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 250: Fantastic Four #181 - Side By Side With Annihilus

The Fantasticast Episode 181

You Can't Tie A Knot In Your Neck

Hello, and welcome to episode 250 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 celebration time for The Fantasticast, as we reach our milestone 250th episode. And how do we mark this huge moment in our history? Er... by doing nothing about it at all. Instead, we get stuck right into Fantastic Four #181, which sees the FF splintered and scattered across New York and beyond. Reed's fighting against Annihilus, Sue's contending with the return of Agatha Harkness, and Johnny's confronting PTSD with the subtlety of the Presidential tweet.

Roy Thomas, Ron Wilson, and Joe Sinnott present Fantastic Four #181, a tale of battle in the Negative Zone, dredging the Hudson River, kidnapping a child, and watching a marathon of film noir with an extra-dimensional shape-changing chaotic being with a penchant for green and purple.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_250.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.

The Fantasticast Episode 244: Fantastic Four #178 - Call My Killer -- The Brute

The Fantasticast Episode 244

The Counter-Earth Pantsless Pipe-Smoking Society

Hello, and welcome to episode 244 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Following an unexpected diversion with the last episode, we're back on track this week with a look at Fantastic Four #178. The Brute has joined the Frightful Four, and the team of villains is holding the Fantastic Four hostage in the Baxter Building. Will New York pay the princely sum of... ONE MILLION DOLLARS? Or will Marvel's First Family pay the ultimate price?

Roy Thomas, George Perez, and Dave Hunt present Call My Killer --  The Brute, with a whole host of guest stars including Thundra, Tigra, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, The Impossible Man, and more. As well as this, we're also taking a look at Tom Hanks' oovoo, and discovering that there is nothing quite like The Fonz.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_244.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 243: Marvel Two-in-One #22

The Fantasticast Episode 243

Diagnosis: Moider!

Hello, and welcome to episode 243 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 heading into hospital with The Thing, The Human Torch, Dr Donald Blake, Thor, half of Black Sun, and Seth. It's Marvel Two-in-One #22, which features the only available doctor in New York and the Egyptian god of death stalking the hall of the hospital in which he works. Bill Mantlo, Ron Wilson, and Pablo Marcos join forces for the first of two consecutive Two-in-One issues to feature the same credited guest star.

Then we're off to the realm of Andy's nightmares to take a look at our first ever TV tie-in comic. The Electric Company comes to Marvel comics in Spidey Super Stories #20, in which Spider-Man, the Human Torch, and the Invisible Girl, to defeat Mysterio and his hateful hate ray of hate. You know, like Mysterio always has.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_243.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 241: Marvel Two-in-One #21 - Black Sun Lives

The Fantasticast Episode 241

A Pig In A Tartan Waistcoat

Hello, and welcome to episode 241 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 delving into the realm of never-reprinted* comics with Marvel Two-in-One #21, in which a licensing-defying•• Doc Savage crosses the boundaries between one fictional universe and another, coming golden-face-to-rocky-face with the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing. Bill Mantlo, Ron Wilson and Pablo Marcos push against the boundaries of how to tell a superhero story in 1976. Well, for half an issue at least.

But that's not all! We're also rummaging through the opening pages of Captain Marvel #47, in which Mar-Vell does not make a good showing of himself, and Rick Jones makes up an entire friendship. Following this, we get into a snowball fight with The Thing in few pages from Marvel Treasury Edition #13. It's a bumper episode of The Fantasticast, for your listening pleasure.

*Oh, Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One vol. 3 got solicited this week, with this issue included in it, you say?

**Well, not any more. Bloody Marvel. Ruining our podcast since Tuesday of this week.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_241.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 240: Fantastic Four #176 - Improbable As It May Seem -- The Impossible Man Is Back In Town

The Fantasticast Episode 240

George Perez Saves Stan Lee!

Hello, and welcome to episode 240 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 arriving at the much-anticipated Fantastic Four #176, in which The Impossible Man shatters the fourth wall, causing havoc and mayhem in the Marvel Bullpen. With a Jack Kirby cover inspiring the action, Roy Thomas, George Perez and Joe Sinnott pull out all the stops, puncturing egos and giving cameos to just about everyone in the Bullpen.

Joining us for this madcap comic is frequent podcast e-mailer, comic book inker, and lifelong Fantastic Four fan Charles Yoakum. Together, we attempt to identify every single creator cameo, play a round of Starlin or Salicrup, and try and squeeze the entire show through Steve's Poppuppian filter. (It's a joke about an important piece of podcasting equipment, you see.) (Not, admittedly, a very good joke.) (Ah, well...)

Charles can be found at http://charlesyo.com/, and his blog at http://inkdestroyedmybrush.blogspot.co.uk/

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_240.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 239: Marvel Two-in-One #20 - Showdown At Sea

The Fantasticast Episode 239

Swastika Fidget Spinner

Hello, and welcome to episode 239 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 finally bring to a completely satisfying (honest, guv) conclusion this multi-annual story involving multiple divergent World War IIs, time-travelling vibranium, mimetic Watchers, and underwhelming period superhero teams. Yes, it's Marvel Two-in-One #20, featuring the Liberty Legion, in their last attempt at standing in the spotlight in the 1970s.

Returning to join us for this episode is Michael Bailey, currently the most prominent Liberty Legion fan to be found within this episode. He's here to try and explain how gyroscopes can affect the power of brain and eyeballs in a jar welded to a giant flying swastika, and to show us why Gerry Anderson hipsters are the worst of the puppet hipsters.

Michael Bailey is the host of numerous podcasts, including From Crisis To Crisis: A Superman Podcast, Views From The Longbox, The Overlooked Dark Knight, the upcoming Married With Comics, and the upcoming It All Comes Back To Superman. All of these, as well as his comics blogging, can be found at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/

Direct download: http://www.thefantasticast.com/podcast/239

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 236: Marvel Two-in-One #19 - The Claws Of The Cougar

The Fantasticast Episode 236

The Inessential Tigra

Hello, and welcome to episode 236 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 on the show, we're taking a look at the history of the Cat People, as Tigra - The 61st Sexiest Female Character in comics, according to CBG - arrives in both the Baxter Building and Marvel Two-in-One #19. Tony Isabella, Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema and Don Heck introduce an actual Were-Woman (don't think about it) in a book described by one of the team for this episode as "like reading gas."

Joining us for this episode is Gary Lactus, live from his spaceship in space. Gary's a lifelong Fantastic Four fan (although this issue may have affected this passion somewhat, and one of the hosts of SILENCE!, a fantastic comics podcast. Together, we discuss the nomenclature of Greer Nelson - Happy Housewife, the misadventures of Benjamin 'Shagger' Franklin, and exactly how Ben Grimm sleeps at night. And, just for kicks, there's also a brief discussion of a couple of pages in Avengers #151, in which Ben is a bit of a hypocrite.

Find Gary on SILENCE!, every week at mindlessones.com. Gary's civilian alter ego Fraser Geesin releases comics, short films, and more at frasergeesin.com. Follow Gary on twitter where he is @frasergeesin. And, if you like the very last thing in the show, you can find more at http://mindlessones.com/2012/12/24/silence-night-holy-shit/

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_236.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 186: Fantastic Four #150 - Ultron-7: He'll Rule The World

The Fantasticast Episode 186

Twatted By Ultron

Hello, and welcome to episode 185 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, wedding bells are ringing, celebrations are in the air, and everyone wants to kill each other. It's another Marvel wedding, as Quicksilver and Crystal prepare to spend the rest of their lives with each other. Such a momentous event couldn't be contained in one comic alone, so this week, we're looking at Avengers #127 and Fantastic Four #150. 

Steve Engelhart, Gerry Conway, Sal Buscema and Rich Buckler present the return of Ultron and Omega, a revolution by the Alpha Primitives, a petulant Ben who just won't wear a damn cloak, the sudden return of Agatha Harkness, and the next momentous event in the life of Franklin Richards. Grab your confetti and take your seats. Now, are you with the bride or the groom?

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_186.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 124: Fantastic Four #108 - The Monstrous Mystery of the Nega-Man!

The Fantasticast Episode 124 (300)

All-New Flashbacks

Hello, and welcome to episode 124 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 on the show, we're cracking open Fantastic Four #108, and experiencing a bit of deja vu all over again. As is well-know, the contents of Fantastic Four #108 were 'frankensteined' together from unused Jack Kirby pages, originally intended for Fantastic Four #102 before they were rejected by Stan Lee. We looked at these pages and the story they were supposed to have told a few weeks back, and now it's time to look at them in the context of their original release.

John Buscema and John Romita do their best, but there's something very off about this issue, and it's not just our frustration at having to read the same pages twice in 6 episodes. But we're brave and honourable citizens, and our duty is to read these comics, and hopefully we found a new way of looking at them.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_124.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 122: Fantastic Four #106 - The Monster Within

The Fantasticast Episode 122

It's Pronounced Solzhenitsyn

Hello, and welcome to episode 122 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 taking a look at Fantastic Four #106, featuring the return of Joe Sinnott to the inking brush. A monstrous figure is laying waste to downtown New York, Reed's experiments on Ben are reaching a critical point, and everyone's already forgotten about Crystal.

We've also got an explanation for the hiccup in our release schedule, and after 122 episodes, tensions between the hosts finally spill over.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_122.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 121: Fantastic Four #105 - The Monster In The Streets

The Fantasticast Episode 121

Pollution Is Bad, M'Kay?

Hello, and welcome to episode 121 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 getting our grubby, non-Inhuman hands on Fantastic Four #105, which casually slides a key character over to another title, sets up a potential cure for The Thing, and rather niftily introduces multiple levels of threat for the entire team. It's John Romita's penultimate full issue of the Fantastic Four, and John Verpoorten's final inking for the book.

We've also got a debate about Motown, a moving listener e-mail, some news about our activities next weekend, and an announcement about the long-neglected Fantastic Flame On blog.

Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at fantasticflameon.wordpress.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.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_121.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 120: Fantastic Four #104 - Our World -- Enslaved

The Fantasticast Episode 120

Dramatically Defeatist Namor

Hello, and welcome to episode 120 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 concluding a story started by Jack Kirby and finished by Stan Lee and John Romita. Magneto has taken command of the armies of Atlantis, developed a curiously personal grudge against the Fantastic Four, and kidnapped Sue and Lady Dorma into the bargain. Can Reed and Namor save their true loves and avert war?

We also take a look at Avengers #82, where we compare and contrast a Stan Lee-penned invasion of New York with a Roy Thomas-penned invasion of New York. And finally, Ben and Triton are busy having some bro time, watching a Netflix marathon, in Sub-Mariner #31.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_120.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.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 119: Fantastic Four #103 - At War With Atlantis

The Fantasticast Episode 119

The Usefulness Of Lady Dorma

Hello, and welcome to episode 119 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

We've done it. We've broken through the Jack Kirby barrier. Let the uncertain era of Lee, Romita, Thomas, Buscema, et al. begin. And begin it does, by picking up the pieces of Kirby's Magneto/Atlantis plot and rebuilding them in the form of a fast-paced action epic.

We've got the Master of Magnetism, an invasion of New York, the return of Agatha Harkness, the worst possible satnav directions in the Fantasticar, along with brief looks at Sub-Mariner #30 and Fantastic Four Annual #8. And not forgetting this episode's special guest star: Richard M. Nixon!

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_119.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.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

The Fantasticast Episode 61: Fred Hembeck's Fantastic Four Roast

The Fantasticast Episode 61

Welcome to The World's Silliest Comic Podcast!

As our listeners rouse themselves from the annual turkey coma, we head back in time 31 years to celebrate with 20th year of publication of the Fantastic Four with a good old-fashioned roast. Yes, this episode, Steve Lacey and Andrew Leyland present the glorious gag-packed jam issue, Fantastic Four Roast, masterminded by Fred Hembeck. Check out the list of creators:

Fred Hembeck, Jim Shooter, Ron Wilson, John Byrne, Michael Golden, John Romita Jr, Al Milgrom, Mike Zeck, Bob Layton, Alan Weiss, Sal Buscema, Mike Vosburg, Kerry Gammill, Keith Pollard, Frank Miller, Denys Cowan, Marshall Rogers, John Buscema, Don Perlin, Gene Day, Walt Simonson, Frank Springer, Brent Anderson, Steve Leialoha, Dave Cockrum, Chic Stone, Terry Austin, John Romita Sr, Joe Rubinstein, Joe Sinnott, John Beatty, Bill Anderson, Ricardo Villamonte, Dan Green, Keith Pollard, Klaus Janson, Bob McLeod, Bill Sienkiewicz.

All this, and one of the greatest number one singles of all time.

Don't forget to answer our listener question of the month: We want to know your feel-good Fantastic Four reading experiences!

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_61.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.

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

Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.