Boff! Pow! Sock! Sock again, even! This week, in a dramatic reading, we’re covering a few of Fletcher Hanks’s lesser-known protagonists: Buzz Crandall and Whirlwind Carter! They are definitely two different guys, they aren’t the same guy with a different belt. Y’see, Buzz Crandall lives on Venus and works for the Space Patrol, an interplanetary secret service, whereas Whirlwind Carter works for the Interplanetary Secret Service! Completely different guys. Their skintight smocks are probably different shades of blue, also!
Let’s race into a new episode all about cars in comics! Vroom vroom, and so on! Which of the ever-iconic Batmobiles is the most iconic? Do the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles drive the Turtle Van or the Party Wagon? Which super-car will be definitively proven to be the best super-car in this episode’s scientific* study? What was the point of the Spider-Mobile, and why were its wheels so sticky?? What special cars would Doctor Fate, Beast Boy, D-Man, U.S.Agent, and Old Man Logan drive? Is the Arrow-Car really just the end result of Ollie Queen’s petty competition with Bruce Wayne? (Yes.) And many more questions answered!
We also discuss the rejected Batmobile designed by H.R. Giger (and if you haven’t heard of this, get ready for madness), compare the various villainous knock-offs of the Batmobile, and plenty of topics that aren’t about the Batmobile — but it’s the king of cars for a reason, folks!
OH MAN! Where to start! Bry is off this week and Kyle & Merk go bonkers! What happens you ask? What do they talk about? Well….
Rock bottom finishing moves. Dazzler: Marvel’s Salute to walking sticks. Baby characters. X-book jumping on points. Favourite supermarkets, which becomes Merk ranting about parking. Blade was created by God. Chip Zdarsky and how we miss him. Jean Chretien choking some guy out. Historical comics. Variant covers. MST3K. Bill & Teds. Adolph and other adolphs? Kyle thinks Merk gets mistaken for a fireman. Deaths Head II Potato. Toy lines are expensive. Ghost Rider! That Book about Stan Lee lying. Two Eyed Fury and his toased sandwiches. Pyromaniacs & Sociopaths at Safeways and LOTS more. Well a bit more. There’s a lot in this list to jam into an hour.
“Which production logo are we using this time, fellas?” This week, we’re covering the DC Animated Universe of Films, or I guess it’s more of a multiverse, or DCAUFOIGIMOAM. What are the good ones? What are the duds? Is DC stopping making them, because there aren’t any scheduled after ANOTHER Watchmen adaptation. If that’s the case, what should DC have done with what, by and large, is a pretty neat idea?
Plus! If you haven’t gotten your fill of fighting, Bry’s gonna sweep you off to maybe-prehistoric-Earth for a little Beasties Warries, as we all decide who the toughest animalistic comic characters are. Plus plus, turtles.
NOTE: I tried to find a picture of Andrea Romano looking angry for the week’s episode image, but apparently she’s just a lovely person who is always smiling.
In the ongoing spirit of March Madness, and August Audness, it’s time to make eight comic characters battle in a tournament we’re calling… The September Spat! Eight contestants enter, but only one can win! And this time, it’s “back to school” themed, meaning the contestants are all students or teachers!
The New Mutants’ omnilingual self-soul-friend Doug “Cypher” Ramsey vs. Deathlocket, the teen girl Deathlok! The Legion mechanic “Bouncing Boy” vs. former Marine and current Riverdale High Principal Waldo Weatherbee! The extremely flammable wax mutant Glob Herman vs. Daniel “Oz” Osbourne, who is both a werewolf AND Seth Green! Generation X’s skin-shedding Paige “Husk” Guthrie vs. the Baltimore school board’s favourite teacher, Guy “Green Lantern” “Warrior” Gardner! The winners proceed along the bracket until only one is crowned the champion!
Who will conquer all foes and win this tournament of champions? Who will end up in detention with Reggie Mantle? Does Doug Ramsey have what could be called “Ohio rizz”? What happens when you put Seth Green inside a wax mutant like a Jello mould? Can Guy Gardner possibly survive an onslaught of Kentucky corn? All this and many other very important questions, answered once and for all — in the ring!
Be our guest, be our guest, Brandon Ingram is our guest!
Indie comic creator/writer Brandon is on the show once again, discussing his awesome new kickstarter for his indie creation, THE GALLOWS MAN! He describes it as Adam West Batman meets Inglorious Basterds. And he is absolutely correct. It’s a bundle of fun, violence and quirky humour. Definitely worth checking out. But don’t take OUR word for it, listen to our chat with Brandon and hear about the genesis of Gallows Man, the bundle of spin offs he’s made or is planning, the joys and challenges of indie comic work and the amazing things you can get from his kickstarter running from Sept 10-Oct 11. Perk up your ears, chum, and take a listen!
This week, we’re spending most of the episode playing Battle Holes, the card game that uses comic book trading cards from the ’90s. You could always play it yourself using, oh, some cards that are readily being given away from certain Canadian monopolistic, price-gouging grocery stores, as well, but Merk owns a bunch of trading cards from the ’90s, so we’re doing that. Can Polaris beat Spider-Man? Can Spider-Man beat Magneto? Can Silvermane do anything other than scoot around, his head bolted to the top of an RC car?
All that, and we also rank every Batman cartoon, so nobody else has to, because we’ve already done it.
Batman: Caped Crusader is here, we’ve all seen it, so we’re gonna talk all about it, see? And just upfront, we really liked it! We dig into the 1939-ish time period and all the trappings that come with it, share our favourite episodes, discuss the creators and their influences and of course the inevitable Batman the Animated Series comparisons, the performances of the cast (Minnie Driver’s in this??), share thoughts on the various (and sometimes fiercely controversial?) changes to classic villains, and dig into the many potential influences that give this show its distinct flavour. Spoilers a-plenty, and maybe an actual Spoiler, who knows!
But first, we imagine similar animated approaches to other comics characters, if they were set in a specific era or with a specific stylistic approach! Like a very ’70s comic-horror Swamp Thing show! Or the “new class” X-Men in individual animation styles representing their cultural backgrounds! Perhaps a swingin’ ’60s animated series of the Fantastic Four! Hey, let Daredevil get ’80s gritty in animated form, willya? Or let’s see Wonder Woman in the same WWII era as Caped Crusader! And howzabout a “Blue-Eyed Samurai”-style Conan the Barbarian? All this and more!
The Trailer for Venom 3 has come out and 5 minutes have gone by since we’ve seen a symbiote centered comic event, so let’s talk SYMBIOTES!
What do we think of them? How have they evolved? What are some ridiculous symbiote pitches?
How many times can we say Gold Balls and Wheat cakes in one episode?
Who’s Eye Scream?
What’s Gamecock’s Symbiote Name?
Who’s all together gacky?
All these questions and MORE will be answered this week on Zero Issues Comic Podcast!
Beeeeest friiiieeeeeends! That’s what we’re talkin’ ’bout this week. We’re answering such age-old questions as:
-who actually IS Spider-Man’s best friend?
-Is Hank Pym a jerk because no one wants to hang out with him, because he is a jerk, because no one wants to hang out with him…?
-Is it possible to be best friends with someone if you’ve only met them in crossover fighting games? Because if it isn’t, I don’t want to be the one to tell Cyclops and Ryu.
All that, plus some spoiler-heavy talk about Deadpool & Wolverine, because, look, we’re pretty sure you’ve seen it by now, bud.