Keep in mind that at the time of recording, Microsoft had not pulled it’s unsavory DRM policies.

Jon is sexist, Steve spoils spoilers,  and Devon teaches us how to tune cars.

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We also cast a Heroes for Hire movie and talk about our ideas for future Marvel projects.

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#1 Pick of the Week: Uncanny X-Force #28: First of all, I cannot believe this is only issue #28. This comic just moves so fast and the story is so full that it feels like, to me, that we’re on issue #100, and this arc isn’t any different. This comic sends the team into the future where the X-Force team has ended crime by stopping it before it happens. It becomes hard to believe that Remender’s Wolverine and the Wolverine from the X-Men Versus Avengers arc are the same Wolverine. This Wolverine is dark, and contemplating a future where it’s okay to take out criminals that may commit future murders, which isn’t that different from how he is now, where Nightcrawler from an alternate universe is hunting down the people who may or may not be evil. Psylocke is the leader of the group in the future which is not going well due to her lack of empathy after killing her brother. She’s driven by her guilt over Fantomex’s sacrifice and ‘supposedly’ samurai kills herself at the end, making me very nervous that there won’t be a team left. Deadpool has become the surprise heart of the team when he declares that after he loses his healing factor, the reason he went on the dangerous mission before hand is “…because this is the closest thing to a family I’ve ever had.” Also surprise cameo from Frank Castle who supposedly joins the team in the future, which I can only assume will be an amazing story. If you like team-up books, this is probably one of the best ones I have ever read.

Daredevil #15 and #16: So Daredevil lost all of his senses in the last issue which was part of “comics had my heart by the balls” week. So issue #15 has Daredevil tapping into different senses to understand where he is and manages to find his way out of a hospital room where Doctor Doom’s minions are trying to find out how his radar sense works. The best part of the issue is when Matt discovers the satellite feed which is blocking his Avengers transmission. He destroys the satellite and in only a minute’s time, Iron Man flies down to save him. Imagining the Avengers just flying around looking for him and then the minute the transmission is clear they know exactly where he is, is so awesome and just a really cool touch. It makes you question why you wouldn’t be an Avenger. The next issue has Ant-man, Hank Pym, searching through Matt’s brain destroying the tiny robotic insects that are keeping Daredevil’s senses blocked. While Ant-man is doing this Matt is somehow transmitting memories to Hank while Hank is transmitting memories to Matt. There is a recognition that the two of them have experienced similar events which led them to where they are. Eventually, Ant-man destroys the bugs and Matt wakes up. The small things in this comic are really what makes it so special. Daredevil waking up and recognizing the people in the room (Tony Stark, Hank Pym, and Dr. Strange) by their heartbeats is a sample of just how incredible Mark Waid is making Daredevil. I really liked the moment when Matt has to leave and Tony is pushing his hand against the window to open it, knowing that Matt is going to jump out of it and acrobatically fly through the city. It is just a little picture of how long Tony has known Matt. Matt isn’t going to walk out the front door, he’s going to fly off rooftops to get home.

Deadpool #58: So Deadpool no longer has his healing factor. After getting rid of his healing factor so that he could finally die, he realized that he doesn’t actually want to die. This is another book where the small moments are more interesting than three page action sequences. Deadpool not understanding why his finger, which was mostly cut off in another issue, isn’t growing back, and wondering how long it will take, is an indication of how he doesn’t understand what it’s like to be normal. Even though he has no healing factor, he is still incredibly dangerous and just as crazy. I really like the idea that people are underestimating him and are all gearing up to finally kill him, and they can’t, because he’s still a better mercenary than they are. This is proved when Black Swan attacks him while he’s on the toilet and manages to set off a grenade and then jump into his tub for safety because it has an anti-ballistic shower curtain.

Saga Chapter 4: I love this comic. Brian K. Vaughan actually having fun with a comic is one of the best things he’s ever done. I almost cannot believe that Vaughan had a part in the atrocious Season 8 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when he could have been doing this. If you have to go outside the box for comics then I would completely recommend you read this one. The art by Fiona Staples is also half of the story. I like when the art and the story sync together to make a great comic. When they don’t, it’s easy to ruin a great story. The characters and the universe of this book are completely outrageous and likable.

Atomic Robo Volume 7 #1: Always a great comic to have when all of the other comics are breaking your heart. Atomic Robo is always fun. The new volume has Atomic Robo hanging out with some cool girls who refused to go back to their lives after World War Two. These were pilots and mechanics who didn’t want to go back to the way things were. Atomic Robo is both confused and curious when he finds that they are girls, after they save him and his plane. This is a number one out of five, and I’m looking forward to seeing Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener do some girls right and hopefully Atomic Robo will get his flirt on.

Hope everyone is having a great summer! Until next time! Thanks for reading!

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#1 Pick of the Week: Walking Dead 99-100: So with the death of Abraham, the repercussion in Issue #99 is that everyone is evaluating their own relationships. I have to say that I am very pro Rick and Andrea being together. I have said it before, but Andrea’s the kind of woman who will keep Rick in check and she’s also one of the only members of the original group. In the panels with Andrea, Rick is allowing himself to be happy, which is something he hasn’t done in a really long time. I really loved their conversation about how comfortable the bed is and how Andrea should just move in. I have never been a huge fan of Maggie, but I am a sucker for Glenn, another original member, who has been the heart beat of this book. and like my old friend Desmond Hume, he has also be ‘the constant’. Abraham’s funeral, a two page panel, shows the group and their responses to his death, even a teary-eyed Michonne. Glenn decides to make a change since Maggie is pregnant, and decides he wants to move to the other town that Jesus brought them to, where he believes it will be better and also safer.

In Issue #100 a small group is on the road towards Jesus’ town and during a night watch Rick is in and out of sleep. He gets hit in the head by the group that Rick has threatened in the past, a group run by a man named, Negan. Negan spends a well drawn out amount of time deciding which member of the traveling party deserves to be made an example of. It takes pages, as he reads into each character and deliberates. He chooses to bash Glenn’s brains in with a bat that is covered in barbed wire. This was what was spoiled for me, but even though it was spoiled the painful scene is something you need to see. The death of Glenn, who was the heart of this book, goes on for panels and pages, in which even I, who I consider unflappable, became teary eyed at losing a character that has been around for so long in such a gruesome and violent way. As a writer, even though you cherish a character you’re writing about, there’s always a point where you have to make a decision to keep not only yourself interested but the audience captivated, where you have to do something horrible so that the other characters and the plot can grow. Even though part of me knows that would have been how Glenn would have wanted to go out, saving the group with his sacrifice, it was still painful. #RIPGlenn

Uncanny X-Force #27: To keep with the theme of ‘comics had my heart by it’s balls’ week, Uncanny X-Force has been a consistently great book for me. The book’s story arc of the group being hunted down is still continuing as well as the obvious push for Genesis to become Apocalypse for a band of particularly terrible mutants. Fantomex has become one of my favorite characters in comic books. Fantomex’s love for Psylocke has replaced my love for her and Archangel, although, that character love story ended on a phenomenal and heartbreaking note. Fantomex sacrifices himself and gives Psylocke his mask which protects from psychic connections so she can escape the hold of the Shadow King. Supposedly he’s dead, but this is a comic that is based on misdirections so I am hoping that he is okay. But if not Psylocke is already on her way to avenge him. It all ends on another cliff hanger.

Daredevil #14: Oh don’t worry, Daredevil wasn’t any different this week. Daredevil figures out where he is being held captive and breathes in a certain type of toxin that slowly throughout his escape causes him to lose all of his other senses. This leads to him believing that he has actually escaped an even more terrible fate, but the end scene is him on the ground surrounded by soldiers as he says “I’m free.” Not to mention his best friend Foggy is questioning Matt’s ethics due to something that he saw in Matt’s desk. So another comic that has me emotionally riled.

Hack/Slash #20: This week’s issue concludes the story of where Vlad really came from. I know that this isn’t a book that a lot of people are reading but it should be. It’s so violent and has an awesome kick ass female lead who takes out monsters even when she’s hanging in a meat locker. She also manages to grab a knife out of the monster’s belt while upside down and using her toes. Vlad takes on his monstrous family and he and Cassie come out victorious and with a joke. I love these two, and I’m glad they’re back together.

Revival #1: A new pick for the week is by Tim Seely who is the creator of Hack/Slash. Revival comes across as a story about a small town in Wisconsin where people don’t seem to be able to die. There are also creepy white long legged alien things trotting through the forest and zebra horses! Like Hack/Slash this seems to also be a pretty violent Indy book. The end sequence has an old woman throwing a scythe through the sister of our main protagonist and she comes back to life unharmed. The book shows promise.

I wanted to give some honorable mentions to both Brian Wood’s new book The Massive, which if you are a fan of his you’ll really enjoy, and Resurrection Man. Resurrection Man is going to be cancelled because DC apparently needs to advocate twenty Batman books. If you haven’t read this series, I do think it’s going to make it to twelve issues long, and it’s definitely worth the read. Swamp Thing and Animal Man are finally getting to their crossover. I think Kirkman put too much heart into Walking Dead this week that there wasn’t enough to go around for Invincible. And of course Daniel Way’s Deadpool, is still hilarious.

Until Next Time! Thanks for Reading!