Comic Book Bears Podcast

Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger have returned to analyze T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #3, originally published by Tower Comics and cover dated March, 1966.  And what do we get in this issue? Dynamo vs. The Subterraneans! NoMan vs. Vibraman! Dynamo vs. The Red Dragon! The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad vs. gray make-up! And best of all - Menthor vs. Dynamo! We also cover what was on TV and what comics were on the spinner rack at the same time T-Agents #3 was on newsstands.There are also tangents galore to enjoy in this one as well, ranging from Northern Soul, Bill's grandfather and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid!

Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are joined by guest bear and fan of the show Steve Mowry!  Steve and Bryan recently attended HeroesCon where Bryan presented a panel about gay characters with Los Brothers Hernandez (Love and Rockets), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise, Echo, Rachel Rising) and Kate Leth (Kate or Die!, Bravest Warriors). Bryan covers how the panel was put together and how it went down coupled with other con stories from Bryan and Steve. Billy Z was also in attendance at the inaugural Special Edition NYC from Reed Pop as well as the latest AnimeNext convention.  In keeping with the subject matter of the latter, all four bears offer their recommendations of anime and manga that they like.  They round it out with a small splash of current comics talk and, best of all, we got hate mail!!!   

Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are back together in the comic bear den.  First up, a little X-Men: Days of Future Past talk.  Then it is a big 'ol helping of current comic book talk which includes Forever Evil, Teen Titans, Superman: Doomed, Batman/Superman, Earth 2, Future's End, Firestorm, The Wake, Secret Origins, Cyclops, Amazing Spider-Man, Afterlife with Archie, C.O.W.L., Prophet, Velvet and Thanos Annual #1 (sort of). Then the mega funny and uber sexy Brad Taylor of Warner Brothers Studios Tours joins in on the fun to discuss the Batman at 75 tour of the studio that Brad has initiated.  He talks with us about what you can expect to see if you go on the Batman tour, the Warners lot, the Conan and Ellen shows (both of which Brad also works for) and so much more! Let's just say the second half involves cameos from Madonna, Darla from The Little Rascals and Optimus Prime (sort of). A final word about this episode.  We were dogged with technical issues left and right when we recorded.  There were a couple of dro

As Brother Bryan is sequestered on the job, Billy Z and Justin start the show off with a terrific interview with writer Clifford Meth. Cliff has compiled a series of his past columns about the comic book industry into Comic Book Babylon, out now from Aardwolf Publishing. Cliff takes us through his history in comics and his advocacy for creators rights, why he decided to put together Comic Book Babylon and where he thinks the industry is at today.  Dave Cockrum, Gene Colan, Stan Lee, Neal Adams, Harlan Ellison and many other figures work their way in and out of our conversation. Cliff also discusses what's coming up from Aardwolf Publishing, the continuing sale of Dave Cockrum's comic book collection and hella more! The show wraps up with a discussion about comic books that were cancelled before their time in light of the recent New 52 cancellations from DC. Listen in as the bear boys offer up their picks for brilliant-but-cancelled books which had the axe fall on them way too soon such as Captain Britain and

Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger return to cover T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2, cover dated February 1966.  Hear all about the terror that is Dynavac, a big reveal about The Warlord, Dynamo's love interest, Mr. Fong, the Junior T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, NoMan's cloak in Newfoundland, and the best mutated fish-man of all time! All that plus Thundercorn, Rob's wife Kathy makes a brief cameo appearance and we let you know what you should ask Rob Liefeld to sketch.

The Comic Book Bears are very pleased to welcome Kyle Schmidt to the show for the first time!  Kyle is the comic book editor at Milwaukee’s Crimespree Magazine. Both Kyle and Billy Z attended the C2E2 convention in Chicago recently and they both recount their con experiences.  Billy also talks about the Batman at 75 program at the Paley Center in NYC that he went to.  After that the bears all join in for some Free Comic Book Day and Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie talk. Then they shift over to current comics talk, hitting on DC’s Future’s End, Shutter from Image, Batman: Eternal, Southern Bastards #1, Cyclops #1, Amazing Spider-Man #s 1 and 1.1 and Dan Slott, Black Science, Rick Remender, Original Sin, Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man , Stormwatch #30, Secret Origins #1 and lots more.  The show is end capped as always with our Woofs of the Week. Also this episode marks the first of our Semi-Annual Bob Joy Drinking Game episodes! Take a shot every time you hear us bring up Bob Joy. Follow this instruction and you

Justin, Bryan and Billy Z are back together in the bear den for the first time in a while! Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD dominates the opening part of the cast, then they switch over to current comic talk, rapping about the current Cap books by Rick Remender, Uncanny Avengers, Magneto, All-New X-Men, Nightcrawler, All-New X-Factor, Inhuman, Daredevil, Action Comics, Supergirl, Batman and Wonder Woman, Batman: Eternal, Batgirl, Earth 2, The Wake, Trillium, Molly Danger by Jamal Igle, Iron Bound by Brendan Leach, curling, RuPaul's Drag Race and transphobia and much more.   Through the course of the episode we discover that Bryan has a thing for Lana Lang and that Justin is a Pumpkin Pounder. (If you don't know what that is, well you'll just have to listen in.)

Billy Z and past guest Bob Joy are joined by Chris Cummins for an Riverdale-riffic episode. Chris is a geek culture writer for Den of Geek US, Topless Robot and Geekadelphia and he also hosts the Nerd Nite Philadelphia events.  Chris has hosted a number of trivia events in the past.  He serves in the same function here with a trivia contest between Bob and Billy.  Chris is also an Archie Comics expert and the conversation turns to a lengthy discussion of all things Archie, past and present. Life with Archie, Sabrina, Jughead's Diner, The Fox, Kevin Keller, Cosmo the Merry Martian, Josie and the Pussycats, Afterlife with Archie - they're all in there and much, much more! Then we get into new comics talk including Animal Man, 50 Girls 50, Daredevil, The Joker: The Clown Prince of Crime, All-New Invaders, Silver Surfer, Justice League of America and more. The episode is closed out, as always, with our Woofs of the Week! And Billy overuses the word "affection" - might make for a good drinking game!  

Bill Zanowitz of the Comic Book Bears and Rob Staeger are the hosts for a new podcast about one of the coolest concepts from the Silver Age of Comics - The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents!! Rob and Bill will be conducting an issue by issue examination covering the entire history of the super-heroic espionage team, from its beginnings in 1965 to the current book published by IDW. On this first episode, the spyglass is focused firmly on T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1, published by Tower Comics and cover dated November 1965. Hear all about how Dynamo, NoMan and Menthor came into being as we discuss tales crafted by such comic greats as Wally Wood, Reed Crandall, Gil Kane, George Tuska and Mike Sekowsky.  This episodes T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Tracks - The Blasters "Samson and Delilah" Duran Duran - "Sound of Thunder"  

Billy Z and Justin welcome the amazing Wendi Freeman to the Comic Book Bears Podcast for a rockin' crossover episode with Wendi's Double Page Spread podcast!!! In the first of a two episode crossover, Wendi and the bears talk about rock and roll related comics from the 50s to the 80s. On the turntable - The Beatles, The Originals, The Defenders, Korn, Wings, Matt Wagner, The Micronauts, The Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, the Josie and the Pussycats movie, Riot Grrrl Josie and the Pussycats (we wish), KISS, John Romita Jr., Teen Titans, Alice Cooper, rock stars who freaked us out as kids, Dazzler, more Dazzler, even more Dazzler, Shrapnel, Sonic Disruptors, Steeltown Rockers, Rock and Roll Comics, Todd Loren and Revolutionary Comics, The Plasmatics, Dan DiDio impressions, Undertow from Image, True Detective, Patrick Cox, Legands of the Knight and tangents galore!  And this is just the beginning - check out Wendi's Double Page Spread Podcast for the second part soon! I

Brother Bear Justin is still on the mend from his most recent surgery so filling his corner of the den this time around is James Figueiredo of the amazing Brazilian online community Bear Nerd! We start off with James taking us through the comic scene in Brazil, some of his all-time favorite books, Bear Nerd, Grizzly and the Bear Patrol (which weaves a little bit into the upcoming Crime Fighter Inquiry) and comic translations. Then it's a whole lotta comic book and comic creator talk with James, Bryan and Billy Z - The Trial of Jean Grey, Amazing X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, the Avengers books, She-Hulk, Fantastic Four #1 and Leonard Kirk, James Robinson, Leave It To Chance, Miracleman #3, Forever Evil #6, Action Comics #29, the First Contact crossover, Forever Evil: Blight, Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Two, Wonder Woman, Starlight, Jupiter's Legacy, King's Watch, Mark Lanning, Archer and Armstrong, Loki: Ragnarock and Roll, classic Justice League International, The Wake, Zombie Killer Rex and much more!

It's an especially schizophrenic episode this time round. Our bi-weekly bear blabfest covers a whole lot of ground - Charles Soule's Strange Attractors and She-Hulk, Mike Allred, lawyers who write comic books, Ms. Marvel, Justice League, Batman, weekly comics (Action Comics Weekly, 52 and more), Scooby Doo Team Up, Looney Tunes, Batman: The TV Stories, Lil' Battlestar Galactica, Bergen Street Comics scaling back on carrying monthly titles from the Big 2, Miracleman, Marvelman, more Miracleman, even more Miracleman, The Lego Movie, Justice League 3000 and wrapping up with our Woofs of the Week (and some unexpected parrothead talk!) INTRO - Matthew Sweet - "Where You Get Love" 0:52 - Charles Soule's Strange Attractors (Archaia) and She-Hulk #1 (Marvel) 21:13 - Mike Allred and cartoony art styles 27:47 - Lawyers Who Write Comic Books 28:44 - Ms. Marvel #1 (Marvel) 36:00 - Justice League #28 (DC) 38:00 - Batman #28 (DC) 40:50 - Weekly Comics (Action Comics Weekly, 52, Countdown and more.) 50:14 - Sccoby-Doo Team-

Former DC collections editor Bob Joy joins us once again for a spirited discussion about the Silver Age of Comics! With Bryan about to get his Silver Age on by reading the Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. collection, the other bear boys take us through their favorites from this era in comics. Jimmy Olsen! Curt Swan! The Brave and the Bold! Fanastic Four! Arnold Drake! Tales of the Bizarro World! Wally Wood! Mighty Crusaders! Dick Dillin! The White Suit Wonder Woman! Alex Toth! Challengers of the Unknown! Roy Thomas! The Inhumans! Jack Kirby! Millie the Model! Steve Ditko! T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents! And that's just scratching the Silver Age surface! After that, some new comics talk with RASL, Fury Max, Charles Soule and Strange Attractors, Code Monkey Save World, All-New X-Factor, Superior Spider-Man, the Green Lantern/Red Lanterns flip book, Earth 2 Annual #2 and more in the CBB spotlight.  All this plus the bears being bears and "guest" appearances by Lisa Rinna and Joan Rivers.

This time around we find only Billy Z and Bryan in the comic bear den (as Justin continues to hibernate) and they offer up a very loose and lo-fi episode. Discussion topics this time around include author and NPR contributor Glen Weldon, Mid-Atlantic Leather and other gay leather events (stick with us - there is a super-hero connection), All-New X-Factor, All-New Invaders, Jonathan Hickman's S.H.I.E.L.D. and unfinished mini-series, Boom's The Foundation, Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows, Star Wars #13, Robotech/Voltron. Doc Savage, The Saviors, Green Arrow, buying back issues, Miracleman, illegal downloads of comics, gaps in our reading, DC's cancellations and the state of DC (just guess where that goes) and a new feature - The Woof of the Week.

There weren't a lot of new books to discuss when we joined together on the mic early last week so the bear boys decided to talk about their all-time favorite comic book based movies, live action and animated series.  The recipe also called for a dash of overrated and worst comic book movies along with rehashing some celebrity encounters.  But we weren't going to give you a show completely devoid of comic book talk so you'll hear what we think about the Marvel 2014 teasers and recent Batman books.  Then Billy Z, Bryan and Justin talk ... sports!?!?! Warning - some explicit language. (But you already knew that.) INTRO - OCEAN COLOUR SCENE - "You've Got It Bad" 01:55 - Intro and our favorite comic book based movies 17:50 - Overrated comic book movies 23:55 - Great scenes from comic book based films 25:57 - Least favorite comic book films 27:55 - Favorite comic book based live action series 39:35 - Celebrity encounters 52:40 - Favorite comic book based animated films 1:05:55 - Current comic book talk - Marvel 201

In our final episode for 2013, Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are pleased to welcome Ed Catto of Captain Action Enterprises to the show! Captain Action has a special place in history as being the very first super-hero action figure.  Ed takes us through the history of the character and his appearances in comic books past and present, including the current Codename Action mini-series written by Chris Roberson and published by Dynamite Entertainment. Ed is also a partner and co-founder of the Bonfire Agency, a marketing firm centered around helping companies connect directly with genre markets. And since we are close to the holidays, favorite comic-related yuletide gifts work their way into the conversation. In the second part of the episode, the bear boys go through their favorites of 2013. Uncanny Avengers. Avengers Arena. Forever Evil. Saga. Hawkeye. Batman. The Fifth Beatle. Captain Midnight. All-New X-Men. Jonathan Hickman. Brian Michael Bendis. Charles Soule. Matt Fraction. Chip Zdarsky. Ramon Perez. David Aja

Brother Bryan is out celebrating so Billy Z and Justin welcome William Lindus from the Movie Bears Podcast to the CBBears Den to fill the third seat! Will lets us in on his history reading comics then we get into current comics talk.  You'll hear us rap about Saga, Earth 2, Forever Evil, Year Zero, Animal Man, Scooby Doo Team Up, Fearless Defenders, Avengers Arena, Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe (... again), X-Men: Legacy, Hawkeye, Amazing X-Men, Infinity, Inhumanity, The Fifth Beatle, the trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Gal Gadot cast as Wonder Woman, Alan Moore and Watchmen.  All this plus a huge tangent about lousy haircut and facial hair choices in our collective past, Justin thinks Watchmen is boring and the movie was better, Bill can't pronounce "Moira Queen" to save his life and this episode is probably the only time you will hear Alan Moore being compared to Faye Dunaway. A word about the sound quality - for some reason when we recorded Bill was way over modulated and Will was a bit under m

The CBBears are pleased to have special guest Paul Kupperberg on for an interview during the first hour of our latest episode!  Paul is currently the writer of the best selling Life with Archie magazine from Archie Comics.  He also authored the first young adult prose novel featuring Kevin Keller.  Paul has written over 900 stories for Marvel, Charlton, 2000 AD, Bongo and most prominently for DC Comics, where he created Checkmate and Arion, Lord of Atlantis.  We touch on all of these as well as Paul's new novel from Crazy 8 Press, The Same Old Story and other upcoming projects.  Then the boys get into some new comic talk.  Wanna hear what we think about Afterlife with Archie #2, Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe, Green Lantern Corps #25, Harley Quinn #0, Captain Midnight, Triple Helix, X-Men: Gold, Rocket Girl and other recent books? Then listen in. (EXPLICIT WARNING - yeah, we let out a few cuss words here and there, shame on us.)

Collected editions are up first in the episode as Billy Z, Justin and Bryan are joined by former DC Comics collected editions editor Bob Joy! Bob offers up his insights into collected editions and discusses his experiences editing various books during his tenure at DC. Then we shift over to news of DC's move to Burbank and the passing of Nick Cardy.  From there we go into current comic talk, discussing Battle of the Atom, Infinity and Amazing X-Men from Marvel, Sex Criminals and Velvet from Image and DC's Forever Evil. At various points in the cast you will also hear us discuss tranny Jimmy Olsen, Spooky Bear in Provincetown, the Skip Ender's Game events, Greg Rucka, DC Showcase Presents releases, Supergirl as a teen model, the late 70's New Gods revival by Gerry Conway and Don Newton, The Adventures of Superman radio show, Ed McGuinness, Afterlife with Archie and a helluva lot more. In the mood to play a drinking game as you listen? Then take a shot every time Billy Z says "esoteric".

Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are joined this time by a host of straight guys for a wrap up of New York Comic Con 2013! Lonnie Ruland of New World Manga, The Line it is Drawn and Back Issue magazine contributor John Trumbull and Rob Staeger of The Village Voice join Billy for a rundown of their con experiences.  Then the whole gang joins in, first for a talk about growing up on Saturday morning TV in honor of the passing of Lou Scheimer then they hit the spinner rack for dem funny books! IDW Artists Editions, Code Monkey Saves World, Jules Feiffer, Dan DiDio, Jason of Star Command, Sex Criminals, Green Arrow #24, Jupiter's Legacy, Ark II, Letter 44, Afterlife with Archie all get discussed along with so much more! There's a little bit of football talk - yes Virginia, there are gay men who like football - and ... wait for it ...  Monchhichis!!!