White Queen – Page 6 – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 275 – End of the Summer

December 1, 2019 Jay One comment

Listen to the episode here!

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

HI, PROSH. (X-Force #39)

Look at this charming weirdo. (X-Force #39)

You see what I mean about the frolicking? (X-Force #39)

Damn skippy! (X-Force #39)

Well, that can’t be good. (X-Force #39)

I’M NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING (X-Force #39)

This whole issue has a very Looney Toons vibe. (X-Factor #107)

It’s good that they can find common ground. (X-Factor #107)

Gravity: she’s a harsh mistress. (X-Factor #107)

Again: I really love the way the art here leans into Strong Guy’s inherent cartoonishness. (X-Factor #107)

Ouch. (X-Factor #107)

That cover! (Uncanny X-Men #318)

The choker really does seem to have an extra layer of symbolism, especially considering the color vs. the rest of her outfit. (Uncanny X-Men #318)

You tried, buddy. (Uncanny X-Men #318)

Serious X-Terminators vibes, right? (Uncanny X-Men #318)

“But, y’know, good luck with that.” (Uncanny X-Men #318)

She’s not wrong, Warren. (Uncanny X-Men #318)

…it works, though. (Uncanny X-Men #318)

NEXT EPISODE: The Soul Sword Trilogy!

LINKS & FURTHER CRYPTIDS:

Jay co-wrote a Thor novel! You can pre-order it here, if you are so inclined.
For more on Fred Dukes and confronting and subverting the fatphobic tropes around his characterization, listen to Episode 240 – Live at ECCC, feat. Vita Ayala, Seanan McGuire, & Leah Williams!
“End of the Summer” is a really good song.

275 – End of the Summer

December 1, 2019 Jay 9 comments

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In which Professor is too cool for the Phalanx; fatphobia is significantly more dangerous than Fred Dukes; Strong Guy catches a plane; Emma Frost will not let you coast; Jubilee says goodbye to the X-Men; and it’s probably for the best that we have avoided corporate advertisers.

X-PLAINED:

Mr. M
Thor: Metal Gods
Ship (more) (again)
The Phalanx vs. the Borg
Several cover homages
X-Force #39
X-Factor #107
Uncanny X-Men #318
Prosh
The myriad delights of embodiment
A complex theory about Leprechauns
Benefits of single-issue stories
Strong Guy vs. the Blob
Strong Guy vs. Gravity
Strong Guy vs. an airplane
Strong Guy vs. biology
Several explosions
The kids of Generation X
Deluxe-format comics
The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning
Goodbyes
Dazzler’s relative immortality
Jay’s X-Men Happy Meal Toy wish list
How to make a page-accurate Warlock toy

NEXT EPISODE: The Soul Sword Trilogy

Check out 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!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 271 – Abs for Days

November 3, 2019 Jay 3 comments

Listen to the episode here.

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

And we open our cover spotlight series with Monet, who is, for some reason, tiptoeing in big clunky boots. (Uncanny X-Men #316)

A name AND implied backstory? Yeah, she’s doomed. (Uncanny X-Men #316)

Okay, yeah, Kubert’s Banshee can get it. (Uncanny X-Men #316)

This is actually a great look. Too bad it’s a Phalanx doppelgänger. (Uncanny X-Men #316)

There they are, folks: Banshee’s abs. (Uncanny X-Men #316)

Next up: Synch! (X-Men #36)

He just looks so wrong with the intact glasses! (X-Men #36)

Showing a bunch of predominantly white cops holding guns on an unarmed black teenager while claiming that superpowers are the only issue in play is a pretty good illustration of exactly how the mutant metaphor fails at intersectionality. (X-Men #36)

Oh, hey, the Phalanx got legit scary! (X-Men #36)

[whispered] but why does the phalanx need abs (X-Men #36)

Heck, yeah, dynamic covers! (Uncanny X-Men #317)

The gang’s (almost) all here! (Uncanny X-Men #317)

Seriously, he might as well just wear a t-shirt that says “I’m a supervillain pretending to be a teenager.” (Uncanny X-Men #317)

nope (Uncanny X-Men #317)

For those of you wondering: Yes, they will eventually hook up. (Uncanny X-Men #317)

What I’m mostly getting from this is that the Phalanx offers great dental. (Uncanny X-Men #317)

Chekhov’s teleportation accident. (Uncanny X-Men #317)

Monet is actually both of her younger sisters right now, but try not to think too much about it. (Uncanny X-Men #317)

I liked the last one better. (X-Men #37)

Definitely the French lessons. (X-Men #37)

Husk’s powers are so gross and awesome! (X-Men #37)

Such a cool use of layout. (X-Men #37)

Aw, man. (X-Men #37)

NEXT EPISODE: No puppy for Forge.

LINKS & FURTHER TRAVELS:

If you like picture books, it’s worth taking some time to check out the work of Peter Sís.

271 – Abs for Days (The Phalanx Covenant, Part 1 of 3)

November 3, 2019 Jay 18 comments

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In which we’re finally both back in the virtual studio; Generation X is the new Inferno; the Phalanx Covenant begins; we’re not talking about Hickman in our coverage of this story; Banshee is the adult in the room; the Phalanx is pretty sexist; and gross powers are cool.

X-PLAINED:

Blink
Peter Sís
The Phalanx Covenant
“Generation Next” (but not Generation Next)
Uncanny X-Men #316-317
X-Men #36-37
Yet another way to do a crossover event
Some very good visual branding
What we’re not covering
Sexy Banshee
Retired Colonel Gayle Cordbecker
Monet St. Croix (kind of)
Coaxing
Early days of the Internets
Everett Thomas (Synch)
The fate of Sara Grey
Phalanx Phashion
Angelo Espinosa (Skin)
Clarice Ferguson (Blink)
Some guy allegedly named Gregor
Harvest
A very expensive house
An apparent death

NEXT EPISODE: Forge does not get a puppy.

NOTE: Jay was right: LiveJournal first launched in 1999.

Check out 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!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 269 – Double Dactyl

October 20, 2019 Jay 3 comments

Listen to the episode here!

LINKS & FURTHER VILLAINY

See Jay’s Halloween 2013 Quentin Quire costume.
We never miss an opportunity to link to Sigrid Ellis’s excellent essay, “Kitty Queer”!
Support the Bish & Jubez Kickstarter for a collected edition of one of our favorite fanworks!

SEANAN MCGUIRE IS COOL AS HELL

Hear her talk Emma Frost in last year’s NYCC Sofa Special, and story and legacy in our ECCC 2019 live episode!
Here’s her website!
You can also follow her on Twitter and Tumblr!

269 – NYCC 2019 Sofa Special: Double Dactyl, feat. Seanan McGuire

October 20, 2019 Jay 16 comments

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In which Seanan and Jay break down their favorite X-Villains; technically everyone is always cosplaying Mystique; Magneto remains the gold standard; and we have some concerns about Eye Boy.

X-PLAINED:

Candy Corn, and our official stance thereon
Halloween candy economy
Which X-Character to dress as for your office Halloween party
X-Villains
What makes Magneto tick
Magneto as a Holocaust survivor
What makes a villain redeemable
Face turns
The last DDR machine in New York, and denizens thereof
An X-Villain musical
Mystique
How to make Daken work
Avengers as antagonists
Sinister’s goals
Bringing back Cameron Hodge
Meggan vs. Brexit
Heel turns

NEXT EPISODE: Stokes + Stokes!

Check out 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!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 262 – Science Fiction Double Feature

September 1, 2019 Jay One comment

Listen to the episode here.

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

He’s a fun guy. (X-Men #311)

Aw. (X-Men #311)

Uncool, Sabretooth. Uncool. (X-Men #311)

Bishop is rad as hell. (X-Men #311)

See, this is why you should’ve taken her to the movies. (X-Men #311)

Emma’s got a new look. (X-Men #312)

Cool, but not the coolest. (X-Men #313)

No freakin’ kidding. (X-Men #313)

Ah, THAT’S the coolest. (X-Men #313)

Storm is so cool. (X-Men #313)

This club is the worst. (X-Men #311)

$The Phalanx, in a small fraction of its glory. (X-Men #312)$

The Phalanx, in a small fraction of its glory. (X-Men #312)

They’re very good friends. (X-Men #312)

Gambit is legitimately fairly charming, at least as drawn by Joe Madureira. (X-Men #312)

One of several shovel talks. (X-Men #312)

Oh, snap. (X-Men #312)

Familiar faces, and somewhat less familiar bodies. (X-Men #312)

And then, another shovel talk. (X-Men #312)

NEXT EPISODE: Remember this dude?

The Designing X-Women art isn’t online yet, but when it is, we’ll drop a link here!

262 – Science Fiction Double Feature

September 1, 2019 Jay 14 comments

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In which the Phalanx would make pretty fun novelty candy; “B-Plot” implies that we only have 26; nobody will take Jubilee to the movies; Repo Man and Repo: The Genetic Opera are in fact two entirely different films; Storm is a fashion icon; Sabretooth is the monster in the basement; it’s really rough to be the kid on the X-Men; Yuko gives Gambit a shovel talk; and a number of familiar faces return to the page.

X-PLAINED:

One of the many problems with Sentinels
Uncanny X-Men #311-313
Whether the Phalanx is squishy
Robo-Candy
Plotline disambiguation
A cult classic
Carl the X-Cutioner (again)
Creative use of Bishop’s powers
Storm fashion
Technical difficulties
A decision Iceman will come to regret
Bishop vs. Sabretooth
What If Vol. 2 #87
Variations on Iceman’s appearance
Early seeds of Generation X
A night out with Yukio
A heavily euphemized relationship
Xavier’s mutant underground
The Phalanx
A shovel talk
The return of Steven Lang (and some other people)
How Cyclops cries
Cassandra Nova’s signature look

NEXT EPISODE: Additional and Varyingly Literal Blasts from the Past

NOTE: Per our expert source Doctor Internet, what Miles knows as “water weenies” are mostly sold as “water wigglers” or “water snakes.”

Check out 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!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

219 – Brutal Hearts: An Appreciation of Emma Frost (feat. Seanan McGuire, Leah Williams, Tea Fougner, Kel McDonald, and Diana Fox)

October 22, 2018 Jay 27 comments

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In which Jay recruits X-writers Seanan McGuire and Leah Williams, cosplayer Tea Fougner, and innocent bystanders Kel McDonald and Diana Fox, for a night of Emma Frost appreciation.

X-PLAINED:

Why Emma Frost is amazing; why we love her; and why you should, too.

NEXT EPISODE: Return of the RCX!

WHITE QUEEN COCKTAIL RECIPE:

Combine:

1.5 oz gin
.5 oz rose elderflower syrup
Splash of elixir vegetal
Prosecco to fill glass

Top off with:

Smoke bitters

No visual companion this week! Go read some comics about Emma Frost!

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 213 – Live from FlameCon

September 9, 2018 Jay 9 comments

Listen to the episode here!

Live at FlameCon! Left to Right: Leah, Sina, Mags, Jay, Miles

Look who finally got a proper con banner!

OH MY GOSH LOOK AT ALL THESE SKETCHES! (We also forgot to photograph a ton of the ones we did, including one of Super Doctor Astronaut Peter Corbeau in a Speedo. We are very sorry.)