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The Fantasticast

Stephen Lacey & Andrew Leylandffcast.libsyn.com
Stephen Lacey and Andrew Leyland are your guide to Marvel's First Family, The Fantastic Four. Starting at the very beginning of the Marvel Age of Comics, they cover every issue of The Fantastic Four, every spinoff title (Strange Tales, Marvel Two-In-One, FF, and more), every guest appearance and every cameo, all in order of publication.
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Episodes

Episode 368: Marvel Two-in-One #77 - Only The Swamp Survives

Cancelled Comic Cavalcade Hello, and welcome to episode 367 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. After an extended break, Steve is back to continue his journey through the latter issues of Marvel Two-in-One. What happens if a team-up books doesn't involve a team-up, and neither title star recognises each other? What happens if the non-title guest stars are more interesting than the actual guest star? And ...

Apr 05, 202453 min

Episode 367: Fantastic Four #232 - Back To The Basics

John Byrne Doesn't Play Well With Others Hello, and welcome to episode 367 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. We're finally here, the start of the 1980s renaissance of the Fantastic Four. John Byrne is here as writer and artist, and the Fantastic Four will never be the same again. Diablo is back in town, and looking to use the elemental nature of the Fantastic Four against his old enemies. Only some cun...

May 20, 20231 hr 15 min

Episode 366: Steve Further Fan-'Splains The FF

A Veritable Everything Bagel of 1970s Fantastic Four Hello, and welcome to episode 358 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This time around, the Fantasticast is taking a short breather between the end of the Moench/Sienkiewicz run, and the start of the Byrne run. Picking up from where we left off in mid-2015, Steve is here to guide you literally through every issue and spin-off of the Fantastic Four, fro...

Apr 28, 20232 hr 12 min

Episode 365: Marvel Two-in-One #76 - The Big Top Bandits

We Need To Talk About Sue's... Uh... Hello, and welcome to episode 365 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we're taking a well-earned break, both in the real world and in the podcast. Steve's travelling to Los Angeles to attend the Gallifrey One convention, and Ben, Alicia, Bobby, and Bill are off to the circus in Marvel Two-in-One. Such a shame that there's only one circus in the Marvel Unive...

Feb 16, 202345 min

Episode 364: Fantastic Four #231 - In All The Gathered Gloom

He Is Styggor, And He Is Not Important Hello, and welcome to episode 364 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. The end has arrived, and, well, it's probably about time. The creative team are departing the book to make way for a fresh start, but they've got some unfinished business to take care of. The Baxter Building and the surrounding city block are stuck in the Negative Zone, and Lorrie Melton is missin...

Feb 04, 202357 min

Episode 363: Marvel Two-in-One #75 - By Blastarr -- Betrayed!

Ah, Fuck Me Dead, I've Got To Draw All This Shit Hello, and welcome to episode 363 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. For the second week in a row, the Avengers nose their way into the podcast, but to greater narrative effect. Blastarr and Annihilus are teaming up to tame the Negative Zone, and only The Thing and his poker-playing Avengers buddies can stop them. And only Steve and his Antipodean podcast...

Sep 30, 20221 hr 29 min

Episode 362: Fantastic Four #230 - Firefrost and the Ebon Seeker

Hello, and welcome to episode 362 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This time on the Fantasticast, we discover what happens after an all-action issue. Yes, it's the inevitable exposition, and there's plenty of it. From decaying cultures in the far future to the inside of a black hole, this issue is not short of great concepts, but can they be spun into an engaging story that stands alongside it's prede...

Sep 12, 202238 min

Episode 361: Marvel Two-in-One #74 - A Christmas Peril

Festive Clay Snuffling Hello, and welcome to episode 361 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, the Fantasticast hits a new milestone - the first comic covered twice by the show. We looked at Marvel Two-in-One #74 almost an entire decade ago, and it's time to look at it in context of the run, and see if Steve has worked out just who the people at the party really are. Except that Steve isn't doin...

Jul 17, 20221 hr 19 min

Episode 360: Fantastic Four #229 - The Thing From The Black Hole

Reed's Tool Hello, and welcome to episode 360 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. It's a bumper episode of The Fantasticast this week, as we cover no less than five comics! From visitors from the inside of a black hole, to scientific handwaves, from the disco floors of New York to the funeral of a President that could have been, with a quick sidestep into flashback territory, this is one of our busiest e...

Jun 12, 20221 hr 4 min

Episode 359: Marvel Two-in-One #73 - Pipeline Through Infinity

Direct Nipple Strike Hello, and welcome to episode 359 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we're jumping through the dimensions with Ben Grimm and Wendell Vaughan. A dangling plot thread needs to be tied up, and it leads our heroes to a world under threat, a world where dinosaurs and oil drilling are forced to mix. Oh, the horrors! Ralph Macchio, Ron Wilson, Chic Stone, George Roussos, John Co...

May 29, 202250 min

Episode 358: Fantastic Four #228 - Ego-Spawn

Reed Richards: Master of Ethics Hello, and welcome to episode 358 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This time on the Fantasticast, we must, we must uncover the mysteries of Franklin's powers, by dressing him up as Professor X (with handy replica Cerebro) and hoping that he isn't too unhappy about a burger. And if this doesn't sound too great, don't worry - someone's read some 'science' and is oh-so-eag...

May 14, 20221 hr

Episode 357: Marvel Two-in-One #72 - The Might of Maelstrom

A 'Masterclass' In Solo 'Podcasting' Hello, and welcome to episode 357 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. The show is back after a 2-ish week break, and this time, there's a dire need to wrap some things up. There's an unfinished three-part storyline in Marvel Two-in-One, which in turn forms part of an unifnished plot thread that has run through most of the 1970s. The inhabitants of Hybrobase need curin...

Apr 29, 202256 min

Episode 356: Fantastic Four #227 - The Brain Parasites

A Punk With A Tie Hello, and welcome to episode 355 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. The show is back after a 19-ish month break, and it's bringing with it yet another issue from the infamous Moench/Sienkiewicz run on the Fantastic Four. A meteor falls to Earth, and what it contains could spell disaster and ruin for the petrochemical industry! Only the Fantastic Four can stop it, as long as they don't...

Apr 17, 202254 min

Episode 355: Marvel Two-in-One #71 - The Cure

Let's Play Sportsball! Hello, and welcome to episode 355 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. It's time to wrap up one of the longer-running plot lines in the Marvel Universe. It's time to brew a potion, it's time to put things right, it's time to cure the green-skins, on our episode tonight. The inhabitants of Hydro-Island are ready to have their humanity restored, and no-one can stop them. Not even a my...

Sep 12, 202056 min

Episode 354: Fantastic Four #226 - The Samurai Destroyer

And We're Back Hello, and welcome to episode 354 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. So we're back. Well, one of us is, at least. After eight months off the air and four months of social isolation, the urge to podcast got a bit too much for Steve, and he's back for at least one episode to continue the mission of the podcast. It's the first Fantasticast solo episode, and hopefully it works! Now, what are ...

Aug 01, 202039 min

The Fantasticast: An Ending, And A Farewell

The Moment Has Been Prepared For Hello, and welcome to The Fantasticast. This episode was originally released as our final episode. We discuss why the show reached a conclusion at the end of 2019, and look back over 8 years of podcasting together. The Fantasticast has since continued to release episodes sporadically, so this episode now functions more as a conclusion to the show as originally launched. Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk Episode cover desi...

Dec 21, 201942 min

The Fantasticast Presents... Fantastic Four (2015) Commentary

43 Confirmed Kills Hello, and welcome to a special epsiode of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we're releasing something from our Patreon archive. Previously Patreon-exclusive, the time has come to share with you all our commentary on Josh Trank's 2015 film, Fantastic Four. One of the more notable failures in the decade in which cinema became defined by superhero movies, this was ...

Dec 14, 20191 hr 53 min

Episode 353: Marvel Two-in-One #70 - A Moving Experience

Fantastic Butts And Where To Find Them Hello, and welcome to episode 353 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we're off to Yancy Street for a romantic reunion, a change in living arrangements, and a set of suspicious removal men who really chose the wrong moment to go undercover. With the Thing sitting on the back of a removals van, and a long-time foe who just might be the mystery...

Nov 23, 20191 hr 2 min

Episode 352: Marvel Team-Up #100 - And Introducing - Karma! She Possesses People!

Spidey vs Nightwing - The Great Superhero Buttock-Off Hello, and welcome to episode 352 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four head off to the world of Marvel Team-Up to help the title celebrate its 100th issue. There's a new mutant (or New Mutant) on the loose, seeking revenge, and Spider-Man is the weapon of choice. Only the Fantastic Four can prevent their occasional ally ...

Nov 16, 20191 hr 26 min

Episode 351: Fantastic Four #225 - The Blind God's Experience

Mjolnir (Not) On A Spin Cycle Hello, and welcome to episode 351 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we're back in the Arctic once again, as the Fantastic Four find themselves battling to save the blind Viking god from losing his powers to save the dome, battling to kill the blind Viking god who is tired of his powers, and battling to save the dome from destruction by the bling Vik...

Nov 09, 201940 min

Episode 350: Marvel Two-in-One #69 - Homecoming

Foggy McFogFace Hello, and welcome to episode 350 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we're on the hunt for the elusive 'third-time lucky' effect. Members of the original Guardians of the Galaxy make their third appearance in Marvel Two-in-One, and our hopes are tentatively high that this one will finally be a good comic. With Vance Astro looking to change his past and avert the p...

Nov 02, 201950 min

Episode 349: Fantastic Four #224 - The Darkfield Illumination

Space Viking: Norseman In Disguise Hello, and welcome to episode 349 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we're paying a return visit to the Arctic wilderness (not that the Fantastic Four acknowledge their recent trip there) because... uh... look, it's something to do with the red tears of a very tall, very old man, The Neverending Story III, a tiger of indeterminate origin (unless...

Oct 26, 201947 min

Episode 348: Marvel Two-in-One #68 - Discos and Dungeons

Get More With The Fever On The Dance Floor Hello, and welcome to episode 348 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we're jumping onto the disco zeitgeist, a mere year after the cultural peak of the craze, as we join Ben Grimm and Warren Worthington III in a flashy, New York discotheque before they go and mix it up with a bunch of wacky robots in castle. With the motifs of 'crazy the...

Oct 19, 201949 min

Episode 347: Fantastic Four Annual #15 - Time for the Prime Ten

Stolen From Rimmerworld Hello, and welcome to episode 347 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we stray once again into Annual territory. Reed Richards and Captain Marvel find themselves fighting side-by-side against (allegedly) the cream of the Skrull forces as an experiment to make toy cars move by themselves (or something) brings the Kree-Skrull War to Earth. Meanwhile, in Latve...

Oct 12, 20191 hr 4 min

Episode 346: Fantastic Four #223 - That A Child May Live

Brutacus Is Silly But He Really Illustrates, etc. Hello, and welcome to episode 346 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. If you had bet money against The Salem Seven (as the cover has them) returning in a story featuring Nicholas Scratch, then your wallet is now a bit lighter. Every(no)body's favourite super-villain team is back to remind us all what makes them so unique, as they seek to aid ...

Oct 05, 201943 min

Episode 345: Marvel Two-in-One Annual #5 - When A Stranger Calls

No! Not The N-Neuron Beam! Hello, and welcome to episode 345 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. Our latest episode sees Steve and Andy linger longer in September 1980, leafing through the pages of that year's Marvel Two-in-One Annual. Dark forces are on the move, and only the Thing and the Hulk possess the raw power, savagery, and innate courage needed for the Stranger to... uh... well, the...

Sep 28, 201958 min

Episode 344: Marvel Two-in-One #67 - Passport to Oblivion

This Fantasticast Could Be Worth $2500 To You! Hello, and welcome to episode 344 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we bid a fond farewell to one of our favourite supporting characters from the Fantastic Four comics of the 1970s. Treading a fine line between ally and nemesis, Thundra finally heads home, but the journey is not easy, especially when you've got a Hyperion by your si...

Sep 21, 201950 min

Episode 343: Fantastic Four #222 - The Possession of Franklin Richards

Mr Fantastic Meets Scratchman Hello, and welcome to episode 343 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, the much-discussed Doug Moench/Bill Sienkiewicz Fantastic Four run gets underway properly. A game of hide-and-seek is interrupted by a small spot of demonic possession, and the Fantastic Four find themselves once again facing off against Nicholas Scratch. Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewi...

Sep 14, 20191 hr 3 min

Episode 342: Marvel Two-in-One #66 - A Congress of Crowns

The Bad Guy Is Called Hugh Hello, and welcome to episode 342 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, a packed episode sees us don matching hats to dominate the entire- wait, these aren't hats! They're multiversal incarnations of the Serpent Crown! And only The Thing and the Scarlet Witch can save us from a oil CEO called Hugh. It's the final part of the Serpent Crown Affair, and we're...

Sep 07, 20191 hr 5 min

Episode 341: Fantastic Four #221 - Tower Of Crystal... Dreams Of Glass

Powered by Coke Hello, and welcome to episode 341 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week on the Fantasticast, we bid a temporary farewell to John Byrne, as he wraps up his re-purposed corporate tie-in two-part fill-in story. The padding is gone, and the Fantastic Four find themselves participating in a relatively-decent SF morality tale, with complex motivations, an army of plastoids,...

Aug 31, 20191 hr 1 min
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