Episode 212 - REEL EXTRA: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
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Coming into this film, we knew it was going to be a challenge to try and top the original, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. But hot damn, they achieved. Incredible art, an engaging storyline, cameos and references and fan service, oh my! It's like watching the live-action world blend with the comic world in a majestic symphony. Well done, Sony (but don't get comfortable, we still know what you did to Morbius...).
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Episode 211 - Graphic Novelties: Cuckoo
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Graphic Novelties: Cuckoo Oh snap, we've got another Joe Sparrow graphic novel, and this one is quite a bit thicker and meatier than Homunculus, but still in the same sci-fi vein. Our main character, Dorothy, goes through something strange and unexplainable when she's a child, and it isn't until much later, when she's struggling with college and her future and what she really wants to do with herself, that it comes back to have a significant impact. Less of a coming-of-age, and more a coming-to-terms-with, being an adult is hard and no one articulates some of those weird feelings better than...
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Episode 210 - REEL EXTRA: Junji Ito Maniac
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It's weird, it's creepy, it's kind of gross at times - it's very Junji Ito. Early in 2023, Netflix launched a new anime dedicated to the story-telling style you know and love from the horror king himself. Featuring some familiar faces, as well as some stories you may not know, it's a compilation of macabre with some hits, some misses, and some icky bits to keep you up at night. If you're into his style, it's definitely worth a watch.
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Episode 209 - Graphic Novelties: Homunculus
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Graphic Novelties: Homunculus There's been a lot of talk about AI lately - some exciting, some scary, some that seems straight out of a science fiction novel. What's so interesting about Homunculus by Joe Sparrow is that it tackles AI head-on, but not in the "what happens when we get overtaken by robots and they enslave us all" angle we see so frequently, but more in a "what happens when humans inevitably destroy themselves, and leave all this AI behind?" It's a deeply emotional, but also uplifting and hopeful take on our relationship with artificial intelligence that left me all up in my...
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Episode 208 - REEL EXTRA: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
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In all honesty, Marvel hasn't felt quite on their game lately. The majority of the recent films have felt just okay and a couple even outright disappointed us (looking at you Thor... sigh...). Not this one. An emotional rollercoaster that can absolutley wreck your tear ducts, this one is well written, well directed, well acted, and serves as an incredible finale to the Guardians' storyline. Definitely go see it, but also come well prepared with a box of tissues.
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Episode 207 - Powered Gaming: Marvel Snap
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Powered Gaming: Marvel Snap RIGHT, SO, we took a bit of a break because we MOVED! We weren't totally planning on taking a break, but between the busy-ness of it all, and the lack of internet for multiple weekends in a row, it just sort of worked out that way. ANYWAY, Tee got all wrapped up into Marvel's fancy TCG, and decided to spend an episode trying to convince Chris to play it. Is she successful? Probaably not. But you'll have to listen to know for sure!
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Episode 206 - Graphic Novelties: The Passageway
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Graphic Novelties: The Passageway Beautiful, ethereal, metaphorical - it's not a very long book, and it doesn't say a ton, but the vagueness adds to the eerie strangeness. A new tale in the Bone Orchard mythos from Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, the endless depths of a hole on an island by a lighthouse leaves way more questions than answers. Of course, this all adds up to some quality creepy horror.
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Episode 205 - REEL EXTRA: Shazam! Fury of the Gods
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Sometimes, a movie that has smaller ambitions gives us a bigger payout, and that's exactly how it feels with Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Rather than trying to build a whole new universe, this movie is telling a straightforward story with a relatively contained cast, and it makes all the difference for the fun, relatable narrative.
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Episode 204 - REEL EXTRA: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
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Children's programming can be really hit or miss; sometimes it leans too crass and silly, sometimes it leans too adult and isn't entirely appealing for kids. Moon Girl, on the other hand, nails the balance perfectly. Beautifully animated, brilliantly acted, and a killer soundtrack, we are anxiously awaiting season 2!
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Episode 203 - Graphic Novelties: Jenny Finn
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Graphic Novelties: Jenny Finn It's Industrial England, heavy topics, and a bunch of fish people. Sure, not something you pick up every day, but this read has that distinct Mignola flavor that brings wide-spanning themes altogether. The story isn't necessarily ground-breaking, but it's a quick, interesting read that is as much an ambience piece as anything else.
info_outlineWeekly Pull Highlights
- Detective Comics #1000
- Hex Wives #6
- Dial H for Hero #1
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch #1
Happy 1,000 issues, Batman!... Hope you survive the experience!
In the news, we've got DJ Big Driis cast as a mousey jedi, Zack Snyder just out and out loosing his shit, and a bunch of Marvel comics announced at C2E2: Electric Boogaloo.
Finally, we close the episode with a very serious discussion about religion in comics and the effects that developing theology has played in regards to art in the modern world.
.... Nah, we talk about weird-ass comic book stories. Because of April Fool's Day coming up. It makes sense, get over it.