Screw It, We're Just Gonna Talk About Spider-Man

It's not the last Todd McFarlane issue, though we're close to the end of his run on Hulk. Nor is it the most ICONIC issue -- that's probably the Hulk/Wolverine fight. But this might be the BEST issue of the Peter David / Todd McFarlane run.  Loose Screws: How Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning is really War Games 2. ---------- Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for monthly bonus episodes -- profits go to comics-related charities. Join our free Discord (link at screwitpodcasts.com) And email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com

EPISODE 320 - Betty Banner is back in the story, briefly, as Hulk fights the Leader's robots... as does Bruce Banner! Plus we get some nifty flashbacks of the Hulkbusters with great visual from Mr. Todd McFarlane. For Loose Screws, Kevin likes the TV show Murderbot and Will saw an exhibit of Jack Kirby's art. ---------- Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for monthly bonus episodes -- profits go to comics-related charities. Join our free Discord (link at screwitpodcasts.com) And email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com  

We were saddened to hear that Peter David, writer of the very Hulk run we are covering, passed away this past Saturday, May 24, 2025.  Kevin and Will devote this episode to David's stellar career. Kevin in particular was a fan of Peter David's work and shares of lot his thoughts and feelings about the many comics he loved that PAD wrote! Among the many comics we discuss: Spider-Man, Hulk, Spider-Man 2099, Future Imperfect, X-Factor, Aquaman, Young Justice and many more! ----------- To subscribe and get bonus monthly episodes, go to screwitpodcasts.com Send thoughts via email to screwitcomics@gmail.com  

EPISODE 318 - It's Hulk versus the Leader! Sort of! Really, it's Hulk versus Half-Life, who was sent BY the Leader.  Didn't Hulk beat him pretty easily before? Yeah, but now Half-Life has ARMOR! Despite this lackluster description, the issue is good! Peter David is writing the Grey Hulk as he wishes, and Todd McFarlane's art has fully manifested.  In Loose Screws, Will discusses his new ring tone (really) and Kevin is mad about spoilers for the new Thunderbolts* movie. ----- Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for monthly bonus episodes -- profits go to comics-related charities. Join our free Discord (link at screwitpodcasts.com) And email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com  

EPISODE 317 - Hulk Versus the Man-Bull! Or maybe it's "Savage Man-Bull" or maybe just "Savage!" At any rate, the Hulk fights another mirror image of himself in a way, and he alternatively feels compassion for Man-Bull and also beats him up. For Loose Screws, Will talks about going through a box of old comics his friend gave him, and Kevin talks about the first arc in Season 2 of Andor. ------- For monthly bonus episodes, subscribe at https://www.screwitpodcasts.com/ Last week we released a bonus ep in which we went through all the stories in Action Comics #1 Join our free Discord -- invite link is also at https://www.screwitpodcasts.com/ -------- The end of our episode features an interview between past and future guest Chris Gethard talking to comics creator Ethan Sacks about A HAUNTED GIRL, the comic Ethan made with his daughter Naomi about struggles with suicidal thoughts and depression. They get into using comics to talk about mental health issues.  THis is to promote a non-profit Gethard founded called LAUGHING TOGETHER where Gethard gets comedians to use comedy exercises to promote better communication, emptahy, listening and mental health.  To learn more about LAUGHING TOGETHER and its parent program WELLNESS TOGETHER go to http://wellnesstogether.org/allhandsondeck

Episode 316 - We go over issue 340, which is the iconic Hulk Vs. Wolverine battle with the even more iconic cover by Todd McFarlane. Wolverine's claws out, reflecting Hulk's angry face. We feel with this issue McFarlane has fully arrived. Peter David is also in fine form, and the result is the best issue in the run so far. For Loose Screws, Will discusses the movie Sinners and Kevin discusses the institution of sports. Stick around to the end for a Watchmen trivia quiz a listener sent if for us! --------- Subscribe to support the show and for bonus episodes at screwitpodcasts.com. May's bonus episode is a review of Action Comics #1. Email us any comics thoughts you have at screwitcomics@gmail.com  

EPISODE 315 - We continue our coverage of the Peter David / Todd McFarlane run on The Incredible Hulk. This issue, the theme is fathers and more specifically abusive fathers. The "enemy" such as it is, is a super-powered child who has lost his father and sees his caretaker threatened. The Hulk talks a big game about not caring but in the end, does the right thing. This story picks up a thread that has now become a major fixture in Hulk lore -- that Banner's father abused him, perhaps creating the suppressed anger and pain that would someday emerge as The Hulk.  The origin of this idea is not this story. That started in a Bill Mantlo story from Hulk 312. But as Kevin points out, it seems Mantlo stole that story from a not-yet-published Barry Windsor-Smith comic. Former Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter wrote about that here: http://jimshooter.com/2011/06/plagiaris.html ----------- Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for bonus monthly episodes. Join our free Discord, also at screwitpodcasts.com Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com  

EPISODE 314 - We discuss issue 338! Hulk faces a demon? alien? ghost? called Mercy! She's not called that, but we call her that.  In Loose Screws, we talk about Kevin's son watching Star Wars for the first time and the video game Untitled Goose Game! -------- Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com To support the podcast and get bonus monthly episodes, subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com Join our Discord! The invite link is also at screwitpodcasts.com  

EPISODE 313 - We look at Incredible Hulk 337, where we finish up the crossover with X-Factor (X-Terminators?). We start with Hulk trapped in a block of ice and end up with the explosion of the Gamma Base. Peter David is making the book his own. For Loose Screws, we discuss the Wheel of Time TV series! --------- Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com To support the podcast and get bonus monthly episodes, subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com Join our Discord! The invite link is also at screwitpodcasts.com    

We do a quick survey of Hulk 335 (non-Todd McFarlane art, but a nice creepy possession story) and then dig more deeply into Hulk 336, where he crosses paths with X-Factor! I mean the X-Terminators! No, wait, I mean X-Factor! Loose Screws: Will talks about the 1950 Bogart film In A Lonely Place and Kevin discusses the video game Horizon Zero Dawn:  Forbidden West!

EPISODE 311 - The Incredible Hulk battles Half-Life, a brand new villain! Is he gamma-created? You know it! We are continuing are examination of the run by writer Peter David and artist Todd McFarlane. Peter is starting to really dig in. Todd's artworks is showing tremors of his style that will soon erupt! For Loose Screws, Kevin talks about his new Plastic Man reprtins and Will can't get his iPad to update! ------------------------ Email us with your thoughts to screwitcomics@gmail.com Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for bonus content. Join our Discord, invite is also at screwitpodcasts.com

EPISODE 310 - We are three issues into the Peter David / Todd McFarlane run on Incredible Hulk! Todd is still relatively contained, but Peter is starting to really assert himself as a writer. The Grey Hulk's personality is emerging as a cynical, tough witness to the hypocrisies of humanity! He's also very big! Loose Screws: A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs and the documentary "We Beat The Dream Team." ---- Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com to support the show and get monthly bonus episodes! Join our free Discord -- the link is at screwitpodcasts.com!    

Continuing our coverage of the Peter David / Todd McFarlane run on The Incredible Hulk! We've got McFarlane's distinctive art style starting to poke through (evil Hulk in sillhouette), Peter David's style (grey Hulk's personality shaping up), plus Hulkbusters, The Leader and Betty Banner's long-lost husband question mark? For Loose Screws, we discuss the movies Companion and Captain America; Brave New World.

The milksops begin a new season covering the writer Peter David / artist Todd McFarlane issues of the Incredible Hulk! Done before either of them became the instituation they would, these issues are a really interesting look at each of their talents! We are starting with the first issue they did togeter, issue 331 which came out in February of 1987. For Loose Screws, we discuss the Fantastic Four movie trailer. 

Episode 307 - We wrap up our episode on Watchmen with a discussion of the animated film "Watchmen Chapter II" which was released to little fanfare (despite being having pretty stellar reviews) toward the end of 2024.  Plus we read lots of the email we've gotten about this season! Next season (starting next week): We go over the Peter David / Todd McFarlene run on Incredible Hulk. ----------------- Subscribe to support our podcast and get bonus monthly episodes at screwitpodcasts.com Join our Discord -- invite link also at screwitpodcasts.com  

Our friend and regular guest Chris Gethard takes an episodes to deliver his quibbles with some flaws in Watchmen. You know Chris from his stand-up comedy, from his podcast Beautiful/Anonymous, from his TV show The Chris Gethard Show. The Milksops know him from their days together at the UCB Theatre in NYC. We had invited Chris -- who is a passionate comics fan -- to be our guest on a regular episode. Gethard suggested that he be on a special episode since he worrites his takes would detract from a regular coverage. We started calling this a "rebuttal" episode. Although Gethard takes pains to underline that he loves and admires the comic, and even agrees that it is one of the very best created, he doesn't think that means it's above criticism, and so he takes the book to task. We get into lots of ideas: the defensiveness of Watchmen fans, the pirate comic, the portrayal of the alien, the idea that the much-maligned Zack Snyder film had a better ending and other things! It's a passionate discussion and an interesting one! ---------- Subscribe to support and to get bonus monthly episodes at screwitpodcasts.com Join our Discord -- invite link also at screwitpodcasts.com    

We examine the stunning conclusion of Watchmen with a dive into issue 12. After finishing this read, Kevin text Will "Watchmen is good" -- that's our take, everyone!  Most amazing is that despite how many times they've read it, Kevin and Will found YET ANOTHER thing that had not noticed in previous reads. It's the comic that keeps on giving. We discuss the recent disturbing news about Neil Gaiman, a creator we have covered many times before. And for Loose Screws, we talk about the movies Blade and Die Hard 2. We talk for a while about Die Hard 2. 

We take a close look at Watchmen #11 with Marvel editor Jordan D. White! Jordan is the current editor of the Venom books, the former editor of the X-books and most important is a returning guest to our podcast! As usual we marvel over how great Watchmen is. Will fails to convince Kevin and Jordan that Alan Moore did a not-great job setting up the twist of the plot (the stuff with the island / alien). And do we talk pirate comic? You bet we do! For Loose Screws, Will is binging all of Weird Al Yankovic and Jordan can't stop watching YouTube videos of people playing MineCraft! Don't miss Jordan's cool podcast "Nature Trail to Hell" which goes over horror movies!

This episode, we're joined by Eric Berlatsky, a professor of English who also happens to be a passionate fan of Watchmen. He's a lifelong comics fan who read Watchmen as it came out and has been a huge fan ever since. it was fun to talk to someone who's been a fan of the series since it came out! We go over issue #10, which is when Nite Owl and Rorscach figure out what's up! And is there more pirate comic book? Yes there is! And Professor Eric has a take on the pirate comic that the Milksops had never considered! That's just ONE of the cool insights we've get in this episode! Loose screws are: The Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and the Marvel animated series What If, season 2? In addition to being a professor, Eric has is the editor of a collection of Alan Moore interviews called Alan Moore: Conversations. For more info on that, you can go here: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/A/Alan-Moore

It's Christmas and that means all three Hines brothers are under one roof and that means all three Hines brothers (Will, Kevin and Brian) are on the podcast. We decide to talk about Power Pack -- a superhero group of siblings that was first published in 1984. We three brothers all loved the series when it came out and it was fun to revisit it.  Power Pack was more revolutionary than it might have seemed. In an era of increasing violence and grittiness in mainstream comics, Power Pack remained focused on gentler powers and feelings. The siblings, although they do squabble, care for each other. The villains -- although dangers -- are of the "fantasy" realm, not crime/gritty/pulpy variety. It was one of the first big writing forays for Louise Simonson, who had previously mostly been an editor. And it was one of the few -- perhaps the first? -- major Marvel title to be written and drawn by female creators (Louise and artist June Brigman).  Power Pack originally ran for 62 issues -- a more than respectable run. They had excellent crossovers with both The Fantastic Four and X-Men (as former editor of X-Men, Louise had worked with FF writer/artist John Byrner and X-Writer Chris Claremont). To this day, the Power Pack will show up in Marvel comics, much to our delight. For Loose Screws we discuss: UK comedian Daniel Kitson, the quality of Santa sleigh in the film Elf and the new Superman movie trailer. 

CONTENT WARNING: Discussions of sexual assault figure heavily into this issue's plot. ------------------------------- EPISODE 301 - Dan Gvozden of the Amazing Spider-Talk podcast joins us to discuss issue 9. In this issue, Dr. Manhattan takes Laurie to Mars to give her a chance to talk him into returning to Earth and preventing the impending nuclear war. Typical ex stuff. During their talk we learn about Laurie's life and learn the secret of who her actual father is. She's not excited about it. Dan has loved Watchmen since he first read it. Just like Kevin and Will, he finds something new every time he re-reads it. Though he says this is the first time he realized there was a "big blue naked guy" in the book, so.. maybe he's not reading as closely as we thought. Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com to get monthly bonus episodes! Thanks!    

We welcome Alex Zalben of Comic Book Club podcast to discuss Watchmen issue 8. In this issue, the series becomes almost joyful as Nite Owl and Silk Spectre bust Rorschach out of prison. Sure there's a few brutal murders along the way, and another brutal murder after -- but the issue is somewhat happy.  With Alex on board, the Milksops talk for almost two hours about this tremendous issue. Alex has loved Watchmen since he first read it. We talk about the time HIS comic book podcast reveiwed watchmen, and the cool Watchmen watch he just couldn't stop bragging about! (We loved it). Also it's episode 300! Thanks to everyone who has listened to us along the way! We're just getting warmed up! That's not true, we're about as warm as we're gonna get. But we're having a great time and thank you for listening! To subscribe for monthly bonus episodes, go to screwitpodcasts.com.  20% off annual plans through the end of 2024 with code HOLIDAY24.

Bryan Stratton from the terrific Marvel by the Month podcast joins us to go over Watchmen #7, the issue where Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre get together! But not before they have sexual anxiety, nightmares of nuclear apocalypse, and a quick run of saving people from a fire! Bryan talks about discovering Watchmen in his early comics reading days and why he loves it so much. We talk about what the function of Nite Owl is - are we supposed to relate to him? Or is he the fanboy completionist, but with powers? We also talk about how the Snyder film got this part of the story so wrong (while still looking so great).  Subscribe to support the podcast and for access to bonus monthly episodes at screwitpodcasts.com.

We talk about the recent Watchmen animated movie and a little bit about the 2008 Zach Snyder film as well. Our blistering hot take: the comic is better!!! We also read mail! Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for monthly bonus episodes and email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com.    

Today we go over the merry, lighthearted life story of a little fellow called Rorschach. Gather the kids around and read them the story... no sorry, that's wrong, never do that! Watchmen #6 ("The Abyss Gazes Also") is a bleak albeit compelling tale that answers the question "What If Batman Were Truly Emotionally Damaged, But No, Like REALLY." To subscribe for bonus content, do so at screwitpodcasts.com Email us your comic book thoughts at screwitcomics@gmail.com

This is an excerpt of our interview with Scott Aukerman about his experience writing the new Astonishing Spider-Man comic. To hear the full one, subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com -- proceeds pay our costs and then go to the charity Hero Initiative. Thanks! -------------------------------------- Writer / comedian / podcaster Scott Aukerman returns to the podcast for a third time, this time to discuss his new comic book Astonishing Spider-Man. Available exclusively on the Marvel Unlimited app, Astonishing Spider-Man is publishing in the "infinity" format, meaning it's one long vertical page designed for viewing on phones and tablets. We talk to Scott about how he got the gig to write his own Spider-Man comic, the experience of writing for this format, and what aspects of Spidey Scott wanted to focus on. A lifelong Spider-Man fan, Scott is giving his all for this series -- we hear about the research and thought he's putting into the stories in an attempt to make the kind of Spider-Man comic he'd like to read. And we finish up with the five Spider-Man arcs which influenced him the most when writing this series!

Rorschach gets captured! Also Ozymandias is almost murdered! And the entire issue has a symmetrical layout, something neither Kevin nor Will noticed for like 20 years! This is our continuing coverage of Watchmen! To get our monthly bonus episodes and support the podcast, subscribe at https://www.screwitpodcasts.com/ Email us at screwitcomics@gmail.com  

It's the Dr. Manhattan on Mars issue! The man (god? thing? electro magnetic lifeform?) who lives in all time! Although he only relives his life up until things we have already seen. No spoilers in the Dr. Manhattan all-time existence!  This is one of the most iconic and memorable issues of a superhero comic book ever! We get into it! --------- Subscribe for bonus episodes (like our recent foray into Ryan North's FF issues) at screwitpodcasts.com    

Watchmen #3! Dr. Manhattan is forced off of Earth because journalists are annoying! Take that, the media! We also see Laurie and Dan's friendship blossoming into something more. Or at least they seem to get sexually excited beating up bad guys. We also get our longest look yet at the most divisive part of Watchmen: the pirate comic! Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for bonus episodes, to support our podcast and to give to Hero's Initiative!

We continue our examination of Watchmen with issue 2! A funeral for a friend! Not a friend so much as a violent amoral psychopath - The Comedian! Writer Alan Moore's narrative mastery is on display as we learn about the Comedian from a series of flashbacks that show us the way he changed over the years from a 16 year old would-be-sexual assaulter, to remorseless mercenary, to finally a frightened man begging for help from his former enemy. We also learn more of the world of Watchmen and how things changed with the arrival of the superpowered Dr. Manhattan, which we will learn even more of in the next two issues! Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for bonus episodes, to support the podcast and to give to Hero's Initiatve!

Today we are republishing a discussion on the first issue of Alan Moore/Dave Gibbon's landmark 1986 comic book Watchmen. We first released this on Nov 27, 2019.  At that time, HBO was airing its television series adapation of/sequel to the comic, so Kevin and Will went through the first issue of the comic. Now five years later we want to go through the entire series. Listen to this epsiode and we'll be here next episode with a discussion of issue 2! Watchmen is, of course, a 12 issue comic book series featuring superheros that live in a world much more realistic than we usually see them. It's about a merecenary superhero, The Comedian, who gets quietly murdered, and another superhero, Rorschach, an emotionally shut down detective, who finds out. Even though the "masks" have been banned by the government, they all start communicating to unravel this mystery. The one legal superhero -- the supernarually powered Dr. Manhattan -- has used his power to cement America as an unchallenged sole dominant nation. When he is forced to leave Earth, the world seems destined for a nuclear apcolypse unless the non-powered, legally banned "masks" can save it. "Realistic superheroes" is an idea that's been done, but never with as much command as Watchmen. Each character -- created forthis series -- seems lived in with a rich deep history. The story is deeper and more complicated than most comics dare to present. The dialogue reveals the character's personality while also making ironic commentary on the story. And all along, it shows the darker side of superhero comics tropes and archetypes. It's funny, fascinating, challenging, and it changed comics forever.   

EPISODE 291 - We take a break from our regular seasons to pay tribute to two great comics artists who passed away recently: John Casasdy and Karl Moline. Cassady is probably best known for his stunning work on Planetary (with writer Warren Ellis) and Astonishing X-Men. But also -- everything he drew was magic. Moline was a bit less known, but made a huge impact with his stellar work on The Fray, Route 666 and much else. Both of them are gone too soon.  On cheerier subjects, we catch up on our mailbag in which we learn about some mistakes we (Will) made and that some people agreed with Kevin's opinions on Ultimate Spider-Man!

For our last episode on The Human Target, we go over the recent excellent run by writer Tom King and artist Greg Smallwood. Christopher Chance is back and this time he has to meet with members of the beloved 1980s version of the Justice League. You want The Human Target chatting on a couch with G'nort? You've got it. He also falls in love with Ice, works for Lex Luthor, has to look over his shoulder to check for Batman -- and lots of fun stuff. Although a very different approach than Peter Milligan's, this is a delightful run! As fans of the 1980s JLI, we really enjoyed this! Next episode we dive into a little-known indie comic called Watchmen (yep, that one).

EPISODE 289 : End of the Peter Milligan run.  We finish our coverage of the Peter Milligan run of the Vertigo series "The Human Target." The final story, "The Stealer" is in many ways the most Human Target-y stories of them all. Someone from Christopher Chance's life wants to steal his identity. What happens when a master of disguise is impersonated by another master of disguise? Will it hard to know who is the real Human Target? Will Christopher Chance himself know? Will Bruno be able to get good water for his espressos? All these questions and more are answered or at least carefully dodged in this final really fun story! Next episode - we give a quick look at the excellent Tom King / Greg Smallwood run. 

We continue our look at the excellent crime noir Vertigo series HUMAN TARGET. In these issues, our hero Christopher Chance gets involved in the seedy underbelly of human trafficking. This series is not big on lighthearted topics! Chance and his romatic partner (wife? girlfriend? it depends which identity Christopher is in) discover the lengths each will go to achieve their goals. Oh and there's also a fun story where Christopher is contracted to sexually please a bunch of woman. True! 

EPISODE 287: Peter Milligan's run on Human Target continues to tackle tough, dark material, this time with a story about a group of domestic terrorists. We follow another protagonist who seems to have less than steady morals as he commits murder, abandons his friends, lies to his family, plans marital affairs, and immediately presumes he is being hunted! And then.... Christopher Chance the Human Target enters his life! Chance seems to mostly hold on to who he actually is during this story. The inner turmoil is saved for the group of former terrorists who have to face the consequences of acts they committed long ago. Hey this is good! Plus we have another Chris Gethard email, read in its entirety.  

This is a 10ish minute preview of our "sop-scriber" episode in which Kevin and Will create a superhero team. If you want to become a sop-scriber, go to screwitpodcasts.com! ---------------------- Martin Goodman, former publisher of Marvel Comics has come back from the dead and asked the Milksops to make a new superhero team. Requirements: 4-8 members, names and powers, a "hook" for the team (and we agree to sign away all the rights). In just over an hour we do it!

EPISODE 286 - After Vertigo published the four issue Human Target mini series, and after the original graphic novel, they started a short-lived but excellent regular series. We cover the first three issues in this episode.  The first issue takes where things left off in the graphic novel (no spoilers, but Christopher Chance has forgotten he is Christopher Chance -- that's not a spoiler because that happens a lot) and gets The Human Target back to his bizarre status quo. Remember this is a guy whose self-chosen profession is to dress up as people that are being pursued by murderers so he can prevent the murder and defeat the bad (?) guys while almost getting killed himself. So, yeah, THAT status quo. Issues 2 and 3 deal with a little lighthearted topic known as the 9/11 attacks on America. Our story is about  a man who uses the attacks as a chance to fake his death and remove the problems of his life from his family. He does it for noble reasons. Or does he? Hint: no.  We still have writer Peter Milligan and artist Javier Polido. This is an excellent start for the regular series.

EPISODE 285 - We welcome two time Eisner nominee comics writer Jordan Morris to this ep! Jordan is here to promote his new young adult comics novel Youth Group. Jordan is also co-host of the great podcast Jordan, Jesse, Go! as well as having written for several cool television shows. Check out Jordan's work! Jordan also joins us in this episode's topic: The Final Cut, an original graphic novel featuring the Human Target. The Final Cut happened a few years after the Human Target Vertigo mini-series, and Peter Milligan is even better. Christopher Chance, the Human Target is once again having trouble keeping track of his real identity as he goes undercover first to protect a screenwriter and then find a missing child star. But of course, nothing and no one is as they seem. Once again the theme seems to be that everyone is wearing masks. Javier Palido is the artist and his simpler approach is a powerful contrast to the complex plot. It's a beautiful, thrilling book. The Milksops also have a few loose pop culture screws for you, including a quick discussion of the terrific animated series "My Adventures With Superman."

Acclaimed comics writer J.M. DeMatteis (Justice League International, Kraven's Last Hunt, Moonshadow) is back to promote his new Kickstarter for the second issues of his DeMultiverse. The DeMultiverse is JM's independently produced comics, which include four titles: Layla in the Lands of After, art by Shawn McManus Anyman, art by David Baldeón Godsend, art by Scott Koblish Wisdom, art by Tom Mandrake Plus as a bonus an earlier project that had not been released: The Edward Gloom Mysteries, art by Vassilis Gogtzilas To donate to the Kickstarter and help issue 2 of these series come out, go here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spellboundcomics/jm-dematteis-presents-the-demultiverse-phase-2-edward-gloom?ref=ksr_email_backer_backer_confirmation  We go deep on each series to talk about his influences for each one. We get into the art styles of the many talented artists co-creating these stories. We talk about the promotion necessary to keep a Kickstarter going! We ask how JM stays so positive in an industry known to sometimes burn people out. We talk about letting the unconscious mind have time and space to generate ideas. We also sneak in a few quick questions about his past Marvel/DC titles too. JM is one of our favorite creators and people. 40+ years in the business and he's still as enthusiastic to discuss it as someone writing their first book. He's curious about new work and inspired by what came before. We love that he's co-producing his own books and hope you consider helping out! ----------------- Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com to get our monthly bonus episodes.  You can join our free Discord chat service there too.

EPISODE 283: The Milksops begin their dive into Peter Milligan's early 2000s run on The Human Target.  Created by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino in 1972 for DC Comics, the Human Target has had several runs over the years. The basic gist is this: if you're in danger of being killed, you can hire Christopher Chance who will dress up as you until he catches the killer! Very normal, simple strategy.  In 1999, writer Peter Milligan and artist Edvin Biuković started a run which pushed the envelope of how far this story could go. For example, in this first story, Chance has an assistant who has gone so deep undercover he has forgotten he is in disguise. And that's just the tip of the iceberg in this complex, rewarded, thrilling four issue story. We learn that almost everyone we meet has a double life of some kind, and they're all trying to hide it for different reasons. By the end of the four issues, Milligan and Buikovic had established that this character was a great inspiration for terrific stories. Join us as we sample from this terrific run.   ------- Subscribe at screwitpodcasts.com for bonus monthly episodes. Profits go to Hero Initiative and other comics-related charities.  

EPISODE 282 - We finish our coverage of John Byrne's FF with the issue where Sue Richards changes her name from The Invisible Girl to The Invisible Woman. It's a fine issue that mostly features She-Hulk breaking out of Psycho-Man's fear spell. We also learn the story of Pearla, Queen of the Microverse! We give some closing thoughts on John Byrne. For a good John Byrne issue, and there were many you got: strong confident storytelling, exciting purposeful battles, clearly told stories, a strong command of where your eye goes, and what your heart wants to know. Byrne in the 80s was iconic, truly one of the best and most popular creators in America. The shortcomings: his art starts to get sketchier as he strives to produce more. His faces look... honestly, the same? It's almost strange how that DOESN'T hurt the story telling. He gets more and more about the references. Although funny, he's best when he isn't doing a book which is billed as comedic first and foremost. But for the FF, he revitalized the comic, giving Kirby's creations an often upgraded portrayal. Next season: Peter Milligan's run on The Human Target