Zero Issues

 Sidekicks!!! That’s what we’re talking about this week, but not your ‘regular’ sidekicks. No Robins, or Batgirls or whoever. We’re talkin’ Snapper Carr! Rick Jones! Newsboy Legion! Foggy Nelson! Jimmy Olsen! The weirdly regular folks, mostly teenagers, that hung out and went on adventures with (or totally got in the way and caused disasters- we’re looking at you RICK JONES!) superhumans & aliens & supersoldiers. We start with a quiz! How many answers do you know?!? Did you know Snapper Carr became a traitor? Did you know the character he was based on connects with Warner Bros Music’s first number one hit? Did you know Rick Jones should feel bad? And who’s Trucker Thor?!? Well listen and find out! Direct Download: MP3

The New Year has arrived, and it may already be doomed, but there are still comics, movies, and shows we can enjoy as the world burns around us! Superman and Spider-Man cross over for the third time, care of Mark Waid, Jorge Jimenez, and many other friends! Jimmy Olsen meets Carnage! And the classic ’70s crossovers are getting new facsimile reprints to complete the collection! “Ultimate Endgame” is here as the new Marvel Ultimate universe wraps up as the 616 universe faces Armageddon via Chip Zdarsky! DC’s Absolute line gets a Catwoman and a dead(?) Green Arrow, while the main DC comics reach the “Next Level” with new titles for Lobo, Batwoman, Deathstroke, and many more! Vertigo finally returns with new creator-owned comics and a revival of “100 Bullets”! Archie hits the reboot button again, but this time in collaboration with Oni Press, and with Archie in Hell! And did anybody say “Reign of the Superboys” — and the return of li’l Jon Ke

 So, what did we learn this year? More importantly, what do we read? Merk finally learns what happens to the Justice League re: Despero in a 40-year old comic, Kyle learns the he likes his reimagined universes to be finite, damnit, and Bry learns about sweet monkey love. Context within the episode! Direct Download: MP3

 Happy Holidays, ya filthy animals! It’s Christmas Eve and we’ve got a short, but fun dramatic reading for your holidays! “Santa will feed you to his reindeer”. That is straight from this Dell Comic from 1948. Nimble ‘Nick’ Needle, Santa’s tailor, who he threatens to kill, is up to no good this year. Santa puts up with it only as long as he can …. AND THEN HE SNAPS!! Or does he? Only we know (and anyone else who’s ever read this comic) so join us and come on a Santa killing spree adventure! Editors note- There may or may not be a killing spree in this story. Direct Download: MP3

 CALVIN & HOBBES. Yea, that’s probably all we need to say right? The amazing strip by Bill Watterson that ran for only a decade but changed the face of comics and comic strips is STILL revered to this day. And we’re gonna talk the $%#& out of it. It’s philosophical origins, the newspaper strip business, Watterson’s fights with the syndicate (not the mob), contemporaries of the time, and realizing that Calvin’s Dad is really cool. Join us won’t you? Direct Download: MP3

It’s episode number 501, so you know what that means: AN ALL JEANS EPISODE! The result is a 40-minute trip into madness that’s at least tangentially connected to denim. We begin with a look back at the famous and/or infamous button-fly Levi’s jeans commercial featuring Rob Liefeld and directed by Spike Lee, a real thing that happened. We debate button-fly vs. zipper, compare our personal experiences with social-media algorithms, and slip into some denim-related tangents. But what of our comics Jeans? Such as Jean Loring, who was put through the ringer in “Identity Crisis”, a superhero event mystery that does not make sense. And of course, Jean Grey, and we try to figure out if literally anyone in the Marvel Universe can defeat the Phoenix! Which superheroes and villains can pull off a costume with jeans, from Superman and the Superboys to Angar the Screamer, Jessica Jones, and even Conan the Barbarian? And just imagine Iron Man’s denim armour, the Mk. D! All this and Gene C

 500 episodes! Like, 500 complete episodes. Way more than Seinfeld has, I’m pretty sure. For this centennial celebration, this time? We’re just gonna sort of take it easy, with a chill-as-heck lava lamp of an episode, which are the kind of episodes that I think we like to do, now that we’ve discovered that after over a decade of getting together and recording, we’re actually kind of good at just talking to each other about comics and junk. Also, happy birthday, Merk’s sister! Direct Download: MP3

 It’s time for the FIFTH installment of the CELERY STALK SLAM!! That time between Halloween & Christmas, where we choose characters from each to square off…. and battle to end! Which holiday wins? Which characters will we pick this… Continue Reading →

CONTENT WARNING: This episodes includes a discussion on human trafficking, which some may find upsetting or triggering. This topic begins at 13 minutes into the episode. This week we interview a man who should need no introduction: TYLER MANE! From… Continue Reading →

In 1982, a young Wes Craven set out to make the ultimate horror character. He failed, and made a Swamp Thing movie, instead! To wrap up this year’s HowLenWein festivities, this week, we sit down and watch this thing. Do… Continue Reading →

Howl-Len-Wein, our October celebration of all things Len Wein, continues with an ALL-WEIN LIGHTNING ROUND! Merk tests Kyle and Bry at three rounds of LEN WEIN TRIVIA, in which the Wein-owledge of both quizboys and quizmaster is tested! Mega-Producer Kyle… Continue Reading →

 We continue HOWL-LEN-WEIN with dramatic read from one of Len Wein’s weirdest comics, Batman: A word to the wise, a one shot Batman comic that takes place in it’s entirety in Canada, really pushing literacy  and has STRONG and… Continue Reading →

Happy HowLenWein, everyone! For this indeterminate amount of time (there may be a slight dip in the middle, not unlike a fancy ballroom dance), we are covering all things Len Wein. This week, we start it off by really talking… Continue Reading →

Health and technical malfunctions abound this week, so we’re digging out a classic episode from the extensive Zero Archives for you to enjoy… today! The Spooky Month continues, and this week it’s our spookiest trick yet – fixing a character!… Continue Reading →

This week was supposed to be a Lightning Round, but we had so much fun playing a couple of games that we decided to just make that the episode. Yeah, Two Games!! This is a fun one, so we hope… Continue Reading →

 Could someone be a REAL Batman? Would they? How? Why? Do you think a billionaire has already dressed up and played Batman on their sprawling estate somewhere? Do you think Mark Zuckerberg has made Zuckerangs? Or would a Budget… Continue Reading →

AI is coming for all of the coolest, most creative jobs. For a lot of folks, it’s already here, and that includes people working in the comic industry. This week, we try to take AI seriously, and discuss just what… Continue Reading →

Hey folks, we are taking a week off due to scheduling/plague-related issues. But! Wait! Where are you going?! We have a Classic Zero Issues to make up for it, because we hate the idea of anyone being without us for… Continue Reading →

We’re talkin’ comics ’bout real people! Whether they be classy graphic novel biographies, tacky celebrity cash-in issues, wacky cameo appearances, bizarre “parody” comics from the ’80s, and almost too much more. We dig into graphic novel biographies about André the… Continue Reading →

 Ka-zar! Y’know… Ka-zar! That Marvel Tarzan guy from the Savage Land? We’re fixin’ him this week! Each of us takes a stab at pitching a story or approach to take him from a B or C lister to an… Continue Reading →