Gobbledygeek

You ever have that dream where Paul and AJ are discussing the greatest comic book of all time in ten spoiler-free monthly installments? Yeah, us too: beginning with this episode, the boys bring the Four-Color Flashback feature to the show, dissecting Neil Gaiman's The Sandman through the rest of the year. Friend of the show (at this point, he's more of a lover) Eric Sipple joins us for a discussion of The Sandman: Vol. I - Preludes & Nocturnes. The great tale of Morpheus, lord of dreams, gets its start in a fashion that's not always representative of what it would become (DC superheroes), but the gang is on hand to point out all the ways in which it is uniquely Sandman (a horror story about stories). Plus, Amazon's a little icky and Marvel has a prime opportunity for diversity with Iron Fist.

Next: despite the words that come out of AJ's idiot mouth, Winter Soldier is not next week's episode. We'll force him to come up with something.

Koko the Showfucker is back and he's prepared to fuck the show right into--well, okay, a little of that happens, but for the most part, Jason Tabrys' return to Gobbledygeek is a little more focused than normal. Among the topics discussed are the Veronica Mars movie and its abundance of fan-service, the Cosmos controversy, and the fact that Captain America 3 and Batman & Superman: Friendship Is Magic opening on the same day is going to keep the idiotic flames of the Marvel/DC fan war raging long into the night. Then there's the big one: When you hate something--say, oh, The Big Bang Theory--is it fair to continue harshly criticizing it on social media even when you know someone who likes it? The (different, conflicting) answer(s) may surprise you (or not)!

Next: you might remember the Four Color Flashback series AJ did on the blog about the Claremont/Byrne Uncanny X-Men, or he and Paul dissecting Preacher. Well, we're bringing that feature to the show starting next week. At the end of each month, we'll be discussing one volume of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, and spoiler alert: Paul and AJ really, really love this comic. Joining us for this introductory episode is Broken Magic author, The Deli Counter of Justice co-editor, and Brony for life Eric Sipple.

First, The Gentlemen's Guide to Midnite Cinema discussed Three Colors: Blue. Then, The Debatable Podcast talked about Three Colors: White. Now, as the last stop on this epic pod crawl, Paul and AJ discuss the final film of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors trilogy--and his final film, period--Red. The boys dig deep on this one, discussing the nature of relationships, the hidden connections in our lives, and time itself in the context of one of the most beautiful movies ever made. What does it all mean? Maybe it doesn't mean anything, and that's okay. Plus, Paul loves Cosmos and AJ has complicated feelings on the True Detective finale.

Next: this has been such a thoughtful, focused year of the sho--NOOOOO IT'S KOKO THE SHOWFUCKER RUN!!!! Jason Tabrys and Jeremy R! Hudson of The BastardCast return to...to have some fun?

If you were a sentient human being at any point in the last 30-some-odd years, Harold Ramis made some sort of impact on your life. When Ramis passed away last week at the age of 69, Paul and AJ knew they had to pay homage to him in some way. This week, the boys discuss four of Ramis' films: Meatballs (which he co-wrote), Stripes (which he co-wrote and starred opposite Bill Murray in), Ghostbusters (which he co-wrote and starred in), and Groundhog Day (which he directed, co-wrote, and if you look at it from a certain angle, played the crucial role in). Ramis made a lot of people laugh, including us. Here we do our best to pay him back. Plus, Paul and AJ suffer through the Oscars.

Next week: as part of an epic pod crawl (check the show notes for more information!), Paul and AJ will be discussing the final film of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors trilogy, Red.

The long and winding road of the Gobbledy-Book Club has led us here, through factories and caves and cellars, to the final two chapters of J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst's S. Paul and AJ host an all-star jam band reunion of their co-readers: Paul's better half Pam Smith, whom we have to thank for just about everything; The Debatable Podcast host and Ukrainian royal Greg Sahadachny; and Kenn Edwards of So Let's Get to the Point and Project Batman, who might just be recording your entire existence as a podcast. Believe it or not, the show is (mostly) able to contain all five of them as they get to the important business of discussing the conclusions of both Ship of Theseus and the Jen/Eric marginalia, the importance of endings, and the open-ended nature of many of the tale's mysteries (sound familiar, Lost fans?). Plus, the gang says goodbye to the late, great Harold Ramis.

Next: the boys are on their own again to pay tribute to the work of Harold Ramis. They'll be watching Meatballs, Stripes, Ghostbusters, and Groundhog Day.