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Jul 27

House to Astonish Episode 111

Posted on Saturday, July 27, 2013 by Al in Podcast

Paul and I hit a milestone in our first three-digit, one-number, palindromic podcast edition, and to mark the occasion we’ve got a handy recap of all the major news out of San Diego for you. We’re talking about IDW’s new Artist’s Editions, the republishing of The Maxx, the continuing partnership between IDW and 2000AD and Walt Simonson’s new creator-owned series, Dynamite’s new Twilight Zone and Heroes books (as well as Howard Chaykin’s return to The Shadow), Dark Horse’s Ghost and Terminator series, five new titles from Monkeybrain, DC Digital’s upcoming new books, the launch of a new Harley Quinn title, Marvel’s latest addition to the X-books, Wolverine: Origin II, the return of the Marvel UK characters and the Avengers movie sequel. Oh, and something to do with a big superhero movie from Warners…

We’ve also got reviews of Hunger, Tomorrowland and Mysterious Strangers, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe stole the sun from our hearts. All this plus the mountains of Belgium, the Refreshers Event and Lobo Meets the Smurfs.

The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, on Twitter, via email or on our Facebook fan page.

Remember, you can also help put Paul’s imminently-arriving new son through college with our Redbubble store – shirts that will look fantastic on you, we imagine.

 

 

Bring on the comments

  1. Odessasteps says:

    Hooray, super early on a Saturday morning.

  2. Bruce Baugh says:

    You overlooked the obvious comparison for the Official Handbook, you narrow-minded bigots: curling. He’ll put a handle on the Earth, and his buddy back home will get out the space broom, and there you go.

  3. Ian says:

    There’s actually a bit of a history between Scooby-Doo and Batman, most recently with him and the gang appearing in an episode of Brave and the Bold a year or two back. There’s maybe not enough to justify an ongoing series, but enough for me to be interested.

  4. Tom Shapira says:

    Now, I don’t know about you, but the only possible ending i see for the Scooby-Doo / Batman Crorssover is this:

    Well gang, it’s time for us to see who the creepy “bat-man” was all along
    *yanks off mask*
    *gasp* billionre playboy Bruce Wayne!
    Tht’s right. And I would have gotten away with my war on crime if it weren’t for you meddeling kids!

  5. Paul F says:

    The Scooby-Doo episode of Brave and the Bold was great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkLHdDmNG-s

    I haven’t read Hunger, but I do wonder what it will actually accomplish, considering it mostly seems to be a lead-in to the Bendis/Bagley series Cataclysm, which is where the Ultimate Universe is likely to end, if it does.

  6. Terence says:

    Perhaps Hunger is the Big G’s order from the Ultimate take-away, and Cataclysm is the resultant visit to the Ultimate porcelain throne.

  7. Nate S. says:

    Brandon Peterson drew the original Astonishing X-Men. I don’t know why I remember that (other than Jean’s janky feet on one of the covers).

  8. Paul F says:

    Was the Mackie/Peterson Astonishing X-Men mini the one where Skrullverine was killed by Death (who turned out to be the real Wolverine)?

    That seems an oddly major plot point to put in some three-issue mini. I was reading it in the Panini reprints, so I didn’t notice.

  9. JPW says:

    Scooby and the Gang met Batman and Robin, the Harlem Globetrotters, and the Addams Family in various episodes of the New Scooby Doo Movies back in the early 1970’s.

  10. Wrong says:

    Al, stop talking so much and let Paul say something!

  11. Joe S. Walker says:

    Re Marvel running out of X-Men adjectives, have they used any of these:

    Beautiful X-Men
    Autocratic X-Men
    Rebarbative X-Men
    Impudent X-Men
    Melancholy X-Men
    Podugrous X-Men?

  12. Dave says:

    Hunger #1 ending with Galactus just turning up is really poor, IMO. Make the first issue double-sized and provide something beyond the already-known premise. Nothing wrong with establishing the universe and main characters as well, but get the story going. Or, leave the big G moment out of the end of Age of Ultron if it’s how this #1 ends.

    I was neither particularly excited for nor against the idea of an Origin 2, but finding out it’s Gillen/Kubert and the hypothetical story has me looking forward to it.

  13. Tdubs says:

    So did the unity team split up for missions or disband into two groups? I read it as them breaking up and it just so happened it wasn’t along mutant and avenger lines.
    This book is really turning into an over hyped dud for me and that’s a shame. I really wanted this to be an epic book.
    I groan at the fact the added McNiven to this book. It really could be a book a newer artist could make a name on.

  14. Tdubs says:

    Crud apologies to all. I was in the wrong comments section.

  15. Suzene says:

    Congrats on the incoming, Paul!

    I want to be more excited for Amazing X-Men than I am, but Jason Aaron’s writing is just so uneven in quality, swings into the problematic and gross, and his grasp on humor vs gratuitous silliness is trembling enough that he often fails to realize when he’s undermining his own story. The idea of him aping the tone of Claremont/Davis Excalibur, as the interviews suggest he’ll be doing, makes me apprehensive. I’ll at least check it out, though — if Marvel’s going to hand me Northstar and Nightcrawler in the same book, I’m not going to turn them down flat.

  16. Suzene says:

    Of course, I post that and then remember that the last time that happened, Chuck Austen was on writing duties. I should perhaps rethink this…

  17. Ethan says:

    Since I don’t think I already said it, congrats to Paul and Suzy.

    Al, did you binge-watch a whole season of Chuck recently or something? This is something like the second show in a row that you mentioned it, and I don’t think you ever have before. Sort of weird for a show that’s been off the air for over a year now.

  18. Thrills says:

    Strangely excited about the new Abnett Marvel UK stuff. While I wish I was raised on 2000AD, the sad truth is that my post-Transformers comics formative years were all ‘Exploits of Spider-Man’ and ‘Overkill’. I’d love to see all those UK superfolks reintroduced to the Marvel Universe, as some of the concepts were fairly solid.

    I’m unduly fond of Dark Angel, but in her orignal incarnation as early 90s cosmic feminist Beltane science wizard.

    I was that one person who was stupidly pleased with Dark Angel etc appearing in Cornell’s M.I.13.

    I hate that nostalgia can still get me like this. Gah!

  19. Si says:

    I really enjoyed the way Paul said “Rrragnarok”, but I really really enjoyed the sheer loathing of how he said “Chuck Austin”.

  20. Daibhid Ceannaideach says:

    ” And there’s going to be a Superman-vs-Batman or Superman-slash-Batman movie.”

    I’d rather see a Superman and Batman movie than a Superman vs Batman movie. I’m not at all sure about a Superman slash Batman movie – there are some things that should probably be left to fanfic writers.

    I don’t agree that a spilled tray frozen in mid-air is undrawable; there’s a famous scene in the first Barry Allen Flash story showing exactly that. But then, that was Carmim Infantino.

  21. Thrills says:

    And I suppose you could always write ‘frozen in midair!’ or something next to the tray, Beano-style.

  22. Martin Smith says:

    Extraneous X-Men FTW.

    Abnett’s not actually involved in this Revolutionary War Marvel UK revival, is he? It’s just Andy Lanning. I don’t know who brings what to the DNA combo, but Abnett’s solo writing is (from what I’ve read) just as strong, so I’m curious to see how Lanning does without him.

  23. Thrills says:

    Aaaah, right! My mistake. Never read any Lanning solo stuff, but I’m more than willing to give it a shot.

  24. Suzene says:

    Exogamic X-Men – An A+X wedding issue every month!

  25. Max says:

    Jeez… Heroes. I didn’t even like it that much before the show jumped the shark. It always struck me as X-Men rewarmed in the microwave. It’s saving grace was Zachary Quinto. And now we get more. Someone will be happy somewhere and I’m happy for them. But I’ll pass.

  26. Max says:

    The first Astonish X-Men was an Age of Apocalypse title, as was the original Amazing X-Men. The second Astonishing was the one with the mannites and the “death of Wolverine”. The third Astonishing was the Joss Whedon vehicle that kept going after he left the book.

  27. I’ve been reading The Beano recently – oh, hey, pick up the first issue of the Dennis The Menace Megazine. It’s ridiculously expensive, but you get a proper storyish kind of Dennis & Gnasher strip (with creator credits!) AND a boss waterpistol (just in time for the end of the Summer) AND a bonus comic collecting Alexander Matthews’ excellent time travel blap-’em-up strip Nuke Noodle (worth the £4 on its own) – and it’s very odd to see something so trad as “INDELIBLE STINK OF EGGY PUMPS” in a comic. I really really wish more people would do that, if only as a counterpoint to all the dreary cod-realism of No Sound Effects and Pants Pants Pants. The Beano is a great comic just now – although the 75th anniversary edition was…not so.

    Yes! Daibhid! The tray! I love that panel! Perfectly evocative of Barry’s transformation. I love that origin story above almost all of them. I expect the New 52 version punched his chips and waterboarded his flan.

    I have no idea what Heroes is going to borrow from now. Civil War? Kick-Ass? Misfits? Let’s fill the shelves with any old crap, eh, as long as we’ve heard of it. I look forward to the inevitable Tenko revival – although in all seriousness, I would gladly write a Brewkside comic. WEHTJimmy Corkhill?

    I saw a drawing of Pink the other day that looked like MotorMouth. Says it all, probably.

    And Good luck, Paul & Suzi!

    //\Oo/\\

  28. Andy Walsh says:

    Sure, this Amazing X-Men title looks like a replacement for Astonishing X-Men… until NYCC when they announce a new volume of Astonishing X-Men and confirm once and for all that Nick Lowe is an agent of Hydra.

  29. ZZZ says:

    I think Amazing X-Men is just a placeholder title until they all get their minds replaced with members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and it becomes Superior X-Men.

    I’m joking (obviously) but I do believe that the reason they haven’t used “Amazing X-Men” much before now is, in fact, the idea that “Amazing” was Spider-Man’s adjective, just like there hasn’t been an “Uncanny” book that wasn’t linked to the X-Men in some way. I guess now that he’s not using it, they decided to shop it around.

  30. Matthew says:

    Incidentally, that writer on “Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe” that you didn’t recognize?

    It’s the writer of the webcomic, “Dr, McNinja”. He posted about it on the webcomic’s front page.

  31. David says:

    The Thor of norse myth did throw his hammer and have it return to him!

    @Matthew: Writer-penciller, not writer! And I have to admit I did recognize his name, but thought it was another web comic Chris (who I now remember is actually called Haley not Hastings). It’s been a few years since I was Doc McN fan.

  32. Dan says:

    There was a UK reprint series called Amazing X-Men (shortly after the Age of Apocalypse title). It had Generation X and various filler stories that Essential X-Men didn’t bother with.

  33. Somebody says:

    @Martin Smith, Re: 22

    IIRC, as a writing team, Abnett & Lanning collaborate on the plot, then Abnett scripts. I don’t think I’ve read a Lanning-scripted comic.

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