Comic Book Bears Podcast

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 sh

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

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 Zur

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 Bill

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 dro

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

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

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! I

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-