Comic Relief Podcast

Recognize him?

Ever watch Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Men series?

I loved that I saw Ming Chen there, and approached him to do an interview, and he was all in. 200% – one of the nicest guys I have had the good fortune of meeting and talking to.

And… when I kicked myself because I wasn’t aware Walt Simonson was going to be there… would have brought some Thor issues he did – especially first appearance of Beta Ray Bill, whom I think is awesome… but picked up the Ragnaroc issue (special edition for SDCC) and had him sign that…

Listen to the podcast here…

Not going to lie. The Dark Phoenix saga in Marvel’s X-Men Comics is one of my favorites. So I went into the movie ready to be very disappointed. The movie… delivered. In disappointment. I expect things to be different from the original source. Books to movies always do this. Even the X-Men Animated Series made some tweaks. But if this movie had been half of the goodness that the animated series had been, I’d been happy.

I’d like to give a special thanks to Adam Johnson, who granted us permission to use his freaking epic Heavy Metal version of the classic X-Men cartoon theme song! You can check out Adam Johnson on Youtube, Bandcamp, iTunes, Google+, Facebook and finally on Twitter!

We bought out own… whatever you call those… stand up things… because we figured we’d be doing Free Comic Book Day every year – and hanging out banner behind us instead of in front of the table (as the banner is taller than the table) made sense… we had no idea a pandemic would be on the horizon and my wife would suffer major health issues…

But that’s for a later time. If you want to hear this episode it’s right here –

The wife and I saw it opening night at 9:50pm – and were excited to talk about it – so Saturday morning, she and I sat down to record this episode. You can tell here and there, as we’re talking about it – there’s some emotion still in our voices over what we saw.

… and we talked Captain Marvel.

 In this issue, we discuss the Netflix shows (Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Punisher, and Defenders), we also talk Avengers: Endgame trailer, we talk about me sitting in on one of the San Diego Comic Fest panels as a guest, we talk Captain Marvel (and even get our beloved friend Poppy, randomly in on the conversation), we talk James Gunn being back on Guardians of the Galaxy 3, we also talk Into the Spider Verse and wrap it up with discussion about this year’s WonderCon. This one has a little bit of everything. Hold on. The wife is reminding me that we also did Amiee’s Corner in which we talk about Vanderpump Rules. Give this one a listen! And if we made you laugh, smile, or giggle, please consider sharing it on your Facebook, Twitter, or whatever other means you have of spreading the good word about our podcast!

I love how both of those photos turned out because of the lighting.

And I ran into Eric and Julia (well, I knew they were going to be there)…

Had them sign my X-Men Animated Series DVDs…

Also met R.A. Salvatore, but was stupid and forgot to take a picture… because I wasn’t aware he was there, and I think it was Chuck who spotted him and we went over and talked to him; would have brought The Crystal Shard or something for him to sign – so instead, picked up the third book in his current series (admittedly do not have the other two!) but didn’t want to miss out on his autograph and just supporting him.

I loved the above photoshop… because neither of us is actually wearing a gauntlet – I told Maico to send me a photo of him looking as if he is… and I did the same – then put them in front of a space background – and then if you look – neither of the gauntlets has a full set of gems, as if we’re fighting over them. And what’s cool – the artistic face in the upper right is done by my good friend, Lindsay Archer. She created full on images of myself as an Anxiety Lantern, and had not finished Maico’s – but I did some photoshoping and imposed his head on the body of mine, and it works. I should dig those up and post those too, somewhere.

As a side note – if you are listening and wondering what we’re talking about, when I am talking about pulling a guy out of a burning SUV… read about it here and see the video. You will notice that yellow XTERRA in the background has the Anxiety Lantern sticker on it… because it’s mine… and the … Well, just check it out.

For this one, I went at it alone… no partners in crime…

Ok, well, clearly not alone…

But what was cool – first time meeting Ben Edlund, and picked up a Complete Tick book he had and had him sign it. (I loved The Tick as a cartoon long before I was aware it was based on a comic; but began picking up the comic once this knowledge was revealed!)

And Marc Silvestri was there…

I miss these opportunities.

When the above photo was the highlight of the convention… and … I have no idea where we are or why we took this picture… But there’s literally six photos in my LA Comic Con 2018 folder…

Well, according to this news – it’s true!

Following July’s X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA #1, mutantkind will enter a thrilling new era of uncertainty, danger, and mystery known as FALL OF X! In the ensuing chaos, a beloved Marvel Super Hero team rises once more! ALPHA FLIGHT will reassemble to navigate the dark times that have befallen mutantkind.

Alpha Flight’s new chapter will be written by Ed Brisson, known for his current work on PREDATOR and as one of the creators who helped launch the Krakoan era to incredible success with NEW MUTANTS. Brisson returns to the world of mutantkind alongside Marvel Comics newcomer, artist Scott Godlewski. Together, they’ll introduce two conflicting Alpha Flight squads that are formed in response to the shocking events of this year’s Hellfire Gala.

Mutantkind’s actions have put Canada on the offense and in addition to crafting a new line of sentinels, they’ll assign a government-sponsored team with de-escalating the mutant conflict by any means necessary! But a second Alpha Flight team joins the fight, striking from the shadow. More secrets and conspiracies are revealed as classic Alpha Flight members and new faces alike become major players on both sides of the war that will define mutantkind!

SAVING CANADA…FROM THE MUTANT MENACE?! Guardian, Puck, Snowbird, and Shaman return, as a terrestrial ALPHA FLIGHT bursts onto the scene! But what schism will pit these heroes against their former teammates Aurora, Northstar, and Nemesis, as well as Aurora’s beau, Fang? The FALL OF X has changed the game. Will Alpha Flight soar to new heights…or be crushed under the weight of an impossible mission?

“Like every Canadian kid who grew up reading comics, one of my biggest dreams was to write for Alpha Flight,” Brisson said. “Growing up, I was a huge fan of the original Byrne run and have followed the team over the years and through every series. The original team of Guardian, Puck, Northstar, Aurora, Shaman, Snowbird, and Sasquatch holds a special place in my heart.

“Unfortunately, Sasquatch is currently indisposed, but the opportunity to bring the rest of the team together, even if they’re split and fighting against one another, is an absolute dream come true. And for those of you wondering if I’ve forgotten anyone, rest assured, I haven’t. There are a few surprises for Alpha Flight fans in the mix, but I won’t spoil anything just yet.”

“As for returning for the Fall of X era, it feels like a perfect bookend for my work on X-Men,” Brisson continued. “Having been there for the launch of the new era, it’s an honor to come back and help close out this chapter of X-Men history.”

ALPHA FLIGHT #1 (OF 5)
Written by ED BRISSON
Art by SCOTT GODLEWSKI
Cover by LEONARD KIRK
On Sale 8/16