Excalibur #5 “Send in the Clowns” Writer: Chris Claremont Pencil: Alan Davis Inks: Paul Neary Colours: Glynis Oliver Letters: Tomr Orzechowski Editor: Terry Kavanagh Original publication date: February 1989 In this episode, Anna, Mav, Andrew, and comics scholar Shawn Gilmore (@gipperfish), impresario of VaultofCulture.com, discuss Excalibur #5, “Send in the Clowns.” We talk British comics influences, the…
Author: Christopher "Mav" Maverick
A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist. Chris Maverick, drifter searching to tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have…
e154. Can We Cancel Cancel Culture Culture? (or can’t we?)
Every day another celebrity “is cancelled” for any number of problematic reasons. Typically, the celebrity responds by claiming they’ve done nothing wrong and blaming “cancel culture” gone wild. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen not only politicians and actors supposedly cancelled as as well as children’s toys and books. Looking at the news,…
Excalibur #4: “Still Crazy After All These Years”
Excalibur #4 “Still Crazy After All These Years” Writer: Chris Claremont Pencils/Plotting: Alan Davis Inker: Paul Neary Colourist: Glynis Oliver Letterer: Tom Orzechowski Editor: Terry Kavanagh Publication Date: January 1989 In this episode, Anna, Mav, Andrew, and our special guest, romance comics expert Sydney Heifler (@romancecomicbks), discuss Excalibur #4, “Still Crazy After All These Years.” We barely…
e153. Seeking a Game for the End of the World
Do you remember the before times? The long, long ago. Do you remember a time where you used to have real live friends that you used to be able to do stuff with? Maybe you held a weekly game night where you got together and… well, you mostly probably hung out and drank beer and…
Excalibur #3: “Moving Day”
Excalibur #3 “Moving Day” Writer: Chris Claremont Penciler: Alan Davis Inker: Paul Neary Colourist: Glynis Oliver Letterer: Lois Buhalis Editor: Terry Kavanagh Publication date: December 1988 In this episode, Anna, Mav, Andrew, and special guest Brad Mendenhall of the Cosmic Geppetto Podcast discuss Excalibur #3, “Moving Day,” and fight about the Juggernaut (just kidding—everyone loves him).…
Call For Comments: Can We Cancel Cancel Culture Culture or Can’t We?
From Mav: So this is a weird one. We had this idea a few weeks ago that we would do a show on “cancel culture” after Gina Carano was publicly fired from The Mandalorian. But we didn’t get to it. For one thing, everyone else in the world was dumping think pieces left and right on her. For…
e152. Obviously it’s the WandaVision Show
Somethings are inevitable and predictable. Water is wet, gravity pulls us down, and this show was going to have to talk about WandaVision. That was clear even before the series premiered. However, we didn’t know just how big a cultural phenomenon it would become. Who could have expected while reading the 1982 Bill Mantlo comic…
Excalibur #2: “A Warwolf Possessed”
Excalibur #2 “A Warwolf Possessed” Writer: Chris Claremont Penciler: Alan Davis Inker: Paul Neary Colourist: Glynis Oliver Letterer: Tom Orzechowski Editor: Terry Kavanagh Publication date: November 1988 In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew discuss Excalibur #2, “A Warwolf Possessed.” Topics include how comics communicate agency within sexualization, the politics of retributive justice within fantasy…
e151. Yet More Bridgerton! and other good things
A few weeks ago when we did our Bridgerton recap show we found ourselves with way more to talk about than we could possibly fit in a single episode. That happens a lot, really. And as we often do, we said back then that we’d have to do another episode and discuss more Bridgerton. Well,…
Excalibur #1: “Warwolves of London”
Excalibur #1 “Warwolves of London” Writer: Chris Claremont Penciler: Alan Davis Inker: Paul Neary Colourist: Glynis Oliver Letterer: Tom Orzechowski Editors: Ann Nocenti and Terry Kavanagh Publication date: October 1988 In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew discuss Excalibur #1, “Warwolves of London.” Topics include Excalibur’s sophisticated (maybe even postmodern!) pacing, its revolutionary genre-bending, its playfully mature sexuality,…