00:01-06:01: Greetings from Graeme “Whole Day” McMillan and Jeff “Poor Guy” Lester! Graeme is medical emergency adjacent; Jeff is Jeff; nevertheless, we decide to persist in the face of adversity and press on to discuss…attempted murder!!!!
6:01-41:33: Yes, at Graeme’s insistence, Jeff ended up watching the first season of DC Unscripted, the reality show on DC Universe that tracks ten contestants’ attempt to pitch a new reality show for DC Universe. (Suspiciously meta premise, that.) We discuss our reactions to the show, the actual winners, 360 activations, slide lines, ringers, and much more.
41:33-50:59: So, yes, after discussing how unlikely it would seem that someone would watch a DC Universe reality show, Graeme comes clean as “genuinely, non-ironically a fan of” Marvel’s Hero Project on Disney+! So, ya know, what do we know, really?
50:59-58:28: “At a certain point,” Jeff says, “we have to talk about Animal World.” And because Graeme has no idea what Jeff is talking about when he says that, that point becomes immediately after Jeff gets through saying it. Discussed: Animal World, Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji, Unlimited RPS, Deadpool, and much, much more.
58:28-1:23:40: Finally busting out the comics-as-comics talk, we discuss the first nine issues or so of Dan Slott’s run on Fantastic Four, since Jeff finally girded up his loins to read them and…oof. Discussed: A fascinating piece of pre-FF #1 fanfic concerning Sue and Ben’s relationship (in Fantastic Four #5), the FF as family, the appeal of inoffensive comics, functional families vs. dysfunctional families, and more.
1:23:40-1:52:50: Remember when we were talking about the reading list Jeff keeps, and Graeme went, “yeah, hey, I should do that,” and then was all, “hey, I did it!” and then was like, “no wait, it’s not complete I’ll read it to you next time?” THAT TIME IS NOW. (Jeff also reads his reading list, but more for a comedic contrast than anything.) Also discussed: Narrative exhaustion, working oneself sick, being young, a thought about old Rockstar Games video games that I don’t think I got to finish?, Jeff watching Graeme’s old cat, Luna, and more.
1:52:50-1:58:56: All the grousing about narrative aside, Jeff really wants to recommend An Invitation From A Crab, a manga from indie Japanese cartoonist Panpanya. Jeff busts out a lot of great creators—Kafka!, Woodring!, Miyazaki!—in his flailing around trying to convey what’s so great about this collection of stories. It’s very good!
1:58:56-2:14:59: And Graeme has spent a lot of time, when not reading Birds of Prey comics for work, reading Justice League comics from the late ‘80s, early ‘90s. Tune in for an analysis of the days of Giffen, DeMatteis, Jones, Jurgens, and more. Also discussed: the discrepancy between one title between runs; mutant orgies; and more.
2:14:59-end: Closing Comments! Well, it should be but somehow we go directly from giant robots to Bobbie Gentry? Look for us on Stitcher! Itunes! Instagram! Twitter together and separately: Graeme and Jeff! Tumblr, and on Patreon where a wonderful group of people make this all possible, including Empress Audrey, Queen of the Galaxy, to whom we are especially grateful for her continuing support of this podcast. (Also, don’t forget about Spotify!)
Next week: Drokk!! It’s time for Drokk!!
And if you need the direct link to cut and paste elsewhere, here you go:
https://theworkingdraft.com/media/podcasts3/WaitWhat288.mp3
I remember really wanting to see animal world after reading Abhay’s tumblr pays about it, but I couldn’t find it. Hearing you guys talk about Gambling Apocalypse made me think about that movie again. Funny that Jeff should mention it in the next episode!
Yeah, I also saw Abhay’s tumblr post way back when and meant to check it out…somehow I forgot all about by the time I read Gambling Apocalypse, so when someone pointed it out here I was like, “oh, shit, how did I forget that?”
In other “Jeff is an old man” news, my apologies for this comment hanging in limbo for so long, David! I thought I’d approved it when you posted it? Very, very sorry.
I can’t believe the “Jolene” cover Graeme was listening to wasn’t the Strawberry Switchblade version. I was so excited when I thought you were going to say Strawberry Switchblade.
Much as I had a soft spot for Strawberry Switchblade in my adolescence, the best cover version of Jolene has to be from the Sisters of Mercy, made all the better by refusing to change gender:
https://youtu.be/Xo9Kmvxbvcc
Mention of the Jemas “FF-as-sitcom” era + Jeff’s observation that all the internal familial conflict that drove the books’ success has resolved into a boring, bland “everybody loves each other” dynamic = me realizing that modern FF is a Mike Schur show.
As someone who had to tap out on Parks & Rec about two years before it wrapped, I feel this is an excellent analogy, Matt.
I wasn’t expecting ‘No Charge’ to turn up in this episode. Back in 1976 we had the JJ Barrie version at #1 in the UK charts. A different time.
By coincidence, following a (routine) colonoscopy last week, I’m making a conscious effort to eat more fibre as well. All best wishes for the patients recovery.
I puzzled over a tonal shift as great as the two Justice Leagues. As close as I could get was early Silver Age Jimmy Olsen and Kirby Jimmy Olsen. I reckon I’m self-disqualifying though, as I don’t know if either of these were sales hits.
They weren’t, but I think that’s a great comparison and definitely in line with what I was thinking of, David.
Hi Jeff. I too read and enjoyed the first volume of Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji and have ordered the second. A similar manga is Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler (and the spin-off Kakegurui Twin). This is set in a school that is run based on gambling, and at one point there is a whole volume where they play rock, paper, scissors so I wasn’t that stunned when it came up in Kaiji! Highly recommended – you probably feel the psychology of the games even more in Kakagurui compared to Kaiji thanks to the visceral almost psychedelic illustrations of winning and losing competitors.
Thank you for this recommendation, David! It sounds great.
You made a Richard Thompson reference.
All is forgiven.
RE: Tom T. Hall, I cannot recommend the song Homecoming enough. It’s one of a handful of songs that make me cry almost every time I listen to it. He really captures the sense of loving, but being somewhat alienated from, one’s family. Which as a kid who grew up in a small town but ended up in a big city, is something that really resonates with me.
I got on a big Bobbie Gentry & Tom T Hall kick a few months back after listening to the incredible country music history podcast Cocaine and Rhinestones. Highly recommended!
I wasn’t ready for country talk! John Prine is a master. Late John Garfield Blues, Paradise, Hello in There are my favorite tear jerkers, but Sam Stone definitely takes the from cake. Also I find myself listening the the charming cornball delivery of Buck Owens on my commute lately. No one made me do this, it just happened. No idea how or why.
I was expecting every one of these comments to be about Graeme’s breathtaking, almost unbelievably long list of the comic books that he read in one month… I am floored by it. I would LOVE to hear an explanation of how/when in the average day Graeme actually finds the time to read that much and precisely how many comic books per day he is consuming. And, genuinely, is he a world class speed reader?
Oops, just listened to a bit more of the episode… I guess Graeme kind of explains it, in terms of just reading massive quantities of issues before bed every night, but still… Good Lord.
I’m genuinely fucking relieved I wasn’t the only one floored by that list, Z. I mean, I kinda knew I would but, as you so perfectly put it: “but still…Good Lord.”