80-Pagecast 26: We Know Robots

We dig giant robots. So the gang talks about robots, news, cyborgs, Jem, artificial intelligence, Revolutionary War: Motormouth, androids, Transformers: Regeneration One #100, Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #27, Transformers: Robots In Disguise #27, Transformers Dark Cybertron Chapter 12, robot shipping, and that we're still surprised by how much we love Alex Milne. The topic is all robots all the time.

80-Pagecast 25: Lightning Round

The boys are back to blather on about books and bobs. Chatting about more comics than usual at a break neck pace including Mighty Avengers, Superior Foes, X-Files: Conspiracy: Transformers, Fantastic Four, FF, Revolutionary War: Super Soldiers, Judge Dredd, Archie: The Married Life, Zombo, Moon Knight, Loki: Agent of Asgard, and Hawkeye. We have a topic again, when not having Transformers based digressions. The topic of crazy comics turned into movies because holy crow Rocket Raccoon and Groot are in a movie coming out this year what could be next?

80-Pagecast 24: Hooked on Feels

The Olympics are over but this Galaxy still needs Guarding. We're doing our best by talking about New Warriors, Judge Dredd, more (surprise) Transformers talk, Amazing X-men, She-Hulk, Death's Head, and many meandering topics along the way such as our love of toys, toys, toys. Don't forget to show some love to Bill Mantlo the creator of Rocket Raccoon. Also share with Jen if you have some left over.

80-Pagecast 23: Here Comes a New Challenger

The Big Game delayed us, but the Olympics will not stop us. We're back to blather on about this, that, and the other thing with our new old friend Matt. Specifically more on Transformers: Dark Cybertron, touching on Beast Hunters, the new Ms Marvel, and the nude in a shower scene Loki: Agent of Asgard. Also we talk about sports and cassette tapes for some reason. We do so enjoy going off topic.

Phantom's not good enough for my Granddaughter.

The Phantom was both a daily comic strip and a weekly Sunday strip. The Sunday strips were originally presented in glorious full colour. But they also get printed in black and white. The strip I wanna look at today is from 1955, and it's called A Proper Husband.

The Phantom comic strips had two driving forces for drama back in the day. There were the adventure plots that the Phantom was involved in. Fighting pirates -- that sort of thing. But there was also his romance with Diana Palmer. In fact the romance with Diana was often front and centre as the spur that got him INTO adventures and strips quite often barely had the Phantom in it, for weeks on end, as we followed Diana.

So let's do that. Let's follow Diana for a few weeks, waiting for the Phantom to show up.

Hooo boy. I can already tell this is gunna be good!

80-Pagecast 22: Rising like a Pheonix

This fortnight we reflect upon comics such as Deadpool Gauntlet, Superior Spider-man (again), Superior Foes (again), Afterlife with Archie (smell), Revolutionary War (UK flashback), Dark Cybertron & Transformers breaking news, Young Avengers (joyously gay), Harley Quinn (girl Deadpool), and 7 Billion Needles (read right to left). Then ramble on some about our favorite & most hated comicbook character resurrections.

80-Pagecast 21: 2013: A Year That Happened

The Year of the Snake is ending, it was filled with Spider-mans anyway. The Year of the Horse is coming, but Dark Horse won't have Star Wars much longer. We look back at what we read and saw in the last year. The good. The bad. Take them both and there you have this episode. Plus we talk about the Windblade kerfuffle because we are massive Transformers fans.

80-Pagecast 20: The Island of Misfit Comics

How long will Superman wait for Gadot? Will Amazing Spider-man 2 turn Manhattan into the island of the Sinister Six? All this and more as we talk about those odd little forgotten comics we like to read and wish would get more love. Also we yammer on and get sidetracked about Transformers: Robots in Disguise & More than Meets the Eye in Cyber Monda--- err DARK CYBERTRON, Amazing Spider-man 700.1, and Godzilla: Rules of the Earth.

Atom vs. a bird.

So... I started trying to experience more DC comics through back issues sometime last year. One of the reasons for this is that I have some credit at my local comic book store for back issues... which means they don't really cost me anything.

But why in the world did I pick up issues of Power of the Atom? Shrinking is a terrible power for a super hero! Oh well... at least there was this amusing scene in issue 4:

It's in two parts. The exciting conclusion comes after a few more thoughts I have on the idea of Ray Palmer.

Something must happen--!

I just love this panel. Time was, Frew Comics would edit out the continuity text in their reprints of Phantom comic strips. In the 1990s things changed and they started trying to print all Phantom comics as completely as possible. I'm so glad they decided to.

--Andrew S.
(I really love that panel.)