Comic Book Bears Podcast

The Comic Book Bears Podcast fellas (Bill Z, Steve and Caleb) each made the journey to their local multiplex to see Clayface, the third film in the DC Universe franchise following last year's Superman and this year's Supergirl. Directed by James Watkins, Clayface stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen/Clayface, alongside Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan. After becoming disfigured by a mobster's vicious attack, on-the-rise actor Matt Hagen seeks help from a scientist to restore his appearance, but the procedure transforms him into a shapeshifting creature. Part body horror, part revenge story, part crime drama and part psychological study, Clayface operates on many different levels. Hit play to hear what the CBB trio thought of it with their (totally spoilerific) takes! But that's not all in this episode - afterward, as the Halloween season says goodbye, we stay gathered around the mic to discuss recent books, with more than half of them horror themed. The first issues of Midnight X-Men (Marvel), Mark Spears' Graveyard Shift (Keenspot) and Black Tower: The Raven Conspiracy (DC/Vertigo) are spotlighted along with 2025's Strange Tales mini-series (Marvel), the graphic novel collection based on Paul Auster's New York Trilogy (Pantheon) and a look back at Peter Bagge's Hate (Fantagraphics). (And since it is that time of year, Caleb and Bill can't help but sneak in a little football talk.)

We are closing out October 2026 and that means a couple of new Comic Book Bears Podcast audio episodes! Caleb, Bill Z and Steve met up earlier in the month to discuss the 20th anniversary of New York Comic Con and a whole lot more! And the recent comics that get roundtabled in this episode are a varied bunch, including new series from big name creators. Hit play to hear our discussions about the landmark Amazing Spider-Man #1000, where things stand with the current Batwoman series, Steve Skroce's Tales of Wonder, Mind MGMT: New and Improved from Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's Crowbound and Spawn 77 which pairs creator Todd McFarlane with red hot artist (and in this case, co-writer) Mark Spears!

Our esteemed compatriot Caleb was traveling for work during our last regularly scheduled episode of September, so for this episode it is just Steve and Billy Z manning the Comic Book Bears mics! First up we talk about two recent Absolute (or partially Absolute) books from DC! Saturday, September 19th was this year's date for the annual Batman Day and a new one-shot book - Batman of Two Worlds #1 - was released on that day. Batman of Both Worlds features two new stories featuring the main DC Universe Batman and the Absolute universe Batman, spotlighting what makes those respective Bruce Waynes special. We also chat about Absolute Cassandra Cain: The Shadow's Hand#1! Absolute Cassandra was recently introduced in the Absolute Catwoman series and this one-shot delves not only into Cain's past but also the Absolute Joker's history with the League of Assassins. Then, for a change of pace, Bill Z and Steve each pick a past comic run that they think is underrated, and worthy of re-appreciation. For Bill, it is the Gerry Conway-written New Gods from the 1970s. For Steve, it is the 2008-2011 Vertigo re-imagining of House of Mystery. And why do they think they are underrated? Well, just hit play to find out!

As we transition from summer to fall, the CBB boys (Caleb, Billy Z and Steve) are back with another dose of comic book discussion for your earbuds! After shorter than usual opening ramblings, we get right into the roundtable. On this ep we chat about the new Legion of Super-Heroes reboot from DC Comics by the team of Joshua Williamson and Hayden Sherman (complete with a huge faux pas thanks to a Billy Z brain fart), a double dose of Hulkish goodness with Planet She-Hulk and the Spider-Man/Hulk: Fire and Brimstone mini-series co-written by Kevin Smith (and both from Marvel, natch!), the monster themed Dingoliath (Bad Idea), Mirion Malle's graphic novel Beware Her Fury (Drawn & Quarterly) and the latest addition to the Hellboy/BPRD canon with Frankenstein: New World (Dark Horse) - all this plus our Geek Gets and Woofs of the Week!

As August draws to a close the CBB boys effectively say goodbye to Summer 2026 with this new audio episode. (Yeah, yeah, yeah - we know summer lasts until September 22nd this year but let's be practical.) Listen in as Billy Z, Steve and Caleb first memorialize the angelic Dolly Parton and the incredible Tim Curry whom we both lost last week. Then it is onto our comic round table where we discuss an interesting set of recent books: Clayface: Celebrity Dirt #1 (DC Comics), Alien: King Killer (Marvel Comics), Wake Now in the Fire by Jarrett Dapier (Ten Speed Graphic), Space Ghost Annual 2026 (Dynamite Entertainment), Was That Normal? by Alex Potts (Avery Hill Publishing) and Matt Kindt and Lewis LaRosa's Megalith: The Olympus Saga (Bad Idea)! Hit play for all this plus a little but of Lanterns talk toward the end. (We will have a dedicated Lanterns episode down the road, don't worry!)