Comic Book Bears Podcast

This time on the UKPNW@40 Podcast we will focus in on a pre-stardom recording by Joe Jackson.  Prior to his hitting the New Wave scene in 1978 as a solo artist he was part of the group Arms & Legs. Listen in as you'll get to hear his first ever lead vocal on vinyl from 1976!

We have sung the praises of Dash - the GREAT noir detective comic book set in 1940's Los Angeles centered around openly gay private eye Dash Malone from Northwest Press - a few times already on the show.  Now we are thrilled to welcome to the show for the first time Dash writer Dave Ebersole! We kick off the show interviewing Dave and delve into the world of Dash, what might lie ahead for Phil, Zita, Cindy, Sal and the other characters, Dave's process and his work as a playwright and much, much more.  We then head into our Baltimore Comic Con wrap-up with a healthy CBBears contingent in attendance this year. Afterwards the whole group joins in to talk current comics with our observations regarding Sex Criminals, The Manhattan Projects, The New Deal, Ninjak, Brandon Graham’s Island, Book of Death, Captain America: White, Toe Tag Riot, Sentinel, A Piggy’s Tale: The Adventures of a Three Legged Superpup, Justice League, Sandman: Overture and much more! Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven Outro - "Atti

We start the episode off with an in depth interview with writer/artist Steve MacIsaac! Steve has recently released the fifth issue of his Shirtlifter series and he discusses with us what Shirtlifter is all about, the creative process, his successful crowdfunding effort for the book, the complexities of promoting a gay oriented indie comic, what is up next for him and so much more! Then the hosts are pleased to welcome back to the show producer Sam Kite from Bear City 3! But this time Sam gets to talk about the funnybooks with us.  There's a whole lotta of Marvel and Secret Wars talk, a lotta DC talk, some Valiant talk, Archie #2, The Wicked and the Divine, Tula Lotay, Phonogram: The Material Girl, Astro City #26, Hawkeye, Secret Wars tie-ins recommendations ... that's just skimming the surface. (Also, one of the hosts was still dealing with the effects of strep throat when we recorded so there are some coughs here and there that snuck in before the mute button was hit. We hope what we couldn't edit out isn't

The UKPNW@40 PODCAST is back and this time the spotlight sets on early November of 1976 when we first got to experience Ultravox.  After debuting in 1974 as Tiger Lily, the group first released music under the Ultravox name as part of the line-up of an Island Records compilation album.  Listen in and host Bill Zanowitz will tell you all about it!

On this episode of the Comic Book Bears podcast, the CBBears are thrilled to welcome to the show Joseph Carriker! Joe has been writing in the gaming industry for over fifteen years and is about to release his first prose novel - Sacred Band from Lethe Press.  Sacred Band is a queer themed super-hero tale which depicts the rise of a loose-knit super powered team dedicated to helping those who fall between the cracks in a world where the golden age of heroes is decades past. After that Steve, Bryan and Bill spend some time discussing the first episode of Legion, the new X-Men related TV series on FX! (Mini-spoiler - they all liked it! A lot!) http://josephcarriker.com/sacred-band/ https://twitter.com/oakthorne https://www.facebook.com/sacredbandnovel/  

This week Bill, Bryan, Steve and Matt are all on the mic to talk about Captain America: Civil War, the thirteenth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series of films! Civil War centers around The Avengers and disagreement over international oversight of the team which fractures them into two opposing factions – one led by Steve Rogers and the other by Tony Stark. The CBBears weigh in on the film and also briefly discuss the 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover event that inspired the new movie in part!  Intro - Bear in Heaven - "Reflections of You" Outro - As I Lay Dying - "94 Years"

Billy Z, Justin, Matt and Steve are back this week with an abbreviated episode that still manages to pack in a whole lotta funnybook talk! We hear a little bit about Bill's Chicago adventure at the C2E2 convention along with a healthy dose of Valiant (Archer and Armstrong, Ninja ... um ... Ninjak, Wrath of the Eternal Warrior), Marvel's Infinity Entity by Jim Starlin and Alan Davis and one of the Woofs of the Week leads to some unexpected Doom Patrol talk - which we promise to follow up on at a later date!  Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven Outro - "88 Lines About 44 Women" by The Nails

The Comic Book Bears are Matt-less this week but Bill, Justin, Bryan and Steve still assure you a good amount of hairy-heavy-homo comic book talk in this episode loaded with recent issues! On the spinner rack in this episode are various X-books from Marvel, the first issue of Patsy Walker, Hellcat (with a new favorite character of ours among the supporting cast), Jupiter's Circle, Last Gang in Town, Dark Knight III, Darkseid War, Swamp Thing and much more!   Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven Outro - "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins

The CBB boys were all about the Big 2 last time so this episode shifts focus to some of the finest books from independent publishers that they are digging. They start off with some discussion about their favorite bits of news from last month's San Diego Comic Con and then they launch into the indie talk! You get the lowdown on - Secret Identities; Gravedigger: The Predators; Dash; The Manhattan Projects; The Dying and the Dead; God Hates Astronauts; Luther Strode; Providence; 8 House: Arclight; Strange Fruit; Archie; Hellboy and BPRD; Airboy (of two different eras); Nathan and the Adonai; The Spire; Grant Morrison's 18 Days and more!

We are absolutely thrilled to bring to the Comic Book Bears Podcast for the first time the creative force behind Wuvable Oaf, the one and only Ed Luce! Ed joins Steve Mowry and Bill Zanowitz and they have Ed take us through the origins of everyone's favorite kitty cat loving, headbanging and hirsute masked wrestler up to the most current Oaf book Blood and Metal which recently came out on Fantagraphics! Amidst the expected talk about bears and cats and music and wrestling, we also explore Ed's work on Henry and Glenn Forever, his story in a sex themed issue of Heavy Metal along with some insight into Ed's future work! (Big thanks to Bennet Marks for the pic of Ed with Goteblüd himself!)

All four CBBears (Bill, Justin, Bryan and Steve) are on the mic for this episode! And for their first episode of 2017 they choose to look back and offer up their favorites for 2016! Listen in and find out what their picks for best ongoing title, best limited series, best writer, best artist and more are!

We decided to do something totally different with this episode.  Instead of sticking with our standard format, we instead have all five bears on the mic this time around, without any prep or plan and we just talk. And talk. And talk and talk. About everything!  Sketch comedy TV, Tina Fey, Monty Python, dead pets, Hulk Hogan and racism, gun control, Whitesnake, straight porn movies ... in fact we don't start talking about comics until the end of the episode.  It was a nice break for us and, though it might not be to everyone's liking, we still hope you will check it out!

The 6th episode of the UKPNW@40 Podcast focuses on The Vibrators! The band were the first punk group to have recorded and released a Peel Session! You will hear a track from that session (recorded on October 12th, 1976 and released on October 28th, 1976) along with both of the singles just a few weeks later in November, 1976. Host Bill Zanowitz guides you through an introduction to the band as well as offering up what a Peel Session actually was.

The 5th episode of the UKPNW@40 Podcast spotlights the band that served as one of the bridges between the Pub Rock and Punk Rock scenes - Eddie and the Hot Rods!  Listen in as host Bill Zanowitz takes you through a brief primer on Pub Rock, the Rods' "Teenage Depression" single (released on the 28th of October, 1976) and their debut album of the same name (released on November 22nd, 1976.)

All four DC Comics-based shows airing on the CW recently were part of a crossover and Bryan, Bill and Steve are on hand to talk about it.  The event Heroes vs Aliens is based on DC's series from the late 80's Invasion and the bears take you through The Dominators' efforts to subjugate Earth! And if that wasn't enough, we also have current comic talk with Wrath of the Eternal Warrior, All-New X-Men Annual #1 (with a story by the amazing Sina Grace), Tomasi and Gleason's Superman, Bryan Hitch's wrap up of JLA, the relaunch of Nova and Grand Passion occupying space on this week's fat and furry spinner rack!

The 4th episode of the new UKPNW@40 podcast spotlights "New Rose/Help",the first single by The Damned on the independent label Stiff Records. Released on the 22nd of October, 1976, the single has the distinction of being the first single to be released by a British punk act. Join host Bill Z as he takes you through the pre and early history of the group.

The third episode of the new UKPNW@40 podcast spotlights the PROSTITUTION event held in October, 1976 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London which included a performance by industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle. The show, apart from TG, included pornographic images of band member Cosey Fanni Tutti, opening punk band Chelsea (appearing under the name "L.S.D.") in their debut appearance, a stripper performing between the bands, art installations including used Tampax in glass and transvestite security guards. Join host Bill Z as he details another historic event, this time from the more transgressive end of the early UKPNW period!

Marvel's latest entry in their Cinematic Universe was recently released so the Bear Boys naturally went to the movies.  Listen in as Bryan, Steve and Bill Z offer their viewpoints regarding Doctor Strange starring Benedict Cumberbatch. After that, the comic book talk commences and among the books covered are Death of X and Civil War II from Marvel, The Tithe from Top Cow, Harbinger Renegade from Valiant and more. Also, added into the mix is waaaaay too much Inhumans talk.

      We continue to reintroduce episodes that were originally exclusive to the E2 Network feed. As we start thinking about our choices for the best comics of 2016, come step into the time bubble with us as we revisit our favorite books of 2015! Bill, Matt, Bryan, Steve and Justin usher in 2016 by looking back at the previous year and offer up their favorites of 2015. Favorite Writer! Favorite Artist! Favorite Mini-Series! Favorite Ongoing Title! Favorite Single Issue! Who and what do they pick as their faves in the year of Secret Wars, Convergence, The Force Awakens and Left Shark? Well, you'll just have to listen in to find out!   Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven   Outro - "78 Stone Shuffle" by Gomez

        We continue to reintroduce episodes that were originally exclusive to the E2 Network feed. Hope you enjoy another one from December of last year! This week's episode is the second of our two-part look at comic book based TV shows. Matt, Steve, Bryan and Bill once again put the comic books back in the longboxes and turn on their TV set. This week iZombie, Fear The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead, Jessica Jones and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are on the Comic Book Bears' viewing screens! And again needless to say SPOILERS!