Super Mates Episode 21: Merry Christmas from the DC Animated Universe!

Have a Timm and Dini Christmas, it’s the best time of the year! Chris and Cindy celebrate the season by discussing some favorite yuletide themed works by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and the fine folks at Warner Brothers Animation!

First off is The Batman Adventures Holiday Special. Follow the heroes and villains of Gotham throughout December, as they spread Christmas cheer…and mayhem! Batman and Batgirl face off against Clayface, Harley and Ivy, Mister Freeze and the Joker! This comic inspired The New Batman Adventures episode, “Holiday Knights” and that episode is discussed as well.

The focus shifts to the Justice League animated series, and the season two episode, “Comfort and Joy”. The Justice Leaguers spend the holidays in their own unique ways: Green Lantern and Hawkgirl party, Flash tries to find the perfect gift for some special kids, and Superman shares his homespun Christmas with his fellow alien friend, the Martian Manhunter. It’s a funny, touching, and surprisingly spiritual day in the life of the World’s Greatest Super Heroes.

Download directly or via iTunes.

Be sure to let us know what you think! Let your voice be heard! We’d love to read it aloud in an upcoming episode. Drop us a line in our comments section, or email us at supermatespodcast@gmail.com. If you're listening on iTunes, please consider leaving a review of our show! We’re also on Facebook!

Chris (aka Earth 2 Chris) co-hosts the Power Records Podcast with the esteemed Rob Kelly over at the Fire and Water Podcast feed! 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Super Mates Episode 20: Coloring Books! with Brian Heiler

Grab your box of Crayolas and join Chris, Cindy and their special guest, Brian Heiler in a discussion of something every kid knew so well…coloring books! Brian, in addition to being the author of Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings, and editor-in-chief of the Mego Museum.com, is also the mastermind behind Plaid Stallions.com. There he hosts Coloring Book Theatre, exploring the highs and lows of licensed coloring books. From a neutered Fonzie in a tan jacket, to David Lynch’s not-suitable-for-kids Dune, Brian shares some of the best and most bizarre coloring books ever to be printed in black and white.

Chris drags out his stack of childhood coloring books and pulls out gems featuring Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America, the Super Friends and Star Trek. It’s a colorful, random, waxy discussion about those wonderful time-wasters we all remember.

Download directly or via iTunes.

Be sure to let us know what you think! Let your voice be heard! We’d love to read it aloud in an upcoming episode. Drop us a line in our comments section, or email us at supermatespodcast@gmail.com. If you're listening on iTunes, please consider leaving a review of our show! We’re also on Facebook!

Be sure to check out Plaid Stallions!

And stop by the Mego Museum!

Brian’s book, Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings is on Amazon!

Chris (aka Earth 2 Chris) co-hosts the Power Records Podcast with the esteemed Rob Kelly over at the Fire and Water Podcast feed! 

Next time: It’s Christmas-time! The Franklins discuss some classic Christmas stories from the DC Animated Universe, including The Batman Adventures Holiday Special comic, and episodes “Holiday Knights” and “Comfort and Joy”.

Super Mates Episode 19: Star Trek New Visions by John Byrne

Chris and Cindy beam back aboard the Enterprise to review two recent photonovel comics by industry legend John Byrne, and published by IDW! These “lost episodes” feature actual images of Shatner, Nimoy and company…recomposited to fit Byrnes’s new stories!

First up is Star Trek Annual, 2013: “Strange New Worlds”. The Enterprise intercepts a transmission from Delta Vega… the planet where Captain Kirk was forced to kill his best friend Gary Mitchell…driven mad by god-like power in the 2^nd series pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. Has Mitchell returned? And if so, what does he want?

In Star Trek: New Visions #2, “Time’s Echo”, a startling message from 1,000 years ago surfaces. A message sent by…Captain James T. Kirk! How could the Enterprise have sent this message centuries before the crew was ever born?

Also, Byrne reveals the true fate of Captain’s Yeoman Janice Rand.

It’s classic Star Trek as you like it! Did the Franklins? Listen and find out!

Download directly or via iTunes.

Be sure to let us know what you think! Let your voice be heard! We’d love to read it aloud in an upcoming episode. Drop us a line in our comments section, or email us at supermatespodcast@gmail.com. If you're listening on iTunes, please consider leaving a review of our show! We’re also on Facebook!

Chris (aka Earth 2 Chris) co-hosts the Power Records Podcast with the esteemed Rob Kelly over at the Fire and Water Podcast feed! 

Next time: Plaid Stallion head honcho and Rack Toys author Brian Heiler stops by to talk about genre-related coloring books …just in time for Christmas!

Super Mates Episode 18: Disney World, Marvel Universe Live, The Flash, TV and Movie News & Feedback. PHEW!!!

How did Chris and Cindy spend their Fall Vacation? Well pull up a chair and will show you some slides. No, wait! Don’t leave! We promise not to torture you with pictures of the world’s biggest ball of twine. No, we’re talking Disney World, people! We give you the run down of the Halloween goodness we experienced in the Happiest Place on Earth. Then we talk about Marvel Universe Live, where you’ll believe a Nuclear Physicist Can Ride…a dirt bike? Plus, Cap goes all Reb Brown!

Then its couch potato time as we discuss some of the new fall comic-related TV series, mostly…The Flash! We hit upon the recent movie announcements from Marvel and DC as well.

And we wrap things up with a heaping helping of YOUR feedback!

Download directly or via iTunes.

Be sure to let us know what you think! Let your voice be heard! We’d love to read it aloud in an upcoming episode. Drop us a line in our comments section, or email us at supermatespodcast@gmail.com. If you're listening on iTunes, please consider leaving a review of our show! We’re also on Facebook!

Chris (aka Earth 2 Chris) co-hosts the Power Records Podcast with the esteemed Rob Kelly over at the Fire and Water Podcast feed! 

Next time: We take a look at two issues of John Byrne’s Star Trek: New Visions Photonovel comics!

Super Mates Episode 17: The Monster Squad and Super Friends vs. Monsters!

It’s the final trip to the House of Franklin-Stein, and the Franklins have saved the best for last! Okay, maybe not the best, but certainly the most fun! Chris, Cindy and special guest-son Andrew discuss director Fred Dekker’s love letter to all things monsterific, 1987’s The Monster Squad!

Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and the Creature descend upon 1987 suburbia to bring about an age of never-ending evil. The only thing standing in their way is a bunch of foul-mouthed kids! Along the way the find that Scary German Guys aren’t so scary, monsters CAN be your friends, and most importantly…Wolfman’s got nards!

Then we dig into that dusty longbox one more time, and pull out Super Friends #10. The World’s Greatest Super Heroes rush to the aid of a beautiful blonde woman, plagued by a legion of Monsters! But all isn’t what it seems, and there are lessons to be learned before the end credits roll!

Download directly or via iTunes.

Be sure to let us know what you think! Let your voice be heard! We’d love to read it aloud in an upcoming episode. Drop us a line in our comments section, or email us at supermatespodcast@gmail.com. If you're listening on iTunes, please consider leaving a review of our show! We’re also on Facebook! 

Chris (aka Earth 2 Chris) co-hosts the Power Records Podcast with the esteemed Rob Kelly over at the Fire and Water Podcast feed! 

Next time: We catch up on feedback, and talk about the comic-related shows of the new fall TV season, including The Flash!

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein commentary: A Special Halloween Fire and Water/Super Mates Crossover!!!

It's a special bonus podcast! Chris and his Power Records Podcast pal Rob Kelly jaw about one of their favorite flicks, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein in a joint production between The Fire and Water Podcast and Super Mates!

Check it out here:

Super Mates Episode 16: The Wolf Man and Spider-Man vs. Werewolf by Night!

On our third trip to the House of Franklin-stein, Chris and Cindy are joined by their son Andrew to discuss his (and Chris’) favorite Universal Monster film, 1941’s The Wolf Man!

Lon Chaney, Jr. gives an iconic performance as the doomed Larry Talbot, the prodigal son who returns to his Welsh home only to stumble into a nightmarish world of ancient folklore and gypsy curses! When Larry intervenes to save a life, he is bitten by a wolf, or was it a werewolf? Will Larry convince his father, Sir John (played by Claude Rains) of his plight in time, or is his fate sealed? It’s Greek tragedy with rubber snouts and yak’s fur!!!

Then we rummage once again through our cobwebbed longboxes and dig out Marvel Team-Up #12, featuring Spider-Man and The Werewolf by Night! Our friendly neighborhood wallcrawler is on assignment in San Francisco when he stumbles upon a mad (and we do mean bat-crap crazy) plot involving Marvel’s favorite lycanthrope, Jack Russell, a handful of mind-controlled civilians, and the mysterious magician known as Moondark! Will Spidey survive? Will the Franklins? Listen on!

Download directly or via iTunes.

Be sure to let us know what you think! Let your voice be heard! We’d love to read it aloud in an upcoming episode. Drop us a line in our comments section, or email us at supermatespodcast@gmail.com. If you're listening on iTunes, please consider leaving a review of our show! We’re also on Facebook!

Chris (aka Earth 2 Chris) co-hosts the Power Records Podcast with the esteemed Rob Kelly over at the Fire and Water Podcast feed! 

Next time: It’s our final trip into the House of Franklin-stein, as Chris, Cindy and returning son Andrew dish on the modern revamp of the classic monster rally films: 1987’s The Monster Squad! We’ll discuss Wolfman anatomy, how to successfully redesign classic monsters, and more! Plus, one final tie-in super hero/monster mash-up! It’s a Halloween blow-out!!!