Love Boat ep 3 Kristy Loves Chachi ?

It’s time for another voyage of E-Motion Sickness: A Love Boat Re-Watch, and this one’s got everything you want out of classic late-70s TV chaos. Joining John and Franco this trip is artist and pop culture lifer Andy Price, ready to break down Episode 3. An hour packed with crushes, awkward reunions, and Julie getting absolutely zero help from the romance gods.You’ve got Kristy McNichol going all-in on Scott Baio like it’s teen magazine fan fiction come to life, while exes Robert Reed and Loretta Swit collide on deck with their new significant others… because nothing says “relaxing cruise” like unresolved baggage in formal wear.And poor Julie? She just can’t buy a win. Every time she thinks she’s got a promising passenger date, the universe steps in and says, “Not on this boat.”

In part 2 Brian answers uestions from the chat and we announce the dates and books for the next book club episodes for April and May.Next Tuesday night we'll record our book club observations of Absolute Martian Manhunter from Deniz Camp. You'll hear aout our favorite recent tv podcast and film recommendations, and Brian look back in detail on writing Marvel's Secret Invasion comic event. 

In part 1 of The Bendis Tapes, we’ve got a double shot of Brian Michael Bendis that hits both his past and his next big moves. First up, Powers is back with issue 8 from Dark Horse Comics, dropping Wednesday. And here’s the kicker. Powers isn’t just living on the page. It’s back in development, this time as an animated series at Netflix. That format might finally be the right fit to capture the scale and grit of Bendis and Oeming’s world without compromise.At the same time, Bendis is crossing universes again. Also out Wednesday is the Marvel and DC crossover Spider-Man Superman, featuring a brand new story from Bendis and Sara Pichelli, where Miles Morales meets Superman. 

Today on Word Balloon, I’m talking with a guy who’s built a career jumping between crime, history, and deeply human storytelling, Ande Parks. You know him from powerful graphic novels like Union Station and Capote in Kansas, and from his work across comics and film, where he always finds a way to ground big ideas in real emotion. Now he’s back with something new, and it’s a sharp turn into darker territory. We’re talking about Bad Thoughts, his latest project from Ignition Press.It’s a military espionage story on the surface, but underneath there’s something far stranger and more unsettling at work. This isn’t just about missions and secrets. It’s about what happens when the battlefield starts bending reality itself. And visually, the book hits just as hard. It’s brought to life by Dave Wachter, whose gritty, atmospheric style perfectly matches the tension and psychological edge of the story.

From the streets to the sketchbooks, this conversation dives deep into Only in New York, the upcoming graphic anthology from my guests Dean Haspiel, Doug Latino, and Eli Schwab. Arriving Fall 2026 from Cosmic Lion Productions and Real Life Comix, this 216 page hardcover delivers 50 short stories capturing the grit, absurdity, heartbreak, and humor of life in New York City. There kickstarter cmpaign is now active. If you enjoy the old McSweeny anthologies this book is for you. 

From Comixology, a new hilarious graphic novel about a Doctor who gives therapy to all sorts of monsters and deamons. 

Scene Missing returns with co-host Gabriel Hardman for a deep dive into the ink-stained world of filmmaker Samuel Fuller and his hard-edged newspaper stories. From the crusading idealism of Power of the Press to the scrappy, street-level ambition of Park Row, and the tabloid-fueled moral collapse at the heart of Scandal Sheet, we trace how Fuller’s real-life reporting experience shaped his cinematic voice.We get into the recurring themes that define these films: truth versus profit, the cost of ambition, and the thin line between journalist and opportunist. Hardman brings a filmmaker’s eye to Fuller’s visual storytelling, while we connect the dots between these movies and the larger legacy of newspaper noir. It’s a conversation about headlines, headlines makers, and the messy human stories behind both.

Joe Casey’s back, and he’s not here to play it safe. The architect is returning to the world that helped define a generation, BEN10 this time at Dynamite Entertainment with a bold new take aimed straight at the fans who grew up with the Omnitrix. Expect something sharper and more evolved, Casey revisiting his own legacy with the kind of perspective you only get after decades in the trenches.This July, He’s teaming with Robert Kirkman for a major new project at Skybound Entertainment, TERMINAL . A new superhero team with an absolute killer lineup of artists: Adam Kubert, David Finch, and Art Adams.We also get into Casey’s work with Man of Action Entertainment, the powerhouse studio behind modern animation hits, and how the rules have changed. Today’s audience is faster, more distracted, and far less patient with traditional storytelling rhythms. Casey breaks down what animation studios need to do to keep up, from tighter pacing and stronger hooks to designing stories that can live across platforms, not just in a 30 minute block. It’s a smart look at where animation is headed, and what it takes to actually hold attention in 2026.

Eric is writing the new Bizarro Year None with Kevin Smith and Nick Pitarra. Think of it as the reverse mirror image of All Star Superman. It's Jimmy Olsen and Perry White trapped in a very dark Bizarro World held by a very evil Bizarro.Wealso reflect on Eric's workon the Supergirl TV show and his thoughts on the upcoming movie, His work on Masters Of The Universe Revelations, with the new film coming up. Plus new animation with Zack Snyder and a look back at Justice League Action.