As Mentioned in Episode 465 – Right in the Fabric

October 20, 2024 Jay Leave a comment

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Death’s new look. (Astonishing X-Men #1)

He just really likes that snowboard, okay? Leave him alone! You’re not his real dad! (Astonishing X-Men #1)

FORESHADOWING! (Astonishing X-Men #1)

The sassiest severed head since Cameron Hodge. (Astonishing X-Men #1)

Meet the Mannite moppets! (Astonishing X-Men #1)

This Final Fantasy-looking motherfucker. (Astonishing X-Men #2)

Weird but rad. (Astonishing X-Men #2)

Sausage! (Astonishing X-Men #2)

Mind control or just psychic startle? You be the judge! (Astonishing X-Men #3)

It’s fine; he’s a Skrull. (Astonishing X-Men #3)

NEXT EPISODE: All things animated Rogue, with Lenore Zann!

465 – Right in the Fabric

October 20, 2024 Jay 11 comments

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In which “Astonishing X-Men” is something of a misnomer; Death has a good look; sometimes you just need a guy who swoops; Miles stops worrying and learns to love Nate Grey; Telekinesis is silly looking; “Wolverine” dies; and nothing really changes.

X-PLAINED:

Astonishing X-Men (miniseries)
Ambience
Nina (again)
Mannites (again)
The third-best way to get out of awkward conversations
The Hulkbuster base
Bastion (again)
Bastion’s worst nightmare
Death (a new one)
Fiddly bits
Cable’s Psimitar
Telekinetic snowboarding
Headcase
Darco
Glub
Beautiful Dreamer
Grace
Totem
Things to do with a severed head
The Changing
The (apparent) death of Wolverine
How to salvage this miniseries
Hypothetical X-crossovers

NEXT EPISODE: Lenore Zann joins us to talk all things Rogue!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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!

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463 – The Fart Ghost That Walks Like a Manhattan

September 22, 2024 Jay 5 comments

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In which Gambit is fundamentally goofy; t’ieves love research; Magneto was ripped; Professor Xavier remains a jerk; Miles attempts to convey something very fundamentally visual in an audio format; Marrow is adorable; the X-Men pretty much disband (again); and a miniseries is the opposite of a vacation.

X-PLAINED:

Where Wolverine went
Gambit Annual 1999
Uncanny X-Men #372
X-Men #92
A lot of backstory
A very cute plastic goose
What Gambit does in his free time
Those weird fluid-filled tubes they put people in all the time for some reason
Gambit’s abs
The fart ghost (Mary Purcell)
Manhattan, Indiana
A very minor continuity error
Fart ghost metaphysics
A very bad idea
A muppetworthy death
Dream’s various ends
X-pajamas
Professional dinosaurs
Thinkers
Theoretical Cyclops-Daredevil team-ups
X-characters recognizable as civilians

NEXT EPISODE: The return of the Damocles Foundation!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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 rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

454 – X-Men ’97, Part 2

June 30, 2024 Miles 13 comments

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SPOILER WARNING: ALL OF THEM, NONSTOP

In which Barry Windsor-Smith is too sexy for television; we know what happens when unstable molecules get struck by lightning; X-Men gets political and does it spectacularly; this Captain America would not sew the cape; Magneto continues to throw things into space; and they kissed and we missed it.

X-PLAINED:

Fabian Cortez’s name
X-Men ’97 episodes 6-10
Lifedeath I & II: a surprising adaptation
Varying levels of going in blind
A somewhat different and possibly better Forge
The Adversary vs. the Owl Queen
Stormiest and least-Stormy costumes
Professor Charles Xavier, Official Space Boyfriend
Colonialism vs. Identity
Delayed catharsis
The narrative power of altered opening credits
What makes allyship effective (and not)
Justified mutant anger
The worst version of Nina DaCosta
What makes Prime Sentinels scary
Summers family feels
The best damned fight scenes out there
Bastion, robo-avatar of conservative white patriarchy
Simultaneous crossovers
A psychic gay bar
A last boss arena
Acolyte equivalencies
Phoenix Ex Machina
Crying
Whether Magneto was right
Apoca-futures and Apoca-pasts
A bulletin board and our hopes for its contents
Soft Serve
Kitty Pryde’s coffee shop AU
X-Men ’97 as the perfect gateway

NEXT EPISODE: Skrulls!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

The Judgment of Magneto by Asher Elbein

No visual companion this week!

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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!

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453 – X-Men ’97, Part 1

June 23, 2024 Jay 21 comments

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SPOILER WARNING: ALL OF THEM, NONSTOP

In which we put the comics on hold to take a look at X-Men ’97; it is still always Inferno in here; Wolverine is best used sparingly; a Marvel show finally embraces politics; Wolverine is best in small doses; Madeylne Pryor still always deserves better; Jubilee grows up; and we are all in on this series.

X-PLAINED:

“Beyond Good and Evil”
X-Men: The Animated Series and our respective feelings about it
X-Men ’97, episodes 1-5
Watching X-Men ’97 with and without context
Making animated Cyclops work
The Magneto’s-hair-length morality index
Politics
Voices
Adaptation pacing
Agency
Abcissa
Foreshadowing
Time compression
Horniest Rogue
Death in cartoons
A metaphor
Nonbinary identity in 1997
Character evolution

NEXT EPISODE: Episodes 6-10

No visual companion this week!

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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!

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As Mentioned in Episode 449 – Dressing the X-Men, with Russell Dauterman

May 12, 2024 Miles Leave a comment

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The Marvel Art of Russell Dauterman!

Storm’s X-Men Red design.

The Scarlet Witch’s new design.

Nightcrawler’s original design by Dave Cockrum.

Hellfire Gala redesigns!

And some close-ups.

Jean Grey costume variant cover for X-Men #1.

Rogue costume variant cover for Excalibur #18.

Gambit costume variant cover for Gambit #5.

Thor costume variant cover for Thor #31.

Speaking of Thor – Russell’s wraparound cover for The Mighty Thor #1.

More covers! Here’s Marauders #1.

Scarlet Witch #3.

Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey & Emma Frost #1.

Variant cover, X-Men Legends #1.

Variant cover, X-Men ’97 #1.

NEXT EPISODE: Jay & Miles live at the Clinton Street Theater!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING

You still have a few days to be part of The Marvel Art of Russell Dauterman Kickstarter campaign!
Hear Russell and Kris Anka talk Adam X and more on Episode 27 – NYCC 2014 Special!
Russell’s website!
Russell on Instagram!

449 – Dressing the X-Men, with Russell Dauterman

May 12, 2024 Jay 6 comments

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In which artist Russell Dauterman joins us to discuss super-powered costume design!

X-PLAINED:

Why it’s important to get a professional to design your superhero costume
Why Miles doesn’t trust the government
Russell’s history at Marvel
Designing for the Hellfire Gala
Mutant fashion
The word “fashionize”
Iconic looks
Modernizing superhero costumes
Powers vs. personality
Punk goddess Storm
Designing for drawability
Magic hair
Russell’s influences
Definitive Rogue costumes
X-Men ‘97
Best X-team costumes
Jay’s holy grail cosplay
Magic hair, cosplayed
Costume retrospectives
Where to find Russell online
Evil twin trends of the 1990s
Fuck You Pink

NEXT EPISODE: Jay & Miles Live at the Clinton Street Theater!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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!

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As Mentioned in Episode 442 – MimeQuest 64

March 3, 2024 Miles One comment

Listen to the episode here.

A story in four parts. (X-Men Unlimited #22)

They have fun. (X-Men Unlimited #22)

In a world of clean-lined cartoony art, Logan is craggy. (X-Men Unlimited #22)

#roasted (X-Men Unlimited #22)

Any of the X-Men could wear that map as a dress! (X-Men Unlimited #22)

(New) Girl Talk (X-Men Unlimited #22)

A well-armed mime-litia. (X-Men Unlimited #22)

Patrick Gleason, master of visually engaging conversations. (X-Men Unlimited #22)

And you told your math teacher you’d never need to know this stuff in real life. (X-Men Unlimited #22)

Shadowcat and Marrow miniseries now, please! (X-Men Unlimited #22)

See, it’s funny, because normally MetroCards charge you! (X-Men Unlimited #22)

Space Ghost: “Dames are like mustard: they taste great on a sandwich. But when you’re not eating a sandwich… they just sit there in the fridge… on a shelf… in a jar… labeled… mustard.” (X-Men Unlimited #22)

1963! (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

1969! (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

1978! (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

1980 (but in the future of 2013)! (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

Back to 1975! (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

1980 again, but not in an alternate future this time! (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

1982! (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

1985! (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

1999! (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

1993! (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

Still 1993, but we had to include the Hate Goblin. (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

More 1993. Doom needs a bigger vacuum cleaner. (X-Men / Doctor Doom Annual 1998)

NEXT TIME: Miles talks X-Retail with Katie Pryde of Books With Pictures!

LINKS AND FURTHER READING:

RSVP for our live episode and 10th birthday party on April 13th in Portland!
Follow us on Bluesky!
Jay’s Voice of Latveria episode about X-Men / Doom Annual 1998!
And a Mutant: Intersectionality in Marjorie Liu’s Astonishing X-Men by Stephanie Burt!

442 – MimeQuest 64

March 3, 2024 Jay 5 comments

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In which Marrow remains a connoisseur of dead rats; Jay has opinions about the NYC Subway system; U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. are snazzy dressers; Doctor Doom gets excited about Onslaught; Magneto can have a rocket pack if he wants; villainous game recognizes villainous game; weird retcons are the best retcons; and you should totally come to our birthday party.

X-PLAINED:

A peculiar side effect of Wolverine’s healing factor
Jay & Miles on Bluesky (and other social media)
Our upcoming 10^th birthday party and live show (and related announcements)
X-Men Unlimited #22
X-Men/Doctor Doom Annual 1998
An unpleasant way to wake up
That’s so Kraven
Avengers and transit cops
U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M.
Flag Smasher
Some miscellaneous New York Subway trivia
Audience stand-ins (and how the reading experience changes when the audience stand-in isn’t human-passing)
Additional New York Subway trivia
Premonitions of Onslaught
An X-Men highlight reel
A delightful little retcon
One way to ruin X-Men #137
Healing factor preferences

NEXT EPISODE: Miles and Katie Pryde X-Plain Comics Retail!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

RSVP to our birthday shenanigans!

Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

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 rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 430 – The Bad Feelings Box

November 19, 2023 Jay Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

It’s always awkward when you run into someone you know out of context. (Uncanny X-Men #359)

I don’t know why Rogue palming Mystique’s face like a basketball is so funny, but it really is. (Uncanny X-Men #359)

Aw, these two. (Uncanny X-Men #359)

Spoiler: They do not actually fight each other. (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)

Every supervillain, ever. (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)

It’s Bring-a-Twink night at the poker game! (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)

Psycho Man may have his issues, but you’ve gotta hand it to his UI design. (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)

I love that Kirby armor. (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)

INVISIBLE BEAR TRAP (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)

By this point, half the superheroes in the Marvel Universe are anxiously awaiting their turn to toss Wolverine. (Uncanny X-Men / Fantastic Four Annual 1998)