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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MAD Magazine is ending! Much handwringing has occurred — mainly among people who probably haven’t read it in ages but fondly recall it from their childhoods. Tim, a MAD reader for most of the last 23 years, is joined by Kumar, and MAD contributor Joe Dator, to discuss what went wrong, and recollections and reminiscences of this highly influential magazine.
Tim’s letter to MAD (click to enlarge)
From MAD v. 2 #4, December 2018
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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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In this episode, we discuss:
Plus, some creepy movie CGI in “cute” films.
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Mike Barr is perhaps best known for writing the late-’80s hit comic series Batman and the Outsiders. He also created Camelot 3000 and Katana, and wrote many other books for Marvel, DC, and other publishers.
On April 13, Mike Barr was a keynote speaker at the Bowling Green State University (Ohio) Batman in Popular Culture conference. Tim was there, and recorded the whole thing, including the Q&A session. So enjoy the insightful, sometimes hilarious, presentation in this episode.
Click the image to enlarge
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In this episode, we discuss:
Plus: Of course we have to publicize our comics, podcasts, and so on, and our crowdfunding for them. But when does all-out self-promotion become off-putting?
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Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s Batman: The Killing Joke is a favorite of many, but also a tough read more many others. And perhaps there’s some overlap.
In this episode we meet two who both spoke on this book at recent Batman in Popular Culture conference in Bowling Green, Ohio:
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FLASHBACK! In light of the recent announcement that MAD will be ceasing publication, we re-present this episode from October 5, 2015:
While early 1950s anti-comics hysteria eventually resulted in the cancellation of nearly all their books, EC Comics still had one thing going for them: MAD! Written by Harvey Kurtzman and drawn by some of the best comics artists of the age, this parody comic set the template for much that came after it. But can the humor still be appreciated today? What are we to think of some of the attitudes on display toward, say, women or certain ethnic groups? Tim and Kumar discuss.
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In this episode, Tim and Mulele discuss:
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One of the most acclaimed Marvel runs of the 1980s was by Walt Simonson on The Mighty Thor. He began writing and drawing it with #337, continued through to #367 (with a quick break in the middle), then gave up art duties but continued writing through #382. This run set aside Dr. Don Blake, focused on mythical threats rather than earthly ones, and injected some humor into what had sometimes been a fairly dry, dour book. Tim and Kumar look back to assess this important run.
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