Category Archives: Episode Reviews

13 ESSENTIAL “COWBOY BEBOP” EPISODES

Posted by ErikSlader on

Reblogged from GeekToGeekMedia.com!

The original “Cowboy Bebop” from 1998, is often considered one of the best (not for kids) anime of the 80’s and 90’s, along with movies like “Akira” and “Ghost in the Shell”. The series follows a group of space-faring bounty hunters: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and Faye Valentine as a makeshift family trying to survive in an unforgiving solar system, while they each wrestle with the demons of their pasts. It became an overnight cult phenomenon the moment it premiered in the US on Adult Swim in late 2001, and may have even helped to inspire Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” in 2005.

Unlike a lot of popular anime series that go on for hundreds of episodes with dozens of filler episodes a season with no end in sight, Bebop doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, in fact it gives us something that we rarely get these days from so many big budget blockbusters: an actual ending. With only 26 episodes, a movie – set during the middle of the show, a couple Play Station video games (only released in Japan), and a few manga volumes, this is a series that really leaves you wanting more, and perhaps that’s one of the factors that makes it so special.

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Comic Zombie Podcast #15

Posted by ErikSlader on

Issue 15: “Star Wars: Visions”, the “What If…?” season finale, and DC Fandome 2021!

On today’s episode we’re discussing the anime anthology, “Star Wars: Visions” (now streaming on Disney+), the two-part finale of Marvel’s “What If…?” (also on Disney+), and a quick breakdown of DC Fandome’s new trailers for “The Batman” and “The Flash”!

Also on this episode:

  • Initial thoughts on “Y: The Last Man” – show vs comics (Hulu)
  • “Superman and Lois” discussion (HBO Max)
  • Chris’s “Squid Game” Review (Netflix)
  • DC Fandome 2021 Discussions: Black Adam, Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Batman: The Caped Crusader, etc
  • Essential Reads: DAREDEVIL! (Kevin Smith’s “Guardian Devil”, Ed Brubaker’s “The Devil in Cellblock D”, and Frank Miller’s “Born Again”)

For more random shenanigans, check out our blog at ComicZombie.net

For more of us talking about Star Wars, check out the all new episode of Podcasters Disassembled on “Rogue One”!

*Also listen to us on the latest season of Podcasters Assemble! (and hit us up on Instagram @ComicZombiePodcast!)

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Comic Zombie Podcast #14

Posted by ErikSlader on

Issue 14: James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” and Marvel’s “What If…?”

On today’s episode we talk about James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” (now streaming on HBO Max) and the first *seven* episodes of Marvel’s “What If…?” (now streaming on Disney+)

Also on this episode:

  • Speculation about the new “BATMAN ’89” and “SUPERMAN ’78” comics
  • “My Hero Academia” anime / manga
  • “Geiger” by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank (Image)
  • Comics News: creative team changes on Batman, Spider-man, and X-Men
  • Initial thoughts on “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”
  • Essential Reads: THOR! (Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic’s “Thor: God of Thunder” and Garth Ennis and Glenn Fabry’s “Thor: Vikings”)
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A “Brief” Recap of the MCU Timeline (Part One)

Posted by ErikSlader on

Reblogged from ProbablyWork.com

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been going strong for over a decade, and has already become the biggest, most-expansive franchise in movie history! First starting in 2008, with Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man”, starring Robert Downey Jr., who’s story eventually culminated with 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” – the 22nd movie in the series. All of which was orchestrated behind the scenes by the one and only Kevin Feige!

The MCU continues with ‘Phase Four’ (including several new shows now streaming on Disney+). Most of these titles are intrinsically tied to the overarching narrative of the MCU as a whole, so where does everything fit in? If you’re not already a hardcore fan (like us), it can probably feel like A LOT to catch up on, so if you want to dive in and follow along in (mostly?) chronological order, the following is a *quick* guide to the MCU Timeline (so far), from Captain America: The First Avenger to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and beyond!

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Comic Zombie Podcast #13

Posted by ErikSlader on

Comic Zombie – Issue #13: Loki, Black Widow, and the Future of the MCU!

On today’s episode we talk about our thoughts on the current state of the MCU with “Black Widow” and “LOKI”! (Now streaming on Disney+)

Also on this episode:

  • More talk about “The Immortal Hulk”
  • Revisiting Bryan Lee O’Malley’s “Scott Pilgrim” graphic novels
  • Essential Reads: Wonder Woman

For more random shenanigans, check out our blog at ComicZombie.net – Including Erik’s Scott Pilgrim and Loki reviews! *Also listen to us on Podcasters Assemble! (and hit us up on Twitter @ComicZombie2!)

Network Info

This podcast is a production of the We Can Make This Work (Probably) Network. Follow us below to keep up with this show and discover our many other podcasts! The place for those with questionable taste! Twitter | Facebook| Instagram: @probablyworkwww.probablywork.com Email: ProbablyWorkPod@gmail.com—This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

“LOKI” Season Finale – Breakdown (Spoilers)

Posted by ErikSlader on

Check out my Episode 5 breakdown here!

EPISODE SIX: “FOR ALL TIME. ALWAYS.”

As I said in my review of Episode One, “LOKI” has been a ‘wild, off-the-rails, jaunt through time’ – and with so many crazy twists and turns, it’s a rollercoaster that’s never once slowed down since then! Throughout the show we’ve followed a Loki variant (Tom Hiddleston), after the time-traveling events of “Avengers: Endgame”, go from being an Asgardian supervillain to an introspective Alice through the looking glass.

Through a series of random Douglas Adams inspired shenanigans with Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) of the TVA (Temporal Variance Authority), Loki encountered a female variant of himself in the form of Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) who he then joined on a quest to uncover the identities of the Time Keepers who turned out to be nothing more than robotic puppets! Together, the two Lokis eventually found themselves in a realm at the end of time known as the Void, where all manner of Lokis have been discarded amongst the remnants of countless erased timelines, including Kid Loki, President Loki, and Gator Loki. With the valiant sacrifice of an older Loki, Sylvie and Loki are able to combine their powers and enchant the hangry cloud monster known as Alioth, revealing a portal to… somewhere?

It’s all lead to this…

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“LOKI” Episode Five – Recap

Posted by ErikSlader on

Check out my last recap here!

EPISODE FIVE: “JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY”

We start where we left off with Loki waking up in “The Void”, a realm at the end of time riddled with all the “pruned” variants and remnants of forgotten timelines. Loki is approached by “the Council of Lokis” – made up of 4 Loki variants: Classic Loki (an older variant from the future played by Richard E. Grant), Kid Loki, “Boastful Loki” (an African American variant with what looks like an alternate version of Mjolnir?), and last by not least, Gator Loki… who is just an alligator with Loki horns?!

Gator Loki living his best life
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“LOKI” Episode Four – Recap (Spoilers)

Posted by ErikSlader on

Check out my last recap here!

EPISODE FOUR: “THE NEXUS EVENT”

After a heart-wrenching flash back to Sylvie as a kid, in Asgard, being taken away by the TVA, we jump forward to Loki and Sylvie as they await the end of their worlds as the doomed planet Lamentis crumbles around them. She explains to her male counterpart that she escaped their custody as a child and had been on the run ever since, hiding in apocalyptic events, “That’s where I grew up, the end of a thousand worlds… and that’s where I’ll die.”

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“LOKI” Episode Three – Recap (Spoilers)

Posted by ErikSlader on

Check out my recap of Episode 2 here!

EPISODE THREE: “LAMENTIS”

The episode begins with the song “Demons” by Hayley Kiyoko, immediately setting the stage for a seemingly out of place scene at a margarita bar, between Hunter C-20 (the temporal agent who had been enchanted in the previous episode) and Lady Loki herself, “Sylvie” (played by Sophia Di Martino). It’s all an illusion of course, in C-20’s mind, as Sylvie as trying to pry information out of her regarding the time keepers.

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“LOKI” Episode Two – Recap (Spoiler Alert)

Posted by ErikSlader on

Check out my Episode 1 Review here!

EPISODE TWO: “THE VARIANT”

Episode 2 starts with a Ren Fair! I really like the way it kicks off, fading from the green Marvel logo to what at first glance looks like it could be somewhere in Medieval Europe, before we quickly find out that it’s Wisconsin in the 80’s. It’s those little moments that really play up the theme of things not quite being what they appear to be.

After another squad of minutemen are ambushed by the “other Loki”, Mobius brings Loki along to try and find a clue as to the variant’s motives.

It can’t be understated how great this cast is. Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson are one of the best buddy cop duos since Riggs and Murtaugh. Once again, we get a wide array of super random quirky moments, like Miss Minutes being a high tech holographic Alexa to Agent Mobius obsessing about jet skis.

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