Episode 20: Matt and Cale Read "Radioactive Man"
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Our comic aficionados celebrate 20 episodes with a deep dive into one of Matt's (and Bart Simpson's) favourite comic: "Radioactive Man"!
A spin-off of "The Simpsons," this six-part limited series was published from 1993 to 1994 by Bongo Comics. Radioactive Man is a love letter/parody/deconstruction/celebration of superhero comics, jumping between time periods from issue to issue. The series was written by Steve Vance (who also did layouts), with finished art by Bill Morrison and co-plotting/colours by Cindy Vance. And in classic "Simpsons" style, it's hilarious!
We had so much to say about this series that this is our second ever two-part episode! In part one, we discuss the characters and the first two issues in depth (Issue #1 from 1952 and Issue #88 from 1962).
Each issue jumps around in the fictional history of Radioactive Man and in the second episode we examine the last four issues: #216 (from 1972), #412 (from 1980), #679 (from 1986) and #1,000 (from 1995).
Each issue is PACKED with homages to/parodies of superhero comics, background jokes and references to "The Simpsons." There's so much thought and care put into each and every panel. This is one of Matt's all-time favourite series, but at the start of our first episode, Cale wasn't as excited about the book. Will Matt's enthusiasm lead to more appreciation from Cale? You'll have to listen to find out!
We will be back in two weeks for "Batman: Year One" by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. A re-telling of Batman's origin, this graphic novel is set in the same universe as Miller's "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" (make sure you listen to our 10th episode) and re-teams him with his "Daredevil: Born Again" collaborator (so make sure you listen to our 8th episode as well)!
We've been posting a ton of images on social media, celebrating all of the classic comics that have influenced "Radioactive Man." You can follow us @mattandcalereadcomics on Instagram and Facebook or @mattandcaleread on Twitter.
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