Gaspar Saladino

The Fantasticast Episode 365: Marvel Two-in-One #76 - The Big Top Bandits

We Need To Talk About Sue's... Uh...

Hello, and welcome to episode 365 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week, we're taking a well-earned break, both in the real world and in the podcast. Steve's travelling to Los Angeles to attend the Gallifrey One convention, and Ben, Alicia, Bobby, and Bill are off to the circus in Marvel Two-in-One. Such a shame that there's only one circus in the Marvel Universe (yes, we're discounting the one with Johnny's cousins from Strange Tales), and that one is the Circus of Crime!

Tom DeFalco, David Michelinie, Jerry Bingham, Chic Stone, George Roussos, Michael Higgins, Bob Budiansky, Jim Salicrup, Jim Shooter, Joe Sinnott, and Gaspar Saladino present Marvel Two-in-One #76 - The Big Top Bandits. Guest-starring both Iceman and Giant Man, and featuring some curiously silent heroes, a thoroughly irriating clown, an accidentally-forgettable artist, and the strong need to talk about Sue's... uh... As well as this, we're also joining the latest of Marvel's merry mutants to follow her disco-laden adventures with Doctor Doom in Dazzler #3 and #4.

Direct download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_365.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

The Fantasticast Episode 358: Fantastic Four #228 - Ego-Spawn

The Fantasticast Episode 358

Reed Richards: Master of Ethics

Hello, and welcome to episode 358 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This time on the Fantasticast, we must, we must uncover the mysteries of Franklin's powers, by dressing him up as Professor X (with handy replica Cerebro) and hoping that he isn't too unhappy about a burger. And if this doesn't sound too great, don't worry - someone's read some 'science' and is oh-so-eager to show off their 'research'...

Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, Joe Sinnott, George Roussos, Jim Novak, Gaspar Saladino, Bob Budiansky, Jim Salicrup, and Jim Shooter present Fantastic Four #228 - Ego-Spawn. Featuring a long look at the medical and scientific ethics at play, the worst way to manipulate your family so you can get your own way, and a prick in a vest.

Direct download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_358.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 357: Marvel Two-in-One #72 - The Might of Maelstrom

A ‘MASTERCLASS’ IN SOLO ‘PODCASTING’

Hello, and welcome to episode 357 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

The show is back after a 2-ish week break, and this time, there's a dire need to wrap some things up. There's an unfinished three-part storyline in Marvel Two-in-One, which in turn forms part of an unifnished plot thread that has run through most of the 1970s.  The inhabitants of Hybrobase need curing, and the Inhumans have some unfinished business at their old gaffe.

Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, Ron Wilson, Chic Stone, George Roussos, John Costanza, Bob Budiansky, Jim Salicrup, Gaspar Saladino, and Jim Shooter present Marvel Two-in-One #72 - The Might of Maelstrom. In which domes are shattered, old men die, shadows are wielded by villain and artist alike, and crimes too terrible to mention go unmentioned.

Direct download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_357.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 356: Fantastic Four #227 - The Brain Parasites

The cover to Fantastic Four #227, bordered on the left and right by Michael Georgiou's depictions of the Fantastic Four.

The Fantasticast Episode 356

A Punk With A Tie

Hello, and welcome to episode 355 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

The show is back after a 19-ish month break, and it's bringing with it yet another issue from the infamous Moench/Sienkiewicz run on the Fantastic Four. A meteor falls to Earth, and what it contains could spell disaster and ruin for the petrochemical industry! Only the Fantastic Four can stop it, as long as they don't get distracted by Reed's chauvanism and Sue's poor writing...

Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bruce Patterson, George Roussos, Jim Novak, Bob Budiansky, Jim Salicrup, Jim Shooter, Joe Sinnott, and Gaspar Saladino present Fantastic Four #227 - The Brain Parasites. Featuring an impromptu holiday, fishing gear, a novel way of keeping score, an Alien ripoff, and a spooky twist ending. OR DOES IT?!?

Direct download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_356_Final.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 354: Fantastic Four #226 - The Samurai Destroyer

The Fantasticast Episode 354

The Fantasticast Episode 354

And We're Back

Hello, and welcome to episode 354 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

So we're back. Well, one of us is, at least. After eight months off the air and four months of social isolation, the urge to podcast got a bit too much for Steve, and he's back for at least one episode to continue the mission of the podcast. It's the first Fantasticast solo episode, and hopefully it works! Now, what are we covering? Shogun Warriors?

Uh...

Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, Pablo Marcos, Bruce Patterson, George Roussos, Jim Novak, Jim Salicrup, Bob Budiansky, Jim Shooter, Bob Mcleod, and Gaspar Saladino present Fantastic Four #226 - The Sumurai Destroyer. In which a license expiration necessitates a lot of flashback destruction, the globe is trotted with astounding ease, and Andrew Lloyd-Webber makes his Marvel debut.

Direct download: http://www.thefantasticast.com/podcast/354

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 311: Marvel Two-in-One #53 - The Inner War

The Fantasticast Episode 311

The Pegasus Project Saga Starts Here

Hello, and welcome to episode 311 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

It's one of the most famous stories to come out of Marvel's team-up books. It was the focus of one of Marvel's earliest trade paperbacks. It properly introduced a mainstay of Marvel's cosmic roster in the 90s and 2000s. It cemented the reputation of the writers. It gave the Thunderbolts a home. It's the Pegasus Project Saga, and it's arrived at the Fantasticast.

Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, John Byrne, Joe Sinnott, Bob Sharen, Gaspar Saladino, Roger Stern, and Jim Shooter present Marvel Two-in-One #53. Quasar formally arrives in the Marvel Universe, Ben Grimm gets probed in all sorts of ways, and a whole bunch of setup is carried out in a way that feels far more modern than the 1979 cover date might otherwise suggest.

Joining us to look at this issue of Marvel Two-in-One is Quasar podcaster and host of The Quantumcast, Gene Hendricks. Find the Quantumcast at http://twotruefreaks.com/shows.php?show=36, and Gene's blog, The Hammer Strikes, can be found at http://www.thehammerstrikes.com/

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_311.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 310: Marvel Two-in-One #52 - A Little Knight Music

The Fantasticast Episode 310

EVEN YOUR OWN

Hello, and welcome to episode 310 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week, we're looking to team a veteran, rock-based super-hero with an up-and-coming vigilante who definitely isn't Batman in a white costume, oh no, not at all. Yes, Moon Knight gets to feature in Marvel Two-in-One this week, as he and Ben Grimm go up against future Hawkeye villain Crossfire!

Steven Grant, Jim Craig, Pablo Marcos, Ben Sean, Gaspar Saladino, Roger Stern, Jim Salicrup, Jim Shooter, George Perez, and Joe Sinnott present Marvel Two-in-One #52. Join us, as we discover the most unlikely reality in the Marvel multiverse, discuss Doctor Doom's massive organ, exclaim 'You're flipping nuts!', and excitedly proclaim 'Pew! Pew!'.

Joining us this week is writer, critic, and podcaster Matt Lune. You can find Matt's podcast Mother Box at http://www.multiversitycomics.com/category/podcasts/, and That's The Issue on iTunes and on twitter at https://twitter.com/thatstheissue. Matt is also the reviews editor for Multiversity.com and he can be found on twitter at https://twitter.com/MattLune

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_310.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 309: Fantastic Four #207 - Might Of The Monocle

The Fantasticast Episode 309

Spider-Man vs Cap'n Birdseye

Hello, and welcome to episode 309 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

How best to convince an audience of rabid Marvel-ites that the Fantastic Four have actually died? By giving the next issue of the title over to a madcap team-up between the Human Torch and Spider-Man as they investigate the hypnotic security cameras, muddled motivations, and aborted plotlines of Security University, of course!

Marv Wolfman, Sal Buscema, Joe Sinnott, Ben Sean, John Costanza, Jim Shooter, and Keith Pollard present Fantastic Four #207, in which a bunch of pajama-clad students overwhelm an army base, and we are introduced the the Very Dangerous Dymanite. Presumably the Mostly Harmless Dynamite was surplus to requirements... We also head to New York as the Fantastic Four and the Avengers team up to take out everybody's favourite gigantic radioactive lizard in Godzilla, King Of The Monsters #23.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_309.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 308: Marvel Two-in-One #51 - Full House, Dragons High

The Fantasticast Episode 308

Face Front

Hello, and welcome to episode 308 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

To be very blunt, Marvel Two-in-One #51 is a Very Good Comic. Guest writer Peter Gillis crafts a story where The Thing has to team up with Nick Fury and some newer Avengers to defend the SHIELD Helicarrier, and on the strength of the writing, this would be a pretty good comic. But then there's the guest art from Frank Miller, at a very early stage in his career, and he takes the issue to an entirely new level.

Peter Gillis, Frank Miller, Bob McLeod, Glynis Wein, Tom Orzechowski, Roger Stern, Jim Shooter, and George Perez present Marvel Two-in-One #51, with Ms Marvel, The Beast, Wonder Man, Nick Fury, a fantastic red alert, and an unstable Fantasticar. And on top of this, we also spend time with Godzilla, King Of The Monsters #22, where it turns out that dumping Godzilla through a time machine wasn't the best idea in the world, and Ben Grimm eats Doctor Doom's time platform.

But before all of that, we sit down to give our very immediate thoughts on the passing of Fantastic Four co-creator and Marvel figurehead Stan Lee. Recorded within half an hour of the news of his passing breaking, we discuss our personal experiences meeting Stan, and his impact on us.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_308.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 304: Marvel Two-in-One #49 - The Curse of Crawlinswood

The Fantasticast Episode 303

The Unexpected Popeye

Hello, and welcome to episode 304 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Well, normally we would, but thanks to the a dose of real life, Andy's got the week off. That doesn't stop Steve from hitting the longboxes and diving into a strange tale (hehe) featuring Doctor Strange and Ben Grimm taking down a centuries-old necromancer in a creepy house ripped directly from an episode of Dark Shadows in Marvel Two-in-One #49, by Jo Duffy, Alan Kupperberg, Gene Day, Carl Gafford, Gaspar Saladino, Roger Stern, Jim Shooter, Bob Budiansky, and Al Milgrom.

Joining Steve this week is Doctor Strange and 2000AD podcaster Conrad Leiden. Together, they examine the cartoonish, atmospheric artwork, the playful use of horror tropes, and what exactly constitutes a team-up when one of the heroes has no idea that the other one is there. As a bonus, they also dive into Godzilla, King Of The Monsters #20, where a museum turns out to be a terrible place to store a rapidly-growing lizard, and the Fantastic Four go toe-to-toe with one of the most iconic kaiju of all time.

Find Conrad's Doctor Strange Podcast - Stranger By The Dozen - at http://cradeline.com/stranger-by-the-dozen/ and on twitter at https://twitter.com/StrangerByThe12. Space Spinner 2000 can be found at http://spacespinner2000.com/ and on twitter at https://twitter.com/SpaceSpinner2K.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_304.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 300: Marvel Two-in-One #47 - Happy Deathday, Mr Grimm

The Fantasticast Episode 300

Stupid Simian Suspense Stories

Hello, and welcome to episode 300 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Here we are, with our 300th episode of The Fantasticast. This week, we're teaming up with the Yancy Street Gang to protect our turf from rival gangsters and third-rate Daredevil villains. Bill Mantlo, Chic Stone, Bob Sharen, Gaspar Saladino, Diana Albers, Roger Stone and Joe Sinnott combine to create Marvel Two-in-One #47.

But that's merely the warm-up for the main event - your regular hosts kicking back and answering your questions. From our takes on the Fantastic Four arriving in the MCU, to our hope for the new title, via a whole bunch of rating, ranking, forgetting our actual favourite issues, struggling to hold our drink, reminiscences, flattery, disagreements, and imitations.

Many thanks to all of our listeners, guest hosts, Patreon backers, and anyone who has helped us get through 300 episodes of the show. Here's to the next 300!

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_300.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 298: Marvel Two-in-One #46 - Battle In Burbank

The Fantasticast Episode 298

Oh So Tropey

Hello, and welcome to episode 298 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week, we've got a triple-shot of late-70s Marvel goodness for you. We start with Marvel Two-in-One #46, in which some jealousy over the Bill Bixby TV series leads The Thing to Hollywood, where a throwdown with the Hulk disrupts an attempted kidnapping of Karen Page. Allan Kupperberg, Chic Stone, Gaspar Saladino, Roger Stern, and Jim Shooter are along for the ride.

Then it's off to Earth-7812, which attempts to answer the question... What If Rick Jones Had Become The Hulk. What If? 312 sees Reed Richards trying to help Bruce Banner separate the teen from the monster. And finally, we swing by an introspective Spider-Man in Spectacular Spider-Man #25. Oh, and we also discover what the word is.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_298.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 297: Fantastic Four Annual #13 - Nightlife

The Fantasticast Episode 297

In The Kingdom Of The... Uh...

Hello, and welcome to episode 297 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week, we're nestling into the gap between pages 3 and 4 of Fantastic Four #201 to investigate a plague of statue-stealing, in Fantastic Four Annual #13. The Mole Man is back, and wants to create a public service of beauty for a kingdom of outcasts seeking refuge in the tunnels beneath New York, and only the Fantastic Four can stop him. But... should they?

Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, Joe Sinnott, Francoise Mouly, Gaspar Saladino, Irv Watanabe, Mark Wolfman, Jim Shooter, Keith Pollard, and Steve Leialoha present Fantastic Four Annual #13 - Nightlife, featuring a completely-unnecessary arm stretch, an attempt at social commentary, an almost completely-compromised moral, and a man hoping that if he stands very still, people will mistake his green cloak for... uh... grey statue stuff.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_297.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 283: Fantastic Four #196 - Who In The World Is The Invincible Man?

The Fantasticast Episode 283

Psycho Man, qu'est-ce que c'est?

Hello, and welcome to episode 283 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week, we're off for a proper, slap-up Hollywood dinner, complete with ghostly father, soup that fights back, and absolutely no children. The Psycho Man('s armour) is back, the Invincible Man is also back, Reed's having nightmares, and Ben's having bouillabasse.

Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, Pablo Marcos, Glynis Wein, Joe Rosen, and Jim Shooter present Fantastic Four #196, in which a babysitter is despatched, stars are spotted, Johnny Storm definitely isn't Luke Hamill or David Cassidy, and nobody notices a fight in a restaurant. Just your average issue of the Fantastic Four, then.

The Fantasticast is support by Stitcher Premium, home of Wolverine: The Long Night, launching March 12th. Starring Richard Armitage as Wolverine, this ten episode podcast audio drama is the first of its kind for Marvel. For a month's free trial to Stitcher Premium, head over to stitcher.com/premium and enter the promo code Fantasticast.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_283.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 266: Marvel Two-in-One #33 - From Stonehenge... With Death!

The Fantasticast Episode 266

To Pack... Or To Podcast?

Hello, and welcome to episode 266 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Will this holiday ever end? Will Ben and Alicia ever leave the United Kingdom? The answer to both of these appears to be 'no', as the two decide to not talk about recent events and instead to a holiday to Stonehenge, where nothing bad will happen. Apart from a quartet of one-shot villains looking to drag a wayward magician a thousand years back in time to the era he came from, of course...

Marv Wolfman, Ron Wilson, and Pablo Marcos present Marvel Two-in-One #33, guest-starring Modred The Mystic, Spider-Woman, and Chauncey, of Chauncey and Trevor. We examine the unconcerned origins of Spider-Woman, missed opportunities of spinoffs, the geography of Southern England, and the civil engineering of Wiltshire. And, as a special Fantasticast bonus, we get to take a look at the first Fantastic Four artwork from Walt Simonson.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_266.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 262: Marvel Team-Up #61 - Not All Thy Powers Can Save Thee

The Fantasticast Episode 262

KISS Me Quick

Hello, and welcome to episode 262 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

We close out our episodes for 2017 with a nifty little threesome. First up, we find out what happens when Spider-Man goes up against the entire Fantastic Four, in Marvel Team-Up #61. Well, as close to the entire team as you can get, while just being one person. The Human Torch guest stars as future Fantastic Four creators Chris Claremont and John Byrne, along with Dave Hunt, make their debuts.

Then we're off to Long Island to check in with Marvel's teen superhero, Nova. In amongst his battles with perennial FF nemesis The Sandman, he finds time to put the fear of the almighty into the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing. And finally, we check in Gene Simmons et al as KISS find themselves on a whistle-stop tour of the Marvel Universe, in Marvel Comics Super-Special #1.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_262.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 258: Fantastic Four #185 - Here There Be Witches

The Fantasticast Episode 258

Construct-A-Non-Fantasticar

Hello, and welcome to episode 258 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Where there be witches? Here? Here there be witches? Uh-oh... we'd better be nice about them, then. And considering that the witches that be here eventually give way to Salem's Seven, that's not going to be easy... Yes, the Fantastic Four continue their baby-and-nanny hunt with a trip to New Salem, a town hidden behind a terrible wind. Make your own jokes...

Len Wein, George Perez, and Joe Sinnott introduce us to Nicholas Scratch in Fantastic Four #185. And if you think his name is suspicious, that's nothing compared to his beard... All this, plus some retro uniforms, a very specific form of subtlety, and a sort of heat portal thing that totally makes sense, oh yes.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_258.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 254: Fantastic Four #183 - Battleground: The Baxter Building

The Fantasticast Episode 254

Annihilus's Aerial Butler

Hello, and welcome to episode 254 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

And lo, there shall come an ending (of sorts). We're looking at Fantastic Four #183, featuring a battle at the Baxter Building, in which almost all of the in-progress plots come to a head almost seamlessly. You wouldn't guess that there were six writers involved in the creation of this comic. Or maybe you might...

Anyway, Mantlo, Wein, Shooter, Stern, Macchio and Slifer team up with Buscema (S.) and Slifer to bring us this tale of Annihilus, abandoned androids, inopportune times to loot the Baxter Building, a reversal of a blow a head making you evil, and an ill-judged attempt to replicate the success of This Man, This Monster. All this, and a discussion as to the value of a retcon. Because we love you. Somewhat.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_254.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 251: Marvel Two-in-One #26 - The Fixer And Mentallo Are Back

The Fantasticast Episode 251

The Logistics of SHIELD Pizza

Hello, and welcome to episode 251 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This week, we're tackling two mighty Marvel tales. In the first, Marvel Two-in-One #26, a pizza date with Nick Fury turns into a fight against a mesmeric master and a future Thunderbolt for Ben Grimm. Mentallo and The Fixer are back, the world will never be the same again, and neither will a certain refugee from Earth-7484.

Then we're off into Earth-774 to revisit the history of The Incredible Hulk in What If? #2 - What If The Hulk Had The Brain Of Bruce Banner? This questions leads to the permanent cure of Ben Grimm, the abandonment of mutant rights, and the non-destruction of Earth, proving that the series just doesn't know its own tropes.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_251.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 248: What If? #1 - What If Spider-Man Joined The Fantastic Four?

The Fantasticast Episode 248

Return Of The Bollocksfish

Hello, and welcome to episode 248 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Today, we peer through the windows into a strange parallel world of what might have been. For, none save The Fantasticasters (and their guest) can truly know what could have happened, but for the invisible workings of an incomprehensible fate. Today, we answer the question, What If Spider-Man Had Joined The Fantastic Four, as we read What If? #1.

We're joined by our episode image designer Sam Savage to look at the first of many Marvel titles devoted to the alternate worlds where history took a different turn. Roy Thomas, Jim Craig, and Pablo Marcos come together to retell and revise Fantastic Four and Marvel history. Will The Watcher's narration irritate us all? Will the Earth explode? Will we spend too long recapping fight scenes that have little-to-no bearing on the plot? Find out, as we enter Earth-772!

We also take some time at the start of the episode to pay tribute to Len Wein, who sadly and unexpectedly passed away earlier this week.

Sam can be found on instagram as slpsavage92 

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_248.mp3

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, or leave them in the comments below. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast

The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us.

The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network.

Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.