Sonic the Hedgehog

I never would have guessed that Sonic the Hedgehog and Archie Comics would be the ones to revitalize my interest in superhero comics. For reasons I won’t go into immediately, I walked away from both Marvel and DC in 2009/2010. They simply stopped telling the kinds of superhero stories I wanted. When Humble Bundle featured a selection of Sonic the Hedgehog comics as their digital book bundle, I thought it was a good opportunity to stoke my son’s interest in reading in general and comics in particular. I read the first book just to see what Sonic looked like these days. It hooked me instantly. read more

He-Man / ThunderCats

As with many of my generation, two cartoons virtually defined the high-adventure genre of techno-fantasy during my formative years. Both ThunderCats and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe featured pseudo-technological heroes engaged in a never-ending battle against the quasi-mystical forces of evil. Both cartoons made my parents very nervous with their parade of occultish imagery and the regular invocation of otherworldly forces. They were very concerned that these shows would cause me to join a cult; I was very concerned that they wouldn’t allow me to watch them anymore. Somehow we all made it through the 80s alive and cult-free. read more

Scooby Apocalypse

I love Scooby-Doo, so when DC added a Scooby book to the Hannah-Barbera revival line it immediately caught my attention. In Scooby Apocalypse, we get a glimpse of what it would be like if the Scooby gang met for the first time just as the world ended. It’s a kind of sci-fi version of The Walking Dead, where the Mystery Inc gang is cast as the survivors of a nanotech plague that transformed the whole world into monsters. The main characters are indeed named Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby. They do indeed ride around in a green van they call the Mystery Machine. Their visual models even show inspiration from the classic characters … and there ends any resemblance to anything remotely Scooby-Doo. read more

Wacky Raceland

In the summer of 2016, Warner Bros decided to try and reimagine their popular Hannah-Barbera cartoon characters as more mature versions of themselves. This line included four titles: Future Quest, which united the Hannah-Barbera actions heroes on an adventure throughout space and time; The Flintstones, looking at the stone-age Honeymooners through a modern sitcom lens; Scooby Apocalypse, where the Scooby gang meets for the first time just as the world ends; and Wacky Raceland, twisting the goofy wacky racers into post-apocalyptic speed demons in a world where it’s drive or die. read more

Doctor Who at Titan Comics

I’m afraid my association with Doctor Who is not as extensive or storied as it could be. I watched Tom Baker and Elizabeth Sladen on PBS with the rest of my generation but I was always more interested in Star Wars and Star Trek, Buck Rogers and Battlestar Galactica. Still, Tom Baker is who I think of as the Doctor and the Fourth Doctor is my Doctor. I have friends who are massive Doctor Who fans and I distinctly remember when Paul McGann’s Doctor movie first premiered that we all threw a party for the advent of the Eighth Doctor. read more

Dark Sun Apocalypse

Curtis and I continue our Doomsday Prepping, focusing this time on how to get ready for the advent of the Dark Sun, when a rogue asteroid spins our planet into a closer orbit, turning the world into a desert planet. Curtis got some new toys, and we do a bit about using the new Dwarven Forge miniature dungeon. The pieces are really spectacular, and there will be pictures posted into the blog later in the week. Other topics include updates on our plans to attend Fear the Con 5, Free Comic Book Day, and the premiere of The Avengers this weekend. Check out the artwork from Atomic Earth, and send us some feedback to mindspike@criticalpressmedia.com! read more

Chicago ComicCon Unlimited

I drop in on Comics Unlimited to see how Matt Hawes enjoyed his trip to Chicago. Of course we go on for more time than is really necessary about stuff that no one else finds interesting, but I think we saved all the juicy bits for the podcast. Matt tries to hit the Chicago Con every year, but he does it from a dual standpoint, not only as a comics enthusiast and fanboy, but also as the owner of a retail store, and his perspective of this event is slightly different. Matt Billman of Living With Zombies (.net) snuck out the door just as I turned on the microphone, so we don’t get to hear from him, but you’ll find a link to his site in the post anyway. Take that, Billman! read more

Violent Chick-Lit

If you’ve missed the media hype surrounding Suzanne Collins’ dystopian sci-fi trilogy “The Hunger Games”, then you may in fact consider yourself fortunate. The guys and I sit around the round table and break down the trilogy of novels, including spoiling the plot and determining that the target audience is in fact – chicks. You’ll get plenty of warning and the magic of podcasting so that you can actually read the books if you still desire to do so. If not, check out the full scoop on this violently dystopian sci-fi beststeller. Also, head over to the Two-Fisted Blogger and check out my review on his site, as well as other articles about dude-lit. read more

Changing Comic Book Habits

I take my microphone and kids to the park for a bear-free picnic. While they hopefully wear themselves out on the equipment, I talk about the way my comic book habits are changing.  I’m buying fewer monthly titles, and reading more trades from the library, digitizing my collection, and delving into goldenage public domain archives.  Check out the links, and don’t forget to help the Jesus Geek Podcast for Water!

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Lion’s Gate Marvels

Marvel Comics has really dominated the animated movie landscape for the past three years or so.  I take the time to look at the recent offerings from Lion’s Gate and break down the subtext of my favorite films.  They’re all good stuff, and I recommend any of them.  This week introduces a few new things, including the Fanboyarama section of the Amazon store, and the podsafe album of the week.  This week, we’re doing Marvel Heroes in animation, and the music selection is “Manifestations” by Synaecide.  Check it out in the tabber box! read more