Pick of the Week Podcast

Pick of the Week #209 – Lobo: Highway to Hell #1

Show Notes

Something must be in the water because there’s an extra helping of loopy in this week’s edition of the Pick of the Week Podcast, as Ron Richards explains his oddball Pick of the Week, Josh Flanagan gets a new last name, and Conor Kilpatrick rings the irony bell.

Running Time: 01:00:53

Pick of the Week:
00:02:50 – Ron’s came flying in from left field again with his choice of Lobo: Highway to Hell #1.

Comics:
00:12:58 – Everyone loves Stumptown #1; some (Josh) more than others.
00:17:53 – A great story in Black Widow: Deadly Origin #1 was almost overshadowed by the disappointing art.
00:20:21 – The Mighty #10 finally gives us some creepy answers.
00:22:33 – Captain America: Reborn #4 finds a winning formula: Just add Doctor Doom to the bickering super villain mix!
00:25:18 – Ron and Conor disagree over Strange Tales #3.
00:27:19 – Do we need another Fables book? After reading Cinderella #1 Josh says “yes.”
00:28:37 – The one good thing about The Amazing Spider-Man #610? The arc is over.
00:29:56 – Did Sweet Tooth #3 blow the guys away like advertised?
00:31:07 – Phil Noto rocked X-Men Origins: Ice Man.

User Reviews:
00:33:04 – comicBOOKchris says that Haunt #2 is about what you would expect it to be.
00:34:55 – grifter78 loved The Authority #16, which is not surprising considering his name.

Email:
00:37:36 – Rob read Sleeper and now he wants Wildstorm recommendations.
00:43:12 – John F. asks about comic book annuals.

Voicemail:
00:48:02 – Foley from Union City, CA wants to gush about last week’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

Etc.:
00:51:46 – Check out the iFanbase Halloween costumes!
00:53:20 – We got Talksplodes all over the place! And don’t forget to subscribe to the new iFanboy podcast: Don’t Miss!
00:54:15 – What’s the deal with iFanboy, our video show?
00:55:56 – If you’re on Twitter you’ll want to be subscribing to the iFanboy comic book lists!

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Music:
“Ageless Beauty”
Stars

 

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Comments

  1. If ever there were a time for ACDC, Gentlmen..

    Awesome energy on this show. Thank you very much.

     

  2. Looking forward to listening to this on the commute tommorow.  And I have the Don’t Miss podcast as well.  A great way to start the week.  That and the 70 degree weather we’re currently having in Kentucky

     

     

  3. The other day I was also thinking about how, all through the ’90s (and back even to the late ’80s a bit), there were a lot of multi-part prestige comics for like $5-$7. I don’t remember many people complaining too much about them back then, in the days when a regular issue was like a fourth the cost of them. In today’s market, that would mean that you’d’ve paid about $12 for the Lobo part one book.

    Relatedly, the other day I also glanced at some of my old Image comics from the ’90s. They were all between $2.50 and 2.99. No outrage over that back then, but here we are 10-15 years later and people are outraged about paying roughly the same cost for a regular issue. Image sold a ton of $2.99 comics in ’94-’95, while DC and Marvel were charging $4.99 for their big double-sized prestige specials–So is it really so outrageous for companies to want to sell a comic at $3.99 fifteen whole years later? (Just a rhetorical question; I know there are other factors involved, but that’s one sort of comparison to look at.)

    I think a lot of the friction over prices in recent years comes from the fact that as a community comic buyers have gotten older: we no longer have "disposable income" anymore. We no longer think of our income as "disposable", because the money we have isn’t handed to us by our parents anymore, and we have to buy our own damn food and pay rent out of our pocket. Much as we might WANT to be, we’re not the less-than-totally-responsible fun-loving kids we were when we had "disposable income" and didn’t mind paying $3 or $5 for a comic. We value our money now and really pay attention to it. This isn’t to poo-poo the idea that people don’t want comics to be as expensive as they are, though. Just something I was thinking about that seemed to make sense.

  4. Shawn McManus also did an arc or two of Sandman and an issue or two of the best Alan Moore Swamp Thing stories. He’s great. Didn’t read the Cinderella issue but now that I know he drew it I’m contemplating hopping aboard.

  5. I’ve bought about $150 worth of stuff through iFanboy’s Amazon store.

    I just want some "Props!"

  6. @kickass Props to you sir! we thank you for your support!

  7. I hate to harp on about this BUT you brought it up (AGAIN)

    You guys do realize every time you pick a really terrible book (Spiderman Short Halloween over Wolverine 72, Scalped over Blackest Night 1 or X-men Forever over anything) over a much better issue it just make you seem like you have terrible taste and don’t know what you are talking about, right?

    So it means that your credibility, opinions, recommendations or thoughts about comics, the comic making process and the comics industry are undermined.

    I mean, you do call yourself a review show. If a film reviewer constantly gave good review to terrible films or rated bad films high than good ones, I would eventually think that guy was JUST AN IDIOT.

    Ultimately, that’s the reality of what you are doing

  8. @edward: Yes, we are all well aware that you have a hard time wrapping your head around the idea that different people like different things.

  9. You know what? Re-reading that I sound way to harsh. I didn’t mean to offence. I just want to mention that little idea.

  10. Hey guys!  Thanks for the shout-out for my Authority review.  When you guys said WS has had ups and downs over the years, you hit the nail on the head.  Although, believe it or not, WS has never had a true reboot.  A reboot would imply that everything that came before is erased (ala One More Day) but everything that has happened in WS’s past still stands. 

    What they have had is many relaunches.  Each relaunch coinciding with some big event like moving to DC (1999) and changing their books to mature readers (2002) and the relaunch which we don’t like to mention-Worldstorm (2006).

    World’s End (2008) has been an entertaining chapter in WS’s history and a lot of the things you mentioned liking back in the day (Team 7, Backlash, Gen 13) are all being incorporated into it.  It’s kind of a ‘reward’ for those of us who’ve stuck by WS through the ups and downs.

    Tell Rob to contact me and I’ll give him some good WS recommendations.

    And to answer your questions about what’s traded, feel free to check out the Wildstorm Resource Wiki I help run:

    http://wildstormresource.wetpaint.com/

    It has every trade and every issue listed that’s come out that’s part of the WSU.

    Anyway, thanks again showing WS a little love.  🙂

     

  11. Referring to Scalped is a "terrible book" in any context automatically discounts your input. 

  12. ok, dude, ok.

  13. Great show as always and i agree with you about the spider-man art but the artist switching on black widow did not bother me at all. And I know it wasnt THAT good of an issue for Tom Raney but cmon I cant believe you guys dont like him, it wasnt like John Paul Leon was on his a-game too.

  14. If I ever hit the lottery, I’ll sign up to pay $4 a month…

    Speaking of Annual Editions, the Supergirl Annual was really good this year.  

  15. Stars as the music for this episode makes it the BEST IFANBOY EPISODE EVER.

    I haven’t listened to it yet, but I have to assume.

    Much love to whoever picked the music.

  16. Man was today a great day! I finally get some renovations on my apartment done, I saw the funniest movie of the year (Black Dynamite), and then I come home to find my review mentioned on the POTW show! Thanks guys, I was really stoked to hear this!

     

    I was also estatic earlier in the week when I read Stumptown #1, as I think I found my new favorite series. There are many great crime writes and stories out there, but Greg Rucka proves that he really gets what makes great noir fiction. One of the most important things is to have a charismatic lead character, and we truly have that with Dex. Looking forward to more of this book!

  17. I didn’t listen to the episode yet, but I see mention of the iFanboy Amazon store and just wanted to ask, you can buy anything through it or just the cateogory options (comics, DVDs, music, & video games)? I ordered some clothes for my friend through Amazon (he doesn’t have a bank account or something; I don’t care either way ’cause he paid my $50 for something I barely had to do any work for) and tried to find them through the iF store, but to no avail. I regret to say that said friend grew impatient and asked me to go to the regular Amazon site, but for future reference how would I go about getting things outside the selected cateogories on the iF store?

  18. @captbastard: You can buy anything through Amazon. You just click on the "Powered by Amazon" logo and you’ll be taken to Amazon.com and anything you buy there over the next 24 hours will count.

  19. Strange Tales #3 was pretty disappointing as both an issue and an endcap for the mini. There were some highlights; what you guys pretty much mentioned, but for the most part it was pretty medicore. I did like that Chris Cupa story, only because I love abstract art and it felt like something you would see in a museum.

    Also, I feel weird to say anything about Abnett and Lanning considering that I just dropped Nova from my pullbin. I wish I could see the greatness with those two now; but I think War of Kings burnt them out on the other titles. Plus with Realm of Kings coming right around the corner, I had enough with the cosmic side of Marvel.

    Great episode as always guys.

  20. Spider-Man: The Short Halloween > any issue of Wolverine. EVER. 

  21. I have been meaning o do this forever and kept forgetting, but this thread just reminded me so I finally changed my Amazon bookmark from the normal link to the iFanboy link. So when i get paid this week, I’ll be buying stuff from the correct link for a change. 

  22. Do people not get that the pick of the week is one person opinion and most times doesn’t reflected everyones pick ? its all subjective to taste and what they actually read.  

  23. No, some people don’t, and there’s really no point in delving down that same rabbit hole again, so we tend to just let them think whatever they want.  We’re OK wtih that.

    It was a good looking book.  If you’re into that sort of thing, I mean. 😉

  24. @josh: We can’t let them go down to far in the hole. Cause then they could eventually tunnel a way to another website. Best to gas them back to the surface to know their place.

  25. whats the first video show!!!???

  26. @conor
    Oh, okay I actually did that; cool!

    And I repeat, this was a purchase made by my "friend" (read: my actual friend’s brother who never quite got that diminished connection) so, I’m sorry that we went through your site to buy a TapOut hoodie. Which, to paraphrase Josh, is okay… if you’re into that sort of thing… and being a douchebag.

  27. Ageless Beauty’s one of best pop songs of the decade. Kudos on the song choice gentlemen.

  28. Not always having the conventional/expected book be POTW is one of the central charms of ifanboy.  If they just posted a pick and nothing else it would be one thing, but by providing explanation and context to their pick–both on the site and in the podcast–the guys spur on a debate that reminds me of the best part of being at the comic store and arguing with my friends.  

    That said, Lobo?!?  Lobo?!?  Really???  Lobo!?!  But Lobo sucks.  ugh.  

    Ah the beauty of the back and forth of discourse.

  29. Hooray for Foley showing some Union City love!!

    Pretty good show guys.  Your answer to the Wildstorm question really made me want to check out more Authority.  I read the first trade and it didn’t really do a whole lot for me.  It was solid, but wasn’t a gut punch for me like it seems to be for others.  I’ll give it another go sometime soon.

  30. I feel absolutely stupid for asking this but:

    Where do I know Jean Paul Leon’s name from? I know I recognise it and I know I liked his work in something, but what has he done recently? the answer may determine whether I go back and get that Black Widow book or not…

  31. Earth X?

  32. Did an Ex Machina Special issue a few months back

  33. @josh i don’t want to go down that path. great show as always. 

  34. It was the Ex Machina special I was thinking of specifically, but then i remembered he did some great work on Scalped as well. Thanks guys!

  35. Point of clarification — was Ron’s ‘guarantee’ of recognizing the lead singer of Anthrax on sight directed at the entire audience, or just Josh and Conor? 

  36. @ohcaroline: The audience. Josh and I know who he is.

  37. Guys, you know that when you do a read, at a certain length you might lose your audience. That collection drawer read could use some cutting down.

  38. Haha, well, then, I think Ron is overestimating the cultural centrality of Anthrax, but in an endearing way.  Also, he totally left XMen Forever off the list of XMen books he buys.   

  39. Yikes, seems there’s a lot of criticism for this week’s show.

    I…I liked it, you guys.

    (PS I could listen to Conor do that Drawerbox ad over and over. He’s dreamy at it <3)

  40. @ohcaroline: I’ve never heard an Anthrax song in my life, but I know who Scott Ian is because he’s on TV a lot.

  41. I googled and I don’t really know if I actually recognize him or if he just looks like the dude who used to hang around campus who had the same beard.  Anyway.

  42. @conor
    You’ve never heard a…?! That makes me sad in my metal-laden heart. 

    @ohcaroline
    Anthrax was at one time right up there with Metallica in terms of popularity for a metal band (the two, along w/ Megadeth and Slayer are considered "The Big Four of Thrash") and were I one of those fans, I’d say that they just never sold out like Metallica did, but then I’d realize that Scott Ian was on VH1 on a regular basis for years.
    Okay, I’ve hijacked the tread enough.

    One thing that bugged me about The Authority (not to any substantial amount, just thought it was a little weird) was that I skipped through the 1st run a bit and, unless my memory is off, every (if not, almost every) issue ended w/ the characters looking towards us, the readers, with Jenny Sparks saying something that is either revelatory or quippy and "badass". It just irked me and I was wondering if anyone else caught that. 

  43. *thread

  44. @Josh – Cinderella appears to be a six issue mini-series.  I also enjoyed it.  I wouldn’t mind seeing a few more Fables mini’s focusing on neglected characters (Boy Blue).

  45. @Connor:You get pelted with stones saying that im my regular company 🙂 Goddamit they have a thrash metal epic inspired by Randall fucking Flagg.

     

    BTW, awaiting the return of the video show!

  46. @muddi900
    And Judge Dredd!

  47. @Conor:  I’m sure you’ve covered it before, but what do you do with your comics if you don’t bag or board or longbox them?

    Thanks

  48. @katang: I put them in a longbox and into storage, but I rarely ever go back into my longboxes. If I did that, I would get these DrawerBoxes.

  49. Especially good episode this week, guys.  I mean, even the guys on the docks were talking about it.

    Love the music selection this week.  One of your best choices, just slightly below Band of Horses and Bell Biv Devoe.

  50. Not be the metal nerd but two things: Scott Ian is one of the guitarists from Anthrax (I don’t think Ron said he was the singer but some one did in the comment, it’s a common mistake.) & second, he’s not the only founding member still in the band. Charlie (the drummer) & Frank (the bassist) are still in the band. Course only me & Brian Posehn would know that!! It’s awesome that he’s writing a comic seeing as how the whole band are such fanboys.

    Thanks for a great podcast!! I listen to a lot of comics podcast & you guys are definitely one the best. I love the show! 

  51. @ashcrafty  Thanks for the metal nerdery, though the fact that I have no idea what instrument the guy plays supports my point.  Though I could just be out of it.  (This reminds me of the time that I picked up a ‘Superman’ comic, had no idea who Doomsday was, and had about 30 people on a message board explain to me that there was no way I didn’t know who Doomsday was.  To be fair, I’ve had the same conversation with my mother about Stan Lee).

  52. @ohcaroline

    coincidence: Scott Ian and Doomsday’s careers both peaked around the same time.

  53. @Aalbatr0ss
    🙁 I liked "We’ve Come For You All…

  54. @captbastard

    Maybe I assume too much.  I never heard any album after "Attack of the killer B’s" more than once.  I’ll check it out.

  55. Huh, when did they change singers?  Whatever happened to Joey Belladonna?  God, I’m getting old…

  56. Yes , "we’ve come for you all" was indeed a great album.

     

    Also, where can get the RSS link for the new podcast.

  57. because itunes suck!

  58. @muddi900 – Go here: http://www.ifanboy.com/podcasts/audio and select RSS from the subscribe drop down box.  That should do it.

  59. That only has the POTW podcast. I wan the RSS link for "Don’t miss it"

  60. Hell, it’s even on the page where we introduce the podcast: 

    http://feeds.feedburner.com/ifanboyDM

    (You’re welcome.) 

  61. Excellent show, chaps.

    @cooper John Paul Leon also did sterling work on DC’s Challengers of the Unknown back in the Nineties.

    I suppose if you’re into heavy metal you’d have a good chance of recognising Mr Ian but I really doubt most people would. I’ve heard of Anthrax, never heard anything by them, never heard of him. It’s weird DC were apparently so keen to have him write Lobo, unless he has a huge crossover fanbase.

    I don’t see the need to spend several minutes of every podcast defending your Pick. As some of the fellas above have said, it’s your opinion. That view gains context as the show goes on and you critique the week’s other comics, there’s no need to get your defence in first. Stand proud!

  62. It’s not so much defending as explaining.  And that’s what it is really.  Make a pick, explain why. 

  63. There’s often a fair bit of ‘I know people will have expected me to pick (insert Johns or Rucka book here)’ rather than just launching into it. Anyway, no huge deal!

  64. The community is a big part of iFanboy, and we like to make sure we acknowledge what’s going on with the site as well. Plus, we think it’s funny.  Like later today, I’m probably going to upset a lot of people with my Pick. 😉

  65. Bloomin’ tease! No comics here in the UK until tomorrow.

    SWORD #1?

  66. I remember watching an ANTHRAX concert video back in the late 80’s/early 90’s and Scott Ian had a copy of The Killing Joke with him backstage, showing it to the camera and calling it ‘the greatest comic ever’.  And Alex Ross painted the cover for their last album.  Ian’s never been shy about his love for comics.

  67. Thanks, Paul.

  68. Someone told me that the comments for this week’s podcast is a bit negative. After I listen to it and reading thse comments, now I know why. So what. It’s opinions. Just like Me who still buy Mighty Avengers and Runaways… At least Blackest Night is good, but I don’t think it’s too the point where is considered pick of the week yet.

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