11 O'clock Comics Podcast

Much doom and gloom and all-around depressing stuff the first hour as we wade hip-deep into The Walking Dead volume 14 from Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard (NOTE: If you want to skip ahead, you'll be fine if you jump to the 47:20 minute mark!), after which we elevate with elaboration on Falling Skies, Will Pfeifer and Jill Thompson's excellent Finals under the Vertigo Resurrected banner, Baltimore: The Plague Ships by Mignola and Ben Stenbeck from Dark Horse, the I...Vampire! serial by J. M. DeMatteis and Tom Sutton from the pages of House of Mystery, Wolverine and Jubilee, Rogue's X-marks, Deathmate, Joe Casey's Butcher Baker #3 and Marijuanaman from Image and Infantry under the DDP Aftermath imprint, 28 Days Later, Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth volume three, Avengers Academy Giant-Size, Aspen's Executive Assistant Iris Volume 1 from David Whol and Eduardo Francisco, Hickman's Red Wing, Scarlet, Gladstone's School for World Conquerors by Mark Andrew Smith and Image, and a whole mess more!

Taking a much-needed break from the Nu52, we delve into Matthew Allison's Calamity of Challenge, Rudy Nebres, Origins of Marvel Comics and other comics histories, Graveyard of Empires by Mark Sable and Paul Azaceta from Image, Waid and Martin's Daredevil, Comics Buyer's Guide #1680, Comics Retailer, the Wizard World app, 50 Girls 50 by Doug Murray, Frank Cho, and Axel Medellin, Jesse Jacobs' Even the Giants from AdHouse, Doctor Who and Sherlock, Jim Starlin's 'Breed III out of Image, the X-Men: First Class movie, Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown by Jeff Lemire and Ibraim Roberson, The Tooth by Cullen Bunn and Matt Kindt from Oni, Avatar's Crossed 3D by David Lapham and Gianluca Pagliarani, Blue Estate #2, Planet of the Apes #2 by Darryl Gregory and Carlos Magno from BOOM!, American Vampire, Al Jafee and SPY Vs. SPY, and a whole mess more!

We spend another huge chunk of time discussing the new titles pouring out of the new DC Universe in September (Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jeff Lemire and Frankenstein, Demon Knights, Justice League Dark, Rob Liefeld, Firestorm, Birds of Prey, Teen Titans, the Legion, Animal Man and family, Swamp Thing, Resurrection Man and DnA, and more), then move on to Charlton horror comics and the Ghosts of Doctor Graves (via Gabe Hardman, with Tom Sutton, Pat Boyette, Steve Ditko, and others), KIRBY: GENESIS #0 from Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross, and Jack Herbert from Dynamite!, bribing children with comics, Batman: Knight of Vengeance #1 by Azzarello and Risso, Fear Itself and Flashpoint, Oceanverse, Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt #1, Chester Brown's Paying for It from Drawn & Quarterly, Ron Marz and Lee Moder's Shinku #1 from Image, Top Shelf's Liar's Kiss, United States of Tara, Image's 50 Girls 50, 2000 A.D., and a whole mess more!

Overflowing with optimism and enthusiasm, we spend the better part of an hour examining DC's recent announcement of a line-wide reboot with simultaneous day/date digital releases (incorporating our thoughts and hopes on character treatment, storytelling techniques, delivery methods, the influence of Earth One, changes in retail sales, the direct market, Marvel's reaction, possible titles, and a whole mess more), plus, have more than enough time left over for even more on Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman's HULK (with a little Planet Red Hulk and Carlo Pagulayan thrown in for good measure), the brilliant comix work of Jason Karns (Fukitor and Satanic Terror), Malignant Man and 28 Days Later from BOOM!, Jason Aaron and Wolverine, William Messner Loebs' Journey: The Adventures of Wolverine McAllister from IDW, Black Panther, The Infinite from Kirkman and Liefeld, Roger Langridge's Snarked! from Kaboom!, and a whole mess more!

Everything's coming up comics as we cover Larry Marder, our favorite stories of all time, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes from Archaia, Rozum and Irving's Xombi #2, Denys Cowan and Strange Adventures, Robert Kirkman (Invincible Ultimate Collection volume six, Walking Dead #83 (No spoilers!), Guarding the Globe, and more!), '68 #2 from Image, Archaia's Cyclops, Barbarella, Doctor Hue (aka the lovely and talented Val Staples), Jason Aaron's Punisher Max and Bullseye, Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman's HULK, creating new characters for the Big2, Tim Hensley's Wally Gropius for Fantagraphics, Boundless' Lady Death (Brian Pulido, Mike Wolfer, and Marcello Mueller), Wolverine: The Best there Is?, Tom Fowler and Venom #3, Tommy Lee Edwards' Super 8 promo, Nonplayer #1, Seth Fisher and Willworld, Jeremy Haun and Joplin, Missouri, Tom Scioli and American Barbarian, and a whole mess more!

Cleaning house for the end times, we purge our perceptions of Denys Cowan, the Image explosion, Jim Rugg, the possibility of a DCU reboot (incorporating Flashpoint, Fear Itself, One More Day, and more), the creative approach to events, Who Is Jake Ellis? #3, Joe Casey and Mike Huddleston's Butcher Baker, the Righteous Maker #2 and the author's backmatter, Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's Elektra Lives Again (with a little Elektra: Assassin thrown in for good measure), James Stokoe's Orc Stain and Brendan Graham's King City, One Piece, Moon Knight #1, Pak and Van Lente's Alpha Flight 0.1, IDW's Rocketeer Adventures #1 and Dave Stevens, Tim Seeley and the Hack/Slash Omnibus volume two, R.E.B.E.L.S., Hardman and Parker's HULK, Mega Man #1 from Archie, and much more!

All your base belong to us, including Douglas Adams, FCBD 2011 (Locke & Key from IDW and Gabriel Rodriguez, Kirkman and Howard's stunning Duper Dinosaur Origin Special, Captain America and Thor the Mighty: Fighting avengers by Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee, The Dark Crystal and Jim Henson, Top 10 Deadliest Sharks from Discovery Channel, Escapegoat, and more), Jacques Tardi, Hine and Kane's Bulletproof Coffin, Fear Itself, Flashpoint #1, Vince rants on Wonder Woman (and eats a heapin' helping of crow in the process), creators outliving their shelf lives, Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris from Dynamite, Judgment on Gotham, new reader hurdles, Remender, Moore, and company's Venom, Butcher Baker, Four Star Studios, Fracture, and a whole mess more!

Hokey smokes, it's a rare instance of an honest-to-gosh themed episode, this time taking a look at racism in comics with Night of the Living Dead Annual 2011 by Mike Wolfer from Avatar, BOOM's fantastic first issue of Planet of the Apes from Darly Gregory, Carlos Magno, and company, '68 by Mark Kidwell, Nat Jones, Tim Vigil, and Jay Fotos from Image Comics, and Ape Entertainment's Black Dynamite by Brian Ash, Jun Lofamia, and Michael Jai White! Plus, we have plenty of time left over to explore Strange Tales II, Dark Horse Presents #1 (featuring Paul Chadwick, Frank Miller, Neal Adams, Richard Corben, Carla Speed McNeil, Michael T. Gilbert, Howard Chaykin, and more), Finder, 28 Days Later, Pete Bagge's HATE Annual #9 from Fantagraphics, a pair of Image Comics' recent color-themed books in Green Wake #1 by Kurtis Wiebe and Riley Rossmo, and Blue Estate #1 from Viktor Kalvachev, Andrew Osborne, Robert Valley, Toby Cypress, and Nathan Fox, Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog, Free Comic Book Day 2011, Robert Kirkman and

If Wooode were in attendance this episode, he would no doubt deem this offering "rough", but that didn't stop us from trying, offering up commentary on the upcoming Kamandi Omnibus, Previews, Larry Marder, Grant Morrison, Tom Kelly, Action Comics #900, DC Blue Ribbon Digests, Starr, the Slayer from Daniel Way and Richard Corben, Giant-Size Atom #1 (Jeff Lemire, Mahmud Asrar, and others) and All-New Atom, Captain America and Bucky, The Losers, upcoming superhero films, Vertigo's American Vampire from Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque, the Dark Tower, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Fred Van Lente, Heroes for Hire, Skullkickers, Bulletproof Coffin, Howard Chaykin, and a whole mess more!

Proving King DAP very, very wrong, three years and still going strong! Throwing our nets far and wide, we drag the bottom for banter on Jim Rugg and Afrodisiac, 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking by Paul Levitz and Taschen Books, Wednesday Comics, the lack of Marvel archival editions, Annihilators #2, Devil Dinosaur, Teen Titans: Games by Wolfman and Perez, the upcoming Kamandi Omnibus, Marvel Fanfare #7 and Bill Mantlo, Neal Adams, Being John Byrne, Lucifer: Devil in the Gateway by Mike Carey, Chris Weston, Scott Hampton and company, Death: The High Cost of Living, Bucky and Bachalo, Cinderella: Fables are Forever, American Vampire, Onward towards Our Noble Deaths from Drawn & Quarterly, the 11 O'C Tarot, Avengers Prime by Bendis and Alan Davis, Sym-Bionic Titan, Ben Jones' Problem Solverz on Cartoon Network, Shadowland: Power Man, Fables, The Girl and the Gorilla, Monkeyman and O'brien, Studygroup 12, and much more!

We fill your media device with a feverish flood of four-color groupthink, including commentary on L'Association's massive COMIX 2000, Vertigo's Lucifer, KAPOW, the HERO Initiative, Alien Legion and Frank Cirocco, izombie by Chris Roberson and the Allreds, Four Star Studios (Mike Norton, Tim Seeley, and more), Kevin Mellon and SHIELD Infinity, Chris Burnham, the Jimmy Olsen one-shot by Nick Spencer and company, Scott Snyder's Detective Comics, Astonishing X-Men: Exogenesis by Warren Ellis and Kaare Andrews, The Spider #1 from Moonstone and Pablo Marcos, Skaar: King of the Savage Land #1, Paul Jenkins, more on Xombi #1, Grant Morrison, Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot and Geoff Darrow, Hellboy, Dave Stewart, the Eisner Awards, Spongebob Comics #2, Weapons of the Metabarons by Jodorowsky and Charest, Carla Speed McNeil's FINDER, Steve Rude, and a whole mess more!

Comic book and storyboard artist extraordinaire Gabriel Hardman joins us in an extended discussion on the visual storytelling media of which he is well-versed and their similarities and differences, plus, in the second hour, we find time to touch upon Butcher Baker, the Righteous Maker #1 by Joe Casey and Mike Huddleston, Nonplayer #1, Xombi #1, Incognito: Bad Influences and Sleeper, Captain America .1 and Thor .1, Fear Itself #1, Deadpool Team-Up, Night of the Living Dead: Death Valley #1, Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows' Neonomicon #4 from Avatar, FF #1, Detective Comics and Batman Inc., the Bomb Queen - Hack/Slash one-shot from Jimmie Robinson and Image, Black Panther: Man without Fear #516, Fish Police volume one, Dark Horse's Creepy #5, The Cardboard Valise, Archie #153, Mike Allred's Ginchy Madman one-shot, and a whole mess more!

Chris is off on a curling adventure, giving us the opportunity to fill the 11 O'Clock fort with all sorts of alcohol-fueled frivolity featuring Comic Art Magazine #3 and Savage Pencil, Annililation + Conquest + War of Kings, La Mano del Destino by the awesome Jason (J.Gonzo!) Gonzalez, Dark Horse's Vampire Boy by Carlos Trillo and Eduardo Risso (By way of the Venture Imprint and Video Noire), Vampirella #1 from Dynamite!, She-Hulks by Stegman and Wilcox, Pak and Van Lente's upcoming Herc, Xombi #1 from Rozum and Irving, Alpha Flight, Chaos War, a re-evaluation of Fables, Erik Larsen's Herculean, Machine Man by Defaclo, Trimpe, and Barry Windsor-Smith, Excalibur, Artifacts from Top Cow, the Image Explosion (50 Girls 50, Witch Doctor, Graveyard of Empires, Shinku, Butcher Baker, Marijuanaman, and more!), Oddville from Jay Stephens and AdHouse, Incognito: Bad Influences and Val Staples, Ultimate X from Art Adams and Jeph Loeb, and a whole mess more!

We wrap up this year's C2E2 in static-drenched style, incorporating talk on All Star Superman Vs. The Dark Knight Returns, Kyle Latino, John Siuntres, sketchbooks and original art, Lance Kizer, Gil Kane, LEGO minifigs, Spongebob, Mahmud Asrar, andy Jewett, HERO Initiative, Steve Bryant, Geoff Darrow, God Hates Astronauts, Cliff Chiang, Jeremy Haun, Adam Hughes, Jason Howard, Jamal Igle, Mike (Battlepug) Norton, Chris Burnham, Batman Inc., Hilary Barta, Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey, Will Pfeifer, back issue dealers, Robert Atkins and G.I. Joe, Richard Corben, Brian Stringer, Skottie Young and Deadpool Team-Up, Yildiray Cinar, Stuart Immonen, Halcyon from Image Comics, Tardi, Chris Samnee, and a whole mess more!

Excitement levels run high as we whittle away the days until this weekend's C2E2:2 with -- What else? -- comic talk, this time targeting Brian Michael Bendis, the first pair of issues of Jennifer Blood from Dynamite!, Tyrannosaurus Rex from Image, Fantagraphics' forthcoming 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente from Wilfred Santiago, Sigil #1 and Leonard Kirk, Butch Guice, Carbon Grey #1, Bad Dog #4 (Right...), Venom #1 by Remender and Moore, The Intrepids #1, Snyder and Jock's Detective Comics, Matthew Allison's Calamity of Challenge webcomic (CANKOR!), Dark Knight Returns Vs. Year One (and Ronin), socially relevant comics, Captain America and political groups, Mars Attacks! from Topps Comics (Keith Giffen, Charlie Adlard, Tom Sutton, Len Brown, Earl Norem, and more!), Who is Jake Ellis #2, Takio, and a whole mess more!

Sandwiched between a meaty look at Erik Larsen's long-running Savage Dragon, we take long looks at Comic Book Comics #5 from Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey, Miracleman/Marvelman, Bleeding Cool and the Kirby depositions, Generation Hope and Akira, Larry Lieber, Vertigo's Finals from Will Pfeifer and Jill Thompson, more on Annihilators #1, Bongo Comics (Simpsons, Futurama, Hilary Barta, and more...), Plastic Man, Paul Pope, Zatanna by Paul Dini and company, John Byrne's landmark Alpha Flight, Heavy Metal, Bendis' Powers, Young Justice, Marineman, and a whole mess more!

One of us runs off at the mouth a little bit too much as we back-and-forth about Terry Moore, Carl Potts, Avatar's Crossed: Psychopath #1 from David Lapham and Raulo Caceres, Starship Troopers, Harbinger, Mike Mignola's B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs volume one (Guy Davis, Ryan Sook, Geoff Johns, Scott Kolins, Dave Stewart, and more), series formats, Annihilators #1 by DnA and company and Marvel cosmic, Jim Starlin's forthcoming Breed series from Image, Rocketeer Adventures #1 out of IDW, Brian Wood's DMZ volume nine, Fantastic Four #588, Daffodil from Marvel Soleil, Silver Surfer #1, Iron Man 2.0 #1, Morning Glories, John K's Science Addiction, Axe Cop, Spongebob Comics, Freak Angels, and a whole mess more!

After raising our glasses to the life and work of the recently-departed Dwayne McDuffie, we retreat to our corners and begin this week's tag-team tussles with Chris and Jason taking on the landmark Alien Legion series from Marvel/Epic, and King DAP and I traipsing across Hal Jordan's mental landscape in J. M. DeMatteis and Seth Fisher's awe-inspiring Green Lantern: Willworld! Plus, we have plenty of time left to discuss B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs and Hellboy, creators we allow an occasional "pass" (Walt Simonson, Neal Adams, Todd McFarlane, John Byrne, John Severin, Russ Heath, Tony DeZuniga, Sal and John Buscema, and more), Warriors of the Shadow Realm, Godland, First Wave, Richard Starking and Elephantmen, American Vampire, The Dark Tower, and much more!

The tag-team takedowns continue as Chris and I join forces on Dave Gibbons and John Higgins' Thunderbolt Jaxon from Wildstorm while King DAP and Jason share thoughts on Who is Jake Ellis? #1 out of Image! Plus, we have more than enough digital rope to hang ourselves on Bunn and Kindt's The Tooth, John Byrne's new policy on interviews and Next Men #2, Fraction and Larocca's Invincible Iron Man 500.1 and Aaron and Rivera's Wolverine 5.1 from Marvel, the Invincible Iron Man (not an) omnibus, Borders' bankruptcy, Curse of the Spawn and Clayton Crain, Luke McDonnell, Bill Reinhold and Magnus, Alien Legion from the late, lamented Epic imprint (part one), Mike Norton's Battlepug, Seamonster, Legion of Super-Heroes, and a whole lot more!

The Cult of Chaos reigns as we caterwaul through a seemingly-endless cascade of comics commentary, including Mike Norton's Battlepug and Young Justice, regina piles and hoarding comics, the war genre, Russ Heath, pole shifts, Jaime Hernandez (via Sidebar), Wandering Star by Terri S. Wood/Challender, Desert Island's Smoke Signal #7 (Charles Burns, Jim Rugg, Sam Henderson, Jordan Crane, Marc Bell, Bill "Zippy" Griffith, and more), Deadpool, Green Lantern, Marvel vampires, the first volume of Lives by Masayuki Taguchi and TokyoPop, Mahmud Asrar, Madame Xanadu and Amy Reeder, Mirage Mini Comics (Eastman, Laird, Bissette, Veitch, Martin, Jewett, Zulli, Lawson, and more), comic-themed and -inspired cartoons (Generator Rex, Young Justice, Symbiotic Titan, and others), the Captain America trailer, Weird Worlds, Who is Jake Ellis? from Image, Cinderella: Fables are Forever #1, the Omega Men, and a whole mess more!