Four-Color Flashback

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 496 – “FCF: Boxers & Saints”

Art from Boxers & Saints (2013) by Gene Luen Yang & Lark Pien

Gobbledygeek episode 496, “FCF: Boxers & Saints,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

For this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo tackle a blindspot from one of their favorite writers. Gene Luen Yang, author of Gobbledyfaves like American Born Chinese and Avatar: The Last Airbender, tells the brutal story of the Boxer Rebellion in Boxers & Saints. The graphic novel duology delves into complex subjects like faith, spirituality, nationalism, and fascism; we cover ‘em all, hopefully in something resembling depth. Plus, Arlo returns to the city of Metropolis for more Superman comics, including mega-event The Death and Return of Superman and Grant Morrison & Mark Waid’s JLA run. 

NEXT: we find our inner Greenwich Village folksters with a Geek Challenge featuring Noah Kahan’s Stick Season and Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:30  –  Intro / Arlo’s Adventures of Superman
  • 00:36:45  –  Boxers & Saints
  • 02:20:14  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “The Boxer” by Simon & Garfunkle, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
  • “It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City” by Bruce Springsteen, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 492 – “FCF: We Only Find Them When They’re Dead”

We Only Find Them When They’re Dead – Art by Simone Di Meo & Mariasara Miotti

Gobbledygeek episode 492, “FCF: We Only Find Them When They’re Dead,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Got a hankerin’ for god meat? Well, pull out your giant lightsaber knife and feast on a new Four-Color Flashback! For the first FCF of 2023, Paul and Arlo set out at warp speed to seek enlightenment with Al Ewing and Simone Di Meo’s We Only Find Them When They’re Dead. The BOOM! Studios series, whose 15-issue run wrapped in December, is set hundreds of years from now, when the primary industry is extracting proteins, enzymes, and minerals from the corpses of massive deities. Evocative title and crazy premise aside, the book is chock full of theosophical enigmas that our boys try to solve. Beyond the elusive quest for concrete answers, though, this comic certainly makes them feel a whole lot. Dig in. Plus, some bellyaching about the new slate of DC movies.

NEXT: a discussion of S.S. Rajamouli’s action epic RRR, which presumably concerns reading, writing, and arithmetic.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:30  –  Intro / Banter
  • 00:21:25  –  We Only Find Them When They’re Dead
  • 01:58:36  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Metallica, Ride the Lightning (1984)
  • “Mystery Jack” by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Float Along – Fill Your Lungs (2013)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 482 – “FCF: Oblivion Song”

Art from Oblivion Song (2018-22) by Lorenzo De Felici & Annalisa Leoni

Gobbledygeek episode 482, “FCF: Oblivion Song,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Sing, sing a song; sing of oblivion, it’s 36 issues long! For this month’s first (?) Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo are harmonizing about Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici’s 2018-22 Image series Oblivion Song. It’s an alien invasion saga that questions the very concepts of “alien” and “invasion,” regarding its human and Kuthaal characters with equal levels of empathy and complexity. The boys discuss how Kirkman overcomes The Walking Dead’s biggest flaws, De Felici’s otherworldly artwork, Annalisa Leoni’s eerily beautiful colors, and so much more. Plus, Arlo made a return trip to Austin, TX.

NEXT: Nope? Yup.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:01:00  –  Intro / Arlo’s Austin Adventures
  • 00:27:17  –  Oblivion Song
  • 02:00:00  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Fungal Jungle (Remix)” by Psilovibin’ (2019)
  • “Bungle in the Jungle” by Jethro Tull, War Child (1974)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 478 – “FCF: Thor by Jason Aaron”

Art from Thor: God of Thunder (2011) by Esad Ribić

Gobbledygeek episode 478, “FCF: Thor by Jason Aaron,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Listener, we would have words with thee! As the Odinson and the Mighty Thor swing their hammers onto the big screen in Thor: Love and Thunder, Paul and Arlo revisit some of the film’s influences for this month’s Four-Color Flashback. The boys dig deep into the early part of Jason Aaron’s run on the golden-haired Avenger, with Thor: God of Thunder #1-25 and Thor (2014) #1-8. Topics of discussion include the dynamite art of Esad Ribić and Russell Dauterman, Thor’s crisis of faith, why Jane Foster wielding Mjolnir makes for such a great reinvention of the character, and more.

NEXT: anything is possible.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:32  –  Intro / Banter
  • 00:04:55  –  Main Topic
  • 00:11:54  –  INTERLUDE: Giving Arlo $#!&
  • 00:14:01  –  Back to the Main Topic!
  • 01:55:21  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Divine Hammer” by The Breeders, Last Splash (1993)
  • “Sweet Jane” by Cowboy Junkies, The Trinity Sessions (1988)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 476 – “FCF: Die (feat. Eric Sipple)”

Art from Die (2018-21) by Stephanie Hans

Gobbledygeek episode 476, “FCF: Die (feat. Eric Sipple),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

For this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo roll the Die to discuss Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans’ dark tale of a group of one-time RPG nerds getting sucked into the world of the game. Gillen has described the book as “goth Jumanji,” and there’s some truth to that–these characters feel everything, hard. Luckily, so do we, and so does special guest Eric Sipple, author of Mimesis and co-creator of The Deli Counter of Justice. The gang discusses how Die takes apart and rebuilds typical D&D classes, its commentary on the entire history of gaming, why Ash is so important to Eric, and much more.

NEXT: by the hoary hosts of Hoggoth, it’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:32  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:05:46  –  Our histories with RPGs
  • 00:14:56  –  Die
  • 02:44:20  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Tumbling Dice” by The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St. (1972)
  • “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” by Kate Bush, Hounds of Love (1985)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 472 – “FCF: Smile”

Art from Smile (2010) by Raina Telgemeier.

Gobbledygeek episode 472, “FCF: Smile,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Sit back and say ‘Aaaahhhh!’ For this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo take a trip to the dentist with Raina Telgemeier’s 2010 autobiographic novel Smile. Raina looks back on how her orthodontic woes served as a marker for her adolescence, from the loss of her two front teeth in 6th grade circa 1989 through finally ditching those braces in freshman year ‘92. This prompts Paul and Arlo to recount their own dental dramas in dramatic (traumatic?) detail before praising Telgemeier’s skillful cartooning, her incisive rendering of middle school social mores, the way historical events are set against the backdrop of teen life, and more. Plus, the boys have thoughts on the This Is Us series finale.

NEXT: more drama, more trauma.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:23  –  Intro / This is Us
  • 00:35:17  –  Smile
  • 01:35:33  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Dentist!” by Steve Martin, Michelle Weeks, Tichina Arnold & Tisha Campbell, Little Shop of Horrors (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1986)
  • “Braces” by Robbo, A Kid’s Life (2000)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 469 – “FCF: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr”

Art from The Many Deaths of Laila Starr (2021) by Filipe Andrade & Inês Amaro

Gobbledygeek episode 469, “FCF: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

What happens when a child is born who will invent immortality? According to Ram V and Filipe Andrade’s The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, Death is fired from her job, is cast into a mortal body, and attempts to find and murder this child. Oh, she also dies a lot. On this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul & Arlo discuss the book’s unique approach to Indian mythology, Andrade’s beautifully distorted figures, V’s ability to be self-serious without being pretentious, and more. Plus, Paul gets into Severance, the boys aren’t feeling This Is Us‘ final season, and Arlo reads more Superman.

NEXT: it’s an MCU catch-up session. The boys will discuss the trifecta of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:34  –  Intro / Banter
  • 00:27:39  –  The Many Deaths of Laila Starr
  • 01:32:20  –  Selecting the next FCF
  • 01:36:03  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight” by Cutting Crew, Broadcast (1986)
  • “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult, Agents of Fortune (1976)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 465 – “FCF: Six-Gun Gorilla”

Art from Six-Gun Gorilla (2013) by Jeff Stokely & Andre May

Gobbledygeek episode 465, “FCF: Six-Gun Gorilla,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Sometimes a gorilla is just a gorilla. Sometimes, though, that gorilla–righteously bearing arms though he may be–is a gateway to a story about the power and fluidity of narrative. For this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo go ape for Si Spurrier and Jeff Stokely’s Six-Gun Gorilla, a sci-fi Western published by BOOM! Studios in 2013. The boys discuss Stokely’s glorious, hyper-exaggerated art; how the book’s entertainment conglomerate dystopia feels like a logical extension of our present; the way Spurrier weaves various pulp genres throughout his story; and more. Plus, Paul got sick in Gatlinburg again and Arlo admits he was wrong about Dune.

NEXT: Gobbledygeek will return.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:55  –  Intro / Banter
  • 00:21:30  –  Six-Gun Gorilla
  • 01:25:50  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Clint Eastwood” by Gorillaz, Gorillaz (2001)
  • “Wayfaring Stranger” by Johnny Cash, American III: Solitary Man (2000)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 461 – “FCF: Black Panther – The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda”

Art from Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda (2018) by Daniel Acuña

Gobbledygeek episode 461, “FCF: Black Panther – The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Panthers…IN SPAAAAACE! For their first Four-Color Flashback of 2022, Paul and Arlo look to the stars, where they find Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda. The second half of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther run, these 25 issues–with art by Daniel Acuña, Kev Walker, and Ryan Bodenheim, among others–concern T’Challa’s rise from slave to legend in an alien empire that bears his kingdom’s name. The boys discuss Coates’ bold new direction, the question of expansion vs. imperialism at the heart of the book, Acuña’s photorealistic interstellar action compared to Walker’s more abstract emphasis on character, and that goddamn symbiote. Plus, an acknowledgement of how surreal it is to be reading a comic book depiction of war at this particular moment, Amazon’s evisceration of comiXology, and more.

NEXT: let’s party like it’s 1999-2003. For the first of a two-part exploration of the Wachowskis’ Matrix series, writer Tilly Bridges jacks in to discuss the original trilogy. Whoa.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:23  –  Intro / Banter
  • 00:08:21  –  Paul’s Unhinged ComiXology Rant
  • 00:34:43  –  Main Topic
  • 01:56:36  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Intergalactic” by Beastie Boys, Hello Nasty (1998)
  • “Space Jam” by Quad City DJ’s, Space Jam (1996)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 456 – “FCF: Outer Darkness”

Art from Outer Darkness (2018-19) by Afu Chan

Gobbledygeek episode 456, “FCF: Outer Darkness,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

“And cast ye the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” So says Matthew 25:30, and in John Layman and Afu Chan’s Outer Darkness, there is plenty of weeping–and so, so much gnashing of teeth. For their last Four-Color Flashback of the year, Paul and Arlo discuss Layman and Chan’s 2018-19 Image/Skybound series, which imagines a far-flung future where spaceships need exorcists onboard and the dead can be resurrected so long as you cast a net wide enough to catch their souls. The boys discuss the book’s ingenious mash-up of space opera and supernatural horror, how Layman & Chan expertly juggle a number of timelines, why the visceral splorches of Chan’s art are so satisfying, and the depressing realities behind the series’ cancellation.

NEXT: what if…we did another MCUTV episode with Hollywood’s own Michael Holland? We’ll be discussing, you guessed it, the animated Marvel series What If…?

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:57  –  Intro
  • 00:04:39  –  Outer Darkness
  • 01:37:00  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Spirit in the Sky” by Bauhaus, Singles (2013)
  • “Furries!” by Pony Death Ride, Not a Foal, Not Yet a Horse (2012)

GOBBLEDYCARES