On this episode, we revisit that bygone era when Detective Comics Comics would use any excuse to feature gorillas on its covers with a furry foursome of titanic Silver and Golden Age tales: "The Gorilla Boss of Gotham City" (Batman #75), "Titano the Super-Ape" (Superman #127), "Menace of the Super-Gorilla" (The Flash #107) and "The Brotherhood of Evil" (Doom Patrol #86)!

Can DC's greatest (and strangest) heroes prevail against these powerful, petrifying primates? And can these heavy-duty hominids take up residence in that Gorilla City known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

• The super-timely name on everyone's lips!
• Curt and Kevin's last meals
• Superman's foolproof plan
• Great Scott! It must be … THE GORILLA!
• Robotman? Total LOSER
• Turok, Son of Stone
• Amazing Spider-Man #130 "Betrayed!" and #136 "The Green Goblin Lives Again!"
• The Flash: The Silver Age Vol. 1
• The Doom Patrol #89 "The Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Menace" and #90 "The Enemy Within the Doom Patrol"
• King Sorrow by Joe Hill

Special thanks to Robb Milne of Marvel by the Month for co-hosting on our special April 1st podcast crossover episode. And if you haven't already, check out Curt's crossover appearance on Marvel by the Month alongside Will Hines of Screw It, We're Just Gonna Talk About Comics, and MbtM's Jamie Wenger crossing over on Screw It!

Join us in two weeks as we look back at the early days of the Punisher, including his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129 and his origin in Marvel Preview #2!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

For our first episode of April, Kevin and Robb go into full-on geek mode as they look back at THE superhero crossover event of 1982: Marvel and DC Present The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans, by Chris Claremont and Walter Simonson!

This hotly anticipated team-up pits Marvel's X-Men and DC's New Teen Titans against the tyrannical space god Darkseid, as well as the deadly assassin Deathstroke the Terminator (yes, that's really his name) and … Dark Phoenix?!!

Will these two teams engage in the customary fight that's all just a big misunderstanding? Will we get a satisfying matchup between Wolverine and Deathstroke? And can the combined might of the two biggest titles of the first Reagan administration propel this action-packed adventure into that Clash of Comic-Book Titans known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

·

• The artistic heir to Jack Kirby's cosmic space god vibe
• That first page though…
• The origin of one of Huey Lewis' biggest hits REVEALED!
• DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock vs. the Army of the Dead
• Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga

Join us in two weeks as we put the "ape" in the month of April with a collection of stories pitting DC superheroes vs. Super-Gorillas!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

We're dropping into your feed a day early for this St. Patrick's Day episode, as we look ahead to the August debut of HBO Max's Lanterns and discuss the first appearances of Green Lanterns Alan Scott and Hal Jordan -- followed for no particular reason by a couple of Tales of the Green Lantern Corps written by Alan Moore!

First, in "The Green Lantern!" from 1940's All-American Comics #16, construction engineer Alan Scott meets a talking lantern that used to be … a meteor in ancient China? It's a whole thing.

Then, in "S.O.S. Green Lantern!" and "Secret of the Flaming Spear!" from 1959's Showcase #22, test pilot Hal Jordan is selected to succeed dying space cop Abin Sur and become an intergalactic lawman!

Last but not least, Green Lantern Tomar Re explains to his colleague Arisia just why "Mogo Doesn't Socialize" in 1985's Green Lantern #188! And we get a glimpse into Abin Sur's final moments in "Tygers" from 1986's Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2!

Will Alan Scott and Hal Jordan prevail in their strikingly similar first adventures? Will Bolphunga the Unrelenting ever find the mysterious Mogo? Why does Abin Sur need a spaceship when his ring has the power of flight? And can these stirring tales of heroic space patrolmen survive the Blackest Night and break on through to that Brightest Day known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· What can we call this radiation-sending device?

· Green Lantern's archnemesis – The Yellow Lamp!

· Plop!

· Curt punches up the Green Lantern oath

· Revenge of the Green Lanterns

· Roy Thomas's interview with Golden Age Green Lantern creator Mart Nodell in Alter Ego

Join us in two weeks as we discuss the 1982 inter-company crossover The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

We asked for questions, and you … asked them! In this, our second of two out-of-format episodes marking our 10-year anniversary, we answer the questions on your mind, including:

• Are there any episodes we'd like to do over?
• What are our favorite classic comic-book ads?
• Which comic had the worst movie adaptation?

But first, Curt gives his first-ever State of the Canon address, breaking down the characters, creators and comics publishers most represented in that body of great comic-book works known as The Comics Canon!

Join us in two weeks when we return to our regular format with a look at the first appearances of Green Lanterns Alan Scott (in All-American Comics #16 from 1940) and Hal Jordan (Showcase #22 from 1959) -- as well as two fun stories by Alan Moore: Tygers and Mogo Doesn't Socialize!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

There's still time to submit questions for our upcoming March 4 episode, which features an Ask Us Anything segment as well as something Curt cryptically refers to as "The State of the Canon!"

If you've ever wondered how we choose the books and storylines we cover, whether we've ever changed our minds about something we've covered on the show, or just want to cast a vote for something you'd like to see discussed on the podcast, send us your emails at [email protected] or drop us a line on Facebook or Bluesky by the end of the day on Friday, Feb. 27, and we'll answer as many as we can!

Also in this mini-episode, Kevin and Curt answer sample questions from each other with absolutely no preparation or advance warning! Who says this isn't the Comics Canon Age of Value-Added Content?

We hope you enjoy it, and we look forward to answering YOUR questions next week!

Got a burning question for The Comics Canon? Submit a question for our upcoming Ask Us Anything episode, airing Wednesday, March 4! Send us an email at [email protected] or hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky no later than Friday, February 27!

After 10 years and 250 episodes of rendering judgment on the greatest comic book stories of yesterday and today, we decided it's finally time to record an episode for newcomers to the podcast – or to comics themselves!

In this super-accessible jumping-on point, we walk listeners through a typical episode of The Comics Canon and offer our recommendations for anyone interested in exploring comics, broken into 10 helpful categories:

Comics for Kids Comics for All Ages YA/Young Adult Comics Memoirs Humor Comics Crime Comics Horror Comics Superhero Comics Cosmic Comics and the 800-pound gorilla of superhero graphic novels: Watchmen!

Also in This Episode!

· What ARE comics, anyway?

· Who we are and how we came to be

· The creative comics boom of the 1980s

· "Your son is hooked on Micronauts."

· The one book we'd hand to anyone interested in the comics medium

Join us in two weeks for the second in our two-part anniversary series, as we answer questions from listeners, look ahead to possible future episodes and discuss … The State of The Canon!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

On this milestone episode, we tackle our white whale of show subjects: Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud's fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of the comics medium, how it works, and what it can do – told in the comics format!

Join us as we ask the burning questions:

What ARE comics, anyway? How long has this particular form of communication been around? (Hint: Longer than you think!) How many different ways can it illustrate the passage of time or the concept of movement? What are the six steps of the creative process? How far down a nerd rabbit hole can Curt and Kevin go? (Pretty far!)

And will this landmark textbook make the grade and go the head of that comics classroom known as … The Comics Canon?

Also in This Episode!

· You mean this ISN'T what Scott McCloud looks like?

· Ooh, bar graphs!

· Inconsistent bullies are the worst kind of bullies

· Reinventing Comics

· The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s: An Exploration, by Paul Cornell

Join us in two weeks as we mark our 10-year anniversary with "The Gateway Episode" – highlighting comics and graphic novels for newcomers to the comics medium!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

On this episode, we celebrate our 10th anniversary -- and gear up for our 250th episode -- with a discussion of Zot! The Earth Stories! Specifically, Zot! #28-36 from 1989-1991, written and drawn by Scott McCloud, originally published by Eclipse Comics!

The high-flying teen superhero Zot zips merrily along in a bright, shiny and cool retro-futuristic version of our world, cheerful and carefree – so what happens when he ends up stranded on OUR Earth? Mostly, he cedes the stage to his not-quite-girlfriend Jenny and her high school friends, most of whom get a moment to share the spotlight in these touching stories filled with warmth, humor and heart while deftly dealing with topics including coming out, racism and teen sex.

Can Zot's relentless optimism remain intact after he experiences crime on our world? Can he convince Jenny not to turn her back on Earth? And can these stories ascend to that World of Tomorrow known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Horton's utterly ridiculous career goal

· Optimax vs. Cyclops

· Zot's best moment

· 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and its comic-book connection

· Fortune and Glory: The Musical

Join us in two weeks as we discuss a book we've talked about tackling since Day One: Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

On this episode, we welcome writer, actor and friend of the show Michael Owl, host of The Origin Story Podcast, as we dive into one of the best-reviewed graphic novels of 2025: Drome by Jesse Lonergan!

This imaginative epic combines a visually dazzling creation myth with an action-packed fantasy adventure, as the blue-skinned demigoddess Blue attempts to impose order on a chaotic world, opposed by the violent one-eyed warlord Patch, each acting as proxies for remote gods. Folding in elements from such sources as the Bible, Greek mythology and classic fantasy, it feels both familiar and aggressively new as Lonergan plays with the comic-book format in fun and creative ways.

But is all of that enough for Drome to survive the judgment of that pantheon of deities and demigods known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

· Chekhov's Night Bull

· Star Trek The Next Generation: Darmok

· Santa, When the Claus Fell

· There There by Tommy Orange

· Slugfest: Inside the Epic 50-Year Battle Between Marvel and DC, by Reed Tucker

Subscribe to Michael's Substack

Join us in two weeks as we ramp up to our special 250xth episode with a look at The Earth Stories (issues #28-36) of Scott McCloud's Zot!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!

(Mild explicit warning: a swear word is used.)

Curt and Kevin give themselves an end-of-year break with another quiz episode! And this time, it's a quiz exchange! Kevin tests Curt's knowledge of past Christmas-themed episodes, while Curt grills Kevin on … his own show notes!

We'll be back in two weeks with a look at one of the best-reviewed graphic novels of 2025, Jesse Lonergan's Drome!

For our last full-size episode of 2025, we wrap up our All My Xs miniseries on Marvel Comics' X-Men franchise with one of the big crossover events of the Jonathan Hickman era – The Hellfire Gala!

The mutant nation of Krakoa makes its debut on the world stage with one hell of a coming-out party, filled with celebrity guests, fantastic costumes, behind-the-scenes intrigue and a truly out-of-this-world fireworks display!

Can Emma Frost keep this star-studded affair on the rails? What's with Beast's heel turn? What the heck is Charles Xavier wearing? And can this story get past the velvet rope and into that social event of the season known as … The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· The Tom Stoppard of superhero comics

· A truly baffling cameo

· Great artists steal

· Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy

· Pluribus on Apple TV

· The Mighty Nein on Amazon Prime

Join us in two weeks – on Christmas Eve – for a fun mini-episode! Then, on Jan. 7, we discuss one of the best-reviewed books of 2025: Drome by Jesse Lonergan!

Until then:Please consider donating to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Facebook or Bluesky!

And as always, thanks for listening!