Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

Tag: Tabitha Smith

141 – Reason to Go to the Devil

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Art by David Wynne. No print this week, but you can contact David to purchase the original!

In which we ring in the new year with Cable’s on-page debut; it’s really the ’90s now; we enter the third major era of New Mutants; what Liefeld lacks in craft he makes up for in energy; we pitch a new “What if–” line; Rusty and Skids are terrible superheroes; X-Factor has probably given up on a lot of things; we speculate at gratuitous length on the content of Cable’s pouches; you have reason to go to the devil; and Cable makes a lot more sense when you realize he’s of, by, and for teenagers.

X-PLAINED:

  • How the Legacy Virus got loose
  • New Mutants #86-89
  • Cable’s on-page debut
  • Rob Liefeld
  • The third major era of New Mutants
  • A shift in the balance of power
  • A comics shop to probably avoid if you time-travel back to the mid 1990s
  • The stupid adventures of Rusty & Skids
  • Yet another Acts of Vengeance tie-in
  • Nitro
  • An accidental prison break
  • Cops, or maybe protestors
  • The Mutant Liberation Front
  • Feet
  • A goody two-shoes man-stealing redheaded werewolf
  • Wildside
  • Reaper
  • Strobe
  • Thumbelina
  • Tempo
  • Forearm
  • Zero
  • Stryfe
  • Stryfe’s armor
  • Spooning with Cable

NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor kicks it Silver Age.

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!

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No prints this week. Contact David Wynne to purchase the original illustration!

As Mentioned in Episode 132 – Nornheim Lemonade

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
“I mean, seriously, this is how EVERY FIGHT YOU’VE GOTTEN INTO THIS STORY has gone. Are you really surprised?” (New Mutants #82)
Aw, man. Rictor is such a good dude. (New Mutants #82)
Hela: Actually really good at this whole “villainous plan” business. (New Mutants #82)
“Also, I’m super into wrestling.” (New Mutants #83)
AND THAT’S WHY YOU ALWAYS LEAVE A NOTE (New Mutants #83)
Volstagg’s kids are so awesome. (New Mutants #84)
Ula and the Savage Swarm! (New Mutants #84)
If you can’t punch pterosaurs, punching the jerks riding them is the next best option. (New Mutants #84)
Let’s have a moment of awed silence for the sheer audacity of Baldur’s outfit. (New Mutants #84)
FIIIIIIIGHT! (New Mutants #85)
Asgard: where you can have a dramatic death and then show up again WITHOUT resorting to retcons! (New Mutants #85)
Evil Dani is EVIL, man. (New Mutants #85)
And that’s how you sound-effect. (New Mutants #85)
Hela, of course, manages to work in one final villain speech. Because she’s a pro. (New Mutants #85)
Considering that Rob Liefeld’s run starts next issue, I’m gonna go with “no.” (New Mutants #85)
Meanwhile on Midgard*, Rusty and Skids basically play out variations on this gag forever. (New Mutants #84)

*Earth
Bret Blevins does draw a pretty splendid Vulture, though. (New Mutants #83)
NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor vs. Celestials!

LINKS:

  • We covered the first half of the Asgard Adventure in Episode 127 – Disaster City.
  • COME SEE US AT VEGAS VALLEY COMIC BOOK FEST ON NOVEMBER 5! It’s an awesome convention, and we will be doing a VERY SPECIAL live show.

132 – Nornheim Lemonade

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which Rusty is an honorary Bluth; we bid a sad farewell to Bret Blevins; Hogan the Grim is probably the best at bedtime stories; Asgard has really tight hat game; Hela is a remarkably competent supervillain; there are some sound effects you have to earn; Rusty and Skids fight the Vulture; and Miles has so many feelings about Thor.

X-PLAINED:

  • Cortex
  • Damian Tryp
  • Our weird 2016 recording schedule
  • Jay & Miles at Vegas Valley Comic Book Fest 2016
  • Recent ResurrXion announcements
  • The second half of the Asgard Adventure
  • The end of Bret Blevins’ New Mutants run
  • New Mutants #82-85
  • The Odinsleep
  • A fairly upsetting board game
  • Volstagg’s awesome kids
  • Tiwaz of the Wastes
  • Many excellent hats
  • Ula and the Savage Swarm
  • Garm
  • Miles’s favorite Fenrir story
  • A remarkably clever villainous plan
  • A signature sound effect
  • Karnilla the Norn Queen
  • Cable’s relationship to Longshot
  • Recommendations for a comics newcomer

NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor vs. Celestials, as Judgment War concludes!

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!

Buy prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

As Mentioned in Episode 127 – Disaster City

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
Tabitha, no. (New Mutants #77)
Well, that can’t be good. (New Mutants #77)
Aw, man, Hela is such a fun villain. (New Mutants #78)
WHOOPS! (New Mutants #78)
Remember when we didn’t like Brett Blevins? MEA CULPA. (New Mutants #79)
TABITHA, NO. (New Mutants #79)
Blevins’s Hela is DELIGHTFUL. (New Mutants #79)
This gag doesn’t really stop being funny. (New Mutants #80)
Aw, Boom Boom. We knew you’d come through! (New Mutants #80)
Hela gets equal billing with her expansive gestures and sweet headgear. (New Mutants #80)
NEXT WEEK: Judgment War!

LINKS & FURTHER READING:

127 – Disaster City

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which we get back on the continuity train; everything is the aftermath of Inferno forever; you should never fight a tractor or a horse without first putting on some damn pants; Vincent Price would’ve made a terrific Doctor Strange; Rusty Collins never really gets a fair break; Boom Boom is in over her head; and Brett Blevins takes his place as the definitive New Mutants artist.

X-PLAINED:

  • Mirage’s on-again-off-again Valkyrie career
  • Asgardia
  • The New Mutants’ previous Asgard adventures
  • The best single issue of all time
  • The Naglfar
  • A proposal for a new calendar
  • New Mutants #77-80
  • The Ust-Ordynski Collective (again) (more)
  • There’s Stuff Going On: The Doctor Strange Story
  • A very bad decision
  • Why unicorns are the worst
  • Doctor Stephen Sanders / Doctor Strange / Doctor Dad
  • Let’s Make a Deal
  • Whether arson counts as a personality trait
  • Several nefarious plans
  • Creative growth
  • Disaster City
  • Fun with the Technarchy
  • Mindful representation
  • Miles’s dad’s comics collection

NEXT EPISODE: Judgment War!

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!

Buy prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

As Mentioned in Episode 125 – Giant-Size Special #4

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
In which a bunch of twenty and thirty-something PNW nerds pretend to be New England teenagers. Left to right: Crystal Frasier as Jubilee, Miles Stokes as Boom Boom, Logan Bonner as the indifferent god of a cruel world, Jay Edidin as Havok, Max Carleton as Shadowcat.
Starring Hachi the Studio Dog as himself, or possibly as Mystique. The jury’s still out on that one.
Bayville or bust!
Fun fact: Miles’s only hot pink shirt is a Gaming’s Feminist Illuminati shirt, which we feel is 100% Boom Boom-appropriate.
Erik. The. Rad.
NEXT EPISODE: Live from Rose City Comic Con, featuring Greg Pak!

LINKS:

125 – Giant-Size Special #4

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which Logan Bonner, Max Carleton, and Crystal Frasier hike up their boxers and join us at the gaming table for an X-Men: Evolution tabletop adventure; what happens in virtual reality stays in virtual reality; Shadowcat is great at boats; Jubilee and Boom Boom blow up everything; Havok tries; and Team Reckless Endangerment wins the day!

FEATURING:

  • Logan Bonner as Writer and Gamemaster / Erik the Rad
  • Max Carleton as the Shadowcat / Pirate Kitty
  • Crystal Frasier as Jubilee / the Genie
  • Jay Edidin as Havok / the Corsair
  • Miles Stokes as Boom Boom / Boomavara

NEXT EPISODE: Live from RCCC, with Greg Pak!

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!

Buy prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

122 – Boom Boom Von Doom and the Ontology of Monsters

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which the back-up stories of Atlantis Attacks are way better than the main event; the Serpent Society is hilarious; Longshot finds a rock; the S.U.R.F.E.R.S. are no Neutrinos; our volume of digressions is inversely proportional to our investment in this crossover; Jay overthinks sunglasses; and somehow we still aren’t entirely done with Inferno.

X-PLAINED:

  • Leonard McKenzie
  • Princess Fen
  • Tiger Shark
  • A dubious crossover event and three splendid backup stories
  • The best thing in Marvel Puzzle Quest
  • Skateman
  • Atlantis Attacks
  • Uncanny X-Men Annual #13
  • New Mutants Annual #5
  • X-Factor Annual #4
  • Ghaur
  • Llyra
  • Homo mermanus
  • The Serpent Society
  • Boomslang
  • Why snakes don’t wear vests
  • The Maple Hill Farm books
  • The Horn of Doom (again)
  • Namorita
  • Impractical swimwear
  • Surf, or S.U.R.F.E.R.S., or whoever the hell they are
  • Zak and the Neutrinos
  • The trouble with mobile landmarks
  • A case of mistaken identity
  • The true meaning of something, probably
  • Ralph Macchio, but not that Ralph Macchio
  • Circumstances in which it is acceptable to throw a small child down an elevator shaft
  • The definitive Boom Boom
  • Eligible gentlemen of the Marvel Universe
  • Boom Boom Von Doom
  • A false dichotomy
  • Sally Pashkow
  • A really great outfit
  • Presidencies rated by X-Books
  • Best and worst moral inversions

NEXT WEEK: Mojo Mayhem!

ART CHALLENGE: Send your best Boom Boom romance stories, covers, and pin-ups to xplainthexmen(at)gmail.com by SEPTEMBER 15, with the subject line BOOM BOOM RULES.

NOTE: In this episode, Jay briefly confused two Marvel villain teams: the Serpent Society (snake-themed villains); and the Sons of the Serpent, also known as the Serpent Men (hate group). We would like to offer our apologies to the Serpent Society, who are ridiculous but not, as far as we know, racist.

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!

Buy prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!

As Mentioned in Episode 118 – Extrude the Grappling Arms!

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Listen to the episode here!

Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
Elaine Grey as drawn by Rob Liefeld. (X-Factor #40)
Perspective? What perspective? (X-Factor #40)
Remember, this is supposed to be taking place inside the cockpit of a fairly small airplane. (X-Factor #40)
Nanny, X-Plained. (X-Factor #40)
Trolls, trollin.’ (X-Factor #41)
“Just, um, don’t call Magneto. He’s a supervillain. Anything he says about us is probably a lie.” (X-Factor #41)
Well, that escalated quickly. (X-Factor #41)
Sure, why not? (X-Factor #41)
The future mutant messiah. (X-Factor #42)
Meanwhile in Excalibur, other stuff. (X-Factor #42)
This is also a problem in Portland. (X-Factor #42)
I like this kid. He makes good choices. (X-Factor #42)
NEXT EPISODE: Miles and Elisabeth X-Plain New Mutants Forever!

LINKS:

 

118 – Extrude the Grappling Arms!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.
Art by David Wynne. Prints and cards available at the shop, or contact David to purchase the original.

In which you really can’t compete with Cable; the X-Men may or may not ditch a funeral; Nanny extrudes the grappling arms; Boom Boom is more responsible than she looks; Jean Grey is the cool stepmom; we posit an alternate explanation for Brexit; and ravens are the best dinosaurs.

X-PLAINED:

  • What happened to the Inferno babies
  • X-Factor #40-42
  • Madelyne Pryor’s funeral
  • Post-Inferno X-Factor
  • Archangel’s inconsistent appearance
  • Secret origins of Nanny and the Orphanmaker
  • Teenagers (more) (again)
  • Tom Jones (Alchemy)
  • Conversations we probably shouldn’t have with Neal Conan
  • Trolls of London
  • Dubious super-parenting
  • Phy
  • Phay
  • Phee
  • Phough
  • Phumm
  • Troll economics
  • A grocery list
  • The Ravenmaster
  • Miles’s mom

NEXT EPISODE: Miles and Elisabeth X-Plain New Mutants Forever!

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

Find us on iTunes, Google Play, 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 prints of this week’s illustration at our shop, or contact David Wynne for the original!