When it comes to comic-book characters there are few that are as weird as Marvel's chompy tentacle monster known as Venom. But where does the symbiotic goop that makes up Venom come from? Why is it obsessed with Spider-Man? Why is there a bizarre ménage-a-trois between Flash Thomson, Eddie Brock and a mysterious other being? Find out the answers to these and other questions you never asked in our beginner's guide to Venom! If you've enjoyed this podcast then please share us with your...

There's an old adage that states that you can judge a person based on the quality of their enemies, so when the person in question has a clear ethical and moral code, conducts himself honourably in almost everything, can be little old fashioned thanks to a brief sojourn as a Capsicle, and is one of Marvel's most beloved characters (thanks to the MCU), you'd expect the villain roster to be full of seriously bad people. Which it is ... up to a point.  Unfortunately Captain America, like so...

Sometimes you don't have to be a vigilante to stop criminals. Sometimes you don't need superpowers to keep the peace. Sometimes all you need is a shiny helmet, big heavy boots to stomp things, a big gun, a cool motorbike, and the knowledge that you are the drokking law. Judge Dredd is the most popular and successful character to emerge from the pages of British sci-fi comics anthology 2000 A.D., but with so many comics, stories, plot threads, spin-offs, crossovers, political opinions and...

There's gold in those piles of comics of manga, and the grizzled veterans of 4-Panel are determined to find it no matter how many Clint Eastwood musicals they have to sit through! This episode we're kicking things off with the confusingly titled Thanos: The Infinity Ending before we joining our friendly neighbourhood arthropod for Spidey: School's Out. After that we head over to DC for a stunning reimagining of an iconic character in Harleen, then it's over to Humanoids the dark and bloody...

4-Panel returns from another stint panning for comics and manga gold in the riverbed of graphic literature. Tortured analogies aside, this week is our usual mixed bag of the good, the meh, and the downright bizarre - and not in a nice way. Up for scrutiny this week are GWAR: The Enormogantic Fail, Loki: Agent Of Asgard (the complete collection), Jughead: The Hunger Versus Vamperonica, The Fourth Power, the first volume of The Reprise Of The Spear Hero, Swimming In Darkness, and the third...

Strange powers aren't a new thing to superhero comics (just check out our episode about Superman's collection of odd, and for the most part thankfully forgotten abilities), and this week it's the turn of Tony Stark to go under our microscope. Get ready for a cavalcade of oddities as we explore the history of Marvel's futurist and some the more bizarre functions of his armour ... and his brain? Oh, and before you ask, billionaire playboy philanthropist genius is not a superpower. If you've...

Sometimes you just have to go back to basics in comics, and like the characters out of an old-school fantasy novel, the brotherhood between Marvel's Thor and a horse-faced alien cyborg is something that has become legend in comics. But like every good bromance, this one started with a bit of a punch-up. Join Andrew, Rob and Mick as for this beginner's guide to the last survivor of the Korbinite race that includes The Mighty Thor #337 - 340: The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill, Stormbreaker: The Saga...

The 4-Panel gang return with another heaping helping of comics and manga goodness, and this week there's plenty to talk about. First up are Marvel's newest super team and their first few outings in Strikeforce: Trust Me, Jeff Lemire's new world-crossing barbaruan in the first volume of Berserker Unbound, and the first two volumes of Taku Kuwabara's controversial manga series Drifting Dragons. After that it's time for a bit of speed in Spider-Man: Velocity, some colourfully cosmic shenanigans...

Comic reviews! Get yer comic reviews here! Yes the boys are back with another hot serving of comics reviews (although really that should probably be another newspaper analogy). This week we have Wyrd, Valkyrie: Jane Foster, Web of Black Widow, Black Hammer: Streets of Spiral, Ironheart, Miles Morales: Spider-Man - Bring On The Bad Guys and Manor Black. Please be extra kind with this episode, Andrew unthinkingly googled "Web of Black Widow" while searching for episode art and was bombarded by...

It lives! Join the boys for a bumper crop of reviews, including: Who Killed Kenny, Fantastic Four Grand Design, The Golden Sheep, Trout, Trail of Blood, Legends of Marvel: X-Men, Agents of Atlas and Guardians of the Galaxy. Apologies for the lateness and the audio drops on this one. Our original recording was completely corrupted, but Rob has done an incredible job of rebuilding it. If you've enjoyed this podcast then please share us with your friends or leave us a rating on your podcast app...

Behold... the start of a (mostly) new podcast! Spinning out from 4-Panel, the boys are back with a brand new quest, to watch and rank every superhero adaptation until one stands triumphant as the definitive best. And what better way to kick things off than with the movie that began the modern superhero blockbuster craze, X-Men (2000)! Find out more at https://behold.pinecast.co (https://behold.pinecast.co/)

Not a hoax! Not an imaginary story! 4-Panel is back! It's been a little bit of an unplanned hiatus, but the boys are back with a new fortnightly show. Join them for a round-up of the latest offerings from Turnaround books. This week, much like Kino herself, they're on a journey all across comicdom with the aforementioned manga, the sensationally named Superior Spider-Man: Otto-matic and Captain Marvel: Falling Star. Then, they'll be stopping by Conan Corner to check out the Savage Sword of...

Easter is approaching and to get in the spirit of things, we've been doing some flipping. Only instead of pancakes, it's podcast hosts! This week, Graham and Rob have come from Cinema Eclectica to deliver a level of taste and class never heard before on 4-Panel... and then immediately abandon it as they discuss the cheestravaganza Danger: Diabolik. Then our two intrepid guest hosts show their comics cred by talking about their favourite books, followed by the usual reviews. This week we have...

It's practically turning into an aviary at 4-Panel heights as the boys review another Birds of Prey, this one with at least 85% more fabulous emancipation. Join them as they discuss the rise of Harley Quinn, how and how not to handle characters with superpowers and the delicate balancing act of comics accuracy vs. wider market appeal. Well ok, all of that... and breakfast sandwiches. After that, it's reviews as usual. Up this week, we've got Saint Young Men, Savage Avengers and Cells At Work:...

There’s a new superhero blockbuster out and so the 4-Panel boys are, of course, covering Birds of Prey. Just... maybe not the one you’re thinking of.  Yes, don your leather trench-coats and prepare your vaguely explained superpowers because we’re going to go all the way back to 2002 with the original Birds of Prey tv show.  There’s going to be angsty teens!  There’s going to be bad CGI!  And so. Many. BACKFLIPS!   After that we’ve got a smattering of reviews which include The Wolf Of Baghdad:...

Well, it took it's sweet time getting here, but season 2 of Titans is finally available in the UK. To celebrate (?) the boys are here to give you everything you need to know about DC's latest foray into TV.... And ok "everything you need to know" is mostly that Hawk and Dove suuuuuuuuck, but still! After that, we of course have the usual reviews. This week we've got a Spidey double bill with Sensational Spider-Man: Self-Improvement and Black Cat, Thanos, Vol. 1 of the Complete Oz and...

Things will be never be the same as the boys cover Crisis on Infinite Earths! Join them as they navigate the in's and out's of the DC Multiverse and discuss this mega Arrowverse crossover event! After that, there's the usual gaggle of reviews. This week we have some old-school Doctor Who comics, Strangelands and The Big Country from Humanoids new H1 imprint, more from Space Boy and Emanon, and the 20th anniversary edition of the shoujo/josei manga classic Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa. If you've...

Get ready to blast off with Andrew and Rob on an intergalactic voyage of discovery! Join them as they uncover the most bizarre races in the Marvel universe. Will Rob be able to guess the alien race's backstory from just their name? Obviously not... but what elaborate nonsense will he come up with instead? It's going to be scaly, slimey and filled with a surprising amount of Hawkeye. Then it's back down to Earth for the usual comic reviews. This week we have more from Kino's Journey and Legend...

It’s 2020 and the boys are back with an all new volume of 4-Panel! Yes, like a scientist rebuilding himself into a glowing blue god with a huge neon elephant, we’re now a new and improved 4-Panel… And one with a whole new segment to boot! Join us (and special guest, Cinema Eclectica’s Graham) for our inaugural Comic Movie Club as we look back at one of the most interesting shows of 2019, HBO’s Watchmen. Then we get into what we’ve reading, which this week includes the Flaming Carrot Omnibus,...

Here we are again with our final offering of 2019 - our Christmas Annual!   Andrew, Mick and Rob strengthen their resolve with a bit more Christmas cheer before diving back into the murky depths of the big pile of comics and manga for their favourite discoveries of the year. From stay-at-home Yakuza and amnesiac Martian cyborgs to superhero body horror and a comedic take on old public domain comics, it’s been a strange year overall …   We’ll be back in the next couple of weeks with the third...

It's December, and what better way to celebrate Christmas and the New Year than with a big pile of comics and manga ... so that's exactly what we did! For this, our penultimate episode of 2019 we've got a veritable Turducken of graphic literature goodness and badness including Blossom 666 (with the first issue of Jughead: The Hunger Versus Vampironica), Major X, Beasts Of Burden: Neighborhood Watch, Calamity Kate, Critical Role Vox Machina: Origins, Marvel's Fearless, The Courageous Princess:...

As we head into the end of 2019 we’ve got just enough time to cram in a few more comics, so this week it’s time for another of our semi-regular dives into the big pile of comics. So what did we fish up this week? There’s the first volume of the manga adaptation of Bakemonogatari by Nisio Isin with art by Oh! Great, Our Encounters With Evil: Adventures of Professor J. T. Meinhardt and His Assistant Mr. Knox, Ms. Marvel: Destined, the second volume of Magus Of The Library by Mitsu Izumi, Fate/...

Batman has a long history in comic-books, but unlike characters like Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and others who aren't called Green Lantern, there are more version of Batman than people would believe - and that's before we get to Dark Nights: Metal! So where does one begin with so many different versions of the Caped Crusader? With one of Batman's most controversial and divisive "replacements" obviously ... After that it's time for our regular look at the things that we've been reading,...

We’re back and fully refreshed after a short period off to recharge, and this week it’s the second part of our look at the weirder members of the Justice League. From the original JLA to Justice League Europe, Antarctica (we’re not kidding), and the full-on International version, there are plenty of odd characters to choose from so this may take a while ...   … …   Okay, so this is probably a topic we’ll come back to at some point in the future. For now we’ll leave you with our regular look...