Tomb of Ideas

Greetings, Tomb Believers! We’re diving back into 1970s Marvel Comics this week, specifically looking at comics featuring the pulp adventure character (and prototype for modern superheroes everywhere) Doc Savage. From 1972 to 1977, Marvel held a license to produce comic books featuring the Man of Bronze and his Fabulous Five companions. This week we’re looking at a pair of issues from 1972 adapting the classic Doc Savage novel DEATH IN SILVER from 1934, as well as a crossover issue in which Doc Savage teams up with Spider-Man (well, sort of. If you squint.). Our issues for this episode are: DOC SAVAGE Vol 1 #2 – “Master of the Red Death” DOC SAVAGE Vol 1 #3 – “Death in Silver!” GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #3 – “The Yesterday Connection” Joining us for our discussion (because two of the three issues were his picks) is returning guest and friend of the show David Avallone! David has written multiple comics starring Elvira, Mistress of the Dark – most recently ELVIRA MEETS H. P. LOVECRAFT. He is also the co-creator (along with Kevin Eastman) of the Image Comics book DRAWING BLOOD, and has written comics featuring Bettie Page, The Shadow, and more. Especially relevant to this episode, David also wrote the Dynamite comics miniseries DOC SAVAGE: THE RING OF FIRE! you can send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Until next time, EX-HELL-SIOR!

Greetings, Tomb Believers! This episode concludes our two-part coverage looking at the 1992 crossover event RISE OF THE MIDNIGHT SONS! In the final three issues of the event we see Marvel do their very best Vertigo impression, a team of vampire hunters decked out like characters from an Ann Rice novel, and a final issue where Dr. Strange realizes he never actually got around to telling everyone they were part of a mystic super-team. Our books for this episode are: DARKHOLD: PAGES FROM THE BOOK OF SINS #1 NIGHTSTALKERS #1 GHOST RIDER Vol 3, #31 We are joined once again by friend of the show and comic book critic/historian/podcaster extraordinaire Michael Bailey. You can find links to more of his writing and podcasts over at The Fortress of Baileytude. And of course, you can send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Are you nostalgic for this era of Marvel horror comics? Did you pick up any of the new #1 issues in RISE OF THE MIDNIGHT SONS – and if so, did you continue reading the ongoing series? What event, miniseries, or story arc do you want to see us cover in the future? Let us know! Until next time, EX-HELL-SIOR!

Greetings, Tomb Believers! This time we’ve got another of those Big Marvel Storylines that we’ve been promising we’d get around to ever since we first started this show. So crack open a Clearly Canadian, throw a Jim Steinman album into your Discman as we travel back to 1992 for Marvel’s six-part RISE OF THE MIDNIGHT SONS crossover. In this episode, we’ll discuss the first half of the crossover, which includes: GHOST RIDER Vol 3, # 28 GHOST RIDER/BLAZE: SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE #1 MORBIUS: THE LIVING VAMPIRE #1 Joining us for the entirety of the crossover is friend of the show and comic book critic/historian/podcaster extraordinaire Michael Bailey. You can find links to more of his writing and podcasts over at The Fortress of Baileytude. And of course, you can send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Are you nostalgic for this era of Marvel horror comics? Did you pick up any of the new #1 issues in RISE OF THE MIDNIGHT SONS – and if so, did you continue reading the ongoing series? Let us know! Until next time, EX-HELL-SIOR!    

Greetings, Tomb Believers! We’ve had it on the list since this show began, and we’ve finally gone and done it – and episode on the entire first MARVEL ZOMBIES miniseries from 2006! How well does it hold up? Can a book about zombie superheroes being awful to each other sustain itself for five issues? PLUS we catch up on other recent goings-on in Marvel and horror-adjacent things, including the first season of X-MEN ’97! Do you have fond memories of MARVEL ZOMBIES (or any of its sequels/spin-offs?) What were your thoughts on X-MEN ’97? Let us know – or send us any other comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! EX-HELL-SIOR!

Greetings, Tomb Believers! Things are coming to a head in the Tomb, as your humble hosts have had one disagreement too many! The only solution – TRIAL BY COMBAT! READING AND DISCUSSING VIOLENT COMICS. That’s right, we’re looking at the recently published PREDATOR VERSUS WOLVERINE 4-issue miniseries from Marvel’s 20th Century Studios imprint, written by Benjamin Percy and with art handled by Ken Lashley, Greg Land, Andrea Di Vito, Hayden Sherman, Kei Zama, and Gavin Guidry.  Who will win? The deadliest hunter in the galaxy, or the self-professed best there is at what he does? Sharpen your adamantium claws, switch on your adaptive camouflage, and GET TO THE CHOPPAH download now to find out! What 20th Century Studios/Marvel Comics mash-up do you hope gets published next? DIE HARD vs DEADPOOL? KINGSMEN x S.H.I.E.L.D.?  THE OMEN + SON OF SATAN? Let us know – or send us any other comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! EX-HELL-SIOR!

Greetings, Tomb Believers! We’re diving into another random grab bag episode this week! To help us out, we are joined by friend of the show Sean McGuinness! Each of us picked out one issue to read and discuss this week – and somehow, all three of us landed right in the middle of the Bronze Age! However, that’s about all these three issues have in common. And so, our issues for this week are: GHOST RIDER vol 2 #16 THE INCREDIBLE HULK #203 MARVEL TEAM-UP vol 1 #74 Will Ghost Rider’s hellfire have any effect on a killer shark? Does the Hulk find happiness in the microscopic kingdom of K’ai? Can actor/comedian John Belushi of Saturday Night Live hold his own against the mutant menace of the Silver Samurai? Tune in and find out! As always, we’re grateful to Sean for joining us on the show – and especially for hosting us to record in-person at his studio/gallery/bar. Be sure to check our his fantastic kaiju punk work on his Facebook page or at the Neo Monster Island website. As always, send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! EX-HELL-SIOR!

Greetings, Tomb Believers! This is it! The thrilling conclusion to our three-part series discussing CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI:13 in its entirety! (In case you missed them, Part 1 and Part 2 released earlier this week). And this final story arc has EVERYTHING – up to and including Dracula shooting vampires out of cannons from his castle on the moon. For this episode, we are covering CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI:13 #10-15, plus the annual (which we are slotting in between issues 13 & 14). Plus we have the second half of our interview with the great Paul Cornell, writer of this Captain Britain series along with numerous other comics, novels, TV episodes, and more! We are especially grateful to Mr. Cornell for taking the time to talk to us about this book (and the rest of his writing career), and we hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did. As we discuss, his next project is the graphic novel WHO KILLED NESSIE? with artist Rachael Smith – a comedy mystery whodunnit set at a cryptid convention. And, as of this posting, you still have time to support their crowdfunding campaign on Zoop by clicking right here, and you can get your own physical and/or digital copy of the book (along with some other great rewards). Are you a fan of Marvel UK characters? What are your memories of CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI:13? Are there other short-lived/underrated Marvel series you think we should cover? Let us know – and send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Ex-HELL-sior!  

Greetings, Tomb Believers! In our second episode this week, we’re discussing the second story arc of CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI:13, “Hell Comes to Birmingham.” So, if you’re reading along, that means we’ll be talking about issues 5-9. In addition, we are thrilled to be joined by the writer of the series, Paul Cornell! In addition to writing CAPTAIN BRITAIN, he has also written DOCTOR WHO, ACTION COMICS, SAUCER COUNTRY, and much more. Plus Mr. Cornell, along with artist Rachael Smith, currently has a crowdfunding campaign running to launch an original graphic novel called WHO KILLED NESSIE? – a comedy whodunnit set at a cryptid convention! Click here to find out more about the book and back the campaign. Don’t miss the second half of our interview with Mr. Cornell, along with our discussion of the third and final CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI:13 story arc, later this week! As always, send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! EX-HELL-SIOR!

Greetings, Tomb Believers! We’re baaaaaack! But no, we’re not going to be talking about that X-Men/Star Trek novel this time. We’ll come back to it…maybe…some day. But to make it up to you, we’re giving you a triple dose of TOI! That’s right three brand-new episodes of TOMB OF IDEAS released in (hopefully) just one week! What is the occasion of this trilogy, you might ask? This week’s special three part series is devoted to the entirety of the 2008-2009 series CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI:13 by Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk. This run of comics splits exactly into three story arcs, and so we’ll be devoting an episode to each one. In this first episode, we’ll be discussing the book’s initial four-issue SECRET INVASION tie-in arc, GUNS OF AVALON. ALSO! Series writer Paul Cornell is currently crowdfunding a new graphic novel with artist Rachel Smith. For more information, and to contribute and get your own copy, check out their page on Zoop! As always, send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! EX-HELL-SIOR!

Podcaster’s log. Episode 108. Our journey into the strangest corners of the Marvel universe has taken an interdimensional turn, as we have arrived at the two X-Men/Star Trek crossovers from the late 1990s.To give us some help as we boldly go on this voyage, we’ve beamed aboard friend of the show and fellow Star Trek enthusiast Andrew Leyland! The issues we are discussing this week are: STAR TREK/X-MEN #1 STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION/X-MEN: SECOND CONTACT #1 Just how 90s is the art? Which era of Trek will get on better with the mutant superheroes? Will anyone make fun of Wolverine’s dumb bone claws? All of these questions – and more – will be answered! Also, the Star Trek crossovers continue on Thursday 2/22 as Andrew and his son/cohost Micheal are discussing the 2014 STAR TREK/PLANET OF THE APES crossover on their podcast Hey Kids, Comics!. In addition to that great show, you can also hear Andrew discuss all sorts of pop culture on The Palace of Glittering Delights, as well as all things Batman with Michael Bailey on The Overlooked Dark Knight. As always, send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Next Time, on Tomb of Ideas: We wrap up this crossover with the Pocket Books novel STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION/X-MEN: PLANET X EX-HELL-SIOR!  

TIMEQUAKE of 12.8 Magnitude on the Simonwalt Scale!!! Greetings, Tomb Believers! We’re continuing our special look at the multiversal TIMEQUAKE event from 1992 and things are in full swing…or is it FULL SHAKE!? As we started the event in our last epic episode, we finish it here, with… WHAT IF? vol 2 #36 – “What if…the COSMIC AVENGERS battled the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY?” (Timequake part 2 of 5) WHAT IF? vol 2 #37 – “What if…WOLVERINE had been LORD OF THE VAMPIRES during INFERNO?” (Timequake part 3 of 5) WHAT IF? vol 2 #38 – “What if…THOR had become a thrall of SETH” (Timequake part 4 of 5) WHAT IF? vol 2 #39 – “What if…the WATCHER saved the MULTIVERSE?” (Timequake part 5 of 5) That’s right, Tomb-Believers, not only do James, Trey, and Thomas transverse the multiverse, but they also return to the horrors of INFERNO for your listening pleasure. Wait..who’s Thomas? Why Thomas “The Mallard” Malluck, our third potificating podcaster?  You’ve never heard of him!? Hmmm…Perhaps things truly are amiss in the multiverse! Tune in to hear how it all…shakes out!!! Mwahahahaha!!! As always, send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social!

Greetings, Tomb Believers! We’re continuing our special WHAT IF? series this week, as we cover the multiversal TIMEQUAKE event from 1992. First, we wrap up the issues that introduce the various realities featured in the event: first, a world with a powerless Fantastic Four, followed by two possible timelines where Vision of the Avengers conquered the world. (We’re skipping over WHAT IF? vol 1 #24 because we already covered that one on our X-Vampires episode back in October 2022.) Finally, we arrive at part one of TIMEQUAKE itself! To that end, the reading list for this issue includes: WHAT IF? vol 1 #36 – “What If the Fantastic Four Had Not Gained Their Superpowers?” WHAT IF? vol 2 #19 – “What If…Vision of the Avengers Conquered the World?” WHAT IF? vol 2 #35 – “What if…the Fantastic Five Fought Doctor Doom & Annihilus?” (Timequake part 1 of 5) What horrors will the world face if the FF isn’t there to protect it? Who would possibly think putting Vision in charge of the world is a good idea? Didn’t Reed Richards of the Fantastic Five massacre a bunch of Atlanteans last episode? Tune in to hear the answers to all these questions, and more! As always, send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social!

Greetings, Tomb Believers! James and Trey are back with the first Tomb of Ideas for 2024 – and it’s a Grab Bag episode! To start things off right, they’ve fired up their Randomizer and allowed it to pick three completely random issues from across the entire history of Marvel Comics. And what issues did this very high tech and complicated piece of equipment select? WHAT IF? vol 1 #1 WHAT IF? vol 1 #6 WHAT IF? vol 1 #21 Join us as we depart from 616 to observe other, weirder corners of the Marvel multiverse. It’ll be…fantastic! As always, send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social!

Happy HORRORdays, Tomb Believers! We’ve almost reached the end of 2023, and to celebrate the season we’re digging into our longboxes for a bit of holiday cheer. For our last episode of this year, we’re throwing a bit of a party. And, as we enjoy our wassail and figgy pudding, we’ll be taking a look at the 1993 Marvel Holiday Special. Plus, since this is an anthology book, we’ve forced invited some of our party guests to join in the Marvel merriment! In this Tomb of Ideas Holiday Spectacular, we’ll be looking at thematically appropriate stories featuring Spider-Man and Mephisto, Colonel Nick Fury (Sr.), the Incredible Hulk, Ghost Rider…Captain Ultra……and Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco and executive editor Mark Gruenwald? And to help us out with this kooky bunch of Yuletide tales, we’re joined by Kaiju Punk artist Sean McGuinness, podcaster extraordinaire Andrew Leyland, and for the first time ever on Tomb of Ideas, expert comics podcaster (and Andrew’s Overlooked Dark Knight co-host) Michael Bailey! So grab some sugar cookies and pour yourself some egg nog as we deck the halls, Tomb of Ideas-style. You can find Sean’s work over at Neo Monster Island. Andrew Leyland hosts The Palace of Glittering Delights and Hey Kids, Comics! as well as co-hosting The Overlooked Dark Knight with Michael Bailey. And, in addition to podcasting about Batman with Andrew, Michael also hosts It all Comes Back to Superman and co-hosts From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast, all of which can be found at the Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network. As always, send us your comments, questions, comics-related new years resolutions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Ex-HELL-sior!

Greetings, Tomb Believers! Some podcasters are always trying to record uphill. That’s why we’re starting December with a change of pace from our usual episodes: a brand new feature-length audio commentary! That’s right, we’re sinking our fangs into BLADE (dir. Stephen Norrington, 1998), the movie that launched the superhero movie boom of the early aughts. It’s got everything – Wesley Snipes chopping up bloodsuckers with a katana, Donal Logue hamming it up as Stephen Dorff’s villainous sidekick, and Kris Kristofferson at his most grizzled and grouchy! All you have to do is queue up the film, hit play when we do, and you’ll be watching along with us. As always, send us your comments, questions, suggestions for future commentaries, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Ex-HELL-sior!

May the Force be with you, Tomb Believers! That’s right, at long last we are covering our first ever issue of Marvel’s STAR WARS comics, as part of a special grab bag episode selected entirely by returning guest Andrew Leyland! In addition to STAR WARS vol 1 #45, Andrew has picked out MARVEL TEAM-UP vol 1 # 122, in which ol’ Web-head runs into Man-Thing and a man called Fate (no, not that one) as well as FANTASTIC FOUR vol 1 #274, which checks in on the ever-lovin’ blue eyed Thing during his SECRET WARS-era residency on Battleworld. Be sure to check out Andrew’s fantastic podcasts – Hey Kids, Comics! and The Palace of Glittering Delights over at the Two True Freaks Network and The Overlooked Dark Knight, which he cohosts with Michael Bailey on the Fortress of Baileytude Network! And of course you can send us your comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, you can find us via our Facebook page, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Ex-HELL-sior!   

Hello there, darlings…errr, I mean, Hello there, Tomb-Believers! On this episode, James and Trey finally get to talk about the hostess with the most-est, the legendary Elvira: Mistress of the Dark!! That’s right, they’re talking about ONLY Marvel Comic to feature your ghoulish gal pal, MARVEL SPRING SPECIAL #1, otherwise known as the comics adaptation of the 1988 film, well….”ELVIRA: MISTRESS OF THE DARK”. Joining our drooling duo for this outing is comics writer, director, actor, and all around good guy, David Avallone, writer of Dynamite Entertainment’s recent outings featuring the raven-haired rabble-rouser, including “ELVIRA: MISTRESS OF THE DARK”, “SHAPE OF ELVIRA”, “ELVIRA MEETS VINCENT PRICE”, and much much more! As always, you can send feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Or, you can find us on our Facebook page, on the app formerly known as Twitter @TombofIdeas, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Ex-HELL-sior!

Happy Halloween, Tomb Believers! We know we’re a little early this week, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate the season (and get in on the CINE-WEEN action) by releasing our ONE HUNDREDTH EPISODE on Halloween. It was exactly five years ago that we released the first episode of TOMB OF IDEAS. Since then we’ve gone through some changes, but we’re still here talking about our favorite monstrous and spooky comic book stories. In this episode we’re digging into one of the quirkiest moments in comics set around Halloween: the Rutland Halloween Parade comics of the 1970s! This real-world event provided the setting for numerous comics at both Marvel and DC, and we’ll be discussing some of the most notable instances – including the infamous unofficial intercompany crossover! In this episode we are discussing: AVENGERS vol 1 #83 MARVEL FEATURE vol 1 #2 (featuring The Defenders) BATMAN vol 1 #237 AMAZING ADVENTURES vol 2 #16 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA vol 1 #103 THOR vol 1 #207 For more information on the intersection of comic book creators and the Rutland Halloween Parade (including some really great vintage photos), check out this article over at Comic Book Historians. Thank you so much to all of the people who help make TOMB OF IDEAS possible: Liam and the rest of the team at Cinepunx who have provided a home for the show and help us out when technical issues crop up, all of the wonderful guests who have added their insights, expertise, and humor to our discussions, our families who put up with our needing to devote time and energy into this kooky podcasting thing we do, and of course to all of you who download and listen. We sincerely appreciate your support, and we hope you’ll stick around for the next hundred episodes (and beyond). To reiterate a question posed near the end of the episode: What are your favorite TOMB OF IDEAS moments? Do you have a favorite episode, interview, or story that we have covered? We’d love to hear from you – and read your response on the show! You can send us your answer – along with any other comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Or, you can let us know on our Facebook page, on the app formerly known as Twitter @TombofIdeas, our Instagram and Threads feeds, or even over at Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Ex-HELL-sior!

WE’VE DONE IT, TOMB-BELIEVERS James and Trey have reached the final installment of their coverage of the epic 1988 INFERNO crossover! This week, they discuss: X-FACTOR ANNUAL 4 X-FACTOR #40 and WHAT IF V2 #6: WHAT IF THE X-MEN HAD LOST INFERNO? We love getting feedback from listeners – you can send any comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, be sure to follow us on our Facebook page, on the app formerly known as Twitter @TombofIdeas, our Instagram and Threads feeds, and of course our brand-new Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social!

Greetings, Tomb Believers! We have reached the penultimate installment of our summer(ish)-long INFERNO series! Our special guest this week is friend of the show and New Pulp author extraordinaire Barry Reese! Barry has worked on Marvel Handbooks and Encyclopedias and has also written stories featuring classic pulp characters such as the Avenger and the Green Hornet. Plus he’s the creator of Lazarus Gray, the Peregrine, and the Gravedigger. This week, he’s joining us to discuss: X-FACTOR #39 DAMAGE CONTROL #4 POWER PACK #44 THE MUTANT MISADVENTURES OF CLOAK & DAGGER #4 You can find Barry’s blog at www.barryreese.net. Also, his latest book THE STRAW-MAN BOOK ONE is out now both in print and ebook formats! We love getting feedback from listeners – you can send any comments, questions, or other feedback to tombofideas@gmail.com. Plus, be sure to follow us on our Facebook page, on the app formerly known as Twitter @TombofIdeas, our Instagram and Threads feeds, and of course our brand-new Bluesky @tombofideas.bsky.social! Ex-HELL-sior!