We promised on the last episode that we would return from the Fantastic Fest film festival with some seriously cool filmmaker conversations, but we had no idea we would come back with these two rad discussions. We're thrilled to have Michael Giacchino and Andy Park on the show this week, chatting about their Marvel Studios experiences and how they're transforming their childhood comic book obsessions into a live-action reality. These two geeks have done so much good for their nerd community. Up ...
Oct 04, 2022•57 min•Ep. 154
"You were expecting maybe the Addams Family?" After years of covering romantic love on the podcast, we're shifting gears by exploring sibling love, and we're doing that through the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, and Raphael - the four brothers raised by their Master Splinter in the art of invisibility. Insert the obligatory, "Cowabunga!" Our new four-part (maybe five-part, stay tuned) series begins with the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie directed by St...
Sep 20, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 153
Geek culture? Nope. Just culture. The evidence is all around you. In this week's episode, we're joined by author Mathew Klickstein talking about his new book, See You in San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture. Klickstein's massive tome is a beast of a feast, and one not only San Diego Comic-Con obsessives will enjoy. Inside, you'll find numerous wild characters. Yes, folks like Neil Gaiman, Kevin Smith, and Scott Aukermanare present, but wait until you m...
Sep 13, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 152
Episode 150! "Not an apocalypse...something far more interesting." André Lima Araújo and Brian Michael Bendis celebrate our 150th episode by providing an immensely eclectic conversation discussing their new all-ages sci-fi adventure saga, Phenomena: The Golden City of Eyes. These two creators are two great tastes that taste great together despite their frequently contradictory points of view. As you'll hear, Araújo and Bendis see the world quite differently, but their opposing sensibilities unle...
Sep 06, 2022•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 151
We conclude our Angela & Sera sessions by journeying into the FUNderworld! After two tumultuous mini-series, our Hevenly warriors finally get to spend some time together...jumping through Hela's hoops and the various trials of Hel. If these two lovers must have a climax, Angela: Queen of Hel is the best one for them. The seven-issue storyline subverts expectations and challenges the two Marvelous bounty hunters in ways unimagined after their last two quests together: Angela: Asgard's Assassi...
Aug 28, 2022•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 150
We conclude our San Diego Comic-Con International coverage with a massive Skybound Entertainment celebration. In part one of this week's episode, we're joined by Attack Peter, the master artist and Kaiju-wrangler, who nearly brought the house down during the Up From the Depth's: Toho's Godzilla panel. His new, titanic creation Takoro: The Last Dorok is on the verge of worldwide domination, and we already want all the toys even before his Kickstarter campaign has launched. In this episode's secon...
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 149
Yes, we're back from the San Diego Comic-Con International and we've returned with one of the wildest conversations we've had so far. Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang climax this week's episode, chatting about the new Paper Girls adaptation streaming on Amazon. However, they're not the only ones gabbing with us. We were lucky enough to chat with the entire Paper Girls cast, as well as showrunner Chris Rogers. Our latest Creator Corner conversation was recorded in a press room, roundtable style....
Jul 31, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 148
Love is a trap, especially if you're Joan Peterson tumbling terrifyingly through numerous romantic scenarios in the new Image Comics series Love Everlasting. Creators Tom King and Elsa Charretier satirize and celebrate the young romance comics, once mastered by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. In the process, they savagely comment on the culture and business of love. King and Charretier climax our San Diego Comic-Con International coverage, joining us on the show and sharing their philosophy surroundin...
Jul 23, 2022•56 min•Ep. 147
Scott Snyder is back on Comic Book Couples Counseling! The comic creator returns to the show for a joyfully thoughtful conversation discussing his next round of Best Jackett Press/ComiXology Originals: Barnstormers, Canary, and Dudley Datson and the Forever Machine. In this episode, we start our conversation with the San Diego Comic-Con International and what makes this year different from any other - besides the pandemic, obviously. Presenting your own comics to the con crowd is unique from pro...
Jul 21, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 146
When is a comic no longer a comic? Matt Kindt is determined to find out with his new Dark Horse Comics imprint, Flux House. The comic creator has always strived to push the art form, but he feels he can go even crazier and further by breaking the norms. The new four-part Mind MGMT: Bootleg series, made in collaboration with artists Farel Dalrymple, Jill Thompson, David Rubín, and Matt Lesniewski , is simply stage one in what's sure to be a revolutionary play to alter comics. In this episode, we ...
Jul 19, 2022•54 min•Ep. 145
Today's episode is brought to you by the letters W-T-F? Writers James Asmus and Jim Festante join us for a very special Creator Corner to discuss their new apocalyptic puppet caper comic Survival Street, which hits shops on August 3rd. Get that banana out of your ear, because we've got something else to shove in it. Now is a weird time to be alive. Frequently, hope seems out of reach. More and more, our neighbors appear to be strangers. If only the public access puppets of our youth could help u...
Jul 17, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 144
Love doesn't come easy for Angela & Sera. After experiencing dastardly deceit and catastrophic revelation in Angela: Asgard's Assassin, Doctor Doom remakes the universe and dumps our Hevenly lovers in a Battleworld territory trapped in the Elizabethan age, Neil Gaiman's 1602. 1602: Witch Hunter Angela finds our couple serving a vengeful deity, tracking and slaying Witchbreed. However, when an even more dangerous threat appears - the Faustians - Angela & Sera hop to a new genocidal missio...
Jul 12, 2022•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 143
We should all take notice when a comic like The Lonesome Hunters comes around. It is a singular creation from a singular creator. After percolating on the idea for a decade, Tyler Crook has put his entire being into the story of Howard, Lupe, the magic sword, and the magpies. You can sense tremendous consideration and emotional excavation occurring on every page of the first issue, and it excites the reader beyond the narrative experience. The Lonesome Hunters is a pure comic book, and no other ...
Jul 05, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 142
Nothing for Nothing! Angela and Sera are one of the most hotly requested couples from our listeners, and we're ecstatic to finally bring them into session using the Marvel Comics mini-series, Angela: Asgard's Assassin. For at least one of these Hevenly creatures, every action has a cost and every debt must be paid. Such obsession can create dangerous internal turmoil, especially after you've kidnapped your newborn sister from your parents who thought you were dead. Never mind your younger step-b...
Jun 23, 2022•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 141
With the recent Sandman trailer drop, the world seems re-energized regarding all things Dream King. We are here for it. In fact, we've been reading Neil Gaiman's epic series one issue at a time/one week at a time for more than a year now and recording our thoughts through our Patreon feed. Our Sleepwalking Through Sandman episodes are some of our favorite conversations that we've had in the Love Nest, made all the better by our Patrons providing context and history every week. When we initially ...
Jun 14, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 140
Artist Jason Loo wanted to make a vampire comic and get away from superheroes. Chip Zdarsky said, "Sure, but what if the vampires were hiding in plain sight as superheroes? And what if...uh...a whole bunch of other weird stuff was involved?" The All-Nighter from ComiXology Originals is a wild comic where every issue drops another bomb that is somehow wilder than the last. This week, Jason Loo and Chip Zdarsky join us in the Love Nest to explain why hats upon hats are a good thing, no matter what...
Jun 01, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 139
Aliens and monsters and slashers, oh my! Kyle Starks didn't want to play with any one creature feature, so he threw them all into I Hate This Place. His new kitchen sink horror comic made in collaboration with Artyom Topilin, Lee Loughridge, and Pat Brosseau is a wild, far-out terror experience that feels unlike any other project he's put out before while also remaining true to his distinct oddball voice. Kyle Starks has wanted to tell this tale for a while, and I Hate This Place's first issue r...
May 23, 2022•57 min•Ep. 138
On the show this week, we welcome Stan Sakai and the creative force behind the new Netflix series Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles. Yeah, we can hardly believe it, either. After decades of anticipation, Miyamoto Usagi, the classic comic book character, finally has his own show. Kinda. But don't let that "kinda" worry you. It's all good. Adaptation is a scary concept when you love something as much as we love Usagi Yojimbo. Stan Sakai's comic is legendary. Few have ever dabbled in his world. ...
May 09, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 137
We owe our imagination to Jeff Smith. His masterpiece, Bone, shaped our inner lives, molding our philosophies as much as our creativity. It's a work so profound it's nearly impossible to consider that any future work could ever live up to its brilliance. But then we read Tuki: Fight for Fire and Tuki: Fight for Family. We now welcome these comics into our hearts, beating side by side with the Bone cousins. Two million BCE. Multiple human species existed alongside each other. We live and breathe ...
Apr 28, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 136
Goodbye, Marko & Alana. We're not ready. No other comic book couple has occupied as much space on our podcast as these two. Therefore, it's not terribly surprising that our final conversation discussing their epic romance is our BIGGEST EPISODE EVER! You probably remember where you were when you first read Saga #54. And you probably remember exactly how its last few pages made you feel. Saga Volume 9 is a tough storyline to process, and we've had years to do it. We trudge through the comic, ...
Apr 21, 2022•2 hr 17 min•Ep. 135
In this week's episode, we offer a warning. The Bone Orchard Mythos from Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino represents a layer of dread not previously explored by the creators. The new shared universe from Image Comics is the first time Lemire and Sorrentino have fully plunged themselves into the horror genre. Oh, you thought Gideon Falls was creepy? Sure, it got under your skin, but as you'll hear in our conversation with Lemire and Sorrentino, The Bone Orchard Mythos finds the collaborators dar...
Apr 08, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 134
When you think Saga, you think of "fun-filled" adventures, right? Oh, and tears. So many, many tears. Welcome to our penultimate episode discussing the heroically heartbreaking relationship between Marko & Alana. No other comic book couple has preoccupied as much space on our podcast as this one, and as we approach their end, we prepare to embrace our own grief as well as theirs. Helping us grapple with sorrow is author Helen Russell and her book, "How to Be Sad: The Key to a Happier Life: E...
Mar 29, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 133
Breaking News! Chris Samnee and Laura Samnee join us in the love nest to discuss their new all-ages comic book series, Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters. Yeah, we're just as surprised about their appearance here as you are, but we're mostly beyond excited to have our first creative couples session with those responsible for one of our favorite comics on the stands. Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters is a lovingly warm adventure tale set in a world of titanic beasts. With their dad missing, Rainbo...
Mar 22, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 132
In Saga, Marko & Alana cannot escape sadness. Rather than running, they lean into it, and by sharing their sorrow, they gain strength. Any Star Trek V: The Final Frontier fans out there? Sybok knew what was up. We race toward Saga's halfway point and the tragic cliffhanger ending to end all tragic cliffhanger endings, which is really saying something when discussing Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' sci-fi romance masterpiece. As we did the last episode, we consulted Helen Russell's "How t...
Mar 14, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 131
Saga is back! And if Saga is back, then we better get back to investigating Marko & Alana's tumultuous, universe-threatening romance. After we finished Saga Volume 4 on the podcast two years ago, we took a break, waiting for Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples to get back into the business of publishing rad comics. It took a little longer than we expected, but the single issues are flowing again, and it's time for us to catch up. Knowing how challenging Saga can be on our emotions, we thought...
Feb 28, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 130
Battle! Action! To hear Garth Ennis explain it, these two British publications are responsible for the comic book landscape we're all living in today. Without their influence, the Briitish invasion would never have occurred in the states - no Watchmen, no Sandman, no Preacher. No, thank you. This week, Garth Ennis joins us to discuss his upcoming Battle Action Special as well as his Hawk the Slayer sequel (wait, what? Yes!) from 2000 AD. From there, we gain a better understanding of how Garth En...
Feb 18, 2022•58 min•Ep. 129
Oh, Muffin Fluffer! Skottie Young joins us for a deep dive discussion about his creative process, his obsession with relationship stories, and what we can expect when I Hate Fairyland returns in July. Right now, we're witnessing a significant moment in his creative evolution. With books like Strange Academy and The Me You Love in the Dark, Skottie plunges into himself and pulls out relatable turmoil for all of us to consume. In the process, we all become better people. Teaming up with fellow cre...
Feb 04, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 128
Five years since the first 5 Worlds published, comic creator Mark Siegel joins us to discuss the final graphic novel chapter, The Emerald Gate. These stories represent more than the epic quest they depict; they're a creative collision resulting from five artistic talents aligning in harmonious imagination. Like the characters within 5 Worlds, these collaborators were changed by the journey, and we were giddy to chat with Siegel about the impact his characters and their creation had on him and hi...
Jan 29, 2022•53 min•Ep. 127
This week, comic creators Rob Williams and Warwick Johnson-Cadwell join us to discuss their new contributions to The Mignolaverse , The Sword of Hyperborea and Falconspeare. They're both incredible comics, totally different from each other, but they absolutely belong together within Mike Mignola's apocalyptic landscape. The Mignolaverse commands a very special corner within the Love Nest. Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics were the first comics Brad ever put into Lisa's hands. It was an insane, and m...
Jan 20, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 126
Here it is—The Best Comics of 2021 (Part Two). As far as comics were concerned, the year was simply too marvelous. We had to stretch the celebration across two episodes. If you haven't already listened to The Best Comics of 2021 (Part One), you can find it by clicking HERE . As with that previous episode, we invited numerous friends onto the show to help us with this party. We are humbled by their enthusiasm and their generosity. It's an honor to have them partake; please seek them out via the l...
Jan 13, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 125
