11 O'clock Comics Podcast

In the wake of Wizard World Chicago 2008, an experience filled with hilarity and heartbreak, we touch on the passing of Michael Turner, finally get rolling on Final Crisis #2 (all too briefly for my taste, but one can't have everything...), Erik Larsen and Image Comics, the repurcussions of unconstructive criticism, 1985, Mike Norton's Trinity work with Jerry Ordway, Simone Bianchi as the modern-day Alex Nino, Mark Millar and Old Man Logan, Walking Dead Volume 8, World War Z, scumbags who capitalize on the brilliance of George Romero, Astonishing X-Men #25, Warren Ellis, Avatar Comics, and much, much more! As usual, the Hotline is red-hot with ridiculous remarks! Google Cronic Dorome!

Once more into the breach! Cover your heads as we lead the attack on Stray Bullets and Young Liars, Marvel's Dark Tower and The Stand, Proof, Kevin Maguire and Batman Confidential, collected editions vs. monthlies, Marcos Martin, comics in lieu of candy for Halloween (Gemstone, Archie, Bone, Shonen Jump, and more), Northlanders from Vertigo, APE Entertainment and Radical Comics, Red Mass for Mars, Whilce Portacio and Lenil Yu, Skaar Son of Hulk, Star Wars: Vector from Dark Horse, Eternals and Guardians of the Galaxy, the Incredible Hulk movie, depressing sales figures, Joe Kubert, Marvel Vs. DC (again and again and again...) and very little discussion on Final Crisis #2 (though no lack of trying). Bonus! KY Comic Guy turns in his best Neseman roast to date! Google Blobpus.

It's our not-so-special Harvey Awards nominees episode, sprinkled with segueways on Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All Star Superman, Scott McDaniel, the Trinity villains, Pia Guerra on Dr. Who, the depressing fall from grace of Vertigo's Exterminators, Batman R.I.P., McDuffie's Justice League, the Denys Cowan Appreciation Society, the permanence of Dan Didio, sales figures, new reader accessibility, much Fables and Mark Buckingham love, the Duckmen (Carl Barks, Don Rosa, and William Van Horn), and much more! Bonus! KY Comic Guy returns to the Hotline! Google Smogun.

Steel sharpens steel! This time around, we talk up Josh Cotter's Skyscrapers of the Midwest from Adhouse Books, the impact of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Chuck Dixon saga, Young X-Men #1 and #2, Dave Sim's Judenhass, Caliber and Hercules from Radical, Seven Soldiers of Victory, the Secret Wars II omnibus, the Wildstorm relaunch, Virgin Comics' Project: Kalki #1 and Jenna Jameson's Shadow Hunter, the greatness of Doug Mahnke, Grant Morrison Vs. Alan Moore, Batman R.I.P., Fables #73, the power of editors, Southern Knights, and much more! Plus, the Hotline is on fire with messages from Equinox, Andy Jewett, and KY Comic Guy! Vootie!

Scattershot ramblings on Transhuman, Dark Horse's Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus, 1985 #1, Action Comics #865, the first volume of the Noble Causes Archives from Image, Iron Fist, Umbrella Academy, Final Crisis #1, Trinity #1, Haunt of Horror: Lovecraft and Richard Corben, Ultimate Origins #1, the anthology format, Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1, and much more! Plus, Carlos Cordova and a time traveler call the Hotline!

Final Crisis is here...but the 11 O'Clock Crew don't talk about it this episode! Instead, we banter on about Marvel Comics Presents #8 and #9, Humberto Ramos on Runaways, Ivan Brandon, the hopless existence of Daredevil, house styles and drawing for the original art market, Steve Gerber and Countdown to Mystery, manga, Paul Cornell, Doctor Who Classics from IDW, the magnificence of Jim Cheung, Image Comics' Pretty Baby Machine, Howard the Duck, Spitfire as a vampire, Taschen Books' Men's Adventure Magazines in Postwar America, Leonard Kirk, the 11 O'Clock Drink of the Week, and much more! Bonus! A hint is dropped concerning the identity of the Banner Artist of the Week and Equinox and The Big Largeness call the Hotline!

It's all hands on deck as we discuss Vertigo's new House of Mystery, Jim Butcher's Dresden Files #2, Gene Colan, fill-in artists, silliness (or lack thereof) within Marvel's Secret Invasion, '76, Millar and Hitch's Fantastic Four, Jay Faerber's Gemini and Noble Causes, the Horus Heresy, Crawlspace: XXXombies, the Larsenverse, Invincible and Atom Eve, beer, and much more!

The gang's all here! Our long-lost fourth member, Jason Wood, finally drags his ass into the studio to talk about Crawlspace: XXXombies, Vertigo Comics, Invincible Iron Man #1, David Lapham and Young Liars, Batman R.I.P., Walking Dead, Kieron Dwyer, Jeff Parker and X-Men First Class, Creepy and Eerie, Olivia D'abo (YUM!), Wolverine and the Amazing Immortal Man and Other Tales, Iron Fist, Matt Fraction, Mighty Avengers #13, publishing trends, and much more! Plus, Mario Muscar and evaD (Backwards Dave) call the 11 O'C Hotline!

B, Neseman, and Price discuss Avengers/Invaders #1, Secret Invasion #2, David Lapham and Young Liars, Carl Barks and Uncle Scrooge #375, IDW's Locke and Key, Don Rosa, timeless characters, generous comics fans, Matt Kramer and The Shade's Journal, cloning Dave Wyndorf, fandom, Apple Computers, and much more!

VinceB, Chris Neseman, and David Price talk about Secret Invasion, Wolverine, Fear Agent, White Picket Fences, Queen & Country, Barry Allen, Geoff Johns, Final Crisis, Witchblade, Mike Norton, DC Universe #0, John Byrne, Pat Loika, Skrulls, Jesus, Jewish people, and a whole lot more!Subscribe via iTunes

Bullpen Bulletins: The End featuring VinceB and David Price, Brian Salazar, Dan C, Thomas Steven Katers, KY Comic Guy, Chris Neseman, Skottie Young, Dallan, and Chris Chavez. Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.

David hightails it to Wizard World Chicago, leaving Vince to plumb the depths of the Diamond Previews catalog for August (for books shipping in October). Subtitle this episode "VinceB's love letter to Image comics!" Super7! Stormwatch PHD! First Born! Doktor Sleepless and Harlan Ellison's Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktocman (read in its entirety!). Bonus! The Buzz Line is ablaze with no less than SIX messages from our fantastic forumites! Hunter S. Thompson! Fight Club! JFK! Anal-probing UFO abductions! Fan reaction to the Millar/Hitch Fantastic Four announcement and the Michael Golden brouhaha!

BBP friends and forumites, Chris (Equinox) Chavez and Ryan (Hulksmash) King, help us peruse the Marvel Previews catalog #47 (for books shipping in September, 2007). Bonus! Lenny Bruce! Bill Hicks! Matango, the Fungus of TERROR! Ultraman Moebius! David's Mystery Movie! The wisdom of Spicoli! More!

Derek (Comicbooknoise) Coward, Mike (KYComicguy) Sims, and Ryan (Hulksmash) King join us for our look at the Marvel mega-event of the Summer: WORLD WAR HULK (including insight on Planet Hulk, Incredible Hulk #106 and #107, and She-Hulk #18)! Extra! Savage Dragon Archives Vol. 2! Sinestro Corps Special! The Lightning Saga! Captain America! Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1! Plus, a boatload of Buzz Line messages!

After we wrap-up our post-Civil War report card with Jefferson Workman and Dave Wachter, Around Comics' head honcho, Chris Neseman, steps in to help us read some listener email, pick our dream artists for the Ultimate Man-Thing, take an in-depth look at Avengers: The Initiative #1-3, and peel back the layers on Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp's Black Summer #0. 100% pure, break-free comics discussion! [During the last twenty or so minutes of recording, we experienced some technical glitches which unfortunately could not be completely removed. Sorry for the less than pristine sound in the home stretch.]

The fantastic talent responsible for the stunning visuals in Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight, Green Lantern, and Wolverine, Young Gun Simone Bianchi talks to Miguel about working for Marvel and DC, Grant Morrison, teases us about his upcoming projects, and much more! Bonus! Scar Tissue's Dynamic Dave Wachter and Jocular Jefferson Workman join us for a post-Civil War Marvel Report Card! Extra! Boob Scotch! Inframan! Lost Highway! Violent vomiting! Free energy! Bleeding eardrums! New directions! All this and so much more absolutely no one asked for in the long-awaited 28th episode of Bullpen Bulletins!

This time around, embellisher extraordinaire Chad "Thunderheadjones" Hunt and Around Comics' Brian "Sal" Salazar weigh in on misleading solicitations, their current top five graphic novels/collected editions, Alex Maleev Vs. Greg Land, Skottie Young's recent transformation, Lost Girls, giant purple dicks, and much more! The icing on the cake, Miguel catches up with Fred Van Lente (Marvel Adventures Iron Man, Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four, Super-Villain Team Up: Modok's 11, Action Philosophers, and other great books) and corners legend-in-the-making Andrea DiVito (Annihilation)! Bonus! The Buzz Line is on fire with calls from Darrel, Marty Devoid, Equinox, Mark Millar, and three -- count 'em, THREE -- impressions from the bombastic Braxton! Extra! Goofus and Galactus! Lucha Libre! Santo! The Floppy Song (in English and German)! Andy Warhol! William S. Burroughs! Cannibalism! Vootie!

Recorded live from Munden's Bar, Cynosure! Tempting pan-dimensional disaster, Fiendish Fables' wacky Dave Wachter and Pat Loika and Chris Maze from the R-Cast join us to discuss the price of comic books, The Initiative #1, the mindbending world of message boards, derogatory comics designations, and much more! Plus, Allen Ginsberg remembered! Jefferson and the Big Largeness call the Buzz Line! Dinty Moore beef stew! More!

It's our Silver Anniversary Special highlighting the Emerald City Comic Con! Man on the scene, Pat Loika, checks in with interviews of Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, Phil Hester, Ande Parks, and Brian Reed! If that wasn't enough, we also take a look at the April Marvel Previews catalog #44 (for books shipping in June, 2007), aided by Around Comics' Tom "straight edge" Katers and Jefferson "the" Workman! Bonus! Jeff Parker calls the Buzz Line! Extra! The longest and most annoying intro to date featuring Vrillon of the Ashtar Galactic Command!

Dan C (Papercut) and Chris Chavez (Equinox) drop by to talk about the Marvel Trading Card Game for the Sony PSP, the price of comic books, the dangers of trade paperbacks, Marvel books deserving wider recognition, Civil War: The Confession, Mighty Avengers, experimentation, and much more! It's the podcast about everything and nothing at all!