The Oh Gosh, Oh Golly, Oh Wow! Podcast

Excalibur: “Air Apparent”

A legally binding Twitter poll said we had to cover Excalibur: Air Apparent, and we are very law-abiding citizens so here we are, giving you an hour and fifteen of smart talk about a comic that coulda been smarter but hey, at least some of the pictures are nice! Comics scholar Zachary J.A. Rondinelli, creator of the award-winning “Welcome to Slumberland” project, joins us to hash out what works, what doesn’t and why in this visual extravaganza spotlighting seven leading artists of the era—including one who’d be leaving for Image next week. Topics include multimodal forms, transactional reading practices, the many meanings of excess, and what the heck is up with Scott Lobdell’s writing of Rachel.

Excalibur #54: “Curiouser and Curiouser”

Listeners of this pod know we share one thing with Brian Braddock, which is that we’d follow Meggan anywhere, including down a rabbit hole into a series of Alice in Wonderland-inspired nightmares that teach us things about ourselves! Jason R. Lady, author of fantasy and sci-fi for young readers, helps us unpack why Brian’s archnemesis is whimsy in Excalibur #54, “Curiouser and Curiouser,” in which Meggan has a good time, Brian thinks he has a bad time, and old enemies find happy endings. Plus, Kurt gets something cut off.  

  

Excalibur #53 “The Litter”

Welcome back to the podcast where we talk about Excalibur and nothing but Excalibur… except when we talk about Spider-Man! Which we’re doing this week! Comics scholar and Steve Ditko expert Dr. Zack Kruse joins Anna, Mav, and Andrew to discuss Spidey and the unique vision of his complicated co-creator along with some Excalibur #53, “The Litter,” in which Brian tells Meggan a story from his misspent youth, part of which he spent rooming with some uptight nobody named Peter Parker, who’s always spouting snooze-worthy speeches about power and responsibility. Topics include what makes Spidey the heart of the Marvel universe, differences between Ditko’s Objectivism and the contemporary variety, and what you might have expected if you’d been brave enough to knock on Ditko’s door. (Zack did, and lived to tell the tale on this very podcast!)    

Excalibur #52: “All You Ever Wanted to Know About Phoenix… But Were Afraid to Ask”

And we’re back! With a special episode of “Retconning with Reck,” in which writer/artist/podcaster Adam Reck of the Battle of the Atom Podcast joins us to untangle Excalibur #52, “All You Ever Wanted to Know About Phoenix… But Were Afraid to Ask,” which left us wondering if some questions are better left unanswered. But we’re gonna ask anyway, delving deep into our mighty collective knowledge of X-Men lore to get to the bottom of whether this story makes any sense—and whether it matters. Plus, we reveal Rachel’s shocking true mutant power, clown on Professor X’s taste in poetry, and spotlight a love connection in the Sword Strokes letter page.    

Excalibur #51: “Don’t Drink the Water”

New logo… new species?? That right—we’re back to regular episodes and getting weird about dinosaurs with Christi and Chris Eddleman, sauropod enthusiasts and hosts of the Chrises on Infinite Earths podcast, taking a bite out Excalibur #51, “Don’t Drink the Water,” starring Alysdon and Alysaur Stewart, Shadowcompsognathus, Britanicus Rex, Megon, and Nightstrutter in a story that’s not as profound as the ABC sitcom Dinosaurs, but does feature a teacup-sized Zabu, so all is forgiven. We discuss why dinos are cool and why birds are dinos plus create time travel checklists consisting solely of what we’d pay Pepe Larraz to draw for us back when his commissions were cheap.  

X-Men Legends #12: “Start Again: A Prelude to Excalibur”

What’s this? Anna, Mav, and Andrew talking about a current comic book? Released this very past Wednesday?? It took Chris Claremont writing a tie-in to our darling, officially known as X-Men Legends #12: “Start Again: A Prelude to Excalibur” to drag us into the present. Except it’s not really the present; it’s still the past, specifically, the space between “Fall of the Mutants” and the arrival of the Technet at Muir Island in “The Sword is Drawn.” We do some griping but also wax nostalgic about expectations and Claremont and what it means to love fictional characters who always keep changing with an obligation to remain the same.  

Anniversary Special

Anna, Mav, and Andrew plus a plethora of amazing guests have been podcasting about Excalibur for an entire year—54 weeks to be exact! Which seems like a perfect time to look back on the year that was. This Anniversary Special features approximately one minute from each of our regular episodes, chronicling Excalibur #1-50. Sit back, relax, and relive all the guffaws, griping, and gushing. I can only hope some of you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed putting it all together. Here’s to the next 50!

There's also a VIDEO VERSION which you can watch here!

Excalibur #50: “Winner Loses All”

Our guest, venerable comics scholar Dr. Andrew Kunka, says he wanted to join us for the mega-sized Excalibur #50, “Winner Loses All,” in part to hear us talk about a particular scene, in which saving the multiverse requires everyone going inside everyone. We hope we didn't disappoint him (or you!) with our discussion of this supersexy climax—and its scholarly and narrative significance. We also discuss what makes a good anniversary issue and bask in the cosmic glow of Rachel’s very big (literally earth-shattering) Big Hero Moment.  

Excalibur #49: “Let There Be Dark”

This week, Anna threatens to spend the whole show talking about teleporting, but shows admirable restraint in letting our honored guest, comics and pop culture scholar Nicole Freim, lead us through at least twelve fun and fascinating discussions of at least twelve other dimensions in the mostly-stationary but nonetheless jam-packed Excalibur #49, “Let There Be Dark.” In which Necrom gets closer (and stays naked), Feron gets a snack, Brian gets bigger, Alistaire gets pretty, and Micromax (finally) gets to do something cool.  

Excalibur #48: “Irish Stew”

We forget to celebrate our 50^th episode with a deep dive into an archeological dig turned theological dilemma in Excalibur #48, “Irish Stew,” guided by comics and pop culture scholar and host of The Protagonist Podcast, Dr. Joseph Darowski! Asking important questions like: what is the Anti-Phoenix? And do we actually care? We also extol the virtues of Kylun, catch up with the team’s team-building, and dig through familiar topics from new angles, including the mutant metaphor, diminishing returns on the never-ending retconning of the Phoenix Force, and why even when it’s doing a lot of setup, Alan Davis’ Excalibur is still pretty darn great.