Funnybook Babylon » Podcasts

FBBP #118 - We Like Comics

Chris Eckert — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:09:24 +0000

Sometimes our tough love strikes listeners as a little too tough. We’re sensitive to concerns about our negativity — and our tendency to ramble on — and so here we have a brief conversation where each of us describe a recent comic we’ve genuinely enjoyed.

Want to be spoiled? Our picks lie below!

Jamaal likes: Beasts of Burden by Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson
Joseph likes: Invincible Iron Man by Matt Fraction & Salvador LaRocca
Chris likes: Vigilante #11 by Marv Wolfman, Walt Simonson & John Paul Leon
Pedro likes: Spider-Man Family: Back in Black by Sean McKeever, Kano, David LaFuente & Others

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FBBP #117 - The Umbrella Academy

Joseph Mastantuono — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:50:29 +0000

Rock ‘n’ Roll and Superhero Comics are two uniquely American creations of the twentieth century, and they share many traits — a patchwork Genesis story, arguments about who was really first, youthful rebellion, corporate co-option, a “British Invasion” coming along and showing up their American rivals, a decades-long struggle to be taken “seriously”.

But the two have had a very rocky relationship when they come in contact with one another:

1959 - Superman meets Pat Boone
1965 - The Thing and Human Torch meet the Beatles
1975 - Paul McCartney sings about Magneto and the Titanium Man
1977 - Howard the Duck meets KISS
1979 - Millie the Model meets Alice Cooper
1985 - Swamp Thing meets Sting (kind of)
1986 - The Transformers meet Bruce Springsteen (kind of)
1993 - Shadowman meets Aerosmith
1995 - No One was willing to meet Billy Ray Cyrus
1998 - Red Rocket 7 meets Just About Everyone

And now, My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way (along with Gabriel Ba) has entered the fray with The Umbrella Academy. On a scale of 1 (Billy Ray Cyrus) to 10 (“Iron Man”), how does The Umbrella Academy stack up? Is this even analogous to the list above? The FBBP Action News Team investigates!

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FBBP #116 - Planetary Post-Mortem

Joseph Mastantuono — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:05:04 +0000

The Planetary retrospective rolls on with a podcast dissection of the series. WHERE IS THE FOURTH MAN? Sorry Jamaalamanaics, he was busy this weekend. But he’ll be back later this week in our Umbrella Academy review from the archives! Also, if you haven’t already checked it out, our Planetary Timeline has been updated with corrected images and more moments in the past decade of funnybook history!

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FBBP #115 - Deadpool for President

Joseph Mastantuono — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:50:17 +0000

For nearly twenty years, Deadpool has been a cult favorite Marvel character, beloved on the Internet for his scan-ready quips and pop culture references. But lately — whether it’s because his increased presence in movies and video games, change in market demographics, or just some sort of Yellow Word Balloon Zeitgeist — he’s a bonafide fan favorite, with a third ongoing series forthcoming and his current two series outselling the likes of Superman and Wolverine.

What’s the secret? Is Deadpool embracing Change Fans Believe In? We took a look at Daniel Way’s recent run on the core Deadpool and tried to unlock the code. Also addressed: is this comic good?

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FBBP #114 - Martha Shrugged

Joseph Mastantuono — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:55:32 +0000

This month, Dark Horse Comics released The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century, a behemoth six hundred page hardcover so balling only Pedro could fathom purchasing it.

So instead, we just read 1990’s Give Me Liberty, the four issue series that introduced Martha. This was one of the first projects Miller and Gibbons each worked on after their era-defining works on The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen respectively, and like those works, it has a uniquely Reagan/Thatcher Era vision of a bleak near future. The secret ingredient this time? Ayn Rand!

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FBBP #113 - The Trouble with Norman

Joseph Mastantuono — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:00:21 +0000

With Dark Reign entering a new phase with the release of the first Dark Reign: The List one-shots, the gang looks at Marvel’s recent experiments with telling One Big Story, from Civil War to today. Of special interest in Norman Osborn: is he the Green Goblin, Super-Cheney, or the second coming of Hitler? Marvel’s stable of writers seem to hold different opinions, and we explore them all.

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FBBP #112 - Young Liars: The Final Chapter

Joseph Mastantuono — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:35:27 +0000

As promised at the end of episode 111, we present a contentious look back at David Lapham’s Young Liars, a frequent podcast topic. In the end, did anyone change their mind? Were any of us Spiders? We may never know!

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FBBP #111 - Strange Tales of Corporate Acquisitions

Chris Eckert — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:52:53 +0000

This week’s recording session unexpectedly expanded out to two podcasts, as we discuss the blockbuster announcement of Disney purchasing Marvel! Will Pluto join the Pet Avengers? Will Goofy be denied the same privilege? Will Punisher be forced to practice “Hanuka Matata”? Or will this just be another corporate merger that involves using the word “synergy” as if it were the wizard’s magic word?

Shifting back to empirical reality, we also take a look at Marvel’s Strange Tales anthology, which gives “indie” creators an opportunity to play in the superhero sandbox. Will Johnny Ryan make jokes about bodily functions? Will Peter Bagge slip in creeping references to Libertarianism? Will Nick Bertozzi somehow make M.O.D.O.K. an oddly touching tragic figure? Spoilers: Yes, yes, and yes!

We’ll be back later this week for a characteristically contentious chapter in our Young Liars Trilogy!

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FBBP #110 - Parker without Spiders, Spiders without Parker

Chris Eckert — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:48:12 +0000

The word of the week is “adaptation”, as we take a look at two pieces of media with roots in a different form.

First up, Marvel debuts Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. #1 as a “Motion Comic” on iTunes, over a month before the plain ol’ paper version hits the stands. Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev are an all-star creative team, but can they transfer the magic of their Daredevil run onto your iPod? Will there be Clutch Cargo lips? We tackle these questions and more!

Then, we take a look at IDW and Darwyn Cooke’s Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, the first in Cooke’s planned series translating Stark’s 1960s crime novels into funnybook form. Not every one on the podcast is in love with The Hunter, but do those flaws lie with the Cooke’s adaptation or the source material? Could Parker just not be made for these times? Or, if the rest of the blogosphere is any gauge, are we objectively wrong?

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FBBP #109 - Nerds vs. Nerds, Cap vs. Interest, Loeb v. Readability

Chris Eckert — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:56:41 +0000

A trio of topics are explored this week, spanning the world of Fandom!

First off, the continuing battle over San Diego panels, focusing on the kerfuffle between fans of Venture Brothers and Fables!

Then, we explore our muted reaction to Captain America Reborn, despite our longstanding enjoyment of Ed Brubaker and company’s Cap run.

Finally, we sink into the pit of despair that is the Jeph Loeb Happy Hour. This segment is not recommended for children under the age of twelve, women who are pregnant or nursing, listeners with heart conditions, or anyone wishing to maintain faith in the inherent goodness of humanity!

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FBBP #108 - The World’s Greatest?

Chris Eckert — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:42:11 +0000

Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s Fantastic Four was meant to return “The World’s Greatest Comics Magazine” to a position worthy of such a lofty byline. The book’s sales didn’t reflect a return to glory — their first issue was the only one to crack the Top Ten, and by the end of their run it was selling less than Dwayne McDuffie and Paul Pelletier’s lead-in issues.

But none of that should matter to people not holding stock in Marvel. The real question is, was it a good read? This week we review Millar and Hitch’s full sixteen issue run. We also take a brief survey of Jonathan Hickman’s forays into the Marvel Universe, as he prepares to take over Fantastic Four later this month.

And yes, for one episode only, we’ve rebranded ourselves as The World’s Greatest Comics Podcast!. Why not? We’re the closest thing to Shangri-La on Earth!

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FBBP #107 - San Diego Timewarp

Chris Eckert — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 23:18:52 +0000

Last year, we devoted a podcast to the raft of announcements coming out of the San Diego Comic Con. There was a lot of “Big News”, the likes of which never materialized at this year’s show. And so we take time out to look back at 2008’s Big Announcements and how they panned out. Did the books live up to their hype? Did they even come out in the ensuing twelve months?

Special attention is given to IDW and Darwyn Cooke’s 2008-announced, 2009-released Parker: The Hunter, an adaptation of Richard Stark’s 1962 crime novel. Are we in for a renaissance of graphic adaptations? Will we soon see Frank Cho tackling Apuleius’s The Golden Ass? Questions persist!

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FBBP #106 - Blackest Night Reviewed

Chris Eckert — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:01:02 +0000

When there is no more room in Hell, the Summer Crossover will walk the Earth! DC’s Blackest Night has begun, the culmination of Geoff John’s multi-year run on Green Lantern. It’s everyone who’s alive fighting everyone who’s dead! Plus some people with different colored rings fighting too! Does it deserve a less reductive description? Listen and learn!

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FBBP #105 - Wednesday Comics Reviewed

Chris Eckert — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:35:54 +0000

Everyone back from San Diego? Great, prepare for a barrage of three podcasts this week! First on the docket is a look at DC’s Wednesday Comics project. If you haven’t been checking out WC, you probably should. Next up: Blackest Night #1!

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FBBP #104 - Two Greeks and a Cry for Justice

Chris Eckert — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:39:06 +0000

Technical difficulties and summer vacation put this recording through the wringer, leading to compromised sound quality and a lack of timeliness. BE FOREWARNED!

Since we recorded this podcast, Justice League: Cry for Justice has been dogpiled by an all-star cast of bloggers. It was relatively fresh news when we recorded, but it’s still a pretty bad comic!

Additionally, we look at two books about Greek emigres, David Mazzucchelli’s Asterios Polyp and Peter Milligan & Davide Gianfelice’s Greek Street #1. One of them is an easy lock for Book of the Year, while the other is the latest in a line of disappointing first issues from Vertigo. Which is which? Listen and find out!

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FBBP #103 - Peeking into Longbox

Chris Eckert — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:59:36 +0000

In the second part of our recording session, we take a look at Rantz Hoseley’s mysterious project Longbox — iTunes for Comics! There’s lot of vague predictions and pronouncements about Longbox, and it’s far enough from launch that most of the talk about it is pure speculation. And we’re going to add to that speculation. Is digital distribution the future? Will it hurt the direct market? Will there be DRM? Will the whole project work? Your guess is as good as ours, but ours is on a podcast!

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FBBP #102 - Batman Reviewed

Chris Eckert — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:47:54 +0000

We just can’t stop talking about Batman! This week we convene to discuss all the non-Morrison “Batman Reborn” titles, particularly Detective Comics #854, the long-awaited start of Greg Rucka and JH Williams III’s Batwoman story. Along the way we discuss all the other books released thus far — Batman, Batman & Robin, Red Robin, Gotham City Sirens and Streets of Gotham Spoiler alert: As many as half of these books may be worth your time!

Check back later this week for the second half of our recording session, where we discuss LONGBOX, something we are told will change something for an indefinite period of time!

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FBBP #101 - The Batman and MoCCA Show

Joseph Mastantuono — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:57:52 +0000

Two weekends ago, three quarters of our intrepid podcast crew ventured to eighth annual MoCCA Art Festival and gathered to share their firsthand impressions. The numbers in the preceding sentence do not form any sort of secret code.

But before delving into “indie books [you'll] never care about”, we take a look at two summer blockbusters: Batman & Robin #1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, and Dark Avengers #5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato! Do either books have The Goods? Listen and learn!

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FBBP Special - The Huggabroomstik Podcast

Joseph Mastantuono — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:44:51 +0000

Throughout our hundred episodes, listeners have asked about our introductory music. Apparently a link on our blogroll simply wasn’t enough. So here’s an interview with Huggabroomstik’s frontman Neil Kelly, along with a few of their songs.

We chose to use Huggabroomstik’s music because their sound has always seemed compatible with our podcast’s style, and their lyrics sounded like they would make the greatest comic book.

You can check out more Huggabroomstik on iTunes, MySpace, or at cdbaby.

The third annual Huggabroomstock Festival kicks off July 11th at Goodbye Blue Monday in Brooklyn.

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FBBP #100 - March at 100, Company Halt

Joseph Mastantuono — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:10:04 +0000

Despite the title Joseph gave this podcast, WE ARE NOT PODFADING. It’s just a joke. This week, we dig deep into the mail pile to answer all your important questions, such as:

What comics do we actually like?
Whatever Happened to Downcounting
Do you guys like Grant Morrison?
Who would be the greatest Black Lantern?

And others! Tune in next week for our March on 300, and say hello if you see any of us at MOCCA this weekend. Thanks for listening, everyone!

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FBBP #99 - Three Number Ones

Chris Eckert — Wed, 20 May 2009 02:48:36 +0000

Just one episode until the momentous Episode 100! This week we take a look at three first issues fresh off the rack:

Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape #1 by Ivan Brandon & Marco Rudi
Astro City: The Dark Age: Book Three #1 by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson
Unwritten #1 by Mike Carey & Peter Gross

At least one of these is probably worth your time!

On the other side of worthiness, Chris presents a perfect storm of “Yes, This is Being Published” with a wrap-up of Oracle: The Cure, a culmination of some stuff that was Being Published in Birds of Prey, Teen Titans, Final Crisis and allegedly Batman: Battle for the Cowl! You WILL believe that a man’s heart can be licked back to life via Second Life when they’re not even near a computer!

Our big Hundredth Episode will feature our first Listener Q&A! This is highly dependent on Qs from Ls, so Q away!

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FBBP #98 - Blood and Thunder

Chris Eckert — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:23:41 +0000

This week, we review the stories that will comprise the upcoming Thor: Ages of Thunder, Matt Fraction’s multi-artist journey through Marvel/Norse mythology. Fraction’s claimed he listen to a lot of heavy metal to pump himself up to write these stories, and it shows. We can’t recommend you listen to Slayer and Manowar while listening to this podcast, but let us know how it works out if you do!

Just two more until the big Episode #100 (which is technically something like the 108th podcast we’ve done, but if it’s good enough for The Hulk…) and we’re still soliciting ideas for it, general feedback, and gently begging for iTunes reviews. You don’t even have to be nice! We can take it! Joe’s getting quite good at editing out our sobbing fits.

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FBBP #97 - Book Club! Scott Pilgrim v1

Joseph Mastantuono — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:53:52 +0000

This week FBB reads the first volume of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s popular Scott Pilgrim series, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life. With Edgar Wright’s film adaptation in production, this seemed like a fine time for everyone to read (or reread) the book, which Chris once infamously described as being “about video games and punk rock”. Is it really? Listen and find out!

We’ll be checking in on Scott Pilgrim again in the near future, and are accepting suggestions for future “Book Club” suggestions in the coming months. Let us know what you think!

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FBBP #96 - Comics about Teenagers

Joseph Mastantuono — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:42:15 +0000

Teen Titans! Runaways! Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane! At least one of these books is readable these days! Find out which one, this week on the podcast!

The show kicks off with an Evening at the Improv, followed by a brief discussion of Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart’s Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye (Yay, It’s [Finally] Being Published!) before casting a wary eye on Teen Titans, its treatment of Static, its lack of heroics, and its Sensational Character Find of 2009, The Face.

The bulk of this week’s show examines two recent Terry Moore efforts at Marvel, Runaways: Dead Wrong and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane: Sophomore Jinx. Can Moore live up to the pedigree of these titles, or for that matter his own bibliography? Listen and find out!

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FBBP #95 - Wednesday Comics and Iron Fists

Chris Eckert — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:02:48 +0000

A new team on Immortal Iron Fist! A new weekly publishing initiative from DC! Somehow Jeph Loeb still writes comics!

It’s a roller coaster ride of emotions this week, as we review The Mortal Iron Fist, the latest Iron Fist volume by new creative team Duane Swierczynski, Travel Foreman and Russ Heath. Can this book hold up against its forefathers?

Across town, DC has announced its new weekly series, Wednesday Comics! There’s an impressive talent pool working on the project, but does anyone care? Will people buy this? Will a tree fall in the woods?

And first (but certainly least), Jeph Loeb’s inflicted the public with a new issue of Ultimatum. Lots of people die! Some of them on-panel even!

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FBBP #94 - Back in the Air

Chris Eckert — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:00:53 +0000

FBB is back on a new server, hopefully everything’s migrated properly. Let us know if you experience any malfunctions.

The meat of this podcast revisits the work of G. Willow Wilson, particularly her Vertigo series Air. The “Try it For a Dollar” seventh issue drops tomorrow, with the bargain-priced first collection headed to stores next week.

We also rummage around in the Marvel/DC newsbin, and Chris formally endorses Maintaining Bohemia over at Zuda. That’s right, someone actually slogged through the Zuda interface!

Plus a Jeph Loeb Happy Hour drive-by on the subject of cannibalism!

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FBBP #93 - 1987

Joseph Mastantuono — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:29:14 +0000

Hang onto your Glycon amulets! FBB looks to the Reagan Era, reviewing DC’s first collection of Justice League International. Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire were putting this book out concurrently with Watchmen, and while that comparison doubtlessly does JLI no favors, it’s repeatedly invoked.

Speaking of Watchmen, we check in on Alan Moore’s Wired interview, where he talks about why no one should care about these dumb superheroes, be it 1987 or 2009. MANDRAKK THE MONITOR STRIKES!

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FBBP #92 - Et in Academia Ego

Joseph Mastantuono — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:43:52 +0000

The gang welcomes special guest A. David Lewis onto the show to discuss Comics and Academia! Also, to make dick jokes about Watchmen. We contain multitudes!

Lewis is the author of swell comics like The Lone and Level Sands and Some New Kind of Slaughter, both in conjunction with artist mpMann. Harvey nominators (and everyone else) take note: you can read the first two issues of Slaughter absolutely free online!

ADL also provided us with a list of some good sites that deal with Comics and Academics:
Comicsresearch.org
International Journal of Comic Art
Comic Adventures in Academia
Neil Cohn’s Emaki.net
The Institute for Comics Studies
Sequart Research & Literacy Organization

Check them totally out!

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FBBP #91 - A Thick Line Between Love and Hate

Joseph Mastantuono — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:20:06 +0000

This week, Chris gets glum about the catalog of atrocities that is Terror Titans, but Pedro and Joe valiantly attempt to cheer him up by talking up the fun of Captain Britain and MI-13. Then everyone fights over whether David Lapham’s Young Liars is brilliant or banal. In the spirit of bipartisanship these shownotes will not take a side, but let it be known that the majority of FBB voters believe Young Liars is pretty great. But you don’t have to take our word for it! Gamble a stamp!

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FBBP #90 - Convention Wrap-Up Edition

Chris Eckert — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 04:25:38 +0000

David Brothers joins us for a post-Con recap. It’s really just a collection of anecdotes, but it’s better organized than last year’s Posse Cut. In keeping with our co-option of rap tropes, here are our linernote shoutouts:

Big ups to David and the 4L Crew, Popcultureshock, Tucker Stone, Tim “Tical” Callahan and the guys at Sequart, Douglas Wolk, Notorious B.L.O.M., Julian Lytle, D-Ð¿, Evan Dorkin, Harold Sipe, Shena, Cam’ron Stewart, Peter Milligan, ASP, Sgt. Rock, Jeff & Jay, Irish John, Adam Rosenlund, Liz and the Adult Swim team, Weep, Steve Seagle, Laura Hudson and Leigh Walton. And of course, D-Uzi and all of those who couldn’t be there.

And now, we don’t have to walk to the Javits for a year and a half!

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FBBP #89 - Final Audio Crisis

Joseph Mastantuono — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:36:09 +0000

Joining us for our final Final Crisis podcast is resident Annotation Ace David Uzumeri, broadcasting himself across nations on THE UNTERNET!

Everyone gets their last licks in on DC’s big “Giving Grant Morrison the Keys to the Summer Event” comic, and while opinions are mixed, we avoid the death threats and boycotts you may see in other parts of the blogosphere.

We’ll see everyone at the New York Comic Con this weekend! Please do not throw shoes.

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FBBP #88 - Happy Birthday, Sam Kieth!

Chris Eckert — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:59:11 +0000

Reviewed in this podcast: Four Women by Sam Kieth (2001, Homage Comics)

In honor of Sam Kieth’s recent birthday, the FBB gang dusted off one of his more recent miniseries, Four Women. While most people remember his comic/cartoon The Maxx, fewer seem to realize that he’s been steadily producing short comic works in the same dreamy psychoanalytical vein
as his signature work.

You can probably guess the cast list of Four Women, but we get into pretty serious spoiler territory on the podcast; if you want to read the book “clean”, hold off on listening to this. Four Women has something of a “revelation” ending, though it’s the way the story’s told that is ultimately more compelling than any “twist”. But forewarned is forearmed!

The spoiler free review: Kieth’s expressionistic artwork and storytelling is top-notch, but this might’ve been better served by being longer. Or shorter. Definitely worth a read though, a shame it’s out of print but it’s not too hard to find on the secondary market.

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FBBP #87 - Ripped from Last Week’s Headlines

Chris Eckert — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:44:40 +0000

Happy Inauguration Day, everyone! Now that President-~~Elect~~ Obama’s inspirational address has been delivered, we expect you’re primed to listen to more eloquent uplift. But if you’re tired of that sort of thing, why not check out this week’s FBB podcast?

Obamamania is on everyone’s mind and we’re no exception, but we can’t let other Big Stories get lost in the swirl of Hope and Change: we also discuss Batman Actually R.ing I.P., and a fresh “Yes, This is Being Published” from two reliable purveyors of YTiBPs.

Check back later in the week for a belated birthday appreciation of Sam Kieth!

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FBBP #86 - Presidential Power vs. Wingnut Welfare! Fight!

Joseph Mastantuono — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:11:45 +0000

Chris, Jamaal & Joseph discuss the implications of Barack Obama’s appearance in this week’s Amazing Spider-Man. Should you be happy about having a “Nerd-in-Chief” or should you be sick of this sort of discussion? The FBB Crew decides for you! In Obama’s America, We Decide, You Report!

Also, stay tuned after the main event, because there’s an extra Wrestling Babylon segment. The mics were hot when Chris & Jamaal reminisced about wrestling in the late nineties, as they discuss one of the most postmodern storylines in wrestling history.

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FBBP #85 - Pushing Fifty

Joseph Mastantuono — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:58:32 +0000

Hey, did you hear? We’re in a recession! How the will the coming year’s financial turmoil affect you? We don’t care about your mortgage or 401K, we want to know how this will affect your comic book habit: The FBB Symposium on The Future has convened!

And to keep you occupied in these austere times, we present a thought question: what is the best anglophone superhero/genre comic book/run done by a creator over the age of fifty? We don’t wish to draw any rash conclusions about super hero comics being “a young man’s game”, but it’s something to discuss. Here’s a helpful list to start out with:

Creators Who Have Written Things Over the Age of Fifty and When They Turned Fifty:
1967 - Jack Kirby - b. 28 August 1917
1972 - Stan Lee - b. 28 December 1922
1977 - Steve Ditko - b. 2 November 1927
1989 - Denny O’Neil - b. 3 May 1939
1990 - Roy Thomas - b. 22 November 1940
1996 - Marv Wolfman - b. 13 May 1946
1996 - Walt Simonson - b. 2 September 1946
1997 - Steve Englehart - b. 22 April 1947
1998 - Len Wein - b. 12 June 1948
1998 - David Michelinie - b. 6 May 1948
1999 - John Ostrander - 20 April 1949
2000 - John Byrne - b. 6 July 1950
2000 - Roger Stern - b. 17 September 1950
2000 - Chris Claremont - b. 30 November 1950
2001 - Jim Shooter - b. 27 September 1951
2002 - Gerry Conway - b. 10 September 1952
2002 - Paul Levitz - b. 21 October 1952
2002 - Keith Giffen - b. 30 November 1952
2003 - Bob Layton - b. 25 September 1953
2003 - Steven Grant - b. 22 October 1953
2003 - Alan Moore - b. 18 November 1953
2004 - Chuck Dixon - b. 14 April 1954
2006 - Peter David - b. 1956 September 1956
2007 - Frank Miller - b. 27 January 1957
2009 - Jeph Loeb - b. 29 January 1959

My apologies and no slight intended if anyone thinks I left off a big name, I was just going off the top of my head for people who are often cited as having “definitive” runs on titles.

And some prominent young bucks under fifty, if anyone’s interested:
33 - Matt Fraction - b. 1 December 1975
35 - Geoff Johns - b. 25 January 1973
38 - Garth Ennis - b. 16 January 1970
39 - Greg Rucka - b. 29 November 1969
39 - Mark Millar - b. 24 December 1969
40 - Warren Ellis - b. 16 February 1968
41 - Brian Michael Bendis - b. 18 August 1967
45 - James Robinson - b. 1 April 1963
46 - Mark Waid - b. 21 March 1962
47 - Fabian Niceza - b. 31 December 1961
47 - Christopher Priest b. ???? 1961
48 - Grant Morrison - b. 31 January 1960
48 - Neil Gaiman - b. 10 November 1960
48 - Kurt Busiek - b. 16 September 1960
49 - Dan Jurgens - b. 27 June 1959

Pontificate away!

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FBBP #84 - Best of the Year

Joseph Mastantuono — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:26:06 +0000

In the waning hours of 2008 the gang got together to discuss some of their favorite comics of the year.

Our official picks are a little skewed since we were trying to pick out books we hadn’t already discussed to death: sorry Ed Brubaker, Eddie Campbell, David Lapham, Grant Morrison and the rest!

For some reason we tried to keep everyone’s picks secret during the recording, but Chris kept spoiling them so here we go:
Joseph’s Pick: Sin Titulo by Cameron Stewart (Transmission X Comics)
Pedro’s Pick: Prince of Persia by Jordan Mechner, A.B. Sina, LeUyen Pham & Alex Puvilland (First Second Books)
Chris’s Pick: Ambush Bug: Year None by Keith Giffen & Robert Loren Fleming (DC Comics)
Jamaal’s Pick: Bourbon Island 1730 by Lewis Trondheim & Appollo (First Second Books)

We threw out a bunch of honorable mentions, and those will be left as surprises for the loyal listener. We also discussed the last breaking news story of 2008: DC Comics is treating Justice Society of America, perhaps their most consistent sales success of the past two years, in much the same way as they did the now-canceled Blue Beetle. Maybe all that talk about really wanting to support BB wasn’t just lip service! Maybe that was the best possible job they can do when switching over creative teams.

Check back next week for a look into 2009! We at FBB hope everyone got out of this past year relatively unscathed.

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FBBP #83 - Degeneration AXM

Chris Eckert — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:31:40 +0000

Happy Holidays! We hope to put together a year-end podcast, but for now here’s a dissection of Joss Whedon & John Cassaday’s run on Astonishing X-Men!

We’ve talked plenty about Whedon’s predecessor on the flagship X-Title, not to mention his successor, but precious little time on Mr. Spunky Strong Female Lead himself.

Topics Discussed:

Kitty Pryde: she’s strong, she’s spunky, she’s female… is she a lead?
Emma Frost: IS FROM BOSTON YOU RETAHDS!
Scott Summers: Self-Loathing Manic-Depressive!
Hank McCoy: Repeat Quisling!
Peter Rasputin: Back from the dead and just throwing people at other people like crazy!
Does Joss Whedon’s run really follow in G-Mo’s footsteps?
The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations
Cover Design: Logos vs Giant Names of People Who Worked on Cult Television Shows
Unearned Nostalgia

And many, many more. Good luck keeping it together for another week, people!

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FBBP #82 - A Podcast of Northern Aggression

Chris Eckert — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:49:54 +0000

This week: Two podcasts! Two first issues! One long Astonishing X-Men dissection!

Previous “Yes, This is Being Published” subject The Haunted Tank is now amongst the ranks of Has Been Published, and we discussed whether or not “A Racist-Ass Old Confederate Ghost teams up with a multi-ethnic group of wisecrackers to murder a lot of Iraqis” is everything it promised to be.

We also checked out the David-approved debut of X-Men Noir, one of Marvel’s latest iteration of Don’t-Call-Them-Elseworlds titles. X-Men Noir seemed better thought out than a lot of “Justice League Pirates” type stories, but is that enough?

Finally, this is so weird we want to throw it out here for people who don’t listen to the podcast to the end: it looks like Adam Felber, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me panelist, is writing a Skrull Kill Krew mini-series for Marvel. Why? We’re not upset. We just want an explanation.

Check back on Wednesday for an in-depth look at Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men. Two podcasts! Both under an hour! Will this trend continue? Will spring see dozens of podcasts, each a few minutes long? Stay tuned!

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FBBP #81 - The Batcast

Chris Eckert — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:37:01 +0000

We aren’t above cashing in on Bat-Mania, so if you can’t get enough of David’s Batannotations and all our other Batcoverage, LOOK NO FURTHER! Batman #681 dropped last week, with #682 in stores today.

Our final Morrison on Batman podcast (until the next one) featured topics including:

WHO IS THE BLACK GLOVE?
Class Warfare in Gotham City
Joseph’s continued attempt to monetize the site using ~~“space medicine”~~ beer
Chris’s continued attempt to stick media theory square pegs into round comic book holes
Jamaal’s questioning of that Bald Scot behind the curtain
Ragged Robins and Millionaire Playboys
The Balkanization of the DC Universe and Why This Could be Good
There are no Atheists in a Batcave (or are there?)

We’ve got winged mammals coming out our ears, and now you can too!

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FBBP #80 - I Don’t Need Your Civil War

Joseph Mastantuono — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:19:19 +0000

This week, the gang pours one out for the late, lamented Blue Beetle and takes a look at Marvel’s Civil War in the context of a big hardcover artifact. Both conversations pinwheel into the predictable larger “issues” like transmedia synergy and the marriage of James Carville and Mary Matalin

No podcast recording this weekend, but we hope to reconvene after Thanksgiving to kick off the Holiday Podcasting Season! Why not take this brief interlude to consider all that we have done right and wrong this year, and offer constructive criticism?

Do you prefer:
Longer or shorter shows?
Epic digressions or concision?
More Reviews? Fewer Reviews? Different Types of Reviews?

Should we try to have guests? What do YOU think? Let us know!

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FBBP #79 - Tomorrow Never Lies

Joseph Mastantuono — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:40:08 +0000

This week’s two man show brings you another Jeph Loeb Happy Hour and a look at some of the recent spate of Mod comics. We’ve only got Joseph and Chris for this episode, as Pedro was in Boston checking to see racism is really over while Jamaal got an application ready for these guys.

And while last week’s historic election marked the end of Senator John McCain’s quest to become President, we here at FBB would like to offer Senator McCain a new position: the visual representation of our comic reviews.

This week we looked at Dave Gibbons’s The Originals, Chynna Clugston’s Scooter Girl and Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie’s Phonogram.

Plus, Chris presented another Jeph Loeb Happy Hour about the debut issue of his Marvel event, Ultimatum. The JLHH is slowly moving into Barfly range.

Warning: the talk devolves into a James Bond theme song discussion 107 minutes in. Yes, the podcast is that grotesquely long and rambling.

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FBBP #78 - Election Day Special

Joseph Mastantuono — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:43:06 +0000

This week, Chris, Jamaal, Joe and Pedro bring you something to listen to while waiting in line for the polls.

On the table this week are Joe Kelly & Chris Bachalo’s Amazing Spider-Man #575 and Brian Azzarello & Lee Bermejo’s Joker.

And as an election special, Chris brings us a new “Yes, This is Being Published” about DC Decisions: “a master class in how not to publish a mini-series”.

Enjoy.

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FBBP #77 - A Spidery Meta-Argument About a Single Panel

Joseph Mastantuono — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:40:52 +0000

Joe has returned from Korea to talk to Chris, Jamaal, and Pedro about Secret Invasion, Final Crisis, and the rumors that have been floating around the blogoverse. It’s followed it up with what was supposed to be a short discussion of Amazing Spider-Man #574, but became a long drawn out argument. Listeners Beware. Shockingly, Pedro comes in as the voice of reason. It is a troubling harbinger of the apocalypse.

As a side note: The new editors page is up with easier ways to contact us.

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FBBP #76 - Wishes & Dreams

Chris Eckert — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:06:44 +0000

The gang plays God-Emperor a la Spurgeon, discusses a rumored Diamond buyout by DC, and heaps praise on Gilbert Hernandez’s Sloth.

Plus, a public service announcement: give Young Liars another chance. Turns out, they were all really big liars!

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FBBP #75 - O Captain! My Captain!

Joseph Mastantuono — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:23:30 +0000

A lively discussion of Captain America is followed by an impromptu rambling eulogy for DC’s Minx line of graphic novels. None of us (and I’m guessing none of you) are the target young female audience for these books, but that doesn’t stop us from devolving into a McLaughlin Group style roundtable on how Minx succeeded and failed.

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FBBP #74 - Review: The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard

Joseph Mastantuono — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:01:44 +0000

Eddie Campbell and Dan Best’s new graphic novel from First Second is reviewed, alongside this week’s “Yes, This is Being Published” subject, DC Decisions #1.

John McCain isn’t running for president in the DCU, so it’s Leotard, not Decisions that makes Joe think of his grandpa and his heroic yarns. Barack Obama isn’t running in the DCU either, so Chris is left comparing the band of eternally hopeful dreamers in Leotard to the characters of Terry Gilliam.

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FBBP #73 - Superman Loves Us All

Pedro Tejeda — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:33:47 +0000

Pedro, Jamaal and Joseph get together for a chat on Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely’s freshly concluded All-Star Superman. Is Superman prophet or messiah? Unsurprisingly, Joseph ends up the contentious dissenter on this matter, though he loved the book as much as anyone else. The first half of the series is available now, if you can’t wait for the inevitable Absolute Edition.

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FBBP #72 - [Expletive Deleted] [fixed]

Joseph Mastantuono — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:55:55 +0000

NOTICE: We had an export issue on our previous post of this podcast. If you have downloaded it, please listen to this one instead, the second half of the Achewood discussion on the previous one got garbled. I blame Apple, and their lack of support for Soundtrack Pro.

This Week: We review Chris Onstad’s The Great Outdoor Fight, discuss the All-Star Batman & Robin controversy, talk Final Crisis: Revelations and debut a new segment, “Yes, This is Being Published”.

YTiBP’s debut topic is Vertigo’s forthcoming Haunted Tank series. You can read a special preview of it on this toilet seat. No, really.

After cutting this podcast, I realized that yes, I am a Hater. Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate! I got Silky Johnson and Buc Nasty on lock, I’m gonna be Hater of the Year!

We go into a lot of detail about the Great Outdoor Fight, so if you aren’t a regular Achewood reader and don’t want your experience “spoiled” you can read the whole story online before listening. Or don’t, just don’t come crying if we reveal the final fate of The Latino Health Crisis.

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FBBP #71 - Back to School with a Song

Joseph Mastantuono — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:07:42 +0000

Jamaal is back and it’s time for him to pay the piper! What song must he sing? Stay tuned to the end, true believers!

In the spoken word portion of the podcast, we discuss the new Secret Six, Marvel Apes and Sub-Mariner: The Depths mini-series, and spin off into a larger discussion of Depths author Peter Milligan’s other recent series Infinity Inc. and The Programme. Milligan has built up a lot of goodwill with series like X-Statix, Human Target and Shade the Changing Man, but how do his newer books stack up? Listen and learn!

Finally, our resident canary in the mineshaft Chris has decided to join the MARCH ON ULTIMATUM, and gives a recap of Aron Coliete’s initial Ultimate X-Men arc. In this metaphor, the canary has died and had its corpse repeatedly defiled.

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FBBP #70 - The Last Will and Testament of the Third Dimension

Joseph Mastantuono — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:25:34 +0000

For the second week running, we’re missing Jamaal. We miss Jamaal so much that we want to remind everyone that we’re still taking suggestions for what we should make him sing on next week’s podcast. A BET IS A BET!

Two books of the week this time out: one for its importance, and another for its je ne sais quoi:
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 by Grant Morrison & Doug Mahnke (annotated here!)
DC Universe: Last Will & Testament by Brad Meltzer & Adam Kubert

Speaking of Last Wills, Virgin Comics has joined the dustbin of comics history alongside CrossGen, Tekno Comix and countless others. What lessons can be learned? What went wrong? Just how many different things has Richard Branson slapped “Virgin” on?

We also begin our discussion on Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Most of the discussion is Joe introducing the Nausicaa and its creator Hayao Miyazaki, so anyone wanting to catch up still has time. We’ll be doing the second (and final) Nausicaa book club discussion in a couple weeks.

The whole series is translated in seven volumes (Volumes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and you can buy them through Amazon for $10, supporting the site at the same time.

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