This week, the boys return from a week off (sorry!) to catch up with each other, the stuff they watched and the comics they read.  In particular, the boys discuss this week's 17-minute preview of Guardians of the Galaxy, the first episode of The Leftovers and the greatest action movie of 2014, Bollywood's Gunday.  

Of course, the real point of the episode is to ease back into things by talking about Everwood, and specifically this site's theory that Marvel Studio's Kevin Feige is reuniting the cast of TV's Everwood in the Marvel CInematic Universe.  This one... this one involves us fan-casting Gregory Smith and Treat Williams, you guys.  It gets weird.

Finally, the boys compliment DC on breaking out of the New 52 aesthetic by announcing Gotham Academy and lament how the #firerickremender campaign might actually be harming the useful discussion about social politics at the Big Two.  Frankly, we'd rather be talking about Everwood.

This week, the boys are pretty tired and almost succeed in making the episode shorter, which admittedly fails mostly because James decides to immediately create dead air space, then fill it, then antagonize Brandon.  But that's not all!  You also get discussion of a TV series that's already been canceled!

Wait, come back!

After checking in with each other, James and Brandon talk about recent TV, from John Oliver's worryingly incredible young run on Last Week Tonight and how HBO is actually being adventurous with digital video, the ambition of Teen Titans GO! doing an episode with physical, non-animated puppets and finally, the amazing, emotionally resonant, criminally underwatched Enlisted, which balanced wacky humour with genuinely important, tear-inducing discussion of emotionally complex topics around the military.  If you can find it, watch it; the show may be back on another network next season, but it's probably over, and if it had to go out, "Alive Day" was about as good a series finale as you could hope for.

After this, the boys discuss comics and DC doing something good!  We're as surprised as you are!

This week, the boys sit down with longtime friend of the site and acclaimed writer Kieron Gillen, writer of books like Phonogram, Young Avengers, Iron Man and the brand new, first-issue-out-today The Wicked + The Divine from Image Comics.  Kieron stopped by to talk about the genesis of the book and the dark emotional threads going through all his work, compliment his collaborators (except McKelvie) and then read some poetry.  It is as delightful as you want it to be in your dreams.

Find Kieron online at:

Twitter: @kierongillen

Tumblr: Another Way to Breathe

Web: the workblog

This week, the boys have finally recovered from the bleak existential horror of last week's Curt Pires episode and are ready to talk about less controversial topics, like politics in comics... aw, crapdammit.

More on that later.  First, James and Brandon talk about their weekends; Brandon attended the Edmonton Cat Show, while James attended his first Pride Parade after spending a morning carrying a literal ton and a half of cement blocks, which in retrospect wasn't a great idea.  Beyond that, James has surprised himself with how much he's enjoying WWE Legends' House, the pro wrestling reality show that last week might have become the smartest, most genuinely affecting reality show on television.  Seriously.  Last week's episode made a commentary on the art form of professional wrestling and the medium of reality television.  Plus, they talk about Cosmos and how Neil deGrasse Tyson's bedroom eyes make it all worthwhile.

Finally, after discussing the comics of the last week, the boys get serious and talk politics.

Stay with us here!

In short, comics writer Chuck Dixon and Paul Rivoche wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed decrying how liberalism has ruined superheroes, and the liberal comics internet immediately set about themselves mocking it and arguing it point by point.  Here, the boys suggest that getting into a blow-by-blow of political talking points is maybe the worst thing to do, because it ensures the discussion gets stuck in a pointless cycle of accusation instead of agreeing on the common ground: moral relativism and ambiguity in superheroes is a problem, and while we might disagree on the political responsibility, we're all invested in making things better.  The only way to do that, of course, is having the tough, long discussions instead of the easy arguments.

Also, James talks about being a socialist.

This week, the boys sit down with friend of the show Curt Pires, writer of LP, Theremin and the upcoming POP, coming this summer from Dark Horse Comics.  At least, that was the plan.  And sure, there's definitely some talk of that; Curt is excited to promote his upcoming project and James and Brandon, having seen the first issue, are right there with him.  Everybody wants to sing the praises of Jason Copland, Pete Toms, Ryan Ferrier and Dylan Todd, as well as their work on this pop art extravaganza.  That happens.

To a degree.

More than anything, though, this episode goes off the rails and it gets dark.  In a hurry.  As soon as the episode starts, it's a discussion of immoral TV and it only goes downhill, whether it's a discussion of war crimes, nihilism, snuff films or the movie adaptation of Marmaduke.  Big ups to Curt for going on this journey with us, and big ups to you, listener, for doing it, too.

Find Curt online at:

Twitter: @curtpires

Web: curt pires dot com

This week, the boys sit down to catch up after two very different weekends: Brandon's was busy, while James struggled through a morass of grumpiness and sickness using the power of thirty-something episodes of The West Wing.

This is what adulthood looks like, people.

To further rise out of the dumps, James got Brandon to watch more episodes of Teen Titans GO!, which continues DC's streak of making very good children's television and very few comics that children can actually read unless they like a jawless, maimed Wonder Woman being turned into a murder robot.  And to be fair, they might.  We don't have kids, after all.  James also made himself feel better by making Brandon watch half an episode of Fox's morally new abhorrent dating competition show, I Wanna Marry Harry, where an Englishman wages a prolonged campaign of lies to Americans so he can take advantage of them.  It's basically an analogue for the War of Independence, is what we're saying.  Best of all, though, you can actually hear Brandon die a little, which might have been heightened by James immediately replaying the episode just to torture him.

This is what friendship looks like, people.

After this is the usual discussion of the previous week's excellent comics, and then a final discussion of how the fan community has seemingly largely abandoned having the difficult discussion surrounding the allegations that Bryan Singer has sexually assaulted at least one young person throughout his career and what to do regarding viewing his body of work.  Instead, the fan community seems very comfortable putting aside that discussion in favour of seeing X-Men: Days of Future Past, which Brandon and James discuss the potential reasons and implications behind.  Ultimately, there are no easy answers, only the repetition of the need for the community to ask hard questions and for fans to come to individual solutions they can live with.  But have the discussion.  Always.

This week, the boys get together after two very busy weekends; Brandon threw a big Pushing Daisies party and James accidentally ended up scheduling almost every second of his entire long weekend.  But after being coy about a development in James' life, they get down to brass tacks: watching TV!  Specifically, they discuss how John Oliver's Last Week Tonight is impressing them with the way he's using the HBO format and setting to make a show that's very vital and different from his old gig at The Daily Show.  Next, they discuss Louie and reiterate Louis CK's miraculous ability to make himself the butt of the joke and go shockingly dark.  Finally, they discuss some comics they like and talk about DC's great decision to launch a Wonder Woman digital anthology series.

Now they will sleep.

This week, the boys mourn two of their favourite new TV shows of the season, gone before their time: Surviving Jack and Trophy Wife.  Both series aired their impromptu series finales in the last week, so Brandon and James talk about the great final episodes and how each show zeroed in on small character details and believable relationships.  Next, they talk about their favourite comics from the last week and finally, they talk about the best news of the week:

Channing Tatum is officially playing Gambit!  This isn't some fever dream, it's the truth!  Let's all celebrate responsibly so we don't get any XTDs.

This week, the boys catch up after a week off from hanging out; Brandon had a quiet weekend just as he planned, while James overscheduled his and then ended up picking a fight with a bestselling author and the head of a charity over their opinions on Kevin Smith.

Lesson learned: never have a moderate opinion again!

After this and a quick discussion of Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the fourth season premiere of Louie, the hosts run down their favourite comics picks from the last week, including the straight-up public service the Avatar: The Last Airbender Free Comic Book Day offering did, and eulogize Avengers AI.  Finally, they talk about Amazon removing the iOS in-app storefront from ComiXology and preach caution before you claim everything is ruined forever.

You're welcome, internet.

This week, in a very special early episode, the boys welcome cartoonist Kyle Starks to the show!  Kyle has made a name for himself with online comics like The Legend of Ricky Thunder, Adventure Wizard and Punch Captain; his latest comic is Sexcastle, a Kickstarter-funded comic with the brilliant elevator pitch, "Have you ever thought, 'Man, I wish there were more things like the movie Road House?'"  He did.  We definitely did, too, so it was a match made in podcast heaven.  The conversation ranges from the tight plotting and seeding of elements in the comic, to its theme of responsible parenting, to misogyny in comics and fandom, to the hustle of being an independent comic creator.  Plus, ridiculous 80s action movies and pro wrestling!  It was outrageous fun.

But more than that, we at C!TB are really passionate about Sexcastle.  It's a great comic with a good message from a creator we're proud to support.  This Kickstarter campaign will be your only chance to get it, and it's a steal.  At the $5 backer level, you get a digital copy of the 200 page graphic novel, as well as a bonus 22 page, full colour anthology mini-comic.  And because both comics are already done, you get it this week.  No waiting, no shipping, just great comics, immediately.

Back it.

Find Kyle online on:

Twitter: @starr226

Tumblr: Robot Mountain

Web: Kyle Starks dot com, where you can find Kyle's other webcomics and a link to his store where you can buy even more!

(Music in this episode is "GTS," by Adam Warrock.  Go to Adamwarrock.com to find more of his free music and links to buy his albums!)

This week, the boys rebound from a fairly relaxing long weekend (for James) and recuperative return from the presumed brink of death (Brandon) to do what they do best: insult each other with accusations about their sex lives, watch TV and talk about comics.  The TV show this week is the pilot episode of Fargo, the re-imagining of the Coen Brothers modern classic about murder and marriage in the midwest.  After making a cursory attempt at discussion about the differences between the two iterations and the use of Billy Bob Thornton as an almost omniscient force of nature and destruction, they get down to brass tacks; the real reason why they're watching:

Adorable Minnesota accents and lots of them!  Martin Freeman does one!  He's British, donchaknow!

After regaining their composure, James and Brandon talk about comics they loved (including Genesis, Ms. Marvel #3 and Batman #30), DC's impending nightmare that is their awful schedule for soliciting and ordering books for their upcoming September event month and the ethical dilemma of whether to see X-Men: Days of Future Past while the director, Bryan Singer, is facing accusations of sexual assault, if ever.  It's a sensitive subject, and we welcome your comments, questions and responses below, via Twitter or through private emails.

This week, Brandon is sick so James does even more talking than usual.  Lucky you!  It's not like he monopolizes the conversation normally anyway.  After they talk about their weekend, which included a comic shop event and the humour of Ingmar Bergman, they gush over the new sitcom Surviving Jack, which is a shockingly mature look at marriage and parenthood.  It's basically the opposite of Home Improvement, showcasing the comedic chops of Chris Meloni and Rachael Harris as rational, reasonable, funny adults.  Who knew?!

After this, they discuss the comics the loved in the last week, and two pressing issues in comics: Amazon buying ComiXology and Brett Booth's harassment of Janelle Asselin, as well as the outrageous frequency with which rape threats are directed at women by strangers, and the mindset that encourages it.  Warning: this one gets serious.

That said, James talks about identifying with MODOK, so it's not entirely serious.

This week, the boys sit down for the first time in weeks to actually catch up and talk about the things they've done, the things they've watched and the comics they've read.  While James was judging people (formally!), doing charity work and watching wrestling, because he is a sensitive renaissance man, Brandon was off discovering the fact that The Band existed.  That is not a joke: Brandon literally did not even know about one of the most famous Canadian bands of all time.  Commence your ridicule.

Besides this, the hosts discuss their rare difference of opinion about the How I Met Your Mother finale, their similar love of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and their cautious optimism about Mike Judge's new HBO series, Silicon Valley.  Afterward, the run through the comics they loved last week, including Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business, Dead Letters #1 and Pretty Deadly #5, and literally toast to the death of Archie Andrews.

It was a pretty busy night!

This week, the boys sit down with André Lima Araujo, the artist of Avengers AI and the upcoming Man Plus, a creator-owned project likely coming in 2015.  In addition to talking about his work and developing a unique look for Marvel's most singular Avengers book, James and Brandon also talk to André about football/soccer, True Detective (mild spoilers for like five seconds!), Hannibal and exploring manga.  James trolls him substantially less than he does on Twitter.

Find André online at:

Twitter: @erdna11

Web: André's literal instructions were to google his name, but when pressed, he said you can find him on DeviantArt (username: erdna1) or Blogspot (username: andrelimaaraujo), which we feel is much more helpful.

This week, the boys sit down with Nathan Edmondson, the writer of Black Widow and The Punisher for Marvel Comics and the upcoming graphic novella Genesis, coming in April from Image Comics.  The conversation ranges from contrasting Natasha Romanova to James Bond, to finding the humanity in Frank Castle, to working on a very different type of book in Genesis.  Along the way, Nathan and the hosts also talk about professional etiquette vis-a-vis Twitter, and how social media is changing the way we engage with movies.  Finally, Nathan becomes not the first person to ask James why he's hitched his wagon to the Chicago Cubs.

Find Nathan online at:

Twitter: @nathanedmondson

Web: Nathan Edmondson dot com

This week, the boys sit down to follow up on their Veronica Mars/Piz talk after seeing the movie last Friday, as well as talk about the first two episodes of the new JJ Abrams/Alfonso Cuaron TV series on NBC, Believe.  In short: it is okay!  And sometimes accidentally funny.

After this, the boys talk about comics they liked in the last week and, more importantly, put some people on blast for being bad journalists or retailers.  It gets heated, and the formal C!TB List of Garbage People gets its start.  You're welcome, Internet.

This week, the boys sit down to discuss a lot of stuff.  Movies!  Weekends!  Friendly aggression! Comics, I guess.  But all that pales in comparison to the bitter disagreement about the most polarizing of Veronica Mars characters... Stosh "Piz" "The Worst" Piznarski.

Listen, when Brandon's the one who writes these he can put his own editorializing in them.  NOTE: Brandon will never be allowed to write these unless it is a James Leask Memorial Episode.

Finally, the boys talk about comics they enjoyed in the last week, as well as the bizarre formation of a comics retailer group named COBRA and maybe even a little mild kindness towards Mark Millar.  Maybe.

This week, the boys sit down to talk about their weekends, which included ladies' night, an extravagant off-menu meal at a haute cuisine restaurant and a Miyazaki film.  It... was a pretty good weekend, you guys.  Beyond that, the boys are excited to talk about pro wrestling and shit no wait come back baby it's different this time we swear!  Basically, the boys watched NXT Arrival, the first pay-per-view-style live special for NXT, the home of WWE's best storytelling, weirdest characters and talented women wrestlers.  From Zayn Cesaro IV, maybe the best match of the year so far, to Paige/Emma II, the mission statement of good women's wrestling, to the wonder that is Bo Dallas, the James Leask of pro wrestling, it's all good, and it's the wrestling to show people who say they don't like it.

Danica.

After that, the boys talk about some comics they loved in the last week.  They cover new twists on familiar endings (Wolverine and the X-Men #42), immaculately crafted new beginnings (Fantastic Four #1) that show off digital comics (Daredevil: Road Warrior #1) and Hawkeye, which is still just plain wonderful.  All this in less time than usual!  Truly, this is a blessed time.

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.

This week, the boys get together to do their usual podcast routine (get slurpees and candy, watch TV, not talk about comics) when they're met with an awful shock: thanks to President Obama's State of the Union address, there's no new TV on!  Well, except Dads, but nobody's that desperate.

Shaking off the disappointment, the boys recount their weekend (and Brandon asks James a Very Big Question), talk about the TV they did watch and finally spend a significant amount of time talking about comics they liked.  It turns out, comics are pretty great!  Why don't we talk about them more often?

This week, the boys get together to talk about Gravity, because at long last Brandon finally saw it and James can stop avoiding spoilers around him constantly.  I mean, jeez!  Is it too much to ask for people to do exactly what you do at all times so that you can share your viewpoints with them?  We don't think so!

In other news, James saw Her, a movie he cannot describe in anything but vague terms because Brandon probably won't see it until the autumn probably, and also a screening of Lawrence of Arabia, a movie James can only describe in vague terms because Brandon hasn't seen it even though it's fifty years old and is also based on a true story.

He's not bitter or anything.  At least they can talk about True Detective.

Finally, the boys talk comics!  That's right, and only forty or so minutes in!  From comics they loved last week to Ultimate Marvel NOW! to Alan Moore's growing cootishness, it's all discussed.  Except mainly just those things and not much else.  Whoops.

This week, the boys get together to talk about their weekends, watch some TV shows with terrible titles and then gush about comics.  Did you know a lot of great comics came out last week?  We certainly underestimated how many, which is why this thing is an hour and a half long.  Eventually, conversation turns to things that have happened in comics lately; someone's angry response to some Ant-Man casting leaves James wondering what his own blind spot or rage button for comic book casting would be, and ends up stumbling into it.  Eventually, they get to the ImageExpo announcements and the controversial photo showing a lack of diversity in the keynote lineup, ultimately finding hope in comics and that things are getting better.

Also, James tells Johnny Depp to go fuck himself a lot.

This week, the boys return from their holiday break cheery and ready to talk about their Christmases and chat about things that made them happy... also, they talk shit about some people.  From other websites to people in general, this one is an effort to rein back into positivity.  But we did it!  U-S-A!  U-S-A!

This week, the boys celebrate their 100th episode with Sam Humphries, friend of the show and its first-evern guess.  The result is an episode that's 100% off-topic and two full hours long, ranginging from favourite Christmas TV specials to Sam's questions for the boys.  It's a lot of fun!

This week, the boys sit down for what is definitely NOT their hundredth episode, because they actually have something big planned for that which totally didn't fall through and was thus postponed until next week.  Not at all.

In the meantime, we present to you a half episode - not a real one, obviously, because there's actual on-topic discussion of comics for the entire abbreviated time - to tide you over until next week's extravaganza.  Instead of talking about Trophy Wife and Stephen Universe and awkward funerals, it's all comics!  Try not to act too not disappointed.

This week, the boys talk about their families.  You know the family members: you love them, but they have some opinions... some opinions about race... that aren't really cool.  But you sit through all that stuff, because they're your family and you care about them and it would cause way more drama than it would be worth if you just told 'em all to lick it and peeled out of there in your sweet Chevelle.

All this, karaoke, comics and more!  Plus, a healthy dose of antagonism towards you, our dear listeners, because why not?  You know what you did.  For shame.

This week, the boys get together to celebrate the most sacred holiday of the year.  No, it's not Wrong Thanksgiving, Yankees.  If you're going to have a thanksgiving try one of two things:

a) Have it be more like Canadian/Correct Thanksgiving  and take place in October, where it can celebrate the harvest and also Not Freezing To Death Before Getting Poisoned (as God intended), instead of something racially uncomfortable.  Save that for every OTHER day;

b) Celebrate the life and works of one James Van Der Beek, the spirit guide of Comics! The Blog;

That's right, y'all: we're watching Varsity Blues!  It may be poorly written, not particularly competently directed and feature some problematic at best dialogue, but we love it with all our hearts nonetheless.  After all, it is from MTV Films, the studio mecca that brought us Joe's Apartment and The Perfect Score!  And because it's the high holiday of C!TB, this episode is extra indulgent and meandering.  Eventually, though, stuff like the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special and more comics from two weeks ago (last week's had not arrived yet, SIGH) get discussed, if on-topic discussion is your jam.

This week, the boys invite Danica to the show to talk about the normal podcast stuff, like weekends, comics and House of Anubis (it's so great, dudes!) but also to talk serious stuff.  About gender!  Basically, with all the news and discussion in the last week about the unacceptable ongoing treatment of women in the comics industry (and more broadly in society), it felt inappropriate to not talk with a woman we know about her experiences and the issue, and to mostly sit and listen.

Also, the word "dickbag" gets thrown around a lot.  Stuff happens.  Words get said.  You know how it is on the mean streets of the middle class with a purring cat on your lap.  You know.

This week, the boys welcome comic book writer, PR professional and noted snacktivist Justin Aclin onto the show to talk about his work on S.H.O.O.T. First and Star Wars graphic novellas, whether Boba Fett is a terrible character or the worst character and some shockingly real talk about religion and Israel.  We're not joking: instead of the usual talk-for-an-hour-and-then-oh-shit-what-about-your-comic episode format, this one is shockingly on topic and Justin gives some really thoughtful, intelligent answers to sensitive questions about politics.

Send those emails to bschatz@comicstheblog.com!

Also, they talk about how great the Rugrats holiday specials about Judaism were, because we're a podcast of inclusive opinions and positivity. Unless any of this offends you, in which case we'll turn on Aclin on a dime.

Find Justin online at:

Twitter: @justinaclin

Web: A site with a really straight-forward name I mean come on already punch it up

This week, the boys start off the week with a rare diversion into local politics, namely the cartoonishly evil RENT villains who killed a local proposal for affordable housing.  And brother, it just gets darker from there, as they dig deeper into issues of parental abandonment, unfathomable loneliness and other dark aspects of their psyches.  They also talk about why you should watch Trophy Wife, which features the talents of the wonderful Michaela Watkins and the worst television show title since Cougar Town.

After this, some comics get discussed before recent developments in the world of comics get unpacked.  First, the announcement that DC will be consolidating its offices into a single west coast location generates talk about what this could mean for the comics culture and history of New York, as well as the lives of employees facing a very difficult and life-altering decision.  Finally, though, the episode ends on a positive note as Marvel's recent announcement of a teenage, Muslim Ms Marvel written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona generates hopeful rumination on the positive changes to the comics industry and how we can all keep it getting better.

Ugh, positivity.  Whose idea was that?

This week, the boys sit down with another comics professional who is also a fellow Albertan, Scott Kowalchuk, to talk about his work on The Mysterious Strangers and the upcoming Down, Set, Fight!, coming from Oni Press in February!  Okay, that's a lie.  We definitely talked to Scott, and at some point we did talk about his work, but that's like a cool five minutes of the whole thing.  The rest?  M*A*S*H, video games and the film oeuvre of Rowdy Roddy Piper, Esq.  We feel this was a worthwhile expenditure of everybody's time.

Also, some shit gets talked (less by Scott).  This is also a worthwhile expenditure of everybody's time.

Find Scott online at:

Twitter: @scottkowalchuk

Wed: Scott Kowalchuk Dot Com

Kinda boring, really.

This week, the boys sit down and record an entire episode without technical difficulties... before James makes the mistake of upgrading his computer to OSX Mavericks and then spends hours trying to fix his now-corrupted hard drive, negating the fact that this was recorded a day early and he can actually accurately state he didn't deliberately wait until 1am to put all this together.

The lesson, kids, is to never try.

In the meantime, why not listen to the fruits of these hours of frivolous labour?  There's everything you want, including:

• Discussion of children's TV (Toy Story of Terror)
• Audible reactions to something on TV you can't actually see because podcasting is an audio medium (the Edmonton election night)
• Reluctant discussion of comics
• Threats to play Pokemon (James)
• Meandering advertisements for our sponsor that would probably make them reconsider paying for this if they actually listened to this
• Threats (James and Brandon!)

We're basically heroes.

This week, the boys sit down without any pesky Dylan Todds or Curt Pireses to get in the way of their discussion (we love you, guys!) of important issues like Canadian Thanksgiving, Sleepy Hollow, Pokemon and, somewhat reluctantly, comics.  But hey, Sleepy Hollow really is as wonderful and insane as people said it was!

Sadly, some technical difficulties cut short the actual comics discussion; the actual comics talk went on for 15-20 minutes longer than what was able to be recovered, but now you'll never know what we thought about Batman #24, Coffin Hill #1 and Avengers AI #4 (hint: we loved them!).  You don't get our discussion of the New York Comic Con announcements, either!  But what you do get is James' frustrated, sleep-deprived, rambling outro.  It's all worth it!

This week, the boys welcome designer extraordinaire and baseless aggressor against the great nation of Canada, Dylan Todd, to the show!  We're gonna be honest here... we don't talk much about Dylan's work.  There are certainly some halfhearted entreaties into the topic, and dammit if Dylan doesn't do his best to explain his creative process, but let's be real: that's not what you, us or he are here for.  You're here for the reckless abandon of unfettered conversation!

We're gonna be honest with you again... this involves a lot of talk about Rob Liefeld.  Like, a lot.  But don't worry, we also talk about Alan Alda, The OC, DC's problems and Mark Millar being terrible.  It's James' Preferred Topics Bingo!  We all win!

Find Dylan online at:

Twitter: @bigredrobot

Web: Big Red Robot

Tumblr #1: Fourth World Problems 

Tumblr #2 (jeez, how many tumblrs do Americans need?): Guttersniper Comics

This week, the boys talk to comic writer and fellow Albertan Curt Pires about his digital-first series with Dalton Rose, Theremin, whose third issue comes out today.  And that's all well and good, because Curt's a smart and friendly dude, so talking with him about making comics is both fun and informative.  When you listen to this episode, you will learn!  You may even grow as a person!  We can't guarantee that, but hey, it's unlikely you'll come out worse.  And just why is that?

Because we talk about The OC.

Yes, that's right!  We finally found someone to talk about our favourite early-2000s Teen Feelings(tm) and Sarcasm extravaganza, and it is the best.  We even talk about Excused with Curt, too!  Clearly, he is the best guest and you all should buy his (very good) comic about an inventor-turned-time-traveling-assassin-and-spy because of this, if not the very high quality of the comic itself.  Ah, the power of Josh Schwartz!  What can't it do, besides make the third season of The OC good?

No, we have not forgotten, Josh.  We're watching you.  Wait, are those sirens?  Huh.  This could be bad.

Find Curt online at:

Twitter: @curtpires

Tumblr: About Curt Pires

And hey did you know you can buy Theremin here?  You totally can!  You can also buy one of the last remaining copies of LP at Wizard's Comics, who conveniently pay me to tell you this.  If you don't like it, you can always pay me MORE.

This week, the boys sit down with Antony Johnston, writer of the incredible series Wasteland, the upcoming Umbral (tell your comic shop to reserve you a copy!) and video games like ZombiU.  In a surprisingly - offensively, even - on-topic discussion, the conversation goes from world-building to collaborating to Antony's goals as a writer.  Oh, and also they talk about Judge Dredd, the NFL and James' bank of unprintable Archie Comics pitches.

Phew, we dodged a bullet there!  We almost talked about comics for an hour.

Find Antony online at:

Twitter: @antonyjohnston

Tumblr: Antony Johnston

Web: Antony Johnston dot com

Man, that's waaaaay too straightforward.  Throw in a car chase or obscure Morrissey lyric or something, Johnston!  You're on notice.

Oh, and Wasteland #48 is out today!  Buy it!

This week, the boys take a break from the occasionally serious sex farce that is The Newsroom to watch some new TV comedies, namely the surprisingly great Andy Samberg-starring Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which seems to have found its voice right from the pilot, and Wander Over Yonder, the unsurprisingly great show from Craig McCracken and Lauren Faust, which combines old-style Disney optimism (and bobbing) with T-Rexes that fight giant robots.

TV is pretty great, folks.

After this, the guys discuss comics, like X-Men #5, Red Sonja #3 and Batman Incorporated Special #1, and end kinda on-time for once.  It's a Comics! The Blog miracle!

This week, the boys are absolutely DEDICATED to not talking about wrestling and finishing in a decent amount of time, which means they still went over-time and talked about wrestling.  But not very much!  It's honestly mostly comics talk and TV talk and all that fun stuff.  Brandon picks on our Texas listener, though.  Sorry, sir!  I can't control him.  He's a monster and he threatens me.

After talking Beware the Batman and Sam & Cat, the boys dig into this week's comics and some of the recent happenings in the industry, including Marvel's latest NOW/Point ___ initiative and the creative changes across town at DC with Batwoman.  On the plus side: Bendis and J.H. Williams III might work together?  That would be pretty neat.

Most importantly, though, the show eulogizes Excused being viewable on TV in Edmonton.  We're all suitably crushed here at C!TB.

This week, the boys get together to "quickly" discuss their weekends, the comics they enjoyed and why Mark Waid is wonderful, but, well, this is Podcast! The Comics, after all.  This is still an hour and twenty-five minutes, after all.  But dammit, there are just so many things to say about comics and Mark Waid!

But before James and-just-one-more-comic-s Brandon to death, it's quite fun!  Brandon talks about his stressful week and James talks about his wonderful weekend dancing at a wedding and catching up with old friends.  And seriously, if you'd forgotten to talk about Journey Into Mystery #655, you'd bring it up, too.

Oh, and Brandon tells a story about Holocaust denial.

This week, the boys convene in the friendly confines of James' home instead of the godless realm of Wizard's Comics where they recorded last week.  They immediately set about catching up regarding their weekends: James saw The World's End, charmed wedding guests with his dedication to the art of dance and had a package stolen by his rat bastard white supremacist neighbours, while Brandon watched Buffy.  Oh, and they're dicks to each other.  But you probably guessed that part.

Meanwhile, the boys are more than happy to talk about the things they love, like The Newsroom's diversions into sex farce, Sam & Cat's persistent disregard for human life and oh so many good comics.  They even talk about DC positively!  Is this a new era?  Will the Justice League of Canada enjoy their newfound poutine-based economy?  We're excited to find out!

This week, the boys convene a day late in the illustrious sex halls of Wizard's Comics and Collectibles after Brandon spent the usual podcast night doing some improv at the #YEGPROV show at the Edmonton Fringe Festival and James watched a lot of Avatar: The Last Airbender.  Yes, that is literally why there's been so little content this week: James was watching TV.  Children's TV from several years ago.

Send those emails to bschatz@comicstheblog.com!

Besides that, the boys talk about what they did on this last weekend, which included watching SummerSlam, which for those of you who skip episodes with wrestling content isn't wrestling at all!  It's... uh... a pop culture convention that combines comics, Doctor Who, Wil Wheaton, knitting and dumb ol' cats shit I mean wonderful cats and other stuff you like!

After all this, Brandon and James dig into the comics they enjoyed in the last week, especially Red Sonja #2 and why the series has been such a pleasant surprise to them.

There, nailed it!

This week, the boys settle into a week without a guest and, for the first time all month, actually sit down to talk about comicshahahahahaha just kidding first you get to hear about Sam & Cat and Excused and our legitimate wish for The Newsroom to be a sex farce.

When you start paying us for this, you can have a say in what TV we talk about.  Send those dirty, dirty Paypal dollars to jleask at comicstheblog dot com!  Don't tell Brandon.

The actual comics talk in this episode is polarized: on one hand, Villain's Month is driving Brandon insane and James has already checked out, and they're both so angry about Mark Millar's latest bullshit that they could cry, but dudes, there are still so many other amazing comics coming out these days.  It can be hard to not let the crazy, wrong-headed bullshit get to you, but the reality is that there is more good, ethical stuff in comics than ever, and it's easier than it ever has been before to surround yourself with it and ignore the bad.  So let's do that.  Let's be the change we want to oh god I can't even finish that sentence

This week, the boys welcome back longtime friend of the show Kelly Sue DeConnick, writer of Captain Marvel, Avengers Assemble, Ghost and the upcoming Pretty Deadly for her record-tying (your move, Humphries!) third appearance on the show to discuss her busy schedule, karaoke, working with great artists like the stupendous Emma Rios and why her daughter will one day rule over us all.  We for one welcome our tiny barbarian overlord and her carbohydrate-based economy.

Plus, get this! It's an interview episode and you still have to hear about Gravity Falls, and we're not even the ones who bring it up!  Truly, this is the greatest interview.  Thanks again, Kelly Sue!

Learn more about Kelly Sue and Emma's new comic, Pretty Deadly (out October 23rd) at Pretty-Deadly.com.  Remember: pre-ordering is the best way to help new series thrive right out of the gates!  If you're in the Edmonton area, Wizard's Comics is doing a pre-order campaign.  If you're not and would still love to pre-order the book anyway, Kelly Sue and Emma have prepared a handy form to help you out.  Just print it, add in your personal info and hand it in at a comic book shop - they'll know what to do!

WE ARE SO JAZZED.

This week, James is on vacation, so Brandon takes over the podcast! Boy, is he ever gonna' hear about it next week...

In this episode, Brandon and special guest host Danica LeBlanc talk about Veronica Mars, House of Cards, the best of this week's comics, and the ever ongoing plight of the female fan. (Seriously guys: cut the crap.)

This week, the boys discuss their weekends, which included both of them attending two friends' wedding, where a third friend was arrested and James was nearly rolled by street toughs on the way home.  James also played kickball, which is something that grown-ass adults who aren't Happy Endings (RIP, we miss you!) characters actually play, apparently, except for that one dude who just sat around disaffectedly smoking.  They also discuss this week's surprisingly dark episode of The Newsroom and the tonal difference that the new season seems to be showing over the first.  Also, Brandon gets a nosebleed, forcing James to do something he avoids whenever possible: anything more than the bare minimum amount of editing possible.

Thanks a lot, Brandon's dumb nose.

Oh, and they discuss a bunch of comics and how great it is to have so many amazing comics around these days that the Eisners don't know what to do with them all.  Comics!

This week, the boys talk about their busy weekends - they each saw movies they really enjoyed and James tried a board game that he won by being a coward - and also TV.  Did you know there are a bunch of cool new TV series starting up?  We didn't even get to the return of Whose Line is it Anyway?  We didn't even get to Sam & Cat!  Truly, this is the darkest timeline.  What we did discuss, however, was the season premiere of The Newsroom (still great, less preachy!) and the series premiere of Beware the Batman (imagine if Grant Morrison did Batman: The Animated Series!)  It was a good night.

After this we talked about some comics.  Jesus, what do you want from us?  It's not like that's in the title or anythi-oh wait.  Well, in our defense, it's not a very good title.

This week, the boys talk about their weekends quickly before getting into the good stuff: children's television!  They discuss the second-last episode of the season of Gravity Falls (don't ask them how they got it before it aired) and the first episode of Teen Titans Go!, which meets their main metric for quality by showing a cavalier disregard for human life.  Seriously, a lot of people die in the second Teen Titans Go! story.  A lot.

After this, the boys discuss the amazingness that is Jim Steranko's alleged twitter account and how the main reason James hopes it's real is "Jim's" story about meeting comic industry villain Bob Kane, thief of credit for creating Batman.  This, of course, segues into a detailed rationale for why Bob Kane can burn in hell forever.  Finally, they discuss something happy: the comics they loved last week, including Satellite Sam, Batman Incorporated and The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, and legend George Perez being wooed over to an exclusive contract at BOOM! Studios.

Folks, Bob Kane might suck forever, but comics are still pretty amazing. 

This week, the boys sit down to discuss the goings on in their lives - Brandon watched Netflix!  James has been taking care of a dog! - while going through the pop culture they've talked about recently.  A few minutes of WWE NXT gets the boys talking about wrestling storytelling done right - and easy - while the latest episodes of Sam & Cat and Gravity Falls get discussed.

Finally, the boys wade through Tuesday's amazing spate of announcements from Image Comics, including their DRM-free digital comic sales, and end the episode discussing just a few (like, a fifth) of the great comics that came out last week.

Last week's comics cost James a lot of money, you guys.

This week, the boys discuss their busy weekends: Brandon caught up with Buffy the Vampire Slayer's fourth season (well over a decade late) and James saw four movies... and played Animal Crossing: New Leaf.  James is playing Animal Crossing right now.  That's not an exaggeration.

James' friend code is Leask: 2707-2008-3560.  You should be playing Animal Crossing with him.

Beyond that, the boys discuss the ambition and themes of Buffy Season 4, the smarts of the Brian K. Vaughan-produced CBS television series Under the Dome and the first three episodes of the iCarly spin-off, Sam & Cat.  And, extremely briefly, comics.  It turns out some of them are good!

This week, the boys sit down to talk about their busy weekends.  On Saturday, they attended a Summerween party (a Halloween party in the summer, based on the holiday in Gravity Falls’ episode of the same name), where they dressed up in costume , danced, made a jack-o-melon and ate saskatoon pie.  At different points on the weekend, each also saw Man of Steel, and here they unpack their thoughts on it, from what they didn’t like to the parts they did.

Surprise: James says some people are wrong about something!  Prepare your fainting couches.

Finally, the boys discuss the comics from the last week (and Astro City #1), from whether or not Superman Unchained #1 is worth its $5 price tag (probably) to how “The Enemy Within” crossover in Captain Marvel and Avengers Assemble is absolutely wonderful.

Also: Brandon announces a new sponsor and James gets upset with him for once.

This week, the boys sit down (with a knife between them; longtime listeners can explain this one to you) to talk about recent goings on, from their weekend activities (Pride festival!  New mattress!  Biscuits!) to Excused (featuring the greatest final three minutes of an Excused episode ever) to the latest news from comics' two biggest publishers.

Spoiler alert: Brandon and James are very, very disappointed in DC Comics.  Specifically, James brings up comments DiDio made about Vertigo in a New York Times article about Karen Berger's departure and how they bely a phenomenally unhealthy philosophy about publishing that actually, in hindsight... explains a lot.  They contrast this to certain things Marvel is doing (though the publisher still has room to improve), and end with a bit of hope, namely DC straight-up giving away copies of All-Star Superman #1 today in comic shops everywhere.

See?  It's not all bad.  Now where are those free promotional copies, Dan?

This week, the boys make their beefs (even more public).  First, James points out that he and Brandon got excluded from a recent nerd/geek-themed multi-guest podcast some "friends" (read: nemeses) were involved with, and refuses to acknowledge that they might have had a very good reason for doing it not entirely unrelated to the part later in the episode where he espouses to wear a t-shirt with his own face and the words "I WAS RIGHT" on it.  Next, they talk about some mistakes DC has made this week, from their belated and flawed acknowledgement of Superman's 75th anniversary to the Villains Month they just announced and the way it's going to confuse retailers and readers alike.

James also comes up with D20/RPG sex toys though, so it's not ALL negative.

Finally, the boys segue into much more positive topics, namely some comics released last week that they adored, from Uncanny X-Force and X-Men to Amala's Blade.  They also say a belated goodbye to Superman Family Adventures, since they pulled a DC and failed to acknowledge it when it was released.

"Whoops."  We went negative again.

Oh, and the boys talk about Excused!  We know what you all really want.

This week, the boys recorded the episode within minutes of getting home from seeing a taping of WWE Smackdown, which was actually a really fun night out.  Both Brandon and James got exactly what they wanted out of it: for Brandon, it was cheap location-based heat; for James, it was Daniel Bryan being awesome.  In between making jokes about the event and a select few attendees, the boys also reminisce on the things that worked, what surprised them and how the live venue adds a surprising amount of depth to the experience that TV doesn't have.  Also, when you're there you don't have to actually listen to Michael Cole speak.

After this, the boys talk about the new Arrested Development episodes that went up on Netflix this last weekend.  While some fans have been put off by the difference between the new episodes and the first three seasons from years ago, Brandon and James talk about how the series builds as you watch through the episodes, and how the show is smart to take a very different, very ambitious narrative approach.  Finally, I guess they talk about comics.  Guess what: you should be reading Daredevil, Young Avengers and Journey Into Mystery.  Seriously, get on it.

This week, the boys catch up after James was away in Ottawa for a week attending a bachelor party.  They catch up on each other's weekends, Brandon's traumatic childhood at a Scouts Jamboree, Doctor Who, the new post-iCarly-and-Victorious TV series and, of course, comics.

NOTE: The boys discuss the Doctor Who Series 7 finale, "The Name of the Doctor," including spoilers.  If you haven't watched the episode yet, skip from 19:50 to 30:00 in the episode.

This week, the boys don't have much to report from their weekends, since Brandon just furthered his drinking problem and James spent it sick and not eating.  They do, however, have some TV to talk about, because they both watched the most recent Doctor Who episode and James got Brandon to watch the season premiere of Game of Thrones and then bit his tongue for an hour and then 10 minutes of the podcast trying not to ruin anything for him.  A quick post-mortem on the TV networks' 2013/14 fall season announcements from last friday (RIP Happy Endings, we'll see you at the crossroads, homie) leads, naturally, to a discussion of something the boys are passionate about: 90s family television (seriously, watch Brink on YouTube) and Everwood.

Ah, Everwood.  I bet you thought we'd run out of things to say about it, didn't you?  YOU'D BE WRONG.

Finally, I guess comics or something.  

This week, the boys talk about why they liked Iron Man 3 so much, which includes but isn't limited to the fact that Happy Endings' Adam Pally has a guest appearance.  Speaking of Happy Endings, they talk about the show's final two episodes of the season, from their favourite scenes to some Arrested Development-esque callbacks and the show's future.

Finally, the boys talk about Excused hahahaha of course they do, but seriously: this last weekend was Free Comic Book Day, and they discuss some of their favourite FCBD releases and one especially bad one, namely the Bleeding Cool guide to making money from market speculation.  Surprising no one, C!TB isn't a fan of that attitude, and Brandon told Rich Johnston as much on the weekend.  They dig into that here, and why it's so problematic from the viewpoint of people who like comics and want as many people as possible to read them.

This week, the boys start off with a bit of anger at the ongoing frustrations with the Calgary Comics and Entertainment Expo, explaining their takes on some of the flaws of the PR/media approach, the actual operation (including actual physical violence from convention staff) and issues of focus.  Moving on from there, they eulogize the dearly departed ComicsAlliance, which had its plug pulled this week by its parent company AOL in a move defying common sense or courtesy.  ComicsAlliance was a big influence on C!TB, and the boys describe it as the comics internet's lighthouse, providing a shining example of what exactly a comics website can and should be.  They send their sincere well wishes to Joe, Andy, Caleb, Chris and all the rest, and thanks for everything they did.

Moving on into more positive commentary, James talks about the shockingly smart and sly Pain & Gain - that's right, Michael Bay made a good movie! - and the boys watch a few episodes of Regular Show before diving into some comics talk for the week, including one very pretty comic with a bad script and a whole lot of purely amazing comics.

This week, the boys talk about all the TV they watched, from Gravity Falls to Doctor Who, and James makes some bold, correct statements about Oblivion, the latest Tom Cruise movie that is Just Not Very Good(tm).  Brandon and James also have a disagreement (gasp!) about Tumblr (oh.)  Finally, they talk about comics, from Mark Waid's latest ongoing masterpiece in Daredevil #25 to Danger Club #5, which is basically a Mark Millar comic if it was better written.

We don't shy away from the tough stuff here, guys.

This week, Brandon returns from his Portland vacation and gives James a recap of how it went, including a pretty amazing gift that he and Danica got for him.  James proceeds to be a level of ungrateful that can most charitably be described as "monstrous."

It's back to normal!

After this, the talk turns to the important things in life, like Louis C.K.'s new comedy special, Oh My God, and several episodes of Gravity Falls that had accumulated while Brandon was gone.  Eventually, the talk turns to comics, from the stupendous Hawkguy #9 to Saga #12 and the drama over it last week.  And then, faster than the Oakland A's can hit a home run, they're gone in the night... forever.  Or until next week.

This week, James sits down with friend of the show (and weekly Doctor Who talker-abouter) Scott Williams to discuss the Showcase of Immortals, the grandest stage of sports entertainment, WrestleMania 29!  

Wait, come back!

First, James and Scott discuss the night's  events, match by match, including the one James was really looking forward to that didn't happen, because the WWE is bad at planning things.  For goodness' sake, they didn't even show the debut of the Swaggermobile!  Unforgivable.  That's not the only bone the boys had to pick, though; moving on from the night itself, they talk about the things WWE does well, the things it does poorly, and why two grown men who aren't John Cena marks stick around if so much of what the company does disappoints them.

It's riveting, really.

When he's not writing about Doctor Who here, find Scott online at:

Twitter: @scottowilliams

Web: Sound of the Week 

This week, Brandon is gone to Portland on vacation, but shit around here still needed to get done, no thanks to him, so James brought in a guest host to fill in.  Jay Runham, of Edmonton's top movie podcast Jay N J, stepped up to the task, and had James over to his place to record, where Jay and his wife gave James fancy water and pizza, which is to say they did better than Brandon's ever done!  He should really replace the dead weight more often.

Jay and James catch up about Jay's recent vacation to Hawaii, and talk about G.I. Joe: Retaliation, basketball, comics and Mr. Met, the objectively greatest mascot in professional sports.  James also gets Jay's wife involved, which means he can also replace Danica too, apparently.  He should have done this years ago!

Jay is also here with an exclusive announcement about Jay N J and its future, so listen on and discover what that's all about.

Find Jay online at:

Twitter: @jayrunham

Podcast: Jay N J (for now)

This week, the boys... you know what?  Fuck it.  Yes, we talk about comics.  We even say some nice things about DC Comics and their new Batman 1966 comics.  We talk about a lot of issues that we liked and that you should be reading, but that's not where our passion is anymore.  You know that, right?  We've been hinting at it for ages, but we're finally ready to come clean:

This is a show about Excused, the greatest dating show in television history.  This is a show about Iliza Shlesinger, the Voice of the People(tm).  This is a show about the greatest episode in the show's history, which features literally everything that makes the show great, from insane sociopaths to wry commentary, and then adds a twist ending and musical number.  Why is nobody else watching this?

We also talk about the latest Ice King-centric episode of Adventure Time, too!  All in all, it was a pretty good evening.

NOTE: As announced at the end of the episode, Brandon will be away for the next two weeks as he goes on vacation.  In the meantime, James will be joined by guest hosts for the next two weeks, who will probably be wrong about a lot of things, if we're being totally honest.

This week, the boys get together to record a little bit late because James arrived home late from a wedding in Ontario, so they set to do what's important: watch TV.  They talk about why Parks and Recreation is so enjoyable, another great episode for Cougar Town - TV's greatest current comedy - and the amazingness that is the sociopathy of contestants on Excused.  Call us, Iliza Shlesinger!  We'd love to have you on the show.

Finally, they talk about comics, from recent issues they loved to the recent creator changes at DC, the idiocy of Injustice: Gods Among Us and why they're so frustrated and worried by the current state of the company.

They also make it clear that they're bribable, but you're probably already writing that cheque, aren't you?

This week, the boys take a record-length full hour in this podcast about comics to actually talk about comics.  But don't worry, we're changing the focus of the show formally to represent these delays.  From now on... we're The Carrie Diaries: The Podcast!  All the hard-hitting content you crave about the weekly developments in the life of a young Carrie Bradshaw, and that episode of iCarly that Austin Butler was totally on.  Strap in, guys!

In other developments, the boys talk about wrestling for a full 10 minutes, the impending end of Superman Family Adventure and James takes another mostly unearned swipe at the English before making a series of entirely reasonable demands.  Does this sound bad?  This sounds bad.

This week, the boys talk to superstar artist slash curled beard enthusiast Steven Sanders again, who is making his return appearance to the show.  Back in his first appearance, Steven talked about a Kickstarter project he had coming up, and with the project's debut, it seemed like a great time to have him back on to talk about Symbiosis, his creative commons art book and world-building tool set in a 1940s biopunk world, or as James refers to it, "Steampunk 2.0."

As you can imagine, that suggestion was very well received.  Good job, James!

Of course, James also sets about asking questions about Steven's thoughts about people using Symbiosis to create pornography, and then almost immediately starts pitching it himself.  You've been warned.

In all seriousness, Symbiosis is a great project that really excites us here at C!TB, and we heartily recommend backing it to anyone who's at all interested in things like world-building, creative fiction or just good art.  Here's the best thing we can say: we backed it enthusiastically and without reservation.  We believe in it, and we hope you end up believing in it, too.

Find Steven online at:

The Symbiosis Kickstarter page

Twitter: @StevenSanders

Tumblr: Unparalleled Self-Aggrandizement 

Web: Studio Sputnik

This week, the boys convene to watch TV and talk about comics I guess.  Instead of talking about The Carrie Diaries, they instead discuss one of TV's Josh Schwartz's many shows on the CW, Cult, which is basically what would happen if Lost fans were actually psychotically obsessed instead of just regular obsessed.  And that, of course, brings us to another week of Excused, television's most insane, lowest budget dating show that is nothing but one bad decision after another.

The boys love it.

Finally, they talk about comics or something.  What's the name of the podcast again?  Something about Bull Durham?  Let's talk about that.

This week, the boys record the episode from the floor of a real-life TARDIS (read: children's play set)!  However, with the lack of cable TV available there, the boys instead discuss what they did this last weekend, including James' take on A Good Day to Die Hard and convincing each other to watch Archer and Justified.  Finally, they have a good, lengthy discussion about comics they enjoyed in the last week!

There's no Carrie Diaries, though.  You'll have to wait until next week for a double shot of that, as well as the Cult premiere and the return of Gravity Falls!

This week, the boys take an even longer time than ever before to actually discuss comics, ostensibly the whole reason this show exists in the first place!  But before a discussion of Scarlet, Dia de los Muertos and a bunch of other great series can begin, it's time for the now-weekly-apparently-after-all-we're-not-watching-The-Walking-Dead-anymore discussion of The Carrie Diaries.  In this week's episode, the show wears its The OC-ness on its sleeve more openly than ever, including featuring a character by the name of Seth played by someone who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Seth Cohen himself, Adam Brody!

We also discuss Excused, the greatest dating show on television, from the scene where a man discovers his particular fetish to the scene a few minutes later where he threatens to commit suicide on-air.

Fun times!  Regret listening yet?  Did we mention that James slaps Brandon?

This week, the boys record the podcast, which turns out to be the Best Idea Ever(tm) because they spend a giant chunk of the episode doing Sylvester Stallone impersonations!  You're welcome, world!

After the weekly digression, the boys get down to brass tacks, namely:

-The Carrie Diaries;

-New comics;

-The casting of Chris Pratt as the Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy and a desire to see the cast of TV's Everwood reunited in the Marvel Movie Universe.

Also, James accuses Brandon of being a Nazi.

This week, the boys discuss their recent weekend, from James seeing Hausu to James performing karaoke at a friend's birthday party and the incriminating photos that arose from it and... okay... that part is pretty James-heavy.  You may want to fast forward.

Otherwise, the boys discuss the most recent episode of The Carrie Diaries, how funny it would be if Community got canceled the day before it's set to return and the insane wealth of new comics that went on sale last week.  Hear them gush about Sam Humphries comics!  Learn what the Danica Test is and how it applies to Young Avengers!  Count the number of things they say that will totally get Brandon in trouble later!

Ah, young love.

Alternate Title: Don't Be Brandon

This week, the boys discuss the non-drinking-and-hangover-related part of their second (site (for now)) anniversary celebrations by discussing Life of Pi, which immediately gets derailed, along with their discussion of The Carrie Diaries, to talk about comics.

Wait... first, James isn't the villain (it gets close, though), and now the boys actually talk about comics before the 45 minute-mark?  What kind of sex planets aligned for this one?

This week, famed author and rap camper Sam Humphries returns to the show to talk about his new comics and be the show's first threepeat guest!  He talks continuing on The Ultimates, the return of Sacrifice (and makes what let's assume is a binding promise that the pull quotes James submitted are in the issue) and writing Canadian science fiction, also known as a story about a beach booty contest in the awesome Ahoy Booty! zine.  He also delves into his approach to the brand new Uncanny X-Force, which has its first issue come out next week, in particular the characters of Puck and Mohawk Storm.  At the end, we check in with Sam regarding his thoughts on comics business innovation and, because this is Canada, Margaret Atwood.

This week, the boys celebrate the one year anniversary of the podcast with a look back at the year of 2012, with the help of friend of the show Scott Williams.  At least, in theory.  In reality, the show is as meandering at ever, occasionally stopping to talk about some great media from the last year but refusing to settle on anything but the 1990s.

Seriously, dudes, that was the best decade.

Find Scott online at:

Twitter: @scottowilliams

Web: Sound of the Week

This week, it's the happiest time of the year!  It's the Christmas in December!  It's James' birthday!

That's right, this week the boys celebrate James' birthday on-air, as he talks about his day, opens presents and feels even less bad about dominating the discussion than usual.  The conversation goes from Happy Endings to Don't Trust the B---- to comics, as well as James' disappointment with The Hobbit.  Warning: extremely mild spoilers for a book you read when you were ten.  There's even a hint for next week's very loosely Christmas-themed-maybe episode!

This week marks a very special occasion: it's our fiftieth episode!  That's right: for almost an entire year, without fail, we've made a new one of these every week, which maybe marks the longest time we've ever gone without fucking something up due to laziness or boredom.  Believe it or not, that counts for personal growth with us.

To celebrate almost an entire year of this bullshit, the boys celebrate their comics podcast the best way they know how: by not talking about comics for a full 45 minutes.  Before that, they talk about the final iCarly episode ever, the latest Happy Endings episode and the surprising darkness in the message of the Smurfs' most recent Christmas special.  After that, they talk about some dumb kids with a Kickstarter that will get sued into oblivion and the brand new Man of Steel trailer.  Then, comics, I guess.  Whatever.

This week, the boys relax after some busy weeks with site-related events to just shoot the breeze and slander each other.  They talk about Happy Endings' surprisingly funny smallpox blanket joke, Breaking Dawn Part 2's graphic violence and fuckshack, and why the first issues of Matt Fraction's Fantastic Four books are so great.  Featuring audience participation!

This week, the boys have an extra special episode ready: a recording of the first ever Comics! The Blog live show, recorded live at the PureSpec festival on November 17th.  Here at C!TB, we're lifelong fans of late night talk shows, and when the opportunity to do a live show arose, there was only one clear option: grab the fake plants, write the site acronym on some mugs and interview some guests!  And thus, Comics! The Blog Presents: Early Night with James and Brandon: The Show! The Experience! The Ride! The Squeakquel! was born!

The first guests on the show are Brittney Le Blanc and Dana DiTomaso, organizers of the Edmonton Geek Girl Dinners, a local initiative designed to foster a community of smart, geeky girls and women.  Brittney is also undertaking a massive initiative to meet 5000 people in one year and Dana is a business owner.  Together, they and the hosts tackle topics like fake geek girls and what the wrong opinions about Batman are.

Finally, the show wraps up with a special Skype interview with friends of the show Kelly Sue DeConnick and Matt Fraction, who... uh... we kinda talk about a lot here.  As usual, the conversation is fairly off-topic, stopping briefly at discussions of social media, how Kelly Sue's Captain Marvel connects with its readership in a big way and how Matt steals ideas from his son.  Most of the conversation, however, is about penises, namely why they're so hard to get across the border into Canada when they're erect and in comics. It loosely relates to Matt's upcoming series Satellite Sam and Sex Criminals, which was the exact point at which a man and his two sons walked in and then quickly out again.

Brittney described the show as containing more discussion of penises than the actual sex show she also attended that day, which we're going to have on our matching side-by-side tombstones.

Thanks a lot to PureSpec for having us, our guests for tolerating us and Brittney in particular for bringing James a gift.  Why didn't everyone else bring him one?  We may never know, but we'll certainly judge them for it.

This week, the boys welcome Steven Sanders to the show.  Steven is an incredibly talented artist and illustrator who has illustrated books like Our Love is Real, The Five Fists of Science, the dearly missed S.W.O.R.D., and most recently Wolverine and the X-Men #20.   They talk about everything from drawing the best version of Beast to the state of comics criticism, and Steven opens up about an in-the-works project called Symbiosis, which has to be heard to be appreciated and which James is already earmarking a lot of money towards supporting.

Find Steven online at:

Twitter: @StevenSanders

Tumblr: Unparalleled Self-Aggrandizement 

Web: Studio Sputnik

This week, in honour of the upcoming movie screening, the boys welcome Erin Fraser and Matt Bowes, the team behind the Graphic Content film series, back to the show, which is to say that once again Erin and Matt welcomed the boys into their home and gave them liquor.

Hooray!

While they don't talk about specific comic series and issues, they do discuss a variety of topics they can disagree on, from Hellblazer being canceled to the best comic book movie.  Will their friendship survive this disagreement?  Is James mature enough to handle being forced to explain what his definition of "the objectively best" is?  Tune in to find out!

This week, the boys are super excited, and it's not because of the American Presidential Election... it's because of Boy Meets World! That's right, kids: Michael Jacobs is developing a sequel to that 1990s classic series all about Cory and Topanga's preteen daughter.  When and if it eventually happens, Girl Meets World will be something we eagerly anticipate every single week, and you should too.  Do it for Feeny.

Riding the wake of this enthusiasm, the boys then shift discussion to some great comics in the last week and finally crash with a discussion of DC's announced 52 variant titles for February's Justice League of America #1 and what variant covers mean for the industry as a whole.

Plus, James is even more inappropriate than usual, which might hurt his explicit request to be a Girl Meets World writer.

This week, the boys record in the strange, uncomfortable hellhole that is Brandon's apartment instead of James' home.  You'd think that would mean they couldn't discuss TV because they didn't have the cable subscription available to watch it on, but you would be wrong!  Shame on you for thinking we need to actually watch TV to be able to talk about it.  Hope you like week-old Happy Endings discussion!

Even better, after a little bit of comics talk - hint!  We really like Journey Into Mystery - there's something even better: a surprise guest!  And not a crappy surprise guest, either!  In this episode, the elusive and lovely Danica appears!  Brandon's sweet baboo is our very special guest to talk about being new to comics and maybe slap Brandon.  It's all a mystery!

Also, it's Halloween or something.

This week, the boys catch up after the Edmonton Comics and Entertainment Expo - the new sister event to the annual expo in Calgary - which Brandon attended and James didn't.  Why did James choose not to go?  Find out!  The boys also discuss a celebrity lookalike on The Walking Dead, the Happy Endings live show that could never, ever air on television and the entertaining lack of narrative tension in Taken 2.  Wrapping up with a discussion of comics, the boys wax rhapsodical about a lot of great comics, but none moreso than Hawkguy #3 and Captain Marvel #5.

This week, James tries to avoid catching Brandon's illness by putting a barrier between them as the episode goes on.  Before Brandon's throat and voice give out, the boys discuss the return of The Walking Dead, Gravity Falls and a big pile of comics from last week.  There are also two big announcements for C!TB events in November!

This week, the boys are hopped up on sugar and, in James' case, no sleep, so things are a little wooly.  After exulting about the great baseball game they just watched, they move into a discussion of TV, movies and comics they've enjoyed recently, including Gravity Falls, Ben & Kate, Argo and Pitch Perfect.  In some of these cases, James talks and Brandon listens.  Along the way, they talk about Jonathan Hickman's second-last issue of FF, Frazer Irving's art in Batman Incorporated #0 and the wonder that was a television show where Tony Danza taught real students in a real classroom.

Harrowing.

James also pitches at least one terrible TV show idea starring Tyler Labine.  Listen, he's... he's tired, you guys.  Not tired enough to subject Brandon to PETA's terrible, trademark-violating anti-Pokemon game that's basically a despicable version of Pokemon, though.  Because that's a real thing.  Their... purpose isn't really clear.

This week, the boys talk TV, including episodes of Revolution and Doctor Who, and talk about a lot of comics they've enjoyed recently.  In addition, they chat about what Mark Millar's new role as a consultant for Fox's Marvel Comics films means.  Most importantly of all, though, James talks about baseball.

This week, the boys get right into it by talking about a movie they saw an advanced screening of and really enjoyed, Looper.  In fact, they get into it so quickly that James forgets all about mentioning the show's sponsor.  After talking about Looper - and Brandon's accidental sexual harassment of a coworker - they get into two new TV series that started this week, Ben & Kate and The Mindy Project.  Finally, they talk about comics they liked and whether or not Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige actually disrespected Jack Kirby in a recent interview.

Hint: people are getting upset at the wrong thing... again.

This week, the boys recover from their big week with Kieron Gillen by recording the podcast on a quiet night in.  They start by watching the pilot of the new JJ Abrams and Eric Kripke show on NBC, Revolution, comparing it to the producers' other shows' first episodes and describing why they'll be watching again next week.  Next, they move into a discussion of recent comics they liked, and James tries to retalk about comics they've already discussed.  Most importantly, the boys talk about their love for Greg Berlanti, the man who saved Dawson's Creek and will probably make the CW's show Arrow one to watch.

This week, the boys talk to the amazing Kieron Gillen, writer of series like Journey Into Mystery, Uncanny X-Men and the upcoming Iron Man as part of Marvel NOW!, not to mention the great Phonogram, returning soon.  It's a surprisingly on-topic conversation, ranging from Kieron's next direction and current mindset to the potential difference in cultural reaction to his books.  Befitting the writer of Phonogram, they also talk shop about music and semi-autobiography.  Plus, James asks him about the Killers even after being told specifically not to a day earlier.

Find Kieron at:

Twitter: @kierongillen

Tumblr: Another Way to Breathe

Web: The infamous Workblog

This week, the boys talk about things they've done and enjoyed recently, from James' Doctor Who party to Gravity Falls, and the entire way through they discover threads of surprisingly inappropriate sexuality.  After setting a record for time spent before earning their explicit tag, the boys talk comics they enjoyed recently.

This week, the boys finish the first season of The Newsroom and things get even weirder than usual due to a combination of exhaustion and slapstick humour.  After a few derailing moments, the boys eventually discuss comics they've enjoyed recently, from gender-reversed Riverdale to Frank Castle not being the hero of his own book.  Finally, they discuss the issue of piracy.  In particular, James talks (and Brandon listens tiredly) about how while people should stop shoring up reasons to steal, a bigger issue in many ways is the content owners not making it so tempting to steal in the first place.

It should be noted that their James nor Brandon are educated or employed in this field.

This week, the boys catch up on some of their favourite TV shows, including Gravity Falls and Bunheads, and expound upon their desire to have Alan Ruck come visit them.  After talking about some comics they loved, they move on to the issue of professionaism amongst comics industry professionals and why insulting other people comes off as tacky.

This week, the boys do their weekly wrap-up of the Newsroom and have a lengthy discussion of the comics they loved recently.  At the end, they have a discussion about Marvel NOW! - why it's so exciting to them and why it seems to have learned from the mistakes of the New 52.  This one really goes off the rails, you guys.

This week, the boys recap Brandon's successful iCarly-themed surprise birthday party and James congratulates himself for not ruining the surprise while still acknowledging the part where he knocked down all of the decorations a minute later.  After talking about how The Newsroom has settled down towards the end of its first season, the boys go through the wealth of amazing comics from the last week and talk a bit about MarvelNOW.

Impressively literate listeners might recognize this episode's title.  However, it is not a reference to Shakespeare's greatest stage direction ("Exeunt, pursued by a bear").  It's actually a reference to an upcoming interactive comic project by friend of the show Kelly Sue DeConnick and a pretty amazing-sounding young woman.  Check out her blog post about the project and Tumblr.

This week, the boys reconvene after their initial attempt to record the podcast was obliterated by computer troubles to celebrate one of the Darkest Days of the Year: Brandon's birthday.  That's right!  Brandon is one year older and, for one of only two occasions per year, James is forced to give him a genuine compliment.

Don't worry, tomorrow he'll call Brandon the Cancer of a Nation or something.

In this slightly shorter than usual episode, the boys talk about The Newsroom, Batman & Robin (and why it's wrongly hated), as well as comics they liked recently, including Superman Family Adventures #3, John Carter: The Gods of Mars #5 and the brand-new Hawkeye #1!  Also, James got Brandon a present.

This week, the boys are back in the saddle after James spent nearly a week in the mysterious land known as America!  After they catch up on what they've been up to recently, the boys talk about their new favourite children's TV show, Gravity Falls, as well as have a lengthy discussion about why The Dark Knight Rises was a great movie, how thematically and emotionally tight it was and why the people claiming it's not a good Batman movie are probably (objectively) wrong.

Warning: The discussion of The Dark Knight Rises is full of spoilers.  If you haven't seen the movie yet and don't want to have the entire plot and ending ruined for you, skip from 16:15 to 42.30 and come back to that part once you've seen the movie.

Seeing as how James' vacation meant they missed posting a Best of the Week on Monday, the boys also run down their favourite comics of last week, including Captain Marvel #1, Journey Into Mystery # 641, Daredevil #15 and Saga #5.

This week, the boys spend their last night together before James' vacation talking about TV they like - from Gravity Falls to Breaking Bad - as well as comics like Punisher #13, Revival #1 and Avenging Spider-Man #9.  They also tackle the question of why superhero movies don't drive comic book sakes.  Plus, James threatens Brandon with a baseball bat.

This week, the boys sit down again with writer/critic extraordinaire Kelly Thompson to talk about her Kickstarter project for her novel, The Girl Who Would Be King.  Kelly's Kickstarter has been an incredible success, and with two weeks left, she's fully funded and hoping to meet her next stretch goal and provide an illustrated edition to funders getting her "Ultimate Badass" hardback edition.  You should absolutely do this, mostly because Kelly's book is awesome, and also because James can get an illustrated edition.  The boys' attempts to provide advance praise of a book they haven't entirely read naturally devolves into a discussion of television, movies and, at Kelly's insistence, comics.

Fund Kelly's novel, The Girl Who Would Be King, and get yourself a swanky book!

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 blog, 1979 Semi-Finalist

Listen to Kelly’s podcast, 3 Chicks Review Comics

Finally, check her out on Twitter at @79semifinalist