Captain America: Civil War Shows the Joy of Building Up Worlds – and Tearing Them Down

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Kevin Moreau

Review by Curt Holman

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Marvel Studios

They may be massive global hits, but the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe aren’t for everyone. While on vacation in 2014, my family went to see Guardians of the Galaxy. By the time Star-Lord and company got to the space jail, my mother said “I can’t take it any more” and left to see Get on Up instead.

And Guardians is essentially a standalone film, give or take a Thanos appearance. Imagine the plight of someone who wants to check out Captain America: Civil War without having seen any of its 12 predecessors. Civil War is one of Marvel Studios’ best-crafted films to date, but also possibly the most reliant on the world-building and relationships established in the previous entries. Watching it cold would be like starting a continuity-heavy TV show in mid-season. Continue reading →

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One Shot – Free Comic Book Day!

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Kevin Moreau

March FCBDIn this non-canonical episode, we take a break from passing judgment on comic book stories to discuss one of our favorite days of the year: Free Comic Book Day!

Things discussed in this special mini-episode: What is this annual event all about? How did it get started? And what are some of the more noteworthy offerings? (Here’s a full list of this year’s FCBD comics.)

We also discuss the free comics we’re most looking forward to, and offer recommendations for comics to spend actual money on while you’re visiting your favorite comics retailer.

You know what else is free? Getting your name mentioned on The Comics Canon! Rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

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Episode 8 – Civil War

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Kevin Moreau

Civil WarWHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

In this episode, Curt and Kevin charter a school bus to Stamford, Connecticut to weigh the pros and cons of the Superhero Registration Act, the ethics of cloning a dead god, and the problems of giant crossover events as they (rather civilly) discuss the 2006-2007 Marvel limited series Civil War.

In the wake of a national tragedy, a shocked and fearful public calls for the regulation of super-powered beings. Iron Man leads a group of heroes in favor of licensing, proper training, and (presumably) having government holidays off, while Captain America heads up a resistance movement not eager to take its marching orders from politicians.

Will this clash of titans end in blood and tears, with friends and families forever rent asunder? Or will our Founding Fathers come together to deem it a revolutionary tale worthy of admission into that Land of the Free known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode: Continue reading →

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Episode 7 – Preacher: Until the End of the World

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Kevin Moreau

preacher01In this episode, Curt and Kevin hitchhike their way back to the rural South to sermonize on issues 8-12 of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s two-fisted, double-barreled 1990s Vertigo series, Preacher.

Hard-drinkin’ reverend Jesse Custer has been forcibly merged with an otherworldly entity known as Genesis, the product of the union of an angel and a demon. Armed with the Word of God, Jesse sets out with his ex-girlfriend, would-be hitwoman Tulip O’Hare, to find God and discover why He has abandoned His creation. But when they’re abducted at gunpoint and dragged back to Angelville, Jesse’s horrific childhood home, they learn that God—and the most evil grandma ever—have other plans.

Have these lovebirds had their Last Supper? Or can they somehow find their way into that Garden of Eden known as … The Comics Canon?

Things Discussed in This Episode: Continue reading →

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Bonus Episode – The Walking Dead 100 and Violence in Comics

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Kevin Moreau

Negan 2 In this special non-canonical episode, Curt and Kevin discuss The Walking Dead #100 and graphic violence in comics stories. As Negan makes his introduction on the Walking Dead TV series, we ask: Was his brutal murder of a beloved character in this issue a bridge too far? When do violent scenes in comics cross the line? And was Negan a Tarantino fan before the zombie apocalypse? (Also mentioned: From Hell, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 2, Garth Ennis, and the “Women in Refrigerators” trope in comics.)

But what do YOU think? Share your thoughts on a violent comic-book story that stuck with you—one you enjoyed, or one that grossed you out—and you could win FIVE FREE COMICS from The Comics Canon Prize Bin! Send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and the best response will receive five free comics of our choosing. The winner will be selected on Friday, April 8.

Meanwhile, check back with us in two weeks as we return to passing judgment on classic comics stories with Preacher: Until the End of the World! And as always, thanks for listening!

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Episode 6 – The Walking Dead: Safety Behind Bars/The Heart’s Desire

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Kevin Moreau

rickisawhinerIn this episode, Curt and Kevin trade in their crime-fighting long johns for prison jumpsuits as they hack, shoot, and slash their way through 12 lurching issues of Robert Kirkman’s never-ending magnum opus, The Walking Dead.

When Rick Grimes and his ragtag band of zombie apocalypse survivors come across a remote prison complex, they hope to make a new life for themselves. But they find themselves serving a sentence of maximum insecurity, thanks to a nebbishy serial killer, a prickly double-murderer, a pair of botched suicide attempts and Rick’s mounting bloodlust – not to mention an unending stream of undead inmates.

Will these habitual offenders fall prey to a menace far worse than a parade of perambulating corpses … the threat of their own baser instincts? Or can Rick, Tyreese, Michonne and the rest of this tightly wound community stop squabbling, brawling and hooking up long enough to earn that Get Out of Jail Free card that grants them membership in … The Comics Canon?

Things discussed in this episode:
 Continue reading →

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Episode 5 – Daredevil: Born Again

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Kevin Moreau

Daredevil Born Again In this episode, “Miller March” continues as Curt and Kevin ring in the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil series by applying their keen extrasensory senses to Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s classic tale of revenge, redemption and overheated Christian symbolism.

When his junkie ex-girlfriend sells his secret identity for a fix (we’ve all been there, right, fellas?), Matt Murdock finds himself homeless and penniless as he faces off against the Kingpin of Crime, a murderous psychotic, a roided-up super-soldier, and one very unfriendly health-care professional. Is this the end of everyone’s favorite blind attorney turned protector of Hell’s Kitchen? Or can ol’ Hornhead overcome these trials and tribulations to win a favorable verdict in the People’s Court known as … The Comics Canon?

Things discussed in this episode: Continue reading →

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Episode 4 – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Kevin Moreau

Dark_knight_returns In this episode, “Miller March” kicks off with a bang as Curt and Kevin don their surgical scrubs to dissect Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, writer/artist Frank Miller’s celebrated deconstruction of everyone’s favorite Caped Crusader.

Gotham City is an operating table, and Batman … is the surgeon. But can this alternate-future take on DC Comics’ Dark Knight Detective, built like a brick house and meaner than a pack of junkyard dogs, fight off hordes of mutant gangsters and depraved psychopaths to rule the mean streets of comic-book supremacy known as … The Comics Canon?

Things discussed in this episode:

  • The pro-vigilante stance of pretty much every superhero comic ever published
  • Batman: The Monster Movie
  • The “Hitler mustache” and sandals = an unsympathetic character
  • James Gordon: Worst police commissioner ever?
  • The prevalence of end-of-the-world street protesters in ’80s comics
  • The Joker as David Bowie
  • Superman, the Straw Man of Steel!
  • Curt sounds off on fan reaction to Batman v Superman trailers
  • And we get our first iTunes review!

Things NOT discussed in this episode:

Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again

The Dark Knight III: The Master Race

Join us in two weeks as we somersault across the rooftops of Hell’s Kitchen to reach a verdict in the case of The Comics Canon v. Daredevil: Born Again!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

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Episode 3: Ms. Marvel, No Normal

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Kevin Moreau

Ms Marvel No Normal In this episode, the rubber meets the road as Curt and Kevin travel back in time to the sepia-toned days of 2014 to discuss Ms. Marvel #1-5! Kamala Khan may well be the most likeable first-generation Pakistani-American teenage Muslim superhero ever.

But is this plucky polymorph more than just Peter Parker in a burkini? Will time—and Donald Trump—render her nothing more than an intriguing historical footnote? Or does this shape-shifting schoolgirl have what it takes to crash that hallowed hall of marvels known as … The Comics Canon?

 

Things discussed in this episode:

  • The complicated history of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Shazam
  • The quintessential 21st century superhero … a Jersey girl?
  • The best battle cry ever uttered: “Embiggen!”
  • Baseless speculation about the 2019 Inhumans movie
  • The most grounded superhero in comics history?
  • The efficacy of “super snot”
  • Overly sexualized teenage superheroes
  • Fan fiction about real people and other threads best left un-pulled

Join us in two weeks, as we point the Canonmobile toward the mean, blood-drenched streets of Gotham City to take the pulse of an aging Caped Crusader waging a one-retiree war on crime in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns!

Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!

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Episode 2: Swamp Thing’s Anatomy Lesson

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Kevin Moreau

Anatomy LessonIn this episode, Curt and Kevin dig deep into the fertile soil of The Saga of the Swamp Thing issues 21-24! In this tangled tale of fearsome flora, Alan Moore puts DC’s mixed-up muck monster through an existential crisis that plants the seeds of a new era in superhero comics.

Will the flowery prose stylings of comics’ 800-lb. gorilla bog these issues down in the backwater of forgotten four-color flotsam? Or is this story of identity, rebirth and reinvention just bloomin’ brilliant enough to let our mythic marsh man put down roots in that pistil-packin’ parliament of pulp periodicals known as … The Comics Canon?

 

Things discussed in this episode:

  • The best single-issue story in comics history???
  • The hinky science of superhero comics
  • Swamp Thing, The Plant That Thinks It’s a Man!
  • “Alan Morgue,” Tales From the Crypt and E.C. Comics
  • “Uglier than Death backin’ outta the outhouse readin’ MAD Magazine and crazier than a football bat!”
  • Word of the Day: Epistrophe!
  • All this and … The Correction That Wasn’t!

You can listen to the episode via the player above, or on SoundCloud,  iTunes, or Stitcher. And join us in two weeks as we sneak out of our bedroom windows for the mosques, convenience stores and high school hallways of Jersey City to decide whether Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal merits a passing grade!

Remember: Please rate us on iTunes, send us an email or comment on our Facebook page, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode! And as always, thanks for listening!

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