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Episode 707 - The First Annual Absolute Gordies
828 Plays13 hours ago
Time for our annual award show to get ABSOLUTE! But we're still giving out awards in categories submitted by our listeners!
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Transcript
Introduction and Zencaster Promotion
00:00:00
Speaker
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The Absolute Gordie Awards Begin
00:00:56
Speaker
And now, welcome to the first annual Absolute Gordie Awards. Wow. Wow, everybody. Wow. Wow. Hi. Hi, everyone. ah We are so honored to be here tonight and to have you here in the Flash Gordon Memorial Auditorium.
00:01:21
Speaker
Biscuit is here. Biscuit is here as as usual. um We have some other amazing people in the audience. ah Peacemaker is here. not up Matt, I'm looking out. I'm looking out at the crowd here at the FGMC. I was doing a bit. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Peacemaker is here. Peacemaker is here. Peacemaker is here. um There's Peacemaker.
00:01:50
Speaker
There's another peacemaker, and and they're trying to get us to mine. But we're i you know what? I i think we're gonna, we gotta host the show first, guys. Matt, um but can I quick sidebar? Hey, folks, um listen to the listen to the orchestra for a second. Matt, quick sidebar. hu I do not know what that meant. That's a joke about absolute Superman. Oh, okay, I got it. Got it. Okay, yeah. like It's been,
00:02:16
Speaker
here's the Here's the problem, Matt. is If I don't have to read comics, I sometimes won't. And I'll kind of forget everything. like That's the thing that's the hardest about this show of the year. I have to remember everything that happened. And it's gone. But it's gone. the These award shows are increasingly a test of our ever failing memories. It's literally me spending all day today going over the Tumblr and like my letterbox reviews and just being like, what even was that this year? Was that this decade? Anyway, folks, I'm looking out over the crowd here at the fgcm FGMC and, the you know, I can't see the sky, but the the heavens must be empty.
00:03:13
Speaker
because all the stars are here. All the stars are here. Yeah. ah ah Dave Batista is here. Big Dave. Good to see you, bud. Love you, Big Dave. Great in Dune 2. Amazing in Dune 2. Dune 2. Gonna take away some awards tonight, baby. Dave, we think they put you in that aisle seat for a reason, bud.
00:03:35
Speaker
we've got we've We've got Absolute Batman is here taking up three seats. A lot of beefy beefy boys in the crowd. A lot of big beef. A lot of meat slapping meat here at the Flash Gordon Memorial calcium. yeah mighte as well ah This is the first annual Absolute Gordies, but we might as well call it Big Beef.
00:04:02
Speaker
might as well call it the Big Beefy Awards. Who's going to go home with a beefy tonight? Who's getting a beefy here on the first annual Absolute Gordies? That's right. We've gone absolute, which means ah we are are a little different
00:04:27
Speaker
But some of the main characteristics of the Gordies are still here. We've got a new we've got a hot new style designed to appeal to a new audience. My hair's terrible.
00:04:41
Speaker
And I have a soul patch. And Matt has a soul patch. It's it's really cool. Yeah. Well, Chris, Is that only five people in the audience and like three of them are peacemaker? is that Does that so we matter? Are we punching out of that bit? Are we hitting the button? i mean but Unless you've got another really funny one in the chamber, I think we move on. but Chambers? Of course, Chambers is here. He's got two bats. He's part of the absolute walking dead, obviously. Okay, hang on. Can we pitch that?
00:05:19
Speaker
i i Yes, i would I would do that in a heartbeat. Okay, sidebar real quick. Folks, just listen to that orchestra of play. They're great. they're doing They're doing not like us on the the tuba.
Comic Concepts and Legal Humor
00:05:34
Speaker
ah Matt, if we call the comic the absolute walking dead, is that legally actionable or could we get away with it?
00:05:43
Speaker
We would almost certainly have to get Kirkman permission to do it. i But i like, it's not... no one no No one owns the word absolute.
00:05:55
Speaker
Oh, are you saying DC would get would be... No, i' I'm saying, i I mean, I think a lot of people will be coming after us. Yeah. like Is there a defense? For absolute, yes. For Walking Dead, 100% no. Kirkman is is on our asses. But I think we got to make it like a take on Walking Dead to begin with.
00:06:19
Speaker
we're like Rick Rick's not a cop like that a number one first thing Rick's not a cop right right good good what is he what what what is what is Rick now what is absolute Rick paramedic I mean yeah like oh so you want it to be like something that's like like like better And not just like, I was like, I mean, yeah, like obviously he shouldn't be a cop. No one should be a cop. But like, I was thinking maybe we could like really go wild with it. Like, Oh, I think, I think Carl should be like 19. Who? Carl. There we go. There it is. Yeah. Yeah. I think he, and he has bad hair and a soul patch.
Award Categories and Discussion
00:07:05
Speaker
Well, he sort of had bad hair already. Well, it was the apocalypse. I guess I can't, he can't really judge him.
00:07:11
Speaker
Yeah, but, but yeah Carl is older, Carl is older and ah like maybe instead of a cowboy hat, he wears, what's a funny hat? ah ah He can wear one of those like, ah like one of those, like, but but like, like, like, like a, like a garden gnome wears? Like, ah yeah, like a, like a, maybe like a stocking cap.
00:07:41
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. ah Hey, we should probably get back to hosting the show. Wow, folks, that, what a rousing rendition of Good Luck Babe by the the Flash Gordon Orchestra. ah Yeah, what an arrangement, an orchestral arrangement of Good Luck Babe. Chris, I think it's time we get into the awards. We got a lot of them. We do. We got a lot of awards. We got a lot of awards to get into. I'm excited. I know you're excited. Matt, should we explain what what the absolute Gordies are so that this is the first one?
00:08:12
Speaker
Sure. The absolute Gordies. This is an award show we do annually, but this is the first annual. Uh, but it is an award show where our listeners send in the categories, categories, as we call them. And then we do like to have fun. We just like to have fun. And then it is up to us to determine who is the winner in those categories. We do have one standing award.
00:08:41
Speaker
which we will get to at the very end of the show. But all the other categories are determined by our listeners. Very exciting. Very exciting. I'm looking forward to it. I know you're looking forward to it. 2024, a heck of a year by any standards. Boy, let's talk about like comics and stuff instead of the things that happened.
00:09:09
Speaker
That is the plan and the reason we do this whole show. That's right.
00:09:19
Speaker
Chris, are you ready for our first category? Ready as I'll ever be, Matt. This category comes to us from Matt Fiction, and it is the Zeb Wells Award for single-issue or story that ruled, but the internet hated it for some reason. Now,
00:09:38
Speaker
we're go cause I'm going to say this straight up. I don't know what the internet thinks about anything. Yeah, i like this was ah this was a tough category, category ah because like this is named, of course, for the Zebwells Run Amazing Spider-Man, which kicked ass, actually. Yeah, which we really enjoyed. Yeah. And people didn't like because of Paul.
00:10:03
Speaker
Yeah. which Which, by the way, paul Paul's going through it in the pages of All New Venom. Matt, I hope you read it. It was great. It was great. I love what is happening with Paul. All New Venom is where the premise is, hey fuck Paul, actually.
00:10:24
Speaker
yeah Pretty good stuff. But yeah, I only knew that people didn't like that run because like I talked to an actual friend in real life about it. I saw people talking about the reaction but didn't see so much of the reaction myself. Yeah. But I think I know my answer to this. ah Good, because I'm curious to know... I don't know what people like. I don't know what people don't like anymore. I don't i don't really either.
00:10:54
Speaker
But here's the thing, I do get the sense, I have gotten the sense, that people have not been into the chip run on Batman like we have. I mean, it would be nearly impossible for them to be into it like I have. Right. Which is an extreme amount. and A huge amount of being into the chip run on Batman. Yeah. Wow. That's that's wild. And frankly, embarrassing for those people that they're not into it because it rules. Yeah. i i Folks, I'm sorry that you can't enjoy something good. yeah Did they miss the part where the Riddler framed Jim Gordon with actual frames?
00:11:43
Speaker
Uh, that part is great, but it is not the part that I am going to give the award to. Okay. I don't think. Okay. I am going to probably give it to the, but basically the, the entire culmination of the fail safe story, which was at the beginning of the year, more or less.
00:12:10
Speaker
um The ending of the failsafe story with all the robins um Like I don't know if people hated all the failsafe stuff But I haven't seen people be as excited ah about it as they should be Yeah, yeah, okay, that's fair ah So so the ah the dark prison story and then the actual finale in 148, which said Batman versus Batman on the cover.
00:12:43
Speaker
Which is, again, so weird because that owns. Yeah, it owns and it's good. And it's and I don't think people, look again, I don't know if people hate it, but they don't like it as much as I think we did or they should. Yeah.
00:12:58
Speaker
That run is great. I don't know what else people don't like. I know what we are particular haters of. That's about it. That's about as far as I go. Listen, we'll talk about some of those as we go on. Yeah, yeah. But people love that shit, and I don't get that either. So, so it goes. Matt, thank you for sending in that category. That is your name. Our next two categories come from Jolene, the first one. That's right, everybody. The Jim Ballant run on Catwoman. The first one is the Doughboy Award for Never Getting Over. I have a pick for this one that is very much, very much us.
00:13:54
Speaker
that I don't think it's accurate maybe to the world at large, but I know it's accurate with me. Okay, let's hear it. Ginny Sparks ain't never getting over, bud. I mean, Ginny Sparks, are you talking about the Tom King version of Ginny Sparks specifically? Well, I'm talking about, I mean, I'm talking about Ginny Sparks, the character who literally had her time and it was 25 fucking years ago. So you can't like bring her back all you want. She ain't never getting over. Yeah. You know what? Not a, not a bad, not a bad thought. Not a bad thought. Yeah, man. Like, like, sorry. and over Sorry. She ain't getting over. She ain't over with me.
00:14:49
Speaker
I don't know if she's over with you, but that's where I draw the line. Yeah. Let's see. Matt, do you have a particular, somebody who's not getting over? I do also have one that is a little more... It's not something that happened in 2024, but it is something that you and I experienced in 2024. Okay. The designatorian is never getting over.
00:15:21
Speaker
I'm sorry to inform ah Dan Juergens.
00:15:27
Speaker
you keep he's He's trying his damnedest in that book, Matt. um You're talking about so a Thor girl. You're talking about Thor girl. Yes. I mean, that's that's really too bad. It's really too bad that Tereen did not and will not ever get over. Yeah, it's it's very sad about Toreen the Designate, ah who it's just it. It was never gonna happen, I don't think. But it definitely didn't happen. You know? Yeah. I shouldn't say it it's no it was never gonna happen because it might have there. I can see a world in which it happened. But we do not live in that world. I don't know if I have a great
00:16:18
Speaker
answer for anybody else who's never getting over, at least from this year. ah Because this year I read mostly comics that I liked. Oh, I'll tell you who's never getting over. Even though he kind of got over. This is like the opposite of the the answer to Matt Fictions' question, where it was like, this is a comic the internet loved that we were like, what? That like dark, broody space ghost.
00:16:49
Speaker
Ain't over with me. For sure. Ain't over with me either. Like, I don't get it. It's not, I don't understand why that people think that's cool. it it It is a mystery. Yeah. It's certainly a mystery to me. Why? And again, like I asked this sincerely on the show, like, is it just that you and I have a version of Space Ghost in our head that nothing's ever going to supplant?
00:17:20
Speaker
And it's not it's like the original version of Space Ghost. It's out it's the one that hit us. ah I mean, partially, but also like this is not like the original Space Ghost either. This is some like grim dark gritted teeth. I'll break your bones, Space Ghost, who like I got nothing for him. I remember nothing for him. i In my head, I have a memory of him like tearing out Brax spy and like a Mortal Kombat character, and I know for a fact that didn't happen. No, but he like Yeah, he like breaks his arms or something, and he's like, when you get to hell, tell him Space Ghost sent you. Yeah, yeah it's I hate it. i I don't like it. That's not Space Ghost. Not for me. Yeah. God god bless you. if it's if If it's for you, I would never want to take away your joy. Sure, not for me.
00:18:22
Speaker
Jolene's other category is the Formerly Harley Quinn Memorial Award, now Sarah Lance Memorial Award for DC Character from Other Media Not Yet in Comics. I had a hard time with this one because, like, I was trying to... to think, and, like, this felt like the first year in a long time where I hadn't really... like, where there weren't a lot of...
00:18:51
Speaker
comic book media properties out there. Like I went and looked at my letterbox for like superhero movies and it's like the only superhero movie I think I watched this year was was the Marvels, which came out like like the year before. yeah So ah my answer to this and my choice and one that I do think that despite my difficulties coming up with it, I do think this is going to be a crowd pleasing answer that everybody's going to agree with. um It's Harley Quinn again.
00:19:23
Speaker
But it is specifically the weird, ah ah super dominatrix ah lesbian ah ABDL fetish Harley Quinn from Batman the Kid Crusader. You know what? I think that's a great answer. Because that is basically an entirely different character. Yeah. It's ah it's a Harley Quinn who exists in the absence of the Joker.
00:19:49
Speaker
which I think is interesting, like a completely independent version of Harley, a a complete redesign, a complete different approach in terms of like the way she works. It's just the the name, which I mean, kind of Harley Quinn was almost that already. Cause there had been the Harlequin ah in DC Comics prior, but like that version of Harley was like of everything on that show.
00:20:18
Speaker
which I did quite like a lot. That was the one that was furthest away from from what I know. And I found that very enjoyable. Nocturna was also pretty different. I mean, she was still a fucking vampire. Yeah, yeah. She just wasn't a vampire trying to marry Bruce Wayne and gain custody of Jason Todd. She was younger. Yeah. I would say maybe that version of Nocturna.
00:20:49
Speaker
I feel like Batman the Caped Crusader did a lot of stuff with existing characters to make them, to really kind of like reimagine them. isnt And that's maybe the thing I enjoyed most about that show is how how much it reimagined those characters.
DC Films and Superman Debate
00:21:10
Speaker
Absolutely, absolutely. ah One of, I think, a real highlight of of Superhero Media this year was that show.
00:21:18
Speaker
Yeah, DC kind of really did a... this was ah This was a rebuilding year for DC. And I think it's probably gonna pay off. I haven't watched Creature Commandos yet, but like it seems really fun and good. Not gonna have to watch it. I haven't watched it either, but like I'm not gonna have to watch it. yeah but I think it seems good. I i don't know why now it feels like a chore.
00:21:47
Speaker
you know I mean, because it's been 15 years of this. Because I've been burned so many times. I have to watch it. It's been 15 years of I have to watch it all. Yeah. And you get burned out. It's so like easy to get burned out. Yeah. i Like that trailer for the new Superman movie came out. I made i made ah a real funny joke that a lot of people wanted to reply to.
00:22:17
Speaker
about how it's gonna be difficult to say I'm real excited about crypto these days. But crypto the super dog's in it. And I love that crypto the super dog's in it. Cause I love fucking crypto the super dog. I love him. He looks like my dog. Biscuit looks like crypto. But then like also, also I'm watching that trailer and I'm like, why is Superman fucking pancaked like Yamcha?
00:22:48
Speaker
Like, why does everybody always want, like, hey, what if, what if Superman was like doing a cool thing? That would be fun to see. And we didn't have to see Superman cry or, or get the shit kicked out of him or whatever. And so it's those things where I'm like, you, you can't get me in there with crypto. You can't, you can't trick me. I've been tricked before. I do think that Yamcha, Superman in a crater,
00:23:17
Speaker
is like an immediate way of saying, this is not Man of Steel. Yeah, but I mean, Man of Steel was also like, I mean, he also got his ass kicked a bunch. It's like, okay. It's like Superman, like the Christopher Reeve Superman movies are like, look, I'm gonna be real with you. There's only one good one. It's Superman III. Uh-huh, it's great. ah Like, I know, like John Williams did a lot of heavy lifting.
00:23:47
Speaker
in that John Williams and you being a child did a lot of heavy lifting in that first movie. Listener, also like that's a hot take. ah But you know, like Superman one is so slow. And then Superman two has some good stuff in it. But like Superman ah cries and quits. And I don't know why anyone would tell that Superman story. That is mind boggling to me.
00:24:16
Speaker
And it's a weird hodgepodge of two different directors making a movie. And he kills those guys, unless you watch that TV version that John Byrne swears by, yeah ah where ah they they handcuff the phantoms of criminals and lead them way at the end. If you watch the theatrical cut, Nodog, he throws them dudes down bottomless pit, they die. They're dead, yeah. Superman III, perfect, no notes. We get those and it's like, okay, so this it's not quite what you what I want it to be. It's not Superman the way I love Superman. The thing is, Superman returns, and that movie sucks. It's completely up its own ass, yeah. And it's like, I remember watching it and being like, how is this a Superman movie where Superman doesn't throw a punch?
00:25:10
Speaker
I remember watching that movie and fooling myself into thinking that I enjoyed it entirely because of the John Williams music. Yeah, man. John Williams. Look, John Williams stays winning. Undefeated. yeah Cannot take it away from John Williams. But like there's a scene in Superman Returns where they do the action comics number one cover thing.
00:25:34
Speaker
And it's, but it's Superman gently setting a car down on the ground. And I'm like, that's everything wrong with this movie. If you want to know what's wrong with this movie, that's it. Extrapolate that to everything else. Then I saw a movie where Superman did nothing but punch things and that also sucked. And I'm like, du why don't, where is this dog? Just give him a damn dog.
00:26:02
Speaker
And now we got to see a movie with his dog and buddy, I don't know. I don't know. I've been burned so many times by the warden, by that corporation. I am hopeful, but we'll see. I want to be, I want to be, but they've taken away my ability to be. My main complaint about the new Superman movie has nothing to do with any of that. It's that I don't think the actor looks quite right.
00:26:33
Speaker
And the costume is bad. I don't even remember what the costume looks like except for I think it it has like the Kingdom Come logo, right? like the kid has the kingdom it It has the Kingdom Come S. And instead of just being Superman's clothes, like everybody else gets to wear their regular clothes. Fucking Guy Gardner has his regular clothes. Mr. Terrific looks like Mr. Terrific. Wild.
00:26:59
Speaker
Like, everybody else gets to be just them from comics. Superman looks like he's going out for paintball. In his, like, rubber outfit with shoulder pads or whatever. Just give him his real clothes. I said that on Blue Sky and somebody was like, you don't want Superman to wear his costume? And I was like, why do you think ah that's what I'm fucking saying?
00:27:25
Speaker
No, no, I do want him to. Hey, is this post is this a real poster that's Superman and crypto looking at Earth, like sitting on the moon and looking at Earth? Because that actually makes me want, like that, that one, it got me. no which finally yeah Which one are you talking about? This one here, I'm i'm opening it up. I mean, i know it's I know the movie is at least partially based on All Star.
00:27:46
Speaker
Oh great, a story where Superman like kind of dies. Awesome. I mean, I don't know. A great first Superman movie. I mean, Solaris the Tyrant Son is in the movie. Okay, now hang on. Hang on, I didn't know that. You might have just gotten me again. Yeah, I think that's a real poster, yeah. If that's a real poster, then that's kind of got me, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, anyway, I don't mind them using the Kingdom Come S because, like, weirdly,
00:28:16
Speaker
The S has is is like the element of Superman's costume that has changed the most. Like, the S that we all think of as the S is like kind of a late... I mean, it's ah it's a long-lasting invention, but like Batman's oval, it's about of the same era, you know?
00:28:35
Speaker
Yeah, it's changed a lot since 1938. Yeah. I like the real S, though. like it's it's It's certainly not the real S, which I like, but ah I don't hate it. And I'm glad he's wearing his trunks. I'm glad they didn't try it. Like, I'm glad they're finally like, yeah, put him in his fucking trunks. That's the only way he looks right. Yeah, I just... ah He does look like he's going to play paintball.
00:28:56
Speaker
It's just, it's like, why does it have to be made of that stuff? Like, why can't it just look like Superman's clothes? That's all, that's all. All right. ah Thank you, Jolene, for sitting right here. To the next year's Gordy Awards. Yeah. ah Thank you, Jolene, for that category, the both of those categories. I have not seen The Penguin Show. Tell me if I should watch The Penguin Show.
00:29:20
Speaker
And if it any characters from that should have won this category. Buddy, you're gonna have to pay me to watch The Penguin Show. I ain't doing that for free. Think about watching all the Alfred Show, though. I'm already depressed. Why not?
00:29:37
Speaker
Alright, Chris, our next category comes from Andrew Uzi Rayburn. Best AEW origins insert in a DC comic? I went and read all these again today. Yep. ah Let's, let's go through them. Let's go through what they were. Swerve Strickland going back to meeting his old drill instructor from the army. Tony Storm growing up watching black and white TV. Will Osprey going from being a bully kid to the aerial assassin? Will Osprey just like
00:30:16
Speaker
He was a kid and now he's an adult and a pro wrestler at the end. Britt Baker. These are all written by Steve Orlando, by the way. Yes. Britt Baker is both a dentist and a wrestler. And I do like that, like structurally, that's the best one because that's the one that's literally like it's a six panel grid and the left hand panels are wrestler and the right hand panels are dentists. Structurally, that is the best one.
00:30:41
Speaker
Orange Cassidy finds the perfect pair of sunglasses. Yeah, it it and there is a panel that looks that should be Matt Wilson's ah social media icon. And Darby Allen finds faith in Sting. That could also be Matt Wilson's. I i do have i do have faith in Sting. Matt Wilson's testimonial.
00:31:06
Speaker
Alright, what's your pick, Chris? Here's the here's the thing. These should have been about 400% more kayfabe. Toni Storm should have been like, Toni Storm is the last action hero and a magic movie ticket brought her to life.
00:31:28
Speaker
like Instead of just like, they are wrestlers. These are people and they are wrestlers. Yeah. The Orange Cassidy one should have like, they're they're only two pages, right? they're they're They're a cover and then two pages. The Orange Cassidy one should have been unfinished.
00:31:48
Speaker
Like, the the the first page should have, like, the colors should have stopped at the end, and then the second page, like, you're down to pencils, and then, like, roughs, and then the last few panels are just script. That would have done it, I think. ah Because the Brit Baker one is the only one that I think really plays a form, and unfortunately, Brit Baker wore that Johnny Depp shirt on TV that one time, and that really may be, like, no heroes anymore, man. That's true, yeah.
00:32:18
Speaker
it's It's unfortunate that Britt Baker sort of killed killed her own rise with that one. Yeah. ah Real sham. I do think of the stories, the best one is the Tony Storm one. I agree. I think the Tony Storm one is is the most entertaining because she's the most entertaining character of all of them. Yes. A close second place and you could talk me into it being ah a but like being the best one would be the Orange Cassidy one. Because there's a bit where ah Orange Cassidy becomes a pro wrestler and he's got his friends, ah Dan Housen, Chris Statlander, Scorpion for Mortal Kombat, a bear and a kangaroo. And in my head, that is the like that is what we are now retconning Chikara to have been.
00:33:12
Speaker
i I absolutely think that is this comic's approximation of Chikara. It's gotta be, right? like It's gotta be. yeah It's weird that Chuck Taylor and Trent aren't in it at all, but it is what it is. maybe Is this post Trent's heel turn and and joining the Don Callis family because maybe the wounds were too fresh? I don't know. i don't know Trent has not been around lately, so i I don't know. Chuck Taylor has been around more than Trent.
00:33:42
Speaker
Wildly enough. yeah ah Chuck Taylor was a major part of the Orange Cassidy gets motivated to represent AEW storyline. One of these days, I hope they they pull the trigger on orange Cassidy being a to be champion one of these days because it would be like the biggest feel good moment that that company could produce. I agree. I don't love the Darby Allen story, but that drawing of staying fucking rules. I'll i'll say that the man, I really want to talk to Steve Orlando about these. Yeah. Steve Orlando is I think, um, the closest thing to you and I,
00:34:30
Speaker
in the, in the, here's what I know about Steve Orlando. Graham Orson guy, apparently AEW guy. Yeah. I mean, we should get Steve Orlando on the show and talk to him about it. All right. Thank you for that category, Andrew. Our next category was sent to us by two people, Ben Gully and Phillip Monroe.
00:34:55
Speaker
isn they are either the Goku at 41 award for thing you might most weirdly get into in 2025 or the Sun Goku Memorial Award for piece of media Matt and Chris have threatened for years to get into that they finally will in 2025. I have been thinking about this because I think all the things that that I at least have threatened to get into I've kind of done it because I did like I was really de depressed a couple months ago, and I did post on Blue Sky. What if I just got really into Death Note? And then I read all of Death Note, and Death Note kind of slaps. So like I feel like that was the last thing that I had previously announced. And then I remembered that Ben Gully and ah some other friends of ours, including Annie Creighton, are trying to bully me into getting really into Kingdom Hearts.
00:35:54
Speaker
and that down that road I cannot follow. I would have followed you to the end. But you said the same thing about Dragon Ball. No, I mean like look I said I said very enthusiastically by the time I turned 40 I'm gonna know a lot about Goku and I was one year off.
00:36:17
Speaker
But the only thing that I think we could like that would fit this category is you and I doing one of the podcasts that we have threatened to do, which would require us to get really into Vampire Hunter D or Home Improvement. Or Gotham. Or Gotham or what was the ah we were gonna do House of Leaves, the House of Leaves podcast, which we should record and then just chop it all up and release but like like Each episode is the same length, but it's just random 10-second snippets from all the episodes we record. That's brilliant. I like that idea. And you gotta chase down the bits to put that one together. That's leaf blowers, because it blows your mind. My answer for this one is I'm pretty sure in 2025 I'm finally gonna read Chainsaw Man.
00:37:09
Speaker
Oh, shit's good, man. You're gonna like it. Yeah, yeah. It's like, I know that you have a particular dislike of, you know, stick with it. ah Because if you got how how much of the not great do you have to get through? It's not that it's bad from the start. But if you stick with it, you will get to a part that I think will uniquely appeal to you. And you'll be like, oh, wait, this fucking rules. And the same thing. Goodbye, Ari takes three twists to fully reveal itself.
00:37:39
Speaker
Yeah. I changed, I started chainsaw man a couple of times and and sort of bounced off of it. So we'll see what happens. Ben and Phillip, thank you for the, those categories are that category either way. Kate Bishop has these categories for us. Most Buckwild use of wrestling outside of wrestling. I think we have to give this award.
00:38:08
Speaker
to the Transformers series. That was what I did initially write down. I initially wrote down the Transformers comic because I did go back through and Transformers number six did come out this past year and did, in fact, involve Shockwave fucking hitting Optimus Prime with a goddamn tombstone pile driver. Yeah.
00:38:31
Speaker
which don't the Daniel Warren Johnson run on Transformers, I feel like every issue had a wrestling move that made me go, hell yeah. However, Matt, however, this was the year that also brought us ah Godzilla X-Con, a movie in which Godzilla went Super Saiyan and then hit the spear and jackhammer like fucking Goldberg. I mean, that's pretty great. That's also pretty good. Yeah, no, that kicked ass.
00:39:05
Speaker
And like yeah, Daniel Warren Johnson's great. we've We've already given Daniel Warren Johnson the props four that's true for ah the the wrestling moves. We've never given Godzilla the props for the wrestling moves the way we should have.
00:39:24
Speaker
The next category from Kate is the Chris's shirt memorial award for hypest moment that made you want to tear your shirt off. Do you have one for this month? Well, I want to say it was that bit at the end of what it, what number was that? It was, it was the thing in amazing spider bed where there was the last panel of of Spider-Man knocking Tombstone through that glass window. And then the next panel in the sequence was the cover of the next issue. It was issues 58 to 59. Oh, it's either the other way around. Tombstone's knocking Spider-Man out of the window and he says, you want to get crazy? And then the cover of 59, he's saying, let's get crazy as they go out the window. That whips ass so much and I got so hyped for it at the time and I'm still hyped for it.
00:40:22
Speaker
I love that, and I love how much you love that. Yeah. It's it's great. I had two other choices for this. um Number one, ah when the god of dogs showed up. Yep, the god of dogs in Doctor Strange. The god of dogs showing up and saying, hey, people love dogs so much that it made a god. And I'm the god of dogs. And I'm the i'm the god of of of having a dog because you don't know what's out there in the night, but you got a fucking dog, so you're gonna be okay. That shit, that gets me, that gets me so good.
00:41:05
Speaker
And rightly so, and rightly so. The other one, which I think is a little more in the spirit of of the original part of the question, which is me tearing my shirt off while watching Furious 7 in a movie theater, oh when The Rock flexed his arm and said, Daddy's got to go to work and shattered a cast that was on his arm because he had broken into fight with Jason Statham, which that shit still rules. The thing this year that was that was in ah Dune 2,
00:41:35
Speaker
When ah ah Paul Muad'Dib Atreides Usel, the pillar of strength, the one who points the way, um got up on stage in front of all the Fremen and cut an Ernest the Cat Miller, I can whoop anybody in here, promo, ah to convince him that he was the Lisan Al-Ga'ib.
00:41:58
Speaker
That shit owns. There's actually several moments like that in that movie. I just watched that movie. I watched it again today because I got so excited about it. The bit the part where he where where he rides the sandworm, where he like rides the sandworm for the first time, and everybody gets so hyped about it, is pretty fucking great. Yeah, man. The shit's pretty good. The shit's pretty good.
00:42:28
Speaker
Yeah, him showing up and saying, like, none of you can touch me. Yeah. I am the voice of the outer world. Let's go kill the fucking emperor. The next category from Kate is game of the year. What was your pick for this, Matt? Mine is a late contender. Okay. That I only played on my Christmas break ah when we went to Philadelphia to see ah Marlene's family. um While we were there, I downloaded Bellatro and became totally addicted to it. Yep. That game is so good and it's so fun. And like, it it is one of those things where it's like, the thing about roguelikes for me is once I figure out a method,
00:43:25
Speaker
it sort of loses a little bit of novelty. So once I figured out the ways to min-max, molatro, and where I was like winning runs pretty regularly, it i wasn't I stopped playing it as much, but it's still incredibly appealing.
00:43:50
Speaker
um For such a simple game, it's so good. So I gotta to give it to to that. The thing is, i I don't think you can... I don't think you can get that...
00:44:07
Speaker
like there There's no real reliable strategy ah for that game, ah which I watched a video today and Simone de Rochefort called it Bellatro, so i I have no idea what the actual right pronunciation is, but I'll i'll go with ah go with her. Because there is such a level of randomness and such a level of like Your strategy is always going to depend on what the jokers are, right? like Well, it it it will it will depend on the jokers you're given, for sure. But the planet cards, once I got a hold of how important and useful the planet cards are, that's when I unlocked like, oh, I can i can play this game. I know what to do with this game. and And I gave up on
00:44:55
Speaker
like actually playing good poker hands. yeah it just started like like Yeah. Yeah. You got to play the hands that fit into whatever your build is on that run. yeah Yeah. You got to get the, once you unlock the deck that has no clubs or diamonds. And so it's 26 hearts, 26 spades, and you go into like, I have to maximize flush. Yeah. Cause I can reliably get that every time.
00:45:26
Speaker
Like that it becomes like, what is the strategy for getting jokers? And what is the strategy for like getting everything I need to get? It's super fun. But, that but, but then before you get that deck, you're not really going for flushes or straights. You're going for a full house. but You're not even, I'm not even going for full house. I'm going for, I'm getting the jokers that maximize pairs and two pairs. And I'm,
00:45:54
Speaker
just spamming away at the planet cards. I think it's Mercury and Uranus that increase the value of pairs and two pairs, and that's all I'm playing. I've gone back to it recently to kind of like finish unlocking all the decks I hadn't unlocked, and that is a true joy to go in and try and like figure out the strategy of, okay,
00:46:24
Speaker
this, like like, I unlocked the plasma deck. And the deal with that one is ah it averages the chips and the malt. And interesting. Yeah, no, it's it it took me a little bit. And I'm like, Oh, what I need to do with this is instead of focusing on the malt, which is the thing that I always focus on, because that's the way to really get the big score, I need to focus on getting more chips.
00:46:53
Speaker
because like obviously a higher molt leads to a higher average, too, but it's a lot easier easier to get 30 more chips than 15 to the multiplier. Right. and Well, i I actually got into the habit of having jokers that both increase chips and molt, and that but it's but is useful. It is, but you got like it's easier to to do the one and to boost it super high.
00:47:19
Speaker
And then if you get the higher molt, that's great. But also like if you can get a hand up to like having 300 chips and that gets off all times 150 molt right there. And yeah, Bellator is great. um it It rules. i think everybody I think everybody knows that at this point. um AC recently gotten into it got into it and so that's what's kind of ah gotten me back into it.
00:47:41
Speaker
I looked at her, like she sent me a screenshot of her like high score thing and her best hand is like four billion chips. And I'm like, And she was like, lol. And I'm like, well, how did you do that? Explain to me. Cause you've not been playing this game for as long as I have, but you are some weird, I'm taking her to Vegas, you know? Oh yeah. I would say my game of the year, uh,
00:48:11
Speaker
Aside from Balletra, which was like um a truly great game, I would say ah Metaphor Refentesia was exceptionally good on virtually every level. I loved all of the changes it made to the Persona formula to sort of fit in better as a ah you know like a medieval fantasy, like more traditional RPG setting.
00:48:39
Speaker
Uh, all of those changes were extremely good and extremely well done and just made for a beautiful, fun, uh, compelling, uh, hilariously on the nose game that I sunk a whole lot of time into and had a real blast with. So, uh, metaphor refentesio is great. Also an incredible art. Uh, I didn't mention this one I talked about on the show, but like it's medieval fantasy, but everybody's fashions are inspired by like sixties mod.
00:49:09
Speaker
So like your character who's like a bard is in like a go-go dress. And, uh, like you get your, your tough guys who look like the fucking baddies from Cruella de Vil. Like they're great. it's It's a real hoot. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The next category from Kate is favorite thing that didn't come out in 2024, but this is the year you got into it.
00:49:37
Speaker
ah That's that's an interesting question because I I feel like the Gordies are For like it's our 2024, right? It's you and me for sure and the difficulty for us is not like trying to remember when The stuff that we liked that we did enjoy in the previous year um Like was that I had to look up when tears of the kingdom came out today. I was like that was like two years ago But you know time is an illusion. Yeah Yeah. Uh, so for me, I think unqualified, uh, this is, uh, the end of berserk. So, so not berserk in general, but, but the end of berserk. Yeah. Well, whatever the, uh, do you know, I'll stop your head with the name of the arc is. No.
00:50:28
Speaker
i No, I don't know the name of... theub I was going to suggest before I thought of Absolute Gordy's volume one, I was going to suggest ah Gordy's Ark Awards.
00:50:42
Speaker
I think it is... I think it is part of the Fantasia Ark. Okay, yeah. The Fantasia Ark, of course, Ark then. The Fantasia Ark is still going on, but yeah. It comes after the Millennium Falcon Ark.
00:50:58
Speaker
but Uh, you said with the, uh, the, uh, the hawk of the new millennium arc. Yeah. According to dark horse comics. Yeah. Yeah. We, I mean, we, we talked about it. We did that bonus content, which I'm, I was very, uh, very fun and I thought, uh, was really good. But like, I, that bit where, you know, Kentucky era's last chapter fucked me up in a way that like,
00:51:29
Speaker
Even I, someone who's like, ah I consider myself to be very, like when a story hits me, a story hits me, you know? Like, I am not a difficult sell in that regard. But man, that one fucked me up real bad, where I was just like, fucking come on, dude. Fucking femto from the God Hand. Fuck that guy. Uh, my answer is the, uh, the show, The Traitors.
00:51:57
Speaker
Hmm. The original version, not the American version, not the American version, the British version. Yeah. The British version of the traitors, which we watched, uh, all of this year. Um, and is, is a fun show. I, I may cave and watch the American version eventually because I look, I got, I got nothing against Alan Cumming, but, uh, I don't like the celebrities being part of it as much as just regular people.
00:52:27
Speaker
that's That's the only thing. so ah But yeah, I definitely got into The Traitors this year. ah Kate, thank you for those categories.
00:52:42
Speaker
Here are some categories from The Boss Dog, Patrick O'Duffy. First, the Chance Boudreaux Award for new comic movie show, etc., that rules the hardest despite being objectively bad.
00:52:55
Speaker
I don't know, man. I had like, I love this category and I had a really hard time thinking of anything that would fit it. Cause like, yeah, I liked a lot of stuff that was good. yeah This year, shockingly, perhaps a lot of stuff was good and I liked a lot of stuff that was good. Yeah. I didn't like a lot of stuff that was bad. Yeah. I mean,
00:53:20
Speaker
There's like, I feel like the closest maybe I came was was parts of Death Note, but I mean, Death Note's pretty good. Death Note's pretty good. what is What is something that I liked that was... Alright, I'll say something that I liked pretty well despite not thinking it was great, but I did have it a fun time watching it. I i saw i went and saw a Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Okay.
00:53:50
Speaker
How was that? I don't I don't know if I would call it objectively bad, but it was like Fine, but and I had fun watching it. Okay All right, that's a good answer. Yeah people like those Planet of the Apes movies People like this Planet of the Apes movies I enjoyed that one i i I did enjoy that one I have to say All right next from Patrick is the Fuckable Richard Kind Award for the actor, musician, comics creator, et cetera, with the most exciting new project that dropped in 2024. How can this be anything but Kendrick? You mean Kendrick, Kendrick's methodical takedown of Drake. Yeah, no, Kendrick destroying Drake. Like releasing, like releasing a a fucking Ozymandias plot.
00:54:45
Speaker
to destroy a man? I have a second answer to this. I think you're right. I think Kendrick is the number one winner of that category. But in 2024, the actual fuckable Richard Kine, John Mulaney, did do something really interesting, which was that six-episode Netflix show called Everybody's in LA.
00:55:14
Speaker
that was like this wildly chaotic talk show that aired live on Netflix, ah which I did like, I was fascinated by over the summer. Like I watched all of those episodes and they were, they were such like unpredictable,
00:55:40
Speaker
wild, Like, each episode got longer and longer.
00:55:47
Speaker
And they like tried to do these like comedy bits where people were like driving around the city looking for... ah I forget what celebrity they were looking for. Oh, and they tried to make every episode about so a topic. um it was It was great. it was it was I was interested in the talk show format in a way I had not been in a long time.
00:56:11
Speaker
watching that show. The next award or the next category from Patrick is the Hell No Helene Award for the charity or grassroots movement that did the most good in 2024 and is worth supporting further in 2025. I figured you might have some insight onto this one, Matt.
00:56:27
Speaker
ah Beloved Asheville is my answer to that one. um Beloved Asheville, which is still doing work around town, um at the AEW Dynamite Fight for the Fallen show I went to here in Asheville on January 1st.
00:56:43
Speaker
i I watched ah Dax Harwood give Beloved Asheville a check for $25,000. It got me a little, made the room a little dusty for me. I think of Of all the many charities that have done good work around the area post Hurricane Helene, um beloved Asheville is the standout, although Mana Food Bank did a lot of good stuff, World Central Kitchen did a lot of stuff. i As I understand it, World Central Kitchen is also gearing up to go help ah after the the wildfires in California, around in the l LA area.
00:57:21
Speaker
um so They are also like, World Central Kitchen was here giving out free meals for months. Wow. And um they did amazing stuff. ah So ah them two, big ups to them too. there There were a lot of people that did really good stuff around town, but I gotta go number one, beloved Asheville. Awesome.
00:57:46
Speaker
Finally on Patrick's list of categories is the Jared Stevens Memorial Award for your fave new blorbo. Bonus points if they're problematic.
00:57:57
Speaker
I did almost, I got very close to buying an action figure of Shirky the other day. Okay, okay. I do kind of love her. Sure. She's kind of She's got that hat. She's She's, you know, she rides around on Guts' back when he's got that dog in him.
00:58:21
Speaker
Haha, it like tames the dog tames the doggies got him. Yeah, that's pretty good. Oh, I mean like I Feel like everyone else, you know, like I I'm a pretty basic pretty basic guy When it comes to a lot of stuff. I like I like Goku Goku is not really like a borbo in the sense of like being a character that only you care about cuz you know, he's Goku right? but like I mean, unless we count Gohan, I do love Gohan, but like, you know, Shirky's like the member of the Castle of Berserk where I'm like, yeah, that's that's a little weirdo that I like.
00:59:06
Speaker
mine is My answer is not someone who's new, but I still love him, and if I had to, if i given the chance, I would absolutely buy an action figure of him and that's WreckWrap. Matt, I'm glad that you feel that way because I did, WreckWrap was going to be my Doughboy award winner for character who's not going to get over, but I was like, I know he's over with somebody. He's over with me. I know he's over with me i do think that there are people who don't like WreckWrap and they are wrong.
00:59:44
Speaker
I don't dislike him. I'm just looking at that dude going, he's never getting over. Like that's just simply not happening. But like, those are my favorite kinds of Spider-Man characters. The ones who like, everybody else forgets about, never brings back. And then, and then I'm like, yeah, like I same way about with Hallows' Eve. I fucking love Hallows' Eve. Give me Hallows' Eve forever.
01:00:12
Speaker
Hallows' Eve forever! um R b.I.P. There is somebody who shows up in a bold new character who shows up in All New Venom number two that I am instantly ride or die for her. Oh yeah, i I know who you're talking about and I agree. No, yeah so she's amazing.
01:00:37
Speaker
Unfortunately, from 2025, not 2024. I'll call it now. Somebody write it down and remind me next January, Heave Ho is the sensational character find of 2025. Patrick, thank you for those categories. Our next two categories come from Robert Headley. The first one is Best Women's Wrestling Match.
01:01:03
Speaker
There was some good stuff. World's End world zone was the the end of last year, right? World's End, well there was a World's End in 2023 and there was a World's End in 2024. The most recent one. So it's so cool because it was the end of last year. The most recent World's End was at the end of 2024, yeah. Yeah, ah the the Stat ah Mercedes-Bode match on that was really good, I thought. That's the winner.
01:01:32
Speaker
I thought that match was so good. Yeah. Yeah. Very solid. But I, I, I, my initial thought was, um, Tony storm and Mariah may cause like the buildup to that was so great. That was it all in. Yeah. Yeah. That was a really good match.
01:01:52
Speaker
I saw a clip, Matt, I know that you, I know that you ditched back in and tried with the first ah of the Netflix era yeah episodes of of Monday Night Raw. I didn't even watch the whole thing. Right. um I did see a clip of Rhea Ripley winning the the Women's World Championship. um And that was great. And then like, for some reason, the fucking Undertaker came out. Yeah, he came out and ruined her moment. And they acted like that was good. Yeah.
01:02:22
Speaker
Like, you know, the ah fucking mean Mark Callis, who no one benefited more from keeping kayfabe than this guy who has now decided to stop keeping kayfabe and be the truly terrible person that he is? Yeah. Oh, man. Harsh. like Look, I don't understand people at all. I don't understand i don't understand how you can bull boo Hulk Hogan out of the building.
01:02:52
Speaker
But Undertaker shows up and he gets cheered like crazy when he's ruining Rhea Ripley's moment and he's that guy. Yeah. I don't get it. Maybe if your problem with Hulk Hogan is that he doesn't love guns and cops enough. Yeah. Yeah. Next for Robert Headley is the best sporting moment. Obviously the best sporting moment of the year. Like if you're talking about pure you're talking about pure sports, right? Like pure.
01:03:22
Speaker
Total pure sports, yeah. Pure athletic competition. Sure. If that is what we're talking about, then obviously the best sporting moment of the year was Hangman Page burning down sort of Stirkland's childhood home. 100% correct. The winner of the category. Thank you for those categories, Robert. Our next set of categories comes from Thomas Foss.
01:03:49
Speaker
The first is the Neuron Memorial Award for all-time best Mark Wade-helmed crossover intended to shake up the powers of familiar characters. Was Absolute Power this year? It was. Does it not feel like it was three or four years ago? Absolute Power was 2024, yeah. Am I just unmoored from time fully? I mean, I think we all are. I think we all are. Yeah, man.
01:04:17
Speaker
like it it's Like, it's shocking that that happened. Like, first of all, shocking that that happened twice. But also that that that was only this year. Wild. Wild. But by default, that's your winner, Thomas. Absolute power. Second from Thomas is the Miles Morales prize for best new alternate universe version of a familiar character. I'm caught up on thick Batman.
01:04:47
Speaker
And I am not caught up on Berserk Wonder Woman. And that's the only reason that I have to give it to Thick Batman. I mean, like, he rules, also. But, like... But my, but my winner is not Batman. It's Alfred.
01:05:05
Speaker
Absolute Alfred rules, and I love him. Absolute Alfred ah doing, going the, I think I might hate Batman, and then going, I think I might love Batman. that's That's the most I've ever related to Alfred Pennyworth. It's so good. It's so good. I love it.
01:05:24
Speaker
Yeah, no, Alfred, ah the only thing that gets me is that we've kind of had like paramilitary Alfred for a while. And so it doesn't feel as fresh and new as ah thick a thick Batman. i mean That's fair. Not thick before. That's true. ah I like it though. I like ah this Alfred a whole bunch. Oh, he's great. He's great. ah Next from Thomas is the ultimate Peter Parker's hair trophy.
01:05:55
Speaker
for worse change to an alternate universe version of a familiar character. I realize it's an arc, but making making Lois Lane a ah ah a a private military cop is challenging. Not ideal. I realize it's an arc, I think it's good, and I think it's going somewhere. It is challenging. It's not ideal. It's not ideal. I don't think it's bad, and I don't think it should change, but I mean, like, like i it's It's challenging. Yeah, yeah. I will admit that I haven't fully kept up with all of the ultimate books um since since they started. I don't know how I feel about Ultimate Harry Osborn yet. Ultimate Harry Osborn? Have you gotten to the part where they make the
01:06:52
Speaker
they They give his suit, ah his suit's ah ah like onboard computer, like a personality, like an AI personality. Yes. And he's like, oh, you should make it like my dad. And then he does. And now his suit's like, I hate you and you're a disappointment. I mean, that's great. Wolf. Ouch, Harry. That's a rough one, bud. Yeah. ah I mean,
01:07:19
Speaker
It's a great gag. no It's a fantastic gag. It's hard to read. Yeah. Or Harry. You know what? I'm going to go with um more than Ultimate Harry, probably Ultimate Iron Man slash Iron Lad, who I don't hate, but I i don't quite
01:07:44
Speaker
vibe with just yet. So that's what I'll go with for now. The the ultimate book that I sort of have fallen off of, lost the thread of the most is Ultimates, I have to admit. Yeah. So and I've been keeping up with Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men both, of which is like really, really good. did I do, like, read Richard's talking about how how he gets depressed and he calls it being in his negative zone. That's pretty good, actually. good actually Yeah. Um, Ultimates is kind of the most straight ahead one to one ultimate book though. And for whatever reason, that is also the least appealing to me of, of what's out there so far. Uh, all right. Next on Thomas's list is the crack stunt man award for excellence in adapting a 1980s property designed primarily to sell toys.
01:08:42
Speaker
Tempting to give this one to Daniel Warren Johnson. Yes. Tempting. And you might say, what then who else could it go to? And that's like, well, it's going to go to the goat Larry Hama. Yeah. It's going to the King of the guy. Who's been doing that since the 1980s? Larry Hama. Yeah. The, the, the all timer. The God Larry Hama. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry.
01:09:11
Speaker
I mean, I'm not, I'm not sorry. Look, Daniel Warren Johnson gets a lot of very justified love. And Larry also gets a lot of very justified love. Uh, but but ah Larry can always have more. Thank you, Thomas, for those categories. Our next set of categories comes from William Schmidt, who starts with the Textors Choice Award for 2024.
01:09:40
Speaker
I was trying to think about this because i'm I wasn't sure like what we had Texted the most about because I feel like that's kind of what it's got to be, right? Yeah, kind of has to be absolute Batman. I Feel like that has it one textures choice as much as chip chip Batman chip Batman might might be it. Yeah. Yeah um it's It's either chip Batman or amazing spider-man I feel like those are the ones we text about almost every time they come out. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So I think it's just because you're always like a very specific kind of hoot. Yeah. Yeah. And there's always something in them where we have to be like, did you see that? And, you know, it, you know, it's, it's, it's just great. Yeah. i If not them, then I feel like the answer is, is just every Allewing book.
01:10:39
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. ah if if If we were awarding it to a person, it would be Al Ewing. Al Ewing is the texter's choice. And someone should get him a t-shirt that says that. If it were a single issue, if we were giving this to a single issue, then Roxxon presents Thor would be the winner. That book's a hoot.
01:11:03
Speaker
that That might be my favorite single issue of the whole year. it was I mean, it's it's pretty great. Yeah. Like, the the book where ah ah you actually do gotta to give it to Greg Land.
01:11:23
Speaker
finally from William, his second category is the most promising new comics company imprint for 2024. It's got to be absolute. It's got to be the absolute books. Yeah. Were there any other big imprints this year? I mean, ultimate, ultimate, ultimate, I think maybe technically started in 2023, but it's the only other option.
01:11:47
Speaker
Yeah. And that was also a revival, if anything, of a run. So, or of an imprint. So yeah, like I think kind of gotta be, kind of gotta be the absolute books, which again, like, there's just three of them, right? So far, there's just three of them. And, but they're all so good. Yeah. Like I'm sure they're gonna, I'm sure they're gonna throw Greenliner out there at some point and somebody will read it.
01:12:16
Speaker
Oh wait, isn't there gonna be a Tom King one? Is there? I think so. I i might have dreamt that.
01:12:27
Speaker
Let's see. It ain't out yet. they know there's ah Apparently there's gonna be a Legion one? Oh great, finally. Reboot the Legion.
01:12:42
Speaker
They should only ever do first issues of Legion of Superheroes. That would be great. ah Look, i i I fully expect that the absolute imprint will get watered down and won't be as good. But at this point, batting 1000. Yeah. No, these three three books, they're out of bangers.
01:13:12
Speaker
Like, man, incredible. I love all three of them so much and they're all shockingly good. Yeah. Not shockingly because everybody working on them is great, but like, yeah, sure. Even so. Given the track record of DC Comics, William, thank you for those categories. Our next category is from Grant which this one I don't have an answer for really. Most romanceable NPC that is unfortunately not actually romanceable.
01:14:04
Speaker
ah Matt, I have a visual aid for you for this one. Oh, but please. ah You have heard me speak of Metaphor Reventazio in all of these categories. You've heard me talk about it quite a bit this past year. Now, here's the thing. The Persona games are full of romanceable NPCs.
01:14:26
Speaker
like Everybody's romanceable in those games, even the people who absolutely should not be. Like, you could romance several ah adult-ass, full-grown women in Persona 5. You shouldn't. And your character's what, like 16? It's the second year in high school, so 16, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. oh In...
01:14:49
Speaker
oh metaphor with Tentesio, which takes place in a fantasy world, romance is the thing they completely cut out. Like, there are no romance-able NPCs. But they did make a cast of, like, like fully stone-cold hotties of all genders and species. ah There's there's ah an elf with bangs who likes to eat a lot. She's great. Love her.
01:15:21
Speaker
there's ah There's like a ah tragic, ah wealthy businesswoman who has a dog. She's great, love her. um And then there's ah the winner of this category, a Katharina, who I did just send you a picture of. um I do feel like ah dog girls are having a moment right now.
01:15:44
Speaker
She she has dog ears. Yes, she is a ah she is a peripas, which are the names of the dog people ah who have big old puppy ears, big old puppy tail. And she has ah hot pink hair. And her entire deal is that she is trying to become king ah so that she can ah ah take all the money away from the rich and get distributed to the poor.
01:16:13
Speaker
great She invented communism. ah huh She's great for her. She does eventually give up on that. Oh, well, I was going to say, she she subscribes to the exact same kind of communism as you. Yes. She does eventually go like, man, I don't know if we should actually like steal things from people. Maybe that's not the way to go. ah So maybe, I don't know, maybe we should all get educations instead.
01:16:42
Speaker
Which, you know, if your goal stops being hunt down the rich and ah forcibly take away their assets and shifts over to, what if we just do free public education instead? All right, that's that is a shift to the right, but okay. It's not that far, I guess. Unromanceable. Unromanceable. And oh and she's ah she's a martial artist.
01:17:09
Speaker
So she's the character who only fights with like her fists. I thought of my winner for this category. was it ah Which Joker is it from Bellatro? It is none of the Jokers. It is a character from Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree. His name is Igon.
01:17:30
Speaker
And ah when you meet him, he's like a crying heap on the ground. But you but you ah you befriend him, and you're able to summon his spirit later in a fight against a dragon named Bail. And as soon as you go into that arena with that guy, he goes, curse you, Bail! And he goes apeshit on this dragon.
01:17:57
Speaker
Because Bail is the dragon that fucked him up to begin with. It's great. i'd Like, the most memorable character from, uh, Elden Ring, Shadow of the Urtree. Are there any, are there any remincible characters in Elden Ring? Is that, is that lady with like the one eye and the lots of arms? Uh, no. There is one character whose consort you can become in an ending.
01:18:27
Speaker
Okay. But that's, she's like the only one who is even like close to being romanceable, I would say. Okay. Grant, thank you for that category. Our next set of categories comes from David LaRoss. First is thing you finally watched, read, played, etc. that turned out to be way better than it had any right to be. I did a lot of revisiting.
01:18:57
Speaker
this year. But I do think the new thing that i I honestly did not expect to like it as much as I did was Death Note. Yeah, sure. ah Death Note is actually like kind of a hoot. Like, it's it's fun. It's very silly. And it's very silly in a way that is dry.
01:19:22
Speaker
but is still, like, I'm pretty sure they knew this was silly. Like, the tennis game is silly. um But it's it's it's very fun. Like, there's a moment that I put on Blue Sky where, like, Light literally, like, does a shitty little gym helper look at the camera.
01:19:41
Speaker
And he's like, ah, that Kira, he's outfoxed us again. And then you're like, look at the camera. like it's It's very funny. um And yeah, like i I was expecting, um I didn't really know a ton about Death Note to start off with. Weirdly enough, like my only, not only, but like my biggest exposure to Death Note was ah knowing that the artist had done the designs for the really bad Castlevania fighting game.
01:20:10
Speaker
Castlevania Judgment. So everybody in that game looks like Ryuk the Shinigami, which is not great. But that set my expectations low and I found that book to be quite rewarding. So Death Note was actually ah ah Do not regret for a second ah reading reading all that. Very fun. Very, very fun. but My answer to this is that this was the year that I finally watched all of Lower Decks. Oh, yeah, that's good stuff. Which I knew was good. like i It's not that I ever doubted that it was good, but then I watched it and I was like, oh, this is really good. Yeah. Like, oh, this is like real Star Trek. Yeah.
01:20:55
Speaker
Yeah. Like, not just good, like, in a funny cartoon kind of way. In a, this is an actual Star Trek show kind of way. Yeah. Yeah. but While also being a funny cartoon. Yes. ah So, that's it. That's it. Next from David Loross is the thing you finally watched, read, played, etc. that turned out to be way worse than it should have been.
01:21:21
Speaker
ah This this one I had a really hard time with and I ended up having to go with ah um AC went on a kick this year of watching like every Philip Seymour Hoffman movie Okay, ah and I don't think she watched like all of them because there are a lot and I know she didn't watch the big Lebowski because that's her least favorite Coen brothers movie until ah Until ah Buster Scruggs, which she despised ah But Uh, she watched, uh, Almost Famous. And like, I feel like movies need to warn you with that fucking parasite traitor Jimmy Fallon is going to show up. Oh yeah. He's in that movie. And like pretend like he's an actor. Yeah. Fuck Jimmy Fallon. Did not enjoy him showing up. Also didn't really enjoy that movie. Uh, music's not that important.
01:22:17
Speaker
ah you know like it's i mean It's not like it's comics. Come on. I don't think I've ever watched a Cameron Crowe movie that I liked. Interesting. i I went to the movie theater and saw Vanilla Sky and was mad. My answer to this is the Dead Space remake. If you are on my YouTube channel. You watched me play through the entirety of the Dead Space Remake and heard me complain and complain and complain about how all all they did was add a lot of talking that made it worse. They also fucked up one of the end game reveals by trying, like they tried to make it make more sense.
01:23:09
Speaker
Which doesn't help make it scarier, you freaks!
01:23:19
Speaker
True. Like, um this is a spoiler for the Dead Space Remake, so we'll just leave it at that. But like, I thought as I was playing, like, they changed that. And so I went back and watched the scene from the original game. In the original game, Isaac, the lead character, is simply told that his girlfriend ah who's, I can never remember her name, but it's it's something like Elizabeth. He's been getting Nicole, her name's Nicole. um He's been getting messages from her through the whole game. He's been like rewatching a message that she left for him. And the big reveal at the end of the game is that she's been dead the whole time. And if you continue to watch the message that she left him, she like reveals that she's,
01:24:08
Speaker
gonna be dead soon. And he just never watched the whole thing. Or he ignored that part of it. In the remake, they don't just have somebody tell you that. They have it so that there was another person there the whole time that Isaac has been seeing as Nicole. And I'm sorry, that's fucking stupid. Why can't he just have a hallucination?
01:24:35
Speaker
like ah Bad story choices in that game. it like The gameplay of the Dead Space remake was good and fine. I had some weird glitches happen while I played it, but story choices were baffling.
01:24:52
Speaker
Finally from David LaRocce is special achievement at picking up a theme or plot line Grant Morrison set up and running full speed ahead instead of ignoring it like a fucking coward. I feel like there is an obvious thing that I forgot about. This feels like one of those categories where someone is thinking of a specific thing that they want us to talk about. And I cannot recall. I was like, i like, did hexes the living corporation come back this year and I forgot about it or missed it? Cause I feel like hexes the living corporation showed up in something. Yeah. After like non Morrison. Was that this year? Did that happen? Maybe.
01:25:32
Speaker
I also have that feeling of like, there's a very specific thing that is being hinted at here that I'm not quite sure what it was. Like I'm i'm trying, I'm legitimately trying to think about unresolved Grant Morrison plot threads or elements. And I'm like, I i mean, shit, Matt, you told me Solaris the tyrant son is going to be in a movie, but that's not, that hasn't happened yet.
01:25:58
Speaker
That hasn't happened yet. I, I will say this, there's the potential. I don't want to build it up too much, but there is the potential that that Superman movie could be the most Grant Morrison movie ever made. Don't get my hopes up. Don't don't do Soslo's work for him, Matt.
01:26:19
Speaker
Unstoppable tro Doom Patrol ended in 2023, right? Uh, I, believe so. Yeah. So I can't make it that one. But that's also one where like, that's the one where everybody has gone back to that stuff. But like, did, did, did my boy, the Manhattan guardian show up? That's the one I always think of when, when we talk about picked up on, uh, Morrison threads. Yeah. I don't, I'm not recalling any specifically from this year.
01:26:58
Speaker
But I may have just forgotten it or or missed it. So unfortunately, I don't know if we have a winner for that one. So let's keep it rolling. Alas, yeah. Thank you for those categories, David.
01:27:20
Speaker
This is the from Josh Sennison in this category. Best dressed award for person, character, or wrestler who found their real clothes in 2024. Now this one was surprising to me because of the inclusion of wrestler. And wrestlers don't like what with the fact that wrestlers are real people to an extent.
Wrestling Attire and Music Nostalgia
01:27:48
Speaker
ah they They don't usually have real clothes in the same way that like a comic book character has real clothes. So i like I was trying to think, again, if there was a specific thing I missed. where like I'm behind on a lot of stuff. like Did did ah the American Dragon, Brian Danielson, did he go back to like the the maroon for his his last run? I think he i mean i think he was wearing those colors. That was one thing I could think of because he kind of like shifted over to other colors after that being his defining look for a real long time. Yeah. Well, he went from maroon to red. and I know that. And then sometimes he would wear like Seattle Seahawks colors or whatever. yeah I think the last time I saw him, he was rocking some some Seahawks colors. But I think he was wrestling in maroon and in many of his last matches.
01:28:45
Speaker
Maybe Me and Mark Callish should ah put those purple gloves back on and then also um go away forever.
01:28:54
Speaker
he should I think he should just go away for sure. yeah You should go to the moon forever. That's what I say about Me and Mark and his brother. I would i would agree with that. ah Yeah, he was doing he was rocking the maroon it at all in for sure. Danielson was. So maybe you could give it to Brian Danielson for returning to his Israel clothes.
01:29:17
Speaker
I mean, he he used the final countdown again. That's true. That's like clothes for your ears. That is exactly like clothes for your ears. Entrance music is like clothes for your ears. I don't know of anyone else who had like a big ah like costume change
Superhero Costume Critiques
01:29:31
Speaker
other than the the upcoming movie Superman who does have his trunks on as as God intended. But it's also wearing like paintball gear. It's also wearing paintball gear. i don't have Why? Why?
01:29:47
Speaker
Like, there are fabrics and materials you can use to make it look like it does in the comics. Yeah. It could just look good. It could just look good. We have the technology to just make it look good. I'm so sick of movies having ah being like, oh, but we wanted to look like ah like ah like closing the real world, like something someone would wear in the real world, like to have texture and stuff.
01:30:15
Speaker
Why? Yeah, the real world's bad. The real world's bad and doesn't look good. Hey, Wolverine kind of put on a version of his real clothes. That's true. for i Like finally. Well, and and in the comics too. Yeah, yeah like like a lot of the X-Men characters went back to old costumes. Wolverine's yellow and blue costume is the best Wolverine costume. I i also like um I'm always going to be a fan of the kind of original Browns,
01:30:48
Speaker
ah but I do have a nostalgic love of ah the yellow and blue costume. I can't believe you sat here and you were like, hey, fuck Dave Cockrum. I love John Byrne. I love John Byrne so much. He's so good and I love him.
01:31:07
Speaker
And he's my favorite guy ever. that I did not request- It's so loud that you like fully said that with your whole chest. I cannot i do not did not request words being put in my mouth here at this award show where we're supposed to get along and be friends. it's true matt we're We're of course we're friends. i' I will be friends with you despite the fact that you were like, fuck Dave Cockrum, he sucks.
01:31:31
Speaker
Worst costume designer of all time. John Byrne, however, has never said or done anything I don't love and fully endorsed me, Matt Wilson. Like you just said. and if And if people didn't hear that, you cut it out. Okay. That's weird. That happened. All right.
01:31:53
Speaker
Oh, you know who's got like, i I actually like genuinely like the costume that they've gone back to and I'm glad that they're in it again. Rogue. Yeah, that's a good suit too. That's what Rogue should look like, period. Rogue is, I do feel like Rogue's a bit of a tough one because it's hard to get a costume that like gets what her entire deal is across to you. Like, there's no visual shorthand for what Rogue is and does. Yes, but
01:32:28
Speaker
But counterpoint, Rogue looks like that. yeah Rogue is wearing a jacket and gloves and yellow and green. Yeah. The only like visual signifier that you get with Rogue is like, oh, she's like fully covered up. ah yeah Right. And and the the whitener hair. And gets cold. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, put that jacket on because it gets cold out there.
01:32:54
Speaker
Right. Cause she's from the South. It doesn't get that cold. If you, if you moved from Calico County, Mississippi to to New York, to North of New York city, yeah then you would, you would understand why Rogue wore that jacket in the summertime. You'd be like, oh that's cold all the time. I think some of the X-Men costume returns are good. I don't think they're all good.
01:33:22
Speaker
ah Like, and I'm not a huge fan of the new Cyclops look. I mean, has Cyclops ever had like a good costume? I kind of dig the the John Cassidy one. The X Factor costume, the John Cassidy one's pretty good.
Kyle Starks Moments and Dune 2
01:33:40
Speaker
I like the X Factor costume with the big X, and the fact that in the the current X Factor books, they're wearing a variation on those costumes, I i like it.
01:33:52
Speaker
Yeah, but I think there's a reason that they're wearing it in the book where everyone kind of looks like a total dork.
01:34:00
Speaker
i note Like that I feel like is one of the most divisive costumes in comics because I feel like people either absolutely love it or they're like that, like why would any, it stretches credibility that any person would wear those. Um, fair point, but it's comics so it doesn't matter. Yeah, no, like I, like I, I am,
01:34:20
Speaker
willing to let everyone have opinions. I'm not like you. I'm not out here being like Walt Simonson sucks and John Byrne has only ever said and done great and acceptable things. All right. We're we're stretching this bit to the limit. Thank you. Thank you for that category, Josh.
01:34:41
Speaker
Our next category comes from Isabel M and it is the Benjamin Jacob Grimm Award for the best time someone let us know what time it is.
01:34:52
Speaker
ah like Again, I know I've already talked about it, and I did look back and I looked at all the comics we've read this year. I think ah Batman driving his fucking dump truck out of that building in Absolute Batman is one of those. And also, Paul Atreides telling everyone if they don't think he's the least on Al-Ga'ib, they can fucking start some shit about it.
01:35:19
Speaker
like It's pretty good. It's pretty good. Dune 2 kicks ass, dude! The Dune movies own! I think those movies are really good, too. I i do think Dune 2 ends weirdly abruptly. But it is good. like I feel like Dune 2 ends where you're like, okay, when's the next movie happening? He made he made Christopher Walken kiss his ring, man.
01:35:47
Speaker
He did. But then, but then Zendaya's like, some motherfucker gonna not marry me? Yeah, and he's got, he's got to marry the princess Irelan. I guess, I guess Chani hasn't read the books. It's a weird, it's a weird note to end that movie on. That's my number one complaint about it. it's it's It ends on a weird note. It ends on a note where you got to be like, you're like, they have more of this coming, right?
01:36:15
Speaker
yeah The Dune movies do kind of operate on the premise of being like... but like It's like a TV show that it comes out once every two years.
Memorable Sci-Fi and Fantasy Moments
01:36:26
Speaker
you know like It's definitely an ongoinging an ongoing project.
01:36:33
Speaker
um I know there are there are plans to make a third one, probably. um but it's gonna have like a weird time jump. it It's weird. um Anyway, my answer to this is from the Fantastic Four book, and it is, um the issue itself tells us that Johnny Storm gets choked by an alien in this one, and then he does at the end. That's pretty good. Yep. Thank you Isabelle for that category. Thank you, Isabelle.
01:37:07
Speaker
Our next categories are from Charlie Etheridge-Nunn. Best moment in a Star Trek that you watched in 2024? From a Star Trek that I watched in 2024. Well, of course, it's gonna be, that's right, Benjamin Sisko leaving his baseball on his desk at on Deep Space Nine when the Cardassians come to take over, because he can be bad. He's coming back for it.
01:37:35
Speaker
Yeah. Goldicott, watch your ass. Yeah. That is like, I've said it a million times. That's the hardest shit anyone's ever done on Star Trek. I have watched almost the entirety of the next generation in 2024. So obviously it's when Picard tells ah <unk> fuck it David Warner that there are four lights. Yeah.
01:38:03
Speaker
Oh bud, good call, that kicks ass. That kicks ass so much.
01:38:09
Speaker
Uh, the next category from Charlie is the most Kyle Starks moment in comics not actually written by Kyle Starks. This was a tough one. This was a very, very tough one for me. Yeah. I do have my answer and I think it's going to be not necessarily controversial, but I don't think it's the like,
01:38:33
Speaker
I did divorce my thoughts on this from their context. So if you are if you're ready, I will tell you what it is. Yeah, let's hear it. It's the monsters made out of dicks from Berserk.
01:38:52
Speaker
If you separate them from their context, the monsters where their bodies, heads, arms, legs, hands and feet are all dicks is a very Kyle Starks thing to do.
01:39:03
Speaker
it That is true. I cannot deny that.
01:39:09
Speaker
Absolutely cannot deny that. Again, context? Not quite.
Tabletop RPG Highlights
01:39:14
Speaker
My answer to this, my winner for this is in the newest main minor threats miniseries. Minor threats the fastest way down, which Kyle is writing a book in that universe, Barfly.
01:39:33
Speaker
but this one is by Patton and Jordan ah directly. And it is the concept of the character backdrop. Okay. I am a little bit behind, so you may need to inform that. When Jordan was on the show, I talked to him about this. they had ah So there's a narrator of the first issue of the series who is constantly talking about like having seen all this stuff and like like being aware of everything that's going on um and talking about like how Frankie is helping everybody, all the like villains around town, right? And at least to me, like throughout like most of the issue, like you're like, who who is talking? Who is telling us this? And then you find out about this character named Backdrop,
01:40:29
Speaker
whose whole deal is he can blend into the background of anything. That's pretty good. and he's And then you go back through the issue and he's there. He's there throughout the issue before that, just in the background.
01:40:46
Speaker
and and And you the reader did not notice him. And you the reader did not notice him until you went back and you were like, shit, there he is. Pretty good. It's great. I love that bit. I i told Jordan how much I love that bit. And it is a very Kyle ideal, the idea I feel like. ah So that's it. was Was Peacemaker having a dog named Bruce Wayne the dog? Was that this year?
01:41:12
Speaker
Because I know that that is that is literally a a Kyle Starks idea from a Kyle Starks comic. That's also fucking funny. It's really fucking funny. I think his Peacemaker book was 2023, though. I think it was gay came out in 2023. Yes, it did.
Future Manga and Comic Book Picks
01:41:31
Speaker
All right. Finally from Charlie is the favorite That's Goku moment of 2024. Probably when I saw Goku at the Thanksgiving Day for It.
01:41:40
Speaker
ah which I look forward to all year. ah And ah this year, the Goku balloon was a very, very good balloon. I liked it. ah Last year's Goku balloon, where he was in ah the Super Saiyan Blue form was ah fine, but ah not like it, it kind of was like a little deflated weirdly, you know, like, and that felt like a weird, like a weird problem for it.
01:42:10
Speaker
Uh, but this one though, but like it was, it looked good. It was a good looking Goku. Thank you, Charlie, for those categories.
01:42:26
Speaker
It had like, like the little cartoon lines on it. Like it looked, go, go look at that Goku boy. It looks good. Our next two categories come from Dan Sylvester.
01:42:37
Speaker
The first one is, the I read all of Dragon Ball award for the next manga series, Chris and or Matt plan to read all of. Now you said you've already read all of Death Note, Chris. I think I've got like 10 more chapters of Death Note before I actually finish it. Do you know what's next? I don't know, man. You were talking about doing ah Chainsaw Man and I am yeah my i'm current on Chainsaw Man. My answer is Chainsaw Man. I don't know.
01:43:05
Speaker
i've i've I'm open to suggestion, but like, is it Naruto's year? Is it they're just like an unreadably huge amount of Naruto? I mean, there's a lot of Naruto, but there's not as much as there is of like One Piece. Yeah. There's a lot of One Piece. There's a lot of One Piece. I mean, I could. I could catch up on One Piece. I could do it. It's readable. It's a very readable book.
01:43:36
Speaker
Next from Dan Sylvester is the I can't believe the absolute books are good award for favorite moment from an ultimate or absolute universe book this year. Hey, Matt. Yep. Batman AF. I knew that was going to be yours. Fucking funny, man. Really fucking funny. It should like that is dead.
01:44:04
Speaker
is such a thing that should be dumb. It should be so dumb. And it's the perfect like, it's the perfect like amount of actually that's very funny.
01:44:22
Speaker
Yeah, it's, it's like 50% dumb as hell 50% great. And maybe that's the perfect ratio.
Gaming Highlights and Reed Richards Discussion
01:44:30
Speaker
Yeah. Could be. My answer is an absolute Superman when he sticks up for those miners in Brazil. Because that's what Superman should be doing. I agree. Like, God, I love absolute Superman so much. ah Dan, thanks for those categories.
01:44:59
Speaker
Our next category is from Chris Kaiser, which this category is a little baffling to me. That's my name and or face award for best appearance of a war rocket Ajax host in comics this year. ah it It took me a minute, Matt, to remember. I think this one's directed at me because I think I had two this year. If you recall,
01:45:27
Speaker
Uh, there was my name of appearing on the oh magneto list of people whose lives he saved. That's right. And then you were also mentioned in chip Batman. Chip Batman. Yeah. Yes. Uh, as ah the, uh, gun manufacturer, ah ultimately responsible for the death of the Wayans. So, so which do you like more? Which do you like more being a gun manufacturer or being one of the people of magneto saved? Probably going to go with being one of the people saved by magneto yeah for that one.
01:45:58
Speaker
I don't have one because I'm invisible, I guess. Thanks for making me feel bad. Don't know bad. Don't feel bad. Thanks, Chris. Kaiser. Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Blame him. Yeah. No, thank you for that category, Chris, Kaiser. Our next category is from Greg Cashman.
01:46:22
Speaker
This is Metroidvania, most likely to be secretly a trap created by Arcade and or the Riddler. ah easy Easy one. This is one where some I was like, oh, someone is specifically wanting us to talk about something and I knew exactly what it was. ah Because that is Animal Well. Man, that game ruled. That game did rule? But then i I did not, our friend Jodi, Jodi Troutman, did like,
01:46:51
Speaker
100% it got through all the layers of of what is animal well. I did not. I platinum trophyed it myself. Did you? you got through yeah You got through more layers than I did. I like i i liked it a lot. Until Bellatro, it probably would have been my game of the year. I loved it. I loved it. like Obviously there was stuff you had to go look up online.
01:47:20
Speaker
to do it, like especially the bunny puzzle that you had to crowdsource. ah But yeah, i it was an infinitely innovative, clever, well-made game. Yeah, no ah but like so much thought And so much, so many ideas arranged in such a way that like reveal themselves to you as soon as you think you've got a handle on it. To just that like, like, yeah, like that that is a full, the Riddler wishes. The Riddler could never come up with that because the person writing the Riddler would have to have come up with that. And no, no one would.
01:48:15
Speaker
Because that's um but too much. Too much work for me. Thank you. ah Greg, thank you for that category.
01:48:26
Speaker
Our next category is from Sean Bell. It's the Brennan Lee Mulligan Award for Best D and&D or TTRPG Moment of the Year from either one of your own campaigns or an actual play.
01:48:38
Speaker
ah Sadly, I think the the moment where the party summoned Goku, that was in 2023, I believe. ah Maybe 2022, because we did play a whole campaign since then. In in my personal campaign, a lot of fun stuff happened ah in my home game. But also, I think like a lot of the stuff that happened in ah Fantasy High Season 3 on Dropout.TV uh, the dimension 20, uh, uh, series, uh, was fancy high series three or season three was like really excellent. And the idea of incorporating a completely different kind of like add-on system.
01:49:30
Speaker
that definitely worked and made sense and kind of played with D and&D rules in order to like keep track of how all of the characters were juggling everything that they needed to do as high school students, including like ah like school popularity and extracurriculars and having to have a part-time job. And, uh, like the way all those successes were arranged was just like really smart and really cool. And I loved that entire, uh, that entire setup and how it eventually like, not only was a, like a a framework for comedy, which I feel like ultimately that ultimately like that's what the entire show is, right? It's like using,
01:50:20
Speaker
D&D and role-playing games is like the framework of ah improv comedy. But like the way that paid off also as a actual narrative thing that that affected the story, like the fact that Lou Wilson chose to ah like mechanically allocate all of his time into being the most popular kid in school,
01:50:50
Speaker
pays off you know in that that. And I just thought that was like extremely clever. um Really good stuff from ah from Dimension 20, as always. I did not play a game this year in a game. ah But I did listen to the Adventure Zone and enjoyed that they did the Adventure Zone versus Dracula. And ah the part where they have that one Dracula head that they talk to was probably my favorite part.
01:51:21
Speaker
of ah of that that run of episodes. Thank you for ah that category, Sean Bell. Yeah.
01:51:35
Speaker
Our next category is from Joshua Golden. It's the most upsetting use of Reed Richards' powers. i We had someone else mention Reed sticking his eyes out.
01:51:49
Speaker
And using them like binoculars. Using them like binoculars, and that was upsetting. The more I thought about it, the more about Reed stretching himself to fucking cover Madison Square Garden. That was mine too. Yeah. and And like all the vampires just like biting him, but they can't get through cause he's too rubbery. So it's like vampires are like chewing on Reed Richards, like chewing gum. That's so fucking gross. It's like, that was the one that stuck with me the most. Cause cause when he like stopped doing it, he was all like tattered up and bloody and and disturbing. Not it wasn't, didn't make me happy. Yeah.
01:52:30
Speaker
Yeah, and he's all bloodied up when he's covering Madison Square Garden as well. It's it's a lot. Yeah, it's so it's all stretched out. the I think that's it. Joshua, thank you for that category. Next up, we have a category from Brad Ellison. It's the Adrian Paul and Kerry Elwes Award for Best Sword Fight of 2024. I couldn't remember any good sword fights from this year.
01:52:58
Speaker
Here's my question. Yes. Can a knife fight qualify as a sword fight? Am I about to talk about Paul Atreides again? if If it does, if it does, then you know we're talking about ah Paul Atreides versus ah fucking ah Elvis.
Ultimate and Absolute Comic Moments
01:53:22
Speaker
Fade Routha? Fade Routha, yeah. Talk about Austin Powers. I'm talking about Alistair Powers, our our lead our lead vampire, um because that knife fight whips. No, that it ah it extremely kicked ass. Yeah. But that is specifically a knife fight. It is a knife fight, but i I'm going to count it. it's it's It ain't made my sword chip and shatter. No, it's not, but I'm counting it anyway. It's good. That would have also been my pick.
01:53:58
Speaker
But I can't, like, I can't, I can't think of any, like, I mean, look, I know a bunch of Asagi and Jimbo comics came out and I know Miyamoto and Asagi fucked a bunch of dudes up, but like, are those even really fights? Great question. All those dudes show up and they go, dang, what can he do? He's just one main Gironan. And then they get stabbed and their tongue comes out. Yeah. yeah They get got. They get got and their tongue comes out. ah Thank you for that category, Brad.
01:54:32
Speaker
Kevin Moroni has this category for us, the most absolutely essential ultimate thingy. Dragon Ball Super.
01:54:44
Speaker
ah i I will go with um Absolute Superman of absolute and ultimate things that I like the most. Okay, fair. And there' that's it.
01:55:01
Speaker
Thank you, Kevin, for that category.
2025 Recommendations and Animated Spin-offs
01:55:06
Speaker
Greg Black says, best recommendation in 2024 you're going to get into in 2025, really? Um, you, Matt, you don't do this, but ah someone that you and I both host a podcast with.
01:55:28
Speaker
Different podcasts, but yeah. Different podcasts. Gets real salty about me not taking his recommendations for movies and television shows. Uh-huh. And like, I don't watch a lot of movies. But i I feel like one of you out there gets real salty about me going like, hey, we should always watch on TV and then ah and then not listening to you because I want to watch something else.
01:55:58
Speaker
but so I mean you're like don't ask I Don't know man. Maybe you're gonna sit like it's not it's not my fault. You guys aren't saying the stuff. I want to watch But then in that case what Why did you ask that's that's that is a good question cuz you two know what's on fucking to be and shit You don't want to watch anything on to be I might I You don't. I've got i've got varied tastes.
01:56:32
Speaker
Anyway, ah this year i I am resolving. I'm saying it now. i will If something is recommended to me, I will make more of an attempt to experience it.
01:56:46
Speaker
so So your 2024 recommendation that you're going to take in 2025 is taking recommendations. It's taking recommendations, yeah. okay Now that you say it like that is a very me thing to have to resolve to do. ah i Mine is going to be the Silent Hill 2 remake, which I want to play and just have it. um But I mean, that's me in video games. I wait a while to play.
01:57:15
Speaker
video games a lot of times. Oh, do you know what it is? Not the Silent Hill 2 remake. Even though I'm going to play it. But I was going to play that anyway. I'm finally going to listen to people's recommendations and play Lies of P. know that's That's a game that you've been very resistant to. It is because I've played other souls-likes that have been not fun.
01:57:38
Speaker
and like Like the way that you think Souls games play, that's how I think a lot of Souls likes play. Interesting. Where like the movement is slow and clunky and not responsive. And to me, there's like a very clear difference of like, this is fun to play and this is not fun to play. And I think the Souls games are fun to play and like,
01:58:06
Speaker
fair and a lot of Souls likes art ah because they have like loosey-goosey controls and stuff but enough people have said Liza P is good and and matches the the tight controls of the other games that uh i'll give it a shot all right i mean that's that's the one that i have been Like, that I popped that one on my ah wish list a while back, even though i'm ah I know I have an aversion to souls' likes. ah But I'm curious to know what you think of it, and alternately, if you think I would enjoy it, which is probably a no. Well, if if it plays like a Souls games, I know you won't, but we'll see. ah just I just wish I liked them. I think if you like really put in the
01:58:57
Speaker
Like we're like, I'm going to play this game and then played it and then broke through that barrier, that difficulty barrier that you got to break through. You will, you will like them. i mean Okay. Okay. Matt, back up to the back up to me answering this question. I still don't have a job. Okay. I got bloodborne. Yeah. I i may not have a job, but I do have bloodborne on the PlayStation.
01:59:25
Speaker
i I wish I had a ah scheduled visit where I could be like, let me unlock Bloodborne for you. Because I will. I would and will. But Greg, thank you for that category.
01:59:48
Speaker
are the The first category from Dugan Nash, I feel like we have already answered. Favorite comics run you guys love that the unwashed masses of the internet hate? I mean, we talked about Zeb Will Spider-Man. Yeah, like, that's certainly the most recent. I mean, like, I think you and I like a lot of runs of comics that most people are perhaps unaware of. Yeah, at at at best unaware of.
02:00:13
Speaker
um But, Dukin's other category is, favorite animated spin-off of beloved sci-fi TV series that ended this year. I've already talked about Lower Decks. It's It's Lower Decks. I ah recently wrote ah my second ah all-new, all-different post on the the absolute ISB.
02:00:35
Speaker
the the ultimate absolute ISB, which is what happened after I got frustrated at Lynx not working and fully deleted my old comics blog, and now it just has two posts on it, ah but both of them are, I would say, better than most of the posts that were previously on on my blog. The A-U-S-B. There would be an I in there. The A-U-I-S-B.
02:01:02
Speaker
Okay. Yeah, but I wrote a like 5,000 word piece that you can go read right now. It's about Star Trek. oh And people seem to like it. Did you read it, Matt? I did. Do you like it? Yes, I liked it a lot. i i I don't know if I agree with the conclusion, but I did enjoy it.
02:01:27
Speaker
You know, you're not the only person who said that to me. The take is hot. yeah But one of the things that I do, what i think one of the conclusions I come to in that article is that Lower Decks is the only ah Star Trek series that doesn't have bad episodes. I would agree. I would agree, yeah. It's it's got 50 episodes that are all good.
02:01:53
Speaker
I think some are better than others. Some are better than others, but the worst episode of Lower Decks is still pretty good. Yeah. ah lower deck like And Lower Decks as a whole is great. Yes, absolutely. It's a a really, really phenomenal show ah that just did such a great job oh of what it was doing. I was resistant to it for a while. And I've talked about this on the show before because like, uh, adult animated, uh, Star Trek show sounds like it's going to be bad, but it was like truly, truly excellent. Uh, what a great show. What a great cast. What a great, like, like, like fun last season, uh, of, of cool stuff happening and cool dude showing up.
02:02:52
Speaker
Fucking fuckingin Garret shows up. Love Garret. Garret, like top three Star Trek characters of all. Good shit. Good shit. Lower Decks is so good. And it's gonna have some ah comics that are also gonna be good. Cause the ones that exist already are also good. Dugan, thank you for those categories.
02:03:22
Speaker
Our next set of categories is from Chris Cole. First is the dummy thick Batman award for best superhero redesign. Well, you said it. My answer, my winner is actually absolute Wonder Woman. I i love that design. I love that sword. I was also thinking about that. And I was also thinking about Wonder Woman in the context of like real clothes her because Wonder Woman,
02:03:51
Speaker
Wonder Woman's a character that I have a lot of opinions about, but I feel like Wonder Woman men is also a character who means so much more to people who are not me, that it's not my, that those are hot takes that I tend to keep to myself. ah But I was thinking about her in the context of one's real clothes. And the thought I was having was like,
02:04:21
Speaker
i Feel like it has never made sense for what like one of his costumes never made sense Like she's not ah she's not American, right? Like purely just getting down to it. She's not from the United States of America. So why is she wearing that flag and I know why and why is because World War two like but but So many creators have kind of like gone and really done some so storytelling gymnastics to try and justify it.
Comic Retcons and Overdue Changes
02:04:55
Speaker
ah And so she's a character who I think like of all the characters who I think it's possible to get away from their iconic look,
02:05:07
Speaker
Wonder Woman is the only one where I'm like, you can get far away from this and it has the best chance of sticking. And I feel like Absolute Wonder Woman is kind of what Wonder Woman should look like. Yeah. Well, the thing is, it is somewhat far removed from the traditional Wonder Woman design, but she's still very recognizably Wonder Woman. Yeah.
02:05:34
Speaker
Like, because with Wonder Woman, I think it's more about shapes, right? Like it's it's the tiara, it's the lasso, it's the, like. The chest plate. The bracelets, like that's the stuff that you need. And so you can mess with the aesthetic within that and have it work out well. And I think that's like, you know, obviously New 52 Wonder Woman had a different costume, immediate pre New 52 Wonder Woman where she wore pants for a little bit and everybody lost their fucking minds. Like it was 1853.
02:06:04
Speaker
Uh, like, they did it with that. She had a jacket, and that cost him, too. It was pretty good. Yeah, it was pretty good. Uh, but yeah, like, I like that Wonder Woman costume. him And if we're gonna give Wonder Woman a sword, which is something else that I have complicated feelings about, give her a big one. Yeah. Don't give her that one she has in the movies. Give her the fucking dragon slayer. Give her the fucking dragon slayer. Make Wonder Woman berserk, which is what absolute Wonder Woman is. Uh, it's great. It rules. I love it.
02:06:33
Speaker
ah Just a Wonder Woman who simply kicks ass. That's what I want. I mean, I will tell you this. Wonder Woman would have beat the shit out of them two with a god hand. Next on Chris's list of categories is the Draco Memorial Award for most overdue retcon. ah What? What did we do? What? Did we get big retcons this year? I don't... remember I don't remember any, but also, like, I didn't read everything, so I don't know.
02:07:04
Speaker
Yeah, i i I do not know. I feel like I'm forgetting something. But I can't think of anything. Can't think of anything. what Was this, I don't think, it it wasn't this year when we found out that Nightcrawler was, like Mystique was Nightcrawler's, Mystique and Destiny are Nightcrawler's parents, I guess is the best way to say that. That is last year, I think. I don't remember, but we can count it. Let's count it.
02:07:31
Speaker
ah i I think that's pretty good. That's the direct rank on of the Draco. Chris Cole also brings up Reed Richard's Binocular Eyes, the Reed Richard's Binocular Eyes award for most unsettling artwork. oh In context, the dick monsters from Berserk. Because they are fully monsters made of dicks. They sure are. They sure are. Subtlety is useless. Subtlety be gone.
02:08:02
Speaker
But again, I think it's Reed Richards getting bitten up by all those vampires. Didn't like it. It's, it's, it's disturbing. Uh, Chris, thank you for those categories. um Isaac Jansens has this category for us. What if the, what if Goku was their award for the story that would be most improved by adding Sun Goku? I I had a real hard time trying to think about this, believe it or not, because all I could think about was there was that um Blue Sky post I saw that said, if Goku would have been in Dune, that shit would have gone down real different. And that's all I was able to think about for like three days after reading that. Because it's true.
02:08:51
Speaker
Whose side would Goku have been on, though? I mean, he would have been a good guy. but Now, the question is, who are the good guys in Toon? Well? Great question. Great question. I mean, the Fremen generally, I guess. Yeah, there's more good guys.
02:09:14
Speaker
There's worse guys in Toon. There's worse guys for sure. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, if Goku was there, maybe that would have been different too. That's true.
02:09:27
Speaker
ah Along those same lines, I read Ducks in 2024 and that would be pretty different if Goku was there. Definitely a lot of comics that would have been different. Yeah. Had Goku. Definitely would have gone down different in 2024 if Goku was in many books. I wish Goku was in 2024.
02:09:55
Speaker
What year do you think he's in, in Dragon Ball? I mean, I but i believe it's, uh, it's like the year. Dragon Ball has its own calendar. So it's like, it's like age 804 or something. There's a whole thing about the Dragon Ball timeline, Matt. It feels like the past, but there's technology. Yeah. And also dinosaurs are still around.
Comics Regret and Overstayed Characters
02:10:17
Speaker
That's true. And also the king of earth is a dog. Thank you for that category, Isaac.
02:10:27
Speaker
Our next two categories come from Robert Secundus. The first is the Jeff Johns Award for comic that you most wish you had not devoted time to reading in 2024. Chris, can I go first? You may. That fucking JMS Captain America book. it You read one issue. I read one issue and that was way too much. Hilarious. Boy, I would love to have that time back.
02:10:57
Speaker
made him a fucking, made him a fucking landlord. So funny. Terrible. Like, it's funny because I didn't read it. um My answer is Ginny Sparks, but like, I will continue reading it. You know? Yep. ah ah It is, by the way, ah it is ah currently in the events of Dragon Ball Super.
02:11:27
Speaker
I believe it's age, uh, age 780 is the, uh, the, the name of the timeline. Hmm. Okay. Okay. I don't know when that timeline starts, but that's, that's what it is currently. That's the year that is currently in Dragon Ball. All right.
02:11:50
Speaker
The second category from Robert is the Excellence in Questioning Award for the Stone Cold HCC question that made you laugh the hardest in 2024. It is incredible and flattering to me that you think I can remember anything that happens on this show more than like the next day, maybe. Same.
02:12:15
Speaker
but I went back and looked up some some posts from Stone Cold HCC. Okay. i My favorite is from March, which is, y'all think Bizarro thinks Jeopardy is just a regular game show? That's really funny. like That sounds really good. It is it is not a disservice to to Stone Cold HCC to think that I would remember it. It's a failing on my part that I don't remember.
02:12:44
Speaker
i don't birth I don't remember my own jokes. I was making myself laugh today because I went back and looked at the gimmick street directory on the wiki. We had two different jokes about a reindeer petting zoo.
02:13:01
Speaker
yeah We're never going to remember anything. yeah man like it's it's It's hopeless for us. Someone should put Stone Cold HCC's jokes on on the wiki. That would be just just to keep track of the questions that have been asked and if we were able to answer them. ah Robert, thank you for those categories.
02:13:32
Speaker
Our next two categories are from Rocket Whistle. First is the Maximum Carnage Award for the comic that you know is good. It's not good, but your lizard brain keeps trying to convince you it's better than it is. I would try to rewrite Maximum Carnage right now. We already did it once. I know we already did it. i would i would I'm thinking about it and I'm like, you know, it's probably better than we gave it credit for.
02:13:56
Speaker
and Again. i Absolutely not. i have ah I have a clear answer to this one. Oh, okay, interesting. I'm i'm ready to hear it. The Dan Jurgens run on Thor. Yeah, no, Matt, perfect answer. Perfect answer because it it does go on, doesn't it? Well, here's the thing. It's not bad. It's not bad. But reading it all together really makes the cracks and seams in its show. Yeah, it points out a lot of the flaws, like, were, were you, what were you actually trying to do with this character? Yeah, there's a lot of that. Like, is this guy an undercover cop? Or is he the bad guy? And did you change your mind on that? Like, yeah, and it is. There's a lot of that. There's a lot of like, is this
02:14:56
Speaker
Was this the original plan or is this like a really late call audible that happened um many times throughout that run? It's very funny to me to think, ah like to read this, the Dan Jorgens run in the context of the Grunewald run on Captain America, which is so much longer and so much more like varied in quality. and Yeah.
02:15:24
Speaker
is still like you know such a weird... but like There's so much in these long runs that maybe you weren't forgotten about, but like a lot of pieces of them were forgotten about that are so interesting to like look at in in like the context of each other. The other category from Rocket is the Not a Sponsor But Could Be Award for the product that especially stood out to you and made you compelled to talk about it.
02:15:55
Speaker
I have an answer for this one if if if I may. Go, go, go ahead. ah Because this is someone who the first thing I did this year in terms of ah our business of this business sir ah was to get in contact with the makers of this. I ah saw like a really cool looking super expensive board game ah called ah ah Kinfire. ah Kinfire Chronicles is the name of it. It's like a hundred and fifty dollar big box board game that's got like a really cool art style. But I was looking at it before Christmas and I was like, I don't want to now is not currently the time to get myself things for oh of this nature. But it did have like a spin off.
02:16:50
Speaker
And the spinoff was like a lot less expensive. It's like a little two player card game ah that I played. And again, the art in it is fantastic. They're called ah Kinfire Delve. There's three different versions of them. So each one has like two characters and ah basically like a, it's all cards, but like there's a location that you're trying to explore and a boss that you're trying to fight in this card game.
02:17:14
Speaker
And I played it, I played it with Ted Anderson. I had opened it up, I had read the rules, I had ah put sleeves on the cards, because you know I love to slip the cards. And I said, as we started playing, I said, hey, I hope this isn't good. Because if it is, I'm gonna wanna get this whole thing. And we played this card game, and it has like,
02:17:43
Speaker
three different extremely well done and brilliant mechanics that make it innovative and cool. And it kind of like, it feels like you're playing a video game in a way, but like it's definitely like you're playing a very fun card game. I don't know how to say that in a way that makes sense. Uh, but I, I played it and like we're, we were playing and I looked up at Ted and I went, Oh no.
02:18:11
Speaker
This is really good and I'm going to want to get this entire thing. So the first thing I did for Kledis Media in the year 2025 was send an email to them being like, hey, ah I really love this and I would ah love to have you sponsor the show. And they were very nice and got back to me oh and ah are not yet a sponsor, but could be.
02:18:38
Speaker
but could be. but I really, really loved it. And ah you should take a look at it. i I believe you either have to get it from them or a local game store. ah It's not on ah the bookstore but website. So ah check that out. the the The sheer aesthetic of it is is what made me want to play it. And it's really, really good.
02:19:00
Speaker
Uh, my winner for this is a brand that we did try to make a sponsor and then like nine months after I applied to be in their affiliate program, they said no. It's a serial brand. You can figure it out. Dang, man. Thank you, Rocket, for those categories. I didn't even know that they had, I didn't even know they had hit us back with the no. What the fuck? It was like a week ago. Thanks, Rocket. Damn, the cereal's pretty good though, I guess. Whatever.
02:19:32
Speaker
Next category from Derek Allen is best sword. If it's got to be a new sword, and it's got to be from comics, Wonder Woman's Dragon Slayer. Yeah, that thing rules. Yeah. That thing's great. If it's got to be a sword.
02:19:47
Speaker
that if it doesn't have to be new, but it has to be from comics, the dragon slayer, but that's not really a sword, it's more of a slab of iron. Yeah, it's a raw slab of iron. ah Thanks, Derek, for that category. Well, if it if it doesn't have to be new and it doesn't have to be from comics, then as it has been since the end of the Third Age of Man, ah it's under-reeled the Flame of the West.
02:20:10
Speaker
Our next category from Ryan Holiday is the Chris Jericho Award for character that has worn out their welcome. Do you have ah any any thoughts on this one, Matt? Who has Go Away Heat in comics? I'm not gonna lie, Rick Rapp's getting there. I mean, ah sure, sure.
02:20:37
Speaker
I did love Zeb Wills ah leaving that book and ah like one of his final things being like, you know, you have to use him. Like he's got to be in this.
02:20:53
Speaker
Like doing doing that little backup story that's like, and I'm going to be, a i'll I'll be hanging out with you all the time, Pete. That's very funny to me.
02:21:05
Speaker
Yeah, I like, I, I love rare crap, but I, I do have to say a little goes a long way for sure. Yeah. ah Who else is kind of like, you can go away for a little while. I mean, like, look, I get it. I get it. Cause we all want to be excited and he's wearing his real clothes and everything, but like,
02:21:36
Speaker
all of y'all who got like excited about Guy Gardner being in that Superman trailer, you realize that means Guy Gardner is in that movie, right? Is that really what you want? Like, if it is, great, I'm happy for you. But is that really what you want?
War Rocket Ajax Lore and Championship Debate
02:21:54
Speaker
But you really want Guy
02:22:03
Speaker
ah
02:22:06
Speaker
I don't think you really want that, but if you do, God bless ya. He has been gone for a while. Well, I don't know. I i think he only finally came back in 2025, so i I guess that doesn't count. I'll tell you who in like the Jed McKay X-Men book that I was just like, I don't need him here, um was Juggernaut, weirdly enough. like I hate his new costume.
02:22:37
Speaker
And he feels kind of weirdly out of place. I like, I wish I liked Jed's X-Men book more than I do. Yeah. ah yeah yeah um yeah ah ah Brian, thank you for that category. Our last listener submitted category is from Peter Velez. And it is the gimmick street department of tourism Gordy for the favorite new piece of Ajax lore.
02:23:09
Speaker
ah
02:23:12
Speaker
the the i don't I don't know what the new lore is. i What kind of new lore do we have to choose from? I wish, I think maybe next year people send in categories and options. Just suggestions to get us thinking. because like it Is it Ajax lore that Christmas movies don't exist?
02:23:38
Speaker
I mean, like in a way, yes. In a way, yes. Okay. i think i My favorite new piece of Ajax lore is our sports complex. The sports teams are good. The sports teams are a good idea. And how they're all those sports arenas on gimmick street. Yeah. that you're You're right. That's fun. Yeah. That's really good.
02:24:03
Speaker
um I also like that Gimmick Street has a bunch of businesses that are ah similar to but legally distinct from other businesses like The Vitamin Store and Party City, but it's spelled C-I-T-I. That's really funny to me.
02:24:23
Speaker
I also am a fan of that anarchist bookstore being named Pojar. That's pretty good. um I think this is probably going to be a contender for this award next year, but ah Matt Wilson loving everything that John Byrne has ever done or drawn. That's not lore. That's apocryphal. Matt being on the JB forums and being like,
02:24:52
Speaker
Totally right, JB. That's the biggest retcon we need in 2025. Peter, thank you for that category. That means it's time for our last category, the one standing category in the Gordies every year, the War Rocket Ajax Intercontinental Championship. Who wins it for 2024?
02:25:21
Speaker
Uh, I would love to hear your thoughts on who gets, uh, gets the 2024 going into 2025, uh, intercontinental championship. Uh, we had, uh, uh, last year it was, uh, Kyle Starks is the reigning, uh, war rocket Ajax intercontinental champion, uh, with, I would say,
02:25:47
Speaker
Jim Zdorski did not declare that he was cashing in ah the 2023 Flash Gordon Memorial Gordie in the Bank briefcase, ah but could have easily taken it, I think. That's true. not nice true that That makes it sound kind of mean to Kyle, but ah could could have did some excellent work this year that you and I both liked. Yeah. um I know that we we have all of the previous winners on War Rocket Wiki, correct? Yes, I can read them off to you if you would like. Okay, okay, okay, yeah. As it says here, ah we cannot pick more than one person and the winners cannot repeat from year to year except that they have and they do. oh The first one
02:26:42
Speaker
Uh, went to Mark Wade and the Macho Man Randy Savage. Very first one we gave to two people. Yes. Uh, and Mark Wade, also, great, great year, this year. Uh, if this was the last Gordies, if we knew for sure that this was the last Gordies, I would give it to Mark Wade again. Yeah, yeah. Uh, but, uh, uh, next one was Allison Baker, then there was a three-way tie between We just ignored our own rules instantly. Three-way time between Alison Baker, Chip Zdorski, and Jeff Parker. That's Chip's first reign. how Mark Doyle got it the following year. Chip Zdorski got his second reign in 2016. Kyle Starks in 2017. Kelly Thompson in 2018. Teenie Howard in 2019. Al Ewing 2020.
02:27:30
Speaker
ah James Titan IV in 2021, a ah ah split, ah two winners in 2022, Jed McKay and all dogs. ah In 2023, it was Daniel Warren Johnson and the Gordie and the Bank briefcase went to Zeb Wells. And then in 2024, the ah the ah second reign for Kyle Starks and Chip got the Gordie and the Bank briefcase.
02:28:00
Speaker
That's an illustrious gang. That is an illustrious gang. I feel like in 2024, the 2024 Intercontinental Championship, I feel like 2024 is the year when the absolute DC books really have reigned, right?
02:28:21
Speaker
like As has been demonstrated in this award show, they've been racking up wins.
02:28:32
Speaker
And part of me feels like it is only right. to do another three-way split for the absolute for the the Intercontinental title between the three writers of the absolute books, Scott Snyder, Jason Aaron, and Kelly Thompson. Looking back at this list, I cannot believe that Scott Snyder and Jason Aaron have not gotten this award prior to now. I can fully believe that but Kelly Thompson got it, yeah but I can't believe that those two haven't.
02:29:09
Speaker
Uh, but I mean, also the art in those books is also phenomenal. Yeah. Maybe, maybe it's, yeah, maybe it's Nick Dragata and, and, uh, uh, Hayden Sherman and Jordy Belair. And like, maybe it's like a nine way tie. Cause I mean, and ro that woman looks great. It really does. And like,
02:29:35
Speaker
Like no other mainstream book being published yeah in the best possible way. I think that is a that's a very solid choice. I have two other options I would like to put out before we make our final decision and award the oh Intercontinental Championship belt to its its owner or owners for the next year.
02:30:02
Speaker
and keep going We also there there is the Gordie and the Bank briefcase that was turned out. Yeah ah Which could be a guaranteed title win If you choose your moment when I think about the the creators that Did the most that Affected me the most in the past year
02:30:31
Speaker
This would be the not only not only a tie Gordie award, a two-way split for the Intercontinental Championship, it would be the first posthumous one. Because I would i would like to put forth Kentaro Miura and Akira Toriyama.
02:30:54
Speaker
That's option one. That's my friend like that first option. I like that idea. I like that idea. I like that idea a lot.
02:31:03
Speaker
Option two. Option two is this was the first thing that I wrote down because when I looked back at 2024 and I looked back at all of the shows that we have done together, week in and week out, ah sitting down to talk about the stuff that we love, what do I what do i love about that? And the answer, Matt,
02:31:30
Speaker
is not dissimilar to what I think is secretly the best relationship in love, actually. Because when I think about what I've enjoyed on War Rocket Ajax over the past year, it's Matt Wilson. So my other suggestion for the Intercontinental title is Matt D. Wilson. That's very flattering. We're not doing that.
02:31:57
Speaker
I knew you wouldn't want to do it, but it is 100% true. that what Today, I was going through all this stuff and I was like, I don't want to do the show. I'm tired. We got to get back in the swing of it, but like I don't want to do it. Then I was like, but I do want to talk to Matt. I do want to do and hear what Matt thinks about all this stuff.
02:32:21
Speaker
that's fair it's Very kind, ah but ah we are not giving the the title to me. I do like the idea of giving the title to Akira Toriyama and Kintaro Mura posthumously. here's Here's what I'll suggest. Akira Toriyama, Kintaro Mura, they're the Intercontinental title winners this year.
02:32:51
Speaker
Gordy and the Bank goes to all the members of the creative teams of the Absolute Books. A full 9 to 15 way tie. Yes. Between all of the creators of the Absolute Books. Yes. I think that's a good idea. What kind of monster Would Kelly Thompson have to be to cash in on Kentarburo? For instance. It's going to be an easy one. Dang. Dang. Brutal.
02:33:27
Speaker
Hey, thank you to everybody who sent in Gordie categories this year. um It was fun to talk about all this stuff. It is increasingly hard to remember the year that came before, um especially when it was a year like 2024. But we had fun talking about it and we hope you had fun listening to it. um We will be back next week with a regular episode. We might read some jurgies.
02:33:56
Speaker
We might read some jerkies. We might get back into that. ah But in the meantime, if you want to get in touch with us, you can email us at warrocketpodcast.gmail dot.com. You can follow us on Blue Sky at warrocketajax.com on Blue Sky. ah You can ask us questions on Tumblr, warrocketpodcast.tumblr.com. You can hit us up on our Patreon, warrocketajax.com.
02:34:23
Speaker
or Patreon dot.com slash War Rocket Ajax and also contribute to the show there. We would love that. We continue to promise that if we hit 420 paying patrons on Patreon, ah we will do, we will take it edible and record some boko. We are currently still at 400 paid patrons. So 20 more, we'll do it.
02:34:51
Speaker
ah so So if you can, go do that. There's also our Discord. You have to be invited to be a member of it, but if you ask us nicely in any of those places I just mentioned, we will get you an invitation and you can join.
02:35:07
Speaker
If you want to find me and my stuff, go to MattDWilson.net to find links to my comics, my books, my other podcasts, and my social medias. Chris, where can people find you? People can find ah the two things that I have written that are now available to you at the-isp.com that also has links to other stuff that I do, contact information. ah if If you're my mom, my Amazon wishlist is there. She keeps asking me every year.
02:35:36
Speaker
so She doesn't listen to the show, but you can tell her if you if you run into her. dhe-isp.com. That's my website. It's got all this stuff. Thank you for listening. Thank you for ah enjoying the show, listening to the show, joining us for another year. It's 2025. As wild as that is to say, a full future year, we will be here. We'll all be we'll all be getting through it together.
02:36:06
Speaker
Yeah, we're going to have to. Because we're going to have to. ah But join us. Keep joining us. ah We will be here doing the show as long as you are there to listen to it. ah Thank you, everyone. Have a a good year if you can. Have the best the best year you can. Whatever kind of year you have, we'll be there with you.
02:36:34
Speaker
and we'll all be trying to make it better for each other. That's right. And we'll we'll see you next week. See you next week, everybody.
02:36:43
Speaker
Gordon's alive. Gordon's alive? Yeah.