Some of My Friends Read Comics 197 – Wolverine and the X-Men + Knightfall #4

Can Wolverine run a school? That’s the premise of Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo’s “Wolverine and the X-Men” from 2011.

There’s more to it than that: A new Hellfire Club is attacking. The Department of Education is inspecting. One of the students should probably be in jail.

We read the first 4 issues to see how Wolverine survives. Then we continue Knightfall with Chapter 4 in Detective Comics #660.

MP3: https://bit.ly/3XBrZHE

Next Time: Young Avengers (2005) #1-6

Some of My Friends Read Comics 196 – Super Mario Manga Mania + Knightfall #3

As one of Japan’s most popular characters, of course Mario would have his own manga. It’s been running for 30 years but somehow it just got its first English translation in 2020 with a greatest hits compilation called Super Mario Manga Mania.

And you can’t get a digital copy anywhere. This is the comic that finally broke the show. Nevertheless we persevere.

And of course we also read the next chapter of the Knightfall saga in Batman #493 in which Zsasz threatens to slice up a bunch of people, and Batman is just plain tired.

MP3: https://bit.ly/3iceNK5

Next Time: Wolverine and the X-Men #1-4 by Jason Aaron & Chris Bachalo

Some of My Friends Read Comics 195 – DCU Infinite Holiday Special (2006) + Knightfall #2

Ho ho ho ho, it’s time for another holiday special!

This year we take a look at the DCU Infinite Holiday Special from 2006 featuring stories about Green Lantern, Supergirl, Batwoman, Shadowpact, Flash, Superman, and… Shazam? Let’s just say the card is subject to change.

Then we continue the Knightfall storyline in Detective Comics #659 where the Ventriloquist tries a bunch of new hand puppets!

MP3: https://bit.ly/3FNtRFK

Next Time: Super Mario Manga Mania

Some of My Friends Read Comics 194 – Remembering Kevin Conroy + Knightfall #1

Instead of reading comics, we thought we’d put a focus on watching cartoons for this episode so that we could look back at some of Kevin Conroy’s best work as the voice of Batman in some of his favorite episodes.

First, we cover an episode titled “Perchance to Dream” from Batman the Animated Series where Bruce Wayne dreams of a life with his parents still alive. Then “This Little Piggy” from Justice League Unlimited, where wonder Woman gets turned into a pig and Batman has to save her.

Then we jump into Knightfall proper with the first episode of the Broken Bat Saga in Batman #492 where lots of villains have just been freed from Arkham!

MP3: https://bit.ly/3ULpNvq

Next Time: DCU Infinite Holiday Special (2006)

Some of My Friends Read Comics 193 – Age of Apocalyse: X-Calibre + Knightfall #0 (Vengeance of Bane)

It’s been a while but we finally revisit the Age of Apocalypse with the next miniseries on our list, X-Calibre, which is basically the Nightcrawler and Mystique show.

It’s got pirates and senseless murder and piles and piles of dead bodies. Cool.

Then we start our longread of Batman: Knightfall with a special Vengeance of Bane one-shot that tells us about how Bane was sentenced to prison as a baby. Wait, that can’t be right…

MP3: https://bit.ly/3i5PclM

Next Time: We break format to remember Kevin Conroy with a pair of animated TV episodes

  • Batman: The Animated Series – “Perchance to Dream”
  • Justice League Unlimited – “This Little Piggy”

Plus we start Batman: Knightfall properly with Batman #492

Some of My Friends Read Comics 192 – Namor’s First Appearances + Brave & the Bold #197

With Namor appearing in the movies soon for the first time in Black Panther, we go waaaaay back in the past to 1939 to read the first appearance of the Sub-Mariner in Marvel Comics #1, published back when they were called Timely Comics.

Then we read the Namor stories from Marvel Mystery Comics #7-10 to see him attack New York and fight the Human Torch and basically be the biggest a-hole of all time. It’s very entertaining!

Then we finish our tour through the life of Earth-2’s Batman with Brave and the Bold #197, in which Batman recalls the way he and Catwoman fell in love.

MP3: https://bit.ly/3Ef9T7f

Next Time:

  • We go back to the Age of Apocalypse with X-Calibre
  • We start our next long-read, Batman: Knightfall, with Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 

Some of My Friends Read Comics 191 – Spider-Man: The Short Halloween + Storm Turns Into a Vampire + Brave & the Bold #182

As the spooky season nears its end, we take a look at some various scarious one-offs.

First up is Spider-Man: The Short Halloween, a comedy one-shot by SNL’s Bill Hader & Seth Meyers.

Then we go back to some classic 80’s X-Men when Storm turned into a vampire in issue #159, and then again when Dracula returns in X-Men Annual #6.

Then we continue our trip to Earth-2 with The Brave and The Bold #182 where Earth-1 Batman teams up with Earth-2 Robin!

MP3: https://bit.ly/3Dyt4sz

Next Time: Namor’s Origins with Marvel Comics #1 + Marvel Mystery Comics #7-9 + Brave & the Bold #197

Some of My Friends Read Comics 190 – Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows + Adventure Comics #462

The spooky season creepiness continues as we revisit Locke and Key with Volume 3: Crown of Shadows. We’ve got ghosts, dead bodies, and weird teenagers trying to go to a Muse concert. Scary stuff!

Then we continue our trip through Earth-2 with Adventure Comics #462 where we see the death of Earth-2 Batman to one of the most infamous villains of all time.

MP3: https://bit.ly/3CN1NCf

Next Time: Spider-Man: The Short Halloween + Storm Turns Into a Vampire (Uncanny X-Men #159 & Annual #6)

Some of My Friends Read Comics 189 – Blade’s 1st Appearance (Tomb of Dracula) + JLA #160

The spookiest of seasons is upon us, so we decide to take a look at one of Marvel’s spookiest comics: Tomb of Dracula! We know this character’s not very well known, so we read issues #10-15 which include the first appearance of Blade, a much more popular character.

Plus we get Dracula doing all of his trademark moves like steering a boat and calling his enemies up on the phone.

Then we continue our Earth-2 journey with JLA #160 which features a panel where The Atom is lying on a giant hospital bed. That’s all I remember about it. And dinosaurs.

MP3: https://bit.ly/3SfFOZU

Next Time: Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows

Some of My Friends Read Comics 188 – She-Hulk: Time Trials by Dan Slott + JLA #159

She-Hulk has her own show! And it seems to take a lot of inspiration from the Dan Slott run that we visited a while back.

We dive back into it with Volume 3: Time Trials, which collects #1-5 from the 2005 She-Hulk series. There’s cowboys, jealousy, and time cops: the three perfect ingredients in any story.

Then we read our next Earth-2 book with a JLA/JSA team-up in Justice League of America #159.

MP3: https://bit.ly/3dfV5uz

Next Time: Blade’s Origins with Tomb of Dracula #10-15 + Justice League of America #160