Episode Forty - Zero Fear

Los Ingobernables. Each making news in their own way.

Lucha Week concludes with a mega-length podcast with Dr. Lucha Steve Sims (@drluchajr). On the lucha front, we talk about La Mascara and the CMLL Anniversary show, the Rush vs L.A. Park feud, Sexi Star unmasking, breaking news as we recorded of Pentagon Jr. winning the AAW title in Chicago, WWE's interest in adding more luchadors to their roster, just what do they want, La Sombra/Andrade Almas in NXT, the viewer demographics of Lucha Underground, luchadors working in the US vs Mexico and more. On the non-lucha front, we talk about content delivery models in the future, a la care programming, baseball's draconian blackout rules, the All-Star Game (54:15) and Comic-Con (1:14:30) being held in Steve's hometown of San Diego, traveling to Tijuana in 2016 vs years past, being a genre fan in 2016 and not supporting all TV shows and movies out of loyalty, new TV shows vs old TV shows, change kits in European futbol and much more. 

Episode Thirty-Nine - Of Proud Adonis

Lucha Week continues as we are joined by CMLL wrestler Sam Adonis (@samelias89) to talk about coming to Mexico, working in CMLL, the CMLL Grand Prix ippv, his  almost-immediate rivalry with Shocker, his favorite opponents so far, the fluidity of opponents in CMLL, atmosphere at lucha shows, lucha vs British wrestling, great British wrestlers not yet known in the US including James Mason, the Knight family (of WWE's Paige fame), being trained by his brother (Corey Graves, formerly known as Sterling James Keenan) fliers and bases in wrestling and more. We were lucky to catch up with Sam on the same day he was main eventing Arena Mexico. 

Episode Thirty-Eight - Full Metalik Jacket

Mascara Dorada aka Gran Metalik on his way to WWE.

It's the start of what we hope will be Lucha Week, with a few shows planned. Up first, it's The Cubs Fan (@luchablog) from the Luchablog to talk all about the news.  This includes Mascara Dorada (Gran Metalik) signing with WWE, what his future may hold there, how is La Sombra aka Andrade CIen Almas doing in NXT, his Takeover match, should he turn rudo, the upcoming CMLL Anniversario show and what might be the main event, how Kushida and MIchael Elgin were used during the CMLL tour, the passing away of Thunder, Sexy Star's unmasking and her future in lucha both in Mexico and the USA, TEDDY HART~! in Elite, could we see him in CMLL, the Lucha Memes (@luchamemes) show going on as we were recording, Stuka Jr vs Kamaitachi in Ring of Honor, Kamaitachi's #1 Fan being at ROH TV, Rush vs L.A. Park in ELITE, the crazy ELITE tournament and its standings, a rundown of the S2 finale of Lucha Underground, the Triplemania main event (?)  and more. Plus, some quick all-star break Cubs talk and what is shaping up to be a three team race for best record in the National League.

Episode Thirty-Seven - Sim Sim Sallabim

Here comes trouble. Future Quest 1 by Parker, Shaner and Bellaire. (C) 2016 Hanna-Barbera.

Jeff Parker (@jeffparker) joins the show to talk about current and past work. We start with Future Quest, the DC/Hanna-Barbera team-up with Jonny Quest, Space Ghost and a raft of others. We discuss the book's creation, including the role played by Darwyn Cooke and continuing to work with (among others) Doc Shaner (@docshaner) and Jordie Bellaire (@whoajordie), who all worked together on the Shazam Convergence book. We also discuss working on the book with artist Steve Rude (@steverudeart), who drew the 1987 Space Ghost comic. Then, it's on to Batman '66, how the book started, getting image rights to the actors from the TV show, working with artists like Jonathan Case (@Jonathan_Case) and past pod Collen Coover (@colleencoover), the Batman/Man from UNCLE team-up and which villains were the most fun to write. There's also chat about Agents of Atlas, Flash Gordon, the Marvel Adventures books, the story behind the "Galactus playing baseball" in Marvel Adventures 26, Underground, Meteor Men and more. To wrap up, more Jonny Quest talk, including favorite monsters and bad guys, including how to modernize a yellow peril villain like Doctor Zin and the great Jonny Quest documentary on Youtube. 

Episode Thirty-Six - Wing Attack Plan R

He can fly, but he's no Sparrow. Jonathan Pryce in Terry Gilliam's Brazil.

It's our love letter to the Criterion Collection (@criterion) in all its greatness. We're joined by film critic, comics writer and podcast Will Pfeifer (@willpfeifer) to discuss our favorite Criterions (some you may not even remember) and the just-released Criterion edition of Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (spine number 821, for you collectors). We also talk about some of Will's comics work, including Finals with Jill Thompson (@thejillthompson) and H.E.R.O, with Kano (@kano_es). We also discuss Will's movie podcast Out of Theaters (@outoftheaters) that he does with Billy Kulpa (@billykulpa) and Kevin Haas (@kevinmhaas). Will has news about Out of Theaters' future, so stick around to the end of the podcast for that. 

If you thought Dean Wormer was bad. From Finals 1 (c) Will Pfeifer and Jill Thompson

Episode Thirty-Five - Buffalo Soldiers

Jeff Marek (@jeffmarek) from Sportsnet and the Marek vs Wyshynski podcast returns to talk about covering the Gordie Howe funeral in Detroit, the "Gordie Howe hat trick," the NHL Awards and the upcoming NHL Draft. 

Then, some recommendations from the workd of popular culture, Including Kolchak: the Night Starlker, The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, Wonder Woman Rebirth and the CMLL Grand Prix ippv on July 1.

Apologies for a short show. Our planned second guest could not do the pod in time, but will hope to have them on soon. We should have some interesting comics folks on in the nearfuture. 

Episode Thirty-Four - All Stars

Are things afoot?. From Baker Street Irregulars. (C) 2016 Roger Langridge and Andy Hirsch.

Happy Anniversary to us. To commemorate our first year, it's the return of our first guest, Al Kennedy (@housetoastonish) from the House To Astonish podcast/website. We talk about the recent Chikara Pro Wrestling UK tour, including the show Al went to in Glascow and compare this year's show to last, what they ended up having in common and some of the recent Chikara angles. Also on the wrestling front, we talk about the future of NXT ahead of the next Takeover special and UK tour and what the future holds for wrestlers like Bayley and Samoa Joe. We also discuss some comics news (not THAT news) and reviews, including some of the DC Rebirth titles, Civil War II, The Baker Street Irregulars, Limbo and more. Finally, we talk about Marvel Puzzle Quest, how our alliance did during the recent Civil War event and how transitioning from 2-star to 3/4-star level and finding time to play as part of a competitive alliance.

Episode Thirty-Three - The God Phoenix

The Mod/Emma Peel Wonder Woman. (C) 2016 DC Comics

0:56 - @TKD_117 returns to talk about his recent trip to Mexico for the 2nd Anniversary @Caralucha show, including the Hechicero/Cavernario vs Black Terry/Bestia 666 and Flamita vs Mascara Dorada matches. We talk about some other recent indy lucha, including Hechicero vs Virus. We also discuss the AAA Lucha World Cup, the always frustrating CMLL booking and more. As always, your source for great indy lucha footage is @BlackTerry. Tweet him for his match lists. For more lucha news, check out Como Estaz with @luchablog and @robviper & Luchaworld with @therealfredo and @vandaldrummond.

43:45 - Magazine contributor Matt D discusses DC Rebirth and a possible shift for a brighter storytelling outlook for DC. We talk about the metatextual nature of the issue and which books we are excited about going forward (hint: listen to episode 32 of the podcast). We also discuss some of the lucha matches covered earlier with TKD. We end with discussion of the two new Marvel superhero movies and was Movie Zemo really such an affront to his comics counterpart?

As discussed in the pod,  Arena Coliseo Monterrey -- Negro Casas vs Rey Hechicero

Technical note: During the interview with Matt, I left my desk fan on and the interview is a little wind-tunnely.  Apologies if it is distracting. 

Episode Thirty-Two - Fantastic Foxes

That's not Old Hickory. From the Lazarus Source book. (C) 2016 Greg Rucks & Michael Lark.

1:19 - the return of Greg Rucka (@ruckawriter). First up, comics chat, including the new Gotham Central omnibus (co-written with Ed Brubaker) (@brubaker), the Lazarus HC (co-created by Michael Lark (@michaellark66) and Lazarus source book, the Black Magick TPB (co-created by Nicola Scott (@nicolascottart), returning to Wonder Woman with Scott and Liam Sharp (@liamrsharp) and doing Star Wars books and comics. (20:36) Then futbol talk recorded during the Bayern Munich vs Atletico Madrid Champions League semi-final. We talk Leicester City winning the Premier League, improper winners, Champions and Europa League predictions, the Portland Timbers and other MLS news and more.

Episode Thirty-One - Parejas Incredulas

Not much Amor between Rush and Marco Corleone.

The Cubs Fan (@luchablog) returns to talk lucha libre and baseball. We talk about Dragon Lee's recent injury, the Parejas Increible tournament, ELITE, the saga of Octogon and Octogon Jr (Flamite) and AAA comings and goings. Hechicero vs Negro Casas in Monterrey., At (18:02), we talk about the Lucha Undergreound Season 3 tapings with all the various rumors discussed. If you don't want to know about them, skip ahead. We also speculate about just how LU contracts work with tarlent appearing elsewhere.  (29:37) There's baseball talk about the Cubs season so far, the Schwarber injury and high expectation. Also we talk about The Kane County Cougars and why people go to watch minor league baseball.  

Episode Thirty - Olde Tyme Hockey

Blackjack Mulligan and Ric Flair in the Crockett territory.

Jeff Marek (@jeffmarek) from Sportsnet and the #MvsW podcast returns to talk Stanley Cup playoffs with a break-down of each first-round series, (17:42) the passing of legendary Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider, (26:00) a quick look at the junior hockey playoffs and Memorial Cup preview and (27:50) the passing of Blackjack Mulligan, patriarch of the Windham Family, who Jeff saw in the 1970s in Toronto.. 

Episode Twenty-Nine - R.U.Ready

Leonard F Chikarason (@lfchikarason) from the Longbox Heroes podcast (@longboxheroes) returns to talk about luchador Pentagon Jr (@pentagonjunior) wrestling in Cleveland for AI Wrestling (@aiwrestling), wrestle border crossing stories, previewing the Wrestlemania 32 card in Dallas and story lines moving forward, including a potential brand split involving NXT. We also look at some new comics, including Batman/TMNT, The Astonishing Ant-Man 6 by Nick Spenser (@nickspenser) & Annapaola Martello and Vision by Tom King (@tomkingTK) & Gabriel Walta (@ghwalta). We end with a discussion of the changes made recently to Marvel Puzzle Quest and how gameplay has been since they were implemented. 

Episode Twenty-Eight - Lucha Espectacular 2

Luchaworld's Alfredo Esparza (@therealfredo) returns to talk about the CMLL Dos Leyendas ippv, the matches and where the future is headed, news from ELITE and AAA, the highs and lows of recapping CMLL Informa and more. 

Be sure to check out Lucha Espectacular Part 1 with Dr. Lucha Steve Sims.

Episode Twenty-Seven - Lucha Espectacular 1

Grandfather and Grandson, same amount of hair

Dr. Lucha Steve Sims (@drluchajr)returns to discuss the CMLL Dos Leyendas ippv, the matches and future plans, news about ELITE and AAA and more lucha talk. We then talk about Steve's trip to spring training, the upcoming baseball season and the Adam LaRoche situation.

Be sure to check out Lucha Espectacular 2 with Luchaworld's Alfredo Esparza.

Episode Twenty-Six - Kaiju-Go-Go-Go

Our Author Theory series continues with the award-winning creator @zandercannon. We discuss his @onipress series Kaijumax, recently out in trade paperback, how he came up with the idea of a giant monster/prison drama mash-up, tropes of both genres, which analogues have and will eventually shpw up in the book, is his son the model for the kid in the comic and doing audio commentaries for each issue. We also discuss his past work including working with Alan Moore on Top Ten and Smax the Barbarian, doing licensed books involving Star Trek and Transformers, getting his start on the Tick spin-off series The Chainsaw Vigilante and will we every see more issues of The Replacement God. Also we discuss on industry issues like print vs digital, monthly issues vs the trade for reader, retailers and creators, process podcasts, and a story about how there was almost a dueling 24 hour comic showdown between Zander and @billwillingham that would have taken place at @captainbluehen comics in the late 1990s. 

Episode Twenty-Five - The Fickle Finger of Fate

Part three of our Author Theory series continues today with veteran comics and animation writer J.M. DeMatteis (@jmdematteis). We discuss the new DC Animated movie Batman: Bad Blood, which he scripted., as well as some of his other work in animation including Justice League Unlimited and The Brave and the Bold.  Following that, it's a long discussion about his comics work: scripting all-ages comics, artistic freedom in the late 1980s and a number of his past and current titles, including Doctor Fate, The Defenders, Greenberg the Vampire, Moonshadow, Mercy, Seekers into the Mystery, The Adventures of Augusta Wind, Captain America, Weird War Tales and Justice League 3000/3001. There is also some JLI talk sprinkled throughout the show.  We also talk about his upcoming work on both the new Scooby Doo comic and the new Be Cool, Scooby Doo cartoon.

(45:10) - Instead of reviews, some podcast recommendations, inclduing @mondaynightbraw by @fromthesublime and @garyrodger, Between the Sheets by @kriszellner and @davidbix, @luchaworld, Como Estas by @luchablog and @robviper, @housetoastonish by Al Kennedy and @ifdestroyed, @longboxheroes by @lfchikarason and @rowkerthejoker, @jeffmarek vs @wyshynski, Football Weekly from the Guardian, The Game Podcast by The Times (UK) and @meninblazers. 

Episode Twenty-Four - Touchez Pas Au Chocolat

In the second of our Author Theory series, (01:19) Colleen Coover (@colleencoover) and Paul Tobin (@paultobin) join the show to talk about their award-winning comic Bandette, its origins and influences. We also talk about all-ages comics and their work on them, past work including Batman '66, Marvel Adventures and I Was the Cat. We also talk about Paul's forthcoming novel, The Genius Factor: How to Capture an Invisible Cat, out March 1.  Then we talk soccer, including the MLS Champion Portland Timbers and NWSL Portland Thorns, Barcelona vs Real Madrid, the pantomime villain behavior of Jose Mourinho and the dilemma of liking players on teams you can't stand.

(47:35) In the second segment,  we have reviews of two new outstanding Marvel titles: Illuminati by Josh Williamson (Williamson__Josn) and Shawn Crystal (@shawncrystal) and The Vision by Tom King (@TomKingTK) and Gabriel Hernandez Walta (@ghwalta).

Episode Twenty-Three - 2015 Lucha Year in Review - Part 2

We are back with Part Two of our Lucha review of the Year with (00:56) Lucha World's Vandal Drummond (@vandaldrummond), (27:10) Rob Viper (@Robviper) and  (52:02) TKD (@TKD_117). We talk about the Fantasticamania line-ups for some CMLL wrestlers and continue our look at Tecnico of the Year, Rudo of the Year, Match of the Year, Card of the Year and the best matches they saw live in 2015. We also have some bonus hockey talk with Rob at 45:15. 

2015-02-13 @ Arena México 2) Euforia, Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero © vs Mistico, Valiente, Volador Jr. for the CMLL World Trios Championship. Rob Viper's Match of the Year.

Highlights from Volador Jr & Titan vs Flamita and Bestia 666. From the Cara Lucha Anniversary show, May 2015.

Chilanga Mask, August 16, 2015. Easily the Card of the Year according to our guests.

Episode Twenty-Two - 2015 Lucha Year in Review Part One

Part One of our 2015 Lucha Libre Year in Review. On this show, we talk to (1:23) The Cubs Fan (@luchablog) from the Lucha Blog and Luchawiki and (22:14) Alfredo Esparza (@therealfredo) from Lucha World about the past year in the world of Lucha Libre.  We talk (individually) to Cubs and Fredo about the big news stories of the year, including the death of Perro Aguyao Jr, the annus horribilis for AAA, Lucha Underground, Sombra leaving for NXT, the super indy promotions in Mexico (Cara Lucha, Chilanga Mask, ...), the LA lucha scene and more.  We also get their thoughts on some Lucha Libre year-end awards, including Tecnico of the Year, Rudo of the Year, Match of the Year and Card of the Year. Part Two coming soon.

Centvrión & Látigo vs Fly Warrior & Mr. Leo Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México, 09/16/2015. The Cubs Fan's pick for Best Match he saw live in 2015.

La Sombra vs. Volador Jr. for UIPW Heavyweight Title (Lucha Libre VIP, Los Angeles, 3/22/15). Fredo's pick for Best Match he saw live in 2015.

Episode Twenty-One - Busted Heads by Von Doom

Todd Rowker (@rowkerthejoker) from the Longbox Heroes podcast (@longboxheroes) returns to the podcast to talk about the Doctor Who 2015 Xmas special and how it compare to past episodes. We also talk season 9 as a whole, favorite moments and what might be in store for next season. We also talk about some Patrick Troughton era episodes. Then, we talk Secret Wars 8 and the showdown between Doctor Doom and Thanos (two of Todd's favorite characters). We also discuss the year in comics, including our favorite Battleworld books, some of the new Marvel titles, the Shazam Convergence book, the amazing output from Image, the Archie reboot and the greatness this year of both Jason Aaron (@jasonaaron) and Brian K Vaughn. You can hear more of Todd's "Best of 2015" Picks on this week's Longbox Heroes podcast coming later this week.