Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 101 – Not Bad, Just Drawn That Way

Listen to the podcast here.



101 – Not Bad, Just Drawn That Way

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 it’s pretty much always terrible to be Magik; Y is a sometimes vowel; Wolfsbane is a secret Disney Princess; feelings ruin everything; and Gossamyr may or may not be an allegory (but is pretty interesting either way).

X-PLAINED:

  • What Lila Cheney is up to these days
  • New Mutants #67-70
  • Gratuitous space spelling
  • Gossamyr
  • Spyder
  • The Accountants
  • Magneto’s ongoing slide into supervillainy
  • A few fairly specific elements of teen-girl social dynamics
  • Wolfsbane’s greatest desire
  • Practical logistics of teleporting aliens into a sun
  • Approaching the X-books as a new writer
  • Who we’d put on an all-X-Men trivia team

NEXT EPISODE: BabyRace 2000; and Archangel vs. Cameron Hodge


Special thanks to Kieron Gillen for the X-pert consult; and to Arvin Bautista for the use of “I Will Steal Your Heart.”


InfernoWatch:

  • Illyana’s descent continues
  • S’ym gains near-complete control of Limbo
  • First instances of possessed machinery and architecture

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 78

Week of March 16, 2016:

In which the parts of Extraordinary X-Men are greater than their sum; All-New X-Men is the new New Mutants; you should totally come see us at Norwescon and Emerald City Comic Con; and yes, we are aware that it should be Luis Buñuel, but it’s been a long week.

REVIEWED:

  • Extraordinary X-Men #8 (00:25)
  • *All-New X-Men #6 (05:56)

*Pick of the Week (12:18)


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!

Counting to 100

final

Dear Everybody,

On April 13, 2014, we posted the first episode of this ridiculous little podcast: two nerds, at a table, explaining the convoluted continuity of one of our favorite comics.

Almost two years later, it’s like looking back from a different universe. Our weird hobby has become a part-time job. We’ve interviewed some of our favorite creators; traveled across the country; thrown parties and panels; shown up in an actual X-Men comic; been part of an enormous crossover; and explained a quarter of a century of comics continuity. We’ve gone from an audience of friends and family to around 15,000 regular listeners–who, together, have become one of the coolest and tightest-knit communities we’ve had the privilege to be part of.

And you’ve been with us through a lot. In addition to all the stuff above, you turned out for two (soon to be three!) live episodes. You’ve been there through our tenth wedding anniversary; a gender transition and name change; and–as of this week–100 episodes of Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men.

Thanks are in order:

To you, listeners, for sticking with us through 100 episodes of time travel, crossovers, and clones.

To our Patreon subscribers, who let us keep doing what we do ad-free and answerable only to our listeners.

To Kyle Yount, our current producer, who makes us sound way better on the air than we do in the studio.

To Bobby Roberts, our first producer and podcasting mentor, who set one hell of a high bar, and without whom it’s fair to say that none of this would exist in the first place.

To our illustrator and friend David Wynne, who’s bridged what we do back from the audio to the visual.

To AdminstratriX Tina, mistress of the spreadsheets and question files.

To the creators, guest X-Perts, and co-hosts who’ve brought their voices and ideas to our show: Elisabeth Allie, Kris Anka, Marguerite Bennett, Chad Bowers, Elle Collins, Russell Dauterman, Kieron Gillen, Dennis Hopeless, Graeme McMillan, Peter V. Nguyen, Annie Nocenti, Paul O’Brien, Jeff Parker, Greg Rucka, Kieran Shiach, Chris Sims, Si Spurrier, G. Willow Wilson–and last, but far from least, today’s guest: Chris Claremont.

To our off-air partners in crime, Katie Moody and Anna Sheffey, who are just the absolute damn best.

And to the many, many other friends and collaborators who’ve helped make Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men what it is.

Here’s to the next 100.

Love,
Jay Rachel Edidin & Miles Stokes

 

100 – Unexpected Wonder, with Chris Claremont

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 Miles follows his heart; subtext becomes text; and we celebrate a very special milestone with a very special guest.


NEXT EPISODE: Gossamyr


For a comprehensive visual companion to this episode, we recommend reading Uncanny X-Men #94-279, 381-389, and 444-473; X-Men vol. 1 #59; X-Men vol. 2 #1-3, 100-109, and 165; New Mutants #1-54, 63, and 81; Excalibur vol. 1 #1-19, 21-25, 27, and 32-34; X-Treme X-Men #1-46; X-Men Forever #1-25; and dozens of additional annuals, miniseries, ongoings, one-shots, graphic novels, and more.

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 77

Week of March 9, 2016

In which All-New Wolverine wraps up its first arc, and we have a lot of big announcements.

REVIEWED:

  • *All-New Wolverine #6

*Pick of the Week


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!

Jay Recaps X-Men: Evolution
S1E9: Survival of the Fittest

I can summarize most episodes of X-Men: Evolution from memory, in a fair degree of detail; so it surprised me when, in reviewing the Season 1 roster, I realized I recalled almost nothing of “Survival of the Fittest” beyond the fact that it involved some kind of summer camp scenario. When I started to watch, I realized why: in a season where even the bad episodes are usually entertaining, this one is just boring as all hell.

On my first pass, I stopped taking notes five minutes in, because nothing was happening. By the halfway mark, I was actively fantasizing about watching paint dry.1 But I am nothing if not committed, readers. I promised you a recap, and a recap you would have, come hell or high water.

Ah, well. At least I get to judge cartoon teenagers for their fashion choices.

Continue reading

As Mentioned in Episode 99 – Those Who Walk Away from Genosha

Listen to the episode here.



LINKS & FURTHER READING:

99 – Those Who Walk Away from Genosha

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 the podcast gets a new name; Jay starts (another) imaginary band; mutant issues break away from the metaphor; Genosha’s leading industry is cognitive dissonance; invisibility to electronic surveillance is not always a plus; Rogue and Wolverine are the X-Men most likely to find themselves nude in a fight; Carol Danvers is awesome even when disembodied; and we both have a lot of feelings about Mad Max: Fury Road.

X-PLAINED:

  • The Havok dilemma
  • Our new name
  • Uncanny X-Men #235-238
  • Genosha
  • Jenny Ransome
  • The Press Gang
  • A really good bit of vintage slang
  • The downside of electronic invisibility
  • Naked teleportation
  • The Genegineer (David Moreau)
  • Philip Moreau
  • Mutates
  • The (sort of) return of (sort of) Carol Danvers
  • The portmanteaus of Genosha
  • Moral binary in superhero comics
  • Possible antecedents of Sterling Archer
  • The only good reason to bring Logan back
  • N’astirh
  • Several versions of Madelyne Pryor
  • “Gone to America”
  • Off-page baby theft
  • How to have fun re-reading

InfernoWatch:

  • This week, it’s all about Madelyne Pryor: her first contact with N’astirh and escalating romance with Havok; the first hints of her connection to Mister Sinister; her oblique connection to the Phoenix Force; and her first foray into baby theft!

NEXT EPISODE: Chris Claremont


CORRECTION: In this episode, Miles mentioned Those Who Walk Away From Omelas as having been written by Margaret Atwood. It was, of course, actually written by Ursula K. LeGuin. Miles blames the Jaspers Warp for this mistake.


You can find a visual companion to this episode–and links to recommended reading–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!