Blog Posts – Page 53 – Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

As Mentioned in Episode 70 – Forget It, Jake; It’s X-Factor

August 17, 2015 Jay 10 comments

Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 8/23/2015 in the shop (also pencils skirts, ‘cause, why the hell not?) or contact David for the original.

SPOILER. (X-Factor #12)

Meanwhile, in a nearby sitcom… (X-Factor #12)

HI, BOOM BOOM! (X-Factor #12)

Seriously, though, THOSE DRAMATIC GESTURES! (X-Factor #12)

FUN FACT: In 1987, a sufficiently high Dig Dug score actually provided legal immunity from a number of petty misdemeanors in the state of New York! (X-Factor #12)

X-Factor: Trained superheroes; still haven’t really gotten the hang of doors. (X-Factor #12)

This will certainly end well. (X-Factor #13)

Oh, hi, that one photo of Jean! It’s been a while! (X-Factor #13)

Aw, these kids. (X-Factor #13)

I can’t figure out what kind of fish this is supposed to be, and it’s really bothering me. (X-Factor #13)

Cameron Hodge: Definitely the worst. (X-Factor #13)

Same story, different door. (X-Factor #13)

LOOK AT THAT AMAZING ZOMBIE ROBOT. LOOK. LOOK. (X-Factor #13)

Seriously, just buy some damn lockpicks already. (X-Factor #13)

Scott Summers’s life: literally an anxiety dream. (X-Factor #13)

Those Walter Simonson layouts, tho. Dang. (X-Factor #14)

Even Rusty and Skids can’t look away from the amazing soap opera. (X-Factor #14)

Aw, man. (X-Factor #14)

Trish, THERE IS A TIME AND A PLACE. (X-Factor #14)

“Oh, shit, we totally saved him from an inevitable and painful death! We’re monsters!” (X-Factor #14)

This cover is kind of hilarious. (X-Factor #15)

WHO KEEPS BRINGING HIM NEWSPAPERS? Probably Cameron Hodge. JERK. (X-Factor #15)

“Also, I think I might have a kid? I’m pretty sure there was a plot point about that last issue.” (X-Factor #15)

Caliban tries so hard. (X-Factor #15)

Due to lack of participation in X-Factor’s mandatory program of despair, Iceman has been temporary relocated to another book. (X-Factor #15)

I know this is supposed to be very poignant, but I can’t stop wondering why the hell Angel’s little private plane has fucking MISSILES. (X-Factor #15)

Well, I mean, it’s one way to get to Arizona. (X-Factor #15)

NEXT WEEK: Technoorganic blues!

LINKS, LINKS, LINKS!

Did you know there’s a ton of cool stuff to read and see at rachelandmiles.com? Obviously you do, since you’re already here.
David Wynne is the rad dude behind the illustrations you see at the top of every episode!
We have a Redbubble shop, where you can exchange money for all sorts of snazzy stuff, including a new, limited-run shirt every month…
…and if buttons are your bag, you can get those over at Strange Tomorrow!
While we’re being mercenary, you might as well go follow us on Twitter and Tumblr.

Rachel & Miles Review the X-Men, Episode 49

August 14, 2015 Jay One comment

Week of August 12, 2015

In which Esad Ribic is the best at Doom; Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde is the best at fun; and you are probably underestimating the importance of colorists.

REVIEWED:

Secret Wars #5 (00:58)
*Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde #2 (05:16)
Year of Future Past #4 (08:08)

*Pick of the Week (12:45)

NOTE: To the best of our knowledge, no actual murder has occurred in the Murder Basement. It’s just kind of generally terrifying.

Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. These video reviews–and everything else here–are made possible by the support of our Patreon subscribers. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

We’re Finalists in the 2015 Parsec Awards!

August 13, 2015 Jay 6 comments

We are super proud and pleased to announce that Rachel & Miles X-Plain the X-Men is on the shortlist for the 2015 Parsec Awards, in the category of Best Speculative Fiction Fan or News Podcast (Specific)!

The Parsecs are international awards celebrating speculative fiction podcasting. Click through for more info, as well as the full (and impressive) list of 2015 finalists!

Graeme X-Plains It All

August 11, 2015 Jay 11 comments

Rachel here!

TRUE FACT: Graeme McMillan is a veritable saint.

When Graeme and Elle volunteered to guest-host Episode 69, we put out a call for questions, figuring they’d pick one or two to answer on the podcast; which they did.

What we did not figure on was what happened a day later: Graeme e-mailed us a document with answers to every single one of the questions you sent in, from continuity conundrums to comics recommendations–13 in total, exhaustively researched and fully formatted.

GRAEME. SERIOUSLY. HOW ARE YOU EVEN REAL?

Click through below for the full Q&A.

As Mentioned in Episode 69 – Weird Science

August 10, 2015 Jay 8 comments

Listen to the podcast here!

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 8/9/2015 in the shop (once Redbubble’s uploader starts working again, anyway), or contact David for the original.

Just another 70’s monster comic. You’d never know it was about an X-Man. (Amazing Adventures #11)

Drama, destruction, and slightly off-model mutants. (Amazing Adventures #11)

Flashback to Hank leaving the X-Men. Who knows if he’ll ever come back? (Amazing Adventures #11)

In which Carl Maddicks is a total jerk, and Hank McCoy is very good at science. (Amazing Adventures #11)

Great use of panel borders by Tom Sutton on this page. (Amazing Adventures #11)

The Beast at the height of his invulnerability and his creepiness. (Amazing Adventures #11)

Spectacularly horrific splash page by Tom Sutton and Mike Ploog (Amazing Adventure #12)

The closet’s just more trouble than it’s worth. (Amazing Adventure #12)

A visually striking panel of Iron Man flirting with the Beast. (Amazing Adventure #12)

Don’t panic; nothing on this page is actually happening. (Amazing Adventure #12)

Mastermind is as long-winded as Unus is unimpressed. (Amazing Adventure #13)

The Carnival is a haven for the strangest of mutants and the saddest of clowns. (Amazing Adventure #13)

Two mysterious and seemingly boring people arrive at the super-science ultra-mega-labs of the Brand Corporation. (Amazing Adventure #13)

This Beast is a little intense. (Amazing Adventure #13)

When Mastermind loses, he loses hard. (Amazing Adventure #13)

Drama in pajamas. (Amazing Adventure #14)

If you’ve never met Quasimodo the Living Computer… You’re probably fine, actually. (Amazing Adventures #14)

We never learn why Hank went to Patsy’s place to collapse, but the more important question is, why does she keep that Target dorm room floor lamp right in front of the door?(Amazing Adventures #15)

Hank really hasn’t been running his whole life, but film noir dialogue seems appropriate for the debut of the black (soon to be blue) Beast. (Amazing Adventures #15)

At the Xavier School, Scott stands silently in shadow, while Charles and Jean won’t let Warren use the switchboard. (Amazing Adventures #15)

Angel takes things in stride. (Amazing Adventures #15)

Nothing can defeat the hugging power of the Beast. (Amazing Adventures #15)

Hank meets Roy Thomas, and the Juggernaut literally falls out of the sky. (Amazing Adventures #16)

Meanwhile, in Canada… (The Incredible Hulk #161)

Hank continues to make odd choices in pretty much everything. (The Incredible Hulk #161)

The Hulk drops in. (The Incredible Hulk #161)

Wheel of mutants (this is all part of Nixon’s plan). (Captain America #174)

This is what happened in the 616 instead of Watergate. (Captain America #175)

Edward G. Robinson shows up at Avenger auditions. (Avengers #137)

Introducing the new smiling, fun-loving Beast. I wonder why his eyelids are so heavy? (Avengers #137)

The soothing effects of Stevie Wonder and Carlos Castaneda. (Avengers #137)

Patsy Walker finally lives her dream. (Avengers #144)

Family drama at the Indian restaurant. (Marvel Team-Up #124)

Hank has a bad day at the disco. (Avengers #178)

NEXT WEEK: Everything is terrible.

Special thanks to our awesome guest hosts, Elle Collins and Graeme McMillan, who not only covered the episode, but also provided this visual companion AND answered a bunch more questions in text (we’ll be posting those later this week). If you love Elle and Graeme as much as we do and want to hear more of ’em, here’s where to find those two on the web:

Elle Collins
- Into It
- Twitter
Graeme McMillan
- Wait, What?
- Twitter

Rachel Reviews the X-Men, Episode 48

August 8, 2015 Jay 5 comments

Week of August 5, 2015:

In which we introduce Castle Sexy Dracula and (briefly) lose Miles to a scheduling S.N.A.F.U.; the kids are pretty into Giant-Size Little Marvel AvX; we’re pretty into X-Men ’92; and whether or not you’re pretty into Age of Apocalypse will probably depend on when you started reading X-Men.

REVIEWED:

Giant-Size Little Marvel AvX #3 (00:59)
*X-Men ’92 Infinite Comic #6 (2:43)
Age of Apocalypse #2 (5:16)

*Pick of the week (7:04)

August 2015 Shirt of the Month: X-Gamers

August 5, 2015 Jay Leave a comment

Who needs a Danger Room when you can hone your battlefield skills AND rack up EXP against a Beholder? The X-Men gather ‘round the gaming table for some all-new, all-different training in August’s shirt of the month, featuring art by David Wynne!

In addition to covering your torso and impressing your friends and neighbors, the August, 2015 shirt of the months grants +1 on continuity-related checks.* It’s available on a wide variety of wearables, including kids’ clothes; as well as tote bags, travel mugs, and stickers!

NOTE: This is a limited-run shirt! It will DISAPPEAR FOREVER from the shop on September 1, 2015; get ’em while they last!

*Results not guaranteed in actual gameplay. Always run house rules by your GM. Not recommended for use against gazebos.

As Mentioned in Episode 68 – The Most Dangerous Game

August 3, 2015 Jay 10 comments

The visual companion to Episode 68 will be up a little late, because we’ve been moving all weekend. Meanwhile, please enjoy a sneak peek at our new home, which can double as a rousing game of Spot the Anna!

Spot the Anna! — LOOK AT ALL THOSE BOXES

Elle & Graeme Guestsplain!

July 30, 2015 Jay 35 comments

Rachel here! Miles and I are moving house this week! While we’re swimming frantically through a sea of boxes, the podcast will continue unabated, thanks to the guest X-pertise of two friends of ours: Elle Collins of Into It and Graeme McMillan of Wait, What?. Elle and Graeme will be recording episode 69 this weekend, talking about Beast’s solo post-Silver-Age adventures!

Since Miles and I will mostly be unplugged for the next few days, we’re following a slightly different policy than usual in our call for questions. If you have a burning Beast question–or any other question–for Elle and Graeme, please either:

drop it in the comments to this post, or
tweet it to @XplaintheXMen, hashtagged #guestsplain.

We’re really excited for this one–in addition to being some of our favorite people in the Multiverse, Elle and Graeme each brings an encyclopedic collection of comics know-how and critical perspective, and they collectively cover some of the most significant gaps in Miles and my X-perience (see: the subject of this episode!).

As Mentioned in Episode 67 – Shadow of the Technarch

July 27, 2015 Jay 3 comments

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available until 8/2/2015 in the shop, or contact David for the original.

And that’s why you always leave a note. (New Mutants #47)

This jerk. (New Mutants #47)

Meet Sad Darin Morgan Magneto. Next issue, he’ll be bathing his corgi. (New Mutants #47)

For the record: We ran this page by Jamie from the British History Podcast, and he says Robert the Bruce’s outfit is super bullshit (but he said it more eloquently). (New Mutants #47)