Comic News Recap: The Best Comics of March, Disney Legend Steve Ditko, X-Men '97, and Comic Picks for May

Ed is back! And so are The Comic Gents (Chris Hacker & Greg Licktieg), for Ep. 422, to talk about the best comics from the month of March, Steve Ditko's induction into the 2024 class of Disney Legends, X-Men '97, and the comics coming out in May that you don't want to miss! And, if you'll be at C2E2 this month, join our live podcast show on Friday, April 26th

Watch the unedited video version of this week's show on YouTube

Listen to this week's special bonus episode, and enjoy exclusive early-access to weekly episodes before anyone else, over on our Patreon channel (here)!

PREVIEW THE COMICS MENTIONED THIS EPISODE: 

• Ed - Somna, Hack/ Slash: Back to School
• Greg - I Heart Skull-Crushers, Napalm Lullaby
• Chris - Man's Best
• Badr - Batman/ Dylan Dog, Beneath The Trees
• Ben's Top 3 Comic Picks for May: Masters Of The Universe: Revolution #1, Bear Pirate Viking Queen #1, The Whisper Queen: A Blacksand Tale #1 
• Read SKTCHD's article: An Exploration of the Connection Between Comics and Podcasts

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Transcript

Comic News Recap: The Best Comics of March, Disney Legend Steve Ditko, X-Men '97, and Comic Picks for May - The Short Box Podcast Ep. 422

00:01
Intro music plays

00:30
Yo, Shortbox Nation, welcome back to another episode. Thanks for joining us. If you're new, welcome to the show. My name is Badr and this is The Short Box Podcast, the comic book talk show that brings you the best conversations about comic books with the people that put their blood, sweat, and tears into making them. And you know, that includes more than just the creators, right, outside of the artists and the amazing writers and creators, that also applies to the fan boys, the podcasters and you know.

00:59
The other folks that appreciate comic books like we all do. Short box nation, we're taking a break from the usual creator interviews today. I kind of just want to unwind. I just want to catch up on life. I want to catch up some comic news with the homies today. And thusly, I've got the comic gents back on the podcast. I've got the amazing Greg Lickteig from the First Issue Club. What up, Greg? Oh, I should probably reach over and give a little applause. Sound effect. But you know, give them a real one right there. What up, Greg? I want the authentic thing. Give me them real hands on hands action.

01:28
I also love that Greg tipped his hat like everyone can see. I guess you can see on YouTube. Comic book gentlemen. Oh, my good sir. Just my monocle. The real ones heard it. Yeah. And I can't, and I can't, this ain't no, the comic gents aren't in the house unless Chris Hacker's also here. Ah. That's true. What up, Chris Hacker? What's going on everybody? Short Box Nation. We are back and we've got some Tom Foolery to talk about today here on this episode. Damn right. We all have different levels of beard growth, I've noticed.

01:55
I think Bodard knew it at the beginning. I just shaped it. It was looking full earlier, but it was just too scratchy. All right. I am a wimp when it comes to growing up. Tough it out, man. I'm like, oh, it's so inchy, baby. Get the coconut oil. And really quick, really quick. I know that we're having a good time, and we're hitting the ground running. Let's get serious. But I want to go ahead and put a spotlight. Oh. The especial Edmund Dansart is back. I wasn't fired, everybody.

02:29
From behind the paywall, I am back. And I was banished. I was banished behind the paywall. Not true. Your content was just so good. Why would I give that shit out for free? Yeah, it's not like a yo MTV rep t-shirt. I'm better than that. But Ed has been dropping some bangers of some solo episodes over on the Patreon. If you're a patron of the short box, you already know this. You probably already enjoyed some of those episodes, but Ed is out here.

02:58
creating his own solo review shows. Edward, what are some of the topics you've covered? You've covered- I did Madame Web. Madame Web review. So you took one for the team. It's like a big hit for the team. That's how much I love our Patreon people. That is true. Not that they asked for it. I paid for that ticket, sat in a theater and watched it. I didn't pirate it from some Russian website. I actually paid good money to see it. And I did a, what else did I do? Keith Giffin tribute. And I'm working on something now. I'm just kind of a blog.

03:28
Oh, hell yeah. A 1992 tribute year in comics, which is going to basically be my love letter to Image and making fun of Death of Superman. But I'm still figuring out how to write that. So it's on the way. It's going to be... Nightfall in there somewhere too? Oh yeah. All the cash grabs, all the terrible 90s stuff that looking back is horrible. The beginning of the era that we're in right now. Before the crash.

03:54
Events and speculation. Right before comics became worthless. Yes. That's right. But at my peak fandom, I would say that was like my most fanatical X-Men. Jim Lee's X-Men was out a year before all those rock stars form Image. It's I was at the right age at that right time to really love that stuff. So it sounds like if patrons want to hear your deep dive into 1992 and image comics, they got to check out Patreon.com slash the short box.

04:22
But shameless plugs aside and this long drawn-out intro aside I think the most important piece of news that we could kick things off with this episode We can finally share that we've been approved the this this trio of knuckleheads myself Chris and Craig have been somehow approved to do and host a panel at C2e2 Nice band of degenerates. Yeah, this band of degenerates is gonna get past security. Oh, man jokes aside

04:50
We are taking this show on the road. So if you'll be at C2E2 in Chicago in April, I highly advise come checking out our live comic podcast crossover live show. It'll be myself representing the short box. We're going to have Chris and Aaron representing the Oblivion Bar and Greg representing First Issue Club. And you know, I was thinking maybe, depending on who I can corral, who else is going to be there, maybe we'll have some guest joins, some other comic podcasters, some secret, you know.

05:19
Rob Liefeld? Wait, is Rob Liefeld even going to C2E2? I don't know. He's not even. He's not tabling. He's just going to go to show up and critique our shows. That's all he's going to do. Oh, that'd be good. Hey, don't fuck it. I'll take it. I think we can share, too, that we've got a date and time. So it'll be Friday, April 26, at 11 15 to 12 15. I don't think we have a room yet. Did they announce a room yet? Just out on the street. We'll be on the street yelling.

05:46
We'll be in the back by the dumpster. This isn't a sanctioned panel. It's just us outside screaming. Just shouting outside of your local Lou Malanella's, the pizza place. Yeah. Find where the catering is at and where they're throwing their trash. We'll be right there. With some tin cans and string. Live from Rob Liefeld's booth at C2E2, we are the. Now, I'm looking forward to it once again. At C2E2 on Friday.

06:13
April 26th at 11.15. Come join the Comic Podcast crossover live show with the short box of the Oblivion Bar and First Issue Club. You know, speaking about cons really quick, just a callback to the last time we were all together. Greg, you were hyping up. I completely forgot the name of the convention that you were hyping up at the time, was it? Planet Comic Con? How'd it go? In a sentence or two, how'd it go? It went amazing.

06:40
We were with Boulevard Brewing Company. We were Comic Book Clairvoyance. So we've been giving tarot readings for people to find their next comic book that they were going to fall in love with. It was hugely successful. I wasn't expecting such a big response to it. Jason Aaron came over and got his fortune told. CB Sobovsky was there. And he came over and got his fortune told. He wasn't just there. He was lingering around your booth. He was hovering.

07:08
He was, it was actually a really cool moment. He came over and we did this little activation form and when he was all done, he was just like, this is better than anything that I've ever seen at a Comic Con. Wow. And he's like, you guys should work at Marvel. And we're all like, oh yeah, like anytime, brother. It was honestly the weirdest thing because no one knew he was going to be there. Like he was there just looking at portfolios and stuff. And it's kind of like, you know.

07:37
Seeing the celebrity out in the street. You're just like what the fuck is that Harrison Ford and? You're kind of awestruck for a moment and then you know, we talked about beer and comic books Greg I think you just did the impossible and compared Marvel editor-in-chief C. B. Sobovsky to There's a lot of adjectives to describe Harrison Ford, but you somehow compared the two You know, I bet he gets it a lot. I'm sure they both have a fear of snakes

08:05
Good I'm glad you had a good time and I'm glad they wanted to die in the Star Wars movie. That's the same. Yeah Have any of you ever tried to One that's interesting that he was there to look at portfolios. I think that's that's pretty cool I guess I don't know how that process works I've never gone to an artist or writer and wanting to show but I don't have any work to show but have any of you Guys ever try that Ed this might be more geared towards you. Have you ever went to convention? No

08:32
I've seen enough people at cons try to give stuff to artists. And I think the nicest response that they all give is just like, I can't, I would love to. That's not my forte. I don't know how to critique people's work. And that's fine. That's like that's that's the appropriate answer, because then those people will just be mobbed with that their entire con experience. And that's not really why they're there. Yeah, there's a time and place for that. Exactly. Yes. And that's why C.B.

09:02
Yeah, and I heard enough Neil Adams horror stories. I was like, I'm not doing this. Oh, I think Neil Adams would do it for fun. Just like, let me rip this person to shreds real quick. Everybody, yeah. S&Ps are the great, man. Chris, what about you? You ever try to get anything checked out? Or do you know anyone that has done the portfolio review at a convention and their interaction? Oh, absolutely, yeah. So like I said before, I work for Comic Sketch Art. So I'm often seeing these interactions. A lot of times fans will come up to creators and be like, hey, here's my portfolio. What do you think?

09:30
Like Greg was saying, a lot of times they can't offer any, they can't ever like offer to collaborate, but they will often give them tips. From what I understand, I remember a very specific moment with Sweeney Boo. She's very like open to helping people because she's kind of, she's not new in the industry, but she's kind of hit this new level of stardom here recently. So like she has made it. And so she is that she is where folks want to get in there with her craft. So I will say, and this is sort of a pessimistic sort of like dumpy take. So just bear with me for a moment.

09:59
If you are a huge fan of a creator and you have something very specifically dear to you that you want to give them, don't do that because it will get lost or stepped on or crushed at some point. Throw it in the garbage. The creators from what I've seen, I'm not going to name one specifically, but when I see someone accepting something, they're always very gracious. They're thankful, all the things. It will just be left on the floor at the convention. You're cleaning up at the end on Sunday night and there's this hand knitted.

10:27
elephant that somebody spent probably six weeks on on the floor. And again, I don't, I don't blame the creators for that. It's just, they're so busy doing things all the time. It probably just got lost in the sauce kind of thing, but just be aware if you're listening to this right now, don't take something valuable to and give it to a creator. You know, that's not a good idea. And throw it right in the garbage. It's cut out that middle step there. Put your passions towards, towards other things. Right.

10:53
And I gotta have you back on the show more often, man. That was good. I forgot. I forgot I got the one line. Sorry. You almost forgot I was on the show. I was like, what's your name again? I'm like, Ashley, you did so good. And I heard you at my house. Oh, good. All right, Jess, I want to get to our first topic of the day. And I think this is an easy one to get us warmed up as we prepare for the rest of the show. And by the time this episode comes out, it'll be the first week of April. We're recording this on March 28th, wrapping up March officially closing out the first quarter of the year.

11:22
And I want to know what's the best comic book that you've read this month that you would recommend to someone else when you think of March. And I mean, maybe if you want to extend it past March and just talk Q1, that's fine. But I want a guy, Ed, to take it away, you know, because it's been a minute. Yeah. And, you know, go ahead and do it. Do us the privileges, Ed. I'm going to recommend Somna by its fairly new company Distillery, the DSTLRY. And I don't know too much about them. I know it's founded by one of the...

11:50
co-founders of Comixology, I believe. And they have a cool magazine format, actually. Probably missed this too, but all right. Ooh, surprises. So it's Becky Clunin. Actually, I have read these. Oh, you have read these, okay. I've read these at nighttime. Super horny book, very spicy, guys. Read them at nighttime. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, Tula's involved, so it's gonna be horny as hell. I think there's a sticker on it that says read during demon time. So Becky Clunin is writing and back on art duties. I like seeing her.

12:19
drawing again. I know she's been doing a lot of writing lately. And Tula Lete does the dream sequences. So two of my future ex-wives. Basically, it's like 1600s kind of witch trial era. This lady's having these really, really spicy dreams about sex with a demon or something. That's one of my favorite genres in fiction is just like witches.

12:42
witches having sex and like being witches because they have sex. Yeah. She's married to this prude who hunts witches. So, uh, oh, I hope he doesn't find out. She's gonna get hung. She's married to like the 1800s version of Ben Shapiro. Yeah. It looks like, yeah, he's got a pilgrim's hat. Like there's even one, one issue where he's like, you know, super horned up with these dreams and he's like, ah, woman wench, I have a trial to attend. So I have a witches to burn. I have no time for this carnal activity. You're so Cathy in the bed.

13:12
I know. So very cool. Love the art. I like the two artists doing like kind of the dream sequence and then kind of the back in reality, like the two very different styles. I like the format. I've gotten a handful of their books and I do love that magazine format. It really pops out when you go to the store and it's like really high production. Very nice. Very nice stuff. So I definitely recommend checking out that publisher. So you're saying that, Sumna is the best comic you've read this past month. It's the...

13:41
Best, yeah that and I got to have another few tricks. Zoe Thurgood's hack slash go to school. Really like that mini series but I think some I just, just kind of just the presentation and the production value of it. It's just definitely edges that out a little bit. Love it. Said this on the show plenty of times. I tend to read my books at nighttime, iPad, digital reader and that's definitely a book I wait until I fall asleep. Mood lighting on, light some candles, and on some Sade.

14:09
Yeah. So do not disturb no door. Are you reading your witch book again? Your horny witch book. Shut up. Well, and I'm reading my witch book. We don't talk anymore. Sade's on your list. So I'm not. I don't understand the correlation, but I know what's going on.

14:32
Anytime side air a warm bath is being run. We know some Psalm knows about that. Yeah, love is king. It's like a trail of rose petals to the book. A warm bath with an iPad. Greg, I tossed a question to you, my man. What's the best comic book you read this month and or quarter? Being a host of a podcast that focuses on first issues, I'm fully ready for this question. And I have fallen in love with two books in March. One is I Heart Skullcrusher out on Boom.

15:02
by Josie Campbell and Alessio Zona. Zono, excuse me. This is basically just like if Toonami was made into a comic book. It is like hyper-stylized, like anime, manga influenced. It is bonkers. It's so cool. It's about like this dystopian sport that is hyper-violent and this girl wants to like join this league. You meet all these like crazy characters. It's One Piece meets FIFA. Like...

15:31
I fully recommend it. Did you like spin a wheel and was like, all right, I'm just going to throw out a bunch of adjectives and comparisons. Spiva, tsunami, mad libs, I need a sports. Yeah, I did mad libs. And I need an anime. He typed in neckbeard into chat GPT, and those are all the words that came out. The cover for the first issue definitely caught my eye, and I kind of beat myself up. That is very tsunami. You're right on the money. Yeah. Once you read it, you're just like, god damn, that Greg guy's really fucking smart.

16:01
This is very much my jam too. This is like exactly what I want out of a comic. It's like a Dragon Ball. She's slicing a Dragon Ball in half. He looks like, yeah, exactly. It looks like the Dragon Ball manga cover, right? Like the Akira Toriyama kind of covers that he used to make. It's just fun. It's just a fun book. If it even has that weird typography, a lot of the mangas have. I'm telling you, go check it out. And then my last one was Napalm Lullaby on Image by Rick Remender in Bengal. It's another dystopian book.

16:30
that features magic and religious zealots. It's Rickremender. This is the most fleshed out Rickremender book I've read in a long time. I love every Rickremender book. And this book, from the jump, I was fully immersed in the world. The characters I was immediately attached to. The artwork by Bengal is just standard brilliance per usual. So if you're into that kind of stuff, go check out Naipamalabai.

16:59
It is a certified banger. Can I offer a quick nitpick on this series? I don't know if this is a, because there are a lot of great variants for this series. You got one for Daniel Warren Johnson, one from Yannick Paquette. We've got, let's see here, James Harden. But the thing is, they're one in, so they have the ratio variants, one in 10, one in 25, one 50, one 100, whatever. This has a one in 10th, or actually there's.

17:27
a one in five, there's a one in 10, there's a one in 20, 30, 40, 50, and a one in 60 with Sanford Green as the one 60. So he has, they've, they've created a variant for every 10. Yeah. I don't know why that bothers me, but it does. I don't know why. I think that's cause this is like on Rick Remender's, um, giant generator. Yeah. Giant generator. So this is, I think their way of trying to generate, uh, some income bars.

17:55
How about generating some sales, remember? Yeah. I spit bars. I don't like variant ratios to begin with. And when you get up to like one in 60, it's just like, what the fuck are we doing? Like, just don't do it. Don't do it at that point. Can I say, can I admit publicly, for as long as I've been talking comics, reading comics, anytime I go into the shop and I see a cool cover behind the counter, I'm like, oh, Ben, what's the deal with that? He's like.

18:24
That's the one in 75. I pretend to know what he's talking about. I'm like, Oh yeah, yeah, for sure. You don't know the ratios? Incentive. I play around, but I think I do. Right. It means that for every 75 that a shop orders, they have a chance to get that one. Yes. And it could be any cover, any of the normal like regular 499 covers. Just, I think this is 499 for this Napalm Lullaby. 40 pages though. That's a good amount for 499. Yeah, it's a solid buy-in. I guess what I should say is it's not that I don't understand it. It's just that I immediately hear that translates to is very expensive.

18:53
That's what it usually means. Yeah. It's a 175. It means it's not your price range. It means it's probably like 20 bucks. In my shop, I know if it's in the glass case, I'm just not even like... That's fair. If they get a great artist to do a variant, I have been known to indulge in a variant here and there, but I always hate myself afterwards after I do it. I'm like, why did you do this? Why did you spend $80 for this Daniel Warren Johnson cover? He does normal covers on Transformers. It's free. Greg, I got one question for you before I hand it to Chris to tell us about his favorite comic of the month. You must have a lot of first issues.

19:22
How many of those, how many new series are you seeing like to the end? Like I know you probably, you do a lot of like first issue reading. How often do you get to like the second issue of a series or like all the way through? Well I'll tell you this, I have 5,000 comics in my collection, all first issues. I've never read a second issue in my life. Wow, that's awesome. I don't know. Second issue, what? Yeah, it's not called Second Issue Club, Bodder.

19:49
You know, I would say about 75% of the first issues that we read get to the second issue. And from that, 50, you finish out the series. Because right now, we're seeing kind of a renaissance in the micro series of like five to six series long things. And that's really easy to kind of like see your way through. And usually by issue three on one of those, you're just like, I can bail.

20:17
Or you're just like, I'll wait out two more issues to see how it ends up. But it sounds like you have the makings of a fantastic Patreon series called The Second Issue Club. The Second Issue Club. Other Issue Club. Other Issues Club. You know, as a longtime listener of The First Issue Club, I don't think I've ever heard you guys talk about a second issue or any other issue besides the first. So you guys are very on brand. So kudos for that. All right, Chris, same question to you. What's been the best comic book that you've read this month? Well.

20:46
listeners of the show from episode 417 that we were on together last time, they know that I'm a big Tom King fan. I would have said hell of a Winhorn by Tom King and Backella Evelie, but of course, I already talked about that last episode. It did officially come out. I had already read it at that time, but it officially came out I think on March 12th if I'm not mistaken. I won't say that. I will say instead, Man's Best Number One from Boom Studios written and actually speaking of First Issue Club, I think I heard you guys talk about this maybe.

21:15
Two weeks ago or last week perhaps on the show. Last week. Yeah. And I'm going to butcher his name, but I'm going to try my best here. Porn sack, Pishindo, Pishincho. What? Is that how you say his name? Porn sack? Porn sack is his first name, yes. You got the first name right. Why are you nodding like you're the expert of pronouncing? Pishincho? You're a funny guy. But I've heard it enough to where I at least know the first name.

21:40
Truly, what got me onto the book was not Porn Sack. It was illustrated by Jesse Lonergan, who is, in my opinion, one of the undiscovered geniuses in our medium. I'm also, shameless plug, I'm a loyal patron of his as well. I'm a giant fan of his work. It's just great. Greg, I don't mean to just pass the buck off to you because it's my segment, my entry here, but I love how you guys described it. I think you said something to the effect of

22:08
is like homeward bound but in space kind of thing. Yeah, which I think is maybe even part of the initial pitch. Basically, it's about this group of scientists who travel this new planet that pops up out of nowhere and they have these three dogs with them. And as they enter the atmosphere of this planet, they crash land and the humans are gone. And basically, it's these three dogs having to find their way on this planet and they're encountering these different enemies, got very high science fiction robots and things like that.

22:36
I don't want to give away too much in case you haven't read it yet, but because it's relatively new, I think it just again came out like last week or the week before. But I highly recommend it. Again, if nothing else, it is a great read, but if nothing else, if this is your entryway into Jesse Lonergan and his work, welcome. Welcome to the fan club. It's incredible here. The water's warm, so enjoy. That is such a solid book to have in hand. It feels like it's money well spent. I mean, call it a $5 book.

23:04
The cover feels nice. It feels like it's made on some sturdy paper. Boom Studios has been really good about that. Boom specifically. More than I would say any other than the big two when you're not paying $7.99, Boom Studios is often, their quality of the paper, and they've worked really hard on that, I think, here recently. It's worth commending, for sure. For sure. And the amount of animal books that I'm reading between, what is it, Animal Pound? Animal Pound, yeah.

23:33
Now man's best and I feel like there's a third one. I'm not thinking you're reading feral speaking of air of Tony fleece I just picked yeah, I just picked up feral number one. I need to Adopt a cat or a dog or something. I mean I know the Disney covers raunchy Disney No, I haven't uh, I haven't died into that fandom yet. All right, Chris. That's a good pick I'm gonna go ahead and chime in here and say that Mine is a toss-up because I am

24:01
You know incapable of just choosing one. So mine is a toss-up between Batman and Dylan Dog number one which came out earlier in march and Uh, I actually passed up on it the week of release That is something that I went back to and grabbed myself. You thought Dylan Dog was an actual dog and you're like Nah, nothing false advertising. There's no dogs in this. Yeah, boo The only thing I knew about this comic was that Dylan Dog is a long time

24:30
He's a detective type character. He's got a butler. I'm doing a terrible job. It's an Italian horror comic. It's been around since 1986. So I knew of that part. Wasn't quite sure about this comic book per se. I passed up on it, came, ended up reading some stuff about it, seeing like it got some pretty good praise, went back and picked it up and man, solid first issue and really good value.

24:59
for your money. I think it's a $4.99 book, but it feels like an annual, like a deluxe or something. You get a couple more pages. It's written by, and this is my turn to go ahead and mess up some names and pronunciation, but it's written by Roberto Ricciani and art by Gigi Cavanago and Werther Del Adara, who I believe is the artist for Slaughterhouse or House of Slaughter. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Is that Werther Del Adara?

25:29
If I'm wrong, I welcome correction. But anyways, so the best way I can describe Batman and Dylan Dogg is, do you guys remember those Marvel DC crossovers from the 90s where it's like, specifically, not Amalgam, but specifically like Batman and Spider-Man, where they teamed up and it was like, they got to fight each other's villains, where it was Carnage and Batman and the Max, you know, something like that. Yeah, something like that. So it's kind of in that regard, where it's Batman teaming up with Dylan Dogg, you know, reluctantly.

25:57
Because the Joker. There's a misunderstanding at first. They fight each other. Oh, absolutely. Then they realize they're both good guys. And Dylan Dogg is actually shacking up, shagging up with Catwoman, which you end up learning. Oh, my god. There's a little bit of that. Meow. So both detectives end up teaming up to stop. Shacking up. OK. You like that? Yeah, it's pretty good. A little modern slang thrown in there. Yeah, modern slang. Did Dylan Dogg riz up Catwoman? Is that what we're talking about here? Yeah.

26:22
So it's Batman, Dillon Dogg teaming up to stop Joker and I guess in the Dillon Dogg universe, his main villain is someone by the name of Le Jokere The Wee Wee The Ha Ha Man The Wee Wee Man Wait, it's Italian or French? Italian, right? You know, I'm just gonna read the solicitation here In Batman slash Dillon Dogg number one, the titular detectives unite to stop the Joker and Mephistophilian Izabris

26:51
I tried to say exactly. Hellish new partnership from Blossoming, the debut issue of the new mini-series, were revealed to readers how the Dark Knight and Dylan crossed paths in the past and how their uneasy alliance began and what the Clown Prince of Crime and the evil scientist Zabaras have in store for the series protagonist. So if you are someone that misses the kind of watercolor, flowy, Gothic, European style stylings of like,

27:21
say Mobius or Tim Sale. I think you would really appreciate this. The artwork looks amazing. And even if you don't know anything about Dylan Dogg like I did, it's a really good crash course. I think you get a good vibe of comedy meets, because Dylan Dogg is just a cool guy. He's like. Dylon Dogg? Dylon Dogg, top five dog. Dylon Dogg, Dylon Dogg, Dylon Dogg. Because he spits out fire.

27:47
Now, I've been told that the Dillon Dogg movie, Dead of Night, which came out in 2010, stars Brandon Ruth, was hot garbage. But I can see why Brandon Ruth would play a character like him. He's very, like Dillon Dogg in this particular issue is very kind of carefree. He's always kind of hard on his luck, but down on his luck. He's kind of clumsy, but at the same time, he's secretly a badass. So if you kind of like those type of characters, and then when you juxtapose it with Batman, who's very rigid, methodical, planned out.

28:17
I think it makes for some cool interactions. I want to say years ago, I think, was it Dark Horse who brought some of those volumes over or translated them? I have no idea. But it sounds like something Dark Horse would do. Yeah. All right. And then so between Batman, Dillon Dogg, number one, I will also say Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, issue four, which is I thought it was going to be the last issue of this particular series, but I think they've got two more issues to go. One of the best comic books I've read, not only all month, but all quarter.

28:46
Holy moly. Patrick just keeps doing it. I don't know how he does it. Patrick Horvath is a beast. Ed, have you, I feel like this book is right up your alley. Have you heard anything about Beneath the Trees? I think I have issue one. I haven't read it yet. I guarantee when you read issue one, you're going to want to go to your shop. It's one of the best first issues. Oh my God, it is another issue. Oh my God. What is going on here? I think I might launch a furry podcast. It might be like the most anthropomorphic book out right now too. That's the funniest part. Stay away from my cat.

29:16
What's been the go-to describer for Beneath the Trees Nobody? It's Dexter meets Richard Scarry. Richard Scarry. Oh, Richard Scarry. Yeah. Is there a little worm driving an apple car? There is a point in issue one where Samantha, who's the anthropomorphic bear who we're following, the serial killer, she actually meets eyes with an actual bear at one point, which is something that Patrick, we actually, shameless plug here, we had him on the show a couple weeks ago.

29:42
And he made a very specific point about how like Richard Scarry inspired that panel because I don't remember exactly how he described it, but it was something like the complete absurdity of this anthropomorphic bear looking directly at an actual bear and her being more of the creature of the night kind of like murderer is an interesting kind of thought. So that's kind of like Pluto having like goofy having Pluto as a pet. Yeah, he said that exactly. He said it's the goofy

30:12
I cannot recommend that enough. I think it's probably like the best, it's the best comic book that I'm pulling. If I can add really quick. Didn't Patrick say that was supposed to be a graphic novel? I was going to say, so yeah, it was originally pitched as a graphic novel and Ady W actually came to him and said, this would work much better as single issues. And thank God they said that because just everyone listening right now, go to eBay right now and just look up how much Beneath the Tree Where Nobody Sees number one is going for right now because it's wild. But also along with that, I wanted to point out when we talked to Patrick, the plan is to do more.

30:42
It was originally pitched as a six issue series, but if it's up to IDW, I'm sure, and if Patrick wants to do more, which I think he does, they're going to do more Beneath the Trees for sure. Yeah, if they're a business that enjoys making money, they will do some more. There's more trees to be beneath. Trust me. For our listeners out there, I will have links to all of these books that we talked about in the show notes. So if you want to take a preview, check it out for yourself. Go to the show notes. We're going to move on to our next topic here.

31:11
which Ed, you brought to the table here. You, I had a feeling that you felt pretty strongly about this topic. So I'm going to let you toss it up. What we got for us. Hey guys, did you know Steve, Steve did Co was named a Disney legend. What does that mean? Well, let me tell you, I'm excited to find out. The program is a hall of fame program that recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary and integral

31:40
I forgot to write the word there. So I'm going to say contributions to the Walt Disney Company. But you're asking yourself, Ed, did Steve Ditko ever work for Disney? No, he sure hasn't. But before I get into that, this is a program they do every other year. So that's weird. Let me give you the class of 2024. Angela Bassett, James Cameron, cause he made a billion dollars with Avatar. Miley Cyrus, Frank Oz, fuzzy bear himself, John Williams, Harrison Ford and Jamie Lee Curtis.

32:10
And you're going to also say, but Ed didn't the did co family sue Disney a few years ago. I'm going to say, yeah, they did. And then you can say, but wait a minute. Didn't Disney countersue them? And I'm going to say, yeah, they did. And when did they settle last year? So he does join a very elite class of Jack Kirby and Steve did co are two members, the two only two members for right now that have sued Disney. So that puts them in high regard ward from Disney.

32:39
Is that part of the, I guess, like it's part of the settlement? I think so. Like, I guess we'll throw them a bone. Yeah. From what? Let's see. They'll do this kind of they'll do this half hazard bullshit instead of actually pay them money. Those give them a special thanks at the end of the movie, but they won't give them. Well, they did. They did settle. So the family did get money. Steve Ditko has been, you know, has passed for a little bit now. So so I'm guessing and I read this quote, I forgot the article. I apologize, but.

33:06
It's a, you know, the original characters, original creators dying in poverty is not a good look when you have made millions and billions of dollars on their IP. So is it disingenuous? Yeah, very much so. But the good thing is that when people ever look into this program, it's definitely may get some, I don't know if there's a physical like place where all these people are, but it does get people to know the name. It does kind of like, there's

33:34
another avenue for young fans to kind of, oh, this is the guy that did Spider-Man. That's cool. And like I said, it's, and Ditko and awards, he was never big on awards. He was a very private person. He just wanted to do his drawings and be left alone from the accounts I've read about him. RG And also like his two major contributions were Spider-Man, which our own movie right wise by- CB And Doctor Strange? RG Yeah. Doctor Strange. And then also The Question, which is over at DC. So it's like Steve Ditko and you know-

34:03
You were mentioning there, Ed, about how he was a very private person. He didn't give an interview after 1968. This guy did not want to talk to anybody. I think it's even been rumored that he turned down an interview with Will Eisner. Will Eisner tried to reach out to him for an interview and he still said no. I guess I understand the thought of maybe trying to rebuild a bridge with the Ditko estate.

34:27
This all feels very kind of gross. The photo of him, he has like the little, they photoshopped the little Disney ears you can get at the gift shop. Well, Ed, this is crazy. I just got 2026's lineup for the, for the Disney legends and Alan Moore's on here. But they will be a ceremony at the D23 convention, the Disney convention. So it's also hosted by Ryan Seacrest. So, you know, it's going to be aired in some way.

34:55
whether it be in front of a huge live audience or be at the internets or whatnot. Yeah, this could be someone's first time seeing Steve Ditko and being like, who's that guy? Think about someone looking at Angela Bassett, I know, James Cameron, Harrison Ford. Critters for Angela Bassett. But there could be someone that's like, who's that guy, Steve Ditko? Even if you look at the flyer they've got, Steve Ditko has been such a recluse.

35:21
I think I've seen this same photo used for everything. Only known photo of Steve Ditko. I think Bigfoot has more photos than Steve Ditko. I don't like the fact that they've got him categorized as publishing. I feel like they could have used a different, or I don't know, comic creator, artist, or Spider-Man co-creator. Spider-Man guy. You know what I'm saying? Publishing just seems very broad. Generic. Yeah, generic. There's a couple of creators in the history of comics that are just so blatantly taken advantage of. I'm thinking of like, again, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko.

35:50
Bill Finger, the Schuster brothers, these creators who created these hallmark giant IP, just like American icons in fiction, bigger than like the Wizard of Oz at the time, just like these giant creators. To put them in the- Generational characters. Yeah. To have the parent company put them in the Hall of Fame, it feels gross. I don't know. I'm glad, Ed, that you brought it up because it is something that we should discuss.

36:18
I do want us to bookmark this convo in a way, because I do want to talk about Steve Ditko a little further tangentially. And not about this celebration per se, but more so that his name, Steve Ditko, was mentioned along with a bunch of other notable comic book artists in this massive class action lawsuit against companies behind AI products like Mid Journey and DreamUp.

36:45
And I want to talk about AI and comics for the Patreon episode, just because I know it'll go for a while. We're already going long on this one. So hold your thoughts on Steve Ditko and let's move into another topic. And we'll talk about Ditko in the Patreon episode. The topic I want to bring up next, though, is related to Disney. And that is X-Men 97. Is it just me in saying that the praise for this show has been astronomical, has been extremely positive?

37:14
which is kind of the opposite of what I was expecting. Maybe I've been hanging out on Twitter too long and in comment sections for too long. I expect the worst at times, but the overwhelmingly positive reviews have been, at the moment, X-Men 97 has the best Rotten Tomatoes score ever for Marvel Studios with 100% certified fresh. Still 100? Not one guy that was mad about Rogue's butt not being big.

37:44
They put Gambit in a crop top. What the fuck? I think that's the thing. It debuted with 100%, which is the highest score for any Marvel suitors-related thing. But it's doing well. Now, granted, I do also want to add a caveat that Rotten Tomatoes is not a guiding North Star into the quality of a show. But I do think it is a good barometer, maybe temp check, for how it's doing in the zeitgeist.

38:09
For those of you that have seen it, I think we've all seen at least one episode, if not two, and the three episodes that are out currently. Is it as good as people say it is? I watched the third episode last night. X-Men 7 is a fucking blast. It is a lot of fun. I don't know if it's as good as everyone says it is. I don't think it's worth 100% on Rot Tomato. I also don't know what is worth 100% on Rot Tomato unless you were like 12 Angry Men or Whiplash. But for X-Men- You had to bring up Whiplash. It's a good movie.

38:38
X-Men 97 is, I think, the best version of this. Whatever version we were going to get with this second season of X-Men, the animated series. I'd love to ask really quick before I finish my thoughts. Have you guys gotten back and watched the original X-Men, the animated series as a full-fledged adult? I never watched it to begin with. Oh, interesting. Wow. Yeah. Which is crazy because everyone's just like, that's part of their childhood. I've had friends and family members that watched it, but I never watched it. My reason for asking that is it's not great.

39:08
It's not good guys. Like it's don't, you can't go back and watch. I mean, sure. Like if you watch it as a kid, it will have some nostalgic feelings come up. But like for the most part, it's pretty tough to watch that. And that last season when Saban takes over and they had zero money, it looks like trash. Yeah. You know, to answer your question, maybe Ed, I don't want to speak for you, so feel free to chime in. But we recently, we did an episode on X-Men Animated. Yeah, we each picked like one episode. Mojo World, baby. And we all reported back.

39:38
I ended up watching the Nightcrawler episode where they first introduced Nightcrawler. It's a church scene. There's all those iconic lines that he says with Wolverine and things. I think all the episodes we picked were pretty fire. They stood up, but I do agree. I think the later seasons leave much to be desired. Now, Grant, I haven't gone back and watched more than one episode. I wonder how much of that is still, like you said, like my...

40:04
rose colored nostalgia glasses. Yeah. Shotgunning multiple episodes of X-Men, they made a series, Spider-Man, the animated series. All of that is pretty tough. I will say Batman has held up really well. Yeah. It's still really good. But all that to be said, I will get off my soap box here. I think it's really good. The first three episodes, you can tell that this is being made by folks who really care about the X-Men. They know their shit. They're offering deep cuts that aren't glaring. At one point, I think Morph turns into Psylocke

40:33
Yeah, Colossus. Yeah, who obviously haven't shown up in this new series yet. Morph is cool. Morph is cool. Yeah. So, but yeah, I love it. So yeah, I'm a sucker for anyone that steals identities. I mean, come on. And powers. I didn't know you could do that. Wild. Yeah. I have Greg. What about you? You've watched. Have you watched the show yet? Yeah. So I watched the first two episodes and like I said, not watching the previous seasons of the show.

41:00
I like what they can do with the X-Men stories that live action can't do. They're doing executioner's song. They're doing the Morlocks. They're able to really get into the cool aspects and details of the stories that we grew up with in the 90s way better than any of the movies can and ever will. There's just a connection between animated features and comic books where it's basically one and one. You get what you get.

41:30
And somewhere along with the movies, it gets lost, either for budget cuts or just creative choices. But for the first two episodes I saw, I loved it. I mean, I thought it was fun. Yeah, it's like I'm coming into this with really nostalgia-tinted goggles coming in. But I do like the look of it. It's still very similar in look. And I read that they added kind of like a filter to kind of give it that.

41:59
kind of even aesthetic, that film aesthetic almost. Cause there's simple, but there's more detail. So you can see there's more care, like you were saying, there's more care and more like, they have a budget for this series. And I like they use the same, for the first episode, they almost did the same kind of storyline where instead of risking Jubilee, it's Sunspot. They introduce the new mutants. Old is back. I don't know why he wanted him back, cause he wanted to...

42:28
replaces brain with a robot brain or something crazy. But Mastermult, they're hitting all those right in the fields who were fans of the show. But I think it is accessible, because it's not like you. And they've always done this, and when we talked about it, they always done this great intro where the name pops up and you see a quick second of their powers. And you know, oh, this is how I can introduce 20 characters in a cartoon in 30 seconds. I do love that they're phasing out certain characters. I don't want to spoil anything, but like.

42:57
certain episodes will focus on four characters. And then people who've seen the first few episodes, I'll just say like Storm for instance, is gonna take a back seat for a bit. And then somebody else comes into the forefront and then they're kind of the focus. So like what Greg was saying, it's really great because you can do that with animated. You can't really do that in live action. I personally don't think you can do that with live action, just the amount of time and budget and all the things. So yeah, that's great. On the topic of Storm, they are letting her cook. Are the voice actor?

43:25
She is cooking. They are letting her go full Shakespearean. I found myself quoting the whole week, I can't feel the breeze. Alpha level incoming. I love that part. Oh, Omega. Omega, yeah, yeah, Omega. Nuts. And Cyclops isn't a wiener anymore. Man, fuck Cyclops. I still hate that dude. Wait, Greg, you don't like Slim? Well, you really hate him in the old cartoon. You'd really hate him in the old cartoon. My man Cyclops is getting his shine. Greg, you don't like Slim?

43:54
No. Why? I'm not a fan. Why not? I mean, that's just... Chris, you can't force good taste on me. It's their journey. I don't know what I thought going in. I think I had a lot of baggage of the old show and those memories. And I think I quickly realized this is familiar, but something new. You know, I am a fan of the way it looks. I know a lot of people weren't too big on the trailer and kind of the computer animated CGI look to it.

44:22
But that's quickly kind of won me over that it has its own kind of unique look to it, whether you like it or not, it is up to you. But it is like a, I think it helps it stand out, but still kind of pays homage to the original. And Greg, you brought up something that I'll champion too, or echo is that we're already getting like these X-Men, you know what I'm saying? Like Executioner was the main villain for episode two, the trial of Magneto, you know, all rolled up. Isn't Goblin Queen in three? I just saw like pictures of it.

44:52
Look, by the time this episode comes out, it'll be episode four. But I don't think it's a secret that we get Madeline Pryor in episode three. Yes. The marketing rollout for this has been awesome. You know what I'm saying? Like the VHS graphic and all the promo they've put out that kind of takes on, incorporates the nostalgia of the 90s, VHSs, the colors and how vibrant everything is. I think the rollout has been awesome.

45:18
And I don't know if this shit was paid or not. I'm assuming so, kind of being, you know, a little pessimistic. But the fact that even like LeBron James is tweeting like, when's X-Men 9 to forge? Whatever he wrote, he like butchered it. I think he was like, when's X-Men 99 drop? It was like something weird. But even the fact that like he's getting, you know, this is in his kind of sphere, I think kind of speaks to how popular and how well-beloved like this cartoon is, you know, like it's reaching a new generation.

45:47
but also the generation that grew up with it is having a moment. I think that's really cool. Can I ask you guys a question? So season two, will it be X-Men 98 or X-Men 97 season two? The great divide. It should be 98 I think. Yeah. Keep the years going. You gotta keep going with the years. I think if they incorporate it into the story where a whole year has passed, I think, oh hell yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like all of the events in this season, it takes place in one year.

46:14
And it continues. That'd be pretty cool. I could see the X-Men 2000. That'd be crazy. Yeah, that would be good. Yeah, X-Men Y2K. I could see them doing a Young Justice thing, where every new season is a skip ahead. And the next generation takes over. A new team takes over, whatnot. Yeah. Good talk on that. Gents, I think it's time for us to, I had another topic about I Might Save It for the Patreon. I want to get to the last segment of the show. I'm talking about Ben's top comic picks of the week. Ben has sent in three.

46:43
Fantastic Voicemails, championing three new comic books that are set to come out in the month of May. So a month from now, I believe the FLC or final order cut off for these, for this particular batch of books is Monday, the eighth, April 8th. If you are a new comic reader or someone looking for new titles to jump in on and something new, this segment is for you. Let me play the first voicemail and his first new comic book pick that you should be checking out.

47:11
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, short box nation. I'm Ben Kaye, representing Gotham City Limit, Jacksonville, Florida. Let's take final order cutoff to the limit. First up, Dark Horse Comics presents P-Man and the Masters of the Universe! Actually, it's just titled Masters of the Universe, Revolutions Number One, but I couldn't help myself.

47:41
If me yelling into your ear just now didn't get you fired up for this, then this is not the comic for you. All about Hordak, Skeletor, and Revolution. I HAVE THE POWER!

47:57
Ben just wanted every excuse to say every possible he-man pun and joke in one voicemail. He was auditioning. Yup. And god damn it, he did the damn thing on that. All right, so that was Masters of the Universe Revolution number one. This book comes out on May 15th. It's written by Rob David, Tim Sheridan, Ted Biaselli, and Pencils by Daniel HDR. So if that piques your interest, go to your local comic shop. Final order cut off is April 8th.

48:25
We're going to move on to his number two pick. Here we go. Next up Image Comics presents Bear Pirate Viking Queen, number one of a three part series. Weird titles work sometimes. Why did I choose this book? One, writer Sean Lewis writing King Spawn currently knows Bloody Tales, and this promises to be 72 pages of breathtaking watercolor art. Two, they say in the solicitation,

48:54
What's cooler than bears, pirates, Vikings, and queens battling to the death? And three, the true stories about actual blood spilled to form countries. Sounds interesting. I mean, for the record, I'm rooting for the bears. 72 pages. 72 pages for 499. That is insane. That's a deal, baby. Thank you, Image. I didn't know. I thought it was all one person. It was a bear, pirate, Viking, queen was the title.

49:24
I don't know, it's four separate things. Look, Mad Libs is the theme of this episode, right? Even images like, give me an animal, an occupation, a historical figure, and go. We're like a comedy troupe. Hey, there's a bear spotter. True, right up my alley. Tell me that this cover really quick for Bear, Pirate, Viking, Queen does not, at first I thought this was Billson Kevich. Yeah, so this is a goofy ass name for a book, but seeing that Sean Lewis is on it, I was like, oh, okay, I'm in.

49:53
Like I'm fully bought into this story now. Bear Pirate Viking Queen at number one comes out on May 1st, written by Sean Lewis, art by Jonathan Marks. Once again, final order cutoff for this is April 8th. So if you want this on your pull, go to your local comic shop. You know what to do. All right. And last but not least, Ben's last FOC May comic pick of the week is this one right here. Last, however, definitely not least, Image Comics presents.

50:22
Whisper Queen number one of a three part series. Okay, you should be reading everything Chip Zardaski writes at this point. Plus, back with Chris Anka's artwork, this promises to be worth every penny. Don't know white trees? Well, if you didn't read White Trees, the original story this takes place from, hit us up at the limit. Get 35% off your trade paperback book and get ready to head back to Chip Zardaski's fantasy land, Black Sand.

50:52
Trust me, this is a trip you want to make. Well, another week has come and gone, and I'm still Ben K. representing Gotham City Limit, Jacksonville, Florida. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility, and always take it to the limit. You heard that. 30%? Was that 35% off? I almost said $35. $35. Zardaski, too. I heard my chick Zardaski. Zardaski. Sorry, Ben K.

51:19
So quick little recap, Ben's top three picks. And I want to know from each one of you, which one are you putting on your poll list? Which one piques your interest the most? You've got Masters of the Universe Revolution number one, Bear, Pirate, Viking Queen number one, and The Whisper Queen, a lot of queen. We're celebrating our queens on this one. The Whisper Queen, a Black Sandtail number one. Ed, what do you got? Which one do you give your vote? What was it? Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Sp- Wait, was it- What? Bear, Pirate, Viking Queen?

51:49
bang for the buck and welcome back to the podcast. He was, he was on, he was on letterbox. Let's take a little nap. Yeah. I'm sorry. I was distracted. I don't know. I, I'm, it's kind of a toss up between the what's the other queen, the whisper queen, whisper queen. I like the look of, I'm not familiar with this, this universe, but I really liked the character designs, but I think bang for the buck. I got to go with the bear Viking queen pirate one. All right. I'm a B F

52:15
follower today and I'm also gonna back you on that one just for bang of the buck. There's a bear. And the cover, yeah. Your favorite animals. Exactly, a fucking bear. All right, let me see if I can't get me a baby cub as a pet or something. That's a good pet. Craig, what about you, man? Which one takes your interest the most? It is the Whisper Queen number one all the way. I read The White Trees when it came out and it proved to me that Chip Zdarsky can write any genre, any genre.

52:42
And the white trees is fun, it's fantasy, and it's fucking sexy. And this one looks like it's going to be just the same. And if you guys look at the cover B that Fiona Staples did, you will know why. They got a Fiona Staples cover? Is it too late to change my answer? Purpzoid pick of the week. Yeah. Heba heba. Oh, wow. This Fiona Staples cover is badass. All right. If you want to check out this Fiona Staples cover, check out the show notes for links to all of these comics.

53:09
Chris, wrap us up, man. Which one are you giving your vote? Which one you put in? I'm going to join the bear pirate Viking queen crew. I think again, bang for your buck. Yeah, take that Greg. Yeah, three to one. You lose. Horny, horny. We're horny over here at the bear pirate Viking queen crew. It's just for different things. Lots of lots of things. I hear you. But again, bang for your buck looks great. And they almost got me with the Sardaski whisper queen pitch. But truthfully,

53:38
When you give me a number one that's 72 pages for only four dollars, well five dollars we'll say. That's hard to beat. We broke. It's a value. Yeah Greg, we broke over here, right? We need all the value we can get. I wish I felt sorry for you. Broken Horny, that's our current name. Broken Horny. All right, once again check out these show notes for Ben's top comic picks of the future. That might be the new name of this segment. Ben's Top.

54:06
comic picks of the future. If you want to try some of these titles out or take a look. And then also go to GothamCityLimit.com. I'm not going to say that he can't do this or that he can, but I'm pretty sure he can. And if you're interested in joining the Gotham City Limit family, taking advantage of those sweet, sweet discounts, I think he'll also set you up with a poll. Even if you don't live in Jacks, you can still take your comic shopping experience to the limit. God damn it. GothamCityLimit.com. He's also got...

54:36
If you don't want to make a pull list, he's also got a ton of exclusive comics, a bunch of variant covers that you won't find anywhere else on the Gotham City Limit website, which is also linked in these show notes. Big shout outs to Ben, big shout outs to the whole entire Gotham City Limit family, and a super big shout out to Santana, who is back at the shop after getting hurt. If you live here in Jackson, you know the story. A car smashed into Gotham City Limit a couple of weeks ago.

55:03
Just the way the shop is located from the, I don't even understand. You have to do fucking mental gymnastics to make that make sense. And when you hear Ben tell it, it still doesn't make any sense, but just know it was a crazy moment. Santana got hurt in that, in the process, but she's healed up. She's back at the shop. So big shout out to our family at Gotham city limit. And with that said, that is our final segment for the show. Before we move on to a Patreon and record a quick little something, something

55:32
Greg I'm gonna put you on the spot and prepare you for this but you did this in the last time that we've recorded episode 417 and you gave us the summation of the episode and It was pretty good. Can I put you on the spot and to give us the recap for this episode? What what are the big takeaways for this episode? Yeah, it's um, you know, it doesn't matter if you like animals It doesn't matter if you Like 1992 and it doesn't matter if you like the X-Men. We got everything here for the comic book gentlemen

56:02
Lusher Steve Dicco and gentle women Steve Dicco. If you have a more recent picture of Steve Dicco than the one that's on the Disney website right now, Botter will personally mail you a shirt. I mean, let me correct you. Let me correct you there. Disney legend Steve Dicco. Disney.

56:32
I will say, gentlemen, I'm going to have links to the Oblivion Bar podcast, first issue club in the show notes. Do you guys just very quickly, do you want to share anything? What do you got coming up? This episode drops, you know, next week. So what do you got? We'll be headed to C2E2 to do a panel with some people. Sounds fun. Right. Should be kind of cool. That's weird. The guys I'm doing it with are really fun. Interesting people. Kind of kind of cute. No, no worry.

57:00
Yeah, just we're covering new issues every week. So if you are interested in new series and new books, go to first issue club at your, whatever you listen to podcasts on where they're talking every week. Damn right. And Chris, what about you, man? Any interesting interviews? We've got, so we took a week off this week because we always take every, every 10 episodes, we take a week off and go into the next 10. Our episode 151 is going to be our review of Ghost Busters, The Frozen Empire. Aaron has seen it twice already. I have not seen it at all yet, but

57:29
We've heard mixed reviews, so I'm very curious whenever I eventually get to it because anyone who knows Aaron knows that he adores the Ghostbusters is probably one of his biggest fandoms. So he's saying he likes it, but that doesn't really mean anything because he's going to like it regardless. So then we've got Jason Aaron on the show for episode 152 talking about TMNT and Uncle Scrooge and a lot of other things. We tried not to spend a ton of time on TMNT because everyone's talking to him about TMNT, but...

57:58
we had to of course talk to him about TMNT. And then also Scott Snyder is joining the show for episode 153 to talk about his distillery book, White Boat. So a couple of cool interviews upcoming. Check us out, obli Is Southern Bastards ever coming back? He said no, he said no, it's definitively never coming back. Okay. Okay. Well, I can live with that now that I got definitive answer. Hey, before we end, can I stop you guys from being humble and suggest everyone go to sketch.com and see a little.

58:28
article featuring both of you. No, you know what? I meant to go ahead and give that a shout out. And maybe we'll talk a little bit more on the Patreon episode. Listeners, we were fortunate enough to get a spotlight on the very esteemed sketch website that's run by David Harper, who also does off panel. And this particular article spotlight that we got was all about the expert. I'm going to read it here. The name of the article is We want to have this conversation more than us.

58:56
An exploration of the connection between comics and podcasts is an article all about comic podcasting, what goes into it, and why we're fucking crazy to be doing this. So if you have ever asked yourself like, wow, these guys really like to hear their voices. Why do they do it? They complain about Batman a lot. What is going on? Yeah. I'll have a link to that in the show notes. Big shout out to David Hart before writing the article. It's a damn good time. But besides that, actually, Ed.

59:26
I don't know when the next time you'll be on the episode. It's probably eight months. Behind the paywall, Ed, go. Eight months, I'm back. Back behind the paywall. Ed, do you got anything coming up? Any shameless plugs? You can check out some of Ed's Edcast episodes, which are fantastic, by the way. I've gotten some positive feedback from the Patreon subscribers. Patreon.com slash the short box. That's also where you can hear this week's special bonus episode. I'm gonna keep the gents on a little longer to talk about AI in comics.

59:53
and some of the other topics we didn't get around to. I'm just going to say thanks so much for tuning in, for all the love and support these past couple of weeks of the interviews. And yes, to echo what Greg said, if you're going to be at C2E2 in April, come check out our panel. I'm going to be, it just won't be the first or last time you hear about it. You know, I'm going to be plugging it in everywhere that I can. That being said, you guys take care and I'll catch you next week. See you in November.

01:00:25
There you have it short box nation. That's the end of the show. Thank you for hanging out. Thanks for being here. And a special shout out if you made it this far. If you enjoyed this episode and you have some thoughts or comments that you wanna share with us, write us at theshortboxjaxx at gmail.com. And if you really liked this episode, help us spread the word, share this episode with a friend or someone you know that loves comics as much as we do. And don't forget to leave us a five star rating and review on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

01:00:53
or wherever you get your podcast. It takes two minutes tops and it would mean the world to us. So leave us a review. Now, if you want more content like bonus episodes or perks like early access and commercial free episodes, and in some cases, free comic books, consider joining our Patreon community at patreon.com slash The Short Box. It's an easy and very affordable way to support the show and get rewarded for being a fan. Once again, sign up at patreon.com slash The Short Box.

01:01:20
Speaking of our Patreon community, I want to give a big shout out to our current members, including Adam Chaitani, Tony Aupi, RC Gamet, Blake Simone, Blythe Brumleaf, Bo Evers, Brian Brumleaf, Chad Lannenberger, Chris Hacker, Chris Jinx, David Morales, Triple D Mystic, Dominique Jackson, Errol White, Edbot 5000, Generation Jaguar, Greg Hopkins, Greg Lichtaig, Henry Hernandez, Hershel, Hydrus96 aka Mac J. Sinner, Jeff Frimmett.

01:01:49
Jerome Cabanatan, Joshua Miller, Justin McCoy, Kara Reichardt, Cassie Whitley, Corey Torteson, Matt Godwin, Amanda Marin, Nick Wagner, Podcasters Assemble, Stephen Gamet, T-Mix, The Wait For It Podcast, Thomas Pandich, Thurian, Trey Namo, Walter Gantt, Warren Evans, and Zach Armour. Thanks again to everyone that listens and supports this show. Be sure to come back next week for a new episode. And most importantly, take care of yourselves. Read a good comic.

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and continue to make mine and yours short box. I'll catch you soon. Peace.