The Oh Gosh, Oh Golly, Oh Wow! Podcast

Excalibur #125: “Tying the Knot”

Sat, 10 Feb 2024 21:15:06 -0500

On this our final week, talking Excalibur #125, “Tying the Knot,” we’ve got a wedding we don’t love concluding a comic book series we do love, in sickness and in health, till death do us part… And in honor of this mess of mixed feelings, we’re doing the only appropriate thing, which is hold an Irish Wake – a celebration of life over the open casket of our beloved Excalibur. To that end, our regular discussion of the issue will be augmented with commemorations of the deceased from friends new and old.

Excalibur #124: “Someone”

Sat, 27 Jan 2024 10:01:00 -0500

A certain someone called Zack Jenkins, aka the cohost of the Battle of the Atom podcast, aka the former EiC of ComicsXF, aka the Bad Boy of X-Men podcasting, joins us to fete Excalibur #124, “Someone,” featuring bachelor and bachelorette parties and much bacchanalia and the return of several somones, but unfortunately, only one of those someones gets creamed.

Excalibur #123: “Lost and Found”

Sat, 20 Jan 2024 12:14:16 -0500

This week’s guest, writer, critic, and game designer Armaan Babu, helps us find the joy we’ve lost talking Excalibur #123, “Lost and Found,” featuring the extended Calvin Rankin cameo nobody asked for and Meggan saying yes to the dress. Topics include comics publishing in India, the timeless joys of Nightcrawler, and why it might make sense for a shapeshifter to want a wedding dress after all.

Excalibur #122: “The Search, Part 1”

Sat, 13 Jan 2024 10:03:09 -0500

This week, we can’t do much better than mimic enjoying Excalibur #122, “The Search, Part 1,” but we’re fully focused on enjoying the company as we count down our final four with returning guest Dr. Michael Hancock, here to reminiscence about his first issue of the series, purchased off the rack at the 7/11 when he was but an impressionable teen! What’ll Michael make of this one now that he has a fully developed brain? You’ll have to listen to find out!

Excalibur #121: “Friends Like These”

Sat, 06 Jan 2024 15:36:31 -0500

This week, our silly podcast about a seventh-tier X-Men comic from 30 years ago is more deeply embroiled in contemporary geopolitical events than it has any right to be, as the team jets to Israel to hang (and quarrel) with its national superhero Sabra in Excalibur #121, “Friends Like These.” Scholar of comics and Jewish diasporas Gabrielle Lyle is here to help us navigate this tricky terrain, talking Jewish histories of superheroes and what superheroes gain or lose when they become explicit representatives of a nation.

Holiday Special, 2023 Edition!

Sat, 23 Dec 2023 15:46:39 -0500

Welcome to our latest (last!) Holiday Special! Join us as we answer YOUR questions, reflect on the year that was, and draw for PRIZES!! Please note: this is the unedited audio version. Find the video version here.

Excalibur #120: “Current Events”

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 10:40:35 -0500

Because no one asked for it: it’s Gosh Golly Wow, Love Connection (?) Edition, where old-fashioned comic book romance meets modern-day podcast technology! In honor of the anticlimax of Kitty Pryde and Pete Wisdom’s torrid affair in Excalibur #120, “Current Events,” we answer some very real listener letters and solicit some very live calls all about ROMANCE. Is our romantic advice worth a parting glance…? You decide!

Excalibur #119: “Preludes & Nightmares!”

Sat, 09 Dec 2023 17:46:55 -0500

Excalibur #119, “Preludes & Nightmares!” feels more like a sequel than a prequel, but maybe that’s just the effect of us being haunted by 133 episodes. But social psychologist and comics scholar Dr. Eric Wesselmann is here to help us keep things fresh, talking Jungian jumbles, Ben Raab’s crusade against the avant-garde, and the proper tools for drawing on the human body. Plus—previewing the breakup we’ve all been waiting for!

Excalibur #118: “New Year’s Evil”

Sat, 02 Dec 2023 13:56:18 -0500

We’re besieged by Bamfs gone bad in Excalibur #118, “New Year’s Evil,” and playwright and toy scholar Jonathan Alexandratos is here to help us have the smartest dang convo about bite-sized, upsettingly horny Nightcrawlers you’re ever likely to hear, exploring the long history of our cultural distrust (and disrespect!) for toys and convos about them, and why scholarship on toys is its own kind of play.

Excalibur #117: “Amendments”

Sat, 25 Nov 2023 14:07:37 -0500

This week, we’re doing what we do every week, which is celebrating the most unique bond any two beings can possible share—the bond of FRIENDSHIP. But it’s an especially wet form of friendship in Excalibur #117, “Amendments,” featuring part 2 of Kurt Wagner’s epic showdown with his iconic arch nemesis, the Sidri, this time, with 100% more Colossus. Comics scholar Dr. Lee Easton helps us untangle this epic tale of brothers in arms thrusting, parrying, and sploorching their uniquely friendly love across the page.

Excalibur #116: “Death in Venice”

Sat, 18 Nov 2023 20:22:04 -0500

We’re fighting for our lives in the present when we’re not flashing back to our uncanny pasts in Excalibur #116, “Death in Venice”! Our guest, comics scholar and art historian Josh Rose, guides us through the gooey catacombs, surveying the sticky surrealism of Kurt Wagner’s shocking showdown with his longtime archnemesis (who is definitely exactly who you think it is!) with some detours through the relationship between art & comics—and art history and comics studies.

Excalibur #115: “Missionaries”

Sat, 04 Nov 2023 11:35:05 -0400

We’re on a mission to understand Moira’s off-panel decision to finally confront the dangling plot thread of the Legacy Virus in Excalibur #115, “Missionaries.” Thankfully, we’ve got comics writer & scholar Dr. A. David Lewis in tow to help us tangle with the graphic medicine of it all, with a few detours into Moira’s turbulent love life and Brian’s shockingly juvenile penmanship. Also—Emma Frost is there!

Content warning: this episode discusses self harm.

Excalibur #114: “For the One I Love”

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 09:32:03 -0400

Pete Wisdom is a right bastard in Excalibur #114, “For the One I Love.” But that’s good news for returning guest Dr. Keith Friedlander, current president of the Pete Wisdom Haters Society! We talk gendered violence and representations of BDSM in and around a sequence that made some of us angrier than we’ve been in a while. Also! We see the painting! And coin a new trope about the very real thing every woman actually wants.

Content warning: this episode discusses gendered/sexualized violence.

Excalibur #113: “Faith”

Sun, 22 Oct 2023 12:49:47 -0400

This week, we’re definitely not making Bove/Bova puns as returning guest, comics scholar Bryan Bove, joins us to wonder why we’re in Wundagore in Excalibur #113, “Faith.” Also! Boybots get kisses and Pete Wisdom needs stitches and Lockheed needs better friends because he’s been missing for weeks and apparently nobody noticed…? All of that plus ruminations on the challenge of staying creative when your hobbies become your job.

Excalibur #112: “Survival”

Sat, 14 Oct 2023 20:48:04 -0400

This week, Pete and Kurt get clubby and Colossus and Meggan get chilly as we all try to survive Excalibur #112, “Survival,” in which Meggan forgets she can fly and pays the horrible price of becoming an unwilling participant in Piotr Rasputin’s hurt/comfort holodeck fantasy. Thankfully, a fresh-faced new guest, games and comics scholar Matthew Poulter, is here to help save us from dying from exposure to tropes! Plus—digressions on bear attacks and… public transit?

Excalibur #111: “Broken Vows”

Sat, 07 Oct 2023 13:53:47 -0400

This week, we’re still in Hong Kong, doing dinner and drinking in between crying in the rain and throwing emotional and physical knives at our friends in Excalibur #111, “Broken Vows.” Actor and aspiring comics scholar Chapman Blake is here to help us understand all the dramatic choices and wow us all into speechlessness with his reparative reading of Brian and Meggan’s relationship. Also featuring the hotly anticipated return of Ogun and the almost certainly equally hotly anticipated return of famous ladies man and shopping enthusiast Rory Campbell!

Excalibur #110: “Hearts Bled Crimson”

Sat, 30 Sep 2023 20:43:30 -0400

We’re back spending probably too much time and effort unpacking Salvador Larocca’s choices which are sometimes weird but definitely choices in Excalibur #110, “Hearts Bled Crimson,” with the help of the eagle eyed superstar comics scholar Dr. Barbara Postema! Plus, our supersex addled brains have lots to say about that scene where everyone watches with shock and awe—and, in Kitty Pryde’s case disappointment—as Meggan and Brian’s “deep impassioned love” explodes to save the world.

Excalibur -1: “A True and Terrible Sacrifice”

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 19:18:29 -0400

Welcome, to the “Oh Gosh, Oh Golly, Oh Wow! Podcast,” the podcast where we talk about the Marvel comics series Excalibur, and nothing but Excalibur, every week for 126+ weeks. And this is one of those “plus” weeks, except it’s also a minus week? That’s right—returning guest Dr. Dru Jeffries guides us through Excalibur minus 1, “A True and Terrible Sacrifice,” a Stan Lee hosted flashback to Kurt and Amanda’s circus days in which Kurt kisses Amanda so pretty, Anna had to make a painting for her wall. Talking romance, freaks, and Stan’s legacy!

Excalibur #109: “Dragon Moon Rising”

Sat, 09 Sep 2023 13:34:01 -0400

In the beginning, there were no scholarly books about superhero comics. And then there was Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology, written by none other than this week’s guest, Richard Reynolds! We discuss Brian Braddock’s epic battle against the Crimson Dawn in Excalibur #109, “Dragon Moon Rising,” alongside the equally epic battle to convince the academy to take comics seriously while reckoning with a seriously contagious case of imposter syndrome.

Excalibur #108: “The Old Ways”

Sat, 02 Sep 2023 10:01:00 -0400

The streets are getting punchy and Kitty and Rahne are getting pretty in Excalibur #108, “The Old Ways,” co-starring Spiral and the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn and also Shamrock is there! Molly Fitzgerald is too good for this comic and so is our guest, award-winning comics scholar Dr. Susan Kirtley, who comes bearing tales of rebellious reading and secrets from the serial adventures of Cathy and the transformative talent of Lynda Barry. Plus! Fabulous female friendships in comics and why they matter.

Excalibur #107: “Focus”

Sat, 26 Aug 2023 10:26:43 -0400

This week, we’re focusing on the formal techniques of our new regular penciler, the artist formally known as Salvador Larroca, in Excalibur #107, “Focus”! To help us concentrate through the chaos, we’ve recruited venerable comics scholar Chris Galaver, author of the recent book The Comics Form, to help us, talking splashes, insets, pacing, excess, upside down transforming plane-cars, and why a crack in the pavement takes up most of one page. Plus! Mav spills secrets from the set of Zack and Miri make a Porno…?

Excalibur #106: “A Portrait of the Artist”

Sat, 19 Aug 2023 10:36:10 -0400

Piotr Rasputin is a trouble starter, punkin’ instigator in the danger(ously) illustrated Excalibur #106, “A Portrait of the Artist.” And we’re drawing on the artistic insights of one Adam Reck, co-host of the Battle of the Atom podcast, to illuminate the inner beauty and random chaos of these creative choices. Will Adam succinctly explain the unique styles and discursive contexts of Abstract Expressionism? Will Mav measure the distance between Sibera and Ukraine? Will Anna say the word “moist”? Anything can happen when Andrew’s away and we’ve got too much space to play.

Excalibur #105: “Hard Truths”

Sat, 05 Aug 2023 16:41:48 -0400

This week, Douglock’s sure he doesn’t love sausage but Kitty’s sure Doug Ramsey does in Excalibur #105, “Hard Truths”… in which Kitty (eventually) apologizes for being a jerk. We’re joined by returning guest, comics scholar and educator Dr. Nicholas E. Miller, to perform some reparative reading—or maybe queer vandalism?—on an issue that has lots of potentials it doesn’t always intend, but darned if we don’t make the most of it, talking trans, enby, and asexual metaphors and the power of comics to tell them.

Excalibur #104: “Buried Secret”

Sat, 29 Jul 2023 20:26:47 -0400

It’s no secret that we sometimes had our issues with the Ellis era. We’re celebrating a fresh start by going grave robbing with famous jerk Kitty Pryde in Excalibur #104, “Buried Secret,” accompanied by the accomplished insights of artist, writer, and certified X-Pert + Eternals Enthusiast Karen Charm! Featuring early Bryan Hitch art and our innermost thoughts about it! Plus sympathy for Douglock as he's persecuted by the straights.

Excalibur #103: “Bend Sinister—Reprise”

Sat, 22 Jul 2023 18:05:24 -0400

The Ellis era of Excalibur reaches an appropriately multiversal conclusion in Excalibur #103, “Bend Sinister—Reprise”! We’re joined by comics scholar Dr. Daniel Stein to pick up the pieces and talk about how they relate to serial storytelling and the emotionality of work-for-hire creation and who really owns these stories anyway—a writer? A company? A reader? Maybe a little of all three…? We liked this one right up until the final page, which we hated. But the last caption says the best is yet to come… Will it prove prophetic??

Excalibur #102: “After the Bomb”

Sat, 15 Jul 2023 14:38:28 -0400

Is this VoxPopcast or Gosh Golly Wow? We think it’s probably the latter but it’s hard to tell when Mav is reunited with his VoxPop co-host—comics, pop culture, and fashion scholar Monica Geraffo—to talk a little bit about Excalibur #102, “After the Bomb,” while making a digression or two (or five) into the highs and lows of 90s fashion and what contemporary superhero costumes tell us about the state of our dread and denial amid ongoing climate catastrophes. Plus! Monica reacts to Nightcrawler’s new clothes and everyone makes a dick joke.

Excalibur #101: “Quiet”

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 14:26:35 -0400

Our favourite mutant misfits might be having a quiet one but we’re getting loud about… our love for quiet issues? Our squad’s reunited with returning guest Laura Grafton in a new base with new boys but some of the same baselines in Excalibur #101, “Quiet,” an “Onslaught” event aftermath issue that’s really set amid “Onslaught” but you really wouldn’t know it because our mutants spend the event watching the news while our artist and writer wrangle some great character moments that make this non-event surprisingly eventful.

Excalibur #100: “London’s Burning”

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 11:12:43 -0400

It’s not our hundredth episode (been there, done that), but it is the mega-sized hundredth episode of the comic book we decided to dedicate 126+ weeks of our lives to discussing, which warrants a mega-sized ep! That can only mean we’re talking Excalibur #100, “London’s Burning,” with returning guest Dr. Andrew Kunka, who comes bearing tales of Warren Ellis slamming Harold Bloom while hopped up on too many Red Bulls. Plus! An update on the saga of Mav’s garage and maybe a special secret sleepy guest star.

Excalibur #99: “Fire with Fire”

Sat, 17 Jun 2023 18:53:33 -0400

We’re coming in hot this week, joined by comics and pop culture scholar Dr. Anthony Michael D’Agostino to wield scorching takes about how everything that happens in the underwhelming Excalibur #99, “Fire with Fire,” is actually a narcissistic projection of the issue’s writer and maybe there’s value in that after all? Plus objections to Onslaught and reflections on which came first—being queer or reading X-Men?

Excalibur #98: “Fireflies”

Sat, 10 Jun 2023 20:40:59 -0400

Explosive change is in the air in Excalibur #98! Kurt Wagner definitely feels that (plus every tiny breeze) as he debuts a brand-new Carlos Pacheco-designed costume that our returning guest, writer, music critic, and Excalibur super-fan Quentin Harrison, describes as Eurotrash swashbuckler chic (*affectionate). In addition to full team coverage of Kurt’s flamboyant fashion, we’ve got more gushing about Pacheco and plenty of praise for an action-packed issue where everyone gets a chance to shine. Plus! The blessing of Papa Chris and Pete Wisdom’s pancake butt.

Excalibur #97: “Counterfire”

Sat, 03 Jun 2023 21:35:42 -0400

The New Nightcrawler™ takes centre stage only to be upstaged by another new Meggan and Mav’s story about wrestling Doink the Clown. Jamie James from the Marvel by the Month podcast joins us to jam about that plus Hellfire Clubs, marvelous Marvel jigsaw puzzles, shared universe storytelling, and what makes a Strong Female Character in Excalibur #97, “Counterfire.” Also: shocking truths from Anna’s high school transcript!

Excalibur #96: “Fireback”

Sat, 20 May 2023 19:25:04 -0400

Mav’s lost in the multiverse this week but we’re holding down the fort in his absence with the able assistance of podcaster extraordinaire Matt Lazorwitz, hyping Hellfire and scolding smarmy pets in Excalibur #96, “Fireback”! Featuring the return of Alistaire Stuart and a certain diminutive draconian who’s got it in for one Pete Wisdom plus a whole lot of characters with same-y faces and! Kurt debuts a new look! Which is very different and dated but we kind of love it…?

Excalibur #95: “Amplified Heart”

Sat, 13 May 2023 11:22:18 -0400

All that simmering tension had to come to a head sometime, and what better time than this time, in a comic about the most emo Omega mutant? Adam Reck, writer, artist, and co-host of the Battle of the Atom podcast, descends from the heavens to cross swords and shoot psi-blasts at Excalibur #95, “Amplified Heart,” talking Pacheco influences, rad sequences, 90s pursuance, and where Nate Grey ranks on the list of worst X-Men.

Age of X-Man: The Amazing Nightcrawler

Sat, 06 May 2023 15:59:19 -0400

We promised we’d be talking about X-Man this week, and we didn’t lie because we are talking about that time Nate Grey created a perfect world for mutants where no one was allowed to have sex and hey guess what, it wasn’t so perfect after all. That’s right—we’re making a rare foray into the 21st century to discuss Age of X-Man: The Amazing Nightcrawler, starring Kurt Wagner and Meggan Puceanu as movie stars nursing forbidden passions in a dystopian utopia that some of us love and some of us don’t, but we’re all at least a little seduced by a particularly insightful characterization of Kurt.

Excalibur #94: “Days of Future Tense”

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 23:42:17 -0400

Hang on to your leather-clad butts, snap on your fingerless gloves, and fire up your razor for an undercut because we’re going back to the future past of 2013 in Excalibur #94, “Days of Future Tense”—or was it all a dream…? We’ll discuss all that plus comic book movies and the existential dread of the apocalypse with comics and film scholar Dr. Dru Jeffries! And! Tangerine!! Also Pete Wisdom does Charles Xavier, for reals this time!

Excalibur #93: “The Spire”

Sat, 22 Apr 2023 00:24:53 -0400

This week, we’re inspired to do some griping about thong-back costumes and the wolf-girls who wear them in Excalibur #93, “The Spire,” in which Rahne Sinclair goes home again and heals from her traumatic past by revealing it was even worse than we thought? We also do some sermonizing about religion in comics with the help of returning guest, Dr. Michael B. Dando! Plus lots of ladies acting lots of ways which may or may not make sense and Pete Wisdom does an Xavier impression (which everyone hates).

X-Calibre #1-4

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 00:05:26 -0400

Welcome, to the Oh Gosh, Oh Golly, Oh Wow! Podcast, where we talk about the Marvel comics event Age of Apocalypse, and nothing but Age of Apocalypse, every week from now ‘til eternity. This week, your regular hosts Dr. Michael Hancock, Dr. Sam Langsdale, and Dr. Kalervo Sinervo slash and burn their way to Avalon while being super into sexy dominatrix mothers as they peel back the gold foil cover to tackle the miniseries X-Calibre, starring iconic teammates Kurt Darkholme, Mystique, Switchback, and Damask. Featuring cameos by Dr. J. Andrew Deman of “The Ellis Run” and Dr. Christopher Maverick (under protest), plus a surprise visit from Kurt Darkhome’s Very Official PR Manager.

Excalibur Annual #2

Sat, 01 Apr 2023 10:16:19 -0400

Did you forget about Excalibur Annual #2? So did we for a bit, but not anymore! Anna, Mav, and Andrew are on their lonesome this week, hashing out two decent stories and one that made us mad, featuring the returns of Jamie Braddock and everyone's favourite vampy mutant vampire, Selene! Plus twin magic, witch-on-witch action, and whether there might be some kinda symbolism somewhere in a lonely teenage boy seeing stars after sharing his body and soul with an angsty outer space robot.

Excalibur #92: “I Want You”

Sat, 25 Mar 2023 16:36:35 -0400

We want to want Excalibur #92, “I Want You,” and mostly—we do! It’s a savage garden of multitudinous masculinities in which we’re compelled to contend with a colossal party crasher with a figurative colossal chip on his shoulder and a literal colossal chip in his spine, and everyone takes a crack at a PSA about toxic traits. Helping us map the monstrous in our heroes is Dr. Daniel J. Connell, co-editor (with past guest Dr. Esther De Dauw!), of a spiffy book on the subject! We also get back to our roots with lots of Nightcrawler talk, and Anna complains about the devil’s muscles.

Excalibur #91: “Baby I Love You”

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 15:57:25 -0400

This week, we raise our glasses to a fan-favourite issue, Excalibur #91, “Baby I Love You,” in which our merry mutant misfits take a night off from saving the world to take a tipple, dance on tables, and threaten to kill each other in the bathroom. We also toast everyone’s favourite were-girl with a rough past and a heart of gold with the help of our gracious guest, writer, research, and Rahne Sinclair X-pert, Rebecca Gault! Plus the joys of decompression issues and what’s the new identity of this team, anyway?

Excalibur #90: “Blood Eagle”

Sat, 11 Mar 2023 11:23:57 -0500

It’s gloves off, autopilot on as font of wisdom Liz Large joins us to debate and dissect the crushability of floppy haired sexy-criers who may or may not be sociopaths in Excalibur #90, “Blood Eagle,” in which pride’s better than wisdom but isn’t it always? Shocking twists abound as Kitty Pryde and Pete Wisdom explore the depths Black Air’s alien repository and Pete’s tortured mind, while the GGW team delves fearlessly into the equally dark recesses of the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to resurrect fandoms past. As they said back in 1995: where there’s smoke there’s fire and probably hot knives.

Excalibur #89: “Easy Tiger”

Sat, 04 Mar 2023 16:32:50 -0500

We’ve got one by the proverbial tail in Excalibur #89, “Easy Tiger,” in which returning guest, comics and pop culture scholar Nicole Freim, helps us peel back Pete Wisdom’s battered trench coat to reveal… a guy who might be more of an asshole than John Constantine? But hey, his hot knives are cool, and that’s enough for Kitty Pryde to almost kiss him with her lips in the laboratory of Black Air’s top-secret base for aliens and general weirdness. Plus! Amanda smooches Kurt and everybody hates Rory who hates Spoor.

Excalibur #88: “Dream Nails”

Sat, 18 Feb 2023 16:39:35 -0500

Welcome back to “Our Son Pete,” a monthly analysis of the best/worst/worst-best mutant on Marvel’s main Earth! Just kidding! Or are we…? We are! But only mostly, because we are joined to chat Excalibur #88, “Dream Nails,” by the man who does host that podcast, daring Dan Grote! Love Pete or hate him, he’s here to stay and we’re here to reckon with it, talking what makes this broody super-spy tick and how he’s actually pretty crushable…? (But we’d definitely warn you away from dating him!) Plus memories of X-Files past and praise for Larry Stroman.

Excalibur #87: “Back to Reality”

Sat, 11 Feb 2023 20:45:15 -0500

Welcome back to reality—we ain’t spat in it or nothing. (Though we can’t promise the same of Pete Wisdom.) But we’re jumping right from one apocalypse into another, driving a bumpy jeep through Genoshan metaphors and marvelous mutant ones in general, talking appropriation and identification and all the bad and better stuff pop culture can do with comics scholar Dr. Neil Shyminsky! Plus—we look back at the mad, mad, mad, mad world of X-Men bulletin boards and go searching for the Sugar Man hive.

Excalibur #86: “Back to Life”

Sat, 04 Feb 2023 14:28:09 -0500

This is a no-smoking podcast but Pete Wisdom’s coming in hot whether we like it or not. That’s right—it’s time for the debut of the asshole/heartthrob/irritating author surrogate (opinions vary!) mound of teen angst who walks like a man and loves a torn trench coat but loves smoking even more. We talk about that plus Warren Ellis and accountability and a Genosha metaphor or two with writer, activist, and podcaster Elana Levin!

Note: since we recorded this episode, SoManyofUs.com has released an update on discussions with Ellis. You can read their statement here.

Excalibur #85: “Edge of Night”

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 11:17:37 -0500

This week, we’re slashing (and snikt-ing!) our way to the conclusion of the “Soulsword Trilogy” in Excalibur #85, “Edge of Night,” co-starring Wolverine + Wolverine afficionado Dr. Justin Wigard! Our discussion digs into retributive violence, Final Girl tropes, 90s maximalism, and the complexity of loving a guy whose main thing is being extremely stabby. Plus, we discover a new unit of comics time involving cigars and how long it takes to smoke them while going to stabby town/proving your mutant manhood.

Excalibur #84, “Dark Adapted Eye,”

Sat, 21 Jan 2023 12:38:09 -0500

We’re still adapting to this brand-new era in which Excalibur sucks less. But supernatural transformations are better with great company, and we’ve got that in spades talking demons, magic swords, and the girls who wear them best in Excalibur #84, “Dark Adapted Eye,” with returning guest Dr. Cait Coker! Plus Cait does Supernatural, Anna quotes Lucifer, and we contemplate hard-hitting questions like—why do so many demonic possession stories feature bad dancing and karaoke?

Excalibur #83: “Bend Sinister”

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 23:53:13 -0500

We’re (still) back from the winter break and reeling from term prep, but that doesn’t mean we’re not excited (positively possessed!) by the start of a brand-new era for our beloved British-y mutants, with a new regular writer (Warren Ellis) who brings lots of baggage but definite skill at scripting. Dr. John Edward Martin helps us slice through atmospheres of horror in a story that sharply exploits tropes in the service of something truly uncanny! Who’ll get to Kitty first—the evil sword, the demon weed, or the fashion police??

Excalibur #82: “Life Signs (Part 3): The Light of a Tainted Dawn”

Sat, 07 Jan 2023 15:46:50 -0500

We’re back from the holidays and eager to discuss the very important symbolism of robot Velociraptors in wizard capes in the bafflingly titled Phalanx Covenant crossover issue Excalibur #82, “Life Signs (Part 3): The Light of a Tainted Dawn,” in which Nightcrawler saves the world through the power of life-coaching and everyone’s hair looks fabulous. But we’re focusing on the Forge of it all, discussing race, representation, and Indigenous Futurism with comics scholar Dr. Jeremy M. Carnes!

Holiday Special 2022!

Sat, 24 Dec 2022 13:17:16 -0500

New VIDEO episode! Feast your eyes & ears upon our 2nd annual Holiday Special, featuring reflections on the year that was, too much talk about essay plagiarism, a few technical difficulties, revisiting the top eps of '22, and a draw for PRIZES!

Note: This is the unedited audio version.

Excalibur #81: “Beginnings, Middles, and Endings”

Sat, 17 Dec 2022 19:44:16 -0500

This week, we reckon with change and cosmic constants like the fact Charles Xavier is still a jerk in Excalibur #81, “Beginnings, Middles, and Endings,” in which Brittanic and Meggan rekindle their bonds, Kitty and Douglock forge new ones, and Charles and Moira cheat on their partners. (Maybe? It's complicated.) Joining us on this jolly journey through melodramatic tropes is comics scholar Bryan Bove, who's ready to forgive a romantic cliché or two and so are we, because some of us are loopy from end-of-term burnout and some of us were up all night reading Lucifer fanfiction.

Excalibur #80: “Out of Time”

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 16:17:35 -0500

Excalibur #80 might be “Out of Time,” but we’ve got all the time in the world to talk about a bunch more cyberpunk (and a little cybersex!) in and around the conclusion of the Douglock Chronicles with returning guest Dr. Clare Wall! THRILL to our analysis of capitalism’s appropriation of cyberpunk. WONDER at our cogent analysis of the politics of otherness in the Legacy Virus plotline. And MARVEL as we ask important questions like: can it actually be called surgery if you operate blind in the middle of a laser gun fight with no idea what you’re doing?

Excalibur #79: “Twisted Logic”

Sat, 03 Dec 2022 14:04:17 -0500

What twisted logic brought us here, to Excalibur #79, “Twisted Logic,” in which the main characters aren’t member of Excalibur and child-size flatscans are more open-minded than a queer-coded Jewish mutant who’s sometimes a robot but hates them, apparently? We try to puzzle it out with the help of our returning guest, comics scholar Matt Linton! Plus—cultural contexts of the Legacy Virus and cyberpunk and how this comic might actually be about the humans of 1994 being really freaked out about Y2K.

Excalibur #78: “Fire in the Wild”

Sat, 26 Nov 2022 15:38:06 -0500

Things got tecno-organic so quickly, we didn’t notice until it was too late to separate our Dougs from our Warlocks. That’s right—it’s the debut of Douglock in Excalibur #78, “Fire in the Wild,” and we’ve got a great guest to help us sort out this epic/tragic romance (or lack thereof) between selfsoulfriends turned selfsoulmates! Jim Roberts, aka the very unofficial, very knowledgeable PR Manager to one Douglas Ramsey talks us through Cypher’s cyber history and why Douglock isn’t quite what any of us wanted, but he’s here so we’re going to make the most of it. Plus! Entirely too much discussion of a scene that spent entirely too much time talking about toilet paper.

Excalibur #77: “Lowest Common Denominator”

Sun, 20 Nov 2022 13:26:22 -0500

If you’ve ever wondered what Kurt Wagner would look like as a kid, Excalibur #77, “Lowest Common Denominator,” has the answer, which is—either extremely cute or creepily cute depending on who’s penciling and inking which page! Our returning guest, comics and pop culture scholar John Darowski, helps us unravel Nightcrawler’s broken continuity while finding hope in what we’ve got, which is an uneven but largely charming story about a pagan witch teaching a little blue furry demon-elf that love is stronger than hate

Excalibur #76: “Dog Years”

Sat, 12 Nov 2022 15:03:44 -0500

When you can teleport and so can your foster sister/girlfriend, going home again should be easy. But when you’re a persecuted mutant and a witch with a manipulative even-more-magical mother, it probably won’t be. So it is with Nightcrawler and Daytripper, who take a jaunt back to Germany and land right in the middle of a demon-spawned race riot. But this issue’s not all getting hit in the head with bricks from the Berlin Wall—there’s also a couples’ pole dance and a gravity defying hospital gown to talk about! And talk about it we do, with writer/artist/DJ/comedian Johnnie Walker! Also: cheesecake vs beefcake, incest taboos, and a heartwarming Ken Lashley story—this ep’s got it all!

X-Men Unlimited #4: “Theories of Relativity”

Sat, 05 Nov 2022 11:10:38 -0400

We’re relatively sure the team won’t fire Anna for making them talk about this outrageous and sometimes-funny but also eye-searing and fairly nonsensical comic book. In her defense—you wanted us to! In another victory for democracy, you voted, so here we are, discussing X-Men Unlimited #4, “Theories of Relativity,” aka the one where Mystique yeets baby Kurt over a waterfall and everyone is yelling always, constantly. It’s just us this week, which may have made us too comfortable because I think there’s more swearing than usual?

Excalibur #75: “Hello, I Must Be Going”

Sat, 29 Oct 2022 12:03:59 -0400

This week, we’re talking about Excalibur #75, “Hello, I Must Be Going,” and trying not cry through the loss of a beloved character who’s been with us since the beginning. But X-Men comics have taught us it’s best to face grief with good company, and we’ve got some fabulous company with us in writer and transfeminist activist Daisy Letourneur! We talk through trans readings of Rachel Summers and why this comic is an awfully awful sendoff for a queer character born to survive. Plus a hard-to-find Nightcrawler backup story that gave Anna hives, and the debut of Daytripper!

Content warning: this episode discusses a comic book with themes of suicidal ideation.

Excalibur #74: “In the Name of Love”

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 12:20:04 -0400

We’re not always in love with 90s superhero art but we are in love with analyzing its ins and outs and twists and turns and complex cultural contexts with super-awesome guests who know a thing or three about it, so… that’s exactly what we’re doing this week, talking excess, the creator-owner revolution, a little Excalibur #74, “In the Name of Love,” and lots of Rob Liefeld with comics and literary scholar Dr. Lee Konstantinou! Why did 90s superhero artists draw so dang much and what’s with all the butts? Why is everything metal and why is everyone grimacing? Why would anyone be surprised by Rory Campbell’s true identity? Plus—Bamf dolls!

Excalibur #73: “Memories Are Made of This”

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 11:39:48 -0400

We have always lived in the ‘90s. Or so it seems, when we’re this Ken-and-Barbie-doll-crotch deep in strange and violent and occasionally baffling eroticisms that challenge the vocabulary of our stalwart crew a time or two. But like the heroes we are, we persevere, combining our powers with those of fabulous returning guest Dr. Charlotte J. Fabricius to unpack all the non-existent packages in Excalibur #73, “Memories Are Made of This,” in which Siena Blaze keeps blazin’, Rachel is a one-woman environment club, and Rory is still obviously Ahab. Featuring digressions on Nightwing and Penthouse Comix that are totally relevant, we swear!

Content Warning: The episode discusses sexual violence.

Excalibur #72: “Oohhh... Siena!”

Sun, 09 Oct 2022 12:04:14 -0400

Your regular Upstarts are joined this week by Dr. Hailey “Stone Cold” Austin to talk about good and bad buts/butts in the totally radical Excalibur #72, “Oohhh... Siena!” In which the team moves to Muir Island and nothing will ever be the same again, including our eyeballs and eardrums after this barrage of bodacious badonkadonks and phoney phonetic accents. The one good infection is infectious laughter and this ep’s got plenty of that!

Excalibur #71: “Crossing Swords”

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 22:50:55 -0400

For better or worse and death 'til us part—Excalibur is an X-Men comic now. It’s also definitely a 90s comic, with all the explosive melodrama that implies But it’s not all bad (in fact, some of it is even good!) in Excalibur #71, “Crossing Swords,” the tail end of the “Fatal Attractions” crossover in which Colossus doesn’t understand the difference between atheism and nihilism and one good Jean/Rachel page demands a bad one. X-pert Austin Gorton makes his triumphant return to help us wade through the morass of EMOTIONS and reminiscence about this being the first Excalibur comic he ever bought.

Excalibur #70: “Crime and Punishment”

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 23:57:00 -0400

For the crime of podcasting about Excalibur for 126+ weeks, we're being punished with reading one more issue about kissing Cerise goodbye... if in fact it is Cerise, and not a 90s Bad Girl who just happens to have the same fondness for pink armor and fuzzy blue elves. In any case, we've blackmailed returning guest Dr. Michael Hancock into joining us on this backwards journey into irrelevance, discussing Excalibur #70, “Crime and Punishment.” We talk Bad Girl tropes and what makes a good goodbye kiss, and because we apparently didn’t already have enough to gripe about, we also take swipes at the 1998 Oscars...?

Excalibur #69: “Blight and Fog”

Sat, 17 Sep 2022 10:45:35 -0400

A sexy little number can’t save Excalibur #69, “Blight and Fog,” from living up to its title. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun writing better (and queerer!) stories about everyone’s favourite Warrior of the Ghrand Jhar Shi’ar war criminal with the stalwart support of a writer who’s also Cerise’s Biggest Fan, Hunter Felt! We talk might-have-been’s and could-still-be’s and wonder what a good Cerise/Kurt relationship might look like in a different world where they were allowed to love their difference instead of surrendering to 90s tropes. We also toast the presumably bright future of the character find of 1993—gender-swapped Fang!

Excalibur #68: “Facades”

Sat, 10 Sep 2022 15:50:53 -0400

After a brief sojourn lost in a temporal wave, we’re back and ready to talk you through Excalibur #68, “Facades”—a comic that maybe shoulda stayed lost in a temporal wave. But it's not all grim ‘n’ gritty griping and mourning the loss of more than one character we used to love. We also have lots of fun talking 90s tropes and reboots and transmedia transformations with comics & games scholar and all-around Gotham expert Dr. Kalervo Sinervo!

Excalibur #67: “Days of Futures Yet to Come”

Sat, 27 Aug 2022 13:42:18 -0400

The 90s have arrived in 2015 and Excalibur is a gun now... but actually, Excalibur is still Excalibur, which is to say—a beautiful story about love saving the multiverse

Excalibur #66: “Back to the Present”

Sat, 20 Aug 2022 02:34:03 -0400

This week, we’re going back to “Back to the Present,” and by present we mean future, and by future we mean the far-flung year of 2015, when the world was/will be run by Sentinels and a dude obsessed with Rachel Summers, Moby Dick, and thigh-high boots. Joining us on this journey is returning guest Nola Pfau, fresh off an Eisner Award hat trick for her Editor-in-Chief-dom of Women Write About Comics! We wax poetic about women and circles, debate the mechanics of time travel vs interdimensional travel vs are they actually the same thing, and say we love comics a lot, because we do—including this one, a lot.

Excalibur Annual #1

Sat, 13 Aug 2022 10:34:48 -0400

Andrew got lost in the timestream this week, but we learned from the best that when you lose a founding member to cosmic forces beyond your control, you gotta solider on with new friends. So here we are, doing our first annual discussion of the first Excalibur Annual, accompanied in this heroic endeavor by educator and fellow podcaster Jason Hundey, co-host of the Requiem Metal Podcast! We hash out important topics like: why Annuals? Can we give 1993's newest Dark Elf enough heat to make Jason’s Khaos trading card worth more than the paper it’s printed on? And, most importantly: is this comic book metal??

Excalibur #65, “White Lies, Dark Truths”

Sat, 06 Aug 2022 16:42:26 -0400

Some truths are dark and many lies are white in the not-aptly-named Excalibur #65, “White Lies, Dark Truths.” We talk about that plus KISSING with scholar, educator, and psychotherapist Dr. Valentino Zullo! Do Cerise and Kurt really love each other? How can we tell? What does love mean, anyway? We're not sure, but Alan Davis sure draws it pretty

Excalibur #64: “Ascension”

Sat, 30 Jul 2022 23:55:41 -0400

Fresh off winning a freakin’ award, your very genetically stable team of comics scientists is back! Talking superheroes and science and why mutants are like vaccines in Excalibur #64, “Ascension,” with multi-talented researcher, writer, game designer, and educator Alison Humphrey! Plus a perfect Nightcrawler panel, Anna’s favourite Rachel sequence, the glory of nine-panel grids, and (gasp) discussion of the mutant metaphor? But this time, with SCIENCE.

Excalibur #63: “Denial”

Sat, 23 Jul 2022 14:52:02 -0400

Don’t let the cool Kylun cover fool you—Excalibur #63, “Denial,” is in denial about being about Kylun because it’s clearly a Nightcrawler comic, in which Kurt Wagner superfan Alan Davis delivers a super-scientific sermon about all the super-scientific ways Kurt is super-scientifically awesome. Here to celebrate this momentous achievement is our first guest from a country where Kurt's called Diablo—writer and fellow fuzzy elf superfan Maxime Fontaine! When we’re not talking glorious fanservice, we’re debating the meaning of fanservice (we’re still scholars, y'know!) and lamenting poor jokes at Cerise’s expense. Is there no end to our amazing gifts??

Excalibur #62: “Of Birth, Death and the Confused, Painful Bit In Between”

Sat, 16 Jul 2022 12:35:28 -0400

We're in (and on!) Cloud Nine talking Warpies, Warpies, and more Warpies in Excalibur #62, “Of Birth, Death and the Confused, Painful Bit In Between,” with educator, scholar, and expert in posthuman science fiction, Dr. Clare Wall! We explore whether superheroes are posthuman (or transhuman, or metahuman) and talk through different types of monstrosity plus whether Alan Davis' monsters are too cute to be scary. We also talk about Beetroot—poor, beloved Beetroot, and the melodramatic context and implications of his tragic tale.

Excalibur #61: “Truth and Consequence”

Sat, 09 Jul 2022 14:02:00 -0400

Gosh Golly Wow Returns! And so does Rachel Summers! Sort of! All that and the pod’s most anticipated guest of all-time, writer and founder of the Phoenix Force Fan Club, (as featured in Excalibur #51), Jason Grey! We talk (natch) lots of Rachel and Phoenix, and work through lots of complicated feelings about Galactus’ pro-life politics. Plus! Meggan and Brian get engaged, Kurt gives some advice we didn’t love, and Kitty and Feron have a meet-cute...? We don’t cover quite as many permutations of time and space as this cosmos-spanning comic, but close!

Excalibur #60: “Braddock of the Jungle”

Sat, 11 Jun 2022 15:44:58 -0400

We’re trying to emphasize the positive this week... while still doing plenty of griping about part 2 of a crummy colonial sojourn in Wakanda known as Excalibur #60, "Braddock of the Jungle." We’re joined in our journey through tribulations and tropes by Dr. Deborah Elizabeth Whaley, author of the critically acclaimed book Black Women in Sequence: Re-Inking Comics, Graphic Novels, and Anime! We talk histories of Tarzan and the challenges of studying representation, and even though she’s not in this comic—we had to talk a little about Storm.

Excalibur #59: “Enter… the Panther!”

Sat, 04 Jun 2022 12:37:11 -0400

We sure hated this week’s comic, but we sure love this week’s episode, talking hip hop, comics, Black Panther, and Afrofuturism with scholar Dr. Michael B. Dando! We do a little griping about the team’s colonial jaunt to Wakanda in Excalibur #59, “Enter... the Panther!” But we also talk about better stuff you can do with comics, Vibranium, race, power, poetry, and supers who save the world with flowers. Plus, we find a sliver of joy in Kurt’s makeup mastery.

Excalibur #58: “Troll Call”

Sun, 29 May 2022 00:09:06 -0400

We are most definitely not calling all trolls to this week’s nuanced discussion of the different but equally complex personal and professional successes and failures of Kurt Wagner and Scott Summers in and around Excalibur #58, “Troll Call,” in the gracious company of X-Twitter fixture, social justice researcher, and all-around expert in the inner lives of mutants, Conor Mulvaney (@ConorReadsXMen)! Will Kurt prove to Jubilee and Gambit he’s not a troll? (And why should he have to, anyway?) Did Tom Jones learn enough auditing a single university biology class to be able to turn gold back into not-gold? Will Anna admit she might be more like Cyclops than Nightcrawler??? Tune in to find out!

Excalibur #57: “For Whom the Bell Trolls!”

Sat, 21 May 2022 17:24:39 -0400

Not a dream, not a hoax, not a fuzzy image of Cable on a video screen asking who the heck's calling at 3 am. The real X-Men are here, in the same room (er, sewer) with Excalibur, and also—trolls! (By which we mean Phumm, Phop, Phay, Phlopp, Phlegm, Phough, Gambit, and Jubliee.) Anna, Mav, and Andrew plus special guest writer/podcaster/X-pert Austin Gorton wade through hugs, hurt feelings, and humongous Joe Mad art in Excalibur #57, “For Whom the Bell Trolls!” In which Cyclops is mean, Nightcrawler is sad, and the Sword Strokes lettercol keeps igniting romance.

Marvel Comics Presents #101-108, “Male Bonding”

Sat, 14 May 2022 13:19:59 -0400

You know that we do it together. In our case, that means podcasting about Excalibur with super-smart friends, and in Nightcrawler and Wolverine’s case, it means spending a relaxing weekend in Bavaria, taking in a few shows, fighting/helping monsters, and sharing a romantic horseback ride under a pinkish moon. Well, maybe relaxing isn’t the right word... but we stand by the romance 😉 Comics and medieval studies scholar Dr. Christopher M. Roman, author of the forthcoming book Queering Wolverine, takes us on a trip through queer readings of Logan and Logan/Kurt in and around Marvel Comics Presents #101-108, “Male Bonding.”

Excalibur #56: “Things That Go Shriek in the Night”

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 12:16:58 -0400

If you’re a superhero, you probably shouldn't throw a party. And you especially shouldn’t throw a party where you invite the fascist dictator from an alternate dimension masquerading as the former girlfriend with whom you’ve been cheating on your current girlfriend, who’s teamed up with the reality-warping older brother who hates your guts. We reckon with the consequences of this state of affairs in Excalibur #56, “Things That Go Shriek in the Night,” talking gender, violence, and body horror with returning guest Dr. Samantha Langsdale. Plus: a moment from The Unstoppable Wasp that made Anna cry (in a good way).

Content warning: this episode includes discussion of sexual violence.

Excalibur #55: “The Ghost of Braddock Manor”

Sat, 23 Apr 2022 00:51:58 -0400

The last time Excalibur threw a party, Meggan became a vampire and tried to eat a dog. So expectations are high! But this issue’s up to the challenge, and so’s our guest, comics and pop culture scholar Jeffrey A. Brown, author of many fabulous books including, most recently, Love, Sex, Gender, and Superheroes. We talk plenty about those four topics in this episode, in which multiple blonde ladies smooch Brian, Kurt and Cerise spend seven minutes in heaven, and a bunch of less-fun stuff gives us lots of mixed feelings. It’s a mega-sized ep for a mega-sexy issue!

Content warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual violence.

Excalibur: “Air Apparent”

Sat, 16 Apr 2022 11:49:22 -0400

A legally binding Twitter poll said we had to cover Excalibur: Air Apparent, and we are very law-abiding citizens so here we are, giving you an hour and fifteen of smart talk about a comic that coulda been smarter but hey, at least some of the pictures are nice! Comics scholar Zachary J.A. Rondinelli, creator of the award-winning “Welcome to Slumberland” project, joins us to hash out what works, what doesn’t and why in this visual extravaganza spotlighting seven leading artists of the era—including one who’d be leaving for Image next week. Topics include multimodal forms, transactional reading practices, the many meanings of excess, and what the heck is up with Scott Lobdell’s writing of Rachel.

Excalibur #54: “Curiouser and Curiouser”

Sat, 09 Apr 2022 11:41:03 -0400

Listeners of this pod know we share one thing with Brian Braddock, which is that we’d follow Meggan anywhere, including down a rabbit hole into a series of Alice in Wonderland-inspired nightmares that teach us things about ourselves! Jason R. Lady, author of fantasy and sci-fi for young readers, helps us unpack why Brian’s archnemesis is whimsy in Excalibur #54, “Curiouser and Curiouser,” in which Meggan has a good time, Brian thinks he has a bad time, and old enemies find happy endings. Plus, Kurt gets something cut off.

Excalibur #53 “The Litter”

Sat, 02 Apr 2022 16:33:17 -0400

Welcome back to the podcast where we talk about Excalibur and nothing but Excalibur… except when we talk about Spider-Man! Which we’re doing this week! Comics scholar and Steve Ditko expert Dr. Zack Kruse joins Anna, Mav, and Andrew to discuss Spidey and the unique vision of his complicated co-creator along with some Excalibur #53, “The Litter,” in which Brian tells Meggan a story from his misspent youth, part of which he spent rooming with some uptight nobody named Peter Parker, who’s always spouting snooze-worthy speeches about power and responsibility. Topics include what makes Spidey the heart of the Marvel universe, differences between Ditko’s Objectivism and the contemporary variety, and what you might have expected if you’d been brave enough to knock on Ditko’s door. (Zack did, and lived to tell the tale on this very podcast!)

Excalibur #52: “All You Ever Wanted to Know About Phoenix… But Were Afraid to Ask”

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 17:41:18 -0400

And we’re back! With a special episode of “Retconning with Reck,” in which writer/artist/podcaster Adam Reck of the Battle of the Atom Podcast joins us to untangle Excalibur #52, “All You Ever Wanted to Know About Phoenix… But Were Afraid to Ask,” which left us wondering if some questions are better left unanswered. But we’re gonna ask anyway, delving deep into our mighty collective knowledge of X-Men lore to get to the bottom of whether this story makes any sense—and whether it matters. Plus, we reveal Rachel’s shocking true mutant power, clown on Professor X’s taste in poetry, and spotlight a love connection in the Sword Strokes letter page.

Excalibur #51: “Don’t Drink the Water”

Sat, 19 Mar 2022 19:02:14 -0400

New logo… new species?? That right—we’re back to regular episodes and getting weird about dinosaurs with Christi and Chris Eddleman, sauropod enthusiasts and hosts of the Chrises on Infinite Earths podcast, taking a bite out Excalibur #51, “Don’t Drink the Water,” starring Alysdon and Alysaur Stewart, Shadowcompsognathus, Britanicus Rex, Megon, and Nightstrutter in a story that’s not as profound as the ABC sitcom Dinosaurs, but does feature a teacup-sized Zabu, so all is forgiven. We discuss why dinos are cool and why birds are dinos plus create time travel checklists consisting solely of what we’d pay Pepe Larraz to draw for us back when his commissions were cheap.

X-Men Legends #12: “Start Again: A Prelude to Excalibur”

Sat, 12 Mar 2022 11:07:26 -0500

What’s this? Anna, Mav, and Andrew talking about a current comic book? Released this very past Wednesday?? It took Chris Claremont writing a tie-in to our darling, officially known as X-Men Legends #12: “Start Again: A Prelude to Excalibur” to drag us into the present. Except it’s not really the present; it’s still the past, specifically, the space between “Fall of the Mutants” and the arrival of the Technet at Muir Island in “The Sword is Drawn.” We do some griping but also wax nostalgic about expectations and Claremont and what it means to love fictional characters who always keep changing with an obligation to remain the same.

Anniversary Special

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 11:29:25 -0500

Anna, Mav, and Andrew plus a plethora of amazing guests have been podcasting about Excalibur for an entire year—54 weeks to be exact! Which seems like a perfect time to look back on the year that was. This Anniversary Special features approximately one minute from each of our regular episodes, chronicling Excalibur #1-50. Sit back, relax, and relive all the guffaws, griping, and gushing. I can only hope some of you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed putting it all together. Here’s to the next 50!

There's also a VIDEO VERSION which you can watch here!

Excalibur #50: “Winner Loses All”

Sat, 26 Feb 2022 10:59:23 -0500

Our guest, venerable comics scholar Dr. Andrew Kunka, says he wanted to join us for the mega-sized Excalibur #50, “Winner Loses All,” in part to hear us talk about a particular scene, in which saving the multiverse requires everyone going inside everyone. We hope we didn't disappoint him (or you!) with our discussion of this supersexy climax—and its scholarly and narrative significance. We also discuss what makes a good anniversary issue and bask in the cosmic glow of Rachel’s very big (literally earth-shattering) Big Hero Moment.

Excalibur #49: “Let There Be Dark”

Sat, 19 Feb 2022 00:00:40 -0500

This week, Anna threatens to spend the whole show talking about teleporting, but shows admirable restraint in letting our honored guest, comics and pop culture scholar Nicole Freim, lead us through at least twelve fun and fascinating discussions of at least twelve other dimensions in the mostly-stationary but nonetheless jam-packed Excalibur #49, “Let There Be Dark.” In which Necrom gets closer (and stays naked), Feron gets a snack, Brian gets bigger, Alistaire gets pretty, and Micromax (finally) gets to do something cool.

Excalibur #48: “Irish Stew”

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 01:34:28 -0500

We forget to celebrate our 50th episode with a deep dive into an archeological dig turned theological dilemma in Excalibur #48, “Irish Stew,” guided by comics and pop culture scholar and host of The Protagonist Podcast, Dr. Joseph Darowski! Asking important questions like: what is the Anti-Phoenix? And do we actually care? We also extol the virtues of Kylun, catch up with the team’s team-building, and dig through familiar topics from new angles, including the mutant metaphor, diminishing returns on the never-ending retconning of the Phoenix Force, and why even when it’s doing a lot of setup, Alan Davis’ Excalibur is still pretty darn great.

Excalibur #47: “Come One and All to the Ugly Bug-Eyed Monster Ball”

Sat, 05 Feb 2022 12:54:45 -0500

It’s about time we talked about the guy who introduces every episode: the one and only Merlin, who may not be so one and only. Our journey is guided by Bevan Thomas, a comics creator, teacher, and scholar with a keen interest in British and Welsh folklore. The joy of newborn lizard-dragon hybrids can’t keep us from having a few nuanced gripes about an issue in which too many pages are spent retconning stories we barely remember and not enough time is spent getting to know Cerise, Warrior of the Ghrand Jhar, Genestock of Subruki, Zarstok, and Kuli Ka. But we also explore the folkloric referents of Otherworld and why Brian is Excalibur’s true fairy.

Excalibur #46: “Colin the Barbarian”

Sat, 29 Jan 2022 13:22:57 -0500

Not a spoiler since it’s right there in the title—for the first time since Excalibur #2, Colin McKay is back in the 616 and out for revenge… on Kurt Wagner? In the bathroom?? While Kurt’s armed only with a cane and the world’s smallest towel??? We talk about that but spend the bulk of the episode exploring what’s up with Rachel Summers in general and Rachel and Meggan specifically with educator, PhD candidate, and lifelong Excalibur fan Alexa Lee-Hassan! Our journey includes forays into what makes Rachel an amazing(ly complex) power fantasy and whether Meggan should have a true form—and if so, what that form could (or should) look like.

Excalibur #45: “Nightcrawler’s Technet”

Sat, 22 Jan 2022 00:01:00 -0500

Is Kurt a good leader or is he just an expert in dressing the part? Anna, Mav, and Andrew debate this and other important questions with comics & pop culture scholar Matt Linton, discussing Excalibur #45, “Nightcrawler’s Technet”—a comic book in which most of the characters are dressed like Nightcrawler, but the story might actually be about Brian? But don't count out Rachel and Meggan, coming in strong with some complex and believable female bonding! We also spend entirely too much time (or just the right amount?) discussing Kurt’s feelings about being the X-Men’s “mascot.”

Excalibur #44: “Witless for the Prosecution”

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 02:35:15 -0500

Kurt’s got a cast but he’s not letting it cramp his style in an issue that compels Anna, Mav, and Andrew to question whether 1991 was a particularly sexy year for velvet (spoiler: it was). But Excalibur #44, “Witless for the Prosecution,” does more than establish the precise texture of Mr. Wagner’s fur. It also compels interesting—and sometimes troubling—questions about racial representation which our guest, Dr. Patrick Hamilton, co-author of All-New, All-Different?: A History of Race and the American Superhero, is ideally equipped to tackle. We talk through Meggan’s complicated quest for identity and the whiteness of the Captain Britain Corps alongside deeper meanings of Kurt’s velvet fur—and whether it’s ever okay to ask if you can stroke it.

Excalibur #43: “Home Comforts”

Sat, 08 Jan 2022 01:40:34 -0500

This week, we're giving Anna's favourite issue of Excalibur the celebration it deserves, chatting with award-winning comics creator and educator Dr. Nick Sousanis about the very skillful, very complex, very sexy, very important visual storytelling of Excalibur #43, “Home Comforts.” We talk picturing dreams, Kurt’s fondest desire(s), and what Kurt and Brian are actually fighting about (is it Meggan, or something else…?). We also talk quite a bit about transformative circus fantasies, spending a good chunk of the pod pouring over a single spectacular page—you can probably guess which one 😉 We all left this convo seeing an old issue in new ways—we hope you will, too!

Excalibur #42: “A Hatch is Plotted”

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 01:22:57 -0500

New Year, new era of Excalibur, as Alan Davis makes his triumphant return to the title he co-created to write and draw one of our all-time favourite breakfast scenes! But there's more than toast on the menu in Excalibur #42, “A Hatch is Plotted.” There's also explosive eggs and explosive shakeups of the team's status quo—within a much-appreciated return to form. Writer and music critic Quentin Harrison joins Anna, Mav, and Andrew to reminisce and gush about his first-ever issue of one of his most beloved comic book series, talking Davis’ deft rhythm and cadence and why Excalibur’s one of the funniest X-books—and one of the most human.

Holiday Special! (audio version)

Sat, 25 Dec 2021 00:02:56 -0500

The holidays are upon us, but GGW never rests. To celebrate the season and the first year(ish) of the podcast, we did a *special video episode* which you can watch now on YouTube! This is the audio version, unedited, but not too messy (we hope!). We reflect on past issues and convos, including what we've learned and what surprised us. For the first time ever, we also answer listener questions! Plus! Results of the t-shirt drive for Planned Parenthood (thank you so, so much). And! Behind-the-scenes with Kurt Wagner's (unofficial) PR Manager—which words about Mr. Wagner ended up on the cutting room floor? Watch/listen to find out! Thanks for a great first 10 months of convos amid a world not infrequently on fire—here's to the next 85 issues!

Excalibur #41: “At Last… The Reunion!”

Sat, 18 Dec 2021 00:05:00 -0500

In Excalibur #41, “At Last… The Reunion!” Nightcrawler and not-Wolverine have one on-panel conversation, which is all the excuse Anna, Mav, and Andrew needed to talk about the epic romance—sexual or otherwise—between Logan and his favourite elf with fan, artist, writer, con-organizer, and self-professed Mad Cat Lady Sue Whisterfield! Plus! Tales of the 80s British fandom scene, feat. a certain Mr. Claremont and other familiar faces. We’ve also got words for the issue at hand, bemoaning the hugs, fights, and tears we didn’t get, before looking ahead to Alan Davis’ triumphant return.

Excalibur #40: “The Trial of Lockheed”

Sat, 11 Dec 2021 03:04:04 -0500

It's time for a journey in rhyme/In spirit but static in time/Will Lockheed get back to his body/Before his rhyme schemes get too shoddy? In other words: Anna, Mav, and Andrew are cross-examining the decision to write most of an entire superhero comic in rhyming couplets, discussing Excalibur #40, "The Trial of Lockheed," with animal comics expert Dr. Daniel F. Yezbick! We address a regular zoo of topics, including the history and conventions of funny animal comics, Kitty Pryde's complicated relationship with her favourite pet/friend/confidant/teammate, the power and danger of animal allegory, and Nightcrawler's undeniable animal magnetism. Plus, the panel hotly debates which fictional characters are or aren't dogs.

Excalibur #39: “The Heart of the Matter”

Sat, 04 Dec 2021 00:04:50 -0500

This week, Anna, Mav, and Andrew are positively giddy about closing out “The Promethium Exchange,” chatting Excalibur #39, “The Heart of the Matter,” with editor, critic, and scholar Andrea Ayres, who’s allergic to kelp but addicted to trash. (She may have been sarcastic about the latter.) We talk the role of subjectivity in scholarship, how to deal (or not deal) with problematic people who make stuff, and debate whether Kurt's Bermuda shorts in the Marvel Swimsuit Special were justified or a travesty. We also talk a little “Promethium Exchange” (just a little, we promise!), which is worth it for Andrea perfectly analogizing the experience.

Excalibur #38: “Out on a Limbo”

Sat, 27 Nov 2021 00:00:09 -0500

Join Anna, Mav, and Andrew plus special guest Lisa, Nocturne's BFF and co-host of the Nightcrawler-centric Simply Amazing podcast, to talk Kurt/Wanda, Wanda/Vision, histories of fandom, Wolverine & the X-Men, Nightscrawlers, Talia Josephine Wagner, Dave Cockrum's saucy stash, Real Housewives, “Age of X-Man,” Earth-2182, Exiles, roleplaying games, Days of Our Lives, Chuck Austen dramas, and maybe, just maybe, a little “Promethium Exchange” in this episode that is technically sorta kinda about Excalibur #38, “Out on a Limbo.”

Excalibur #37: “House Call”

Sat, 20 Nov 2021 00:10:00 -0500

The sages foretold: lo, there will come a story, told in three parts, in which jokes are stale and motives are baffling. Nobody likes it; nobody wanted it. Yet it exists. And thus, Anna, Mav, and Andrew must discuss it. But the sages also foretold a savior: a shining beacon of righteous insight destined to cleave "The Promethium Exchange" in twain, and create from the sum of these parts something better, worthy of the mantle of Excalibur. That savior is Nola Pfau, two-time Eisner Award-winning Editor-in-Chief of Women Write About Comics. In other words: here's an hour-and-a-half of awesome talk about a not-awesome comic formally known as Excalibur #37, "House Call." Feel free to skip the comic. But skip this episode at your peril.

Excalibur #36: “Xs and Os”

Sat, 13 Nov 2021 01:26:17 -0500

We're (still!) back and so's our first returning guest, Dr. Michael Hancock, talking what makes a bad comic re: Excalibur #36, "Xs and Os!" It's a teamup/throwdown with Silver Sable and the Outlaws, featuring dubious understandings of civil rights, Rachel's sexuality, and nuclear power (it involves clones and monsters, right?). We didn't love this comic as much as Brian Braddock loves nuclear power, but we have a lot of fun anyway, parsing the mess and setting up Anna for a lengthy tangent about the gender and sexual symbolism of everyone swallowing Sandman.

Excalibur #35: “Heartbreaker”

Sat, 06 Nov 2021 00:01:00 -0400

We're back! And debating the merits of punchable problems in Excalibur #35, "Heartbreaker," with comics scholar Dr. Jocelyn Sakal Froese! With their help, we apply a graphic medicine framework to an issue in which a kidnapped girl and a despair-hungry demon named—naturally—D'Spayre force Rachel to revisit her defining trauma (again), with some new and not-always-welcome twists, including the first appearance of Father Kurt Wagner. We talk visualizations of grief, medicalized gazes, and intersections of gender and trauma in an comic we found interesting if not always good.

*Note: We had a few sound issues on Mav's channel in this episode. We did our best to clean it up and appreciate your patience!

Excalibur #34: “School Spirit”

Sat, 23 Oct 2021 00:01:00 -0400

Well, this is it. The end of "Girls' School from Heck" and the Claremont era of Excalibur. But we're going out with a bang and our pom-poms raised high, as Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by Dr. Julia Round, an expert in all things gothic and girls' comics, to talk exploitation vs character growth plus memories, hopes, and regrets in Excalibur #34, "School Spirit." In which the Fenris Twins prove they're no match for a motivated Phoebe Huntsman with a field hockey stick and Anna's job is easy because Nightcrawler's fur, fangs, and prehensile tail sell themselves to the teen girl demographic.

Excalibur #33: “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”

Sat, 16 Oct 2021 00:22:37 -0400

This week, Anna, Mav, and Andrew are going back to school (again) with Excalibur #33, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” part two of “Girls’ School from Heck!” And now that we’re here, talking leather, lingerie, kung fu, jelly donuts, and why Kitty’s always mad at hot girls with artist extraordinaire Valentine M. Smith—we may never want to leave. Plus, Kurt spends a bunch of pages wearing a speedo. We talk about that, too—and how it's all connected and extremely character-driven!

Excalibur #32: “Someone Will Die for This!”

Sat, 09 Oct 2021 00:01:00 -0400

A little late for "Back to School" but just in time for the comics studies + girlhood studies + Excalibur matchup of your dreams, it's Anna, Mav, and Andrew discussing Excalibur #32, "Someone Will Die for This!" with comics scholar Dr. Charlotte Johanne Fabricius! We're bringing our A-game (and our very best penmanship) to the opening salvo of the "Girls' School from Heck" storyline, talking aim at the power, possibility, and danger of Kitty's journey out of (or into?) girlhood. Plus soft men, weird curves, and hard balls... Did we mention this story features subtext?

Excalibur #31: “No Man is an Island”

Sat, 02 Oct 2021 00:01:00 -0400

Don't let the title fool you—some men are islands, and those islands claim Krakoa as a father and have sworn revenge on Nightcrawler! That's right—it's time to talk Kurt Wagner vs Vega-Superior, The Son of Krakoa! And also, the X-Men...??? Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by superhero scholar John Darowski to talk adventure story tropes, Kurt's investment in problematic fantasies, and the multilayered objectification of monstrous/beautiful male bodies in a comic where most of Kurt's blue fur is on display most of the time.

Excalibur #30: “‘Twas a Dark and Stormy Night”

Sat, 25 Sep 2021 12:55:58 -0400

Sink your teeth into an early Halloween spectacular as vampire expert Dr. Cait Coker, editor of The Global Vampire, joins Anna, Mav, and Andrew to talk Excalibur #30, “‘Twas a Dark and Stormy Night,” in which Meggan's got new fangs and birthday boy Alistaire forgets Kurt's always had them. We talk gender, sexuality, magic, and—yes!—vampires, sorting through the significance of Meggan biting Kurt, Kurt being locked in the closet, Meggan making it to the end, and Brian being confused about everything. Co-starring Dr. Strange and the always memorable Rintrah. (Not as podcast guests, unfortunately!)

Excalibur #29: “Dream a Little Dream”

Sat, 18 Sep 2021 00:30:50 -0400

It's a dreamy pod-friends reunion as the multitalented Wayne Wise, co-founder and co-host of VoxPopcast, joins Anna, Mav, and Andrew to say "weird" a dozen plus times about Excalibur #29, "Dream a Little Dream," in which the dreams are nightmares and the nightmares involve anthropomorphic horse assemblages with very human breasts. It's not the Excalibur + Power Pack crossover of our dreams, but we make the most of what we've got, discussing Kurt's insecurities and Meggan's desires, plus good, bad, and ugly puberty metaphors!

Excalibur #28: “The Night They Tore Down the Gilded Lady”

Sat, 11 Sep 2021 00:02:00 -0400

There's a reason they say you can't go home again—because sometimes, the crowd at your old college bar doesn't remember you, and your girlfriend has to shapeshift into your twin brother and shotgun a pint to convince the locals you're not a "sissy." All of which can only mean one thing—Anna, Mav, and Andrew are talking about Excalibur #28, "The Night They Tore Down the Gilded Lady" with specialist in gender & superheroes and newly minted Excalibur fan, Dr. Esther De Dauw! In which we’re each surprised by how much we enjoyed our date with Brian and Meggan’s surprisingly joyful date night

Excalibur #27: “Reel People”

Sat, 04 Sep 2021 00:01:00 -0400

In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by Connor Goldsmith, literary agent and host of the Cerebro podcast, to talk films inside comic books inside famous film studios in Excalibur #27, “Reel People.” We talk through some common Excalibur themes, including sex and gender transformations, reality-warping, and self-reflexivity, and debate good and bad marriages—between Excalibur and Larry Hama’s Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja, and between Barry Windsor-Smith’s pencils and Bill Sienkiewicz’s inks. Also—who alters Kurt's pants? Our panel of experts investigates.

Excalibur #26: "The Times They Are A-Changin'"

Sat, 28 Aug 2021 00:13:14 -0400

In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew recruit author Darby Harn to help them make sense of some less-than-stellar storytelling in Excalibur #26, “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” It’s another Higgins/Lim joint, and while the art’s a bit better, the writing’s a bit worse, recycling multiple past and present traumas. But we still find plenty to talk about, exploring different interpretations of Rachel’s sexual and romantic affinities, unpacking sexual violence tropes, and cringing our way through a Kurt/Meggan subplot that should be more fun than it is. On the bright side—we enjoyed some of the fashion! Meggan’s green and black crop top + midi pencil skirt for the win. *Content warning: this episode features discussion of sexual violence.

Excalibur #25: "Guess Who's Coming for Phoenix?"

Sat, 21 Aug 2021 00:01:17 -0400

The Cross-Time Caper is still over... or is it? Resolution careens into crisis into conversations about both as Anna, Mav, and Andrew welcome author and critic Steve Sellers of Omen Comics and Comic Crusaders to talk loose threads and cosmic consequences in Excalibur #25, "Guess Who's Coming for Phoenix?" (Spoiler: it's Galactus!) When we're not getting lost in an extended rumination on the neglected psychological complexity of everyone's favourite herald Frankie Raye, we contemplate the Phoenix Force and Rachel's place in the cosmos and reflect on the Caper that was, wondering if we learned anything ricocheting across the multiverse—and whether it matters.

Excalibur #24: "Tempting Fates"

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:01:55 -0400

Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by professor, poet, literary and cultural critic, and friend-to-all-mutants Dr. Stephanie Burt to celebrate the not-so-epic conclusion of the Cross-Time Caper, plus Kitty turning 15 (again). We all swoon hard for an issue in which Kitty goes glam, Rachel becomes Kitty, Meggan becomes Kurt, and Brian... is just kinda there? We also bring to bear multiple gazes on the deeply problematic, but also deeply complex, relationship between Kitty and Sat-Yr-9.

*Content warning: This episode features discussion of age-gap relationships, grooming, and sexual violence.

Excalibur #23: "Here Comes the Judge"

Sat, 07 Aug 2021 00:01:00 -0400

Here comes the Judge Dredd homage you've been waiting for, with Scott Weatherly, editor of the recent anthology Judging Dredd, joining Anna, Mav, and Andrew to talk all things Mega-City One-inspired in Excalibur #23, "Here Comes the Judge." Defying the fascist rule of the Justicers, everyone finds something to do—and someone to love—in a jam-packed issue featuring action, heartbreak, comedy, and social commentary, plus AU Darkchylde Illyana Rasputin and Kurt's first confrontation with a too-human self. Oh, and did we mention Alan Davis is back? Because he is and we're SO HAPPY.

Excalibur #22: "Shadows Triumphant?"

Sat, 31 Jul 2021 00:00:52 -0400

Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by Dr. Safiyya Hosein, whose research focuses on representations of Muslim and Arab characters in superhero comics, to talk about those very things in Excalibur #22, "Shadows Triumphant?" When we're not working our way through deeply problematic Orientalist stereotypes and caricatures related to supervillain Amahl Farouk/Shadow King, we're doing a whole lotta griping about an issue where continuity, characterization, and cross-time capering all left something to be desired. Remember: we critique because we love. Specifically, we love well-crafted comics that don't feature harmful stereotypes. And unfortunately—this ain't one.

Excalibur #21: "Crusader X"

Sat, 24 Jul 2021 11:10:47 -0400

Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by Dr. Martin Zeller-Jacques to tackle Excalibur #21, "Crusader X," which Mav describes as "definitely, technically a comic." The players and pencils are new, but the plot is intentionally—though not always enjoyably—familiar, as we revisit Rachel revisiting her trauma (again) in an issue that restages the Dark Phoenix Saga with new masterminds (but also the same old Mastermind). We also talk serialization, sexy Pietàs, and the further transformations of Nigel Frobisher, and unanimously declare evil Iron Man the best part of the issue. Plus, how a poster in the Albany Public Library ignited a lifetime love of comics!

Excalibur #20: "The Eye of the Beholder"

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 00:02:48 -0400

It's out with the Claremont/Davis, in with the Higgins/Lim with Excalibur #20, “The Eye of the Beholder,” a flashback issue we’re charitably describing as “What If Excalibur was Set in the Silver Age?” Literature professor and recovering Gambit fan Dr. Asha Jeffers joins Anna, Mav, and Andrew to talk villains of the week, a suffusion of thought bubbles, Meggan’s hairy elbows, Kitty and Rachel’s witchy date, and Demon Druid’s luscious locks. Plus, we check in with the team’s sexy pajamas, Asha gives a hard yikes to Brian/Courtney, and Anna’s latest attempt to defend Nightcrawler goes horribly wrong.

Excalibur #19: "Madripoor Knights"

Sat, 10 Jul 2021 00:01:00 -0400

We've pulled the strings of reality to create another epic podcast team-up as Justin and Alicia of The X-Wife Podcast join Anna, Mav, and Andrew to talk Excalibur #19, "Madripoor Knights!" But the team-ups don't end there! Chris Claremont teams up with celebrated penciler Rick Leonardi, Jamie Braddock teams up with Jamie Braddock, Kurt teams up with the Dirty Angels, Rachel teams up with Meggan, and no one teams up with the X-Men in a story about fraternal betrayal and finding new ways to win. Also, Kitty teams up with a pair of very tight jeans and everyone shuns Anna's questionable takes on Hamilton and Kurt's flirting. We only hope we've helped rather than hindered "one man's elaborate scheme to get his wife into X-Men comics!"

Excalibur #18: "Wild Wild Wheels"

Sat, 03 Jul 2021 01:04:42 -0400

In this episode, manga scholar Dr. Mimi Okabe steers Anna, Mav, and Andrew through the mecha/shōjo/shōnen (?) inspired Excalibur #18, “Wild Wild Wheels!” Featuring cars, cars, and more cars plus a dirty pair of Adam Warren homages speeding through a world that worships racing, including star race car driver Jamie Braddock. We discuss the politics of intercultural exchange, historical interconnections between manga and superheroes, and the difference between parody and tribute. We also slam Kurt for scolding Kitty, and continue not explaining Widget. Anna knows nothing about manga or anime, but thankfully everyone else knows lots!

Excalibur #17: “From the Crucible—A Captain?”

Sat, 26 Jun 2021 01:36:11 -0400

In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by Liz Large of ComicsXF to ride a “Warlord”-inspired hangover straight into a never-ending bacchanalian party, discussing drinking, dancing, and dueling in Excalibur #17, “From the Crucible—A Captain?” When we’re not unpacking what might be the series’ most explicit sex scene (featuring none other than Alistaire Stuart), we work through the re-traumatization of Rachel and make a rare detour into the present, discussing depictions of sexuality—and Nightcrawler—in current X-Men comics. Also, we read a very important missive from “Meggan fans everywhere” courtesy of the Sword Strokes letters page.

Excalibur #16: "Warlord"

Sat, 19 Jun 2021 00:01:00 -0400

Some people say you shouldn’t go full Nightcrawler. The GGW pod disagrees. Especially Anna, Kurt Wagner’s (Unofficial) PR Manager, who’s hoping he’ll be hiring her in an official capacity after this episode on the sword and sorcery extravaganza that is Excalibur #16, "Warlord." Comics scholar Dr. Keith Friedlander falls from the sky onto the deck of our sleek pirate corsair to talk swashbuckling, lust, consent, and Kitty’s first kill. And Nightcrawler. So. Much. Nightcrawler. (Almost all of him, in fact!) Basically: if you’ve ever wanted to listen to a serious academic discussion about the gender fluid symbology of a certain prehensile tail, this ep’s for you.

Excalibur #15: "Technet: Impossible Missions!"

Sat, 12 Jun 2021 00:05:00 -0400

In this episode, Dazzler stan and all-around X-Men aficionado Dr. Nicholas Miller joins Anna, Mav, and Andrew to talk serious political allegories and equally serious gender play in Excalibur #15, "Technet: Impossible Missions!" We work through conflicted feelings about an affecting but messy story invoking imperialism & apartheid before fully embracing the rainbow of possibilities ignited by Brian's most important moment of character growth to date: a two-panel sequence in which he admits he enjoyed dancing with Kurt in very fabulous drag. Plus: Gatecrasher-as-protagonist and The Importance of Vampire Kitty.

"Mojo Mayhem"

Sat, 05 Jun 2021 00:01:34 -0400

In this episode, we laugh, we cry, we over-intellectualize the self-reflexivity of itty-bitty X-Men on the run from the spineless dictator of a reality TV-based hellscape. Which can only mean one thing: we’re talking about “Mojo Mayhem,” the second Excalibur special and the first to co-star Sugah, Wolvie, Lil Dazzler, Lil Havok, Shower, Lil Longshot, Colossusus, and Psychilde—otherwise known as the X-Babies! Children’s comics expert Dr. Gwen Tarbox joins Anna, Mav, and Andrew to talk rhetorical functions of children in comics, the revolutionary power of granting children agency, and why “Mojo Mayhem” is actually a story about loss, grief, depression… and healing. But will the pod ever heal from Andrew and Mav’s incredulous reaction to Anna’s X-Babies indifference…?

Excalibur #14: "Too Many Heroes"

Sat, 29 May 2021 00:09:00 -0400

Summer’s rolling in, which means it’s time for an epic crossover! Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by Sean Ross of the Secret Wars & Beyond Podcast to slice-and-dice our way through the too-silly-to-exist shenanigans of Excalibur #14, “Too Many Heroes,” featuring appearances by the Silver Skateboarder, Deathlok-Captain America, a too-giant Giant Man, and… Chris Claremont and John Byrne? Amid this tidal wave of mayhem, we retreat to the safety of Phoenix force cocoons to discuss the history, pain, and joy of crossovers, Excalibur’s still-deft character work, and how clothes make the mutant. Plus, Sean convinces us the name of our podcast is deeply meaningful and not a silly inside joke, as we’d first assumed.

Excalibur #13: ”The Marriage of True Minds”

Sat, 22 May 2021 00:00:00 -0400

What do Gloria Anzaldúa, Donna Haraway, and Kitty Pryde have in common? Find out in this week’s discussion of Excalibur #13, “The Marriage of True Minds,” where Anna, Mav, and Andrew are graced by the intersectional insights of comics scholar & queer archives specialist Dr. Margaret Galvan! Topics include the multivalent feminism of one K. Pryde, the queered metamorphoses of one Nigel Frobisher, the mysterious selective face-blindness of one Brian Braddock, and the multitudinous pleasures of one Alan Davis page.

Excalibur #12: "My Friends Call Me Billy the Kid!"

Sat, 15 May 2021 00:01:00 -0400

In this episode, Alan Davis is back and Excalibur’s gone—on the Cross-Time Caper, that is! Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by educator, supermom, and Excalibur superfan Kathy Stevens to talk Excalibur #12: “My Friends Call Me Billy the Kid!” We're off the rails and back on track with an issue featuring zero Nazis and lots of sexy dryads, tentacle monsters, butch ogres, sex and gender-bending transformations, and a marriage proposal…? We hash out all of that, plus the subjective-ness of shipping and why Anna definitely needs to stay away from Joyboy.

Excalibur #11: ”The Price”

Sat, 08 May 2021 00:02:55 -0400

This episode, talking Excalibur #11: “The Price,” is a pod-friends reunion as Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by Dr. Michael Hancock, the self-proclaimed “Beta Ray Bill of comics and games research” and co-host of Three Panel Contrast (aka Andrew & Anna’s other/OG podcast!). There’s less Nazis but more (friendly!) griping about another Alan Davis-less issue that focuses on a love triangle (most of us) hate and spends entirely too much time trying to make Nigel Frobisher happen. Also, Anna’s got *lots* of thoughts about a scene where Kurt experiences a world-tilting revelation that ultimately reveals nothing but a bushel of wrong ideas about what makes him tick.

Excalibur #10: "Widget"

Sat, 01 May 2021 00:01:39 -0400

In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew team up with Dr. Travis Smith, author of Superhero Ethics, to discuss the ethically fraught Excalibur #10: “Widget,” in which Brian spends way too many pages punching his Nazi counterpart, while Kitty finds a new (inappropriate) crush and confronts a disturbing demon self. We do the most complaining we’ve ever done, but talk ourselves into talking about fight choreography, the dangers of compromise, the heartbreak of rushed fill-in art, and what a responsible Nazi doppelganger story might look like (spoiler: not like this).

Excalibur #9: "The Two-Edged Sword"

Sat, 24 Apr 2021 00:05:00 -0400

In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by monster hunter/lover Dr. Sam Langsdale (@s_langsdale), co-editor of Monstrous Women in Comics, to talk a little quantum mechanics and a whole lotta Meggan in Excalibur #9: “The Two-Edged Sword.” Topics include the gendered qualities of monstrousness, the subversive charge of ugliness, the particular power of shapeshifting, and when & why monsters are crush-worthy. Also, we trash Aristotle, and Anna makes a solid gold pitch for a Kurt/Meggan story that she’d definitely write into a fanfic if she wasn’t spending all her spare time on this podcast.

Excalibur #8: "Excalibur's New York Adventure"

Sat, 17 Apr 2021 00:01:00 -0400

In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by specialist in superhero style Monica Geraffo (@monicamarveloux) to discuss the sartorial splendors of Excalibur #8, "Excalibur’s New York Adventure." We talk tracksuits, unstable molecules, impossible garments, and, as usual, lots of politics of representation in a story where Brian's gym togs nearly get him arrested and Meggan tries out a number of looks—and skin tones. Also, Kitty yells at the New Mutants, Kurt steals a jet, and Rachel doesn’t hug Jean, for reasons that infuriated us all.

Excalibur #7: "Goblin Morn"

Sat, 10 Apr 2021 00:00:46 -0400

In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by film and comics scholar and self-professed Kitty Pryde fanboy Matt Linton (@ABoyCalledMonk) of The Kino Club 313 Blog for another day in the Inferno, discussing Excalibur #7, "Goblin Morn." We celebrate Kurt’s healthy flirting with a (non-binary?) animate gargoyle, and talk Kitty as Final Girl/Cool Girl/Mary Sue, along with BDSM fashion and why throwing random ingredients and the recipe book into a fire doesn't usually make a cake (unless you're Nightcrawler).

Excalibur #6: "Goblin Night"

Sat, 03 Apr 2021 00:01:18 -0400

In this episode, Anna, Mav, Andrew, and special guest Laura Grafton (@llgrafton) of Masked Mom Review enter the Inferno with Excalibur #6, "Goblin Night." We talk temptation, seduction, demonic fashion, sexy pajamas (and when Kurt became the police of them), and why Kitty needing to pee is an all-time great moment in comicdom. Also, Laura coins a sexy new catchphrase for the pod.

Excalibur #5: "Send in the Clowns"

Sat, 27 Mar 2021 00:01:38 -0400

In this episode, Anna, Mav, Andrew, and comics scholar Dr. Shawn Gilmore (@gipperfish), impresario of VaultofCulture.com, discuss Excalibur #5, "Send in the Clowns." We talk British comics influences, the rise and fall of Courtney Ross, the flexible roles of villains, and a whole lotta supersex, including a very queer, very creamy climax we can only assume the Comics Code Authority was too embarrassed to challenge.

Excalibur #4: "Still Crazy After All These Years"

Sat, 20 Mar 2021 00:14:49 -0400

In this episode, Anna, Mav, Andrew, and their special guest, romance comics expert Sydney Heifler (@romancecomicbks), discuss Excalibur #4, "Still Crazy After All These Years." We barely talk about Murderworld, but we do talk super-smooches, super-styles, super-symbolism, super-shapeshifting (that’s definitely not Freudian at all), and why it’s super important not to tickle people without their consent (looking at you, Kurt).

Excalibur #3: "Moving Day"

Sat, 13 Mar 2021 00:04:40 -0500

In this episode, Anna, Mav, Andrew, and special guest Brad Mendenhall of the Cosmic Geppetto Podcast discuss Excalibur #3, “Moving Day,” and fight about the Juggernaut (just kidding—everyone loves him). Other topics include the domestic texture of Excalibur, and why this might just be the Best Issue Ever. Also, Anna shuts down Mav’s assertion that Kurt is the Duckie of Excalibur’s central love triangle.

Excalibur #2: "A Warwolf Possessed"

Sat, 06 Mar 2021 00:14:30 -0500

In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew discuss Excalibur #2, “A Warwolf Possessed.” Topics include how comics communicate agency within sexualization, the politics of retributive justice within fantasy spaces, the joys of long-form serialized storytelling, the depth of Rachel and Kitty’s time and space-defying bond, and Kurt Wagner’s Very Extra fashion sense.

Excalibur #1: "Warwolves of London"

Sat, 27 Feb 2021 00:05:26 -0500

In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew discuss Excalibur #1, “Warwolves of London." Topics include Excalibur’s sophisticated (maybe even postmodern!) pacing, its revolutionary genre bending, its playfully mature sexuality, and why Meggan interrupting Nightcrawler in the bath to compare him to Joan Collins and bring him a hot chocolate he subsequently accepts with his tail is the single most important scene in the issue (it must be, based on how long we talk about it!).

Episode 0: Origins & "The Sword is Drawn"

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 18:07:32 -0500

In this mega-sized debut, Anna, Mav, and Andrew explore the origins of Excalibur in Marvel UK, the X-Men franchise, and Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn (1988). Come for Mav’s argument no one should re-read “Mutant Massacre”; stay for Anna’s argument everyone should always re-read Dave Cockrum’s 1985 Nightcrawler series; and thrill to Andrew’s argument that Excalibur is really a grief support group masquerading as sex farce.