WCBJ Episode #14: "Under the Refrigerator"

The world may not have ended, but WCBJ did suffer some technical difficulties. Despite losing some of the precious audio recorded in the earlier half of the episode, the SHOW MUST GO ON! And what better way than to begin with the SECRET ORIGIN OF CAT JONES?! Kneel down with a flashlight and find it here.

Segments include:

Secret Origin: Cat Jones

A DC Reads Marvel:  Amazing Spider-Man #700

Here's the Postmortem:

WCBJ Episode #13: "Past Tense of Tlape"

While Socko was busy preparing for the end of the world, the rest of us decided to record a podcast.  Good ole Ron came back to share some stories that are so impossible to believe that you probably won’t believe them.  Satan also returns to defend his honor and point his beautiful shoes right up Ed’s ass.  Take it in here.

Segments include:

News Update: Dan Slott receives death threats and Hugh Jackman signs on for “Days of Future Past”

Secret Origin: Waffle

DC Reads a Marvel: Daredevil #21

Here’s the Postmortem:

Random Review: "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

We have been chatting excitedly and waiting for this film for a long time.  We have wondered how it can be stretched into three parts, and been curious about whether 48 frames per second is all it is cracked up to be. Well I saw the movie twice last weekend and I'm ready to throw down my opinion.

One of the best aspects of Tolkien's novel is how it serves as an entry point into the world of Middle-Earth.  We get to see and experience everything with Bilbo's fresh eyes.  All of that same charm and humor is present in the film. Martin Freeman does a beautiful job portraying Bilbo as reluctant, confused and totally out of his element.  However, these great moments are clouded by a bunch of extra plot points that writer/director Peter Jackson has thrown into the mix in order to show a stronger connection between this story and the previous films.  This is a great idea, but a running time of just under 3 hours is a little much and most of these sub-plots (for those who have not read the book, it is pretty much every scene Bilbo is not in) fall flat.  The "Lord of the Rings" movies were all extremely long but Jackson knew how to keep the stakes high and I never found myself bored.  I cannot say the same for "The Hobbit".

I saw this film Saturday in regular old-fashioned 24 fps 2-D and felt kind of bored.  Since I knew I was writing a review on this and wanted to give the film a fair shake, I saw it again yesterday in the much-hyped high frame rate 3-D (It's all for you, Damien).  My conclusion... not so great.  The overload of detail is jarring and in many instances everything looks sped up, the makeup does not hold up and the digital effects do not blend well with the live-action shots, and in the end I felt as if I was watching a mix between a half-decent video game and the early '90s Wonderworks Narnia mini-series (which I adore, but only because they were made twenty years ago on a British TV budget).  Sorry, Satan. I know I just made you cry.

So in conclusion, parts of this film are very good while other aspects are just fluff and you are better off seeing it in good ole-fashioned 24 frames per second.  As Christopher Walken would say: "I got a fever, and the only cure is MORE BILBO!"

And now for the nonsensical ratings:

8 Tiger-Socks, 2 1/4 Waffles, and a Full Swig of Ale

WCBJ Episode 12: "Wok-Joosh!"

We retreat into the super-secret basement of CBJ to hang with the all-powerful Bartender, Author, and all-around eccentric Michael “The Kid” Cruz. Mr. The Kid constantly promotes his book, Million Dollar Eyes, and shares his adventures being Tiger’s roommate and going to Comic-Con high on chocolate mushrooms. Scarf it down here.

Segments include:

Listener e-mail

News Update: November Sales Numbers, Gail Simone taken off Batgirl, Karen Berger leaves Vertigo, and Image drops second printings.

Secret Origin: The Kid

DC Reads a Marvel: X-Treme X-Men #7.1

Here’s the Postmortem:

WCBJ Episode 11: "Bourbon and a Revolver"

Dan Slott joins us this episode! Yes, that Dan Slott! The guy who writes “The Amazing Spider-Man” is on the podcast! I promise I’ll stop using exclamation points!  After a store signing Mr. Slott was gracious enough to sit down and share his experiences working in the Marvel offices, dealing with fans on social media, and everything painful and glorious that comes along with writing comics.  It was loads of fun and before we knew it we had a double-sized episode. If you are looking for a fun time, listen here.  Thanks so much Dan Slott.

Segments include:

Secret Origin: Who do you think?

DC Reads a Marvel: Amazing Spider-Man #699 (sort of)

Here’s the postmortem:

Random Video: "House aka Hausu"

Tiger showed us this video after we recorded our last episode.  We all immediately urinated everywhere (Don't worry. Babyface cleaned it all up).  I felt this had to be shared with the world.  Enjoy:

WCBJ #10: "Poppycock and V8"

Once again everyone sits down with their microphones to argue about Alan Moore, comic book movies, and where the hell Satan may have disappeared to.  Tiger gets especially angry and shares some of his fondest memories with us. Discover it here.

Segments include:

Listener e-mail

Babyface’s Dreams

News Update: PatrickStewart and Ian McKellen return to “X-Men” franchise and Hawkeye #7 covers Hurricane Sandy.

DC Reads a Marvel: FF #1

Here’s the Postmortem:

WCBJ Episode #9: "Babyface Gets Kind of Creepy"

The regular gang got together on Thanksgiving Eve to redress their grievances. We learn about all things Ed, Socko defends reality TV, and Babyface shares a dream he had with us (listener beware). Scarf it down here.

Segments include:

Listener E-mail

News Update: Lawrence Kasdan signs on to write Star Wars sequels and Marvel announces Age of Ultron.

Secret Origin: Edward O’Hare (nickname TBD)

DC Reads a Marvel: Journey Into Mystery #646

Here’s the Postmortem:

WCBJ Episode #8: "Hey Billy, Listen Up!"

We are joined this episode by artist John Broglia and writer Michael Sarrao, who decided to stick around after their store signing for their new graphic novel “Unmasked”.  They shared some of their adventures in comics, the wonderful potential of trouser elves, and even had a few announcements (Billy Tucci of “Zombie-Sama!” it’s all on you now).  We also did all of our usual segments for a super-packed episode. Lather in it here.

Segments include:

Listener e-mail

News Update: October Sales Numbers, and DC Announces New Titles for Katana, Vibe, and Constantine.

Secret Origin: John Broglia and Michael Sarrao

DC Reads a Marvel: All-New X-Men #1

Here’s the Postmortem:

WCBJ Episode 7: "A Boy and His Jeans"

Greetings loyal listeners! WCBJ makes its triumphant return in this episode and the gang gets a little serious in this episode as they discuss the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. However, have no fear because before things get too down they receive a visit from a very special guest: Ron. He is one of the store’s regular customers and if you don’t like him, you are dying inside.  We hear his views on everything from Conan to Apple products and absolutely everything in between. Buckle up and check it out here.

Segments include:

Listener e-mail

News Update: Disney Buys Lucasfilm

Secret Origin: Ron

DC Reads a Marvel: X-Factor #246

If you would like to help with the relief effort for Hurricane Sandy check out SIWA Relief on Twitter.

Here’s the postmortem:

WCBJ Episode #6: "Satan's Sandbox"

MATURE CONTENT ADVISORY.  Our sound engineer Steve a.k.a. Satan decided to step in front of the mic and share his experiences making super-hero fan films. Ed also chimes in with what it is like to work for Satan.  Listeners beware and enjoy here.

Segments include:

News Update: Clark Kent Quits the Daily Planet

Secret Origin:  Satan

DC Reads a Marvel: Captain America #19

Plus you can check out Fan Films for Black Canary and Booster Gold.

Here’s the postmortem:

WCBJ Episode #5: "I'm Not Handicapped"

The insanity continues! After our guests from last episode left the gang stuck around and shared their adventures from New York Comic-Con.  Ed and Waffle got to meet their heroes, Socko got some free food and a place to sleep, Tiger couldn’t find the bathroom, and … yeah, Babyface was there too. Listen here.

Other segments include:

Listener e-mail with a cool coupon incentive

DC Reads a Marvel: Uncanny Avengers #1

We also switched to a new RSS feed and are now available on itunes. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Here’s the Postmortem:

WCBJ Episode 4: "An Australian Walks Into a Bar"

OUR FIRST CELEBRITIES!!  The gang are joined in this episode by Amy Reeder (artist Batwoman, Madame Xanadu, Halloween Eve), Brandon Montclare (writer/editor Halloween Eve, All-Star Superman, Fear Itself, Sweet Tooth), and Shane McCarthy (writer Transformers, Batman, Dark X-Men).  Each of them shares their Secret Origins, as well as stories about breaking into comics, developing new projects, and above all, the importance of Alcoholism. Here you go.

This evening was so jam-packed we decided to split it into 2 episodes. So stay tuned next time for all the usual fun segments.

Here's the Postmortem:

Plus some cool artwork from our guests:

WCBJ Episode 3: "Does Everything Have to Be Parmesan?"

Tiger returns in our third venture. We are also joined by Diamond Joe Shack Jones, who offers his insight into Grant Morrison’s Pan-Dimensional Dirigible and just how overrated socks are.We also share what we are looking forward to for New York Comic-Con. Check it out here.

In the News Update we talk about September sales numbers as well as newly announced Dynamite series from Garth Ennis and Mark Waid and James O’Barr’s new “Crow” series.

Secret Origin: “Diamond” Joe Shack

Once again, thanks so much for listening, and keep spreading the word.

Here’s the postmortem:

WCBJ Episode 2: "It All Goes to Shit"

The gang gears up again for our second episode sans Tiger. As Waffle put it we traded one beard for another beard as we were joined by our first guest: Derek Pinto, Captain of the CBJ Tiger Sox softball team.  He shared his secret origin with us and as well as his love of Image. Take a listen here.

In the news update we talked about Iron Man 3 set pics, Grant Morrison's Multiversity, and of course Socko’s ass.

Secret Origin: Derek Pinto

DC Reads a Marvel: Infernal Man-Thing #1

Thanks to everyone who has given us amazing feedback. Keep on spreading the word!

Here's the postmortem:

Random Review: "Looper"

I’m going to throw up a movie review because… well, why the hell not?  I saw Looper last night and it was pretty awesome. You should go see it.

What? My recommendation isn’t enough for you… alright I’ll go a little more in depth.

If you have seen the trailers you know Looper stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, Angels in the Outfield) as a contract killer named Joe who stands in the middle of a cornfield and shoots people who appear out of thin air after the mob sends them back in time.  The fun really starts when Joe’s latest victim is an older Joe played by Bruce Willis (Die Hard, Bonfire of the Vanities). Before young Joe can react, old Joe slaps him silly and the two spend the rest of the movie hunting each other down.  So you’ve got time travel, mobsters, AND Bruce Willis. Do I really have to say more?  Well if you insist…

One of the stranger aspects of this film is the makeup effects used to make Gordon-Levitt look more like Willis (because let’s face it, it’s not going to be the other way around).  This idea is freaky, but it works brilliantly because throughout the film you do not think about it. It is not distracting, and many might not even notice the difference.  Gordon-Levitt also does a great job adopting Willis’ mannerisms and attitudes without seeming like a caricature.

The film is also refreshing because the trailers barely break the ice of the plot.  There is a whole storyline featuring Emily Blunt (Young Victoria, The Adjustment Bureau) as a farmer with an incredibly creepy son named Cid. Pierce Gagnon plays the most dangerous child seen on screen since Hit-Girl.  I will not spoil this story anymore other than to say it is more complex than you think.

Looper is directed by Rian Johnson, who you may know from his work on the High School Noir thriller Brick and from a few episodes of Breaking Bad. His gritty style shines through here and makes even the more fantastical elements of the film seem grounded in reality. Most people expect to see some sort of rating system at the end of movie reviews, so I am just going to make one up right now. Use it as you will.

I give this movie:

8 Tiger-Socks, 4 ½ Waffles, & Half a Baby’s Face

WCBJ Episode 1: "Our First Episode"

It has been months of hard work but we have finished our first episode, which we have aptly titled “Our First Episode.” You can download it here.

Some of the news items we talk about are Doop’s latest appearance in “Wolverine and the X-Men”, the outcome of the “Walking Dead” lawsuit, Grant Morrison’s Happy #1 sells out (sort of), and the possibility of a “Planet Hulk” movie.

Other segments include:

Secret Origins: Babyface

A DC Reads Marvel: Hawkeye #1

Download it! Share it with your friends! Come on you know you want to. 

Let's Kick It Off!

Welcome to the blog for “WCBJ: The Comic Book Jones Podcast.”  I am your host, Edward O’Hare (nickname to be determined), and each week I will be joined by Socko, Tiger, Waffle and Babyface to discuss what is new in comics and around the store. This page will be used to post new episodes and photos plus other random musings.  Hope you enjoy it!