Divisive Issues

It’s time! Our podcast is ending, and so is Marvel’s Ultimate universe! Jeff Loeb’s contentious ULTIMATUM serves as the Final Destination of our comic book critique, and we have a loooot of things to say about it—almost two hours of material! For this crossover event we pull our original host Joe out of the Speed […]

Our final Trade of Patreon episodes features mostly single issues of random modern comics that almost made it into our main show. Most of these were also released at the tail end of our Patreon’s lifespan so it’s only appropriate to end with them. We check out some weird holiday comics that were leftover from […]

This Patreon collection features the episodes where we were too lazy to narrate comic issues. So we instead have talks about movies instead though some of these discussions are more general discussions about super heroes in general. We discuss Man of Steel, the Bleach movie, and more! We also have a fun skit from Darryl […]

Our biggest and most successful Patreon collection appropriately features most people’s entryway into comics: a big event. Check out the DI crew experience a DC event in real time as they go through 2019’s Heroes In Crisis! This one focuses on superheroes going through therapy when a massive murder scene occurs. Ryan hates it right […]

For our second Patreon collection, we’re focusing on the Patreon mascot himself: Jimmy Olsen. For some reason Superman’s powerless sidekick had his own series in the Silver Age and it ran for over 100 issues. But is he really Superman’s Pal or something more sinister? Come and listen to our own unique interpretations to his […]

With the end of the Flying Machine Network, we’re releasing all our old Patreon episodes to our regular feed in bulk! Our first collection features random and goofy Silver Age stories we have covered. These stories include Superman meeting JFK, Batman fighting a frozen Caveman, and a gorilla’s plan to take over the world through […]

Like Kraven, we’ve gotten old! And also like Kraven, we’ve got Spider-Man on the brain! Come join us as we read one of the best Spider-Man yarns ever spun: J.M. DeMatteis’s “Kraven’s Last Hunt”! And stay tuned to the end for a discussion on the fate of our Spectacular Podcast. Come join our discord: https://discord.gg/yzFT6sk All of […]

We conclude our Flash saga! This time we tackle some of the most famous Flash Rogues. Captain Cold! Heat Wave! Mirror Master! Pied Piper! The fourth Flash’s clone from the future! All the hits! Come join our discord: https://discord.gg/yzFT6sk All of our past episodes and other projects can be found at www.frondsradio.comCheck out the rest of the shows […]

Flashuary continues! This time we’re tackling Geoff Johns’ (first) Flash run! Ryan really loves this book! But do the others (no)? Meet the (third) Reverse Flash, Zoom! And let’s throw in some gorillas while we’re at it. It’s DEFINITELY very serious and not dumb at all! Come join our discord: https://discord.gg/yzFT6sk All of our past episodes and […]

Flashuary continues! Under the tutelage of Jay Garrick, Wally West is now the current Flash—but not for long! A familiar face shows up at his doorstep and flips his world upside-down! In order to overcome this new adversary, Wally West will have to confront the legacy of Barry Allen—and surpass it! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flyingmachine Come join our discord: https://discord.gg/yzFT6sk […]

Welcome to Flashuary, fellow Flash Museumgoers! This month our host Ryan is taking the boys through a curated list of some of the most infamous Flash stories, starting with Barry Allen v. Eobard Thawne AKA Professor Zoom (as well as an extended discussion over the trial of Barry Allen)! There’s drug rings, time travel, a […]

Who shot JFK? It’s one of the enduring questions that America has never found a satisfying answer to. And it’s also… a question that pops up a lot in the Vertigo reboot of an old Steve Ditko character, Shade the Changing Man! Come on a wild ride with us as we hop into a serial […]

Superman has gone rogue! Or… not-Superman has gone rogue and it’s up to the not-Justice League to stop him! Darryl, Phil, and Sly take a trip through the first eight issues of Mark Waid’s Irredeemable, and emerge out the other end… feeling bad for a genocidal killer? Best to listen to the podcast and not […]

It’s the end of the year, which means we’ve compiled our favorites and least favorites of 2019! It was a pretty packed year, so things might shake out differently than you’d expect! Not only that, but Phil and Darryl dive into Superman: Grounded, and walk away from that long walk feeling pretty good. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flyingmachine Come […]

Ho ho ho-ly cow! It’s been another year which means it’s time for another Christmas-themed podcast! This time the Divisive Issues crew will be diving into the X-Men animated series as well as X-Men Evolution. Gather ’round the fire and let us regale you with tales of scorpions, alien girls, and flying angels… Ryan becomes […]

This is it! Ichigo must race to the soul palace to save the Soul King! Or… does he have to? Does it matter? Does any of this matter? The DI crew is losing their minds trying to process what is happening at the very end of Bleach, bringing us to perhaps the most daunting question […]

We’re back at it! Our saga through Bleach is nearing its close as we discuss the final two arcs left in the series. The first 30 minutes are spent discussing the “filler” arc, and then it’s on to the craziest, dumbest, and worst-drawn arc yet! Darryl calls Tatsuki “Taki” like a Soulcalibur scrub, Phil is […]

On this episode, we’re diving into the torrid history of The Clone Saga, and we’re bringing our non-fans Darryl and Phil kicking and screaming into Ben Reilly’s tragic backstory. We cover his lab-grown birth, the discovery of his own unique identity, and his struggle with yet another clone, KAINE. Only after we record do we […]

Let the battle for Fake Karakura Town begin! You guys are excited for this, right? Right?! Well, even if that doesn’t sate you appetite for action, we have Ichigo vs. UIquiorra, and Ichigo vs. Aizen coming up! We’ve been waiting for those fights for so long that they’re bound to be really good and definitely […]

The consensus is in: Bleach is not “terrible!” The gang begins their descent into Bleach’s canonical hell (well, purgatory), Hueco Mundo! Another lady is need of saving, the Espada are in need of a beating, and Kubo’s backgrounds are in need of some buildings! We’re only halfway through, so hang in there! Darryl pronounces “Re-su-rrec-ción” […]

We’re taking a break from our usual nonsense for some spooky stories! We read some horror comics from EC comics in the 50s! Happy Halloween! Ryan reveals his origin of pun-love, Darryl contemplates what he’d do in a desert, Sly is NOT a fan of SlyxRyan shipping, and Phil… well, Phil gets spooped a whole […]

Bleach Part 3. What else is there to say? Darryl pronounces “SHI-KAI” as “SHIK-KAI” like a baka gaijin, Ryan fantasizes about Byakuya and Ichigo kissing, Phil enjoys teaming up with his rival, and Sly can only understand media through the lens of Yu-Gi-Oh. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flyingmachine Come join our discord: https://discord.gg/yzFT6sk All of our past episodes and other projects […]

This was going to be Bleach part 2 of 4. Who knows how long this will take now? Darryl pronounces ZAN-PAK-TO as ZAN-PACK-TO like a baka gaijin, Sly thinks everyone looks like Rukia, Ryan’s concerned over the age of his kouhai, and Phil takes off his eyepatch to enjoy Bleach with 100% of his power. […]

We’re entering triple digits with something special, Bleach! The manga, that is. We’re gonna be covering it for the next few episodes in big chunks, hand picked by our very own Darryl. This is part 1. Darryl mispronounces KA-RIN as KAR-IN like a baka gaijin, Sly only knows one thing from Bleach three separate times, […]

It’s Episode 100. We’re in syndication now, baby! TBS, characters welcome and all that. We’re talking Ultimates 3, one of the worst books ever. Read along: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Ultimates_3_Vol_1 Sly’s been painting targets on his forehead, Darryl appreciates how anime the Ultimates 3 is, Ryan doesn’t understand how Quicksilver can identify DNA-seeking bullets, and Phil simply can’t […]

Edgelord August ends here! We’re finishing Warren Ellis’ Authority with issues 7 to 12. Make sure you listen to part 1 first! Ryan’s a comic EXPERT, Phil dumps on Mark Millar, Darryl’s is unconvinced Swift needs to be on this team, and, as Sly so succinctly puts it, “it’s all penises and sperm killing everything.” […]

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Let’s bring back our main man Midnighter as we dip in to Warren Ellis’ Authority, Issues 1-6! Sly is desperate for more EDGE, Ryan has the hots for lady Guy Gardner, Phil lectures us on alternate reality England, and Darryl defends… Mark Millar’s Ultimates??? Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flyingmachine Come join […]

All good things must come to an end, so we end the #flyerdrive right when we wrap up our coverage of DC’s year-long weekly series, 52. Do Phil and Darryl think it lives up to hype when Ryan and Sly described it as the greatest comic story every written? Find out as we cover issues […]

The #flyerdrive continues with our third (of four) episode on DC’s magnum opus, 52! It’s issues 27-39! And if this is your first time, make sure you listen to part one and part two first! Sly cannot pronounce Nanda Parbat, Ryan feels Elongated Man’s pain, Phil finds space zombies more plausible than the Crime Bible, and Darryl […]

We’re still weekly! Here we are 52 Part 2. We’re hitting issues 14-26 this time, so read along! And make sure you listen to last week’s episode first! On this episode, Sly worships at the feet of Pope Lobo, Ryan rips open a bag of Ch’ps with his good buddy Ambush Bug, Darryl joins the Teen […]

We’re going weekly, just like DC did after Infinite Crisis. We’re covering what Ryan and Sly have been hyping for years as the best superhero comic ever written, 52. Over the next 4 weeks, we’ll be covering 13 issues at a time of the year without Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. On this episode, Phil […]

It’s the big patreon drive! So we joined up with Network host and honorary member of the Clue Crew, Nick Wood! We cover the first six issues of Scooby Apocalypse, the gritty reboot of the beloved franchise! On this episode, Ryan desperately tries to defend the creative team. Nick defines his entire life by a […]

It’s our July Patreon drive! Here’s a sample of what we offer our backers. It’s our episode from November 2018, where we covered Heroes In Crisis on a bimonthly basis. This is part 1! If you subscribe, the rest of the parts are January, March, May, and June. The 1 dollar tier gets you access […]

We’re in the weeds now, y’all. What we countdowned to last time has arrived. Infinite Crisis! We’re talking about the most “important” modern DC event. Is it worth the hype? Does it CHANGE EVERYTHING FOREVER? Read along: Infinite Crisis by Geoff Johns, Phil Jimenez, George Perez, and Jerry Ordway On this episode, Phil tries his […]

It’s finally here. Hold on to your butts, we’re gearing up to talk about DC’s big event. Not Crisis On Infinite Earths, the very different INFINITE CRISIS! Read Along: Countdown To Infinite Crisis, The OMAC Project, and Superman: Sacrifice On this episode, Phil is smitten with an AI (or just its text), Darryl is smitten […]

The gang’s back to talk about Darryl’s mentor, Death’s Head II. The time traveling, multiple personality, cybernetic assassin. Or something like that, I don’t know. It’s dumber than ever. But also… great? If you haven’t heard part one, it’ll either help or make it worse. We cover: Issues 1-4 of Death’s Head II’s ongoing series […]

On this episode, the gang watches Batman grow up and develop from only hallucinating Robin dying, to causing it, then to only witnessing it. Again and again and again. We cover a bunch of Robin’s fake out deaths from the 60s and 70s! Not to be confused with the time he actually died in the […]

On this episode, the gang gets weird. We cover the standalone Doom Patrol spin-off book on everyone’s favorite HERO. OF. THE BEACH. Flex Mentallo! Never heard of him? Don’t worry, maybe it’s just because superheroes had to turn fictional to save our universe? Buckle up for a postmodern journey and remember, the fish gets changed […]

On this episode, the gang takes a patreon request and covers one of their first indie books, Kaijumax by Zander Cannon and published by Oni Press – a gruesome tale of giant monsters in a maximum security prison. Asking the tough questions, like what if we treated giant monsters as badly as we currently treat […]

Note: An Earlier version of this episode with a missing ending was uploaded previously. This is the fixed one! On this episode, we revisit Captain Marvel, but only just barely since he isn’t called that anymore! Just in time for Shazam! We cover the story that we’re pretty sure the movie’s based on, his retold […]

Our Annual extravaganza must once more come to a close, as we finish the second half of the Mark Millar epic, Ultimates 2. Does it fly off the rails as hard as Ultimates 1, which we covered last year? Listen to find out! And make sure you listen to part one first! Read along: Ultimates […]

In this episode, the gang continues what they started and read Mark Millar’s Ultimates 2. The Millarfication of the Marvel Universe continues! This is the one that everyone seems to love, but will the gang agree with the general consensus? It’s a Mark Millar book so probably not. But tune in anyway to find out! […]

On this very special episode, technical difficulties pushed our Annual Extravaganza back two weeks and Ryan, Sly, and Darryl get together to talk about the MCU. What makes it a success, what we’re worried about for the future, how excited we are for Captain Marvel and much more! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/flyingmachine Come join our discord: https://discord.gg/yzFT6sk All of our […]

We finally finish talking about Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, and Marvel Comics in general as we wrap up this long trek through comic history with Kamala Khan as Ms. Marvel. And we end it on a high note. In this episode, we all praise G. Willow Wilson and her success at an editorially mandated Marvel […]

We’re ALMOST done talking about Captain Marvel! This is the last Carol Danvers episode! We made it! We cover her arc during Civil War and AvX! Carol Danvers separates kids from their moms over politics and then makes out with Captain Marvel as part of her initiation to take up the mantle! On this episode, […]

We’re back to talk about CAPTAIN MARVEL. Or at least the current one, Carol Danvers. But before she was Captain Marvel. When she was Ms. Marvel. And Binary. And Warbird. You know, Carol Danvers! Listen to our first three Captain Marvel episodes here In this episode, we finally cover one of our most requested comics, […]

Yesterday was Christmas, but now it’s time to look towards the future. I mean, let’s live in the past! As part of our annual Back Issues tradition, we make Phil and Darryl read a book we covered in our FIRST EPISODE EVER. Marvel’s Civil War! By our nothing-but-problematic-fave Mark Millar! We actually liked it a lot […]

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas! Santa galore here at DI HQ! We celebrated by showcasing some of our favorite Christmas comics from Marvel and DC. Some of our meaning some hosts, the actual opinions seem to vary wildly. We hope you and your family get along better than we do. On this episode, we cover […]

Our Captain Marvel bonanza continues! Legacy’s all grown up now and he’s the new Captain! After his dad came to Earth and died, he came to Earth himself. But what happened next? Did he do his dad’s legacy proud? Spoilers, not exactly… Legacyvember continues HERE! Read along: Peter David’s Second Run On Captain Marvel On this episode, […]

Captain Marvel’s Legacy continues when his successors take up the mantle! We take a journey through the 70s, 80s and 90s. And boy, are these issues indicative of the flaws of those decades. Read along: Ms. Marvel’s First Appearance Another Captain Marvel’s First Appearance Monica Gets Political Another Captain Marvel’s First Appearance One More For […]

We’re going to spend the next month tackling one of the most convoluted and messy names in comics! Not Shazam, not Marvelman, but the one (of seven), the ONLY (of seven), CAPTAIN MARVEL! This episode focuses on the Kree warrior, Captain Mar-Vell! What a very different and original name! From his first appearance, through the […]