It’s the episode you’ve been waiting for! The one where we talk about The Emoji Movie! 😝 Ok… maybe not… well, a little, but for good reason. One aspect of popular culture we probably don’t think about very often is communication. Communication is the cornerstone of culture, on the internet or otherwise. In today’s world…
Year: 2022
Anniversary Special
Anniversary Special Anna, Mav, and Andrew plus a plethora of amazing guests have been podcasting about Excalibur for an entire year—54 weeks to be exact! Which seems like a perfect time to look back on the year that was. This Anniversary Special features approximately one minute from each of our regular episodes, chronicling Excalibur #1-50.…
e203. Consumption, Capitalism, and the Culture of Luxury Fashion
Can you tell the difference between Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Gucci, and Versace? What about Michael Kors, Tom Ford, Alexander McQueen and Jimmy Choo? Do you even know who these people are? In all likelihood you read that list and knew that those are some of the biggest brands in luxury fashion. Or, if you…
Excalibur #50: “Winner Loses All”
Excalibur #50 “Winner Loses All” Writer and pencils: Alan Davis Colours: Joe Rosas Inks: Michael Heisler Editor: Terry Kavanagh Original publication date: May 1992 Our guest, venerable comics scholar Dr. Andrew Kunka, says he wanted to join us for the mega-sized Excalibur #50, “Winner Loses All,” in part to hear us talk about a particular…
Call for Comments: Hey, Are Y’all Talking About Batman?
From Hannah: How have we gone over two hundred episodes without dedicating an episode to talking about Batman? (Indeed, the Eternals of all superheroes got their own episode before we decided to focus on Batman.) From Mav: I mean, we didn’t. Episode 54 was totally all talking about Batman! Just none of you were on…
e202. To Kill a Mockingbird… and a Maus — Censorship & Book Banning
Every once in a while the world of weekly pop culture and the world of literary academia collide so totally that the world notices even outside of our show. Last week was one of those weeks. A school board in Tennessee voted to remove Maus, the critically acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize winning Holocaust memoir graphic novel,…
Excalibur #49: “Let There Be Dark”
Excalibur #49 “Let There Be Dark” Writer and pencils: Alan Davis Colours: Glynis Oliver Inks: Michael Heisler Editor: Terry Kavanagh Original publication date: April 1992This week, Anna threatens to spend the whole show talking about teleporting, but shows admirable restraint in letting our honored guest, comics and pop culture scholar Nicole Freim, lead us through…
e201. The Romance Show: (Hannah wouldn’t let us call) Love In The Time Of COVID
Despite the fact that it is perennially one of the best selling genres in literature, Romance is often looked down upon. Part of this is simple misogyny; as a culture we look down upon things that are seen as “for women.” However, not only are romance novels dominant best sellers, romance as a concept essentially…
Excalibur #48: “Irish Stew”
Excalibur #48 “Irish Stew” Writer and pencils: Alan Davis Colours: Glynis Oliver Inks: Michael Heisler Editor: Terry Kavanagh Original publication date: March 1992We forget to celebrate our 50th episode with a deep dive into an archeological dig turned theological dilemma in Excalibur #48, “Irish Stew,” guided by comics and pop culture scholar and host of…