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

Listen | Subscribe (iTunes)

Episode 011 – “DeCONpression” (Part 2)

It’s time for part II of the New York Comic Con deCONpression p’cast where your favorite heroes Ben and Josh recount the fun time they and tens of thousands of others had.

This final part focuses more on some of the running themes and storylines coming out, including:

- Marvel vs. DC booths and why it’s ESSENTIAL to give more free comics out

- How the price of comics isn’t really that high compared to other mediums…and we justify it!

- Why the relaunch of the Ultimate line doesn’t make sense to us

- The digital comics revolution and its implication for the fans and comic shop owners

…and tons more!

The most entertaining p’casts we have ever done are here!

Part I (ep. 010):       Listen | Subscribe

Part II (ep. 011):     Listen | Subscribe
 

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 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

Baltimore Con News: Slott’s new gig, Bendis/Kirkman debate, Ultimate Wolverine/Hulk

Some newsbits out of this past weekend’s Baltimore Comic-Con for you… (Some comic fan I am…I was in Baltimore flying and out of BWI after speaking at a conference Saturday and had no idea the Con was going on. Damn it!!!)

News on a public Bendis/Kirkman debate, who is taking over on Mighty Avengers and another Mark Millar project going to the big screen after the jump…

F**k you, Batman: All-Star 10 gaffe creates instant must-have

Despite our society’s push to rely more and more on technical excellence rather than human know-how, we should never forget that the human touch provides a lot more to laugh at.

Holy expletive, Batman!

If you didn’t get your All-Star Batman and Robin #10 this week, there is a reason. DC asked retailers to destroy all copies sent to them because the issue contained uncensored obscenities due to a ‘printing gaffe’ with the various shades of black they were using. So, ol’ Batgirl was in full-color dropping f-bombs and the issue’s thugs had their colorful language appear with censoring as well. Oops.

The funniest part was DC noticed this after the books had been shipped and they asked their retailers to destroy the copies. Uhhh..ok. You’re a shop owner and in your hands, you have a potentially rare collectible that people will be jonesing for. You have spent years having to buy stuff you didn’t want to, put in orders months in advance and had to endure the current state of the economy. Yeah, I’m sure you’ll be rushing to burn those issues instead of selling them to people for $20 a pop.

You can find the issue on Ebay, ranging anywhere from $20-$60.

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!

HBO’s “True Blood” has a familiar taste

The 2004 Vertigo series, "Bite Club" will feel familiar to fans of HBO's new series, "True Blood"

DC’s Vertigo line has long claimed to be “the HBO of comics”.  With the debut of HBO’s newest series, True Blood, it may prove to be just that.  While there is no direct relationship, True Blood bears some striking similarities to Vertigo’s 2004 mini-series, Bite Club.  

True Blood, the latest brainchild of writer/director Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under),  follows Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) through a world where Vampires have gone public and become part of society. Thanks to the invention of a synthetic blood substitute called – you guessed it – Tru Blood, vampires have made themselves known and are accepted (albeit hesitantly) into our culture. In the first episode we see a TV interview with Nan Flanagan, a spokesperson for the ‘American Vampire League.’

In Bite Club, co-written by Howard Chaykin and David Tischman with art by David Hahn, we’re introduced to the Del Toro crime family a vampire mafia operating in Miami.  Vampires in Bite Club have similarly made themselves known and enjoy a place in society thanks to the blood substitute/illicit drug, ‘Plasmagoria’. The vampires of Bite Club have turned their hunger away from human flesh and towards money, power and fame.  The tenuous relationship between vampires and humans leads to the development of the ‘Vampire Crime Unit’ – the subject of the second Bite Club mini-series.

Promotional artwork for "True Blood"

Even the promotional art for True Blood looks familiar, when viewed alongside the cover of Bite Club‘s first issue, penciled by Frank Quietly (All Star Superman).  Other promotional efforts behind True Blood include viral sites for both the Tru Blood beverage and the American Vampire League as well as an online comic.  

True Blood is not based on Bite Club but rather on the novels of author Charlaine Harris.  Still, the similarities are undeniable and fans of Bite Club will likely enjoy HBO’s latest original series.  Moreover, if the masses respond to True Blood, Bite Club and Vertigo could provide a hook to turn TV viewers into comic readers. The serialized storytelling of comics and trade paperback collections will be very familiar to fans who’ve grown accustomed to  HBO’s seasonal installments.  And the Vertigo line serves up a similar buffet of sex, violence and adult themes that HBO fans will love.  

The recently finished Vertigo series, Y: The Last Man was long-rumored to become and HBO series but will instead see a 2009 theatrical release. Marvel writer, Brian Michael Bendis (Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man) is currently working on a pilot for HBO that, while not comic-based, could be another crossover opportunity to bring in new readers.  And as comics continue to creep in to the mainstream, it’s clear that there are plenty of comics-fans-in-waiting. So the next time you’re at the water cooler, talking the Wire or Lost with coworkers, suggest a trade of your favorite series and see if anyone bites.