This week, the boys sit down to talk about stuff before James crashes after two days of heavy driving and little sleep.  Depressingly, comics get brought up almost immediately, but James is successfully able to steer things back on off-track to topics of cats (ugh), murder (inevitable), Neil Gaiman speaking engagements (wonderful), Alan Alda (just the best) and Cougar Town (also pretty great).

But despite all this typical non-comics talk, the boys really are excited to talk about some of the comics they've been loving recently, and how they're excited for stuff that's coming out soon.  Somedays, it's just hard to hide a genuine enthusiasm.

You still think we're cool, though, right?  Well, not Brandon.  That guy eats lobster at Christmas.

This week, the boys convene at Brandon's apartment for a dinner of pulled pork - literally the one way James will amicably agree to record someplace that's not his own home - and invite Danica along for the show to discuss their weekends.  James got a new video game!  Brandon and Danica got a new cat!  This sentence accurately describes them all.

Also, comics are discussed and Danica does not care for Cougar Town F MINUS MINUS MINUS BANNED FROM THE SHOW FOR LIFE.  THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

This week, the boys sit down after their busy weekends (and in James' case, a battle with the plague slash totally normal cold that is kind kind of annoying) to relax with some soothing TV comedy, namely Prince showing up on New Girl and last week's episode of Cougar Town. True Detective will have to wait!

Beyond the blissful glow of the television, the boys actually surprised themselves this week by talking about comics for over half the episode.  That must be some kind of record!  U-S-A!  U-S-A!  U!  S!  A!  Last week was a pretty great week for comics, especially if you're a fan of Nathan Edmondson, but the star of the week was Ms. Marvel #1, by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona and Ian Herring.  In addition, they also discuss whether the invocation of domestic violence in Black Widow #3 was effective, distracting or disrespectful.  And for once, we'd actually like to hear your thoughts on it!  Let us know via email, Twitter or the comments section what you thought about the issue and its contents, and if that kind of thing can ever be truly well handled by a male creators.

This week, the boys welcome friend of the show, writer Kelly Thompson, back for her third appearance.  When she was last on the show, Kelly was promoting her first Kickstarter campaign, and she's back again to talk about her second, for her upcoming novel Storykiller.

Well, at least, that's the plan.  And sure, we talk about Storykiller some.  A bit, even.  But as usual, the conversation with Kelly quickly strays to talk of movies, television and childhoods; literally, anything Kelly can do to cause James pain with her dissonant opinions.  But along the way, not only does this conversation give great insight into Kelly's background for her new book, but she also calls James a hero, and at least one of those is priceless.

The Kickstarter campaign for Storykiller runs until February 20th at noon PST, and we wholeheartedly think you should consider backing it.  Kelly's first novel, The Girl Who Would Be King, was a funny, insightful look into adolescence (and superpowers), and Storykiller looks to be the next step in the development of a unique and vital voice in young adult literature.  Both of us here at C!TB immediately backed it, and we hope you do, too. 

Buy Kelly's first novel, The Girl Who Would Be King, on Amazon!

Read Kelly’s column, She Has No Head!, at ComicBookResources, where you can also read her reviews throughout the week.

Read Kelly’s latest  other column over at LitReactor

Check out Kelly’s personal site, 1979 Semi-Finalist

Listen to Kelly’s podcast, 3 Chicks Review Comics

Finally, check her out on Twitter at @79semifinalist

The music in today's podcast is "Under the Weather," by Band of Young Saints.  Buy it and other music of theirs on Bandcamp and check them out on Twitter for up-to-date news on shows and new releases, and on YouTube for even more great music from them.