Spec Tales: A Comic Book Podcast

We're celebrating the two-year anniversary of the Spec Tales Patreon. Because of our dedicated and generous Scärce Army members, we've been able to update the show's artwork, create JJ the Spec Tater-Tot, and literally give away thousands of stickers to comic fans around the world. This week, we're sharing an episode of our Patreon-exclusive series Floppies to celebrate the milestone.

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No guest this week, but that doesn't mean we're taking it easy on the mics. We've got multiple recent pickups that you need to sprint to the shelves (or digital shelves) to get your hands on. We've got a comic book whale tale detailing two of the most epic L.B. Cole covers on the planet. 

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We're back for a throwback-style episode with one of our original listeners and Instagram comic collector friends, Zach Mitchell from Zach's Comics.  Together, we dive head-first into the state of the comic book world, including the speculation market, gatekeeping collectors, and riding the financial waves. 

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From the biggest names in the industry to the indie creators just trying to see their vision come to life, Kickstarter has fully established itself as a major player in the comic book world. This week we bring on three veteran comic kickstarters to discuss the trending platform and their upcoming projects.

To learn more about Mario and James' project, SLICE(S) OF LIFE — A WORLD WITHOUT PIZZA, visit their Kickstarter ...

To celebrate our 100th episode of Spec Tales, we decided to look back and see where a few of our most memorable Grail Tales are now. Have no fear, we still bring the heat with some extra special recent pickups and speculation comics, too! Thank you for all the support over the last 100 episodes — we're looking forward to the next 100.

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Back from our happy holiday hiatus and ready for a big new year! This week, Eisner-winning writer Kelly Thompson (Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Jem and the Holograms) joins us to discuss her latest work — The Cull.  But we don't stop there. Our conversation with Kelly bounces from comic topic to topic with tons of inside baseball info on how the sausage is made. Not a dull moment in this episode, especially the speculation segment....

Acclaimed animator, and comic book creator Jay Stephens (Dwellings) and Gold Key chief creative director Arnold Guerrero join Jake & Jesús for this very special breaking news one-shot episode of Spec Tales.

We know we told you we'd be back in late January, but we had to take a break from our break to share this incredible news and a new grail tale with you.

Learn more about Gold Key's big news HERE...

Believe it or not, we're already halfway through season three of Spec Tales. However, before we take the next 6 weeks off, we have to wrap up the year with our favorite comic books and grails of 2023. So, saddle up the reindeer and join us for one last ride before the ball drops. We can't wait to tell you all about the surprises we have in store for 2024.

Happy Holidays all! We'll be back again on January 2...

You've heard of the one true king of the North, but have you heard of the One True Nerd King? Of course you have, his nerdtastic social posts have garnered millions of views and laughs. His comic-culture brain is on full display in this week's episode as he schools us in every segment. He even drops some never-before-considered speculation knowledge. Do not miss this Giant-Size episode of Spec Tales.

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Pressing and cleaning comic books isn't witchcraft or magical restoration — but for Chris Myers The Comic Book Presser, it's an art. This week, Chris and the guys deep dive into some of the intricacies of how pressing and cleaning can help the hobby pay for itself. However, Chris isn't just a presser, he's also a lifelong collector with an incredibly impressive Amazing Spider-Man and X-Men collection that he fla...

It's Thanksgiving for us and we're here to say thank you to all the listeners out there for take the time to join us every week for Spec Tales. This week's episode is filled with many listener themed segments, including the ever-popular listener-submitted grail tale.

Does Jesús win two consecutive weeks in a row for recent pickup tots? Will Jake ever stop talking about original comic book art? You'll h...

Eisner-nominated comic artist Nick Pitarra jumps on the show to chat all about his creator-owned comic Axe-Wielder Jon.  From its heartwarming origins to its massively successful crowdfunding campaign — Nick takes us through bringing Jon to life on the page.  We also get into Nick's impressive original comic art collection and how new collectors can ease into the original art hobby. 

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GIANT-SIZE EPISODE ALERT! This conversation was too good to cut short. Brad and Lisa Gullickson of the Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast join us to chat all about their unbelievable comic grail tales. Traversing through our classic three segments, we learn all about Brad and Lisa's collecting habits, the secrets to their incredible on-mic chemistry, and we even manage to finagle some speculation out of them.

SUPP...

Have you ever seen a CATMAN comic from the 1940's? How about a CHAMBER OF CHILLS pre-code horror comic? We dive into some of the biggest white whales of these iconic runs and what makes them true grails. An episode of Spec Tales wouldn't be complete without a mystery bag of recent pickups and some horrifyingly good speculation.

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We did it! We finally got around to meeting up in person for the first time at Dallas FanFestival 2023. A weekend of many firsts, including recording our first-ever live/in-person comic book grail tales. Hear all about the big event, what we learned and meet some of the friends we made along the way.

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Just in time for the most horrifying season of the year. Artist Joshua Hixson joins Jake & Jesús to discuss his work on show-favorite horror comic THE PLOT and his upcoming collaboration with James Tynion IV THE DEVIANT.  Josh also divulges to the guys his secret to creating some of the most terrifying visuals in modern comics. 

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Jake & Jesús pull out all the stops with TWO listener-submitted grail tales and a first-time special guest host — writer and friend of the show Mario Candelaria. This episode is chock-full of recent pickups, reading recommendations and some football-related speculation.  The guys also announce their first-ever comic con appearance...listen in to find out where they're going.

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Phillip Kennedy Johnson discusses his approach to writing the current Incredible Hulk series and how he wanted to bring back the monster movie elements and horror themes that were originally part of the character. He also talks about his inspiration from Hellboy and other folklore and horror stories. And you know we weren't going to let PKJ  get out before sharing his drool-inducing grails and more comic book speculation than ...

Jordan Alsaqa, author of the Apex Legends Official Cookbook and IDW's young adult fantasy graphic novel Cooking with Monsters, joins Jake and Jesús on this episode of Spec Tales. Jordan shares a couple of white whales he'd loved to obtain, both as a collector and a creator. The trio also dives deep into some juicy speculation as well. 

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