Sidebar Forever

On this episode, we discuss the music, the movies, television, comics and personal memories from the year Kyle Reese came back to save humanity - 1984!

On this week's pod, we build an unofficial hall of fame to one of the greatest to ever do it — Walt Simonson. We include seminal works like his run on The Mighty Thor from the 1980s, his Manhunter ba…

In filmmaking, surprise endings and quests for mysterious objects can derail your movie entirely if not handled well. Today, we take on the best (and worst) plot twists and MacGuffins in cinematic hi…

We're back with another installment in this award-winning series. Up for crapnalysis, The Substitute from 1996 starring Tom Berenger and The Chronicles of Riddick from 2004 featuring Vin Diesel. In o…

Which actors have appeared in more sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book movies than any other? Which ones will dominate with fans at pop culture conventions over the next decade? On today’s pod, we run do…

Today's pod is the conclusion of our 2-part Classic episode with legendary artist/illustrator Brian Stelfreeze! 'The Sensei' continues the discussion with his working process, the science of cover ar…

Today, we name-check five comics that will tell you what the 1970s were all about. Books that feature adaptations of toys like Micronauts and Shogun Warriors, characters with occult backgrounds such …

From 2010, we present our Classic interview with comics legend Whilce Portacio. With a career spanning close to four decades, Portacio's kinetic and stylized artwork has graced the pages of Uncanny X…

In the halcyon days of the early 1990s, Jim Lee's Wildstorm Studios boasted an amazing crop of young talent, but one would rise meteorically to the heights of the industry — Travis Charest. On the po…

Director Steven Soderbergh says his 1998 film Out of Sight saved his career. After the success of his debut, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Soderbergh went through a drought and needed a hit. This week, w…

Original films featuring superheroes have been around for decades and show no signs of stopping. On this week’s pod, we run down hits like Darkman, Unbreakable, and Chronicle, as well as a few misses…

It’s been 15 years since the first Iron Man movie officially launched Marvel Studios. In that time, Marvel has done billion dollar business at the box office, and Hollywood became obsessed with all t…

Cartoonist or comic artist? TV or film? Rock, hip-hop or jazz? In the podversation, we debate the importance and relevance of categories. Do they help an audience find what they’re looking for, or do…

In 1992, the Hong Kong crime-thriller Hard Boiled was released internationally and blew the minds of audiences everywhere. The film established actor Chow Yun-Fat as a worldwide star and director Joh…

Our Bad Boys episode was so much fun that we decided to keep chatting about prison movies. Covered in the conversation are prison movie themes like revenge and redemption, tropes such as the guy who …

Sean Penn, Esai Morales, and Clancy Brown are amazing in the 1983 prison film, Bad Boys. In our playback review, we discuss the rest of the cast including Ally Sheedy, Jim Moody, and Reni Santoni, th…