The Comics Cast is back with a two-month mega-episode, and we take the opportunity to go into more depth about some ongoing stories. For Dan, that means all Spider-Man all the time. Meanwhile, in what could be a sign of impending apocalypse, CJ augments his DC selections with Image and Marvel!

Comics Discussed

• Justice League #15,16
• Aquaman #15,16
• Amazing Spider-Man #700
• Invincible #99, 100
• Action Comics #15,16
• Avenging Spider-Man #16
• Before Watchmen: Minutemen #6
• Young Avengers #1
• Superior Spider-Man #1,2
• Flash #15
• Batman and Robin Annual #1

Crunchy Bits!

Intro and Outro music: Pixelguru by Subatomicglue.

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2012 is almost over, and the Comics Cast slips under the wire with our recap of November’s releases. While CJ is left at a loss for words by Invincible, Dan has to deal with something he long considered impossible: a load of really good X-books!

Comics Discussed

• Batman, Inc. #5
• Red Hood and the Outlaws #14
• Uncanny X-Force #33, #34
• Uncanny Avengers #2
• Aquaman #14
• Amazing Spider-Man #698
• Invincible #97
• All-New X-Men #1-3
• Demon Knights #14

Crunchy Bits!

Intro and Outro music: Pixelguru by Subatomicglue.

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October in the New52 give us ghost dogs and giant gorillas, and the end of a masquerade that boldly forges its own continuity. Meanwhile, Dan delves into Marvel’s extended Now, as villains are reborn, teams are shuffled and creators ride off into the sunset. We round out the episode with Invincible – wherein CJ makes what will prove to be a wildly incorrect guess about the tone of the next month’s issue.

Comics Discussed

• Captain America #18,19
• Teen Titans #13
• Action Comics #13
• Batman Inc #4
• Green Lantern #13
• Flash #13
• Daredevil #19
• Before Watchmen: Minutemen #4
• Wolverine and the X-Men #19
• Uncanny Avengers #1
• Invincible #96

Trigger Warning

Minutemen #4, which we discuss from about 51 minutes to the 1 hour mark in the recording, continues to deal with sensitive topics. This issue deals with the aftermath of a hate crime and of an attempted rape.

Crunchy Bits!

Intro and Outro music: Pixelguru by Subatomicglue.

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How does that go? “Zero Zero Zero Destruct Zero?”

Yes, September was Zero Month for the New 52, so CJ barrels through a huge number of early tales, revised origins, and blatant concept cheats in this extra-big episode! Meanwhile, Dan gives us an eclectic collection of Marvel books that he collectively describes as “Fantastic”!

Comics Discussed

• Green Lantern #0
• Aquaman #0
• Justice League #0
• Batman Inc #0
• Teen Titans #0
• New Avengers #30
• Winter Soldier #10,#11
• Legion of Super-Heroes #0
• Legion Lost #0
• Superboy #0
• Hawkeye #2
• Daredevil #18
• Wonder Woman #0
• Sword of Sorcery #0
• Team 7 #0
• Punisher #15,#16
• Action Comics #0
• Earth 2 #0
• Flash #0
• Uncanny X-Force #31

Crunchy Bits!

Intro and Outro music: Pixelguru by Subatomicglue.

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After a bit too long of a wait, the Comics Cast is back! Each of Dan’s books this month shipped double issues, while CJ has a pair of Annuals to add to the fun. Meanwhile, a character that grew up in VR becomes trapped in an iPad! Also, one of the Before Watchmen titles follows in its namesake’s footsteps by being simultaneously compelling and repulsive.

Comics Discussed

• Amazing Spider-Man #691, #692
• Green Lantern #12 & Green Lantern Annual #1
• Flash #12 & Flash Annual #1
• A Justice-League focused rant
• Invincible Iron Man #522, #523
• Before Watchmen: Minutemen #3
• DC Universe Presents #12 Kid Flash
• Daredevil #16, #17

Trigger warning

Before Watchmen: Minutemen #3 includes scenes of attempted rape, sex trafficking, blatant homophobia, and the aftermath of gun violence. Our discussion of the issue (about 1:02 to 1:16 in the recording), while less explicit, references these events and their consequences.

Crunchy Bits!

Intro and Outro music: Pixelguru by Subatomicglue.

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Gen Con lesson #1: Get the comics cast out before Gen Con, because you’ll be too busy afterwards to deal with it!

Gen Con lesson #2: People listen to the Comics Cast! It was my first time at Gen Con & it was really great to meet a bunch of listeners of the CC and our APs. Thanks, everyone!

Now back to business: Dan and I started the episode talking about The Dark Knight Rises, and that led into a slightly rantier than usual episode…

Comics Discussed

• Batman #11
• Justice League #11
• Aquaman #11
• Saga #5
• Hypernaturals #1
• Invincible #93
• Avenging Spider-Man #9
• Blue Beetle #11

Crunchy Bits!

Intro and Outro music: Pixelguru by Subatomicglue.

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The Past is Prologue! Rogues get reimagined! The gates of Hades are stormed! And that’s just the DC half of this month’s Comics Cast. Meanwhile, Avengers VS X-Men begins its second act, and Dan has a lot to say about it – and about the structure of crossovers in general!

Comics Discussed

• Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1
• Batman, Inc #2
• Flash #10
• Legion Lost #10
• Avengers VS X-Men #6
• Wolverine and the X-Men #12
• Uncanny X-Men #14
• Wonder Woman #10

Crunchy Bits!

Intro and Outro music: Pixelguru by Subatomicglue.

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The Comics Cast returns after a mysterious absence! So, you know, at least we’re still doing better than Wally West! CJ confronts the wave of crossovers sweeping across the DCU, while Dan seeks shelter from the storm of AvX in the welcoming arms of… Image?

Topics

• The Culling (Teen Titans Annual #1, Superboy #9, Legion Lost #9, and Teen Titans #9)
• Saga #3
• Action Comics #9
• Batman Inc #1
• Red Hood and the Outlaws #8,#9
• FCBD
• Fatale #5
• Earth 2 #1
• Avengers and new comics readers
• Winter Soldier #5

Crunchy Bits!

Intro and Outro music: Pixelguru by Subatomicglue.

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In this month’s Comics Cast, some of our books take bold new directions while others flounder under the weight of expectations. The Court of Owls earns respect at Batman’s expense, but can Darkseid make the fledgling Justice League look tough by comparison? And who is that guy in the Invincible costume?

Comics discussed:

Batman #6
Red Hood and the Outlaws #6
Teen Titans #6
Wolverine and the X-Men #6
Invincible #88 and 89
Secret Avengers #22 and 23
Justice League #6

Crunchy Bits!

Intro and Outro music: Pixelguru by Subatomicglue.

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After missing a month due to real-life problems and technical disasters, the Comics Cast returns! We salvaged the two most mind-melting bits of what would have been our December episode, and added a batch of cool January comics. This may be the closest we ever come to emulating the scheduling triumphs of such classics as Flash: Rebirth, Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds, or even Planetary, so… uh, that’s good… right?

Comics discussed:

• Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes!
• Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #8
• Justice League #5
• Action Comics #5
• Aquaman #5
• Amazing Spider-Man #677
• Daredevil #8
• Secret Avengers #21

Crunchy Bits!

• Intro and Outro music: Pixelguru by Subatomicglue.

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