Make Mine Multiversity

Last year, Jaina and Elias once again attempted to become a precog and figure out what Marvel was going to get up to in 2023. 10 items each. 11 if you count the Secret Invasion holdover. 10 chances to find out who would win and subject the other to a comic with art they think is bad, bad, bad. Elias is competing to make them read "Major X," the "modern" Liefeld return to Marvel that was, uh, very, very odd. Jaina wants Elias to reevaluate his love of 'Castaway in Dimension Z,' the first arc of Rick Remender's 2012 "Captain America" run with art by John Romita Jr.They were shocked by how much they got right and unsurprised by how much they got wrong. But who won? Well, that would ruin the fun of listening if I told you now, wouldn't it?Next time, we thwip our way through the original 'Spider-verse' as the countdown to the end commences. If you want to read along, we're reading "Superior Spider-Man" #32-33, "Edge of Spider-Verse" (Vol. 1) #1-5 and "Amazing Spider-Man" (2014) #7-15. For completeness's sake, we'll also read "Spider-Verse" #1-2, "Spider-Verse Team-Up" #1-3, and if you really wanna roll deep "Scarlet Spiders" #1-3, "Spider Woman" (2014) #1-4, "Spider-Man 2099" (2014) #6-8, and "Free Comic Book Day: Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014) #1. Don't ask for a reading order. It's all kind of a mess.Shout off in the comment section below and get the conversation started or share them on the burning hell site formerly known as Twitter using the hashtag #MakeMineMultiversity. Maybe skeet it on BlueSky! Or toot it on Mastodon. Or do something EXTRA funky over on Tumblr. We're exploring our options.

After a week delay due to some personal circumstances, it's time to read the definitive (so far) book about the Marvel Cinematic Universe "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios" by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards. What nuggets of wisdom will we learn? How much hot goss will there be? Will Elias ever stop talking about contract negotiations!? Strap in, true believer! You're in for one heck of a ride.Next time, well, it's not quite time to wrap up 2023 but you'll just have to listen to the episode to find out what we're doing. We may even sneak in a post credits scene or two! You don't know. You haven't listened yet.

Long awaited, ever since Jaina lost our 2022 predicitions episode, it's finally time to watch Howard the Duck! Yes, the 1986 film starring Lea Thompkins, Tim Robbins, and some other people we'd rather not name. Written by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, directed by Huyck and produced by George "it's like poetry, it rhymes" Lucas, it's truly something that has to be seen to be believed. Not even our well documented love of the duck's comics can save us now.To that end, this episode is a commentary track! Cue up the film, listen to our intro, wait for the countdown, and enjoy. We had a lot of fun making this and, honestly? Made watching this deeply uncomfortable, absolute mess of a film bearable. You can also listen to it without the film but it's a lot more awkward, which, you know, is the vibe this movie elicits.Shout off in the comment section below and get the conversation started or share them on the burning hell site formerly known as Twitter using the hashtag #MakeMineMultiversity. Maybe skeet it on BlueSky! Or toot it on Mastodon. Or do something EXTRA funky over on Tumblr. We're exploring our options.

What can we say that the words "Franken-castle" can't convey? This run is bonkers and strange with excellent art and...well, we don't know if we'd call the writing/plot GOOD but it's certainly unique. We do a dive in the career of Rick Remender at Marvel and beyond, figure out what makes the Punisher an enduring and fraught character, and yell at Disney for being spineless, corporate COWARDS with regards to white supremacist/cop usage of the logo. Of course, we also talk about "Frankencastle." This book is so strange y'all. We can't even tell you.Reading along? The issues are “Dark Reign: The List: Punisher” #1, “Punisher” (2009) #11-21, and "Dark Wolverine" #88-89. If you're reading on Marvel Unlimited, know that "Punisher" was renamed "Franken-Castle" for issues #17-21. Trade readers can find the whole run either in "Punisher," Vol. 3: Franken-Castle or the "Punisher by Rick Remender" omnibus. We also talk about the first ten issues of the run but there's no real need to read them.Next time, we're seeing if Phase 5 can't redeem itself with "Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3." You didn't think we'd miss the chance to talk about the Guardians again, would you? Galactus forbid.

It's been a while since the MMM crew checked in with what's going on in the current world of Marvel Comics. What can we say, we like examining the past? Still, you can't ignore the present forever and boy, oh, boy was there a lot to potentially ignore. From the Kamala Kahn debacle to the shake ups at Avengers & X-Men headquarters to the relative paucity of superheroes outside your doorstep, Jaina and Elias are swinging from one edge of the Marvel Universe to the other just for you.Next time, we talk about the other half of the publishing line with our quarterly check-in of the X line. Just in time for the Fall.

A few months ago, the latest "Avengers" run came to an end, capping off Jason Aaron's tenure on the title. Now that it's over, it's finally time to see how the whole thing shaped up. There were highs, there were lows, there were flaming wooly-mammoths and lots of big swings. Every arc an event! What did we think of it all? You'll just have to listen to find out. We are far more praiseworthy of it than Slott's "Fantastic Four" though.

Fuck. Across the Spider-Verse is so good y'all, we had to scuttle our original plans to bring you this episode. Elias has seen it at least twice, and at least once since recording, and has so many more thoughts than could make it into the episode. Go watch it, then listen to our episode, then watch it again. Then, in a year, we'll do this one last time.Next time, the original 117 (which is getting less and less timely) and THEN we're retrospecting and dissecting Jason Aaron's "Avengers" run. Whew!