Monday, September 29, 2014

The Origin of the Incredible Hulk

The Marvel Super Heroes Podcast
Episode 013



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Fantasy as you like it! The strangest man of all time!! Is he Man or Monster or... is he both? It's "The Coming of the Hulk" as we look at The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962,) its faithful adaptation on the 1966 The Marvel Super Heroes animated series, plus the 1982 and 1996 takes from two separate series of The Incredible Hulk cartoons. Added value bonus at no additional cost to our treasured listeners: Hulk related commentary, anecdotes, and tunes as part of our biggest show yet! This is the last early episode length audio recorded using the Graphophone system onto cardboard tubes covered in wax as overseen by Alexander Graham Bell himself, so please excuse the low audio quality, awkward chemistry, jokes that miss like a troop run by Major Glenn Talbot, excess of needless recapping rather than essential commentary, and Frank hogging too much of the narration.



Note: We like our language NSFW salty, and there be spoilers here...
  • 00:52 Why the Hulk? Fixit, Mac and Frank talk about getting started with the Green Goliath, with emphasis on the run of Peter David and his all-star artists.
  • 06:17 "The Coming of the Hulk," our anti-hero's first ever comic book story and cartoon, adapted as "The Origin of the Hulk."
  • 16:50 The 1982 animated episode, also called "Origin of the Hulk."
  • 25:59 1996's cartoon take, a portion of the two-part episode "Return of the Beast."
  • 34:14 Illegal Machine shares his thoughts on the role of the Hulk in the Marvel Universe and his relatively slim relationship with the character's solo adventures.
  • 38:13 The 1978–1982 live action Hulk TV series' legacy is compared to other super-heroic greats of television, such as Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman.
  • 47:14 The Marvel Mail Bag is packed to the gills with commentary on episodes #9-12!
  • 1:08:46 The end of the episode. No, really. You hear the 1986 Marvel Productions LTD closing credit music, and that's it. Just like always.


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Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Beware! The Claws of... The Cat! (1972)

The Marvel Super Heroes Podcast
Episode 012


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Episode Art Gallery


Face Front, True Believers! This week #Frank'sAgenda is in full flower as we revisit Marvel Comics' 1972 stab at drafting a feminist super-heroine, The Cat! First Illegal Machine & Frank dissect the debut issue, then Mr. Fixit & Frank dive into #2 (32:00,) with the Diabolical One ranting a bit about #3-4. Stan Lee and Marie Severin get the creation credit, while Linda Fite writes (with editor Roy Thomas,) and there's fill-ins galore throughout the brief experiment. We finally reopen the mighty Marvel mail bag (44:58,) with Fixit & the Ill Mac taking the fore 'fer once! Frank probably would have preferred if things had turned out more P.C., but the show is entertaining, which is the paramount concern. Note: We like our language NSFW salty, and there be spoilers! We have an extensive episode art tumblr here. Even in an extra-length episode, we can't fit everything, but we do have replies to your comments again and this handy text addendum...


  • The Cat #1 was reprinted in one of the earliest Marvel Comics trade paperbacks, 1977's The Superhero Women, as part of the Simon and Schuster Fireside series of comic book collections for the bookstore market. She was joined by reprints of stories prominently featuring Medusa, Red Sonja, Invisible Girl, Ms. Marvel, Hela, The Wasp, Shanna the She-Devil, Black Widow, and Princess Lyra of the Femizons (don't ask.)
  • #1 Amazing Origin Issue!
  • The Cat #1 was also featured in the initial volume of Marvel Firsts: The 1970s, while The Cat #2 & 3 can be found in the Women of Marvel: Celebrating Seven Decades omnibus
  • Zabo actually survived his first confrontation with the Cat, and turned up in a 1983 issue of Marvel Team-Up seeking revenge for the death of his brother... Malcolm Donalbain!
  • #2 "The Owl and the Pussycat!"
  • Marie Severin left the series following #2 after being promoted to head Marvel's coloring department.
  • Greer Grant Nelson was named after Paty Greer, a former assistant to the series' initial artist and co-creator, Marie Severin. Greer drew the third issue of The Cat, then went on to draw the alien races in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, as well as working as a colorist and an overseer of production art. Today she's better known as Paty Cockrum, wife of the late great Dave Cockrum.


  • Breezy synopsis of #3.
  • According to a synopsis of #3 found online, Dr. Tumolo was slowly recovering from her minor brain damage.
  • Frank Miller had a fan letter in The Cat #3 where he praised the proactive heroine.
  • Gerry Conway, creator of DC's The Vixen, also wrote Marvel Team-Up #8, the issue referenced in the podcast featuring Man-Killer. It was released with an April 1973 cover date, the same month as The Cat #3.
  • #4 "Stampede!"
  • One year and one month after the release of The Cat #4 (with the scrapped #5 still in a file drawer,) Greer Nelson would return in a radically altered form in Giant-Size Creatures #1. Despite the change, The Cat appeared in September 1975's Spidey Super Stories, with The Owl as featured villain. This was under a John Romita cover was a story by the Night Nurse creative team of Jean Thomas & Win Mortimer. Linda Fite had co-written the final issue of Night Nurse (#4) with Thomas. The Cat returned for a story in #13 (with The Falcon & Kraven the Hunter) while Tigra turned up in #21 (again, against Kraven, but this time written by Pat Thackray.)
  • Linda Fite left The Cat and Marvel (again) following the birth of her first child with Herb Trimpe. They eventually had three children together before divorcing. Fite went on to work for New York's Times Herald-Record.


  • The Cat made her cover-featured British debut in the 4 October 1975 issue of The Super-Heroes (#31.) She and Ant-Man were joining the original X-Men in the weekly anthology title, where she presumably resided until #38, exhausting the U.S. content. She was also on #32's cover (on both her costume was colored dark green,) and continued to have her head featured in the corner box thereafter.
  • Of the 1972 female friendly launches, Stan Lee was said to have had the greatest optimism toward The Cat, her origin story, and her creative team. However, Lee noted in editorial content for The Superhero Women that the title "struck out" after that team fell apart.
As you can tell, we love a fierce conversation and a pretty picture, so why don't you socialize with us, either by leaving a comment on this page or...

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Annihilation: Super-Skrull (2006)

The Marvel Super Heroes Podcast Episode 011



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Face Front, True Believers! This week we return to the Annihilation event, with a (thankfully) more self-contained mini-series starring the classic Fantastic Four foe Super-Skrull! Episode art tumblr here.

Note: We like our language NSFW salty, and there be spoilers here...

As you can tell, we love a fierce conversation and a pretty picture, so why don't you socialize with us, either by leaving a comment on this page or...

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Iron Man and Mr. Fixit: A Night with Mac and Fixit (Frank Free Episode!)

The Marvel Super Heroes Podcast
Episode 010

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FRANK FREE PODCAST!
Since our old buddy has been banished to the Negative Zone, Mac and Fixit decide to take a shot at this whole "podcasting" thing on their own.
The two guys break down the only Fixit/Iron Man crossover they could find. Iron Man #247 (October 1989) and Incredible Hulk #361 (November 1989) is a quick, caper style story bringing together not only two of our favorite characters, but ICONIC creative teams of Dave Michelinie/Bob Layton for Iron Man and Peter David/Jeff Pervis for Hulk.
Mostly, we just needed something that Frank wouldn't be pissed at us for covering. LOVE YOU, BRO!

Note: We like our language NSFW salty, and there be spoilers here. Episode art tumblr here.



As you can tell, we love a fierce conversation and a pretty picture, so why don't you socialize with us, either by leaving a comment on this page or...

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Iron Man Is Born!

The Marvel Super Heroes Podcast Episode 009



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Face Front, True Believers! This week, we look at the 1963 first appearance of Iron Man from Tales of Suspense #39, then compare it to 1994's The Marvel Action Hour: Iron Man episodes 11 & 12, "Origin of Iron Man: Part 1 & 2!"

Note: We like our language NSFW salty, and there be spoilers here. Episode art tumblr here.


As you can tell, we love a fierce conversation and a pretty picture, so why don't you socialize with us, either by leaving a comment on this page or...

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Annihilation: Silver Surfer (2006)

The Marvel Super Heroes Podcast Episode 008



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Face Front, True Believers! We're back to lean, mean fighting form with our latest episode! Following our looks at Marvel Cosmic and Drax the Destroyer: Earthfall, we're ready to attack the epic Annihilation story arc of 2006 in earnest. The seeds for Guardians of the Galaxy were planted by this exciting event! Episode art tumblr here.

Note: We like our language NSFW salty, and there be spoilers here...

As you can tell, we love a fierce conversation and a pretty picture, so why don't you socialize with us, either by leaving a comment on this page or...