Podcast - Episode 81: The Lego Batman Movie

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We got slammed by a giant, unending blizzard this week and it stranded us in our respective homes. So this episode was recorded over the phone, which means I sound FANTASTIC and Dave sounds like he's over the phone. But we are both bringing our A-game, don't worry.

Not gonna lie, it takes us awhile to get around to talking about The Lego Batman Movie, but we do discuss it.

First we talk about Marvel's upcoming Secret Empire event (aka - The HydraCap event). I am VERY into this cover for issue #0:

HydraCap can GET. IT.

We talk about the third episode of Riverdale for a bit. You can see my old blog post that breaks down the Archie comic where Dilton offers to write songs for The Archies, is rejected, and instead starts his own cool band, here.

Alright. Enjoy! My arms are tired and sore from shoveling.

Podcast - Episode 78: X2: X-Men United

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This has been an unbelievably sad week, so why not rub a little X-Men in the wound, right? This week Dave and I continue our look at the X-Men films of Hugh Jackman with X2: X-Men United. This is a movie that, for years, was considered to be the best superhero movie ever according to many incorrect lists. It's not really better than X-Men. It's just longer. 

On top of that, we try to wrap our heads around the argument that punching Nazis is bad. Here's what we've concluded: it's not. In fact, it's very good.

First of all, here is the link to Layton Reid's Facebook page. Layton is my husband's younger brother, and he passed away on January 19. I know that on the podcast I probably sound a little stiff when I'm talking about him, but truly I'm devastated. I am just horrible at expressing emotion. I am so glad I got to know Layton and have him as my only brother-in-law. He is incredibly inspirational, and his life and outlook have made me far more appreciative of how precious life is, and to be grateful for how lucky I am. It's just really fucking unfair that his time was so short, and I will really miss him. If you read some of his essays on his Facebook page, you'll get a good sense of how incredible and funny he was.

You can read Warren Ellis' thoughts on punching Nazis here. Here's the bulk of it:

“I understand there’s been some confusion online as to whether it’s ever right to punch a Nazi in the face. There is a compelling argument that all speech is equal and we should trust to the discourse to reveal these ideas for what they are and confidently expect them to be denounced and crushed out by the mechanisms of democracy and freedom.

All I can tell you is, from my perspective as an old English socialist and cultural liberal who is probably way to the woolly left from most of you and actually has a medal for services to free speech — yes, it is always correct to punch Nazis. They lost the right to not be punched in the face when they started spouting genocidal ideologies that in living memory killed millions upon millions of people. And anyone who stands up and respectfully applauds their perfect right to say these things should probably also be punched, because they are clearly surplus to human requirements. Nazis do not need a hug. Nazis do not need to be indulged. Their world doesn’t get better until you’ve been removed from it. Your false equivalences mean nothing. Their agenda is always, always, extermination. Nazis need a punch in the face.”

If you would like to read people's applications to the Sebastian Stan Protection Squad, you can check out the posts that use the instagram hashtag here. Here's the application, if you are interested in applying. I mean, volunteer work is important, and I can't think of a better cause than devoting your time and energy to protecting the happiness and well being of a thirtysomething movie star.

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ANYWAY.

We really did get around to talking about X2 eventually. But first!

Check out how happy Bucky is for one hot second in Black Widow #10!

It doesn't last long. But so happy for a fleeting moment there!

And look at how cute Bobby and Romeo are in All-New X-Men #17!!!

Aaaaahhhh!!! I love the ice breaking off of him!

Ok. X2.

First of all, this movie definitely has its moments. In particular, it has this moment:

Lookin' good, Wolvie. And in this same scene we get Bobby taking the long neck bottle from Logan's hand and gently blowing on it, never breaking eye contact. It's...a tad homoerotic.

Anyway. Lots of thoughts on the movie in the podcast episode.

Thanks for listening! Next week...X-Men: The Last Stand. :(

Podcast - Episode 72: Superhero Romance!

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This week we are talking about SUPERHERO ROMANCE!!!! Would it have made more sense to wait until February for this topic? Probably! Do I pretty much want to talk about superhero romances all the time? Yes.

Oh, superhero romance. 

Before we get to that, here is that tweet of mine that went viral for whatever reason:

Again, I want to clarify: the original tweet by @Glamourizes is poetry. I love it.

Oh! And you can follow Living Between Wednesdays on Twitter now!

Here is the Omaze contest where you and three friends can be trapped in an escape room in Boston with Chris Evans.

If I win he is never getting out of that room.

If I win he is never getting out of that room.

Alright! On to the romance!

Here is the final page in the the sad and epic love story of Black Widow and Winter Soldier. The evil Red Room assassin, Leo Novokov, made sure Natasha would never remember her romance with poor ol' Bucky:

Bucky's life is extremely good.

Bucky's life is extremely good.

The depressing icing on the sadness cake is that Bucky refuses to even let SHIELD try to help restore that part of her memories because "She's better off without me." UGH! Bucky!!!!

Here's my girl Catwoman getting some late night action from Batman. I love how she handles him. And I super love that whip around the neck as she leads him down the stairs:

Flame emoji.

Flame emoji.

And here's my favourite Captain America love interest...BERNIE!!!

That's my girl!

That's my girl!

Damn! Right off the bat she's laying it on thick! I love this woman.

"One what?"   "A crush on Josh!"

"One what?"   "A crush on Josh!"

Bernie!!!!

This is seriously the most comfortable I've seen him with a woman. But it might be because they are talking about classic Hollywood movies:

I picture Steve doing a bang-on Bacall impression here.

I picture Steve doing a bang-on Bacall impression here.

And here are a couple of panels from Captain America #289, when Bernie fantasizes about being BERNIE AMERICA!!!

Side note: it is very difficult to Google "Bernie America" these days if you want this result.

Side note: it is very difficult to Google "Bernie America" these days if you want this result.

I see no difference here between regular Steve Rogers and this version of him.

And let's end it on this recent screengrab from my Avengers Academy game, which is extremely relevant:

Podcast - Episode 58: Robin Year One / Batgirl Year One

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Hooray! This week we are talking about some of my favourite comics EVER! Robin: Year One and Batgirl: Year One!!! I love those kids!

I feel like I don't have much to actually write about in the blog this week. I mean, obviously you're gonna want to see that video of Chris Evans doing push-ups with his adorable dog, so here you go:

Bless you, sir. Now someone please nominate Sebastian Stan. Mackie? Where you at?

Oh.

Someone please tell that man how hashtags work.

Right, so anyway. Not much to report on. I do want to give you an idea of what we were talking about with Alfred's VERY HARD TO READ "handwritten" narration:

Whatever you say, Alfie!

Here's that heartbreaking panel of Batman cradling Robin's broken body:

Sob!

These books are both amazing and you should read them.

Next week we are talking about Mark Waid and Ron Garney's Captain America: Man Without a Country. We are actually reading this book, which collects both Man Without a Country AND Operation: Rebirth (and some other stuff):

I already have so many thoughts. About this story. About Steve Rogers in general. About Sharon Carter. About everyone being all 90s jacked. Love it.

See you next week!

Podcast - Episode 43: Free Comic Book Day/Civil War Countdown

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HAPPY CIVIL WAR WEEK EVERYONE (in North America)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy smokes. Are you excited? I'm excited! I haven't been able to sleep, guys. I am not exaggerating. My whole life has been leading to this movie! I can feel it!

In fact, I made a top ten list of Civil War press tour moments. Here are some reference images and links:

RACHELLE'S TOP TEN MOMENTS OF THE CIVIL WAR PRESS TOUR
(in no particular order)

1. Spider incident

On stage at a Q&A session in Beijing, Chris Evans noticed a red spider on Sebastian Stan's thigh (because he was staring at Sebastian Stan's thighs). Clearly not a fan of spiders, he pointed it out, making a nervous joke about how Sebastian is about to be turned into Spider-Man. Sebastian calmly picks up the spider, like some sort of witch, and gently places it on the arm of his chair. It skitters away. Chris never stops looking for it on the ground.

2. Stray hair incident

I am not making this one up, guys. This happened. On stage during a Q&A in London, Chris Evans just casually reached over and pulled a stray hair off of Sebastian Stan's face. He then tossed it on the ground and said "friendship!" To me, saying "friendship" very loudly after doing something like that in front of a giant audience sounds a lot like covering something up, but ok.

3. Mackie & Stan's "hatred" of Tom Holland

Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan had a running joke in interviews that Tom Holland is a complete asshole. That is a great joke. In general, Mackie and Stan were great together on this press tour.

4. Mark Hamill and Sebastian Stan

Mark Hamill and "lookalike" Sebastian Stan finally met at the London premier and it was so cute!

Finally.

A photo posted by @imsebastianstan on

5. Elizabeth Olsen shutting down dumb questions

It's not easy being one of two ladies on a press tour for a movie with 5,000 men. This is the year 2016, and Elizabeth Olsen and Emily Van Camp are still being asked if the men had to watch their swearing around them. Seriously. At least these ladies are badass and shut this shit down. And Sebastian's reaction to the dumb question is the best.

6. Exhausted or maybe hung over Chris Evans forcing himself to endure a round of "fun" questions

Look, it's hard to feel sorry for these hot millionaires who play pretend for a living, but I almost cried for Chris watching this interview. But I will never not laugh at how desperately he is trying to cool off that tiny coffee.

7. Chris Evans hugging RDJ

Sniff. I have something in my eye.

8. Sebastian Stan hugging Chris Evans

A fan in Singapore asked them about Bucky and Steve being best friends, so Sebastian "proved it" by walking right over to Chris and giving him a big ol' "brotherly" hug. I honestly don't know which of them I am more jealous of.

9. Sebastian Stan holding hands with Winter Soldier statue

Guys...

Apparently he was talking to "him" too. Telling him everything would be alright. Come on, Sebastian. I'm just barely keeping myself together over here.

10. Chris Evans saving Sebastian Stan's life when a woman trips in their vicinity

Guys. I can't. Come on.

Alright. that wraps that up. 

Well, here's a bonus gif:

 

Phew. That was a lot of work.

If you want to read Dave and my thoughts on the first two Captain America movies in detail, you can check out the posts we did about them last year:

Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Make sure you visit your local comic book shop this Saturday for Free Comic Book Day! And buy something, too! And be nice. Don't be greedy. And don't be an asshole. 

Thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagram! Rate us on iTunes! Leave us a comment! 

CIVIL WAR!!!! IT'S HAPPENING!!!!!!!!

Podcast - Episode 36: Civil War Mania

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What a week, guys. What. A. Week.

There was so much Civil War/Winter Soldier/Sebastian Stan coverage in the media this week I couldn't even read all of it.

So this episode is a jumbled mess of trying to piece together our thoughts on everything. Plus, Dave is suffering from a cold. Nothing that a solid hour of listening to be ramble on about Winter Soldier can't fix!

First, let me introduce you to our special guest co-host:

Not a bad looking figure, right?

Here is the travesty that they are calling a Winter Soldier toy that I saw at Toys R Us:

Nope.

I did not enter the contest to win a helicopter ride with Henry Cavill, but I do get hilarious emails about it:

J.Bone did indeed do a really great drawing that imagines Spider-Man being Bucky's annoying friend:

So, so great. Knocking it out of the park as usual, J!

Here are some links to the many interviews and such that I mention this week:

Jeremy Renner being a douche with poor Elizabeth Olsen

Sebastian Stan doing a weird and adorable and sexy video Q&A for Moviepilot

Sebastian Stan on ET

Chris Evans and RDJ on ET

Markus & McFeely on why Bucky is a messed up sad sack

Buzzfeed Q&A with Evans, Stan, Downey, Boseman and the Russos

It's worth scrolling though the Buzzfeed posts because you get to see things like a portrait of Winter Soldier, quickly drawn by Sebastian Stan, as well as a screengrab of his Winter Soldier Spotify playlist. Plus, images like this one:

Boys. Come on. Cut it out.

There's also this really great little video of Sebastian Stan talking about seeing Civil War for the first time. I forgot to talk about it this week, but I will definitely talk about it next week:

Short version: it made him stress eat a whole thing of candy

Here is the new Civil War trailer, by the way:

And here's what you've all been waiting for: the Winter Soldier vs Black Panther Pop Secret packaging!!!

Butter only makes the Winter Soldier more powerful!

Ok, let's wrap this up, with, oh, I don't know...this picture from Friday of Chris Evans wearing the shirt that Sebastian Stan was wearing the DAY BEFORE?!

I mean. Come on. Also: god damn, Chris. Looking good. Trying to keep my eyes above the waist here.

I'm actually going to end this with this screengrab of Sebastian Stan's insane Winter Soldier body:

He's gonna get his shirt off in this movie, right? RIGHT?!