Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

Rachel Reviews the X-Men, Episode 38

Week of May 20, 2015 –

In which Miles takes a sick day, Dazzler gets her moment, and Earth 616 rumbles toward its inevitable demolition.

REVIEWED:
Uncanny X-Men #34 (0:25)
Wolverines #19 (1:53)

PICK OF THE WEEK: Mad Max: Fury Road (3:36)


Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. These video reviews–and everything else here–are made possible by the support of our Patreon subscribers. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Button Up!

buttons

Are you one of the many folks who’s been waiting to find out where and when you can order the snazzy buttons we made for ECCC?

YOUR WAIT IS OVER!

We’ve teamed up with Elle Collins–our friend and regular partner in podcast crime–to offer Rachel & Miles X-Plain the X-Men buttons at Strange Tomorrow! You can get all the designs pictured above, in a ton of colors; and be sure to click over to the rest of the shop for some really kickass recycled-comics badges and custom options.

 

As Mentioned in Episode 57 – Apocalypse Soon

Listen to the episode here!


57 – Apocalypse Soon

Art by David Wynne. We're not selling prints of this one, but you can still hit David up for the original!
Art by David Wynne. We’re not selling prints of this one, but you can still hit David up for the original!

In which Miles tries to find things to like about Bob Layton’s X-Factor run; Cyclops’s life is literally an anxiety dream; X-Factor is very Leverage; Layton’s Angel is just godawful; Rachel is all about the Red Scare; Frenzy is awesome; and we bid a fond farewell to producer Bobby Roberts.

X-PLAINED:

  • An Apocalypse that might have been
  • Mid-80s X-title thematic disambiguation
  • The limited value of nostalgia
  • Creative history of X-Factor
  • X-Factor #2-5 and Annual #1
  • The baffling reinvention of Vera Cantor
  • Tower (Edward Pasternak)
  • Dubious didactic strategies
  • Carl Maddicks
  • Artie Maddicks
  • Muffin the kitten
  • Bad timing
  • Soviet mutant policy
  • Soviet robot disambiguation
  • The Doppelganger (Wolfgang Heinreich)
  • A ruse
  • Alexei Garnov, Mentac the Living Computer, Concussion, Iron Curtain, and Siberian Tiger
  • The worst phonetic accent we have ever seen.
  • The Alliance of Evil
  • Frenzy (Joanna Cargill)
  • The color of Beast’s fur
  • Our favorite X-Men toys

NEXT WEEK: Miniseries Mayhem!


Many thanks to Bobby Roberts for 57 spectacular episodes of production, advice, and boundless patience. You are the best, and we love you forever.


You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

We’re not selling prints of this week’s illustration, but you can contact David Wynne for the original!

Rachel & Miles Review the X-Men, Episode 37

Week of May 13, 2015 –

In which Storm ends, Wolverines drags on, and Secret Wars continues to be unsettlingly good.

REVIEWED:

  • Magneto #18 (0:27)
  • Storm #11 (2:59)
  • Wolverines #18 (5:38)
  • Uncanny Avengers #4 (7:19)
  • *Secret Wars #2 (9:54)

*Pick of the week (13:19)


Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. These video reviews–and everything else here–are made possible by the support of our Patreon subscribers. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Rachel Recaps X-Men: Evolution
S1E6: Middleverse

I like this episode, because this is where Evolution starts to catch its stride and find its voice. “Middleverse” is kind of a mess animation-wise, but it’s also a one-off, a lighthearted breath of fresh air before we dive headfirst into the Big Ongoing Story next episode.

It also gets bonus points for being a Forge episode, which is almost always a plus. Comics Forge tends to be dark and brooding and at the center of convoluted storylines and soap opera, but two out of three animated Forges are uncomplicatedly delightful. The best animated Forge, of course, is Wolverine and the X-Men Forge, who just straight-up is Miles to the extent that we had his action figure in college and more than one person assumed it was a custom portrait. But Evolution Forge is pretty great, too.

Continue reading

As Mentioned in Episode 56 – Death by Crossover

Listen to the podcast here!



LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

  • Yaybo! Marvel Unlimited added New Mutants #36-40 just in time for this episode (starting here)!
  • In terms of formative influence, Kyle Baker’s Why I Hate Saturn was basically Rachel’s third parent.

56 – Death by Crossover

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 5/17/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 5/17/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.

In which nothing comes between Sam Guthrie and his classic sci-fi allusions; Sunspot tries; the Beyonder is really scary; you can have Danielle Moonstar’s agency when you pry it from her cold, dead hands; Empath remains the worst kid; Tom Corsi and Sharon Friedlander just cannot catch a break; Emma Frost gets nuanced; Magneto does the wrong things for the right reasons; Rachel and Miles like liking things; and we finally wrap up Secret Wars II.

X-PLAINED:

  • Soulsword custody
  • New Mutants #36-40
  • The best Secret Wars II tie-in
  • Several Beyonder-triggered crises of confidence
  • A literal derailment in the midst of a metaphorical derailment
  • The Greek tragedy of Illyana Rasputin
  • Personal personifications of death
  • Counting coup
  • The death of the New Mutants
  • Crossover-related PTSD
  • A pep talk from a frog
  • Art style as a component of narrative
  • The Hellions (again)
  • Sadneto
  • Madneto
  • A completely avoidable fight
  • Rachel’s definitive Emma Frost moment
  • Emma Frost, Charles Xavier, and moral culpability

NEXT WEEK: The dubious debut of Apocalypse!


You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Buy prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

Rachel & Miles Review the X-Men, Episode 36 (Plus Secret Wars Pull List!)

Week of May 6, 2015. (Apologies for the delay–we ended up needing to reshoot for reasons† of things and stuff.)

In which there are both secrets and wars.

Reviewed:

  • Wolverines #17 (1:46)
  • *Secret Wars #1 (3:51)

*Pick of the Week (8:20)


Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. These video reviews–and everything else here–are made possible by the support of our Patreon subscribers. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

FUN FACT: When you read off a list written on the back of an envelope, sometimes you subsequently realize that the front of the envelope is clearly visible and you are about to post your home address on YouTube.

 

May 2015 Shirt of the Month – Nobody Knows I’m a Clone of Jean Grey

 

 

Screen Shot 2015-05-03 at 11.08.24 AM

Because these days, who isn’t raised in a tube by Mr. Sinister to guarantee the genetic integrity of the Grey line and eventual downfall of Apocalypse?

clone_graphic

This month, designer Dylan Todd takes us straight up to the intersection of mad science and cosmic forces! What could possibly go wrong?

Nobody Knows I’m a Clone of Jean Grey is available in adult and children’s styles and stickers until June 1, 2015, at which point it will disappear forever! Or will it? With that phoenix in the logo, you can never be quite sure…

(For mildly unsettling couple’s cosplay, pair with Probably a Summers Brother.)