Batman: Strange Apparitions

Gather round as a random text thread becomes an episode, ye children of the pod! All your favorite comics professionals have gathered to spin a yarn about why they like the things that are bad, whether that means a bad thing is good, and to finally nail down one of our longest running mysteries: Does Joe Watch Prestige Television Or Not?  For those of you who wonder if the Batman content is here: it is! And so is a lot of talk about Matt's recent appearance in Bubbles, the popular zine also responsible for so many of Joe's recent smiles. It's a podcast, buddy!

On this very special episode, Make-A-Wish kid Dan Nadel makes his fondest dream come true: a podcast with Joe McCulloch, Chris Mautner, Tucker Stone and a very special surprise guest! The topic: Dave Sim! Unfortunately, professional obligations ultimately demand that all individuals also discuss young Daniel's newly published biography of Robert Crumb, the famed cartoonist. No punches are pulled, but really, are any punches thrown? It's comic book time!

If you're keeping track of these, this is number eight. When did we record it? None of your business, turkey hunters! This time around, on Batman Books Are Burning In Hell, Matt Seneca & Tucker Stone are talking about Batman: Strange Apparitions by Steve Englehart & Marshall Rogers.

On this episode, Tucker, Chris & Joe tackle the latest Kazuo Umezz books to make it to American shores: My Name Is Shingo! And that's not the only comic that came across the US Border under the microscope...they're also all about Batman, and his adventures with Italian mainstay, Dylan Dog. Does this Caped Crusader appearance mean more Batman yakking? You guessed right, True Believer!

In this episode, we're talking about Matt Wagner's Grendel--well, as much of it as we could fit in before we reached emotional capacity for...the devil! That turned out to be basically Grendel as it was published by Comico in the 1980s, which basically means "everything Grendel up until you get to Grendel Prime"). There is a little diversion into a Dark Horse comic written by Diana Schutz and drawn by Tim Sale, and as few cursory mentions of Grendel Red, White & Black as we can get away with, but neither of those take up so much time that we can't safely call this one "The Comico Years".

The gang is all here, and so is the NYRC release of Social Fiction, a collection of comics by Chantal Montellier, translated by Geoffrey Brock. Is there a bit of spot the reference going down? Sure there is: but if your eyes are closed, how are you gonna see who is coming at you?? Wake up sheeple!!! France is a real place!!!!

This week, all decorum is out the window: Joe isn't here to stop us, so we're talking about Disney's Mickey Mouse in a labor fantasia, we're talking about a comic where a talking penis takes the stage (he's pink, y'all!) and, in the episode's coda, we talk about the coda of Crickets. You wouldn't think we'd get this much done with only the three of us: and your lack of faith reflects your poor upbringing!

The Hernandez Brothers make it to television, but they don't talk about Blubber enough for our taste, and Alan Moore throws some words on the page but doesn't include any Don Simpson pictures? Well, if everything is wrong in the world, then what is right? Garth Ennis. Garth Ennis is always right!

In this special, weirdly long episode, we talk about a bunch of Marvel characters in an Abrams book--all of them, somehow connected to Alex Ross. It's Fantastic Four: Full Circle time! Get in where you fit in, and brother, you fit in just fine!  

On this special episode of Comic Books Are Burning In Hell, we discuss fairy tales, Kazuo Umezz and critically acclaimed cartoo--BARF. BARFING SOUND. Carto--VOMIT AGAIN. UPCHUCK CENTRAL.