Blogathon 45: Joe Casey Youngblood Rewrite (Tim Callahan Guest Post)

JOE CASEY’S ROB LIEFELD’S YOUNGBLOOD

A guest post by Tim Callahan

To fulfill my self-appointed role as Youngblood archeologist and once-and-future Rob Liefeld acolyte, I dug through my longboxes to find my original (First print! Collect-them-all!) issues of the 1992 series so when I sat down with the Joe Casey/Rob Liefeld Youngblood redux hardcover, I could do a fascinating side-by-side comparison.

And maybe I will do that. But I can imagine your exhaustion as you approach the end of this 24-hour blogathon. I’m writing this well in advance, so I don’t even know if this will ever go live, or if you’ll crack under the weight of responding to comic book punditry from all sides and cramming your brain with insights and allusions and analysis ranging from “Who is the best green-or-blue-colored superhero?” to “If Robert Kirkman traveled back in time to the middle ages, what comic book series would he launch and what distribution methods would he use?”

Were those actual topics in the blogathon? They should have been. I think your responses would have been amazing.

So keep your spirits up, Chad Nevett. The light-at-the-end-of-the-home-stretch-tunnel-is-barelling-toward-the-break-of-day. It’s almost over. You can rest soon enough.

But. First. YOUNGBLOOD.

Boy I’m curious to read what you have to say about this 2008 hardcover edition of Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood, as rewritten by Joe Casey. I’ll probably be asleep by now. Dreaming of Kirkman’s Battle of Hastings/Zombie Jesus mashup tapestry. But I’m still curious.

I’m guessing that you read the Youngblood hardcover with some interest, looking at how Joe Casey played with the superhero-as-celebrity motif that he has so often examined in his own comics work. And even with that beacon to guide you, it was difficult to make it to the end of the Youngblood volume. You lost interest soon after John Prophet was introduced, and the rest of the book slipped away even as it shouted at you from a distance. Oh, you finished reading the book, I’m sure, because you are a blogathon champion. But you read the last half of it with disinterest. Reminding you of why you’re so glad to walk away of this ridiculous not-really-a-job of writing about comics that you wouldn’t normally want to waste your time with.

Or maybe I’m projecting.

Because I know I found that Joe Casey revision of Youngblood pretty difficult to digest. I read every single page. But I don’t remember most of them. I remember it being self-referential, and defiantly aware that it’s a comic that was once ridiculed for its bad writing and so Joe Casey puts in a lot of “aha! Look at this ridiculous scenario and/or pose” dialogue to make light of the whole thing, while staying true to the originally-stated, if originally-not-quite-conveyed premise of Shaft and Badrock and friends becoming some of the first of the celebrity superhero breed. Casey hams up that angle, as he should, given the circumstances of the comic, and the pages that were in the Hank Kanalz/Rob Liefeld original first issue pop with verbal vibrations that they never had before.

But here’s a secret – and this is where my honorary Associate’s Degree in Youngbloodology comes in handy – the original issues are better.

You wouldn’t know that, I assume, because you likely ignored the original Youngblood series when it came out (you were too young, or your father had refined taste, or you just hated fun) and never dared to go back to the source. And it was safe to stay away. Sure. Common practice.

But since I went through all the trouble of digging out the first few original Youngblood issues, I took the next logical step and actually re-read them (after I had recently read the Joe Casey revision in the hardcover) and, yes, they are clumsily written and completely direct and without any kind of subtext, but they are amazingly, hideously-beautifully colored in their original habitat – something the hardcover strips away and replaces with Frank D’Armata-meets-Justin Ponsor computer stylings which are all the rage in the 21^st century.

But Youngblood isn’t a 21^st century comic. It’s a 1992 comic, born out of a diet of Legion of Super-Heroes issues and James Cameron and Joel Silver movies and pen and ink and the imagination and passion of the teenage Rob Liefeld. Sure, Liefeld was no longer a teenager by the time Youngblood #1 was released – and kicked off the entirety of Image Comics, let’s not forget – but the series was born out of teenage Rob’s mind, and if there’s one thing Rob Liefeld has been able to do in all the years he’s been working in comics, it’s his ability to tap into his teenage psyche.

The “Awesome” appellation was never a pose. It’s an essence.

So the 1992 comic, which lacks the self-awareness and meta-sophistication of the Joe Casey rewrite, is a knuckleheaded comic. But it’s a comic meant to punch you in the teeth with a barrage of images and characters and motion lines so dynamic that they often shatter the very panel borders designed to contain them. It’s five fists of superhero science, coming straight at you from twenty-plus years in the past. Rob Liefeld. To take you home.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative (Details in this post)! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 44: Joe Casey Youngblood Rewrite (Part 1)

It's been forever since I've looked at the origin Youngblood comics. I can't remember, honestly, if I read all of the originals that Joe Casey rewrites/reedits in this hardcover. But, I have wanted to check it out for a while and see what Casey could do with the art done by Liefeld. After all, it's bit different than a regular scripting job where at least Casey would have delivered a plot to Liefeld. Instead, he's working from pages he had no input on and has to deliver a quality comic.

I don't think he quite succeeded. This is still an uneven work that never quite coheres. The dialogue doesn't pop the way Casey's dialogue usually does. He tries to emphasise the 'superhero celebrity' aspect of the concept and even lay some groundwork for his own run on the property where he expanded into supervillain celebrity in an interesting way. However, things are too limited by the art and the existing mythology to really transcend what it was to become something a bit more Casey's than Liefeld's.

That probably wasn't Casey's intention anyway. If anything, this reminds me of Casey's work on something like the Project: Superpowers books he worked on. Competent and forgettable to a degree. Less like his than him working to achieve someone else's vision. Which, oddly, you rarely see in comics he does for Marvel or DC. Those comics usually have a distinctive Casey voice to them. There are a few moments in Youngblood where he peaks through -- like the woman in Chapel's bed wanting to see him in the uniform.

Worse, by adhering so closely to the concept laid out by Liefeld, the work still seems somewhat antiquated and of the early '90s. While it's true that Youngblood was forward-thinking in its treatment of superheroes as celebrities, that's an idea that's been explored quite a bit in the meantime and it doesn't stand out as much here, especially since it's been rewritten. The originals could feel dated or antiquated, because they are to a degree. You expect a little more from a rewrite like this. Some fresher dialogue or something that makes it stand out -- and able to stand alongside other comics released now. The closest thing we get is Badrock's constant whining. I did like that.

Judging from a picture Tim posted on Twitter the other day, he's actually gone back to the original comics for a little comparison. In 30 minutes, we'll see what he found out.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative (Details in this post)! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 04: Jack Kirby's Comics Work in the '70s (Part 2)

Tim Callahan, ladies and gentlemen! That is how you discuss Jack Kirby, people!

As I said an hour ago, I have, without knowing I was, taken Tim's prescription for all of us. I don't have a nightstand next to my bed, I have a small, three-shelf bookcase. You see, our bed is a big one. Very tall. I'm 6'1" or so and I have to hop up slightly (pity my poor wife for the massive leaps she must take every time she wants to get into bed). When we were looking for bedside tables, we saw some nice shelves on sale and, well, now I have shelves filled with trades. Some of the first that I decided must go in were those Kirby collections. Over the next while, I plan on taking out the three Captain America trades and reading them. And that Essential Black Panther I picked up in the summer that has most of Kirby's run along with, what I'm told are some fantastic comics done by people who aren't Kirby. Maybe I'll try to reread the Fourth World saga in one long go.

Tim's post was a lot of bombast and became something of a list (which is hard to avoid) and I'm struck by the sheer magnitude of Kirby's output in the '70s. I have four big omnibuses, a slim hardcover, and then another six trades of material... and that's, what, half of what he produced in the '70s? There's no Losers or The Demon or Kamandi or Devil Dinosaur or 2001 or anything else on my shelf. Though, as someone just e-mailed me, 2001 needs to be reprinted. Whatever needs to be done to get that to happen, Marvel, needs to happen!

The one work that I want to read more than any is one that never really happened, not completely: Jack Kirby's The Prisoner. If you read Mister Miracle or OMAC (and probably some of the stuff I haven't read yet), you can see that Kirby had a shared sensibility with that show. A similar love of weird, unexplained events -- of elaborate traps and rouses. Of getting to the end and having the rug pulled out from under you. Of weird machines and fake villages. The Prisoner is a TV series that I enjoy a lot and seeing it filtered through Jack Kirby gets me excited in a way that remaking it with Jesus as the lead doesn't (still haven't seen the remake). I guess it's the unknown possibilities of a Prisoner comic that leaves me so entranced. What would Kirby have done? Would it have been a simple adaptation? Or would Kirby have deviated after that first issue? Where would he have gone?

But, that's the story of... well, almost every Kirby did in the '70s, isn't it? Here was a man, basically, producing creator-owned work, except it was owned by corporations and they kept cutting him off at the knees. The most popular comic book artist of the '60s wasn't so popular in the '70s and every time he tried to make something new happen, something personal and brilliant, it would be taken away because the sales weren't there. That is hard to fathom now, isn't it? How could readers in the '70s not love what Kirby was doing? How could they not buy New Gods and OMAC and Eternals and everything else and make them best sellers? What else of that time hoped to match those books? How? HOW? How could they not let this brilliant genius tell his stories in the ways he wanted for as long as he wanted?

And it makes me wonder about the things we're ignoring now. We've made great strides in this area, but we've all known too many materpieces that have been cut off at the knees thanks to low sales. I guess that's a reality that I'll never fully understand or be comfortable with. But, how could I not when I've got a shelf next to my bed where Kirby's Fourth World ends at four omnibus editions and Eternals only fills two trades? Where OMAC is only eight issues! EIGHT! MY GOD!

So much missed opportunity... so many damn good comics...

In 30 minutes, I'll kick off the next topic as David Brothers and I discuss the idea of keeping up with other critics.

And my top ten comics of 2012 has kicked off with Prison Pit book four!

As well, we're up to $490.95 raised for the Hero Initiative! And it's only 10:30 in the morning. I can't believe it, honestly. That is stunning. Thank you.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative (Details in this post)! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 03: Jack Kirby's Comics Work in the '70s (Tim Callahan Guest Post)

JACK KIRBY IN THE 1970s

A guest post by Tim Callahan

Before we get started on this -- your farewell to writing-about-comics for a while and the massive charity blogathon you’ve coordinated -- I’d just like to say that it’s been fun doing all those Splash Page discussions for the original Sequart website (now lost to the perils of poorly-hosted platforms) and beyond, and every time we sat down to do one of our many ephemeral Splash Page podcasts together, I always thought the conversation would run out of energy after an hour, but as soon as I checked the time, we’d be closing in on hour number three.

So you go off with your new wife and your new non-writing-about-comics-every-week hobbies and remember us from your vantage point on the horizon. But don’t you ever look back. Head toward the future, where happiness lives.

There’s nothing here for you.

Nothing but…Jack Kirby!

That’s right, we’re talking about Jack “The King” Kirby, Chad Nevett. How can you walk away from this stuff? This is the best of all the stuff in the entire history of stuff. Particularly because we aren’t just discussing Jack Kirby in theory. Or the Jack Kirby who co-created Captain America (let’s not get into that conversation again, you Sentinel of Libery loather). Or the Jack Kirby who helped invent romance comics. Or redefine monster comics. Or draw those strapping young men who lived on borrowed time. Or created most of the Marvel Universe.

No, today we’re talking about what really matters: Jack Kirby’s comics from the 1970s. The Bronze Age, according to some. I hereby decree it to be a Golden Age. A Golden Age of Jack Kirby amazingness.

By 1970, Jack Kirby had already been working in comics professionally for 32 years. Have you done anything, professionally or otherwise, for 32 years, Chad Nevett? No you have not. But Jack Kirby had been drawing comics that long by the time the disco decade began and here are just a few of his notable accomplishments as the 1960s gave way to the 1970s:

      (1)   He wrapped up his Thor run. That’s right. Thor! He basically created him and his entire world, too.

      (2)   He wrapped up his Fantastic Four run. After over 100 issues of building the Marvel Universe from the Mole Man to Galactus. Yeah. I know.

So, what does he do to top these never-before-or-since-rivaled feats?

Sticks his fingers and hands and brain inside the pages of a ridiculous and largely-ignored comic about Superman’s dorky sidekick and creates a brand new mythology called the Fourth World.

And that was just the beginning of the 1970s. This was Jack Kirby at his finest. Unrestrained by the six-panel grid of so much of his Marvel work. Unrestrained by Stan Lee’s insistence on making the stories connect to the human element. Unrestrained, even, by editing of any kind.

(Except his Superman faces. Those had to be redrawn because DC panicked and didn’t want Kirby-Superman sent out into the same world where kids had birthday parties with Superman paper plates. Kirby’s chiseled and grizzled Kal-El would have frightened the youngsters. Though it would have been for their own good.)

So, yes, in a 30-minute guest blog post I cannot delve too deeply into Jack Kirby’s awe-inspiring accomplishments in the 1970s. But I can highlight a few. And the New Gods and Forever People and Mister Miracle and Jimmy Olsen are just the beginning.

Those comics were taken from Jack Kirby. Or killed too soon. He had more to give each of those series, and in a world in which Neal Adams and pinko Green Arrow were gaining traction, Kirby was a relic of the past who was way ahead of his time. And DC didn’t know what they had until it was gone.

But even as the Fourth World comics were pulled out from under him, he didn’t stop. His follow-ups included The Demon and Kamandi. Had Jack Kirby not even created the Fourth World, and instead drifted away from Marvel to work on obscure side projects for other companies and if he had only released either the first few issues of The Demon or Kamandi, those comics would still be looked at today as particularly thrilling slices of artistry from a master at the top of his game. Jack Kirby couldn’t help but give birth to enormous mythologies, even when all he was asked to do was to fill pages with fight scenes and colorful villains. He created new characters instead of recycling his old ones. Every time.

But he still wasn’t done.

There was his take on the rag-tag soldiers known as The Losers, his reimagined dream-warrior Sandman, the unforgettable OMAC.

This is turning into a list, because I don’t know how else to address the sheer magnitude of his creations in such a limited amount of time. Jack Kirby in the 1970s deserves a multi-volume study, not a 30-minute post-and-response. But we make do with what we have, and remember Jack Kirby’s 1970s comics as the monuments that they are. Each one of them worthy of deeper exploration.

And, what’s that? There’s still more? His return to Marvel with 2001 and Machine Man and The Eternals and Black Panther and Captain America and Devil Dinosaur? Yes. Those. Perhaps not as cosmically thrilling as his work earlier in the decade, but close. His drawings continued to become more abstract. The chiseled superhero physiques gave way to increasingly Kirbyesque body architecture. I can’t look at his work from the period and not be enthralled by his choices and his unleashed energy.

Here’s my prescription to you, Chad Nevett, and to you readers at home: put some 1970s Kirby – any sort – by your nightstand and read a story or two every time you think you’re bored or annoyed or frustrated with comic books. These will either make you excited for more or remind you why you shouldn’t bother to search for anything else. They may not have all the answers, but 1970s Jack Kirby comics will make you rethink the questions.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative (Details in this post)! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

Blogathon 02: Jack Kirby's Comics Work in the '70s (Part 1)

If Tim had pitched this topic to me a year ago, I wouldn't have had a lot to say. I'd read, what, Eternals and the first omnibus of Jack Kirby's Fourth World? In this past year, though, I've read the rest of the Fourth World, OMAC, and... okay, I meant to read his Captain America and Black Panther runs (they're on the middle shelf in the bookcase next to my bed!), but I've been busy. I've flipped through them plenty. So, basically, I haven't improved THAT much over the past year, but I don't feel like such a know-nothing loser.

My favourite Kirby '70s work is OMAC. Before reading that, I didn't quite understand why that concept kept coming back despite it failing every single time. Why was it one of the central pieces of Infinite Crisis? Why the new 52 relaunch (even though I really enjoyed it)? It's because Kirby crafted a genuinely amazing unfinished masterpiece. It ends mid-story after eight issues of all-out insanity. It was actually startling for me to read it, knowing Kirby more as the artist who worked with Stan Lee. Try going from early Avengers issues to OMAC. Jesus...

But, the big split comes down to Fourth World/Eternals. They're not the same concept by any stretch of the imagination, but they're related. They're clearly coming from a similar place inside. Kirby's love and interest in myth and legend -- in how these larger, god-like beings influence the world and, much of the time, deal with conflicts not unlike ours. What amazes me is that, after his experience at DC with the New Gods stuff, that he would try something... similar doesn't seem right... related(?) with Marvel. It's a scaled back attempt, of course. The Fourth World story happened over the course of four comics, including a Superman one, while Eternals was just one comic and originally meant to be separate from the Marvel Universe. And every attempt by Marvel to get Kirby to bring it into the Marvel Universe was rebuffed in some way -- like the Hulk turning out to be a robot. Reading the first issue of Eternals, it's something very different from what he did with the New Gods. Those characters were gods like Thor and the Asgardians -- big fights, bright costumes. Eternals had those, too, but not really in that first issue. It was centred around an archaelogical dig. It was people in regular clothes coming into contact with god-like beings that would determine the fate of the world.

New Gods shared that idea most out of the Fourth World books as Orion gets his own little gang of humans to help him out (for a while, at least). That intersection between myth and humanity is something Kirby was keen on. Earth was the battlefield of the New Genesis/Apokolips war... it was the petri dish of the Celestials... and, in both cases, humans were caught in the middle. But, some got to participate. It could be criminals like Intergang or regular citizens like the people Orion rescues and, then, befriends. There was an agency that Kirby gave to humans that were aware of the conflicts happening around (and above) them. It's a little cheesy at times, but, sometimes, it elevates humanity to level of these gods, these mythic figures. "The Death Wish of Terrible Turpin" is the best example of a human inserting himself into this conflict, unwilling to let these giant forces simply wreck his world. He may stand beside Orion by default, but there's a sense of outrage, of Turpin demanding both sides leave the planet. Threads like these are never the main point of Kirby's work during this time, but they keep coming up in small ways. He was in love with the idea of these mythic stories, of gods and demons, but he also recognised what their impact could be on humanity.

A few weeks ago, I finished the last Fourth World omnibus and couldn't get over how The Hunger Dogs didn't read like anything I had seen by Kirby before. It was so fragmented and poetic. So filled with bombast and, yet, moments of quiet... I know, I know, it's not from the '70s, so I'm cheating. I don't know... it's a sad book.

In 30 minutes, Tim Callahan's post will go up and will be much better than this. Also, my #10 comic of 2012 post will go up at Comics Should be Good.

[Don't forget to donate what you can to the Hero Initiative (Details in this post)! After you do, let me know via comment or e-mail (found at the righthand side) so I can keep track of donations -- and who to thank.]

The Splash Page Podcast 2013 Special

The Chemical Box's Joey Aulisio has been kind enough to begin hosting the Splash Page Podcast just in time for the 2013 special!

In this episode, Tim and I discuss: intros/random chit-chat, why I'm is quitting internet writing (for now), All New X-Men/Brian Michael Bendis’s Avengers, Marvel Now/DC nu52, random artist stuff, Uncanny Avengers, Action Comics, Andy Diggle, Captain America, World’s Finest #8 and Fantastic Four #3, Noh-Varr, Superior Spider-Man #1, feedback from readers, the 2013 Blogathon, and have some rambling end of podcast talk.

Enjoy it now because who knows when we will return again!

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast 2013 Special HERE!

The Splash Page vs. Riding the Gravy Train

In this week's When Words Collide column at CBR, Tim Callahan and I had a little Splash Page reunion to discuss Avengers vs. X-Men. It kind of turns more into 'Tim says something and Chad blathers on for 27 years,' creating a first: a Splash Page discussion where I wrote more than Tim. I tried not to repeat myself too much between this and the various Riding the Gravy Train posts I've done, but, hey, there's only so much to talk about, even in events.

You can read the Splash Page reunion Avengers vs. X-Men special edition of When Words Collide HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast 2011 Holiday Spectacular

Tim and are back with a new edition of the Splash Page Podcast! It's our special Christmas gift to all of you listeners. In this episode, we talk mostly about the best of 2011 with such topics as Holy Terror, some Marvel books like Daredevil, The Ultimates, and Uncanny X-Force, Scalped, Bendis's Avengers work, Casanova: Avaritia, Vengeance, Tim's Alan Moore writing, and, then, we go into a long big talk about comics that touches on a variety of subjects before moving into books for the end. This episode is pretty much what you'd expect from us and was quite fun to do. Since it is a holiday episode, it's bookended by a couple of songs from the Barenaked Ladies's holiday album. So, download, listen, and enjoy -- and have a happy holidays!

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast 2011 Holiday Spectacular HERE!

The Splash Page Returns in When Words Collide

In this week's When Words Collide column at CBR, Tim Callahan and I discuss Flashpoint and the DC relaunch. It's the return of the Splash Page, going back to our back-and-forth text conversation roots. Go check it out.

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 50

This is the last episode of the Splash Page Podcast.

In this episode, Tim and I discuss: some last episode random talk, Thor: Worldengine and Ultimate Comics Thor, Flashpoint #1, Daredevil: Reborn and Andy Diggle, Journey into Mystery #623, iZombie #12, some more random talk, New Avengers #12, Wanted, Batman, Incorporated #6, some more random talk, Irredeemable, and we end with the LIGHTNING ROUND!

And, harkening back to our first episode, there's no "We're Hardcore" this time, because, obviously, we're not hardcore anymore. Instead, you get a new bit of intro music, some intro music to the lightning round, and something to exit by.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 50 HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 49

In this week's podcast, Tim and I discuss: some random talk, the Ultimate line with a quick tangent to discuss Secret Avengers #12.1, the sheer number of Flashpoint comics in June, X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1, the art on Captain America and Superboy, fill-in artists in great runs, reading scripts, Kirby: Genesis, creating new stuff, Fear Itself #2, Moon Knight #1, random movie talk, self-centred crap, negative criticism, and end with the LIGHTNING ROUND! And, it all begins, possibly for the last time, with "We're Hardcore" by Gord Downie.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 49 HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 48

In this week's episode, Tim and I discuss: iTunes reviews, mentor/protege writing teams, America, Justice Society of America #50, Secret Avengers #12.1, Avengers #12.1, Batman #708-709, Batman, Incorporated #5 and Detective Comics #876, and the LIGHTNING ROUND! And it all begins with "We're Hardcore" by Gord Downie.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 48 HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 47

In this week's episode, Tim and I discuss: baseball, Brightest Day #23, Fear Itself #1, Fear Itself: Homefront #1, Uncanny X-Men #534.1, recent Justice League of America issues, First Wave Special #1, and end things with the LIGHTNING ROUND! And it all begins with "We're Hardcore" by Gord Downie.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 46

In this week's episode, Tim and I discuss: some random chitchat, escapism, comics that shaped our lives, Thor #620.1 and Captain America #615.1, and, of course, the LIGHTNING ROUND! And it all begins with "We're Hardcore" by Gord Downie.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 46 HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 45

In this week's episode, Tim and I discuss: a slight change in the podcast's format, wrestling fans vs. comics fans and Dora the Explorer, Hulk #30.1 and Uncanny X-Force #5.1, Iceman and Angel #1, Fear Itself: Book of the Skull #1, some quick stuff, and we end with the all-new all-different LIGHTNING ROUND! And it all begings with "We're Hardcore" by Gord Downie.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 45 HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 44

In this week's episode, Tim and I discuss: Chip Kidd and other internet-inspired topics, Rick Veitch, the new Flashpoint and Fear Itself announcements, Captain America and the First 13 #1, Punishermax #11, Batman, Inc. #3, New Avengers #10, Doc Savage #12, and end things with the LIGHTNING ROUND! And it all starts with "We're Hardcore" by Gord Downie.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 44 HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 43

In this week's episode, Tim and I discuss: brain farts, Deadpool #33.1, Flashpoint creative teams, First Wave #6, Joe the Barbarian #8 (with a tangent on painted comic art), stupid comic fans, SHIELD & Secret Warriors (specifically issue 25), and end things with... THE LIGHTNING ROUND! And it all begins with "We're Hardcore" by Gord Downie.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 43 HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 42

We are back... three days later. In this week's episode, we discuss: Charlie Sheen; Steve Wacker, Marvel's "all ages" line, and the comics that hooked us as kids; Iron Man 2.0 #1 and Invincible Iron Man #501; manga; some reader questions; Scott Snyder's American Vampire #12 and Detective Comics #874; lightning round questions; and finish things up with a talk about punctuality. And, it all begins with "We're Hardcore" by Gord Downie.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 42 HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 41

After a couple of failed attempts to record a podcast, Tim and I have barely made it under the wire before new comics day. In this episode, we discuss: random talk, Paul Auster and other book talk, Amazing Spider-Man #654.1, Deadpool MAX #5, school talk, The Social Network & Inception, Superman: Doomsday and lots more on Superman, porn, SHIELD #6, Stan Lee's lying ways, boring talk, and how Tim loves Knight and Squire. And it all begins with "We're Hardcore" by Gord Downie.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 41 HERE!

The Splash Page Podcast Episode 40

Welcome to another episode of the Splash Page Podcast. In this week's episode, Tim and I discuss: death at Marvel, most consistently good and bad Marvel titles, Wolverine 5.1, Marvel crossovers, some Thor talk, back to Wolverine 5.1, teenagers and the Ultimate books, $2.99 vs. $3.99, who dominated 2010's sales charts, the business side of things, positive/negative criticisms, best of whatever lists, Garth Ennis's writing, and SpongeBob Comics #1. There's also lots of looking things up online and a couple of swear words that get bleeped out. And it all starts with "We're Hardcore" by Gord Downie.

You can download and listen to the Splash Page Podcast episode 40 HERE!