99th Episode

Sean and Paul discuss the "Brief Lives" arc of Sandman.

This story arc is a turning point for the series, and transitions us into the home stretch of Sandman stories.

This is also a very plot-heavy arc, so we take a look at the plot and extract some meaning from this one. What can we learn from Dream and Delirium's journey? And what can we learn from Destruction at the end of their journey?

This episode continues our discussion of Sandman, and we have covered all the previous arcs in previous episodes. Take...

Sean went to Star Wars Celebration! Paul watched wrestling! We find commonality!

Sean attended Star Wars Celebration and had a grand old time. Let's discuss!

Paul attended wrestling and had a grand old time. Let's discuss!

We talk about the storytelling elements of each of these, to understand what is compelling about each.

Tune in and enjoy.

Sean doesn't like those games that with a lot of swearing. That is what makes Grand Theft Auto and Cyberpunk 2077 so difficult to get into. The Show, however, has no swearing. This is apparently some sort of sports game.

Sean started reading the Criminal books, which are good stories told well. So we also talk about some other crime comics. This reading is courtesy of Humble Bundle, and we talk about the virtue of Humble Bundle and Hoopla for trying out new stuff.

What do we keep? What do we get rid of? That is...

Sean went to Wondercon! He talks about the joy of digging through boxes of comics. Also, the frustration! Some books go for a lot of money now for silly reasons. Some books sell for a lot for non-silly reasons, but Sean just didn't know.

We talk about the ins and outs of comic book purchasing also. Sean is dipping his toe into Doctor Strange comics with the classic stuff from the 70s. Paul finds his niche in collecting basketball cards.

Castlevania is a very difficult game. Why is Sean playing this? Let's talk about MetroidVania...

Paul found his way to horror in a very roundabout way, involving the YMCA and wrestling podcasts. Despite that long path, he has arrived at his destination! That destination is horror movies! He has started with Amityville Horror, and has moved on to The Conjuring.

This leads to a discussion of the whole sequence of Conjuring movies, which Paul has seen, but Sean hasn't. Some of them are closer to what Paul likes in his horror movies, some less so, so we talk about different types of horror movies, with different levels of reveal about the supernatural...

Sean caught up on Westworld, and can now reflect on all of the tiny details that he didn't remember last time Paul and Sean talked about this show. It is a good show, but the way that Sean has been watching adds some insight into getting a lot out of each episode. The secret is podcasts. Podcasts are the secrets.

We argue about what amount of Legos is the correct amount. One of us has some wacky ideas about that. Is it like having a huge comics backlog? Plus, we talk about the way we played with...

We continue our discussion of Sandman with the Convergence stories plus the Ramadan story from issue 50.

First up is "The Hunt" from issue 38, in which a grandfather tells his granddaughter a story from the old world about a young man that thinks he wants something, but may actually want something else.

Next is "Soft Places" from issue 39, in which Marco Polo gets lost in the desert and meets some interesting people. In the process of this, we learn about the power of stories to last through the ages.

The final Convergence story is "...

In honor of Sean's newfound status of Father, we discuss some fictional fathers that resonate with us.

Darth Vader is not a good father by any metric, but there is still a lot to learn from his story about the importance of fatherhood. After all, if losing his fatherhood status punctuated his fall to the dark side, gaining it back sparked his return to the light.

Splinter, whether a reincarnated father to adopted father figure, is the mentor that the turtles need, and he teaches them to understand and respect each other's differences, as any...

Action Force from Valaverse is here! Sean talks about his shipment of these new action figures. Plus, wrestling figures and sports.

The day after Christmas was the greatest day as a kid. Now, as an adult, it is a little different. Still, it is a nice day to record a podcast.

But that is just warm up. Sean has Action Force! This is a new indie toy line of 6-inch figures in the same vein as G.I. Joe. Sean has the entire wave 1 and talks a little bit about these great figures.

...

A Game of You is the fourth long arc of Sandman, and we dive into this character-driven story. This story doesn't progress the main plot of Sandman very much, and so in many ways is a departure from what we have seen in previous long arcs like Doll's House or Season of Mists. This story is more about the journey for each character, so that is how we take this, one character at a time.

The main character of this story is Barbie, and so we discuss her character and what happens to her extensively. Her journey...

We celebrate the life of Uncle Don by discussing some of the things he enjoyed, and remembering the positive influence he had on Paul.

Before that though, Joecember shows Sean just how weird and kinky Cobra is. Copperhead has a very odd leather jock strap, and then there is Dr. Mindbender, and it only gets stranger from there.

First, we remember Keith Courage in Alpha Zones on the TurboGrafx-16. It is a weird game that involves fighting good fortune cats, with bonus points for the gold ones. That's just the overworld. In the underworld, Keith...

We discuss Westworld, Season One.

But first! Joevember and drawing! Sean has been drawing Joes, and we give away how far in the past each of these have been recorded.

Also, The Art of Manliness and goal setting! Otherwise known as: the art of avoiding threats! This also applies to our digital comics backlog. Also, basketball card collecting.

For the bulk of this episode we discuss Westworld, Season 1. Sean watched it a while ago, and Paul recently finished it. 

We talk about the show from the angle of the humans that g...

Some things we discuss:

Comic Con and how Comics bring us together.

Hawkeye, the show, and the comic. 

Trade paperbacks, and having too much objects.

Names and mispronunciation.

A Bride's Story.

The Wheel of Time show. 

Video Games! Paul killed some wild animals in Horizon Zero Dawn, Sean relived 12 minutes of mystery in 12 Minutes, puzzled through Myst, and flew around the pyramids in Flight Simulator.

We talk about older games we remember from our younger days, and how sometimes chasing that nostalgia is futile. Some games were fun at the time, but when we revisit them now, are not quite as fun. We are looking at you, Super Mario and Mega Man!

Also: Super hero comics are changing as a result of the realities of movies and TV. We are seeing...

We return to discussing Sandman with the Distant Mirrors and Song of Orpheus stories!

The Distant Mirrors stories fall between Season of Mists and A Game Of You, and are all historical fiction in one way or another. The Song of Orpheus is a stand alone story from the Sandman Special Edition that was also published around this time.

Previous stand-alone stories have been very enjoyable. How did we like these, that incorporate more plot-centric story beats? What are our takeaways from each of the stories? Is there a common theme to these?

...

You sent Paul your questions, and we answer!

Thank you everybody that sent in some listener questions.

We talk about video games, books, movies, music, crossovers between all of them, and more.

You spoke, and we listen! Then WE speak!

Life is Strange has replaced The Long Dark as Sean's latest video game distraction. He explains why it is good, despite the teenage emo drama.

Some good TV is pretty bad, like Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. And Life is Strange, which is how we got on this.

Paul is back on the Junji Ito train, so we go back to that well.

Comic book collecting is the perfect hobby for retail therapy.

Paul is reading all the manga again, and tells us a bit about Mermaid Saga, which is not...

First of all, tragedy has struck in the video game world! Sean experienced a trifle of a tragedy, listen to find out more.

We talk about some other schlock...

Then, we discuss Passive Aggressive!

This comic book was secretly two comic books: "Passive" and "Aggressive". The covers are the same, but the interior is different. The region of the country where you bought yours determines the contents.

We have both read both parts, but in different orders, so we discuss that experience, and if there is any effect on our thoughts...

Paul talks about Madden video games, and Sean works hard to be interested. It sounds complicated and a bit like nonsense. Also, sports is pretty nerdy, it turns out.

We talk about unique records, because Sean is interested in those. The Music Tapes "1st Imaginary Symphony for Nomad". Tom Waits, "Beautiful Maladies". Philip Glass and Alan Ginsberg, "Hydrogen Jukebox".

Somehow this bends around to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the musical episode. Which is really good, actually. Also, the Simpsons is good too. 

Why don't kids these days like Ninja Turtles? 

La...

We talk about some cool old 80's movies. And some bad.

Paul played Zelda! The original, like for the NES. What was that like, and how much did he rely on the walkthrough guides to find that one secret entrance hidden in the woods? This allows us to discuss some of the virtues of Zelda as well.

Sean touches on Zelda II, and how it captures the fun sense of exploration that the original had. Of course, Sean played that one because it was the Zelda he had as a child. That touches on our...

Paul and Sean discuss a list of the top 50 video games of all time! There is no way we can get through all 50, so this is the a two-part episode, a first in 99th history.

This list is compiled of games ranging from the days of the original Nintendo all the way to the most recent console systems. Some hits that you would expect are there, as well as a couple surprises.

We haven't played every game on this list, but we have played a lot of them, and we have plenty to say.

Paul and Sean discuss a list of the top 50 video games of all time! There is no way we can get through all 50, so this is the first two-part episode in 99th history.

This list is compiled of games ranging from the days of the original Nintendo all the way to the most recent console systems. Some hits that you would expect are there, as well as a couple surprises.

We haven't played every game on this list, but we have played a lot of them, and we have plenty to say.

The...

We are back to discuss Sandman! This is the fourth of our episodes discussing Sandman as we read through the entire story.

Season of Mists is possibly the most mythology-heavy and plot-heavy arcs of Sandman. We dive into this story of the burden caused by the Key to Hell in this episode.

This is a strange story arc to us in many ways. It doesn't have the thematic takeaways to it that previous stories have had, at least on first glance. We dig a little deeper to see if we can reveal any.

...

We talk about the elixir of life. Coffee. Some of us have coffee discipline, some do not.

Shonen Jump provides a nice easy way to read some nice easy manga, like Chainsaw Man. Chainsaw man may not be as nice and easy as it seems though, because the description of the premise is fairly long and convoluted.

Concrete is an easy book to read if you don't need all of the background on who and why the characters are. Just accept it and read!

When we pick up something new, what is the...

We relive the greatest crappy internet cartoons from the early days of the internet. Strongbad, Star Wars Gangsta Rap, GI Joe PSAs, and more. You know, the glory days of the internet. Also, Paul remembers listening to some bad music.

We also talk about the fun, and challenges, of discovery in today's modern day of the internet. Nobody explains their biases, and algorithmic discovery trends back to the norm.

Aqua Team Hunger Force sounds like a really bad show to Sean. This leads to a discussion of Super Meat Boy, which is good. Plus, other...

After a little Neon Genesis: Evangelion discussion, we discuss the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Bad Idea Comics.

Sean doesn't care for the discussion around Bad Idea, he just wants to talk about the comics. Paul keeps hitting on the hits though.

Plus, what do we think of Eniac? And Tankers? And Whalesville?

All will be discussed.

Plus, of course other stuff.

Small snacks, little bits, cheese on a cracker. We talk about the bite-size entertainment that we enjoy.

Sometimes, we only have time for a small moments of enjoyment. In this episode, we talk about some video games that fit this criteria. Super Meat Boy, Braid, and PUBG all get discussed as good options.

Also, Paul is still on his manga trip, and talks about Urasawa, Pluto, and Monster.

Sean is sorting trade paperbacks, and has experienced the perils of tracking what you have across multiple media formats.

Also, we talk about...

We continue our ongoing discussion of Sandman with volume 3, Dream Country. In particular, we are discussing issues 17-20 of The Sandman. This volume consists of individual one-shot stories.

Calliope is a very uncomfortable story to read now. It depicts a particular kind of violence against women in a brutal way that is truthful to how bad it is. Still, this story was included in this series, so what can it tell us about the growth of the main character of the series, and the themes of Sandman?

A Dream of A Thousand Cats condemns keeping...

Action movies, horror comics, action figure collecting, and trading cards all come up in this episode.

Nobody is a nice succinct action movie. Commando is an excellent action movie that Paul has not seen. Parks and Rec is a comedy show that Sean has not seen.

Sean wants to rewatch Neon Genesis: Evangelion again, but is concerned that it might be like Catcher In The Rye; you can't go back.

Blood On The Tracks is very uncomfortable, but strangely compelling. This reminds us that there is a lot of new Junji Ito. Including...

We discuss the best Vertigo titles out there.

Vertigo is the famous imprint from DC Comics, that started with titles like Sandman, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, and Animal Man, and continued with such hits as Preacher, Y The Last Man, Fables, and a lot more.

We find a very scientific list of the 52 best titles from Vertigo and discuss. Some we have read, some we haven't. Some we mean to read eventually. We discuss all of these takes on these titles in a whirlwind recap of all of the best Vertigo titles.

This is...

Sean Watched Zack Snyder's Justice League. It brought up some ideas about how we talk about movies.

But first, the movie itself. Was it good? What is our history with DC?

The conversation around the movie, however, has devolved (or has always been bad), and it seems like it is because there is a lack of conversation about basic assumptions. 

We talk about basic assumptions, and the role they play in our opinions, yet nobody seems to talk about them. 

Also, some other stuff, and yes, it was a windy day an...

Exploding barbed-wire wrestling makes for a good story, Prized Pig is excellent noisy punk, and Zelda games are fantastic.

Somehow, we end up saying "earhole" a whole lot more than either of us ever wanted.

In addition:
- The rules of wrestling is strange
- Unity is convoluted and impressive
- The virtue of recommendations
- We talk about headphones and earholes waaaay too much
- The Wu-Tang clan is something I don't remember
- Reading of packages not guearanteed
- I thought I was a smart kid...

How are we navigating these crazy times in collectibles? We have some thoughts. Also, Paul read Something Is Killing The Children. Sean read X-Men: Grand Design.

We start off with the comics. Something Is Killing The Children, and Paul is all-in. It is a book that kept him awake despite being old! It is a compelling story, and Paul discusses why so.

Next off, X-Men: Grand Design is a rewarding recap of Claremont's tenure on X-Men. It is a whirlwind review with a cool twist. The art is amazing too.

The bulk of...

We HoXPoX our way around X-Men. We discuss our de-stress techniques. We re-engage with our hobbies. We discuss generations.

Paul and Sean have both had a busy couple of months, so we unwind and discuss some of the things on our mind. Paul is re-read HoXPoX, which gives us a chance to revisit what is great about that series, and why it has so much re-read value. We talk about the way we unwind and relax after work has kept us wound up.

How do we re-engage with our hobbies? How do we keep collecting...

We dabble in discussing a few items, as we often do in Smorgasboard episodes. 

We discuss Tomie, since Paul has now read some of that work by Junji Ito. Paul played Nier: Automata, and so he tells us about the virtues of that video game. Last, Sean has been watching Wandavision, and we have a non-spoiler discussion of that show.

In addition to that, we talk about:
- Paul has problems with his streaming stick. 
- Tomie weaponizes infatuation
- Sean likes good shelf
- There are a lot of fancy ro...

Game of Thrones. Why is the show compelling? Now that Sean has finished watching, we discuss the show in its entirety, so beware ye spoilers!

What death's are the most memorable? Which are the most satisfying? Why is that even a question? What characters had the best progression throughout the series? How to not be dissatisfied by the ending. 

Also, Paul has some words to say about Run The Jewels.

And in addition:
- Jim Shooter, friend or foe?
- Definitely legend though!
- We have spoilers for Charles Manson

Paul and Sean can always talk about X-Men, so they choose ten of their favorites to discuss. Which X-men and X-Women will make the cut? Also, a quick diversion to talk about Cobra Kai and The Toys That Made Us.

We each chose five X-Men characters to discuss, and pruned for overlap, to come up with a list of ten to discuss. We talk about why we like these characters, and why they made the list over other great X-Men characters.

Also, Paul has finally watched Cobra Kai, season 1, so we talk about that! 

Paul and Sean interrogate each other with important questions about comics, music, movies, video games and more. Who will crack under the pressure? Find out!

Also:
- Most collectible comics.
- Guilty pleasures in music featuring Wordburglar and Kelly Clarkson
- DangerDoom and the Gray Album
- Sage Francis blew young Paul's mind
- When you remove Star Wars and Comic book movies, what is left?
- Comedy greats: Old School and Zoolander
- Unique and interesting movies are more enjoyable than nonunique and noninteresting movies
- Why was...

Sean catches up on his progress with Game of Thrones. We talk about streaming services and shows in general, and our wishlist of features. Also, we touch on social media and distraction. Finally, a riff on the difference between acting and performing.

Also:
- Spoilers don't matter when you aren't in tune.
- The show swims in misery to give us surprises
- What shows have you rewatched multiple times?
- Show highlights are the way to go 
- Disconnecting from social media alerts for mental health
- 15 Fantasy leagues is a...

Sean is Finally watching Game of Thrones. Paul is finally watching Mandalorian. We catch up on our TV adventures.

Game of Thrones is quite a dreary show. It is not a happy place. But still, it has some merits, so we discuss. 

Mandalorian is a happy place for Sean, and Paul is catching up, so we discuss some of the merits of that show.

Along the way, we ask if some things work better as TV shows than as movies? Or is this a silly question? Also, how does binging compare with watching s...