Sidebar Forever

On this pod, we wade deep into the waters of these two craptasic movies. We also chop up the entire American Ninja franchise, the glory days of Cannon Films, and that stellar Patrick Swayze run from '89-91 (Roadhouse, Next of Kin, Ghost, and Point Break).

Come quietly, or there will be trouble ... as in our playback review of the 1987 sci-fi/action movie RoboCop, starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, and Ronny Cox. 

We retrace our steps from enthusiastic fans who loved everything about reading and collecting comics, to one day wanting to draw them ourselves. And our appreciation of comic shops, cover burbs, word balloons, and Stan Lee alliteration is fully explored in the conversation. But what was the tipping point from reader to wannabe? How did we find out what an inker did, or what tools the professionals used? And who were the friends (and art heroes) who inspired us along the way?

CBR posted a list of 10 classic comic book tropes and on this week's episode, we go through them one by one. You know, stuff like super villains teaming up or the hero having a crisis of faith. We threw in a few of our own like dystopian futures where everyone dies and 'The Trail of...' stories. 
https://www.cbr.com/comics-tropes-we-kinda-love/

There is no sanctuary as we play back the 1976 sci-fi thriller Logan's Run starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter, and Richard Jordan. Come with us as we discuss the film's pre-Star Wars impact, its practical effects, other sci-fi from the era (Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green and Westworld), and the Adonis-like features of a young Michael York. 

Presenting our classic episode featuring a conversation with superstar comic artist Leinil Yu.
Yu is best known for his run on Wolverine; in addition to X-Men, New Avengers, Superman: Birthright and Supercrooks.

We go back to school for the 40th anniversary of the teen comedy 'Fast Times At Ridgemont High'. The 1982 classic is the feature directorial debut of Amy Heckerling and stars Sean Penn, Judge Reinhold, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates, Forest Whitaker and Robert Romanus. 

Netflix's award-winning series Stranger Things has concluded its fourth season. On the pod, we share our favorite moments, make comparisons to Goonies and It, show love for newer characters like Robin, Eddie and Argyle, as well as discuss potential spin-offs and why the show could have (should have?) ended with this season. Also, tons of unbridled Kate Bush love. This episode is spoilerrific, so consider yourself forewarned. 

All of our tapes have been erased! Every one except our playback review of Brian De Palma's 1981 conspiracy thriller Blow Out. We also chop up other films in this subgenre like All the President's Men, Three Days of the Condor, The Firm, and Enemy of the State.

The Dark Knight Returns was a game changer for Frank Miller, but Batman: Year One holds a special place for us. To celebrate its 35th anniversary, we discuss Year One's fresh take on Batman's origin story, the Toth-inspired look of the book, its impact on the feature films, and how this second collaboration between Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli was the perfect follow-up to Daredevil: Born Again.