Comic Geek Speak Podcast - The Best Comic Book Podcast

With expert timing, we jump out of the shadows for another Introducing...! This time, we focus on the first appearances of some of the most nimble martial artists of the comic book world: DC's Karate Kid, Marvel's Shang-Chi (now a major motion picture), and Mirage's (now IDW's) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you'd like to read along with us, you can find these character premieres in Adventure Comics #346, Special Marvel Edition #15, and of course, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. These origins also manage to span the Silver, Bronze and Copper Age of comics, as America's appreciation of the martial arts went from a passing glance to a full blown obsession. How do the issues hold up? Listen in to find out, but please, don't try this at home; leave that to the Living Weapons. (1:15:35)

There's a Retro Movie Review in my new release review. There's a new release review in my Retro Movie Review! To start us off, Chris, Shane, Murd and Ian review the 1984 sci-fi cult classic, and favorite of Shane,

Thor: Surtur Saga Finale! The Founders return to dive back into Walter Simonson's epic run and pick up where we left off years ago. Join us as we discuss the finale of the Surtur Saga from Thor 348 thru 353 with thoughts on the Lord of the Rings inspirations, Loki's role, New Gods connections, costuming and the grand battle. We round out the chat with comments on the Image Revolution documentary, other great runs yet to be read, other titles by Simonson and more! (1:44:36)

Before the month is through, there's Previews left to do! And for the month of August, Chris, Ian and Murd find many a thing that goes bump in the night, as Previews #395, DC Connect #15 and Marvel Previews #14 reveal their spooky titles set mostly for release in the month of October. No tricks, just the treats of good comics to be had. (2:28:12)

It's been a while since we caught up, so we pack as much Comic Talk as we can into this week's episode. This includes spoilery conversation on DC's latest movie to hit theaters and HBO Max, The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, Bloodsport, Ratcatcher 2, TDK, King Shark, Harley Quinn, Polka Dot Man and all. We also touch on the season finale of Loki (also with spoilers), the launch of new digital comic book publisher Substack, Shane gets his wish and talks Blue and Gold with Chris and Ian, Tim Drake comes out as bisexual, Murd opines on Chrisopher Cantwell's The Blue Flame and Wally West Quantum Leaping into the Superfriends reality, Chris brings his to-read pile which includes some of the latest James Bond comics, Tom King's Supergirl: The Woman of Tomorrow, Spider-Man Spider's Shadow, Fantastic Four's Bride of Doom arc, Gerry Duggan's X-Men, Black Hammer: Reborn and Black Hammer: Visions, United States of Captain America, the first three trades of Invincible, Hadrian's Wall, Dracula MoFo', Garth Ennis' Sara, and mo

After a nine year hiatus, Ron Marz returns to Comic Geek Speak! Since then, the cast has changed, and so has the comic book industry. In turn, Ron's main focus is his current cosmic crowdfunding campaign at Zoop along with Andy Lanning and Rick Leonardi, titled Resolution. Along with that, Ian and Chris discuss the full scope of Ron's career, including the creations of Kyle Rayner and Genis-Vell, taking over for Starlin on Silver Surfer, the rise and fall of Crossgen and how its existence changed the comic book medium, Samurai: Heaven and Earth (one of Chris' all-time favorites), Russian spies and Almost American, Swamp God at Heavy Metal and different formats of releasing comics, the state of the NL East, and so much more. (1:47:08)

Just in time for the end of the month, we delve into Previews! Get those order in ASAP as Chris and Ian discuss Previews # 394 for Image and Dark Horse, and are joined by Murd in time for DC Connect #14, Marvel Previews #13, and the rest of the rest of the book, for titles mostly set for release in September, 2021. And we even slip in a singalong or two while we're at it! (2:19:11)

Peter and Bryan return to CGS for a casual conversation about comics, nerdy stuff, and life in 2021

From his Lee and Kirby origins to the Howling Commandos, to Jim Steranko's iconic take, all the way to Original Sin, the Infinity Formula and beyond, nobody has been a part of more facets of the Marvel Universe than Nick Fury. It's a Marvel character truly deserving of a Spotlight. So get in your flying car, put on your stealth suit with as many pouches as you can possibly fit, put that eyepatch on the correct eye, and join in on the action; if you're tough enough. (3:17:19)

The MCU returns to theaters...and so does the CGS crew! Live, in person and in studio for the first time in over a year and a half, Ian, Chris, Murd and Shane give us their honest opinions on the first movie of Phase Four, and the experience of heading back into the theater to do so. They also open some mail from the mailbag, discuss trailers viewed before the movie such as Shang-Chi, Venom 2 and Suicide Squad, and some other digressions. And yes, there be spoilers abound within, so do wait until after you've seen Black Widow to listen! (1:23:15)

We begin this month's Previews episode with a dalliance into the realm of the risqué, as longtime friend of the show JK Woodward joins Murd, Chris and Ian to discuss his latest book,

Not a trick! Not an imaginary story! But it sure is timey whimey, that much is true. Chris, Ian, Shane and Murd give an in-depth and spoiler-filled review of the first episode of Marvel's latest traverse through the multiverse, Loki (4:58-58:21). We then catch up on our latest reads, including Ian traveling to the 90s for X-Men Legends #1, Chris not traveling to the 90s for Heroes Reborn #1 (the new one) and Marvel Double Action, Spider-Man Spider's Shadow #1, Fantastic Four Life Story #1, Radiant Black #4, The Silver Coin #1 and more. Then, journey back in tiiiiime with Murd for DC's The Young All-Stars, and one of Grant Morrison's first (and trippiest), Zenith. Plus some World of Toys updates on GI Joe, Batman '66 figures and some amazing Lego sets, and yes, a Muddle the Murd! A true gem of an episode...not a stone. Trust me, no stones. (2:06:16)

Let's start at the very beginning; a very good place to start. Something that we as comic book readers want more than anything else is to have others find the craft, and the joy within it, and start reading right along with us. With this episode, we give these new readers our choices for books that would/could be that foot in the door to the medium at large. Some pieces are instructional, some all ages, some for adults, but all of these Top 5 choices (and one in particular more than the others) are, as always our hill, and our beans. And even if you're already quite familiar with comics as a whole, hopefully you'll find these suggestions as good items to read, or for someone you know to read! (2:43:14)

Earth-S is in turmoil! Some of our villains are missing! The new Wildcat steps into the ring! And Harbinger makes a supreme sacrifice to save the 'exogenous Earths' of the DC Multiverse! Adam and Peter hit the halfway point of their exhaustive summation of the Crisis maxiseries with this episode. (2:47:08)

We begin this month's Previews as a Three Man Crew composed of Shane, Murd and Ian. Then Chris makes it a foursome in time for DC, and then Shane exits at Marvel to return to a newly formed three. We dive into Previews #392, DC Connect #12, and Marvel Previews #11, with books scheduled for release in July, 2021. (2:40:44)

Gather one, gather all! It's Comic Talk time, y'all. Shane, Chris, Murd and Ian discuss a bevy of topics this week, including the news that broke on upcoming Marvel movies (Black Panther and Captain Marvel sequels specifically), we give are parting thoughts on Falcon and The Winter Soldier (spoilers begin at 20:15, ends at 53:45), Ian and Murd saw New Mutants and have feelings, Chris brings his recent reads of Black Hammer: Visions, Brubaker and Lark's Scene of the Crime, and whether Tom King's Rorschach passes the test, Murd gives a quick review of Non-Stop Spider-Man, Ian traverses to The Wrong Earth: Night & Day, and Shane opines the GI Joe figures that still evade his grasp. But we did catch a Muddle the Murd attempt at least! (1:50:55)

After pressure cooking in our comic book Instapot for months, our latest Book of the Month Club is finally ready to sip and enjoy! A full crew of Ian, Chris, Shane, Murd and Kevin go through the first two trades of Al Ewing and Joe Bennett's revolutionary take on the character of The Hulk, alias Bruce Banner, covering issues 1 through 10 of The Immortal Hulk. Witness the horror within, Walter Langkowski's Murdoughnian sideburns, and plenty of Gamma Goulash for both listeners and hosts alike. (1:41:48)

A monthly tradition soldiers on! Chris, Ian and Murd gather round the virtual Zoom table to discuss Previews #391, DC Connect #11 and Marvel Previews #10, with books mostly scheduled for release in June of 2021. Page through the catalog with us and earmark as many as you'd like. Plus, the return of the slightly delayed Free Comic Book Day and its various offerings! (2:30:32)

We begin the episode with the big reveal, as your votes have been tallied for the Comic Geek Speak Best of 2020 awards. Thank you all for participating, and do check out the books and creators that won if you have not done so. We then transition into a wide variety of Comic Talk featuring the return of Kevin Moyer, including discussion on Marvel's change in distributor to Penguin Random House, we review (with spoilers) the first two episodes of Falcon and The Winter Soldier (46:50), Shane, Kevin and Chris get in their takes on Zack Snyder's Justice League (1:11:06), Ian discusses the Invincible cartoon, Chris gives his field report on True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee, quick reviews of Bendis' first issue on Justice League (issue 59), Radiant Black #2, Volume 2 of Hickman's X-Men, a Muddle the Murd and more! (2:36:52)

For the first time in the COVID era, The Crisis Tapes are back in production!  The Monitor's satellite explodes and emotional mayhem reigns on Earth-X and Earth-4, as Peter and Adam pick apart the pertinent plot points of the first half of Crisis #6. BONUS: More fun facts about the cover of issue #5! (2:54:37)