Comic Book Bears Podcast: Recent Episodes
Comic Book Bears/Bill Zanowitz
A group of hairy heavy gay guys talking about comic books. (But you don't have to be a hairy heavy gay guy to listen in!)
We move into a new season and the Comic Book Bears are back with this new summer-sized audio episode! Hit play to hear Steve, Caleb and Billy Z talk about a number of new books and graphic novels! From the Big Two we explore the newest iteration of Giant-Size X-Men from Marvel and DC's The Power Company Re-Energized #1. On the independent side of things we dig into The Fairy Godfather by Robert Mailer Anderson and Jon Sack, Muybridge by Guy Delisle, Pure Rubbish by Kayla E. and the first issue of Mad Cave's Vanishing Point by Mark Russell and Juan Doe! (All this plus Caleb gets schooled about New Jersey's Pine Barrens!)
The CBB boys (Bill Z, Steve and Caleb) say farewell to Spring with the end of the Merry Month of May and look forward to Summer with this new audio episode! After an opening tangent salvo about Diamond's bankruptcy and all that brings, toys and tariffs and ... um ... the 2008 Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy, our fellas finally get focused on the funnybooks. Absolute Green Lantern (DC), Resurrection Man: Quantum Karma (DC), The Incredible Hulk (Marvel), Lost Fantasy (Image), I Was A Fashion School Serial Killer (Image) and Sectaurs (Nacelle/Oni) are discussed.
It is worth noting that our discussion of the Hulk makes many references to the late, great Peter David (who was also a past guest of ours.) This episode was recorded on 5/21/2025, three days before his unfortunate passing. Rest well, Sir.
The CBB Boys head back to the movies and discuss Thunderbolts, the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe on this latest audio episode! The movie is directed by Jake Schreier and stars an (amazing) ensemble cast including Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus! Thunderbolts finds the unlikely team of Yelena Belova, Winter Soldier, U.S. Agent, Taskmaster, Ghost, Red Guardian and ... Bob ... brought together by circumstance and conspiracy and discovering just what this collective of anti-heroes are capable of! And as is our tradition, each of us (Steve, Caleb and Billy Z) make recommendations of comic book arcs featuring the film's characters which we think you may enjoy! Afterwards, we go on to discuss some new comics we are enjoying - the newest version of Heavy Metal magazine, DC's Absolute Martain Manhunter and Dynamite's new Herculoids series. We hope you will hit play to join us for some Marvelous Marvel Misfit Musings and More!!!
It is hard to believe that it has been over four years since our special group of Star Wars fans (Mike Lovins and Craig Lantz joining CBB regulars Steve Mowry and Bill Zanowitz) have been gathered around the mic together, so we are thrilled to bring this Force Sensitive Foursome back on this new audio episode! We very recently saw the second season of Andor begin with the first three episodes released at once. We weigh in on that (in a totally spoilerific fashion), the news from Star Wars: Celebration 2025 from Tokyo and a whole lot more!
So power down your lightsabers, set your blasters on stun, hit play and enjoy our musings on tales from a galaxy far, far away!
It has been a few years since we had a Comic Book Bears Podcast episode wholly dedicated to manga and figured it was time for a new one! So hit play to join in on 2+ hours of chatter about some great works, old and new, that have come out of Japan! The CBB Boys - Bill Z, Steve and Caleb - have chosen Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Wild Strawberry, Mach GoGoGo (aka Speed Racer), The Liminal Zone, Astro Baby and Inuyashiki as the subjects for this particular summit!
ショーを楽しんでいただければ幸いです。
Spring has sprung and March is in its "out like a lamb" phase and the CBB Boys (Steve, Caleb and Bill Z) are back with a new audio episode! For a change there is a good deal of comics related news between Diamond's auction completing, the cast roll out for Avengers: Doomsday and the New History of The DC Universe and we cover each of these at the beginning of our show. Then onto the new comic talk with Avengers #21 (with an Avengers vs X-Men baseball game), the X-Men's X-Manhunt event, Zatanna #1, Secret Six #1, the Gargoyles: Winter Special and the Resurgence of the Valiant Universe mini-series all having their moment under our ursine spotlight!
Through new tattoos, foot injuries and holding down the fort at home, Bill Z, Steve and Caleb return with another new Comic Book Bears audio episode! After a little bit of catching up with each other and a little bit of news (a new DC/Marvel crossover planned for the summer, Daredevil: Born Again), the CBB Boys dive into comic talk. And it's a varied grouping this time around - from the latest Green Lantern Corps relaunch (DC) to the Captain America and Volstagg one-shot (Marvel) to Ashes by Àlvaro Ortiz (Top Shelf) to Final Cut by Charles Burns (Pantheon) to some manga with The Marshal King by Boichi (Viz) and wrapping up with the Techno-Noir of Warm Fusion by Scott Hoffman and Alberto Ponticell (DSTLRY)! Hit play for 2+ hours of funnybook talk from some hairy, heavy homos!
It's back to the movies for the Comic Book Bears on this new podcast audio episode! The film this time is Captain America: Brave New World! It is the 35th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, directed by Julius Onah starring Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America alongside Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus Ross. Caleb, Bill Z and Steve offer up what they thought about the movie (spoiler warning natch) and as is custom in our movie centered episodes they also make suggestions regarding past comic book arcs featuring the film's characters we think you may enjoy. The CBB boys also roundtable a few new books - The Secret of the Garden (from the world of Hellboy), Safer Places by Kit Anderson and the Green Hornet/Miss Fury crossover series - and there a few tangents sprinkled throughout as always. So hit play or download and enjoy our latest comics and movies gabfest!
Time for a new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Steve, Caleb and Billy Z reconvene for two hours of four color funnybook talk! On the docket this time are a few news items (Diamond's bankruptcy, Marvel Studios not inviting Rob Liefeld to an afterparty) followed by a half dozen books we wanted to spotlight. Hit play and hear about what we thought of the inaugural issues of a few new series: Aquaman (DC), West Coast Avengers (Marvel), Lawful (Boom!) and The Death of COPRA (Image). We also chat about Tim Bird's autobiographical graphic novel Adrift in a Painted Sea (Avery Hill Publishers) and DC's tabloid reprinting of the 1980 Untold Legend of The Batman mini-series.
Also, please note that this episode was recorded at the beginning of the month and as 2/3rds of the team here are huge football fans we offer up what were our Super Bowl LIX predictions. (One of us gets it spectacularly wrong.)
The Comic Book Bears podcast goes All In this time around in our new audio episode! As much of the US is contending with a January winter freeze, Bill Z, Steve and Caleb once again huddle around the mic. And after a deep dive into recent news (specifically Diamond Comic Distributors filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the allegations by various women against Neil Gaiman), the CBB boys turn their attention to DC Comics and their All In publishing initiative which finds their entire main comics line enjoying a refresh! Justice League Unlimited, Justice League: The Atom Project, Action Comics, Birds of Prey, New Gods and Metamorpho are the main books discussed. And all you have you have to do is hit the play button to go All In with us!
The CBB Boys are thrilled to bring you the audio version of their 300th episode! And for this anniversary they welcome back to the show a very familiar name and a great friend - writer Richard Rivera! Richard is here to chat about his new Kickstarter for the latest Stabbity Bunny project: a remastered version of Stabbity Ever After #1 which takes Stabbity on a more humorous path through an alternative reality. But this time Richard brings along some friends to the show with their own Kickstarter campaign! Making their CBB debut to discuss it are writers and Insymmetry Creations co-founders Matt Knowles and Steph Cannon! Matt and Steph take us into the world of Heirs of Isildur, a collision of sci-fi, steampunk, heavy metal and graphic storytelling that is on its fourth issue! Heirs of Isildur is not the only project under the Insymmetry Creations banner and we also get to hear about a number of those. And best of all, there is a campaign component where Stabbity and Isildur crossover!!! (Links to the Kickstarter campaigns are below in the comments!)
Afterwards Steve, Caleb and Bill Z launch into an unexpected Manga tangent and roundtable a few new comics including Wonder Woman (DC), The Question: All Along the Watchtower (DC) and Maria Llovet's Violent Flowers (Image) - so hit play and enjoy two hours and 34 seconds of hairy, heavy, Kickstartery anniversary goodness!!!
This new Comic Book Bears audio episode is our last episode of 2024 and a loaded one it is! The CBB trio of Caleb, Bill and Steve are all on hand to chat about a whole bunch of things! The teaser trailer for the upcoming Superman film written and directed by James Gunn dropped on December 19th and this turned out to be a very big deal. We opine on it along with the new Creature Commandos animated series on Max which kicks off this new DC Universe for film and TV. In terms of Marvel, in the movie theaters right now is Kraven the Hunter - the new film based on the Spider-Man adversary starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the title role, Ariana DeBose and Russell Crowe. 66.6% of the bear crew saw it and provide their viewpoints on it. We also take a few new books off of the virtual spinner rack and discuss JSA by Jeff Lemire and Diego Orlotegui (DC), Arcbound by Tom Hardy, Scott Snyder, Frank Tieri and Ryan Smallman (Dark Horse) and Tender by Beth Hetland from Fantagraphics. Lastly, each of us choose their favorite series or graphic novel of 2024 which were ... well, you will just have to hit play to find out what our picks were!
Hoping you all are having a great holiday season and our best wishes to you in 2025!
The Comic Book Bears shake off the snow and ice from their fur ... well, two of them do at least ... to regroup to chat about some new comics now that winter has hit! One of them is DC's Absolute Wonder Woman! Three more of them are from Image: The Department of Truth, Falling on Love on the Path to Hell and Grommets! Another is a new interpretation of Dracula courtesy o Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones! And we also chat about Being Gordy, a situation comedy in comic book form! So heat up some hot chocolate (or whatever your favorite wintertime drink is), hit play and enjoy!
In our first Comic Book Bears audio episode recorded after the US election, the CBB boys (Bill Z, Caleb and Steve) spend the first few minutes talking about the results and the state of the nation. We then (mercifully) put that to the side to chat about some recent comics. And what a line up we have! Absolute Superman #1! DC Horror Presents Creature Commandos #1! Animal Pound, written by Tom King and published by Boom! The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen! Horny & High, Volume I by Ed Firth from our good friends at Northwest Press! And the new Jonny Quest series from Dynamite! Hit play and enjoy!
New Comic Book Bears audio episode! For the first time in ages it is just Big Two books this time around as Caleb, Steve and Bill Z reconvene to talk about recent additions to Marvel's X-Men line and DC's most recent soft relaunch! Who are the Exceptional X-Men? Which recent X students are featured in the NYC set NYX? Why is Dazzler going back out on tour? What is the new status quo for the DC Universe set by the DC All In Special? And why are the Trinity confronting a rabbit with a Brooklyn accent in Multiversus: Collision Detected? Hit play and all will be answered!
We are catching up on our backlog so this next Comic Book Bears audio episode dates back to this past September 26th when Bill and Steve had just returned from Baltimore Comic Con! BCC is one of the best comic book conventions out there and we have been past guests of the con as press for a number of years, so it was a thrill to return to Inner Harbor! Bill and Steve talk about their experiences, gets and hijinks that happened during this year's edition. Then Caleb joins in on the fun as we have an all-indie roundtable chatting about books including Jeff Lemire's Minor Arcana (Boom Studios), Morning Star (Mad Cave), EC's Epitaphs from the Abyss (Oni Press), Howard Chaykin's Hey Kids! Comics! (Image) and A Phone Call Away (Mad Cave)!!! So please hit play and enjoy this Charm City inspired ep!
The CBB Boys are back but this time they are focused on one era of comic books in this new audio episode! Set the controls for the 1950s and 1960s as we discuss some of our favorite books published during the Silver Age of Comic Books. The Silver Age is considered to cover the period from 1956 to 1970 and it was a time where the concept of the super-hero was revitalized for the Cold War period! Caleb, Steve and Bill Z are on the mic to talk about some of their favorites - Fantastic Four, Tales to Astonish, Aquaman, Tales of the Bizarro World, the sci-fi work of Steve Ditko for Charlton, The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and more!
On this latest Comic Book Bears audio episode, we emphasize the "Comic" part of our show title to welcome to the show queer comedian Jeff Klein!!! While talking about not fitting into his communities or clothes anymore, Jeff has performed at comedy clubs and festivals from coast to coast. This Florida-born comic is the host of the online shows Beer with a Queer and Outside a Comedy Club and very recently taped his first comedy special entitled Fatty Gay!! Bill Z and Steve spoke with Jeff just before his special was taped and chatted with him about how he got into comedy, what goes into recording a comedy special and much, much more!! We also talk comic books with Jeff and dive deep into his love for CrossGen Comics, particularly Ruse, and also offer up some more recent comics which gave us a few chuckles including the first issue of the new X-Factor series by Mark Russell and Bob Quinn and DC's Super-Pets Special: Bite-Dentity Crisis one-shot featuring a lead off story by Tony Fleecs and Mike Norton starring basically every DC super pet ever!! So, hit play and enjoy some ho-ho-ho's with a very funny fellow hairy heavy homo!!
As we enter into Labor Day weekend, the CBB boys are providing one more audio episode for you this month and this time it is our review of Deadpool and Wolverine!!! D and W is the 34th Marvel Cinematic Universe film and finds Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprising their respective title roles! It is directed by Shawn Levy and also stars Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney and so many cameos it might make your chimichangas explode! In the film, Deadpool learns that the Time Variance Authority is set to destroy his home universe and enlists help to stop them in R-Rated glory! Please note that the episode is all sorta spoilerific if you have yet to see it. But, if you want to find out what Bill Z, Caleb and Steve thought about it and (as is our custom whenever we have a movie centered episode) be provided with suggestions about some comic book arcs you might enjoy reading featuring the movie's main characters, then hit play and Let's. F*ckin'. Go!
Recorded back on 7/25/2024 and finally available as our new audio episode, this show finds the CBB Boys (Caleb, Steve and Billy Z) recounting what the big news items were from this past San Diego Comic Con. Additionally, a bunch of new comic books come under our ursine analysis. Hit play to hear our opinions about new series like Phoenix (Marvel), Namor (Marvel), Zatanna: Brining Down The House (DC Black Label), Gatchaman (Mad Cave) and Space Ghost (Dynamite) along with the graphic novella Viscera Objectica by Yugo Limbo (Silver Sprocket). Plus we have our expected banter, tangents, Geeks Gets and Woofs of the Week!
It's a new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode!! And we are thrilled to bring back to the show our most frequent guest, the one and only Steve Bryant!! This time around Steve sits down to talk with us about his successful Kickstarter campaign for Undead or Alive! The upcoming graphic novel that Steve wrote with art by Jason Millet and Patrick McEvoy follows a trio of supernatural investigators trying to determine what is terrorizing the swamps outside of Gerber's Crossing, Louisiana! A love letter to 1970s and 80s monster comics, Undead or Alive concerns a dozen people who have gone missing—the most famous one being Arael Moon: comic book writer, pop culture icon, and practicing magician. What mysteries lurk in this macabre parish and can the Undead or Alive Agency put an end to the disappearances? Beyond that, Steve chats with us about a whole lotta stuff, including a certain Universal Monster with ties to Undead or Alive! The CBB Boys (Steve, Caleb and Bill) then stay on the mic for their round table about new books they have read including the beginning of DC's Absolute Power crossover event, Free Agents #1 from Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza, and Stephen Mooney (Image) and CBB favorite Blue Delliquanti's new graphic novella Adversary!
While the Kickstarter for Steve's Undead or Alive has ended, you can still access the Kickstarter for late pledges for available rewards!
New Comic Book Bears audio episode! HeroesCon 2024 a few weeks ago marked the very first time that the current roster of CBB Boys - Bill Z, Steve and Caleb - were all under the same roof IRL! And to recount what went down in Charlotte we are once again joined by special guest Brian Newberry of the Comics Discourse 114 podcast! Apart from the con wrap-up we also dive into some recent books we have been enjoying which include Ain't No Grave (Image), Bloodshot Unleashed (Valiant), the long awaited My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book 2 (Fantagraphics) and the pure throwback joy of Bloodscar Megazine by Jason Horn! So hit play and enjoy two hours of 3/4 bearded and bombastic book banter!!
On this new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode, we are joined by Brian Newberry of the Comics Discourse 114 podcast! Though we have been friends with Brian for many many years, this is the first time he has joined us on our show! Hit play and listen in as Caleb, Bill Z and Steve talk with Brian about how he got into comics and what all four of us are looking forward to this upcoming weekend as we will all be meeting up in Charlotte, NC to attend Heroes Con! Then when the comic talk starts, it's a varied lot! Under the CBB microscope this time around are X-Men #35 (the legacy #700 anniversary issue), DC's 2024 Pride and DC Pride: A Celebration of Rachel Pollack anthologies, Parallel by Matthias Lehman, The Midnight Order by Mathieu Bablet, Self-Esteem and the End of the World by Luke Healy, Titan's new Savage Sword of Conan series and Lifeline Comics' crossover of their titles Haunting and Like Father, Like Daughter! There is nothing better than a hot guest bear like Brian during Pride month so whether you are an ally or a fellow member of The Alphabet Mafia yourself, please join us!
Time for a new Comic Book Bears audio episode! On May 23rd the regular CBB crew (Steve, Caleb and Bill Z) convened to once again chat about the funnybooks. After a few tangents (Memorial Day weekend plans, our favorite Rolling Stones songs, prepping for HeroesCon) the boys finally sashay over to the virtual spinner rack in the Bearcave. Among the books discussed - Batman: Dark Age (DC), Batman/Superman: World's Finest (DC), Vengeance of the Moon Knight (Marvel), The Last Mermaid (Image), Pine and Merrimac (Boom) and Spectregraph (DSTLRY) - just hit play for two hours, one minute and twenty-five seconds of hairy heavy homo comic chat!
On this new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode we are thrilled to talk with two of the folks behind new indie publishing company Bamboo Panel Studios and their Kickstarter campaign for the first project, Kosmotrope! BPS CEO Jon Runyan is a long time friend of the show and past guest and he appears along with BPS Editor-in-Chief Randy Faustino! Randy also serves as the writer of Kosmotrope! Described as an urban fantasy thriller, Kosmotrope concerns a mysterious affliction begins striking down residents of the community of Sequoia Pass and it is up to conservation officer Liam O’Sullivan to stop the malady before the town and its people are consumed by it! Their Kickstarter runs until May 27th; the link is below. Beyond that Steve, Caleb and Bill Z talk about some new comics including the MAD Magazine Free Comic Book Day offering, Space Ghost #1 and Slash Presents (yes, THAT Slash) Deathstalker, based on the sword-and-sorcery film series from the 1980s! (And on that note R.I.P. Roger Corman.)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kosmotrope1/kosmotrope-1?ref=profile_created
"X-Men '97" premiered on Disney+ on March 20th, 2024 and this series continues the storyline for the 1990s "X-Men: The Animated Series" and details the plight of the team as they face new challenges following the apparent death of their leader, Professor X. Hit play and you will hear Steve and Bill Z discuss the first few episodes and joining in them in their chat is longtime friend of the show Tony Gilkinson, appearing on the podcast for first time! Beyond X-Men '97, Tony and the CBB Boys also talk about some of their favorite X-Men stories in the funnybooks including the Neal Adams/Roy Thomas late 1960s X-Men run, the original graphic novel and the initial issues of The New Mutants, the Muir Island Saga and series starring Jimmy Hudson, son of Ultimate Wolverine! Hit play to join us for two plus hours of marvelous mutant musings!
Hey kids - it's another new Comic Book Bears audio episode and we are thrilled to welcome back to the show our Ursine Operative from Oz, the Koala of Comics himself Nottingham scribe David Hazan!! Nottingham is on its 11th issue which is the start of the thrilling final arc of the series! David talks with us about what is ahead as the Sheriff returns home to find a city he barely recognizes. David also chats with us about his recently Kickstarted Requiem #2 and more about his process and his work! Then we move onto comic book roundtable time as the CBB boys Bill Z, Steve and Caleb discuss recent books like Feral (Image), Suicide Squad: Dream Team (DC), Black Hammer: The End (Dark Horse) and much more!
The weather is getting warmer and the CBB boys have more comics to talk about! After covering some news items Steve, Caleb and Bill Z chat about some recent favorites of theirs including the end of the X-Men's Krakoa era books Rise of the Powers of X and Fall of the House of X (Marvel), Wonder Woman (DC), Outsiders (DC), The N Word of God (Fantagraphics) and Rare Flavours (Boom)! Plus, with this episode, we may be the only comic book podcast to have ever referenced the work of Lincoln Center Theater poster artist James McMullan! Plus our Geek Gets, our Woofs of the Week and more!
Time for another new audio episode based on our spotlighting of indie creators on our video livestream! On this episode (recorded on March 7th) we are very pleased to welcome for her first time on the podcast writer Corissa Grant! Corissa introduces us to her horror comic series, Worthy Chaos: Redemption!! The project just had another successful Kickstarter campaign for issue #9! Steve sits solo in the driver's seat for the interview and chats with Corissa about the fight for survival against destiny and the forces of the underworld in Redemption, her inspirations, building a fanbase, and why terrifying supernatural creatures make such cute plushies! And for the second show in a row, Bill Z joins up late toward the end to talk up some other comics like Spider-Gwen: Smash (Marvel) and AWA's U&I by J. Michael Straczynski & Mike Choi! Hit play and you'll get all this plus Woofs, Gets and more on this (sadly) Caleb-less episode!
Over the past few weeks we spotlighted indie creators on our video livestream and now those episodes are being made available as audio episodes! First up (recorded on February 22nd) we are very pleased to welcome for their first time on the podcast artist Amanda Kahl and writer Jeremy Flagg, co-creators of the comic "I Am The First". Caleb and Steve interview the duo and we get to know their inspirations and journey creating the series, where to find their other work, their Brave New Comics imprint and more! (And fear not, CBB faithful, Bill Z continues his unbroken streak of appearances by JUST making onto the show at the end!)
A bunch of bears and a bunch of new comics - yes, it's another new Comic Book Bears audio episode! Hit play and hear Steve, Caleb and Bill Z chat about a very important bit of recent comic industry news - the mass exodus of artists from Cadence Comic Art - and then onto the comic book talk with time dedicated to Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel), The Schlub (Image), Somna (DSTLRY) and John Constantine: Hellblazer - Dead in America (DC)! AND YES, ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1 REALLY IS THAT GOOD!!!
Finally, it's a new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Hit play and hear the CBB boys (Bill Z, Steve and Caleb) talk about comics like Superman: Lost, Kneel Before Zod, the new Duke and Cobra Commander books from Image/Skybound's G.I. Joe line and - remember we are a queer podcast - Killer Queens 2! The boys also get caught up with each other and, since this first 2024 episode was recorded during the playoffs, you get treated to some NFL Conference and Super Bowl chat from Caleb and Bill ... it was a funny conversation so we left it in ... and if you have missed the audio episodes, don't worry - this is just the first of three that we will be releasing over the next week!
Two of the CBB boys (Bill Z and Steve) were able to sneak in one last livestream in 2023 and here it is now as the first Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode of 2024! And it's all about the King of the Seven Seas! Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the 15th film and final installment in the DC Extended Universe movie series and that's what we chat about! The film was directed by James Wan and stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman, alongside Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Martin Short, and Nicole Kidman. In the film, Aquaman must work with his half-brother Orm to prevent Black Manta from killing his family and using the cursed Black Trident to overheat the world while searching for the lost seventh kingdom of the seas. We let you know what we thought about it and also provide some recommendations for comic books featuring Aquatic Ace! Hit play to dive in!!!
We are thrilled to welcome back to the show for our final full length episode of 2023 Dr. Christopher Michael Roman! Dr. Roman is a Professor of English at Kent State University and he specializes in Comics Studies and the Graphic Novel, LGBTQ+ Literature and Queer Theory. The Professor is here to talk about his book Queering Wolverine in Comics and Fanfiction: A Fastball Special which discusses the ways in which Wolverine is a queer hero and examines his representation as an open, vulnerable, and kinship-oriented queer hero in both comics and fanfiction. It is an eclectic and very thought provoking discussion! After that our esteemed guest and not-so esteemed hosts sit down to a virtual comic roundtable to discuss recent reads like Unleashed, Wesley Dodds: The Sandman, Monstress and Wild's End!
Hit SNIKT and enjoy!
The end of this year saw a number of Doctor Who specials hit the television screens and the first was The Star Beast! But did you know it was based on a comic book? Hit play to hear the Comic Book Bears boys discuss the original "The Star Beast" comic story written by Pat Mills and drawn by Dave Gibbons in 1980 as well as the 2023 live action interpretation of it written by returning Who showrunner Russell T Davies with David Tennant and Catherine Tate returning as The Doctor and Donna Noble. Since it is the end of the year we do get in some Best of 2023 chat in which is surprisingly not about comic books but about our favorite music of the year! Then we finally get to some full on comic book yapping with the recent Supergirl Special, Panya: The Mummy's Curse (from the World of Hellboy), Fung Gi (from Scout Comics) and Brandon Graham's Moonray under discussion. So, join all four hosts - Bryan, Caleb, Steve and Bill - for two hours of TARDIS and non-TARDIS talk!
We are thrilled to welcome back to the show comic creator John Horsley!!! John had previously appeared on our show to discuss his horror themed Eynes Anthology a few years back and this time he is here to discuss his Kickstarter campaign for a very different type of book! Jonly Nonly began life as a comedic webcomic back in 2008 that John created based off his wife Kaylie's drawings of John and his friend Jeff. The Kickstarter is for collections of these strips - both as single issues and as a TPB! John takes us through the characters who inhabit the strip (Jonly Nonly, the fishing obsessed Jeffers, the cool AF Calvereena and Star Wars enthusiast Earf) and fills us in on why we all should back it! Apart from the interview the CBBers also discuss recent comic related news (such as The Marvels tanking at the box office, possible Fantastic Four casting, the Madame Web trailer hitting and the SAG-AFTRA strike ending with comic related shows going back into production) and talking about some new comics including Jean Grey, Birds of Prey and Alan Scott: Green Lantern! So hit play and, for those listeners of ours in the States, have a great Turkey Day!!
It's another trip to the movies for the Comic Book Bears on this new audio episode as Bill Z, Caleb and Steve discuss The Marvels! The film is the 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. The Marvels was directed by Nia DaCosta and stars Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan and Samuel L. Jackson returning onced again as Nick Fury. The movie finds Danvers, Rambeau, and Khan teaming up after they begin swapping places with each other every time they use their powers, against the backdrop of a desperate and dangerous Kree Empire. It's no secret that the film has underperformed at the box office - hit play to hear what this group of groovy gay guys felt about the film and why there has been a muted reaction to it.
Join the Comic Book Bears boys as fall is fully in gear! Steve, Bill and Caleb are all back on the mic and kick off this latest audio episode with a post-Halloween-mostly-about-horror-movies opening tangent salvo and follow that up with some comic book (and a tiny bit of non-comic book) related news. The CBBers then movie over to that funnybook round table with Steve championing the latest revival of Alpha Flight (Marvel) and Gone by writer artist Jock (DSTLRY), Caleb advocating for the Crypt of Shadows anthology (Marvel) and the Gargoyles Halloween Special (Dynamite) and Bill singing the praises of Jay Garrick: The Flash (DC) and Orson Welles: Warrior of the Worlds (Scout); hit play and hear all this and our geek gets, our Woofs of the Week and at least two really terrible puns!
We are back to four bears strong as Bryan, Bill, Caleb and Steve are all on the mic for this new audio episode! From Japan to Chicago to New York Comic Con, 3/4 of us have been off traveling for the past few weeks and we spend the first part catching with each other and talking of our exploits (much of them comics infused.) And if you want to skip right to the comic book talk then go to the 55 minute mark as we pull a bunch of recent #1 comics off of the virtual spinner rack - G.O.D.S. (Marvel), Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong (DC), Transformers (Image), Conan The Barbarian (Titan), Kaptara: Universal Truths (Image), Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (IDW) as well as the new graphic novel The Mysteries by Bill Watterson and John Kascht! So hit play and enjoy some four-color talk from some hairy heavy gays!
It's the latest audio episode of The Comic Book Bears Podcast! That's right - strike "comic" out of the title this week because for this installment of our show we are putting the funnybooks away and will be talking about prose books, both ones we are currently reading and the fiction and non-fiction books that made up our formative literature over the years. Hit play and hear Steve, Caleb and Bill discuss the current reads which include Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill, Under the Whispering Door by TJ Clune, Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum, American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and the Battles of Lev Gleason by Brett Dakin and Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics by Dylan Jones. After that, we get into the books that made a big impact on each of us: they are too numerous to list here but trust our word that it makes for a fun discussion!
If this were the 1970s we would call this episode Comics Book Bears Triple Action! Press play and get ready for an extended triple treat!
First, we are joined by writer Steve Bryant and artist Don Cardenas who join us to discuss their Kickstarter campaign for the second issue of Evie and the Helsings! The miniseries follows Evie Van Helsing of the famed vampire hunting Van Helsing family as she navigates life between two worlds - the rock scene where she fronts a band and the family business. It's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets This is Spinal Tap by way of Ash Versus Evil Dead. Steve and Don cover what metal bands and horror films are influencing them and so much more! The Kickstarter still has a few days to go and the link is below!
Second, we transition to cinematic talk and discuss Blue Beetle, the 14th installment of the DC Extended Universe. Blue Beetle was directed by Ángel Manuel Soto and stars Xolo Maridueña as the title character alongside Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon, and George Lopez. All the CBB boys saw it and offer up what they thought of Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle's origin story!
Third, we still manage to get in a comic book roundtable to wrap it all up! Caleb discusses the latest reboot of The Avengers by Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa! Bill takes on Tales of the Titans #1 featuring Starfire! And Steve chooses The Devil's Cut #1 (or "that DSTLRY one-shot"), an anthology collecting samples of new work from the initial creative line-ups for DSTLRY's fall debut as a new publisher to chat about!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevebryant/evie-and-the-helsings-12/description
We are thrilled to bring back Bryan Pittard back to the show!! If the CBB boys were The Defenders, Bryan is our Silver Surfer - he might not be around for a while but when he is back he's a full on member who swoops in to save the day! Bryan joins your regular crew (Steve, Caleb and Bill) to talk comics and this time the virtual pull list has DC's Knight Terrors event, Astonishing Iceman, Planet of the Apes, Second Coming: Trinity, Tula Lotay and Scott Snyder's Barnstormers and Pool Boys by Josh Trujillo with art by Josh Cornillo on it! As for the title of the episode, listen to the very beginning as we chat about a recent development on the music scene!
The X-Men's annual Hellfire Gala recently happened and hosted man and mutant alike ... and things didn't go down so well! On this latest Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode we - meaning Bill Z, Caleb and Steve - discuss the one-shot which kicks off the Fall of X event into high gear. But before that we have a very frank discussion about how one of our hosts appears to be losing interest in reading comic books and all the group shares their stories about times they stopped reading and what got them back in. (If you want to skip this chat, you can go to the 37:00 min mark.) Then the CBB boys are all in for comic talk with the aforementioned Hellfire Gala 2023 one-shot, Power Girl Special #1, Avengers Beyond #1, Ultimate Invasion #1, Fire Power and the Planetary Omnibus each undergoing our ursine analysis. So grab your embossed Hellfire invite, step into a portal to Krakoa by hitting play, grab a cocktail (or ten) and enjoy!
2023 marks yet another year where none of the Comic Book Bears Podcast boys - Caleb, Steve and Billy Z - were in attendance at San Diego Comic Con but the comic talk continues! Recorded on 7/20/2023, the date that SDCC kicked off, this episode starts off with tangents about the much missed MediaPlay chain and the hazards of getting stoned on the beach the day after your senior prom. Then the boys shift over to grab some books off that virtual spinner rack and this time around the books discussed include the beginning of DC's Knight Terrors event, the new Incredible Hulk #1, Dragonball Z, Jeff Lemire's new project Fireflies and a nod to the past with the Question by Dennis O'Neil and Denys Cowan Omnibus! Hit play to enjoy a solid two hours of ursine funnybook discussion!
We all know how hot it has been this July in North America. The Comic Book Bears are here to help you cool down a bit with some talk about cool comic books! After rapidly changing subjects at the outset of the episode (going off on tangents from birthdays to a really intense take on Lex Luthor to ... the heat), the spinner rack gets spun! Steve talks up X-Cellent (Marvel) and the surprising Void Rivals (Image); Caleb takes a look into this year's Hulk and Scarlet Witch annuals; Billy Z examines the Dawn of DC version of Green Arrow and a classic run on New Gods by Gerry Conway and Don Newton. All this plus woofs and gets and much more!
For the third episode in a row, the Comic Book Bears bunch have a movie based episode! And this time the focus is on the fastest man alive! The Flash is based on the DC Comics character of the same name and it is the 13th (!) installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) franchise. The movie is directed by Andy Muschietti and stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash alongside Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú and Michael Keaton once again in a landmark role of his. In the film, Barry travels back in time to prevent his mother's death which brings unintended, multiversal consequences. Steve and Bill are on hand to discuss what they thought of the movie and why they think the response to it has been muted. Then, as is custom with our film based episodes, we provide what we feel are exceptional Flash comics to seek out. All this plus our discussion of our time attending HeroesCon in Charlotte - some unexpected surprises there - earlier in the month, a quick current comics roundtable, Geek Gets, Woofs of the Week and more! So hit play and let us send you running on an audio cosmic treadmill!
New Comic Book Bears audio episode! Join us as Bill Z, Steve and Caleb return to the movies (for a second episode in a row) to discuss Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse! The animated film is the sequel to 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson. Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, and Oscar Isaac make up the main voice cast which finds Miles Morales on an new, high stakes adventure with Gwen Stacy across the multiverse where he meets a new team of fellow Spider-folk known as the Spider-Society, led by Miguel O' Hara/Spider-Man 2099, but comes into conflict with them over how to handle a new threat! Hit play to hear what the CBB boys thought of the movie and then - as is now custom with our movie oriented episodes - make their recommendations concerning comics featuring the Spider-Verse characters that we think you might dig! We still get in a little bit of roundtable time to discuss some new books and GNS like Count Dante #1, Centralia and Supermassive 2023! WOOF AND THWIP!
May 5th, 2023 saw the release of the final installment in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Once again directed by James Gunn - and his MCU swan song as well - GOTGV3 stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan and more as Star Lord, Drax, Mantis, Rocket, Groot, Nebula and a revived Gamora go on one final adventure together, this time squaring off against The High Evolutionary! And what did the CBB boys think of it? Well, hit play to hear where Steve, Caleb and Bill Z think Guardians 3 ranks! And as is now custom with our movie centric episodes we offer our recommendations for what Guardians tales we think readers would enjoy in the four color format! We also discuss the Eisner nominations, get in some unexpected Amityville Horror talk, woofs, gets and a lot more!
We had hoped to get the audio episode of our livestream on this past Star Wars Day (5/4/2023) out to you a bit earlier than we have but here it is! Bill Z, Caleb and Steve gather round the mic for another new CBB confab! Since we have something else Star Wars specific in the planning stages, we don't spend too much time in a galaxy far, far away but journey long enough around the Outer Rim to discuss the recent High Republic comics! On top of that Superman: Lost, more Sins of Sinister, Hellcat, Jeff Lemire's Phantom Road and Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever - Rock and Roll also get their own spotlights during our roundtable! Plus news, gets, woofs and much more!
Another new CBB audio episode! We welcome to show for the first time Zackary Marois! Artist/writer Zack is a graduate of the Kubert School and is about to launch a new Kickstarter: Voyage Issue 1 - Principium! This sci-fi adventure series details the saga of Sonderon, an intergalactic space explorer! The Kickstarter will launch soon and we get the early word from the creator about what to expect. The indie vibe continues on in the roundtable as Steve, Caleb and Bill Z discuss Monster Tag Team (American Mythology), The Seasons Have Teeth (Boom!), House on Fire (Living the Line) and more!! Hit play and join us!
We are thrilled to welcome back to the show the Koala Bear of Comics and Nottingham scribe David Hazan! Our favorite Aussie David has some new books coming out in the next few months - the magic oriented Monomyth (Mad Cave) with its first issue hitting the shops on May 3rd and Death Drop: Drag Assassin (Scout), a supernatural queer noir about a hitman turned drag queen that is slated for release on June 14th! David fills us in on these series as well as the Tales from Nottingham (Mad Cave) anthology series and he is joined by the letterer on these projects Lucas Gattoni, the Argentinian Lettering Bear, who discusses his work on David's books and others such as Blue Beetle: Graduation Day (DC)! And if this sexy international ursine one-two punch isn't enough we also talk about some recent comic book oriented Film and Tv trailers and Billy Z, Caleb and Steve discuss The Unstoppable Doom Patrol (DC), the relaunched Black Panther (Marvel), the Paul is Dead: How The Beatles Lost Paul (Image) graphic novel and more!
Another new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Earlier this month, we observed Daylight Savings Time here in the US and this was the first time the CBB boys (Bill Z, Caleb and Steve) reconvened in the virtual bearcave since setting the clocks ahead. After a bunch of news items the comics discussed on this episode include Superman: Space Age (DC), the X-Men: Sins of Sinister event (Marvel), Local Man (Image), Blood Tree (Image), Godfell (Vault) and How I Became a Shoplifter (Sumerian). Hit play and you will also discover what "Met the Deck" isn't!
WITH ONE MAGIC WORD! The Comic Book Bears boys return to the cinema for a new audio episode discussing Shazam: Fury of the Gods! It is the sequel to the first 2019 Shazam! film and is also the 12th installment in the DC Extended Universe franchise. The film was directed by David F. Sandberg and stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu, Djimon Hounsou, and Helen Mirren. In the film, Billy Batson and the rest of the Shazam siblings fight the Daughters of Atlas! Hit the play button to hear what Steve (not the pen) and Bill (who was battling with the Fury of the Bad Headcolds when they recorded) thought of the movie and, as is CBB custom, also offer up their suggestions for collected comic book editions starring the Shazam Family members!
The Comic Book Bears head back to the movies to discuss Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the 31st Marvel Cinematic Universe film and the first in that franchise's Phase 5! The film was directed by Peyton Reed and stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly returning as Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne alongside Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas. In the film, the Lang/Van Dyne family are transported to the Quantum Realm and face Kang the Conqueror. Caleb, Steve and Bill Z offer up what they thought of the movie and also provide their picks for anyone who might want to follow up seeing the film by reading Ant-Man or Kang centric comics. (Also, it was impossible to discuss this film without spoilers so if you want to avoid the film talk, that all occurs between the 3:42 to 45:50 mark.) After that a trip to the spinner rack yields a discussion regarding recent comics like Swamp Thing: Green Hell (DC Black Label), Blue Beetle: Graduation Day (DC) and A Foulness in the Walls (AfterShock). So hit play to release those Pym Particles and join us for some subatomic cinema talk!
Time for another new Comic Book Bears Podcast episode! The show starts off as Bill Z, Steve and Caleb catch up with one another and then talk briefly about the recent passing of music legend Burt Bacharach. News items include Kickstarter searching for their new director of comics projects and the passing of artist Lee Moder. Then we head onto the virtual spinner rack with discussions about Midnight Suns (Marvel), Avengers: War Across Time (Marvel), It's Lonely at the Center of the Earth (Image), Where Monster Lie (Dark Horse), Breath of Shadows (IDW) and the manga classic Banana Fish (Viz.) Plus as always our gets, our woofs and our tangents!
On this new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode, we welcome back to the show the incredible Steve Bryant! Steve has been on our podcast many times in the past to talk about his work like Athena Voltaire and The Clean and this time around he is here to discuss his Kickstarter campaign for the first issue of Evie and the Helsings! For centuries, the Van Helsing family has protected humanity from things that go bump in the night. The mantle has been passed onto the last of the family line. But Evie Van Helsing just wants to rock! Written by Steve, drawn by Don Cardenas with colors by Jason Millet, Evie and the Helsings is the first issue of a 4-issue miniseries that follows Evie as she navigates life between the music industry and the supernatural world. (Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets This is Spinal Tap by way of Ash Versus Evil Dead.) Hit play to hear Steve tell us all about it! After the interview, Caleb, Billy Z and Steve discuss some recent comic related news (such as the cancellation of two HBOMAX comic books based shows and a new Titans #1 with a phenomenal creative team behind it!) New books on the spinner rack that we discuss include Nightwing #100, the kickoff of the X-Men storyline Sins of Sinister and Inferno Girl Red #1 from Image Comics! All this and ... sorta kinda ... Cher!
Please also note this is our first episode with our brand new theme song ... which we really really dig ... composed just for us by the electronic artist Walkathon!
And lastly we talk about a Meal Train campaign to assist our very close friend and fellow podcaster Wendi Freeman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The links for the Evie Kickstarter and Wendi's campaign are below. Please consider contributing to both!!!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevebryant/evie-and-the-helsings-1
https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/9v4vy6
SO THIS IS THE NEW YEAR! The CBB boys ring in the new year with their first audio episode of 2023! And in the spirit of new beginnings and soft reboots, we decided to offer up some reintroductions! Billy Z, Steve and Caleb each chat a little bit about themselves and then they each surprise one another with questions - one comic related and one about life in general. We also spend some time going over the generally accepted definitions of bears and bear culture in the queer community for those who might have a degree of unfamiliarity (and maybe even for those who are QUITE familiar!) For the news segment, in the absence of any notable developments recently in the comics world, we focus on a tweet from writer Chuck Dixon designed to mock and attack newer and diverse comic creators and that leads to a discussion about when people with a body of work you respect come up way short as human beings. Then onto the comic book talk - almost exactly at the one hour mark if you want to cut to the chase - with New Mutants, the Hulk mini-series Joe Fixit, Nightwing, Danger Street, Spy Superb and the Black Veil Brides-centric series The Phantom Tomorrow all occupying slots in our spinner rack! All this and our patent pending Geek Gets and Woofs of the Week! Hit play and join us in the comic cave for a bit!
Intro Music: Ocean Colour Scene - "You've Got It Bad"
Outro Music: Klassik 78 - "Living Fantasy (Tonight)"
One last 2022 Comic Book Bears audio episode for you all! Bill Z, Caleb and Steve are back with you for one more episode before Father Time ushers us into 2023! Listen in as the CBB first cover some of December's big news items such as James Gunn's new role overseeing DC Studios (including the cancellation of Wonder Woman 3 and Henry Cavill hanging up his cape as Kal-El) and Aftershock's filing for bankruptcy. Then they shift over to the comic talk with Gargoyles #1 (Dynamite), A Vicious Circle #1 (Boom), Batman/Superman: World's Finest #10 (DC), Frank Frazetta's Dawn Attack #1 (Opus), Art Brut #1 (Image) and from a few years back Saucer State (IDW) among the books discussed! We hope you all had a great holiday season and we wish you all the best as we venture into the new year!!
Step into the Comic Book Bears cave for the first of two audio episodes this month! Bill Z, Steve and Caleb are all present to talk comics ranging from the Big Two to a number of new and recent indie titles! Among the books discussed are DC's Superman titles, Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise (Marvel), Sparks of Chaos (CEX), Project Superpowers: Fractured States (Dynamite), Jason Aaron's Once Upon a Time at the End of the World (Boom) and Door By Door, Night By Night by Cullen Bunn and Sally Cantirino (Vault). Apart from the comics Bill Z also went a bit nuts on a Black Friday spending spree, Caleb reveals he is the love child of Dolly Parton and Rob Halford, and Steve ... is ... well, Steve.
So take a break from those Christmas records playing, hit play on us and get your funnybook fix!
For the second new audio episode in a row the Comic Book Bears head over to the multiplex! Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the sequel to Black Panther (2018) and the 30th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series. Directed by Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole, BP:WF stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Martin Freeman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Angela Bassett. In the film, the leaders of Wakanda fight to protect their nation from new threats in the wake of T'Challa's death. The film also serves as the introduction of Namor to the MCU! Steve and Caleb weigh in with what they thought of the movie and then Billy Z joins them on the mic for a new comic book roundtable discussion! So hit play! (It's the Wakandan way!)
On this first of two back-to-back super-hero based movie episodes, the Comic Book Bears return to your earbuds to discuss Black Adam, the 11th DC Extended Universe film! The movie is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and stars Dwayne Johnson in the titular role with Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari and Quintessa Swindell rounding out the cast. Black Adam centers around Teth-Adam, an ancient superhuman who is released from his magic imprisonment by a group of archeologists to free the nation of Kahndaq from a criminal enterprise that rules their country. He gains the attention of the Justice Society of America who try to stop Adam from causing further destruction from his attacks but they all discover that there is a deeper evil at work. Hit play to join Billy Z, Steve and Caleb and hear what they thought of the film and then stick around for some comic book talk (including a few Black Adam related titles!)
The CBB Boys were all super busy during the tail end of September and the entire month of October but they finally regrouped to talk comics in their virtual comic cave. But to venture over to the spinner rack, you have to first clear a hurdle in hearing about the group members exploits at New York Comic Con, at Memphis Comic Expo, being super gay in Las Vegas, being super lawyerly in Portland and traveling to the Diamond State! Comics discussed this time around include an exploration of one the classic New Mutants arcs from the 1980s, DC's current Dark Crisis event books and Stepping Stones by writer/artist Lucy Knisley which is all about a city girl finding a new life on a farm. All you have to do is hit play and you'll get a whole lotta Steve, Caleb and Billy Z and a whole lotta comic talk!
The CBB boys return to their virtual funnybook case for an hour and 45 minutes of mostly comic book talk. There is a reference to a geek get and (inexplicably) a few references to 1978's DC Implosion but for the most part it is just new comic books! So put in the ear buds and press play to hear Billy Z, Caleb and Steve discuss The Least We Can Do (Image), Bloodshot Unleashed (Valiant), Tales of the Human Target (DC), Crashing (IDW), Ms. Marvel & Venom (Marvel), Superman: Warworld Apocalypse (DC) and a bunch more!
Another new audio episode, and our first where our wonder cub Caleb can place an "Esq." after his name, just like our Grand Poobah Billy Z! Yes, our kid passed the bar exam and he's ready to shake up the legal profession! But before he does that, he and Billy join Stalwart Steve in talking about comics books with a round table ranging from all ages books (My Buddy Killer Croc, Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories) to newer offerings from Image Comics (Twig, The Last Shadowhawk, Shirtless Bear Fighter 2) to others! Hit play and join us!!!
We are (finally) back with new audio episodes! Join us as Caleb, Bill and Steve discuss the first three episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the new MCU television series on Disney+! The series follows Jennifer Walters, a lawyer specializing in cases involving superhumans, who through a series of events involving her cousin Bruce Banner also becomes a big green superhero!
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law stars Tatiana Maslany as the title character alongside Jameela Jamil, Ginger Gonzaga, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Roth, Benedict Wong and more! Then we turn our attention to the hirsuite spinner rack and offer up our opinions on a variety of examples of graphic goodness!
On this extra-long new episode, the CBB boys (Bill, Caleb and Steve) reconvene to discuss the landmark television adaptation on Netflix of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series! Based on the DC/Vertigo comic book series that originally ran from 1989 to 1996, The Sandman tells the story of Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams and one of the seven siblings that make up The Endless, is captured in an occult ritual in 1916. After being held captive for 106 years, Morpheus escapes and sets out to restore order to his realm, The Dreaming. And if that were not enough, we also discuss DC League of Super-Pets! The computer-animated superhero comedy film is based on the DC Comics characters with voice talent including Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, and Keanu Reeves. It tells the story of Superman's pet dog Krypto and shelter dog Ace who work with other animals to defeat an unexpected adversary with a connection to Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor! And if that STILL were not enough, the fellas get some new comic book talk in!
One of this summer's big movie hits was Thor: Love and Thunder, the 29th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is directed by Taika Waititi and stars Chris Hemsworth once again as Thor alongside Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Waititi, Russell Crowe, and Natalie Portman. In the film, Thor attempts to find inner peace, but must return to action and recruit Valkyrie, Korg and Jane Foster - who is now the Mighty Thor—to stop Gorr the God Butcher, a new adversary who is on a quest to eliminate all gods from existence! Steve and Bill are on hand to offer up what they thought of the movie along with discussing some of the news that came out of this year's San Diego Comic Con and head over to the virtual spinner rack to discuss a few new books. Also it is pretty much an Asgardian miracle that we are delivering this audio episode to you: we encountered Ragnarok-level problems with the mix. There may be a few portions where Steve is a bit too low in the mix but we are proud to still be able to bring our 244th episode to you!
The CBB boys are thrilled to welcome back Richard Rivera to the show! A veteran guest of ours and long time friend of the podcast, Richard is the Co-Publisher of Scout Comics and the writer/creator of the fan favorite series Stabbity Bunny. Stabbity is a plush toy rabbit that has been passed down generations in a family that has been hunted by supernatural forces for almost 100 years. It is now in the hands of young Grace Lee and we discover that Stabbity is far more than a toy! Richard is here to discuss the latest Stabbity-related Kickstarter campaign for collected editions of Stabbity Bunny Volumes 1 and 2 and much, much more!
HeroesCon 2022 marked the return of the venerable North Carolina comic book convention for the first time since 2019 AND the show's 40th anniversary! But on top of that it also marked the monumental first meeting in person of our own Bill Z and Caleb! So pop in those ear buds us as we recount the great time we buds had at the show! And joining us on the show to celebrate our time at Heroes is another attendee, our good friend Jon Runyan of the A Comic Book Look podcast! And just where was NC native Steve during all this!?!? Well, hit play and find out!
New Comic Book Bears audio episode! We are thrilled to have Bryan rejoin us after his time away to discuss a spate of new books in one more June episode! Steve and Bill enthusiastically reunite with him in the CBBearcave to chat about the DC Pride 2022 anthology, the first two issues of both Twig (Image) and The Rocketeer: The Great Race (IDW), Action Comics Annual 2022 (DC), Hulkling and Wiccan #1 (Marvel) and the latest graphic novel from one of our favorite creators Joe Glass (with Vince Underwood), The Miracles - and much much more! Hit play and enjoy!
The CBB boys help close out Pride Month with this new audio episode recorded from our 6/6/2022 livestream! Listen in as we discuss a number of outstanding LGBTQIA+ books! Among the works that Bill Z, Caleb and Steve talk about this time around are Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Rockstar and Softboy by Sina Grace, The Life and Comics of Howard Cruse: Taking Risks in the Service of Truth by Andrew J. Kunka, Queer As All Get Out: 10 People Who've Inspired Me by Shelby Criswell, Rave by Jessica Criswell and the first issue of DC/Milestone's new take on Blood Syndicate! Happy Pride!
New Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! The Comic Book Bears boys (Steve, Bill Z and recent recent law school graduate Caleb) head to the multiplex in this new audio episode as they discuss Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series. The movie is directed by Sam Raimi and stars Benedict Cumberbatch resturning once again as Stephen Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez and Rachel McAdams. In the film, Strange protects America Chavez (Gomez), a teenager capable of traveling the multiverse, from an unexpected foe. On a much more somber note, the hosts also discuss the life and work of seminal comic artist artist and writer George Perez who passed away on May 6th, 2022. Listen in as we discuss his work on The New Teen Titans, Avengers, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman and many other properties. (Again we are aware that you won't be able with the audio version to follow along with the graphics as you would from our livestream so please head over to our Facebook page for a gallery of George's art that we discuss.)
On this latest Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode, Bill Z and Steve don their Murderino caps and dive deep into Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession, a wonderful new original GN by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell from Andrews McMeel Publishing. Campbell, who is best known as a cartoonist for The New Yorker, traces the murders that have captivated her through her life, details how this is a generational interest in her family and simultaneously offers up a love letter to her fellow true crime fanatics. Murder Book is a funny, thoughtful, and highly personal blend of memoir, cultural criticism, and true crime with a focus on the often-overlooked victims of notorious killers and provides the best answers yet as to why it can so much fun to read about death and dismemberment! Also we honor the passing of comics legend Neal Adams this past April 28th with our exploration of his life and work. (We are fully aware that you won't be able with the audio version to follow along with the graphics as you would from our livestream so please head over to our Facebook page for a gallery of Neal's art that we discuss.)
The last two months has seen a slew of new DC first issues so this time around Bill Z and Steve select the National Periodical Publications option and discuss five of them! Hit play to hear our queer ursine takes on Beyond Flashpoint #0, The Rogues #1, Batman/Superman: World's Finest #1, Trial of the Amazons #1 and Naomi: Season Two #1! Add in some "geek gets" talk, a multitude of tangents and our Woofs of the Week and you got the latest Comic Book Bears audio episode!
Once again, we welcome back journalist and Archie Comics Chris Cummins expert to the show! Chris recently made the news when nearly his entire comic book collection was stolen from a Philadelphia storage facility. Chris details for us what happened and offers some tips just in case you do come across comics in your travels that may have come from his collection. Then it's roundtable time as Chris joins Caleb, Steve and Bill Z to discuss recent comic books which include Fire Power (Image), Derek Mark's new effort Legendary Spirits, Sensational Wonder Woman Special (DC), Geiger 80-Page Giant (Image), Chilling Adventures in Sorcery (Archie), the Star Wars: Life Day one-shot (Marvel) and much more! Also ... JESSICA LANGE IS NUMBER ONE!!!
We were surprised we were going to have all four CBBears available to be on the mic this week but it happened! Listen in as we talk about Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg's Red Room and the controversy around a planned Maus-inspired cover, the X Lives and the X Deaths of Wolverine and what's up with Moira McTaggart, Alison Bechdel's newest book The Secret to Superhuman Strength, a new Conan adventure found in The Cimmeriam: Hour of the Dragon from Ablaze, the return of Saga after a three year absence, a look back at Ed Brubaker's Captain America and much more!!
March 4th, 2022 saw the premiere of The Batman, the new film about the Caped Crusader directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson as the title character alongside Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell. Caleb, Steve and Bill slide down the bearpoles to the CBB cave to discuss the new movie and also provide some of their picks at classic and recent Bat-related books that they think listeners may enjoy! So press play and join us in Gotham to find out what we thought about this new cinematic take on the Dark Knight Detective!
Once again we are delighted to welcome back Will Lindus of the Movie Bears Podcast! We love that we are able every once in a while to give this handsome gent the opportunity to talk comics on our show! We start the show off covering recent comic book news, primarily the universally despised changes to Comixology! This time the books in our figurative spinner rack include Super Massive #1 (Image), Stray Dogs (Image), Batman/Catwoman Special (DC), Catwoman: Special Day #2 (DC), Faithless III (Boom), Barbalien: Red Planet - From the World of Black Hammer (Dark Horse), Manor Black: Fire in the Blood (Dark Horse) and New Masters #1 (Image). A big guest like this deserves a big running time so strap in to join Will, Bill, Steve and Caleb for a 2-hours-and-change episode! (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band also factors in ... because why not?)
The Comic Book Bears Podcast is back with another new audio episode! Bill, Steve and Caleb gather together for another roundtable of four color (and some B&W) goodness! With books that range from manga to biography the discussion topics this time include Mister Miracle: The Great Escape, Hex Vet, Fire!! The Zora Neale Hurston Story, Kaiju 8 Vol. 1, Superman and Robin Special #1 and the Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus! When we hit the last one we stay on that subject for a while because ALL THE S%#T WENT DOWN IN WEST COAST AVENGERS in the 80s and 90s! Hit play and join us!
The Comic Book Bears Podcast virtual cave has reopened for the first time in 2022! Join as Caleb, Bryan, Steve and Bill are all on hand for their first episode of the new year! A few days ago a Tennessee school district made international news by banning Maus, Art Spiegelman's landmark Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel about the Holocaust from being taught in its schools or being offered in its libraries. And we weigh in! As for comics discussed in our round table, this time around the subjects are Monkey Meat #1 (Image), Nightwing #87 (DC), Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman (Hodder Children's Books) and Inferno #4 (Marvel). In fact, there is a whole lot of X-Men talk if that is your thing! We even managed to prevail in having all four of us on despite technical difficulties so hit play and enjoy!
HO HO HO!!! It’s the last Comic Book Bears Podcast episode of 2021!! Before we usher in Christmas and the new year, please hit play and join all four CBB boys – Bill, Bryan, Steve and Caleb - for two hours of four color talk! On the news front we talk about Dark Horse being acquired by gaming giant Embracer Group! And on the comic book front we discuss Inferno, Robin and Batman, Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body, The Illegitimates, Superman and the Authority, Action Comics, The Thing and much more! We wish all of you the happiest of holidays and a safe and super changing of the calendar year! We will be on hiatus for a few weeks and will be rejoining you with new episodes in late January 2022!!!
Keeping on keeping on with the CBB audio episodes, please join us as Caleb, Steve and Bill Z reconvene after the Thanksgiving holiday to discuss what some of their Black Friday or (Black Friday-ish) gets were. As for comic talk, Old Head by Kyle Starks, Barry Windsor Smith’s Monsters, Betty and Veronica by Adam Hughes, Frank Cho’s Fight Girls, Jim Mahfood’s Grrl Scouts and The Unbelievable Unteens: From the World of Black Hammer are among the subjects. And why are Caleb and Bill holding slabbed copies of The Killing Joke and Steve is not in the episode graphic? Well citizen, listen in and find out!
The Comic Book Bears holiday audio campaign continues to bring you up to speed with episodes from our livestreams so harken all the way back to 11/18/2021 as Steve and Bill start the show off with a discussion of Eternals, the 26th Marvel Cinematic Universe film. Eternals is directed by Chloé Zhao with an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Don Lee, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. In the film, the Eternals, an immortal alien race, emerge from hiding after thousands of years to protect Earth from their ancient counterparts, the Deviants. But the reasons for their re-emergence may not be what they initially seem. After the film talk comes the funnybook talk, with Steve discussing What’s the Furthest Place From Here? and Valiant’sThe Harbinger and Bill taking a tour of recent DC #1s and a working backward look at DC’s cosmic/sci-fi comics from 2021 to the late 1950s.
We know that you may need a few distractions from … let’s call them beloved relatives … during the Christmas break so the Comic Book Bears are proud to flood you with the first of four new audio episodes from our recent livestreams just before 12/25 hits in case you need them! In this episode, Bill Z and Steve talk about some smaller comic book conventions that they attended in November and then with Caleb the comic roundtable starts spinning with My Bad (Ahoy), Knighted (AWA/Upshot), Batman/Superman: The Authority Special (DC), Stranger Things: Tomb of Ybwen (Dark Horse), Pass Me By: Electric Vice (Renegade Arts Entertainment) and Adventureman (Image) among the books that come up in discussion!
Taken from our Livestream on November 4th, this episode finds Steve and Bill discussing what went down on Stargirl Season 2! We both waxed very poetically about Season 1 last year so tune in and find out what the CBB boys thought of this season that found Courtney and her fellow JSAers in Blue Valley taking on Eclipso as the big bad! Then we continue on with comic talk with this episode's spinner rack featuring Deadbox, Rainbow Bridge, ET ER and a round up of recent DC Comics from Bill with a special focus on the Locke and Key/Sandman Universe crossover concluding!
Join us for another convention wrap up episode, this time concerning this year's Baltimore Comic Con! Bill and Steve attended and had the pleasure of Jon Runyan of A Comic Book Look podcast joining them as their roommate for the weekend ... AND he joins us again for this episode! Listen in as we hear about encounters with creators, panels attended, treasures acquired and more! Then, Caleb joins in on a discussion of the new cinematic vision of Frank Herbert's Dune from director Denis Villeneuve! And of course a healthy dose of comic book talk!
As the Comic Book Bears Podcast takes a Thanksgiving break from video livestreaming we are taking advantage of that downtime to catch up on the audio versions of our episodes. This episode was recorded after one of our hosts made it out to New York Comic Con so listen in to Bill Z’s wrap up of that con’s goings on and be prepared for some rambling with tangents ranging from Jon Kent’s bisexuality in the current Superman comics to the virtues of one particular punk group from the UK. We don’t go off the rails so greatly that we don’t get to the round tabling of recent comics with Inferno (Jonathan Hickman’s denouement to his overseeing the X-Men line), A Thing Called Love (an Image book from the wonderful Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli), Turbo Kid: Apple's Lost Adventure (from Happy Tank, a new Behemoth Comics imprint), Chicken Devil (a comedy thriller from Aftershock), Suicide Squad: Get Joker! (Brian Azzarello and Alex Maleev tackling Task Force X for DC Black Label) and much more!
We decided to head over to the movie theater section of the Comic Book Bearcave this time around ... it's a big cave ... as we each discuss our five favorite comic book films of all time! The Dark Knight! Guardians of the Galaxy! Dredd! Superman! Ant-Man! Sin City! Avengers: Endgame! Road to Perdition! Watchmen! Captain America: The Winter Soldier! The Rocketeer! Some of these are among our favorite comic book based films; some of these aren't! And one even makes all of our lists! Listen in and find out!
On this new audio episode, recorded on 9/23/2021, Steve and Caleb review Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings which is the 25th Marvel Cinematic Universe film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Simu Liu as Shang-Chi alongside Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Ben Kingsley, and Tony Leung. In the film, Shang-Chi is forced to confront his past when his father Wenwu, the leader of the Ten Rings organization, draws him and his sister Xialing into a search for a supposedly mythical village. Bill then joins them for some comic news talk about this year’s Batman Day and IDW’s new distribution. Bill and Caleb get all lawyery over the Ditko Estate suit against Marvel and about the public domain and then finally comic book talk! As this is a longer-than-usual episode, there are a lot of books covered including Pyrate Queen, Midnighter Annual 2021, Green Lantern Annual 2021, Superman: Red and Blue, Batman: Urban Legends, Maw, Die, Wiccan and Hulking, Batman 89, Superman 78 and Pennyworth!
Time for another new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Recorded on 9/16/2021 the CBB boys are thrilled to welcome back to the show “the koala of comics” David Hazan, the writer of Nottingham from Mad Cave Studios! Nottingham, an amazing reinterpretation of the Robin Hood legend with art by Shane Connery Volk, recently completed its first arc and those five issues are collected in Nottingham Vol. 1: Death and Taxed (available now digitally and in TPB on 11/3!) As seen in this esoteric take on medieval noir, the Sheriff of Nottingham hunts a serial killer with a penchant for tax collectors. His investigation makes him the target of England's most nefarious power-brokers while the Merry Men, terrorists lurking amongst the trees of Sherwood, are led by an enigma known only as "Hood." David talks to us about the collected edition, some of what he has planned next and then joins Bill Z and Steve for an international comic book roundtable!
We are starting to get the Comic Book Bears Podcast cave in order again and are finally releasing the audio versions of our livestreams over the last few weeks and this will be the first of four such episodes to bring things up to speed. On this episode, originally recorded on 9/9/2021, the CBB boys welcome to the show Chris Fildes! Chris is the author of Fanny Galactic: Tuck to the Future and he is here to talk about its sequel Crime + D'Sorder, which like its predecessor was the subject of a successful Kickstarter campaign! Imagine waking up and finding the world has been taken over by crazed drag queens! That's what happened in the world of Fanny Galactic which saw the unlikely emergence of a reluctant drag queen super-heroine. Now in a brand new story Chris gives you the rise of Sybil D'Sorder - drag queen super-villain! This comedic thriller is the perfect book for LGBTQ+ comic fans and those looking for something different and fun! Tune in to hear all about it along with Chris's influences and history with comics along with a few books that Bill and Steve discuss - including Last Flight Out (Dark Horse), We Found a Monster (DC) - and much, much more!
Recorded before we took a break for the Labor Day weekend, Steve, Caleb and Bill convened in the Comic Book Bear cave for a roundtable on recent (and one not so recent) comic books. The funnybook talk starts after a whole lotta tangents at beginning ranging from current comic book related TV to the passing of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. So … Descender. Kang the Conqueror. The Trial of Magneto. The Other History of the DC Universe. Superman: Red and Blue. John Lewis’s Run. A 1981 UK reprinting of Jim Steranko’s Captain America work. Which of these … and there is more than one … are the comics that made us cry … twice?
All four Comic Book Bears - Bryan, Bill, Caleb and Steve - are on hand for this new episode! This past August 14th marked the latest Free Comic Book Day and there were nearly 50 book offerings this year; listen in to hear which comics each of the CBB boys selected as their picks! The Eternals trailer, the comic books supply shortage of boxes, bags and boards, the recent Substack deals for top creators, the Paris Review (seriously!) along with comics such as Runaways, Cable, It's Not What You Thought It Would Be, the 2021 Flash Annual and more are among the other discussion topics this time around!
The CBB boys return to the movie theatre to discuss The Suicide Squad, the tenth film in the DC Extended Universe! The film was written and directed by James Gunn and stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, and Pete Davidson. The covert task force of convicts known as the Suicide Squad are sent to the island nation of Corto Maltese after its government is overthrown by an anti-American regime, and are tasked with destroying the Nazi-era laboratory Jötunheim which holds a secretive experiment known as "Project Starfish". Tune in to hear what Caleb, Bill and Steve thought about the movie and afterwards they get to yapping about current comics with I Am Not Starfire (DC), The Delicacy (Top Shelf), Not All Robots (AWA) and others among the books discussed!
Bill and Steve head over to the bookshelves instead of the spinner rack on this special episode as the CBB boys talk about the earliest graphic novels that they enjoyed reading! From the first Superman and Batman hardcover collections in the 70s to Peanuts treasuries to groundbreaking collected works from the 80s like Maus, the Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen to projects like the very last collaboration of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, there are a huge number of books that are under discussion this time around. Hit play and enjoy!
Bill and Bryan and Steve and Caleb! That’s right all four CBBears back together on this new audio episode that finds a return to the comic book roundtable! This time around the X-Men books, the American Cults graphic novel, The Mighty Crusaders: The Shield one shot, M.O.M.: Mother of Madness #1, Black Hammer Visions #6, Harrow County, Everyone is Tulip, Claire and the Dragons #1 and more are part of the discussion! Throw in getting sick in Provincetown, the resurgence of vinyl albums and Space Jam Happy Meal toys and you have a solid one hour and 45 minutes of comics-and-more talk from your four-color hairy, heavy homos!
We head back to the movies on this new episode as Steve and Bill take their seats in the cinema to welcome the return of Marvel Cinematic Universe films with the release of Black Widow! Directed by Cate Shortland, the film stars Scarlett Johansson once again in the role of Natasha Romanoff alongside Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz. Taking place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Romanoff is a fugitive for violating the Sokovia Accords and flees to a safehouse in Norway where a series of events triggers a reunion with Natasha’s “family”, culminating in a battle royale in the skies of Russia! The CBB boys weigh in with what they thought of the film along with some comic book chat – Steve talks up Bad Idea and what’s happening in the X-books at Marvel as Bill offers up a DC title round up. All this plus the Woofs of the Week and more!
The Comic Book Bears boys come back to their funnybook cave to talk about the wonderful new series from Black Mask, Alice in Leatherland! Italian comic creators and real-life couple Iolanda Zanfardino (writer) and Elisa Romboli,(artist) have crafted an unabashedly queer, romantic, funny and kinky comic! Alice is a children’s fairy tale writer and after her fantasy life is destroyed by her girlfriend’s infidelity, sheltered Alice heads to raucous San Francisco on a journey of sexual awakening, community building, and self-discovery in this bawdy sex-comedy and queer romance that celebrates its diverse ensemble’s joys, kinks, and loves! Bill and Steve dedicate the majority of this episode to discussing Alice’s tale but also discuss other recent series including Marvel’s Heroes Reborn and Good Luck from Boom! You’ll hear some recent comic news coverage and they somehow also work in the 1969 Woodstock festival and one of the more dopey QAnon theories into the mix!
We had a rare recording on a Monday night (6/21 to be exact) but you can play this episode any darn day of the week you would like! Listen in as Steve, Caleb and Bill give an update on the Hellfire Gala goings on in the X-Books, delve into some indie books like Stone Fruit by Lee Lai (Fantagraphics) and Save Yourself #1 (Boom!) and then open the pages of a whole bunch of DC books including Justice League: Last Ride, Truth and Justice, The Flash, Stargirl Spring Break Special and more! Also the tangents range from slasher films to the effects of continued drug use by members of Madchester groups on this last Pride Month episode!
On this new audio episode, Bill, Caleb and Steve start the show off by discussing the premiere of Loki, the new Marvel Cinematic Universe series airing on Disney+ with Tom Hiddleston reprising his role as the Norse God of Mischief! What is Loki up to, what is the Time Variance Authority and exactly what is Owen Wilson doing there? Well, hit play and find out! We also head over to the virtual spinner rack to discuss the JLA: Tower of Babel collection, Fantastic Four: Life Story, Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon, Crush and Lobo, The Other History of the DC Universe and more!
On this new audio episode, Bill, Caleb and Steve are focused on original graphic novels. The Times I Knew I Was Gay (Scribner), Fictional Father (Drawn and Quarterly) and Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge (DC) all get some time under the microscope but the majority of the episode is dedicated to the stunning I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Mannie Murphy, published by Fantagraphics. The book begins as a reflection on the author’s 1990s teenage infatuation with River Phoenix and transforms into telling the larger story of the city of Portland and the state of Oregon's dark history of white nationalism. And all from a queer AF sensibility. We also talk little bit about our coming out stories and what our personal Pride anthems are in this first episode recorded during the Pride month of June!
On this Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode, Steve and Bill Z turn on the tube and chart the comic book related TV we have seen throughout 2021 so far. And there is a lot - Superman & Lois, Batwoman, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Jupiter's Legacy, Lucifer, The Flash, Supergirl, M.O.D.O.K., DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Teen Titans Go!, Invincible, Fear the Walking Dead, Wynonna Earp and even more! So if you are in that boob tube mood, hit play and enjoy!
New Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Not only do we have Caleb back with us, we also have Jon Runyan of A Comic Book Look podcast joining us again for 105 minutes of comic book roundtable goodness! I Walk with Monsters #6, Challenge of the Super-Sons #1, Marjorie Finnegan: Temporal Criminal #1 and Geiger #1 are just a few of the titles from Marvel, DC and independent publishers that we talk about this time around!
The Comic Book Bears are thrilled to welcome to the show for the first time Sean McArdle! Sean is an Eisner nominated comics creator, filmmaker as well as a college professor at Kent State University. His work has appeared in array of tiles from Image Comics, IDW, and Arcana Studio and he joins us to talk about his graphic novel The Führer And The Tramp! The book is an alternative history retelling of the making of Charlie Chaplin’s landmark film The Great Dictator. It begins in 1939 as Hitler’s reign of terror is continuing to spread across Europe. Personally engaged by President Roosevelt to help sway public opinion we find Chaplin transforming from comedic movie maker to provocateur, traveling the world and facing down the American Bund, Nazi spies, his own insecurities and Hitler himself to complete his film. Originally a comic web series, The Führer And The Tramp is being published by Source Point Press on 6/29/2021 and trust us, it is EXCELLENT! Hit play and enjoy!
http://thefuhrerandthetramp.com/
https://seandouglasmcardle.com/
We are thrilled to welcome back to the show Dave Ebersole! Dave is here to talk about his new project TOMMY DAKOTA AND THE SHOOTOUT AT THE BURGUNDY TEN, a 70-page original graphic novel about an infamous robber meeting the love of his life on his final heist. With art by Vinnie Rico, Dave has crafted a modern-day pulp western queer romance. The Burgundy Ten saloon was once a nice place for respectable people, but not anymore. Now the saloon is home to a high-stakes underground poker game that features a cadre of gamblers, criminals, and rogues. Among them, Tommy Dakota, an infamous robber, renowned desperado, and legendary outlaw. Tommy was all about the thrill of the heist and the promise of the payoff ...until he met the bartender at The Burgundy Ten. There is a Kickstarter campaign for the book and the link is below! Dave then sticks around to chat with Steve and Bill Z about current comics! Hit play and listen in!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/daveebersole/tommy-dakota-a-queer-western-romance
Caleb decided to take a study break from law school and he re-enters the Comic Book Bears cave! Listen in as he joins Steve and Bill in talking about the return of comic conventions (big and small), some MCU news and a whole lot of comic book talk including musings on America Chavez: Made in America, Orphan and the Five Beasts, Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk, The Cimmerian, Nocterra and more! Also Bill has ... opinions ... about Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point #1!
Recorded from our 4/8/2021 livestream, this coincided with the extremely rare occurrence of Bill and Steve receiving their most recent DCBS boxes at the same time! Listen in as they unbox their goodies and then shift over to the comic talk! Bill is all about DC this time around (Justice League, Nightwing, The Joker) while Steve flies the indie flag (Please Don't Step on My Jinco Jeans, Die!Die!Die! and Lady Baltimore!)
Recorded on 4/1/2021, the CBBears are back with a new audio episode! Listen in as Bryan, Steve and Bill talk about the long anticipated Synder Cut of Justice League. The DCEU film originally hit theaters in 2017 and director Zack Snyder left the project for a variety of reasons before its release. Now we have the film "remixed" according to his original vision and it is currently streaming on HBOMax! Beyond that, the fellas head over to the spinner rack and discuss Once and Future, Rorschach, Second Coming: Only Begotten Son, Proctor Valley Road and Stray Dogs among other funnybooks!
New Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Bill and Steve provide a different type of show this time around so hit play and enjoy an episode that focuses on some of our favorite books about comic books! We start off the show covering price guides and from there give you the lowdown on books about the Golden, Silver and Bronze ages of comics, the horror book scare of the 1950s, war comics, the creative process, comic company profiles, long running franchises and much, much more!
New Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Steve and Bill are thrilled to welcome to the show for the first time Jon Runyan!! Jon is the co-host of the long running A Comic Book Look podcast and has been a familiar name as a commentator since we started our livestreams! Jon is all kinds of awesome! Listen in as we provide an update on the various comic book based TV programs that have been airing (including WandaVision and Superman and Lois) and a rundown of some of our favorite recent funnybooks!
Join us for our 200th episode of the Comic Book Bears Podcast! Bill, Bryan and Steve take you through a history trip of what has transpired in the funnybook world in the nine years since the podcast started. The CBB boys also discuss their all time favorite issue 200 comic books. It's a long one, it's a chaotic one but it's also a fun one!
New Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! We are thrilled to welcome writer Zack Kruse to our comic book review show! We discuss his book Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and a Different Kind of Liberalism, published by University Press of Mississippi, in addition to our normal round-up of our favorite funny books. Zack is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University and is a scholar of comics, film and American literature. His essays have been published in numerous journals. His comic strip, Mystery Solved!, appeared in Skeptical Inquirer and he is a regular contributor to a number of comic book podcasts. Hit play for the Ditko talk with Zack, Bill, Bryan and Steve!
The Comic Book Bears are thrilled to welcome back to the show writer/artist Steve Bryant! Steve rejoins us to discuss his latest book Athena Voltaire and the Terror on the Orient Express (which has an active Kickstarter campaign behind it) in addition to our normal weekly round-up of our favorite funny books.
Steve is an Eisner, Manning and Harvey Award-nominated creators. His other work includes Ghoul Scouts, The Catch and the new webcomic Maximus Wrecks. He has also completed projects for Dark Horse Comics, IDW, Boom! Studios, Ape Entertainment and others, as well as extensive work in the roleplaying and boardgame industry.
There is still some time to get in on the Kickstarter which can be found at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevebryant/athena-voltaire-and-the-terror-on-the-orient-express?fbclid=IwAR2It3DevvuWYH8pPLzqam-XvuI1exzjHmuJtudUg6QqPchh3Eq1LhAKhi0
We are thrilled to welcome writer Jon Westhoff to our little dog and pony show! We discuss his latest book CPS: Child Possession Services for which there is an active Kickstarter campaign in its last few days. If Jon’s is a familiar name to CBB folk, it likely is because of his past as co-publisher at King Bone Press and as one of the heads of the Earth 2 Podcast Network that we were once part of. Apart from being a writer, a writer, Jon is also a letterer and a lover of Kenny Rogers impersonators. CPS was co-created by Jon’s collaborator of over a decade Bobgar Ornelas. Bob and Jon are teaming up once again to bring CPS’s Connie Dhar - social worker for supernaturally possessed kids - in her first full length story to print! In addition, Jon joins Bryan, Steve and Bill in our regular round-up of our favorite funny books.
The Comic Book Bears are thrilled welcome to the show for the first time David Hazan! David is from Sydney, Australia and is the writer of the upcoming series, Nottingham, from Mad Cave Studios and a winner of the Mad Cave Studios 2019 Talent Search. He has a penchant for queer storytelling and formalism in comics, which shines through in his short comics work, some of which is self-published and some of which is to be published in anthologies from publishers in the coming year. David fills us in on Nottingham, a unique reinterpretation of the Robin Hood mythos, and also discusses some of this other work and comic favorites. Then David joins Bryan, Bill and Steve for a spin of the comic rack. This time around the spotlight shines on Fanny Galactic: Drag Queen Super-Heroine!, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt (Dynamite), Batman/Catwoman (DC), Colonel Weird: Cosmogog (Dark Horse) and more!
Join as Steve and Bill set the B-Wing controls for a galaxy far, far away to meet up with Craig Lantz of the Southern Fried Geekery podcast and Mike Lovins from the Reel Gay Movie Show to talk about all things Star Wars! First up the crew goes through the entire second season of The Mandalorian and offers up what they loved about each episode. The chatter continues as they touch on The Clone Wars, the numerous upcoming Star Wars projects announced at the Disney shareholders meeting and, since we are a comic book based podcast, what has been going on in the Marvel SW world including Target Vader and The High Republic! So hit play or download and join us for almost two hours of Star Wars talk - you can hit Tosche Station to pick up some power converters afterwards!
It's the first Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode of 2021. Recorded on 1/7/2021- just one day after the failed Trump Insurrection (which we definitely talk about some) - the CBBoys reconvene to chat about many things! Hit play or download to join Bill, Bryan, Steve and Caleb as they offer up their opinions about Wonder Woman 1984, the latest DC Extended Universe film entry directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal! Then it is time to hit the spinner rack with the fellas talking about Glitter Vipers, Insider Art, The Arrival, Death Metal and Dark Knights: Death Metal - The Secret Origin, Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology, Cease and Desist: Inspired by the Music of They Might Be Giants, Six Days: The Incredible Story of D-Day's Lost Chapter and the final Bendis-written Superman issues among many others!
Join us for the final Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode of 2020! Bryan, Bill and Steve are back in the bear cave to discuss recent news, talk about their favorite books of 2020 and amazingly each pick a DC book (Dark Nights: Death Metal - The Last Stories of the DC Universe. The Green Lantern: Season Two, Hawkman) in spotlighting a recent fave read.
Hoping that you all had a very happy holiday season and wishing you all a MUCH BETTER year in 2021!
Steve, Bryan and Bill are thrilled to welcome Caleb back to the show following his finishing up his law school finals! First up, the CBB boys talk about the Marvel announcements that were made at the annual Walt Disney Company’s 2020 Investor Day Presentation (with a smattering of Star Wars and Lucasfilm talk thrown in.) Then it is back to the spinner rack for a very healthy dose of comic book talk! Listen in as these hairy heavy homos weigh in on The Other History of the DC Universe, King in Black, Commanders in Crisis, Batman/Catwoman, Atlantis Wasn't Built for Tourists, Sword, Kill a Man, Barbalien: Red Planet and much more!
On a week where none of us really had time to read comics, Bill, Bryan and Steve instead take you through some of their favorite animated series based on comic book properties! After an HBOMax/Scientology/pandemic tangent filled intro (hey, it happens) the animated talk starts! Listen in to hear what the CBB boys think about Sailor Moon, X-Men, Super Friends/Super Powers, Batman: The Killing Joke, Justice League: The New Frontier, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, The Tick, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Teen Titans GO! and much, much more!
Your favorite hirsute homos are back to discuss their favorite comic books, this time with special guest Michael Hartney! Michael is an actor, writer, and comedian in New York City. He created the roles of Stanley and Mr. Williams in the original Broadway cast of School of Rock the Musical. His TV appearances include The Politician, 30 Rock, The Break with Michelle Wolf, and Throwing Shade, where Michael also served as a staff writer. Michael also has a FANTASTIC online series named Characters Welcome that you need to check out! Apart from all that Michael happens to be a huge comic book fan. So listen in as he joins Bryan, Bill (before the tech gods made him disappear into the matrix) and Steve to discuss some of his favorite funnybooks and characters. On the spinner rack this time around -Cross Over, Eskatonic, Rorschach, X of Swords, Batman, Batgirl and Flamer! We also discuss Bendis on Superman, erotic fiction possibilities with superheroes, how creepy that robot thing in Superman III was and much, much more! Twitter: @michaelhartney Insta: @hartneymichael
The Comic Book Bears are back with their first post-election episode (recorded 11/12/2020.) This one is admittedly a bit of a hodgepodge. Bryan, Steve and Bill talk about their post-election experiences out of the gate. And the comic book talk is fairly varied. Steve discusses Maids, an new original graphic novel from Fantagraphics by Katie Skelly about the real life Papin Sisters murders. Bryan gives us an X of Swords update. Bill fills us in on Laurel and Hardy Meet The Three Stooges #1 published by American Mythology. Also - though it might be a bit more effective on video - Bill and Steve unbox their most recent DCBS boxes and talk about their newly received comics. Throughout the rest of the episode you will also hear about the promotion of Marie Javins to Editor in Chief at DC Comics, Cross Over #1 (Image), Origins #1 (Boom!), tv series on NXIVM and Scientology, the awfulness of corporate speak, Bill watching things off of Steve's Plex server, the Woofs of the Week and much more!
It's the time of the year that ghosts and ghouls and goblins roam free as the Comic Book Bears salute Halloween during this horrifying year! Listen in as Bill, Steve and Bryan discuss new books they are enjoying (The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem, Rorschach, Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy) as well as books they recommend for your Halloween reading (Cryozone, Swamp Thing Halloween Spectacular, Showcase Presents House of Mystery) and much, much more!
The Comic Book Bears Podcast returns with another episode breaking down what is happening over in Marvel's X of Swords crossover - specifically Wolverine #6, X-Force #13, Maurauders #13 and Hellions #5. Between Storm being a total badass in Wakanda and the introduction of a new, formidable adversary for Logan in the new character Solem there is a lot to chat about. Steve, Bill and Bryan get in some more comic talk spotlighting Penultimateman, Be Gay Make Comics and Hawkman. And framing the comic talk are topics and tangents galore including politics, QAnon, what Bill's dad did in the 70's, HBO's The Vow and much, much more.
(Please also note that on this episode, Bryan is very, very low in the mix. We tried to fix it in the edit but it may require turning the volume up and down a few times. Sorry folks.)
This time around CBB boys Steve and Bill are thrilled to welcome to the show writer Stonie Williams! Stonie's new book, Villainous, is published Mad Cave Studios and tells the story of Matilda “Rep-Tilly” Anderson, an intern for the Heroes of the Coalition team of super-heroes. Rep-Tilly, like the rest of her fellow intern class, is paired with a more experienced superhero to hone her crime fighting skills. But the hero she is being mentored by, the strongman Showdown, and the Coalition itself are not exactly what they appear to be to the outside world. We talk to Stonie about his own history with comics, his influences, his epic beard (!) and much more! Following that Stonie joins Bill and Steve for some current comic talk with The Resistance, Hedra, Killadelphia, Thor, Spy Island and more on the spinner rack!
Once again we are playing catch up with audio episodes from our livestreams. Recorded on 10/1/2020, listen in as Bill, Bryan and Steve discuss the graphic novel adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five by Ryan North and Albert Monteys (Boom! Studios), the first few issues of the X of Swords crossover (Marvel) and the beginning of The Dreaming: Waking Hours (DC Black Label) and a whole lot more!
The CBB boys (Bryan, Steve, Caleb and a late-to-the-party Bill) are very happy to welcome to the show Mayday Trippe! Mayday is a writer, illustrator and fellow podcaster and they are launching Hallows, a Patreon based webcomic Hallows - a tale of friendship, murder, revenge and supernatural powers! Mayday also discusses their other work and projects (including Butterfly, Project: Rooftop and the stunning Something Terrible!) The show is rounded out by the interviewers and interviewee discussing books they are currently enjoying including Beast Boy, King of Nowhere, Wonder Woman 84: Museum Mayhem, No Straight Lines, Boy's Club and the Feels Good Man documentary, their Woofs of the Week choices and much, much more!
It is a somewhat different Comic Book Bears Podcast this time around as there is isn't a hell of a lot of actual comic book talk but there is a hell of a lot of comic book related talk. Listen in as Bill, Steve and Bryan talk about the TV versions of The Boys and Lucifer, I Am Thinking of Ending Things, The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, Stuck Rubber Baby, Toni Tennille (!), ComiXology's free Black Panther books, many things Dune and offer a fond farewell to Diana Rigg with a discussion about how Emma Peel influenced comics.
In this new Comic Book Bears audio episode, Bryan, Bill and Steve reconvene to talk about some indie books that they have recently read. Steve takes on Black Hole, Bryan fills us in on Fantasmagoria and Bill talks up Grendel Archives! Also discussed - DC Fandome, the passing of Chadwick Boseman, life during a pandemic, Doctor Who, Dark Shadows, General Hospital and other soap operas and a whole bunch more!
We are finally caught up with the Comic Book Bears Podcast livestream vs. audio backlog with releasing this episode! Join Steve, Bill and Bryan for Caleb’s last show as a regular for now! (Pesky law school!) On the spinner rack this time around we discuss Strange Adventures (DC), The Death of Nancy Drew (Dynamite), Dragman (Metropolitan Books), various Free Comic Book Day offerings from Archie, Upshot and Dark Horse and much, much more!
On this extra long (2 hours) Comic Book Bears Podcast episode we talk about what is awesome about DC Comics! On August 10, 2020 DC Comics and the DC Universe streaming service were hit with massive layoffs in an event that has been given the tag of the DC Bloodbath. As a counter to the more unsavory elements of "fandom" commenting on this development, Bill, Bryan, Steve and Caleb talk about what some of their all-time favorite DC comics and storylines. And what are their favorites? Listen in and find out!
We are very much behind in releasing our live streams to audio so as we play catch up please enjoy this episode recording at the beginning of August. This time around we have Bryan, Steve and Bill in the bearcave to talk about X-Factor (Marvel), Cable (Marvel), The Death of Superman: The Wake (DC), It Eats What Feeds It (Scout Comics) and much more!!
It’s a new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Listen in as Bill, Caleb, Steve and Bryan once again reconvene for a funnybook roundtable! Apart from talking about some of the SDCC@Home panels, the books that get pulled off the spinner rack this time are Engine Ward (Scout Comics), March Book One (Top Shelf, in honor of the passing of Congressman John Lewis), Paul is Dead (Image Comics, with a necessary Beatles tangent) and, because once was not enough, a return visit to the Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100- Page Super-Spectacular (DC). (Sidebar - We are hoping to get more audio episodes out to you in the next few days so that we get caught up with our backlog from our livestreams!)
Time for a new Comic Book Bears Podcast episode and it is an audio only episode! Listen in as Caleb, Steve and Bill (with Bryan taking a breather) talk about Supergirl: Being Super, Sub-Mariner Marvel Masterworks Vol. 1 and Adventureman #1 and 2. Additionally we have a round up of the comic related streaming shows and movies out there including The Old Guard, Doom Patrol and more!
And just what is "Hancock scared"?
Writer/Artist Tom Kelly has a Kickstarter campaign going for his original Foot Fist Frankenstein graphic novel and we are thrilled to have Tom on the show to discuss it! Foot Fist Frankenstein blends Tom's main childhood influences - monsters, comic books and martial arts movies - is an action adventure revenge story, "kinda like John Wick meets the Hulk by way of Kung Fu theater." Listen in as Tom talks about the project, his influences, his adventures at conventions and much more! Tom then sticks around and joins Bill, Steve and Bryan to talk about the books they are currently reading - DeadEndia, Jonathan Case's The New Deal, The Old Guard, Fire Power, X-Force #10 and much more!
It's just the hosts this week (Bill, Bryan, Steve and Caleb) who have convened for, despite the title of the episode, an indie dominated roundtable. Listen in as the CBB boys discuss Ash and Thorn (Ahoy Comics), Letter 44 (Oni Press), American Jesus: The New Messiah (Image), Tiananmen 1989: Our Shattered Hopes (IDW), eschatology, Alien and Predator moving over to Marvel, Christian grindhouse films, copyright and the public domain and much, much more!
We are thrilled to welcome back to the show Dave Ebersole and Zan Christensen to discuss the Kickstarter campaign for Dash, a gay noir graphic novel! Dave is the writer for the collection which compiles the previously published single issues of the series along with plenty of new material which is published by Zan's LGBT-centered comics company Northwest Press! With art by Delia Gable and Vinnie Roca, Dash tells the story of private eye Dashell Malone wrapped up in a mystery with a bad boy lover, a wise-cracking Gal Friday, an ancient artifact and a shocking murder in a love letter to noir crime and classic horror pictures! Dave and Zan talk about Dash's conception and Zan also shines a light on some of the other books published by Northwest Press. They then join Bryan, Caleb, Steve and Bill for a discussion of comics they are enjoying and, of course, the Woofs of the Week!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zan/dash-the-gay-noir-graphic-novel/description
https://northwestpress.com/
We are thrilled to welcome back to the show Clifford Meth! Mister Meth is the co-publisher of Aardwolf Publishing and has been fixture in the world of comic book fandom for over 30 years! Cliff was instrumental in reaching settlements for Dave Cockrum, Gene Colan and Marv Wolfman with Marvel regarding participation for the characters and concepts they created! As a writer, his works include Comic Book Babylon and the upcoming Unsuckled! He discusses all of that, his relationships with many other creators along with an in-progress sale of books from Dave Cockrum's personal comic book collection that benefits scholarships at the Joe Kubert School! (Links are below!) After that we find Bill, Caleb, Steve and Bryan in the newsroom talking about DC's sudden separation from Diamond Distribution and the equally sudden departures of Ruby Rose (Batwoman) and Hartley Sawyer (The Flash) from their respective CW shows. All this and as usual our Woofs of the Week!
http://thecliffordmethod.blogspot.com/
https://thecliffordmethod.blogspot.com/2019/05/dave-cockrum-estate-sale.html
Killowog really has nothing to do with this episode - it will become clear when you listen in! On this latest Comic Book Bears Podcast episode the CBBears couldn't not talk about what is going on in the USA and around the world so the show starts off with Bryan, Bill, Caleb and Steve sounding off on protesting for police reform, voting and contending with COVID-19. Additionally, comic stores reopening and DC's successful Young Adult OGNs end up on the discussion table. After that we each pick our favorite reads of the week with Black (Black Mask Press), Chew and Mind MGMT (both from Image) and the upcoming Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio graphic novel (Abrams Comicarts) each getting their time in the spotlight. And as always we round the episode out with the Woofs of the Week!
The latest "Quarantina" episode of the Comic Book Bears Podcast finds the CBBoys talking about four books that are currently available for free on ComiXology. The virtual spinner rack for this episode include the first issues of Huck (Image), Vagrant Queen (Scout), The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion (Dark Horse) and The Seeds (Berger Books/Dark Horse). Apart from that there is some talk of comic shops re-opening, a lengthy MST3K/Rifftrax tangent and some tea being spilled.
This time on the Comic Book Bears Podcast, there is a whole lotta comic related news talk and we still get in some new and new-to-us books! So hit download or play and hear us talk about Ruby Rose's departure from Batwoman, HBO Max's release of the "Snyder Cut" of Justice League, Youth from ComiXology Originals, Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars from Papercutz and much much more.
Unfortunately as we are getting used to both video and audio, there are some issues with this episode. From a technical standpoint, Caleb is really low in the mix. From a performance standpoint, Bill stammers and "um ahh"'s a lot more than usual. Still we thought there was good discussion to be had here.
The CBBears are thrilled to welcome back to the show artist and writer extraordinaire Sina Grace! Join us as Sina discusses his current Ghosted in L.A. series from Boom, the upcoming Getting It Together from Image and his work for other companies including Go-Go Power Rangers, Iceman, King Shazam, Burn The Orphanage, Jughead's Time Police, editors he has worked with and much, much more! (Trust us, it is worth listening in if just to hear how Sina got the voice for Billy Batson!) And as always Bill, Bryan and Steve giving you the funnybook talk!
The CBBears are very happy to welcome to the show for the first time Greg Smith! Greg has impeccable geek cred as the writer of Junior Braves of the Apocalypse from ONI Press, the owner of the Retro Emporium shop in Kent, Washington and a big time podcast (Narrative Gunslingers, Nerds From The Crypts, The Last Podcast) veteran! Greg joins us to talk about Heroes Need Masks, an upcoming comic anthology that will benefit GetUsPPE, a grassroots coalition of volunteers mobilized to address the PPE shortage and get healthcare heroes the protection they need. Greg then joins Bill, Bryan, Caleb and Steve to discuss what they are currently reading and grooving on!
As soon as we have a link for the Heroes Needs Masks campaign we will post it for you! And a big thanks to John Horsley of the Spoilerverse podcast network for connecting us with Greg!
https://getusppe.org/
https://www.comixology.com/Junior-Braves-of-the-Apocalypse/comics-series/42414?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC90b3BSZXN1bHRzU2xpZGVy
https://www.facebook.com/retroemporiumKent/
https://www.facebook.com/NerdsFTC/
https://www.facebook.com/narrativegunslingers
We are thrilled to bring back to the show FAN FAVORITE Jack Foster! Join us as Steve, Bryan, Caleb and Bill for almost two hours with Jack to talk about his comic book series Gun, indie comics and their creators, conventions, recent comic news and so much more!
You'll also want to watch the video version as Jack can rock a sailor's hat!
AND as a plus to help our listeners get through lockdown, Jack has made the first volume of Gun available for free!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJEaF2VZM54
https://guncomic.com/
https://guncomic.com/freegunvol1?fbclid=IwAR1Vl3SBJMEEb8Ojq7qZLUyzW_0yoHFDvLrjmTbtUUagQTLWhHboq-IUWSY
We hope you tuned in to our last two video episodes! We are playing catch-up and are now releasing the first of the two episodes in audio form! Listen in as Bryan, Caleb, Bill and Steve provide a re-introduction of themselves and talk about books that they think people who are unaccustomed to comic books might benefit from as their first reads! AND a familiar voice from our show's past makes a surprise appearance!!
Please know that we encountered some audio issues when recorded - this is new terrain for us - and there are parts where the audio gets choppy. (Again, we did our best in the edit!)
The Comic Book Bears are back with our weekly social distancing episode. The books that Bill, Bryan, Steve and Caleb discuss this time around include Dry County (Image), Al-Qaeda's Super Secret Weapon (Northwest Press), Plunge (DC/Hill House) and a return visit to The Fifth Beatle (Dark Horse.)
(Please also note that this episode is not up to our usual audio quality: we did our best to fix things in the editing but we made a commitment to weekly episodes while staying at home and we are sticking to it!)
The Comic Book Bears are back to four strong for the time being as we are thrilled to announce that Caleb Alexander-McKinzie will be joining us for the duration of our social distancing period. The books that Bill, Bryan, Steve and Caleb discuss this time around include Leviathan Dawn (DC), Howard the Human (Marvel), Fearful Hunter (Northwest Press) and The Three Rooms in Valerie's Head (IDW). Tangents include the virtues of open book vs closed book tests in law school and Alice in Chains. All this plus an expanded Woofs of the Week segment!
As more and more of the world comes under stay-in-place or other similar orders, the Comic Book Bears are back with you with a new episode! Bryan Pittard returns to the show as does our special guest and good friend Caleb Alexander-McKinzie for this occasion. Listen in as Bryan, Caleb, Bill and Steve discuss what they have been doing since the current work-from-era began. They (eventually) get around to talking about comics. Selections include books from the Big Two (Justice League, Cable) and the world of independent creators (A Letter to Jo, Kid Gloves.)
We hope you are all hanging in there through these difficult times. (And if you just came to escape it all, you can fast forward to the 20:00 mark when the funnybook chatter begins!)
We know that social distancing is in full force for many people and we decided to format an episode where all the books we discuss are currently available for FREE on ComiXology! So if you want to you can grab all six of the books (two Marvels, two DCs and two indies) easily before you listen in … or after … please do! The books we discuss are:
BugHouse #1
Captain America & Thor: Avengers!(One Shot)
M.O.D.O.K. Assassin #1
Rex Libris #1
Sensation Comics #1
Superman (1939) #1
Listen in as Steve and Bill Z discuss these books and know that this will be the first of our sequestration episodes that we will be getting out to you regularly!
Hang in there, everyone! We will get through this!
We know that social distancing is in full force for many people and we decided to format an episode where all the books we discuss are currently available for FREE on ComiXology! So if you want to you can grab all six of the books (two Marvels, two DCs and two indies) easily before you listen in … or after … please do! The books we discuss are:
BugHouse #1
Captain America & Thor: Avengers!(One Shot)
M.O.D.O.K. Assassin #1
Rex Libris #1
Sensation Comics #1
Superman (1939) #1
Listen in as Steve and Bill Z discuss these books and know that this will be the first of our sequestration episodes that we will be getting out to you regularly!
Hang in there, everyone! We will get through this!
The CBB boys head once again to the movies, this time to weigh in on the latest DCEU film Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) in this new episode! Over the space of an hour Steve Mowry and Bill Zanowitz detail what they thought about the new film starring Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez and Ewan McGregor and based on the DC Comics title of the same name. In addition to their thoughts on the movie they also provide their recommendations for trade paperbacks and arcs stemming from the Birds of Prey universe of four-color stories. All this plus Billy Z goes to a comic book auction, Steve uncharacteristically mocks Bill's New Jersey accent and the phrase "connective tissue" is said waaayyy too many times!
Get out your lightsabers, fuel up your land speeders and pre-order your Child merch! With The Rise of Skywalker in theaters and The Mandalorian finishing up its first season on Disney+ the CBB boys decided for their first episode of 2020 to focus on the Star Wars universe! And with a special episode comes special guests!! Joining Billy Z and Steve for this show are two of the biggest Star Wars fans we know among our fellow podcasters : Craig Lantz from the Southern Fried Geekery Podcast and Mike Lovins from the Reel Gay Movie Show! Apart from the aforementioned TROS and the Baby Yoda Show we also discuss the Jedi: Fallen Order video game, our own histories with the franchise and, since this IS a comic book podcast, some of the Star Wars comic books we are digging. All this and Star Wars themed Woofs of the Week!
This is the way.
It has been awhile since we dedicated a full episode to reviewing current comics so for the final CBB episode of 2019 we make a return to that format! Listen in for an hour as Billy Z and Steve offer up what they thought of Dragonfly and Dragonflyman #2 (Ahoy Comics), Lois Lane #6 (DC Comics), The Magicians #2 (Boom), The Infected: Deathbringer #1 (DC) and Olympia #1 (Image Comics.) Like always the episode is rounded out by our Woofs of the Week and we wish you all a great end to 2019 and look forward to you rejoining us in 2020!!!
Well, we originally were going to record one of our comic book "critique" shows but just weren't feeling it when we got on the mic. So Billy Z and Steve decided to hang out for an hour and 15 and talk about a lot of topics. Our first exposure to comics. What would the JLA and Avengers line ups look like if we were writing the books? What are we looking forward to in 2020? What cartoons from our youth have stood the test of time? What are our current cartoon favorites? The West Coast Avengers! The New Teen Titans! Infinity Inc. and the JSA! Battle of the Planets! Rick and Morty! Outer Darkness! White Trees! Event Leviathan! There is a lot in this one! (Steve even curses at one point!) As this episode is being released on Thanksgiving Eve, you might need something to play during your car ride or to distract you from your conspiracy theory spouting uncle or a soundtrack for your tryptophan crash! We might fit the bill just fine with this offbeat episode!
This time around the CBBears are thrilled to welcome the creators of Signal and Silence, Chris Lopez and Randy Wyatt. It is a 100 page graphic novel about three college friends -Jimmy, Nica and Dorch- all of whom are haunted by their shared history at an evangelical college. These days, Jimmy and Dorch run a comic store and run role-playing game sessions out of the basement. But over the span of several days, vital secrets are spilled that threaten to tear their bonds apart forever. Signal and Silence began life as a play written by Randy which Chris adapted into comic form. Listen in as Steve and Bill interview these handsome fellas about the project and many other things, including Chris's work with the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) and Randy's feelings about a classic children's novel!
Billy Z and Steve present the final episode in the trilogy of Comic Book Bears Podcast episodes dedicated to the landmark simultaneous mini-series of X-Men books House of X/Powers of X from the pen of Jonathan Hickman and the drawing boards of Pepe Larraz and R.B. Silva and which wrapped up earlier this month. What do a long time line-wide X reader and a life long DC zombie think? Just where does the X-Men status quo stand at the end of the story arc? Which old friends do we see once again? And what lies ahead for the marvelous mutants at the Dawn of X? Join us to find out!
This time around Richard Rivera, the writer of Stabbity Bunny, returns to the CBB cave to discuss his upcoming special stand-alone one shot! Not only is this the newest chapter of the original Stabbity Bunny saga, at the core of this story is the relationship between Stabbity cast members Emmet and Wally and the heartbreaking consequences of a hate crime. Listen in as Steve and Billy Z have Richard take us through what we can vouch for is a very special, emotional comic book!
STABBITY BUNNY: EMMETS STORY #1 from Scout Comics will be in shops in December and you can pre-order it through the end of October. The Diamond order number is OCT192062.
We follow up our last House of X/Powers of X episode with coverage of House of X#s 3 and 4 and Powers of X #4! Listen in as Bill and Steve broadcast from the CBBearcave and offer up their opinions about the groundbreaking new X-Men dual mini-series. (You even get their Sassy Mister Sinister imitations!) Apart from the HOXPOX books, Bill leads a discussion about Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium and Doomsday Clock from DC and Steve flies the indie comic flag by covering Steeple from Dark Horse and You Are Obsolete from Aftershock. And it goes without saying - EXPECT SPOILERS!!!
The biggest event happening in comics right now is Jonathan Hickman's revitalization of the X-Men franchise! Join Bill Z and Steve for an 80 minute exploration into the seismic events which went down in House of X #s 1 and 2 and Powers of X #s 1, 2 and 3!
Well, we didn't intend to be away for 7 weeks.
Listen in as Steve and Billy Z finally make a return trip to your earbuds to discuss the various announcements that were made at San Diego Comic Con last month. Among them are the Marvel Cinematic Universe slate for the next three years, the Arrowverse in the 2019/2020 television season including Crisis on Infinite Earths, the new group of X-Men books at Marvel, King and Gerard's Adam Strange, trailers, trailers, Watchmen, trailers, armored polar bears, trailers, Zombie Tidal Wave, trailers, Dark Phoenix Barbie and more trailers!
Between comic book conventions, illness and work the Comic Book Bears boys have been super busy in June but there was no way they were going to let Pride Month close without getting an episode out to you. So Bill and Steve are presenting to you this "Pride Quickie" where you get to hear about their first Pride experiences and a nice dose of queer comic book reading talk. Happy Pride!
It's just comics this time around. Listen in as we discuss Doomsday Clock #10 and Heroes in Crisis #9 from DC, Ascender #2 from Image and Killer Groove #1 from Aftershock. In addition to our Woofs of the Week, we also fall into a few tangent potholes along the way.
On this new Comic Book Bears Podcast episode Billy Z and Steve are thrilled to bring to the mic for the first time Jack Foster! Jack is the writer and artist of the ongoing comic book series GUN which tells the story of Trevor Werner. In the world that Trevor inhabits, he is s a gun ... "the good guys are called capes, the bad guys are guns..." Jack has a Kickstarter campaign to collect the first GUN story arc, Fighting is my Monday which ran through issues 1-3 of the series which finds Trevor meeting Olive Armstrong, a fellow gun trying to go straight and they stumble upon an easy money payday in the form of a passed out - and ransomable - super hero and, as with all good capers, things go sideways. We had an absolute blast talking to Jack so, apart from his mega cool comic, there is a lot of laughing and tangents in this episode! Jack's campaign for GUN Volume 1 runs until June 4th so make sure you are one of the cool kids and back it!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/recklesseyeballs/gun-volume-1-fighting-is-my-monday?ref=discovery&term=jack%20foster
As close as we have ever come to a live episode, join us for a down and dirty AND SPOILER FILLED discussion of the new film Avengers: Endgame that was just hit the movie theaters! It is the 22nd film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise and in its first weekend has grossed over $1.2 billion dollars worldwide. And to discuss such a huge movie we bring you all the big guns - we have all three co-hosts (Bryan, Bill and Steve) on the mic along with our good friend Caleb Alexander-McKinzie of the Southern Fried Geekery Podcast! In addition to discussing what we thought of the movie, we also make some recommendations regarding some our favorite Avengers stories in comic book form for you to check out! And once again, THIS IS SPOILER FILLED!!! (If you haven't seen the movie yet you might want to table listening to this until after you have.)
For a few months we have been more Pet Shop Boys than The Police with Steve and Bill keeping the CBB ship sailing as a duo but we are thrilled to be joined once again by our beloved brother Bryan Pittard! Bryan fills us in with what he's been up to and then all of three us get the gab going. We talk about DC Universe, Disney+, Star Wars and on the comic book front G. Willow Wilson's Wonder Woman, the Bendis-led Wonder Comics line from DC, the GLOW comic from IDW based on the hit Netflix series, Major X, Bronze Age Boogie and lots more!
With one magic word, the Comic Book Bears boys are back to discuss the new DC Extended Universe film SHAZAM! Join Billy Z and Steve for an hour plus discussion about the movie starring Zachary Levi and Mark Strong and directed by David F. Sandberg. In addition to the film, we also discuss the comic book (and legal) history of the character who at one time was known as Captain Marvel and weigh in with we what think were some of the great Captain Marvel/Shazam stories in the funny books and on TV over the past 80 years! All that and a little bit of comic talk thrown in as usual!
The Comic Book Bears go back to the movies on this episode to discuss Captain Marvel, the twenty-first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise! Carol Danvers comes to the silver screen with Brie Larson starring as the title character! Steve and Billy Z weigh in with what they thought about the film and then follow that up with the history of Ms. Marvel/Binary/Warbird/Captain Marvel in comic books. Our two bear boys will be the first to admit that they are not Captain Carol experts but do their best in taking you from her first appearance in the late 60's up to the present day. After that, some current comic talk time is devoted to Marvel's Age of X-Man event, the DC Walmart 100 page books, Valiant's Incursion and the finale of DC's Sideways along with much, much more!
Plus a drinking game suggestion: take a shot every time Bill says the word "marquee" during this episode!
The Comic Book Bears are thrilled to welcome back to the show Steve Bryant! Steve, best known for Athena Voltaire and Ghoul Scouts (both of which who currently have a home at Action Lab Comics) is here to discuss his Kickstarter campaign for The Catch, a crime-superhero-caper-romance comic! Think Elmore Leonard meets Gotham Central and Powers! Written by Steve, with art by Ismael Canales and coloring by Roger Surroca, The Catch should appeal to fans of super-hero crime comics, like Gotham Central, Alias, or Powers, viewers who like heist or caper movies, or TV shows like Justified, Better Call Saul, or Sneaky Pete as well as indie comic collectors looking to get in on the ground floor of a new book, filled with action, clever dialogue, and great visuals. So, hit play and listen in as Bill Zanowitz and the other Steve (Mowry) talk to Steve about this new project, Athena Voltaire and much more!
Late last year the DC Universe app launched. Steve and Bill have been using the streaming service for months and on this episode they talk about the exclusive shows (Titans, Young Justice: Invasion, DC Daily) and other things they enjoying about the streaming service. Then a trip to the spinner rack finds them chatting about the current X-Men books, Wrong Earth and the Ahoy Comics line, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, Heroes At Large, Hawkman, Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion and much more! All this plus two great music documentary Woofs of the Week!
The horror rages on! Bill Zanowitz and Steve Mowry are back and this time around they discuss their favorite horror comic books of all time! EC Comics of the 1950's, Hellboy and the Mignolaverse, Sandman, Lucifer, Swamp Thing, The Sixth Gun, The Devilers, Hellblazer, Torso, Baltimore, Black Eyed Kids - all of these here and much more! (You might want to listen with the lights on!)
The Comic Book Bears turn their cave into something dark and creepy for a change as they welcome writer/artist John Horsley to discuss the new comic project he is Kickstarting, The Eynes Anthology!! The book is about a family with a generation spanning connection to the supernatural! Listen in as John joins Steve and Billy Z in a discussion about the horror collection with numerous artists and writers from around the world joining John to tell us stories throughout time of this family and their demons! Check out eynesanthology.com for additional info about this crowdfunding campaign launching on February 1st!
Our first episode of 2019 finds Billy Z and Steve discussing Aquaman, the most recent entry in the DC Extended Universe series of films starring Jason Momoa! Listen in as Steve and Billy weigh in on the James Wan directed movie. Beyond the film, the CBBears also talk about the history of Aquaman including reading recommendations from the 60's, 70's, 80's and today including the recent Drowned Earth crossover and the first issue of the new Kelly Sue DeConnick/Ronson Rocha run! We also discuss what comic book based films are coming in 2019, somehow Liza Minnelli works her way into the conversation and we say "Aquabro" a lot!
The Comic Book Bears are back with you for one more episode for 2018! And this time around Bill and Steve discuss Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse!! Listen in as Steve and Bill talk about what they thought of the new animated film featuring various Spideys and also provide some of their own reading histories with Spider-Man and their reading recommendations of Spider-Man stories past. (Don't worry - we'll be talking Aquaman next time!) And since it is the holiday season the CBBoys also talk about what they would love to see underneath their respective Christmas trees!
We've been mum on the subject but we think it is high time that the Comic Book Bears addresses the Comicsgate controversy. With Bryan away in the land of the rising sun on the night we recorded, we are thrilled to bring back to the show our friend Caleb Alexander-McKinzie of the Southern Fried Geekery podcast for this episode! Seen by some as a consumer led revolt against forced diversity and liberalism in comics and by others as a harassment campaign targeting women, persons of color and the LGBTQ community, Comicsgate has birthed lawsuits, highly successful crowdfunding campaigns and comic cancellations among many other things. Join us for an hour and half as Steve, Billy Z and Caleb offer up their opinions regarding this hot button issue.
The 2018 editions of Baltimore Comic Con and New York Comic Con are in the history books and some of the CBB boys, past and present, were in attendance! Past and present ... what does that mean, you may ask? Well, for the first time in two years our former co-host and artist extraordinaire Matt Brossard joins us for an episode! Matt and Bill Z formed a dynamic duo while in Baltimore and they recount their exploits at the Charm City's long running con. Then Bill Z and Bryan talk about their NYCC experience. We didn't leave Steve on the sidelines for too long though and he joins in to talk about current comics including X-Men: Black - Mojo, Jook Joint, Cyko Ko! and Fantastic Four!
One word - Slottwater!
Join Steve, Bill (sorry ... William) and Bryan at the spinner rack once again as the CBBears offer up a nice dose of funnybook talk. Their selections this time around include Mister Miracle #11, Border Town #1, Captain America #s 1- 3, Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #2, Royal City #14 and Batman #55. You'll also get a tangent about going digital and we do talk about Batman: Damned ... but not much.
As Brother Bryan is off curling, Steve and Billy Z decide to do something a little different on this episode! The fates conspired against Billy's receipt of recent comics so our remaining bears decided to make this episode pretty much comic book free! Instead of chatting about their favorite four-color heroes and indie books the CBBears instead talk about other things they are enjoying during the summer months. Movie and TV news and shows are discussed along with toys, concerts and a recent BluRay/DVD buying binge on the part of one the co-hosts. Within this episode's 90+ minutes The Toys That Made Us, The Pixies, great concerts, The Alienist, internet responses to casting, Mego toys, Smashing Pumpkins, I'm Dying Up Here, The Expanse, The Americans, terrible concerts, treasures found at Dollar Tree, They Might Be Giants and lots more make an appearance! And what show wouldn't be made better by a lifeguarding/acne tangent!?!?!
It is nuptial season in the comic book world and Bill, Bryan and Steve (along with unwanted wedding crasher in the form of Bill's head cold) are back with you for a new Comic Book Bears Podcast episode to talk about the recent Batman/Catwoman and Colossus/Kitty Pryde wedding issues! In addition to the aformentioned lovebirds, the CBB boys also talk about the first comic book wedding issues that they can remember as well as their favorite comic book wedding issues! All this plus Steve talks about the Black Hammer universe, Bryan talks about The Man of Steel and Bill fights a brave battle against the word "ambitious" within this hour+ of funnybook talk!
Grab some popcorn and get in your theatre seats as we have a movie triple bill to talk about. And to help out the CBB Boys this week we are thrilled to welcome to the show for the first time the amazing Caleb Alexander-McKinzie of the Southern Fried Geekery Podcast! Like everyone else in the CBB cave, listen in and you'll fall in love with him! (Sorry, boys - he's married!) Over the last few weeks we have seen the releases of Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story and we needed to gather round the mic to talk about them. So join Caleb, Bryan, Bill and Steve to hear their opinions on these three films and we even sneak in a little bit of honest to gosh comic book talk toward the end!
We are thrilled to welcome to the show for the first time queer comic book creator and educator Justin Hall! Justin is an Associate Professor of Comics at the California College of the Arts and a Fulbright Scholar. He's a pioneer historian of LGBTQ comics and in 2012 he curated the anthology No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics, which featured milestone contributions by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer comics creators. Now, Justin's Lambda Literary Award-winning and Eisner-nominated collection is the inspiration for a documentary film directed by Peabody Award-winning and national Emmy-nominated filmmaker Vivian Kleiman. This feature-length film will bring stories from the comics off the page and give you a personal introduction to the dynamic artists and writers who paved the way! Justin discusses the Kickstarter campaign for the film, which runs until May 23rd, as well as his own comic work and much, much more! Links are below!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1077551457/no-straight-lines-four-decades-of-queer-comics
https://www.facebook.com/justinhall.comics
https://www.cca.edu/academics/faculty/jhall
https://twitter.com/justincomics
Comic Books Bears Billy Z and Steve offer up a very special episode about a very special episode this time around! To talk about the recent "Carrie The Musical" episode of The CW's Riverdale the CBB boys are thrilled to bring back to the show geek culture writer and Archie Comics expert Chris Cummins! Not only is there a discussion regarding the episode, the history of Carrie The Musical itself (which was a legendary Broadway flop) is also covered in all its blood stained glory!
DISCLAIMER 1: There were some recording glitches which Billy Z did his best to cure in the mixing process.
DISCLAIMER 2: This is our gayest episode yet! Hands down!
Bryan, Bill Z and Steve are back on the mic to offer up to you a solid hour and a half of comic book and comic related talk. We cover recent comic culture news such as the concerns for Stan Lee after his appearance at the Silicon Valley Comic Con and the controversies over the recent 99 cents Marvel sales on Comixology. We then turn on the tube and talk about what is happening with Legion, Legends of Tomorrow, SHIELD and Krypton. Finally we lope on over to the spinner rack and talk about Dark Knights: Metal, Brilliant Trash, Snagglepuss, The Terrifics, Lockjaw and more!
Though we were unhappy that Bryan could not join us for our latest episode due to his work travels, we are thrilled to bring back to the show special guest Wendi Freeman of the Double Page Spread Podcast! Instead of testing out Steve and Bill's chairs, beds and porridge Wendi joins the boys at the spinner rack as they discuss Milk Wars, Super Sons, Armstrong and The Vault of Spirits, Young Monsters in Love, the Black Hammer-verse and much, much more. And in celebration of International Women's Month, we also spotlight women artists we really dig and our recommendations for kick ass female led comics. And we celebrate the face that we got through over an hour without going too far off on tangents ... by going off on tangents. Listen in as and you will find out about the recent importance of bananas in Wendi's life, what Bill thinks of 1970's Hanna-Barbera cartoons and just why the cover girl for our episode is Stevie Nicks!
The Comic Book Bears boys head to the movies this time around! Put those earbuds in and enjoy an hour of discussion about Black Panther! Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, it is the eighteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis! Bill, Bryan and Steve offer up their (SPOILER FILLED) opinions about the film that is breaking box office records all over the place! And since it is a comic book based podcast, the CBBears have comic book runs starring Black Panther to recommend! In this episode you will also hear Bryan super excited about his favorite sport now that the Winter Olympics are happening, Bill revealing a film he thinks is better than Superman III, Batman and Robin, Catwoman AND Howard the Duck, and you won't believe the verbal mileage Steve gets out of a 10 page back up story from 1980!
WAKANDA FOREVER!
We are finally back to having all of the CBBears on the mic with Steve, Bryan and Bill convening to talk about current comics! And what is on this episode's pull list? Mister Miracle #6! The Phoenix Resurrection #s 1-5, Superman #39, Dark Nights: Metal #5, The Silencer #1, Doomsday Clock #3, Detective Comics Annual #1, The Flash Annual #1, Sex Criminals #21, Ninjak vs. The Valiant Universe #1 and more! All that and naturally The Woofs of the Week!
Bill and Steve offer up an hour plus of retro comics talk as they look back on the very early days of Image Comics. What Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino and Rob Liefeld did in the early 90's was nothing short of revolutionary for the comic book industry. Join us as the CBB spinner rack becomes a time machine and we discuss Spawn, Youngblood, WildC.A.T.S., Savage Dragon, Shadowhawk, Cyberforce and more. We also delve into titles that the big two released in the wake of the aforementioned that were very, very Image-y in certain ways.
The Comic Book Bears are finally back!! After too long a wait Steve Mowry and Bill Zanowitz make their return to your earbuds and for the first episode of 2018 a bunch of fairly recent books are discussed! Doomsday Clock #s 1 & 2! Exit Stage Left:The Snagglepuss Chronicles #1! Batman Annual #2! Phoenix Resurrection: The Return Of Jean Grey! Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man! Plus The Woofs of the Week and more!
In the first part of this new episode, Bill Zanowitz interviews Andy Mangels! Andy is a man of many pop culture credits including authoring novels, comic books, and magazine articles and producing DVD collections. Andy is here to discuss the recent Wonder Woman 77 Meets The Bionic Woman from Dynamite and DC which he wrote and which has recently been released in a collected edition. Apart from taking us through this historic first meeting between Princess Diana and Jaime Sommers, Andy also discusses his long standing role in fandom, his work with Gay Comix, his moderating of the first Gays in Comics panel ever and his work producing DVD documentary materials for many TV seasons sets! And if that's not enough we also get to hear about with his performing with the Broadway Bears singing group and about his creating the first prominent LGBT character in the Star Trek universe!
After the interview, Bryan and Steve join up with Bill to discuss a couple of movies that you may have heard were recently released - Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League!
We did things a little different on this episode. We turn on the tube instead of heading over to the spinner rack as Bill, Bryan and Steve are all on the mic in this ep to talk about the first few weeks of comic book based TV of the 2017-2018 season. Plus we throw alcohol into the mix. We flip the channels to talk about Lucifer, Supergirl, The Gifted, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Riverdale, Gotham, Arrow and Inhumans. Listen to this barely edited episode with some bits of snark, excessive appearances of "um"s and "like"s, Bill forgetting Steve's name and all of us forgetting Lou Diamond Phillips' name.
Bryan and Bill recently went to New York Comic Con and also participated in a number of NYCC Presents events, just as they have in years past! Listen in and you'll hear about when went down at NYCC 2017! Then, while we were recording we went off on a tangent! Neither Bill nor Bryan were able to go to the queer oriented panels at this year's con but that doesn't mean they not did have opinions about the recent panels of a similar stripe that they either hosted or attended. It turned into a really robust discussion and the CBBs decided to include it in full (and naturally would welcome anyone else's opinions on the subject matter that we cover.) We eventually course correct, get back to the con coverage and then head over to the spinner rack for some chatter about DC Rebirth titles, Marvel Legacy, Iceman, Mister Miracle and more current comics!
Just sneaking in with another end of month check in! Bryan is otherwise occupied but Steve and Billy Z are back to let you about what has been going on, a preview of NYCC events that the co-hosts will be part of as well as some comic book talk with hairy heavy homo chatter about Dark Day: Metal, Archie #23, Heavy Metal #287, Runaways #1 and more!
Intro: Bear In Heaven - "Reflections of You"
Outro: Elbow with John Grant - "Kindling (Fickle Flame)"
And make sure you check out this Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/keepleft/captain-freedom-combat-hate-comic-book
We have been quiet on the Comic Book Bears front for most of the summer but we didn't want to send off Summer 2017 without leaving you with another episode. This time around Bryan talks about what it was like hosting a panel at San Diego Comic Con! After that Bryan joins Bill and Steve at the spinner rack where they discuss books that are making them smile including Valiant's Secret Weapons, Mr. Miracle (and the Fourth World in general), Batgirl, Gotham Academy: Second Semester, Secret Empire and Super Sons!
The Comic Book Bears had an unplanned summertime hibernation but we can't think of a better reason to get us up and moving within our cave than to welcome Thom Collins to the show for the first time! Thom is the creative force behind Occultation, a three part graphic novel series that explores a distant dystopian future and what happens when the religious, right-wing fundamentalists take power. The central character, Ellis Becker, is a 6’7″, 340lbs gay man who works as an "extractor" - a highly trained specialist who’s purpose is to extract people, art, literature and anything of value to the human race, without detection. Thom takes us through how he came to develop the universe that Ellis, his teammates and his adversaries inhabit, his creative process in crafting the very distinctive look of the series, his influences and much, much more! Occultation II was the first book in the series released and was the subject of a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign. A campaign to fund Occultation III is under way right now!
After the interview, Bill Z and Steve reconvene to talk about what they have been up to, what their missing co-hosts Bryan and Justin are up to, their experiences at HeroesCon and Garden State Comic Fest and then they head to the spinner rack for reading of books both new (Mage: The Hero Denied; the Batman/Elmer Fudd and Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny crossover specials) and old (Common Grounds, Ex Machina) and much more!
Links:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1235603036/occultation-iii
https://5ive9ine2wo.com/
https://www.facebook.com/occultationgraphicnovel/
We really wanted to get out an episode to you in time for the theatrical release of Wonder Woman so we crafted this very special episode with some very special guests! Joining Bill and Steve are Brad Taylor of the Wonder Words Podcast and James Figueiredo of Bear Nerd for an hour and 45 minutes of solid Wonder Woman talk! We discuss the history of Princess Diana of Themyscira in comics and in other media, her deep association with queer culture, what comic book arcs and graphic novel collections featuring Wonder Woman we would recommend and lots more!
The latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise came out recently and there is no better time for the Comic Book Bears to bring back to the show William Lindus of the Movie Bears Podcast! Will joins Bryan, Justin, Bill and Steve to discuss the continuing big screen adventures of Star Lord, Rocket, Drax, Gamora, Baby Groot, Nebula, Yondu and more! And after some comic book related TV and film news, Will gets the chance to talk comic books with the CBBears as X-Men Blue, Secret Empire, Batman, The Flash, Bug and Youngblood are among the books on the spinner rack on this episode!!!
One last "missing" episode from our archives that we are bringing back to you! Originally released on January 26th, 2015.
The CBBears present to you the second of our special satellite episodes. This time around regular co-host Bill Zanowitz is joined by Michael Myers of the Valiant Podcast, DC Noise and Geek Brunch! Mike and Billy Z came to be comic fans at the same time and they will present their argument that 1973 was a GREAT year to enter the world of four color heroes! Through this episode you will hear them recount how they came to start reading and collecting, what it was like to experience the premiere episode of Super Friends, the magic that was the Mego World's Greatest Super-Heroes action figure line and what their early and long-time favorites were and are. Some of those favorites - 100 Page Super Spectaculars, The Defenders, Justice League of America, OMAC, The Flash, Spider-Man, Jack Kirby, Mike Grell, Cary Bates, Len Wein and much, much, much more! And, in keeping with the tradition of the their respective podcasts, Mike and Billy Z's involvement insures that there will be tangents galore!
The CBB Bears are back and now that Legion, the FX TV series based on the Marvel comic, has wrapped up its first season, Bill, Bryan and Steve reconvene to discuss the entire season. And to help them with this task they are thrilled to welcome for the first time to the show as a guest Chris Roman! Chris is a professor of English at Kent State and a huge comic book fan! (Boys, he's also very easy on the eyes!) Apart from the televised beauty that was Legion Season 1, they also discuss the recent Ardian Syaf X-Men controversy, the Woofs of the Week and more!
We are THRILLED to announce that with this episode being re-posted that all of the past Comic Book Bears episodes which went missing for a time are now back in circulation!
On this one from just shy of a year ago, we were five strong in the Comic Book Bears den as Bill, Justin, Matt, Bryan and Steve were all on hand this week. First up, Daredevil's Season 2 on Netflix! Some of the bear boys had finished up their binge watching and chime in about what they thought of this season in which The Punisher and Elektra make their MCU debuts. Then, the long awaited Wonder Woman: Earth One graphic novel by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette was recently released and that too comes under the CBB microscope. The (then) current comic talk continued on with Aliens: Defiance, Faith, Avengers: Standoff, The Ultimates, Harley Quinn and Suicide Squad: April Fool’s Day, Injection, The Omega Men, X-Men's Apocalypse Wars, Lois and Clark, Batman, Silver Surfer (complete with an Alicia Masters tangent) and more!
Original Show Notes from April 15th, 2016:
The CBBears are taking a brief breather so Tito and Bill fill the hairy homo weekly podcast slot this time. Grab some cereal and for the next hour (well, hour and 15 minutes) plant yourself on the couch, turn on the TV and listen in as Messrs Gutierrez and Zanowitz run down their favorite Saturday morning and weekday afternoon shows from when they were growing up. If the names Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, Sid and Marty Krofft, Protoculture, Tusky The Walrus, The Regal Beagle and The He-Man Women Hater's Club mean something to you, you just might have something in common with our hosts' respective top 10 lists!
Original Show Notes from February 21st, 2016:
Tito and Bill head over to their bookshelves in this episode and talk about their all time favorite books about music and musicians. The subjects range from punk rock, The Beatles, The Louvin Brothers, Throbbing Gristle, KISS, Donovan, Patti Smith, The Partridge Family and death metal to Dean Reed, Broadway musicals, The Germs, Frank Zappa and bugglegum music!
Rock books rock!
Intro and Outro - Echo and the Bunnymen: "Read It In Books"
Original Show Notes from January 25th, 2016
Tito and Bill are back with their first regular episode after a "zero episode" preview but unfortunately the topic is an unexpected and somber one. Listen in as they memorialize the life and career of David Bowie. They pick their favorite Bowie songs, recount their experiences seeing him live, how they first came to be aware of Bowie, their favorite cover versions of Bowie songs and a lot more.
Very happy to announce that we are getting the missing Tito and Bill Goodtime Hour episodes back into circulation! Does this mean that there will be more? Hmmmm!
Original show notes from January 3rd, 2016:
The boys of the Comic Book Bears remain in holiday hibernation this week BUT that doesn't mean we won't stick to our weekly release schedule and have something special to share with you this week! And it is just what the pop culture doctor ordered– the very first episode of a new podcast with two middle aged gay dudes talking about music, movies toys and such. You might not want it but you need it! Join Tito Gutierrez (guitarist with LA punk band Bear Fight) and Bill Zanowitz (host of the Comic Book Bears Podcast) as they introduce themselves in this getting-to-know-you episode. And what do they talk about? How does rapping about Mego action figures, Cliff Richard, Flash Gordon, concert venues in LA and NYC, Cheap Trick, Olympic skating superstar Scott Hamilton, Peter Boyle, Cary Grant, Elvira, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, Kraftwerk, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, the Zodiac killings, Elvis Costello, John Waters films, Pete Townshend, Arthur Lee and Love, Johnny Depp, hair metal and Cinderella, Star Wars and more sound to you?!
The Comic Book Bears Podcast is thrilled to bring back to the show Sina Grace! Sina is here to talk about the just released second season of his Self-Obsessed webseries, based on his graphic novel of the same name from Image Comics! As an added (and very woofy) plus, Sina brings along with him Kevin Sonnichsen who directed season 2! Listen in as Sina and Kevin take Steve, Bill and Justin through what to expect in Self-Obsessed Season 2 along with some of Sina's other recent work including his All-New X-Men Annual story, Persian Version, The Nine Weirdest Dicks I've Sucked and hella more! (And we totally earn that "Explicit" tag applied to this episode!)
http://sinagrace.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/sinadarkcomics
http://sinagrace.bigcartel.com/
Matt, Steve, Bryan and Bill take a look at some very recent comics and cover what they are grooving on and what didn't ring their bells on this episode. On the Comic Book Bears spinner rack this week you will find The Walking Dead, Outcast, Cyborg, The Ultimates, Batman, Fight Club 2, X-Men '92, Patsy Walker Hellcat, Superman, Action Comics, Captain America and Jughead. Plus a little bit of Rhode Island talk (because you always need a little bit of that in your life.)
The Comic Book Bears are thrilled to bring back to the show for a second time special guest Steve Lightle! You will know Steve from his decades long association with the Legion of Super-Heroes and as a prominent cover artist (Classic X-Men and The Flash among others), not to mention interior work on a host of titles. In recent times Steve has been the writer and artist of the webcomic Justin Zane. As Steve details on his website Justin Zane "is the name of a hit tune in 2769 A.D., as well as the name adopted by an incredible mental patient on the satellite asylum known as "the TOMBS." He lost his freedom because he is too dangerous to be free - or so they are telling him. The psychiatrist assigned to his case is the intelligent and beautiful Doctor Glimmer Starborn - but she seems too good to be true. Then there's the matter of the glamorous newscaster Catrina Fellina, the anarchist skrok band known as The Idle Reich, and the destruction of Yasgur's Planet." Steve goes into some of his future plans for Justin Zane, the supporting cast (which includes a character Steve created when he was six years old), his influences, a little bit of the Legion, working for the big two, his artistic process, The Beatles, sci-fi authors Steve loves, H.P. Lovecraft and horror comics ... and as an exclusive he lets us in on a big Justin Zane secret!
LINKS:
http://stevelightle.wix.com/justin-zane
https://www.patreon.com/Lunatick_Press
Intro - "Reflection of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "86" by Green Day
With our bear brothers Justin and Bryan unavailable, Steve, Bill and Matt make sure that your weekly quota of hairy heavy homo comic book talk is filled. Listen in and you will hear us chime in on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, what Marvel titles we are still getting, Zodiac Starforce, Toil and Trouble, Saints, the New 52 books that we really liked, the Superman books, Deadpool Reborn, Deathmate (the Image/Valiant crossover in the 90's), Titans Hunt, Neal Adams, Superman vs. Muhammad Ali and a lot more!
The Crimson Comedian! The Asinine Assassin! The Regeneratin' Degenerate! The Merc With The Mouth! Yes, on this new episode the CBBears talk about Deadpool! The new film starring Ryan Reynolds smashed box office records over the last week and the boys talk about what they thought of the movie! Then, since this is a comic book podcast, each of the Bears provides a Deadpool comic that they would recommend. It is also worth mentioning that on the day we recorded this show, it was also National Drink Wine Day ... and who are we to not celebrate? So, on top of a whole lot of Wade Wilson, we also jabber on about stand up comedians, DC Rebirth, Matt loving The Manhattan Projects, which two of us hate maple syrup flavored bacon and making his first appearance on the show in two years - Drunk Bill!
Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "Since 84" by Mac Dre
The episode kicks off with our coverage of Batman: Bad Blood, the new DC Universe animated feature! Our Grand Poobear Billy Z attended the premiere of the film at the Paley Center in New York City and you will hear him speak with some of the actors and creators involved with the film - Yvonne Strahovski (Batwoman), Sean Maher (Nightwing) and character designer Phil Bourassa. After that Matt and Steve join Bill with what they thought of the movie. Then Bryan and Justin add to the fun with some comic book talk including where things stand with Marvel's X-books, The Illuminati, Thor, Marvel's Contest of Champions, Poison Ivy, Alan Moore's Providence, IDW's Jem and the Holograms and as always a lot more.
Intro: "Reflection of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro: "83" by John Mayer
On the latest episode of the CBB podcast, snowstorms and wisdom teeth prevent Justin and Bryan from joining us but Bill and Steve are still on hand! And this duo is thrilled to welcome to the show artist/writer/poet Bubba from Wabi-sabi Zinez for the first time! Bubba talks with us about the super-cool 2017 NYC Queer Comic Fair happening on April 8th! The discussion then turns to some of Bubba's work including Odd Men Out, The Neighborhood is on Fire, Bad Sex, Papa and more!!!
Afterwards, Bill and Steve head over to the spinner rack to chat about some recent books including Harrow County, Valiant's A&A, the Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Revolution one-shot, a bunch of DC Rebirth titles, The Wild Storm #1, Astro City #41 and ... well ... a whole lotta Astro City!
Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "A Kind of Love" by Marc Almond
LINKS:
http://bgsqd.com/event/2017-nyc-queer-comic-fair/
https://www.facebook.com/events/964331220365856/
http://wabisabizinez.storenvy.com/
www.facebook.com/WabiSabiZinez
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 - "Attica 71" by Olivver
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 too distracting.)
WOOFY LINKS:
http://www.stevemacisaac.com/
http://www.bearcity.com/
http://www.bearcity3.com/
http://sinagrace.com/
http://www.dragoncon.org/
http://nerdyshow.com/flameon/
http://www.bearbust.org/
https://www.teepublic.com/user/VeryBear
http://espn.go.com/30for30/film?page=small-potatoes-who-killed-the-usfl
http://www.newyorksuperweek.com/en/Sessions/13308/Comic-Book-Bears-vs-Flame-On-Live
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!
We continue to reintroduce episodes that were originally exclusive to the E2 Network feed. Hope you enjoy this one from December of last year!
This week's episode is the first of a two-parter (sadly minus Justin) where Matt, Steve, Bryan and Bill put the comic books back in the bags and boards, put the tops on the longboxes and turn on their TV sets instead. This week our attention is focused on the shows currently airing that are based on DC Comics properties - Gotham, Supergirl, The Flash and Arrow along with a tiny bit of discussion about the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow mini-series event. Needles to say - SPOILERS if you haven't been caught upon these shows (though it should be mentioned that at the time we recorded this how and next week's episode #76 we weren't quite yet at the mid-season finale point for these programs.) Make sure you come back next week when 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!
We continue to reintroduce episodes that were originally exclusive to the E2 Network feed. Hope you enjoy this one from July of last year! (You can also search out the first part to the episode with a Jamal Igle interview!)
It is the long awaited second half of Episode 65! This time around, Billy Z, Bryan, Steve and Matt talk about a whole bunch of things - AnimeNext, Flame Con, GeekOUT's Power anthology, Secret Wars and its tie - ins (1602, Weirdworld, X-Men books), Green Lantern, Bizarro, Midnighter, Constantine the Hellblazer, Nameless, Providence, Jupiter's Circle, If This Ben Sin as well as Blur, shows filming in our respective hometowns and the most professional sign-off to any podcast you will ever hear! (Don't be thrown off by the dates we refer to in the show - we have a bit of a backlog of recordings and we placed getting out the recent interviews we released to you as a priority. We are trying to get all of what we have in the can out to you before the end of the month.)
Intro - Bear in Heaven - "The Reflection of You"
02:41 - AnimeNext, FlameCon, GeeksOUT Power, prepping for HeroesCon
18:20 - Secret Wars
25:22 - Secret Wars Tie-Ins (1602, Weirdworld)
36:01 - Secret Wars Tie-Ins (The X-Men Books)
50:33 - Green Lantern #41
58:11 - Bizarro #1
1:02:49 - Midnighter #1
1:16:23 - Constantine The Hellblazer #1
1:25:56 - Nameless (Image)
1:34:03 - Providence (Avatar)
1:37:30 - Jupiter's Circle #3 (Image)
1:44:50 - If This Be Sin by Hazel Newlevant
1:54:33 - The Woofs of The Week
We continue to reintroduce episodes that were originally exclusive to the E2 Network feed. Hope you enjoy this one from June of last year!
Billy Z, Steve and Justin finally help Matt get fully invested as a Comic Book Bears Podcast host through asking him about his personal history as a comic book fan and what some of his all-time favorites are. Then the current comic talks begin. What will you hear us go on about? Convergence, The Warlord, Providence, A-Force, ACE (All Comics Evaluated), Sandman: Overture, Superman, Jupiter's Circle, Where Monsters Dwell, Dead Drop, Valiant Handbook 2015 Edition, Blackcross, Inferno, Fight Club 2, Old Man Logan, Supreme: Blue Rose and more.
And we are presenting our very first listener contest! Listen in to the show to find out how you can win a sketch cover edition of Old Man Logan #1 with the amazing image seen here courtesy of our own Fuzzbelly genius Matt Brossard! It will be a gumball rally to reply with a winning response to our episode post on our Facebook page. We can't make it TOO easy on you, so we will not be providing an episode breakdown until we have a winner! Good luck!
In this very somber episode of the Comic Book Bears Podcast which was recorded this past November 10th, the raw feelings about the results of United States Presidential election are at the forefront. Bill, Justin and Bryan lay down their thoughts. Like the Orlando episode we felt it was important to discuss this seismic event. But if you want to skip that part of the discussion, you can go to the 34:22 mark where we actually begin discussing comic books. However politics doesn't end there though as we each provide a politically-based comic series or strip which we would recommend and the choices span from the 80's to the present day. (Or the present-yet-prehistoric day!)
This month marks the 35th anniversary of the release of the 1981 album MUSIC FROM 'THE ELDER' by KISS. A huge commercial failure upon its release, the concept album does however have its fans. To discuss the album Tito and Bill have joined up on this special episode with a group of KISS fans and podcast veterans: Gordie Adams (The Gordcast), Kurt Beckman (B-Talk) and Jeff Anderson (Jeff's Fancy C-60 Podcast)!! Join us for the hour as we dish about why we think MUSIC FROM 'THE ELDER' is an underrated work, why we think it did not connect with the masses and add to the mix a heavy sampling of KISS-related tangents!
Those bear boys continue to get caught up with unreleased episodes. This time Billy Z, Matt, Bryan, Justin and Steve congregate to talk cons, news and then, of course, the funnybooks themselves. First we cover Bryan and Steve's exploits at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. Then the whole group goes down the list of what Marvel's post-Secret Wars roster will look like. The talk then turns to Marvel's Secret Wars tie-in books including Thors, the X-Men books and hella more. After that, the Distinguished Competition gets its turn in the spotlight with talk about what is happening over in Justice League, Batman, Batgirl, the Superman titles and the #1 issues of Black Canary and Martian Manhunter! (And if you were wondering where the indie talk time is - - - fear not, true believer; the upcoming Episode/Issue 67 is nothing but indie comics talk!)
Billy Z, Bryan, Justin, Matt and Steve continue on with listener questions in part 2! You will also get to hear about what they did on Free Comic Book Day and what they thought about Multiversity #2.
And jock straps.
They talk about jock straps.
Intro: Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
01:00:05 - Listener questions continued (22:12 if you wanted to get right to the jock strap talk.)
26:50:00 - Free Comic Book Day
34:37:00 - Multiversity #2
54:42:00 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro - Marty Robbins - "Sixty-Two's Most Promising Fool"
http://www.trixiemattel.com/
https://nerdyshow.com/2015/04/flame-on-drag-is-the-new-spandex-trixie-mattel/
http://www.thebearsinthecity.com/
http://www.shawnsyms.com/
http://www.arsenalpulp.com/bookinfo.php?index=409
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/23808096/cash-and-carrie
EXPLICIT LANGUAGE - not as bad as the last episode but ... jock straps.
The first of a two part marathon episode! Show regulars Billy Z, Justin, Bryan, Steve and newly official regular Matt go to the movies, turn on the TV and then take listener questions. (The current comic book talk doesn't hit until part two.) And let's just say there is more cussing and more alcohol consumption during this show than any previous one. First up, Avengers: Age of Ultron gets the spotlight. Next up is Daredevil on Netflix, now that all of us have seen the entire run. Then we are treated to the unforgettable throwdown of the Gotham season finale by Mr. Bryan Pittard. And last but not least it's the first part of our answering listener questions with topics ranging from Astro City to what Warner Brothers/DC is doing wrong in filmland to the Image books we read to the comic creators we find to be the woofiest. Part 2 is coming along real soon!
And we will give Matt a proper welcome to the show as a regular on a future episode soon - don't worry!
Intro: Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
1:16 - Avengers: Age of Ultron
34:20 - Daredevil on Netflix
48:13 - Bryan vs. Gotham
1:04:57 - Listener questions
Outro - (It's a surprise)
EXPLICIT LANGUAGE - hey, we recorded it on Cinco De Mayo.
Justin, Bryan, Steve, Billy Z and that returning Fuzzbellied friend of ours Matt Brossard himself are back with a new episode! First up, the bear boys interview comic creator Jay Piscopo! Jay is the author and illustrator of The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli graphic novel series. He is also the creator of Sea Ghost, Commander X and a host of other characters based out of the Capt'n Eli universe. Many of his creations have been turned into Mego-style action figures available through his own Nemo Toys. Jay has a signature style, combining 2D characters with 3D backgrounds and he joins us to discuss his body of work. After the interview Jay stays on the mic to join the rest of the crew for some media and current comic book talk. Netflix's Daredevil and convention talk starts it off. Then with DC's Convergence event starting up, a number of the tie-in books get air time as well as Jupiter's Circle from Image, Archie's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the Archie vs. Predator crossover from Dark Horse/Archie, Valiant's Bloodshot Reborn and Divinity, Marvel's new Hawkeye series and more!
Fair warning - especially since The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli is an all-ages series, we thought we should give you the heads up that we slip in a few slightly naughty words here and there. Nothing that would come close to garnering an R rating but still worth the advanced word if kids are listening in.
INTRO - Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
1:02 - Interview with JAY PISCOPO
46:24 - Daredevil from Marvel Studios on Netflix
1:10:08 - Bryan goes to MegaCon
1:17:03 - Billy Z goes to MOCCA
1:23:15 - DC's Convergence event including Suicide Squad, Batgirl, The Atom, Titans, The Question Superman and more
1:41:53 - Jupiter's Circle #1
1:47:40 - The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #2
1:54:40 - Archie vs. Predator #1
1:59:37 - Valiant's Bloodshot Reborn and Divinity
2:10:12 - Hawkeye #2
2:12:52 - THE WOOFS OF THE WEEK
Outro - Bob Dylan - "Highway 61 Revisited"
WOOFY LINKS
http://www.captneli.com
https://www.facebook.com/jpiscopo
http://www.drivethrucomics.com
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shirtlifter/shirtlifter-5-new-gay-comic-from-steve-macisaac
https://www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com/50-bands-and-a-cat-for-indiana-equality.html
https://www.humblebundle.com/books
http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/judge-john-hodgman
http://www.watermarkonline.com/2015/04/09/gay-geeks-find-their-super-powers/
http://www.dcnoisepodcast.com/2015/04/19/dc-noise-special-convergence-and-billy-dee-willaims/
http://kingbonepress.com/
http://roxburyartsalliance.org/event/superman-radio-show/
We bring you our annual New York Comic Con wrap up episode, this time with returning guest Richard Rivera, writer of the amazing indie comic series Stabbity Bunny! Bill Z, Bryan and Steve along with Richard discuss what NYCC 2016 was like, including the NYCC Presents events that Bryan and Billy were part of. Richard is also here to discuss a new Stabbity Bunny Kickstarter!! We round the show out with a healthy dose of current comic talk with The Black Monday Murders, Spider-Man: The Clone Conspiracy, The Walking Dead, Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye and IDW/Hasbro's Revolution among the books discussed!
Stabbity Links:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/222334888/stabbity-bunny-5
http://www.stabbitybunny.com/
https://www.facebook.com/stabbitybunny
https://twitter.com/StabbityBunny
CBB boys Billy Z and Steve are back from New York Comic Con! They will be joined by Bryan next week to discuss what their experiences at that massive convention were like but before then they are thrilled to bring to their conversation cave this week the mega talented Blue Delliquanti!!! Blue is the writer and artist of O HUMAN STAR, a long-form online comic that started in 2012 and for which she has launched a Kickstarter campaign to put out a second graphic novel collection. O HUMAN STAR, which has been raved about on the show previously, presents the story of Alastair Sterling, an inventor who wakes up in a lifelike robot body 16 years after his death and must come to terms with the unfamiliar, futuristic world that is the result of his work and his legacy. Along the way he reunites with his former research partner Brendan and comes face to face with another robot whose mind is a copy of Sterling’s – and is living as a teenage girl and as Brendan's daughter - and we then follow the these three coming together as an unconventional family in a not-too-distant future. Blue also lets us in on MEAL, another upcoming project of hers! Love, robots, insect cuisine and Sailor Moon reconsiderations - they are all here in this great conversation!!
LINKS:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/772239660/o-human-star-volume-2-volume-1-reprint
http://ohumanstar.com/
http://www.bluedelliquanti.com/
Intro: Bear in Heaven - "Reflections of You"
Outro: Anthony and The Mountain - "Raygun"
Permalink: http://comicbookbears.libsyn.com/comic-book-bears-podcast-issue-105-the-pocket-lawyer-for-comic-book-creators-and-nycc-2016-preview
Bill, Bryan and Steve are on hand this week for an extra-sized episode as they get ready for this year's New York Comic Con! First up, the CBB boys are thrilled to bring to the show Thomas A. Crowell, Esq.! Thomas is a partner with the law firm of Lane Sash & Larrabee where he counsels clients on a wide range of entertainment law and intellectual property rights issues. He is also the author of The Pocket Lawyer for Comic Book Creators, the very first dedicated legal guide for the comic book industry. The Pocket Lawyer is designed to help emerging artists and veteran professionals in the comic book industry build a solid foundation of business and communication practices and Thomas takes us through key legal issues involving protection of comic book properties. We also hear about the panels and seminars he is presenting at New York Comic Con 2016.
DISCLAIMER: Mr. Crowell’s comments should not be considered "legal advice," nor do they create an attorney-client relationship with the podcast listener.
Then we transition over to another guest joining us, our old friend Chris Cummins! CBB's own Bill and Chris will be co-hosting the Tales from the Toybox event for New York Comic Con's NYCC Presents! This multimedia evening will find Bill and Chris presenting a program about toys from the 60's to the present day which will feature many special guests and some amazing prizes and giveaways! And if that isn't enough, our own Bryan will be hosting another NYCC Presents event, Flame On! Presents - Fan Feud, which will be a fun filled game show evening! All this and some talk of a Doctor Who event (involving some familiar names) and a comic book specific Woofs of the Week segment to round the show out!
LINKS:
www.thomascrowell.com
Thomas Crowell's twitter: @Law_Crow
Firm website: www.lanesash.com
Firm email: tcrowell@lanesash.com
The Pocket Lawyer For Comic Book Creators: https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Lawyer-Comic-Book-Creators/dp/0415661803
The Pocket Lawyer For Filmmakers: https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Lawyer-Filmmakers-Independent-Producers/dp/0240813189/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474650634&sr=1-1&keywords=Pocket+lawyer+for+filmmake
New York Comic Con presentations:
Keeping Control of your Comic: Friday October 07, 2016, 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM, Room 1A05: https://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/en/Sessions/31424/Keeping-Control-of-Your-Comic-Part-1-Contracts-for-the-Comic-Book-Creator
CLE From panel to Publisher: Thursday October 06, 2016, 12:15 PM - 3:15 PM, Room 1A02: http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/Events/Continuing-Legal-Education-Opportunities/
CLE Printed page to silver screen: Sunday October 09, 2016, 12:15 PM - 1:30 PM, Room 1A05: http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/Events/Continuing-Legal-Education-Opportunities/
NYCC Presents Events:
http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/en/Sessions/30127/Tales-from-the-Toybox
http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/en/Sessions/30129/Flame-On-Presents-Fan-Feud
http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/en/Sessions/30124/Doctor-Who-Costume-and-Trivia-Contest
Intro: Bear in Heaven - "Reflections of You"
Outro: Subway Sect - "Nobody's Scared"
Hard to believe that DC's Legends of Tomorrow is less than a year old and about to enter its second season. Jump on the Waverider with us as we go back to January when we discussed the first episode.
Brother Justin missed our rendezvous with Rip Hunter's Waverider so in this episode Matt, Steve, Bryan and Bill are on the mic to discuss DC's Legends of Tomorrow, the new super-team show spinning out of The Flash and Arrow which premiered on The CW last week. You'll get to hear what they thought of the episode, their picks for comics featuring these characters and, being the hairy heavy homos they are, other opinions about this exceptionally woofy cast. All this plus their Woofs of the Week and hella more!
Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "Around the World in 80 Days" by Bing Crosby
No guests. No TV talk. Just Billy Z, Bryan, Steve and Justin talking comics. And what is on the spinner rack? Multiversity: Ultra Comics, Convergence. Earth 2: World's End, The New 52: World's End, Batman: Eternal, some very good recent Superman books, Spider-Gwen, Avengers: Ultron Forever, Avengers Forever, even more Avengers, Uncanny Inhumans, God Hates Astronauts, The Dying and the Dead, Nemo: River of Ghosts and much more. We also throw in Grover ... you'll hear. Lastly, the episode image is what happens when Steve challenges Bill.
Intro: Matthew Sweet - "Where You get Love"
1:01 - Multiversity: Ultra Comics #1 (DC)
26:36 - Covergence #0 (DC)
39:58 - The last issues of DC's three weekly titles
1:03:19 - Scooby Doo Team-Up #9, Smallville: Continuity #4; Action Comics #39 (all DC)
1:11:55 - Spider-Gwen #3 (Marvel)
1:17:00 - Avengers: Ultron Forever #1 (Marvel)
1:23:24 - Avengers #43 (Marvel)
1:38:00 - Uncanny Inhumans #0 (Marvel)
1:41:00 - God Hates Astronauts #7 (Image)
1:51:00 - The Dead and the Dying #2 (Image)
2:01:14 - Nemo: River of Ghosts (Top Shelf)
2:06:00 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro: The Dominoes - "Sixty Minute Man"
Flashback with us and once again enjoy Matt Brossard's first appearance on the show!
Billy Z, Justin, Bryan and Steve are thrilled to bring to the show for the first time artist Matt Brossard a/k/a Fuzzbelly! We talk with him first about how he got into comics and what some of his favorites are. Matt also works as the Director of Community at Terapeak and in that capacity he discusses with us comic related transaction trends on eBay. After that we hear about Bryan's experiences attending TBRU (Texas Bear Round Up) recently. Then the current comic talk commences with discussions about people losing their minds over the Batgirl #41 Joker variant cover and the Superman and Wonder Woman redesigns, Secret Wars and post Convergence solicits, Spider-Gwen, Thor, Howard the Duck, Green Lantern, Gotham Academy, Arkham Manor, Swamp Thing, Descender, All-New X-Men, Suiciders ... and somehow we go off on a tangent about Jimmy Buffet.
THE BREAKDOWN:
Intro - Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
00.35 - Introducing Matt who fills us in on how he got into comics
10:00 - Comic sales trends on eBay
33:30 - Bryan goes to TBRU
47:20 - People lose their minds over the Batgirl #41 Joker variant cover and the Superman and Wonder Woman redesigns
1:03:29 - Secret Wars and post Convergence solicits
1:09:26 - Spider-Gwen #s 1 and 2 (Marvel)
1:16:00 - Thor (Marvel)
1:22:04 - Howard the Duck #1 (Marvel)
1:25:04 - Green Lantern #40 (DC)
1:21:38 - Gotham Academy and Arkham Manor (DC)
1:35:48 - Swamp Thing #50 (DC)
1:44:42 - Descender #1 (Image)
1:46:50 - All-New X-Men #37 (Marvel)
1:54:44 - Suiciders #1 (Vertigo)
1:59:20 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro - The Gaslight Anthem - "The '59 Sound"
The second episode of the new UKPNW@40 cast examines the first major punk festival held in the UK on September 20th and 21st, 1976. Join host Bill Z as he details this historic event that which found The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Buzzcocks, The Vibrators, The Damned, Stinky Toys, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Subway Sect on the stage at a two night gig that garnered major press for the then burgeoning punk movement!
Bryan, Steve and Bill are in the CBB cave this week and we start the show off with an announcement about ... the show. (Fair warning - it just might give you a frowny face.) We then move on to hearing about Bill's time at this year's Baltimore Comic Con. After that we bring on a whole lotta comic talk with bandwidth dedicated to DC Rebirth titles (The Flash, Superman, Supergirl), Frank Cho's Skybourne, The Flintstones, Die Kitty Die, East of West, Everafter: From the Pages of Fables and a great Beatles-related graphic novel which isn't The Fifth Beatle!
Intro: Bear in Heaven - "Reflections of You"
Outro: Bob Seger and the Lost Heard - "East Side Story"
Bill Z of the Comic Book Bears Podcast has launched a new podcast - THE UKPNW@40 PODCAST!
UKPNW stands for United Kingdom Punk and New Wave and the intention of this podcast is to serve as a look and listen back at the amazing music that came out of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland during the period from 1976 to 1979. What Bill will be doing with this podcast, as close as practicality allows, is to celebrate UK punk and new wave record releases, radio and TV appearances, key concerts and other events on their respective 40th anniversaries. Bill fills us in on some of his background and what to expect in the coming months on the podcast. This first episode examines The Sex Pistols and their debut TV appearance on September 4, 1976.
If you are digging what you hear, like the podcast facebook page, tell friends who you think may also be into a podcast like this and reach out to Bill at ukpnwat40@gmail.com.
https://www.facebook.com/UKPNWat40-Podcast-231229423939957/
The Sex Pistols TV debut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-8x6FxybOY
With the recent release of BvS on DVD and BluRay, this latest Flashback episode from this past March finds all five Bears on the mic to weigh in on the film!
Original show notes: The bears are back to five strong as Billy Z, Matt, Bryan, Steve and Justin are all on this week's episode to talk about a film you just may have heard of. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is director Zack Snyder's follow-up to 2013's Man of Steel and is the second installment in the DC Extended Universe series of films. What do these hairy heavy homos think of Batfleck, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Superman in the bathtub and the other elements of the movie? Listen in to our spoiler filled, spirited discussion to find out!
Very proud to bring this episode back to our listeners, with our interview with the great Peter David!
Original show notes -
We here at the Comic Book Bears Podcast are thrilled to bring to the show the one and only Peter David for an interview! Peter is here to discuss the recently released Avengers Vault from Thunder Bay Press which he wrote in the first half of our show. We go on to discuss Peter's long and distinguished career as a comic book writer, touching on his work with X-Factor, Spider-Man 2099, Hulk, Fallen Angel, his plans with the upcoming Secret wars, film novelizations and much, much, much more! Peter also takes us through his writing process and we even get to hear about a new project he is involved with for the first time!
Afterwards Justin, Steve, Bryan and Billy Z get into the comic and TV talk. We tune in to what is happening on SHIELD, Gotham, Arrow, Flash, Agent Carter and even some Australian (!) small screen goings on. Then we turn to the four color format and yap about about Avengers #42, All-New Hawkeye #1, Spider-Gwen #1, Batman #39, the new Star Wars books from Marvel and, of course, tangents upon tangents.
Intro - Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
0:49 - Interview with Peter David
47:44 - Post-Interview chat including Photon, DC vs. Marvel, Doctor Strangefate and Amalgam Comics, original art, artists who work digitally, Ramon Perez, Neal Adams, Steranko
57:10 - Comic TV talk including SHIELD's return, Gotham, Arrow, Flash, the DC team show in development at the WB, Helix, Underbelly, Danger 5
1:18:00 - Comic talk including Avengers, Age of Apocalypse, All-New Hawkeye, Jeff Lemire, Jason Latour, Spider-Gwen, Batman, the abundance of severed hands in the New 52, combo packs and digital codes, Billy Z needs a code buddy, want lists, Bryan manages his whole life with Excel, the Star Wars books from Marvel and more
1:57:03 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro - Chicago Transit Authority - "Poem 58"
LINKS:
http://www.peterdavid.net/
http://www.thunderbaybooks.com/product/Marvel-The-Avengers-Vault,472.aspx
http://www.crazy8press.com/2015/02/07/welcome-to-pangaea
http://www.sbs.com.au/comedy/danger-5
http://www.nerdyshow.com/nerdy-showcase/flame-on/
http://www.captneli.com/
We continue our re=posting of our "missing" episodes with the first appearance of Brother Steve as a regular co-host!
The original show notes provided that "We are very proud to announce that our past guest Steve Mowry is now joining us as a regular co-host! As part of his initiation for his new role, Steve first takes us through some of his favorite things about comic books. Then Billy Z recounts his going to Toy Fair for the first time. Next up Justin and Bryan join in for a discussion about the new Lego DC Comics Super-Heroes movie Justice League vs. Bizarro League. Billy Z attended the NYC premiere screening and you'll hear his interviews with James Arnold Taylor, the voice of The Flash, and filmmakers Brandon Vietti and Jim Krieg. Then some comics related TV talk. Then a whole lotta comics talk - Multiversity: The Mastermen, Nameless, The Black Vortex, All-New X-Men, Marvel's June 2015 Solicits, Ant-Man, Justice League United, Batman, Action Comics, Future's End, Earth 2: World's End, Divinity #1 and Displacement, a graphic novel which maybe made Steve cry."
All five bears are back in the CBB den this week to talk about Suicide Squad, the third movie in the DC Extended Universe series of films. The film stars Will Smith, Jared Leto, Viola Davis and Margot Robbie among the cast and our furry fivesome weigh in on whether Suicide Squad is a movie you should kill to see or if a neckbomb going off would be preferable. After that, the comic book talk starts with 4001 A.D.: War Mother, All-New X-Men, All-New Wolverine, Black Panther, Old Man Logan, the revival of Rom from IDW, The Vision, Darth Vader, Marvel's recent C-3PO special, Jupiter's Legacy and Superwoman each finding a berth on our spinner rack!
This week's Comic Book Bears Podcast episode finds Billy Z, Steve and (eventually) Matt talking about two television programs that have been on the minds of many folks these past few weeks. In one corner you have Jessie Custer, Tulip and Cassidy! In the other, you have Dustin, Eleven and - sigh - Benny! So tune in to our SPOILER FILLED examination of both AMC's PREACHER (based upon the Vertigo series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon) and STRANGER THINGS from Netflix!
(Yeah, yeah, yeah - we know that STRANGER THINGS isn't really comic book related but sometimes we throw the rules out the window ... and into the Upside Down.)
Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "If I Was a Folkstar" by The Avalanches
We are four bears (Bill, Matt, Justin and Steve) strong this week as Bryan takes the episode off. We focus mainly on the recent spate of new DC Rebirth titles including Superman, Action Comics, Wonder Woman, Batman, Detective Comics, Green Arrow, Flash, Justice League, Aquaman, Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, Titans and Batgirl and the Birds of Prey! We stray a little bit away from the DCU to discuss Prophet: Earth War, Jeff Lemire's Plutona and a little bit of classic Marvel talk about Daughters of the Dragon! (Also pay attention to the Woofs of the Week segment as it gives you a clue about what is on the docket for our next episode!)
Flashback with us to the second time we had the huggable and incomparable Steve Mowry on the show, before he became a regular co-host. (It was after this show was recorded that we decided we are keeping him!)
The CBBears are pleased to welcome back one of their favorite past guests - Steve Mowry - for a 2+ hour comic confab. First up is an analysis of the recently released DC Universe Animated Movie Justice League: Throne of Atlantis. Then we hit the spinner rack and talk about The Multiversity Handbook, DC's upcoming Convergence event, Avengers, New Avengers, Fantastic Four, All-New X-Factor, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Uncanny Avengers, Valiant's new Timewalker series, Supreme: Blue Rose, the state of Vertigo and Jonathan Hickman's The Dying and the Dead.
Intro: Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
00:30 - Welcoming back Steve Mowry
02:50 - Throne of Atlantis (Warner Home Video)
28:43 - The Multiversity Guidebook (DC)
47:30 - Convergence solicits (DC)
51:10 - Avengers and New Avengers: Time Runs Out and Fantastic Four (Marvel)
1:06:15 - All-New X-Factor (Marvel)
1:12:20 - Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (Marvel)
1:16:50 - Uncanny Avengers (Marvel)
1:25:00 - Ivan, Timewalker (Valiant)
1:39:58 - Supreme: Blue Rose (Image)
1:45:40 - The state of Vertigo/Secret Origins #6 (Vertigo/DC)
1:54:55 - The Dying and the Dead (Image)
2:01:32 - Previews - Coming Up on the Comic Boook Bears
2:02:40 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro - T.I. - "56 Barz"
LINKS:
www.facebook.com/centrelgbtqa
www.facebook.com/events/621901291175446
www.thebearsinthecity.com
www.nerdyshow.com/nerdy-showcase/flame-on
www.sixgungorilla.com
www.noprofitrecords.limitedrun.com
Flashback with us to the first time we had Steve Lightle on the show!!!
We are very pleased to welcome to the CBB podcast artist extraordinaire Steve Lightle! Steve is here to discuss his new project, the futuristic online comic Justin Zane! Steve also discusses with us other projects he has been involved with in his 30+ year career as a comic book creator including his longtime association with the Legion of Super-Heroes, the late 80's revival of the Doom Patrol, his stints as a regular X-Men and Flash cover artist, the creative process and much, much, much more! It was a thrill to have the opportunity to interview Steve and he was gracious enough to stick around as Justin, Bryan and Billy Z cover recent news concerning Marvel and comic book based TV shows, Agent Carter, Secret Avengers, Mutiversity: Thunderworld Adventures, the Miracleman Annual with a long lost Grant Morrison story, Sixis ... we mean, Axis, a little Beatles talk, The Sandman: Overture #4 and of course Marvel's new Star Wars #1.
LINKS:
http://www.lunatickpress.com/
http://stevelightle.wix.com/justin-zane
http://www.srdogs.com/
http://marvel.com/comics/unlimited
http://demonpack.com/brett_schmidt_art.shtml
http://www.randomhouse.com/book/222247/words-for-pictures-by-brian-michael-bendis
http://earth2.podbean.com/e/comic-book-bears-special-episode-bronze-age-bears-episode-1-the-argument-for-1973
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/4vVTd
Intro - Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
0:30 - Interview with Steve Lightle: Covering Justin Zane!, The Legion, Doom Patrol, cover work and more!
1:14:00 - News about Secret Wars and the Marvel Universe
1:20:00 - Comic based TV show renewals and Agent carter
1:30:00 - Star Wars #1 (Marvel)
1:38:00 - Secret Avengers (Marvel)
1:40:00 - Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures (DC)
1:44:00 - All-New Miracleman Annual #1 (Marvel)
1:48:00 - Sixis ... we mean, Axis (Marvel)
1:55:00 - The Sandman: Overture #4 (Vertigo)
2:00:00 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro - The Eagles - "OL' 55"
Not too early to wax nostalgic for 2014 yet, is it? Enjoy our reflection of the best from that year!
"It's that time! That time when Justin, Bryan and Billy Z offer up their picks for the best of 2014! Join them as they run down their picks for favorite ongoing, favorite mini-series, favorite writer, favorite artist, favorite single issue, favorite cover, favorite mini-series and their favorite comic related media of the past year! What do they pick for their tops of 2014? Multiversity? Big Hero 6? Saga? Storm? Cyclops? Afterlife with Archie? Ramon Perez? Aaron Kuder? Jonathan Hickman? Charles Soule? Some of these get the nods - some of these don't - you'll just have to listen in to find out which ones. There is also a talk about DC cancellations, Convergence, the NFL playoffs, Broadway theatre, comics that made them cry, Lootcrate and other tangents and topics! (Explicit warning - once again there are few cases of potty mouth - but you should have heard what they cut out!)
Intro - "Where You Get Love" - Matthew Sweet
1:30 - Best Comic Related Media of 2014 (and Lootcrate)
14:30 - Best Comic Book Cover of 2014
20:06 - Best Artist of 2014
26:00 - Best Writer of 2014
33:38 - Best Single Issue of 2014 (and comic that made us cry and Mutiversity: Thunderworld Adventures)
47:40 - Best Ongoing of 2014
1:05:10 - Justice League United and the Legion/Convergence/DC titles cancelled/Fantastic Four: 1234/Capote in Kansas
1:16:45 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro - "54/40" - Dead Moon
With so much turmoil happening in the world, we at the Comic Book Bear Podcast are honored to provide something for you that is celebratory! Please join Bill Zanowitz, Justin Allen, Matt Brossard, Bryan Pittard and Steve Mowry for an hour and a half that we are proud of as we toast each other, our listeners and the art form we adore with our landmark 100th episode! Imagine the ultimate CBB spinner rack as we each talk about our all-time favorite issues, our favorite books that have come out since our podcast started in 2011, our all time favorite comic book covers and our favorite anniversary comics!
Then we talk about OUR favorite comic book bears.
For a nice stretch.
INTRO: Bear in Heaven - "Reflections of You"
OUTRO: Quincy Jones with James Ingram - "One Hundred Ways"
A Flashback from 12/2014: After an extended break, Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are back on the Comic Book Bears mic with nearly two hours of comic book and geek culture talk. Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly's AMAZING Multiversity: Pax Americana is up first in the spotlight! The comic talk continues with the bears boys weighing in ODY-C #1, Matt Fraction, purple nipples, Wonder Woman, AXIS, Thor, Superior Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the original Secret Wars, Mike Zeck, Kraven's ass, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Robert Hack, Action Comics, Superman in the New 52, comic book sales and the back issue market. They then take a non-comic detour to discuss the end of the current season of Doctor Who and the Star Wars Episode 7 teaser trailer. Then they turn on the TV to rap about what is happening on Gotham, Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Flash and Constantine. They wrap up as always with the Woof of the Week. Word of caution - the boys are little more potty mouthed on this ep than usual for some reason. And who or what is Havok Thanos Del Rio? Well, you'll just have to listen in to find out!!
THE BREAKDOWN (Because We Love You!)
Intro - "Where You Get Love" - Matthew Sweet
0:24 - Intro
1:24 - Multiversity: Pax Americana (DC)
18:30 - ODY-C #1 (Image)
28:55 - Wonder Woman #s 35 & 36 (DC)
37:55 - AXIS/Thor/Superior Iron Man/Captain America (Marvel)
48:20 - The original Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars (Marvel)
51:59 - The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1 (Archie, just a brief teaser)
53:00 - Action Comics #36/Superman in the New 52 (DC)
1:01:04 - Comic Book Sales and Trends
1:07:09 - Non-Comic Detour - Doctor Who and Star Wars
1:32:08 - TV Talk - Gotham/Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D./The Flash/Constantine
1:48:04 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro - "53rd and 3rd" - The Ramones
Here is another CBB Flashback from November, 2014. This was recorded just after we had our first ever live show as part of New York Comic Con's Super Week and we brought on to the cast friend of the show Tom Nordin!
The bear boys are back with a special guest in tow, long time listener and friend of the show Tom Nordin! Tom, Billy Z, Bryan and Justin detail their experiences at New York Comic Con last month with tangents and topics including Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Avengers Station, Justin vs. a Ghostbusters cosplayer, the Empire State Building, hot dogs, Sina Grace, NPR's Ask Me Another, Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Coulton, the upcoming Shaft comic book, Judas Priest, The Americans on FX, Harvey Comics 60's super-heroes and more. Then its time to turn the dial to TV with the guys weighing in on The Flash, Constantine, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Doctor Who. We then leap from the small screen to the big screen to discuss the Marvel Cinematic Universe's spate of upcoming films. And then we round it off with a little bit of new comic talk by covering Multiversity, Batgirl #35 and the Death of Wolverine. Explicit language - and this time Bryan has the biggest potty mouth!
Intro: "Where You Get Love" - Matthew Sweet
2:29 - New York Comic Con
33:25 - The Flash on The CW
40:50 - Constantine on NBC
47:00 - Gotham on Fox
1:00:30 - Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC
1:08:42 - The current season of Doctor Who and the comics from Titan
1:13:00 - Marvel Cinematic Universe films
1:26:00 - Multiversity
1:34:00 - Death of Wolverine
1:40:26 - Batgirl #35
1:45:00 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro: "52 Girls" - The B-52's
Another CBB Flashback episode - this time with the super sexy Steve Pew from October, 2014!
The bears are back with a new episode, this time with special guest bear Steve Pew! (Ain't he cute?) It is mostly Marvel on the docket this time around as Billy Z, Bryan, Justin and Steve - after a few minutes on the premiere of Gotham - discuss what they are reading. Hickman's Avengers and New Avengers, All-New X-Factor, All-New X-Men #32, the Ultimate Universe, Uncanny X-Men, speculation about Spider-Man and the X-Men, Hawkeye, Immortal Iron Fist, She-Hulk, New Warriors, The Inhumans all get time in the spotlight along with books from other publishers like Velvet, The Fade Out, Annihilator, DC's September Future's End Books, The Devilers and more. Plus this is our last chance to talk up Comic Book Bears Podcast Live! on October 8th in NYC!
Intro - "Where You Get Love" by Matthew Sweet
1:00 Introducing Guest Bear Steve Pew
4:50 The Premiere of Gotham
19:00 Hickman's Avengers and New Avengers
30:30 All-New X-Factor
37:00 All-New X-Men #32, the Ultimate Universe and Uncanny X-Men
45:30 Spider-Man and the X-Men speculation
49:20 Velvet, Hawkeye, East of West, Immortal Iron Fist
53:05 The Fade Out
55:05 Annihilator and Multiversity: The SOS, Frazier Irving and Chris Sprouse
1:07:30 September's Future's End Books (Justice League United, Justice League, Superman/Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin, Teen Titans, Batman, Batgirl, Red Hood and the Outlaws, World's Finest, Aquaman and more.)
1:22:30 The Devilers
1:25:40 New Warriors, (the all-women) X-Men, Ms. Marvel
1:28:55 She-Hulk and the Inhumans
Then ... The Woofs of the Week and our last chance to talk about Comic Book Bears Podcast Live!
Outro - "Area 51" by The Charlatans (UK)
The first of our flashback episodes! With the end of the Earth 2 Network we will gradually be re-releasing episodes that previously were only available through the Earth 2 feed! And we start with Episode 50 from September, 2014.
Con recap episodes are a specialty of ours and you get a double shot here with Bryan talking about DragonCon and Billy Z and Justin about Baltimore Comic Con. Then new comic talk covers Mutiversity #1 (DC), Grant Morrison, a lot of Final Crisis talk, The Futures End issues of Earth 2, Action Comics and Swamp Thing, Original Sin #8, Dash #1 from Northwest Press, The Devilers #2, God Hates Astronauts #1 and more.
Intro – “Where You Get Love” by Matthew Sweet
1:06 Bryan talks about DragonCon
19:47 Billy Z and Justin talk Baltimore Comic Con
47:56 – Mutiversity #1 (DC), Grant Morrison and Final Crisis
1:12:10 – The Futures End issues of Earth 2, Action Comics and Swamp Thing (DC)
1:25:10 – Original Sin #8 (Marvel)
1:36:18 – Dash #1 (Northwest Press)
1:43:07 – The Devilers #2 (Dynamite) and Miracleman (Marvel) – briefly
1:47:00 – God Hates Astronauts #1 (Image)
1:56:40 – Kevin Keller #14 (Archie) and Grendel/The Shadow #1 (Dark Horse/Dynamite)
1:59:12 – The Woofs of the Week
Outro “50/50” by The Strokes
Woof Links -
http://www.comics.org/
http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/
http://www.amctv.com/shows/halt-and-catch-fire
http://geeksout.org/events/great-gay-geek-retreat-easton-mountain
http://www.relmnetwork.com/#!gatent/c5ik
http://drawnaway.centerofsomewhere.com/
http://drew-green.tumblr.com/
Fair warning: this episode does not contain any comic book talk. As part of the gay community we felt honor bound to talk about the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando last week. What you will get in this episode is a fairly raw discussion between three of our co-hosts (Bill Zanowitz, Bryan Pittard and Steve Mowry) about their feelings and perceptions surrounding the tragedy. Our next episode is a big anniversary for us so the funnybook talk will be back in place then but this episode is what it is. For those of you who do hit download, our deepest thanks in advance for listening.
Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "99 Luftballons" by MC Smike
On this week's episode we are honored to welcome to the show Legendary Comics' Editor in Chief Bob Schreck! Bob has been a longtime fixture in the comic world. In the early eighties he worked for Creation Entertainment on their groundbreaking fan conventions and from there he transitioned to a position at Marvel and then as Administrative Director at Comico Comics. From there Bob moved onto an editorial position at Dark Horse Comics which he then left to co-found Oni Press. Toward the end of the last century, Bob moved over to DC Comics where he became the group editor for the Batman books as well as overseeing editorial duties on Green Lantern, Green Arrow, the creation of the All-Star imprint and later a stint with Vertigo. After leaving DC, Schreck joined IDW Publishing as a senior editor and since 2011, he has been a VP and EIC of Legendary Comics, the comic book wing of Legendary Pictures! Legendary Comics launched with Frank Miller’s controversial Holy Terror. Other books that have come out of Legendary include Grant Morrison and Frazier Irving’s Annihilator, The Tower Chronicles and other works by notable names such as Mark Waid, Chris Roberson, Shane Davis and Judd Winnick and series and original graphic novels involving franchises that Legendary has been associated with in the film world such as Godzilla, Trick R Treat, Pacific Rim and Krampus. Bill Z, Steve and Justin speak to Bob to about his impressive career and what is brewing at Legendary Comics. After the interview, Matt joins us and we get down to some talk about current comics including Aliens: Defiance, Wonder Woman: Rebirth, Legend, Providence, some Valiant titles and more.
Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "98.6" by Keith
Rafer Roberts is the writer of the current Archer and Armstrong series at Valiant Comics and the CBBears are thrilled to welcome him to the show! Steve, Billy Z and Matt spend the first hour of the show interviewing Rafer about his work on A&A and his other projects for Valiant as well as his history as an indie comic writer and artist with his work on Plastic Farm, Nightmare the Rat, Magic Bullet, Rise and more! Best of all, you get to hear what Davey the Mackerel actually sounds like!
Afterwards, Bryan joins the cast and the talk shifts to current comics talk including discussion about Scooby Apocalypse, Superman Rebirth, Civil War II, Imperium, Poe Dameron, Cyborg and much more!
Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "79" by Fela Kuti
LINKS:
http://plasticfarm.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rafer-Roberts-maker-of-Plastic-Farm-and-other-comics/238475832829996
http://twitter.com/#!/plasticfarm
http://plasticfarm.com/test/?feed=rss2
With three bears (Matt, Bill, Steve) in the den this week, the Comic Book Bears are thrilled to welcome to the show writer Richard Rivera! Richard is the writer of three current series - Stabbity Bunny, Wild Bull and Chipper and the soon-to-be-released Storm Pirates! Richard provides for us the lowdown on those books as well as his role as the marketing director for Think Alike Productions! The show continues with a tribute to the recently departed Darwyn Cooke and the boys also get in a little bit of current comics talk including a dose of Valiant, Future Quest #1, Midnighter #12, Invincible and more!
Intro - "Reflections of You" - Bear in Heaven
Outro - "Durango 95" - The Ramones
DC Rebirth is an important event! So much so that Justin actually called in from his hospital bed to join Bryan, Steve and Bill to discuss the book! Written by Geoff Johns with art chores by a host of top name talent, DC Rebirth #1 effectively closes the door on the New 52 era and ushers in a new one! Hit download and you get to hear what we thought of it along with the surprising developments seen in Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 and (in unexpectedly truncated form) the season finales of some of the current super-hero based network TV shows.
In this week's episode, all five Comic Book Bears are on hand to welcome to the show for the first time the incredible Sina Grace! A writer and illustrator, some of Sina's past projects include Burn the Orphanage, The Li'l Depressed Boy and Not My Bag among others. Sina's most recent project is a web series based on his autobiographical graphic novel Self-Obsessed for Image (which he also stars in!) Our conversation with Sina covers the web series and those projects as well as bears, Scar Jo Sailor Moon, penises, more bears, Prince, working as an editor for Robert Kirkman's Skybound imprint, more penises, one particular syndicated comedy from the 1980's, Generation X and even more penises among other topics! (Yeah, we kind of have to give this one an explicit tag!) We had an utter blast talking with Sina and we hope you will have a blast listening in!
Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "92" by Avail
LINKS:
http://www.sinagrace.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/sinadarkcomics
Recent TV is first up on the docket in this new Comic Book Bears Podcast episode! Bill, Matt, Steve and Justin talk about the Supergirl/Flash crossover, one particular recent episode of Legends of Tomorrow and more! The talk then turns to current comics as the CBBears weigh in on Midnighter, House of Penance, Gwenpool, Public Relations, Empress, Prophet: Earth War, Scarlet Witch and then wrap things up with The Woofs of the Week!
This week, Billy Z, Matt and Steve are jazzed to bring to the show Dale Lazarov for an interview!!! Dale is the writer and art director of numerous gay character-based, sex-positive graphic novels! Dale talks about his process and career, spotlighting a number of his works available through his imprint Sticky Graphic Novels including Bulldogs, Pardners, Peacock Punks, Manly, Sticky (which is celebrating its 10th anniversary) and many others! (Sticky Graphic Novels are published in hardcover by Bruno Gmünder GmbH and in digital format through Class Comics and links for those are below.)
After the interview we get in a little bit of current comic talk, focusing on Midnighter, Ninjak, how we influenced cosmic events with our mention of a 90's crossover on a previous show bearing unexpected fruit and as always closing the show out with our Woofs of the Week!
And fair warning - some explicit language.
http://www.dalelazarov.com/
http://www.stickygraphicnovels.com
http://www.classcomics.com/ccn/product-category/comics-by-series-title/sticky-graphic-novels/
http://www.dalelazarov.com/sticky-graphic-novels-gay-character-based%2c-sex-positive-graphic-novels-in-hardcover-format.html
Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "87" by The Bouncing Souls
Throughout 2016 the Bear Boys will be welcoming a bunch of bear comic book creators for interviews and Billy Z, Justin, Steve and Matt are thrilled to bring on to the show the super talented Jeremy Owen as the first of those hirsute and handsome hombres!!! Jeremy is the creative force behind Bludgeon from his own imprint, Burly Press. Jeremy goes into his history with comics, his collaborations with Greg Freeland II and our own Bryan Pittard, professional wrestling, Legos, his appearance in the movie Paul and a whole lot more!
Afterwards, we get into some comics talk and grab Titans Hunt, Prophet: Earth War, Faith, Rise of the Eternal Warrior, Injection and retro-pick JSA: The Golden Age off of the spinner rack!
Intro - "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "'82" by Stone Sour
Jeremy's Links -
http://www.burlypress.com
http://burlypress.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Burly-Press
https://twitter.com/burlypress
https://www.patreon.com/burlyjer?ty=h
Yeah yeah yeah, we are a comic book based podcast but how can we not talk about The Force Awakens!?!? We are back to five bears strong this week as Bill, Justin, Bryan, Steve and Matt discuss what they thought of the new movie. (SPOILER ... they are not all in agreement ... except about Snap Wexley!) Then the CBBears each recount our earliest Star Wars memories. Then, to tie it back into comic books, we recount the history of Star Wars in comics and spotlight some of our favorite SW funnybooks including Dark Empire, Tales of the Jedi, X-Wing Squadron, Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows, The Star Wars among them right into the current Marvel books.
Intro: Bear in Heaven - "Reflections of You"
Outro: The Clash - "1977"
The Comic Book Bears are back to five strong as Bryan rejoins Matt, Steve, Justin and Bill this week! The state of Marvel is up for discussion first and the boys dig deep into Secret Wars, Thors, The All-New All-Different Avengers, Hercules and more. Then DC gets time with Justice League: The Darkseid War, Starfire, Bizarro and the new books from Vertigo. Indie talk is dominated by the extraordinary Huck, F__k Fairyland and The Devilers. And Justin's retro pick is not Harry Potter. (That's a hint.) We also included a potty mouth preamble to kick off the episode. (During our pre-show conversation we were cussing up a storm. There's a little of that in the main body of the episode for whatever reason.)
Intro: "Reflections of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro: "Teenage Lament '74" by Alice Cooper
The bear boys are thrilled this week to welcome to the show Vivek Tiwary, the author of The Fifth Beatle, the fantastic graphic novel which he wrote with art by Andrew Robinson and Kyle Baker!! The Fifth Beatle is a #1 New York Times bestseller and the winner of two Harvey awards which tells the story of Brian Epstein, the manager of the Beatles. A flamboyant but troubled figure who guided The Beatles to worldwide success, Epstein struggled with his homosexuality at a time before it had been decriminalized in the UK and died from an overdose of sleeping pills at age 32 at a point where The Beatles were at the zenith of their success. Vivek takes us through what attracted him to Epstein's story, the process of creating and developing The Fifth Beatle, plans for a major motion picture as well as other projects he is involved with!
LINKS:
http://thefifthbeatle.com/
http://www.tiwaryent.com/
https://twitter.com/VivekJTiwary
https://www.facebook.com/vivek.j.tiwary
https://www.facebook.com/TheFifthBeatleFilm
MUSIC
Intro - "Reflections of You" - Bear in Heaven
Outro - "The Class of 1973 Bells" - Prefuse 73 with School Of Seven Bells
The bear boys (minus Bryan) are back with the first of their episodes in their new weekly format! That's right - instead of twice a month, you will be getting hairy heavy homo comic talk every week now! Bill Z and Justin start off with a New York Comic Con recap! There is a Valiant Moment with Steve and Matt! Billy Z leads the DC talk! Matt takes the lead with Marvel and Indie talk! Steve gets in some Vertigo chatter! And newly christened Retro Bear Justin offers up the first of his retro pics! In the mix - Art Ops, Book of Death, Weirdworld, Jim Starlin, Mike Mignola, Titans Hunt, a New God getting punched in the face and a LOT more!
Intro - "Reflection of You" by Bear in Heaven
Outro - "Emergency 72 (Live)" by Turin Brakes
We start off the show welcoming Sean Lewis for an interview about his upcoming series for Image Comics SAINTS with artist Benjamin Mackey. Sean is an award winning playwright and This American Life personality and he drops in to tell us about this new ongoing series he is writing; a crime/horror action-packed new series that promises heavy metal, sex and deadly one-liners at every turn. Sean delves into how a Catholic upbringing informs the story, how he and Benjamin came up with the idea for SAINTS, his creative process and a lot more. After that, we hear about Steve’s trip to DragonCon and he gives us the lowdown on his time and the sights there. Then the comic book talk starts off - Injection, lots of Secret War tie ins (Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Civil War, Future Imperfect, Ghost Racers and more), Force Works (!), DC Comics Bombshells and other female magic based books out on the stands, the now obligatory Matt and Steve “Valiant Moment” and we end on mullets and other hair disasters (not a comic).
We all fell in love with them when we saw Barry Bishop propose to Billy Brooks on stage last month at San Diego Comic-Con International. Now we at the Comic Book Bears Podcast are thrilled to bring both Billy and Barry to the show to discuss their Hall H experience, their work in the film industry including Space Station 76 and the upcoming Con Man, their VFX company Mind and Machine, how they developed their interests in geek culture and so much more! Barry and Billy were AMAZING guests: listen in and, we promise, you will be richer for it!
Then stick around as Bill Zanowitz, Justin Allen, Bryan Pittard, Steve Mowry and Matt Brossard soldier on to talk about recent comic based movies (Ant Man, Fantastic Four, Justice League: Gods and Monsters) and comics (Midnighter, Uncanny X-Men, Black Canary, Justice League: Gods and Monsters - Superman, Archie vs. Sharknado and more!)
NOTE: If you are accessing the episode from our the Comic Book Bears iTunes/Libsyn feed, the sound quality may not be up to our usual standards due to space concerns. If you want to listen to the episode in superior sound, please go to the Earth 2 Network iTunes feed or access the episode directly from the link below:
http://earth2.podbean.com/e/comic-book-bears-podcast-issue-68-with-billy-brooks-and-barry-bishop/?token=7a7c634ce220260c0fd0dce4ec418b86
In the first part of our 65th episode, Jamal Igle makes a return visit after his appearance at our New York Comic Con Super Week show last October to discuss his Kickstarter campaign to help fund the ongoing series of his Molly Danger and the bear boys couldn't be more thrilled! Molly Danger is a super powered 10-year-old-alien girl who protects the city of Coopersville, New York from an army of villains called The Supermechs. Although Molly is an internationally famous super heroine, she is incredibly lonely and isolated from the public by D.A.R.T. (Danger’s Action Response Team) command. Forbidden from having personal contact, she has no friends, no family, and no life outside of being a hero; that is until she meets D.A.R.T. pilot and new partner Austin Briggs and befriends his stepson Brian Hammond. The ongoing series picks up nine months since the end of Molly's Book One with Molly continuing to break D.A.R.T. protocols as she begins to question what is and what is not real! Jamal also serves as the Vice President of Marketing for Action Lab Entertainment and he fills us in on what to expect from Action Lab in the near future. And if all that weren't enough Jamal also discusses with us his early work in comics, his two year stint on Supergirl, the return of his Venture project with writer Jay Faerber and much more!!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mollydanger/molly-danger-the-ongoing-series
http://www.jamaligle.com/
http://www.actionlabcomics.com/
The Comic Book Bears are back with a special episode where we close the funnybooks for an hour and shift our focus to the silver screen! We are thrilled to have on the show for an interview some of the big names behind the upcoming Bear City 3! Writer/Director Doug Langway and Producer Sam Kite join Billy Z, Justin, Steve and Matt to discuss the Indiegogo campaign to help fund the third and final hilarious installment of the award-winning BearCity Trilogy! Matt pulls double duty on this episode as both a co-host AND a creator as he is drawing the BC 2.5 Graphic Novel, the official BearCity Graphic Novel! BC 2.5 is just one of the many campaign incentives you can choose from when you open up your wallet to help make this project a reality! Listen in as Doug, Sam and Matt take you through what you can expect to see as the BC family heads to camp!
And if you haven't already, click thru to www.bearcity3.com or https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bear-city-3 to find out even more!
NYC is about to have its very first LGBTQ comic convention! And coming on the show to discuss Flame Con are very special guests Joey Stern and Josh Siegel from Geeks OUT! Billy Z, Steve and Matt enlist Joey and Josh to take us through what to expect at Flame Con as well as the history of Geeks OUT, the NYC based queer geek culture group behind it. Josh is also an artist, better known by his pseudonym ModHero, and he talks with us about his work. We then become six on the mic when Brother Bryan joins us to to talk about the Archie Kickstarter and lots of comics including Thor, Secret Wars, Wuvable Oaf, Arcadia, The Filth and Convergence: Supergirl Matrix. Also, lots of show bandwidth is dedicated to just how gay Mr. Sinister is! So listen in and BUY YOUR FLAME CON TIX if you haven't already!
Intro: Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
1:01 - Introducing Joey Stern and Josh Siegel from GeeksOUT to discuss Flame Con!
16:29 - Josh's ModHero work
36:07 - Archie's Kickstarter controversy
54:17 - Comic talk including Thor, Secret Wars, Wuvable Oaf, Arcadia, The Filth and Convergence: Supergirl Matrix.
1:44:20 - The Woofs of the Week!
Outro - Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - "December 1963 (Remix)"
THE WOOFY LINKS:
www.flamecon.org
www.geeksout.org
www.modhero.com
www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/team-kolarik/348183/donate
www.madmaxmovie.com/
www.amazon.com/The-Art-Mad-Max-Fury/dp/1783298162
www.hotchip.co.uk/
www.amazon.com/Mad-Max-Original-Picture-Soundtrack/dp/B00UART6C6
www.silvascreenmusic.greedbag.com/buy/doctor-who-series-8-original-tel-0/
www.gofundme.com/d8gc2o
www.fnm.com
www.rockbarnyc.com/index.php?id=49
T.H.U.N.D.E.R.H.O.S.T.S. Bill and Rob return to talk about Dynamo #1, originally published by Tower Comics and cover dated August 1966. A giant size offering of our boy Len Brown in solo action! Listen in and hear how Dynamo faces the evil likes of The Red Dragon, The Iron Maiden, Demo, Dr. Sparta, mysterious men from the moon (maybe), Andor and Dr. Oom in battle! He gets nowhere (again) with Alice! He forgets to ask for a raise! He punches dinosaurs in the face! AND we are treated to the debut of Wonder Weed, Super Hero! All this and T.H.U.N.D.E.E.R.tracks from The Buggles and NRBQ!
Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger are back and it is a big one folks, as they cover T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #7, cover dated August 1966. After their customary tour through the spinner rack of June 1966 (and maybe a little too much Spider-Man talk) they tackle T-Agents #7 which includes some guest appearances from the ladies of Marvel (sorta kinda) ... but more importantly, they end with spotlighting "A Matter of Life and Death", probably the most important T-Agents story ever. T.H.U.N.D.E.R.tracks this time out from Sex Mob and David Bowie.
After an extended hiatus, Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger finally return with another episode that breaks down T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6, originally published by Tower Comics and cover dated July, 1966. The action starts with a few selections from the Silver Age spinner rack as Bill and Rob choose, as always, other books they would have picked up that were on the stands at the same time as T Agents #6. Then they dive into the five stories that make up the book including the first NoMan story with art by the legendary Steve Ditko! (In fact, there is A LOT of Ditko talk toward the end of the episode.) This issue finds the T Agents battling a host maybe-not-so legendary villians such as The Red Star, Richard Wizard, Demo Zizaqz The Mighty and Mr. Image! We also gave this episode an explicit warning tag because the guys do let out a couple of cuss words. All this plus ThunderTracks from Nancy Sinatra and Eddie Beram!
As part of New York Comic Con's official Super Week schedule of events, the Bears convened at Rockbar NYC on October 8th, 2014 for their very first live podcast recording! And we have the audio for the event for you! Join us as the three Bear Boys Billy Z, Justin and Bryan welcome special guests Jamal Igle (Molly Danger/Supergirl/IDW's Kiss) and Yale Stewart (JL8/Amazing Adventures of Superman) who stop by to discuss their work. Then Greg Boas (producer of such films as Drew: The Man Behind the Poster and Sexina) and the co-hosts discuss their favorite and least favorite comic book movies. Our old friend (and birthday boy) Alan "New Mutant" White tells us of his Power Principle trade paperback and it turns out he isn't the only birthday boy in attendance!
A couple of words about the show - Bill apologizes in advance for the number of times you will have to turn down the volume when he is on the mic; fighting voice loss led to WAAAY over compensating on his part. Also there were other segments to the live show (a Silver Age portion with our friend Bob Joy and a trivia contest) which do not appear on this episode due to issues with the soundboard recording. We hope to bring you these segments on later shows once we properly address the audio problems. Despite these unfortunate omissions, we hope you will still enjoy what for us was an unforgettable night!
Intro: Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
0:30 - The Bears Intros and Current Comic Picks
10:00 - Interview with Jamal Igle
27:12 - Interview with Yale Stewart
40:11 - Greg Boas joins the bear boys to discuss comic book movies
50:20 - Alan "New Mutant" White joins us to discuss The Power Principle and we bring up our birthday celebrating friends
1:00:00 - The Epic Thank Yous!
| The thunderrific fifth episode brings you five villains facing the T-Agents! The Golem! Demo! Baron Von Kampf! The Entrancer! Mastermind! T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #5 from Tower Comics cover dated June 1966 is the issue that Bill Zanowitz and Rob Stager cover in this episode! All this plus our regular shopping at the Silver Age spinner rack, comic convention advice and Thundertracks from The Subdudes and Toyah! | | | | | | | | |
The long awaited Thundercast Episode 4 is finally here! Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger once again take you back to early 1966 to cover Tower Comics' titantic T-Agents! And what an issue it is - The return of Iron Maiden! Mod swastikas! The debut of Lightning! NoMan shoots a dude in the face! Weed smoking at super speed! Dinosaurs in Manhattan! Dynamo tells Alice to leave him alone! Plus Thundertracks from Iron Maiden and Eddie Floyd if that wasn't enough to get you to turn the pages of Issue #4 along with us!
This is the first of a number of special edition episodes when the Bears and their extended family will have a chance to talk about topics outside of four-color funnybook goodness. In this episode regular CBB co-host Bill Zanowitz and past guest and geek culture commentator Chris Cummins spend some time talking toys. You'll get to hear what toys Bill and Chris enjoyed as kids, their history with toys as certified manchildren, toy lines they would love to see exist and a lot more.
Mego's World's Greatest Super-Heroes! Mattel's Secret Wars! Fisher Price's Adventure People! Kenner's Star Wars! Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces! Shogun Warriors! Star Trek from Playmates! Defenders of the Earth! Milton Bradley's Duran Duran boardgame! These are just some of the toys we unwrap in this episode!
The bear boys welcome Steve Bryant, the writer and artist of the adventures of that angelic and adventurous aviatrix Athena Voltaire. Dark Horse/Sequential Pulp will be releasing the Athena Voltaire Compendium later in the year, collecting Athena's complete adventures and Steve drops in to talk about her publishing history, what to expect next with Athena, his influences and much more. Plus Billy Z and Steve talk a little football! Then the bears get down to recent comic talk discussing Original Sin, Mike Deodato, John Byrne's Wonder Woman, the influence of comic book movies, Superman in the late 70's, Sensation Comics #1, Future's End, God is Dead: The Book of Acts, Uncanny Avengers, Axis, Attack on Titan, X-Men #18, Star Wars #20 not to mention Bill and Bryan's Washington DC adventure.
Intro: Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
00:40- The Comic Book Bears welcome Steve Bryant for an interview about the Athena Voltaire Compendium
36:00 - Steve and Billy Z talk football. (Deal with it.)
41:18 - Justin and Bryan manage to get a few questions in for Steve despite interview hog Billy Z
51:00 - Bill and Bryan's Washington DC Adventure
58:20 - Original Sin/Mike Deodato/Wonder Woman
1:05:00 - The influence of movies upon comics/Superman/Guardians of the Galaxy
1:07:29 - Sensation Comics #1
1:11:26 - Future's End
1:14:59 - God is Dead: The Book of Acts
1:18:22 - Uncanny Avengers/Axis/Onslaught
1:27:54 - Attack on Titan
1:32:52 - X-Men #18/Marc Guggenheim
1:39:04 - Star Wars #20/Marvel's Star Wars plans
1:44:20 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro - The James Gang - "Funk 49"
http://stevebryant.weebly.com/
http://stevebryant.deviantart.com/
http://atomictiki.blogspot.com/
The bear boys come back to you with a three-pronged attack in their latest episode! First up, Billy Z interviews Dave O'Hare and Sal Zurzolo, the co-producers of the Garden State Comic Fest, happening in Morristown, NJ on Saturday, July 23rd. Dave and Sal discuss the guests and the events at the upcoming convention. Then Billy takes Dave and Sal through a series of trivia questions about comics. (Wonder what that means?)
After that Justin and Bryan join Billy and Sal to discuss the Guardians of the Galaxy film. Did they like it? (What do you think?)
Then finally Billy Z, Justin and Bryan get down with a cosmic level of new comics talk. Saga, Storm, Rocket Raccoon, Legendary Star Lord, Robin Rises, Low, Afterlife with Archie, The Devilers, G.I. Zombie, New Suicide Squad, Guardians 100th Anniversary, Secret Avengers, Supreme: Blue Rose and more! Plus you come away learning way too much about the underwear preferences of the hosts.
Intro - Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
1:05 Dave O'Hare and Sal Zurzolo of the Garden State Comic Fest
33:20 Guardians of the Galaxy
1:00:03 Current Comics Talk
1:53:40 The Woofs of the Week
Outro - Suzi Quatro - "48 Crash"
Links -
http://www.gardenstatecomicfest.com/
http://charlesthurston.com/
http://www.bearbust.org/
http://nerdyshow.com/nerdy-showcase/flame-on/
http://www.bearskn.com/
http://aftertwilightcomics.com/
Get ready for our biggest episode yet! Over 3 1/2 hours! We had originally planned to get an episode out to you earlier in the month but ... life happens. So instead enjoy a grizzly-sized double dose. First, author Clifford Meth returns to the show. This time Ciff brings along Jim Reeber, his partner in Aardwolf Publishing. Cliff and Jim take us through their Kickstarter campaign for a project involving the late Dave Cockrum's Futurians. (Fitting that we talk Cockrum in an episode we can banner our own Giant-Size #1!) Before his passing, Dave wrote and drew an unreleased Futurians story and Aardwolf's Kickstarter has its sights set on seeing it finally in print! Then geek culture writer and prior guest Chris Cummins rejoins us! Chris and Billy Z recently attended the Marvel Universe Live arena tour in Philadelphia and you get to hear all about it. It is impossible to have Chris on the show and not talk Archie so you get that as well along with some comic book musical talk. Then Justin and Bryan join Billy Z for comic conversation. Topics in the final section of the show include #firerickremender, Captain America, Original Sin, Fantastic Four, All-New Invaders, All-New Doop, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Flash CW pilot, Superman:Doomed, Adventures of Superman, Infinity Man and the Forever People, Batman 66 vs. The Green Hornet, Dead Boy Detectives, The Private Eye, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and more!
INTRO: "Where You Get Love" - Matthew Sweet
0:25 - Introductions and Explanations
2:14 - Clifford Meth and Jim Reeber of Aardwolf Publishing talk The Futurians
55:05 - Chris and Billy Z talk Marvel Universe Live
1:51:10 - #firerickremender, Jet, Falcon, Captain America and much more Marvel
2:47:30 - The Guardians of the Galaxy preview and the CW pilot for The Flash
2:59:01 - Superman: Doomed, Adventures of Superman and more DC/Vertigo
3:17:40 - Vaughn and Martin's The Private Eye
3:22:45 - Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (A Woofs of the Week false start)
3:25:41 - The Woofs of the Week
OUTRO - Jack Hylton Orchestra - "Forty-Seven Ginger Headed Sailors"
Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger have returned to analyze T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #3, originally published by Tower Comics and cover dated March, 1966. And what do we get in this issue? Dynamo vs. The Subterraneans! NoMan vs. Vibraman! Dynamo vs. The Red Dragon! The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad vs. gray make-up! And best of all - Menthor vs. Dynamo! We also cover what was on TV and what comics were on the spinner rack at the same time T-Agents #3 was on newsstands.There are also tangents galore to enjoy in this one as well, ranging from Northern Soul, Bill's grandfather and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid!
Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are joined by guest bear and fan of the show Steve Mowry! Steve and Bryan recently attended HeroesCon where Bryan presented a panel about gay characters with Los Brothers Hernandez (Love and Rockets), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise, Echo, Rachel Rising) and Kate Leth (Kate or Die!, Bravest Warriors). Bryan covers how the panel was put together and how it went down coupled with other con stories from Bryan and Steve. Billy Z was also in attendance at the inaugural Special Edition NYC from Reed Pop as well as the latest AnimeNext convention. In keeping with the subject matter of the latter, all four bears offer their recommendations of anime and manga that they like. They round it out with a small splash of current comics talk and, best of all, we got hate mail!!!
Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are back together in the comic bear den. First up, a little X-Men: Days of Future Past talk. Then it is a big 'ol helping of current comic book talk which includes Forever Evil, Teen Titans, Superman: Doomed, Batman/Superman, Earth 2, Future's End, Firestorm, The Wake, Secret Origins, Cyclops, Amazing Spider-Man, Afterlife with Archie, C.O.W.L., Prophet, Velvet and Thanos Annual #1 (sort of). Then the mega funny and uber sexy Brad Taylor of Warner Brothers Studios Tours joins in on the fun to discuss the Batman at 75 tour of the studio that Brad has initiated. He talks with us about what you can expect to see if you go on the Batman tour, the Warners lot, the Conan and Ellen shows (both of which Brad also works for) and so much more! Let's just say the second half involves cameos from Madonna, Darla from The Little Rascals and Optimus Prime (sort of).
A final word about this episode. We were dogged with technical issues left and right when we recorded. There were a couple of dropouts. (Lying - MANY dropouts.) We edited all of it together but left a portion of the nods to the dropouts in for poops and giggles. Enjoy!
Intro - "Where You Get Love" - Matthew Sweet
1:06 - Days of Future Past
13:29 - Forever Evil Wrap-Up
25:23 - Teen Titans Annual #2
30:00 - Superman: Doomed
35:43 - Batman/Superman #10
37:41 - Earth 2
41:40 - DC Weekly Books and Firestorm
47:46 - The Wake
51:24 - Secret Origins #2
53:00 - Original Sin
1:00:46 - Cyclops and the other X books
1:08:00 - Amazing Spider-Man #2/Amazing Spider-Man: Learning to Crawl
1:10:02 - Thanos Annual #1 (sort of)
1:12:13 - Afterlife With Archie #5
1:14:31 - Image - Prophet, C.O.W.L. and Velvet
1:18:56 - We bring on special guest Brad Talylor
1:41:09 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro - "45" - Elvis Costello
As Brother Bryan is sequestered on the job, Billy Z and Justin start the show off with a terrific interview with writer Clifford Meth. Cliff has compiled a series of his past columns about the comic book industry into Comic Book Babylon, out now from Aardwolf Publishing. Cliff takes us through his history in comics and his advocacy for creators rights, why he decided to put together Comic Book Babylon and where he thinks the industry is at today. Dave Cockrum, Gene Colan, Stan Lee, Neal Adams, Harlan Ellison and many other figures work their way in and out of our conversation. Cliff also discusses what's coming up from Aardwolf Publishing, the continuing sale of Dave Cockrum's comic book collection and hella more!
The show wraps up with a discussion about comic books that were cancelled before their time in light of the recent New 52 cancellations from DC. Listen in as the bear boys offer up their picks for brilliant-but-cancelled books which had the axe fall on them way too soon such as Captain Britain and MI-13, Agents of Atlas, Fearless Defenders, O.M.A.C., The Thing, The New Invaders and more.
Links to Clifford Meth's work
http://thecliffordmethod.blogspot.com/
http://aardwolfpublishing.com
And if when you buy Comic Book Babylon, make sure you purchase it directly from Aardwolf!
And because we love you, here is the full episode breakdown -
Intro - "Where You Get Love" - Matthew Sweet
1:11 - Introducing Clifford Meth and what Comic Book Babylon is all about
2:41 - Clifford's first comic book experiences
4:18 - Cliff's original art collection
5:19 - The inspiration behind putting together Comic Book Babylon and the pitfalls of creators from the Silver and Bronze Age
15:37 - Harlan Ellison and Neal Adams
18:53 - Dave Cockrum and Gene Colan
27:57 - Artists who have had 2nd or 3rd "acts"
31:43 - Where Clifford thinks the comic book market is at and how the industry has changed
36:90 - Aardwolf Publishing
41:29 - Selling Dave Cockrum's comic book collection
45:38 - Creator credits, Stan Lee and more
1:02:39 - DC Cancels six New 52 titles and comic books that died before their time
1:06:54 - Captain Britain and MI-13
1:09:13 - The New Invaders
1:12:00 - Agents of Atlas
1:16:03 - Justice Society of America (1992)
1:19:49 - Fearless Defenders
1:23:05 - The Thing
1:24:10 - O.M.A.C.
1:27:40 - Man-Bat
1:34:01 - The Woofs of the Week
Outro - The Zombies - "Care of Cell 44"
Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger return to cover T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2, cover dated February 1966. Hear all about the terror that is Dynavac, a big reveal about The Warlord, Dynamo's love interest, Mr. Fong, the Junior T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, NoMan's cloak in Newfoundland, and the best mutated fish-man of all time! All that plus Thundercorn, Rob's wife Kathy makes a brief cameo appearance and we let you know what you should ask Rob Liefeld to sketch.
The Comic Book Bears are very pleased to welcome Kyle Schmidt to the show for the first time! Kyle is the comic book editor at Milwaukee’s Crimespree Magazine. Both Kyle and Billy Z attended the C2E2 convention in Chicago recently and they both recount their con experiences. Billy also talks about the Batman at 75 program at the Paley Center in NYC that he went to. After that the bears all join in for some Free Comic Book Day and Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie talk. Then they shift over to current comics talk, hitting on DC’s Future’s End, Shutter from Image, Batman: Eternal, Southern Bastards #1, Cyclops #1, Amazing Spider-Man #s 1 and 1.1 and Dan Slott, Black Science, Rick Remender, Original Sin, Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man , Stormwatch #30, Secret Origins #1 and lots more. The show is end capped as always with our Woofs of the Week.
Also this episode marks the first of our Semi-Annual Bob Joy Drinking Game episodes! Take a shot every time you hear us bring up Bob Joy. Follow this instruction and you will be hammered by the end of the ep!
Intro – Matthew Sweet – “Where You Get Love”
0:00:25 – Bears Intro and Welcome Guest Kyle Schmidt
0:03:53 – Kyle’s Experiences and Interviews at C2E2 and Crimespree Magazine
0:09:02 – Billy’s Experiences at C2E2
0:17:51 – Billy at the Batman at 75 Program at the Paley Center in NYC
0:20:26 – The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Movie Talk
0:37:40 – Free Comic Book Day
0:51:58 - DC’s Future’s End and other FCBD books
1:09:13 – New comic talk starts off with Shutter (Image), Rachel Rising/Strangers in Paradise, Ms. Marvel
1:16:04 – Batman: Eternal, Southern Bastards #1, Cyclops #1
1:26:00 - Amazing Spider-Man #s 1 and 1.1 and Dan Slott
1:36:00 – Black Science, Rick Remender, Uncanny Avengers
1:44:37 – Original Sin and Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #1
1:55:00 –Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
1:58:36 – Stormwatch #30 and Secret Origins #1
2:01:32 – The Woofs of the Week
Outro – Jethro Tull – “Hymn 43”
Justin, Bryan and Billy Z are back together in the bear den for the first time in a while! Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD dominates the opening part of the cast, then they switch over to current comic talk, rapping about the current Cap books by Rick Remender, Uncanny Avengers, Magneto, All-New X-Men, Nightcrawler, All-New X-Factor, Inhuman, Daredevil, Action Comics, Supergirl, Batman and Wonder Woman, Batman: Eternal, Batgirl, Earth 2, The Wake, Trillium, Molly Danger by Jamal Igle, Iron Bound by Brendan Leach, curling, RuPaul's Drag Race and transphobia and much more.
Through the course of the episode we discover that Bryan has a thing for Lana Lang and that Justin is a Pumpkin Pounder. (If you don't know what that is, well you'll just have to listen in.)
Billy Z and past guest Bob Joy are joined by Chris Cummins for an Riverdale-riffic episode. Chris is a geek culture writer for Den of Geek US, Topless Robot and Geekadelphia and he also hosts the Nerd Nite Philadelphia events. Chris has hosted a number of trivia events in the past. He serves in the same function here with a trivia contest between Bob and Billy. Chris is also an Archie Comics expert and the conversation turns to a lengthy discussion of all things Archie, past and present. Life with Archie, Sabrina, Jughead's Diner, The Fox, Kevin Keller, Cosmo the Merry Martian, Josie and the Pussycats, Afterlife with Archie - they're all in there and much, much more! Then we get into new comics talk including Animal Man, 50 Girls 50, Daredevil, The Joker: The Clown Prince of Crime, All-New Invaders, Silver Surfer, Justice League of America and more. The episode is closed out, as always, with our Woofs of the Week!
And Billy overuses the word "affection" - might make for a good drinking game!
Bill Zanowitz of the Comic Book Bears and Rob Staeger are the hosts for a new podcast about one of the coolest concepts from the Silver Age of Comics - The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents!! Rob and Bill will be conducting an issue by issue examination covering the entire history of the super-heroic espionage team, from its beginnings in 1965 to the current book published by IDW. On this first episode, the spyglass is focused firmly on T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1, published by Tower Comics and cover dated November 1965. Hear all about how Dynamo, NoMan and Menthor came into being as we discuss tales crafted by such comic greats as Wally Wood, Reed Crandall, Gil Kane, George Tuska and Mike Sekowsky.
This episodes T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Tracks -
The Blasters "Samson and Delilah"
Duran Duran - "Sound of Thunder"
Billy Z and Justin welcome the amazing Wendi Freeman to the Comic Book Bears Podcast for a rockin' crossover episode with Wendi's Double Page Spread podcast!!! In the first of a two episode crossover, Wendi and the bears talk about rock and roll related comics from the 50s to the 80s. On the turntable - The Beatles, The Originals, The Defenders, Korn, Wings, Matt Wagner, The Micronauts, The Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, the Josie and the Pussycats movie, Riot Grrrl Josie and the Pussycats (we wish), KISS, John Romita Jr., Teen Titans, Alice Cooper, rock stars who freaked us out as kids, Dazzler, more Dazzler, even more Dazzler, Shrapnel, Sonic Disruptors, Steeltown Rockers, Rock and Roll Comics, Todd Loren and Revolutionary Comics, The Plasmatics, Dan DiDio impressions, Undertow from Image, True Detective, Patrick Cox, Legands of the Knight and tangents galore! And this is just the beginning - check out Wendi's Double Page Spread Podcast for the second part soon!
INTRO - Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
0:42 - Introducing Wendi
1:45 - The Boob Toob Podcast Promo
2:54 - Wendi tell us how she got into comics and her podcast
6:00 - Image to Grunge
7:13 - Early developments with rock and roll comics, Pat Boone and The Beatles
8:38 - Associating comics to rock performers
13:57 -The Archies and Josie and the Pussycats
19:14 - The 1970's - KISS, Alice Cooper, Teen Titans #46
26:46 - Dazzler
38:48 - The 1980's - Dave Wyndorf, Sonic Disruptors, Steeltown Rockers, The unauthorized and proud of it Rock and Roll Comics
49:05 - Woofs of the Week
Outro - U2 - "40"
Brother Bear Justin is still on the mend from his most recent surgery so filling his corner of the den this time around is James Figueiredo of the amazing Brazilian online community Bear Nerd! We start off with James taking us through the comic scene in Brazil, some of his all-time favorite books, Bear Nerd, Grizzly and the Bear Patrol (which weaves a little bit into the upcoming Crime Fighter Inquiry) and comic translations. Then it's a whole lotta comic book and comic creator talk with James, Bryan and Billy Z - The Trial of Jean Grey, Amazing X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, the Avengers books, She-Hulk, Fantastic Four #1 and Leonard Kirk, James Robinson, Leave It To Chance, Miracleman #3, Forever Evil #6, Action Comics #29, the First Contact crossover, Forever Evil: Blight, Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Two, Wonder Woman, Starlight, Jupiter's Legacy, King's Watch, Mark Lanning, Archer and Armstrong, Loki: Ragnarock and Roll, classic Justice League International, The Wake, Zombie Killer Rex and much more!
It's an especially schizophrenic episode this time round. Our bi-weekly bear blabfest covers a whole lot of ground - Charles Soule's Strange Attractors and She-Hulk, Mike Allred, lawyers who write comic books, Ms. Marvel, Justice League, Batman, weekly comics (Action Comics Weekly, 52 and more), Scooby Doo Team Up, Looney Tunes, Batman: The TV Stories, Lil' Battlestar Galactica, Bergen Street Comics scaling back on carrying monthly titles from the Big 2, Miracleman, Marvelman, more Miracleman, even more Miracleman, The Lego Movie, Justice League 3000 and wrapping up with our Woofs of the Week (and some unexpected parrothead talk!)
INTRO - Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love"
0:52 - Charles Soule's Strange Attractors (Archaia) and She-Hulk #1 (Marvel)
21:13 - Mike Allred and cartoony art styles
27:47 - Lawyers Who Write Comic Books
28:44 - Ms. Marvel #1 (Marvel)
36:00 - Justice League #28 (DC)
38:00 - Batman #28 (DC)
40:50 - Weekly Comics (Action Comics Weekly, 52, Countdown and more.)
50:14 - Sccoby-Doo Team-Up #2 (DC)
52:15 - Looney Tunes #217 (DC)
53:48 - Batman: The TV Stories TPB (DC)
53:43 - Lil' Battlestar Galactica (Dynamite)
58:15 - Bergen Street Comics' decision to cut back on carrying DC and Marvel monthlies
1:07:00 - Miracleman #s 1 + 2 (Marvel) and the history of Marvelman
1:28:12 - The Lego Movie
1:37:07 - Woofs of the Week - including Bill Mantlo, Flame On!/Drag is the New Spandex, Music on the Bay 2014 and Tell God to Blow the Wind from the West (Oily Comics)
Former DC collections editor Bob Joy joins us once again for a spirited discussion about the Silver Age of Comics! With Bryan about to get his Silver Age on by reading the Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. collection, the other bear boys take us through their favorites from this era in comics. Jimmy Olsen! Curt Swan! The Brave and the Bold! Fanastic Four! Arnold Drake! Tales of the Bizarro World! Wally Wood! Mighty Crusaders! Dick Dillin! The White Suit Wonder Woman! Alex Toth! Challengers of the Unknown! Roy Thomas! The Inhumans! Jack Kirby! Millie the Model! Steve Ditko! T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents! And that's just scratching the Silver Age surface! After that, some new comics talk with RASL, Fury Max, Charles Soule and Strange Attractors, Code Monkey Save World, All-New X-Factor, Superior Spider-Man, the Green Lantern/Red Lanterns flip book, Earth 2 Annual #2 and more in the CBB spotlight. All this plus the bears being bears and "guest" appearances by Lisa Rinna and Joan Rivers.
This time around we find only Billy Z and Bryan in the comic bear den (as Justin continues to hibernate) and they offer up a very loose and lo-fi episode. Discussion topics this time around include author and NPR contributor Glen Weldon, Mid-Atlantic Leather and other gay leather events (stick with us - there is a super-hero connection), All-New X-Factor, All-New Invaders, Jonathan Hickman's S.H.I.E.L.D. and unfinished mini-series, Boom's The Foundation, Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows, Star Wars #13, Robotech/Voltron. Doc Savage, The Saviors, Green Arrow, buying back issues, Miracleman, illegal downloads of comics, gaps in our reading, DC's cancellations and the state of DC (just guess where that goes) and a new feature - The Woof of the Week.
There weren't a lot of new books to discuss when we joined together on the mic early last week so the bear boys decided to talk about their all-time favorite comic book based movies, live action and animated series. The recipe also called for a dash of overrated and worst comic book movies along with rehashing some celebrity encounters. But we weren't going to give you a show completely devoid of comic book talk so you'll hear what we think about the Marvel 2014 teasers and recent Batman books. Then Billy Z, Bryan and Justin talk ... sports!?!?! Warning - some explicit language. (But you already knew that.)
INTRO - OCEAN COLOUR SCENE - "You've Got It Bad"
01:55 - Intro and our favorite comic book based movies
17:50 - Overrated comic book movies
23:55 - Great scenes from comic book based films
25:57 - Least favorite comic book films
27:55 - Favorite comic book based live action series
39:35 - Celebrity encounters
52:40 - Favorite comic book based animated films
1:05:55 - Current comic book talk - Marvel 2014 teasers, Detective Comics #27, Batman: The Dark Knight #26, Legends of the Dark Knight #s 42 - 47
1:15:20 - Shout outs and salutes
OUTRO: KARMA TO BURN - "35"
In our final episode for 2013, Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are pleased to welcome Ed Catto of Captain Action Enterprises to the show! Captain Action has a special place in history as being the very first super-hero action figure. Ed takes us through the history of the character and his appearances in comic books past and present, including the current Codename Action mini-series written by Chris Roberson and published by Dynamite Entertainment. Ed is also a partner and co-founder of the Bonfire Agency, a marketing firm centered around helping companies connect directly with genre markets. And since we are close to the holidays, favorite comic-related yuletide gifts work their way into the conversation.
In the second part of the episode, the bear boys go through their favorites of 2013. Uncanny Avengers. Avengers Arena. Forever Evil. Saga. Hawkeye. Batman. The Fifth Beatle. Captain Midnight. All-New X-Men. Jonathan Hickman. Brian Michael Bendis. Charles Soule. Matt Fraction. Chip Zdarsky. Ramon Perez. David Aja. Chris Samnee. Afterlife with Archie. Injustice. Something Terrible. Will any of these be among our favorites? Well, you'll just have to listen in to find out! (And see if you can catch where Bill invents a new word to describe the people who put pencil to paper to draw the pretty pictures.)
Brother Bryan is out celebrating so Billy Z and Justin welcome William Lindus from the Movie Bears Podcast to the CBBears Den to fill the third seat! Will lets us in on his history reading comics then we get into current comics talk. You'll hear us rap about Saga, Earth 2, Forever Evil, Year Zero, Animal Man, Scooby Doo Team Up, Fearless Defenders, Avengers Arena, Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe (... again), X-Men: Legacy, Hawkeye, Amazing X-Men, Infinity, Inhumanity, The Fifth Beatle, the trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Gal Gadot cast as Wonder Woman, Alan Moore and Watchmen. All this plus a huge tangent about lousy haircut and facial hair choices in our collective past, Justin thinks Watchmen is boring and the movie was better, Bill can't pronounce "Moira Queen" to save his life and this episode is probably the only time you will hear Alan Moore being compared to Faye Dunaway.
A word about the sound quality - for some reason when we recorded Bill was way over modulated and Will was a bit under modulated. We fixed it as best as we could in the mix to mono. If it is distracting, we still hope you will stick around because we think we get into some quality funny book conversation.
The CBBears are pleased to have special guest Paul Kupperberg on for an interview during the first hour of our latest episode! Paul is currently the writer of the best selling Life with Archie magazine from Archie Comics. He also authored the first young adult prose novel featuring Kevin Keller. Paul has written over 900 stories for Marvel, Charlton, 2000 AD, Bongo and most prominently for DC Comics, where he created Checkmate and Arion, Lord of Atlantis. We touch on all of these as well as Paul's new novel from Crazy 8 Press, The Same Old Story and other upcoming projects. Then the boys get into some new comic talk. Wanna hear what we think about Afterlife with Archie #2, Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe, Green Lantern Corps #25, Harley Quinn #0, Captain Midnight, Triple Helix, X-Men: Gold, Rocket Girl and other recent books? Then listen in. (EXPLICIT WARNING - yeah, we let out a few cuss words here and there, shame on us.)
Collected editions are up first in the episode as Billy Z, Justin and Bryan are joined by former DC Comics collected editions editor Bob Joy! Bob offers up his insights into collected editions and discusses his experiences editing various books during his tenure at DC. Then we shift over to news of DC's move to Burbank and the passing of Nick Cardy. From there we go into current comic talk, discussing Battle of the Atom, Infinity and Amazing X-Men from Marvel, Sex Criminals and Velvet from Image and DC's Forever Evil. At various points in the cast you will also hear us discuss tranny Jimmy Olsen, Spooky Bear in Provincetown, the Skip Ender's Game events, Greg Rucka, DC Showcase Presents releases, Supergirl as a teen model, the late 70's New Gods revival by Gerry Conway and Don Newton, The Adventures of Superman radio show, Ed McGuinness, Afterlife with Archie and a helluva lot more.
In the mood to play a drinking game as you listen? Then take a shot every time Billy Z says "esoteric".
Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are joined this time by a host of straight guys for a wrap up of New York Comic Con 2013! Lonnie Ruland of New World Manga, The Line it is Drawn and Back Issue magazine contributor John Trumbull and Rob Staeger of The Village Voice join Billy for a rundown of their con experiences. Then the whole gang joins in, first for a talk about growing up on Saturday morning TV in honor of the passing of Lou Scheimer then they hit the spinner rack for dem funny books! IDW Artists Editions, Code Monkey Saves World, Jules Feiffer, Dan DiDio, Jason of Star Command, Sex Criminals, Green Arrow #24, Jupiter's Legacy, Ark II, Letter 44, Afterlife with Archie all get discussed along with so much more! There's a little bit of football talk - yes Virginia, there are gay men who like football - and ... wait for it ... Monchhichis!!!
The bear boys welcome author and columnist Charles Baserap. Charles is a regular contributor to forcesofgeek.com and nerdtopiacast.com and he takes us through some of his interests in comics and topics of recent columns. After that, the discussion turns to Marvel's Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series and some other genre TV talk, Dean Trippe's Something Terrible, DC Villains Month, the latest Infinity and X-Men goings on at Marvel, Mike Carey and The Unwritten and quick takes on Sex Criminals, Jupiter's Legacy, Sidekick, The Star Wars and Kings Watch. And this episode is closed out by our uncoolest outro music yet.
In our latest episode the bear boys welcome Rob Kelly, author of the new book HEY KIDS! COMICS, a great collection of contributions from a varied set of essayists discussing how comic books played a significant role in their lives. In addition to the book Rob also discusses ACE KILROY, a webcomic he writes. And as Rob is the force behind the AQUAMAN SHRINE website, you know Billy Z wasn't going to have Rob guest on the show without some Arthur Curry talk. After that, Bryan, Justin and Billy Z shift over to current comics with The Young Protectors webcomic, Battle of the Atom, Infinity, DC Villains Month books (including some talk about the hot bears of the New 52), X-Men Legacy, X-O Manowar and Eternal Warrior each getting their time in the spotlight. You can hear all this plus, for once, the boys somehow do not venture off into Explicit Contentville!
The Comic Book Bears boys are back with their first episode as part of the Earth 2 Podcast Network! First up, the guys reintroduce themselves then immediately cross over to crossover talk. Bryan, Justin and Billy Z weigh in on the current big events from the Big 2 - Infinity, Forever Evil, Trinity War and Battle of the Atom. Captain America, Thor: God of Thunder, Batman Incorporated, JH Williams leaving Batwoman, DC editorial woes, and the Relic and Joker books from Villains Months then get their turn in the spotlight. Lastly, Justin and Billy Z tell of their experiences at Baltimore Comic Con. There's a lot of spoilers, a little bit of cussing and a whole lot of superhero talk in this one!
Billy Z, Justin and Bryan come back atcha with 90+ minutes about what's going on over in the Big 2's team books these days. The Avengers, Justice League, X-Men, Legion and Green Lantern Corps families of titles each get their time in the spotlight, touching on the New Universe, Hunger, Constantine, Injustice: Gods Among Us and What If: AVX in the process. After the team talk subsides Thor: God of Thunder, Batman/Superman, Captain America, Batman 66, Satellite Sam and Hawkeye Annual #1 each go under the hirsuite homo microscope. All this plus shout-outs to Earth 2 Podcast, Flame On!, Furgasm, Victor Dandridge's 8-Bit Challenge and Bergen Street Comics. And ... weight loss discussions?
EXPLICIT CONTENT (Yup, there's one or two cuss words in the mix from these potty mouths.)
Your bear boys Justin, Bryan and Billy Z are back with a new episode! First up, Man of Steel gets the Comic Book Bears once over. After that, our first guest straight bear Lonnie Ruland of the excellent New Jersey shop New World Manga joins the discussion to talk about news from the DC Retailers Roadshow he attended. Lonnie and Bill were both in attendance at the recent AnimeNEXT convention in NJ and they discuss their con experiences. The con talk continues with Bryan's experiences at HeroesCon which include his moderating a Kicstarter panel. DC Villains Month, Vertigo, digital comics, Neal Adamas, Jim Steranko and the History of Comics, Scooby Doo team-ups, The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song, the connection between rock and roll and comics, Brian Epstein, Fearless Defenders, The End Times of Bram and Ben, Mind the Gap and Justice League of America's Vibe - they are all in the mix here. Lastly, this episode is dedicated to the memory of Patience Michael Allen.
Justin is back ... and bionic! What's on the docket with all three of our boys back in the den? Let's see - Bill visits Bryan in Orlando, Beareoke, A Comic Shop, Paul McCartney and seeing acts kick off tours in Florida, Justin under the knife, Uncanny Avengers, Rogue, Wasp (Slutty Jan), Wonder Man, the rest of the current Avengers world, "Pushing Justin Buttons", Hickman's Fantastic Four and FF, X-Men #1, Green Lantern #20, Robert Venditti, Legion of Super-Heroes, LEGO Batman - The Movie: DC Super Heroes Unite, Superman Unbound, Supergirl #20, Jae Lee, Simonson's run on Fantastic Four, the Harras era Avengers, All-Star Superman, Sandman, Doctor Who, Len Wein's Justice League of America, the Christine Spar Grendel, Fear Itself, classic X-Men Crossovers, Atlantis Attacks, Operation Galactic Storm, Millennium, Day of Judgment, Our Worlds At War, Acts of Vengeance, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., Armageddon 2001, Days of Future Present, Private Eye, Low Concept 3 (and how it can be hazardous to your health), Injustice: Gods Among Us for the iPad, Marvel video games, Daredevil #26, the writers of 52, HeroesCon, Ryan Browne, Deborah Cox (if just to prove we are still gay men), a secret identity reveal on Flame On, Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Bill owns how many DC Comics?
As Brother Justin deals with a rainy ride home, this time around it is only Billy Z and Bryan occupying the bear den. A two hour long gabfest revolving around Bill's time at C2E2, b-one #7 by Bobgar Ornelas, 3-D comics, Steve Bryant, Steed and Mrs. Peel, Captain Britain, digital comics, Marvel Masterworks and Omnibus editions, Mattel Retro-Action figues, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar, Star Wars: Legacy, The Bible 2, Free Comic Book Day, Infinity, Oni's The Strangers, Captain Midnight, The Stuff of Legend, Age of Ultron, Bryan Hitch, Captain America, Cable and X-Force, Daredevil, Iron Man, Superior Spider-Man, Detective Comics #19, Action Comics #19, Animal Man, Parker and Samnee's Adventures of Superman, Batman Incorporated, Jupiter's Legacy, East of West, Lost Vegas, JMS, Movie Bear Podcast, Kickstarters from Jontahan Coulton and I See Dragons, Charlie Harding, Husker Du and the sheer awesomeness of Wendi Freeman and the Double Page Spread Podcast!
Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are back with a convention centered ep with a healthy dose of Star Wars talk! Justin went to the Tri-State Comic Con in Huntington, West Virginia as Bill headed to Asbury Park Comic Con in his home state of New Jersey and they fill us in on meetings, purchases and going on. Then Bryan joins in on the current comic talk. East of West #1, Batgirl #19 and the trans reveal, Billy Tucci, Dia De Los Muertos, All-New X-Men, Ambush Bug, Sam Ita's amazing pop up books, Ace Kilroy, ModHero, Age of Ultron, Superior Spider-Man #6AU, Guardians of the Galaxy #1, Star Wars: Legacy, Injustice, Hawkeye, DC's upcoming villains month, No Gods and Dustin Carson, Karate Kid, Dan DiDio, Brian Wood's Star Wars, Adhouse Books - they're all in there. Plus, why Batman and Red Robin #19 brought out Grumpy Bill.
Bryan offers up his tales of this year's MeganCon in Orlando with Dean Cain, Neal Adams, Barret Biggs, Charlie Thurston, Benjamin Butler, Rod Roddenberry and (surprise) Ramon Perez working their way into the mix. Afterwards we discuss the changes to Adventures of Superman #1, get into some X-Men talk (All-New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, 80's Captain Britain by Alan Davis), Action Comics #18, Nova #2, Rom and the Spaceknights, Marvel events, disagreement on Fearless Defenders, Batman & Robin #18, the original end sequence for Batman Inc. #8, Lost Vegas, Thor: God of Thunder, Manhattan Projects, The Private Eye, Doctor Who comics, Winter Soldier #15, Peter Cannon Thunderbolt #6, the awesomeness of The Rocketeer, Comixology freebies, Asbury Comic Con, It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman, the Earth-2 Podcast and a look back at comics from 1993. All that plus Kickstarters (Veronica Mars, Alan White's Power Principle) that we are keeping our eyes on and our dream pieces of original art.
The new episode starts off with a more indie vibe than usual with Billy Z and Bryan covering Prophet, Red Team, Lost Vegas, Sex, Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror, The Shadow:Year One and the wrap up of Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson's Happy. Then Justin joins in and the boys pull Batman Inc #8, Legion of Super-Heroes #17, the first issues of Justice League of America and Vibe, Hellblazer #300, Nova #1 (and how Jeph Loeb can be irritating) and Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1 off of the spinner rack and discuss. This episode also marks the first appearance of Drunk Billy on the show!
Orson Scott Card's upcoming story arc on the new Adventures of Superman was all over the news and the Comic Book Bears boys weigh in on the controversy for most of the episode. They still get in some new comics talk and cover Batman #17, New Avengers, a bad bearish hottie in Earth 2, Rotworld, Batman and Robin Annual #1, Wolverine and the X-Men, Secret Avengers #1, Batman Incorporated, Ramon Perez, FF, Green Arrow #17, Uncanny X-Men, Uncanny Avengers, New Avengers, Hawkeye #7, Legion Lost #16, Sword of Sorcery and creative changes in the Green Lantern titles. They also weigh in with what they think would be great TV shows based on comic properties. Flame On, Art and Franco and Aw Yeah Comics and our new friends at BearNerd get some love. Plus Bryan offers up some tales of comic shopping while on the road for work and Billy Z and Justin disagree BIG TIME about a nearly two year old anniversary comic.
Our good friend New Mutant rejoins us for a special roundtable. Bryan, Justin, Billy Z and Alan go over each of their all-time favorite titles and choose their three favorite issues! Some clues to the choices - Kitty Pryde, Timber Wolf, Apocalypse and The Shade. Then we serve up some new comics talk with All-New X-Men, New Avengers and the end of Remender's Uncanny X-Force on the menu. We also talk about Alan's Power Principle, Flame On, Twilight(!), Superman apparel, cosplay and The World's Strongest Mailman. And then everyone talks about BillyZ for five minutes. (Sorry, there are a few Skype drop outs on this ep that we couldn’t work around.)
Bryan returns to the den to give us his bests of for 2012, followed by a discussion of our comic related holiday swag, our expectations for 2013 and a quick dive into what we are currently reading.
Hickman. Remender. Bendis. Ramon Perez. Prophet. Deathmatch. Joe Shuster's fetish art. Justice League. Legos. Superman. Batwoman. Thunderbolts. Secret Avengers. The Shade. FF. George Takei in Kevin Keller. Morrison's Happy. All-New X-Men. Indestructible Hulk. They're all in there!
We have a little more stretching room in the Comic Book Bears Den in this episode as our brother Bryan was unable to join us for this 2012 wrap-up episode. Billy Z and Justin talk about their fave raves of the year in this admittedly somewhat somber episode. Somewhere along the lines Saga, The Boys, Dave Wyndorf and Monster Magnet, Dan Slott’s death threats, Legion of Super-Heroes, Jonathan Hickman, Infinite Crisis, Joe Kubert, Marvel Avengers Alliance, Team 7, JL8, Scott Williams, Gail Simone, the Amazing Spider-Man film, Before Watchmen, Robot God Akamatsu, DC Editorial, Justice League, Nicola Scott, Pantha, Jim Lee, All-New X-Men, Night Force, Vibe, FF, AVX: Consequences and The Polyphonic Spree all work their way into the conversation. See you in 2013!
Bill Zanowitz, Justin Allen and Bryan Pittard return with another episode focused mostly on the new Marvel Now! books. We tackle the recent first issues of Fantastic Four, FF, Avengers, Captain America, Deadpool, All-New X-Men and more! Also getting some airtime are the end of the Bendis era of Avengers, AvX: Consequences, Cyclops, Batwoman #0, Karen Berger's departure from Vertigo, Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre, Batman Incorporated, changes to New Crusaders, The Boys #72, Masks #1, Battlefields by Ennis along with talk about Hallmark ornaments, our buddy Dean from GuyFi, some bear stuff, the Dream Weaver Kickstarter from our friends at Geeks Out, Songs for Lexi, internet rudeness, our upcoming convention plans along with some plotting for CBBears world domination in 2013. Anything else you ask? We briefly find out that all three co-hosts are pretty good at George Takei imitations. And we also have Bill taking the potty mouth crown away from Justin for an episode, Bryan's love for Jonathan Hickman running so deep that he starts crediting the man with books he didn't write, Bill on everything you need to know about Green Bay Packers games being streamed on internet radio and the episode starts off with Justin eating some major crow concerning a run he previously dissed.
Justin, Bryan and Billy Z come back atcha with a whole lotta comic (Brightest Day, Ultimate FF, JK Woodward, 80's Iron Man, Hickman's FF, Marvel Now Point One, Bendis Avengers, Jeff Lemire, Justice League Dark, Green Arrow, AVX: Consequences, Masters of the Universe, Happy, Action Comics Annual, Tony Lee and Doctor Who, Manhattan Projects, World's Finest, Earth 2, Kevin Maguire, National Comics One-Shots, Multiple Warheads, Bloodstrike, Brubaker's Captain America, Before Watchmen, Superman #13, Joe Kubert Presents, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, God Hates Astronauts, Alan Moore's Supreme) and non-comic (knee surgery, Bear Bust in Orlando, Sawmill Campgrounds, Hurricane Sandy, Honey Boo Boo, child actors, the election) jibber-jabber.
We were able to record an episode just before Justin went in for his surgery! In this ep, Billy Z discusses his experiences at NYCC. Bryan, Justin and Bill then cover recent comics news and NYCC announcements and then the boys discuss some of their favorite licensed titles - Micronauts, Dr. Who, Jonny Quest, Charmed and The Lone Ranger are among the books based on properties outside of comics that get some airtime. (Or should that be beartime?)
Just before Billy Z heads out to New York Comic Con, Justin, Bryan and Billy convene to discuss the wrap up of Avengers vs. X-Men, the upcoming Marvel Now titles, and the recent DC Zero issues. But, there's more - the more being Grant Morrison's Happy, Black Kiss, IDW's KISS, Avengers, Amethyst, the Milestone characters, Wildstorm, Talon, Phantom Stranger, Wonder Woman, Cable, Rocketeer, Prophet and The Tower Chronicles among other topics the boys touch on at some point.
Bryan Pittard from the Flame On podcast joins us once again for our post Baltimore Comic Con episode! What will you expect to hear the bear boys discuss in this episode? How about convention tales, The Comic Reader, Alan/New Mutant's Power Principle, gossip about creators, Mark Waid, Kevin Keller, original comic art, Greg Laroque, Paul Levitz, Matt Wagner, Janet Lee, Barry Kitson, cosplay, panels, Marvel Now news, Chaykin's Black Kiss, The Manhattan Projects, the new(-ish) Vertigo titles, karaoke and ... yes ... bearaoke? They also get into loads of X-Men talk and it is confirmed that Justin is a giant!
You were probably wondering where the hell did these guys go? Well, we are back with the first of two episodes to be released this week! (And now that summer is over, we will be coming to you on a more regular basis!) In this episode we talk about The Power Principle, Joe Kubert's passing, Brian Wood's upcoming Star Wars book, Liefeld's New 52 talk, Marvel Now, hot books with speculators, Darkseid, JSA, DC Archives, The Boys, CyberForce, Kickstarter, Young Bottoms in Love, Love and Capes, AVX. All this plus Justin gives Billy Z a DC movies quiz and Billy Z gets all gay-activist-political for about 40 seconds!
Alan/New Mutant - possibly the all-time grooviest presence on the Interwebs - joins Billy Z and Justin on this long delayed new episode! The Dark Knight Rises is covered and critiqued along with lots of talk of the caped crusader's exploits past and present! Neal Adams! Jim Aparo! Alan Davis! Marshall Rogers! Matt Wagner's covers! Dark Knight Returns! DK2 (!) A Death in the Family! A Lonely Place of Dying! Year One! JLA: Tower of Babel! Batman and the Outsiders! - They all get their time under a bat signal shaped spotlight! Also, Alan gives us the downlow on his Kickstarter project, The Power Principle! All this plus Justin and Bill give us their sad tales of cosplay and hair colors past.
It's an all-Spidey episode! Justin and Billy Z both went to the movies to see The Amazing Spider-Man and they don't exactly agree! After that, Marvel Team-Up, The Death of Jean DeWolff storyline, Kraven's Last Hunt, Back in Black, One More Day, The Kingpin, Flash Thompson, the Spider-Man/X-Force crossover, the 1970's live action show, Doc Ock, the original Clone War saga and many other topics get caught up in their web of discussion. All this and the should-be-legendary Spider-Man Rockomic!
Billy Z and Justin are joined once again by Bryan Pittard of the Flame On podcast to discuss Action Comics #10, LCS events around Astonishing X-Men #51, Before Watchmen: Comedian #1, anime old and new, The Night of the Owls, Prometheus, Walt Kelly's Our Gang, JMS and The Twelve, Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four/FF, The Manhattan Projects, Robot God Akamatsu, The Authority and Wildstorm among other topics and tangents. Bryan also gives us the lowdown on his recent experience at Gay Days in Orlando and the upcoming Flame On comic story. And the guys also weigh in on who they think the hot daddies of comics are - both creators and characters.
Billy Z and Justin are back to dish out a heaping pile of Earth 2 with some side helpings of James Robinson's JLA, favorite costumes, Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1, the most recent Jonah Hex series, the Rock and Roll Comics documentary, this summer's comic book movies (again), the next wave of DCnU titles, DC's sword and sorcery titles of the 70's, Ray Bradbury R.I.P., Archie's history of super-hero titles and the New Crusaders app.
Justin and Bill return to discuss Astonishing X-Men #50, Action Comics #9, Batman Incorporated #1, speculation on the new DC gay, One Million Moms (the internet group most in need of an accurate headcount), the Watchmen toaster, the threeboot Legion, Ernie Chua and Tony Dezuniga R.I.P., Flash Gordon:Zeitgeist, the current output from Dynamite Entertainment and the new listeners in Justin's home. Another long delayed episode - this time due to a laptop crash. Another episode is coming really soon!
Justin and Bill go to the movies to discuss The Avengers and then talk about Free Comic Book Day. Tangents galore in this episode include weighing in on other comic book movies, Bring It On, the Wilson Phillips reality show, illegal downloading, Young Justice: Invasion, HBO, Chris Lavoie of The Stephanie Miller Show and Jason of Star Command to name just a few!
Justin and BillyZ welcome their first guest bear with Bryan Pittard of the Flame On podcast joining in on the fun! Topics include BillyZ's trip to C2E2! Disney Gay Days! Ramon Perez! Jim Henson! Athena Voltaire! b-one by Bobgar Ornelas! The Stuff of Legend! Flex Mentallo! Grant Morrison's JLA! Kevin Keller and Archie Comics! Mark Waid and digital comics! The second incarnation of the Secret Six from the 80's! All this and Northstar's impending nuptials - he's gay, you know.
After a whole lotta DC chatter in the past episodes, our bear boys Justin and BillyZ leave their dens to make a House-of-Ideas call. Avengers vs. X-Men#s 0 and 1 are spotlighted and then they cover their past Marvel favorites. Stan and Jack FF, Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up, Micronauts, Byrne and Claremont, What If?, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers, Daredevil: Born Again, the outback-era X-Men - all this, plus one of them admits to loving Atlantis Attacks!
For their first regular episode, Justin Allen and Bill Zanowitz discuss the DCnU at the six month point! Justice League! Batman! Action Comics! Batgirl! Aquaman! All-Star Western! Animal Man! Hawk and Dove! O.M.A.C.! Legion Lost! Will one of your favorites be one of theirs? And boy, can those gay bears talk and talk!
Welcome to the first ever Comic Book Bears episode!!! Join co-hosts Justin Allen and Bill Zanowitz as they introduce themselves, briefly cover what a bear is for the unfamiliar, discuss the story behind starting this podcast and talk about some of their favorite creators and series.