Comic Book Bears Podcast

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, Su

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 roundtab

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 s

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 mor

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)

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

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

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!)