Jonathan Hickman, Part 1 - The Nightly News and Pax Romana

Phillip and Eric are talking the Dark Horse creator-owned comic series Hellboy by the legendary Mike Mignola! They discuss Mignola's exquisite and distinctive art style, his Jack Kirby influences, the series drawing upon superhero, gothic horror, pulp, and folklore genres, and Phillip tests if Eric can tell the difference between a quote from Wilson Fisk vs mayor Eric Adams.

Phillip and Eric wrap up their breakdown on Garth Ennis's Punisher MAX run, covering the final three arcs. They discuss what is Ennis's definitive statement on what it means to be the Punisher, gush over the "Widowmakers" arc, and Eric asks Phillip to lend him some money to buy a PS5 and Death Stranding 2.

In this episode, Phillip and Eric continue their discussion on Garth Ennis's iconic run on The Punisher MAX. They talk the influence Ennis's readership of war comics on the series, the introduction of Frank Castle's silliest foe to date, and Eric gushes about the Devil May Cry Netflix series.

Phillip and Eric continue their breakdown of Garth Ennis's run on the Marvel MAX series The Punisher. They discuss the darkest arc of its series with Frank Castle going after human traffickers, the introduction of Nick Fury and espionage elements into the story, and why Phillip hates Boston.

In this episode, Phillip and Eric kick off their breakdown on Garth Ennis's seminal Punisher MAX run with Punisher: Born and the first 12 issues of the MAX series. They discuss Garth Ennis's take on the Punisher as a sociopathic, battle-hardened war veteran anti-hero, the series' critique of the military-industrial complex, and whether Wilson Fisk would be a better mayor of NYC than Eric Adams.

In this episode, Phillip and Eric take a crack at the YA girl camper adventure comic series Lumberjanes by N.D. Stevenson and Shannon Watters. They discuss its lovingly idiosyncratic art style, the storytelling touches brought on by an all-female team, and why black people don't go camping.

In this episode, Phillip and Eric return to the timely Image Comic series, The Department of Truth by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds. Three more volumes have been published from where the duo left out last year, so they dissect the series' examination of institutional power, its unexpected twists and character revelations, and Eric tries to spread the gospel of Dr. Yakub and the white devil race.

In this episode, Phillip and Eric watch the much underrated Blue Beetle movie directed by Angel Nanuel Soto and starring Xolo Maridueña. They gush about the movie, discuss their experiences with the Jaime Reyes version of the character from the comics, and Eric makes sure to give Phil lots of shit for not watching this movie in theaters.

In this episode, to give some extra time for the next reading, Phillip and Eric are back at it with revisting the CW Arrowverse, this time on the Arrow episode, "Suicide Squad." They discuss how Diggle is the best character on the show, their wishlist of Suicide Squad characters, and compare Mass Effect playthroughs.

In this episode recorded over Presidents' Day Weekend, Phillip and Eric celebrate the American presidency by talking the Image comic Killadelphia by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander, a comic where John Adams became a vampire! They talk about the vampire tropes the comic avoids and the tropes it leans into, its blending of the vampire genre with political commentary and marginalized groups in America, and Eric educates Phillip on how the Delaware crossing is not the same thing as crossing the Rubicon.