Sunday, December 28, 2014

Doctor Who Xmas Specialcast

Happy xmas! Peter Capaldi plays the Doctor in his first Christmas special and Jon and Bill Monroe want to talk about. They cover Jenna Coleman's decision to stay, the dream within a dream and the Alien homage, plus Norm MacDonald, Birds of Prey and lots of other podcasts.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

North Koreacast

"The Interview" is cancelled! Elliot Serrano returns to discuss SONY and the major theater chains' refusal to show the movie under threats. Is this a First Amendment issue! A commerce issue? A legal issue? Also, we all love 80's X-Men.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Benedict Cumbercast

Benedict Cumberbatch is Dr. Strange! Jared Leto is the Joker! Andrew Garfield may not be Spider-Man for long! Jon and Steven go through an atomic pile of announcements, rumors and outright fan fiction with Nick Taza!

Sunday, December 7, 2014

John Siuntres


The king of all comic book podcasts is here! John Siuntres has been running "Word Balloon" from Chicago for almost a decade and joins Jon to talk the history of podcasting, the Chicago scene, Bob Newhart, modern broadcasting, digital comics and rising cover prices! 

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Star wars Trailercast

A minute and a half of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens came out and the internet can't stop talking about it. Kevin Ryan returns to give his theories. Where are the classic characters? Are stormtroopers good or bad now? Is that lightsaber dumb? An hour of speculation, plus Jurassic World and #saveConstantine!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Fantastic Fourcast

The "Fantastic Four" is cancelled! Jon, Steven, Dave and Joe gather to mourn the loss of Marvel's original superhero team and celebrate the greatest runs in comics, from Kirby to Byrne to Waid to Hickman.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Big Hero 6cast

WARNING: LOW-FI AUDIO.  Jon and Steven see the Marvel movie that's not quite a Marvel movie. They talk the strategy behind not using Marvel studios, making a movie like "The Incredibles"and the homage to 90's anime! Plus, too many omnibuses! (Sorry about the sound quality. Garageband had a hiccup and this was as clean as we could get it.)

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Batman '66 DVDcast


Batman '66 DVDS and Blu-rays are almost here! The author of "The Official Batman Batbook" knows how close we came to never seeing it happen. Joel Eisner returns with personal stories of his work with Adam West, Burt ward, Julie Newmar and more in the longest episode we have ever done!

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Marvel's 11 Moviecast

Marvel outdid the DC announcement two weeks ago, just like everything else Marvel has ever done. Black Panther! Dr. Strange! Ms. Marvel! Avengers 3 and 4!  Also, Jon loves "Constantine" so much he starts cursing.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Vincent Pricecast

Let's talk Vincent Price! Joel Eisner, the author of his authorized biography "The Price of Fear" talks the horror legend's journey from St. Louis to London, Broadway to Hollywood, Orson Welles to Michael Jackson to Tim Burton to the great beyond. And of course, Batman.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

NYCCcast

NYCC was bigger than SDCC this year and so were the announcements! Jon and Steven cover Tim Burton's Mary Poppins,  the "Hobbiting" of Harry Potter, Iron Man in Captain America 3, the 10 DC movies from now until 2020 and more!

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Jon's Dad

Gerald Clarke holds a master's degree in philosophy, 35 years of teaching English and history and to his knowledge has never been wrong. The Clarkes spend an hour talking history vs. fantasy, gaming, the disease of collecting and the almighty power of reading.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Dead Girls

Kicking off Horror month with our own Dave Redfield and Neal Fischer and their own horror movie! "Dead Girls" is available on dvd and streaming today and Dave and Neal are full of stories of the micro budget film world in the age of digital video. 

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Gothamcast

We all saw it. We don't like it. Jon, Steven, Dave and Bill record spoilers and their first thoughts on the premiere of "Gotham". What's the tone? Does it need Batman? Will it last? All these questions and more pondered and not answered because we can't tell the future.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

iphonecast

Apple released a new iphone, a new watch, a new U2 album and made people very, very mad. Steven, Jon and Bill examine the fact that you can't really own data, whether millennials buy anything and why it's so hard to start Sons of Anarchy. Plus, thoughts on the new Doctor Who!

Monday, September 15, 2014

Indiecast

What do you get when you have a comic book with no superheroes? Some great stuff actually. Jon, Steven and Dave Gonzales cover everything from indie books, to Marvel and DC imprints like Icon and Vertigo to superhero-lite books like Hawkeye. Get out of those tights and put on something more comfortable for an hour.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Mark Normand

From "Comedy Central Presents" and "Conan" to our studio, comedian Mark Normand doesn't know a lot about geekdom but he's willing to be surprised. We talk Superman, Batman '66 Blu-rays, Marvel, DC, stand-up comedy and food poisoning all in one conversation that never really begins. 

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Graham Nolan

Inkpot award winning artist Graham Nolan is here! We talk his process, his work with Chuck Dixon, creating Bane, his webcomic Sunshine State and Joe Frankenstein! Plus, his creative partner announces a new Kickstarter project for Sword of Wood!

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Morality of the Jedi panel

Live from WizardWorld Chicago 2014! Thomas Glen, Kat Murphy, Brittany Yantos, Jon and Steven discuss the all six Star wars films and the Clone Wars animated series, the Jedi's penchant for lying, the Sith's commitment to a monogamous relationship and Yoda's senility on Dagobah. Questions from the crowd add to an actual live experience for our little podcast! 

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Remembering Robin Williams

Bill, Steven and Jon all reminisce over the powerfully human and positive energy Robin Williams brought to everything he did. Mork, Aladdin, the Fisher King, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, depression, improv, and stand-up are all covered in an hour. 

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Star Warscast

Bill is in the studio to finally talk Star Wars! We cover the impact the original trilogy had on generation X, the impact the prequels had on the entire franchise and the impact of the Millennium Falcon on Harrison's Ford shin. 

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy Moviecast

It made 94 million dollars this weekend and we've got 94 SPOILERS! Jon, Steven and Dave cover what this latest Marvel Studios means for the larger universe and how it unique tone of superhero sic-fi heist movie lands right on target. And like every movie conversation, how DC isn't doing it right.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Batman 75th Anniversarycast!

Everybody is here for the state of the union in Gotham! New Batgirl creative team! Eternal! Zero Year! Grayson! Robin Rising! Catwoman! New 52! Jon, Dave, Steven, Dave Gonzales, Lisa and Tina cover it all without enough microphones!

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Dawn of the Planet of the Apescast

We all saw it, we'll all spoiler it. Jon, Steven and Dave review the latest Apes movie with a lengthy discussion of the 46 year franchise up to now. Heston, Burton and Serkis will be discussed so get your filthy paws on this one!

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Avengers Assemblecast

Last 4th of July we covered Captain America. This year, it's his team. Jon, Steven and Joe discuss the days when Marvel's most popular franchise was an afterthought and what makes the Avengers not the Justice League.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Steve Klausner

Meet an unsung legend of horror! Steve Klausner has influenced movie history through his work as a screenwriter and a 40 year career in advertising! Learn how he got started in both businesses plus news of his new book!

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Cosmoscast!

Jon, Steven and Dave talk "Cosmos"! We discuss how the Neil DeGrasse Tyson FOX series compares to the Carl Sagan original and LOTS about global warming. Plus, Bill Monroe reviews Captain America: the Winter Soldier, Agents of SHIELD finale and Godzilla!

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Ted Alexandro/ Chuck Dixon

It's left meets right! Ted Alexandro talks about his 20 years in stand-up, activism, his hour special "I Did It!" and his web series, "Teacher's Lounge"! Then comic legend Chuck Dixon returns to comment on his conservative essay for the Wall Street Journal! 

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Muppetcast

The Brown family comes together to talk Muppets! David talks about his internship and the Henson Company, Lisa talks Fraggles, Jon tells stories from Jim Henson's recent biography and Steven hates the Dark Crystal! 

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Sci Fi Museumcast!

The creator of the Enterprise Restoration is back with plans for an amazing Hollywood Science Fiction museum! He talks the long road of creating an archive of the genre, the help he's gotten form sic fi luminaries and celebrities and the help he needs from fans on Kickstarter! 

Sunday, May 25, 2014

X-Men: Days of Future PastCast

We all saw "X-Men: Days of Future Past"! We all liked it and we all have problems with it. It's an hour of mutants, mayhem and mixed messages!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

TVcast

There are so many comic shows this fall it takes two episodes to cover them all! Jon and Steven talk about the Ben Affleck Batman pic, the final episode of Agents of SHIELD and the trailers for Constantine and Flash. Dave Redfield arrives late. 

Monday, May 12, 2014

Elliot Serrano

Chicago Red Eye's Elliot Serrano is here! We talk the bulging superhero fall tv schedule, the Army of Darkness comics he's written and his fateful meeting with Stan Lee at this year's C2E2!

Monday, May 5, 2014

Amazing Spider-Man 2cast!

Jon, Steven and Dave saw "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and SPOILERLY agree! Does it rise above the last film or does it sink lower than Spider-Man 3? Are there too many villains? Why is Gwen in that outfit? Also, why isn't it called "The Spectacular Spider-Man"?

Sunday, April 27, 2014

C2E22cast!

C2E2 has come again! Jon and Joe recorded this episode within an hour of the end of the show and discuss it all, from cosplay to panels to shopping. So much shopping. 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Arkhamcast

The "Batman:Arkham" games have spawned comics, action figures, a fourth sequel and an animated movie. Kevin Ryan has mastered all 3 games and talks about the evolution of the game's engine and how these games have managed to get into the mindset of the character in away no other game has. 

Monday, April 14, 2014

Whedoncast!

Dr. Paul Booth is back to talk "Joss Whedon: A Celebration" at De Paul University! We discuss Whedon's broad range from "Roseanne" to Marvel and if all fans of the Whedonverse are created equal. Also, will Steven ever finish "Firefly"?

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Captain America: The Winter Soldiercast!

We all saw "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and we all got spoilers! Jon, Steven, Dave and Joe discuss the ramifications for "Agents of SHIELD", the hidden rogues gallery and the shift in tone to political thriller! Also, Dave and Bill have differing view on the "How I Met Your Mother" finale!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Mike Drucker

"The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" writer and comedian Mike Drucker returns for an hour! Jon and Mike discuss a day in the life of a talk show, why nerds can't let go and how he's handling his 30th birthday!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Marvel Comics: The Untold Storycast!

Jimmy the Muscle is back! We talk the history of comics through the perspective of Sean Howe's marvelous book! How did hard working guys suffering a shifty business model create a medium in its second century? Also, Jon sells books he regrets!

Monday, March 17, 2014

JoCo Cruisecast!

Bill Monroe is back from the Jonathan Coulton cruise! Find out what happens when 5000 introverts are all thrown  together on a boat! Also, how the speech and debate team can shape your career and vhs shorts!

Monday, March 10, 2014

Walker Hornung

The lead singer of The King's Heartbeat and Q South is here for an hour! Walker talks about how rock stardom and superheroes are both pure fantasy, how Star Wars got him through the early loss of his father and how you can never really lose a NY accent.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Puerto Rico Remotecast

Jon and Steven went to Puerto Rico for the weekend and lost their damn minds! An interview with the King's Heartbeat! A brush with David Arquette! A quick review of Gravity and acknowledgment of the Oscars selfie tweet!

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Guardians of the Galaxycast

The new trailer is out! Jon, Steven and Joe predict what this means for Marvel movies, Marvel cosmic books, the sense of fun missing from the Robocop remake and the terrible casting of the Fantastic Four movie! Plus, Steven reads a special fan letter!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Toy Faircast

Toy Fair 2014 is here! Jon and Steven cover the breaking news with detours into Justin Bieber, massive egos and a profound lack of heat in the studio!

Monday, February 10, 2014

NAMMcast

NAMM, the largest music trade show has come and gone and guitarist Matt Tate gives his full report. Terrible Chicago weather, digital modeling, boutique pedals and even a glorious live session with the Chapman Stick are all in this one! 

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Mike Lawrence

Mike Lawrence is back! Jon and Steven join him at the comedy condo at Zanie's for an hour of Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Zach Snyder and more wrestling that's ever been mentioned in the history of the show!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Terrible Charactercast

Who do you love that's not worth it? Jon, Steven, Joe and Chris Dixon cover everyone from Spawn to Cable to Starfox! Also, why do the worst villains all fight Spider-Man? All this and beer.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

The Spectacular SpiderCast!

With Peter Parker returning to both the comics page and the big screen, it's time to take an hour look at the wall crawler! Jon, Steven and Joe discuss their first encounters with Spidey and their favorite eras! Why is Spider-Man the 2nd best loved super-hero of all time? Why are his villains so awesome? Plus, Steven needs to gripe about Iron Man 3 one last time! 

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Paul Booth

De Paul University Professor of Media Dr. Paul Booth is here! We talk Doctor Who from the 70's to the Christmas special and his new book, "Fan Phenomena: Doctor Who"! Listen to us meet then get along! 

Monday, January 6, 2014

New Year's Cast!

It's the 1 Year Anniversary of "Caffeinated Comics"! 

Jon and Steven share a hostful hour discussing the major disappoints and hidden gems of 2013. Also, why they keep doing this every week with no end in sight.