Pick of the Week Podcast

Pick of the Week #184 – G.I. Joe: Cobra #3

Show Notes

Conor Kilpatrick is still away, and we are joined by staff writer Sonia Harris, in his stead. It was a giant week of comics, and everyone found something to love. Plus, Josh Flanagan finds a way to offend the homeless!

Running Time: 01:00:00

Pick of the Week:
00:01:57 – G.I. Joe: Cobra #3 astounds everyone by being so good.

Comics:
00:11:20 – There’s also a lot to love about The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #6.
00:15:25 – Much more than a Harry Potter clone, The Unwritten #1 might be the best value in comics this week.
00:21:15 – Ron can’t say it for everyone, but he can say that, for him, X-Factor #43 is the business.
00:25:25 – Guess who’s happy about a Darkhawk resurgence in War of Kings: Ascension #2.
0:28:38 – Compare it to boys adventure comics if you want, but Jack Staff #20 has a lot going on.
00:32:33 – B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess #5 is lovely blend of comic finery.
00:34:22 – Josh found more to grab hold of with Dark Reign: Hawkeye #2.
00:35:05 – Yup, they’re still apes in Vietnam with Guerillas #4. Still good too.
00:36:54 – Wolverine #72 is actually Wolverine #73, but that hasn’t come out yet. Maybe.
00:40:09 – Lighten up and enjoy some Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #1. Also check out this Talksplode with series writer Chris Eliopoulos.

User Reviews:
00:42:07 – theswordisdrawn is smitten with Captain Britain & MI:13 #13, as we all are.
00:43:07 – edward thinks Unthinkable #1 was quite thinkable.

E-Mail:
00:45:48 – Ben from St. Louis, MO gets his letters printed in comics, and he’s proud of it.
00:48:13 – Mike’s thinking about reorganizing his comics.

Voice-Mail:
00:50:50 – Whatever will Pat do with his iFanboy sticker?

Music:
“Nearly Lost You”
Screaming Trees

 

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Comments

  1. 57?

    I dreamt that my mom was a devious villain and that she fooled my father and she was a real bitch but I can’t remember why, and she built this elaborate gaming rooms for small kids with her designs, and she was trying to convince me that this is the future, or something like that, but I didn’t budge.
    What does it mean?

  2. "Nearly Lost You" was a great song from a great era of music!! Great way to open the show guy!

     

    P.S.- G.I. Joe: Cobra #3 rocked!

  3. So what did you guys think of Walking Dead #61? I was hoping you would have talked about it.

  4. Sorry.  There were so many books to talk about, we had to leave some out.  I liked it more than the last issue, but how many times can you say, "Man, that was messed up what happened in Walking Dead," because that’s about all I had to say about it.

  5. This is a weird episode. Why? Sonia liked nearly every comics and Josh and Sonia did not disagree.

  6. Everytime I see this Cobra comic I think of the awesome theme song

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMe508TTaiw

  7. Third sucky episode in a row, come on guys!

  8. @robbydzwonar I guess you got your money’s worth then. I enjoy the episodes when Sonia is on (if only for the possibility of a Joe Casey comment). Any episode with a review from a Canberran is an instant classic as well (good work @edward)

  9. Maybe it’s because I’ve listened to over 100 podcasts. But I think I know when Ron gets bored of a discussion.

    Whenever Ron says ‘cool’ or ‘uh-huh’ or both at the same time….that’s when you can tell they’re moving on to the next discussion.

    I cant believe I’ve been following you guys for that long 🙂

  10. Won’t get chance to listen to this ’til tomorrow, but Screaming Trees! Awesomesauce.

  11. When Josh finally reads a secret six book, he dosn’t tell us what he thinks.  Rats.

  12. Excellent show, I enjoyed everybody’s enthusiasm.

    My favorite part was when Josh was trying to get Ron and Sonia to explain ‘Jack Staff’ to him.  

  13. @Gabe: He’s waiting on the video show that he specifically read the book for.

  14. @conor: Well that’s one guy down for that vid

    What are you and ron reading? 🙂

  15. @TNC: DETECTOIVE COMICS

  16. @conor: ‘Detectoive Comics’?

    Must be one of them Euro-comics I heard so much about

  17. Won’t get to listen to this for another day or two, but I’m excited to hear about books I know nothing about. (Well, I read X-Factor and I plan on picking up Umbrella Academy, but you get my point.)

    I’m also excited for this forthcoming video show! Can’t wait for all this hot iFanboy action. (I believe I misspoke.) 

  18. @Conor  Wooaaahhhh there.  Is that that audience demands it show?  Will Josh read any more secret six, cause that one issue is not completly reprisentitive of the series.

  19. @Gabe: You’ll find out in a few weeks.

  20. I have a file cabinet with labeled dividers for easy access to all my comics. Alphabetically by title chronologically for each title.

    Also, put the sticker on your geetarr case!

  21. I have the ones I read on the floor, and the ones I didn’t read and want to are next to/on my bed. Best system ever. There are ones that I didn’t read and don’t really want to yet and they’re in a seperate stack on the floor next to the bed. I use the amount of dust on them as a signaling system – it tells me when I need to try to read them.

  22. Sonia Harris vs Mr. Romo…… im not sure who i like more as a guest. each time one of them comes on im happy

  23. This was a great podcast. Sonia is doing an incredible job. Sonia and Ron need a semi-regular Talksplode type show. Keep up the great work.

     

  24. And guess who misheard Sonja’s ‘palate cleanser’ as ‘phallic cleanser’? Gah.

    There was some comment about a lack of words in the gorilla book meaning it was ‘pure comics’ . ‘Scuse me for going all Scott McCloud, but surely it’s not comics without pictures and words – it’s pictures.

  25. Quick somewhat pedantic and nerdy question:

    Are there any major spoilers in the Guerillas section so I know whether to skip it or not?

    My store didn’t have it and I’m waiting for a copy in the mail.

    I don’t mind minor things, but if the monkeys start talking or something aty the end, I don’t wanna know.

  26. There are no real spoilers about Guerillas. You’re good to go.

  27. ok, sticker is firmly in place on forehead. let’s see how this goes…

    @sonia – clearly I was breathing hard b/c I knew you’d be listening. Wait, that sounded creepy. Ok, I’m just out-of-shape, yeah, thanks for bringing it up!

    @ Ron – clearly you didn’t realize that Ultron would turn on Hank, and Pym would suffer a mental collapse, leaving easy pickings for Doc Magnus and the Metal Men.

  28. I ended up listening and it just got me psyched for the issue to arrive. Cheers!

    This is my third comment on this post. I feel like I’m turning into a nerd. Well, a bigger nerd.

  29. For those of you interested in learning more about Guerillas check out this interview: http://scifipulse.net/?p=3697

  30. Thanks for reading my e-mail guys!  I hope that other readers out there feel the way that we do about how awesome the letters pages are.  I hope that’s something that never goes away because its such a great way for creators and readers to communicate.

    It’s one of the perks of this site too. 🙂 

  31. Count me as another big fan of letter pages.  I actually didn’t realize there were Marvel books that still ran them.  In all of the books I follow, they’ve been discontinued over the past couple years to make room for ads and previews :-/.  I understand the logic — there are plenty of other forums for reader feedback, and it takes up space — but whenever I look at back issues, seeing the letters right in there with the story adds a lot of context. 

  32. The letters page is one of the reasons why I love Savage Dragon. It just adds to that almost lost in time feel to a book. Same thing for Amazing Spider-Man, it sort of accents the fun vibe in the book by harkening back to a simpler time.

  33. Not much of a Sonia fan in the past, haven’t heard this episode yet.

  34. Also, was it Jim who was on last podcast?  He was good and had me laughing.

  35. I called it!  Sonia did indeed show up!  Sweet.  Now where is Paul?  If you don’t have him on the next podcast, its discrimination.  Discrimination I tell you!

    Anyways, fun show.  Unwritten was indeed a very entertaining and interesting read.  I’ sure I’ll pick up the next issue.  I also chose Cobra #3 as my POTW, but Capt. Brit was damn near close.  It was an amazing issue that I didn’t fully appreciate until the second time reading it.  I can’t wait to see where that goes.

    And stick your iFanboy sticker on your cubicle wall at work.  Let your co-workers know how you roll.

  36. On letter pages: I have _almost_ written a letter half a dozen times as a grown man but never pulled the trigger. During Civil War, when Ms. Marvel sold out to The Man, I briefly got it in my head that I was going to set pen to paper and settle Brian Reed’s hash. Luckily, I took a moment and thought, "Wait. Really? Am I really doing this? Is he going to have a crisis of conscience after I cut him to the quick and change the direction of the storyline?"

    As a kid, I wrote twice. Peter David had the Hulk fight X-Factor in St. Louis in the #330s, and he had the audacity to call the airport by the wrong name. My stinging rebuke, amazingly, did not see print. Later, after "Marvel Age" debuted the Solo Avengers title, I wrote in demanding a Solo X-Men book. Little could I foresee what was coming back in 1987. Sorry, everybody! Wolverine is basically my fault.

  37. Avatar photo Jeff Reid (@JeffRReid) says:

    When I was twelve, I wrote Mike Carlin (then editor of the Superman franchise) a letter asking about how to pronounce "Kltpzyxm."  Of course, I already knew how to pronounce "Mxyzpltk" thanks to a late-80s issue.  Sadly, my letter didn’t get published, but Carlin did write me back with a very nice hand-written note on small DC stationary.  I still have that note at my parents house.  Superman will always have a warm place in my heart thanks to that little note.

  38. @ohcaroline~  The only two Marvel books that come to mind with letters pages are Remender’s Punisher and Aaron’s Ghost Rider.  I’m sure there are others out there, but those are the only ones I can think of. 

    I haven’t written creators to complain, but I have written them to let them know when they do a really kick ass job or that I like a particular thing about a certain issue.  So far, I’ve written into Jay Faerber, Rick Remender, Jamie McKelvie, Richard Starkings, The Luna Bros. and Ed Brubaker.  I can’t remember which ones were printed (I need to flip through the issues), but I have gotten responses of some sort from 99% of the people I wrote too.  Like I said before, it’s just a really unique thing that we get to do that other media really don’t.

  39. I’ve never had a letter printed in a comic but I’ve had a couple printed in Entertainment Weekly. 

    One read:  "Is it okay for a 35 year-old father of two to have a crush on a giant robot?"  It was in response to the Optimus Prime cover prior to the first movie’s release.  I actually used the term "man-crush" but they changed it for whatever reason.

  40. I’ve had letters in Ms Marvel, back when I liked the thing – Jimski, you should have posted your note, let the creators know how you feel, and imply that you may vote with your dollar. And I treasure a note from DC legend E Nelson Bridwell replying to my query about the Sixties’ Great DC Contest. Also had letters in Amethyst and other odds and sods. My proudest moment was when one of my letters to the Answer Man, Bob Rozakis, at DC, apparently got the subtitle of the Ghosts anthology changed. I wondered why it read ‘true tales of the weird and supernatural’ when the indicia carried the usual ‘no relation to persons living or DEAD’ disclaimer. Next month, ‘true’ was replaced by ‘new’.

     What a literal little sod I was.

  41. – I’ll have to check out the G.I. Joe issues soon, all this sounds too great.

    – Umbrella Academy was POW for me, I thought it would be for Josh this week as well.

    – Ron’s description of the UK was great, haha.

    – I also need to start reading up on these B.P.R.D. issues.

    – I still can’t get into Captain Britain, unfortunately. Perhaps I’ll give it another go.

    – Ha, I’ve actually had a letter printed in every issue of Guerillas thus far, I believe. I am a dork.

    – Just to throw out another idea about collecting: I’ve had numerous friends use a Word or Excel document to organize their comics. Just throw all of the books you got that week in whatever box still has room, and make sure that you note that those books are in that box, and you’re good to go. Of course, then you’ve still got to look through the whole box to find where the issue is, but it saves you the trouble of having to re-organize everything. I’ve never had any first hand experience with it, though.

    – I put the iFanboy sticker on my car, personally. 😀 I considered laptop as well.

    Thanks for the podcast, guys!

  42. @gOofgnewt: Thanks, mate, i actually spelt way too much time writting a few reviews this week. It’s extremely difficult to properly articulate your thoughts about certain books, i honestly don’t know how ron, Conor and Josh have done it for so long without going a little crazy.

     @Josh: i don’t think you understand the dymanic amongst the Umbrella Academy. I don’t think they’re all arseholes; i think its more about the weird meloncholey feeling fully grown siblings feel when they try to re-connect after years away from home and establishing their own identities. It’s very bitter-sweet; there is a awkward formality as the bond from childhood slowly disappears yet you’re strangely proud of the unusual person your brother or sister have become. T

     

    That’s my 2 cents

  43. Well, I don’t think *you* understand.

  44. man, DC is really struggling, not a single discussion point on anything from the main DCU.

  45. @Aeopile, they’ve talked about mainstream DC books a lot in the past weeks.  Any time there’s a new JSA, Flash, GL, Superman or Bat book they guys talk about it.  A slow week for DC doesn’t mean its "really struggling"

  46. People always seem to freak out whenever there aren’t any DCU books talked about, yet no one mentions it when there’s a show with no Marvel books.

    It wasn’t a strong week for DC. Even if I’d been on the show, I doubt it would have been any different.

  47. lame e-mails and voice-mails i mean come on there had to be better questions than where to place a sticker and i think all questions regarding comics organization need to be banned because it seems its been answered many times

  48. I don’t recall hearing your call.

  49. @Mxyzptlk-Maybe you should play evil tricks on the iFanboys as punishment.  Damn imp from the 5th dimension!!!

  50. @jimski- thanks for putting me in my place

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