Bone (1991) Volume 1: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith

Is Harrow County the best horror comic of the last decade? Ben and Mick revisit Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook’s Harrow County Vol. 1: Countless Haints (Dark Horse Comics, issues #1–4) in this remastered Halloween archive episode, with new context added for 2026.Emmy is turning 18 on a quiet Southern farm, but Harrow County has a long memory. The witch Hester Beck was hanged from a tree years ago, and the town has been waiting for her to come back ever since. We dig into why this Southern Gothic folk horror series still sends chills down the spine, and how it kept its dread going right to the final issue.In this episode:What a “haint” is, and the Gullah Geechee roots of haint blue porch ceilingsSkinwalkers, boo hags, the hare witch, and the folklore behind the skinless boyHester Beck and the history of the Salem witch trials of 1692Tyler Crook’s hand-painted watercolour art and the hidden “Harrow County” titles in the landscapeHow horror works in comics compared to film and prose, and the power of the page-turn scareThe series’ origins as Bunn’s online prose serial, plus its Eisner nomination and Ghastly Award winsInfluences and companions: Hellboy, The Witch (Black Phillip), and Over the Garden WallSpoilers for Harrow County issues #1–4.Thanks to Sean Northridge for the recommendation.Find usJoin the Discord and read alongRead Our SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokWatch us on YoutubeTime Stamps:00:00 Introduction04:06 What Is a Haint?09:59 Horror in Comics vs. Film16:10 The Creators: Bunn & Crook30:52 The Art of Harrow County38:44 Recommendations & OutroCollecting Issues is a monthly comic book club and criticism podcast. Read along with us and send in your thoughts to be featured on the show. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review wherever you listen.Tags/keywords Harrow County, Cullen Bunn, Tyler Crook, Dark Horse Comics, horror comics, folk horror, Southern Gothic, haint blue, Gullah Geechee, skinwalker, witch comics, Halloween podcast, comic book podcast, comic book club, graphic novel review Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mick and Ben open spooky season with Fault Lines, the debut comic anthology from Robert Cullen, the Irish animator who founded Boulder Media (Danger Mouse, Transformers, Wacky Races). It has three stories about guilt, grief and the Irish diaspora. They range from Twilight Zone strange to quietly devastating, and each turns on the moment a life breaks apart.In this episode:The Vanishing Act: Blackpool, 1976. Kathleen, an Irish showgirl in Tommy Cooper’s variety act, takes work as the assistant to a sleazy magician whose disappearing trick sometimes actually works. We look at magical realism, women “staying in their places”, and an eight-page silent sequence that shows how much comics can do.How to Be a Ghost: Mick’s favourite. A grief story set in Canada with a twist you’ll want to reread straight away. We cover Cullen’s limited colour palette, his nine-panel grids, and why this story only works as a comic.Siren: Campbell, a deaf man in Glasgow, hears a sound for the first time in 40 years and is pulled back to Edinburgh and an old crime. We talk about one of the best depictions of deafness and sign language we’ve seen in a comic, and about how guilt gets handed down to the next generation.Along the way: Cullen’s move from animation director to comic book creator, how he uses cinematic framing without making the pages feel like storyboards, and why independent Irish comics deserve your money. Spoilers throughout, so read it first. It’s a book club, not a review show.Next time, for Halloween: A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll.🎧 Listen and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and AcastFind usJoin the Discord and read alongRead Our SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokWatch us on YoutubeBuy Fault Lines from your local independent comic shop.Time Stamps:00:00 Intro and Premise01:13 Support Indie Comics01:51 What Is Fault Lines03:26 Creator Background04:24 Vanishing Act Setup04:32 Kathleen in Blackpool13:34 Break In and Loss16:47 Great Dini Offer20:07 Snuff Magic Audience22:43 Escape and Rescue29:03 Story One Wrap29:52 Story Two Tease30:54 Follow and Subscribe32:44 Ghost Story Twist35:22 Comics Medium Advantage36:43 Cullen Interview Craft38:56 Color Memory Motifs42:49 Crash Site Grief Reveal44:26 Restraint Happy Ending47:06 Siren Call Deafness52:03 Guilt Road Trip Edinburgh55:47 Accident Backstory Unfolds58:20 Fault Lines Aftermath01:00:30 Wrap Up Next EpisodeTags / keywords: Fault Lines comic, Robert Cullen, Boulder Media, Irish comics, independent comics, horror comic anthology, graphic novel review, comic book podcast, comic book club, magical realism comics, Halloween comics, spooky season, Irish podcast, Collecting Issues Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a Justice League pastiche decides the only way to save the world is to run it? On this episode of Collecting Issues, the monthly comic book club podcast, Ben and Michael read Squadron Supreme #1–12 (Marvel Comics, 1985) by Mark Gruenwald, Bob Hall and John Beatty.Hyperion, Power Princess, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, the Whizzer and the rest of the Squadron Supreme wake up in a world wrecked by alien mind control, and their solution is the Utopia Program: disarm the population, fix hunger, cure death and, eventually, rewire criminals' brains with Tom Thumb's behaviour-modification tech. What could go wrong?We get into the Squadron's origins as Marvel's answer to DC's Justice League, the grim secret lives of its heroes, the B-Mod debate that splits the team, Golden Archer's horrifying abuse of Lark, the bizarre Hyperion doppelgänger subplot, Nuke and Doctor Spectrum's fatal fight, and the brutal final showdown. We also ask whether this is an accidental first draft of the postmodern superhero comic, and how it stacks up against Watchmen, Kingdom Come and Identity Crisis.Plus: eighties comic book dialogue, a whole lot of recap panels, and the famous story of Mark Gruenwald's ashes being mixed into the ink of the Squadron Supreme trade paperback.Spoiler warning: this is a book club, not a review. Read the comic first, then come back.Next up: Fault Lines, an eerie, Twilight Zone-style sci-fi anthology of three stories from Irish creator Robert Cullen.Chapters00:00 Intro & Spoiler Warning04:24 What Is Squadron Supreme?31:27 Secret Lives & Character Backstories38:57 The B-Mod Debate42:57 Golden Archer & Lark50:54 Hyperion's Doppelgänger58:34 The Civil War Showdown01:11:46 Outro & Next EpisodeFind usJoin the Discord and read alongRead Our SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokWatch us on YoutubeTags / keywordsSquadron Supreme, Mark Gruenwald, Bob Hall, Marvel Comics, Hyperion, Power Princess, Nighthawk, Justice League, Watchmen, Kingdom Come, Identity Crisis, Bronze Age comics, superhero deconstruction, comic book podcast, comic book club, graphic novel review, Irish podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when the man who can escape anything cannot escape himself?In this remastered archive episode, first recorded in 2019 and reissued with new context and commentary, Mick and Ben dig into Mister Miracle (2017-2018) by Tom King and Mitch Gerads, the Eisner Award winning 12 issue series from DC Comics.The episode covers:Jack Kirby's Fourth World and why the New Gods were born out of Kirby's experience as an army field artist in World War IIDarkseid as inevitability rather than brawler, the Anti-Life Equation as a proof that free will does not exist, and how "Darkseid Is" moves from a Grant Morrison and Howard Porter phrase in Rock of Ages into a formal storytelling deviceScott Free and Big Barda as one of the most realistic relationships in superhero comics, and how nature versus nurture plays out for two people raised on ApokolipsDepression, PTSD and the "stand / standing" mantra, plus the recurring shower motif and the comic's critique of push-through-it adviceMitch Gerads' art, the post-eighties nine-panel grid, and a rendition of Apokolips inspired by burning oil wells in IraqGranny Goodness, Lightray, Orion, Highfather, Funky Flashman and the Stan Lee parody nobody quite agreed onIs any of it real? Metron, the offer to return to continuity, and that final "will not be continued" panelPlus a disagreement about whether Tom King can write an ending, and recommendations if you liked this one: The Vision, God Country, Invincible.Timely too, with Mister Miracle newly announced as its own DC Animated series.(No relation to Michael's friend Tom King, who does jujitsu.)Follow the Podcast:Join the Discord and read alongRead Our SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokWatch us on YoutubeTags / keywordsMister Miracle, Tom King, Mitch Gerads, Scott Free, Big Barda, Darkseid, New Gods, Fourth World, Jack Kirby, DC Comics, Anti-Life Equation, Granny Goodness, Apokolips, New Genesis, comic book podcast, comic book review, nine panel grid, Eisner Award, depression in comics, Collecting Issues00:00 Archive Episode Setup01:28 Premise and Darkseid Context02:45 Tom King Not Your Friend04:03 Kirby Fourth World Basics05:41 War and Anti Life Origins09:19 Scott and Barda Home Life10:19 Unreliable Reality Question11:44 Humanizing Gods and Morality17:22 Nature Versus Nurture Trauma18:49 Mitch Gerads Art Breakdown20:47 Continuity Constraints Critique22:17 Shock Deaths No Stakes22:30 Tom King No Consequences23:42 End Of Fourth World24:17 Messy Structure Endings25:01 Darkseid Is Device26:49 Inevitable Darkseid Dread29:10 Funky Flashman Critique30:30 Depression PTSD Themes31:17 Stand And Shower Metaphors34:05 Choice Happy Ending36:23 Symbolism Silver Age Love37:50 Stakes Alternate Reality38:35 What Else To Read41:24 Final Thoughts And Outro42:04 Reissue And Animated News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Collecting Issues is a monthly comic book book club. We have read the thing, you have read the thing, and there are spoilers all the way down.This month Ben and Michael take on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, collecting issues 1 to 8 of the 2021 DC Comics series by Tom King, Bilquis Evely, and Matheus Lopes.King has been open that the pitch was True Grit in space, a mentor and mentee bound together by revenge, and the book delivers exactly that: Ruthye, a farm girl whose father is murdered by the mercenary Krem of the Yellow Hills, hires the most dangerous gun in the galaxy, and the most dangerous gun in the galaxy turns out to be Kara Zor-El.What we argue about:Whether the morality holds. The inciting incident is one dead father and one poisoned dog, but by the midpoint Krem has been implicated in a galaxy's worth of genocide. Does the personal revenge story survive that escalation, or does the scale swallow it?The Norman Rockwell segregation planet, and whether a comic can plausibly frame selling out your neighbours as the truest evil in a story this full of atrocity.Ruthye as unreliable narrator. She writes like a Victorian novelist, talks like a Western, and behaves like an Arthurian knight. She also does not witness the two biggest set pieces in the book, which raises the question of what we are actually looking at when Supergirl fights a space dragon.Comet the Super-Horse, first appearing in 1962, who is not a horse but a centaur named Byron, cursed by a wizard, gifted telepathy by Circe, and later beaming half-naked dream visions at a teenage Kara. Tom King brings him back and kills him off. We have questions.The Art:Bilquis Evely and Matheus Lopes, and why this book does not work without them. Evely designs a costume that sidesteps the miniskirt exploitation that has defined the character since Action Comics #252 in 1959, and she renders alien worlds that feel genuinely alien rather than Guardians of the Galaxy shorthand. If you only credit the story to Tom King, you are missing the comic.We close on James Gunn's Supergirl film with Milly Alcock, why "Woman of Tomorrow" got stripped from the title, and what the adaptation loses when it turns Krem from an ordinary man into a Hellraiser reject with plot armour.Next month: Squadron Supreme (1985), issues 1 to 12. Old-school Marvel madness.Next Month's Book: We are shamelessly riding the cinematic hype train! In preparation for the upcoming movie, we’ll be reading Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s incredible Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.Read our Absolute Green Arrow EssayFollow the Podcast:Join the Discord and read alongRead Our SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokWatch us on Youtube Time Stamps:00:00 Welcome to Collecting Issues00:36 Spoilers and Banter02:54 Tom King and Continuity04:27 True Grit in Space09:09 Meet Ruthye and Krem10:48 Revenge Versus Responsibility15:01 Racism Town and Rockwell Vibes17:30 Krem and the Brigands Escalate22:37 Supergirl History and Redesign27:56 Tom King MacGuffins32:34 Meta Finale and Ruthye Narration34:59 Ruthye’s Unreliable View36:58 Capturing Krem at Last37:55 Temptation on the Beach41:23 Comet’s Bizarre Backstory46:28 Dog Lie and Moral Mess51:24 Art That Elevates It58:45 Final Verdicts and Themes01:04:04 Movie Adaptation Changes01:07:36 Wrap Up and Next Read Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Collecting Issues, your monthly comic book book club!This month, Mick and Ben are strapping in (and trying not to burst out of identical tight t-shirts) to review Assorted Crisis Events, Volume 1, collecting issues #1-5 of the hit 2025 Image Comics series. Created by the powerhouse team of Deniz Camp (20th Century Men, Absolute Martian Manhunter) and artist Eric Zawadzki, with breathdtaking colours by Jordie Bellaire, this book asks the ultimate question: What happens when timeline-shattering multiversal events happen to ordinary, everyday people instead of A-list superheroes?It’s The Twilight Zone meets Black Mirror, but deeply grounded in the grim, weird, and human reality of 2026.In This Episode We Break Down:Issue #1: Apocalypse Now – We follow Ashley Cargill through a chronally displaced city where reality is stranger than fiction, blending pop-culture commentary with an impending nightmare around every corner.Issue #2: Slaughterhouse Nine to Five – A devastating, visceral look at the immigrant experience, generational trauma, veganism... and velociraptors. Plus, we rave over Eric Zawadzki's savant-level panel layouts.Issue #3: Crisis on Hearth 2 – A brilliant Crisis on Infinite Earths homage that serves as an unflinching metaphor for displacement, immigration, and how quickly society fractures when doppelgangers move into town.Issue #4: Time Flies – Mikey has made some terrible choices (like some really terrible choices), but is he just an adrenaline-junkie leaping through time, or is this a tragic look at regret and impulse decisions?Issue #5: Strange Loops – The world-building issue (kind of)! We meet Anna, a woman who survives a 60-second time loop that lasted 30 million years. We trace the Easter eggs, time-loop tropes, and finally start piecing together the overarching mystery of the jetpack hobo.Next Month's Book: We are shamelessly riding the cinematic hype train! In preparation for the upcoming movie, we’ll be reading Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s incredible Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Listen to the Absolute Martian Manhunter EpisodeListen to our 20th Century Men EpisodeFollow the Podcast:Join the Discord and read alongRead Our SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokWatch us on YoutubeTime Stamps:0:00 Intro 00:32 Spoiler Warning Banter02:02 Multiverse Fatigue Explained03:32 What This Series Is04:33 Deniz Camp Track Record06:40 Anthology Shared World09:49 Personal Crisis Metaphor15:46 Issue One Breakdown21:37 Art Layout Praise31:43 Issue Two Slaughterhouse35:10 Gore Vegan Subtext37:19 Panel Layout Color Work42:20 Crocodile Trauma Origins43:43 Blood Fear and Family Cycles46:33 Crisis on Hearth Two48:00 Doppelgangers and Displacement53:06 Chaos Camp and Panel Mirrors56:33 Time Flies Bad Choices59:40 Unreliable Narrator Debate01:05:02 Strange Loops Worldbuilding01:11:08 Medium Tricks and Rereads01:12:07 Final Thoughts and Next Read Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Michael and Benjamin are wading deep into the gutters of Marvel’s latest Spider-man reboot to discuss Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) Volume 1 (Issues 1-6) and Volume 2: The News (Issues 7-12) by Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, and David Messina.Is this 2024 reimagining a light snack or a massive epic?We look at everything from Peter Parker’s 35-year-old power fantasy to Harry Osborn’s consistently dreadful decision-making skills. no matter how old he is. Spider-Man might not be a dweeby 16-year-old anymore, but the classic Parker luck. and the looming threat of the Sinister Six, is still alive and well.Spoilers ahead for all 12 issues!Episode Highlights:The 35-Year-Old Power Fantasy: How Hickman shifted the target demographic from tween nerds to millennials dealing with mid-life crises. Peter has the supermodel wife, the great kids, and a steady job; so why does he still feel like he's destined for more?A World Without Aunt May: Exploring the fascinating alternate timeline where Ben Parker lives to start a his own newspaper with a surprisingly not-terrible J. Jonah Jameson.The Iron Man Ex Machina: Breaking down the "Picotech" (or McGuffin-tech) suit gifted by Tony Stark and how this tech-heavy, adult Spider-Man differs from the analogue, web-fluid-mixing teenager we all know.Accidentally Creating Venom: Why giving your advanced super-suit a sentient AI personality so you have someone to talk to is a fundamentally terrible idea.The Dinner Party of Doom: Reviewing the bizarrely brilliant, non-superheroic issue dedicated entirely to the social anxiety of Peter, Mary Jane, Harry, and Gwen Stacy awkwardly navigating a double date.The Not-Sinister Six: Analysing the shadowy cabal running the five boroughs, featuring Kingpin, Mr. Negative, Mole Man, Mysterio, Kraven, and Black Cat.Harry Osborn’s Daddy Issues: Why programming Norman Osborn's voice (we all heard Willem Dafoe) into the Green Goblin suit is the single worst decision Harry makes in the entire run.Coming Up Next MonthMay is a month of many comics! Make sure to subscribe and tune in next time as the lads cover:Assorted Crisis Events (Volume 1) by Deniz Camp: Our main read for May, featuring an alternate timeline, timey-wimey chaos anthology!Enjoyed the episode? Give us a subscribe on YouTube, follow us on Spotify (where you can now watch the video version!), and check out our newly remastered archive episodes, including our deep dive into Kraven's Last Hunt, linked down below!Follow the Podcast:Join the Discord and read alongRead Our SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokWatch us on YoutubeTime Stamps:00:00 Ultimate Spider-Man Setup01:02 Book Club Rules05:47 Why Spider-Man Works08:31 Adult Power Fantasy15:36 This New Ultimate World19:32 Iron Man Box Origin23:17 Learning Spider-Man Late27:16 Costumes and Tech Debate31:12 Bullseye and Kingpin32:52 Awkward Dinner Party36:31 Ensemble Shift37:51 Stormwatch Vibes40:00 Podcast Plug Break41:37 Zeitgeist Retelling42:23 Paul Saga Detour43:11 Volume Two Tech45:18 Oscorp And Otto46:25 AI Voices Venom49:41 Sinister Six Setup52:52 Ultimates Tie In53:33 Christmas Venom Twist58:42 Power Responsibility Bingo01:00:36 Final Thoughts Highlights01:04:16 Next Reads And Archives Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Note: This is a classic archive episode from the vault, originally broadcast back in the ill-fated year of 2019!Welcome back to Collecting Issues, ladies and gentlemen! This week, Mick and Ben are looking into an absolute titan of comic book history: Marvel’s The Dark Phoenix Saga (collecting Uncanny X-Men #129-137), first published in the bloody 1980s by the legendary creative team of Chris Claremont and John Byrne.Join us as we tackle a comic run that is somehow marginally older than both of us and infinitely more packed with leather corsets than we remembered. We’re digging deep into the cosmic epic that has been adapted by almost every X-Men cartoon and movie timeline (with wildly varying degrees of success).In this episode, we cover:The Big Bait-and-Switch: Why does a legendary "cosmic" space saga spend three-quarters of its time messing around with the Hellfire Club in New York fetish wear?The Claremont Aesthetic: We break down the sheer amount of psychosexual tension, BDSM aesthetics, mind-control weirdness, and female subjugation. It's an '80s trope fest featuring "frail, unstable female minds," plus a whole lot of shirtless, hairy Wolverine and a suspiciously "thick" Sebastian Shaw.The Birth of Modern Wolverine: We pinpoint the exact, legendary sewer panel that transformed Wolverine from a grumpy 24-year-old kid into the definitive, scrappy, badass mutant we know and love today.Creative Explosions & Hokey Dialogue: From Banshee's questionable Irish catchphrases to Colossus screaming about Lenin's ghost, we look past the dated tropes to appreciate the absolute sheer volume of character building and world-defining concepts introduced in just eight issues.Whether you're here for the definitive tragic tale of Jean Grey, the introduction of Kitty Pryde and Dazzler, or just to watch Cyclops stumble around in a gimp hood, this is a veritable smorgasbord of juicy X-Men goodness.Follow the Podcast:Join the Discord and read alongRead Our SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokWatch us on Youtube Time Stamps: 00:00 Archive Episode Setup00:32 Dark Phoenix Overview01:50 Adaptations and Legacy04:20 Plot Kicks Off Muir Island05:24 Wyngarde and Hellfire Club07:49 Hellfire Battles and Big Twist09:58 Claremont Kinks and Controversy14:30 Young X Men and Early Wolverine17:54 Modern Wolverine Born19:10 Trade Extras And Covers20:02 Dialogue And Stereotypes20:58 Low Powered Early X Men22:22 Cyclops Melodrama Era23:06 Why This Run Matters26:21 Hickman Era Comparisons28:43 Dark Phoenix In Space30:29 Byrne Art And Origins31:51 Recommendations And Wrap Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Collecting Issues, the monthly comic book club! This month, Michael and Ben are stepping away from the usual superhero capers to explore an absolute titan of the indie comic world: Jeff Smith’s Bone Vol. 1: Out from Boneville (collecting issues #1-6).What starts as a seemingly harmless, 1950s Saturday-morning cartoon romp starring three weird little cousins; Fone Bone, Phoncible P. Bone, and Smiley Bone, quickly plummets off a cliff into a sweeping, Lord of the Rings-style dark fantasy epic. Is it a kids' comic? Is it an adult fantasy? We’re breaking down the incredible bait-and-switch that made this 1,300-page saga a generational masterpiece.(Warning: Major spoilers ahead! Go read the comic, hop in the Discord, and then come back and listen!)In This Episode, We Discuss:The Saturday Morning Illusion: How Jeff Smith uses influences like Peanuts, Pogo, and Harvey Comics to lull you into a false sense of security before unleashing the Rat Creatures.Character Deep-Dives: We break down Fone Bone's "Ishmael" energy, Grandma Ben's Popeye-esque tank build, the Jack Kirby-inspired Great Red Dragon, and why Phoney Bone is the absolute worst (think Scrooge McDuck with zero redeeming qualities).The Indie Publishing Miracle: The fascinating, against-all-odds publishing history of Bone. Learn how Jeff Smith refused to compromise his vision, survived the 1990s comic speculator crash, got a massive unexpected bump from Neil Gaiman, and accidentally revolutionized the collected graphic novel format before dominating the Scholastic book fair market.The Tonal Cataclysm: Analysing the exact panels where the art and story shift from goofy cartoon hijinks to sinister, high-stakes fantasy.Next Month on Collecting Issues:Get your single issues ready we are returning to our superhero roots to tackle Jonathan Hickman’s triumphant return to Marvel with Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 1!Matttt's Video Essay on BoneFollow the Podcast:Join the Discord and read alongRead Our SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokWatch us on Youtube Time Stamps:00:00 Welcome and Spoiler Warning01:35 Kids Comic or Not03:02 What Is Bone04:24 Cartoon Style Influences05:56 Jeff Smith Origins08:23 How the Comic Reads11:20 Tone Shift Teased13:17 Meet the Bone Cousins14:51 Old Strip Inspirations19:00 Rat Creatures and Danger21:27 Time Jumps and Seasons23:16 Dragon and Thorn Reveal26:13 Publishing History Begins28:53 Indie Breakthrough Moment32:29 Neil Gaiman Boost34:17 90s Speculator Context35:04 Speculator Boom Memories35:46 Bone Goes Graphic Novel37:27 Wizard Magazine Feud38:42 Market Crash Fallout39:27 Scholastic Saves Bone43:40 Dark Fantasy Turn45:45 Worldbuilding And War Hints49:37 Phoney Bone Scams50:59 Star Mark Confusion53:38 Why Bone Works57:14 Favorite Moments Talk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Collecting Issues, the monthly comic book club where we assume you’ve done the reading (and we will judge you if you haven't). This week, Mick and Ben dive into the beautiful, mind-bending melange that is DC's runaway 2025 hit: Absolute Martian Manhunter Volume 1 (Issues #1-6).Written by Deniz Camp (20th Century Men) and illustrated by the masterful Javier Rodriguez (Zatana: Bring Down the House), this modern masterpiece takes everyone's favourite green shapeshifter and strips away any trace of humanity, leaning heavily into his pure, unabashed alienness.From Darkseid's hobo bindle full of malice to fourth-dimensional telepathic smoke, we are breaking down everything that makes this comic a massive, psychedelic triumph.In this episode, we discuss:The DC All-In Universe: How Darkseid separated from main continuity to create a gritty alternate universe where classic heroes are stripped of their greatest advantages.A New Take on John Jones: Exploring John as an emotionally avoidant, chain-smoking FBI stochastic agent who finds himself bonded with a bizarre, non-linear alien entity.The Mimetics of "Bad Ideas": We tackle the philosophical core of the comic: viral thoughts, "Bad Idea Zero," and whether the world can really be boiled down to just good and bad ideas.Mind-Blowing Comic Art: Javier Rodriguez puts on an absolute masterclass. We talk about synaesthesia-inspired telepathy, fourth-wall-breaking page layouts, and physical "hold-to-the-light" gimmicks that elevate the medium.Echoes of Comic Legends: How this run perfectly blends the bizarre 1955 Silver Age origins of Martian Manhunter with the abstract, conceptual mind-fights of Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles and Doom Patrol.Next Month's Book: Get ready for a trip to the Valley! We will be reading the absolute, seminal 90s classic Bone by Jeff Smith. Grab your copies and get reading!Read our Martian Manhunter essay!Follow the Podcast:Join the Discord and read alongRead Our SubstackFollow us on InstagramFollow us on TiktokWatch us on YoutubeTime Stamps:00:00 Meet Martian Manhunter00:56 Welcome to the Book Club02:36 DC All In Explained04:15 Darkseid’s Twisted Universe07:01 The New Hook for J’onn08:20 Leaning Into Alienness12:31 Big Art Energy15:21 Story Themes and Bad Ideas20:11 What Is a Meme Really22:10 Bad Idea Zero Darkseid26:21 FBI Agent as a Trope29:15 Telepathy as Smoke Visuals32:13 Ideas Over Superheroics35:00 Johnny Thunderbolt Lore35:31 Silver Age Origin Story37:28 Powers And Weakness39:01 Retcons And White Martians41:21 Psychedelic Morrison Vibes42:52 Ideas As Combat44:18 Javier Rodriguez Spotlight46:28 Mind Fights And Metaphors49:32 Comics As A Medium51:44 Family Rage Metaphor54:20 Politics And Moral Absolutes01:02:10 Best Scene Little Damascus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.