SKREEONK!!! It's our monstrous 50th episode! What better way to celebrate than with the Big G himself - GODZILLA!!! Many publishers have put out Godzilla comics over the years, including a Marvel Comics series in the 1970s, and a longrunning line from IDW Publishing since 2010. In this episode, we'll be taking a look at the Godzilla titles published by Dark Horse Comics from the late 1980s through mid 1990s. We mayyyyy spend a disproportionate amount of time reviewing the incredible "GODZILLA VS...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 50
<3 <3 <3 Happy Valentine's Day! <3 <3 <3 Joan Peterson discovers she is trapped in an endless, terrifying cycle of "romance" -- and every time she falls in love, she’s torn from her world and thrust into another tear-soaked tale! It's the tropes and trappings of the 1940s-50s "romance comics" boom with a scifi/supernatural twist in LOVE EVERLASTING from Image Comics! Written by Tom King, illustrated by Elsa Charretier, colored by Matt Hollingsworth, lettered by Clayton Cowles! ...
Feb 14, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Guardian! Shaman! Snowbird! Puck! Northstar! Aurora! Sasquatch! Marrina! Together they are ALPHA FLIGHT, Canada's premiere superhero team! Originally appearing in an issue of Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men, these avengers of the great white north eventually got their own Marvel Comics series in 1983 which was written+drawn by John Byrne for the first 28 issues. It was a smash hit (surprising even Byrne himself), and wound up running for 130 issues under various creative teams until 1994. In thi...
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Season 1Ep. 48
During a cold World War II winter, a handful of soldiers find themselves enlisted into a theological battle against fallen angels in THE LIGHT BRIGADE by Peter Tomasi & Peter Snejbjerg! How has this action-packed miniseries NOT become a movie yet??? Get on that, Hollywood!!! Closing song: "Between Two Wars" by The Big Heist, from the album Tightrope: https://open.spotify.com/album/3ixgGNHQI9qbI5pUldMGVs --- Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theveryfinecomicbook...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 47
Do you love... golllllddddd? So do the protagonists of Satoru Noda's manga series GOLDEN KAMUY, a gold rush tale set in the early 1900s in Japan's northern region of Hokkaido, in the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War. This epic and thoroughly-researched manga just wrapped up in 2022, and is also currently airing as an anime series on Crunchyroll, and a live-action film hitting Japanese theatres on January 19 2024! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfQLBf2dL80 --- Follow us on Instagram at ...
Jan 17, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Happy new year! What are some good beginner comics / graphic novels for someone new to the medium? -- it's a question we get asked frequently by friends and colleagues since starting this very fine comic book podcast. In this episode, we go through an assortment of popular and critically-acclaimed modern favourites which should be very/perpetually available at your local bookstores and libraries, along with recommended reading ages for each! BONE by Jeff Smith PARKER by Darwyn Cooke SAGA by Bria...
Jan 10, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 45
This is not a joke. This is not a drill. We are literally reviewing the actual "OFFICIAL COMIC BOOK OF CHRISTMAS", as self-declared, or perhaps ordained by a governing body of the holiday. What is it??? You'll have to hear the episode to find out, as we unwrap this festive gift for YOU, dear listener! Happy holidays, everyone!!! Thank you for spending time with us during this first year of The Very Fine Comic Book Podcast. <3 --- Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/t...
Dec 22, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Our monthlong celebration of Xmas-themed comics continues with a tribute episode to the late great writer/illustrator Keith Giffen, who passed away in October 2023 at the too-young age of 70. Keith's career touched every corner of superhero comicdom, most notably the longrunning Justice League International series he co-created with J. M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire. In the first half of this episode, we'll be taking a long, chaotic, tangent-filled look at Keith's character Ambush Bug, culminati...
Dec 13, 2023•1 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Santa Claus is coming to town! Our monthlong celebration of Xmas-themed comics kicks off with THE GREAT TREASURY OF CHRISTMAS COMIC BOOK STORIES, featuring a smorgasbord of golden age holiday tales brought together in a gorgeously festive hardcover, edited by Craig Yoe and published by Yoe Books + IDW in 2010. Featuring art and stories by John Stanley, Walt Kelly, Richard Scarry, and more! --- Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theveryfinecomicbookpodcast/ and se...
Dec 06, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Well, we've officially peaked early. Because THE PEOPLE DEMANDED IT, here at last is the official definitive final word on Jim Davis' GARFIELD vs George Gately & Peter Gallagher's HEATHCLIFF. We have spoken. --- Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theveryfinecomicbookpodcast/ and send us questions to potentially read on-air via IG DM or via email at theveryfinecomicbookpodcast@gmail.com If you're enjoying The Very Fine Comic Book Podcast, please take the time to...
Nov 29, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 41
News Strip November continues! KRAZY KAT (also known as KRAZY & IGNATZ in some reprints and compilations) was an American newspaper comic strip by George Herriman which ran from 1913 to 1944. In this episode, we'll dive into the history of the character and their creator, through the lens of the compilation "The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1916-1918", the first of four oversized Herriman collections published by Fantagraphics Books: https://www.fantagraphics.com/collections/k...
Nov 22, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 40
One of the very best comics running right now is Adam de Souza's ongoing BLIND ALLEY, following the escapades of a group of kids growing up in the titular neighbourhood of Blind Alley! PEANUTS-style humour, a lovable dog on a quest with a Yokai, poignant ruminations, and a cute vampire! It's available in two physical collected editions (so far) and available to read+follow online for free at: https://www.blind-alley.com/1 Follow @Kumerish on Instagram and Twitter for new strips + art! --- Follow...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 39
In this very special wedding-themed episode, we take a look at: Superman: The Wedding Album (1996) Fantastic Four Annual #3 (1965) Amazing Spider-Man #131 (1974) and... Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 (1987) - in which Peter Parker finally weds Mary Jane Watson, forever! <3 --- Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theveryfinecomicbookpodcast/ and send us questions to potentially read on-air via IG DM or via email at theveryfinecomicbookpodcast@gmail.com If you're enjoying...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Happy Halloween! Our shocktober horror coverage comes to a close with a two-part episode covering all 23 issues of The Simpsons' TREEHOUSE OF HORROR anthology from Bongo Comics, which was released every October from 1995-2017 and featured a wide variety of writers and artists terrifying Springfield's favorite family in a spooky smorgasbord of styles. The previous episode - Part 1 - covered issues 1-10! This episode - Part 2 - covers issues 11-23! --- Follow us on Instagram at https://www.inst...
Oct 31, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Happy Halloween! Our shocktober horror coverage comes to a close with a two-part episode covering all 23 issues of The Simpsons' TREEHOUSE OF HORROR anthology from Bongo Comics, which was released every October from 1995-2017 and featured a wide variety of writers and artists terrifying Springfield's favorite family in a spooky smorgasbord of styles. This episode - Part 1 - covers issues 1-10! Part 2 covering issues 11-23 will drop on Halloween! --- Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instag...
Oct 25, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 36
"𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑛-𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟-𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑎 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑎 𝑔𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦, 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑠...
Oct 18, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 35
It's a zombie jamboree! Twenty years ago in October 2003, Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" comic [and eventual cross-media IP] kicked off a zombie-mania which has arguably oversaturated the genre for decades to come. We hop into the time machine to discuss a pair of older black&white indie zombie comics -- 1986's DEADWORLD from Arrow Comics, and 1989's THE WALKING DEAD from Aircel Comics [no relation to the Kirkman series!] Why does the pop-culture landscape love & keep returning to z...
Oct 11, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Shocktober is here! Our first spooOOooky reading of the month is Emily Carroll's THROUGH THE WOODS -- her first nightmare-inducing printed collection of short horror tales, which was published in 2014 after a few years of Emily creating (and continuing to create!) horror webcomics which often use the medium of reading-on-the-internet in very clever ways. Those can still be read online at https://emcarroll.com/ , and the incredibly acclaimed THROUGH THE WOODS collection of print-only stories is a...
Oct 05, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 33
The paranormal investigator known as DYLAN DOG was created by Tiziano Sclavi in 1986 and has had over 400 magazine-sized comic issues published in his native Italy, very few of which have ever been officially translated into English. Can this very episode change that??? We hope so, as Dylan Dog is awesome. Find and read some of his spooky adventures this October! --- What else are we reading? Mike loves MANIAC OF NEW YORK by Elliot Kalan & Andrew Mutti from AfterShock Comics! Justin loves th...
Sep 27, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 32
THE BLACK HOLE! The ambitious 1979 live-action space-horror film was unlike anything Walt Disney Productions had put to screen before, and spawned a number of different tie-ins, including not one but two comic adaptations! -- a newspaper comic by Jack Kirby, and an ongoing monthly series from Gold Key Comics which expanded the story beyond the movie's ending. --- What else are we reading? Justin loves Richard Corben's DEN: VOLUME 1 from Dark Horse Comics! Mike loves GODZILLA: HERE THERE BE DRAGO...
Sep 20, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Body horror meets the teen melodrama of pulp romance comics in Charles Burns' BLACK HOLE, in which a mysterious body-mutating STD affecting only teenagers surfaces in the 1970s. --- Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theveryfinecomicbookpodcast/ and send us questions to potentially read on-air via IG DM or via email at theveryfinecomicbookpodcast@gmail.com If you're enjoying The Very Fine Comic Book Podcast, don't forget to Rate it, Follow/Subscribe, and tell a friend! Our 5-sta...
Sep 13, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 30
In the early 1990s, Peter Parker ventured to the great white north of Canada in these five one-shots produced by Marvel Comics in conjunction with the Toronto-based Community Programs Group. Spider-Man visited Winnipeg, Fredericton, Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal in mildly-educational stories framed around substance-abuse awareness and bike-safety, which were given out in schools, hospitals, community centres, and police stations. Unlike a lot of other very-pandering PSAs of the day -- these one...
Sep 06, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 29
When Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles become one of the most successful cartoons / toy lines / brands of the late 1980s, the creators' own Mirage Studios decided to put out a cartoon-inspired spinoff comic targeted at a more all-ages audience than the original gritty black & white series was. The monthly TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ADVENTURES -- spearheaded by Mirage artists Ryan Brown and Stephen Murphy -- wound up running for 72 issues over the next 7 years, ...
Aug 30, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Everyone knows Robert Oppenheimer did NOT have an evil twin brother who murdered him, ate his brain, stole his identity, and took his place in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. What THIS comic presupposes is... maybe he did? Years before Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" hit the big screen, writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Nick Pitarra detailed the secret superscience wonders and horrors happening at Los Alamos in their [intentionally-pluralized] "THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS" series from Image C...
Aug 24, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 27
They're the Oscars of the comic scene -- the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards! In this episode, we run through / share thoughts on this year's nominees and winners, the list of which can be read in full here: https://www.thepopverse.com/eisner-awards-comic-award-will-industry-2023-nominees-winners-graphic-novel-ogn-novels-comics-book-books "You Won an Award. Congratulations!" by The Motern Media Holiday Singers, from the album "Congratulations Songs" -- ...
Aug 16, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 26
In 1992, Don Rosa set out to chronicle the backstory of Uncle Scrooge, as originally detailed by breadcrumbs scattered throughout the many earlier stories by Scrooge's legendary creator Carl Barks. The end result was the twelve-chapter "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck", considered since then to be the definitive canonical history of the character. "Just a Duck" by Moes Haven, from the album "Songs from Deep in the Vault (1996-2010), Vol. 2" -- https://open.spotify.com/album/4YqeNQo6wa5iccbg...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Long before serving as the villain in James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", the High Evolutionary was the chief antagonist in one of Marvel's biggest crossovers to date -- THE EVOLUTIONARY WAR event, which ran through all Marvel Comics Annuals in the Summer 1988 (including the confirmed-canonical ALF Annual #1). We take a look at all 12 chapters, warts & all! "Charles Darwin: Good Scientist Guy!" by Papa Razzi and the Photogs, from the album "Somebody Needed to Make These Songs" -- ...
Aug 02, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Years before being adapted into the hit 1997 film of the same name, THE MEN IN BLACK was originally an independent 6-issue comic series written by Lowell Cunningham and illustrated by Sandy Carruthers, published by Aircel Comics in 1990-91! Also discussed in this episode: - Mike loves issue #1 of "Superman: The Last Days Of Lex Luthor" by Mark Waid and Bryan Hitch! - Justin loves the hard-to-find "Bad Idea Comics" line! - other film adaptations of fairly-obscure comics! - the mysterious rivalry ...
Jul 27, 2023•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 23
Right before "Watchmen" in the mid-1980s, legendary comic writer Alan Moore wrote an assortment of incredibly-enduring Superman stories for DC Comics. In this episode we discuss Moore's "For The Man Who Has Everything" and "Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?"
Jul 20, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 22
A reporter travels to the Amazon Jungle to investigate a missing worker and sabotage at a logging site in "The Amazon" by writer Steven T. Seagle and artist Tim Sale! Originally published as a three-issue miniseries by Comico in 1989, "The Amazon" has since been re-collected in a new hardcover edition from Dark Horse Comics. "Welcome to the Jungle" by The Passionate & Objective Jokerfan, from the album "Songs Song Sing Songs Onion Llama" -- https://open.spotify.com/album/1qPmKfh8Jksmqd4zmpFF...
Jul 12, 2023•54 min•Season 1Ep. 21
