Some of My Friends Read Comics
SOME OF MY FRIENDS READ COMICS is a book-club format podcast about reading the great comic book stories for the first time. On each episode, your hosts will review a classic comic book story or run, examine how well it holds up, and figure out how it fits within the grand context of comics.
Episodes
We're finally at the end of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing! When we last left him, he was stuck in space on an alien planet, making the best of his situation with whatever plants he could find.
Will he ever make it back to Earth to see Abigail? Or will he just putz around with Adam Strange and Hawkgirl for a while?
We'll find out in issues 57-64!
We loved Peter David's X-Factor so much last time, so we're going back in for more! Except this time we're taking a look at his 2005 reboot of the title, coming hot off the heels of House of M and Decimation.
We've still got Multiple Man struggling with controlling his dupes, but now we've got depowered mutants and an inexplicably omnipotent little girl to deal with.
Then we finish up our long read of Thunderbolts with #25, in whic...
Today we're taking a look at Peter David's classic run on X-Factor! We get a spotlight focus on Jamie Madrox aka Multiple Man, we meet Strong Guy, and we get a nice new team of mutants to work with.
We're reading his first arc in issues #71-75 and then jumping forward to a fun therapy issue with #87.
It gets weird.
Then we're getting to the end of our long read of Thunderbolts with #24, where Citizen V stops being a dudette in the ...
We've got Freaky Friday Fever and we're reading three body swap stories that are all over the map!
Daredevil and Doctor Doom swap places in Daredevil #37 & 38!
Emma Frost spends some time in Iceman's body in Uncanny X-Men #314!
High school-aged Peter Parker trades places with Wolverine in Ultimate Spider-Man #66 & 67!
And we're still continuing Thunderbolts with #23, featuring an unexpected cameo from U.S. Agent.
Next Time: Peter D...
Did you know Superman hates racism? It's true, he's been fighting against it for decades now!
We're taking a look at Superman Smashes the Klan from 2019 by Gene Luen Yang and art by Gurihiru, which is not just set in the 1940s, but also based on an old radio play from the 1940s.
As the Klan makes their presence known in Metropolis to scare away a new Chinese family, Clark learns more about embracing his alien origins.
Then we conti...
It's time for some Starman!
We're taking a look at James Robinson's 1995 reboot of the golden age character with art from Tony Harris, and we get to meet FIVE Starmen in this book!
He's not exactly a household name. I barely even knew there was one Starman. We learn all about them in issues 0-5.
Then we're continuing with Thunderbolts #21, where Hawkeye is offering to lead the team!
When you mix Chris Claremont with Frank Miller, you get Wolverine and ninjas. It's as simple as that.
We're taking a look at Wolverine's first self-titled comic, a 4-issue mini-series from 1982 where Logan goes to Japan and lots of people die.
Then the Thunderbolts start heading in a new direction with issue #20, where a surprise guest wants to join the team!
Hot on the heels of Kurt Busiek's take on a real-world(ish) Clark Kent, we're reading his Batman focused followup called Creature of the Night from 2017, with art by John Paul Leon.
We meet a young kid in a non-superhero world named Bruce Wainwright who's obsessed with Batman comics, and that doesn't really change after his parents get murdered by robbers.
So what's the deal with this Batman that starts showing up immediately?
Then...
We're double-dipping on Kurt Busiek today!
We're still continuing his run on Thunderbolts with #18 and the rudest French supervillain you'll ever meet, but first we're reading Superman: Secret Identity from 2004, with Stuart Immonen on art.
It's a story about a regular kid named Clark Kent in a regular universe where superheroes only exist in comics, who gets ridiculed constantly for his name. And then he gets powers. Whoa!
Join u...
It's only been about 10 years since we read the first 5 issues of Alan Moore and Gene Ha's Top Ten, but now we're finishing the full first season with issues 6 through 12.
As the precinct deals with criminals on multiple fronts, there's one question on everyone's lips: What's Sergeant Dog Cop up to?
Then we move onto Thunderbolts #17, which had a sword fight, an exploding castle, and a dude who can control gravity.
Next Time - Sup...
We've never fully delved into the artistic stylings of Rob Liefeld, but it's finally time to take the plunge.
We look at his work on relaunching Captain America during Marvel's Heroes Reborn event in the 90s along with Jeph Loeb, and we find plenty of... interesting art choices to discuss.
We read the first 5-issue storyline as well as a 6th issue that perplexed us.
Then we move onto Thunderbolts #16 which brings up a new mystery!
...We're finishing up the back half of Secret Wars II with issues #6-9. So far, we haven't been very impressed with The Beyonder and his antics on Earth, but will his cool new "Thriller" vest help matters at all?
Thankfully the Molecule Man takes center stage to give us something to latch on to.
Then, the Thunderbolts are back on Earth in issue #15, and they've gotta figure out how to live life on the run.
It's Secret Wars II, the sequel to Secret Wars... and it's very different! The Beyonder is on Earth and he's just a confused, lonely alien who wants love. It's only 9 issues, so we read the first 5 issues this time and try to understand why it exists.
Then we move onto Thunderbolts #14 where they make it back to Earth too!
Next time: Secret Wars II, Pt. 2 (Issues 6-9)
Apparently we haven't covered a Daredevil book since our very first episode. We've never even read the death of Elektra, an iconic moment from the middle of Frank Miller's run in the early 80s.
We're reading Daredevil #178-182 to see the big moment for ourselves, along with Daredevil using crutches because he got his leg caught in a bear trap. Oops!
Then we're still reading Thunderbolts with issue #13, in which we deal with some al...
For some reason, we've devoted two episodes to Batman: Hush.
Why did we do this to ourselves? For some payoff with The Riddler? The Riddler!?!?! Damnit, Loeb.
At least Thunderbolts #12 didn't disappoint with the big finale to their first story arc.
Hush up y'all, this week we're checking out one of the biggest Batman storylines of the 2000s with Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's Husssshhhhh [emphasis mine] from Batman #608-619.
We're reading the first 6 issues in which we learn that Batman had a best friend named Tommy who has somehow never been mentioned in any comic before this one.
There's also a mystery bad guy who barely shows up.
Cool.
Then, we're getting real close to the end ...
We've finally reached the end of Ed Brubaker's classic run on Captain America in issues 37-42. Steve Rogers is dead, probably forever, but now we've got Bucky running around with the shield.
We also get some other clown who thinks he's Steve, and the Red Skull is trying to get his puppet elected as president while also doing some time travel shenanigans.
Then we get to the beginning of the end in Thunderbolts #10. The secret is out...
Y'all ever heard of this Galactus guy? Always running around in red and green, throwing gas bombs at the Fantastic Four? Yeah, that's classic Galactus.
Dude does way more than just planet-eating.
We read all about it in his very first appearance in Fantastic Four #48-50.
The Silver Surfer makes his first appearance too, spending most of these issues talking to a blind sculptor. Classic Silver Surfer.
Then we move onto Thunderbolts...
John Constantine is a badass. He's such a badass that his series is called Hellblazer. He's such a badass that he smokes and gets lung cancer and then tricks demons into cure his lung cancer for him. Wow, what a badass.
We've only seen this guy in the pages of Swamp Thing, so we're reading Hellblazer #41-46 from 1991 when Garth Ennis took over writing duties.
Then we finally say goodbye to the Elements of Doom in Thunderbolts #8.
N...
Spooky season is swampy season here at SOMFRC and we're back to Swamp Thing! We're reading volume 5 of Alan Moore's run with issues #51-56.
Swamp Thing has no more world-ending catastrophes to worry about, but his girlfriend's being persecuted for being into plants! Nothing to do but take over Gotham, get into a fight with Batman, and then spend a cool time in space.
Then we move onto Thunderbolts #7, where the team disobeys a dire...
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