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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As Mentioned in Episode 254 – Carry Each Other

June 30, 2019 Miles 5 comments

Listen to the podcast here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

All these years, Miles thought he was quoting Jean Grey, but it turned out to be Oscar Wilde. AS USUAL. (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

“Dammit, Logan never made me talk about feelings!” (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

Green ain’t your color anyway, kid. (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

I love every aspect of this segment except for every aspect of its format. Except the Jubilee silhouette at the top, that part’s pretty cool. (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

Ian Churchill, please draw more things. (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

Jean’s had tentacles for arms, so I guess legs like that aren’t that weird. (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

At last, indeed. (X-Men #30)

“I’m the best there is at what I do, and what I do is write real pretty.” (X-Men #30)

Oh god Excalibur #75 comes right after this (X-Men #30)

Aww, these guys. (X-Men #30)

Keep this panel in case you ever need to tie a bow tie! (X-Men #30)

Everyone. (X-Men #30)

These two. (X-Men #30)

Perfect vows, part 1. (X-Men #30)

Perfect vows, part 2. (With bonus second-best-kiss-ever.) (X-Men #30)

See? It is wholly appropriate, Bono. (X-Men #30)

Let’s just not think about how Logan wrote that. (X-Men #30)

Family. (X-Men #30)

Dammit, Rogue! (X-Men #30)

Double dammit, Gambit! (X-Men #30)

Tears every time. (X-Men #30)

Scott’s only been married a few hours and he’s already so much better at feelings! (X-Men #30)

You’re right, Kitty! Reality does bite! (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

Warren Kenneth Worthington III, this is not the time or place! At all! (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

Shatterstar tries. (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

Sean Cassidy: banned from every karaoke bar on the east coast. (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

Kurt’s still got it. Obviously. (X-Men: The Wedding Album)

NEXT EPISODE: Well, at least the cover’s sparkly.

254 – Carry Each Other

June 30, 2019 Miles 12 comments

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In which Nicole Miller is fashion designer to Earth-1218 and Earth-616, Jay rejects the word “bestest”, we kind of want to just read every word of X-Men #30 aloud, One is a perfect wedding song for Scott and Jean, and you save the last dance for who brought you.

X-PLAINED:

The perils of animated weddings
X-Men: The Wedding Album
Nonstandard trim sizes
Misattributed Oscar Wilde quotes
Shatterstar’s favorite Olympic event
Jean Grey’s short-lived modeling career
Computo, Commander of the Robot Hive
A most excellent wedding dress
Cursive fonts in comics
Jean Grey and Jubilation Lee, ambiguously excellent chosen family
X-Men #30
An event decades in the making
Wolverine, Master of Penmanship
Charles Xavier, reader stand-in
The largely forgotten Madelyne Pryor
The understandably tentative Rachel Summers
The bow-tie scene
A phenomenal two-page spread
A set of perfect vows
A bittersweet song for a bittersweet couple
Victor Creed, vengeful kitty-cat
Rogue and Gambit, best worst wedding guests
Video albums vs. Instagram
Beast and Banshee, jazz combo
Scott and Jean as a couple vs. individuals
The necessity of Scott and Jean’s relationship context

NEXT EPISODE: Goodbye, Phoenix. Hello, Britanic.

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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!

As Mentioned in Episode 200 – Lightning in a Bottle, with Louise Simonson

June 3, 2018 Jay 3 comments

Listen to the episode here.

LINKS & FURTHER LISTENING:

For the beginning of Louise Simonson’s X-Factor run, check out Episode 64 – Ski Lodge of Apocalypse.
We started covering Simonson’s New Mutants run in Episode 82 – Birds and Boys.
Hear about the aftermath of Doug Ramsey’s death in Episode 91 – The Saddest Story Ever Told.
For a close look at Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown, click over to Episode 114 – Meltdown.
You can learn more about the Judgment War arc in Episode 128 – A Stupid Way to Die, and Episode 133 – Feisty Little Fellow from the Stars.
Louise previously appeared on the show–along with Chris Claremont–in Episode 168 – Live at NYCC.
(We interviewed Chris at more length in Episode 100 – Unexpected Wonder.)
And we talked a lot about the mutant metaphor and current politics in Episode 164 – This Is the Mutant Revolution: Live at Rose City Comic Con.
The new Power Pack podcast we mentioned this episode is Unpacking the Power Pack. Go give ’em a listen!

200 – Lightning in a Bottle, with Louise Simonson

June 3, 2018 Jay 29 comments

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In which we celebrate a major milestone with the coolest person ever to work on the X-books and look back at the last four-plus years of the podcast; and nobody ends up on trial at the Hague.

NEXT WEEK: Jay & Miles take a much-needed vacation.

NEXT EPISODE: The X-Men take the fight to Mojoworld!

Check out our blog for links to the stuff we discussed in this episode!

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!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 142 – The Monster at the End of This Comic

January 9, 2017 Jay 7 comments

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Buy prints at Redbubble, or contact David to purchase the original!

Apocalypse using his powers: never not funny.(X-Factor #51)

Ship, no. (X-Factor #51)

Meet Opal Tanaka, your new favorite X-Factor supporting character! (X-Factor #51)

HE’S SO FULL OF FEELINGS, YOU GUYS (X-Factor #51)

I know it’s not supposed to be funny, but it really is. (X-Factor #52)

We’ve all basically been on this date, right? (X-Factor #52)

Terry Shoemaker’s Bobby Drake is delightful. (X-Factor #52)

Hiiiiii, The Locust. (X-Factor #52)

And again: Clearly not supposed to be comical, and yet… (X-Factor #52)

Aw, these two. (X-Factor #53)

Well, that’s awkward. (X-Factor #53)

Jean Grey: striding into the future with two middle fingers raised to fate. (X-Factor #53)

And now for something completely different! (X-Factor #55)

Perfect moment is perfect. (X-Factor #55)

Wellp. (X-Factor #55)

He’ll turn out to have been an Infectia monster and therefore doomed anyway, but that doesn’t really change the fact that Beast just kicked a dude in front of a train. (X-Factor #55)

NEXT EPISODE: Happy birthday, Kitty! HAVE SOME MORE SUBTEXT!

FURTHER LISTENING:

For more on Scott and Jean’s Central Park conversation (and an especially ironic listen this week), check out Episode 22 – Through Death and Through Life!

142 – The Monster at the End of This Comic

January 9, 2017 Jay 35 comments

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In which Jay and Miles make a personal announcement; moles (probably) don’t lay eggs; Angel is full of angst and flechettes; there’s always room for cello; and no matter how complicated our personal lives get, X-Factor’s will always be worse!

X-PLAINED:

The Tanaka family business
Jay & Miles vs. time travel
Some personal stuff that’s going on
Our definitive Iceman artist
A whole lot of child endangerment
Two reasons not to eat cereal from the 1980s
X-Factor #51-53 and 55
Cable’s first word
Slightly dubious zoning
Charlotte Jones
Opal Tanaka
Mole
Chicken Wings
Grover, but not that Grover
B-grade Sabretooth
A double date
Giant bugs
The Locust (August Hopper)
A walk in the park
A failed proposal
What we talk about when we talk about retcons

NEXT EPISODE: Happy Birthday, Shadowcat!

You can find the 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!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

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

As Mentioned in Episode 133 – Feisty Little Fellow from the Stars

November 8, 2016 Jay One comment

Listen to the episode here.

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

YAYBO! We’re launching our brand new TeePublic shop with a brand new design from artist Scott Koblish and designer Dylan Todd!

You’re hearing this in the Strangers’ voices from Dark City, too, right? (X-Factor #48)

I, however, am thoroughly impressed. Look at that snazzy Kirby-designed dude! (X-Factor #48)

Including this panel mostly for ZZ-105’s adorable flailing. (X-Factor #48)

Aw, man, Beast. Never change. I mean, I guess aside from the extended series of self-induced mutations. (X-Factor #48)

Well, that’s awkward on a lot of levels. (X-Factor #48)

Iceman’s core personality traits involve both reluctance to kill and overcompensating like whoa. (X-Factor #49)

“Tell you what–I won’t tell the others about ‘Wugga Wugga Wugga’ if you don’t mention the hat.” (X-Factor #49)

Ship is such a good bro. (X-Factor #49)

SMASH THE STATE! (X-Factor #49)

Look at that creepy little smirk! (X-Factor #50)

It wouldn’t be X-Factor without some good old-fashioned baby theft! (X-Factor #50)

NO SPACE GODS NO SPACE MASTERS (X-Factor #50)

WOW. (X-Factor #50)

“Knowledge–and twenty-seven hours of smooth jazz classics!” (X-Factor #50)

Meanwhile, this nonsense. (X-Factor #50)

NEXT EPISODE: Live from VVCBF. And yes, the guitar gets played.

133 – Feisty Little Fellow from the Stars (Judgment War, Part 2)

November 7, 2016 Jay 23 comments

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In which the plot thickens; Jay and Miles fix Avatar; Ship is a good bro; you are in space right now; the Beginagains go full This Island Earth; Cyclops weaponizes love; voting is really important; and you’re listening to ten straight hours of soft jazz and subversion on ZZ-105

X-PLAINED:

The other Dazzler (Bertram Worthington)
Our newest t-shirt
X-Factor #48-50
A metaphor within a metaphor, in space
The first half of Judgment War (briefly) (again)
A prisoner exchange
Hairstyles of the possessed and famous
Proper use of Cable
A case for retcons
Iceman vs. Archangel
A feisty little fellow from the stars
The secret origin of Ship
The Celestials
The core of Iceman’s personality
Several kisses
Beast and the Rejects
Some terrible hats
An unfair fight
A nefarious plot
Contagious heroism
Arishem
The power of love
Why we use the word “queer”
Several theoretical and unlikely crossovers

NEXT EPISODE: Live at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, with musical guest Scott Koblish!

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!