Episode 18: She-Ra and the Male Gaze

If you happened to see a mid-tier 1980s cartoon superheroine get a costume update that was less objectifyingly sexy for a modern day reboot of the series in the last couple weeks and you were shocked to see a bunch of angry middle-aged men complaining about it… well then, “hello there! You must be new…

Call for Comments: Cosplayers of Color

From Mav: Usually we try to mix topics on our show up from week to week; one week generally has very little to do with whatever happened the week before. This week is a little different, but only slightly. Last week, while I was prepping the Call for Comments for the She-Ra and Male Gaze/Superheroine…

Episode 17: Music, the Soundtrack of our Lives

Wayne loves music. Do you love music? Yeah, we get it, everyone loves music. But Wayne really loves music! Why is that? Why do we connect so strongly with music, especially the popular music of our teens? Why do bands make covers songs? Why is your generation’s music better than the sucky stuff your parents…

Call For Comments: Music of your Youth

From Wayne: Other than family there have been two constants in my life since I was a wee lad: Comics and Music. Both are still a daily part of my life.  I was drawn to the radio from a very early age. I was a child in the 60s and a teen in the 70s. The…

Episode 15: Cinematic Violence & the Impossible Body

Remember that one fight in the Matrix that kicked ass? Wait, those all kicked ass. What about that fight in Kill Bill that kicked ass? Actually those all kicked ass too. Well what about that one time that Bruce Lee… Ok so I guess when you think about it, a lot of movie fights kick…

Episode 14: Captain America – Patriotism & Nationalism

This week, the United States of America (or what currently passes for it) celebrated it’s birthday. Of course, if you’re a longtime geeky comic book fan, you might also know that July 4th is also the birthday of Steve Rogers, Captain America. Abby certainly does! And because she is essentially a human encyclopedia of geeky…

Episode 13: Mythic Reboots

Some stories are timeless: Homer’s Odyssey, the legends of Hercules and King Arthur, the fairy tale of Snow White. These are stories that have been repeated so often that everyone knows them. They are part of the cultural consciousness. So, if that is the case, why do we feel the need to keep repeating them?…

Episode 12: The Coming & Going of the Coming of Age

Dear Mr. Vernon, It was the summer of 2018 and it was the best year of our life. We spent that summer podcasting with… (you know, it’s really hard to get the effect of a voiceover narration in text. Oh well. Just pretend that was in the voice of a middle aged Daniel Stern looking…

Call For Comments: Mythic Reboots and Adaptations

From Mav: One of my favorite comic book characters when I was a kid was The Mighty Thor. One of the reasons Thor fascinated me was because he was entrenched in mythology outside of the comics. To me, it was cool being able to read a story by Walt Simonson and then later pull out…

Episode 11: Toxic Offenders & the Dark Side of Fandom

As great as internet is for creating a safe place for people to enjoy all manner of geeky hobbies, there’s a dark side of fandom. From Gamergate to 4chan, there are some segments of geek culture that have a reputation for being toxic. A reputation hat sadly threatens to tarnish the public perception fo geek…