10: Out, Out, Dan Slott!

Our Spider-Man Spectacular continues, with Moisés, John, and Todd taking a much deeper focus on more from the modern era of Spider-stories, the work of Dan Slott in particular. We also hear more from the historic "Stan n' Dan" Q&A. Part 2 of 2

The full Stan Lee/Dan Slott Q&A will be available uncut very soon in the Artist Edition feed (and the Giant Size "Plus" feed that includes the main show an all related "extras"), complete with instructions on how far to jump ahead.

EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR

• IDW: the new Jim Steranko Artist's Edition (art discussed on our Captain America episode) is absolutely gorgeous, and will be available along with their Mike Mignola/Hellboy Artist's Edition at their San Diego Comic Con booth (and online). They are worth budgeting for, just like the wide array of great comics and archival editions that IDW makes.

PANELISTS

• Co-host John Gholson has been doing movie reviews in comic strip form. He's been posting more on Gutters & Panels of late.

• Todd Nauck should be guilt-tripped into posting to his YouTube channel more often.

SPECIAL GUESTS

• Stan Lee again? Oh, brother! He threatened to sue Moisés last time. What now?!

• Dan Slott has a "past life" as a theatre actor. Now he writes comics.

SHOW NOTES and LINKS

• Extra 8 features Moisés and John's first ever podcasting team-up.

• Legend: ASM=Amazing Spider-Man, WoSM=Web of Spider-Man, PPSSM=Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man.

• Storyline names link to Amazon, where buying benefits the show.

• Spider-Man’s rogues got revitalized and reinvigorated in a big way in The Gauntlet (Volumes One, Two, Three, Four, and Five) (ASM #611-637 and WoSM vol2 #2-7), which spans a couple years of Spider-history. Volume Two is OOP as a TPB. The Gauntlet greatly enhances the major story that followed it…

• Grim Hunt (aka Kraven’s First Hunt) followed The Gauntlet, and echoes the iconic Kraven’s Last Hunt by JM DeMatteis without requiring one read the story from a couple decades earlier. Kraven’s Last Hunt is surprisingly “dark and gritty” for a Spider-Man story, with a shocking ending one shouldn’t have spoiled for them.

• Amazing Spider-Man #121-122 is literally called The Night Gwen Stacy Died now. It’s collected with The Death of Captain Stacy (ASM #88-92) as Spider-Man: Death of the Stacys. What a bad-luck family that is!

• At the time, Gwen’s death was hugely controversial, inspiring protests and angry letters by the truckload. The impact has been felt throughout Spider-Man’s history ever since. It’s arguably second only to the killing of Uncle Ben in terms of traumas Spider-Man has endured and learned from along the way.

• The Death of Jean DeWolff (PPSSM #107-110 &134-136) is a title that spoils nothing, as she dies early on. Black Costume Spidey hunts down the killer of his dear friend in a four-part story.

• Peter David (website) wrote The Death of Jean DeWolff, but he’s also done countless other runs on various titles, and many of many years-long, like Hulk, X-Factor, and Young Justice, which he worked on with this week’s special guest Todd Nauck.

• Back in Black (ASM #539-543, FNSM #17-23 & Annual #1, SSM #35-40 & Annual #1) tied in with Spider-Man 3, and found Peter put on a black costume that looks just like the alien symbiote) while ruthlessly hunting down whoever shot Aunt May. The five-issue run covers what happened to people in Peter’s world while Marvel Civil War happened.

• John believes Rick Leonardi deserves way more praise than he’s given.

• J. Michael Straczynski had a few really unimpeachable years on Spider-Man, but then things got weird.

• Sins Past (ASM #509-514), often referred to as "the Grey Goblin storyline", Gwen Stacy revived and raped, and One More Day/Brand New Day saw the erasure of Spider-Man’s marriage to Mary Jane.

• Peter and Aunt May finally have The Conversation about how he’s actually Spider-Man in ASM vol2 #35-38, a short run notable for including the 9/11 reaction issue (#36). It's split across Amazing Spider-Man Vol1 and Vol2 TPBs (both OOP, but easy to find).

• Dan Slott (Wiki, ComicBookDB) did a great run on She-Hulk that has finally been collected as She-Hulk by Dan Slott (Vol1 & Vol2).

• The guide to reading Dan Slott’s Spider-Man: just start with Big Time and work forward. Spider Island and Ends of the Earth are great, but do yourself a favor and just start with the Big Time Ultimate Collection. Starting with Superior Spider-Man isn’t advisable.

• From the same era is Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios’ Osborn. Bad guys make for good miniseries.

• Todd Nauck hasn’t worked with Dan Slott, but he drew the Dan Slott variant cover for ASM #669.

• You should be reading Nightcrawler drawn by Todd and with writer Chris Claremont.

• You should also seek out Todd’s ahead-of-its-time, American Idol for superheroes comic Wildguard (Volume 1 is the contest, Volume 2 is what happens afterward).

• ESN has a newsletter, Membership, and new shows coming soon.

9: Real-Life Heroism

Our Amazing Spider-Man Spectacular begins here, True Believers! We've got good jumping-on points, what we like about ol' webhead, and weird one-off stories (like that time Peter Parker made his own detergent). Todd Nauck, Stan Lee, Dan Slott, and Howard Mackie guest in Part 1 of 2!

SPONSORS

• Transporter: personal cloud storage that lives in your house. Use offer code ESN10 to get 10% off any Transporter model at FileTransporter.com

• IDW Publishing: Jump into Super Secret Crisis War, a Cartoon Network Universe mega-crossover by Louise Simonson (seven-year-old safe!), or the soon-ending-and-awesome Ghostbusters written by Erik Burnham!

PANELISTS

• A Todd Nauck panel interview was excerpted on our Dallas Comic-Con Special, and he joins us as a panelist this time to discuss his love of the character, drawing the famous "Obama-Spidey Team-Up", and much more. He's currently drawing Nightcrawler with emerging writer Chris Claremont.

• Co-host John Gholson is truly the voice of reason "Penfold" to Moisés' "Danger Mouse". He's been killing it of late with movie reviews in comic strip form.

SPECIAL GUESTS

• Stan Lee is called Stan "The Man" Lee for a reason. The pull Lee/Slott panel Q&A audio will be available in the Artist Edition feed (and the "all-in-one" Giant Size Channel feed) after "part 2" drops.

• Dan Slott has brought us Big Time, Spider Island, the Superior Spider-Man, and loads more great Spidey stories over the years. We do a deep-dive on his work in particular in part 2.

• Howard Mackie edited and wrote loads of great comics for Marvel in the 90's, including the infamous Clone Saga. He collaborated with Todd and others to "do-it--over" in its original, intended form as The Real Clone Saga in 2009. The full audio of his interview includes discussion of NewUniverse, Mutant X, and much more. Look for it soon in the Artist Edition feed (and the "all-in-one" Giant Size Channel feed).

SHOW NOTES and LINKS

• Mego toys somehow beat Marvel and DC to trademarking "super hero" years ago. A legal threat saw Mego relinquish it to new co-owners...Marvel and DC.

• The Electric Company

• Peter washed his costume in Amazing Spider-Man (hereafter "ASM") #213. It didn't go well.

• Take it from Dan Slott, Amazing Fantasy #15 is where it all began, a great place to start, and it's so good they keep re-using it every three weeks or so in the movies.

• John dug ASM #124, "Mark of the Man-Wolf".

• The late-80's-into-the-90's "Todd McFarlane run" that it seems all of us of an age were hooked on began in ASM #298, with writer David Michelinie. The also-amazing Erik Larsen (a huge hero of John's) started alternating issues with McFarlane on ASM #324, taking all the way over on art with ASM# 327, which has a sort-of hilarious cover wherein Spider-Man's fist is shining with...righteousness?

• Todd's holy grail that he collects literally hundreds of copies of at a time (maybe some fuzzy math here) is Web of Spider-Man Annual #2, with gorgeous art from the truly one and only Arthur "Art" Adams.

• Todd also discovered comics like Ninja High School and Grey on spinner racks scattered across Texas as a kid. "Spinner racks" are a form of discovery that truly has no "digital" analogue.

• "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" in ASM #248 makes Moisés cry every time he reads it.

• The much-beloved, ongoing Hobgoblin story in the 80's began with the character's debut in ASM #238, and had its fair share of controversy associated with it due to loads of intra-office "creative differences", which led to the "true identity" of the Hobgoblin being a bit messy at best for a while. Look it up after you read it.

• "Spider-Man No More" happened in ASM #50, and has been re-done both inside and outside Spider-Man stories so much that now it's a whole "superhero thing" to do. "That's it, I'm quitting and never gonna do this again, nyah!", until The Great Return of Hero X issues later...

• The Sinister Syndicate characters seen in ASM #280 & 281, another John pick, are (most of) the present-day villains that populate a book John and Moisés can never promote enough: Superior Foes of Spider-Man.

• ASM #266 features the greatest two-amphibian combination ever: Frog-Man and Toad!

• Marvel Team-Up #25 by Robert Kirkman.

• Spider-Man's Tangled Web ran from 2001-2003, and was an all-star anthology chock full of A-list talent.

• Todd Nauck drew the 5-page "Barack Obama" backup in ASM #583.

8: Comics at a Comic-Con

Our Dallas Comic Con Special is full of very special guests and a look at the world of convention-going. Is haggling allowed? What about pet pigs?

Stan Lee and Dan Slott will return in our next two episodes for our Giant Size Spider-Man extravaganza.

SPONSORS

• Transporter: personal cloud storage that lives in your house. Use offer code ESN10 to get 10% off any Transporter model at FileTransporter.com

• IDW Publishing: The Ben 10 Vol. 1 TPB is now out, and Super Secret Crisis War, a Cartoon Network Universe mega-crossover by Louise Simonson (which is also ok for kids), is coming very soon!

• Umbral: Vol. 1 "Out of the Shadows": a great new creator-owned comic by Antony Johnston (Wasteland, Daredevil, The Fuse) and Christopher Mitten. Think big world like Saga crossed with dark fantasy like Dark Crystal. Use #UmbralTPB on Twitter and you might win a free copy!

PANELISTS/GUESTS/CAMEOS

• Co-host John Gholson has been reviewing movies in comic strip form for Movies.com of late (Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Edge of Tomorrow), and can be seen acting in Zero Charisma (now available on VOD and DVD).

• Dan Slott (twitter) has been writing Spider-Man for many years now during what is widely described as a new golden age for the character.

• Stan Lee (twitter) co-created many of the most lasting, enduring characters in comic book history, from Spider-Man to many, many others. If anything, he deserves more credit for crediting his collaborators than he's generally given.

• Todd Nauck (twitter) worked hard through art school and a friend showed his portfolio around at a show

• "Man of Action" created Ben 10 as a group, and in addition to the three below who were present at DCC, also includes Joe Casey.

• Duncan Rouleau's (twitter) origin story as a fan began with Avengers #113 on a road trip.

• Joe Kelly (twitter) is not the St. Louis Cardinal. He revitalized Deadpool, worked on Superman, and is neck-and-neck with his collaborators for title of Nicest Guy Ever.

• Steven T. Seagle's (twitter) It's a Bird in particular is really great, among a bunch of great work. He was way ahead of Duncan by starting with Avengers #89.

• Mark Bagley has been steadily working in comics for decades fast, clean, and with a classic look. Below is his "Zombie Doctor Strange" in process.

SHOW NOTES

• Dallas Comic Con

• More from the Dan Slott and Stan Lee Q&A will be found in the next two episodes, which are all about getting into Spider-Man.

• Todd Nauck is an excellent artist, created WildGuard (a favorite series of John's), and will return as our guest on the next two episodes of Giant Size. Below is his (l.) versus Stephen Platt's (r.) "Deadpool With a Serious Injury".

• Jack Kirby

• The Man of Action guys have done a ton of stuff individually on top of creating Ben10, Big Hero 6, and more.

• A scene from Super Hero Squad, wherein Doctor Strange got some awful houseguests.

• The current Moon Knight series from Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire is so, so, so good. It drives my kind of nuts the run only lasts 6 issues, and won't be collected until October. Pre-order it anyway.

• It's a Bird is Steven T. Seagle's autobiographical, introspective take on how he wrapped his head around working on Superman. I hate that it's out of print, but it's not too hard to find.

• John "Vined" about them being out of Fried Pies. Expect a STUNNING TWIST ENDING for Fried Pies: The Motion Picture.

• Moisés got the first printing of Marvel Team-Up: Stan n' Dan

• Bonus: John has an existential crisis over the status of his bunz

7: The Passionate Task

Rich Stevens and Merlin Mann join Moisés and John to discuss the state of digital comics, content discovery, and recommend some good reads.

SPONSORS

• Transporter: personal cloud storage that lives in your house. Use offer code ESN10 to get 10% off any Transporter model at FileTransporter.com

• Backblaze: unlimited, secure, online back up your computer for just $5/month. Visit this link to support the show and learn more.

• IDW Publishing: Check out Weird Love, a new bimonthly collection of awful (but great) vintage romance comics from the same editor as John's beloved Haunted Horror. It includes stories like I Fell For a Commie! By the day of posting, the Jim Steranko Captain America Artist's Edition should be available at your local shop.

PANELISTS

• Co-host John Gholson has been reviewing movies in comic strip form for Movies.com of late (Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla), can be seen acting in Zero Charisma (now available digitally), and his performance in Meet Me There can be seen at a festival or theater near you over the coming weeks and months.

• Merlin Mann was previously on episode 1 of the All-New Giant Size. He helps John Roderick help people on Roderick On The Line and talks about comics and other things on Back to Work.

• Rich Stevens aka rstevens aka Richard Stevens III is a fugitive on the lam from justice. His webcomic Diesel Sweeties is about love and robots, and must be stopped at all costs.

SHOWNOTES

• This week's Reading List post is full of more recommendations than you can probably handle.

• Brimp responsibly, everyone.

• Moisés wrote a piece about the whole "comiXology Thing" for TechHive. Merlin talked about it on Back to Work (A Comics Show). The ATP guys discussed it (twice), and John Gruber talked about it on The Talk Show.

• Gerry Conway wrote a piece about the "comiXology Thing". He's a legend and Moisés loves him, but he hasn't been an active creator since the advent of digital comics.

• Jim Zub wrote a couple of great articles about financial breakdowns for creators, one about physical comics and another about digital.

• Digital comics services and readers you should know about: Thrillbent from the great Mark Waid, Chunky Comic Reader for your DRM-less comics, and Marvel Unlimited, which is increasingly where you find the biggest library of Marvel content.

• Panel Syndiacate's The Private Eye has a brilliant distribution and monetization strategy.

• CueCat was the bomb...or a bomb, one of the two. The Devil Inside was the CueCat of movies.

6: Not Just a Boy Scout

This intro to Captain America gets into why he’s great and great jumping on points for the Sentinel of Liberty. Panelists Brad Graeber and Amanda Schuckman help us cover everything from Kirby's Mad Bomb to The Winter Soldier and everything in-between.

Creator Interview: Current Cap writer Rick Remender (comicbookdb/website/twitter) talks about his origin story as a fan of the character and comics in general. (uncut Artist Edition Interview 49: Challenging Authority [Rick Remender])

SPONSORS

• Transporter: personal cloud storage that lives in your house. Use offer code ESN10 to get 10% off any Transporter model at FileTransporter.com

• IDW Publishing: everything from amazing Artist's Editions of classic comic art to Popeye Classics to John's beloved Haunted Horror. Leave an iTunes review and email it through our contact form by 25 April 2014 to win a copy of the new Haunted Horror hardcover!

PANELISTS

• Brad Graeber is founder and CEO of Powerhouse Animation, who are powerhouses indeed.

• Amanda Schuckman is on Twitter and, apparently, seven(teen) future episodes of Giant Size.

SHOWNOTES

• This week's Recommended Reading list covers all runs, issues, movies, TV movies, and videgames

• The Vulture article we all hate.

• Captain America had a series of TV movies in the 1970's that Brad loved.

• If you ever met Lenore Zann (voice of Rogue from X-Men '92) in person, I bet you'd be "nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room fulla rockin' chairs".

• An amazing YouTube video about "The House That Dripped Dough?!"! The link starts at the relevant point. Is she wearing a cape?

• On Moisés's list of shame: the super-low-rent 1990 Captain America movie (trailer) that stars Matt Salinger, son of JD Salinger. Yes, that JD Salinger.

• There really is an Illuminati in Marvel Comics.

• Henry Kissinger should have gotten his own spinoff miniseries, if not an ongoing. Missed opportunity.

• The Nomad costume featured a v-neck that redefined v-necks and made Cap look like "one of the dancers from Magic Mike getting ready to do a pirate sketch".

• Jim Steranko's sequential panel work redefined overlapping action in comics art. Marvel.com wrote a piece about it.

5.5: Throws His Mighty Shield

Full of spoilers and speculation about Captain America: The Winter Soldier. You really should avoid this one until you've seen the movie.

Originally posted as Extra 7 on 4th April 2014, as a post-show for Giant Size 5.

3: Jokey-Jokey Bang-Bang

David Sparks and Casey Liss talk about being new and aspiring comics readers as adults. Moisés & John give them a varied pile of recommendations for adults that aren't...adult. Writer/illustrator Terry Moore talks Rachel Rising.

Comics aren't just about guys in underwear punching each other. Find your own Kate Bishop, forsake your box of QVC Spawn, and discover your Coalition of Broken People. 

uncut Artist Edition Interview: #44 - Scary Things in the Closet (Terry Moore)

• This episode's Recommended Reading includes a ton more than the books listed below.

SPONSORS

• Transporter: personal cloud storage that lives in your house. Use offer code ESN75 (through end of March 2014) to get Transporter Sync for $75 at FileTransporter.com

• Smile: Visit smilesoftware.com/giant for details and a brief video introduction to the PDFPen family.

• Igloo: try an intranet that you'll actually like using. It's free for up to ten users, and affordable beyond that. Click here to support the show, and sign up for their free SXSW event on 3/12 from 3:30-6:30pm

SHOWNOTES

• David "MacSparky" Sparks (Mac Power Users & MacSparky) is on Twitter and is Kate Bishop on the inside.

• "Who the Hell is" Casey Liss (ATP & Fast Text) is on Twitter, ADN, and is working off his all-consuming Spawn fixation.

• Ant-Man is/was/will ever be three different people: Henry "Hank" Pym, Scott Lang, and "The Irredeemable" Eric O'Grady. Pym Particles are the new black.

• Hawkeye (vol.4 by Fraction/Aja/Wu) is great, but might be better experienced by new readers in TPB form.

• Saga is Saga, and Saga is great (and likewise better taste-tested in TPB form).

• "Friends of the show" Greg Pak and Jonathan Coulton's Code Monkey Save World is finally out, great, and fun!

• Locke & Key has finally completed its lengthy, suspenseful, and emotional, six-volume run. Use the Head Key and just stick it all in your brain at once.

• Sex Criminals surprised David, is one of my favorite comics on the racks, and despite being for adults only, isn't a "boobie comic"...but it's too hot for in-app purchase on iOS...except for in Apple's own iBooks storefront.

• The Private Eye is the internet's big Brian K Vaughn thing Moisés feels like no one is talking about, and it's so, so great, digital-only-forever (seriously), DRM-free (yes), and pay-what-you-want-to-pay (yeah really).

Subscribe to the Giant Size Channel (iTunes/RSS) for GS + Artist Editions + Extras
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2: Dimensional Color

The creators of The Joyners in 3D join Moisés and John to talk 3D comics, how they got in as fans, and the unique (lengthy) process of making their new Original Graphic Novel.

Panelists & Guests

• Josh (R.J.) Ryan (ComicBookDB, Twitter) is the co-writer of The Joyners in 3D)

• David Marquez (ComicBookDB, Tumblr, Twitter) is co-writer and the illustrator of The Joyners in 3D.

• Tara Rhymes (Twitter) is the colorist & dimensionalist of The Joyners in 3D.

• Ian Churchill created Marineman as a throwback to the fun comics he loved as a kid.

Related Episodes

• Artist Edition 43: Inject Some Fun (Ian Churchill)

• Extras 4: Reds and Oranges

Sponsors

• Smile: Visit smilesoftware.com/giant for details and a brief video introduction to the PDFPen family.

• Transporter: personal cloud storage that lives in your house. Use offer code ESN75 (through end of March 2014) to get Transporter Sync for $75 at FileTransporter.com

• Squarespace: everything you need to get started making a website. Use the offer code GIANT for 10% off

Show Notes and Links

• This episode's Recommended Reading

• The Joyners in 3D is now available in fine comic shops everywhere, as well as Amazon. It's 140 pages of comics the likes of which you may have never seen.

• This is the only semi-useful site I could find that focuses exclusively on 3D comics.

• Marvel Knights was a huge deal when it hit, and it has directly influenced mainstream comics publishing in the years since.

• Joe Kubert's contributions to 3D comics sadly remain a bit shrouded in mystery.

• Mighty Mouse was the first 3D comic, John's first one was The California Raisins, and we all agree that Batman 3D could have been much, much better.

• ValiantVision: a decidedly odd choice.

1: The New SNIKT

Merlin Mann joins Moisés and John to discuss the X-Men, from reading recommendations and iconic storylines to why they really are so “Gifted” as a team.

Guest

• Merlin Mann (twitter, website) co-hosts Roderick on the Line and Back to Work. He used to be that guy who'd talk into his shoe.

Creator Interview

• Herb Trimpe co-created Wolverine and regularly attends comic conventions. Seek him out and have a conversation with him. He's one of the kindest, sweetest people you can meet at a comic convention.

• His interview is available uncut as Artist Edition #42: Herb Trimpe - The Human Element

Brought to you by

• Squarespace: everything you need to get started making a website. Use the offer code mentioned in the show for 10% off

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Show Notes and Links

• Reading List for storylines and collections mentioned in this episode.

• The pre-roll Stan Lee narration is from the pretty awful 1989 pilot X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men.

• Everybody Loves Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde, but not so much Jubilee (except for Moisés).

• Notable X-Men writers mentioned: Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Chris Claremont.