It’s the season finale of Capes ‘N Cowards, and we saved the best for last. Today we’re talking about Minor Threats, the delightfully diabolical comic from Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, and Scott Hepburn that ignited an all-new universe. The series follows five D-list supervillains who try to stop a rampaging superhero called the Insomniac from tearing their city apart. After the Insomniac's sidekick, Kid Dusk, was killed by his nemesis, the Stickman, the Insomniac was thrust into the pursuit of vengeance, and the only way for our heroes- I mean, villains- to put an end to it is to kill the Stickman themselves. The story features an imaginative twist on the familiar archetypes and tropes of comic books, all from the perspective of the kinds of characters usually stuck at the bottom of the food chain. Can’t get enough caped capers? Good, because this episode has an all-new audio drama from the world of Minor Threats. Hear the triumphant ascension of two misfit nobodies, B.A.C. and Parvus Canus, who use their respective masteries over whiskey (as well as other fluids) and dogs (under forty pounds) to seize a new future together. It’s truly a beautiful tale.

We are back with another adventure in our Capes 'N Cowards season! Last week we brought you the adventures of The Venture Bros. but this week we return fully to the worlds of superheroes. On today's episode, we are covering one of the weirder superhero films, we are talking about Mystery Men. Mystery Men is a film loosely based on Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot Comics. It follows a group of misfits, weirdos, and outcasts from the superhero world of Champion City. The team is "lead" by Mr. Furious and features the Shoveler and the Blue Raja. As the world turns quickly turmoil, this group of weirdos has to find more like them to make a team to save the world. These aren't the cream of the crop but more like the heroes you call when everyone else is busy but they've got the heart to save the world. The film has one of the most impressive cast lists including Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Greg Kinnear, Claire Forlani, Kel Mitchell, Paul Reubens, Janeane Garofalo, Wes Studi, Geoffrey Rush, Lena Olin, Suzy Izzard, and Tom Waits. The cast is stacked with absolutely incredible talent and features a handful of cameos that still blow me away. Who decided Michael Bay would play a frat boy supervillain? I just want to shake their hands. Cid and Dan talk about the film at length. Cid gives their thoughts on what the film is trying to capture. They also get into how the film has aged but more so how it was ahead of it's time. As the superhero film craze gets closer and closer to bursting, it's the best time to take a look back at Mystery Men which satirized these films before they even existed. If there was any film that was released before its time, it is Mystery Men. It sits in a place before the superhero craze changed film forever. Make sure to check out our past episodes including the first episode of the season which covers The Boys which you can see a lot of inspiration from this film in.

I have been a Power Rangers fan since before I could even read. I grew up with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The first film was one of the first films I saw in theatres. I never really expected to end up interviewing one Ranger let alone many. But today's episode features our second original ranger, Amy Jo Johnson aka the original Pink Ranger Kimberly. Amy was kind enough and enjoyed our interview enough to call her co-writer Matt Hotson as soon as we wrapped our interview to make him jump on. Together they have written a new comic from BOOM! Studios called Power Rangers: The Return which you can get now anywhere you get your comics. Power Rangers: The Return brings us back to Angel Grove years after the Power Rangers have disbanded. We see a much older version of the Rangers and friends that we knew from the show. The Rangers haven't done their teenagers with attitudes thing in years. A few members get together after a memorial for a fellow Ranger. Things from there get hectic and that quiet life that Kimberly thought she finally had will be slipping through her fingers. Amy Jo Johnson has done much since her Power Rangers days which includes directing and becoming a singer/songwriter. We discussed creating art from all the different angles that she has a hand in. We discuss the co-writing process at length with each writer but at separate times. It's an interesting interview to listen to to see how each side of a duo works and sees the other in the process. Amy also talks about how writing a comic has been Matt's dream for some time. We get to hear how happy she was for him on the day of release then we get to hear it straight from him. We discussed putting art out into the world but it was very exciting getting to hear on the day that someone's dream came true.

GO TEAM VENTURE! We are back for our second installment in our Capes 'N Cowards season. This season is a celebration of stories where unlikely characters have to rise to the occasion of herohood. In that vein, today we are taking a look at The Venture Bros.! We watched the first two seasons of the Adult Swim cartoon to see who may want to check this one out. The Venture Bros. is an adult animated television co-created by Chris McCulloch aka Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer that aired on Adult Swim for 7 seasons. The duo ran the show with their unique vision and inspirations that are clear throughout the entire series. The show follows Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture, his bodyguard/father-figure/secret agent Brock Samson, and Dr. Venture's two teenage fraternal twin sons Dean and Hank Venture. Through the series they get into all sorts of satirical pulp adventures with heavy emphasis on science fiction, superheroes, and other things that influenced the show. Jordan joins Dan once again to talk about a show he has wanted to cover forever. Jordan reveals his origins with the series which are very similar to those we have heard in the Evil Dead episode from GateSlashers 2. Dan talks about his only experience with the show before this episode and how it includes electronic cigarettes and New York City Comic Con.

GateCrashers is back with Season 6! With our return, we are switching new a new release format. From here on we will be releasing the show in seasons! Each season will have its unique theme with episodes and content reflecting that theme. Our first season is called Capes 'N Cowards. We will be taking a look at different superhero-style universes that we think are worth checking out! This season will include The Boys, Venture Brothers, Mystery Men, and Minor Threats! We begin this new season by kicking off with The Boys with Dan and Ethan. Ethan had never watched or read any of The Boys before we began preparing for this episode. We can promise that he will never be the same after this diabolically and rather... milky show. Dan was practically raised by Garth Ennis comics so he has been very excited to finally get to a fantastic adaptation that we think is worth your time to check out. The Boys follows a group of unlikely non-superpowered individuals as they do everything they can to get their brand of revenge against The Seven and Vought. The superheroes of this world are unlike any other because they are mostly the worst humanity has to offer with corporate backing. There is also a lot of Billy Joel so that is a huge plus for any show. The show's first 3 seasons and the spin-offs are available for streaming on Prime Video. Join us as Dan talks about all of The Boys skins in Call of Duty and we try to stay on topic as we talk about this week's topic. Be sure to leave us a review on any platform where you listen and subscribe. Those both help us tremendously find new listeners to help them find things that could bring them joy like it brings up.  

GateSlashers is back baby! This year though, we needed a new slasher. We kinda sent ours through a portal into the multiverse last year. Luckily, Dan had a box of slasher audition reels on VHS tapes in his office that Jake stumbled upon in Dan's absence. So this year, Jake and Ethan are trying to find the show's new slasher. It goes as well as you assume. But because we already broke out the VHS Player, we are also finally covering the V/H/S franchise! Join Jon, Ethan, and Dan as they talk about one of the consistently wildest anthology horror film franchises out there. They discuss every short from the first film to the newest in the V/H/S line. There are several very big horror names who started in the series before they got a chance to tell their own stories solo. Dan also opens the show by talking about the absence of the podcast as of late due to mental health and absolute burnout. We also announce how the show will be changing next year to combat that but to also put out better episodes on a more consistent basis! We will be movie to a season format in 2024. Each season will revolve around a theme to include different movies, games, comics, and all sorts of stuff that you may enjoy that falls under those theme umbrellas. We really hope you like the change so you can get more GateCrashers in 2024. Don't worry though, you will still get GateCrashers 4 next October if the team survives next year. It's still up in the air especially after you hear the tapes of this year's special.

Dracula doesn’t suck. I’m sorry to start off with a pun about vampires but not really. Skybound has been killing it recently with getting huge IP comics with incredible creative teams. When they announced that they had the licenses for the Universal Monsters, I almost had to pick my jaw off the floor. But when they said James Tynion and Martin Simmonds were going to be unearthing Dracula, my jaw did hit the floor. You may know the team from their incredible series The Department of Truth where they tackle all sorts of conspiracy and cryptids. But now this dynamic duo has moved onto telling their version of the story about the biggest vampire of all time in spectacular fashion. I had the chance to chat with them about opening up the tomb of Dracula to adapt the story for comics.  Dracula is a showcase of why horror thrives in comics. Tynion’s masterful scripting is on display in this issue with some truly incredible scenes to introduce us to the characters. Some of the dialogue had me giggling, which is very important to me in a comic. I have read most horror comics that have come out in the last few years and I was shocked how much I was flipping through this issue of a story I knew very well over and over. Tynion brings a unique flair to everything he works on and this is no exception. But as you’ll hear in this interview, Martin Simmonds design and color palette take Dracula to a higher plane. There is a masterful use of sepia tones to emulate the black and white nature of the film itself but with vibrant thematic splashes of red through the issue. The design and emotional displays from Renfield are some of the strongest artistic elements I’ve seen in a horror comic. The use of Dracula's eyes in the story drives home the power of the vampire which we get into Simmond's artistic inspirations about in this interview. We discuss both the colors and the character designs at length in this interview about their Dracula series.

Growing up, Transformers was always something I thought was cool but didn't really look into other than some figures. My closest understanding of the characters and the franchise was based on the Michael Bay films which I stopped seeing after the third installment. So I went into Skybound/Image's Energon Universe with no expectations except the ones I had for Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer. But from the first page of their debut Transformers first issue, I was hooked. It's an incredible new start for the Transformers and we got to sit down with Daniel Warren Johnson to discuss it. Daniel Warren Johnson's storytelling is often larger than life and bombastic with Spicer's incredible coloring. But beneath the art and incredible fight scenes, there are always relatable themes that have connected with me very personally. Transformers #1 is no exception. The human characters of the story have a really gripping introduction which I can only see blooming more as the story goes on. It's an incredible reintroduction to these characters that is an accessible jumping-on-point for people unfamiliar with the franchise. You have a comic about giant transforming robots in disguise as cars, but you have a story of loss, war, and friendship that drives the story home more than any other major IP comics out there right now. If you haven't read the first issue yet, stop reading this and go pick it up. I was lucky enough to sit down with Daniel Warren Johnson and talk about his storytelling methods. We also got into talking about the figures of Transformers and how he poses them for his art. But Daniel is also a huge wrestling fan so we end our conversation by setting up the ultimate AEW tag teams for Optimus Prime and Starscream. Make sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you can!

When I discuss comics with people who started reading earlier I did when it comes to Marvel Comics, they normally talk about the legendary writers they grew up with like Chris Claremont, Jimmy Starlin, and other writers who defined Marvel Comics. But I started reading comics in the late 00’s so the name that always comes to mind when it comes to character-defining writing is Brian Michael Bendis. The first Spider-Man comic I read was Ultimate Spider-Man #1 so to say that Bendis holds a special spot in defining my comic experience is an understatement. And I got to interview him. Listen as Brian Michael Bendis and I talk about his series The Ones available now from Dark Horse Comics. The first volume dives into a group of characters who were all “the one” at some point in their lives. It’s an incredibly funny story with one of the funniest iterations of Satan I have read. If you love Bendis’ humor, this is that but off the leash of big 2 comics.  We get into a discussion about the way books he works on do their crediting pages with the artists being co-creators. Bendis talks about how he approaches working with artists to create original series such as long-time collaborator Michael Avon Oeming. Brian talks a bit about his love of the craft while citing some things he loves to get into the nitty-gritty of. He talks about character backstories and the such that he works out off the page and just how deep he gets into those. I also had to ask about Green Goblin in Ultimate Spider-Man. We discuss the reasoning for making him into a monster which has a very interesting idea behind it. I also got a chance to ask a unique question about siblings! Brian's brother Jared is someone I follow on TikTok whose content about tabletop games brings me a lot of joy. I didn't realize they were brothers until recently so we chat about that as well! Follow Jared here!

In this episode, we interview a creator I’ve wanted to speak with for quite some time: Eisner-winning comics writer Kelly Thompson! You may know her from her extensive work at Marvel (including a fifty-issue Captain Marvel run and the creation of Jeff the Land Shark), her creator-owned titles Black Cloak and The Cull at Image, or her upcoming Birds of Prey run for DC. Kelly’s work covers a very wide range of tones, from goofy misadventures to dramatic explorations of trauma and grief, and as you’ll hear, she likes to mix and match a variety of influences to create some truly unique stories. Our conversation begins with a focus on The Cull, which recently saw the release of its first issue. The series sees Kelly reunite with artist Mattia De Iulis, who she previously collaborated with on Jessica Jones: Blind Spot and Jessica Jones: Purple Daughter. Described as “Something is Killing the Children horror vibes mixed with The Goonies-style adventure”, the series follows five teenagers who go off to make a short film at a creepy rock by the ocean… only one of them isn’t being honest about why she really chose that location. It’s a spooky, character-focused drama with weird monsters, and there’s a lot of diving into the creative process in this interview. Next, we talk all about Kelly’s breakout character at Marvel, Jeff the Land Shark, who will receive both a third batch of It’s Jeff! Infinity Comics on Marvel Unlimited, and a print version of the second wave of It’s Jeff! comics this Fall. This conversation covers everything from the drastic evolution of Jeff’s look over the past few years to common misconceptions about Jeff (he’s not a baby, just a little guy!). Kelly also talks about some of the directions that West Coast Avengers (the series Jeff originated from) could’ve gone and the untapped potential of comics for kids. It’s a fin-tastic time!