Blog Posts – Page 7 – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 404 – Marvel UK, Yes?

March 12, 2023 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

And now for something completely different. (Death’s Head II #1)

Death’s Head I, complete with tiny horns and giant tusks! (Death’s Head II #1)

Meet Minion and his terrifying… everything. (Death’s Head II #1)

Dr. Evelyn Necker, wearing more clothing than we’ll ever see her in again. (Death’s Head II #1)

An online meeting in the year 2020? Yeah, that sounds about right. (Death’s Head II #1)

The death of Death’s Head. (Death’s Head II #1)

It’s the feel-good romantic comedy of the year! (Death’s Head II #2)

Ben Grimm, you are a treasure. (Death’s Head II #2)

Stretch and the Tomato, coming to a theater near you! (Death’s Head II #2)

It’s no Last Stand at Gjallerbru, but I love it. (Death’s Head II #2)

“I believe you mean SMEK, Madam!” (Death’s Head II #2)

And now for something completely completely different. (Death’s Head II #3)

My favorite thing about this is all of the things. (Death’s Head II #3)

Meet Tuck. (Death’s Head II #3)

Ewwwwww (Death’s Head II #3)

Okay, it’s a den of horribleness, but damn if this place doesn’t look cool. (Death’s Head II #3)

I… I love this comic so much. (Death’s Head II #3)

Our heroes. (Death’s Head II #3)

YIKES (Death’s Head II #3)

You predicted screaming green melted skeletons..? (Death’s Head II #3)

The last of the Avengers, part 1. They’re all going to die. (Death’s Head II #4)

The last of the Avengers, part 2. They’re also all going to die. (Death’s Head II #4)

Hot Topic, Claire’s, or Orange Julius first? (Death’s Head II #4)

Charnel mark 1. (Death’s Head II #4)

Charnel mark 2. (Death’s Head II #4)

Now that’s how you end a fight. (Death’s Head II #4)

It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad Marvel UK. (Death’s Head II #4)

NEXT TIME: Flashback! And Jay’s back!

As Mentioned in Episode 402 – What the Damn?!

February 26, 2023 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Shadowcat, Douglock, and… Hard-Boiled Harry?! (Excalibur #114)

Sari St. Hubbins, Fashion Plate: Part 1. (Excalibur #114)

Colossus would have bought a hat too, but then where would he keep all that hair? (Excalibur #114)

Captain Mustache, Part the First. (Excalibur #114)

I’m a firestarter, twisted firestarter (Excalibur #114)

Katherine Pryde, experienced superhero. (Excalibur #114)

Sari St. Hubbins, Fashion Plate: Part 2. (Excalibur #114)

Captain Mustache, Part the Second. (Excalibur #115)

Banshee is so muscly! And his cape is so foldy! (Excalibur #115)

Mel Rubi’s Douglock. (Excalibur #115)

Miles’s average day in IT looks pretty much like this. (Excalibur #115)

“Plus some Externals, but… I don’t think any of us really want to spent the time to talk about them.” (Excalibur #115)

He is so sweet. (Excalibur #115)

“Freakin’ last boss of Ninja Gaiden sends me all the way back to the beginning of the level even when I still have lives left..!” (Excalibur #115)

When Meggan’s happy, I’m happy. (Excalibur #115)

Aww jeez you two (Excalibur #115)

It’s been an honor, Shepherd. (Excalibur #115)

Check out that sweet shadow-invisible hand! (Excalibur #116)

Mel Rubi does Paul Smith. (Excalibur #116)

Where did that costume end up? You should break it out again, Captain Kate! (Excalibur #116)

So that mutagenic agent made the Sidri… swole? (Excalibur #116)

“It’s-a-me, Stereotype!” (Excalibur #116)

Pete Wisdom in: Terminator 2. (Excalibur #116)

Triple-wielding! (Excalibur #116)

Additional swordplay – this time, in callback form! (Excalibur #116)

They pulled his collectivism out through his belly button..? (Excalibur #116)

Hey, that’s not what Kitty wears in her SHIELD miniseries! Kinda wish it was, though. (Excalibur #116)

NEXT EPISODE: Kitty Pryde goes to work for The Man

As Mentioned in Episode 401 – True Tales of Double-Entry Bookkeeping

February 12, 2023 Miles 2 comments

Listen to the episode here.

“Jack, I served with Cannonball, I knew Cannonball, Cannonball was a brother of mine. Jack, you are no Cannonball.” (Generation X #32)

smek (Generation X #32)

David Bowie and Hacker T. Dog. (New Mutants #92)

I’ve missed 80s Boom-Boom. Yeep! (New Mutants #92)

The character find of 1990. (New Mutants #92)

“This haunted house is nuts, especially that broccoli guy! We need to tell Jean Grey about it and make sure she wears that Phoenix outfit when she comes to visit!” (New Mutants #92)

Did we cover this issue mostly for 80s Boom-Boom? Yes. Yes we did. (New Mutants #92)

And you thought Ship was cool, kids. (New Mutants #92)

Speaking of things Boom-Boom would do… (Generation X #33)

Keep an eye on this guy. (Generation X #33)

Miles totally would have stuck with hard science in college if the labs had looked like this. (Generation X #33)

No, no… The WHAT goes at the end, not in the middle! (Generation X #33)

Welcome to a dimension of pure CHAIR. (Generation X #33)

And now for something completely different. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Now I want to see Adam Pollina draw Mystique’s creepy nephew from X-Factor. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

I believe Danish armored mother-and-son murderers refer to this as hygge. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

1 pet robot. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Random stuff piled up outside the panels – this must be an issue of Generation X! (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Mutant, mutant, angst, angst. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

What an obituary that would have made. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

It’s easy to forget how legitimately terrifying the Orphan Maker can be. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

So that happened. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Better or worse than the kids that wet their pants on Santa’s lap? (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Oh, kiddo. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

Well that’s just lovely. (Generation X Holiday Special #1)

NEXT TIME: Doctor Moira MacTaggert versus the Legacy Virus.

As Mentioned in Episode 400 – Loud Noises

February 5, 2023 Miles One comment

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

Marauders to the left of me, X-Men to the right, and I’m stuck in the middle with you… (Uncanny X-Men #350)

Listen, Gambit, it was either this or a Tupperware(TM) for that chunk of your brain. (Uncanny X-Men #350)

Their relationship seems healthy. (Uncanny X-Men #350)

Eh, it’s still in better shape than the car Miles drove in high school. (Uncanny X-Men #350)

Where? Oh, there. (Uncanny X-Men #350)

“He’s here again, Professor.” (Uncanny X-Men #350)

Speaking of different eras of the X-Men – check out Julian Totino Tedesco’s decade variant covers! Here’s the 60s… (All-New X-Men #18)

The 70s… (All-New X-Men #18)

The 80s… (All-New X-Men #18)

The 90s… (All-New X-Men #18)

…and the 2000s. (All-New X-Men #18)

After this, it’s off to the Justice Exhibit through the Justice Hall and then to the Justice Shop. If anyone needs the Little Justice’s Room, it’s on the left. (Uncanny X-Men #350)

Thunderbird, sure… but a version of Blink from an alternate universe? (Uncanny X-Men #350)

NOOOOORM! (Uncanny X-Men #350)

I’ve never been picked during jury selection, but I’m pretty sure this is how trials work, right? (Uncanny X-Men #350)

Rogue x-plains Gambit’s dark secret. (Uncanny X-Men #350)

As little sense as Rogue’s decision makes, damn if Joe Madureira (or Andy Smith?) doesn’t make it work anyway. (Uncanny X-Men #350)

Erik the Red was really Erik the Red and Purple! (Uncanny X-Men #350)

Okay, okay – they’re no Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Thunderbird, but I like them anyway. (X-Men #70)

Dig that speech bubble transition. (X-Men #70)

Cecilia Reyes and Marrow, best of friends. (X-Men #70)

Why don’t more artists work in the telekinetic Phoenix flare? (X-Men #70)

Cecilia takes charge. (X-Men #70)

And you know Sam will 100% pay them back later. (X-Men #70)

I love these three. (X-Men #70)

The cavalry arrives. (X-Men #70)

For once, too much dialogue is a good thing. (X-Men #70)

Gross mutant powers are the best mutant powers. (X-Men #70)

Maggott 2.0, courtesy Joe Kelly. (X-Men #70)

The X-Men: often at their best when their lives are at their worst. (X-Men #70)

NEXT TIME: Generation X vs. Christmas.

NOTES & FURTHER READING:

All that remains of Gambit Cyber Comic: The Hunt for the Tomorrow Stone

As Mentioned in Episode 399 – The Cybertronic Spree

January 29, 2023 Miles One comment

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

Not a cape or pouch in sight. (X-Force #71)

BLOOMF (X-Force #71)

Is the internet going to get mad about this one too? (X-Force #71)

grumble 5G grumble Bill Gates grumble (X-Force #71)

You can tell Sunspot descends from Hellfire Club royalty because he’s a DRAMA QUEEN (X-Force #71)

Sleepover! (X-Force #71)

Ah, this must be a sort of symbolic cover that represents the themes but not details of… (X-Force #72)

…nope, that’s basically what they’re wearing in the actual story. (X-Force #72)

Ever see The Triplets of Belleville? (X-Force #72)

How to make a simple conversation visually riveting, by Adam Pollina. (X-Force #72)

WHY WOULD YOU NAME YOUR GANG THAT (X-Force #72)

In which Siryn literally drags Michael Whitecloud back into the comic. (X-Force #72)

This guy smokes two packs of exposition a day. (X-Force #72)

“No, sir, The Matrix won’t be out for well over a year. Must just be Domino.” (X-Force #73)

Shoulda been a platypus. (X-Force #73)

Aww, Tabitha. (X-Force #73)

YOU HAD ONE JOB, METAL GAG THING (X-Force #73)

It sure is. (X-Force #74)

So good. (X-Force #74)

“It’s flattering you think I’m a local, but I just moved here last year! No, really!” (X-Force #74)

Fridays are Casual Days in Valhalla. (X-Force #74)

Hey, it’s Hazard! Just kidding. Only Al remembers Hazard. (X-Force #74)

A man of wealth and taste. (X-Force #74)

Humans, amirite? (X-Force #74)

It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a Pollina mandala! (X-Force #74)

Gambit goes on trial – in our FOUR HUNDREDTH episode!

As Mentioned in Episode 398 – Shanna the Wee Devil

January 15, 2023 Miles One comment

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

We would never, Maggott. (Uncanny X-Men #347)

Grovel, allergic to sticks. (Uncanny X-Men #347)

Spat: just your average reverse-aging cavegirl bounty hunter. (Uncanny X-Men #347)

Weirder or less weird than the time the Morlocks healed Professor X and then dressed him in bondage gear? (Uncanny X-Men #347)

Big Mother Truckers no more. (Uncanny X-Men #347)

Alas, poor Landscape! I barely knew him, Joseph: a fellow of infinite power, of most excellent colors. (Uncanny X-Men #347)

Nanny’s great and all, but LOOK AT THAT BAT! (Uncanny X-Men #347)

I wish we got to see more of that robo-dragon in the back. (Uncanny X-Men #348)

Thankfully, Bishop is no stranger to being impaled by pipes. (Uncanny X-Men #348)

SabreRogue. (Uncanny X-Men #348)

This is pretty unambiguous, right? (Uncanny X-Men #348)

Chris Bachalo’s back! (Uncanny X-Men #349)

Beast, Beast, Beast of the Jungle, strong as he can be! (Uncanny X-Men #349)

Whoa, that volcano base got a lot more complicated when we switched artists. (Uncanny X-Men #349)

Even Maggott’s hair gets more impressive when he goes into battle-mode! (Uncanny X-Men #349)

Bachalo draws chaos well. (Uncanny X-Men #349)

“Excess”? What do you mean by that word? (Uncanny X-Men #349)

All together now: “DAMMIT REMY!” (Uncanny X-Men #349)

NEXT EPISODE: X-Force hits the road!

As Mentioned in Episode 397 – Mürdr at IKEA

January 9, 2023 Miles One comment

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

Daydreamers this is not. (Sabretooth: Back to Nature #1)

Chop Chop’s weapon is a machete, Yuri’s weapon is his fist, and artist Frank Teran’s weapon is the color black. (Sabretooth: Back to Nature #1)

I wish Wild Child and Bob Hoskins always looked like this. (Sabretooth: Back to Nature #1)

Sabretooth and Wild Child may look similar in close-up, but there’s never a question of who’s who. (Sabretooth: Back to Nature #1)

When less detail equals more horror. (Sabretooth: Back to Nature #1)

THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR GIVING YOUR BAR THAT NAME (Sabretooth: Back to Nature #1)

Yes! Use more black, Frank Teran! More! (Sabretooth: Back to Nature #1)

Scrrfffle. (Sabretooth: Back to Nature #1)

Wild Child is shadowed like a villain… until he isn’t. (Sabretooth: Back to Nature #1)

What are the odds?! (Sabretooth: Back to Nature #1)

That guy’s mustache is no match for Psychic Paper. (X-Factor #136)

The iPhone 14 Pro’s cameras ain’t got nothin’ on these. (X-Factor #136)

Have you ever noticed that RAD and HAM have the same number of letters? (X-Factor #136)

WAT (X-Factor #136)

Jeff Matsuda stole some of Frank Teran’s black and is using it well. (X-Factor #136)

Put that towel down! You know you don’t sweat! (X-Factor #136)

“Huh?” is right. (X-Factor #136)

This seems way less efficient than leaving a voicemail. (X-Factor #136)

I HAVE QUESTIONS (X-Factor #137)

Best exes. (X-Factor #137)

It’s a little thing, but I like the symbolism of the seemingly arbitrary background shapes. (X-Factor #137)

It’s a credit to Mystique that she can be legitimately scary while wearing that. (X-Factor #137)

Again with the implied gore. (X-Factor #137)

Of course, honey. Of course. (X-Factor #137)

NEXT EPISODE: The X-Men return from space!

As Mentioned in Episode 396 – Giant-Size Special #11

January 1, 2023 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

Illyana Rasputin knows what you did. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #1)

Bernard Chang channels Bob McLeod. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #1)

Bernard Chang channels Paul Smith. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #1)

“Well, you would have, but you left him at the altar and Rogue and Gambit took your spot…” (New Mutants: Truth or Death #1)

I’ve missed these kids. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #1)

Well, Monet is actually two kids, and… (New Mutants: Truth or Death #1)

Wolfsbane x-plains smooching. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #1)

And that jerk seagull doesn’t even care. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #1)

Basically, you’re all going to end up either awesome, dead, or ignored by most writers. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #2)

“Did you bring me a present, Uncle Mikhail?” (New Mutants: Truth or Death #2)

How to make a long conversation visually compelling, part one. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #2)

Bernard Chang channels Bill Sienkiewicz. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #2)

It’s easy to forget how much more control of her powers Rahne gained over a decade of comics. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #2)

Karma: even scarier than Magik. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #2)

Aww kid (New Mutants: Truth or Death #2)

Look at all that science! (New Mutants: Truth or Death #3)

If this was Mystique instead of Karma, she’d turn into an eagle right after saying that. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #3)

Now that is a title page. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #3)

When Best Teenagers become Best Young Adults. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #3)

How to make a long conversation visually compelling, part two. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #3)

It’s cool, Doug, you’ll come back to life and marry a large wife. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #3)

Aww hell yeah (New Mutants: Truth or Death #3)

Poor counterpart-less Magma and Karma look so bored. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #3)

Pure, uncut nostalgia. (New Mutants: Truth or Death #3)

NEXT EPISODE: Sabretooth betrays an X-team! Again!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

Behold the glory that is the Hardee’s kids meal comic X-Men: Time Gliders
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As Mentioned in Episode 395 – Boxer Briefs of Humanity

December 18, 2022 Miles Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

“Weirdest disco ball I’ve ever seen, Sarge, and I used to hang out at that evil disco Dazzler used to play at.” (Cable & Machine Man Annual 1998)

Maybe this is why the X-Men refuse to use the phone. (Cable & Machine Man Annual 1998)

Shades of Weapon X. (Cable & Machine Man Annual 1998)

Jeez Nathan just ring the freakin’ doorbell (Cable & Machine Man Annual 1998)

Rose Gilberti, you were too good for this world. (Cable & Machine Man Annual 1998)

World 1-4 (Cable & Machine Man Annual 1998)

Dun duh dun duh dun, Inspector Aaron (Cable & Machine Man Annual 1998)

Cable’s psychic link x-plains Machine Man (Cable & Machine Man Annual 1998)

Look, I know the IT department has gotten messy over the course of the pandemic, you don’t have to rub it in (Machine Man & Bastion Annual 1998)

EWWW (Machine Man & Bastion Annual 1998)

Aww shit we’ve wandered into a TED Talk (Machine Man & Bastion Annual 1998)

Sometimes I wish PowerPoint had never been invented (Machine Man & Bastion Annual 1998)

And sometimes, as a joke, the Siege Perilous will transform a robot into a naked man with a goatee. (Machine Man & Bastion Annual 1998)

Attacked by exposition (Machine Man & Bastion Annual 1998)

Go-Go Gadget Free Will! (Machine Man & Bastion Annual 1998)

EWWW NOW HE’S DOING IT TOO (Machine Man & Bastion Annual 1998)

NEXT TIME: The Old New Mutants meet the New New Mutants

LINKS & FURTHER READING:

The Marvel Universe of Superheroes Exhibition (currently at OMSI in Portland, Oregon).
- You can check out Jay’s article Beyond the Mutant Metaphor in the exhibit’s catalogue!