Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Every Story Ever: August 2025
0 Plays2 seconds ago
Time to rank stories once again, with stories from Matt Wagner and several creators who disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle!
We make our show on Zencastr, and you can too! Follow this link to sign up now!
Join the WRA Patreon to help us keep doing the show and get rewards!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Recording Setup
00:00:00
Speaker
This show is recorded using Zencaster. If you are a podcaster or you want to be a podcaster and you want to be able to record remotely, you can do so using Zencaster.
00:00:12
Speaker
They also have hosting options and you can let them know that we sent you. Follow the link in our show notes or in the episode description and sign up for an account on Zencaster now to start recording your own podcast.
00:00:28
Speaker
Glad to start.
Comic Book Rankings: 'Every Story Ever'
00:00:35
Speaker
We have a list on our website, warrocketajax.com, called Every Story Ever. What we're doing is we're taking lists from our listeners of three comic book stories, and then we are placing those stories on the list from best to worst comic book stories of all time. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the War Rocket Ajax Every Story Ever special. for August 2025.
00:01:10
Speaker
My name is Matt Wilson. With me, as always, is Chris Sims. Say hi, Chris. There he is. Hi, Chris. ah The classic joke.
00:01:21
Speaker
Classic gag. As you know, what we always do on these specials these monthly specials is we take submitted lists from our listeners of three comic book stories And we rank them on a big list.
00:01:38
Speaker
i I said it in the past. I said it in the opening. You heard me talk about it there.
Understanding Comic Rankings and Microphone Check
00:01:44
Speaker
Chris, would you like to give a quick rundown of the current state of the Every Story Ever list?
00:01:53
Speaker
I sure would, Matt. ah The top and bottom haven't changed, and I say those every month, so I'm not going to go through with those. But what I will tell you is that there are 1,640 comics on the list So if we were to look at the absolute middle of the list, ah that would give us numbers 820 and 821, which are Ultimate Spider-Man Venom by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, and Astro City Tarnished Angel by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson, with covers by Alex Ross.
00:02:29
Speaker
And I would say those are some B-plus comics. They're not bad. No, B-plus is good. As we've said many times in the past, it's a top-heavy list.
00:02:45
Speaker
It's a top-heavy list. ah that's That's how far down – you've got to go through the top half of this list, and you're still in B-plus territory. And again, a B-plus is good.
00:02:59
Speaker
these These aren't like when the Authority called Daniel Bryan a B-plus player. No. But it is like when Cody Rhodes called Sean Spears a B-plus player.
00:03:14
Speaker
All right, well, let's get into our first list of the special. i would say I would say you're looking at like the 1200s before things start to get a little rough.
00:03:25
Speaker
Yeah. Or maybe the Pizza Hut X-Men's number 1204. I mean, look. Who ranked that?
00:03:31
Speaker
i mean lo ranked that I didn't rank that. We did together. That should be so much higher. one One thing I want to note before we we continue, there there was a time when quadruple digits meant bad.
00:03:49
Speaker
Yeah, the quads? Like, yeah fully bad. And we are past that point. we You have to get to, like, 1,300, 1,400 to bad. to yeah yeah Here's what I'll tell you. at Number 1300 on the list right now is Youngblood Strike File, which is pretty rough.
00:04:08
Speaker
It's pretty pretty bad, yeah. Yeah. I have some... i have some ah It's not the worst comic ever printed. In fact, there are 340 comics at least that are worse.
00:04:19
Speaker
But it's... There's 1300 comics that are better.
00:04:28
Speaker
Chris, this is not something... you normally hear on a a uploaded podcast, but I do want to ask you before we continue, I'm on the microphone right right microphone, right?
00:04:39
Speaker
You are on the correct microphone, Matt. You sound smooth as silk to me. Okay, great. I didn't want to continue any further if I happen to be on the wrong one. Here is hey submission from Loon Wong.
00:04:55
Speaker
Who sent us two lists, but one I think we should just throw out from the start, because we've ranked most of these. And...
00:05:07
Speaker
they They didn't know, because we just ranked them. Okay. I think a lot of people got clued into your Dragon Ball fandom around this time that we were getting these lists.
00:05:19
Speaker
o Yeah, that probably sounds right. And so a lot there were a lot of people submitting Dragon Ball. So list one that Loon sent in was Dragon Ball. And we've ranked two of those, which were the Greater Frieza Saga and the Greater Cell Saga.
00:05:36
Speaker
Okay, which we did which we did do. Yes. The... Freeze the Saga is at number 51. There you go. The second list from Loon is a Batman random mix.
00:05:53
Speaker
So I think we should do that. Okay, yeah, let's do that. Cell Saga, by the way, is at number 920, which, again, tells me how top-heavy this list is. There is a comic that we have...
00:06:06
Speaker
Well, actually, now that I think about it, there are two comics with that title.
00:06:14
Speaker
But we did read and rank a comic called Sword of Azrael. Yeah, there's a couple of those, Matt. Yeah.
00:06:25
Speaker
there There's a couple Sword of Azraels. There's Sword of Azrael 93, and there's Azrael 2018. 2022. 2022, yeah. Same but twenty eighteen twenty twenty two twenty twenty twenty twenty two yeah same same year And we've ranked both of those.
00:06:38
Speaker
Both versions of Sword of Azrael. So, here's what I'm going to suggest. We'll rank one of the Dragon Ball stories, because there's one of those we haven't ranked. And then we'll rank two of the Batman stories.
Dragon Ball Discussion: Majin Buu Saga
00:06:50
Speaker
Okay. Sounds good. Alright. So, the first Dragon Ball story, or the one Dragon Ball story that we haven't ranked, is the Majin Buu Saga.
00:06:59
Speaker
Majin Buu Saga's pretty good, actually.
00:07:05
Speaker
Loon... Indicates that that's from the start of the Tenkachi Budokai, which is Goku's return, yeah to the end of the manga, to the end of Dragon Ball proper.
00:07:20
Speaker
Yeah. the The end of what we would call Dragon Ball Z, what ah in Japan was published just as Dragon Ball. Right. Do you know how everybody on Earth dies in that comic? Yeah.
00:07:34
Speaker
I don't know if I've ever gotten through the entire Majin Buu saga. Yeah, Majin Buu fucking kills everyone. That's pretty wild. Yeah, they're like... Majin Buu just, like, destroys the world. and but like you know Obviously, it doesn't kill the Z-Fighters, but they're like, okay, look, when this is over, we gotta wish everybody back.
00:07:55
Speaker
And they do. But, like... it's It's grim there for a while. like I don't think you are ever in doubt that Goku gonna win. Because of course he is.
00:08:12
Speaker
Sure. But man, gets pretty intense. And also, all these motherfuckers won't give Goku their energy because they don't know who he is.
00:08:22
Speaker
oh this is this is the story where everybody gives Goku their energy. Yeah, where Goku has to ask everybody for their energy. yeah Eventually. It it takes some cajoling, but they do it. okay yeah He has to get Mr. Satan to do it.
00:08:37
Speaker
But, i mean, this if we're starting with the start of the Tenkaichi Budokai, you've got that story where Videl gets the shit kicked out of her.
00:08:48
Speaker
And you're like, hey, what the fuck? Because she's like ah human who learned to fly. And then we've got... ah ah Vegeta, we got all the Majin Vegeta stuff, where Vegeta is like, actually, fuck it, I'm gonna be evil now, because fuck Kakarot, actually.
00:09:10
Speaker
Evil again. Yeah, I'm gonna be evil again. that's like That's the story where Vegeta's like, oh, I know I'm going to hell. So Vegeta had the slowest possible face turn, and then just an instant heel turn.
00:09:25
Speaker
Yeah. Yes, exactly. Because he... Vegeta is a... Vegeta's low-key very interesting character. i don't think it's low-key. I mean, i think it's I think it's on its face.
00:09:39
Speaker
on it On its face, he's interesting. Well, it's just like, he's never going to be the best. And that's what his entire life was. Yeah, yeah.
00:09:50
Speaker
That, like, he was okay with all of the Saiyans being destroyed because he was the best of them. And he's maybe second place and kind of number three.
00:10:05
Speaker
but Behind like Goku and... Gohan, baby. Gohan. Gohan. Gohan, you know, Gohan doesn't train anymore because he's got a real job. but ah But he's got... Matt, he goes beast.
00:10:20
Speaker
What about those other Saiyans, though? What about... um ah What's his name? The dude from the movie. Broly. Well, Broly is a special case, because Broly is the legendary Super Saiyan.
00:10:33
Speaker
Right. Okay. thats That's... I was talking about this and with regards to One Piece, and how, like... When Luffy goes into gear two, just kind of happens. He's like, hey, ah I've been thinking about like doing this new special attack thing.
00:10:49
Speaker
This is it, gear two. And like, okay. But like, Goku going Super Saiyan in the Frieza saga?
00:11:01
Speaker
Like, we hear about being a Super Saiyan. And then Vegeta's like, I'm a Super Saiyan. And then Goku finally goes Super Saiyan, and you're like, oh shit. And then everybody can go Super Saiyan, and then you find out that the actual Super Saiyan is a completely different thing. And that's fucking Broly.
00:11:19
Speaker
Right, yeah. Anyway, but that doesn't happen in the Majin Buu Saga. Yeah, the Majin Buu Saga's got a lot of really good stuff. Like... It also has, like, the coldest shit of all time.
00:11:31
Speaker
Which is where ah Goku is getting ready to fucking murder Majin Buu. And he so he just says, I hope you're reincarnated as someone good next time.
00:11:44
Speaker
That's pretty great, actually. like Here's my question about that, because you and I know both quite well that Goku is stupid.
00:11:55
Speaker
Dumb as a bag of hammers, yes, I love him. yeah Do you think he knew that that was a cool thing to say? I don't think he said it to be cool. To be cool.
00:12:06
Speaker
Yeah, he said it because he meant it. Well, yeah, because he said it because the next thing he does is fucking teleport to the demon realm and tell King Enma, hey, when this guy Majin Buu comes in, reincarnate him as somebody good.
00:12:20
Speaker
Like, he's being a million percent sincere. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:12:27
Speaker
like He's like, hey, I'd love to fight you again because you're really strong, and but um turns out you're ah too dangerous to be allowed to live. So I hope in the future that is not a problem.
00:12:40
Speaker
And then he fucking kills him. I just, like, that's the kind of stuff where I'm like...
00:12:48
Speaker
ah So Akira Toriyama, who's ostensibly writing that dialogue, right? Yeah, that was that was still ah though still, as far as we know, Toriyama.
00:13:00
Speaker
yeah
00:13:02
Speaker
Akira Toriyama knows that's a cool line. Yes. But he certainly knows that Goku doesn't know that that's a cool line. He just knows that Goku was earnestly saying it because it's what he thinks.
00:13:18
Speaker
Yeah. like i I love to analyze that kind of stuff, where it's like...
00:13:25
Speaker
there's There's the surface-level reading of of a line of dialogue, and then the under the you know you get under the hood a little bit and think about it.
00:13:36
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, Goku does occasionally say some like cool... Goku is badass. Yeah. But like...
00:13:46
Speaker
Yeah. like I just like that he's being utterly sincere in that moment, because... Majin Buu is the strongest dude he's ever fought. And he's like, damn, I can never fight this guy again. Because if I leave him alive, he'll kill everyone.
00:14:05
Speaker
Which he did. Which he did. so shit gets wild in the Majin Buu saga. It's like, the fact that it's the last bit of Dragon Ball, and I heard this, I don't know if this is 100% true. I think maybe Kel McDonald told me this, but like, the Like, Dragon Ball Evolution, that movie came out.
00:14:27
Speaker
ah And then Akira Toriyama was like, I cannot... I have to go back to Dragon Ball. I cannot let that be it. He had to save it.
00:14:38
Speaker
Yeah. And that's how we got Dragon Ball Super. Because he wasn't he wasn't involved in GT. or or He was not at involved. GT's not canon. GT is... Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:14:50
Speaker
Yeah. So... ah there But yeah, the Majin Buu saga is pretty good. The fact that it's the last Dragon Ball story kind of comes out of nowhere. Like, you don't expect it to end as suddenly as it does, but fucking Goku kills Majin Buu!
00:15:05
Speaker
And then they're like, 14 years later, and it skips ahead to an epilogue where Goku just bails on his family again to go train with Uub, who is the reincarnated Majin Buu.
00:15:20
Speaker
And is the is he good? Is good? Yeah, man. Oob's good. oop's good What's weird is that Majin Buu is still around.
00:15:29
Speaker
Even though he's been reincarnated. Yeah, because Majin Buu gets reincarnated, but I think it's just the bad part of Majin Buu. The good part of Majin Buu is resurrected and lives with mr Mr. Satan, and they have a dog.
00:15:44
Speaker
And they're husbands. okay And that's why Majin Buu shows up in and fights Zoot in Dragon Ball Super. ah But he was too sleepy to be in the Tournament of Power.
00:15:59
Speaker
Wild. yeah Also, a thing that I've talked about with ah with our buddy Annie Creighton is that like I have a million Dragon Ball Z action figures, right?
00:16:11
Speaker
And i've got I've got Goku Black and Frieza. And that's kind of it for bad guys. Because I don't like the way Cell looks.
00:16:24
Speaker
And I guess I could get Broly, but then Broly also becomes good guy. So, like, you know... i like ah Villains, weirdly enough, are kind of the weak point of Dragon Ball.
00:16:39
Speaker
like That's why Frieza has to come back. But past a certain point, it's just... here's another stronger guy. Yeah. like I feel like that's probably a big part of why Toriyama was like, okay, I think we're done with Dragon Ball. Because it's like, at some point, you just you're just like, alright, I guess I'm going to have to just make another stronger guy. Yeah. like that That's what kept happening.
00:17:09
Speaker
and And Super, I think, gets away from that. like Super finds a way to do a different thing. At least in what we read of like the Tournament of Power and all of that kind of stuff. yeah Well, ge yes, well when we get to the Tournament of Power, when they fight Moro, it's pretty much just this big, strong guy.
00:17:29
Speaker
What I'm saying is Majin Buu is actually like like, not big, fat Majin Buu, but like Kid Buu is like a real creepy looking fucker.
00:17:45
Speaker
Okay. Like, he's a real, which you find out later, that's what Boo really looks like. And the only reason he's Fat Majin Boo is because he absorbed a different guy who was like a big fat jolly guy who was ah one of the gods.
00:18:05
Speaker
So... Wild. I really like the design, this weird little pink creepazoid.
00:18:15
Speaker
Majin Buu, man.
00:18:19
Speaker
Majin Buu. He's a weirdo. I like the Majin Buu saga a lot. I think I like it better than the Cell saga. It's nowhere near the Frieza saga, though. Yeah, it's, you know, it' again, like, it is kind of diminishing returns after, like,
00:18:37
Speaker
Goku beats the guy who's the strongest guy. And then there's another guy who says he's the strongest guy. yeah it's Dragon Ball starts out kind of bad, as we've discussed.
00:18:48
Speaker
yeah And then it gets pretty good. Then it gets really good. And it stays really good for a while. And then it gets pretty good.
00:19:00
Speaker
And then it gets pretty good. And then it ends. Yeah. And then Dragon Ball Super comes back and is pretty consistently great all the way through.
00:19:12
Speaker
But, yeah. Okay. The Cell Saga is okay. The Cell Saga is at 920. So, I mean, that's good. That's in a part of the list that's quite – that's good.
00:19:22
Speaker
Yeah. So, tell me where tell me where you think Majin Buu goes, Majin Buu Saga. Well, when we're at this level, Matt, we just got to look at the hundreds, I think. Okay.
00:19:34
Speaker
So right now, number 800, we have The Dreamer by Will Eisner. that's but That's not as good as as the Majin Buu saga. Are you kidding me?
00:19:45
Speaker
ah Number 700 is Sleigh Ride from Detective Comics number 826. That's the single-issue story with the Joker and Robin in the car. Joker and Robin in the Batmobile. That's pretty good, actually. yeah I would say we have it's between those two.
00:20:02
Speaker
because I don't think it's as good as Batman Universe, which is actually one of my favorite Batman stories. Okay, so in the seven hundred somewhere. Yeah. I think it is very much on par in terms of quality with Bram Stoker's Dracula by Roy Thomas and Mike Mignola.
00:20:20
Speaker
Great. I would put it...
00:20:30
Speaker
I would put it
00:20:34
Speaker
I think I would put it just below Batman Universe and right above the first Squirrel Girl. Okay, so that would make it the new number 705. 705. So be it.
00:20:48
Speaker
Dragon Ball. The Majin Buu Saga. Also, it's very funny that the bad guys in the Majin Buu Saga are named Bibbidi-Bobbidi and Boo.
00:20:59
Speaker
Akira Toriyama knew that comics were supposed to be dumb.
00:21:06
Speaker
Alright, now we've got a couple of Batman stories to rank. First is ah Batman Beyond the White Knight by Sean Murphy.
00:21:20
Speaker
I've never read that. i I read the first Batman White Knight mini, and I don't think that would rank real good.
00:21:31
Speaker
It's fine. The...
Comic Analysis: White Knight and She-Hulk
00:21:35
Speaker
The thing about White Knight is that everybody lost their minds over it, and it's like a pretty good Elseworlds. Well, it also – whether it was what Sean Murphy intended or not, it but it became one of those comics that – I think because everybody lost their mind over it, it became one of those comics that people like painted their politics onto.
00:22:02
Speaker
yeah and And some of it is in there. Like, don't get me wrong. Some of it is in there. And that's what makes me ugh, when I think about it. But I sure did never read the second ah the second one.
00:22:17
Speaker
I mean, for me, the best thing about the White Knight comics is that they are the funniest comics to describe to people. Because, like...
00:22:28
Speaker
Back when I used to drink, I don't drink anymore. ah But back when I used to drink, it used to be very fun to have a couple of ah couple drinks. Maybe it'll be fun to have a little bit of a God's Green, if you know what I mean. start telling people about how Batman got so mad at the Joker that he grabbed a handful of antipsychotics and made him eat them.
00:22:48
Speaker
Like, just shoved them in his mouth like the gummy bears um in the in the match at Forbidden Door. Yeah. And then he ate so many antipsychotics that he stopped being the Joker.
00:23:00
Speaker
He stopped being the Joker, yes. Which if it was that easy? If only. If only.
00:23:09
Speaker
Alright, we can't rank that one because we haven't read it, but next we have a potential bottom shooter alert. Oh no. Batman The Dark Knight Strikes Again by Frank Miller.
00:23:24
Speaker
Now, what is that? how how Have we not ranked this? I don't think we have. Yes, we have. It's at 1576.
00:23:36
Speaker
Oh, thank God, because I didn't want to talk about it. Yeah, that's we we ranked it. I actually do have a note in the notes column, does not exist in official War Rocket Ajax canon. That's absolutely true.
00:23:49
Speaker
ah But we have ranked it. have ranked it, is right yes. It is pretty low. It is pretty low. ah Because it is bad. Like, no getting around it. if If it did exist, it would be really bad.
00:24:07
Speaker
it unfortunately does have one of my favorite lines in it. it existed. If it existed, it would have one of my favorite lines, which is Batman saying, striking terror, best part of the job.
00:24:20
Speaker
Like, that's a good line. Like, even on his worst day, Frank
00:24:29
Speaker
its it's still a pretty is still pretty good at making comics, you know? heat like He can still get it for, like, one panel at a time every now and then. Yeah. I mean, i was going to say even now, but, like, maybe not now.
00:24:43
Speaker
Yeah. ah those Those covers are...
00:24:49
Speaker
they're They're the level of quality where you're concerned ah but that somebody's not being taken care of by the people who are supposed to be taking care of them. That Uncle Scrooge cover, I made that my, ah like when I left Twitter forever, I made that my Twitter icon.
00:25:11
Speaker
And that was kind of my way of being like, this is not a place of honor. Yeah, yeah. No great team is commemorated here. it It sure isn't. Alright, Loon, thank you for sending that in.
00:25:25
Speaker
Some of that we've already done, ah but but thank you for sending that in. Our next list is from MP... um ah Sorry, our next list is from Magenta Riot.
00:25:40
Speaker
It's man. Yeah. ah This is a list of... Magentha writes favorite stories starring their favorite Marvel hero, the Jade Giantess Gamma Slammers.
00:25:56
Speaker
So, She-Hulk. This is She-Hulk. Okay, okay, okay. I thought there was a character named Gamma Slammer that I didn't know about for a minute. But I knew who Jade Giantess was.
00:26:09
Speaker
First up is She-Hulk 2004, number seven and eight, Universal Laws. ah That's the story where Jyn gets sent to space to become the judge for the Living Tribunal and has to fight the champion of the universe in the court of the squared circle.
00:26:23
Speaker
I do think we have rate it ranked that entire She-Hulk run. that That story kicks ass. That story does kick ass, but we ranked the entire Dan Slott She-Hulk run as one thing.
00:26:39
Speaker
Yeah, we ranked it at number 358. yes I love, ah i will i will say this since it was sent in. i specifically love the part of that story where She-Hulk is in the gym with ah with, I think it's with Pug.
00:26:59
Speaker
And she's like, as She-Hulk, she's like just like casually leg-pressing a ton or whatever. And he's like, hey, don't you get a lot stronger when you're She-Hulk?
00:27:14
Speaker
And she's like, yeah. And he's like like, you get exponentially stronger than when you're Jen Walters, right? And she's like, yeah.
00:27:26
Speaker
And then it just, like, it is kind of left there for a minute, as Jen just does not get what he's saying, which is that if she works out as Jen Walters, she will get exponentially stronger.
00:27:39
Speaker
Right, yeah. That's good stuff. That's good stuff. Alright. Next is She-Hulk from 2014, numbers 8 through 10, The Good Old Days.
00:27:57
Speaker
That is a story where Jen and company have to defend and age up Steve Rogers in court, and the prosecutor is Matt Murdock. I believe that is from the Charles Soule run on She-Hulk, if I'm not mistaken.
00:28:09
Speaker
Uh, maybe. I don't, I did not read that. I have not read, have, I have i've not read the Charles Soule run on She-Hulk. What is Captain America on trial for?
00:28:24
Speaker
You know what? Great question. Javier Pulido draws this. Ooh. God, that's gorgeous. I assume, because that was like, well, no, I was going to say,
00:28:37
Speaker
That was after the Rick Remender cap stuff? Which it may have been.
00:28:47
Speaker
Because I know that's where he got aged up, right? No, because that that is that happened, Matt, notably in 2016.
00:28:57
Speaker
The Rick Remender stuff? Yeah, didn't it? Because that was that's where the real cap was. Right? like That happened... Real Cap was in Dimension X. Not Dimension X, that's from Ninja Turtles, you know what I mean.
00:29:13
Speaker
and then yeah the girl, he was protect... I don't know, man, comics sir alexs are hard. Maybe I'm wrong. I think the Rick Remender Cap stuff was earlier than that, but...
00:29:26
Speaker
ah I honestly don't remember. It all very, very much runs together for me. Dimension Z. It was called Dimension Z. Dimension Z. But I, you know, I was only two letters off.
00:29:38
Speaker
Yeah. Uh, that was, that was from 2012. This Charles Sewell run might be a, a good catch up if it's like but how good for catch up.
00:29:51
Speaker
Yeah. Uh, i i would i would not mind ah reading it. I think, and it's only 12 issues long. So, yeah, maybe that is a good catch-up candidate.
00:30:05
Speaker
And Sol, I think? Sol has a background as a lawyer. Yeah, he that's that was his big selling point for his She-Hulk run, is that he had been a lawyer before.
00:30:23
Speaker
Professionally. ah So... He had some some a law knowledge. I mean, look, Matt, you and I have exactly as much Marvel Universe law knowledge as any actual lawyer.
00:30:41
Speaker
and That is a world where Galactus exists. so Alright. Folks, tell us if if reading the Charles Soule run on She-Hulk is a good thing to do for catch-up, because it seems like maybe it would be.
00:31:03
Speaker
I also feel like it was in multiple parts, like so many Marvel comics from then and now. yeah Well, especially if it went for a year in 2014, it would have been interrupted by Hickmania would have run wild on it.
00:31:19
Speaker
Yeah, so we'll need to check into that, but... ah Yeah, let us know, listeners, how what you what you think of that as an is an idea of of reading She-Hulk.
00:31:34
Speaker
the the The Charles Soule She-Hulk, specifically. All right. ah Finally, here on Magenta Wright's list is Solo Avengers 1987, number court cost This is the story where Jyn is called before the Supreme Court for the first time to defend a mutant against the Mutant Registration Act, but keeps getting interrupted by Titania trying to fight her.
00:31:59
Speaker
Listen, that sounds like a hoot. That sounds great, yeah. But, you know I'm not out here reading Solo Avengers.
00:32:10
Speaker
Ha ha ha ha.
00:32:15
Speaker
That's a Chris Claremont-Allen Davis story. so Well, Chris Claremont-Allen Davis story, that's a coin flip for you and me, especially if it's Claremont trying to be funny.
00:32:24
Speaker
in the In the midst of Excalibur time? Yeah. It does have a panel that I'm looking at right now where She-Hulk hits Titania in the top of her head and drives her into the concrete like a nail, which is pretty fucking good, actually. That Allen Davis...
00:32:46
Speaker
Alan Davis, and ah and unquestionably good. the but One of the meanest things I've ever seen and in the comics press is, like, I think it was in Wizard. It might have been, like, in Hero Illustrated or something.
00:33:04
Speaker
ah But one of those, may hell, it might have been in the Comics Journal. You never know back in the back in the day. But ah they had, it was like, It was like, this issue... like This is on the cover. It's like, this issue.
00:33:17
Speaker
Alan Davis. An interview with England's other Alan. Wow, that is mean. Yeah, and I like don't think they intended it to be mean, but god damn.
00:33:34
Speaker
yeah Alright, so we we can't rank any of those. We might read the Charles Soule... She-Hulk for a catch-up.
00:33:45
Speaker
Shit, I might read this issue of Solo Avengers, because i mean this story is like eight pages long. sir
00:33:52
Speaker
There are some backups for Magenta Riot. Alright, let's see if we can get one for Magenta. if First, there's Marvel Graphic Novel number 18, The Sensational She-Hulk, which is the one where Jen has to fight her way through a shield helicarrier to beat the crap out of a roach monster.
00:34:09
Speaker
Man, that also sounds good. I have not read it. that is That is part of – or that is a John Byrne She-Hulk story. Coin flip.
00:34:21
Speaker
i Yeah, coin flip. I did read The Run, but I don't think I ever read that graphic novel. Here's one we've definitely read, okay?
00:34:32
Speaker
Okay. Fantastic Four Volume 1, Number 275, The Naked Truth. The one where Jyn has to deal with sleazy paparazzi. No, I have read that one. A John Byrne story.
00:34:44
Speaker
Now, didn't we rank the whole new Fantastic Four, or did we just read rank that one issue? I think we ranked the entire new Fantastic Four story, here but is that that's not it that's not that. yeah This is from well before that. okay This is from well before that.
00:35:01
Speaker
Because it's John Byrne, right? right Because John Byrne didn't do the new Fantastic Four. no that was New Fantastic Four was Walt Simonson, baby, Art Adams. Yeah. Can you believe it?
00:35:11
Speaker
what What issue is this? 260? 275. 275. 275. Now, I have read this. ah Because this is another one where um much like ah Jack Kirby, of whom John Byrne was a noted fan before he vanished in the Bermuda Triangle um right shortly after ah finishing Dark Side Galactus The Hunger,
00:35:40
Speaker
um
00:35:43
Speaker
Morn you till we join you. oh John. ah the bad guy the The sleazy bad guy in this does look exactly like Stan Lee without a mustache.
00:35:54
Speaker
Yep, he sure does. i i This cover, hi
00:36:01
Speaker
I will remember for the rest of my life. A very, very memorable cover. Yeah. And this issue, I mean, like... so Hilariously, it says right on the title page, Stan Lee presents, as was common in Marvel Comics at the time.
00:36:20
Speaker
Yeah. ah But also, in true John Byrne fashion, and ah the title page also has him saying, hey, Kevin Nolan gave me the inspiration for this story.
00:36:32
Speaker
So if you're gonna get mad at anybody... get mad get at him. Get mad at Kevin Nolan. Man, remember... Remember John Byrne? Remember how John Byrne used to draw comics before he vanished in the Bermuda Triangle?
00:36:46
Speaker
The real John Byrne? Yeah, the real John Byrne.
00:36:53
Speaker
He vanished in the Bermuda Triangle before Spider-Man Chapter 1, right? Like, oh we can agree on that? Oh, yeah, Matt. Matt, he was... He was well in the Triangle by then.
00:37:04
Speaker
oh yeah, man. This is like... This is like... Right in the middle of like the the heart of the John Byrne Fantastic Four run. It was very soap opera-like.
00:37:19
Speaker
Where Johnny... like Ben was gone for some reason. And so Johnny was dating who he thought was Alicia Masters.
00:37:32
Speaker
Yeah, but was actually Elijah Laserfist. Was actually Elijah the Skrull, yeah. um Yeah, this is good. Like, this is this is good.
00:37:44
Speaker
That's... Johnny dating Alicia is so weird. Like, that was such... Because that's like...
00:37:56
Speaker
I mean, that's... that's like That's like if you went on a business trip and Marlene and I started going out. um Yes. I made you Ben Grimm in this scenario to kind of soften the blow.
00:38:12
Speaker
But man, like what a weird thing. But this issue is actually pretty good. ah The dude... The dude is definitely Stan Lee, and his toupee falls off at the end of the story.
00:38:25
Speaker
His toupee falls off, and then She-Hulk picks up his safe and crushes it into a ball. Yeah. And then the punchline to the story is that this ah this ah sleazy dude does publish these like paparazzi nudes of Jennifer Walters, of She-Hulk,
00:38:47
Speaker
but the printers color correct them so that she's not green, so you can't tell it's her. Yes, yes.
00:38:58
Speaker
There was something in the water in comics around this time where they loved doing stories like this. Oh, by they, do you mean specifically John Byrne, who also did this in Superman? Yeah.
00:39:13
Speaker
Yeah, that's what I mean. I mean John Byrne. yeah Something in the water at John Byrne's house. At John Byrne's house, specifically, yeah.
00:39:24
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think this one is quite as ah damaging as the Superman story, which i i I have said I do have some affection for.
00:39:36
Speaker
But, i like, this one feels this one feels like it could be the plot of a I was going to say if they did a she Hulk TV show now, but they did do that.
00:39:49
Speaker
And it feels like it could have been a plot for that. Yeah. Especially of that TV show. Yeah. Like it's almost surprising that there wasn't anything like this. I mean, they sort of covered this territory and the TV show, but, but yeah, this, this definitely could have been something that happened on the TV show.
00:40:09
Speaker
Yeah. Um,
00:40:13
Speaker
Yeah, this is pretty good. i where Where do you think it would go?
00:40:19
Speaker
I mean, i don't...
00:40:23
Speaker
um it's not as good It's not as good as the new Fantastic Four. Oh, no. Absolutely not. Which we have at 571. I don't think it's as good as the Majin Buu saga. Although, hey, for for all the ah for all the certain types out there...
00:40:40
Speaker
JB did draw a lot of She-Hulk's feet in this. She's barefoot for a lot of it. i mean, that's for that's on a different list. Yeah. I'm just saying, that if you're keeping your own personal Every Story Ever list, that might be a factor for you. It's not for me.
00:40:56
Speaker
it's No, this list, this isn't a personal list. This is carved from the marble. No, I don't mean you. I mean the listener. I know, but I'm saying...
00:41:08
Speaker
who whoever's got their own personal things that they want to write comics based on. I'll tell you what, though. That would be the plot if this story came out today. Oh, absolutely. is it is that It was She-Hulk's footpicks.
00:41:25
Speaker
and Yeah. Yeah. ah I don't...
00:41:33
Speaker
I don't think this as good as the Majin Buu saga. No, it's not. At number 800, we have Orion's Mob in the Deep Six by Jack Kirby from ah New Gods number four and five. i don't think it's that good either. At number 900, we have Secret War, which I think is the biggest Secret War. Yeah, it's probably about that good.
00:41:56
Speaker
Okay. Okay. I don't think it's as good as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Trinity by Matt Wagner. No, I like it more than I like that Paul Jenkins, Jay Lee, The Inhumans book. But I know that I am in the minority on that one.
00:42:10
Speaker
Where's that? That's at $899. Oh, okay. ah Yeah, I think we're going to go down into the 900s here.
00:42:22
Speaker
it Okay, Godzilla vs. Barkley is at number 912. That's not that good. It's not that good. It's not as good as Skywalker Strikes, which is 924, the Jason Aaron, John Cassidy Star Wars ah relaunch.
00:42:37
Speaker
Seaguy is at 951. That's better. Flex Mentalo is at 956. That's better. ah
00:42:48
Speaker
Let's see. It's not as good as US-1. That's at 974.
00:42:57
Speaker
I think we might... The final issue of The Walking Dead is at number 999. That comic's so great, though. It's better than this.
00:43:09
Speaker
It's better than this? We're going to go into the 1000s here. I'm just going to scroll down and check real quick. At 1100, we have the Dennis Hopeless Wando Legion of Monsters. This is better than that, I think. It's more enjoyable.
00:43:26
Speaker
But it's not as good as The Return of Dark Phoenix by Claremont and Paul Smith and John Romita Jr. in Uncanny X-Men 174 to 175. That's at 1090. That's at 1090, yeah. i think it's I think it's worse than Seven Soldiers of Mr. Miracle, better than Batman Officer Down.
00:43:52
Speaker
Okay, this makes it the new number 1095.
00:43:55
Speaker
Fantastic Four, number 275. What is the title of this story? ah The Naked Truth. The Naked Truth. Fantastic Four, The Naked Truth, by John Byrne.
00:44:13
Speaker
From Fantastic Four...
00:44:18
Speaker
Pretty wild that that John Byrne could just like get away with doing Fantastic Four comics that only one member of the Fantastic Four appears in. Johnny and Reed and Sue are in it for about a page.
00:44:31
Speaker
It's really just Johnny. I mean, I guess technically She-Hulk was in the Fantastic Four at that point because Thing was gone. ah But nonetheless. ah I'm putting in my notes column here, Stan Lee tries to publish She-Hulk's nudes.
00:44:49
Speaker
He would. You know, we would sit around the office and we'd say, wouldn't it be groovy if we published She-Hulk's nudes?
00:45:02
Speaker
If only the comics code would allow it.
00:45:06
Speaker
But they said no.
00:45:10
Speaker
Alright, so we had to kill Gwen Stacy. ah And I said, let's kill her. She just that's ah that's That's a Stanley quote from some video that I watched years ago. He would later say that he hated that and had nothing to do with it.
00:45:30
Speaker
Oh, yeah. He took credit for it and disavowed it. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
00:45:40
Speaker
I mean, that's why Jerry Conway wrote that story. Stan was like, ah you handle this one, Jerry. Finally, on Magenta's backups is Avengers Unlimited on Infinity Comics number 25, the Avengers Holiday Special.
00:45:57
Speaker
ah It's by Ryan North and Javier Rodriguez, but I don't think I've read this. Because it's an Infinity comic. I don't think I've read it either. But I bet it's good.
00:46:10
Speaker
I bet it if it's a very fun time. yeah um But anyway. um Ryan North, the worst writer in comics? Magenta Riot, thank you for sending in ah that list. Our next list is from Brad Ellison.
00:46:27
Speaker
ah Let's see. I, the renegade dope dog, have pledged to Mrs. the dope dog that I shall smoke no dope for two full weeks. So I am sublimating that impulse into once again trying to get more Matt Wagner on the board.
00:46:41
Speaker
ah Number first from Brad is Sandman Mystery three Theater numbers 1-4 The Tarantula. The comic book where Matt Wagner used the success of Neil Gaiman's Sandman to trick DC into letting him write the brutally deconstructive golden age superhero noir he'd been wanting to do and Guy Davis draws some fucked up shit.
00:47:00
Speaker
oh Matt, have you ever read Sandman Mystery Theater? Yeah, man. It's great. Yeah. oh I don't even have to put this in the machine to let you know.
00:47:12
Speaker
It rules. Yeah. And it starts off with a fucking bang. there's There's a comic from the 90s with Sandman in the title that's good.
00:47:26
Speaker
It's still good. this is it And you can go read it. Yeah.
00:47:32
Speaker
Like, I don't know what to tell you, man. Like... I knew back then and that this was the good one. What, Sandman from DC Comics? Like, the one about Wesley Dodds and Diane Belmont?
00:47:44
Speaker
Yeah, the one where he wears a gas mask? Yeah, you know, fights the Phantom of the Fair. i will say I will say this for this story, it ain't as good as the Phantom of the Fair. Phantom the Fair, pretty fucking top-notch.
00:47:57
Speaker
It ain't as good as Phantom of the Fair. Which we do have at number 314 on list. Yeah, this is going to be below that. But this is pretty good. Yeah, man.
00:48:09
Speaker
It's pretty good. Look, if there's a way you're going to get me specifically... oh yeah. Some, like, noir-ish ah mystery comics, that's how you do it.
00:48:26
Speaker
That's how you do it. Yeah, man.
Exploring Sandman Mystery Theater and Other Comics
00:48:29
Speaker
oh
00:48:32
Speaker
Yeah, man. I don't know what else to say about it. like I mean, Brad said it. Matt Widener and Guy Davis. Guy Davis draws the hell out of it. The only thing about it, like,
00:48:46
Speaker
I wish it could get reprinted with, like, different covers. i I don't like the weird photo covers. The weird photo covers are like the most dated thing about it.
00:48:58
Speaker
They're so exactly this time. Yeah. And that book has those for... I don't know if it's for the whole run, but it's most of the run.
00:49:14
Speaker
Yeah, they're they're not appealing now. i don't I don't know how appealing they were then. I think they were they were different. Yeah. But you know what? They weren't that different from stuff like
00:49:27
Speaker
from from stuff like the other Sandman book. Well, it's it's what the Doom Patrol covers looked like, except that they weren't the the Doom Patrol covers weren't photos. They were drawings, but they looked kind of like this. Yeah, and there's like Dave McKeon collages and such.
00:49:45
Speaker
like Yeah. It's very Vertigo. it's very vertigo In 1993. Very early Vertigo. But... I...
00:49:59
Speaker
it I'm sure it did make them stand out. I mean, think about what comics looked like in 1993. And then you've got, you know, this weird photo cover of, like, a dude in a gas mask and a fedora.
00:50:13
Speaker
I mean, I think the idea was, like, this was the way to indicate that they were... quote-unquote mature, and not just like in this sort of there's nudity in this comic kind of way.
00:50:30
Speaker
There is, though. Don't worry. There is. Don't worry. But it but it's like, you know, in the this this is this we're we're making serious literature kind of way.
00:50:41
Speaker
I'll tell you when it kind of worked. is when they changed the trade dress to make it look like a pulp magazine. Which is funny, because most pulp magazines had illustrate like painting covers right like illustrated covers, as opposed to photos. But that's like the one time that it really worked well on this book in particular.
00:51:04
Speaker
Yeah, that looked better, for sure. Than these kind of, like I don't know...
00:51:11
Speaker
Design elements just thrown over a photo. Yeah. ah So that's my biggest mark against these comics, which which has nothing to do with the interior at all. No, I was like, the interior is drawn by Guy Davis. They look amazing.
00:51:26
Speaker
Yeah. Okay, so it's not as good. We ranked...
00:51:34
Speaker
Is that the only Sandman Mystery Theater that we've ranked? I believe so, yeah. ah The Phantom of the Fair?
00:51:42
Speaker
This is good, but not that good. It's like... maybe in the 700s? Uh, let's see. Let's see, let's see.
00:51:55
Speaker
Like, we put Majin Buu Saga at 705. I
00:52:00
Speaker
i hate to say it, but it's probably better than the Majin Buu Saga. Alright.
00:52:06
Speaker
Not as good as the Frieza Saga, though. Come on. Yeah, let's not go nuts. I would say, let's see, 600. We've got Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine, another fine mess. It's probably better than that.
00:52:20
Speaker
Okay. ah It's not as good as Mr. Waffles by Frank Comics, which we have at $591. It's... don't think...
00:52:32
Speaker
it's i don't k It's not as good as Judge Death Lives, which is at $5.95. That's a good comic. It's pretty much on par with Captain in America, Man Without a Country, though. That's a good book. I would argue it's better.
00:52:47
Speaker
think it's the new number $5.96.
00:52:52
Speaker
ah so That's Sandman Mystery Theater numbers 1 through got to spell theater but the other way?
00:53:04
Speaker
T-H-R-E.
00:53:06
Speaker
The Tarantula is the name of that story. There's no H at the end, though.
00:53:15
Speaker
Wait, no H at the end of what? You said T-H-R-E? Oh, T-R-E. Yeah, not T-H-R-E. T-R-E. ah
00:53:27
Speaker
Okay, next on Brad's list is The Spirit Returns by Matt Wagner, Dan Schade, Brendan Wagner and Eric Powell, who do who all do career best work on what I would describe as the best spirit story of all time, the only acceptable depiction of the most unacceptable sidekick in history.
00:53:49
Speaker
and I don't – did we read this? I read – let's see. I remember I read the Darwin Cook spirit for sure. I read that, yeah.
00:54:07
Speaker
wow Which one was it? Which one was the Matt Wagner Spirit? i i don't I don't think I read it
00:54:19
Speaker
read it. There have been so many recent Spirit reboots.
00:54:25
Speaker
ah
00:54:28
Speaker
like Was it a like a Dynamite book, maybe? Oh, it's the it's the yeah it's the Dynamite one from... ah From 2016. Ah, okay. I mean,
00:54:41
Speaker
ah okay I'll tell you, I liked Inch Gade. I like Matt Wagner. Yeah, I like all those guys. I'm iffy on the spirit. I remember, i the spirit book, the quote-unquote recent spirit book that I read was the DC one.
00:55:01
Speaker
Which was, I think, the Darwin Cook one, right? Uh, yes. Yeah. um And I remember its version of... Fuck, what was his name? What was the sidekick's name?
00:55:15
Speaker
Ebony. Ebony. I remember its version of Ebony being not good, but better.
00:55:24
Speaker
um
00:55:28
Speaker
But yeah, I never read this. This is also a catch-up candidate, I think. This could be a catch-up candidate, but do we really want to read it? I mean, look, if you tell me it's Matt Wagner and Dan Shkade doing career best work, then i am willing to i'm willing to give it a shot.
00:55:52
Speaker
Okay.
00:55:55
Speaker
but Shit. Okay, so we've got two like solid catch-up.
00:56:01
Speaker
ideas here, then. I think we owe it to Matt Wagner after after being so mean. Okay, but what if we don't like this either?
00:56:15
Speaker
i mean, then then Matt Wagner will owe us one.
00:56:23
Speaker
i think Okay, listeners, i let us know if you would prefer us to read the Charles Seul's Soul She-Hulk, or this Spirit book from 2015. Because I think that will be the next one, whichever one it is.
00:56:40
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a good that's a good plan. That's a good plan.
00:56:45
Speaker
Finally is Batman the Riddler, drawn by Dave Taylor and colored by Linda Medley, which was a Batman Forever spinoff. Yeah, it was.
00:56:58
Speaker
Yeah, it was, bud.
00:57:02
Speaker
You talking about The Riddle Factory? From 1995? The Riddle Factory, that's right. With a... with a ah God, who did this cover? Dan Brereton?
00:57:15
Speaker
Hmm. Man, Dan Brereton. Remember him? I do. ah This is not a... This is not like a spinoff of... ah Of Batman Forever in that it's a in that it's in like Batman Forever continuity. It is in Detective Comics Comics continuity.
00:57:34
Speaker
Right, but it it was a comic that was clearly made because the Riddler was the bad guy in Batman Forever. Yeah, there's there's a Two-Face book that has like the covers link up.
00:57:46
Speaker
Right, yeah. They make one big Dan Brayton piece. Excuse me. ah It's pretty good, actually. I mean i'm ah you know i like Riddler.
00:58:00
Speaker
I like Riddler stories. I think Riddler's fun. And I think this is like a pretty solid Matt Wagner Batman story. It's it's maybe not as good as Monster Man or...
00:58:14
Speaker
ah Well, I'll tell you why it's not as good as Monster Man. Because Matt Wagner doesn't draw it. Because he doesn't draw it. like Yeah, look, apologies to Dave Taylor. Not as good at drawing comics as Matt Wagner.
00:58:26
Speaker
I'm also not sure that this book would have come out as a 48-page oversized prestige format book if Matt Wagner had drawn it. i remember I remember reading this 30 years ago.
00:58:41
Speaker
I don't have a great memory of it. I don't know how much of this is in Matt Wagner's script and how much of this is Squire Dave Taylor acting on his own, but it is pretty weird when you see the Riddler at his headquarters and he just has a giant portrait of Chairman Mao.
00:58:58
Speaker
Among other things. But that's one that I'm like, huh. I still think this comic is pretty good. it's It is pretty good. it's like oh Where do you think it goes, Matt? I mean, I don't really remember the story all that well. I read it. I have not looked at it in 30 years. it's a It's a pretty fun Riddler story. I would say it's ah it's a solid B-plus Riddler story. Okay. Well, we were saying like the 1000s are B-plus.
00:59:30
Speaker
We were the 820s were B-plus. Oh, that's right. Yes, that's true. That's true. Let's see. What are some other Riddler – okay.
00:59:41
Speaker
We have Batman 66 number one, The Riddler's Ruse at $7.99. That's better than this. Detective Comics 75 to 707, Riddler versus Clue Master is at $10.13. Well, it's better than that.
00:59:57
Speaker
Probably better than that, yeah. I don't think it's as good as ah Captain America Ultimatum and the Chasm ah from ah the Mark Grumwald run where Captain America has drag flag smasher all over East Jesus.
01:00:12
Speaker
oh That's number 852. Alright. all right ah i think it's probably better than the Doom comic, which is at 869, which I still think is actually good.
01:00:29
Speaker
Yeah. Let's see.
01:00:33
Speaker
I don't think it's better than the Hannah Blumenreich Spider-Man basketball comic.
01:00:41
Speaker
Or Mimetic.
01:00:44
Speaker
Okay, then I think it goes right above Doom. So it's the new number 8. Nice. 869. Yes. You've got big guts. Rip and tear your huge guts.
01:00:56
Speaker
Yes. Batman Riddler, a.k.a. a What is it called? The riddr Riddle Factory. The Riddle Factory.
01:01:07
Speaker
Is it the new number 869? I'm entering this as being by Matt Wagner and Squire Dave Taylor. as As it should be. As it should be.
01:01:19
Speaker
All right. That's Brad's list. Thank you for sending those in, Brad.
01:01:25
Speaker
Oh, okay. There is a backup from Brad. which is the comic book adaptation of Anita Blake Vampire Hunter The Laughing Corpse. Oof. that's ah That's a bottom shooter, i think. Oh, buddy.
01:01:42
Speaker
Oh.
01:01:46
Speaker
Matt, I just fell back in my chair like I was falling out of the panel in a newspaper show. I mean, I can hear that you you're on the floor. It sounds like you're on the floor. I thought I didn't have to think about this comic anymore, Matt.
01:02:00
Speaker
Well, we did this to ourselves. Matt.
01:02:05
Speaker
Matt, I thought about this comic more than anyone thought about this comic. You did. You absolutely did. You did the Lord's work. And, I mean, i was going to say people can go read that. Actually, they can't.
01:02:19
Speaker
No, I deleted it all. But, but... but
01:02:25
Speaker
You know how sometimes people say we should just rank stuff and not talk about it? Uh-huh. We could do that. You could just say a number and we put it on the list and that's it.
01:02:39
Speaker
i mean, I do feel like there's at least a slight bit of context that is needed in that the Laughing Corpse is the second series when Brett Booth doesn't draw it anymore.
01:02:55
Speaker
And Ron Lim comes in and draws it, but Ron Lim is drawing it like like Ron Lim is doing an artistic impression of Brett Booth.
01:03:07
Speaker
So it's actually better than the first series. Okay. But that's about it. It's still still not good.
01:03:23
Speaker
But i I, look, folks, I went in on every panel of this thing back in 2008. You sure did. i remember.
01:03:36
Speaker
it's just It's just a lot, man.
01:03:40
Speaker
ah you Don't take me back to those days. I'm not that guy anymore.
01:03:47
Speaker
i i i buried I buried that in the basement and put the cement down. Right. Because you know you'll never have to go back to it. Nothing will ever happen where you have to go back to it.
01:04:02
Speaker
ah ah John Wick never had to go back to the thing that he buried in the basement. That's what that movie's about. Are you telling me that Laurel K. Hamilton is going to come try and kill my dog?
01:04:17
Speaker
I mean, I hope not. John Leguizamo going to could i have to tell me about how Lauren lauren J. Framingham chair and tried to sell my Kia?
01:04:30
Speaker
Yeah, the dude from the Allstate Mayhem commercials is going to tell Laurel K. Hamilton, is going to tell Brett Booth he's back.
01:04:47
Speaker
Had to take a little drink on this one, man. Look, just say a number. Just say a number. look in I'm looking. We put it down, and we never think about it ever again.
01:05:07
Speaker
how would you Why would you do this, though? Why would you do this specifically to me? Ask Brad.
01:05:19
Speaker
Brad, why did you do this to me, man? Wait, is it worse than Nash? I'd rather read Nash again. Alright, alright. It's probably better than Nash, actually. Well, just above Nash is Wanted. It's probably better than Wanted.
01:05:37
Speaker
Alright, just above that is it and Injustice Gods Among Us Year One. I mean, look, that's that's the neighborhood that I'm looking at.
01:05:46
Speaker
I'm gonna say...
01:05:50
Speaker
It's not as good as that issue of Terror Witch the Black Rose, where New York is saved from a nuclear bomb by the ghosts of the 9-11 firefighters.
01:06:06
Speaker
Which was published in 2006. It was published in 2006.
01:06:13
Speaker
It is called Hex in the City. Uh-huh. I'm going to say it's better than that untitled John Ridley Superman story that sucks. Okay, so that's the new number 1597. Wait,
01:06:26
Speaker
we actually have a... Okay, we've got Guilty Pleasures on here already. That's why we're doing this. Alright, Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. where did we put Guilty Pleasures?
01:06:40
Speaker
Uh...
01:06:46
Speaker
It is at 1549. It's above this.
01:06:52
Speaker
It should be lower.
01:06:57
Speaker
i don't know. Maybe I had some lingering affection for it on that day. But on this day, I see clearly. You can see clearly now. Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, The Laughing Corpse.
Wrestling Event: Forbidden Door Discussion
01:07:12
Speaker
Is it new number 1597? Yeah.
01:07:16
Speaker
Okay. Hey, that that crowd at Forbidden Door, they knew the second verse of that song.
01:07:25
Speaker
Yeah, they did. Dedication.
01:07:31
Speaker
I mean, that's like, that's the fan thing that happens at shows now, is they sing... Edge slash Adam Copeland's song. Like, all the way through.
01:07:42
Speaker
i mean, look, I like... I'm gonna be real with you. I kinda like that song. Not as, like, a song. Yeah. Not as, like, a real song. Like, I'll listen to John Cena's theme on Spotify. I don't care who knows it.
01:07:56
Speaker
It's on my, like, songs.
01:08:00
Speaker
Every time we watch anything... Where Adam Copeland enters and that music plays, Marlene goes, just starts singing, and in the end, it doesn't even matter, which is what it sounds like.
01:08:15
Speaker
like We can admit it, that that's what it sounds like. Yeah, but it's better than that. It's better than that song, though. If we were ranking songs, I don't know the name of that song.
01:08:29
Speaker
Adam Copeland's entrance music? Adam kuland adam Edge Copeland's entrance music. I can look it up right now.
01:08:39
Speaker
It's... Wow. it just A bunch of stuff just comes up that says
01:08:48
Speaker
Adam Copeland entrance music. It doesn't say Alter Bridge is the name of the band.
01:08:56
Speaker
There's no There's no fucking way the name of this song is Metalingus.
01:09:04
Speaker
Oh, maybe it is called Metalingus, yeah. I think it is called Metalingus.
01:09:10
Speaker
That's... take it Take it back to the drawing board on that title, of boys. it's It's called Metalingus.
01:09:22
Speaker
Yeah. Man, I thought I knew it.
01:09:25
Speaker
Alter Bridge, Metalingus, AEW Edit. That's on Genius.
01:09:37
Speaker
Intro, Beth Phoenix. You think you know him? Is that Beth Phoenix doing that good? That's sweet. That's sweet, yeah. ah They were singing along to another... Oh, they were singing along to Will Ospreay's music, too.
01:09:54
Speaker
Well, yeah. ah Of course they were, bruff. Of course they were, bruff. Bruff! Alright, here's our next list. It's from Seth Finkelstein.
01:10:06
Speaker
And these, according to Seth, are good stories. Do you think people like being able to tell that like you and I haven't really talked that much all day, but we did both experience something that we want to talk to each other about?
01:10:21
Speaker
ah Forbidden Door? Yeah. Which I watched last night and you watched today because you keep you kept messaging me like ah observations about things you were watching.
01:10:33
Speaker
Yeah, but not but not everything that I thought because I so i saved it for this. Yeah, yeah. like Like about singing along Alter Bridge's Metalingus. I'm just going to say Adam Edge Copeland's theme song. I'm not calling it that.
01:10:49
Speaker
Christian's too old to be doing diving headbuts, man. I mean, nobody should be doing diving headbuts. Yeah, stop doing that move. Nobody ever do that move again. Nobody do that move again, but also, Christian, first of all, you are old enough to know better. And second of all, Christian, come on, man.
01:11:05
Speaker
Like, the guy who most famously did that had a brain that was fucked up so bad. it was bad. That he did the worst thing.
01:11:17
Speaker
He did the worst thing. watched that entire show, and I was more comfortable watching a man's ear get stabbed with a fork than I was watching Christian do a diving headbutt.
01:11:28
Speaker
Okay, I watched a... but We're getting off topic, but... It's the show, baby! It's the show! I watched a review of Forbidden Door Today.
01:11:44
Speaker
From two journalists, from two respectable journalists, I watched the post-wrestling review of... Woodward and Bernstein. forbid Forbidden Door by Woodward and Bernstein. No, ah by John Pollock and Wei Ting.
01:11:59
Speaker
And John Pollock was talking about how like grossed out he was by the fork thing. I mean, it was nasty! it was nasty, but but he was like...
01:12:11
Speaker
He was puncturing all kinds of new holes into Darby Allin's ear with the fork. If you watch it, Moxley is just moving the fork around. Yeah, I'm going to guess that Darby Allin had some holes in his ear previously.
01:12:26
Speaker
He was already bleeding there. and if you like i I actually watched that pretty closely, and it like grossed me out because it's like gross to look at, but If you watch what Moxley's doing, he's just like mimicking stabbing him in the ear and moving the fork around a lot. Wait, Matt, are you saying the business is some kind of work?
01:12:45
Speaker
I'm saying the business is some kind of work. but I'll tell you what. maybe I'll tell you who worked him on that one. It's Tony Schiavone. Because Tony Schiavone is going, he's going to lose his freaking ear. He's going to lose his freaking ear, guys.
01:12:57
Speaker
Oh, I love that Tone. Oh, Big Tone. Friend the show. Friend of the show. Alright, here's a list from Seth Finkelstein.
01:13:11
Speaker
First up, Legion of Superheroes, Volume 4, Numbers 1-12, the first arc of the Five Years Later Legion by Keith Giffen and Tom and Mary Beerbomb.
01:13:24
Speaker
I'm sorry, what was that? It was the first 12 issues of the Five Years Later Legion. Does that count as one story? that's i You would know better than me, my man.
01:13:37
Speaker
And also, have we not ranked that already? I'm looking. um I don't think we have. We ranked... Five years later, Legion of Superheroes 1989 1-12. We have it number 718 on the list. Oh, yep. There it is. It's number 718. So, Pretty good.
01:13:54
Speaker
We've already ranked it. Alright, next on... That's like an A-. minus Next on Seth's list is Godzilla the Half-Century War by James Stokoe. I...
01:14:07
Speaker
Did not read that.
01:14:12
Speaker
I feel like I did years years ago, like when it came out.
01:14:18
Speaker
ah
01:14:22
Speaker
I'll tell you what, it looked good. Yeah, I bet. Yeah, I bet it looked amazing. Boy, that's the third catch-up candidate that we've gotten. Because I bet it's good.
01:14:33
Speaker
That came out in twenty twelve twenty thirteen A half century ago. I definitely read this.
01:14:44
Speaker
But, like, I don't know how comfortable I am ranking it. I've seen bits and pieces of it, and the thing that I remember is that when Stokko draws Godzilla's roar...
01:15:03
Speaker
he does like it's based on the waveform of the sound. Instead of just being like a Kree honk.
01:15:12
Speaker
This is like Godzilla Minus One before Godzilla Minus One. This is like Godzilla Minus Two. Oh, that's right. each Each issue is like a different war.
01:15:25
Speaker
So issue one is like Japan in the 50s. And then issue two is Vietnam. And then issue three is
01:15:38
Speaker
china in the a Ghana in the 70s. And issue four is Bombay in the eighty s which would be Mumbai now.
01:15:53
Speaker
And then 2002, The end of the World.
01:16:03
Speaker
Would that it were so simple. Would that it were so simple. I was like, oh, it's going to be like Afghanistan, but no. It's the end of the world.
01:16:15
Speaker
Oh, and that's the one with Mechagodzilla. That sounds yeah good. Man, this is the third catch-up candidate of the show, for sure. like i've i Man, I feel like I remember reading this, but like I think I've got to read it again to rank it
01:16:34
Speaker
Okay, so Charles Scholl, Soul She-Hulk. i keep I keep saying Scholl because of She-Hulk.
01:16:44
Speaker
The Matt Wagner Spirit or this James Stokoe Godzilla comic.
01:16:53
Speaker
Maybe I should do a poll. ah yeah I think you should i think that you should do a poll. Or we have just settled on the rest of the year of of comics catch-ups.
01:17:04
Speaker
Damn. You know what?
01:17:08
Speaker
Well, that's only three, and we would need four. but Well, Matt, we got 40 more minutes of this. That's true. I'll tell you the one I'm most psyched to read at the moment, and that's this fucking Godzilla comic.
01:17:23
Speaker
Same.
01:17:25
Speaker
ah Okay, so Godzilla, She-Hulk, and Spirit.
01:17:33
Speaker
I'm writing those down. ah Okay. Finally, on Seth's list is Astro City Volume 3, Numbers Victory, the team-up story between Samaritan Winged Victory and Confessor 2. Ooh, I don't think I've read that.
01:17:52
Speaker
Oh, I know I have. i have I have to remind myself of it, but I know I read it.
01:18:02
Speaker
Which volume was Volume 3? that's That's what I'm trying to figure out.
01:18:10
Speaker
Was that the 2013
01:18:14
Speaker
The Vertigo book?
01:18:24
Speaker
vertigo but Maybe?
01:18:30
Speaker
Alright, I'm just going to look up Astro City volumes. It says Astro City 95, Astro City 96. Yeah. 96 went for a long time. 96 goes us for a long time.
01:18:42
Speaker
Yeah.
01:18:46
Speaker
I think it's got to be the 2013 volume. twenty thirteen volume
01:18:54
Speaker
I feel like I definitely read some of this, but I do not recall this story. What numbers is it? 7 through 10.
01:19:02
Speaker
I think this is the Astro City volume that I got blurbed on the cover of. Oh, yeah? Yeah. I mean, it's just Comics Alliance, as I recall. but Man, the stills look good.
01:19:17
Speaker
Yeah, I remember this. I remember this being like really good. Hey, man, you know, ah maybe you can answer this question for me. Does Samaritan fuck?
01:19:31
Speaker
I believe the answer is yes. Oh, yeah. Oh, wow. Look at that. Turns out Samaritan fucks. Yeah. Oh, yeah, this is it. This is this is Samaritan and Confessor and ah Winged Victory all together.
01:19:45
Speaker
This is the story.
01:19:49
Speaker
Like, okay. It's a good Astro City story.
01:19:54
Speaker
It's not... will admit, it's not entirely what I come to Astro City for, though. Like... it's It is unabashedly a good superhero story.
01:20:16
Speaker
ah But... It's a little more grandiose than
01:20:26
Speaker
what my favorite Astro City stories typically are, if that makes sense.
01:20:34
Speaker
like You like it when it's the when it's the the common person's view oh oh but it's When it's just like a personal story about a superhero.
01:20:46
Speaker
You know what I mean? Yeah. like Like, the nearness of you. that kind of That kind of thing. um Yeah, i I remember this. I remember this story being solidly good.
01:21:02
Speaker
But not my favorite Astro City story. So let me...
01:21:10
Speaker
Let me see where this might go. If you don't remember it especially well. I do not recall it, no.
01:21:19
Speaker
Surely I read it at the time, but I do i do not recall it.
01:21:28
Speaker
um Oh, it does end with Winged Victory um like deciding to go back home and kind of live, like reconcile with her family after ah long time of being away.
01:21:43
Speaker
buts there's ah There's a little bit of a personal touch there. um Okay. Astro City. Astro City on the list.
01:21:57
Speaker
Nearness of You is at number 18. It ain't that good. What is? The Awful G-Dog Story That Makes Us Cry is at 123. Pusek, worst writer in comics.
01:22:08
Speaker
Confession is at 248. Life in the Big City, which is the first volume, is at 615. Tarnished Angel is at 823.
01:22:20
Speaker
The Dark Age is at number 833. I think it's like around as good as the Dark Age. Okay. but that's like Dark Age is good, but like not the best of the best Astro City, and that's kind of where I think this is.
01:22:37
Speaker
Okay. um
01:22:45
Speaker
Let's see. i think it's a little bit below that. But it's below it's above Fable's Homeland, so this is the new number 842.
01:22:55
Speaker
Okay. I don't think there's... The new number 842. Yeah, it the last issue is called Victory, so we'll just call it Victory. ah Yeah. Okay.
01:23:14
Speaker
Okay.
01:23:20
Speaker
okay
01:23:24
Speaker
That is Seth's list.
01:23:28
Speaker
Here is a list from Isabel.
01:23:34
Speaker
These are Hot Topic Comics. Hot Topic Comics? Hot Topic Comics. Okay. First, Milk and Cheese Dairy Products Gone Bad.
01:23:48
Speaker
How dare you? By Evan Dorkin. Okay. On the one hand, that's not a single story. On the other hand, every milk and cheese comic is exactly the quality of every other milk and cheese comic.
01:24:07
Speaker
Yeah, and the collected milk and cheese is called milk and cheese dairy comics dairy products gone bad. Although I guess that's their tagline on every yeah story. Yeah. That is the full title of the hardcover.
01:24:24
Speaker
Yeah. i just How unbelievable. ah Unbelievable that you would call this a Hot Topic comic.
01:24:39
Speaker
On the one hand, ah devastating insult. On the other hand, can imagine seeing a milk and cheese t-shirt at Hot Topic. Oh, yeah, I might have gotten one.
01:24:53
Speaker
yeah
01:25:00
Speaker
I just look, Evan Dorkin's a real one. Evan Dorkin is a real one. That is true.
01:25:08
Speaker
i told this story on blue sky, but like, it's a treasured memory of mine getting in the elevator. i think maybe going, going down to dinner, getting in the elevator and Evan Dorkin's in there leaning against the back wall, staring at the ceiling.
01:25:26
Speaker
And I go, Hey Evan. And he goes, Hello, Chris.
01:25:39
Speaker
We love Evan Dorkin. We do. We do.
01:25:45
Speaker
don't know. Milk and cheese pretty good. it's I think it is true that every milk and cheese...
01:25:55
Speaker
I hesitate to say strip, because they aren't really strips.
01:26:01
Speaker
every Every milk and cheese story, some of which are only a single page, is probably of exactly the same quality.
01:26:14
Speaker
yes
01:26:18
Speaker
It weirdly... yeah Even though the art is different every time...
01:26:27
Speaker
what What do you... Do you mean like the... Like, physically, the art is not the same panel. It's not Dinosaur Comics, is what you're saying? saying I was going to compare it to Dinosaur Comics, yeah.
01:26:39
Speaker
ye It has the same vibe as Dinosaur Comics. Because it's a lot of
01:26:49
Speaker
the talking, the dialogue being the point. yeah If that makes sense. Yeah.
01:26:59
Speaker
You know what I mean, though? like Like, Milk and Cheese are talking directly to you. And that's every Milk and Cheese comic. They do absolutely address the reader.
01:27:13
Speaker
Yeah. And they do not have kind things to say. Almost never. Yeah.
01:27:26
Speaker
and And often, like... yeah like It plays with the form. it It's very self-aware. A lot of it is like talking about themselves.
01:27:43
Speaker
ah
01:27:47
Speaker
While having like a satirical bit about different different topics. so like I don't know why I immediately went to like It Reminds Me of Dinosaur Comics, but it does.
01:28:04
Speaker
Even though i I think it predates Dinosaur Comics, so maybe Dinosaur Comics reminds me of Milk and
Humor and Critique in Comics: 'Milk and Cheese' and 'Johnny the Homicidal Maniac'
01:28:08
Speaker
Cheese. i don't know.
01:28:13
Speaker
Am I making any sense here? No, I think you are. I think you are. It's...
01:28:22
Speaker
It's... I mean, it's it's it's not the same joke every time. It's variations on the same joke every time, which is what makes it work.
01:28:33
Speaker
right It's very close to being comic strips. it is But they are multi-page stories. Some of them are. Yeah. And they are, like, there's a lot of fun to be had in these, I think.
01:28:50
Speaker
ah I don't know what they're, like, i feel kind of stymied as a critic trying to discuss these.
01:29:04
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, there's not that much to say, right? like they they Again, it's these two characters who kind of represent,
01:29:19
Speaker
ah
01:29:23
Speaker
I don't know, full id.
01:29:28
Speaker
yelling at you. like It's weird that we show up in in Milk and Cheese.
01:29:38
Speaker
How do you mean? i mean, do you not remember when we showed up in Milk and Cheese? I'll send you the panels. Oh, okay. Here we go. Yeah. Let's see them. Let's see them.
01:29:52
Speaker
Oh, yeah. There we are. Milk is saying, I hate comics. Cheese is saying, I love comics. And they both say, me too. And when they both say me too, they're both frowning.
01:30:03
Speaker
Yep. Yep. Yep.
01:30:09
Speaker
That is us. Wow. We are in there.
01:30:15
Speaker
It's pretty good, man.
01:30:22
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know that we need to say much more. like yeah it it Either you know what it is or you don't. And if you go read one milk and cheese comic, like I'm not saying don't only read one, because there's plenty that's good, but like if you read one, you pretty much got it. like You know what the rest of it is going to be, in terms of form, at least. like Subject matter, not so much, but form, for sure. So...
01:30:53
Speaker
so
01:30:58
Speaker
I think we just rank this. Yeah, pick a number, Matt. I don't know. It's pretty good. Hmm.
01:31:15
Speaker
he
01:31:27
Speaker
I'm looking. I'm looking. 750?
01:31:40
Speaker
Okay, what's at 750? Well, what's currently at 750 is the Mighty Thorcules.
01:31:47
Speaker
oh
01:31:52
Speaker
That's...
01:31:56
Speaker
That's kind of about where it should be, maybe. Yeah. 749 is Batman and Robin Eternal.
01:32:05
Speaker
Batman and Robin Eternal pretty fun. Yeah.
01:32:12
Speaker
Is it... Okay, but is it better than Hellboy in Mexico and Dirty Pear Sim Hell? I would say no. Okay. Then maybe 756, right below
01:32:26
Speaker
I think that's a good place for it, actually. That's a high ranking for it. But I mean, it is making me laugh as I look at it right now. Yeah. I'm just putting milk and cheese all at the new number 756. All right. Next on Isabel's list is Hate by Peter Bagg.
01:32:53
Speaker
Any issue or collection is qualitatively representative of the whole. Which is correct. that is That is true, yes. Matt, i'm gonna I'm going to tell you something that you already know.
01:33:06
Speaker
Hit me. You know why don't fuck with that book. You've never read any of it? You've never read any hate? Not a page! I look at that book and I'm like, phew, Spider-Man ain't showing up in this one.
01:33:24
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
01:33:27
Speaker
Ain't nobody going to be talking about a secondary adamantium in this comic.
01:33:39
Speaker
ah I'm sure I know I've read like individual single issues of hate. ah But i don't I don't know that I feel right ranking it Without having looked at it in at minimum 20 years.
01:34:00
Speaker
That's very funny. Finally on Isabelle's list of Hot Topic Comics is Hate by Peter... Or no, I said that already. Never mind.
01:34:15
Speaker
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jonan Vasquez. No, I'm going to tell you something you already know. That you've never read that? You know I don't fuck with that. I have read Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.
01:34:29
Speaker
And um of all the comics labeled here as Hot Topic Comics, boy, that is the most correct. now Yes, now that is a Hot Topic comic.
01:34:46
Speaker
Like, I remember enjoying...
01:34:53
Speaker
Invader Zim. Like, quite a bit.
01:34:58
Speaker
And so I was like, oh, so Jonan Vasquez, who created Invader Zim, his first comic was Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.
01:35:09
Speaker
Or like, somebody told me that. You know? And there's a lot of stuff Invader Zim that I still think is funny. Like in the very first episode of invader Zim, there's a bit where invader Zim is watching something on TV and an ad comes on and it's a guy like falling down and going, ow, my spine.
01:35:33
Speaker
And then in big letters on the screen, it just says aspirin. That's pretty funny. That's funny. That is funny. Um,
01:35:44
Speaker
But um Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, i I'm sorry to say, sucks. It is very, very much not the comic for me.
01:35:55
Speaker
ah And I would be willing to bet that even people who liked it a lot in the 90s, when it was coming out, ah probably wouldn't like it as much now.
01:36:10
Speaker
Because... it's that very It's very edgelord-y. You know? It's... ah
01:36:22
Speaker
I don't know. It's... a
01:36:28
Speaker
It's not a fun read. it's It's as 1998 a comic as you could possibly have exist.
01:36:40
Speaker
It's... it's it's I was going to say it's the Attitude Era of the comic. Okay. ah Which, that's not exactly true. But it is very much of that time where, like... I don't know, dark and cynical was cool.
01:36:59
Speaker
yeah And, uh...
01:37:04
Speaker
Boy, i don't I don't feel like that now.
01:37:08
Speaker
Uh... like Not just dark, but like...
01:37:15
Speaker
Yeah, I guess cynical is the word. like I find it to be to be pretty cynical. like there is There's some art to it, so I won't put it at the bottom of the bottom.
01:37:30
Speaker
But... like yeah and and As far as I recall, it's not racist. I mean, that's good.
01:37:40
Speaker
um But is it better than NFL Super Pro? I don't think so.
01:37:46
Speaker
i mean, I would most likely agree. ah Okay, I would put it above the Donald Duck comic with offensive stereotypes we have at number 1399. Okay.
01:38:01
Speaker
okay
01:38:04
Speaker
Would I put it above X-Men Poptopia? Okay.
01:38:09
Speaker
I mean, that's not a great that's not a good book. No. that's that That's that Joe Casey run.
01:38:26
Speaker
I'm going to say this is the new number 1395 between Identity Disc 2004 and Fat Man and Robin Revenge of the Red Hood. Thank you for specifying so that we don't get it confused with all the other Identity Disc reboots and series is.
01:38:43
Speaker
Yeah. There's just too many Identity Discs out there. ah So Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is the new number 1395. ninety five I know people have like nostalgic ah ah feelings for that comic, but folks, it doesn't hold up.
01:39:05
Speaker
It doesn't hold up.
01:39:09
Speaker
Sorry to tell you.
01:39:13
Speaker
Alright, we're going to start one more list. I don't know if we'll get all the way through it. But we but'll we'll try. We'll try. This list is from Jolene.
Crossover Comics: 'G.I. Joe vs. Transformers'
01:39:25
Speaker
First on Jolene's list is G.I. i Joe vs. the Transformers 2003 by Josh Blalock and Mike S. Miller.
01:39:32
Speaker
so So not Tom Scioli. I'm pretty sure we've ranked that, right? Yes. yeah But this is by ah this is by Josh Bailock, who I once hung out with at a con, and like when I was, I think maybe like pre-ISB days, even. Okay. ah Like, ended up like hanging out in a hotel room with him, trying to get him to play Uno with me.
01:40:07
Speaker
okay And telling him that I never really think about his G.I. Joe comic, but I always like it when it comes out. I'm sure he loved to hear that. I was in my early 20s and had been drinking, Matt.
01:40:25
Speaker
And drawn, of course, by noted Christian comics auteur Mike S. Miller. Yeah.
01:40:37
Speaker
It's fine. The art looks pretty good, from what I can tell. Yeah, it's fine.
01:40:44
Speaker
The coloring is good. Yeah, of course you're always good. God, all things are possible. ah That's true. That's right. You can move mountains. This... Here's what I will say about this, and you can take this as as you will.
01:41:02
Speaker
Whatever you think happens in a comic called G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers, this is it.
01:41:12
Speaker
First thought, best thought, this is it. It's the standard... A standard length of gi i Joe vs. Transformers. Correct.
01:41:24
Speaker
Absolutely.
01:41:27
Speaker
Destro's in it. Cobra teams up with the Decepticons.
01:41:32
Speaker
G.I. Joe and Optimus Prime hang out. There's a drag race. Sure is.
01:41:42
Speaker
Wheeljack is in it. Roblox in it. Yep. it It checks the boxes. Boxes?
01:41:53
Speaker
Checked. Whatever happened to Josh Playlock, man? should tonight tonight Do I not actually want to know the answer to that question? i might not. I mean, you might not, yeah.
01:42:05
Speaker
I genuinely don't know. I'm not like trying to make any any subtle insinuations. I genuinely don't know. That dude had a pompadour and more like Western shirts back in 2004. And that's
01:42:24
Speaker
and that's all I gotta say about that. The Josh Blaylock... Who I'm looking at. Oh, this is definitely a different guy. Okay.
01:42:34
Speaker
Oh, Josh Blaylock was the guy who who ran Devil's Due. Yeah. Right. So there's a there's a Josh Blaylock who's a voice actor who was the voice of Jack Marston in Red Dead Redemption.
01:42:48
Speaker
A different guy, I think. That's a different guy. For sure. Yeah. ah Josh Blaylock – okay, Devil's Due Publishing. So Josh Blaylock does not have his own Wikipedia page. key There's a page for Devil's Due Publishing that ends at 2015 with a merger with First Comics.
01:43:15
Speaker
Wild.
01:43:20
Speaker
Which was the comic company that published ah Nexus and Badger. Yeah, they were still around then? Apparently. Wild.
01:43:33
Speaker
They were still around as of 2022, according to Wikipedia.
01:43:41
Speaker
First Comics and Devil's Due Publishing merged to forms Devil's Due First Comics LLC in June 2015. Couldn't decide on what name to go with. Yeah. Wait.
01:43:53
Speaker
First Comics and Devils do parted ways, and by September of 2019, First Comics was publishing titles under their own banner. Wild. this This is a rollercoaster ride, Matt.
01:44:04
Speaker
It really is a rollercoaster ride, yeah. This comic is fine. I would say it's a B-. minus So that would be what, like ah like in the 1000s, maybe?
01:44:14
Speaker
probably in the Probably looking at the one thousand yeah. ah a Let's see. At 1050, we have Nancy, The Hose vs. The Rain, from 1942.
01:44:30
Speaker
It's probably not as good as that, and I know it's not as good as the Heathcliff strips from January 16th, 2020, January 5th, 2021, and January 19th, 2021, which are all about the meat tank.
01:44:46
Speaker
I know it's not as good as that. Children love the meat tank. i the that What got in my head about Children Love the Meat Tank is that there's a Hot Dad song about it that I think about periodically.
01:45:04
Speaker
Hot Dad? he's He's a funny internet song man. Oh, man. Matt, you know I don't like the funny internet song man.
01:45:17
Speaker
I once said... I once said on Twitter that like the shortest horror story I can write is the comedian pulled out a guitar. oh yeah Oh yeah, that's true. but That's my six-word horror story?
01:45:30
Speaker
I've continued to look for information about about Josh Blaylock. I regret to inform you that joshblaylock.com does not resolve, even though there's a link to it on the Devil's Due Publishing website.
01:45:49
Speaker
so So I think maybe he's just not, he's he's not doing anything anymore. Well, i I guess I can tentatively wish Josh Blaylock well. Yeah.
01:46:01
Speaker
Tentatively? I can't even find, like, social media for him. I mean, good for him. Yeah, yeah, good for him.
01:46:11
Speaker
Oh, hang on. Here's an Instagram. Here's an Instagram. Okay, okay.
01:46:19
Speaker
he Okay, Devil's Due is putting out comics.
01:46:24
Speaker
ah He is writing a book called The Disavowed. Okay.
01:46:32
Speaker
ah
01:46:36
Speaker
Which had a contribution from – the first issue had a contribution from Tim Seeley. I believe Tim Seeley worked with him on some of these G.I. Joe books. Okay. Okay.
01:46:47
Speaker
The disavowed is definitely G.I. Joe with the numbers filed off. Love that for him. So that that is what he's up to.
01:47:00
Speaker
Matt, where would you say this comic ranks against Robin 3, Cry of the Huntress by Chuck Dixon and your favorite artist, Tom Lyle?
01:47:12
Speaker
I don't know. I've never read this, so okay that's up to you. um vi
01:47:29
Speaker
i think it's I think it's better than Combo Man number one. I think we've got to give it that. We have to give it that it's better than Combo Man number one. Yeah, okay. Alright.
01:47:44
Speaker
But...
01:47:49
Speaker
I...
01:47:53
Speaker
This is tough. this is When you get to the B-minuses, it's just kind of tough.
01:48:01
Speaker
I would say it's not as good as The Kingdom. Alright.
01:48:07
Speaker
It's... I think it's better than The Phalanx Covenant.
01:48:15
Speaker
Alright, so what's the number? Number 1234. 1234.
01:48:23
Speaker
Just below Joker Devil's Advocate. Yeah. And that's gi i Joe vs. Transformers.
01:48:38
Speaker
it sure is ah comic book. All right, Chris, i have I finally have for you your Josh Blaylock update. Oh, no. There was a Kickstarter for the disavowed number one pilot edition.
01:48:54
Speaker
Okay. Which ran in June and July.
01:49:00
Speaker
ah There was a $10,000 goal, that and it got funded for $25,403. Hey, good.
01:49:10
Speaker
the The tagline is, the ultimate 80s fat task force has returned. The disavowed. Mm-hmm. I feel like the ultimate 80s special missions force is G.I. Joe.
01:49:26
Speaker
Yep. It is, like... He's not... They're not even trying to to make it not G.I. Joe. Matt, you know that I am a strong advocate of that practice.
01:49:38
Speaker
this This is... The dude on the left here, like... it's It's just Cobra Commander, but his outfit is red instead of b blue.
01:49:53
Speaker
like oh yeah that yeah that does look like Cobra Commander and there are ninjas and that dude is just this dude is just straight up Duke and this dude is just fully snake eyes but in green yep but good on him good on him
01:50:15
Speaker
Yeah, good on him. That's what I say about that. Good on He didn't become one of those guys, from what I can tell. Well, we we don't know. I mean, he's working with Tim Seeley, so... That's true.
01:50:26
Speaker
Seeley's good guy. Yeah. ah i I could be wrong, but from everything that I could tell, he did not become one of those guys. was recent. This was funded on July 13th.
01:50:38
Speaker
That's what I said. Yeah, it was June and July of this year. Yeah.
01:50:45
Speaker
Good for them. but they did do They did the thing where one of the covers is a sexy cover.
Batman’s Black Mask Origin and Conclusion
01:50:51
Speaker
They sure did. um I see that right now. Oh, Popmon did the artwork for this. Yeah, Popmon did the artwork.
01:50:57
Speaker
Popmon's good. Yeah.
01:51:03
Speaker
I always thought Popmon should have been a much bigger star. there's there's your There's your Josh Blaylock update. All right.
01:51:15
Speaker
you you can You can lay pledge for this if you want. You can, yeah. Next on Jolene's list is Batman 386, Detective 553, and Batman 387, which is the Doug Monch Black Mask origin.
01:51:31
Speaker
and It's pretty, I mean, it's fine.
01:51:40
Speaker
It's fine. like this is's another it's another b plus
01:51:48
Speaker
It's like, I was about to say it's pretty good, but it's fine. it is. Okay. Here's the thing about this is 1985, right? Yeah. yeah This is that the hazy winter of the pre-crisis DC universe.
01:52:06
Speaker
And we got Doug Munch, Tom Mandrake. And it's exactly those two dudes doing a comic. The cover of Batman... That's what I wanted to say. Yeah.
01:52:18
Speaker
What sells it is that the cover of Batman 386 says, crazier than the Joker, deadlier than Ra's al Ghul, introducing a villain for the 80s, Black Mask.
01:52:31
Speaker
He is neither of those things. No and no. but Like... Black Mask is an interesting character, but both of those are wrong. Is he a little off-kilter?
01:52:44
Speaker
Yes. Is he deadly? Absolutely. Is he crazier than the Joker and deadlier than Ra's al Ghul? Come on.
01:52:56
Speaker
Man, this this Tom Mandrake art in here,
01:53:01
Speaker
he's getting trippy. He's getting trippy in this. You know what's wild about that cover?
01:53:09
Speaker
You know who the Batman villain of the 80s was?
01:53:14
Speaker
The Joker! KG Beast? No, it was the Joker! i mean, KG Beast was very much a villain of the 80s. I mean, KG Beast, beautiful and too perfect for this world.
01:53:25
Speaker
I mean, but yes, it was the Joker. Like, he killed Robin. Yeah. Yeah. Like, he was already a big deal, and then he killed Robin, and then they put him in a movie.
01:53:37
Speaker
Yeah. Joker, if you doing, if we're if we're an NBA podcast, Matt, which we're not. But we could be.
01:53:48
Speaker
But we could be. At any moment, I have threatened to get into basketball. Yeah. And then it's you and me talking about Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
01:54:03
Speaker
who Both of whom i assume are still playing basketball. and And James Harden. James Harden? Sure. yeah Yao Ming? Is he still around? I don't think Yao Ming is still around. Okay.
01:54:16
Speaker
Scotty Pidman? ah Long retired. Okay. Barkley, of course, is forever. Barkley is forever. it' still on NBA coverage.
01:54:29
Speaker
Being as entertaining as ever. Yes. But if we if we're one of those podcasts, and we're talking about who what comic book character had the best 1980s, it's the Joker in a walk.
01:54:45
Speaker
but Which Batman villain, for sure, yeah. Yeah. I think which... Matt, who had a better 80s than the Joker? and Anybody?
01:54:55
Speaker
I mean, the X-Men generally...
01:54:59
Speaker
X-Men weren't movie. ah Until 2000. yeah X-Men weren't movie when they got top billing. Over... Over Batman. Over the hero, yeah. yeah So what I'm saying is, this comic does not live up to what it is promising on the cover by any means.
01:55:17
Speaker
True. that That's... It's a silly thing to put on the cover. ah But do like this story. It's pretty good.
01:55:29
Speaker
I'll say this. like Generally, I like the Tom Mandrake art. I like Tom Mandrake's art overall. like Tom Mandrake, a good artist.
01:55:42
Speaker
Yeah, especially on Spectre. And I think Tom Mandrake's art in this is largely good. I said it gets trippy in the interiors, and it absolutely does.
01:55:55
Speaker
In a good way, kind of.
01:55:58
Speaker
The initial design of Black Mask sucks.
01:56:04
Speaker
Where his mask is kind of a big frowny face. His mask is a big frowny face. He's got a big fedora hat and a stripy brown suit. Yeah, he's like a gangster. You know, for the 80s.
01:56:16
Speaker
It's not good. like Thank God Black Mask got redesigned to look much more... Sinister. Like the Red Skull.
01:56:30
Speaker
Pretty much to be the Red Skull, yeah. Yeah, but but but black and not red. Yeah. ah The hat does not work. The hat doesn't really play. Yeah.
01:56:45
Speaker
The hat doesn't really play. At the end of this, though, the the mask does permanently fuse to his face.
01:56:56
Speaker
Yes. And so he just has a big frowny face for a while. Which, how does he eat? Great question. Because that mouth doesn't move. What that mouth do? Not move. What that mouth do? Nothing.
01:57:11
Speaker
Yeah. Static. Frown. Static frown. That's all that mouth do. Frown. Yeah.
01:57:20
Speaker
But that's a pretty good story. I like it. It's fun. if you're look If you're going to read one Batman story from immediately before Crisis, you could do a lot worse.
01:57:34
Speaker
Sure, yeah.
01:57:37
Speaker
it's I'd say this is a... I don't know why I'm in the mood to give letter grades tonight. That's weird. And I don't usually do that on the show but this show. this is a B, no modifier.
01:57:49
Speaker
B. Just a B. Just a B. All right.
01:57:59
Speaker
just a bit put that Put that in there. Put that put that on the on the list. Find the spot. ah I'm going to say ah not as good as Spidey Super Stories, Doctor Doom meets Prince Namor.
01:58:14
Speaker
Not as good as Nightfall. Come on. What are we even doing with that? oh
01:58:24
Speaker
Man, I have written some very funny notes on this list, Matt. That I shan't read here on the show. This Black Mask is, according to the DC database, this is Black Mask, like, post-crisis Black Mask. He would be this Black Mask until 2011. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, it's one of those those holdovers, right?
01:58:54
Speaker
Where ah his post-crisis history is the exact same, so these issues are considered in continuity. Okay, okay, yeah, yeah. yeah Man, he would look like this for a while. Much longer than I thought. Yeah, for a long time.
01:59:06
Speaker
Yeah. He didn't look good until many years later. This is not as good as Spider-Man and the X-Men fighting the Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy. Yeah.
01:59:22
Speaker
in Marvel Team Up 150. It is better than that time Felix Fowles stole Jerry Conway's car on Halloween. That makes sense, yeah. ah So it enters the list of the new number 876. Okay.
01:59:36
Speaker
okay
01:59:42
Speaker
Number 876 is...
01:59:46
Speaker
What do we call this? Black Mask. it's we'll We'll just say... Batman Detective Black Mask.
01:59:57
Speaker
Black Mask Losing Face is the title of 386. I'm just calling it Black Mask. It's the first Black Mask story. Yeah, I'll just say Batman Detective first Black Mask.
02:00:11
Speaker
Continued in the next issue of Tech. I love it when they call Detective Comics Tech. It's great when they call it Tech, yeah. What issue of Detective is it? It is Batman 386 and 387 and Detective 553. It's pretty good. You should read it.
02:00:34
Speaker
I'd say, hey, you should read this one.
02:00:38
Speaker
Okay. I think we are out of time. We are definitely out of time. Oh, we made it, Matt. We did it. um The last story on Jolene's list is a Catwoman story, a Jim Ballant Catwoman story we haven't read.
02:00:54
Speaker
God, I admire the persistence so much. yeah It'll happen one day, Jolene. I promise. Specifically, it's Catwoman hints and allegations from 63 to 65. ah But we haven't read it. i i Sorry.
02:01:09
Speaker
If you would like to send us an Every Story Ever list, you can do it at our email address, which is warrocketpodcast at gmail.com. We're on bluesky at warrocketajax.com.
02:01:20
Speaker
We're on Tumblr at warrocketpodcast.tumblr.com. You can join our Discord if you ask us nicely for an invitation to our Discord. In any of those places I just mentioned, we will send you an invitation.
02:01:32
Speaker
And you can
02:01:38
Speaker
head over there. Get over there and be part of that cool community of War Rocket Ajax fans. It's a good place. ah
02:01:52
Speaker
If you want to find every episode of the show, go to our website, which is warrocketajax.com. warrocketwiki.com has all the info you could want or need about the show, War Rocket Ajax, including the Every Story Ever list.
02:02:03
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 everybody find you hey Everybody can find me at the-isb.com. That is my website. It's got links to everything that I do.
02:02:20
Speaker
We'll be back next month with more rankings. Bye, everybody. Chris, would you like to say bye? No. Bye. Forever, forever, forever, ever, ever, ever.
02:02:33
Speaker
Yes! From this day on, let every breed of mongrel live together.