Episode 016 – “Crack Economics”

We’ve been off for a month but we’re back with a vengeance! In this episode, we open up with some San Diego Comic Con news and a good hearty bitch session about the onslaught of titles in this month’s Marvel Previews.

Then we get to some comic talk, where replacement heroes, Bucky-Cap and the Dick Knight make us think about character evolution. And what do you do when you characters get to old to be human? A hidden bombshell in Captain America #600 sparks a wave of continuity questions.

Finally, we wrap things off with a longbox-load of comic talk including Avengers Invaders, Dark Reign: Mr. Negative & Sinister Spider, Ultimatum and the Ultimate Comics relaunch, Wednesday Comics, Batman, Green Lantern, Chew, Viking and more – It’s too much for you to handle!

Ben & Josh’s Near Mint Comic Show – Episode 016

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Episode 009 – “NY Comic Con Preview”

The New York Comic Con is finally here and we’re podcasting about it!

Updated Saturday, February 14th

It’s the eve of the New York Comic Con and we can hardly contain our excitement. Download this episode for your ride to New York … or to live vicariously through us if you’re not going.

In this pre-Con show, we cover some of the guests, panels and bargains we’re looking forward to, tell you what to bring (or what you may have already forgot to bring) to the Con. Best of all we’ll be back with some more meaningful discussion post-convention.

See you in New York!

Click Here to listen or Subscribe via iTunes.

Ed. Note: On Thursday night, we recorded a mega three-hour p’cast dedicated to the Con. We talked about the big Marvel digital comics announcement, Ben’s Friday in line with Mike Choi, snooty New York bars and tons more. This is our 10th p’cast and it was probably our best ever! Look for it in just a few days!

Countdown to Comic Con: 4 days

Start spreading the news! In just 4 days, a who’s who of comics creators and fandom will head to the Big Apple for the 2009 New York Comic Con.  The Near Mint Comic Show will be there … will you?  While fanboys and fangirls everywhere count the hours until the big show, we will be posting articles here at nearmintcomicshow.com every day to get you ready for the show. All this leading up to thursday night, we’ll get together to record a pre-Con episode of the podcast that you can take with you on your long drive from wherever.  So be sure to sync your iPod on Friday morning for some podcasty-goodness that might spare you from singing 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall on your way to the Con.

not Joe Quesada

2008 – What a year!

If you listened to last episode, you heard everything we had to say about the year that was in comics.  A lot of big things took place in the ’08, not the least being the debut of Ben & Josh’s Near Mint Comic Show.  But it was our trip to last year’s New York Comic Con that set the wheels in motion and set us down the dark path to superfandom.

Last year, we stood in the presence of Stan “the Man” Lee and heard news of his big renaissance at Virgin Comics … which since closed shop on all US operations never to be heard from again.

Last year, the world was abuzz with wide-eyed Skrull-mania.  You couldn’t swing a homemade Lightsaber without hitting someone in a Skrull mask.

Last year, we met Marc Guggenheim and saw exclusive video from the set of Eli Stone (see Virgin Comics).

Last year, we hung out with fellow fans … like SNL’s Bill Heder.

Last year, we saw mysterious images of a dark figure who Joe Quesada told us to expect big things from.  The mystery man turn out to be Randall Flagg from the comics adaptation of Steven King’s The Stand.

Last year, we experienced Jim McCann, Marvel’s Marketing Guru/Cheerleader who puts the POW! in Powerpoint.

(l to r) Tom Brevoort, Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, Dan Slott, Brian Reed, Marc Guggenheim, Mark Guggenheim, C.B. Sebulski, Jim McCann

Last year, we walked 18 blocks to the world’s greatest dive bar, the Blarney Stone.

A lot happened at the ’08 Con and Josh wrote a great recap right after the show. Click Here to get the blow-by-blow from joshnason.com. Needless to say, we had a great time in New York last year and we’re as psyched as you are to go back.

What’s in store for this year?  Well, check back in the next few days and we’ll preview some of the panels, guests we’re looking forward, remind you of some Con-ing do’s and don’ts And, of course, we’ll be dropping a new podcast on Friday AM to keep you company on your way to the show.  If you’re not going to New York this weekend, I’m sorry (and you should be ashamed of yourself), but if you are maybe we’ll bump into you … if you’re crowding those 50-cent bins, you can bet on it.

Oh yeah, in case you wanna say hi, I look like this …

Ben (hatless) with Darwyn Cooke at NYCC'08

and Josh Looks like this …

Josh (looking nonchalant) with Marc Guggenheim, Bill Heder and Tom Brevoort

… Is it Friday yet?

Near Mint Comic Show: Best of 2008

We’re picking the best comics of ’08 and we need your help

2008.  For every year older we get, it seems like the years get that much shorter.  Years, as they say, just roll by like a broken down dam.  But for us comics fans, a lot can happen in a year.  A year that saw an invasion unfold and a crisis near finality, a year that gave us a new Captain America and a … um … RIP’d Batman, a year with 3 glorious issues of All-Star Batman & Robin, can feel like a very long time.  

Near Mint Episode 004 – “Monthly Momentum”

In this episode, the boys talk about comics derailed by the monthly schedule. We dive into Secret Invasion and Spider-Man New Ways to Die. Ben recaps the Granite Con and continues to be confused by Batman RIP. Josh gives us news including Denny Oneil and Stephen Colbert. Reviews and Previews include Ultimate Origins, Mighty Avengers, DC Last Will and Testament, War Heroes, Captain America and more.

Listen to the Podcast here or subscribe via iTunes

Why?! … The Last “Y:”

Why? … WHY must it end?!  

Finishing the 10th and final volume of Y: the Last Man, was bittersweet, but it was a fitting end to a fantastic series.  Y: is the tale of Yorick Brown – the only man to survive a plague that wipes out every male creature on earth (except, that is, for Yorick and his monkey, Ampersand).  With it’s final chapter told, Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra‘s 6-year opus might be the best comic series ever written. Why you ask?

Here’s an A-Y of why Y: a must-read (CAUTION: Thar be spoilers ahead) …

Embrace Change – Marvel airs Secret Invasion TV Commercial on ESPN2

Amidst the wave of teaser images, house ads and other clever marketing gimmicks, Marvel comics reached back into it’s 1980′s playbook and pulled out something it hadn’t used in a long time – traditional on-air TV advertising.  This 30-second TV spot promoting Marvel’s Secret Invasion aired last night during the Minor League Baseball Championships on ESPN2.  The ad leads viewers to embracechange.org, which is really just a link to the Secret Invasion page on marvel.com.  With Secret Invasion already 6 issues in, this ad is presumably aimed to boost sales on trade paperback which will be released once the mini-series concludes in November.  While it remains to be seen how effective the TV campaign will be, it’s nice to see Marvel pushing their core product – comic books – in a mainstream media venue.  That’s something we haven’t seen since the 1980′s ads for G.I. Joe comics.

Episode 3 is up!

The third episode (which is actually a continuation of the second episode, but who’s counting) of Ben & Josh’s Near Mint Comic Show is live!  Go to the Podcasts page to listen to this episode along with the first two, or subscribe to our feed through iTunes.  

Let us know what you think about the show.
Have you listened to the show?  Do you like what you hear?  Is there anything we can add to make it better? We want to hear from you.  Send us an email at nearmintcomicshow@gmail.com or better yet, leave us an iTunes review.  You’ve heard our voices … now we want to hear yours!