The time for “setup” is over! At last, Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, and Captain America meet! Tim and Mulele discuss 2012’s “Marvel’s The Avengers.”
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Category: Comics movies
“Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)
Film buff Mulele prods Tim to get caught up on alllll the Marvel movies he’s missed. This time, they watch and discuss the first MCU appearance of Captain America. What changed from the comics, and why? What worked, and what’s hokey?
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“THOR” (2011)
What do you do when you want to talk about the MCU movies, but no one around you has watched them? Bug your friends to watch them! That’s how Mulele finally got Tim to find time to “Catch Up with the MCU”! Having discussed the first two Iron Man films on Deconstructing Comics a decade ago, and lacking much interest in the Hulk, we began our Patreon-exclusive show with Thor in May 2019. Here, Tim gives his first impressions, while Mulele takes the chance to go back and see what led up to Avengers: Endgame.
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#651 “Shazam!”: the movie
David F. Sandberg’s 2019 movie Shazam!, starring Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, and Mark Strong, was a a break from the relentless grimness of many recent DC movies, and yet, it did have horroresque scenes. Of course, Sandberg has a lot of horror on his resume, but is there any comics precedent for horror in Shazam!? Emmet is joined once again by Shazam! expert Brian Cremins to discuss the film, and why Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson should play Captain Marvel… if he hasn’t already.
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#637 “Ghost World” haunts us still
Daniel Clowes’ 1990s series Ghost World became a movie in 2001. Will Weaver, a professor at John Carroll University, says that each version of the story was what it needed to be for that medium. Why did those choices, such as adding Seymour, make sense for the movie? Could a film version have worked without Seymour? And what’s the deal with that bus, anyway? Will joins Tim to discuss these questions and more.
Comic Journal review of the movie, by Michael Dean
Daniel Clowes interview in Salon
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The Spidey-Star Wars connection
Spider-Man is back in the MCU! Is it a coincidence that this announcement came out just days after it was revealed that MCU mastermind Kevin Feige has been named the producer of an upcoming Star Wars movie? Mulele tells Tim about his theory of the case.
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MCU update: Spidey in, or out?
It’s been a topic of discussion all week: Is Sony really refusing to let Marvel/Disney handle Spider-Man in the movies anymore? What looked like a shocking middle-finger to the mouse now looks to have been a case of negotiating via the media. Tim and Mulele discuss the latest, and also touch on the newly announced (at D23 day one) TV shows coming to Disney+.
The Deadline article that set off Twitter
Vox article on the Sony-Disney kerfuffle
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Critiquing Comics #162: “Monster Mashup”
Monster Mashup is a comics anthology in which public-domain characters meet classic monsters. Tim and Mulele review.
Also, a look at the announced (and rumored) content to come from the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
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#630 A Celebration of “SHAZAM!”
Captain Marvel — the one who shouts “Shazam!” to change from little boy to adult super hero — first appeared in Whiz Comics #2, dated February 1940, almost immediately prompting comparisons to Superman and outrage at DC. Yet the “Big Red Cheese” actually outsold Supes in the ’40s. Why has the most popular hero of the World War II era fallen on hard times since then? How has the character changed as DC, now owner of the character, has repeatedly struggled to reboot his world? Tim and Emmet have read the book Shazam! A Celebration of 75 years, and discuss the stories, the character, and the recent film.
CBR on “Captain Thunder” story
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Critiquing Comics #154: “Some Strange Disturbances” and Tim sees a Marvel movie!
This time, we diverge from the normal format and discuss a variety of topics:
1:17 Writer Craig Hurd-McKenny sent us three of his LGBTQ+-friendly comics, and we discuss them all: The Magic If (art by Gervasio, Melisa Jones, and Tyler Smith-Owings), The Brontes: Infernal Angria (art by Rick Geary), and Some Strange Disturbances (art by Gervasio, Carlos Aon, and Tyler Smith-Owings).
32:16 In Deconstructing Comics last week, Tim talked to some comics retailers in Chicago about the state of the industry. Tim and Mulele react to the retailers’ comments.
55:17 Tim talks about the movies he saw during his visit to the U.S.: Captain Marvel, Dumbo, and Shazam!
1:26:53 We read mail from creators whose comics we’ve discussed in past episodes.
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