"Extremis" is a six-issue story arc from the comic book series Iron Man (vol. 4), published in issues one through six in 2005 and 2006 by Marvel Comics. It was written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Adi Granov. Extremis elevates the status quo for Iron Man, increasing the power of his armor significantly.Extremis received mostly positive reviews, and it is often listed as one of the best Iron Man stories. Elements of Extremis were adapted for the 2008 film Iron Man, and the Iron Man:...

Superman: Earth One is a series of graphic novels written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by Shane Davis. The series is a modernized re-imagining of DC Comics' long-running Superman comic book franchise as the inaugural title of the company's Earth One imprint. Earth One's Superman exists alongside other revamped DC characters in Earth One titles, including Batman: Earth One and Wonder Woman: Earth One, as well as other graphic novels. The first volume was published in the US in...

The time has finally come... It is time to rank the first issue comics we have covered this month. We will put all the scores up for discussion and choose a winner. So let's get started shall we... --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rangerryan/message

Amalgam Comics was a collaborative publishing imprint shared by DC Comics and Marvel Comics, in which the two comic book publishers merged their characters into new ones (e.g., the DC Comics character Batman and the Marvel Comics character Wolverine became the Amalgam Comics character the Dark Claw). These characters first appeared in a series of 12 one-shots which were published in April 1996 between Marvel Comics versus DC #3 and DC versus Marvel Comics #4, the last two issues of the DC vs....

Sin City is a series of neo-noir comics by American comic book writer-artist Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special (April 1991), and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. Several other stories of variable lengths have followed. The intertwining stories, with frequently recurring characters, take place in Basin City.The Big Fat Kill is a...

Daredevil is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964). Writer/artist Frank Miller's influential tenure on the title in the early 1980s cemented the character as a popular and influential part of the Marvel Universe. Daredevil is commonly known by such epithets as "Hornhead", "The Man Without...

Albert Francis "Al" Simmons, better known as Spawn, is an antihero appearing in a monthly comic book of the same name published by American company Image Comics, as well as in a number of films, television series, and video game adaptations set in the Image Universe. Created by Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1 (May 1992). --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rangerryan/message

Forever Evil is a 2013–2014 crossover comic book storyline published by DC Comics that began in September 2013 and ended in May 2014, consisting of an eponymous, central miniseries written by Geoff Johns and art by David Finch. It is the first line-wide crossover since The New 52 reboot of the DC Universe. It focuses on all the villains of the DC Universe. The miniseries spins out of the events in "Trinity War". --- Send in a voice message:...

X-Man is an alternate version of the regular Marvel Universe hero Cable, hailing from the alternate timeline Earth-295, first established in the "Age of Apocalypse" storyline. He is the biological son of his dimension's Scott Summers and Jean Grey, born of genetic tampering by Mr. Sinister. His first name is derived from his creator's (Mr. Sinister's) real name, Nathaniel Essex, and his last name from his genetic mother Jean Grey. Due to not being infected by a techno-organic virus as Cable...

Bluewater Comics has released a series of comics that take their cue from the TV show. They are The Mis-Adventures of Adam West, The Secret Lives of Julie Newmar, and Burt Ward, Boy Wonder and are similar in tone to the TV series. The Mis-Adventures of Adam West is a four-issue miniseries and a regular series that ran nine issues. The Secret Lives of Julie Newmar is a four-issue miniseries and Burt Ward, Boy Wonder was going to be a four-issue miniseries, but has not yet been published in...

The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist/co-writer Jack Kirby and editor/co-writer Stan Lee, the team first appeared in The X-Men #1 (September 1963). Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to low sales, following its 1975 revival and subsequent direction under writer Chris Claremont, it became one of the most recognizable and successful franchises of Marvel Comics. --- Send in a voice message:...

In The Last Son of Krypton, Superman is born on an alien world to a technologically advanced species that resembles humans. Shortly after he is born, his planet is destroyed in a natural cataclysm, but Superman's scientist father foresaw the calamity and saves his baby son by sending him to Earth in a small spaceship. The ship is too small to carry anyone else, so Superman's parents stay behind and die. The earliest newspaper strips name the planet "Krypton", the baby "Kal-L", and his...

The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic comic book series created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore – who was the artist on the first six issues and cover artist for the first twenty-four – with art on the remainder of the series by Charlie Adlard. Beginning in 2003 and published by Image Comics, the series ran for 193 issues, with Kirkman unexpectedly ending the series in 2019. Apart from a few specials, the comic was published primarily in black and white. It began...

Wanting to appease McFarlane, Marvel gave McFarlane a new, adjectiveless Spider-Man title for him to both write and draw. Spider-Man #1 (August 1990) sold 2.5 million copies, largely due to the variant covers with which Marvel, seeking to capitalize on McFarlane's popularity, published the issue in order to encourage collectors into buying more than one edition. This practice was a result of the comics speculator bubble of the 1990s, which would burst later that decade. McFarlane, unbeknownst...

All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder is an American comic book series written by Frank Miller and penciled by Jim Lee. It was published by DC Comics, with a sporadic schedule, between 2005 and 2008. The series was to be rebooted under the title Dark Knight: Boy Wonder in 2011, when both Miller and Lee were to finish the last six issues. The series retells the origin story of Dick Grayson, who became Batman's sidekick Robin. --- Send in a voice message:...

Let's decide which comic from Grab Bag Month reigns supreme. Now that we have completed our first month we will be ranking all the items we have read and put them in order from best to worst. Or worst to best... that was a half empty / half full statement. Anyway we do decide a winner and the results may be suprising. Here come the rankings! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rangerryan/message

I was in need of a pleasant suprise and a good read. Deperation could lead to feeling even enjoyment at times. This was a nice change of pace and I feel bad that I never read it. Since it is Grab Bag Month I didn't pull the first issue or the second issue--so the show is a bit wonky. However... This show is all about being a little off and a lot independent. I'm fine with having a little chaos. Let get this battle started! --- Send in a voice message:...

Keeping with the theme. This has been a light hearted past two episodes, but I think it is good to lighten things up a bit. Another Archie Comic, this time featuring Betty--who is a spy in this story fighting a Super Villain of some sorts. I often question these write ups and how this was given the go ahead since it is so... odd. However that is something that I was prepared to deal with and I think we both handled it well. Onward! --- Send in a voice message:...

Archie is meant to be tongue and cheek. I know that my co-host was unaware of this, which just makes for a better episode. Today we talk about Archie Comics and a brief story inspired by the Man from U.N.C.L.E. which was... corny. But I knew what I was getting into. Let the show begin. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rangerryan/message

I am a big Cable fan, so X-Force was a happy pull from the grab bag. This is one of the first times we have had a glimpse of the X-Future. Which I just made up, pretty good huh? The X-Future is a dark place, Marvel has a history of showing us a future where the bad guys win. This is no exception to that common theme and was well worth the time. Boom! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rangerryan/message

I used to really like Annuals. It was something special with a lot of bang for your buck. Now this is one I won at auction so if you have been listening... I haven't read any of these. This one felt a little disjointed--we both have different Annuals and have mixed opinions. However I was glad to find these in the bin and found some one diamond in the rough. Here we go! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rangerryan/message

From one set of starts to another. Star Wars: Shadow Stalker is a one off story featuring a apprentice or mercenary of Darth Vader. Which all sounds great in principle. This should have been a series that with the right amount of time and effort would probably be streaming on Disney+ by now. Since they tend to create things from nothing, this could have been something made from something. I'm getting off topic... Check it out. --- Send in a voice message:...

So, I lost touch with Star Trek a long time ago. But this is Grab Bag Month and I am at the will of the random draw. Today we take a read of two different Star Trek Comics from the same era. These are both based on 'The Original Series' and focuses on... the later years. Let's get to it. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rangerryan/message

I didn't know who the author was prior to recording todays episode... I have to say this is some dynamite storytelling that took me by suprise and overall I really enjoyed the read. Eclipse Comics seems to have a wide variety in their catalogue. Hopefully this title will not be the last as we continue throughout the year. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rangerryan/message