Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

YOU’RE INVITED!

HOT DAMN, Y’ALL. Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men is turning ten entire years old on Saturday, April 13, and you’re all invited to our birthday party–and our first live show since pre-pandemic days! We’ll be starting the day with a live show–X-Plaining a story we once swore never to cover–at Portland’s historic Clinton Street Theater. Then we’ll break for lunch and reconvene that afternoon at comic-shop extraordinaire Books With Pictures for a 10th birthday blowout, complete with cake, party favors, and some really, really cool X-clusive merch (including the 10th anniversary print by Colleen Coover that you can see a sliver of above (and which you’ve seen in its entirety if you’re a patron–remember, keep it secret, keep it safe!))!

HERE ARE THE DETAILS:

THE SHOW:

  • WHAT: Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men LIVE
  • WHEN: Saturday, April 13, 10:00-11:45 AM
  • WHERE: Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St., Portland, OR
  • NOTE: MASKS WILL BE MANDATORY AT THE LIVE SHOW. We’ll have ’em at the door for anyone who doesn’t bring their own.
  • ADDITIONAL DETAILS: All-ages if you don’t mind your kids learning swears.

THE PARTY:

  • WHAT: Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men’s 10th Birthday Party
  • WHEN: Saturday, April 13, 2:00-5:00 PM
  • WHERE: Books With Pictures, 1401 Division St., Portland, OR
  • NOTE: This will be an outdoor event. Plan accordingly!
  • ADDITIONAL DETAILS: All-ages, costumes encouraged, birthday cake, birthday pie, party favors, X-clusive merch

RSVP FOR ONE OR BOTH EVENTS HERE! While you’ll probably still get in if you just show up, we’d really appreciate it if you’d RSVP–it helps us plan for the events and, in case of overflow, will make it more likely that you’ll get in.

AND HERE ARE THE ANSWERS TO SOME QUESTIONS THAT WE ANTICIPATE OR HAVE ALREADY FIELDED AT LEAST ONCE:

How much are tickets?

Free.

Wait, the party and the show are both free?

Yeah.

Can I still go if I don’t RSVP?

If there’s room, sure. But we need to figure out things like how many party favors to make and how many pies to bring, so we would really appreciate it if you RSVP.

Wait, there are party favors?

Oh, yes.

Like what?

It’s a surprise. (Unless you’re a patron, in which case you’ve already gotten a sneak peek at one of ’em.)

Will you have merch for sale?

At the party, yeah: We’ll have a handful of in-person-x-clusive merch, including Colleen Coover’s completely rad 10th Anniversary print!

I will not be there, but I want a print or other swag. How can I get it?

Connect with someone who’s going and arrange for them to pick it up and send it to you. We recommend using the Discord, but you can also @ us on Bluesky and we’ll boost your signal!

Do I have to wear a mask?

To the show, yes. To the party, no.

How come?

Because accessibility.

I don’t want to.

Suck it up, buttercup.

Can I bring my kids?

If you’re okay with the possibility that they’ll hear some swears, sure!

Can I bring my horse?

We would strongly prefer that you not.

Can I wear a costume?

We encourage you to do so.

What if it’s not an X-Men costume?

You do you, buddy.

Are the X-Men really confusing enough to merit a full decade of X-planatory podcasts?

Apparently.

As Mentioned in Episode 134 – Live at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival

Listen to the episode here.



Here are the lyrics to all thirty-nine verses of Dear Mister Sinister (you’ll have to hit Tea or Scott up for the chords):

Dear Mister Sinister
My name is Alex; I’ve
Got a school project
I hope you can help with
 
My teacher said we have to
Map out our families
Parents and grandparents
Brothers and sisters
 
She gave us poster board
She gave us markers, but
I’m having trouble with
Several specifics
 
You see, I’m adopted
But I’ve got a brother
We used to have parents
We don’t anymore
 
Dad’s name was Christopher
Mom’s name was Katherine
Dad’s mom and dad were named
Philip and Deborah
 
That part is easy, the
Trouble’s my brother, see
His name is Scott and he’s
Kind of a pain
 
But that’s not the problem, the
Problem is Maddy and
Nathan and Rachel and
Also some time travel
 
Maddy is Scott’s ex, and
Nathan’s their son, he
Grew up in the future
And Scott and Jean raised him
 
Jean is another ex
Maddy’s her clone, but
Jean’s also the Phoenix
Except so is Rachel
 
Rachel’s Scott’s kid
(with Jean not with Maddy)
She’s Mother Askani
Or she will be someday
 
(‘Cept Scott’s not her father
At least, not my brother
Because she was born in
An alternate timeline
 
That said, her parentage
Is somewhat hazy; it
Involves the Phoenix and
Parthenogenesis)
 
Rachel cloned Nathan in
Case of emergency
That clone is Stryfe; he
Was raised by Apocalypse
 
Nathan’s got Hope
Who is also adopted
(She isn’t a clone, though
Her last name was Spalding)
 
His son was named Tyler
But Wolverine killed him
And then we all kind of
Forgot he’d existed
 
But that’s Nathan Summers
Nate Grey’s someone different
He’s kind of like Rachel, but
From a worse timeline
 
Nate is a clone or grew
Up in a test tube; And
You might have raised him (Well,
Not you, exactly)
 
And now Scott’s with Emma
And Ruby’s their daughter, at
Least in one future where
Scott is a cyborg
 
They also have kids from
A different timeline; a
daughter named Meagan
With twin baby sisters
 
I married Jan in an
Alternate future and
We had a daughter but
Kang started meddling
 
Our daughter’s named Katie
Or will be or was, and
Her timeline is gone and
It’s kind of an issue
 
Did I forget Hepzibah?
She’s Dad’s new girlfriend, ’cause
Dad’s alive after all
And he’s a space pirate
 
Speaking of space stuff, I
Should mention Gabriel
My younger brother, at
Least ’til I killed him
 
He was born after mom died
And aged artificially
He married Deathbird and
Then he killed Dad again
 
Deathbird was pregnant
The Kree got involved and now;
No one is certain if
She’s given birth yet
 
Oh! And I should tell you
That I am some sort of
Multiversal nexus
Which complicates matters
 
See, there’s also Scotty
(My son, not my brother)
Well, not mine exactly
A parallel Alex’s
 
And that Alex married
a Madelyne Pryor
Who in this dimension
Is Scott’s ex-wife Maddy
 
(I mean Scott, my brother,
Of whom there are two now
And one is sixteen it’s
Incredibly awkward)
 
I’m also supposed
To trace my name’s history
That’s also a problem, see,
‘Cause there’s a time loop
 
‘Cause once Scott went back to
The late Nineteenth Century
To thwart a villain
Or something like that
 
And he saved a guy who
I think was your prisoner
His surname name was Edge, but
He changed it to Summers
 
He came to the States and he’s
My twice-great granddad, which
All seems a bit too
Complex for a poster
 
That’s why I am writing; see,
Your machinations are
Largely at fault for the
Mess that I’m in
 
I used to blame Scott but
It’s really not his fault
You’re clearly the one
Who was pulling the strings
 
Out of some weird obsession
With all our genetics
(Well, less so with mine, but
It’s still pretty creepy)
 
I mean, you cloned Scott’s girlfriend
And kidnapped my nephew
The least you can do is
Help me diagram this
 
Yours very sincerely,
Alex “Havok” Summers
(Scott’s younger brother)
(In case you’d forgotten)
 
Dear Mister Sinister
My name is Alex; I’ve
Got a school project
I hope you can help with
 

134 – Live at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival (feat. Scott Koblish)

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 Deadpool and X-Men ’92 artist Scott Koblish joins us to present the Summers Family Tree as you’ve never experienced it before; the X-Men go to Dante’s Hell; Dr. Strange gets his Virgil on; Wolverine sniffs snakes; Iceman has probably killed a lot of people; and X-Men fans have remained remarkably consistent over the years.

X-PLAINED

  • The Summers family
  • Birthdays at the Xavier mansion
  • A package as sinister as it is stylish
  • Uncanny X-Men King-Size Annual #4
  • One version of Hell
  • A demon who is also a sorting hat
  • Another X-Men crossover conspiracy theory
  • The X-Men’s religious affiliations and lack thereof
  • Nuance of self-narration
  • Snakes with arms, and the vocalizations thereof
  • Dangers of encasing people in ice
  • The death of Stefan Szardos
  • An overly complex revenge plot
  • The origin of that one angry mob from Giant-Size X-Men #1
  • Kinda-incest
  • Reader responses to the Dark Phoenix Saga
  • X-Men vs. board games
  • The appeal of the Outback X-Men
  • Artist-character associations

NEXT EPISODE: Kurt Wagner: Warlord… of our hearts!


DEAR MISTER SINISTER lyrics by Jay Edidin & music by Tea Fougner. Performed by Scott Koblish.


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

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