Matt & Brett Love Comics!

It’s time to talk comics, and boy oh boy do Matt and Brett cover a lot of them in this week’s discussion. Hulk: Season One, Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, Gotham Central and Year Ones both Robin and Batgirl. Plus an extensive shout out to colorist extraordinaire Jordie Bellaire and a special drop-in by next week’s guest, Frank Hejl! Next week we’ll be talking about IDW Publishing’s Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriquez. The first volume is titled “Welcome to Lovecraft”; you can get it on Amazon or on Comixology. Music: “All Arise!” by the Decemberists "Renaissance of the Colorist" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/renaissance-of-the-colorist.html

We’re joined by actor/sketch comedian/Hanes-appointed Grillmaster Michael Hartney as we dive into the time-twisting antics of Deadpool #11 and Amazing Spider-Man #47. How do two issues published 30 years apart relate to each other? Listen to find out! Or look it up on Wikipedia! Or listen to last week’s episode! It’s not a huge secret. Warning: the contents of Deadpool #11 were hilarious enough to warrant numerous staged readings. In addition to being a hilarious comedian, Michael Hartney is arguably the world’s biggest Superman fan, and leads us into our first discussion of the Man of Steel. It’s in-depth! Deadpool v2 #11 by Joe Kelly and Pete Woods is available in digital format on Comixology or collected with Amazing Spider-Man #47 by Stan Lee and John Romita in Deadpool Classic v3, available on Amazon. Michael Hartney performs with sketch team The Prom at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City on the second Monday of every month. He can also be seen in the 30 Rock episode “Idiots Are People Two!” Music: “Money (That’s What I Want)” by The Sonics "Michael Hartney / Deadpool v2 #11 (1997) & Amazing Spider-Man #47 (1967)" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/amazing-deadpool.html

Live from Panera Bread, it’s Matt & Brett Love Comics! This week, Matt & Brett discuss the personal importance of next week’s book club pick: Deadpool #11 and Amazing Spider-Man #47; the perks of having a spreadsheet for your comics collection; saying something is funny vs. the thing actually being funny; where the line is drawn between couponing and hoarding; and the first creative teams they followed. All that and busy restaurant noise await within. Make thee with the clickery! You can order this issue of Deadpool from Amazon or download at Comixology. Music: “Life Is Long” by David Byrne & Brian Eno "Organized Hoarding" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/organized-hoarding.html

Things get cute and cuddly this week as Matt, Brett, and guests Kelly Hudson and Alan Starzinski discuss We3! And by “cute” and “cuddly” we mean “heart-breaking” and “extremely violent.” Along with serious discussions about free will, find out which podcasters are dog people, which are cat people, and which one is a rabbit person (none of this is literal). Also both Alan and Kelly were on the AMC series Comic Book Men so… you know we had to talk about that. The modern Vertigo/DC Comics classic We3, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, can be purchased online on Comixology and Amazon. Alan Starzinski is a performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City. You can see him improvise with his team Sandino at Harold Night and in their own show, Unsolved Mysteries. Kelly Hudson is an editor for College Humor as well as a performer on the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch team Beige. You can watch her in the webseries Rejected Pitches, part of the Above Average channel on YouTube. She is also an author of the fake menu Fuds. Music: “The Palace At 4 AM” by A.C. Newman "Kelly Hudson and Alan Starzinski / We3 #1-3 (2004)" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/we3.html

Apologies for being late with the show this week. Family vacations, y'all! Matt and Brett flirt briefly with turning this into a podcast exclusively about The Real World before diving into the meat of the show: Rob Liefeld and Phil Donahue. Okay, that’s just one thing discussed, but your interest is totally piqued now? The next book club pick will be 2004 Vertigo mini-series We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. The series can be purchased either through Amazon or Comixology. Correction Timothy Green II drew the Annihilation: Conquest - Starlord series. Music: “Michael and the Slipper Tree” by The Equals "I’m Mad About A Lot Of Things" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/mad-about-things.html

Step inside The Cone of Truth, where Matt and Brett have been joined by Nicole and the always awesome Kelly Sue DeConnick. Things get truthy about all of Kelly Sue’s current and upcoming projects, including the just-released Captain Marvel #2, the just-announced Avengers Assemble, and the just-Tumblr’d Ninja Princess Zombie Rockstar. This week we discuss Kelly Sue’s pick, Planetary, and try to wrap our brains the mad, mad genius that is Warren Ellis. Also, a shout out to Olympic Cards & Comics in Lacey, WA. You can find Planetary #1-6 by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday on Comixology or Amazon. Kelly Sue DeConnick’s work can be seen monthly in Captain Marvel and other fine comics. You can follow her on Twitter and Tumblr. Music: “Intergalactic” by The Beastie Boys "Kelly Sue DeConnick and Nicole Drespel / Planetary #1-6 (1999)" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/planetary.html

We take a break from our regular schtick to bring you something special: Matt & Brett Love Comics! in association with Left Handed Radio present The Sequel Machine. The Sequel Machine recruits 24 writers to write the sequels for film’s biggest franchises, one page at a time. The catch: the writers only get to read the page before theirs in a round-robin, exquisite corpse style. The end result is hilarious, twisted, and about as coherent as any other misguided Hollywood sequel. This is Spider-Man 4. Written by: Brett White, Aaron Burdette, Frank Hejl, Anna Rubanova, Adam Bozarth, Jason Saenz, Taylor Moore, Dan Chamberlain, Beth Appel, Ben Stadler, Ari Scott, Kerry McGuire, Mike Scollins, Dru Johnston, Katey Healy-Wurzburg, John Freiler, Jon Bershad, Chris Schell, Chris Wilkes, Dave Bluvband, Kevin Hines, Will Hines, Erik Tanouye, and Matt Little. Performed live by: Jeremy Bent, Adam Bozarth, Aaron Burdette, Dan Chamberlain, Matt Little, Taylor Moore, Cathryn Mudon, Anna Rubanova, and Brett White. Featuring Michael Hartney as esoteric comic-book comedian Nicky Gold. See the next Sequel Machine show live: Dark Knight 4. UCB Theater East, 3rd Street & Avenue A. Thursday, September 6th, 7:30 PM. Check out more photos from the show by Curtis Retherford. Artwork by MRTIM, creator of webcomic Our Valued Customers. Buy his book! Music: “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears For Fears “Spider-Man Theme” by Joe Perry “Spydermann” by Another Bad Creation "The Sequel Machine: Spider-Man 4" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/spider-man-4.html

Things get spooky this week, though it has less to do with The Night Things and more to do with the tales told by this week’s guest, sketch comedy writer Kerry McGuire. Actually, not “spooky” so much as dark. We discuss Nicole’s pick, the first Courtney Crumrin series from Oni Press. The book inspires a little bit of talk about childhood alienation and a lot of talk about pupils. Eye pupils. Newly colored versions of Courtney Crumrin & The Night Things #1-4 can be found on Comixology and on Amazon. Kerry McGuire is a writer for the sketch comedy team Charlemagne, who perform in New York City as part of Maude Night at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Music: “Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare” by Matt & Kim "Kerry McGuire and Nicole Drespel / Courtney Crumrin & The Night Things" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/night-things.html

There’s a lot of business to cover in this episode! Up first: Nicole makes her first pick! We’ll be reading Courtney Crumrin & The Night Things #1-4 by Ted Naifeh, from Oni Press. Download it from Comixology where the first issue is available for free! Next, Matt and Brett reveal the top secret show they’ve been working on for the past few months: SPIDER-MAN 4! Matt, Brett, and 22 other comedians created a half hour Spider-Man screenplay in a round-robin, exquisite corpse writing project. On Thursday, August 2nd, the podcasts Left Handed Radio and Matt & Brett Love Comics present a special one-time-only performance of the darkest, sexiest, best movie you’ll never see. Spider-Man 4 is happening at 7:30 PM on Thursday, August 2nd, at UCB Theatre East in New York City. Reserve your tickets now! Then, Matt and Brett introduce Nicole to Marvel NOW! and get her perspective. Which books sound interesting? What’s the difference between a reboot and a relaunch? What up with all that numbering stuff? All that AND The Unchangeable Wolverine! Music: “Now It’s On” by Grandaddy "The Unchangeable Wolverine" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/unchangeable-wolverine.html

Matt and Brett are joined by the absolutely awesome Kelly Sue DeConnick. Kelly Sue joined us on the day that the first issue of Captain Marvel, her new ongoing title from Marvel Comics, was released. In addition to some Captain Marvel talk, we discuss Kelly Sue’s upcoming collaboration with artist Emma Rios on the series Pretty Deadly for Image Comics, as well as Kelly Sue’s history with writing, acting and improv comedy. We also discuss the Kelly Sue’s pick for our next episode, Planetary #1-6 by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday. Get a copy of those issues on Comixology or on Amazon, because if you haven’t read Planetary then you are missing out! Keep up with Kelly Sue DeConnick at kellysue.com and follow @kellysue on Twitter. Music: “Zero” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Kelly Sue DeConnick / Some Kind of Cosmic Coffeeshop" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/cosmic-coffeeshop.html

With a retelling of Spider-Man’s origin currently hanging around in theaters, the M&BLC crew decided to read four previous iterations of the web-slingin' wall-crawler’s origin. The tomes discussed are: Amazing Fantasy #15 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (1962) Spider-Man: Chapter One #1 by John Byrne (1998) Ultimate Spider-Man #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley (2000) Ultimate Comics Spider-Man v2 #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli (2011) How does the Silver Age debut of Spider-Man hold up 50 years after its release? Did anything about John Byrne’s 1998 reboot work? And does Oscorp’s HR packet include an overview of Greek mythology? Find out in this episode! Katey Healy-Wurzburg hosts a monthly show at the Upright Citizens Brigade East Village Theatre called The Fascinator. You can follow her on Twitter at @khealywu. Curtis Retherford writes on his website, curtisretherford.com. Check out his upcoming web series, Quest for an Unknown Planet. Music: “It’s Real” by Real Estate "Katey Healy-Wurzburg and Curtis Retherford / Spider-Man Origins (1962-2011)" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/spider-man-origins.html

Matt and Brett team up to introduce the next book club pick and discuss some of their favorite comic book related summer memories. Because it’s summer. You know that, right? Find out which summer comic event caused Brett to stop breathing and which comic film cheered Matt up after a disaster date! To tie in to this summer’s repeat telling of Spider-Man’s origin, our next book club episode will spotlight four previous retellings from the comics themselves! They are: Amazing Fantasy #15 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (1962) Spider-Man: Chapter One #1 by John Byrne (1998) Ultimate Spider-Man #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley (2000) Ultimate Comics Spider-Man v2 #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli (2011) Click through to purchase these issues on ComiXology, or if you feel like dropping a rather thick stack of cash for these and many other issues, you can purchase them in the following collections! Music: “Shine A Light” by Apples in Stereo "Summer Memories" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/summer-memories.html

Immediately after seeing this summer’s latest reboot, Brett, Katey, Lauren and Sebastian discuss “The Amazing Spider-Man” on the street outside the movie theater. WARNING: Some spoilers and a lot of sighing. Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments, true believers. Excelsior! Music: Theme from Spider-Man: The Animated Series "The Amazing Spider-Man" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/spider-man-movie.html

The show makes its first foray into independent territory, courtesy of Ryan Stegman’s fateful pick. During the trio’s discussion about “The Death-Ray” by Daniel Clowes, they realize that smoking is really awesome (it gives you powers!), the ‘70s were pretty much forgetful, and Brett went through a wicked Everclear phase. Plus, lengthy discussions on the parallels of comedy and comic books, Twitter and careers. This episode is free-wheelin’! You can purchase “The Death-Ray” from Amazon.com. Ryan Stegman is a comic book artist best known for his work on Scarlet Spider and She-Hulks. His work will be featured next on Fantastic Four, alongside writer Jonathan Hickman. You can follow him on Twitter @RyanStegman and Tumblr ryanstegman.tumblr.com. Music: “Second Chance” by Peter Bjorn and John "Ryan Stegman / The Death-Ray (2004)" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/the-death-ray.html

Artist Ryan Stegman has been blowing up at Marvel Comics this year thanks to his work on the runaway hit Scarlet Spider, and he will continue to explode with an upcoming stint on Fantastic Four. Matt and Brett invited Ryan to join the book club and it was a blast. In this chat-filled episode, Ryan tells his secret origin story (involving mysterious headaches and a con-man) and Matt defends the infamous “Clone Saga”! Also briefly introduced is the next book club pick, selected by Mr. Stegman himself. It’s “The Death-Ray” by Daniel Clowes! You can order the book through Amazon. This one comes highly recommended (moreso than the previous pick) so do check it out before listening to next week’s episode! You can follow Ryan Stegmen on Twitter @RyanStegman and see some of his art on ryanstegman.tumblr.com. Part 2 of the interview continues here. Music: “The Only Place” by Best Coast "Ryan Stegman / Con-Man Chiropractor" originally appeared at http://mattandbrettlovecomics.com/podcast/2012/ryan-stegman.html