mymarvelousyear

Weekly Update 1/13/20

If you follow us on social media, you've probably already seen that Dave was too enfeebled from his vacation at Disney World to record 1979's Variant Cover last week, so instead of skipping a week, we decided to jump ahead and put out 1980 Pt. 1. Sorry to those not caught up yet, but next week we'll put out the Variant Cover episode, so hopefully you'll have time to catch up! And you should! The comics are goood right now. Even the B tier stuff is becoming so much more readable. I think this ...

What's your most anticipated comic read of the 1980's? (Not necessarily something you've read that is your favorite)

Weekly Update 12/30/19

We're about to enter a golden age of Marvel comics (not the Golden Age of Marvel comics, though) that will last through most of the 80s. I don't think it's much of a coincidence that this era is the beginning of Marvel really loosening the reins on its characters and letting the  individual voices of writers (and artists) shine through.

We've gotten many excellent comics in the "Marvel house style", not in small part to the fact that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created that h...

Who is your favorite mutant introduced in the comics we read in 2019?

Weekly Update 12/16/19

Instead of talking about the absolute wild and crazy (and maybe kinda fun!) mess that is today's Variant Cover, I just want to reflect real quick on the past year.

We released Episode One (about the Golden Age of Marvel) on January 1st of last year, and while I think Dave and I have made some huge strides in confidence and quality, I'm still very proud of those first few episodes. While I maybe could have imagined how sizable the listener base would get over the year, I couldn't have pr...

Quick Poll for 1978: If you could choose one late era Jack Kirby creation to have somehow become a major, beloved part of Marvel, what would it be (and why, in the comments)?

Weekly Update 12/8/19

I'm going to level with you: 1978 felt like a drag to me. The nicest things I could say are "The Korvac Saga was fine" and "X-Men is getting better" or "This Spider-Man story is great... for 1969".  But with the exception of Claremont's X-Men, things seem to be stagnating at Marvel.

But here's some good news: We're about to have an explosion of all-time classic runs of comics!

- Frank Miller starts up on Daredevil (1978-1983), and it immediately feels like the DD we've al...

Weekly Update 11/25/19

Hello everyone! Happy Thanksgiving to our American patrons! Hope the holiday allows you lots of time to read comics!

A couple announcements for the club:
- I've mentioned before that we crossed the $500 goal to begin a new spin-off show called My Ultimate Year, a monthly show covering all the comics in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Well, I'm happy to say the first episode will be released this upcoming Sunday, on December 1st! As a matter of fact, each episode of the show will be re...

Weekly Update 11/17/19

Johnny Storm and Crystal! Ned Leeds and Betty Brant! Mantis and Tree! These are just a few of the great romances Marvel has enchanted us with over the years. Kidding aside, romance is a constant through line for Marvel comics, but it very rarely is a main focus. What function does it play, and should superhero comics be more ambitious?

A great romance in a superhero comic can ground our hero, make them more of a relatable person, give them something to fight for. I don't mean that last...

Do you prefer the original coloring of older Marvel comics or the digitally retouched versions (like what is found on Marvel Unlimited)?

Weekly Update 11/10/19

What makes a good shared universe? Characters popping in and out of each others' series? Storylines weaving in and out through multiple series? Big events whose consequences are felt throughout all comics published?

We're seeing or will see all of these aspects in the Marvel Universe (and more). Does Spidey showing up in a one-off X-Men issue make it feel connected? But then what about the fact that no one besides X-Men seems to care or even really notice that there's a huge culture wa...

Weekly Update 10/28/19

This is something you'll hear us talk about in a few weeks on the show (regarding Spider-Woman), but I want to talk about origins today. I was complaining because her origin feels somewhat thrown together and random to me. My knee jerk reaction was to label it poorly written because, in my mind, a "good origin" means that the character's origin is closely tied in thematically to their powers/motivation/characterization. Spider-Man and Uncle Ben, T'Challa and his place as a king, Magneto and t...

Weekly Update 10/24/19

Hello to all our wonderful Patrons this week! I was off in Chicago all week and just got back, apologies for the late update!

Had a great trip, and finally got to meet Dave face-to-face! Once in a while it strikes me how odd it is that Dave and I have been collaborating for about a year now without ever having met. It was wonderful to finally meet up and for the first time record in person... drumroll please.... our first episode of My Ultimate Year! There are still a lot of l...

Bad Comic Special: Marville

In exchange for those sweet iTunes reviews, we promised to read a bad comic. We now regret making this devil's bargain.

Weekly Update 10/16/19

This week, I just want to say a big thank you to all of you for helping us hit the $500 goal, which means work has begun on My Ultimate Year! As soon as we get some logistical things ironed out, we should begin production on the show.

For people who may not know, the Ultimate line of Marvel Comics was an attempt in 2000 to create a "fresh start" for classic Marvel characters, with new writers retelling and revamping the original stories. This means a modern take on Peter Parker in high...

Weekly Update 10/7/19

Good morning to all our wonderful backers! Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all of you! I think compared to other Patreon creators, we have a particularly loyal and active fan base and it's so flattering to me that our work means something to so many people.

Ok, this week in "Zack Tries to Find Something to Write About", I'm really spit balling. I've got some facts and maybe will try to spin a thesis out of them... but this might just be an info dump.

Ok, first ...

If you could marry one All-New, All-Different X-Men, who would it be?

Weekly Update 09/30/19

It's 1975, and so of course I'm talking about the most important comic of the year: Tomb of Dracula! Ok, not really, but I'm sure we'll have a lot to say about Claremont and X-Men in the next decade, so don't worry.

I've been thinking about why I'm not responding quite so much to series like Tomb of Dracula or Killraven, which as I'm reading them feel like interesting, well-written comics. They seemingly check all the boxes for me: a large and interesting cast characters, a un...

Weekly Update 09/25/19

So... uh I was sick this weekend and completely spaced on my updating responsibilities. Just remembered last night that I had never sent this out. So sorry, everyone!

Just going to give you all the info on what's coming up in the next few weeks:

 
This week's episode is Marvel Year Thirteen: 1974 Variant Cover, out last Monday, 09/23/19. Please get any 1975 feedback for us to discuss on our next Variant Cover episode by 10/08/19. You ca...

Weekly Update 09/15/19

Good evening to all our generous backers! Hope you're enjoying the overall rise in quality of 70's comics; I know I am!

Something I've been thinking about now that we have our feet planted firmly in the Bronze Age is genre and style. Clearly, this is a time of big genre exploration, with Kung-Fu, Horror, and Blaxploitation all entering the Marvel universe. Something that distinguishes Blaxploitation and Kung Fu is that these genres are often produced by non-white creators, and have a f...

Being totally honest with yourself: If you had superpowers, would you be a hero or a villain?

Weekly Update 09/08/19

Hello, you handsome guys, gals, and everyone in-between! Get ready for some real stream of consciousness writing!

We've always had crossovers in Marvel, but the Marvel U has never felt larger (in scale) and smaller (in connectivity) than in 1974 and 1975. This feels in sync with Roy Thomas from Stan Lee (now in his Publisher role for the next 24 years) taking over as Editor-In-Chief in 1972. In our day of instant comic gratification, having story-lines cross series makes more sense to ...

Q&A September 2019

Hi there!

We had a great time recording this Q&A yesterday on Twitch! The audio quality is definitely listenable, but as with all the Q&As, lightly edited, so expect lots of mouse clicks and keystrokes.

Oh, and this is Explicit! We (Well, me... Zack) uses some adult language... I'm beginning to think Dave doesn't say swears?

Anyway, keep an eye out in December-ish for the next Twitch stream! They're a ton of fun to do live.

Quarterly (ish) Q&A!

Hello! I'd like to announce the date and time for our next Q&A:
Saturday, September 7 at 2PM EST.

As always, we'll host the video as a live stream on Youtube, but the video will be archived and the audio uploaded for all Patrons in case you can't make it. The link to the video will be posted here and in the Slack as it begins, so keep an eye out, or find our Youtube channel.

Please leave any questions you have for us in the comments below! It can be Marvel related, genera...

Weekly Update 09/05/19

Good evening, beautiful MMY-ers!

Sorry for the late update this week! I moved to a new place this last weekend and couldn't get my computer and internet set up until today. The plus side for listeners is hopefully a better quality recording from me, missing all the trains, church bells, and dirt bikes that have plagued my recordings from the beginning. Next Monday's episode (1974 Pt. 1) is testament to the need for this move!

Since we're a few days past the release of 1973's Var...

Weekly Update 8/24/19

Surprise, it's a Saturday update! Got to balance out for the last few being late!

With the premier of Jungle Action this year, I've been thinking of how Marvel is a shared universe composed of small ecosystems. This may be a really obvious point, but I think we take it for granted and I want to explore it a bit (and we'll find out together if I can tie this into a cohesive thought by the end of this letter!).

Jungle Action feels unique to Marvel. The culture and look of Wakanda,...

You are Professor X. A criminal makes you choose which of you X-Men will die. Who do you choose?

Extra Issues Newsletter: 1971

Click here for Extra Issues: 1971! 

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You can find next year's reading list in each Weekly Update email or in the MMY Master Spreadsheet! Click here

Weekly Update 08/18/19

This first half of 1973 is definitely a contender for best batch of comics we've read for an episode so far. Between Starlin's arrival with some wild cosmic world-building, Man-Thing bringing a humanity to horror comics, or Spider-Man making history with one Marvel's biggest plot points ever, there's a lot to love here.

Ok, so got a Patreon announcement. I'm sure this will be a disappointment to some, but the 1971 issue of Extra Issues I'm putting out today will be the last. Writing th...

Weekly Update 8/12/19

I was deep in the Maine woods this weekend, so I didn't get the chance to write a full update this week. The only news I have is that Extra Issues: 1971 will be out this week if it kills me. I'm going to really try to catch up with those soon, since they're behind almost two Marvel years at this point. Thanks for your patience!

This week's episode is Marvel Year Eleven: 1972 Variant Cover, out today 8/12/19. Please get any 1973 feedback for us to discus...