A companion to both the DC Comics blogging of Diabolu Frank and The Marvel Super Heroes Podcast, DC Bloodlines covers the library of one of North America's longest lived and most respected comic book publishers, as well as their usage in other media, often with a focus on lesser known characters.
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Email*Tweet*#AtomPod*Power of the Atom*Rolled Spine PodcastsJoining the Justice League?By Roger Stern, Graham Nolan, K.S. Wilson and more!From DC Comics’s Holiday 1988 cover-dated Power of the Atom #9 & Justice League International #24!
Email*Tweet*#AtomPod*Power of the Atom*Rolled Spine PodcastsInvasion! Aftermath Extra!By Roger Stern, Graham Nolan, K.S. Wilson and more!From DC Comics’s Holiday 1988 cover-dated Power of the Atom #8, plus Starman #6 & Invasion #3!
Email*Tweet*#AtomPod*Power of the Atom*Rolled Spine PodcastsInvasion! First Strike! Extra!By Roger Stern, Graham Nolan, K.S. Wilson and more!From DC Comics’s Holiday 1988 cover-dated Power of the Atom #7, plus Invasion #2 & Hawk and Dove #1!
Email*Tweet*#AtomPod*Power of the Atom*Rolled Spine PodcastsChronos strikes with art by a Legend!By Roger Stern, John Byrne & K.S. Wilson!From DC Comics’s Winter 1988 cover-dated Power of the Atom #6!
Email*Tweet*#AtomPod*Power of the Atom*Rolled Spine PodcastsGuest-Starring The Elongated Man, Maxwell Lord & Oberon!By Roger Stern, Dwayne Turner & K.S. Wilson!From DC Comics’s December 1988 cover-dated Power of the Atom #5!
Email*Tweet*#AtomPod*Power of the Atom*Rolled Spine PodcastsFeaturing Hawkman and Hawkwoman!By Roger Stern, Dwayne Turner & K.S. Wilson!From DC Comics’s November 1988 cover-dated Power of the Atom #4!
Email?Tweet?#AtomPod?Power of the Atom?Rolled Spine PodcastsThe Atom in DC Bonus Book #8!By Joe Calchi, Jim Balent, & Dan Schaefer!From DC Comics’s November 1988 cover-dated Power of the Atom #4!
Email*Tweet*#AtomPod*Power of the Atom*Rolled Spine PodcastsThe Atom versus Strobe!By Roger Stern, Dwayne Turner & K.S. Wilson!From DC Comics’ October 1988 cover-dated Power of the Atom #3!
Email*Tweet*#AtomPod*Power of the Atom*Rolled Spine PodcastsThe Atom returns to super-heroing!By Roger Stern, Dwayne Turner & K.S. Wilson!From DC Comics’ September 1988 cover-dated Power of the Atom #2!
Email*Tweet*#AtomPod*Power of the Atom*Rolled Spine PodcastsThe last Ray Palmer Atom ongoing series begins!The destruction of Morlaidh!The conclusion of Sword of the Atom!By Roger Stern, Dwayne Turner & K.S. Wilson!From DC Comics’ August 1988 cover-dated Power of the Atom #1!
Email*Tweet*#AtomPod*Power of the Atom*Rolled Spine PodcastsSoft launch of the mild old direction Post-Crisis Atom!Debut of new creative team of Roger Stern, Dwayne Turner & K.S. Wilson!From DC Comics’ August 1988 cover-dated Secret Origins #29!
Coarse Language: Listener Discretion is AdvisedMeanwhile… Mr. Fixit & Diabolu Frank talk “Worlds Of DC,” meaning the DCEU and DCTV and DC Universe app and a little bit of actual comic books, hence the rare use of the term “Worlds Of DC” because nobody actual calls DC media by that name. Included are Harley Quinn, Birds of Prey, the Berlanti/CW/Arrowverse’s Crisis On Infinite Earths (especially Black Lightning,) Wonder Woman 1984, Batman/Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League Unlimited, and Black Widow.We Think You’re Special!Friend us on FacebookEmail us at rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.comTweet us as a group @rolledspine, or individually as Diabolu Frank & Illegal Machine. Fixit don’t tweet.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
ré·su·mé [rez-oo-mey, rez-oo-mey]noun1. a summing up; summary.2. a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job.In Comic Reader Résumé, I use Mike’s Amazing World of Comics to travel back through time via his virtual newsstand to the genesis point of my lifelong collecting of comics. From there, I can offer a “work history” of my fandom through my active purchasing of (relatively) new comic books beginning in January of 1982, when my interest in the medium went from sporadic and unformed to routine on through compulsive accumulation. To streamline the narrative and keep the subjects at least remotely contemporaneous, I will not generally be discussing what we call back issues: books bought long after their publication date. Sometimes, I will cover a book published on a given month that I picked up within a year or so that date, and I give myself an especially wide berth on this aspect in the first couple of “origins” episodes. We’ll get more rigidly on point as my memories crystallize and my “hobby” spirals out of control into the defining characteristic of my life (eventually outpacing squalor and competing neuroses.) It’s part personal biography, part industry history, and admittedly totally self-indulgent on my part.This episode includes Famous First Edition #9 (again,) DC Sampler #1 (yes, again,) and The New Teen Titans Annual #2 (finally.) “Transcripts”June, 19831983 DC Sampler #1Twitter#CRRésumé?Facebookrolledspinepodcasts@gmail.comComment on Résumé page or Rolled Spine Podcasts.
After nearly a year since the last episode… we’re still doing random one-off spotlights rather than actually talking about the Bloodlines event. Richard Drakunovski was a bullied white boy who trained to become a world class martial artist under the Asian O-Sensei and/or an African-American man named Benjamin Stanley and/or Ben Turner, depending on what continuity we’re talking about. This is all before we try to address Lady Shiva and her damsel-in-distress sister you probably never heard of. Set the Wayback Machine back to 1975 for our old coverage of Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #1, #2 & #3 and do a deeper dive on that last one by following along at Scans Daily. We’ll also cover #4, and then 2004’s Richard Dragon #1-6.This episode’s non-paying advertisers:M*A*S*HCastWorst Collection EverSpill Some Blood!!!**across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
The show returns as part of a multi-blog/podcast crossover covering the 1992 DC Annual event Eclipso: The Darkness Within by offering a detailed account of the first three decades of the villain's career derived from numerous print and online sources. Created by Bob Haney and Lee Elias in 1963, Eclipso appeared in House of Secrets for 19 issues before moving on to guest roles in Justice League of America, Metal Men, Green Lantern, Adventure Comics, Outsiders, The Phantom Stranger and more! See the misadventures of Bruce Gordon, Mona & Simon Bennett as they combat the super-villain! #BestEventEver Eclipso Spill Some Blood!!!* *across social media only. Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn't your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
Bloodlines: Outbreak is nearly over! Before the first quarter of the event closes, we meet ex-S.W.A.T. officer Kelvin Mao in his insectoid exoskeleton, and a new blond Batman who is never positively identified throughout the story (with the reasons for his replacement only alluded to.) Guess that means we should also look at the Batman: Sword of Azrael mini-series and do an overview of Knightfall/Knightquest/KnightsEnd to better understand what Jean-Paul Valley is doing here. I once did a wine tasting tour in the Jean-Paul Valley. That’s a joke I now regret because it conjures imagery I hadn’t considered before making it. Where was I again? These were not engaging stories, so I keep getting distracted, but you can follow along with 1993’s Batman Annual #17 at Scans Daily and get a deeper dive on the Azrael mini-series at NOT BLOG X.This episode’s non-paying advertisers:Batman KnightcastThe Overlooked Dark KnightSpill Some Blood!!!**across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
The ancient immortal African mystic Doctor Mist was introduced in a cameo on the last page of 1978's The Super Friends #12 before continuing into appearances in The Super Friends #13 & 45-46 before officially forming the Global Guardians in DC Comics Presents #46. We cover these comics to varying degrees, but our primary focus is the supposed true story of "Nommo," appended to tales starring Zatara and Zatanna. Is Dr. Mist one of the most powerful and important figures in the history of the DC Universe, or a sad and lonely fraud? You decide, and you can follow along with our reading of 1988's Secret Origins #27 at The Secret Origins Podcast.This episode's non-paying advertisers:The Longbox CrusadeThe DC Comics Presents ShowKing-Size Comics Giant-Size Fun PodcastThe Pulp 2 Pixel Podcast: Secret Sagas of the Mutliverse Spill Some Blood!!!**across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn't your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
After slipping to an unintentional monthly schedule with some uncomfortable elements and unfortunate timing, the DC Bloodlines Podcast returns for a thirteenth episode set on breaking its unlucky streak (and nearly broke Diabolu Frank with all the editing it required.) In this novel edition, special guest Pekita Trotamundos helps produce a two-person radio drama in the style of ABC-TV's 1979 Saturday morning favorite, The World's Greatest Super Friends. This is meant to reflect the early appearances of Brazil's premier super-heroine in the DC Universe, Beatriz da Costa, originally known as The Green Fury! Later known as Fire, she was created by E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon for the comic book tie-in Super Friends #25, cover-dated October, 1979. After that brief cameo battling Superman, The Green Fury went on to appear in issues #42-44, with her origin finally revealed in a full length starring role in the series' final issue, the August 1981 cover-dated #47. Foregoing the usually biting commentary and contemporary music soundtrack, this episode is a loose adaptation of these stories featuring scores culled from numerous cartoon favorites of the era. However, there is a political subtext that's hard to miss. For a peek at the early Beatriz da Costa in action, here's a look at sample pages from The Super Friends #43 at Scans_Daily.This episode's non-paying advertisers: Bedtime in the Public DomainRequired Reading With Tom and StellaJohn Adams Letters From The Front Spill Some Blood!!!**across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn't your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts
This episode looks at Nik Mayak, a New Blood with extraordinary body regeneration powers, supplemented by great agility and uncanny accuracy with blowing blades. Debuting in 1993’s Green Lantern Annual #2, we give an overview of the rest of his career in Eclipso Annual #1 & Bloodbath #1-2, the Blood Pack mini-series, Guy Gardner: Warrior #29 & 39, Deathstroke the Terminator #49, Infinite Crisis #7, Final Crisis: Superman Beyond 3D #1-2, and finally 2010’s Adventure Comics #4-5. You can follow along with our reading of the annual at Scans Daily.Spill Some Blood!!!**across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
The Guardians of the Universe chose Hal Jordan to be their Emerald Gladiator for Space Sector 2814, wielder of a Power Ring that could create jade energy constructs limited only by the bearer’s willpower and a necessary impurity that rendered it ineffective against anything colored yellow. However, the day would come when Hal Jordan would falter, and on that day his successor would rise to command the energies derived from the Master Power Battery on Oa, and that man’s name was John Stewart…This episode, we look at the 1970s adventures of Neil Adams’ & Denny O’Neil’s Green Lantern John Stewart, DC Comics’s first African-American super-hero (unless you count Vykin the Black or Black Racer, which virtually nobody does, despite Jack Kirby publishing them nearly a year earlier.) Also, an obligatory history of that jerk Jordan, mostly cribbed from Will Jacobs and Gerard Jones. You can follow along with our reading at Scans_Daily. Also, check out the Neal Adams interview at Robin Hood: Bold Outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood.This episode’s non-paying advertisers:The LanternCastGreen Lantern’s LightSpill Some Blood!!!**across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
"He was a mystery to himself! Why-- young Adam Blake wanted to know-- was he so different from other people? How did it happen that there was no one else like him in the whole wide world? Where did he really come from? Who was he? All these questions which might have unsettled an ordinary mind-- only served to whet the brain and steel the mettle of the extraordinary youth who, without knowing it, was fated to fulfill a grand and awe-inspiring destiny on Earth-- as Captain Comet-- First Man of the Future!"This episode, we explore comics' first mutant super-hero, a prototype from the Atomic Age who was a mental marvel and physical dynamo, in his Strange Adventures from the June 1951 cover-dated ninth issue through the twelfth, plus comparisons to 1987's Secret Origins Annual #1. You can follow along with our reading at Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine.This episode's non-paying advertisers:Relic RadioDoctor Who: Panel To Panel Spill Some Blood!!!**across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn't your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
his episode looks at the New Blood Myriad and the Cyborg Superman, neither of whom debuted in 1993's Superman Annual #5 (the only instance of that occurring in the Bloodlines annual event that was specifically created to introduce new characters.) Getting to know Hank Henshaw means going back to 1990 to cover Superman #42, Adventures of Superman #465 and especially Adventures of Superman #466, followed by Sasha Green's first (and technically last) appearance in Superman #77. Next we get to the actual story "Myriad!" followed by her cameo in Bloodbath Special #2 and her quasi-posthumous mentions in 1994's Action Comics #696 & 700 plus 1997's Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #7. Finally, an overview of Frank's reading of Superman comics overall, as well as the career of Hank Henshaw specifically. This one gets political, so if you're still hypersensitive about the concept of President Trump, take heed. Bonus: Our podcast's debut appearance of the most successful New Blood, Hitman! You can follow along with our reading of the annual at Scans Daily.This episode's non-paying advertisers:Less Than Live with Kate or DieThe FantasticastCristi Hates HorrorSpill Some Blood!!!* *across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn't your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
Finally, the DC Bloodlines Podcast reveals its greater scope than just one 1993 event, but rather a mandate to cover the under-served DCU by looking at the earliest published (and especially the unpublished) comics of what was intended to be the first super-heroine series for a character of African decent, Mari McCabe: The Vixen! We start with the aborted 1978 first issue created by Gerry Conway & Bob Oksner from the second Xeroxed collection of "Cancelled Comic Cavalcade" and the rejected early '80s "The Power Squad" proposal before her accessible comics debut in 1981's Action Comics #521 and her second team-up with Superman in 1984's DC Comics Presents #68, plus supplemental material from Back Issue Magazine #40!This episode's non-paying advertisers:Ultimate Spin: The Spider-Man comic book podcast about Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen StacyBlack Nerd PowerWild Pod: A Wild Dog PodcastTask Force X Spill Some Blood!!!**across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn't your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
Sigh. It’s time to deal with Courtney Mason, the heroine of The New Titans Annual #9 and her own sixteen issue series, Anima (we cover the first two issues.) Created by novelists Elizabeth Hand & Paul Witcover, Anima was one of the highest profile and powerful New Bloods, but also one of the most painful to actually read. Hope the riot grrrl soundtrack helps us get through this one. You can follow along with our reading of the annual at Scans Daily.This episode’s non-paying advertisers:Midnight: The Podcasting HourSpill Some Blood!!!**across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
The (finally bi-weekly as originally intended) podcast (not really) dedicated to DC’s New Bloods returns (for a second “season” of indefinite length after a one-off in Spring 2015 & four episodes in April)! We’re (actually only one person involved) back with a show that was 100% completed on May ?15th but left on the shelf for nearly five months because Frank got distracted by the next shiny object (specifically, four Martian Manhunter podcasts for a JLA: Year One crossover rather belatedly advertised within.) But hey, it’s funner and longer than usual with lots of goofy voices and bad acting processed through lame filters!Our subject is Nick Kovak, one of the most “successful” (highly relative usage here) of the New Bloods as the stealth vigilante with vision powers, Argus! As an advantageous byproduct of his mostly appearing in Flash comics written by his co-creator Mark Waid during the arguable heyday of Wally West’s run, we’ll get to touch on some actual well liked comics for a change! This episode covers The Flash Annual #6, spotlight segments from Bloodbath Special #2, & Flash #86 (with notes related to #92-100, the introduction of Impulse and the “Terminal Velocity” arc.) Oh, and a brief nod to the world’s most famous French-Canadian, in honor of Bass & Siskoid. You can follow along with our reading of the annual at Scans Daily.This episode’s non-paying advertisers:JLMay– The JLA: Year One Podcast Crossover EventFirst Strike: The Invasion! PodcastSpill Some Blood!!!**across social media only.Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.Email DiaboluRolled Spine Podcasts Facebook, which Frank hates and has nothing to do with.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
Coarse Language: Listener Discretion is Advised Meanwhile… Mr. Fixit, Illegal Machine, & Diabolu Frank look at the controversial 1988 Batman: The Killing Joke prestige format one-shot that has gone from one of the most revered works of a new wave of mature readers books to a (mostly) direct-to-video animated film and an albatross around the neck of DC’s attempts at outreach to modern women not in refrigerators. While the comic and flick are a touchstone, this is less an individual critique than a debate about the treatment of prominent females in comics. But bro-ier than that sounds. Beyond Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, we also talk Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello, Rafael Albuquerque, and more. We also go broader than Barbara Gordon to other imperiled heroines like Supergirl, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, Cassandra Caine, The Huntress, Bat-Girl, Batwoman, Superwoman, and yes, Sansa Stark. If you’re not up to date with Game of Thrones or Orange Is The New Black, this episode may be even more problematic for you than usual.We Think You’re Special!Friend us on FacebookEmail us at rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.comTweet us as a group @rolledspine, or individually as Diabolu Frank & Illegal Machine. Fixit don’t tweet.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
Coarse Language: Listener Discretion is Advised Meanwhile… Mr. Fixit, Illegal Machine, & Diabolu Frank look at the controversial 1988 Batman: The Killing Joke prestige format one-shot that has gone from one of the most revered works of a new wave of mature readers books to a (mostly) direct-to-video animated film and an albatross around the neck of DC’s attempts at outreach to modern women not in refrigerators. While the comic and flick are a touchstone, this is less an individual critique than a debate about the treatment of prominent females in comics. But bro-ier than that sounds. Beyond Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, we also talk Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello, Rafael Albuquerque, and more. We also go broader than Barbara Gordon to other imperiled heroines like Supergirl, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, Cassandra Caine, The Huntress, Bat-Girl, Batwoman, Superwoman, and yes, Sansa Stark. If you’re not up to date with Game of Thrones or Orange Is The New Black, this episode may be even more problematic for you than usual.We Think You’re Special!Friend us on FacebookEmail us at rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.comTweet us as a group @rolledspine, or individually as Diabolu Frank & Illegal Machine. Fixit don’t tweet.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
Coarse Language: Listener Discretion is AdvisedMeanwhile… Diabolu Frank, Illegal Machine & Mr. Fixit are indentured through explosives implanted in their spines to endure a Suicide Squad mission, and the word cloud is swollen with “gross.”We Think You’re Special!*across social media only.Friend us on FacebookEmail us at rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.comTweet us as a group @rolledspine, or individually as Diabolu Frank & Illegal Machine. Fixit don’t tweet.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
Coarse Language: Listener Discretion is AdvisedMeanwhile… Diabolu Frank, Illegal Machine & Mr. Fixit are indentured through explosives implanted in their spines to endure a Suicide Squad mission, and the word cloud is swollen with “gross.”We Think You’re Special!*across social media only.Friend us on FacebookEmail us at rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.comTweet us as a group @rolledspine, or individually as Diabolu Frank & Illegal Machine. Fixit don’t tweet.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn’t your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
Coarse Language: Listener Discretion is Advised Meanwhile... Illegal Machine & Mr. Fixit revisit Batman v Superman, this time in the extended length edition favored by the director and joined by Diabolu Frank. Come join us in jeering the DC Extended Universe debuts of Wonder Woman, Cyborg, The Flash and Aquaman while we try to find any peanuts left to pick out of this thoroughly canvassed turd!We Think You're Special! *across social media only.Friend us on FacebookEmail us at rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.comTweet us as a group @rolledspine, or individually as Diabolu Frank & Illegal Machine. Fixit don't tweet.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn't your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
Coarse Language: Listener Discretion is Advised Meanwhile... Illegal Machine & Mr. Fixit revisit Batman v Superman, this time in the extended length edition favored by the director and joined by Diabolu Frank. Come join us in jeering the DC Extended Universe debuts of Wonder Woman, Cyborg, The Flash and Aquaman while we try to find any peanuts left to pick out of this thoroughly canvassed turd!We Think You're Special! *across social media only.Friend us on FacebookEmail us at rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.comTweet us as a group @rolledspine, or individually as Diabolu Frank & Illegal Machine. Fixit don't tweet.If the main DC Bloodlines blog isn't your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.
Meanwhile… Mr. Fixit & Diabolu Frank talk briefly about DC’s latest not-a-reboot, Reberf, its shallow talent pool due to past brush-ups, as well as the shift at Vertigo from a creative doorway to a mail slot. If you’re super-duper excited and positive about the direction of DC Comics, you’re listening to the wrong podcast. There’s nothing but bellyaching and backbiting here.
Meanwhile… Mr. Fixit & Diabolu Frank talk briefly about DC’s latest not-a-reboot, Reberf, its shallow talent pool due to past brush-ups, as well as the shift at Vertigo from a creative doorway to a mail slot. If you’re super-duper excited and positive about the direction of DC Comics, you’re listening to the wrong podcast. There’s nothing but bellyaching and backbiting here.
ré·su·mé [rez-oo-mey, rez-oo-mey]noun1. a summing up; summary.2. a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job.In Comic Reader Résumé, I use Mike’s Amazing World of Comics to travel back through time via his virtual newsstand to the genesis point of my lifelong collecting of comics. From there, I can offer a “work history” of my fandom through my active purchasing of (relatively) new comic books beginning in January of 1982, when my interest in the medium went from sporadic and unformed to routine on through compulsive accumulation. To streamline the narrative and keep the subjects at least remotely contemporaneous, I will not generally be discussing what we call back issues, books bought long after their publication date. Sometimes, I will cover a book published on a given month that I picked up within a year or so that date, and I give myself an especially wide berth on this aspect in the first couple of “origins” episodes. We’ll get more rigidly on point as my memories crystallize and my “hobby” spirals out of control into the defining characteristic of my life (eventually outpacing squalor and competing neurosis.) It’s part personal biography, part industry history, and admittedly a total wank on my part.The first episode of the podcast version of my old short-lived 2011 blog series re-purposes and re-edits the audio from the even shorter-lived 2013 YouTube (barely) video adaptations of same, along with supplemental material I recorded over a year ago that got shelved when I realized that doing this wouldn’t be the effortless space-filling regurgitation I’d hoped for as a stopgap while sweating over doing other podcasts. The episode covers my earliest off the rack purchases in January-February of 1982, as well as discussing a bunch of the comics that had passed through my hands before this youthful indiscretion became a full on addiction.
Two flavors of vigilante are covered on this episode: the brutal anti-heroine Pagan (Marian Mercer, of Batman #479) and the incompetent New Blood civic pridester Joe Pubic Public (Nobody Cares, Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual #1,) neither of whom had much of a career to speak of. Also, this is the only Bloodlines story featuring Bruce Wayne before he had to file a lawsuit against an unlicensed chiropractor from Santa Prisca.
STEEL YOURSELF! Here is the first in what will become a recurring instance of bifurcated broadcasting, as we not only look at the prickly New Blood known as Edge, but also the rookie super-hero who hosted Tom O'Brien's debut in Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #2, Iron John! Well, you might not remember that short lived moniker, but surely you know Dr. John Henry Irons, the armored engineer who stood as part of the titular quartet from the epic storyline "Reign of the Supermen" who briefly replaced the Last Son of Krypton following his presumed death at the bony hands of Doomsday. We'll cover Steel's earliest career from his cameo in Adventures of Superman #500 through his star turn in Superman: The Man of Steel #22-24, as well as an overview of his role in the DC Universe.
Still not guaranteeing this show as a weekly, but since I have a bunch of Bloodlines already about wrapped and no time to work on any other Rolled Spine Podcasts, you get this episode less than a week after the last (a huge improvement on the previous "annual" schedule.) The coverage of the 1993 event begins in earnest with Lobo Annual #1, featuring the debut of Layla, the tougher than nails L.E.G.I.O.N. agent with 'tude to spare! Not only can you follow along with most of her origin story via Scans Daily, but also her key appearance in Lobo's Big Babe Spring Break Special. Frank didn't find the latter until locking down this episode, and it both completely contradicted a chunk of your host's assessment of Layla's career and reaffirmed that the character's brief history is probably too toxic for to be of much concern anyway.
Almost a year after our secret trial episode during Super Blog Team-Up #6, The DC Bloodlines Podcast begins in earnest during another blog/podcast crossover, #BestEventEver, devoted to the 1993 DC Comics annuals. In that vein, Diabolu Frank spends this episode discussing the history of comic book annuals and the direct sales market leading to The Chromium Age, including "Doomsday" "Knightfall" & "The Clone Saga," before circling in on the 1993 character generating spectacles at DC and Marvel Comics. Going forward, we'll look at each of the New Blood characters approximately but not always exactly according to their order of appearance, as well as the (sometimes barely) more established super-people they're paired with on either a weekly or biweekly basis (I'm keeping my options open.) Plus, we'll keep an eye on DC's 2016 revival mini-series as that comes out...
Meanwhile… Mr. Fixit & Diabolu Frank welcome back the uncensored cuss words favored by Rolled Spine Podcast listeners as they discuss the “Berlantiverse” of DC television adaptations The Flash, Supergirl, Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. It’s an ADHD ramble though, so the conversation jumps around to the announcement of #Rebirth, Alan Moore’s legacy at the company, Jack Cole’s Plastic Man, Snyder & Capullo Batman, the Dark Knight Returns sequels, Roy Harper Lee, Forever Evil, the DTV animated movie Batman: Assault on Arkham, and in a real tangent, Deadpool, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the showdown between the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the FoXCU and the DC Extended Universe.
Meanwhile… Mr. Fixit & Diabolu Frank welcome back the uncensored cuss words favored by Rolled Spine Podcast listeners as they discuss the “Berlantiverse” of DC television adaptations The Flash, Supergirl, Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. It’s an ADHD ramble though, so the conversation jumps around to the announcement of #Rebirth, Alan Moore’s legacy at the company, Jack Cole’s Plastic Man, Snyder & Capullo Batman, the Dark Knight Returns sequels, Roy Harper Lee, Forever Evil, the DTV animated movie Batman: Assault on Arkham, and in a real tangent, Deadpool, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the showdown between the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the FoXCU and the DC Extended Universe.
Meanwhile… Mr. Fixit, Diabolu Frank & Illegal Machine cross over to DC-Earth for their irregular looks at how the other super-hero universe lives. First, we talk a bit about Gotham and the side projects of Batman scribe Scott Snyder, then we dive into the TV special DC Films Presents: Dawn of the Justice League to discuss Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman and more!
Meanwhile… Mr. Fixit, Diabolu Frank & Illegal Machine cross over to DC-Earth for their irregular looks at how the other super-hero universe lives. First, we talk a bit about Gotham and the side projects of Batman scribe Scott Snyder, then we dive into the TV special DC Films Presents: Dawn of the Justice League to discuss Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman and more!
The second ever adventure of Captain Atom by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko.From Charlton Comics’ June 1960 cover-dated Space Adventures #34!Text version here.Email.Tweet.Comment on Power of the Atom blog.Comment on Rolled Spine Podcasts blog.
The fourth episode of the Tiny Titan’s mini-podcast looks at November-December 1961’s Showcase #35 featuring a Mighty Mite Mystery requiring The Atom, courtesy of Gardner Fox, Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson.
The third episode of POTAcast takes its cues from the blog and turns over its space/numbering to co-star Captain Atom! We cover the debut of Charlton’s Atomic Age Action Hero in March 1960’s Space Adventures #33, near-identically paralleling the anthology bow of the Tiny Titan (off by one issue and predating it by more than a year!) courtesy of Joe Gill and Steve Ditko. Text version here.
The second episode of the Mighty Mite's mini-podcast looks at the second story from October 1961's Showcase #34 featuring the debut of Ray Palmer in his costumed identity as The Atom! "Battle of the Tiny Titans!" comes courtesy of Gardner Fox, Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson. Text version here.
The debut episode of a sporadic podcast covering The Tiny Titan... The Mighty Mite... the Silver Age shrinking super-hero Ray Palmer in his original story by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson from Showcase #34 (October 1961). Text version here.
The introductory episode to our podcast, embracing the dozens of obscure and poorly regarded New Bloods superhumans created by spinal fluid sucking alien parasites as part of DC Comics' 1993 Annuals event Bloodlines/Bloodbath. DC Bloodlines will continue to explore the shadier corners of the DC Universe, proving it's bigger than just the circles of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the name brand Justice Leaguers.
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