Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

114 – Meltdown (feat. Susan Beaver)

June 20, 2016 Jay 39 comments

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which Havok and Wolverine head to Mexico; Havok tries his hand at noir; Wolverine gets serious about hair gel; Meltdown is probably not actually a common Russian surname; Susan X-Plains nuclear reactors; and we are pretty thoroughly besotted with Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown.

X-PLAINED:

Age of Apocalypse Corsair
Epic Comics
Marvel Comics Presents #24-31
Leila O’Toole (Plasma)
The Cold War
Samantha Smith
Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown #1-4
General Meltdown
Dr. Neutron
The varying deadliness of vices
Scarlett McKenzie (Quark)
Some exceptionally gorgeous artwork
Why we love Havok
Chernobyl
How nuclear reactors do and don’t work
Other characters we’d like to see in Meltdown-type stories
Adamantium vs. vibranium

NEXT EPISODE: The X-Men Anime

Special thanks to guest reactor X-Pert Susan Beaver!

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

Find us on iTunes, Google Play, 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!

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

Jay & Miles Review the X-Men, Episode 88

June 17, 2016 Jay 8 comments

Weeks of June 8 & June 15, 2016:

In which the X-Men join Civil War II; Uncanny X-Men is baffling but compelling; and there’s FINALLY an interesting story about Apocalypse!

REVIEWED:

Civil War II: X-Men #1 (00:41)
Uncanny X-Men #8 (05:17)
*All-New X-Men #10 (09:00)

*Pick of the Week (12:46)

Filmed at Books With Pictures in Portland, OR.

Jay 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!

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As Mentioned in Episode 113 – Play It Again, Patch

June 13, 2016 Jay 6 comments

Listen to the episode here.

NOTE: Normally the visual companion is annotated; but frankly, I don’t have it in me to be witty about Wolverine today. Sorry. -Jay

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

Wolverine #1

Wolverine #2

Wolverine #3

Wolverine #4

Wolverine #6

Wolverine #8

Wolverine #10

NEXT EPISODE: Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown

113 – Play It Again, Patch

June 13, 2016 Jay 25 comments

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CONTENT NOTE: Episode 113 contains fairly extensive discussions of fictional violence, including gun violence. If you don’t want to listen to that right now, that is absolutely okay. If you want to listen to it later, it’ll still be here. And if you never want to listen to it, that is absolutely okay, too.

We were on the fence about whether to post this episode today. We ultimately decided to go ahead, for two reasons:

There’s value in routine in the face of tragedy.

There are times when continuing to exist visibly and publicly is itself an act of defiance.

Love and solidarity to everyone who’s grieving right now, and especially to our Florida friends and family, and to fellow members of the queer community.

-Jay & Miles

EPISODE 113: PLAY IT AGAIN, PATCH

In which Wolverine gets an ongoing series; the constitution of Madripoor is probably just a list of pulp noir genre conventions; Tyger Tiger is a kinder, gentler crimelord; Jessica Drew gets possessed a lot; the Silver Samurai and Lindsay McCabe are our dream team; Joe Fixit is a font of endless delight; and someone should probably sit Wolverine down and explain how disguises work.

X-PLAINED:

The Murasama
The other Murasama
Life after Inferno
Madripoor
Wolverine #1-10
The Princess Bar
O’Donnell
The hierarchy of Casablanca references
Roche
Razorfist
The Inquisitor
Sapphire Styx
Tyger Tiger
What makes a good solo series
Lindsay McCabe
Wolverine’s signature drink
Possession pants
Silver Samurai (again)
Patch
Bloodsport & Roughouse
Archie Corrigan and his plane
Landau, Luckman, & Lake
Chief Tai
General Nguyen Ngoc Coy
Prince Baran and His Remarkable Pants
Joe Fixit
The worst possible way to celebrate someone’s birthday

NEXT EPISODE: Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown!

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

Find us on iTunes, Google Play, 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!

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

As Mentioned in Episode 112 – Embers of Inferno (feat. Sam Humphries)

June 10, 2016 Jay 4 comments

Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

“So, y’know–business as usual.” (Amazing Spider-Man #313)

The Ghostbusters references just keep coming! (Amazing Spider-Man #313)

HE’S NOT WRONG. (Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #146)

This is in fact literally what it is like to work in publishing, all the time. (Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #147)

CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW JARVIS’S MOM IS A HUGE WRESTLING AFICIONADO? (Avengers #298)

Well, then. (Avengers #298)

He does this every time he fights a possessed machine. (Avengers #298)

No, seriously. Every time. (Avengers #299)

Stories involving Nanny and the Orphanmaker are never not super sad and messed up. (Avengers #299)

That one time the Avengers got back together in a tie-in to someone else’s crossover event. (Avengers #300)

Never leave your house. Seriously. (Power Pack #42)

Actually, no. Your house isn’t safe, either. (Power Pack #42)

And then a group of young children looked back nostalgically at the time they fought Sabretooth in a sewer. (Power Pack #44)

Aw. (Power Pack #44)

LIES. (The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger #4)

For full effect, you have to imagine the narration being read by David Attenborough. (Daredevil #262)

And that was how Daredevil beat up a vacuum cleaner. (Daredevil #262)

It’s actually pretty surprising that no one else thought to do anything with possessed hospital equipment, because that is TERRIFYING. (Daredevil #263)

Officer Drillbit, in all his glory. (Daredevil #265)

For 1989 Daredevil, this ending is positively chipper. (Daredevil #265)

NEXT EPISODE: So. Much. Wolverine.

You Made (Wearable) Art!

June 8, 2016 Jay 12 comments

Listener keeshkid sent us photos of her awesome Phoenix II-inspired ballgown!

Check out more of her work on:

112 – Embers of Inferno (feat. Sam Humphries)

June 5, 2016 Jay 47 comments

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In which we cover (almost) all of the Inferno tie-ins with the help of writer Sam Humphries; the Marvel Universe used to be really X-Centric; Jarvis is unstoppable; Daredevil fights a vacuum cleaner; it’s probably best not to ask about the whole Celestial Madonna thing; Power Pack gets incredibly upsetting; working in comics makes you appreciate crossovers on a whole new level; and we’d all really have liked to have seen Guy Davis’s Inferno.

X-PLAINED:

Peter Quill’s brief music career
Widget
The Amazing Spider-Man #311-313
Spectacular Spider-Man #146-148
Web of Spider-Man #47-48
Avengers #298-300
Power Pack #42-44
Daredevil #262, 263, 265
Cloak and Dagger (vol. 3) #4
Fantastic Four #322-324
Inferno, as a whole
The fate of Madelyne Pryor
Jay’s Madelyne Pryor song
How working in comics taught us to appreciate crossovers
Our ideal Inferno artists

NEXT EPISODE: So. Much. Wolverine.

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

Find us on iTunes, Google Play, 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!

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

Jay & Miles Review the X-Men, Episode 87

June 2, 2016 Jay 2 comments

Week of June 1, 2016:

In which X-Men ’92 wraps up its first arc; Old Man Logan can’t have nice things; Fin Fang Foom looks like our cat; and Books With Pictures may or may not have destroyed Alderaan.

REVIEWED:

X-Men ’92 #4 (01:03)
Old Man Logan #7 (04:08)
*All-New Wolverine #9 (07:44)

*Pick of the Week (10:54)

Filmed at Books With Pictures in Portland, OR.

Come join us on Imzy!

X-TRA – Jay and Miles Overthink X-Men: Apocalypse

June 1, 2016 Jay 37 comments

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In which we release a mid-week bonus episode and generally spoil the hell out of X-Men: Apocalypse!

This episode comes courtesy of our rad Patreon subscribers. If you want to join their ranks and help keep us on the air and ad-free–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

As Mentioned in Episode 111 – You’ll Have to Look Inside for That

May 30, 2016 Jay One comment

Listen to the podcast here.

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

The greatest comic-book cover of all time. (Excalibur #4)

This guy, man. (Excalibur #4)

The fashion! The feelings! DAMN, I love Excalibur. (Excalibur #4)

SPOILER: This kiss does not actually happen. (Excalibur #4)

It’s awfully nice of Arcade to put those recaps up on the monitors! (Excalibur #4)

Courtney Ross: Just. That. Good. (Excalibur #4)

Excalibur is perpetually one tastefully-framed quick-change away from being a sex farce. (Excalibur #5)

Check out the visual language on the body-swapped Excalibur and Crazy Gang. (Excalibur #5)

Arcade vs. Murderworld. (Excalibur #5)

It’s our favorite fictional-but-also-real band, Cats Laughing! (Excalibur #5)

MURDERWORLD , Y’ALL. (Excalibur #5)

Yeah, Inferno’s basically just gonna be business as usual for Excalibur. (Excalibur #5)

I accept on faith that there are people who read this and assumed that Kitty and Rachel didn’t have a romantic relationship, but it still kind of baffles me. (Excalibur #5)