Episode 239: X-Men – The Phoenix Saga

Posted on August 20, 2025 by Kevin Moreau

All My Xs, our decade-by-decade miniseries on Marvel’s merry mutant franchise, rolls into the 1970s with a look at The Phoenix Saga from X-Men #101, 104-105 and 107-108, published by Marvel Comics!

Superstar writer Chris Claremont starts coming into his own in these issues, which introduce the Phoenix, reestablish Magneto as the X-Men’s primary big bad, and inject a healthy dose of space opera (and more than a few Star Trek shoutouts) into this once-moribund title! And if that weren’t enough, artist extraordinaire Dave Cockrum hands the book off to blockbuster artist John Byrne, kicking off one of the most impactful writer-artist runs in comics history!

Join us as we ask the burning questions: Do you think this Phoenix character will catch on? What’s the deal with Eric the Red’s costume? And can these pulse-pounding issues survive an encounter with that M’Kraan Crystal known as … the Comics Canon?

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Episode 238: X-Men – The Sentinels Live! and In the Shadow of … Sauron!

Posted on August 6, 2025 by Kevin Moreau

In this episode, we kick off All My Xs, a decade-by-decade look at everyone’s favorite Marvel mutants, the X-Men! First up, it’s the swingin’ 60s – 1969, to be exact, and X-Men #57-61, by Roy Thomas and Neal Adams, published by Marvel Comics!

Adams’s creative and energetic artwork enlivens these issues, in which Scott Summers’ brother, Alex, gets a cool costume to go with his new codename, Havok, and Larry Trask revives his late father’s mutant-hunting robots, the Sentinels! And before they can catch their breath, the X-Men find themselves facing off against the energy-draining half-man, half-Pteranodon known as … Sauron!

Did Larry Trask program these Sentinels with extra snark? Was Karl Lykos bitten by a radioactive Pteranodon? And can our young mutant heroes survive that Danger Room training session known as … The Comics Canon?

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WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING GALACTUS: The Fantastic Four Finally Take Flight on Film

Posted on July 26, 2025 by Kevin Moreau

THE RIGHT STUFF: The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), the Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) and the Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) greet their public in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. (Marvel Studios)

Review by Curt Holman

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” was emblazoned above the title of Fantastic Four comics for decades. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee launched the superhero line of Marvel Comics with Fantastic Four in 1961, and for years the book vied with The Amazing Spider-Man as the company’s flagship title.

When I was a kid discovering comics in the 1970s, Fantastic Four became my fast favorite and I took the “World’s Greatest” label at face value, and not as part of the company’s signature hype. The sci-fi-inflected adventures of Marvel’s “first family” of mutated heroes, anchored by the wisecracking rock monster Ben Grimm, made the title a perfect piece of dynamic escapism and a showcase for how comics can put flights of fancy to paper.

Hollywood eventually embraced superheroes for big-budget adaptations, but the Fantastic Four posed a challenge as one of the most fanciful, least-grounded properties. Multiple filmmakers over the decades strained to bring the team to the big screen, frequently foundering with misguided efforts to make the material more “realistic” and in the process losing its goofy, phantasmagoric spirit.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps triumphs where the likes of Tim Story and Josh Trank struggled, showing genuine love for and confidence in the comic’s blend of gee-whiz optimism and anything-goes imagination. Rather than diminish the team to better belong in the “real” world, First Steps heightens their setting, placing them in a retro-futuristic version of 1960s New York. Continue reading →

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Episode 237: The Mighty Thor – And Now … Galactus!

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Kevin Moreau

Galactus makes his big-screen debut this week in Fantastic Four: First Steps*, which means it’s the perfect opportunity to discuss his second-ever comics appearances in The Mighty Thor – specifically, issues #160-162 and 168-169, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, published by Marvel Comics! (For his comics debut, we humbly direct you to our very first episode from 2016!)

First, it’s the war to settle the score, the brawl to end it all, as the Devourer of Worlds squares off against none other than Ego the Living Planet! And the Son of Odin and the Rigellian robot known as the Recorder are caught in the middle!

It’s classic 60s Lee/Kirby space opera at its most grandiose!

Then, we get a … somewhat disjointed look at Galactus’ origin, including a rap session between Big G and the God of Thunder!

PLUS: We discuss James Gunn’s Superman!

Does Thor stand a chance against this most colossal of foes? Will Odin act in a frustrating manner? (Spoiler: Yes!) And “Shall a God Prevail” against that sentient bioverse known as … The Comics Canon?

(*No, we’re not counting the purple space cloud in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Would YOU?)

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INVEST IN KRYPTO: Good Ideas Compete in James Gunn’s Cluttered But Colorful Superman

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Kevin Moreau

 

BIG RED S: Superman (David Corenswet) arrives at the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn’s Superman. (Warner Bros.)

Review by Curt Holman

It’s no surprise that in James Gunn’s splashy Superman, the titular Man of Steel saves lives. Protecting the innocent has always been his thing.

But this Superman (David Corenswet) doesn’t just rescue the citizens of Metropolis from the latest disaster. He sticks up for distant, smaller countries when war-mongering neighbors send in tanks. If a fire-breathing kaiju goes on a rampage, he looks for a non-lethal means to stop it. In the midst of a spectacular fight scene, he’ll even take a second to move a lowly SQUIRREL out of harm’s way.

Corenswet makes Superman a delightfully wholesome goody two-shoes, in sharp contrast to Henry Cavill’s glowering demigod in Zach Snyder’s divisive take on DC superheroes. Superman, written and directed by James Gunn, represents a sharp, sunshiny change of course and a launching pad for a renewed DC franchise on the big and small screen. Continue reading →

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Episode 236: JLA – Tower of Babel

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Kevin Moreau

On this episode, the upcoming Superman movie has us in a Justice League frame of mind, which is as good an excuse as any to discuss the classic Tower of Babel storyline, as collected in JLA #43-46 by Mark Waid, Howard Porter and Steve Scott, and JLA Secret Files #3, by Dan Curtis Johnson and Pablo Raimondi, published by DC Comics!

Batman’s longtime nemesis Ra’s al Ghul unleashes a plan to cull the world’s population, and to ensure his success he proactively incapacitates the members of the Justice League! How does he do that? Funny you should ask! Turns out the Dark Knight Detective has been keeping files on his teammates, complete with ways to take them out! AWK-ward!

Can the JLA stop Martian Manhunter from bursting into flame, help Aquaman get over his deathly fear of water, and put a literally shattered Plastic Man back together again? And can this high-stakes tale of trust betrayed gain entrance into that Himalayan retreat known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 235: Tails of the Super-Pets

Posted on June 25, 2025 by Kevin Moreau

On this episode, we’re getting ready for the July 11 big-screen debut of Krypto the Super-Dog in James Gunn’s Superman with a look at the Silver Age origins of Krypto and his fellow members of the Legion of Super-Pets, as collected in Tails of the Super-Pets, published by DC Comics!

First, Superboy is reacquainted with his childhood pet and uses him to gaslight Lana Lang in “The Super-Dog From Krypton!” Then, Superbaby, the Toddler of Steel, butts heads with another denizen of his former homeworld in “The Super Monkey From Krypton!”

 

Not to be outdone, Supergirl gets in on the act when she meets Streaky the Supercat in “Supergirl’s Super Pet” before embarking on the absolutely bonkers origin of Comet in “The Super-Steed of Steel” and “The Secret Origin of Supergirl’s Super-Horse!”

Will Krypto’s star turn usher in the SPCU – the Super-Pet Cinematic Universe? And are these Krypto bros ready for their close-up in that Amazing Zoo Crew known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 234: Swamp Thing – Rite of Spring and Windfall

Posted on June 11, 2025 by Kevin Moreau

On this episode, we discuss a Swamp Thing story that we’re surprised didn’t qualify for our recently wrapped We’re With the Banned miniseries on banned and challenged comics – Rite of Spring from Saga of the Swamp Thing #34, as well as its sequel, Windfall from Saga of the Swamp Thing #43, by Alan Moore and various artists, published by DC Comics!

First up, Abigail Cable finally professes her love for our sentient vegetable man. And in lieu of sexytimes, he offers her communion via a bite of one of the tubers growing on his body, sending her on a consciousness-altering trip that shows her the interconnectedness of all things.

Next, we meet Chester Williams, an affable hippie who finds one of Swamp Thing’s discarded tubers in the bayou. Part of the yam finds its way to Sandy, a woman dying of cancer. Another part of it ends up with Chester’s unpleasant acquaintance Milo, and … let’s just say things don’t work out very well for one of them.

Like, does this mean Swampy and Abby are going out? Does the yam as a kind of cosmic litmus paper? Do kids today even know what litmus paper is? And are these two stories good enough to embark on that long, strange trip known as … The Comics Canon?

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Episode 233: Ice Haven

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Kevin Moreau

We’re With the Banned, our miniseries on banned and challenged graphic novels, concludes (at least for now) with a stop at Daniel Clowes’ Ice Haven, a “narraglyphic picto-assemblage” published by Pantheon Books!

A collection of comic strips covering a variety of styles and perspectives, this peek behind the curtain of suburban America introduces us to an absorbing cast of characters including bitter would-be poet Random Wilder, lovesick teen Violet Van Der Platz, her young stepbrother Charles, clueless detective Joe Ames, aspiring writer Vida Wentz, and … (ahem!) comic book critic Harry Naybors.

How does the abduction of uncommunicative tot David Goldberg affect our cast? What do Leopold and Loeb have to do with any of this? And can Ice Haven find itself welcome in that idyllic small town known as … The Comics Canon?

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Hey, Where’s My New Comics Canon?

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Kevin Moreau

We’re afraid you’ll have to wait another week for our episode on Daniel Clowes’ Ice Haven. But that doesn’t mean you’ll have to wait a whole week to hear Curt and Kevin talk at length about comics.

In fact, you can hear them render judgment on some fun comic-book stories of yesteryear this very day!

Confused? Kevin’s here to explain.

 

 

 

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