Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

169 – Bad Kansas

October 22, 2017 Jay 30 comments

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

In which Justin Thyme is a forgotten superstar of comics; Nazis should pretty much never be used as a metaphor; Charles Xavier is somehow even worse than usual; Excalibur may lack object permanence; Phoenix defeats Hitler with the power of gayness; we may have hit Peak Nocenti; Brett Blevins should draw Boom Boom forever; and the New Mutants get a taste of media theory.

X-PLAINED:

The exact nature of Shatterstar and Longshot’s relationship
Excalibur: Weird War III
New Mutants Summer Special: A Mutant in Megalopolis
Justin Thyme
Bad Kansas
Nazi Charles Xavier
Kinda-Nazi Moira MacTaggert
The Reichsmen
Lightning Squad (again)
Naked Space Xavier
Largely unsuccessful denouement
The Wobbly Sneaker Gang
Megalopolis
Media theory and several of its anthropomorphic personifications
Socially conscious comics
The Gifted
The New Mutants trailer

NEXT EPISODE: Lockheed X-Plains Excalibur!

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

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Jay 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 in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

168 – Live at NYCC, feat. Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson

October 16, 2017 Jay 50 comments

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In which X-Legends Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson join us for our first-ever live show on the East coast!

NEXT EPISODE: Bits ‘n’ Bobs

No visual companion this week, but keep an eye out for our NYCC gallery!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay 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 in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 167 – Full Circle

October 15, 2017 Jay 5 comments

Listen to the podcast here.

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

Dude, you literally gave Ship to X-Factor. (X-Factor #65)

Aw, buddy. (X-Factor #65)

Valid point. (X-Factor #65)

This makes NO SENSE given the original context of the quotation, and I’m irrationally upset about that. (X-Factor #65)

An entirely reasonable reaction to Archangel, TBH. (X-Factor #66)

How you can tell that Important Stuff Is Afoot. (X-Factor #66)

Meet Jen “Not Rachel Summers” Askani! (X-Factor #66)

And that’s why you always leave a note. (X-Factor #66)

Oof. (X-Factor #67)

Oh. Those guys. (X-Factor #67)

Nothing nice ever happens on the moon. (X-Factor #67)

Look at these beautiful weirdos! (X-Factor #67)

Okay, but those animals are creepy as hell. (X-Factor #68)

There are a lot of callbacks to the Dark Phoenix Saga in this story, but this is one of the best. (X-Factor #68)

OH, SNAP. (X-Factor #68)

It’s okay. You’ll get to raise him in the future, in a surprisingly good miniseries! (X-Factor #68)

And the Watcher gets the last word. (X-Factor #68)

Whilce Portacio and Jackson Guice’s unused cover for the original X-Factor #66. Thanks, Comic Book Resources!

And now, The Apocalypse Manifesto, which is not a manifesto at all, but whatever.

I’m not gonna write witty captions for all of these. Just read ’em if you feel like it.

Seriously.

It’s been a very long several weeks. Don’t judge me.

NEXT EPISODE: Live from NYCC, with Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson!

167 – Full Circle

October 8, 2017 Jay 47 comments

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In which things are not as they were; “yaybopunk” is definitely our aesthetic; Cable is officially foreshadowed; and the NYCC live show did in fact go really well!

X-PLAINED:

Cable’s childhood
Some ECCC plans
X-Factor #65-68
The Riders of the Storm
“Riders on the Storm”
Some X-Factors that might have been
Babies as drawn by Whilce Portacio
Medieval cats
Yaybohunk vs. yaybopunk
A red herring
Jen Askani
A kidnapping
Visual representations of hacking
How to effectively evoke the Dark Phoenix Saga
The plural of “Apocalypse”
Rad fights on the moon
Something you should definitely cosplay
Cyclops narration
A psychic duel
A choice
Resets vs. returns
The Apocalypse Manifesto
The Crafters of Apocalypse

NEXT EPISODE: Live at New York Comic Con, with Chris Claremont & Louise Simonson!

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

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay 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 in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 166 – Proteus Has Two Mommies

October 1, 2017 Jay 7 comments

Listen to the episode here.

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

“We don’t need no conservation of mass!” (New Mutants Annual #7)

Harness and Piecemeal. It only gets creepier from here. (New Mutants Annual #7)

This is definitely the last thing you see before you die. (New Mutants Annual #7)

Spoiler: Nope. (New Mutants Annual #7)

99% sure these dudes do not actually know how to play chess. (New Mutants Annual #7)

How great would it have been if Cable had made a Gulliver’s Travels joke? So great. (New Mutants Annual #7)

“Attack them with all your sound effects!” (New Mutants Annual #7)

Spoiler: They do, and it’s not. (New Mutants Annual #7)

OH, THANK GOD. (New Warriors Annual #1)

Piecemeal’s shirt is a little on-the-nose. (New Warriors Annual #1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdJg6Duzzf4 (New Warriors Annual #1)

Namorita is great. (New Warriors Annual #1)

Oh, dear me. (New Warriors Annual #1)

I really like all the character-intro pages in this crossover. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #15)

Mother of the year, y’all. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #15)

You’re never too evil or too sexy for some good, old-fashioned filicide! (Uncanny X-Men Annual #15)

You sure are, James. You sure are. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #15)

Inappropriate, Bobby. (X-Factor Annual #6)

None of my math textbooks were ever this psychedelic. (X-Factor Annual #6)

I briefly considered making this visual companion nothing but character-intro pages. (X-Factor Annual #6)

“Kings of Pain? Oh, yeah, isn’t that the crossover where Cyclops encourages a disturbed youth to commit suicide?” (X-Factor Annual #6)

(Nah, actually, he’s comparatively ethical about it; especially considering that the kid is technically already dead and has been for years.) (X-Factor Annual #6)

Okay, then. (X-Factor Annual #6)

NEXT EPISODE: Summers family bullshit on the moon!

LINKS & FURTHER READING

Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men LIVE at New York Comic Con, with special guests Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson!
TEDxHarvardCollege
We met all-around rad dude Taki in Episode 106 – The X-Terminators!
We talked about Proteus in Episode 10 – Not All Mandroids!

166 – Proteus Has Two Mommies

October 1, 2017 Jay 69 comments

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In which we finally announce our NYCC panel lineup; Boom Boom is the Gina Linetti of X-Force; we don’t actually know very much about the New Warriors; Cable grows as a person; Cyclops makes an ethically dubious call; Warren Kenneth Worthington III is a jerk; Jay gets very angry at a fictional character; no one gets a happy ending and the skeleton was inside you all along.

X-PLAINED:

Penance (but not that Penance)
Our actual, for-real NYCC panel details
“Kings of Pain”
New Mutants Annual #7
New Warriors Annual #1
Uncanny X-Men Annual #15
X-Factor Annual #6
The Alliance of Evil
Harness
Piecemeal
Genetech
IDIC
Symbolic chess
The New Warriors
The Clean Plate Club from Hell
The Pec Twins
ReBoot
A really screwed up debate
Magneto vs. Human Nature
Privilege and Callouts

NEXT WEEK: Summers Family Bullshit on the Moon!

COME SEE US LIVE AT NEW YORK COMIC CON, WITH SPECIAL GUESTS CHRIS CLAREMONT AND LOUISE SIMONSON!

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

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay 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 in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 165 – Pop Rocks

September 24, 2017 Jay 5 comments

Listen to the podcast here.

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

Triple gatefold? That’s a lot of gatefold! (Uncanny X-Men #275)

Oh, man, the Starjammers are so cool, even when they’re evil alien duplicates. (Uncanny X-Men #275)

And that was the end of Wolverine, forever. (Uncanny X-Men #275)

Not gonna lie: there are a LOT of splash pages and spreads in this visual companion. (Uncanny X-Men #275)

So many reasons, Banshee. (Uncanny X-Men #275)

I mean, technically Wolverine just won back her throne, but, whatever. (Uncanny X-Men #275)

Look at all those fancy X-Men! (Uncanny X-Men #275)

Wolverine parties like a Robert E. Howard protagonist. (Uncanny X-Men #275)

I know this is supposed to be sinister, but it’s also kind of hilarious. (You gotta imagine the YOINK SFX in the second panel.) (Uncanny X-Men #275)

PROFESSOR XAVIER IS A JERK! (Uncanny X-Men #275)

Another two-page spread? DON’T MIND IF I DO! (Uncanny X-Men #276)

Pop rocks! (Uncanny X-Men #276)

AND THAT’S WHY YOU ALWAYS LEAVE A NOTE. (Uncanny X-Men #276)

I want to watch this movie. (Uncanny X-Men #276)

No, but seriously: Professor Xavier is a jerk. (Uncanny X-Men #276)

Well, that got weird. Weirder. (Uncanny X-Men #276)

Star Trek reference! Take a drink! Wait, no, that’s not a podcast game, that’s just Jay’s reading game. (Uncanny X-Men #276)

Yep, it’s another two-page spread. Don’t blame us–blame Jim Lee! (Uncanny X-Men #277)

…well, that explains some things. (Uncanny X-Men #277)

Oh, snap! (Uncanny X-Men #277)

Ooh, callback! Very clever, Gambit. Kinda creepy, but, y’know, clever. (Uncanny X-Men #277)

Even when he’s a skrull, it’s pretty satisfying to watch Charles Xavier get punched. (Uncanny X-Men #277)

VAMP! (Uncanny X-Men #277)

NEXT EPISODE: Stealth at all times.

165 – Pop Rocks

September 24, 2017 Jay 41 comments

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In which Charles Xavier returns to the pages of Uncanny X-Men; Storm is out of our league forever; Miles would be a terrible president; Psylocke picks up the frequent-shower torch; everyone gets possessed; Gambit acts more Sinister than he is; and our NYCC panel is definitely on THURSDAY, not Friday.

X-PLAINED:

The Pantheon
Uncanny X-Men #275-277
Dinosaurs in space
A very impressive cover
Several kinds of manacle
Small children we’d like to see beat up Gladiator
Varying levels of Evil Charles Xavier
A nefarious plan
Double death
FailCat Logan
Two bad, beautiful babes with really big guns
Some excellent sound effects
Awesome space fights
Shopping with Deathbird
Mall vs. maul
X-archenemies

NEXT EPISODE: The Kings of Pain!

NOTE: Seriously, the NYCC Panel is on THURSDAY. Not Friday. THURSDAY. It’s official now.

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

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay 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 in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

LOOK AT THIS HELLA EPIC TEAM-UP

September 19, 2017 Jay 7 comments

Left to Right: Cory, Hub, and Jay in a really good Miles costume.

BLESS MY BOOTS, IT’S JAY & MILES X-PLAIN THE X-MEN AND TITAN UP THE DEFENSE!

We teamed up at Rose City Comic Con for THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS, an epic examination of convoluted continuity, which you can hear RIGHT NOW over on Titan Up the Defense!

Click through to learn all about moose-antler arrows, Daredevil’s fake twin, what we’ve got on Wikipedia, and an extended metaphor in which you–yes, YOU–drop a bunch of acid with wrestling’s Macho Man Randy Savage!