A primer on Star Wars comics from 1977 forward, covering everything in general from early movie adaptations to the lengthy Dark Horse work in the Expanded Universe to the "New Marvel Era" and speculation on what is (and we hope) to come.

In our first-ever, short-length, One-Shot episode, John relates the personal and historical significance of Marvel's Star Wars: Special Edition #1. Coming on Giant Size #41, a full episode covering all of Star Wars in comics.

“Breaking in” stories from Steve Epting, Jim Cheung, and Val Mayerik. Neal Adams tells us why people call him an idiot and end up calling him a genius. We also look at how this convention in particular marked an artistic turning point for your hosts.

Believe it or not, we aren’t running as late as Secret Wars.

Fan Expo Dallas 2015 Special, Part 2 of 2

Brought to you by

• IDW: Check out the wide array of comics from IDW including Val Mayerik’s work on the first arc of Zombies vs. Robots.
• SaneBox: Stop “Hulk-ing out” over your email. Get a no-credit-card-required, 2-week free trial and $25 off your new membership when you sign up by visiting SaneBox.com/esn.

In the first installment of our 2-part Fan Expo Dallas Special, we are joined by some very special guests to discuss the importance and impact of Archie, working with material that is well-known in other media, and the vital importance of major publishers staying the course when investing in new voices and audiences.

Part 1 of 2

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• IDW: Walt Simonson's first arc of Ragnarök is now complete, and you can pre-order the hardcover (or get the Limited Edition version from your Local Comic Shop). Also new from IDW: Drive (continuing the story of the movie) and Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War. To win a signed-by-Simonson copy of the first printing of Ragnarök #1, just email, tweet, or just plain contact us to let us know what you want to hear more of on the show.
• SaneBox: Stop "Hulk-ing out" over your email. Get a no-credit-card-required, 2-week free trial and $25 off your new membership when you sign up by visiting SaneBox.com/esn.

In our Comicpalooza 2015 Special, we discuss childhood influences and the importance of licensed properties in comics with a wide array of guests: World Champion wrestler (and comic creator) Booker T, Katie Cook, Peter David, J.M. DeMatteis (albeit briefly), and returning guest Walt Simonson. Our featured guest this week is the great Louise Simonson.

Louise Simonson will be the focus of an upcoming Creator Spotlight episode. We'll get to Walt eventually...we suppose.

Brought to you by

• IDW: Katie's My Little Pony comics continue to tear up the sales charts, and you can now get a lovely hardcover edition of J.M. DeMatteis' Augusta Wind from your local shop (along with tons and tons of other great comics from IDW).
• SaneBox: Stop "Hulk-ing out" over your email. Get a no-credit-card-required, 2-week free trial and $25 off your new membership when you sign up by visiting SaneBox.com/esn.

We look at the vital role of the more-precise-than-ever art of comics coloring, shining a spotlight in particular on the work of Elizabeth Breitweiser and featuring special guests Neal Adams, Steve Epting, and Walt Simonson.

NOTE: audio gain as well as clarity are less than ideal in some places (totaling under a minute). We've done our best in post to make this episode as listenable as possible at a consistent volume level.

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• IDW: a new TPB from Katie Cook's run on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic just hit the stands, alongside the collected edition of Eric Shanower and Gabriel Rodriguez's Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland.

In framing a conversation with writer Greg Pak about the new direction for Superman in Action Comics (as well as his new creator-owned project The Princess Who Saved Herself), we find ourselves also indulging in preaching the gospel of Adam Warlock.

In our conversation with Greg, we look at the importance of "bold, different takes", going back not only to his work on Hulk (Planet- and World War- specifically) and Adam Warlock, but also the major influence of Bill Mantlo's legendary work on Hulk and Micronauts.

Brought to you by...

• IDW: In two weeks, long-time My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic writer (and someimtes also artist) Katie Cooke will be our guest on our Giant Size Comicpalooza 2015 Special. The latest issue of MLP is out this week, as is the six issue of Zombies vs Robots, which completes the backup story written by Steve Niles and drawn by firend-of-the show Val Mayerik.

In the first installment of a new recurring series, we recommend great, currently running reads that we've never discussed on the show.

Brought to you by

• IDW: with a wide array of great new releases this week, among others...
  • Locke & Key Master Edition Hardcover Vol 1
  • Donald Duck #1
  • Mark Waid’s Insufferable #1 and Empire: Uprising #2
  • Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective Agency #1
  • Transformers: Treasury Edition
  • Jem and the Holograms #3

In our first-annual STAPLE Special, we dive into some of our mutual comfort foods: autobiographical and otherwise-great indie comics. Intercut throughout are interviews with an all-star, all-woman super-team lineup of comics creators.

Brought to you by

• IDW: Add Weird Love to your pull list and add a splash of weird romance comics from the past to your diet that are guaranteed to entertain and delight (and horrify)!