Major Spoilers #44: Politics in Comics
In the zone this week: Super-types hopped up on goofballs! Parker’s kid gets the axe! Contests contests contests! The ghost of Doctor Wertham rears it’s ugly head! Creatures from the sea! Peace officers from Neopolis! Treasures from the DC Vaults. Mitchell Hundred gets our vote! Plus: In the fields the bodies burning, as the war machine keeps turning… OH LORD YEAH! It’s Formula 44, so turn your head and cough, ‘cause the Major Spoilers podcast is on the air!
NEWS
Top 10 Drugs in the DCU
Linkage
Howard Out, Cheadle In for Iron Man 2
Linkage
Amazing Spider-Girl Cancelled
Linkage
CONTEST
Major Spoilers Costume Contest Announced
Here’s what you have to do:
Send three to four pictures (different poses/angles) of yourself in your favorite superhero costume (plus one sans costume) to us by October 21, 2008. Make sure you include your name, address, and the character you are supposed to be. The Major Spoilers crew, will narrow the list to five contestants (oh lord, let us have more than five entries), and readers will then vote on their favorite. The winner will then be announced October 31st.
Linkage
Major Spoilers Theme Song!
Win a copy of DC’s Absolute Watchmen edition by creating the Major Spoilers Theme Song. Enter as many times as you like, the contest is open until Thanksgiving. Winner gets the latest Absolute Edition of the Watchmen when it is released.
INTERVIEW
Dr. Peter Coogan returns to talk about the Wertham era and how the Comics Code Authority came about.
REVIEWS
Rodrigo
CREATURE FROM THE DEPTHS (ONE-SHOT)
story MARK KIDWELL, art & cover MARK KIDWELL & JAY FOTOS
40 PAGES, FC, $3.99
In the tradition of the classic “Creature From the Black Lagoon” by way of Lovecraft, peppered with gore and EC-style twists comes the tale of loathsome beasts, treachery and red death beneath the waves. A self-contained one-shot, “Creature” sports a full 36 pages of full color story and art, with script and pencils by MARK KIDWELL and eye-popping color by JAY FOTOS. The creative team that brought you ‘68 brings you an all-new tale of extreme horror!
Matthew
Top 10 Season Two #1
Written by Zander Cannon; Art and Cover by Gene Ha
AMERICA’S BEST COMICS. A new season dawns in the science-city of Neopolis! A new commissioner, along with some new rules, comes to Precinct 10, as Slipstream Phoenix, a rookie cop with an ugly secret, fights for respect among his new peers. Meanwhile, Shock-Headed Peter and the Dust Devil investigate a mysterious, ancient drug dealer, and a very public multiple homicide sets Captain Jetman and Lieutenant Peregrine scrambling for answers.
The police procedural crime and intrigue continue in this new series based on concepts and characters created by legendary writer Alan Moore.
Stephen
DC Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book
In 1935, popular culture was forever transformed when DC Comics published the first book of “all new, all original” comic material. To the delight of millions of readers everywhere, the modern comic book was born, and from its pages came leaping an exhilarating cast of characters.
Now The DC Vault unlocks DC Comics’ most fascinating secrets and deeply buried treasures, presenting a colorful array of historic and never-before-published memorabilia, including early sketches, covers, memos, press materials, and much more. From a working reproduction of a 1942 Junior Justice Society of America decoder, to a series of Public Service Announcements starring Superman and Batman, to the original pencils and inks for Wonder Woman #63, this dazzling chronicle contains more than 25 plastic-encased archival pieces for readers to pull out and examine—all while learning about the artists, writers, and world-famous super heroes that make up the DC Universe. Whether you’ve been collecting Superman comics since the ’40s or have just discovered the amazing Sandman saga, you’ll revel in this vibrant treasury!
POLL OF THE WEEK
Since this is our special Politics in Comics episode, we as the question that is the biggest decision you’ll have to make in 2008.
A) Doom
B) Darkseid
VOTE!
TRADE PAPERBACK REVIEW
EX MACHINA VOL. 1: THE FIRST HUNDRED DAYS
Written by Brian K. Vaughan; Art by Tony Harris & Tom Feister; Cover by Harris
Set in our modern-day world, EX MACHINA tells the story of civil engineer Mitchell Hundred, who becomes America’s first living, breathing super-hero after a strange accident gives him amazing powers. Eventually Mitchell tires of risking his life merely to maintain the status quo, retires from masked crimefighting and runs for mayor of New York City, winning by a landslide. But Mayor Hundred has to worry about more than just budget problems and an antagonistic governor, especially when a mysterious hooded figure begins assassinating plow drivers during the worst snowstorm in the city’s history!
Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com
Music from this episode comes from Ookla the Mok. You can visit them on the web at www.ooklathemok.com and purchase their music at the iTunes Music Store.
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