The Comic Panel Podcast

Welcome all! This is our review of Shaolin Cowboy by Geof Darrow!

Shaolin Cowboy: Start Trek is a story about the Shaolin Cowboy, a former Shaolin monk who wanders the land with a talking mule named Lord Evelyn Dunkirk Winniferd Esq. the Third. Having been "asked" to leave the Shaolin temple, he has since had a bounty placed on his head, which many are eager to collect. Collecting that bounty will prove mighty difficult as the Shaolin Cowboy doesn’t go down easy. 

If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Our title is The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. Be sure to tune in two weeks from now for our next book in the theme of Geof Darrow.

Music: "Repeat" by Mark Karan, Scott Guberman, Angeline Saris, Jeremy Hoenig

Hello all, and welcome to our new theme where we focus on the comic book artist Geof Darrow. For our first book we are reviewing Lieutenant Blueberry by Jean Giraud aka Moebius, a book that greatly inspired Geof Darrow. 

Lieutenant Blueberry follows two military members in post-Civil War America. Lieutenant Craig, a proud son of a military general, and Lieutenant Blueberry, a member of the U.S. Cavalry with a bit of a rebel streak. Both are on their way to Fort Navajo when they come across a ranch that's been ransacked by the Apaches. The owner of the ranch is alive just long enough to inform them that his attackers kidnapped his son. Craig and Blueberry make their way to Fort Navajo to get help in finding the boy, but things take a turn for the worse. Colonel Dickson, who’s in charge of the fort has to convalesce and Major Bascom is left in command—someone who has a deep-seated hatred for Indians. This happens right before a peaceful meeting between the Americans and the Apaches to discuss the boy’s whereabouts was to take place. Instead, Bascom launches an ambush on the Apaches, which seemed to have sparked an even greater conflict between the Americans and Apaches.

We cover how this story unfolded, the techniques employed in telling it, whether it landed well, and much more — all in our usual conversation-between-friends style review.

If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Our title is The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. Be sure to tune in two weeks from now for our review of Shaolin Cowboy.

 

Music by SOULFULJAMTRACKS from Pixabay

Welcome all! If you read the title, you may be confused, but when you listen to the episode you'll get it. (hint: it's Elfquest). We are so glad you are taking the time to listen to our episode. There are many podcasts you could listen to and so the fact that you are listening to this one means a lot. 

Now, without further ado, we are ending our Western comics classics theme. To recap, the books we read for this were The Galactus Trilogy of the Fantastic Four written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby, Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore, and Elfquest by Richard and Wendy Pini. 

If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Our title is The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. Be sure to tune in two weeks from now for the start of our new theme Geof Darrow.

Music: "Radar" by The Grey Room and Density & Time

Welcome all! This is our fourth and final review for the theme of Western Comics Classics before our Retrospective. We hope you've been enjoying these episodes as they have been fun to record!

Elfquest is a classic by Wendy and Richard Pini. The story focuses on the Wolfriders, a tribe of elves fighting for survival while dealing with a longstanding conflict with the local tribe of archaic humans. After rescuing a captured fellow elf they’re driven from their forest home by the humans who set their forest home on fire. Seeking refuge, the Wolfriders turn to their uneasy allies, the trolls, only to be deceived and exiled into a scorching desert and without water. Given no other option, the elves trek through the desert. Against all odds, the Wolfriders discover a new tribe of elves in a community called Sorrows End, sparking culture clash and distrust. Tensions mount, especially between our  main character Cutter, chieftain of the Wolfriders and the proud hunter elf Rayek of Sorrows End. They both vie for the affection of Leetah, who is the daughter of the tribe leader and has magic healing abilities. She is at first reluctant to choose a life-mate, as she values her independence, but through the magic process called recognition, she is matched to Cutter. As the tribes inch toward unity, the Wolfriders prove their strength lies not just in survival, but in forging bonds across differences. By Issue 5, the story underscores themes of resilience, identity, and the possibility of harmony between rival peoples.

There you have it, that is our review of Elfquest issues #1-5. If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify, our title is The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. Be sure to tune in two weeks from now for our retrospective.

Music by Luca Francini from Pixabay

Welcome everybody! This is our review of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol 1 by Alan Moore. This is our third book in the theme of Western Comics Classics. 

 

This comic follows a group of individuals who are brought together by a woman who was recently divorced, by the name of Wilhelmina Murray. The team is composed of Miss Murray, a washed up adventurer named Quartmain, a hermit sea captain named Nemo, a one Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the Invisible Man. An astute reader would notice all these characters are pulled from Victorian literary fiction. This team is sent to recover an object known as the Cavorite Crystal, a crystal of antigravity. It's fallen into the hands of Chinese criminals in the East side of London. Through deception and stealth they steal the object back and return it to their employer, Mr. Bond. However, through reconnaissance, the Invisible Man discovers that Mr. Bond’s employer Mr. M is not Mycroft Holmes as Miss Murray assumed. The “M” stands for James Moriarty. Yep, the infamous arch rival to Sherlock Holmes. The League must stop Moriarty before he uses it to power his airship of destruction and wreak havoc on London.

If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Our title is The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. Be sure to tune in two weeks from now for our next book, Elfquest.

"Whirlpool" by The Mini Vandals

Welcome everybody! Get ready an exciting adventure that awaits! The comic book for today is Corto Maltese: Under the Sign of Capricorn. This is our second book in our new theme of Western Comics Classics.

This comic starts off with Corto Maltese reclining in Madame Java’s Inn at Paramaribo in Dutch Guiana. The caption boxes describe him as a “man of destiny”. Corto decides to go to his boat and along the way he runs into professor Jeremiah Steiner who is being roughed up by some ruffians. Corto saves Professor Steiner and then stashes him in his boat. When Corto returns to the inn a boy named Tristan Bantam is there and requests his aid. While they are discussing the situation, one of the ruffians that was beating up Steiner, attempts to assassinate Tristan. The attempt is foiled and this influences Corto's decision to help Tristan. The rest of the book follows Corto, Steiner, and Tristan as they go on various adventures.

If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Our title is The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. Be sure to tune in two weeks from now for our next book, The League of Extraordinary Gentlmen.

Music: "Sly Sky" by Telecasted.

Hello all! Welcome to the first episode of our new theme Western Comics Classics! For this theme we pick western comics that are considered classics in the genre. For our first pick we are reviewing The Fantastic Four issues 48-50 aka The Galactus Trilogy and issue 51 "This Man This Monster". 

The synopsis of The Galactus Trilogy is Galactus comes to earth and the Watcher comes to help the Fantastic Four to defeat him and Silver Surfer learns the value of life. For "This Man This Monster" it's a scorned scientist jealous of Reed Richards steals the identity of The Thing and infiltrates The Fantastic Four only to discover a shocking truth.

Find out all this and more in our out-of-this world review!

If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify, our title is The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. 

Music: "Invisible" by Anno Domini Beats

Hello all! Welcome to our Continuations Retrospective, where we discuss the highlights from the books we read for the theme. Those books were The Magic Order vol 2, Something Is Killing the Children vol 2, Invincible vol 3, and The Department of Truth vol 2.

For those who are listening for the first time, we are a bi-weekly radio show/podcast comic book club covering any and everything regarding comics and manga. We have each co-host pick a book that follows a specific theme and review a book for each episode. Then we wrap up the theme with a retrospective episode covering our opinions and favorite moments from each of the books.

If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify, our title is The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. 

Music: "Defying Gravity" by Density & Time

Welcome all! This is The Comic Panel, for those who are listening for the first time, we are a bi-weekly radio show/podcast comic book club covering any and everything regarding comics and manga. We have each co-host pick a book that follows a specific theme and review a book for each episode. Then we wrap up the theme with a postmortem episode covering our opinions and favorite moments from each of the books.

In this episode we are covering our fourth and final book in our theme of Continuations! For this theme, we have each cohost pick a book that is a continuation of a series we've already read. The books we've read so far have been The Magic Order vol 2, Something Is Killing the Children vol 2, and Invincible vol 3. 

Volume 1 of the Department of Truth introduces us to a world where every conspiracy theory you can think of is true, but there is a secret government agency whose job it is to keep those theories under wraps, The Department of Truth. Our mc is an investigative journalist turned Department of Truth rookie. Volume 2 continues with Cole gaining a mentor of sorts, agent Hawk Harrison. He’s an old timer and has been a long standing member of the Department. He is crass and jaded and claims to understand something no one else does about the world… magic is real. Reluctantly, Cole learns from what Hawk has to say. During their time together, Hawk takes him on a journey through the history of the Department and about the things he’s seen and done. Things like Vietnam, the Satanic Panic, and the dispatching of Tulpas. We end the volume contemplating one final thought, perhaps the Lee Harvey Oswald that is running the Department of Truth is himself a Tulpa.

To describe Invincible volume 3, it begins with a concerned Nolan as he struggles with what to tell his son. For those who don't know, Nolan Grayson is the human alias of Omni-man, known to the world as the world's greatest superhero, but his true intentions were far more nefarious. His son, Mark Grayson, only knows his father as the superhero and he aspired to be just like him. At this point the reader knows that Nolan murdered the Guardians of the Globe, a superhero team tasked by the U.S. government to protect the world. The reader is left assuming that Nolan is going to reveal to Mark who he really is. Before that happens though, two villains known as the Mauler Twins revive one of the members of Guardians known as The Immortal. The Immortal awakens and then flies off to beat Omni-man senseless. Much to his chagrin, Omni-man is much too powerful for him and he is killed again. Unfortunately for Omni-man, Invincible sees his father's brutal act and that's when Nolan decides to tell Mark who he really is. He tells Mark that he is a Viltrumite, an empire bent on conquering worlds. Omni-man came to earth on a mission to force the earth to submit to Viltumite rule. Omni-man thinks that by telling Invincible this that he would be on his side, but Invincible refuses and fights him instead. Let's just say the fight didn't end all too well. Hear about all this and more in this thrilling review!

If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify, our at The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. Be sure to tune in two weeks from now for our retrospective covering our theme.

Music: "Sofa" by Dyalla

Welcome all! Get ready to listen to our third review in our theme of Continuations! It's been a good theme so far and we are continuing right along into reviewing Invincible vol 3. And yes, we did cover Invincible volumes 1 and 2, but they were a radio exclusive back in 2021. 

To describe Invincible volume 3, it begins with a concerned Nolan as he struggles with what to tell his son. For those who don't know, Nolan Grayson is the human alias of Omni-man, known to the world as the world's greatest superhero, but his true intentions were far more nefarious. His son, Mark Grayson, only knows his father as the superhero and he aspired to be just like him. At this point the reader knows that Nolan murdered the Guardians of the Globe, a superhero team tasked by the U.S. government to protect the world. The reader is left assuming that Nolan is going to reveal to Mark who he really is. Before that happens though, two villains known as the Mauler Twins revive one of the members of Guardians known as The Immortal. The Immortal awakens and then flies off to beat Omni-man senseless. Much to his chagrin, Omni-man is much too powerful for him and he is killed again. Unfortunately for Omni-man, Invincible sees his father's brutal act and that's when Nolan decides to tell Mark who he really is. He tells Mark that he is a Viltrumite, an empire bent on conquering worlds. Omni-man came to earth on a mission to force the earth to submit to Viltumite rule. Omni-man thinks that by telling Invincible this that he would be on his side, but Invincible refuses and fights him instead. Let's just say the fight didn't end all too well. Hear about all this and more in this thrilling review!

If you liked this episode be sure to follow us on Twitter @thecomicpanel1 and listen to more of us on Spotify, our at The Comic Panel Podcast. You can also listen to us on ksuaradio.com or 91.5 FM in Fairbanks, Alaska. Be sure to tune in two weeks from now for our review of The Department of Truth vol 2.

Music: "360 No Scope" by The Soundlings