subtext | Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

Tag Archive for subtext

As Mentioned in Episode 276 – Wizard Problems

December 8, 2019 As Mentioned, As Mentioned No comments

Listen to the podcast here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

I’m still kind of angry that this isn’t the interior art style. (Excalibur #83)

But are there roller skates? (Excalibur #83)

Still creepy; still cool. (Excalibur #83)

‘Kay. (Excalibur #83)

There’s something very Philip Bond about this pair of panels; and I, for one, am here for it. (Excalibur #83)

Ew. (Excalibur #83)

Evil Kitty’s hair is SO GREAT. (Excalibur #84)

Seriously. So. Excellent. (Excalibur #84)

Is it, though? (Excalibur #84)

Purple on purple. (Excalibur #84)

“Magic, subtext, whatever.” (Excalibur #84)

Choices, choices. (Excalibur #84)

It’s like when a character has been written out of a show but the actor’s contract isn’t up so they have to keep doing flashbacks. (Excalibur #85)

Starring Eliot Spencer as Wolverine. (Excalibur #85)

That’s just… not true. Like, at all. (Excalibur #85)

AND THAT’S WHY YOU ALWAYS LEAVE A NOTE (Excalibur #85)

Next Episode: Jorts Unlimited!

LINKS & FURTHER DIVERSIONS:

You can hear all about the time Margali made Kurt his own personal hell in Episode 134 – Live at Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival.
The Raven probably isn’t a good film; but it is a delightful one.
Here’s Max’s significantly funnier take on Tarot’s potential.
Jay co-wrote a Thor novel! You can pre-order it here, if you are so inclined.

276 – Wizard Problems

December 8, 2019 podcasts 11 comments

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

In which Excalibur gets a regular writer again; we judge a book against against its covers; nothing good ever comes from being sexy on Muir Isle; and the soul sword’s real power is cutting through continuity.

X-PLAINED:

Stegron
Dinosaur powers
Excalibur #83-85 (The Soul Sword Trilogy)
Warren Ellis on Excalibur
Excalibur (more) (again)
Bends Sinister and Bend Sinister
Outsider days
Mail
Boundaries
Darkoth
Gravemoss
The Winding Way
Shrill
A problematic prosthesis
Roger Corman’s The Raven
A large number of continuity errors
Gratuitous dickery
An untold tale
The semantics of skin removal
Possession vs. retrograde amnesia
The circle of nostalgia

NEXT EPISODE: Jorts Unlimited!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog.

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Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

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As Mentioned in Episode 237 – X-Treme

March 3, 2019 As Mentioned, As Mentioned No comments

Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

That bathrobe deserves its own code name. (X-Men Annual #2)

It’s gonna get retconned away again soon, but, there you go! (X-Men Annual #2)

Ouch. (X-Men Annual #2)

Yeah, I’m with Revanche. (X-Men Annual #2)

I didn’t realize during the episode, but I think this may be the first time Revanche has called Psylocke “Elisabeth.” (X-Men Annual #2)

They look like they’re fighting for space on the cover. (X-Force Annual #2)

The Longshot of 1993. (X-Force Annual #2)

This is basically how everyone meets X-Force. (X-Force Annual #2)

Adam X moves like a video-game character, and it’s kind of great. (X-Force Annual #2)

Yeah, that’s rarely a good sign. (X-Force Annual #2)

…Okay, MAYBE I can see it. (X-Force Annual #2)

Possibly the greatest line in this issue. (X-Force Annual #2)

SEE WHAT I MEAN? It looks all portentous; but, no, it’s just the city. (X-Force Annual #2)

Add your own Shape of Water joke here. (X-Force Annual #2)

NEXT EPISODE: Jay gets really emotional about a remote control.

LINKS & FURTHER DIVERSIONS

Fun fact: Aron Wisenfeld is the only person Jay has ever seen spell his given name like Jay’s dad.
This is King Radical. (He also has a skateboard.)

237 – X-Treme

March 3, 2019 podcasts 27 comments

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

In which there is only one Big Pine Key; Empyrean is actually a pretty sensible dude; the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are ride-or-die; you should probably avoid setting X-Men stories in Phoenix, Arizona; Adam X the X-Treme is the Longshot of the 1990s; Miles adopts a ship; heteronormativity is why we can’t have nice things; and you should really seriously come see us at ECCC!

X-PLAINED:

Why Nate Grey is Like That
X-Men Annual #2
X-Force Annual #2
The worst book Aron Wisenfeld ever drew
Big Pine Key
Empyrean
Jonathan Chambers
A very fancy bathrobe
What’s going on in Psylocke’s head
Pallative care for late-stage Legacy virus patients
Revanche’s fairly bleak legacy
X-Men: Time Gliders
How to dress to discuss Adam X the X-Treme
Adam X the X-Treme
Personal lettering styles
Michelle
Flashing, but not like that
Martin Strong
Miles’s new ship
Subtext vs. canon
Heteronormativity
X-Crayons

NEXT EPISODE: Jay gets really emotional about a remote control.

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 175 – Lady Windermere’s Fan Club

December 3, 2017 As Mentioned, As Mentioned One comment

Listen to the podcast here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

This series should really be more fun than it is. (X-Men: True Friends #1)

“On one hand, you’re probably doomed. On the other hand, I did your laundry!” (X-Men: True Friends #1)

Excalibur is SUPER into trad night. (X-Men: True Friends #1)

Turning every head… except the one she wants to. (X-Men: True Friends #1)

Rachel Summers: master of subtlety. (X-Men: True Friends #1)

The absence of Dr. Druid from this story is really inexcusable. (X-Men: True Friends #1)

Lilibet wants nothing to do with that ludicrous accent. (X-Men: True Friends #1)

It wouldn’t be a Claremont book without an aviation lesson! (X-Men: True Friends #1)

Ugh. THAT guy. (X-Men: True Friends #2)

FUN FACT: We learned after recording this episode that Edward and Wallis were SUPER into fascism. NOT COOL. (X-Men: True Friends #2)

Laird Hetero McNonthreatening and his amazing Hypercolor kilt! (X-Men: True Friends #2)

AND THEN THIS HAPPENED. (X-Men: True Friends #2)

“If only my bones were made out of something super dense that made me useless underwater, amirite?” (X-Men: True Friends #2)

Hiiiii, Logan. (X-Men: True Friends #2)

“I’ll go kill the Nazis. You kids hang out under the dock and neck, or whatever.” (X-Men: True Friends #2)

He is a man of simple pleasures. (X-Men: True Friends #2)

Welcome to the time loop! Hope you survive the… oh. OH. Sorry. (X-Men: True Friends #3)

Oh, man. (X-Men: True Friends #3)

Don’t fuck with Kitty Pryde. (X-Men: True Friends #3)

I would read the HELL out of a comic about these three. (X-Men: True Friends #3)

This is the best costume Kitty Pryde will ever have, hands down. (X-Men: True Friends #3)

Yaaaawn. (X-Men: True Friends #3)

“Well, I do like redheads…” (X-Men: True Friends #3)

I don’t know what the Sword of Scone is, but it sounds DELICIOUS. (X-Men: True Friends #3)

I really love that the Phoenix Force has defeated Nazis with the power of queerness on AT LEAST TWO DISTINCT OCCASIONS. (X-Men: True Friends #3)

“They’re not corgis, but we suppose that they’ll have to do.” (X-Men: True Friends #3)

NEXT EPISODE: This guy.

175 – Lady Windermere’s Fan Club

December 3, 2017 podcasts 27 comments

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Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

In which Gambit is transatlantically terrible; Rick Leonardi is the poor man’s Alan Davis (but in a good way); we try and fail to care about British royals; Miles should probably read some Oscar Wilde already; Jay has a lot of feelings about The Rocketeer; Shadowcat gets a genuinely stylish costume; and we would read the hell out of a series about Destiny, Mystique, and Wolverine’s WWII adventures.

X-PLAINED:

Why Gambit isn’t welcome in the United Kingdom
X-Men: True Friends #1-3
The poor man’s Alan Davis
Trad night
Laird Alasdhair Kinross and his nonthreatening but convenient heterosexuality
Inexplicably absent familial relationships
Queen Lilibet the Second
Lady Regina Windermere
Several notable British fascists of the 1930s
A snazzy airplane
Several nefarious plots
Formal pajamas
The mystery of the Hypercolor™ kilt
A large number of strong feelings about The Rocketeer
Kitty Pryde’s best costumes
Weaponized cosmic queerness (again)
Power, agency, and the Dark Phoenix Saga
How characters end up with their specific mutations.

NEXT EPISODE: Wolverine, again.

You can find the visual companion to this episode on our blog.

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

As Mentioned in Episode 163 – Shut Up, Conscience

September 17, 2017 As Mentioned, As Mentioned No comments

Listen to the episode here.

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

Soviet Plot is my favorite porn mag. (Marvel Comics Presents #10)

In case you were wondering whether this was an Ann Nocenti story: yes. (Marvel Comics Presents #10)

This picnic is terrible. (Marvel Comics Presents #11)

“Just step out back to the kidnap van!” (Marvel Comics Presents #12)

These fuckers are the worst people in the story. (Marvel Comics Presents #13)

Okay, but seriously, I want a fort like this. (Marvel Comics Presents #11)

“We’ll talk about kyriarchy later, kiddo.” (Marvel Comics Presents #13)

“Okay, but… why did you resign?” (Marvel Comics Presents #14)

Oof. (Marvel Comics Presents #14)

In their defense, this is pretty terrifying. (Marvel Comics Presents #15)

If only they’d given him mongoose blood, he could’a gotten super speed! (Marvel Comics Presents #15)

THESE ASSHOLES, SERIOUSLY. (Marvel Comics Presents #15)

“How did your grandpa die, Zackery?” “Narrative necessity.” (Marvel Comics Presents #16)

And then nothing was ever okay again. The end! (Marvel Comics Presents #17)

Cyclops: Still the worst at vacations. (Marvel Comics Presents #17)

Fun fact: the last time Cyclops was actively hallucinating, he kicked Master Mold’s ass. FORESHADOWING? (Marvel Comics Presents #17)

Moira, this is not an acceptable way to science. Who do you think you are, Charles Xavier? (Marvel Comics Presents #18)

Okay, but did you consider that she might be like one of those cool lizards who can run on water? (Marvel Comics Presents #18)

Cyclops may be a jerk to adults, but he’s canonically pretty decent with little kids. (Marvel Comics Presents #18)

…well, fuck. (Marvel Comics Presents #18)

…well, FUCK. (Marvel Comics Presents #19)

Seriously, Dr. Mustache Guy, what the hell is wrong with you? (Marvel Comics Presents #19)

“I need helper robots. I KNOW, I’LL BUILD LITTLE NAKED ALIENS. THAT’LL BE COOL.” (Marvel Comics Presents #19)

More servitors, because if I have to see this nonsense, you do, too. (Marvel Comics Presents #20)

Shut up, Conscience. (Marvel Comics Presents #20)

“Look, they forgot I even EXISTED for three issues!” (Marvel Comics Presents #20)

“But, like, not the person. The concept. But not really in this story. Anyway, you get the idea, right? Right?” (Marvel Comics Presents #20)

This plan is terrible. (Marvel Comics Presents #21)

Aw. That’s… sort of nice? In an about-to-explode kind of way. (Marvel Comics Presents #24)

NEXT EPISODE: The Mutant Revolution, Live at Rose City Comic Con!

LINKS & FURTHER LISTENING

We talked about the Daredevil Inferno tie-ins in Episode 112 – Embers of Inferno (feat. Sam Humphries).
For a lot of discussion of the Cold War, check out Episode 114 – Meltdown.
The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is seriously awesome.

163 – Shut Up, Conscience

September 11, 2017 podcasts 23 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Art by David Wynne. Wanna buy the original? Drop him a line!

In which Rose City Comic Con was in fact pretty awesome; we return to Marvel Presents; Colossus has a bad day; Ann Nocenti engages in some bipartisan satire; Cyclops has a bad day; Moira MacTaggert gets possessed again; Master Mold is really hard to kill; you should absolutely not send Jay naked leprechaun pictures; sentinels are basically rationalization engines; and that is really not how consciences work.

NOTE: In this episode, we said that the U.S.S.R. dissolved in 1989. That actually happened in 1991.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: THE NYCC PANEL HAS BEEN MOVED. IT IS ON THURSDAY, NOT FRIDAY.

X-PLAINED:

Sentinel Aesthetics
Prime Sentinels
“Colossus: God’s Country”
Butt physics
The Cold War
Colossus’s feelings about porn
The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library
Some varyingly dubious politics
The Cold Warriors
Alexander, who is probably not actually either Colonel Sanders or Howard Hughes
Bipartisan satire
Jay’s grandfather
An uncomfortable picnic
Limbs
Number Six (but not that one)
Terrible neighbors
“Cyclops: The Retribution Affair”
Bobbie and Mary Campbell
Master Mold (again)
Stephen Lang (again)
Servitors
A well-honed lobster alert system
The Retribution Virus
Conscience
A terrible party
Kitty Pryde’s Gal Pal Squad
Community Organizer Magneto

NEXT EPISODE: Live from Rose City Comic Con!

You can find a visual companion to this episode on our blog.

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

We’re in the process of migrating our official shop to TeePublic! Click over to check it out! (You can still find the designs we haven’t moved yet at Redbubble.)

X-TRA – FlameCon 2017 Sofa Special, feat. Sina Grace, James Tynion IV, and Niki Johnson

August 23, 2017 podcasts 20 comments

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Thanks again to James and Sam for letting us use their hotel room for this ridiculousness!

WHAT?! Less than a month back, and it’s a brand new mid-week bonus episode!

In which Jay, Niki, Sina, and James drink fancy Scotch and talk FlameCon; what X-Men means to us as queer readers and writers; the difference between the bat family and the X-Men; mutant metaphors; favorite ‘ships; and more!

GUESTS:

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