Karen Mantlo

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 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 229: Marvel Two-in-One #16 / Super Villain Team-Up #6

The Fantasticast Episode 229

Surprise Pterodactyl

Hello, and welcome to episode 229 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

We're doing the unlikely this week, tackling two, full-length comics in one, full-length podcast. First up is Marvel Two-in-One #16, guest-starring Ka-Zar, Nick Fury, a surprised pterodactyl, a numbered tank, and a surprisingly-complacent Reed Richards. Written by Bill Mantlo, with art by Ron Wilson and Dan Adkins, it's a dino-tastic volcanic issue.

Then we're off to Latveria, as Steve Englehart, Herb Trimpe, and Jack Abel bring a story of the Fantastic Four going to war with Doctor Doom, invading his homeland for the first time. Only Namor the Sub-Mariner stands between them. Well, him and the infuriatingly-cryptic Shroud. Oh, and special guest star Henry Kissinger. Yes, him.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_229.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 226: Marvel Two-in-One #15 - The Return Of The Living Eraser

The Fantasticast Episode 226

Interdimensional Linoleum

Hello, and welcome to episode 226 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Hey everyone, the Living Eraser is back! Woohoo! Yaaay! We totally know who he is! And that completely affects our level of enthusiasm for his return! It's Marvel Two-in-One #15, in which the Living Eraser returns, along with Morbius, The Living Vampire. It's a tale of granite blocks, interdimensional travel, and a love untempered by an uncontrollable bloodlust.

Arvell Jones makes his full-issue Marvel debut, under the inks of the legendary Dick Giordano, whilst Bill Mantlo tries to get an interesting story out of two not-particularly-interesting guest stars. We also examine the confusing origins of this issue, and ask the troubling question: who erases the eraser?

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_226.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 222: Marvel Two-in-One #14 - Ghost Town

The Fantasticast Episode 222

Charles Atlas Meets Scientology

Hello, and welcome to episode 222 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 encountering ghosts and the devil's offspring in a deserted town, in Marvel Two-in-One #14. Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, guest-stars in an issue in which he and The Thing go on a ghost/demon hunt, all because Alicia Masters has a strange feeling about an eerily-accurate model. Bill Mantlo, Herb Trimpe and John Tartaglione present a tale that we've chosen to read as including a Nazi Doombot Thing, full of Shat and getting strident with a trident.

Joining us for this episode is returning guest-host Chris Thompson. Chris is Brand Manager for Titan Comics, and is previously an Eisner Award-winning retailer. He's also a huge fan of the Son of Satan, which is a bit of bonus as neither of the regular hosts can consider themselves such a thing. Chris can be found on twitter as @popculturehound, his fantastic interview podcast can be found at Multiversity.com, and Titan Comics can be found at http://titan-comics.com

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_222.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 217: Marvel Team-Up #40 - Murder's Better The Second Time Around

The Fantasticast Episode 217

Locational Coincidences

Hello, and welcome to episode 217 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

This time around, we're taking a brief look at Marvel Team-Up #40, in which the Human Torch plays second fiddle to Spider-Man, the Sons of the Tiger, the Big Man, the Crime Master, the Sandman, 2/3 of the Enforcers, and a dead pigeon. That's at least ninth fiddle, depending on how you're counting your fiddles. Oh, and he also flies away from the plot halfway through the issue. Spoilers, I guess...

We're also taking a look at the short-lived 1975 Fantastic Four radio series, in which a bunch of early FF issues are read aloud into a microphone and the fed through some ear-splitting electronic distortion. The series is perhaps best known for featuring a pre-fame Bill Murray as The Human Torch, as well as featuring Stan Lee as The Narrator (aka the person explaining everything because the plots were never adequately adapted for a non-visual medium). The episodes are freely available online, so why not give them a listen?

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_217.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 215: Marvel Two-in-One #12 - The Stalker In The Sands

The Fantasticast Episode 215

Chicken Blindness

Hello, and welcome to episode 215 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

We're off to Israel for this week's episode, strapping into a test rocket and heading for the stars with Marvel Two-in-One #12. Tony Stark has hired The Thing to test a new rocket ship, and nothing could go wrong. Well, maybe some incredibly poor engineering choices and the reappearance of Praestor John. But apart from that, everything will be fine.

We're also welcoming penciller Ron Wilson, who turns out some impressive debut pencils on this issue. And some less-than-impressive debut pencils as well. We're also examining some very non-blue blueprints, and Steve has a bone to pick with The Swordsman. All this, and more, on the latest Fantasticast.

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_215.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 214: Marvel Team-Up #39 - Any Number Can Slay

The Fantasticast Episode 214

Shooting Pigeons On The Roof

Hello, and welcome to episode 214 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four.

Good news, everybody - The Human Torch has stopped starring in Marvel Team-Up! He's merely featuring now! And what a story he's featuring in. Moving effortlessly from a flanderous pigeon murderer to some of the biggest events in the New York Underworld, it's a story of of gangs, organised crime, and accurate translations of Spanish.

Scripted by Bill Mantlo and drawn by Sal Buscema, we also encounter returns of classic characters such as The Big Man, The Crime Master, Fancy Dan, Montana, and a villain who has merely been on loan to the Fantastic Four for the past decade. Strap in, folks - it's our short, but it packs a punch!

Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_214.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.