Screw It, We're Just Gonna Talk About Spider-man

EPISODE 313 - We look at Incredible Hulk 337, where we finish up the crossover with X-Factor (X-Terminators?). We start with Hulk trapped in a block of ice and end up with the explosion of the Gamma Base. Peter David is making the book his own. For Loose Screws, we discuss the Wheel of Time TV series! --------- Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com To support the podcast and get bonus monthly episodes, subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com Join our Discord! The invite link is also at screwitpodcasts.com    

We do a quick survey of Hulk 335 (non-Todd McFarlane art, but a nice creepy possession story) and then dig more deeply into Hulk 336, where he crosses paths with X-Factor! I mean the X-Terminators! No, wait, I mean X-Factor! Loose Screws: Will talks about the 1950 Bogart film In A Lonely Place and Kevin discusses the video game Horizon Zero Dawn:  Forbidden West!

EPISODE 311 - The Incredible Hulk battles Half-Life, a brand new villain! Is he gamma-created? You know it! We are continuing are examination of the run by writer Peter David and artist Todd McFarlane. Peter is starting to really dig in. Todd's artworks is showing tremors of his style that will soon erupt! For Loose Screws, Kevin talks about his new Plastic Man reprtins and Will can't get his iPad to update! ------------------------ Email us with your thoughts to screwitcomics@gmail.com Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for bonus content. Join our Discord, invite is also at screwitpodcasts.com

EPISODE 310 - We are three issues into the Peter David / Todd McFarlane run on Incredible Hulk! Todd is still relatively contained, but Peter is starting to really assert himself as a writer. The Grey Hulk's personality is emerging as a cynical, tough witness to the hypocrisies of humanity! He's also very big! Loose Screws: A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs and the documentary "We Beat The Dream Team." ---- Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com to support the show and get monthly bonus episodes! Join our free Discord -- the link is at screwitpodcasts.com!    

Continuing our coverage of the Peter David / Todd McFarlane run on The Incredible Hulk! We've got McFarlane's distinctive art style starting to poke through (evil Hulk in sillhouette), Peter David's style (grey Hulk's personality shaping up), plus Hulkbusters, The Leader and Betty Banner's long-lost husband question mark? For Loose Screws, we discuss the movies Companion and Captain America; Brave New World.

The milksops begin a new season covering the writer Peter David / artist Todd McFarlane issues of the Incredible Hulk! Done before either of them became the instituation they would, these issues are a really interesting look at each of their talents! We are starting with the first issue they did togeter, issue 331 which came out in February of 1987. For Loose Screws, we discuss the Fantastic Four movie trailer. 

Episode 307 - We wrap up our episode on Watchmen with a discussion of the animated film "Watchmen Chapter II" which was released to little fanfare (despite being having pretty stellar reviews) toward the end of 2024.  Plus we read lots of the email we've gotten about this season! Next season (starting next week): We go over the Peter David / Todd McFarlene run on Incredible Hulk. ----------------- Subscribe to support our podcast and get bonus monthly episodes at screwitpodcasts.com Join our Discord -- invite link also at screwitpodcasts.com  

Our friend and regular guest Chris Gethard takes an episodes to deliver his quibbles with some flaws in Watchmen. You know Chris from his stand-up comedy, from his podcast Beautiful/Anonymous, from his TV show The Chris Gethard Show. The Milksops know him from their days together at the UCB Theatre in NYC. We had invited Chris -- who is a passionate comics fan -- to be our guest on a regular episode. Gethard suggested that he be on a special episode since he worrites his takes would detract from a regular coverage. We started calling this a "rebuttal" episode. Although Gethard takes pains to underline that he loves and admires the comic, and even agrees that it is one of the very best created, he doesn't think that means it's above criticism, and so he takes the book to task. We get into lots of ideas: the defensiveness of Watchmen fans, the pirate comic, the portrayal of the alien, the idea that the much-maligned Zack Snyder film had a better ending and other things! It's a passionate discussion and an inter

We examine the stunning conclusion of Watchmen with a dive into issue 12. After finishing this read, Kevin text Will "Watchmen is good" -- that's our take, everyone!  Most amazing is that despite how many times they've read it, Kevin and Will found YET ANOTHER thing that had not noticed in previous reads. It's the comic that keeps on giving. We discuss the recent disturbing news about Neil Gaiman, a creator we have covered many times before. And for Loose Screws, we talk about the movies Blade and Die Hard 2. We talk for a while about Die Hard 2. 

We take a close look at Watchmen #11 with Marvel editor Jordan D. White! Jordan is the current editor of the Venom books, the former editor of the X-books and most important is a returning guest to our podcast! As usual we marvel over how great Watchmen is. Will fails to convince Kevin and Jordan that Alan Moore did a not-great job setting up the twist of the plot (the stuff with the island / alien). And do we talk pirate comic? You bet we do! For Loose Screws, Will is binging all of Weird Al Yankovic and Jordan can't stop watching YouTube videos of people playing MineCraft! Don't miss Jordan's cool podcast "Nature Trail to Hell" which goes over horror movies!

This episode, we're joined by Eric Berlatsky, a professor of English who also happens to be a passionate fan of Watchmen. He's a lifelong comics fan who read Watchmen as it came out and has been a huge fan ever since. it was fun to talk to someone who's been a fan of the series since it came out! We go over issue #10, which is when Nite Owl and Rorscach figure out what's up! And is there more pirate comic book? Yes there is! And Professor Eric has a take on the pirate comic that the Milksops had never considered! That's just ONE of the cool insights we've get in this episode! Loose screws are: The Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and the Marvel animated series What If, season 2? In addition to being a professor, Eric has is the editor of a collection of Alan Moore interviews called Alan Moore: Conversations. For more info on that, you can go here: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/A/Alan-Moore

It's Christmas and that means all three Hines brothers are under one roof and that means all three Hines brothers (Will, Kevin and Brian) are on the podcast. We decide to talk about Power Pack -- a superhero group of siblings that was first published in 1984. We three brothers all loved the series when it came out and it was fun to revisit it.  Power Pack was more revolutionary than it might have seemed. In an era of increasing violence and grittiness in mainstream comics, Power Pack remained focused on gentler powers and feelings. The siblings, although they do squabble, care for each other. The villains -- although dangerous -- are of the "fantasy" realm, not crime/gritty/pulpy variety. It was one of the first big writing forays for Louise Simonson, who had previously mostly been an editor. And it was one of the few -- perhaps the first? -- major Marvel title to be written and drawn by female creators (Louise and artist June Brigman).  Power Pack originally ran for 62 issues -- a more than respectable run.

CONTENT WARNING: Discussions of sexual assault figure heavily into this issue's plot. ------------------------------- EPISODE 301 - Dan Gvozden of the Amazing Spider-Talk podcast joins us to discuss issue 9. In this issue, Dr. Manhattan takes Laurie to Mars to give her a chance to talk him into returning to Earth and preventing the impending nuclear war. Typical ex stuff. During their talk we learn about Laurie's life and learn the secret of who her actual father is. She's not excited about it. Dan has loved Watchmen since he first read it. Just like Kevin and Will, he finds something new every time he re-reads it. Though he says this is the first time he realized there was a "big blue naked guy" in the book, so.. maybe he's not reading as closely as we thought. Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com to get monthly bonus episodes! Thanks!    

We welcome Alex Zalben of Comic Book Club podcast to discuss Watchmen issue 8. In this issue, the series becomes almost joyful as Nite Owl and Silk Spectre bust Rorschach out of prison. Sure there's a few brutal murders along the way, and another brutal murder after -- but the issue is somewhat happy.  With Alex on board, the Milksops talk for almost two hours about this tremendous issue. Alex has loved Watchmen since he first read it. We talk about the time HIS comic book podcast reveiwed watchmen, and the cool Watchmen watch he just couldn't stop bragging about! (We loved it). Also it's episode 300! Thanks to everyone who has listened to us along the way! We're just getting warmed up! That's not true, we're about as warm as we're gonna get. But we're having a great time and thank you for listening! To subscribe for monthly bonus episodes, go to screwitpodcasts.com.  20% off annual plans through the end of 2024 with code HOLIDAY24.

Bryan Stratton from the terrific Marvel by the Month podcast joins us to go over Watchmen #7, the issue where Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre get together! But not before they have sexual anxiety, nightmares of nuclear apocalypse, and a quick run of saving people from a fire! Bryan talks about discovering Watchmen in his early comics reading days and why he loves it so much. We talk about what the function of Nite Owl is - are we supposed to relate to him? Or is he the fanboy completionist, but with powers? We also talk about how the Snyder film got this part of the story so wrong (while still looking so great).  Subscribe to support the podcast and for access to bonus monthly episodes at screwitpodcasts.com.

We talk about the recent Watchmen animated movie and a little bit about the 2008 Zach Snyder film as well. Our blistering hot take: the comic is better!!! We also read mail! Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for monthly bonus episodes and email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com.    

Today we go over the merry, lighthearted life story of a little fellow called Rorschach. Gather the kids around and read them the story... no sorry, that's wrong, never do that! Watchmen #6 ("The Abyss Gazes Also") is a bleak albeit compelling tale that answers the question "What If Batman Were Truly Emotionally Damaged, But No, Like REALLY." To subscribe for bonus content, do so at screwitpodcasts.com Email us your comic book thoughts at screwitcomics@gmail.com

This is an excerpt of our interview with Scott Aukerman about his experience writing the new Astonishing Spider-Man comic. To hear the full one, subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com -- proceeds pay our costs and then go to the charity Hero Initiative. Thanks! -------------------------------------- Writer / comedian / podcaster Scott Aukerman returns to the podcast for a third time, this time to discuss his new comic book Astonishing Spider-Man. Available exclusively on the Marvel Unlimited app, Astonishing Spider-Man is publishing in the "infinity" format, meaning it's one long vertical page designed for viewing on phones and tablets. We talk to Scott about how he got the gig to write his own Spider-Man comic, the experience of writing for this format, and what aspects of Spidey Scott wanted to focus on. A lifelong Spider-Man fan, Scott is giving his all for this series -- we hear about the research and thought he's putting into the stories in an attempt to make the kind of Spider-Man comic he'd like to read. And

Rorschach gets captured! Also Ozymandias is almost murdered! And the entire issue has a symmetrical layout, something neither Kevin nor Will noticed for like 20 years! This is our continuing coverage of Watchmen! To get our monthly bonus episodes and support the podcast, subscribe at https://www.screwitpodcasts.com/ Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com  

It's the Dr. Manhattan on Mars issue! The man (god? thing? electro magnetic lifeform?) who lives in all time! Although he only relives his life up until things we have already seen. No spoilers in the Dr. Manhattan all-time existence!  This is one of the most iconic and memorable issues of a superhero comic book ever! We get into it! --------- Subscribe for bonus episodes (like our recent foray into Ryan North's FF issues) at screwitpodcasts.com