X Is For Show -- A Comic Reading Experience
Do you wanna know all about ongoing comics from Marvel and more? Join Nico, TK, Kevo, & the rest of the Action Pack as they discuss the big moments, fill in the missing pieces, examine the characters, and more. Each week on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and more, the team breakdown the many books on multiple platforms. Whether it’s X-Men, Daredevil, Avengers, Miracleman, Darkwing Duck, Sandman, or anyone else from the Marvel U and beyond — the Action Pack has you covered with insight, in-depth analysis, keen perspectives, and lot’s of loud fun.
Episodes
February 12, 2024 • 149 mins
Echo finally has her own show! It’s been a wild ride since the debut of Maya Lopez in 2021’s Hawkeye series. Between rumors of rewrites (true), reshoots (true), and problems with quality (blatantly untrue), the series dropped the full five episode season in early 2024 on Disney+ & Hulu. So who is Echo and what is she doing in the MCU? We breakdown her origins in the comics and TV show, that way-too-short but great cameo, the series...
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February 7, 2024 • 140 mins
The Marvel Universe is relaunching and launching in an endless cycle of events, miniseries, and new directions – and this week is no different. Nico, TK, & Kevo take a look at the much-awaited and very-hyped Avengers: Twilight #1, before finding themselves in the familiar territory of the Rise and Fall of House and Powers of X with a new Cable book featuring old Cables by a classic writer! Then, check out the heroes on the ground i...
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February 5, 2024 • 131 mins
This week we’ve got two big issues out with Rise of the Powers of X and Ultimate Spider-Man. We’ll discuss these in the contexts of two big stories that preceded them: House of X & Power of X (recently re-released in chronological order) and Ultimate Invasion. Marvel’s making some big leaps to get to a new status quo. Can we learn anything new about what we’ve already seen in HoXPoX & the Ultimate Universe with these two very diffe...
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January 31, 2024 • 184 mins
It’s 2024, a Brand New Year, and the Marvel Universe is ready! Check out Marvel’s solicits for March, featuring the X-Men’s continued destruction in new debuts with Fall Of The House Of X, Rise Of The Powers Of X, X-Men Forever before finding the Spidey spring launches in Web Of Spider-Man & The Spectacular Spider-Men! It wouldn’t be the MU with the Avengers who have traded in their eponymous title for Avengers: Twilight, plus G.O....
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January 24, 2024 • 138 mins
The Fall of X has finally concluded, but was it with a whimper or a bang? We got a huge stack of mini-series featuring phenomenal creators writing about some of our favorite characters, but did they fall into the same frustrating miasma of limited series that prevent the readers from getting invested? Meanwhile, some of the most beloved on-goings of the Krakoan Era were brought to an end. Will fans stick around to see what fills th...
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January 22, 2024 • 85 mins
The Spider-Man event of the season is upon us with Gang War, and along with his endless carousel of baggage, Peter Parker’s brought along some friends, including Miles Morales, Jessica Drew, Luke Cage, even Cloak & Dagger! As the many super-villainous gangs of New York City fight for territory, Webhead and his cohorts try to keep civilians safe and unravel the web of machinations these villainous mafiosos have woven around the city...
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December 13, 2023 • 108 mins
After the events of Heaven’s on Fire, Ghost Riding goes wild! The new generation of Riders are different than the previous crew and goes places no Ghost Riders had gone before. First up, Alejandra Jones – one of the shortest lived proper Riders, before taking a look at the hot two Riders of the last decade: Robbie Reyes (the All Rider) & Kushala (The Spirit or Demon Rider)! Plus, looks at the Riders from 1,000 AD, 1,000,000 BC, & t...
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December 11, 2023 • 111 mins
There’s LOTS of Ghost Riders – really, there’s more than you’d think. Marvel’s taken the time to give a few of them a deeper look, and the Action Pack is going all in on it – join the team as they begin the investigation into what makes a Spirit of Vengeance tick, what pushes them to bring the hell, and what keeps those heads all fiery. This time, examine the different major writers who shaped the Ghost Rider narrative for the majo...
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December 6, 2023 • 92 mins
There’s LOTS of Ghost Riders – really, there’s more than you’d think. Marvel’s taken the time to give a few a deeper look, and the Action Pack is going all in on it – join the team as they begin the investigation into what makes a Spirit of Vengeance tick, what pushes them to bring the hell, and keeps those heads all fiery. First up: Johnny Blaze, Dan Ketch, Naomi Kale, Kenshiro Cochrane, & more!
X Is For Show is your premiere pl...
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December 4, 2023 • 142 mins
Over the last four years, Marvel Comics has initiated a lot of refreshes on their big name properties, from the start of the Krakoan Age to the first semester at Strange Academy. So many books got a big reset to their status quo. Today, a lot of those stories are winding down, or have already moved into their next era, from the Fall of the House of X to a new start for Daredevil. We’re taking a look at what came before and what’s c...
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October 31, 2023 • 100 mins
Halloween is unlike any other holiday in the Marvel Universe – a winter-holiday story about Christmas, Hanukkah, or Yule needs that sweet spot publishing date of Oct, Nov, or Dec; while there’s always a bit of romance in a title, Feb really hits it with Valentine’s Day; and it’s only ever Flag Day, Memorial Day, or Veteran’s Day in Cap Comics – but Marvel can produce a whole character line around *spoooooky* characters any time of ...
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October 23, 2023 • 131 mins
Daredevil is a complicated hero – DD historically sits at the bottom of the top tier heroes (save for a dynamic once-every-decade redefining run), mixing dark magic ninjas with Irish-Catholic guilt like few comics can, and – in great part due to a shared pool of creators – is regularly seen as a crimson-imitation of Batman (and sometimes, they even team up). But then, in 2019, Chip Zdarsky dared to bring Daredevil due on 55 years o...
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October 19, 2023 • 169 mins
The nature of the shifting comic book news cycle means readers often see covers, know plots, teams, creators, and more sometimes as much as six months in advance of release, leaving readers in holding patterns where the nature of what’s out now vs what’s coming next can become confusing. At other times, the announcements can aggressively infringe on the validity of what’s coming out at the time. Nico, TK, & Kevo take a look at the ...
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October 16, 2023 • 152 mins
Wolverine & Ghost Rider team-up for Weapons Of Vengeance -- a four-part crossover building on the current runs of both books by Ben Percy. The crossover goes deeper, painting a picture of a missing moment in both heroes’ journeys, leading the Action Pack to examining the history of Wolvie & the Rider, across multiple iterations of both characters, starting when the two first met in 1990, with no signs of stopping.
X Is For Show is ...
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October 9, 2023 • 154 mins
Whether its the comics or the TV show, the world of Daredevil wouldn't b be the same without Gladiator -- but his earliest appearances do Melvin Potter no justice, as he struggles to find his character. The earliest years of Daredevil feature so much testing-new-ideas, The Hornhead faces some forgettable foes like The Tri-Man and the Masked Marauder as well. But it's cool because Gladiator is so hot it really doesn't matter. Then –...
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October 2, 2023 • 163 mins
When Marvel fans think of classic friendships, Daredevil and Spider-Man often comes to mind first. While many of the earliest stories lack the exact magic that later tales would contain, this early story is filled with memorable moments and a battle with the Masked Marauder. But really, it’s about the power of community the two characters manage to share despite their as-of-yet-unknown secret identities hanging overhead! Then – It ...
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September 25, 2023 • 169 mins
The Ox was not the most memorable villain Daredevil had in the earliest issues o the title, but Ox’s second appearance, while rote with tropes that were common to the era, manages to finally reclaim the energy that once belonged to the title. The transition of artists, writers, and genre left Daredevil languishing, like the wrong mind in the wrong body – which is exactly what Daredevil #15 delivers! Then – The Billy Club is back wi...
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September 18, 2023 • 163 mins
As Daredevil continues to struggle to develop its voice as a title, the characters continue to evolve and transform into the heroes we know them as today. In Daredevil #9, Matt gets his first “you-may-get-your-sight-back” story as well as the first DD villain who never shows up again – in fact, never even sees mention again. Klaus Kreuger acts as a rough Doctor Doom stand-in, and finds himself slipped into Matt & Foggy’s past, and ...
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September 4, 2023 • 170 mins
Few Marvel heroes stretch back as far as Namor: The Sub-Mariner does through canon, and a year into Daredevil’s run, the two characters come against one another! In Daredevil #7, Namor WIPES THE FLOOR with Daredevil, kicking his ass in the air, on land, and underwater. But despite this power imbalance, Namor sees the worth in Daredevil and treats him with dignity, only leaving him in defeat, instead of destroyed. Then – Marvel’s fi...
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August 31, 2023 • 216 mins
Marvel is reinventing their universe with GODS by Jonathan Hickman & Valerio Schiti while dialing into the past of the MU with Marvel Age 1000. One book seeks to develop the future, unifying the complexity and in-the-moment magics and sorcery of the Marvel Universe while the other “includes contributions from some of the most storied creators in Marvel history, as well as a few surprises, as the classic days of Marvel are explored ...
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