Voice of Latveria

Professor James Kakalios, the author of "The Physics of Superheroes," joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Warlock #4-7, featuring a very different Victor Von Doom. Topics discussed include whether Counter-Earth has a moon, how Kate Pryde's powers might work (and why the Flash's powers definitely don't), whether astrophysicists would know about Counter-Earth, how many physics labs have hotlines to the White House, the two other Counter-Earths, and the most important psychological difference between Reed Richards and Doom.

Graeme McMillan (of Wait, What?) joins Douglas to discuss Doctor Doom's appearances in Thor #182-183. Topics include Stan Lee's curious ideas about how jobs work in the real world, what surgeons do, the world's smallest political demonstration, the identity of the scientist in "This Man, This Monster," the background behind O'Bengh from "What If?," Doom's taste in furniture, which country Thor would be most likely to allow to have missiles, and exactly how terrible a doctor Donald Blake is.

Joe Streckert, the host of the Weird History Podcast, joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Sub-Mariner #47-49. Topics include how much Doctor Doom loves drama, the difference between "Kirk Drift" and "Flanderization," The Journal of M.O.D.O.K. Studies, Gene Colan's fondness for drawing very wide punches, what kind of a boss Doom is, the light in the movie The Lighthouse, and the joys of abs and punching.

Bob Calhoun, the author of "The Murders That Made Us," joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Fantastic Four #116. Topics include Doctor Doom's résumé, what Mike Royer had to say about why inking New Gods was easier than inking Fantastic Four, the power of Evil Reed, and the resemblance between Victor Von Doom and the founders of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Gerry Conway, who wrote the Doctor Doom story in 1971's Astonishing Tales #8 at the age of 18, discusses it with Douglas--and writer/editor/semiotician Joshua Glenn shares his story of how he discovered that issue. Topics include the inspiration of Conway's Catholic upbringing, the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby relationship (Conway worked directly with both of them!), Young Frankenstein, the music from Bugs Bunny cartoons, the Bhagavad-Gita, Ruritanian romances, Sir Walter Scott, and Darth Vader.

Retired U.S. diplomat Margaret Pride joins Douglas Wolk to discuss the Doctor Doom stories in Astonishing Tales #6-7... or, rather, to touch on them rather briefly, and then discuss how the relationship between Victor Von Doom and T'Challa is and is not like the relationship between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, how exactly diplomatic immunity works in practice (and the biggest crime Doom would be able to get away with thanks to it), and what popular culture gets right and wrong about diplomatic relations in general.

Writer, artist and cartoonist K. Thor Jensen joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Doctor Doom's appearances in The Incredible Hulk #143-144. Topics include Doc Samson's haircut, Doom's signature weapon in Marvel vs. Capcom games, strange flags, the number of times Valeria has appeared, what cocktail conversations are like at parties Doom attends, Doom's most special lever of all, an overlooked and highly meme-able panel, the Funyuns of Marvel, and why this story is like "The Prestige."

Paul Tobin (writer of Bunny Mask, Dr. Doom and the Masters of Evil, etc.) joins Douglas to discuss Astonishing Tales #1-5, but they are attacked by an all-consuming sonic sponge.

Greg Matiasevich (of Multiversity Comics' "Robots from Tomorrow" podcast) joins Douglas to discuss Fantastic Four: The World's Greatest Comics Magazine! #1-12, a Lee/Kirby tribute miniseries spearheaded by Erik Larsen and Eric Stephenson. Topics include "Jack Kirby" as a genre, the lost Kirby black-light poster, and how this cast of thousands went about approximating the vintage F.F. vibe.

Bryan Stratton of "Marvel by the Month" joins Douglas Wolk (during the heat bubble in Portland!) to discuss Sub-Mariner #20 and Rise of the Black Panther #4. Topics include Prince Namor's straightedge side, the many beverages of Victor Von Doom, the staircase-as-Slip 'n' Slide motif in Roy Thomas's stories, why "glazier" is one of the more lucrative trades in Latveria, Doctor Doom and Namor's toxic relationship dynamics, and differing views of autocracy in Marvel Comics.

Charles Hatfield, Professor of English at California State University and the author of Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby, joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Kirby's final contribution to the Doctor Doom story, Fantastic Four #84-87. Topics include the influence on this story of Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner, the relationship between portraits of Doom and of Shah Jahan, the implied moral resemblance between Gustav Hauptmann and Adolf Eichmann, and the appearance of a pair of suspiciously familiar-looking chefs.

Comics critic, cultural commentator and screenwriter Laura Hudson joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Marvel Super Heroes #20--Doctor Doom's first cover feature, and the first appearance of Valeria! Topics include what exactly Diablo keeps in his costume, Doom's problematic modes of thinking about romantic relationships, Frank Giacoia's game attempt at pulling off a Jim Steranko riff, what (if anything) the U.S. Civil War has to do with all of this, and "the putrid pledges of diplomatic immunity." This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Christine Hanefalk of The Other Murdock Papers and the #savedaredevil campaign joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Doctor Doom's battle with Daredevil in Daredevil #37-38 and Fantastic Four #73. Topics include the quasi-science of Daredevil's radar sense, the question of whether it's a good idea for him to be driving a car, Gene Colan's approach to pacing stories, and Reed Richards' bizarre forgetfulness about the first time Doom switched bodies with him. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

James Romberger - artist, teacher, and author of "Steranko: The Self-Created Man" - joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Jim Steranko's Nick Fury serial in Strange Tales #161-167... in which Doctor Doom only appears in the final panel, but WHAT A PANEL IT IS. Topics include Steranko's formal innovations, the early connections between Steranko and Art Spiegelman, and the chessboard motif in this story. (Also: apologies for the slightly glitchy sound quality this week!) This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Comics historian Rhett Thomas joins Douglas Wolk to talk about Fantastic Four #57-60, Silver Surfer: Loftier than Mortals #1-2 and "The Silver Burper" from Not Brand Echh #1! Topics include the unwieldiness of the device with which Doctor Doom steals the Silver Surfer's power, the curious creative relationship between Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in 1966, and who owns a hundred pairs of stretch socks.

Dugan Trodglen--musician, comics retailer, journalist, and technically a character within the Marvel Universe--joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Avengers #25! (And the final panel of #24.) Topics include Don Heck's fortes as an artist, the beginning of Wanda Maximoff's fraught relationship with TV sets, the putative hipness of Hawkeye, Wally Schirra's advertisement for Actifed, and relevant videos of MF DOOM.

Chelsea Gaia--co-host of "Experience: A Career Stories Podcast," and a former wedding photographer--joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Fantastic Four Annual #3, Marvel Heroes & Legends '96, and Fantastic Four 40th Wedding Anniversary Special. Topics include Roz Kirby's possible influence on Susan Storm's wedding outfit, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's surprising final collaboration, which superhero picks up the check when everybody goes to eat at Tavern on the Green, and why honeymooning in the Blue Area of the Moon is a terrible idea.

Robb Milne of the excellent "Marvel by the Month" podcast joins Douglas Wolk to discuss two much later stories that take place very shortly after Fantastic Four #40: Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness's backup story from 2006's Stan Lee Meets Doctor Doom #1, and Christos Gage and Mario Alberti's 2010 Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #1! Topics include a secret moonlighting gig the 616 Stan Lee might have had, the sorts of continuity glitches over which Douglas gets extra finicky, and how one of Eero Aarnio's classic Ball Chairs might have ended up in a panic room for visiting dignitaries at a thinly disguised Columbia University.

Jeet Heer--national affairs correspondent for "The Nation," master of intellectually omnivorous Twitter threads, and Jack Kirby scholar--joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Fantastic Four #39 and 40. Topics include Doctor Doom as Hobbes' Leviathan, Kirby's personal background and how it informed Fantastic Four's characters, the proto-Doom in Challengers of the Unknown #4, the Inhumans' story as an allegory for Jewish assimilation, and the F.F. as a Kennedy-era Democratic coalition.

Episode Notes Kian Ross of the 616 Society joins Douglas Wolk to discuss Spider-Man/Human Torch #1, from 2005! Topics include the evolving relationship between Peter Parker and Johnny Storm, which mutant is best prepared to do the bookkeeping for X-Corp, Doom's surprising credulousness, and what exactly goes on in Douglas's secret book club for his patrons.

Episode Notes Abraham Riesman, the author of "True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee," joins Douglas Wolk to discuss 1964's Fantastic Four Annual #2, the first appearance of Latveria, and the origin of Doctor Doom. Topics include what we know and don't know about Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's working relationship at this point, Lee's unusual interpretation of "diplomatic immunity," the open question of when Doom's mother came into the narrative, and Kirby's uncharacteristically reserved evaluation of what he contributed to Doom's creation.

Episode Notes Patrick A. Reed, comics historian and Associate Curator of the exhibition "Marvel: Universe of Super-Heroes," joins Douglas to discuss Fantastic Four #23. Topics include baby dinosaurs, the peculiar dynamics of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's collaboration at this point, Reed Richards being even more of a jerk than usual, the aptness of the Terrible Trio's name, the astronomical price of ionic dust powder, and what in the name of all that is holy is even happening in the final two pages of the story.

Episode Notes Jay Edidin of "Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men" joins us to discuss the X-Men/Doctor Doom '98 Annual, "Victor Von Doom and the Mystery of Where Babies Come From," the peculiar beard of the Onslaught homunculus, Jean Grey's spotty memory of her Antarctic adventure, what was happening just off-panel while Wolverine was getting eviscerated in "Days of Future Past," the career hazards of seers, and Magneto-clone Joseph's status as a twunk.

Episode Notes Katie Pryde of Books with Pictures joins us to discuss Avengers #1 1/2, published in 1999--although it sort of purports to be from 1963. Topics include the secret origin of Teflon, Doctor Doom's economical reuse of failed death-traps, Bruce Timm's stellar Jack Kirby pastiche, and Hank Pym's ability to turn his worst habits into superpowers.

Episode Notes ScreenCrush.com editor (and Spider-Man expert) Matt Singer joins us to discuss Amazing Spider-Man #5, the vanity of Doom's death-traps, Flash Thompson's man-crush on Spidey, the Fantastic Four's callous disregard for Peter Parker's life, the glories of Steve Ditko's fight choreography, and why Doom would have been an excellent recurring character in Spider-Man comics.

Episode Notes Alex Ross, the author of "Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music," joins us to discuss the role of Wagner's Ring Cycle in Invaders #32-33, whether it's possible to play Wagner's piano music in armored gloves, and whether Thor or Alberich would have been a stronger candidate for plucking out of operatic reality and sending off to attack Stalin.

Episode Notes "Judge Dredd" writer Arthur Wyatt joins us to discuss the utter madness of Fantastic Four #16 and #17, the peculiar physics of the Microverse, the inefficiency of supervillain death traps, and what Doctor Doom has in common with Pete Buttigieg.

Episode Notes Ben Saunders, the director of Comics and Cartoon Studies at the University of Oregon, joins us to discuss Fantastic Four #10, Jack Kirby's expressive command of design and gesture, the debut appearance of Kirby and Lee on panel, and the relationship between the way Mr. Fantastic addresses the Thing in this issue and "The Merchant of Venice."

1: Prisoners of Doctor Doom Dr. Andréa Gilroy (of Books with Pictures Eugene) talks to Douglas about Dr. Doom's first appearance, Fantastic Four #5, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, as well as its retellings in Fantastic Four #236 and Marvel Age Fantastic Four #5. Topics include Doom's rarely seen pet tiger and vulture, his shark-style helicopter, the historical (or rather ahistorical) origins of Blackbeard, the resemblance of Merlin's gems to Infinity Stones, the total absence of Latveria, and why we are made to assume that Doom is a bad guy.