Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

ECCC Show Diary: Day 3

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Jay here. It’s a little after 1 AM, and I have to be back on the con floor in about eight hours, so this is gonna be short.

Today started with the always-fantastic “Taking Fandom Seriously” panel. This is the second year Andréa has put this panel together, and it’s incredibly fun: a group of hardcore fans who also work in comics–in creative or publishing capacities, or as a field of academic study–talking about bridging and occupying those worlds simultaneously. The take-away both years has basically been “there are so many cool ways to engage with things you love.” <3

The bookend on the other end was our meetup / second birthday party at Phoenix Comics. You turned out like whoa, we reprised the Hamilton cold open from the live panel yesterday, and I GOT A COMICS SHOP FULL OF PEOPLE TO SING THE X-MEN ’92 THEME SONG TOGETHER, which was something I did not even realize had been a life goal until it had happened. And then there was SO MUCH CAKE. (For the folks who asked: the cake came from Little Rae’s Bakery, and they were awesome to work with.)

If there’s anything the party drove home, it’s how awesome our people are: the listeners who turned out, our stupendously wonderful hosts, all the friends and fans and pros and–look, I’m tired and slightly tipsy, but I’m getting kinda teary just writing this. You are amazing, and seeing y’all concentrated in one place, celebrating and being splendid, was a pretty damn special way to close out the night.

(Actually, we closed out the night by migrating to a nearby bar and getting fancy Scotch and absolutely brilliant breaded-tofu sandwiches. I realize that doesn’t sound very appetizing, but trust me: they were stupendous.)

PHOTOS AHOY:

I got the Monster Scouts "Wicked Specs" merit badge. (And then I colored 'em in with a red sharpie. Is anyone surprised? Yeah, I didn't think so.)
On my way back from the panel, I picked up a Monster Scouts “Wicked Specs” merit badge. (And then I colored ’em in with a red sharpie. Is anyone surprised? Yeah, I didn’t think so.)
The sharpie kinda bled, but I've decided I can No-Prize that away as energy spillover.
The sharpie kinda bled, but I’ve decided I can No-Prize that away as energy spillover.
Speaking of sharpies, I'm really happy with the L in this knuckle tat, for my friend Ryan. (It's a reference to his game Katanas and Trenchcoats.)
Speaking of sharpies, I’m really happy with the L in this knuckle tat, for my friend Ryan. (It’s a reference to his game Katanas and Trenchcoats.)
People kept telling me about the X-Men dogs, but I only saw them in passing until today. In addition to being ridiculously adorable, they are also super chill and friendly.
People kept telling me about the X-Men dogs, but I only saw them in passing until today. In addition to being ridiculously adorable, they are also super chill and friendly.
We did a BUNCH of bad X-Men sketches, but this matched set, in someone's zine, are my favorites of the day: My Kitty...
We did a BUNCH of bad X-Men sketches, but this matched set, in someone’s zine, are my favorites of the day: My Shadowcat…
...and Miles's Magik.
…and Miles’s Magik.
Alison, as our Sunglasses fairy, at the party!
Allison, as our Sunglasses fairy, at the party!
CAKE!
CAKE!
With Nick and Simon, our awesome hosts at Phoenix Comics!
With Nick and Simon, our awesome hosts at Phoenix Comics!
Lush stuff I tried today: The Hand of Friendship soap smells a LOT like cherry Starbursts; and the Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo + Veganese conditioner combo left my hair ludicrously soft and smelled pretty great.
Lush stuff I tried today: The Hand of Friendship soap smells a LOT like cherry Starbursts; and the Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo + Veganese conditioner combo left my hair ludicrously soft and smelled pretty great.

ECCC Show Diary: Day 2

The coolest kids in Seattle.
The coolest kids in Seattle.

Jay here! Today was our Really Big Day: the live episode. O.o

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

  • Stumbled through the morning and managed to get in mostly on time! (Well, I did; Miles almost did.)
  • If you had a coherent conversation with either David or me today, take a moment to thank AdminixtratriX Tina, who swung by shortly after opening with two enormous cups of coffee, because she is a saint/superhero.
  • There was SO MUCH GOOD COSPLAY today, which is particularly cool given that we know Saturday’s generally the big cosplay day at ECCC. People who turn out turned out on weekdays impress the hell out of me.
  • We did a LOT of bad X-Men sketches, and David did a lot of good ones. Also, between yesterday and today, I got Cyclops Has a Good Day sketches from the three people on my “Absolutely No Matter What” list for this show, which I will post eventually.
  • At 1:00, I ran off for my first panel: “We’re not Gonna Take It: How to Deal with Harassment in the Comics Community,” with Casey Gilly, Sarah Gaydos, and Annie Bulloch, and moderated by Jack Bauer. Very low turnout, but one of the best and most productive-feeling panels I’ve ever been on: we spent an hour discussing systemic factors in harassment in the comics industry and community, and hammering out practical solutions.
  • Stopped to see a bunch of friends at 312, and SUDDENLY THERE WERE SUGAR GLIDERS AND I GOT TO PET THEM AND THEY WERE TINY AND SOFT AND WONDERFUL! Also picked up a couple copies of Ma’at Crook’s absolutely lovely self-care comic/coloring book, and immediately gave one away.
  • Miles and I spent most of the spare moments we could grab between panels and talking to folks at the table to hammer out a rough outline for the episode; which was good, because I spent the last 40 minutes before the panel…
  • …outside with Scott Koblish, running through the cold open. I have NO IDEA what passers-by thought we were doing, but to their credit, they were very chill about it. We ended up behind an AMAZING Fury Road Crow cosplay on our way back in and so are probably in a lot of photos of it.
  • THE LIVE EPISODE. OH, MY GOD. WE DID THIS THING AND IT HAPPENED! Everyone was amazing, including Al Ewing, who we ended up dragging up from the audience to explain the current state of the multiverse. The crowd was fantastic, too–100% terrific questions, and pretty much everything
  • Fancy pizza + beer for dinner again; because if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. We briefly flirted with the idea of going to a couple parties, then decided to go home, take off our shoes, and finish proofing Episode 104 instead.

HERE ARE SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OF SOME STUFF!

 

Miles technically drew this Proletarian yesterday, but he just sent me the photo, so.
Miles technically drew this Proletarian yesterday, but he just sent me the photo, so.
In addition to being a kickass Dazzler, Sarah is a roller-derby rock star AND the human behind our pro photos!
In addition to being a kickass Dazzler, Sarah is a roller-derby rock star AND the human behind our pro photos!
Someone asked us to sign their copy of The Incredible Hulk #148, which features what may be the most important character debut in Marvel history.
Someone asked us to sign their copy of The Incredible Hulk #148, which features what may be the most important character debut in Marvel history. P.S. IF YOU ARE THIS PERSON: I FOUND THAT ONE BUTTON, AND I AM HOLDING IT FOR YOU.
I HAD TO DRAW A "CYCLOPS HAS A GOOD DAY" SKETCH CARD AND I TOTALLY BLANKED. Also, I just realized his headphones don't have a cord. Ah, well--there's a reason we bill these as "Bad drawings of your favorite X-Man."
I HAD TO DRAW A “CYCLOPS HAS A GOOD DAY” SKETCH CARD AND I TOTALLY BLANKED. Shoemaker’s children go barefoot, and all that, I suppose. Also, I just realized his headphones don’t have a cord. Ah, well–there’s a reason we bill these as “Bad drawings of your favorite X-Man.”
THIS SUGAR GLIDER IS IMPOSSIBLY TINY AND SOFT AND WONDERFUL AND I GOT TO PET IT AND IT WAS UTTERLY MAGICAL
THIS SUGAR GLIDER IS IMPOSSIBLY TINY AND SOFT AND WONDERFUL AND I GOT TO PET IT AND IT WAS UTTERLY MAGICAL
Our friend Tea as the King of Abs-Lantis. That is a TRAVEL TRIDENT, by the way: she's also got a full-size one, but this one is modular and fits into luggage, which kind of blows my mind.
Our friend Tea as the King of Abs-Lantis. That is a TRAVEL TRIDENT, by the way: she’s also got a full-size one, but this one is modular so that it can fit into luggage, which kind of blows my mind.
True fact: In addition to being a really good artist, Scott Koblish is an excellent and delightful human being.
True fact: In addition to being a really good artist, Scott Koblish is an excellent and delightful human being…
...who has also now set the high bar for the Cyclops Has a Good Day sketchbook.
…who has also now set the high bar for the Cyclops Has a Good Day sketchbook.
And then this happened, and it was PRETTY DARN AMAZING. (Also, thank you to everyone who was there for not spoiling to cold open online. The rest of you can catch it at the party tomorrow night, or when the episode goes a week from Sunday!)
And then this happened, and it was PRETTY DARN AMAZING. Left to right: Me, Miles, G. Willow Wilson, Kris Anka, Al Ewing, Scott Koblish! (Also, thank you to everyone who came; and double thanks for not spoiling to cold open online!! The rest of you can catch it live at the party tomorrow night, or when the episode goes a week from Sunday!)
Lush stuff I tried today: The Sexy Peel soap smells EXACTLY like marmalade, to the point where I kept expecting to be sticky after using it; and a little of the Wiccy Magic Muscles massage bar goes a VERY long way.
Lush stuff I tried today: The Sexy Peel soap smells EXACTLY like marmalade, to the point where I kept expecting to be sticky after using it; and the Wiccy Magic Muscles massage bar is nice, but perhaps over-scented. A little goes a VERY long way. Also, this is the first con I’ve been at in ages where my hands weren’t cracking by the second day, so obviously SOMETHING is working! =D

ECCC Show Diary: Day 1

LOOK AT THESE GLORIOUS NERDS
LOOK AT THESE GLORIOUS NERDS

FIRST DAY OF THE SHOW PROPER!

We were expecting Thursday to be pretty quiet, but, no. You were NUMEROUS AND ENTHUSIASTIC, and IT WAS AWESOME. Here are the highlights:

  • Got up at stupid o’clock to feed the meter
  • Came back, showered, and put on grown-up daytime clothes. ONE OF US IS WEARING A TIE. MUCH ADULT VERY PROFESSIONAL.
  • Moved the car, because Capitol Hill has no parking. Damnit, Seattle!
  • David had caught inevitable international-travel plague, so we dropped off ibuprofen at his hotel, then…
  • …got lunch at a sushi place that we are fairly sure was actively attempting to make us leave. JOKE’S ON THEM. WE ATE SUSHI AND THEN PAID FOR IT AND THEN LEFT.
  • Went and set up our table.
  • DID A LOT OF CONVENTION.
  • I got two new Cyclops Has a Good Day sketches, from Cully Hamner and David Wynne. Yesssssssss.
  • Miles got a super sweet Silent Hill poster from Mondo…
  • …and I got Miles a super sweet Thors poster from Peter V. Nguyen
  • Once the show let out, we met up with Scott Koblish, and wandered off to get dinner…
  • …then practiced the cold open in an empty parking lot.
  • Our friends Katie and Douglas were hosting a karaoke night to celebrate both the show and recent amazing professional projects (THEY ARE AWESOME! GO KATIE AND DOUGLAS!), so we headed down.
  • Did you know that Miles sings Blondie? Miles sings Blondie. HE IS VERY GOOD AT IT.
  • Also, Al Ewing sang “Let It Go,” and possibly manifested a whole sci-fi rock musical just by being the weirdest and Britishest person in the room.
  • ANYWAY. We are very tired and slightly tipsy, and it is probably time for sleep. OUR LIVE PANEL IS TOMORROW (today; it’s after midnight) at 5:30 PM IN ROOM T304, AND YOU SHOULD ALL COME.
  • Seriously. KINDA FREAKING OUT about this cold open. It is by far and away the most ambitious one we’ve ever done.

PHOTOS:

Jay's first sharpie knuckle tats of the day, for a friend who used to co-run one of our favorite video-game websites EVER in high school. HI, NICH! YOU ARE AWESOME!
Jay’s first sharpie knuckle tats of the day, for a friend who used to co-run one of our favorite video-game websites EVER in high school. HI, NICH! YOU ARE AWESOME!
Miles drew Bill the Lobster. Your argument is invalid.
Miles drew Bill the Lobster. Your argument is invalid.
Jay drew Magik. This was part of a pair, but the other one's in Miles's phone, and we're tired, so we'll post it later.
Jay drew Magik. This was part of a pair, but the other one’s in Miles’s phone, and we’re tired, so we’ll post it later.
A++ milk stout.
A++ milk stout.
DID YOU KNOW THAT SEATTLE HAS AN X-MEN BURLESQUE SHOW? These two are part of it, and they are awesome!
DID YOU KNOW THAT SEATTLE HAS AN X-MEN BURLESQUE SHOW? These two are part of it, and they are awesome!
Lush stuff I tried today! Needles and Pines Shower Jelly smells like camping, but not unpleasantly so; and  No Drought dry shampoo is my new best convention friend forever.
Lush stuff I tried today! Needles and Pines Shower Jelly smells like camping, but not unpleasantly so; and No Drought dry shampoo is my new best convention friend forever.

ECCC Diary: Day -1

books

Jay here! A lot of you have written to say you wish you could be at ECCC this weekend. We can’t bring you with us, but hopefully we can give you at least a virtual window (and try a new X-periment on the blog) with a show diary!

Today we:

  • Drove up to Seattle from Portland
  • Dropped party stuff off–and picked up a few books–at the super awesome Phoenix Comics
  • Got our badges and worked out our table set-up! We are experimenting with more vertical arrangements this time, since we’ve only got half a table, and it is a little terrifying. Also, I broke the vase our sign goes in, but was able to repair it with a whooooole lot of duct tape.
  • Got David from the airport. It’s his first time in the U.S.! We went to a restaurant with $5 martinis and very okay barbecue and compared national stereotypes and were generally pretty excited about finally meeting after most of a decade of being Internet friends!
  • Bought groceries. Grocery shopping for cons is always super weird–by the time we get to the store, we’re tired and fuzzy, and it turns into a sort of surreal vacation-like fugue state. This time, we spent a lot of time looking at Spider-Man toys, then mostly bought granola bars, because we are boring adults.
  • Finally got into the place where we’re staying. We’re crashing at a friend’s place while she’s out of town, and her locks are suuuuuuper sticky, so there was some frantic messaging and experimenting, and I was briefly extremely worried that someone would think I was trying to break in. BUT WE DID IT, and we figured out the trick to mostly maybe making the outdoor key work. Kind of. We hope.
  • AND NOW WE ARE IN BED. Oh! And listener BLL, who works at Lush, sent us a ridiculously amazing package of fancy bath-type stuff, which we then forgot to try, but we brought it with us! And I am totally going to try at least a few things every day that we’re here, because it all smells amazing. (I am a creature of capital-H Habit, and am baffled and intimidated by fancy bath products, but BLL included both a detailed guide and a bunch of X-Men references, so I am ON TOP OF THIS.)

PHOTOS FOR YOU:

Our table! We set everything up, took a photo, and then took most of it down, because we didn't have a dropcloth. BUT! We have a photo, so we will know where it all goes tomorrow.
Our table! We set everything up, took a photo, and then took most of it down, because we didn’t have a dropcloth. BUT! We have a photo, so we will know where it all goes tomorrow. That’s our friend Rue is in the background. She’s awesome.
Lush stuff I tried tonight! The toothpaste tabs are super weird, the charity pot lotion is AMAZING, and the lip balm both smells and tastes kind of like lemon frosting!
Lush stuff I tried tonight! The toothpaste tabs are weird enough that I’m having trouble getting past the novelty to determine whether I actually liked them, the charity pot lotion is AMAZING AND I AM IN LOVE WITH IT, and the lip balm both smells and tastes kind of like lemon frosting! (Guest starring my sweet Spider-Man travel toothbrush.)
Two very tired X-Perts who have to get up very early tomorrow to move their car. GOOD NIGHT, INTERNET!
Two very tired X-Perts who have to get up very early tomorrow to move their car. GOOD NIGHT, INTERNET!

 

As Mentioned in Episode 103 – Warwolves of London

Listen to the episode here.



LINKS & FURTHER LISTENING:

103 – Warwolves of London

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

 

In which Excalibur is x-tra x-ceptional; we once again gush at length about Alan Davis; Kurt Wagner is reliable with the ladies; nothing in Excalibur is ever perfectly normal; Warwolves are regular folks; Brian Braddock still doesn’t get to take a bath; Jay overthinks a question; and there’s more where that came from!

 

X-PLAINED:

  • The Unstoppable Juggernaut
  • Earth-10724
  • Jay & Miles at Emerald City Comicon
  • Excalibur #1-3
  • Fun
  • The Crazy Gang (again)
  • The somewhat ignominious death of Ray Mulholland
  • Warwolves
  • Nigel Frobisher
  • A somewhat dubious ploy
  • Bathroom etiquette
  • Widget
  • A kid named Colin
  • Rupert Holloway
  • Friendship, kind of
  • The Lighthouse
  • Courtney Ross
  • Excalibur vs. the Juggernaut
  • Kitty’s powers
  • An exceptionally specific theoretical crossover

NEXT WEEK: Checking in on the current state of the X-line, with guest Brett White!


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!

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

Jay & Miles Review the X-Men, Episode 79

Week of March 30, 2016:

In which Jay draws a line in the sand, Rogue hits someone with a bear, Toad develops nuance, and you should totally come see us at ECCC!

REVIEWED:

  • Uncanny X-Men #5 (01:48)
  • *X-Men ’92 #1 (05:30)
  • All-New X-Men #7 (10:19)

*Pick of the Week (15:05)

You can find our full ECCC lineup over here!

Come join us on Imzy!


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!

As Mentioned in Episode 102 – Baby Race 2000

Listen to the episode here.


102 – Baby Race 2000

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

In which Beast’s DNA is basically held together with spit and baling wire; Boom Boom wins MVP; Angel goes full goth; Cameron Hodge loses his head; Cyclops is basically a Silent Hill protagonist; and the Nebraska Department of Social Services is probably not adequately equipped to deal with Mister Sinister.

X-PLAINED:

  • The Horsemen of Death
  • X-Factor #32-35
  • Xartans
  • Superheroic triage
  • A vague prophecy
  • Fake Avengers
  • Fake-band disambiguation
  • KiLLeR DWaRfS
  • Crippled Puppies
  • Audiophile Apocalypse
  • Shopping
  • Dubiously zealous trademark protection
  • Acronym disambiguation
  • The death of Candy Southern
  • The not-exactly death of Cameron Hodge
  • Nanny
  • Orphan-Maker
  • Baby Race 2000
  • An orphanage that is also a metaphor
  • Unreliable narration
  • The dubious partnership of Mister Sinister and Apocalypse
  • Best iterations of Boom Boom

NEXT EPISODE: Excalibur goes ongoing!


InfernoWatch

  • Malicious inanimate objects
  • Early signs of Marvel Girl’s returning telepathy
  • First clues of Cyclops’s connection to Sinister
  • First mention of Goblin Queen by name

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

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Hang out with us on Imzy!

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!

Welcome to Imzy, J&MXtX-M! Hope You Survive the… You Know.

survivetheexperience_cliche

Jay here, with a brief break from our regularly-scheduled programming! Along with a handful of other podcasts and communities, we’re part of a very small closed beta for a new community-oriented social platform, Imzy; and we’re very pleased to finally be able to invite you to join us!

If you’ve been around long, you may have noticed that we keep a pretty tight lock on the social media we use. We don’t have a Facebook page. We use Tumblr very casually, and largely to boost and crosspost material from our website. Our YouTube comments are permanently disabled; and we do everything we can to direct discussion to the comments here.

There’s a reason for that: it’s incredibly important to us to have our community spaces be fun, civil, and safe; and for those qualities to be supported at an infrastructural level. The community that has come together–largely independently–around this podcast is freaking amazing. You are some of the most engaged, enthusiastic, and all-around nice people we’ve ever met, on or off the Internet. And we want to keep it that way.

Which is part of why we’re excited about Imzy. It’s explicitly oriented around communities–think the rough structure reddit with actual oversight, infrastructure, and active anti-harassment tools. If it works the way we’re hoping it will, it’ll mean a community that you can post directly to–not just comment on our stuff–and a lot of new ways to engage.

Not only is this so far shaping up to be a pretty cool platform, but you also get a totally sweet bribe for joining us there, because Imzy commissioned an X-clusive giveaway t-shirt from the always-amazing Dylan Todd:

I KNOW, RIGHT?!
I KNOW, RIGHT?!

Here’s how it works: Click over here, and enter your info; and we’ll get back to you with an official beta invite ASAP! We’ll also have physical cards with invite codes with us at ECCC.

As I wrote above, we’re pretty excited about this community, but mostly? We’re really looking forward to seeing you there. <3