To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Marvel Knights, we welcome Joe Quesada to tell the origin story of the imprint and contextualize it within Marvel history. One lucky break he got early in his career came full circle with the launch of Marvel Knights. That single opportunity he was given has continued to inform his creative career (and life) ever since. Without Marvel Knights, we would not have the version of Black Panther that just hit screens, and were it not for writer Christopher...

John interviews Dean Haspiel pre-Election 2016 about what it is that he's afraid of and the infinite emptiness of the internet, while Moisés talks with Alex de Campi about the glorious darkness of certain fairy tales and the importance of being on a Science Ninja Team.

As a coda to our creator spotlight on Dan Slott, we look at the just-released Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy #1. There's a spoiler warning at the point where we start spoiling, so don't worry. In the outro, we tease some upcoming guests and episodes.

Dan Slott injects danger and fear for our hero's life wherever he can, and that's why we love his work on Spider-Man. Those choices extends to how he has brought unexpected, sometimes-hated (and then loved), but always interesting changes to the status quo of various characters. We also hear from the man himself about not only his sensational and spectacular run onAmazing Spider-Man, but also his work on She-Hulk, The Thing, Silver Surfer, Ren & Stimpy, andArkham Asylum: Living Hell.

Special Cameo Appearance by Stan "The Man" Lee! We waited until the second issue of Captain America: Steve Rogers came out to talk about the whole "Hail HYDRA" thing. How many people read comics versus read headlines about them? What is and isn't "a gimmick"? Are we on-board?

This is either a "Triple-Sized" One-Shot or a Regular-Sized regular episode (or both!) coveringDC Universe Rebirth #1. There was confusion we were aware of before starting, and all-new, all-different confusion we discover while recording. We stay spoiler-free until the 37-minute mark.

Neither of us liked Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. We hadn't spoken to each other about it until we recorded this all-spoiler-filled discussion. Weeks later, neither of us can really tell you what the movie was about or trying to say other than "these characters all suck and need fixing." Well...now they sure as hell do.

Southern Cross co-creator Andy Belánger has done Big Two, licensed, and is now a loud-and-proud "creator-owned or GTFO" advocate who is all-in with Image Comics. We discuss his work, fandom, and wrestling. This live episode was recorded at Dallas Fan Days in February 2016.

Storyteller artist Paul Ryan was more than just a "pencil guy". A consummate draftsman who came to comics work in his mid-30's, Ryan embodied a work ethic seldom seen then or now. The news of his sudden passing this past weekend took everyone by surprise this morning. The majority of this episode is comprised of a "Modern Marvel Masters" panel we hosted at Dallas Fan Days in October 2015. The panel includes Ryan, his friend and colleague Howard Mackie, and Val Mayerik. Rather than edit the...

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #125 is one of the best values you can find for a comic from the 1960’s. Spurred by a Nostradamus prophecy discovered under the sea (you read that correctly), Jimmy Olsen collects the tears of four people, including Superman in the hopes of obtaining superpowers.

Kelly Sue DeConnick has a massive, loyal, and deeply passionate following for a very good reason: she makes comics that mean something to people. In this Creator Spotlight episode, we discuss her body of work, and the distinct humanity of her voice as a writer.

Captain America gets a lot of Avengers Middle Management Work done! The Red Skull has (consensual) sex with a lady in a hot tub (how does she kiss him?)! Thor (Eric Masterson) is put on probation! Red Skull’s ancestral family house…drips dough!

What is the aftermath of two of the biggest of Big Two Mega-Event Crossovers in comics history? Are our buying habits…FOREVER CHANGED??? (Yes.) How or can we justify $5 cover prices? Find out in a truly 80-ish-“page” (minute) Giant episode of the show! Now that Convergence and Secret Wars (2015+2016) are over, this episode serves as the truefinale to Crossover Crisis Infinity, our 2015 multi-part series on All Big Two Crossovers Ever…which, like Secret Wars, ends the following calendar year...

Secret Wars (2015) is complete as of this, the second week of 2016. Since we did a mega-event-scale series on crossovers last year that was kicked off by the announcement of Secret Wars, we dig into our spoiler-filled thoughts on the final issue, as well as the event as a whole.

A primer on Star Wars comics from 1977 forward, covering everything in general from early movie adaptations to the lengthy Dark Horse work in the Expanded Universe to the "New Marvel Era" and speculation on what is (and we hope) to come.

In our first-ever, short-length, One-Shot episode, John relates the personal and historical significance of Marvel's Star Wars: Special Edition #1. Coming on Giant Size #41, a full episode covering all of Star Wars in comics.

“Breaking in” stories from Steve Epting, Jim Cheung, and Val Mayerik. Neal Adams tells us why people call him an idiot and end up calling him a genius. We also look at how this convention in particular marked an artistic turning point for your hosts. Believe it or not, we aren’t running as late as Secret Wars. Fan Expo Dallas 2015 Special, Part 2 of 2

In the first installment of our 2-part Fan Expo Dallas Special, we and our special guests talk about the importance and impact of Archie, working with material well-known in another medium, and the vital importance of major publishers staying the course when investing in new voices and audiences. Part 1 of 2

In our Comicpalooza 2015 Special, we discuss childhood influences and the importance of licensed properties in comics with a wide array of guests: World Champion wrestler (and comic creator) Booker T, Katie Cook, Peter David, J.M. DeMatteis (albeit briefly), and returning guest Walt Simonson. Our featured guest this week is the great Louise Simonson. Louise Simonson will be the focus of an upcoming Creator Spotlight episode. We'll get to Walt eventually...we suppose.

We look at the vital role of the more-precise-than-ever art of comics coloring, shining a spotlight in particular on the work of Elizabeth Breitweiser and featuring special guests Neal Adams, Steve Epting, and Walt Simonson. NOTE: audio gain as well as clarity are less than ideal in some places (totaling under a minute). We've done our best in post to make this episode as listenable as possible at a consistent volume level.

In framing a conversation with writer Greg Pak about the new direction for Superman in Action Comics (as well as his new creator-owned project The Princess Who Saved Herself), we find ourselves also indulging in preaching the gospel of Adam Warlock. In our conversation with Greg, we look at the importance of "bold, different takes", going back not only to his work on Hulk (Planet- and World War- specifically) and Adam Warlock, but also the major influence of Bill Mantlo's legendary work on...

In the first installment of a new recurring series, we recommend great, currently running reads that we've never discussed on the show.

ComiXology co-founders David Steinberger and John D. Roberts join us for an annual check-in, discussing library expansion, the changes post-Amazon acquisition, and the possibility of new UI/UX features in the future.

STAPLE 2015 "Pitching Comics" Panel with Janelle Asselin, hosted by Meredith Nudo, a valiant Valkyrie from Houston, TX. Whether looking to pitch your own or just learn more about the process of how comics are made, this is a great primer on all of the above. An excerpt of this interview was originally featured on Giant Size #33: Heart and Soul, our STAPLE 2015 Special.

Monica Gallagher started making comics on the web, but before that, anime and manga (and Elfquest) made her a fan who wanted to create in addition to consume. An excerpt of this interview was originally featured on Giant Size #33: Heart and Soul, our STAPLE 2015 Special.