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

In this "one shot" episode (a name I just made up where we examine a topic separate from our current season) we take a break from Catwoman to discuss the topic of "shelf appeal." This means roughly the way comics look on the shelves of comic shops. We bring on former guest Casey Bruce, co-owner of Danger Room comics in Olympia, Washington to talk about the challenges facing shop owners when it comes to making their product look appealing to customers. There's packaging, what editions are available, the impact of movies and television shows, how popular the characters are, and how long the title has been running. Kevin has a lot of hot takes in this ep! Back to Catwoman next week! __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠

We cover one of the all-time great comic book stories: Selina's Big Score. Written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, this story is a masterpiece of crime fiction, active storytelling, redefining a classic character all with some of the prettiest art you could hope to see. There's echoes of crime fiction author Richard Stark in here (there's a character named after him), but also reminders of classic 1980s superhero crime stories by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and David Mazzuchelli. Truly a pleasure to read. Also Will learns that Kevin loves Zelda video games! Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠

We begin our coverage of the Ed Brubaker / Darwyn Cooke era of Catwoman comics. We start with Trail of the Catwoman - written by Brubaker, drawn by Cooke.. Originally published in 2001 as a backup feature in Detective Comics, it's now collected with the solo Catwoman series that Brubaker and Cooke worked on. The plot of the story is that hard boiled private eye Slam Bradley (himself an actual golden age character from the pre-Batman Detective Comics) as he tries to determine if Selina Kyle is really dead (she is not). But the effect of the story is to re-purpose Catwoman as a crime noir action star. It's a beautiful, gripping, fun story - a must read! Also Will talks for 20 minute about Welcome Back Kotter and the streaming service Tubi and for that we are truly sorry! __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠

The Milksops discuss the third installment in the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Kevin liked it more than Will, but Will admits that maybe he's just going through MCU fatigue, and he's not being fair. Both of us love that James Gunn got to finish this trilogy, and appreciate that he's kept the same tone and voice throughout the series. We talk about the challenge of balancing so many characters and places, and which characters have changed the most since the first movie in 2014. In our world-famous "Loose Screws" segment, Will talks about JM DeMatteis' self-produced Spellbound Comics. We also answer some mail, which include more discussion of who should be on the comics Mount Rushmore? __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠

The Milksops review "Marvel Comics Assistant Editor's Month," one of the first crossover events Marvel ever did. Here's what happened: For comics dated January 1984, readers were told that the assistant editors had been given reign over the content since the regular editors were away at San Diego ComicCon. Some comics took this as an excuse to do very far-out stories (Marvel Team-Up featured Galactus and Aunt May), whereas some did only very small changes (Moon Knight has a typewritten letter from the assistant editor instead of a splash page) and others completely ignored it! But for those reading at that time, it was a striking and dare we say pretty fun event. Kevin theorizes that modern fans would dislike it. In fact, the readers of 1984 didn't seem to like it too much either. But here we are, discussing it anyway! __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Subscrib

Milksop Brother Three Brian is back with a quiz of comics-related questions for his older brothers. "What's your favorite comic" type of questions, but these go way beyond that. We thought this was gonna be a mini-ep, but Kevin and Will spend so much time discussing things that we got to a full hour. But think about how you would pick YOUR Mount Rushmore of Comics, and see if you can answer quickly. AND you KNOW we've got some Loose Screws™! __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠

It's your Friendly Neightborhood... Mole Man?!?!?! Yes, kind of! The Thing and The Human Torch team up with Mole Man to defeat a Walt Disney-esque captain of industry who has gone completely nutso and wants to save the Earth with a plan which will unfortunately also destroy it! We also have a hugely long plug for the Comedy Bang-Bang (podcast) (book) in which Will wrote a piece as Morpheus. And in the mailbag, we answer questions about: Miracleman, the appeal of TMNT and much more! __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠

REED RICHARDS MUST DIE! Harsh, right? Or at least rude. Then again, Reed did save Galactus, who has a nasty habit of eating planets. So we have ourselves a legal conundrum as a council of aliens decide if Mr. Fantastic should be executed. The Watcher gets involved, which he's never supposed to do, yet always does. This is also "Assistant Editor's Month" in which Marvel allegedly lets its junior editors run the show. For the FF, that means that John Byrne himself is in the issue, to bear witness as the official FF chronicaler. In the mailbag, we get some thoughts on Zot! and more suggestions of names for our segments! __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠

We've got three fairly Doom-tastic issues of the FF to go over. We get a day in the life of Doom running the show over in Latveria, and then a two-issue battle of Sue, Johnny and Ben vs. Terrax the Untamed (who's gotten his Power Cosmic back thanks to Doom). The FF end up winning, with the help of the Silver Surfer, but in the end one question remains: where the heck is Reed? Plus we get to some mail, where we cover 70s sci-fi recs, thoughts on Reed and Sue's romantic activites, how we would wrap up comics if Marvel were to come to an end and a little on Ryan North's current FF run. __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠

The Milksops 3 finish their coverage of Zot! with a humdinger of an issue: "Normal." Originally released as Zot #33, this tells the story of Jenny's best friend Terry coming to terms with her sexuality as a gay teenager in a very homophobic high school. Although it's aged very well, it still helps to remember this issue came out in 1990. As the rest of comicdom was about to embark on a bombastic era of variant covers, millions of  X-books and the birth of hyper-active Image Comics, Scott McCloud was putting the finishing touches on a serene, deeply human, beautifully rendered superhero book. There's dark stuff in here, sure, and also lots of compassionate moments as Terry struggles with who to trust, and how much. We also go over the ending arc of issues in Zot that are known as the "Earth Stories" where the superheroics are at a minimum. Although we find the very end of the series a bit of a letdown, there's no doubt that the Milksops are stunned and amazed at the quality of these issues.  Email the podcast:

The Milksops Three continue their coverage of Zot!, the late 1980s indie comic that featured a Golden Age style optimistic hero wrestling with the emotional challenges of "our" Earth. In this episode we cover "The Ghost in the Machine" which is Zot's three-issue battle against one of his main villains, 9-Jack-9. Jack is a legitimiately terrifying villain, an assassin who can travel via electrical wires, has no emotion, and is incredibly smart. By the way, he killed Zot's parents. But in typical Zot fashion, these stories differ from most superhero stuff in that they focus on the emotional angle way more than, say, punching. There's loss of family members, the struggle to not give up hope, the forgiveness of our enemies, all shown around the scary visage of the genteman Killer, 9-Jack-9. Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠

The Milksops Three (Will, Kevin and Brian) discuss the "black and white" era of Zot! comics. We discuss how much this comic levels up in terms of quality, ambition and emotion, in both art and story. We see Zot trying to convince Jenny that her Earth is worth living in, as she tries to convince him to visit more and more. We meet Jenny's friends, and even see a few tender moments of older brother/sometimes monkey Butch. Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com. __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠

A special mini-episode to honor the special mini issues of Zot that came out, which were drawn by stick figure genius Matt Feazell. The Milksops were all big fans of these. They inspired a young Kevin Hines to make mini-comics of his own! Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com. __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@ScrewItComics⁠⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠  Subscribe: ⁠⁠Spotify⁠

Kevin and Will welcome Milksop #3 - Brian Hines, the legendary third Hines brother to the podcast. We talk about a comic that has meant a lot to each of us: Zot! Created by Scott McCloud (Understanding Comics), Zot ran from the mid-80s through the very early 90s, and represented a sensitive, human and nuanced look at a superhero arc. The stories brought influences of manga to an American book in a way that hadn't been done in any prominent fashion. Plus the sweet, compassionate world of Zot stood out in contrast to the brutal grimness featured in many other 80s comics. Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com. __ SHOW INFORMATION  Twitter: ⁠@ScrewItComics⁠ Instagram: ⁠@ScrewItComics⁠  Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com  Subscribe: ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠  Subscribe: ⁠Spotify

The FF finish their Negative Zone saga! We've got aliens that look like salamanders, Reed rebuilding his own consciousness, and a plan to save the end of the world that worked because the Avengers are able to, um, well... okay, we can't tell why it worked. But it DID work and so the FF return to their own Earth in time to stop Annihulus. Or maybe just scare him off? In our mailbag section, we get corrected and then (probably) make more errors!

The FF are in the Negative Zone. The Negative Zone is an alternate universe which is different from our universe in that it is.... well, it's not that different. But it means Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny are visiting a new planet every issue, meeting a new alien race and encountering a big ironic twist! Kinda a la Star Trek. Meanwhile super-mean bad guy Annihulus has taken up residence in the Baxter Building. More Negative Zone coverage next episode! In our mailbag, we have more pitches for our unnamed media segment and also questions about comics! __ SHOW INFORMATION Twitter: @ScrewItComics Instagram: @ScrewItComics Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify

FF #250 has the FF vs Gladiator, plus the X-Men (kind of) and the Skrulls, in a double-sized fight-tastic story. Then #251 sets up what is going to be a run of stories set in the Negative Zone. Your hosts, the Milksops, like it all. Plus we've got mail. Sop it up! __ SHOW INFORMATION Twitter: @ScrewItComics Instagram: @ScrewItComics Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify

The character that we refer to many times as "Guardian" is actually "Gladiator." Three more John Byrne FF issues! We've got "This Land Is Mine" which makes the argument that Latveria might be better off when Doom is in charge. The Milkshops are not convinced, but also can see that Byrne is trying to give nuance to the main FF nemesis. We've got an Inhumans one-and-done story where the FF are trapped (and.. murdered?) by a huge alien. And finally a big battle against The Guardian (super-powered "knight" of the Shi'ar royal family) who thinks the FF are Skrulls! Makes sense, right? Plus we go through our mail which includes another "must read in full" letter from Chris Gethard. __ SHOW INFORMATION Twitter: @ScrewItComics Instagram: @ScrewItComics Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify

Kevin makes a really good case that this first appearance of Daredevil is one of the strongest first issues we've read. This is in contrast to the sort-of "second tier" status Daredevil will have for much of the 60s and 70s. Even after Frank Miller and Klaus Janson brought the title to the top of the sales charts in the early 80s, there have been almost no "bad runs" on Daredevil. Has he quietly been one of the best Marvel characters this whole time? Will perhaps unfairly compared this issue to the dark brooding stories he knows are coming in the title's future. It's also interesting that this issue is drawn by Bill Everett, creator and artist of the Sub-Mariner! He came out of retirement to do this one issue but had trouble hitting his deadlines. We also talk about the Guardians and the Galaxy video game a bit! __ SHOW INFORMATION Twitter: @ScrewItComics Instagram: @ScrewItComics Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify

Milksops Assemble! We go over Avengers #1. It's crazy and also good in the way a lot of early Marvel stuff is both crazy and good. Kirby's art is great. The inventiveness is BIG. The leaps is logic to justify the plot are .... ALSO VERY BIG. Big jumps. Why Hulk decides to "hide out" by posing as a robot in a circus is never going to make sense. Never mind that he... doesn't look like a robot when he's in disguise, He just looks like the Hulk with the smallest amount of clown makeup on. Or why Loki uses his power of illusion to lure the Hulk, rather than just... make an illusion of the Hulk. Or the fact that Thor doesn't really need the others. Or that the Wasp rides a flying ant across the country, or ... at all. But you know what? This issue is somehow really fun? Make mine Marvel! __ SHOW INFORMATION Twitter: @ScrewItComics Instagram: @ScrewItComics Email: ScrewItComics@gmail.com Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify