Podcasts: Exploring Captain America on ESN.fm's 'Not Just a Boy Scout'

You've seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Now what? Now you dive into Captain America comics, with Moises Chiullan, myself, and our guests Brad Graeber (CEO of Powerhouse Animation) and Amanda Shuckman (from All Things Fangirl) as your trusty guides. We talk about how we got into Captain America, our favorite Cap comics, and what the character means to each of us. And did I mention that current Captain America writer Rick Remender is also interviewed in this episode? This is a good'un, folks.

You can listen here or subscribe to the Giant Size channel via iTunes.

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'The Winter Soldier,' ECCC, and Pull Lists Dominate ESN.fm's Test Pattern

So, I use this space to pimp Giant Size, the comic book podcast I co-host with Moises Chiullan, but I've never linked to Test Pattern before now. Test Pattern is the pre and post show chatter that Moises and I have every time we record (as well as the full audio from creator interviews before they're edited for use in Giant Size). It's usually part of the ESN.fm live feed but we chop it off to create the Giant Size show and post the shorter tidbits later in a separate feed. Every now and then we'll actually plan a discussion for Test Pattern. In this case, Moises and I had both seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier a little early so he decided we should discuss it and post it on opening day (so that spoilers were a non-issue).

There are three new episodes of Test Pattern that all hit on the same day...

Episode 5: 'Creator-Owned Success' was cut from the post-show of Giant Size #4. In it, we talk about how to figure out whether one of our shows was good or not and the fact that we're almost completely ignorant of each others' comic pull lists.

Episode 6: 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' (from Giant Size #5) is mostly me badgering Moises about who he should talk to at Emerald City Comic Con.

Episode 7: 'Throws His Mighty Shield' (also from Giant Size #5) is the one that's the most like a "real" episode of Giant Size (minus production values). In it we talk about The Winter Soldier, its place amongst the Marvel studios films, and our general opinions on Marvel movies as a whole.

Listen at the links above or subscribe to the Giant Size master feed to get all of the related content.

The Trophy Room: Green Arrow, Hellboy, and Red Team

Hello, folks. Jacob Hall is a friend and a writer for Screencrush.com and Movies.com, and a lover of storytelling in all of its forms. With The Trophy Room, he'll give weekly awards to the comics that he thinks stand out. Take it away, Jacob...

The Third Time's the Charm Award: Green Arrow #17

Since the New 52 relaunch, Green Arrow has been a troubled (i.e., terrible) series. The team of Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino is the third creative team attached to the book and it's probably the best…mainly because it's the first time I've read an issue of Green Arrow and found it remotely competent. Lemire's storytelling is solid, but it's Sorrentino's gritty and cinematic art that makes the book work, lending the action a genuine sense of danger. This is good stuff -- it's not the best comic starring an archer on the market (Hawkeye!), but I'm up for issue #18.

Best Use of Canada-Related Humor: Dial H #9

Unadorned cover art for Dial H #9, art by Brian Bolland. DC Comics.

Dial H is a weird, confusing and often wonderful series and it's probably the only comic on the stands that can get away with a subplot about the Canadian government desperately trying and failing to enter the superhero arms race (after all, America has Superman). Yep, you've got me, China Mieville: I'm not above laughing at "Canadians are polite!" jokes.

Special Prize For Being Juuust Good Enough For Me to Buy the Second Issue: The Fearless Defenders #1

While DC attracts daily controversy for its weak and one-dimensional female characters, Marvel is building entire books around ladies. A few months ago, Sif took over Journey Into Mystery and the main X-Men book will soon feature an entirely female line-up, but right now, we have The Fearless Defenders, a book that's charming, funny and as light as feather. I'm not sure if there's any substance at the core of this series, but as a showcase for tough ladies kicking ass, it's solid entertainment. 

Most Accessible Batman Comic of the Week: Detective Comics #16

Scott Snyder's main Batman series may be the one that everyone talks about (and that's because it's pretty terrific), but John Layman's Detective Comics has been a thing of beauty, effortlessly using one or two-shot arcs to build a larger story (a tactic Layman has used to great effect over in Chew). While Snyder is running an effective marathon, Layman is sprinting fifty yards every month, quietly delivering the spiritual successor to Batman: The Animated Series. It's that good.

"Holy Shit!" Moment of the Week: New Avengers #3

I'm not going to spoil anything, but I will scream "THEY WENT THERE!" over and over again. This is the kind of thing that's going to have serious repercussions across the entire Marvel universe in the coming year and I can't wait to see the fallout.

The Ed Brubaker Award For Filling Ed Brubaker's Shoes: Winter Soldier #15

Hey! It turns out that Winter Soldier post-Brubaker may be fine! Jason Latour and Nic Klein's take on Bucky Barnes is a little funkier than their predecessor's, but they've nailed the series' fickle combination of noir and superhero silliness. Also: serious bonus points for proper use of Nick Fury Original Recipe.

Special Prize For "Thank God 'Rotworld' is Finally Over": Swamp Thing #16 and Animal Man #16

How did the crossover between Jeff Lemire's Animal Man and Scott Snyder's Swamp Thing go so horribly wrong? Who thought it was a good idea to separate two of the best characters in the DC universe from their vital supporting casts and fling them into a gimmicky future adventure where none of their actions mattered because of the obvious reset button waiting at the end of line? Why did both series devolve into a game of "Which Zombified Superhero Will We See Today"? 'Rotworld' is a pretty serious blemish on two books that have otherwise been highlights in the DC. Thank god it's over.

Runner-Up Comic of the Week: Hellboy in Hell #3

Variant cover for Red Team #1, art by Howard Chaykin. Garth Ennis/Dynamite.

As a recent convert to the Mike Mignola's Hellboy universe, great swaths of Hellboy in Hell have left me a little confused and issue three is more of the same. However, I'd be lying if I said this gorgeous and creepy series wasn't an absolute blast to read. Anything I don't understand isn't a deterrent, but rather a kick in the pants to get caught up on the back issues of this amazing character.

Comic of the Week: Red Team #1

It's amazing how good restraint looks on Garth Ennis. Red Team is still clearly his voice in that it's a dark, masculine story about finding your personal definition of doing the right thing (in this case, whether or not it's okay for a team of police officers to murder a criminal they can never catch through legal means), but Red Team is quiet, thoughtful, mature and about as far from the ridiculous excess of The Boys as you can possibly imagine. Stripped of his infantile crutches, Ennis' best qualities as a storyteller, namely his ability to sell complicated relationships and the weight he gives his pay-offs, are all that remain. I have a very, very good feeling about the future of this series.

The Trophy Room: Wonder Woman, Bedlam, and Brubaker

Hello, folks. I've asked Jacob Hall to come up with a regular feature, and this is it - The Trophy Room! Jacob is a writer for Screencrush.com and Movies.com, and a lover of storytelling in all of its forms. With The Trophy Room, he'll give weekly awards to the comics that he thinks stand out. Take it away, Jacob...

Comic That I Wish I Liked More: Young Avengers #1

There is so much to love about Young Avengers that I feel a little guilty for not falling head over heels in love with it. Kieron Gillen and James McKelvie have created a book that's bursting with personality and character, but strangely short on plot or momentum. As someone unfamiliar with the history of the Young Avengers and Kid Loki (which I'm rectifying right now), I found myself completely lost regarding the status quo of these guys and girls. A #1 issue, especially one this breezy and, charming, shouldn't be so uninviting to newcomers. But hey, at least I was lost with a bunch of characters who instantly liked. That's a start.

Special Prize For Regained Comedic Footing Following a Heartbreaking Story Twist: Chew #31

The events of Chew #30 were so dark and mean and drastic and horrifying and game-changing that I was wondering if the book could ever go back to the way it was. The answer is yes and no. Tony Chu's life has been forever altered and he has a new mission in life (and possibly a new disposition), but after the grieving is done, the series immediately and without hesitation becomes the goofy and imaginative romp its always been. Chew's greatest asset has always been its ability to effortlessly leap between genres and tones and #31 brought both the tears and giggles in equal measure. There's no reason for Chew to ever work, but damn it, here we are. Whatta' series.

The "Going Out in Style" Award: Winter Soldier #14

Cover to Winter Soldier #14, art by Daniel Acuna. Marvel Comics.

And thus ends Ed Brubaker's stint with Marvel. While his final issue of Captain America definitively closed the book on his version of the character, he concludes his Winter Soldier run with a big question mark, putting Bucky Barnes in a situation that is best described as "shitty and no good and horrible." Although a new creative team will attempt to throw him an emotional lifeline with the next issue, this tragic conclusion is straight-up Brubaker: noir-tinged superhero espionage that begs to be read with a tumbler of your finest scotch. I'm going to miss his distinctive voice in the Marvel Universe.

Best Example of Being a Bad Comic Book: Uncanny X-Force #1

Here's the dirty secret about Marvel Now: so many of the new books are good that I'm having a hard time keeping my pull list at a manageable level. So I'm almost relieved that Uncanny X-Force #1 is one of the worst books in the Marvel Now line-up and that I'll never have to buy another issue. In addition to being impenetrable, obnoxious, crass and full of '90s "kewlness," the issue doesn't even bother to tell a complete story or properly introduce its cast. This is the kind of comic that reminds me why I spent years actively avoiding comics.

Best Comic to Use When Judging Other People's Opinions on Art: FF #3

Good God, Mike Allred. You are the best penciller working in comics today. Never change. Your critics are people I judge immediately and harshly. Anyway, FF is proving itself to be a solid series on its own, but Allred's art lends the book an absurd amount of personality.

Default Best DC Book of the Week Because It Was the Only DC Book I Read This Week: Wonder Woman #16

Wonder Woman is still a really good comic book, but the fact that it was the only thing published by DC that I read this week is telling about the company's entire line-up. They need to do something drastic to get me back…and a Vibe comic isn't the trick.

The "Why Do I Like This?" Award: Deadpool #4

As a general rule, I don't read Deadpool comics. But I think Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan's writing is hilarious. I think Tony Moore's art is gorgeous. I love the fact that this book essentially co-stars Ben Franklin's ghost at this point. So, somehow, I'm still reading Deadpool. Keep it up, guys.

Runner-Up Comic of the Week:  Bedlam #3

There's no getting around it: Bedlam is an upsetting series, a horror comic that takes a familiar superhero/supervillain dynamic and turns it into a genuine nightmare (although the series' main inspiration is already getting a terrifying treatment of its own over in Scott Snyder's Batman). The latest issue doesn't necessarily propel the story forward - this is a dense book, but it's also deliberate - but it continues to turn the screws on our hero, a medicated and reformed supervillain and mass murderer, in fascinating ways. If you can deal with Bedlam's frequent cruelty (the first three pages of this issue feel like they're daring you to keep reading), you'll find a series with an infinite amount of promise. And of course #3 ends with a major cliffhanger. Of course.

Cover to Mind MGMT #7, art by Matt Kindt. Matt Kindt/Dark Horse Comics.

Comic of the Week: Mind MGMT #7

It's rare that I spend $3.99 on an individual comic and feel that I've truly gotten my money's worth. With Dark Horse's Mind MGMT, I feel no shudders of guilt and feel no need to mutter about costs to the person ringing up my purchase -- writer/artist Matt Kindt crams so much content into every individual issue that I feel like I'm reading more than one in a single sitting. Take this week's issue (the first after a two month hiatus), which tells not one story, but four of them, with several running simultaneously. After a twenty-panel recap of the past six issues on the inside cover, the series launches back into its strange sci-fi conspiracy tale, all drawn in Kindt's loose and expressive art. As the main story trucks on, an expository flashback story is told in the bottom margins of each page. A mysterious commentary deepens the mystery in the left margins. Images and notes overlap the art, creating the impression that you're not holding a comic, but some kind of hastily assembled conspiracy nut's document. This is a remarkable issue of a remarkable series.