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: