Jace and Manny give their spoiler-free thoughts on some of the new release for the week of November 11th. Has Wonder Woman finally found it's stride? What did the Punchline one-shot and Champions 32 have in common? How is Christopher Cantwell getting back to the roots of Iron Man in the new series and how is the third issue such a great example of that? How did the first issue of Taskmaster hit the ground running and will Lobo fans get a kick out of his Death Metal one shot? Also why did Manny pick American Vampire 1976 #2 as his book of the week and what about Jace's pick of Flash? All this plus some talk about Brian K Vaughn's Ex Machina and DC's plans beyond Future State. It all wrapped up with a rundown on some of the other titles hitting stands today that you will want to check out.
Jace chats with Marco Rudy about his Kickstarter campaign for RDW. They discuss the origins of the project, choosing a fantasy setting with relevant & grounded story elements and mixing concepts of the folklore from different cultures.
Jace and Manny talk about a record 19 books they have read from this weeks new comic releases. Lots of spoiler-free talk about the end of 3 Jokers, did it live up to the hype? Also how does Kevin Shinick do the second time around on Flash? How does Manny feel about one of his favorite titles ending, Red Hood? Batgirl is also coming to an end and the guys talk about that and how it ties into Joker War, and Detective Comics also gives us some of the fallout from Joker War and introduces us to a new villain. Rise of the New God may be the best Death Metal issue yet from James Tynion and we also get the second issue of Tynion's Department of Truth. Lots of other books reviewed spoiler-free as well as a run down of some of the other titles this week you might want to be on the lookout for.
Jace looks at a ton of books hitting stands today. Tony Stark is getting back to basics and it is reminding Jace of one of his favorite eras of Iron Man ever. Speaking of back to basics, what is James Tynion IV doing with Batman now that the Joker War has ended and will fans like it? We've got a great version of Harley Queen from the Batman: White Knight version of the DCU, just what is it that Jace likes so much about her? Miles to go from AfterShock is a real highlight this week, giving us more of the gritty, down to earth crime noir that writer B. Clay Moore is noted for. A couple of Death Metal tie-ins are out today exploring the Robin King and the Death Metal version of the Justice League. Also more Joker war fallout for Nightwing and Catwoman in their respective titles. Jae breaks down the third issue of Maestro and talks about how the series is not what he expected. Fantastic Four #25 and Spider-Woman 100 both celebrate what is at the core of their respective characters and set up interesting storylines going forward. Also Chip Zdarsky does what he does best in both Stillwater #2 and Daredevil #23, explore character dynamics and in turn the draws the readers in as he explores interesting themes. Also Jace gives a rundown on some other titles you may want to be on the lookout for.
Jace chats with NFL star Lance Briggs, former All-Pro LB for the Chicago Bears and favorite of the show, writer Kyle Higgins about their current Kickstarter campaign The Trap. Lance, a lifelong comic fan and Kyle are crafting a story and a world with relevant themes of today's have's and have-not's. Along with an incredibly talented team of co-creators, the story Lance and Kyle are telling is one with it's roots in empathy and the acknowledgment that we are all more alike than different. This project features incredible art from rising star artist Danilo Beyruth, spectacular colors by the talented color artist Tamra Bonvillain, brought to life through the letters of Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and wrapped in a gorgeous package by designer Sasha E. Head. Be sure to check out the campaign and pledge so you can be a part of helping this amazing project come to life.
Jace and Manny give a little spoiler-free talk about some of the issues hitting comic shops today. Is Death Metal finally finding it's footing now that we are on issue #4? How do the guys feel about Wonder Woman now that the second arc with the new creative team is kicking off? Speaking of new creative teams, Flash has a new writer for the first time in a long while and Jace talks about what we might expect going forward. Strange Adventures continues to be a strong title and Rorschach, the latest title from writer Tom King is book of the week for Jace. Plus Commanders in Crisis and We Live are a couple of independent titles you may want to try out. Also Jace gives a run down on some other titles you might want to be on the lookout for along with some original art talk involving a classic cover expected to go for over $2 million!
Jace and Manny talk about some of the books hitting comic stores today. Manny's Book of the Week celebrates Halloween and the Swamp Thing TV show debuting on the CW by telling some great stories about DC resident plant/hero. Jace loves the great Black Widow story from Kelly Thompson and Elena Casagrande and we can't wait to find out what Arcade has in store for Natasha. The guys also talk about the conclusion of the Joker War in Batman #100 and what the future might hold for the caped crusader. All this talk is spoiler free, plus Jace give a rundown of some other books you might want to be on the lookout for.
Jace is joined by the Bad Idea team to chat about the publisher and their recently announced first wave of titles.
Jace and Manny talk about some of the books hitting comic stores today. Department of Truth by James Tynion IV and Martin Simonds far and away is the best of the bunch and a worthy choice for Book of the Week. We get the second installment of Three Jokers but we don't get a whole lot more answers. How do we feel about the first arc of Wonder Woman finishing up? Len Wein gets a tribute issue re-presenting Giant Size X-Men #1 that is super cool. Joker War Zone gives us a view into Gotham through the eyes of some other Batman family, while Death Metal: Multiverse's End recaps the various crisis's of the DC Universe. Shang Chi returns in his own series while Red Hood's title is coming to a close. Also Jace runs down some other titles you may want to be on the lookout for.
Jace and Manny chat with friend of the show Jesse Mesa Toves about his current Kickstarter campaign Encoding Bushido. It starts with the question, could an A.I. robot be honorable when programed with the code of the Samurai? From that seemingly simple concept an entire world of possibility and a thorough examination of what samurai means and how it ties into what it means to be human begins. Plus the guys reminisce and art, the convention scene and Jesse's beginnings as a creator.
Jace runs down a TON of books that come out today, All spoiler-free thoughts about books from Marvel, DC and a few independents. Just what makes Christopher Cantwell's take on Doctor Doom so perfect? What was the final issue of Joshua Williamson's run on Flash all about and what does it have in common with this week's Speed Metal One-Shot also written by Williamson? Why is Canto such a great bedtime story for kids? Does the second issue of Maestro live up tot he promise of the first? How does the first issue of Juggernaut portray Cain Marko, as a hero or a villain? We've been waiting a long time for X of Swords, so does it live up to the hype? Immortal She-Hulk is a must-read for all fans of Immortal Hulk. Daredevil artist Francesco Mobili is a star in the making. Karla Pacheco continues to add the the history of SpiderWoman in the best way possible. Plus Jace covers issues from Image and Aftershock as well. Also he runs down some other titles you might want to be on the lookout for, especially Unkindness of Ravens.
Jace and Manny talk about some books that are hitting comic shops today. What does the future hold for the Catwoman title under writer Ram V and why does it have them both so excited? Why does Jace think this is the perfect time for Milestone to return? What stories from the SUPER-sized Detective Comics #1027 dd the guys like best and do they agree? You;ll have to listen in to find out the answers to all these questions. Also a quick discussion on who will be the face of DC moving forward. Plus Jace gives a rundown on some other titles you might want to be on the lookout for.
Jace talks with writer Trevor Fernandes-Lenkiewicz about his current Kickstarter Campaign Area 51: The Helix Project.
Jace and Manny give some thoughts about some of today's comics they have already read, plus a run down of some other titles you might want to be on the lookout for. Just what is Jace's Book of the Week and why is it so surprising? How does the debut of Ultraman from Marvel come across? What are Wraith's ties to the symbiotes? Why is Wonder Woman working with Maxwell Lord? What about the new Superman "villain" Synmar, what is he all about? These are just a few of the questions we will answer as we go over some titles and discuss them WITHOUT spoilers!