Comic Book Bears Podcast

The bear boys welcome author and columnist Charles Baserap.  Charles is a regular contributor to forcesofgeek.com and nerdtopiacast.com and he takes us through some of his interests in comics and topics of recent columns.  After that, the discussion turns to Marvel's Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series and some other genre TV talk, Dean Trippe's Something Terrible, DC Villains Month, the latest Infinity and X-Men goings on at Marvel, Mike Carey and The Unwritten and quick takes on Sex Criminals, Jupiter's Legacy, Sidekick, The Star Wars and Kings Watch.  And this episode is closed out by our uncoolest outro music yet.

In our latest episode the bear boys welcome Rob Kelly, author of the new book HEY KIDS! COMICS, a great collection of contributions from a varied set of essayists discussing how comic books played a significant role in their lives. In addition to the book Rob also discusses ACE KILROY, a webcomic he writes.  And as Rob is the force behind the AQUAMAN SHRINE website, you know Billy Z wasn't going to have Rob guest on the show without some Arthur Curry talk.  After that, Bryan, Justin and Billy Z shift over to current comics with The Young Protectors webcomic, Battle of the Atom, Infinity, DC Villains Month books (including some talk about the hot bears of the New 52), X-Men Legacy, X-O Manowar and Eternal Warrior each getting their time in the spotlight.  You can hear all this plus, for once, the boys somehow do not venture off into Explicit Contentville! 

The Comic Book Bears boys are back with their first episode as part of the Earth 2 Podcast Network! First up, the guys reintroduce themselves then immediately cross over to crossover talk.  Bryan, Justin and Billy Z weigh in on the current big events from the Big 2 - Infinity, Forever Evil, Trinity War and Battle of the Atom.  Captain America, Thor: God of Thunder, Batman Incorporated, JH Williams leaving Batwoman, DC editorial woes, and the Relic and Joker books from Villains Months then get their turn in the spotlight.  Lastly, Justin and Billy Z tell of their experiences at Baltimore Comic Con. There's a lot of spoilers, a little bit of cussing and a whole lot of superhero talk in this one!

Billy Z, Justin and Bryan come back atcha with 90+ minutes about what's going on over in the Big 2's team books these days. The Avengers, Justice League, X-Men, Legion and Green Lantern Corps families of titles each get their time in the spotlight, touching  on the New Universe, Hunger, Constantine, Injustice: Gods Among Us and What If: AVX in the process. After the team talk subsides Thor: God of Thunder, Batman/Superman, Captain America, Batman 66, Satellite Sam and Hawkeye Annual #1 each go under the hirsuite homo microscope. All this plus shout-outs to Earth 2 Podcast, Flame On!, Furgasm, Victor Dandridge's 8-Bit Challenge and Bergen Street Comics.  And ... weight loss discussions? EXPLICIT CONTENT (Yup, there's one or two cuss words in the mix from these potty mouths.)

Your bear boys Justin, Bryan and Billy Z are back with a new episode! First up, Man of Steel gets the Comic Book Bears once over. After that, our first guest straight bear Lonnie Ruland of the excellent New Jersey shop New World Manga joins the discussion to talk about news from the DC Retailers Roadshow he attended. Lonnie and Bill were both in attendance at the recent AnimeNEXT convention in NJ and they discuss their con experiences.  The con talk continues with Bryan's experiences at HeroesCon which include his moderating a Kicstarter panel. DC Villains Month, Vertigo, digital comics, Neal Adamas, Jim Steranko and the History of Comics, Scooby Doo team-ups, The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song, the connection between rock and roll and comics, Brian Epstein, Fearless Defenders, The End Times of Bram and Ben, Mind the Gap and Justice League of America's Vibe - they are all in the mix here. Lastly, this episode is dedicated to the memory of Patience Michael Allen.

Justin is back ... and bionic!  What's on the docket with all three of our boys back in the den? Let's see - Bill visits Bryan in Orlando, Beareoke, A Comic Shop, Paul McCartney and seeing acts kick off tours in Florida, Justin under the knife, Uncanny Avengers, Rogue, Wasp (Slutty Jan), Wonder Man, the rest of the current Avengers world, "Pushing Justin Buttons",  Hickman's Fantastic Four and FF, X-Men #1, Green Lantern #20, Robert Venditti, Legion of Super-Heroes, LEGO Batman - The Movie: DC Super Heroes Unite, Superman Unbound, Supergirl #20, Jae Lee, Simonson's run on Fantastic Four, the Harras era Avengers, All-Star Superman, Sandman, Doctor Who, Len Wein's Justice League of America, the Christine Spar Grendel, Fear Itself, classic X-Men Crossovers, Atlantis Attacks, Operation Galactic Storm, Millennium, Day of Judgment, Our Worlds At War, Acts of Vengeance, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., Armageddon 2001, Days of Future Present, Private Eye, Low Concept 3 (and how it can be hazardous

As Brother Justin deals with a rainy ride home, this time around it is only Billy Z and Bryan occupying the bear den. A two hour long gabfest revolving around Bill's time at C2E2, b-one #7 by Bobgar Ornelas, 3-D comics, Steve Bryant, Steed and Mrs. Peel, Captain Britain, digital comics, Marvel Masterworks and Omnibus editions, Mattel Retro-Action figues, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar, Star Wars: Legacy, The Bible 2, Free Comic Book Day, Infinity, Oni's The Strangers, Captain Midnight, The Stuff of Legend, Age of Ultron, Bryan Hitch, Captain America, Cable and X-Force, Daredevil, Iron Man, Superior Spider-Man, Detective Comics #19, Action Comics #19, Animal Man, Parker and Samnee's Adventures of Superman, Batman Incorporated, Jupiter's Legacy, East of West, Lost Vegas, JMS, Movie Bear Podcast, Kickstarters from Jontahan Coulton and I See Dragons, Charlie Harding, Husker Du and the sheer awesomeness of Wendi Freeman and the Double Page Spread Podcast!

Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are back with a convention centered ep with a healthy dose of Star Wars talk!  Justin went to the Tri-State Comic Con in Huntington, West Virginia as Bill headed to Asbury Park Comic Con in his home state of New Jersey and they fill us in on meetings, purchases and going on.  Then Bryan joins in on the current comic talk.  East of West #1, Batgirl #19 and the trans reveal, Billy Tucci, Dia De Los Muertos, All-New X-Men, Ambush Bug, Sam Ita's amazing pop up books, Ace Kilroy, ModHero, Age of Ultron, Superior Spider-Man #6AU, Guardians of the Galaxy #1, Star Wars: Legacy, Injustice, Hawkeye, DC's upcoming villains month, No Gods and Dustin Carson, Karate Kid, Dan DiDio, Brian Wood's Star Wars, Adhouse Books - they're all in there.  Plus, why Batman and Red Robin #19 brought out Grumpy Bill.

Bryan offers up his tales of this year's MeganCon in Orlando with Dean Cain, Neal Adams, Barret Biggs, Charlie Thurston, Benjamin Butler, Rod Roddenberry and (surprise) Ramon Perez working their way into the mix.  Afterwards we discuss the changes to Adventures of Superman #1, get into some X-Men talk (All-New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, 80's Captain Britain by Alan Davis), Action Comics #18, Nova #2, Rom and the Spaceknights, Marvel events, disagreement on Fearless Defenders, Batman & Robin #18, the original end sequence for Batman Inc. #8, Lost Vegas, Thor: God of Thunder, Manhattan Projects, The Private Eye, Doctor Who comics, Winter Soldier #15, Peter Cannon Thunderbolt #6, the awesomeness of The Rocketeer, Comixology freebies, Asbury Comic Con, It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman, the Earth-2 Podcast and a look back at comics from 1993. All that plus Kickstarters (Veronica Mars, Alan White's Power Principle) that we are keeping our eyes on and our dream pieces of original art.

The new episode starts off with a more indie vibe than usual with Billy Z and Bryan covering Prophet, Red Team, Lost Vegas, Sex, Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror, The Shadow:Year One and the wrap up of Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson's Happy.  Then Justin joins in and the boys pull Batman Inc #8, Legion of Super-Heroes #17, the first issues of Justice League of America and Vibe, Hellblazer #300, Nova #1 (and how Jeph Loeb can be irritating) and Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1 off of the spinner rack and discuss.  This episode also marks the first appearance of Drunk Billy on the show!

Orson Scott Card's upcoming story arc on the new Adventures of Superman was all over the news and the Comic Book Bears boys weigh in on the controversy for most of the episode. They still get in some new comics talk and cover Batman #17, New Avengers, a bad bearish hottie in Earth 2, Rotworld, Batman and Robin Annual #1, Wolverine and the X-Men, Secret Avengers #1, Batman Incorporated, Ramon Perez, FF, Green Arrow #17, Uncanny X-Men, Uncanny Avengers, New Avengers, Hawkeye #7, Legion Lost #16, Sword of Sorcery and creative changes in the Green Lantern titles.  They also weigh in with what they think would be great TV shows based on comic properties.  Flame On, Art and Franco and Aw Yeah Comics and our new friends at BearNerd get some love. Plus Bryan offers up some tales of comic shopping while on the road for work and Billy Z and Justin disagree BIG TIME about a nearly two year old anniversary comic.

Our good friend New Mutant rejoins us for a special roundtable.  Bryan, Justin, Billy Z and Alan go over each of their all-time favorite titles and choose their three favorite issues!  Some clues to the choices - Kitty Pryde, Timber Wolf, Apocalypse and The Shade.  Then we serve up some new comics talk with All-New X-Men, New Avengers and the end of Remender's Uncanny X-Force on the menu.  We also talk about Alan's Power Principle, Flame On, Twilight(!), Superman apparel,  cosplay and The World's Strongest Mailman.  And then everyone talks about BillyZ for five minutes. (Sorry, there are a few Skype drop outs on this ep that we couldn’t work around.)

Bryan returns to the den to give us his bests of for 2012, followed by a discussion of our comic related holiday swag, our expectations for 2013 and a quick dive into what we are currently reading. Hickman. Remender. Bendis. Ramon Perez. Prophet. Deathmatch. Joe Shuster's fetish art. Justice League. Legos. Superman. Batwoman. Thunderbolts. Secret Avengers. The Shade. FF. George Takei in Kevin Keller. Morrison's Happy.  All-New X-Men.  Indestructible Hulk. They're all in there!

We have a little more stretching room in the Comic Book Bears Den in this episode as our brother Bryan was unable to join us for this 2012 wrap-up episode.  Billy Z and Justin talk about their fave raves of the year in this admittedly somewhat somber episode.  Somewhere along the lines Saga, The Boys, Dave Wyndorf and Monster Magnet, Dan Slott’s death threats, Legion of Super-Heroes, Jonathan Hickman, Infinite Crisis, Joe Kubert, Marvel Avengers Alliance, Team 7, JL8, Scott Williams, Gail Simone, the Amazing Spider-Man film, Before Watchmen, Robot God Akamatsu, DC Editorial, Justice League, Nicola Scott, Pantha, Jim Lee, All-New X-Men, Night Force, Vibe, FF, AVX: Consequences and The Polyphonic Spree all work their way into the conversation.  See you in 2013!

Bill Zanowitz, Justin Allen and Bryan Pittard return with another episode focused mostly on the new Marvel Now! books. We tackle the recent first issues of Fantastic Four, FF, Avengers, Captain America, Deadpool, All-New X-Men and more!  Also getting some airtime are the end of the Bendis era of Avengers, AvX: Consequences, Cyclops, Batwoman #0, Karen Berger's departure from Vertigo, Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre, Batman Incorporated, changes to New Crusaders, The Boys #72, Masks #1, Battlefields by Ennis along with talk about Hallmark ornaments, our buddy Dean from GuyFi, some bear stuff, the Dream Weaver Kickstarter from our friends at Geeks Out, Songs for Lexi, internet rudeness, our upcoming convention plans along with some plotting for CBBears world domination in 2013. Anything else you ask? We briefly find out that all three co-hosts are pretty good at George Takei imitations.  And we also have Bill taking the potty mouth crown away from Justin for an episode, Bryan's love for Jonathan Hickman running s

Justin, Bryan and Billy Z come back atcha with a whole lotta comic (Brightest Day, Ultimate FF, JK Woodward, 80's Iron Man, Hickman's FF, Marvel Now Point One, Bendis Avengers, Jeff Lemire, Justice League Dark, Green Arrow, AVX: Consequences, Masters of the Universe, Happy, Action Comics Annual, Tony Lee and Doctor Who, Manhattan Projects, World's Finest, Earth 2, Kevin Maguire, National Comics One-Shots, Multiple Warheads, Bloodstrike, Brubaker's Captain America, Before Watchmen, Superman #13, Joe Kubert Presents, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, God Hates Astronauts, Alan Moore's Supreme) and non-comic (knee surgery, Bear Bust in Orlando, Sawmill Campgrounds, Hurricane Sandy, Honey Boo Boo, child actors, the election) jibber-jabber.

We were able to record an episode just before Justin went in for his surgery! In this ep, Billy Z discusses his experiences at NYCC.  Bryan, Justin and Bill then cover recent comics news and NYCC announcements and then the boys discuss some of their favorite licensed titles - Micronauts, Dr. Who, Jonny Quest, Charmed and The Lone Ranger are among the books based on properties outside of comics that get some airtime.  (Or should that be beartime?)

Just before Billy Z heads out to New York Comic Con, Justin, Bryan and Billy convene to discuss the wrap up of Avengers vs. X-Men, the upcoming Marvel Now titles, and the recent DC Zero issues.  But, there's more - the more being Grant Morrison's Happy, Black Kiss, IDW's KISS, Avengers, Amethyst, the Milestone characters, Wildstorm, Talon, Phantom Stranger, Wonder Woman, Cable, Rocketeer, Prophet and The Tower Chronicles among other topics the boys touch on at some point.

Bryan Pittard from the Flame On podcast joins us once again for our post Baltimore Comic Con episode! What will you expect to hear the bear boys discuss in this episode? How about convention tales, The Comic Reader, Alan/New Mutant's Power Principle, gossip about creators, Mark Waid, Kevin Keller, original comic art, Greg Laroque, Paul Levitz, Matt Wagner, Janet Lee, Barry Kitson, cosplay, panels, Marvel Now news, Chaykin's Black Kiss, The Manhattan Projects, the new(-ish) Vertigo titles, karaoke and ... yes ... bearaoke?  They also get into loads of X-Men talk and it is confirmed that Justin is a giant!

You were probably wondering where the hell did these guys go?  Well, we are back with the first of two episodes to be released this week! (And now that summer is over, we will be coming to you on a more regular basis!)  In this episode we talk about The Power Principle, Joe Kubert's passing, Brian Wood's upcoming Star Wars book, Liefeld's New 52 talk, Marvel Now, hot books with speculators, Darkseid, JSA, DC Archives, The Boys, CyberForce, Kickstarter, Young Bottoms in Love, Love and Capes, AVX.  All this plus Justin gives Billy Z a DC movies quiz and Billy Z gets all gay-activist-political for about 40 seconds!