On this episode, we’re getting ready for the July 11 big-screen debut of Krypto the Super-Dog in James Gunn’s Superman with a look at the Silver Age origins of Krypto and his fellow members of the Legion of Super-Pets, as collected in Tails of the Super-Pets, published by DC Comics! First, Superboy is reacquainted with his childhood pet and uses him to gaslight Lana Lang in “The Super-Dog From Krypton!” Then, Superbaby, the Toddler of Steel, butts heads with another denizen of his former homeworld in “The Super Monkey From Krypton!” Not to be outdone, Supergirl gets in on the act when she meets Streaky the Supercat in “Supergirl’s Super Pet” before embarking on the absolutely bonkers origin of Comet in “The Super-Steed of Steel” and “The Secret Origin of Supergirl’s Super-Horse!” Will Krypto’s star turn usher in the SPCU – the Super-Pet Cinematic Universe? And are these Krypto bros ready for their close-up in that Amazing Zoo Crew known as … The Comics Canon? In This Episode: · The troubling male/female dynamic in Silver Age comics · We have to talk about Superbaby · Superman’s questionable marketing tactics · Big Girls by Jason Howard · The Secret Life of Bat-Hound · Companion Join us in two weeks as we discuss JLA: Tower of Babel (JLA #43-46) by Mark Waid, Howard Porter and Steve Scott! Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky! And as always, thanks for listening!
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Episode 234: Swamp Thing – Rite of Spring and Windfall
On this episode, we discuss a Swamp Thing story that we’re surprised didn’t qualify for our recently wrapped We’re With the Banned miniseries on banned and challenged comics -- Rite of Spring from Saga of the Swamp Thing #34, as well as its sequel, Windfall from Saga of the Swamp Thing #43, by Alan Moore and various artists, published by DC Comics! First up, Abigail Cable finally professes her love for our sentient vegetable man. And in lieu of sexytimes, he offers her communion via a bite of one of the tubers growing on his body, sending her on a consciousness-altering trip that shows her the interconnectedness of all things. Next we meet Chester Williams, an affable hippie who finds one of Swamp Thing’s discarded tubers in the bayou. Part of the yam finds its way to Sandy, a woman dying of cancer. Another part of it ends up with Chester’s unpleasant acquaintance Milo, and … let’s just say things don’t work out very well for one of them. Like, does this mean Swampy and Abby are going out? Does the yam as a kind of cosmic litmus paper? Do kids today even know what litmus paper is? And are these two stories good enough to embark on that long, strange trip known as … The Comics Canon? In This Episode: · Curt’s first experience with Rite of Spring · A little heads-up would be nice, Swampy · Kevin recounts an acid trip · We know what the ellipsis means … · The 1982 Swamp Thing movie · Have we mentioned our recent appearance on Marvel by the Month? · X-Men 97 · (We Could Be) Diving for Pearls from Swamp Thing #65 Join us in two weeks as we look ahead to the upcoming Superman movie by discussing (what else?) some stories about the super pets of the Silver Age! Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky! And as always, thanks for listening!
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Episode 233: Ice Haven
We’re With the Banned, our miniseries on banned and challenged graphic novels, concludes (at least for now) with a stop at Daniel Clowes’ Ice Haven, a “narraglyphic picto-assemblage” published by Pantheon Books! A collection of comic strips covering a variety of styles and perspectives, this peek behind the curtain of suburban America introduces us to an absorbing cast of characters including bitter would-be poet Random Wilder, lovesick teen Violet Van Der Platz, her young stepbrother Charles, clueless detective Joe Ames, aspiring writer Vida Wentz, and … (ahem!) comic book critic Harry Naybors. How does the abduction of uncommunicative tot David Goldberg affect our cast? What do Leopold and Loeb have to do with any of this? And can Ice Haven find itself welcome in that idyllic small town known as … The Comics Canon? In This Episode: · What’s the deal with Blue Bunny? · Is one of our cast an unreliable narrator? · “Planting the Seeds of Divorce” · We need to talk about Harry Naybors · What does Daniel Clowes have against critics? · Transformers Vol. 1: Robots in Disguise · “The Falls” by George Saunders Join us in two weeks as we discuss a pair of controversial Swamp Thing stories from the Alan Moore era: Rite of Spring (#34) and Windfall (#43)! Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense FundImpress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky! And as always, thanks for listening!
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Hey, Where’s My New Comics Canon?
We’re afraid you’ll have to wait another week for our episode on Daniel Clowes’ Ice Haven. But that doesn’t mean you’ll have to wait a whole week to hear Curt and Kevin talk at length about comics. In fact, you can hear them render judgment on some fun comic-book stories of yesteryear this very day! Confused? Kevin’s here to explain.
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Episode 232: Gender Queer
On this episode, We’re With the Banned, our miniseries on banned and challenged graphic novels, takes on the most banned book of the past several years – Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe, published by Lion Forge Comics/Oni Press! We discuss some fairly personal topics and fumble a bit (although not as much as we may have feared) with the author’s preferred pronouns (e, em, and eir) as we discuss Kobabe’s account of eir struggles with gender dysphoria and other issues on the road to identifying as nonbinary. It’s an important work, especially in our current cultural moment. But is that enough to guarantee entry into that bastion of One Direction fandom known as … The Comics Canon? In This Episode: · The Spivak pronouns · A brief discussion of Barbarian · Bad news from the future · How did we end up talking about typing class? · Curt’s review of Thunderbolts* · Gamemasters: The Comic Book History of Roleplaying Galmes Join us in two weeks as We’re With the Banned continues with a discussion of Daniel Clowes’ Ice Haven! Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky! And as always, thanks for listening!
The Comics Canon is the podcast that reads, reviews, and renders judgment on the greatest comic book stories of yesterday and today. Each episode, Curt Holman and Kevin Moreau take a critical and completely subjective look at one of the biggest stories and most seminal moments in the medium's history, as they decide: Does this belong in the pantheon of classic and iconic tales known as ... The Comics Canon?
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