Gobbledygeek

With Miyazaki Month behind us and Ultron vanquished, Paul and AJ return to the world of Jeff Smith's Bone. Greg Sahadachny of The Debatable Podcast and All the Pieces Matter joins the boys for another Four-Color Flashback, this time taking a look at Vol. III: Eyes of the Storm, wherein things get serious. Smith still crams in plenty of jokes and moments of perfect comedic timing, but the book's heart isn't as light as it perhaps once was. The boys discuss this new heaviness, how it meshes with the series' humor, the volume's mythological infodump, and the many ways in which Smith's art recalls the best of animation.

Next: Don Draper may be gone, but one man is still mad. Paul and AJ dig into the Mad Max series and its new installment, Fury Road.

Not much in this world is surprising. The irony of this statement is that in order to tell you about how Paul surprises AJ in this episode, we have to give away said surprise: this is the one where Paul finally watches Breaking Bad. AJ remained in the dark the whole time, misled by Paul to think some ominous present was on its way; turns out the present is a discussion of Vince Gilligan's acclaimed morality tale, which long-time listeners will remember Paul refused to watch for years. What did he think of it? You'll have to listen for yourself. Featuring surprise guests K. Dale Koontz and Ensley F. Guffey, authors of Wanna Cook? The Complete, Unofficial Companion to Breaking Bad!

Next: Paul and AJ continue their Four-Color Flashback look at Jeff Smith's Bone with Vol. III: Eyes of the Storm.

Killer robots. Mind-controlling witches. Suits of armor from space. Dudes with frosted tips. All of this and so! much! more! is contained within Avengers: Age of Ultron, the highly anticipated sequel to Joss Whedon's 2012 extravaganza. The reception has been decidedly less rapturous than that which accompanied the first film, so Paul and AJ dig into what works about the movie, what doesn't, whether or not Whedon goofed up Black Widow, and just how much creative control a filmmaker can have over one of these things. Plus, AJ makes a case for a much smaller film, Seymour: An Introduction.

Next: Paul got AJ a present. Ominous!