Comic Book Bears Podcast
Arts
Comic Book Bears/Bill Zanowitz
A group of hairy heavy gay guys talking about comic books. (But you don't have to be a hairy heavy gay guy to listen in!)
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #245: Of Sandman and Super Pets
On this extra-long new episode, the CBB boys (Bill, Caleb and Steve) reconvene to discuss the landmark television adaptation on Netflix of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series! Based on the DC/Vertigo comic book series that originally ran from 1989 to 1996, The Sandman tells the story of Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams and one of the seven siblings that make up The Endless, is captured in an occult ritual in 1916. After being held captive for 106 years, Morpheus escapes and sets out to restore order to his realm, The Dreaming. And if that were not enough, we also discuss DC League of Super-Pets! The computer-animated superhero comedy film is based on the DC Comics characters with voice talent including Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, and Keanu Reeves. It tells the story of Superman's pet dog Krypto and shelter dog Ace who work with other animals to defeat an unexpected adversary with a connection to Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor! And if that STILL were not enough, the fellas get some new comic book talk in!
02:15:1130/08/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #244 - The One Where They Talk About Thor: Love and Thunder and SDCC Despite Audio Problems
One of this summer's big movie hits was Thor: Love and Thunder, the 29th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is directed by Taika Waititi and stars Chris Hemsworth once again as Thor alongside Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Waititi, Russell Crowe, and Natalie Portman. In the film, Thor attempts to find inner peace, but must return to action and recruit Valkyrie, Korg and Jane Foster - who is now the Mighty Thor—to stop Gorr the God Butcher, a new adversary who is on a quest to eliminate all gods from existence! Steve and Bill are on hand to offer up what they thought of the movie along with discussing some of the news that came out of this year's San Diego Comic Con and head over to the virtual spinner rack to discuss a few new books. Also it is pretty much an Asgardian miracle that we are delivering this audio episode to you: we encountered Ragnarok-level problems with the mix. There may be a few portions where Steve is a bit too low in the mix but we are proud to still be able to bring our 244th episode to you!
01:27:5828/08/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #243: Stabbity Bunny Strikes Again!
The CBB boys are thrilled to welcome back Richard Rivera to the show! A veteran guest of ours and long time friend of the podcast, Richard is the Co-Publisher of Scout Comics and the writer/creator of the fan favorite series Stabbity Bunny. Stabbity is a plush toy rabbit that has been passed down generations in a family that has been hunted by supernatural forces for almost 100 years. It is now in the hands of young Grace Lee and we discover that Stabbity is far more than a toy! Richard is here to discuss the latest Stabbity-related Kickstarter campaign for collected editions of Stabbity Bunny Volumes 1 and 2 and much, much more!
01:46:0831/07/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #242: HeroesCon 2022 Wrap-Up
HeroesCon 2022 marked the return of the venerable North Carolina comic book convention for the first time since 2019 AND the show's 40th anniversary! But on top of that it also marked the monumental first meeting in person of our own Bill Z and Caleb! So pop in those ear buds us as we recount the great time we buds had at the show! And joining us on the show to celebrate our time at Heroes is another attendee, our good friend Jon Runyan of the A Comic Book Look podcast! And just where was NC native Steve during all this!?!? Well, hit play and find out!
01:48:3530/07/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #241: One More Pride Month Spinner Rack
New Comic Book Bears audio episode! We are thrilled to have Bryan rejoin us after his time away to discuss a spate of new books in one more June episode! Steve and Bill enthusiastically reunite with him in the CBBearcave to chat about the DC Pride 2022 anthology, the first two issues of both Twig (Image) and The Rocketeer: The Great Race (IDW), Action Comics Annual 2022 (DC), Hulkling and Wiccan #1 (Marvel) and the latest graphic novel from one of our favorite creators Joe Glass (with Vince Underwood), The Miracles - and much much more! Hit play and enjoy!
01:34:4730/06/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #240: Happy Pride Month 2022!!!
The CBB boys help close out Pride Month with this new audio episode recorded from our 6/6/2022 livestream! Listen in as we discuss a number of outstanding LGBTQIA+ books! Among the works that Bill Z, Caleb and Steve talk about this time around are Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Rockstar and Softboy by Sina Grace, The Life and Comics of Howard Cruse: Taking Risks in the Service of Truth by Andrew J. Kunka, Queer As All Get Out: 10 People Who've Inspired Me by Shelby Criswell, Rave by Jessica Criswell and the first issue of DC/Milestone's new take on Blood Syndicate! Happy Pride!
01:43:1930/06/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #239: Doctor Strange and the Multiversal Eulogy for George Perez
New Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! The Comic Book Bears boys (Steve, Bill Z and recent recent law school graduate Caleb) head to the multiplex in this new audio episode as they discuss Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series. The movie is directed by Sam Raimi and stars Benedict Cumberbatch resturning once again as Stephen Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez and Rachel McAdams. In the film, Strange protects America Chavez (Gomez), a teenager capable of traveling the multiverse, from an unexpected foe. On a much more somber note, the hosts also discuss the life and work of seminal comic artist artist and writer George Perez who passed away on May 6th, 2022. Listen in as we discuss his work on The New Teen Titans, Avengers, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman and many other properties. (Again we are aware that you won't be able with the audio version to follow along with the graphics as you would from our livestream so please head over to our Facebook page for a gallery of George's art that we discuss.)
01:56:2431/05/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #238: It was MURDER!
On this latest Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode, Bill Z and Steve don their Murderino caps and dive deep into Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession, a wonderful new original GN by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell from Andrews McMeel Publishing. Campbell, who is best known as a cartoonist for The New Yorker, traces the murders that have captivated her through her life, details how this is a generational interest in her family and simultaneously offers up a love letter to her fellow true crime fanatics. Murder Book is a funny, thoughtful, and highly personal blend of memoir, cultural criticism, and true crime with a focus on the often-overlooked victims of notorious killers and provides the best answers yet as to why it can so much fun to read about death and dismemberment! Also we honor the passing of comics legend Neal Adams this past April 28th with our exploration of his life and work. (We are fully aware that you won't be able with the audio version to follow along with the graphics as you would from our livestream so please head over to our Facebook page for a gallery of Neal's art that we discuss.)
01:36:3230/05/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #237: 1st Issue Special (with One #0)
The last two months has seen a slew of new DC first issues so this time around Bill Z and Steve select the National Periodical Publications option and discuss five of them! Hit play to hear our queer ursine takes on Beyond Flashpoint #0, The Rogues #1, Batman/Superman: World's Finest #1, Trial of the Amazons #1 and Naomi: Season Two #1! Add in some "geek gets" talk, a multitude of tangents and our Woofs of the Week and you got the latest Comic Book Bears audio episode!
01:29:2929/04/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #236: Once Again, Chris Cummins!
Once again, we welcome back journalist and Archie Comics Chris Cummins expert to the show! Chris recently made the news when nearly his entire comic book collection was stolen from a Philadelphia storage facility. Chris details for us what happened and offers some tips just in case you do come across comics in your travels that may have come from his collection. Then it's roundtable time as Chris joins Caleb, Steve and Bill Z to discuss recent comic books which include Fire Power (Image), Derek Mark's new effort Legendary Spirits, Sensational Wonder Woman Special (DC), Geiger 80-Page Giant (Image), Chilling Adventures in Sorcery (Archie), the Star Wars: Life Day one-shot (Marvel) and much more! Also ... JESSICA LANGE IS NUMBER ONE!!!
01:41:0827/04/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #235: The One With So Many Title Possibilities That We Are Leaving It Untitled
We were surprised we were going to have all four CBBears available to be on the mic this week but it happened! Listen in as we talk about Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg's Red Room and the controversy around a planned Maus-inspired cover, the X Lives and the X Deaths of Wolverine and what's up with Moira McTaggart, Alison Bechdel's newest book The Secret to Superhuman Strength, a new Conan adventure found in The Cimmeriam: Hour of the Dragon from Ablaze, the return of Saga after a three year absence, a look back at Ed Brubaker's Captain America and much more!!
02:15:4727/03/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #234: THE BATMAN
March 4th, 2022 saw the premiere of The Batman, the new film about the Caped Crusader directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson as the title character alongside Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell. Caleb, Steve and Bill slide down the bearpoles to the CBB cave to discuss the new movie and also provide some of their picks at classic and recent Bat-related books that they think listeners may enjoy! So press play and join us in Gotham to find out what we thought about this new cinematic take on the Dark Knight Detective!
01:39:4213/03/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #233: The Return of Will Lindus!
Once again we are delighted to welcome back Will Lindus of the Movie Bears Podcast! We love that we are able every once in a while to give this handsome gent the opportunity to talk comics on our show! We start the show off covering recent comic book news, primarily the universally despised changes to Comixology! This time the books in our figurative spinner rack include Super Massive #1 (Image), Stray Dogs (Image), Batman/Catwoman Special (DC), Catwoman: Special Day #2 (DC), Faithless III (Boom), Barbalien: Red Planet - From the World of Black Hammer (Dark Horse), Manor Black: Fire in the Blood (Dark Horse) and New Masters #1 (Image). A big guest like this deserves a big running time so strap in to join Will, Bill, Steve and Caleb for a 2-hours-and-change episode! (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band also factors in ... because why not?)
02:14:3127/02/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #232: All the S#%t Went Down in West Coast Avengers!
The Comic Book Bears Podcast is back with another new audio episode! Bill, Steve and Caleb gather together for another roundtable of four color (and some B&W) goodness! With books that range from manga to biography the discussion topics this time include Mister Miracle: The Great Escape, Hex Vet, Fire!! The Zora Neale Hurston Story, Kaiju 8 Vol. 1, Superman and Robin Special #1 and the Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus! When we hit the last one we stay on that subject for a while because ALL THE S%#T WENT DOWN IN WEST COAST AVENGERS in the 80s and 90s! Hit play and join us!
01:56:0618/02/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #231: Of Maus and Moira
The Comic Book Bears Podcast virtual cave has reopened for the first time in 2022! Join as Caleb, Bryan, Steve and Bill are all on hand for their first episode of the new year! A few days ago a Tennessee school district made international news by banning Maus, Art Spiegelman's landmark Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel about the Holocaust from being taught in its schools or being offered in its libraries. And we weigh in! As for comics discussed in our round table, this time around the subjects are Monkey Meat #1 (Image), Nightwing #87 (DC), Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman (Hodder Children's Books) and Inferno #4 (Marvel). In fact, there is a whole lot of X-Men talk if that is your thing! We even managed to prevail in having all four of us on despite technical difficulties so hit play and enjoy!
01:57:0130/01/2022
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #230: We Wish You a Beary Christmas and a Woofy New Year!
HO HO HO!!! It’s the last Comic Book Bears Podcast episode of 2021!! Before we usher in Christmas and the new year, please hit play and join all four CBB boys – Bill, Bryan, Steve and Caleb - for two hours of four color talk! On the news front we talk about Dark Horse being acquired by gaming giant Embracer Group! And on the comic book front we discuss Inferno, Robin and Batman, Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body, The Illegitimates, Superman and the Authority, Action Comics, The Thing and much more! We wish all of you the happiest of holidays and a safe and super changing of the calendar year! We will be on hiatus for a few weeks and will be rejoining you with new episodes in late January 2022!!!
02:01:1523/12/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #229: The Tryptophan Killing Joke
Keeping on keeping on with the CBB audio episodes, please join us as Caleb, Steve and Bill Z reconvene after the Thanksgiving holiday to discuss what some of their Black Friday or (Black Friday-ish) gets were. As for comic talk, Old Head by Kyle Starks, Barry Windsor Smith’s Monsters, Betty and Veronica by Adam Hughes, Frank Cho’s Fight Girls, Jim Mahfood’s Grrl Scouts and The Unbelievable Unteens: From the World of Black Hammer are among the subjects. And why are Caleb and Bill holding slabbed copies of The Killing Joke and Steve is not in the episode graphic? Well citizen, listen in and find out!
01:39:5822/12/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #228: The Eternal Hit Potato
The Comic Book Bears holiday audio campaign continues to bring you up to speed with episodes from our livestreams so harken all the way back to 11/18/2021 as Steve and Bill start the show off with a discussion of Eternals, the 26th Marvel Cinematic Universe film. Eternals is directed by Chloé Zhao with an ensemble cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Don Lee, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie. In the film, the Eternals, an immortal alien race, emerge from hiding after thousands of years to protect Earth from their ancient counterparts, the Deviants. But the reasons for their re-emergence may not be what they initially seem. After the film talk comes the funnybook talk, with Steve discussing What’s the Furthest Place From Here? and Valiant’sThe Harbinger and Bill taking a tour of recent DC #1s and a working backward look at DC’s cosmic/sci-fi comics from 2021 to the late 1950s.
01:35:0130/11/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #227: Easy Peasy, Adventuremom!
We know that you may need a few distractions from … let’s call them beloved relatives … during the Christmas break so the Comic Book Bears are proud to flood you with the first of four new audio episodes from our recent livestreams just before 12/25 hits in case you need them! In this episode, Bill Z and Steve talk about some smaller comic book conventions that they attended in November and then with Caleb the comic roundtable starts spinning with My Bad (Ahoy), Knighted (AWA/Upshot), Batman/Superman: The Authority Special (DC), Stranger Things: Tomb of Ybwen (Dark Horse), Pass Me By: Electric Vice (Renegade Arts Entertainment) and Adventureman (Image) among the books that come up in discussion!
01:35:1930/11/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #226: The One Where They Talk About Stargirl Season 2 and Bill's Nirvana Hat
Taken from our Livestream on November 4th, this episode finds Steve and Bill discussing what went down on Stargirl Season 2! We both waxed very poetically about Season 1 last year so tune in and find out what the CBB boys thought of this season that found Courtney and her fellow JSAers in Blue Valley taking on Eclipso as the big bad! Then we continue on with comic talk with this episode's spinner rack featuring Deadbox, Rainbow Bridge, ET ER and a round up of recent DC Comics from Bill with a special focus on the Locke and Key/Sandman Universe crossover concluding!
01:25:3630/11/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #225: From Inner Harbor to Arrakis
Join us for another convention wrap up episode, this time concerning this year's Baltimore Comic Con! Bill and Steve attended and had the pleasure of Jon Runyan of A Comic Book Look podcast joining them as their roommate for the weekend ... AND he joins us again for this episode! Listen in as we hear about encounters with creators, panels attended, treasures acquired and more! Then, Caleb joins in on a discussion of the new cinematic vision of Frank Herbert's Dune from director Denis Villeneuve! And of course a healthy dose of comic book talk!
01:46:1322/11/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #224: The One Where Bill Z Goes to New York Comic Con and We All Ramble On
As the Comic Book Bears Podcast takes a Thanksgiving break from video livestreaming we are taking advantage of that downtime to catch up on the audio versions of our episodes. This episode was recorded after one of our hosts made it out to New York Comic Con so listen in to Bill Z’s wrap up of that con’s goings on and be prepared for some rambling with tangents ranging from Jon Kent’s bisexuality in the current Superman comics to the virtues of one particular punk group from the UK. We don’t go off the rails so greatly that we don’t get to the round tabling of recent comics with Inferno (Jonathan Hickman’s denouement to his overseeing the X-Men line), A Thing Called Love (an Image book from the wonderful Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli), Turbo Kid: Apple's Lost Adventure (from Happy Tank, a new Behemoth Comics imprint), Chicken Devil (a comedy thriller from Aftershock), Suicide Squad: Get Joker! (Brian Azzarello and Alex Maleev tackling Task Force X for DC Black Label) and much more!
01:49:2331/10/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #223 - Our Favorite Comic Book Movies!
We decided to head over to the movie theater section of the Comic Book Bearcave this time around ... it's a big cave ... as we each discuss our five favorite comic book films of all time! The Dark Knight! Guardians of the Galaxy! Dredd! Superman! Ant-Man! Sin City! Avengers: Endgame! Road to Perdition! Watchmen! Captain America: The Winter Soldier! The Rocketeer! Some of these are among our favorite comic book based films; some of these aren't! And one even makes all of our lists! Listen in and find out!
01:47:3931/10/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue # 221 - Shang-Chi and Zipatone Out the A@#$%!
On this new audio episode, recorded on 9/23/2021, Steve and Caleb review Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings which is the 25th Marvel Cinematic Universe film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Simu Liu as Shang-Chi alongside Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Ben Kingsley, and Tony Leung. In the film, Shang-Chi is forced to confront his past when his father Wenwu, the leader of the Ten Rings organization, draws him and his sister Xialing into a search for a supposedly mythical village. Bill then joins them for some comic news talk about this year’s Batman Day and IDW’s new distribution. Bill and Caleb get all lawyery over the Ditko Estate suit against Marvel and about the public domain and then finally comic book talk! As this is a longer-than-usual episode, there are a lot of books covered including Pyrate Queen, Midnighter Annual 2021, Green Lantern Annual 2021, Superman: Red and Blue, Batman: Urban Legends, Maw, Die, Wiccan and Hulking, Batman 89, Superman 78 and Pennyworth!
01:57:4129/09/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #222 - Once Again, Nottingham's David Hazan!
Time for another new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Recorded on 9/16/2021 the CBB boys are thrilled to welcome back to the show “the koala of comics” David Hazan, the writer of Nottingham from Mad Cave Studios! Nottingham, an amazing reinterpretation of the Robin Hood legend with art by Shane Connery Volk, recently completed its first arc and those five issues are collected in Nottingham Vol. 1: Death and Taxed (available now digitally and in TPB on 11/3!) As seen in this esoteric take on medieval noir, the Sheriff of Nottingham hunts a serial killer with a penchant for tax collectors. His investigation makes him the target of England's most nefarious power-brokers while the Merry Men, terrorists lurking amongst the trees of Sherwood, are led by an enigma known only as "Hood." David talks to us about the collected edition, some of what he has planned next and then joins Bill Z and Steve for an international comic book roundtable!
01:48:2529/09/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #220 - With Fanny Galactic's Chris Fildes
We are starting to get the Comic Book Bears Podcast cave in order again and are finally releasing the audio versions of our livestreams over the last few weeks and this will be the first of four such episodes to bring things up to speed. On this episode, originally recorded on 9/9/2021, the CBB boys welcome to the show Chris Fildes! Chris is the author of Fanny Galactic: Tuck to the Future and he is here to talk about its sequel Crime + D'Sorder, which like its predecessor was the subject of a successful Kickstarter campaign! Imagine waking up and finding the world has been taken over by crazed drag queens! That's what happened in the world of Fanny Galactic which saw the unlikely emergence of a reluctant drag queen super-heroine. Now in a brand new story Chris gives you the rise of Sybil D'Sorder - drag queen super-villain! This comedic thriller is the perfect book for LGBTQ+ comic fans and those looking for something different and fun! Tune in to hear all about it along with Chris's influences and history with comics along with a few books that Bill and Steve discuss - including Last Flight Out (Dark Horse), We Found a Monster (DC) - and much, much more!
01:31:0829/09/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #219 - Comics That Make You Cry ... Twice!
Recorded before we took a break for the Labor Day weekend, Steve, Caleb and Bill convened in the Comic Book Bear cave for a roundtable on recent (and one not so recent) comic books. The funnybook talk starts after a whole lotta tangents at beginning ranging from current comic book related TV to the passing of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. So … Descender. Kang the Conqueror. The Trial of Magneto. The Other History of the DC Universe. Superman: Red and Blue. John Lewis’s Run. A 1981 UK reprinting of Jim Steranko’s Captain America work. Which of these … and there is more than one … are the comics that made us cry … twice?
01:40:1430/08/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #218 - FCBD and More from the CBB Four!
All four Comic Book Bears - Bryan, Bill, Caleb and Steve - are on hand for this new episode! This past August 14th marked the latest Free Comic Book Day and there were nearly 50 book offerings this year; listen in to hear which comics each of the CBB boys selected as their picks! The Eternals trailer, the comic books supply shortage of boxes, bags and boards, the recent Substack deals for top creators, the Paris Review (seriously!) along with comics such as Runaways, Cable, It's Not What You Thought It Would Be, the 2021 Flash Annual and more are among the other discussion topics this time around!
02:03:0230/08/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #217: THE Suicide Squad!
The CBB boys return to the movie theatre to discuss The Suicide Squad, the tenth film in the DC Extended Universe! The film was written and directed by James Gunn and stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, and Pete Davidson. The covert task force of convicts known as the Suicide Squad are sent to the island nation of Corto Maltese after its government is overthrown by an anti-American regime, and are tasked with destroying the Nazi-era laboratory Jötunheim which holds a secretive experiment known as "Project Starfish". Tune in to hear what Caleb, Bill and Steve thought about the movie and afterwards they get to yapping about current comics with I Am Not Starfire (DC), The Delicacy (Top Shelf), Not All Robots (AWA) and others among the books discussed!
01:40:3330/08/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #216 - Our First Graphic Novels
Bill and Steve head over to the bookshelves instead of the spinner rack on this special episode as the CBB boys talk about the earliest graphic novels that they enjoyed reading! From the first Superman and Batman hardcover collections in the 70s to Peanuts treasuries to groundbreaking collected works from the 80s like Maus, the Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen to projects like the very last collaboration of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, there are a huge number of books that are under discussion this time around. Hit play and enjoy!
01:27:3424/08/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #215 - The Gang's All Here!
Bill and Bryan and Steve and Caleb! That’s right all four CBBears back together on this new audio episode that finds a return to the comic book roundtable! This time around the X-Men books, the American Cults graphic novel, The Mighty Crusaders: The Shield one shot, M.O.M.: Mother of Madness #1, Black Hammer Visions #6, Harrow County, Everyone is Tulip, Claire and the Dragons #1 and more are part of the discussion! Throw in getting sick in Provincetown, the resurgence of vinyl albums and Space Jam Happy Meal toys and you have a solid one hour and 45 minutes of comics-and-more talk from your four-color hairy, heavy homos!
01:43:5029/07/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #214 - Black Widow!
We head back to the movies on this new episode as Steve and Bill take their seats in the cinema to welcome the return of Marvel Cinematic Universe films with the release of Black Widow! Directed by Cate Shortland, the film stars Scarlett Johansson once again in the role of Natasha Romanoff alongside Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz. Taking place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Romanoff is a fugitive for violating the Sokovia Accords and flees to a safehouse in Norway where a series of events triggers a reunion with Natasha’s “family”, culminating in a battle royale in the skies of Russia! The CBB boys weigh in with what they thought of the film along with some comic book chat – Steve talks up Bad Idea and what’s happening in the X-books at Marvel as Bill offers up a DC title round up. All this plus the Woofs of the Week and more!
56:3628/07/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #213: CBBears in Leatherland
The Comic Book Bears boys come back to their funnybook cave to talk about the wonderful new series from Black Mask, Alice in Leatherland! Italian comic creators and real-life couple Iolanda Zanfardino (writer) and Elisa Romboli,(artist) have crafted an unabashedly queer, romantic, funny and kinky comic! Alice is a children’s fairy tale writer and after her fantasy life is destroyed by her girlfriend’s infidelity, sheltered Alice heads to raucous San Francisco on a journey of sexual awakening, community building, and self-discovery in this bawdy sex-comedy and queer romance that celebrates its diverse ensemble’s joys, kinks, and loves! Bill and Steve dedicate the majority of this episode to discussing Alice’s tale but also discuss other recent series including Marvel’s Heroes Reborn and Good Luck from Boom! You’ll hear some recent comic news coverage and they somehow also work in the 1969 Woodstock festival and one of the more dopey QAnon theories into the mix!
01:05:1127/07/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #212 - Monday Monday, Sometimes It Just Turns Out That Way
We had a rare recording on a Monday night (6/21 to be exact) but you can play this episode any darn day of the week you would like! Listen in as Steve, Caleb and Bill give an update on the Hellfire Gala goings on in the X-Books, delve into some indie books like Stone Fruit by Lee Lai (Fantagraphics) and Save Yourself #1 (Boom!) and then open the pages of a whole bunch of DC books including Justice League: Last Ride, Truth and Justice, The Flash, Stargirl Spring Break Special and more! Also the tangents range from slasher films to the effects of continued drug use by members of Madchester groups on this last Pride Month episode!
01:43:1230/06/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #211 - That Time Loki Did That Thing ...
On this new audio episode, Bill, Caleb and Steve start the show off by discussing the premiere of Loki, the new Marvel Cinematic Universe series airing on Disney+ with Tom Hiddleston reprising his role as the Norse God of Mischief! What is Loki up to, what is the Time Variance Authority and exactly what is Owen Wilson doing there? Well, hit play and find out! We also head over to the virtual spinner rack to discuss the JLA: Tower of Babel collection, Fantastic Four: Life Story, Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon, Crush and Lobo, The Other History of the DC Universe and more!
01:43:4330/06/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #210 - There's Gonna Be a Little Rain Sometimes (Bears in the OGN Garden)
On this new audio episode, Bill, Caleb and Steve are focused on original graphic novels. The Times I Knew I Was Gay (Scribner), Fictional Father (Drawn and Quarterly) and Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge (DC) all get some time under the microscope but the majority of the episode is dedicated to the stunning I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Mannie Murphy, published by Fantagraphics. The book begins as a reflection on the author’s 1990s teenage infatuation with River Phoenix and transforms into telling the larger story of the city of Portland and the state of Oregon's dark history of white nationalism. And all from a queer AF sensibility. We also talk little bit about our coming out stories and what our personal Pride anthems are in this first episode recorded during the Pride month of June!
01:30:0829/06/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #209 - The 2021 CBB Television Ganza!
On this Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode, Steve and Bill Z turn on the tube and chart the comic book related TV we have seen throughout 2021 so far. And there is a lot - Superman & Lois, Batwoman, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Jupiter's Legacy, Lucifer, The Flash, Supergirl, M.O.D.O.K., DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Teen Titans Go!, Invincible, Fear the Walking Dead, Wynonna Earp and even more! So if you are in that boob tube mood, hit play and enjoy!
01:39:2028/06/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #208 - Jumping Into The Spinner Rack
New Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Not only do we have Caleb back with us, we also have Jon Runyan of A Comic Book Look podcast joining us again for 105 minutes of comic book roundtable goodness! I Walk with Monsters #6, Challenge of the Super-Sons #1, Marjorie Finnegan: Temporal Criminal #1 and Geiger #1 are just a few of the titles from Marvel, DC and independent publishers that we talk about this time around!
01:46:4831/05/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #207 - The Führer And The Tramp's Sean McArdle!
The Comic Book Bears are thrilled to welcome to the show for the first time Sean McArdle! Sean is an Eisner nominated comics creator, filmmaker as well as a college professor at Kent State University. His work has appeared in array of tiles from Image Comics, IDW, and Arcana Studio and he joins us to talk about his graphic novel The Führer And The Tramp! The book is an alternative history retelling of the making of Charlie Chaplin’s landmark film The Great Dictator. It begins in 1939 as Hitler’s reign of terror is continuing to spread across Europe. Personally engaged by President Roosevelt to help sway public opinion we find Chaplin transforming from comedic movie maker to provocateur, traveling the world and facing down the American Bund, Nazi spies, his own insecurities and Hitler himself to complete his film. Originally a comic web series, The Führer And The Tramp is being published by Source Point Press on 6/29/2021 and trust us, it is EXCELLENT! Hit play and enjoy! http://thefuhrerandthetramp.com/ https://seandouglasmcardle.com/
01:34:1528/05/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #206: With Dave Ebersole (and Tommy Dakota!)
We are thrilled to welcome back to the show Dave Ebersole! Dave is here to talk about his new project TOMMY DAKOTA AND THE SHOOTOUT AT THE BURGUNDY TEN, a 70-page original graphic novel about an infamous robber meeting the love of his life on his final heist. With art by Vinnie Rico, Dave has crafted a modern-day pulp western queer romance. The Burgundy Ten saloon was once a nice place for respectable people, but not anymore. Now the saloon is home to a high-stakes underground poker game that features a cadre of gamblers, criminals, and rogues. Among them, Tommy Dakota, an infamous robber, renowned desperado, and legendary outlaw. Tommy was all about the thrill of the heist and the promise of the payoff ...until he met the bartender at The Burgundy Ten. There is a Kickstarter campaign for the book and the link is below! Dave then sticks around to chat with Steve and Bill Z about current comics! Hit play and listen in! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/daveebersole/tommy-dakota-a-queer-western-romance
01:38:4619/05/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue # 205 - La Bamba!
Caleb decided to take a study break from law school and he re-enters the Comic Book Bears cave! Listen in as he joins Steve and Bill in talking about the return of comic conventions (big and small), some MCU news and a whole lot of comic book talk including musings on America Chavez: Made in America, Orphan and the Five Beasts, Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk, The Cimmerian, Nocterra and more! Also Bill has ... opinions ... about Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point #1!
01:44:5030/04/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #204 - What's In The Box? (See Whatcha Got!)
Recorded from our 4/8/2021 livestream, this coincided with the extremely rare occurrence of Bill and Steve receiving their most recent DCBS boxes at the same time! Listen in as they unbox their goodies and then shift over to the comic talk! Bill is all about DC this time around (Justice League, Nightwing, The Joker) while Steve flies the indie flag (Please Don't Step on My Jinco Jeans, Die!Die!Die! and Lady Baltimore!)
01:23:5428/04/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #203: The Snyder Cut vs The Hanky Code
Recorded on 4/1/2021, the CBBears are back with a new audio episode! Listen in as Bryan, Steve and Bill talk about the long anticipated Synder Cut of Justice League. The DCEU film originally hit theaters in 2017 and director Zack Snyder left the project for a variety of reasons before its release. Now we have the film "remixed" according to his original vision and it is currently streaming on HBOMax! Beyond that, the fellas head over to the spinner rack and discuss Once and Future, Rorschach, Second Coming: Only Begotten Son, Proctor Valley Road and Stray Dogs among other funnybooks!
01:36:0327/04/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #202: Not Comic Books But Books About Comic Books!
New Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Bill and Steve provide a different type of show this time around so hit play and enjoy an episode that focuses on some of our favorite books about comic books! We start off the show covering price guides and from there give you the lowdown on books about the Golden, Silver and Bronze ages of comics, the horror book scare of the 1950s, war comics, the creative process, comic company profiles, long running franchises and much, much more!
01:25:4431/03/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #201: With Jon Runyan of A Comic Book Look
New Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! Steve and Bill are thrilled to welcome to the show for the first time Jon Runyan!! Jon is the co-host of the long running A Comic Book Look podcast and has been a familiar name as a commentator since we started our livestreams! Jon is all kinds of awesome! Listen in as we provide an update on the various comic book based TV programs that have been airing (including WandaVision and Superman and Lois) and a rundown of some of our favorite recent funnybooks!
01:50:4229/03/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #200 - 200!
Join us for our 200th episode of the Comic Book Bears Podcast! Bill, Bryan and Steve take you through a history trip of what has transpired in the funnybook world in the nine years since the podcast started. The CBB boys also discuss their all time favorite issue 200 comic books. It's a long one, it's a chaotic one but it's also a fun one!
02:07:5925/03/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #199: Zack Kruse - Mysteriously Traveling with Steve Ditko
New Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episode! We are thrilled to welcome writer Zack Kruse to our comic book review show! We discuss his book Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and a Different Kind of Liberalism, published by University Press of Mississippi, in addition to our normal round-up of our favorite funny books. Zack is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University and is a scholar of comics, film and American literature. His essays have been published in numerous journals. His comic strip, Mystery Solved!, appeared in Skeptical Inquirer and he is a regular contributor to a number of comic book podcasts. Hit play for the Ditko talk with Zack, Bill, Bryan and Steve!
01:42:5928/02/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #198: Steve Bryant, Athena Voltaire and the Terror on the Orient Express
The Comic Book Bears are thrilled to welcome back to the show writer/artist Steve Bryant! Steve rejoins us to discuss his latest book Athena Voltaire and the Terror on the Orient Express (which has an active Kickstarter campaign behind it) in addition to our normal weekly round-up of our favorite funny books. Steve is an Eisner, Manning and Harvey Award-nominated creators. His other work includes Ghoul Scouts, The Catch and the new webcomic Maximus Wrecks. He has also completed projects for Dark Horse Comics, IDW, Boom! Studios, Ape Entertainment and others, as well as extensive work in the roleplaying and boardgame industry. There is still some time to get in on the Kickstarter which can be found at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevebryant/athena-voltaire-and-the-terror-on-the-orient-express?fbclid=IwAR2It3DevvuWYH8pPLzqam-XvuI1exzjHmuJtudUg6QqPchh3Eq1LhAKhi0
01:37:2925/02/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #197 - With Special Guest CPS: Child Possession Services' Jon Westhoff
We are thrilled to welcome writer Jon Westhoff to our little dog and pony show! We discuss his latest book CPS: Child Possession Services for which there is an active Kickstarter campaign in its last few days. If Jon’s is a familiar name to CBB folk, it likely is because of his past as co-publisher at King Bone Press and as one of the heads of the Earth 2 Podcast Network that we were once part of. Apart from being a writer, a writer, Jon is also a letterer and a lover of Kenny Rogers impersonators. CPS was co-created by Jon’s collaborator of over a decade Bobgar Ornelas. Bob and Jon are teaming up once again to bring CPS’s Connie Dhar - social worker for supernaturally possessed kids - in her first full length story to print! In addition, Jon joins Bryan, Steve and Bill in our regular round-up of our favorite funny books.
01:41:4519/02/2021
Comic Book Bears Podcast Issue #196: David Hazan Talks Nottingham!
The Comic Book Bears are thrilled welcome to the show for the first time David Hazan! David is from Sydney, Australia and is the writer of the upcoming series, Nottingham, from Mad Cave Studios and a winner of the Mad Cave Studios 2019 Talent Search. He has a penchant for queer storytelling and formalism in comics, which shines through in his short comics work, some of which is self-published and some of which is to be published in anthologies from publishers in the coming year. David fills us in on Nottingham, a unique reinterpretation of the Robin Hood mythos, and also discusses some of this other work and comic favorites. Then David joins Bryan, Bill and Steve for a spin of the comic rack. This time around the spotlight shines on Fanny Galactic: Drag Queen Super-Heroine!, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt (Dynamite), Batman/Catwoman (DC), Colonel Weird: Cosmogog (Dark Horse) and more!
01:42:1131/01/2021