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: July 2025
0 Plays2 seconds ago
Time to rank more stories! This time, we're taking on some Dragon Ball, a PSA comic, Batman just before "Year One," and much more!
We make our show on Zencastr, and you can too! Follow this link to sign up now!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Overview
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.
Comic Book Rankings: 'Every Story Ever'
00:00:28
Speaker
Clientist.
00:00:35
Speaker
We have a list on our website, warrockandajax.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.
Special Episode: War Rocket Ajax July 2025
00:01:01
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to the War Rocket Ajax Every Story Ever special for July 2025. two thousand twenty five My name is Matt Wilson. Here with me, as always, is Chris Sims.
00:01:14
Speaker
It's me. It's a him. it It's um me, him.
00:01:25
Speaker
If Adam Warlock talked like Mario... Then we might have a different opinion of him. That's all I'm saying. That's that's true.
00:01:36
Speaker
That's very true. I think the Magus does.
00:01:41
Speaker
Talks like Mario? Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. i I always forget that Adam Warlock has a bad guy version of himself like the Sentry does.
00:01:53
Speaker
I always forget about the Magus. here's How did you forget about the Megas, Matt? He runs in the most unusual circles. That's true.
Current Comic List Status
00:02:02
Speaker
ah Here's what we do on this show.
00:02:04
Speaker
We take emails from you, the listener. And you give us three comics to rank on a big list. And ah then we put those comics on that big list.
00:02:21
Speaker
And so we're going to be doing that on this episode. ah Chris, would you like to give a quick rundown of the ah current state of the Every Story Ever list?
00:02:37
Speaker
You're asking me where the list is at, Matt? Yeah, where's the list at? How we doing? ah the The list is strong. The state of the list is strong. The state of the list is strong.
00:02:48
Speaker
ah How strong? It's 1,632... one thousand six hundred and thirty two Entries. No, sorry. 1,630 entries. Strong. Yes. Yes. ah At number one, Spider-Man, If This Be My Destiny, slash the final chapter, a very, very good comic.
00:03:07
Speaker
Yes. At number 1,630, as it has been down since day one, it's that day one-ish identity crisis.
00:03:18
Speaker
Yes. Down since day one-ish.
00:03:22
Speaker
And it is some ish. identity crisis At 1602, we have US War Machine 2.0.
00:03:33
Speaker
I was going to make a joke, but then I remember we took all that guy's stuff off the list. Yeah, what that was the one time the list got shorter. I forgot. is we took 1602 was on the list at one time, and now it it's not.
00:03:49
Speaker
We should have replaced every one of those with Maximum Carnage.
00:03:56
Speaker
So Maximum Carnage would be on the list what list like 35 times? Yeah. Because, you know, the second time you read it, it's a different experience. That's true. I cannot deny that.
Examining 'Time and Time Again' Story Arc
00:04:08
Speaker
Chris, let's get into our first list. This list is from Sean Bell, who has three Buckwild comic stories for us. That sounds like the kind of thing we like. Yeah. Yeah.
00:04:22
Speaker
The first one is a comic is is a story that I feel almost sure that I read. Uh-huh. Because it's from the Triangle era of Superman comics.
00:04:35
Speaker
I know you love triangles. Boy, it's buous from that the... the that Those books, these books, they got triangles on the cover. those are the Those are the real jurgies.
00:04:49
Speaker
Those are the real jurgies. um But we – okay. I don't remember this story at all, but I'm sure I read it.
00:05:02
Speaker
okay So that's where I'm at for this. ah But the story is um Superman Time and Time Again from 1991, which ran through Adventures of Superman numbers 476 through 478.
00:05:18
Speaker
Action Comics number 663-664, and Superman 54-55, in which Superman is hurled through time, leading him to meet the Legion of Superheroes, become a circus strongman, stop an assassination attempt on FDR, foil the Nazi nuclear weapons program, fight a T-Rex, and battle alongside Merlin and Etrigan in Camelot.
Review of 'Legends of the Dark Claw'
00:05:41
Speaker
know these covers, but I never read this story.
00:05:50
Speaker
I feel like this is probably ah story I read ah few parts of, but not all of.
00:06:01
Speaker
i I remember the covers primarily from when I was working on like organizing the 300 long boxes of back issues at my comic book store job.
00:06:12
Speaker
ah But I did always like the the Time and Time Again logo On the cover, Superman flies across it.
00:06:23
Speaker
Yes. And that's fun. It's like a the most basic serif font. But Superman is flying across it.
00:06:34
Speaker
Yeah, that's fun. That is fun.
00:06:39
Speaker
Yeah, man. On this cover of Superman number 54 by jerry ordway
00:06:48
Speaker
I guess Jerry Ordway was doing all of it. The script and the pencils on this. Yeah, that that was that was prime Ordway time. Superman absolutely, completely stopping the Nazi nuclear weapons program.
00:07:05
Speaker
And you know what? Good. Good for him.
00:07:11
Speaker
Yeah, i i don't I don't think we can rank this, because... i have god i feel so I feel so familiar with this story about him and Etrigan and Camelot.
00:07:25
Speaker
But like i I don't think I could tell you any day any details of this story. I mean, look, it sounds pretty good. And the Legion stuff, I don't remember at all. I think legion the Legion stuff was probably happening and happening in Adventures of Superman, which was the Dan Jergan stuff.
00:07:43
Speaker
stuff does happen in Adventures of Superman. And the funny thing is, he... he's hanging out with like the original Legion in the, the first part of the crossover. And then he gets that five years later Legion in in the next part.
00:08:00
Speaker
So you, you know, shit's getting wild. This, this seems like it is for being what is ostensibly the flagship character of detective comics, comics.
00:08:13
Speaker
This seems really like it is foreheads only Matt. Because of all the Legion stuff, you mean? Well, I mean, the Legion stuff, yeah, but also Etrigan and Camelot and and all that. like that's You and I don't even think about that stuff, but that stuff is FHO.
00:08:36
Speaker
I guess so. I mean, Etrigan's been on cartoons and stuff. I mean, yeah, there's a I saw an action figure of Etrigan at the store the other day.
00:08:49
Speaker
Oh, okay, so the Action Comics story is the one where he becomes a Circus Strongman. Which, but I guess that's FHO, too, because Superman is based so much on Circus Strongman. Yeah, his costume sure is.
00:09:07
Speaker
Costume sure is, yeah. Here's what I would like to know. this worth reading? Did you send this in because you you were like, yeah, this is pretty good? Or did you send this in because you were like, what a mess?
00:09:18
Speaker
What a mess of comics that's only for the heads in the audience. Yeah. Because if it's good, I think I could read it.
00:09:30
Speaker
Yeah, I mean... I think I would enjoy reading it if it's good. actually That's a dumb thing to say, but but you know what I mean. The action stuff is all by Roger Stern.
00:09:42
Speaker
Love Roger Stern. I'm probably going to like that. Like... i'm I'm of the opinion that Roger Stern might be the most underrated writer in the history of comics.
00:09:53
Speaker
Certainly on the on the list. Yeah. it's It's kind of impossible for a couple of heads to talk about who's underrated.
00:10:04
Speaker
Sure. Because, like, I don't know what the average person thinks about Priest. Yeah. I know what I think about Priest. I mean, i I'm going to say i don't think the average person thinks about Priest at all.
00:10:16
Speaker
I mean, correct. Like, the average person and probably not the average comics reader. But I don't think they think about Roger Stern either. No.
00:10:27
Speaker
This comes immediately after the ah the action story where Lois finds out who Superman is. where she takes the
Debating 'Punisher 2099' Ranking
00:10:34
Speaker
glasses off? On the cover? Yeah, that's good stuff. Which, i I owned that issue.
00:10:40
Speaker
for sure completely. And that's good shit. and So send that one in. Yeah, man. Let us know if this is good.
00:10:52
Speaker
Because I don't want to read it if it's bad. It sounds like it could be a fun catch-up. Potentially. Potentially. Time and time again.
00:11:03
Speaker
ah Yeah. I mean, it seems fun. It seems fun. But i cannot I cannot in good conscience rank it.
00:11:15
Speaker
Next is Legends of the Dark Claw number one, Through a Glass Darkly, written by Larry Hama, purchased by Jim Ballant. What a title. What a title. How long that would take you, Larry?
00:11:28
Speaker
How many comics are called through, like, so you know. What a... yeah I wish you could see the smile on my face thinking about this book.
00:11:41
Speaker
This is Lethal Larry Hama and Jim the Talent Ballant in action as you like it. but I thought maybe we had ranked this. We have not. We have ranked Dark Claw Adventures, but not Legends of the Dark Claw.
00:11:56
Speaker
Do you know what my favorite thing about Dark Claw is?
00:12:03
Speaker
but i but i wouldn't even I would guess so many elements of Dark Claw are your favorite. so ah here Just tell me. His claws are different than Wolverine's claws. Yeah, his claws aren't like Wolverine's claws. So whenever the the the program gave Dark Claw his claws, they were like, give it a little bit of the Batman logo, but not like a lot of the Batman logo. Yeah.
00:12:30
Speaker
Well, he's also got the the ridges on his gloves, like Batman. And they're shaped like his claws. And they're shaped like his claws. That's brilliant.
00:12:43
Speaker
Jim Ballin's like, hey man, you don't gotta get ready if you stay ready. That's true. That's true. if if If I'm already drawing that shape, I don't have to worry about drawing a different shape.
00:12:55
Speaker
The colorist just has to worry about coloring it differently. Yeah, yeah. that's Hey, that's the colorist problem. That's true. God, what a... I i love Dark Claw.
00:13:07
Speaker
I mean, it unsurprisingly, that's the most obvious thing I could say. Sure. Colorist Pat Garahee, by the way. that was That was his problem, yeah.
00:13:17
Speaker
I'm through a glass darkly. Jim Bellum's like, fuck Pat Garahee. I don't know if that's true. He probably wasn't. He was probably very professional in the making of this comic.
00:13:29
Speaker
ah This is an amalgam book, and and
00:13:38
Speaker
the premise is what if Wolverine and Batman were the same person? correct That's great. And Huntress and Catwoman, whose name is still just Huntress.
00:13:51
Speaker
Well, it's it's it's not Huntress and Catwoman, because she acts like Catwoman, but she's Carol Danvers.
00:14:00
Speaker
So she had to be, at this point in time, she had to be Huntress and Warbird. It couldn't be Huntress and Catwoman, because that wouldn't be Amalgam. That would be just be two DC characters. Yeah. Right, yeah.
00:14:10
Speaker
I do like that he has a giant Canadian penny.
00:14:15
Speaker
That's pretty funny. It's good stuff. I also like that in the portrait of Thomas and Martha Logan, or whoever the the whatever the names of Dark Claw's parents were,
00:14:29
Speaker
um Jim Ballant did give you some nipples in that. Oh, yeah. That's the one that Dark Claw decided to hang up in the cave. He was like, let me make sure it's a sexy one to mom.
00:14:43
Speaker
but Let me make sure it was cold in that photo studio. Mm-hmm. And... it's gonna It's going to pop. It's going to pop through the fabric of the dress.
00:14:55
Speaker
And then ah you've got Robin, who is also Jubilee, whose name is Sparrow. Great. Perfect. That's great. yeah No notes at all.
00:15:08
Speaker
I love this comic. It's like Joker and Sabretooth? Yeah. Or Hyena. Yeah, yeah. yeah who's a Who's a kitty cat. It's brilliant.
00:15:19
Speaker
It's brilliant. It's what if Wolverine was Batman and Batman was Wolverine.
00:15:26
Speaker
And if there's one thing lethal Larry Hama can do, it is right you one single issue of comics.
00:15:39
Speaker
ah Big fight on a on a like on Air Force One, Bill Clinton is in this comic book. Yeah, man.
00:15:50
Speaker
Because it's kind of Larry doing Ten Nights of the Beast. But for the Clinton years? In the Amalgam Universe, the president was still William Jefferson Clinton. Well, it it was actually Bob Clinton.
00:16:07
Speaker
Oh, right. Okay. Yeah, you get it. Yeah. that's that's That's one for the political folks out there. I don't know, man. This comic's great. It kind of rules.
00:16:18
Speaker
Yeah. it's The weird thing is, it's not the best Dark Claw comic out there, which is weird because there are exactly two of them.
00:16:28
Speaker
Right, so Dark Claw Adventures is at number 556 on the list. Yeah, that one's a lot better than this one. This one is great and dumb and as mid-90s of a comic as you can have.
00:16:43
Speaker
Yeah, like, just if you go look at the cover of this comic, you have read this comic.
00:16:50
Speaker
Correct. Yeah. There's not a whole lot that you need
00:16:56
Speaker
to... like if Everything you would guess that was in here is what's in here. Yeah.
00:17:05
Speaker
Oh, Larry. Man, $1.95. Those were the days. the line at $1.95. Yeah. Yeah. um man hold the line at one ninety five yeah a I don't know, man.
00:17:21
Speaker
It's still pretty fun. um don't know if it's as good as Godzilla vs. Barkley. Okay.
00:17:28
Speaker
Which is it's in like the 900s. 907. Yeah. ah I don't know. What's at 1,000 right now? Spider-Man's tank of web flowers for Rhino?
00:17:41
Speaker
I'll tell you what. This is going to be an unpopular opinion, Matt. Better? I'd rather read it. Okay. I'll accept that. ah Harry Osborn dying is at $9.99. $9.99. It's not that good.
00:17:59
Speaker
So this is the new number 1,000? I think it's the new number 1,000. All right.
Marvel's Experimental Phase in the Mid-90s
00:18:04
Speaker
Hey, if you have read 999 comics, this should be the 1,000th comic that you read.
00:18:13
Speaker
All right. Legends of the Dark Claw Amalgam is it number 1,000.
00:18:21
Speaker
How come Larry and Jim Ballin didn't work together more?
00:18:26
Speaker
Well, Larry was mostly writing G.I. i Joe. at Well, at the time, Larry was writing Wolverine. I mean, the real reason is because at the time, Larry was writing Wolverine, and Jim Ballin was drawing Catwoman.
00:18:38
Speaker
But why would it be why would it be the artist of Catwoman and not the artist of a Batman comic? don't know, man. Norm Brayfogle was busy that week. I guess, yeah. ah Finally on the list here from Sean is Punisher 2099 number 19, The Dawn of Vendetta, written by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, pencils by Tom Morgan.
00:19:03
Speaker
but what What issue of Punisher 2099 is this? Number 19. Now, Sean does say that he's not sure that this should be ranked solo or is part of the whole original run of Punisher 2099.
00:19:19
Speaker
think you could I think you could probably make a case for ranking the whole... should all be ranked together. Yeah. yeah Because it is not necessarily because it doesn't have distinct parts in and of itself, but because it is such a shift when Pat Mills is no longer writing this book.
00:19:43
Speaker
Right, yes. Because, boy, let me tell you... going Going from Pat Mills to Chuck Dixon,
00:19:53
Speaker
that's like going from ah a delicious steak dinner to being kicked in the gut.
00:20:03
Speaker
No offense, Chuck. Full offense, Chuck. at At best, it's from it's like going from a delicious steak dinner to
Critique of 'Devil's Advocate' Comic
00:20:11
Speaker
like... ah frozen meal from the microwave. No, I would say that's a much better experience.
00:20:22
Speaker
Going from the creator of, to the co-creator of Judge Dredd. And and the the, those issues of Punisher 2099 have a very Judge Dredd feel to them.
00:20:35
Speaker
Oh yeah, that's that's the secret that people don't tell you about 2099 books. Like, like
00:20:44
Speaker
like that The whole, like, you know, where do you live? The Edge. How old are you? 36 caliber. that's That's Pat Mills. That's 2000 AD's own Pat Mills.
00:20:59
Speaker
He knows what he's doing. He absolutely is fully aware of what he's doing. Yeah, Jay Gallows is a hilarious character.
00:21:09
Speaker
I love Punisher 29.9. That book's a hoot. it's like It's like, what if 2000AD was dumb as hell?
00:21:23
Speaker
When does it become Chuck Dixon? but Towards the end. It's like number 24, I think. It's like it's but before that, or after that.
Impact of Dragon Ball on US Culture
00:21:34
Speaker
ah Chuck D is definitely writing number 30. It's it might not long before the end. It might be 28 or 29 where he starts. yeah it's I think it's when it becomes Punisher 29 AD Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
00:21:51
Speaker
Yeah. what What a title.
00:21:56
Speaker
Yeah, it's not Punisher 2099 anymore after that. No, that's still Pat Mills and Tony Skinner on 28. Then it must he must just do like the last couple issues.
00:22:07
Speaker
like the last Is a Pat Mills issue? yes Then yeah, he does 30 to 34. Okay. So the last five.
00:22:17
Speaker
Yeah. Is is Chuck. but But Pat Mills is the first 29. The first 29. D9. That's right.
00:22:30
Speaker
That's correct. ah so Here's a hot tip for everybody out there. um Pat Mills and John Wagner also were the actual writers of Ravage 2099.
00:22:43
Speaker
Not Stanley, yeah. Not Stanley. Stanley definitely got a written-by credit on those. And look, I'm not saying anything.
00:22:56
Speaker
But, you know, you can't always tell.
00:23:00
Speaker
What I'm saying is, that book's also a secret what-if-2080-it-was-dumb-as-hell book. And because Wizard Magazine thought it was dumb, everybody thought it was dumb for years and years.
00:23:12
Speaker
It's the outsized influence of Wizard Magazine on like what people thought was good and what people thought was stupid and bad is unbelievable.
00:23:25
Speaker
Wizard didn't seem to know that things could be stupid and good. Yeah. Which is weird because that's their favorite kind of comic. Things could be stupid and good. And often are in comic books.
00:23:39
Speaker
So here's what I'm asking. Yes. Yes. Are we just going to rank Punisher 2099 number 19?
00:23:48
Speaker
Or are we going to rank Punisher 2099 1 through 29? i I could do the whole run.
00:24:04
Speaker
dis ah Not including the Chuck Dixon. Not including the Chuck Dixon stuff, because that is dramatically different. Yeah. like But this issue that it introduces Vendetta the new Punisher.
00:24:17
Speaker
Yeah, right. Yeah, right. That's what says the cover? i would I would argue not remarkably different from the rest of the... No, it's pretty much exactly like the rest of the run.
00:24:35
Speaker
There's not a lot of variation Punisher 2099. The cover of issue 20 has on the cover, the blurb, the return of Vendetta. She was just in the last issue. Right. Yeah. She first appears in 19.
00:24:52
Speaker
Returns in 20. 20 comes after Matt. I don't know what the.
00:24:59
Speaker
What's the problem? What a return. One issue later.
00:25:04
Speaker
Uh, Yeah, let's just one through 20. Here's the best part of Punisher 2099 number 20.
00:25:11
Speaker
That was stupid. I'm not going to fight you. That's what
Frieza Saga's Importance in Dragon Ball
00:25:15
Speaker
Jake Gallo says. Then Vendetta says, goodbye weakling. And then the next panel, I just changed my mind.
00:25:24
Speaker
You want to fight a woman? I'll give you one. ah And just before that, they were teaming up. Yeah, man. oh It's got the Cyber Nostra in it.
00:25:39
Speaker
That's the Coast of Nostra, but for the internet? But Cyber, yeah. But Cyber? Yeah.
00:25:47
Speaker
What a great book. Issue 21. Issue 21 has Son of Punisher. Issue 21 should have been like, she's back. Vendetta.
00:26:03
Speaker
um She's definitely in that issue too. What a hoot. A plus work. Top ten, definitely. What do we have in number ten right now? What we have at number ten right now is
00:26:18
Speaker
ah The Last Days of Superman. Oh, this better than that.
00:26:26
Speaker
Alright, let's come up with a real number. Wow. Awfully dismissive to my opinion, Matt. Of top ten?
00:26:36
Speaker
Okay. Okay.
00:26:38
Speaker
i know I know a bit when I hear it. Okay, alright. ah No, like, Punisher 2099 is absolutely worth reading. Oh, yes. it's It's among the comics that I feel like ah
00:27:00
Speaker
people don't know so much about, or like dismiss because they think it is like a stupid comic from the 90s. Uh-huh. But... ah But it's fun and worth reading.
00:27:13
Speaker
Yeah. but Up until the Chuck issues. It's secretly smart. And it's smart enough to be dumb. Yes. it's to To be good and stupid, you have to be smart.
00:27:28
Speaker
Exactly.
00:27:31
Speaker
I would say i don't know, man. it's It's a hoot.
00:27:38
Speaker
It's a hoot, man.
00:27:43
Speaker
And it's also surprising. But I can't separate my personal surprise of going into this book be like thinking that it's just kind of like a bad 90s book and then going like, wait, Pat Mills?
00:27:56
Speaker
And then reading it and being like, oh, there is some satire in this. It's purpose. Yeah, this is on purpose. yeah So I don't know if it will be as...
00:28:09
Speaker
It certainly won't be as much of a revelation if you go into it knowing that it's good. but If you go into it thinking it's bad, it's great. Here's the comic that I think we can most kind of safely compare it to.
00:28:23
Speaker
At number 857 is Amazing Spider-Man The Return of the Sinister Six, the comic with Doc Ock's cocaine rocket. That's very comparable.
00:28:35
Speaker
Yes, yes. Dr. Octopus wanted to get everybody hooked on cocaine. He sure did. So that he could then sell them the cure for being addicted to cocaine.
00:28:46
Speaker
That is what that is about, yes. That is a cocaine idea.
00:28:57
Speaker
oh i don't... It's definitely better than Batman Gothic. But I don't know if it's better than that JLA classified story. So this is the new number 859. Yeah.
00:29:10
Speaker
yeah Call on it 859. Punisher 2099.
00:29:18
Speaker
Numbers 1 through 29. Man, Marvel Comics has done some weird stuff.
00:29:32
Speaker
True.
00:29:35
Speaker
which even i don't laugh I don't know how else to say it. like Yeah, man, they got Pat Mills and John Wagner to do like weird 2099 books in the early 90s.
00:29:50
Speaker
That's weird that that happened. It is weird that that happened.
00:29:57
Speaker
Marvel Comics. Marvel Comics just before its bankruptcy and just after its bankruptcy is... total madness. Yeah, it really is like, it is the Wild West.
00:30:13
Speaker
Yes.
00:30:16
Speaker
Like, I think there was a moment in like, 92 or 93, where Marvel was like, we can do anything. Yeah, no, I think, i like, that's the thing is, I think there's a little bit of hubris.
00:30:29
Speaker
There's a lot of hubris. There's a lot of hubris. A little desperation. And then immediately after bankruptcy, there's a lot of desperation and a little bit of hubris.
00:30:40
Speaker
Yes,
Cell Saga's Narrative and Characters
00:30:41
Speaker
think that's true. it's just like, what have we got?
00:30:45
Speaker
so yeah i Nobody's reading Iron Man? Okay, cool. He is secretly a murderer, and now he is him, but a teenager from another dimension? Does that work? oh No? Okay, he's dead. Everybody's dead.
00:30:59
Speaker
We'll send all of our, like... Avengers characters plus the Fantastic Four into a different universe where they're drawn and written by Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld.
00:31:11
Speaker
And also, we'll do a Maverick miniseries.
00:31:20
Speaker
Man, hang on a second. let me Let me do a little bit of Googling here. Marvel Comics June 1995? nineteen ninety five
00:31:32
Speaker
Alright, what do we got here? Immediately free bankruptcy, yeah. Oh, hell yes. ah Amazing Spider-Man, super special featuring Scarlet Spider. Perfect.
00:31:43
Speaker
yeah ah Age of Apocalypse is going on. What's the book that everybody likes? ah ah X-Men? Okay, cool. Cancel all those. Then we're going to do... like Tell everybody they're getting cancelled.
00:31:56
Speaker
Then we're going to do... a bunch of books that are set in an alternate universe where everything's bad, but then they're all going to come back, but some of them, we're going to have them come, they're going to come from the other universe, and one guy's name's going to be Holocaust.
00:32:13
Speaker
ah yeah Yep. Matt, this is when they were publishing the Malibu books, so you had James Robinson's Firearm?
00:32:25
Speaker
Like, that was a weird book? So what if what if, okay, we have a ah book called Cable. That's about Nate Summers, right? But then we have another book called X-Man that is also about Nathan Summers.
00:32:42
Speaker
Now, here's my question for you. Are the X-Men going to be an X-Man?
00:32:49
Speaker
What's that? No? Okay, interesting. interesting
00:32:55
Speaker
ah Here's an alternate from Sean. Sorry, man, I'm still looking at what's... did Do you know, what issue of Barbie do you think came out in June of 1995? Huh.
00:33:09
Speaker
Is that Star Comics? ah No, this is... It has a Marvel Comics logo on it. Although, yeah, the ALF comic had a Marvel Comics logo on it, too. But this is this is Barbie from Marvel Comics.
00:33:24
Speaker
I'll say it was issue number... 60. 60. sixty You're so close, it's number 53. Okay. Okay. okay Barbie's running five years.
00:33:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:33:40
Speaker
Amazing.
00:33:43
Speaker
I mean, good on them for giving a Barbie comic a try. For five years, they gave it a try. Yeah. It must have sold okay. i mean I mean, yeah, man. I'm sure it went to grocery stores.
00:33:55
Speaker
Probably. You could probably get that one down at Piggly Wiggly. but You had Thunderstrike?
00:34:05
Speaker
What a time. What a time. Warlock and the Infinity Watch? Alright, speaking of that time, but this is a DC comic. Okay. This is Joker Devil's Advocate, written by Chuck Dixon with print pencils by Graham Nolan.
00:34:20
Speaker
in which the Joker is sentenced to death row for a series of murders he may not have committed, which means leads Batman to find the true killer before his execution. oh Here's the thing.
00:34:34
Speaker
This is perfectly acceptable.
00:34:44
Speaker
It's got great art. Looks good. It was originally printed as a prestige format book. So it's extra sized and has a little bit of it. You know, it's on glossy paper. So it looks really good. ah I've always ah liked Graham Nolan.
00:35:02
Speaker
ah Despite slash because of ah frequent pairings with ah with old Chuck d ah This comic is perfectly acceptable.
00:35:17
Speaker
I do think it's based on a question... Like... Batman is always leaving the Joker to the criminal justice system, right?
00:35:29
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Well, this is the criminal justice system putting the Joker to...
Marvel's 90s Creativity and Dragon Ball on TV
00:35:36
Speaker
Justice. It just so happens that these specific crimes that he's been charged with...
00:35:44
Speaker
Maybe he didn't do. yeah He, on the stand, confesses to mass murder. Yes. But i do I do appreciate the idea that
00:36:02
Speaker
you can't let him get out. You can't let him get him on this one. Because the person who really did it is out there. And that person has to go in. True. Batman's gotta go get that guy.
00:36:15
Speaker
If the Joker didn't do it.
00:36:19
Speaker
But also...
00:36:23
Speaker
Yeah. um um and Maybe solve this one after midnight. Oh, this is the book where ah Joker gets his head shaved in prison. Yeah, because they're gonna put him in the electric chair.
00:36:34
Speaker
Yeah. So he's got a little green stubble on him. He's got a little green stubble on his head. And ah there's a lot of courtroom stuff.
00:36:46
Speaker
Yeah, but I don't think I've ever read this, but by all indications, it's fine. Yeah, I mean, I've read it. It's got i I hesitate to even say it's got like a novel premise, because what if the Joker didn't do the crime this time?
00:37:03
Speaker
is It doesn't seem like a difficult idea to have come up with. You know? yeah But I don't know. I can't make that judgment.
00:37:15
Speaker
Maybe nobody had come up with that idea, although I'm pretty sure there are stories like that prior to this. But it is, like... i don't know. It's perfectly acceptable comics.
00:37:26
Speaker
Oh, okay. So Batman catches the guy, and he's just some guy. Yeah, he's just some guy who frames the Joker. Yeah. Because, like, the people... he he He had like a reason that these people needed to be dead, and the way he thought he was going to get off was by framing the Joker.
00:37:43
Speaker
Ernest Kelleher. Ernest Kelleher is the guy's name. Oh, man. Spoilers. Yeah, sorry. Sorry, everybody, to have spoiled this 30-year-old comic featuring Batman capturing the famous Ernest Kelleher. Stop saying it! keep oh People trying to skip ahead to avoid the spoilers.
00:38:07
Speaker
Yeah, my apologies. I don't know. I do like the idea of, like, no, Batman doesn't just hate the Joker. Like, there is literally a part of this where Batman says to the Joker, I care about justice.
00:38:25
Speaker
And he does. And I think that's, you know. But also that means that there's not really a moral quandary to this.
00:38:33
Speaker
Right. It's just about what's technically correct. Yeah. The best kind of correct. That's right. oh But, you know, like i I don't know why I'm trying to talk myself into this.
00:38:47
Speaker
It's fine. It's it's ah a Chuck Dixon comic. it's You know, it's it's one of the better Chuck Dixon comics. I would give this one like a B+. plus So is it better than Robin 1991? Robin 1991 was kind of...
00:38:59
Speaker
ah ninety ninety one was kind of Kind of bad, in in retrospect. Kind of whack, yeah. yeah it was It was all over the map, dude. Yeah. um This, certainly by virtue of being a single oversized comic, holds together better.
00:39:17
Speaker
so I would say, yeah, it's better than Robin 1991. i Look, I know I keep taking shots at Tom Lyle. The art's better, too. The art is better. Yeah.
00:39:28
Speaker
There is no panel of this that looks like it's from Akewood. Sorry, Tom Lyle. The Graham Nolan art in this is better.
00:39:38
Speaker
Graham Nolan's pretty underrated. I would say so, yeah. Yeah.
00:39:45
Speaker
I feel like a lot of people who worked on Batman books in the 90s, except Chuck Dixon, are overrated. Or underrated. Or underrated. Yeah. Chuck Dixon...
00:39:57
Speaker
correctly or overrated. Yeah. Yeah, I would say so. It's not as good as Nightfall, which we have at 833. No, not even close.
00:40:06
Speaker
I would say this would be... I mean, have Robin at 874. Do we? Yeah. That's where we put it? Yeah. Oh, I thought it should it should be lower than that.
00:40:20
Speaker
Wait, no, we've ranked it twice.
00:40:25
Speaker
we have it We have it at 1456 for the recent read, and then Robin one through four is at 874.
00:40:37
Speaker
i have Detective Comics number 647-649 for spoiler at 874. Oh, I must have entered it wrong.
00:40:48
Speaker
Okay. Because that i do have ah the note that says, first to know a spoiler. Yeah, okay. Okay. Detective Comics 674? 647 to 649. I was about jump out of my skin. Matt. Sorry, that's on me. Robin 1 through 4, if it's in the that's exactly where should be. Okay. 1456 where Robin 1 is. So this is definitely not robin one through four if it's in the fourteen hundred s that's exactly where it should be okay yeah fourteen fifty six is where robin won is yeah
00:41:21
Speaker
so yeah this is definitely not Not that bad. This is definitely not that bad. And it's definitely not that good. oh
00:41:33
Speaker
Alright. At 1200, we have X-Men Volume 2, Numbers 1 through 3, Mutant Genesis 2.0.
00:41:42
Speaker
Like, is that the 91 X-Men book? I think so. I think that's correct. That should be higher.
00:41:51
Speaker
Or lower, depending on how I'm feeling that day. I think it's exactly in the right place.
00:41:59
Speaker
ah That's at exactly 1200. That's at exactly 1200, yes. it's not It's not as good as that. Okay. At 1211, we have Night Business.
00:42:14
Speaker
yeah
00:42:18
Speaker
Night Business is more enjoyable. Okay. At 1225, we have Omega the Unknown from 1976. This is better than that.
00:42:31
Speaker
Wow, okay. I don't care for Omega the Unknown. Legend of the Chaos God from Disney Adventures is at 1224. That's that
00:42:44
Speaker
crossover. The Disney Adventures crossover. Not as good as you want it to be. Not as good as you want it to be, that's true. I think it's... Not as good as Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe.
00:42:58
Speaker
It's about as good as the first Archie. Okay. I think we give first Archie the the the advantage because it introduced Archie.
Upcoming Improvised Star Trek Show
00:43:09
Speaker
But I think otherwise, i think it's the new 1221. 1221 What this book called? Joker... is but is this book called joker Devil's Advocate. Devil's Advocate. It's weird that it's not called Batman Devil's Advocate.
00:43:25
Speaker
The word Batman does not appear in the title of this comic. Even though Batman is like the character making things happen. Yeah. I mean, it's a Batman story. He's in it.
00:43:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:39
Speaker
ah That had to be some marketing choice to be like Joker Sells. Just like giving you that shot of the Joker's tongue on the cover so you know it's a sexy one. He's got a stamp on his tongue. It's weird.
00:43:51
Speaker
Yeah, there's poison stamps in here. Yeah. Alright, that's it for Sean's list. Thank
Rehearsal Process for Improvised Shows
00:43:58
Speaker
you, Sean, for that list. next Our next list comes from Robert Headley.
00:44:04
Speaker
And this list is in celebration of Chris reading all of Dragon Ball. do Wow, do you pin that one to the to the exact date. Pin that one to October 2023. Hell yeah, though.
00:44:18
Speaker
You know what? I was watching Dragon Ball today. First is Dragon Ball The Saiyan Saga. Oh, man. um Pretty good.
00:44:31
Speaker
i would say it' pretty good. That's where Vegeta and Nappa arrive. That's where Raditz shows up, and then Goku dies fighting Raditz.
00:44:43
Speaker
Piccolo trains Gohan, and then they wish Goku back to life in time for Vegeta and Nappa to get there, and then ah Goku comes back and suns Vegeta.
00:44:56
Speaker
Yes, he he dog walks Vegeta. ah It's wild that Raditz killed Goku. Well, actually, Piccolo killed Goku.
00:45:08
Speaker
because Yes, because Goku was holding Raditz, and then Piccolo shot through them both, right? Yes. Yeah. ah It's pretty good.
00:45:23
Speaker
it's It's not as good as... i would say it's not as good as the ah story that immediately precedes it, which is ah the the twenty third World Tournament.
00:45:42
Speaker
The 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. the The thing we read bred for catch-up, yeah. No, we didn't read that one for catch-up. ah We did the Tournament of Power for catch-up. That was the Tournament of Power. Okay, yeah sorry.
00:45:55
Speaker
The Tenkaichi Budokai is when ah Goku fights Piccolo Jr. as an adult and finally wins the tournament.
00:46:07
Speaker
Is that the introduction of Mr. Satan? Yeah. ah Mr. Satan shows up later. okay He's great. He's in a different tournament. He's in a different tournament. Matt, let me tell you something about Dragon Ball.
00:46:20
Speaker
lot of tournaments. yeah I don't like it as much as I like the Tournament of Power either, ah which is the the one with the fates of the universes. oh But I mean, it does introduce Vegeta. It's pretty good.
00:46:40
Speaker
ah Let's see. the The Fortune Teller Baba story at $8.89. I think it's probably better than that. Okay.
00:46:52
Speaker
I think it's probably better than the Doom comic, which we have ranked suspiciously high. Probably because we believe that is also on purpose.
00:47:11
Speaker
Yes, I think i think ah a lot of our discussion of that comic was, this is dumb on purpose and fun. You have huge guts? You have huge guts, yeah.
00:47:23
Speaker
I would say...
00:47:29
Speaker
it's is it better than that Captain America story where he fights Ultimatum and kills that guy and then drags Flag Smasher through the snow?
00:47:44
Speaker
i thought That one's pretty good. that one just That was a pretty good Groody. Yeah, it's pretty solid. I would say yes. I would say yes, it's better. Is it?
00:47:57
Speaker
No, but I'm coming from the the never having read this as a comic and only having seen Dragon Ball Z. I mean, it does have a title page.
00:48:12
Speaker
For a chapter that is just called The Quiet Wrath of Son Goku. Which fucking owns.
00:48:21
Speaker
Yeah. I think it's better.
00:48:27
Speaker
i think it's better than... I'm not going to put it below Fable's Homelands. That's not to happen.
00:48:37
Speaker
I wouldn't. Yeah, I wouldn't. But I... I think I will put it just above that because i right above that we currently have Uncle Scrooge the Magic Hourglass and I remember that one being pretty solid.
00:48:49
Speaker
That one's good. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah. So that makes it number what?
00:48:57
Speaker
ah Number 838.
00:48:59
Speaker
Okay. I feel like maybe you're ranking this low, but I know that there's probably other Dragon Ball stories you like better. That's the thing. I'm thinking about every other Dragon Ball story. Yeah.
00:49:16
Speaker
Okay. Next, speaking of which, is Dragon Ball the Frieza Saga. ah Matt. Top 10. Can you pause the recording for a second and let me know – do you have the tracking number on the machine?
00:49:36
Speaker
i think you sent it to me. Oh, the – right. i Yes. um DHL. I have the DHL tracking number. The DHL tracking number, yes.
00:49:47
Speaker
For you, for the machine. i'll I'll send that to you. Okay. Okay. I'll pause it, and but the the listeners won't hear any pause. You can edit this this part out while we sort out the technical stuff.
00:50:01
Speaker
We'll just come right back for the machine to arrive to you. Yeah. yeah okay oh yeah Okay. all right Yes, ah we're back here. ah Just had to check the tracking number on that. It it was here, actually.
00:50:14
Speaker
ah great do you know They sometimes leave packages at the back door. Right, yeah. And so I always forget to check back there. but ah They sometimes leave packages in my garage if I leave my garage open.
00:50:27
Speaker
you want to hear You want to hear some shit that's wild? Tell me. One time a UPS guy straight up opened my front door. That's bonkers. Yeah, man.
00:50:38
Speaker
And like, Biscuit started barking and I was also downstairs and I was like, uh. And he was just like, package. And I was like, okay. Whatever. Whatever.
00:50:50
Speaker
Didn't want it that bad. Anyway, the machine is here. um ah just have to it' just got plug it in here. um Oh, it's got a ah software update.
00:51:02
Speaker
Okay. Well, let let that update. Well, I've got to get to the end of the TOS.
00:51:09
Speaker
Oh, right. It won't let you click accept until you scroll to the end. Yeah. yeah Oh, it's um no no AI in the in the machine. Oh, no, we wouldn't we wouldn't dare. yeah We wouldn't dare.
00:51:22
Speaker
um Okay, that's the end of the TOS. ah If I found out there was AI in the machine, it's getting chucked. I mean, the the machine has AI in the way that like data has AI.
00:51:42
Speaker
right like's It's not like a... like a ah it's it's an l It's not a generative LLM, which we call AI, which is really a misnomer. Right.
00:51:53
Speaker
yeah for We need to stop doing that. I agree. ah But anyway, okay. Approved. Can I sign your name to this, Matt? Yeah, go ahead. because you've you've You've registered the machine, right?
00:52:07
Speaker
Yeah, but you know we're business
Epic Moments in Goku vs. Frieza Battle
00:52:09
Speaker
partners. It's fine. Okay. um Alright, let me just type this in. freezel so oh It's updating again.
00:52:19
Speaker
Another update? It should have done both updates all in one. Well, I think it had to update and then the TOS was part of the first update. And now it's just like... Oh, it it says it's it's the shader pre-cache? I don't know what that is.
00:52:35
Speaker
Just let it run. Okay.
00:52:39
Speaker
How you doing? I'm alright, how are you? the show go? I actually haven't talked to you since the since the show. Did it go well? Which show? The Improvised Star Trek. Oh, we haven't done it yet.
00:52:50
Speaker
Oh, I thought you did it last week. it's No, it starts Friday. oh that's exciting. Well, break a leg, buddy. Thank you. Get your tickets if you're local. yeah Improvised Star Trek at NC Stage, Asheville.
00:53:03
Speaker
um August 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. And 8th, 9th, and 10th. So you were just doing rehearsals? Yeah, those are still going on. We we still have dress rehearsals next week, or this week.
00:53:17
Speaker
Nice. Oh, there it goes. There it goes. okay Okay. People have been asking about how how do you rehearse an improvised show. You run sets that you're not actually going to do in the show. alllthough All the plot that you see on stage is going to be improvised.
00:53:36
Speaker
But we're nailing down our characters because we are going to be playing the same characters every show. I'm First Officer Anderson Mayfield. And ah you you kind of like get your characters, you understand the relationships to the other people on the ship, and you kind of just run scenes and sets that will not actually be the shows that we do on stage.
00:54:02
Speaker
But but we just kind of get we're getting the rhythm. I was actually wondering about that, because what if you accidentally fuck around and do something like really funny? Or really good. I know that the this is not a strictly comedy improv.
00:54:17
Speaker
There will be funny parts. um I'm sure. But like the it's just, that was the rearsal that was in the rehearsal. I have to imagine the temptation is there to like bring it back. But you can't recreate that magic.
00:54:32
Speaker
No, and... and you know It'll be specific to whatever that scene is about. And if you try to do the same thing, it won't work. it so Everything's got to be situational. you know so But that funny thing, a really good thing, it ended up being just for us.
00:54:52
Speaker
yeah it's that's That's impermanence, man. That's like a Zen garden. That's right. it's I mean, that's improv, baby. It only happened one time. Yeah. it only happened one time yeah No, it also only happened one time.
00:55:07
Speaker
This machine situation? I was going to say Goku fighting Frieza, but that's patently untrue. That's happened. no At least three times, yeah. It it happened in the Tournament of Power.
00:55:21
Speaker
It happened in the Tournament of Power? It happened prior to the Tournament of Power. Yeah. Oh! just ah Just pinged. just paying to I've got the results here. Great.
00:55:32
Speaker
Oh, it rules. Of course it does. and um the new software update ah added some... ah like ah ah like a You can get subcategories now. It also owns.
00:55:45
Speaker
I agree with that. I i think that's fully true. And the third one's coming through. Oh, it also whips. all All correct. Yeah. um Hey, man.
00:55:58
Speaker
Do you know about the fucking Super Saiyan?
00:56:03
Speaker
Oh yeah, this is the first, this is when Goku first got Super Saiyan. On the planet Namek. Yeah, this is when, this is, here's what I love about this.
Vegeta's Development in Frieza Saga
00:56:13
Speaker
They fucking talk about the Super Saiyan.
00:56:16
Speaker
This is what was pissing me off about One Piece. Is that they, Luffy just goes off one day and he's like, hey, I got a new power.
00:56:29
Speaker
Check it out, I'm going to use my new power. And then he just does it. And it's like, alright. How did you know about that? No answer.
00:56:43
Speaker
They fucking talk about the Super Saiyan, man. And Vegeta's like, I'm the fucking Super Saiyan. Even though I got my ass beat by Son Goku. Even though Kakarot fucking patted my head and told me to get stronger. I'm the Super Saiyan.
00:57:04
Speaker
And this is actually something that I think the anime, uh, for all the anime's problems with, uh, like the filler stuff running for quite a while. And the fact that the four minutes, the four minute fight on planet Namek is like eight episodes.
00:57:20
Speaker
Uh, but like Goku, like after this arc, Vegeta goes out to space and and like, does the Saiyan equivalent of walking around the pond and skipping some stones.
00:57:36
Speaker
Because he has to. Because that shit where Vegeta's like, yeah, I'm the fucking Super Saiyan. I'm the prince of all Saiyans.
00:57:48
Speaker
I'm one of the last survivors. I'm certainly the last surviving elite Saiyan. not a Not a low-class trash boy like Kakarot.
00:58:01
Speaker
And then when when Goku shows up and fucking just demolishes the Ginyu Force?
00:58:14
Speaker
Yes. After training in but is it what do they call it? like Extra gravity? Yeah, it's ten times gravity. A hundred times gravity, I think, at that point.
00:58:26
Speaker
yeah ah Goku doing fucking push-ups in a spaceship for a month? And then When Krillin dies? And Goku flips the fuck out?
00:58:41
Speaker
And goes Super Saiyan? And Vegeta... Here's what's great. Goku going Super Saiyan. Amazing. Classic. Incredible. I can only imagine what that was like to read that without knowing it was going to happen.
00:59:00
Speaker
His hair turned blonde. Matt? And got even spikier. What the fuck? You've been reading that like, what the fuck?
00:59:10
Speaker
oh But the money in that is ah when fucking Vegeta sees it and just starts crying. Because it wasn't him.
00:59:29
Speaker
Because he's like, oh, that's the Super Saiyan. I was a fool. Yeah, this is when there was the the the thought that there could only be one Super Saiyan. yeah Well, I mean, the secret is there is only one ah Super Saiyan.
00:59:44
Speaker
And it's neither Goku nor Vegeta. Right. But that's the legendary Super Saiyan. Right, but they can all go Super Saiyan and do.
00:59:55
Speaker
Yeah. And beyond, yeah. But there's only one legendary Super Saiyan. Right. That's Broly. Spoiler warning. ah per Broly, who's only in a movie, right ah Well, he is in a movie, but then he does also show up in Dragon Ball Super.
01:00:16
Speaker
Oh, okay. Okay.
01:00:20
Speaker
Yeah, man. Vegeta crying because Goku has surpassed all limits. That's the shit.
01:00:33
Speaker
That's some of the best shit out there, Matt.
01:00:42
Speaker
ah Are you talking about Krillin? oh Like, iconic, man. Also, he whoops Frieza's ass.
01:00:53
Speaker
not the Not the worst beatdown that Frieza ever got.
01:00:59
Speaker
Frieza's transformation from his, like...
01:01:04
Speaker
guy in a helmet in a chair form. Uh-huh. Into, like, his, like, advanced form. Like, you expect him to, like, get big. He don't get big.
01:01:15
Speaker
Well, that's thing, is, like, he has, like, two other forms, and they do get big. And there's that part where they're, like, where they're, like, oh, shit, this is, he said this is his ultimate true form.
01:01:28
Speaker
He must be fucking huge. And then it comes back, and he's, like, four feet tall, and, and like ah like a space twink. Yes, yes. he's ah He's a real otter.
01:01:40
Speaker
His Frieza, son of King Cole. Yeah, it's just funny. It's funny um that that's like what he ultimately looks like.
01:01:53
Speaker
Man, Goku whoops his ass.
01:02:02
Speaker
And then, like, when Frieza's, like, he still lets him live.
01:02:10
Speaker
Goku, like, wendy after he beats the shit out of Frieza, Frieza's like, please, don't let me die, I'm sorry, I said all that racist stuff. Because Frieza says a lot of racist stuff.
01:02:26
Speaker
And it's it's kind of whack, actually. Yeah, I actually forgot about Frieza's second and third forms. but Yeah, they're very forgettable. Yeah.
01:02:38
Speaker
Which are big. And then his final form is, yeah, Space Twink.
01:02:47
Speaker
Yeah, man.
01:02:50
Speaker
Then he gets... Got that big purple head. sure it does. Yeah.
01:02:59
Speaker
Man. so Goku went Super Saiyan on him.
01:03:05
Speaker
Oh, that's, it's great. Yeah. It's, I don't know if it's as good as comics get. It's pretty fucking close to as good as comics get. All right. Propose a number here. Top 100.
01:03:21
Speaker
You're going for top 100 for sure. what is Number 100 right now is Punisher Welcome Back, Frank. Yeah. We would not have, we would not have other Punisher stories with like That revitalized a character, right? It really did. ye For sure, like yes.
01:03:42
Speaker
I don't know if we would have ever had... We would have had more Punisher stories, but don't know if we would have the Punisher stories that we got in any way after... If we didn't have Welcome Back Frank.
01:03:55
Speaker
I don't know if we'd have fucking Shonen manga.
01:04:00
Speaker
If we didn't have this. Well, and we might have Shonen Maga, but we wouldn't know in the US what Dragon Ball was. Correct. Yeah.
01:04:11
Speaker
We wouldn't know why Sonic the Hedgehog turned yellow. Correct. Yes. Like... Like...
01:04:22
Speaker
Dragon Ball... I remember seeing the Dragon Ball anime. The pre-Dragon Ball Z Dragon Ball anime. on TV at like 6 in the morning on Saturday mornings when I was like 9 or 10 years old.
01:04:40
Speaker
But like Dragon Ball Z being on Toonami every day and like 4 in the afternoon that's because of this.
01:04:52
Speaker
Yes. 100%. Yeah. Man. Matt. yeah
01:04:58
Speaker
man matt He fucking fucking snapped. I'm looking at it right now. Frieza didn't know what the fuck he was messing with.
01:05:13
Speaker
Yeah. i it's It's weird because if you look back at it to like Toriyama's art still has so many rough edges at this point. like it's And at this point it's he's been doing Dragon Ball forever.
01:05:31
Speaker
But it's still like got like a little bit of rawness to it. like I don't know how to say it looks
01:05:41
Speaker
it looks amateurish, but like in a good way, it almost looks like it's it's Dragon Ball fan art. I don't think I would call it amateurish. It's not amateurish, but it's got like the the rawness of it.
01:05:56
Speaker
you know It's just not what it would become. Yeah. Yeah. You know, like, I think that art is good. oh no, it's very good. But like, it's, it it would become more, poll I mean, it's like reading, it's like reading the Black Swordsman arc in Berserk.
01:06:16
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, sure. Like, the art is good, but it's like, if you know how good the art is going to get, you're like, this isn't there, you know?
01:06:28
Speaker
Yeah, man. Yeah. Yeah, we would we would not know who Goku was if not for this story.
01:06:36
Speaker
He would i would not be in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Yes. its like and And I think it is like, in American culture, Goku is an iconic figure.
01:06:50
Speaker
Yes. So.
01:06:55
Speaker
Man, Frieza tries to to like Do that shit where he like points at him and shoots a laser and Goku is just immediately in front of him and fucking breaks his wrist. i' Yes, that is such a good moment.
01:07:09
Speaker
Goddamn. He hits him harder. Folks, go look at chapter 73 of the full color Frieza arc. Get the Shonen Jump app if you don't have it.
01:07:23
Speaker
Go look at Chapter 73, and look at this fucking left hand. This son Goku gives to Frieza and stretches his neck out. Hits him so hard that he gives him a chiropractic adjustment.
01:07:37
Speaker
you could i I would not call that art amateurish. No, but you know like you know what I mean, though? The the kind of like rawness of it? Yeah, I see what you're saying. I think the color actually...
01:07:50
Speaker
potentially contributes to that. Yeah, I think so. Because this is the this is the colorized version that was quite well done, but is not the the original form.
01:08:03
Speaker
God, he fucks him up, dude. It's so good. ah I think it's better than Welcome Back, Frank. Okay. so So we gotta go one by one ah in the top hundred, I think.
01:08:17
Speaker
Yeah, man. 99 is He'll Never Make Me Cry from Uncanny X-Men 183, which is the Colossus-Juggernaut bar fight. I could put that above this above that.
01:08:27
Speaker
what is What is that, if not the Goku-going Super Saiyan of the Kiddie Pride Colossus romance? True. 98 is Letitia Lerner, Superman's babysitter. I could put this above that.
01:08:41
Speaker
It probably goes above that, yeah. 97 is Pizza's My Business. God, that's a good comic. It's a really good comic.
01:08:53
Speaker
It's getting tougher. It's getting tougher. 96 is Dracula, motherfucker. I don't think Erica or Alex would mind being below this Dragon Ball story.
01:09:05
Speaker
Nope. Text Erica right now and be like, hey, do you think you're better than Kira Toriyama?
01:09:13
Speaker
I think in some ways Erica is much better than Kira Toriyama. 95 is Preacher.
01:09:23
Speaker
ah It's better than Preacher. 94 is The Flash of Two Worlds. An important story, but this is probably better. 93 Batman Year.
01:09:35
Speaker
It's better than that. 92 is Peter Parker's Spectacular Spider-Man number 310, which is great, but this is better. 91 is Small Favors. That's a good comic. 90, I feel like, is where it gets really tough, because that's Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.
01:09:51
Speaker
Do you think we would have the issue of Life and Times, where Scrooge flips out and beats up a whole town? if deep What do you think the odds are that Don Rosa has read Dragon Ball?
01:10:04
Speaker
Zero? gotta say 0.01.
01:10:13
Speaker
That is the percentage chance.
01:10:17
Speaker
ah's Very low. Very low.
01:10:22
Speaker
That Don Rosa has ever looked at any... If Don Rosa sat at the table, he'd he'd have on the...
01:10:34
Speaker
If he head-reads Dragon Ball, he'd be like, this is not Dragon Ball Z. It did not air on Toonami. Oh, you're right.
01:10:46
Speaker
You are correct. This is not the manga. This is not the anime. This is the manga.
01:10:56
Speaker
Life in Times is really good. Yeah.
01:11:06
Speaker
so There's a part of me that wants to put it higher. There's a part of me that wants to put it a lot higher, Matt. Okay. 89, Captain America, The Winter Soldier. 88, Queen and Country.
01:11:18
Speaker
You tell me when to stop. 87, Next Wave Agents of Hate. 86, Fantastic Four, Unthinkable. 85, DC, 1 million. I mean, that's good.
01:11:31
Speaker
It's great, even. Yeah. You might as well skip to 50, Matt. Alright. 50 is Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 1, The Sinister Six.
01:11:44
Speaker
That's a good comic. That's a good fucking comic.
01:11:54
Speaker
the i I don't think the Frieza saga is better than that. Okay. That's a good comic.
01:12:06
Speaker
Is it better than The we the Wedding of Reed and Sue from Fantastic Four Annual No. 3? Yeah. Alright. So the Frieza saga is the new No. 51.
01:12:20
Speaker
Oh. Tough. Very tough. Damn. Damn. Damn. Very, very tough. Finally on Robert's list is Dragon Ball The Cell Saga.
01:12:34
Speaker
ah give me Give me one second to to to enter this properly. Okay. i'm having so I'm having a little bit of trouble. I'm going to say Cell Saga not as good as Frieza Saga.
01:12:48
Speaker
Cell Saga pretty good, though. Pretty good, but not as good as Frieza Saga. Okay.
01:12:56
Speaker
Cell Saga is definitely, okay, what do I do now? Yeah, I mean, that's the weirdest thing about the the Cell Saga is that, like, oh, this book's going to be about Gohan now, right?
01:13:09
Speaker
No? Okay.
01:13:15
Speaker
Because in Cell Saga, that's when Goku dies again, right? ah Goku does die again. yeah ah good that Is that... Yeah, that's Goku dying the second time. That's when they have to get the Dragon Balls to wish him back.
01:13:36
Speaker
Goku dies a lot. he He does, yeah. Yeah, Goku dies then, and then he comes back ah for the Majin Buu saga.
01:13:53
Speaker
ah so yeah. but it's Like, you think it's going to be about Gohan.
01:14:02
Speaker
And it kind of is for a little bit. And it's really good.
01:14:07
Speaker
But then it's not about
01:14:13
Speaker
Gohan. It's about Goku again. And look, I like Goku. Matt, I think that's obvious.
01:14:22
Speaker
Yes, it's very obvious. I... feel like... I mean, I've said before, Gohan's my favorite character in Dragon Ball.
01:14:35
Speaker
And this arc's kind of why. Because he's like a normal guy trying to go to high school, but he's also Superman. He's Superboy.
01:14:46
Speaker
and And then Goku comes back, and Goku gets good again. But the first time Goku comes back, you're just like, eh.
01:14:57
Speaker
Actually, no. that's That's what happens after the Cell Saga. That's that's more getting into the Majin Buu Saga. Because the Cell Saga ends with Gohan going Super Saiyan 2.
01:15:10
Speaker
Right. And ah is Cell Saga also the with the one with the androids? Where the androids arrive? Yes. And then...
01:15:23
Speaker
Is Trunks there too? Trunks shows up at the beginning of the cell. Well, it depends on if you count. Are we counting the Android Saga and the Cell Saga as two different stories?
01:15:33
Speaker
I don't know. that's That's up to you, I think. I think we can. No, we gotta call it all the Cell Saga.
01:15:45
Speaker
Okay. Matt, we have to. i know I know that you want to call it something else.
01:15:54
Speaker
Okay. i I know you do, Matt. But we gotta say, we gotta draw the line. The androids in the Cell Saga are the same thing. Okay. Alright, fine.
01:16:08
Speaker
Boy, Yamcha gets fucking got.
01:16:12
Speaker
Yamcha gets a fucking hand shoved through his torso. Okay, on the on the Dragon Ball wiki, ah hu there's Trunks Saga...
01:16:24
Speaker
Then Android Saga. Then imp Imperfect Cell Saga. Then Perfect Cell Saga. Okay, well, it's ridiculous to divide the Cell Saga up like that.
01:16:37
Speaker
Yeah. At the very least, I would get i would give you Androids and Cell being two separate things, but I'm not giving you Perfect Cell and Imperfect Cell being the same thing.
01:16:47
Speaker
Or not being the same thing. Come on. Is is it just me or is Cell kind of boring? Cell...
01:16:55
Speaker
There's a reason Frieza comes back and Cell doesn't. Yeah. Like, Cell got that vore tail?
01:17:16
Speaker
He got a vore tail, man. I don't um know what to tell I didn't make it up. No, he does. You're right. He can vore you with his tail. He can and absorb an android with his tail, which he does.
01:17:28
Speaker
like I think the reason they
01:17:34
Speaker
they divide it up like that is because until you get to Perfect Cell, like that story is not... like that's like That's like when there's a Hell in the Cell match, and you know that they're not they're going to go up on top of the cage, and they haven't done it yet.
01:17:51
Speaker
And you're like, oh, well, I don't have to... I don't have to worry about a pin happening now, because they haven't gone on top of the cage. Yeah. It's it's a real it's it's a real, like, you know, eh.
01:18:05
Speaker
I'll pop when you get to the the part that pops. Yeah, yeah. Once Perfect Cell shows up and the fucking Cell games get going, that shit's pretty good.
01:18:17
Speaker
But it does drag. Like, the androids are interesting, but then the android stuff is kind of done too soon, i think. I think he could have gotten a little bit more out of the androids.
01:18:30
Speaker
Especially Android 18. Just saying. Just saying.
01:18:37
Speaker
Saying she's very mean, Matt. She is very mean. That's true. That's what makes Krillin fall in love. Hey, he knows what's up. You just gotta get a meme one.
01:18:54
Speaker
ah
01:18:57
Speaker
Once you get to the Cell games, ah shit gets pretty good.
01:19:04
Speaker
But before then, it it it does a little bit of a drags.
01:19:12
Speaker
Yeah. I would agree. Yeah. But it's pretty, like, if we're counting the android androids to sell all-inclusive, then I think it's its solid story is not the Frieza saga.
01:19:28
Speaker
Yeah. But then, what is?
01:19:33
Speaker
But then again, what is? Yeah. I mean it's still good.
01:19:39
Speaker
where's the part of the list that's like, this is solid,
01:19:46
Speaker
but like maybe a little overcomplicated or or or you know trying to do too much. that's That's what I think about the Cell Saga. That's when in the anime I was kind of like...
01:20:02
Speaker
This has lost its purity of focus. I think what what I really liked about Dragon Ball Super when it came back was that... like
01:20:15
Speaker
Cell has, like, Frieza had like four forms, but nobody really gave a shit about the first three. And then Cell has like three three or four forms.
01:20:27
Speaker
And I hate that one with the little beak. I hate it. And it's not until he gets his Pope hat that you're like, okay, now this is a guy. And then Majin Buu has like four forms too.
01:20:42
Speaker
And then you get to Dragon Ball Super and dudes are just kind of like, like that's just the guy. That's just the guy we're going to fight. And there's, like, Cell going through all of his forms is tedious.
01:20:58
Speaker
I mean, look, that's not that's not entirely
01:21:06
Speaker
Akira Toriyama's fault.
01:21:10
Speaker
that's yeah that's That's part of the
01:21:15
Speaker
makeup of story Japanese adventure hero storytelling. Yeah, but I mean, that kind of is Akira Toriyama's fault. But it predates, like, bad guys having multiple forms dates back to, like, fucking Ultraman.
01:21:33
Speaker
Yeah, but it's not, it's it's the going through like what are clearly not great designs. Like, I'm sorry, I love Akira Toriyama. I have a Toriyama tattoo. Toriyama's great at making up guys.
01:21:47
Speaker
Cells first three or four forms are bad, and they're not fun to look at. They're bad designs. And looking at them, you're like, oh, this guy's going to end up just looking like a dude, because that is what is easy to draw fighting.
01:22:01
Speaker
Right. Not like a weird little cockroach with a beak. Yeah, he's he's far more inhuman in those early forms. And then by his final form, he just looks like a guy in a costume.
01:22:15
Speaker
Yeah. ah and But that only happens because he absorbs the androids. Yeah, because they because they made the and full killer androids to be food for Sel.
01:22:32
Speaker
through his butt. Through his butt, yeah. he was They were like, how can we make Cell super strong? It's like, well, let's clone Piccolo and Goku. And then also he can butt chug these two androids.
01:22:47
Speaker
And nobody was like, hey, Dr. Giroux, that's fucking weird. My dude. My fellow. Why did you think of this? Yeah. Why did you think of this?
01:23:01
Speaker
I wouldn't have thought of that, and sir. Oh, man. Yeah, it's also not as good as Godzilla vs. Sparkly, which is a comic that is only purity.
01:23:20
Speaker
That's true. that that is That is purity of storytelling. But you know what? It's better than Savage Dragon Volume 1.
01:23:30
Speaker
That is at 919. Yes. Is it better than The Order
01:23:42
Speaker
not. Okay, is it better than Batman The Adventures Continue numbers 1 through 2 hardware? I'm going to say
01:23:55
Speaker
no Okay, so this becomes the new number 919.
01:24:03
Speaker
Still worth reading.
01:24:07
Speaker
read Definitely read it before you read Legends of the Dark Claw number one. a
01:24:16
Speaker
am pretty sure I kept watching the anime through all of the Cell Saga. But also, like it kind of ended
01:24:27
Speaker
on Cartoon Network I think once the Cell Saga was over on Cartoon Network, that was it. Yeah, I believe so. like That was all they had.
01:24:40
Speaker
And maybe that was like as far along as the show was, because this was the year 2000. No, there was definitely more of it. There was definitely more. There was definitely more. Okay.
01:24:52
Speaker
but yeah Yeah, I don't remember the Majin Buu Saga airing all the way through. Yeah. On TV.
01:25:02
Speaker
On Cartoon Network.
01:25:06
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think... i think it might be a thing. Because I know with Sailor Moon, it like cut out in the middle of an arc. but Yeah. You get halfway through sail or Moon R, and that was it.
01:25:18
Speaker
But yeah, as far as the manga, 1993, baby...
01:25:29
Speaker
Nick Whalen has our next list. Which is a list of Marvel stories that open with a spooky house at opening splash page. That is a very specific list. I love that.
01:25:42
Speaker
First is Dark Moon Rise, Hellhound Kill, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. number three. ah I remember that splash page.
01:25:56
Speaker
Now, have we ranked... Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Yes. We have we've ranked this particular story um back in 2023, in October, at number 1022 on the list.
01:26:14
Speaker
So not as good as the Cell Saga. Because it was probably in every spooky ever. Yeah. And... Oh, this was an Every Spooky Ever list, which we have already done. Oh, okay.
01:26:31
Speaker
These are all Every Spooky. I'm in a i'm in a ah ah cache of Every Spooky Ever lists that I'm going to skip over ah to get to our next one.
Rediscovering Spider-Man Comic Collection
01:26:41
Speaker
Okay. I'm glad I noticed that.
01:26:43
Speaker
um All right. Here's the next actual list. This is from Stephen Wilcox, who says, i was recently cleaning stuff out of my parents' house and came across my old comic collection.
01:26:53
Speaker
my list of highlights from my youth. Okay. First, Spider-Man Battles the Myth Monster by Danny Fingeroth and Jose Delbo, made in cooperation with the National Association of School Nurses.
01:27:08
Speaker
The what monster? The Myth Monster. like Like stories of gods and heroes? Like stories of gods and heroes, yes.
01:27:19
Speaker
Like...
The Myth Monster's Deception and Defeat
01:27:21
Speaker
ah
01:27:25
Speaker
I don't know. The Minotaur. Yeah, i'm I'm looking at this guy now. um that's That's an Alex Savick cover. It sure is. Spider-Man, about as good as I could draw him.
01:27:41
Speaker
That's... um the the The myth monster looks like if you gave the Green Goblin HGH.
01:27:52
Speaker
Uh-huh, he's big. And then... ah made his skin gray and his outfit green.
01:28:01
Speaker
So the myth monster is making people think that like taking insulin is taking a performance-enhancing drug.
01:28:12
Speaker
So wait, it's the kind of it's like an urban myth. Yeah. Because it's... Yeah. Yeah. Because there's there's a kid who's who's diabetic and he injects insulin and then he does a really good job at the track meet.
01:28:30
Speaker
But then it's like, he's on drugs. I saw him injecting himself. He got diabetes from eating candy. And now he's going to give it to all the other kids because it's contagious.
01:28:43
Speaker
Which are... I've never heard that Diabetes is contagious.
01:28:53
Speaker
But that is a myth that the myth monster spreads. That is something that kids could believe, I guess. Yes. ah And ah the myth monster also makes this guy say that Carol's supposed to have asthma, but it's really all in her mind.
01:29:08
Speaker
Now, I've not read this comic, Matt. I'm just browsing through it right now. Nor have i It does have... A cool maze that you can do at the end. At the end, yeah.
01:29:22
Speaker
ah I don't think I can adequately judge this, because ah haven't read it. It looks pretty bad.
01:29:33
Speaker
It's... ah Jose Delbo's definitely phoning it right in. It doesn't... it doesn't It looks like a guy dressed as Spider-Man and not the actual Spider-Man.
01:29:46
Speaker
And this is a comic book. by By calling him the Myth Monster, he's just a liar. Yeah, man. He's not a Myth Monster. He's a liar.
01:29:59
Speaker
Like, why would you call him, like, the Rumormonger? Well, because these are these are myths about diabetes and epilepsy. But, like... They're not like commonly held myths.
01:30:11
Speaker
They're not commonly held urban myths. They're just lies. He got it from eating candy. Fabrications, right? like they're It's made up.
01:30:23
Speaker
Well, Matt, it's because the myth monster was real, and right and the nice nurse lady... was warned about it by her ancestor's scroll a thousand years ago when wizards were around well he he dates back to the days of king arthur yeah that's him boy danny finger off man says he really took this story some places king arthur says be gone myth monster nor more no more will you spread lies about my worthy subjects he's just a liar
01:30:58
Speaker
Though they do suffer from passing ills, still are they equal to any in Camelot. The lies you spread about the children are evil. Though Roland be Strickland with aches at times, he is still my good page.
01:31:09
Speaker
Despite Samantha's spells of difficult breathing, she will grow to glory as Lady of the Realm. And though Victor has bouts of the falling sickness, yet he is the favorite of many.
01:31:20
Speaker
So, like, he was doing the same thing back in King Arthur times. Just saying like people with diseases or or any kind of physical malady are less than.
01:31:36
Speaker
i mean, look, I think you and I both agree with the message of this comic. Yeah. And then ah Merlin puts him in an amulet. i don't know why That amulet opens.
01:31:49
Speaker
That amulet's got like a hinge on it. It does. He puts it in an amulet, and then that amulet drifts across the ocean to America, where somebody finds it on a beach.
01:32:00
Speaker
In Connecticut, where Peter Parker is there to take photos of a fucking elementary school track meet. Yes. Damn, Peter, what'd you do to piss off Jonah?
01:32:13
Speaker
I'm putting you on the elementary school track meet beat. beat In Connecticut.
01:32:22
Speaker
ah Oof. Good message. Would have to sit down and actually read it. I can see why this was a highlight of your childhood. And I hope that you were a friend to anyone with diabetes, epilepsy, or asthma.
01:32:38
Speaker
As long as they weren't dicks. Oh, okay. So they find the amulet. They get the amulet. But then the myth monster picks it up and throws it into a lake.
01:32:52
Speaker
No, he threw it into the ocean. Where it had previously been. he He picks it up. He's in a house. He throws it through the window into the ocean, which is just outside. It's a nice beachfront school.
01:33:11
Speaker
Yeah. ah And then... he's they The kids are all like, no, you've been telling lies. And then the myth monster goes, no, you've discovered my secret.
01:33:22
Speaker
When people reject my lies, I have no power. When there's no fear, I can't function. Friendship and goodwill are my worst enemies. The amulet wasn't my weakness. The truth is. And then he explodes.
Impact and Quality of Spider-Man Comic
01:33:38
Speaker
Good job. Good job, kids. Good job, kids. You think Spider-Man was like as bothered by the myth monster exploding as he was by that time that he accidentally killed that girl in Spider-Man and Wolverine?
01:33:54
Speaker
Great question. um I don't know. um did If you were writing Spider-Man and like and they did that thing when all of Earth was being judged...
01:34:07
Speaker
Do you think Spider-Man would think about Gwen Stacy, or do you think he would think about that time that the myth monster exploded? And he was like, I didn't know he was going to explode and die and die forever.
01:34:20
Speaker
Just because we told him the truth. um Then there's a page of diabetes facts, epilepsy facts, and asthma facts. Got it by eating candy. ah Having diabetes means...
01:34:34
Speaker
You can't convert food into energy the way other people's can because you don't have enough special hormone that does so. ah It should say you cannot get it by eating candy.
01:34:46
Speaker
but well that's if you Matt, if you if you look and you take the quiz on the next page, you have to construct a shield of truth. Oh, I see. see. And you've got to know that you can't get diabetes from eating candy.
01:35:01
Speaker
There you go. This is like Mad Libs. You can't blank your tongue during a blank. I mean, I know that it's supposed to be bite off your tongue during a seizure, but that could be so many things.
01:35:17
Speaker
ah Yeah. this is This is an interesting comic. i I don't think we can adequately rank it, even though we've looked through the whole thing. Fuck, we can rank this.
01:35:29
Speaker
We've looked through the whole comic now.
01:35:34
Speaker
Uh, yeah, look, I definitely agree with its message. It is not... It is not well executed. It is not particularly good as a comic. I've seen better Jose Del Boar.
01:35:47
Speaker
The myth monster is a same-day idea.
Introduction to 'Death's Head 2' Comic
01:35:53
Speaker
This fucking Spider-Man is so off-model, and I don't
01:36:02
Speaker
He's so weird looking and I can't put my finger on why.
01:36:10
Speaker
I think it's... Is it as good as the Obama backup? No, I think the Obama backup is better. Okay, Fastlane is definitely better than this. Oh, Fastlane is 100% better. That's why i'll'll I'll never do drugs.
01:36:29
Speaker
Yeah.
01:36:32
Speaker
Wasn't there a Batman PSA comic that we ranked at some point?
01:36:38
Speaker
Probably. he's Yeah, he's wildly off-model. Like, his eyes are too far up on his head. Yeah, his eyes are really high. Yeah.
01:36:50
Speaker
He's got the high eyes. he's got He's definitely got the high eyes. But, like, every panel that Spider-Man's in, he looks like a different guy, and none of those guys look like Peter Parker. Correct. Correct.
01:37:05
Speaker
I'm trying to think of... I know there was like a Batman PSA comic that we ranked. Right?
01:37:16
Speaker
I thought... I don't remember. I don't remember either.
01:37:26
Speaker
This is maybe in like the see.
01:37:32
Speaker
let's see it At number 1400, we have Old Man Logan.
01:37:40
Speaker
A comic that is better executed, but that I do not agree with the message of. Yeah, that's it's really hard. It's really hard to... I'm Mark Miller, and I think you can get diabetes from eating candy. I'm going to write a comic about how you get diabetes from eating candy.
01:38:06
Speaker
He would. He absolutely would. would If he could sell it to Netflix?
01:38:15
Speaker
It'd be called Mark miller and
01:38:20
Speaker
mark Miller and Picasso's Candy.
01:38:25
Speaker
Yeah, he's going to hire Picasso from the dead for that. yeah but Look, he works with great artists. He can't deny that. Alright, it's better than Batman Inc. number 8, Internet 3.0. Oh yeah, that's a rough one.
01:38:40
Speaker
It's equally poorly executed as politely executed as Avengers Operation Galactic Storm.
01:38:50
Speaker
ah Okay, alright. um um I'm hearing ya. I'm hearing ya. JLA Trial by Fire. I forget what that is. Trial by Fire is the Joe Kelly, Doug Monkey story. It's not the Obsidian Age.
01:39:06
Speaker
I think it's the one that has, like, uh... They get the new members. That's probably better than this, right? No. No? No, absolutely not.
01:39:19
Speaker
Okay. Is this story better than Changes? The Spider-Man story that's not the other? I mean, that story's pretty bad. If Peter Parker got Bone Claws in this story... Okay.
01:39:35
Speaker
It's not better than Earth-X. It's not better than the first Carnage story. It is better than Battle Scars. Alright, that's fair. So this is the new number 1412.
01:39:49
Speaker
We did it. Spider-Man versus the Muck Monster. Zero to ranked.
01:39:56
Speaker
Versus the Myth Monster is the new number 1412. Or is no, Spider-Man battles the Myth Monster. Battles the Myth Monster. Yeah.
01:40:07
Speaker
Show some respect for Danny Fingeroth, man. Gotta get the title right. What year was this published? It looks like the 70s, but I guarantee this was like 1991. nailed it. 1991. My first guess would have been
Marvel UK Comics and British Culture
01:40:19
Speaker
1984. But no. 1991. Yeah, man. Unbelievable. Okay. Okay.
01:40:22
Speaker
i would have i would have my first guess would have been nineteen eightyf four
01:40:29
Speaker
but no ninety ninety one yeah man
01:40:34
Speaker
unbelievable okay Next on the list from Steven is Death's Head 2 issues 1 through 4 by Dan Abnett and Liam Sharp.
01:40:46
Speaker
I have not read Death's Head 2.
01:40:50
Speaker
No, we have not ranked any Death's Head comics. I've read Death's Head 1. That's my Death's Head.
01:41:02
Speaker
Those are different characters, right?
01:41:06
Speaker
Yeah, it's complicated.
01:41:11
Speaker
Because Death's Head is Minion, but Death's Head 2 is not. Right. Right. Death's Head 2 looks like the fucking Predator.
01:41:25
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, right. Because in Death's Head 2, he killed Death's Head 1 on the cover. Yeah.
01:41:38
Speaker
Yeah, weirdly enough, I have never read Death's Head 2 either. Death's Head 2 is Minion. Death's Head 1 is not Minion. I had it backwards. Okay.
01:41:49
Speaker
I misspell right. Death's Head 2 is definitely a post-Predator Marvel character where it's like, what if we had a character who was just a Predator?
01:42:02
Speaker
Yep. we Hey, we got away with the aliens. Yeah. I bet we could probably get away with Predator. Yeah.
01:42:12
Speaker
The art in list looks good. Death's Head 2 absorbs Death's Head 1. Right. right I believe that's how it works. I have not read these issues.
01:42:23
Speaker
i can I can call Chad Bowers, see what he thinks. Because I'll say who's going have some opinions. Is that dude? The first issue is called Mergers and Acquisitions.
01:42:36
Speaker
That's pretty good. And it's because they merged, yeah. Yeah. Death's Head 1 and Death's Head 2. i The Liam Sharp art in this is, like, very good.
01:42:48
Speaker
Like, it looks great.
01:42:52
Speaker
it's yeah's It's really cool. It's as 2000 AD as Marvel Comics ever got. Yeah. ah But I cannot...
01:43:06
Speaker
I cannot say confidently where this ranks because I never read it. Maybe we should do Death's Head 2 as a catch-up.
01:43:17
Speaker
Maybe. I'd read it. I bet it's a hoot. I think I always like, because it was like always promoted as Marvel Comics UK, I was like, oh, that's not for me.
01:43:30
Speaker
Yeah, man. That's too English. Yeah, this is this is what you want to read when you're out getting a cheeky Nando's with the lads. If you're out with the lads getting a cheeky Nando's,
01:43:44
Speaker
that's it too.
Exploration of Sleepwalker Comics
01:43:45
Speaker
If you're having a chat with some banter... If you're... Writing a comic about – Condé giving you diabetes.
01:43:56
Speaker
Condé giving you diabetes. Yeah, that's right. we got We got pretty far north there, I think. We did. i I think you're right. ah Anyway, tell us if we should read this for catch-up.
01:44:08
Speaker
Because I know a lot of people love this book.
01:44:12
Speaker
So let us know. Let us know.
01:44:17
Speaker
ah All right, next on Stephen's list is Sleepwalker No. 8 by Bob Budiansky and Brett Blevins. Boy, you know I've read that one. You know Chris has read that one.
01:44:29
Speaker
I love Sleepy.
01:44:32
Speaker
but that's i love him. I wrote that dude. You did? Do you want me to call Chad?
01:44:41
Speaker
This is ah the issue where Deathlock fights Sleepwalker. What a pair. What a pair.
01:44:51
Speaker
You know, never mind, I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to bring that up. All I'm going to say is Sleepwalker's great. ah
01:45:03
Speaker
Yeah, man, he fights Deathlock in a haunted house.
01:45:10
Speaker
Sleepwalker, it's not enough that Sleepwalker's gonna fight Deathlock. He's gonna fight Deathlock in a haunted house. But not a real haunted house, like a theme park. A simulation of a haunted house, yeah. Yeah.
01:45:26
Speaker
He's gonna take him to the theme park.
01:45:29
Speaker
and ah But here's the thing about this fake haunted house. It's actually a very real house of horrors. Because some shit's going down in it.
01:45:41
Speaker
Chris, here's my question for you. Yes.
01:45:46
Speaker
Should we rank this single issue of Sleepwalker? Or should we rank all of Sleepwalker Volume 1, which is all written by Bob Budiansky, the creator of Sleepwalker?
01:46:03
Speaker
I mean, I would say we could probably rank all of Sleepwalker Volume 1. Yeah. ah that would That's my thought. is that like It's probably all like exactly the same level of quality.
01:46:18
Speaker
it's Yeah, great. Right. Like, fantastic. Here's what's great about this issue in particular, though, is that um it's about zombies.
01:46:29
Speaker
Like, there's a guy, and he's turning teenagers into zombies. And he's like, oh, you should thank me because I'm taking away all your teen problems. And that's why Sleepwalker fights Deathlock, because Deathlock's also investigating, and Sleepwalker's like, that motherfucker's a zombie.
01:46:45
Speaker
And he's right. Because Deathlock is a zombie robot. He's a Zomborg. He's a Zomborg, yeah. So Sleepwalker's like, hey man, that's a fucking zombie.
01:46:56
Speaker
Fuck this.
01:46:59
Speaker
You know what? it's i We could say Sleepwalker Volume 1, but honestly...
01:47:08
Speaker
that's That's the only volume of a book that's just called Sleepwalker. Yeah, that's true. Because you you and Chad's comic is Infinity War's Sleepwalker.
01:47:19
Speaker
Yeah. And then there's the Sleepwalker holiday special. But Sleepwalker numbers 1 through 33, that's it. Yeah, man.
01:47:30
Speaker
Sleepwalker's a hoot. He's such a weirdo. I love him.
01:47:36
Speaker
Put him in a movie.
01:47:40
Speaker
Definitely put him in a movie where he goes inside all the Infinity Gems. And maybe somebody gets a little money for that. Like, Kevin Feige, if you're listening to this, put him in a movie.
01:47:52
Speaker
Matt, I think if Kevin Feige was listening to this, he probably tapped out about two minutes into the machine bit.
01:48:00
Speaker
He's like, you gotta to keep it tight. card You gotta keep this stuff tight. This is going on so long. What is this, a Netflix show?
01:48:11
Speaker
What is this, Loki Season 2? You guys are really dragging this out. what is this, Disney Plus?
01:48:18
Speaker
what What is this, Ironheart? This doesn't make any sense. What is this, Quantumania? Wow. Wow. Really taking shots. That movie sucks, man. I'm sorry.
01:48:29
Speaker
It's not good. that it's It is possibly the worst Marvel Studios film. It's pretty atrocious.
01:48:40
Speaker
yeah Man, Brett Blevins good as hell, though. Brett Blevins did a great job on those um those Sleepwalker issues. Sleepwalker still looks good.
01:48:52
Speaker
All these years later. Because it looks weird. Yeah. like That art really does hold up. like bre black as opposed As opposed to many other much other art from the early to mid nineties that sleepwalker art holds up. I think.
01:49:15
Speaker
Yeah, man. Uh, are we going to rank all sleepwalker? Are we going to rank this issue or are we going to table it until somebody sends in sleepwalker one through 33? I would happily just rank all of sleepwalker one through 33.
01:49:30
Speaker
I mean, it's pretty good. I don't really see a need to rank a single issue. In a run that I feel like we should just rank all together.
01:49:43
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's fair. Sleepwalker's pretty good. Yeah. I like him. It's like kit incredibly consistent creative team throughout all 33 issues.
01:49:54
Speaker
Yeah. Like really something like it's some fill in artists here and there, but like pretty, pretty consistent.
01:50:10
Speaker
Yeah, I would say ah
01:50:15
Speaker
Sleepwalker's pretty fun. like It's another weird Marvel book. like A of times we talk about weird DC books, because I think DC
01:50:27
Speaker
is more consistent about its weirdness. like There's always some kind of weird DC shit going on. I would say that DC is more intentional about its weirdness.
01:50:40
Speaker
Yeah. with With Marvel, the weirdness just like seems like it happens. like ah Nobody was looking, and so 33 issues of Sleepwalker came out.
01:50:50
Speaker
Yeah. Brett Blevins did about half of these issues, and then Kelly Krantz did most of the rest. Yeah, the Kelly Krantz stuff is actually Vertigo-esque, think. It's more of its time. Yeah. very vertigoesque i think it's it's more of its time Yes.
01:51:07
Speaker
But still good. But like, Brett Blevins to me, like, you look at that and you're like, right, Marvel Comics. And then you look at the Kelly Grant stuff and it's like, oh, this looks like Shade the Changing Man. This looks like Vertigo. ah it's It's very much like, again, like, you know, kind of mid-90s, like,
01:51:31
Speaker
overly shaded kind of art. Mm-hmm. um Whereas the Brett Blevins stuff does not have any of that. Like, the Brett Blevins stuff just looks good.
01:51:45
Speaker
Yeah. The Jacketed Avengers show up in one of these later issues that Kelly Krantz draws, and they could not look less on model.
Ranking Sleepwalker Volume 1
01:52:00
Speaker
They are some real, they are some real like When the fucking parody Avengers show up on Dexter's Laboratory looking guys in this. I mean, I feel like the Brett Blevins stuff has a sort of like early Vertigo feel to it, honestly.
01:52:19
Speaker
like it It looks kind of like Doom Patrol. yeah yeah Yeah. Yeah. I feel like it has that sensibility to it.
01:52:32
Speaker
I mean, you say that, Matt, but I'm going to send you this Kelly Krantz page from Sleepwalker number 26. Okay. And I want you to tell me what looks more like Doom Patrol.
01:52:42
Speaker
This or actual issues of Doom Patrol. Okay. Hit me. All right.
01:53:01
Speaker
I mean, Hercules does not look anything like Hercules in that. I mean, the costume is somewhat on model.
01:53:12
Speaker
was Was Hercules unbearded at this time? I mean, he's unbearded here. He's unbearded here. unpantsed. Yeah, he's he's just wearing trunks there. He's really presenting.
01:53:27
Speaker
Vision looks more or less like Vision.
01:53:32
Speaker
Black Knight is pretty on model.
01:53:37
Speaker
Black Widow looks like she's taking a shit on top of a car. She is doing a very weird squat, yes? Hercules looks very off model.
01:53:50
Speaker
Yeah, it's i mean it's... Hercules looks like the fucking beard hunter, dude. Yeah.
01:54:00
Speaker
ah sir
01:54:03
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, that's true. They're not wearing their jackets. I don't like that. Well, some wearing Crystal's wearing her jacket. Black Knight's wearing his jacket. Hercules is not wearing a jacket.
01:54:15
Speaker
Nor Vision, nor Black Widow. Yeah.
01:54:21
Speaker
Black Widow's making a face like she's taking a shit. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. like She just looks like she's taking a shit. It's not just the pose. It's also that she's giving the... Yeah. Yeah.
01:54:32
Speaker
Sleepwalker good, man.
01:54:36
Speaker
Sleepwalker good as hell. Alright, give me a number. Give me a number for the whole run of Sleepwalker. Sleepwalker 1 through 33. I don't know if in good conscience it cracks the top 1,000. Alright.
01:54:54
Speaker
Again, it's a very top-heavy list. It is a very top-heavy list. At 1,000, we've still got like a lot of good stuff. Yeah, the Tick. The Tick 1 and 2 are 1,000. Yeah. are great.
01:55:07
Speaker
ah I don't think it's too far below those, though. Yeah.
01:55:15
Speaker
I think it's... I don't think it's as good as that U.S. agent story where he fucking yells at that scarecrow. it's I mean, that's equally weird.
01:55:26
Speaker
But it's gotta be better than Hot Claws for Hanukkah. It's got to be, yeah. It's got to be. So that it's the new number 1028. It's got to be the new number 1028. Every time I see Hot Claws for Hanukkah on here, I'm like, first of all, why did we rank it there?
01:55:46
Speaker
That's higher than the origin of Snake Eyes.
01:55:51
Speaker
I don't know. i did Something was in the water whenever that was. We ranked it in 2019. Something was in the water. Which I think is when it came out.
01:56:03
Speaker
That was a different world, man. Yeah, that was pre-COVID. we were thinking about We were all thinking about Hot Calls for Hanukkah. Were we?
01:56:21
Speaker
I think we just thought it was funny. Which it is. It is funny. Wolverine had hot claws for like two minutes.
01:56:33
Speaker
Yeah. And to one of those minutes was during Hanukkah. eight eight Eight days worth of those minutes? Yeah.
01:56:45
Speaker
Alright, let's take an alternate from Steven. Okay. Have you read Nightcrawler 1-4 by Dave Cockrum? ah I don't think I have, actually.
01:56:57
Speaker
I feel like...
01:57:01
Speaker
Given how much I love Nightcrawler as character, it seems like I should have.
Considering Other Comics for Ranking
01:57:08
Speaker
But I don't think I have. This is the 1985 Nightcrawler miniseries.
01:57:15
Speaker
yeah I don't think I have, because like I know Nightcrawler is a lot of people's favorite X-Men, and I get But... but He's not my favorite, and he's not a character that I'm particularly interested in as a solo character.
01:57:36
Speaker
Fair. I mean, i there is an appeal to the Nightcrawler being a pirate on the cover of the first issue. I am a little worried that if we read this, it'll be another Excalibur situation. Yeah, I think that is that is possible.
01:57:55
Speaker
dare I say, probable. yeah I don't have a lot of experience with Dave Cockrum as a writer. quite like Dave Cockrum as an artist. It's it's definitely not going to... Well, maybe not. Maybe I should maybe i will ah still my tongue before I say it's not going to have the perviness that we encountered in Excalibur.
01:58:21
Speaker
Look, I know people love Excalibur.
01:58:26
Speaker
there's so much perviness in that comic that makes me go, y'all love this. Yeah, man. The Dragon Ball liker is over here being like, I mean, when we read the first ah volume of Dragon Ball, I was like, I can't keep going.
01:58:47
Speaker
Yeah, it didn't it doesn't get good for a minute. Yeah.
01:58:53
Speaker
It's... dude It's like so pervy, so early.
01:59:01
Speaker
it it was not an invitation to continue. Yeah. Alright. Another alternate from Steven is Batman issue 401, A Bird in the Hand by Barbara Randall and Trevor Von Eden.
01:59:16
Speaker
um was just talking about Trevor Von Eden the other day. Batman 401. Yeah. David Wilkin read The Messiah of the Crimson Sun, and I was like, oh, you're talking oh My Barr and Trevor Von Eden's Batman Annual?
01:59:32
Speaker
Oh, that's... Buddy, that's the first appearance of Magpie. That is Magpie. That is the first appearance of Magpie. A Legends crossover. Yeah, man.
01:59:43
Speaker
I've read this. I've definitely read this as well. this is This is Trevor Von Eden really trying to look like David Mazzucchelli. Yeah, he doesn't really look like Trevor Von Eden in this, which is weird because Trevor Von Eden has a really cool style.
02:00:02
Speaker
But this is like immediately after Batman Year One. Oh, it's so 1986, dude. And yeah, I mean, making every effort to... oh sorry, second appearance of Magpie.
02:00:21
Speaker
Where did Magpie first appear? In Man of Steel. That's right. Damn. That's right. um But like, when did when did Year One end?
02:00:36
Speaker
ah Shortly before this? No, wait. Year One hadn't happened yet. Year One's number 408. Year One is after this. Yeah. That's right. Wild. Or 404. Number 404 to 407.
02:00:50
Speaker
That's right. It's like a few issues after this, and yet this looks like so much like an attempt to do art like David Mazzucchelli. I do wonder if... um don't know, you think sure everybody even saw those pages?
02:01:07
Speaker
and i was like, oh shit. Oh, this is what Batman looks like. This is what Batman looks like now. So I better do that. Here's the thing. The art doesn't look bad.
02:01:18
Speaker
It might have been Trevor Von Eden just like doing his thing. Yeah, could be. ah Whatever it is, the art looks good. ah That is very true. um
02:01:29
Speaker
Magpie kind of sucks, right? She's fine. like it's it's She's a difficult character to have more than like two stories with.
02:01:47
Speaker
Like, kind of more than one story in her original form. ah I liked that one cartoon redesign of Magpie as like Lady Gaga.
02:02:01
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I feel like Magpie is kind of meant to be a jobber. Yeah, she's meant to be a gimmick criminal. Yeah. And even this issue is more about...
02:02:15
Speaker
Batman dealing with people being like, I think Batman is making things worse by creating, like, the villains are only being created because of Batman.
02:02:28
Speaker
And then he's got to go deal with Magpie, but, like, she's not really what the story's about. Well, here's the thing. mag but To be a character created post-crisis.
02:02:39
Speaker
ah hu Magpie is the most Silver Age-ass concept for a character. Which I think is is the point. yeah Because she's you know she's created in Man of Steel by John Byrne immediately post-crisis.
02:02:53
Speaker
right To just be kind of a one-off bit player in the story of Batman and Superman meeting for the first time. like That's the money of that story, is Superman and Batman.
02:03:08
Speaker
But like... She's obsessed with things being shiny. Yeah, because she's going to steal them. Because of the bird? Because of the bird thing? Yeah. going to put them in her nest? Yeah.
02:03:19
Speaker
You got it. Yeah. She's got some wild hair.
02:03:25
Speaker
I've always loved this cover, though. This John Byrne cover. Oh, yeah. It's great. Her name is Magpie, and she wonders how the Batman will look as he dies. That's some John Costanza lettering on that, man. Woo.
02:03:39
Speaker
it's a That's a pretty good John Bernhardt, must admit, on that cover. i like her Yeah, I like her big
02:03:56
Speaker
I don't know, man. I like this issue. It's pretty good. It's fine. it's like It kind of feels like wheel spinning before year one.
02:04:08
Speaker
I mean, most of Bronze Age Batman feels like that. matt Yes. like I would say maybe Batman number 350 to 403 kind of feels like wheel spinning before year one, if we're being honest with ourselves.
02:04:28
Speaker
like It's fine. it
02:04:33
Speaker
It's got an interesting appearance from Glorious Godfrey. Well, because it's a Legends crossover. right um It's a very, like... i I mean, I have to assume that it's on purpose.
02:04:48
Speaker
That it's a very, like, Batman 66 feeling story. Well, yeah I mean, there's a weird part where Robin tries to tackle Magpie and accidentally rips her top off.
02:05:00
Speaker
And then she gets away because he covers his eyes. Right, yeah. And it ends with... um Batman making the sparkly diamonds and jewels and stuff too sparkly, where they blind Magpie.
02:05:17
Speaker
And so she cries. And as they're like leading her away, she says, you are a horrible man. And Batman says, i am what I have to be.
Listener Engagement and Conclusion
02:05:28
Speaker
Let's go.
02:05:32
Speaker
it's It's fine. It's pretty good. I like it I think the art sells it more than anything. yeah like The art is great. it's It's weird that the that Magpie is on the cover of this comic when the whole point is the debate over whether Batman is...
02:05:52
Speaker
is actually creating the villains. But it's a good thing that we knocked that out in 1986, and now we never need to have that discussion again.
02:06:04
Speaker
Yes, finally. Great.
02:06:07
Speaker
No more discourse. Discourse over. Discourse over.
02:06:14
Speaker
ah Yeah, i think this I think this issue falls into fine.
02:06:20
Speaker
I don't think it's as good as the Doom comic, which is at $8.67. Agreed. I don't think it's as good as Judge Dred America, that's at $8.81. Agreed.
02:06:32
Speaker
I like it more than I like Secret War, which is $8.98. Reign the Superman at $900. That's not fault.
02:06:46
Speaker
that's not my fault Alright, you're saying this is the new 898, then? I mean, i also like it more than I like the Paul Jenkins, Jay Lee, and humans, but... okay Here's thing.
02:07:01
Speaker
I don't think it's as good as Slingers, a book I know you love. I would not put it above Marvel Zombies 4.
02:07:08
Speaker
which That's got the Midnight Suns vs. Zombie Deadpool. Yeah. So, ah but'll we'll put it 897. Alright. all right Batman number 401.
02:07:21
Speaker
This issue is called A Bird in the Hand. And I'm going to put in parentheses Magpie.
02:07:32
Speaker
Okay.
02:07:35
Speaker
That's it for this Every Story Ever special. does
02:07:42
Speaker
Does Barbara J. Randall become Barbara Kiesel?
02:07:47
Speaker
That's a great question. um Yes. but She does. She does eventually but she does become Barbara Kiesel. Barbara Randall Kiesel. I didn't recognize the name, so I thought it might be Barbara Kiesel.
02:08:00
Speaker
Yes. You are correct. That's who it is. She was 26 years old. Incredible. This came out. Yeah. this Hell, a lot better than any comics I wrote at 26.
02:08:13
Speaker
yeah Uh, all right. Um, if you would like to send us an every story ever list, you can do it at our email address, which is war rocket podcast at gmail.com. You can also, ah join our discord, go to our blue sky or our Tumblr or email us to ask for an invitation to our discord.
02:08:33
Speaker
And we will, uh, send you an invitation to join over there. As long as you're, as long as you're nice about it. Uh,
02:08:42
Speaker
If you want to support these Every Story Ever specials every month and keep them two hours, go to patreon.com slash warrocketajax and kick in as little as a dollar a month to make sure that we keep doing them.
02:08:54
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?
02:09:06
Speaker
Everybody can find me at the-isb.com. That is my website. It has links to everything. than I do on the internet.
02:09:18
Speaker
Thanks for listening, everybody. We'll be back in August with another Every Story Ever special. Should be a lot of fun.
02:09:28
Speaker
Bye, everybody. Bye, everybody. Forever, forever, forever, ever, ever, ever. Yes! From this day on, let every breed of monger live together.