Gobbledygeek

Vampires, bananas, and Weird Al-esque song parodies, oh my! Paul and Arlo may be winding down their coverage of Matt Wagner's Grendel, the subject of this year's exceedingly popular (ahem) Four-Color Flashback series, but the story shows no signs of letting up in "God and the Devil" chapters 7-10. A cosmetically altered face from the distant past returns, incest is rationalized, and produce is used in an attempt to rape the sun. The boys question some of the story's leaps in logic and the general coherence of the Grendel cycle while admiring its utter batshit insanity and dynamic artwork. Plus, Paul watches TV (Arlo does too kind of) and Arlo's life has exploded.

Next: fall is in the air and blood is on the silver screen. Gobbledyween 2017 kicks off as Kenn Edwards of So Let's Get to the Point swings by to discuss M. Night Shyamalan's Signs.

Live from Denny's, it's Donora Hillard! The Jeff Bridges poet returns to talk about...pretty much everything with Paul and Arlo. While enjoying late-night diner ambiance, the gang discusses driving and the anxiety it causes; dance, of the So You Think You Can variety (featuring, upon special request, a rendition of Paul's classic Black Swan diatribe); tiny houses, one of which Donora owns; and what's in everyone's bags (Arlo's answers will amaze you). Plus David Lynch, Bunheads, arrested development (neither the rap group nor the television series)...everything.

Next: the boys take their penultimate trip to the hellish world of Matt Wagner's Grendel as this year's Four-Color Flashback nears its close, with a look at "God and the Devil, Part 2," collected in Grendel Omnibus: Vol. 3 - Orion's Reign.

Are you in the mood to Bone? I hope so, because Paul and Arlo are returning to the world of Jeff Smith's cartoonish epic, which they explored in last year's Four-Color Flashback series, to discuss the newly released 25th anniversary book Bone: Coda. The new adventure included in the volume is described as a "completely superfluous" addition to the saga of the Bone cousins--Fone, Phoney, and Smiley--which proves that there is indeed truth in advertising. The story picks up right where Smith's magnum opus left off in 2004, but it's merely a cute little one-off. The boys debate the merits of such an inconsequential return while discussing the other two-thirds of the book, which consist of Smith's memoir-esque piece "A Moveable Pizza Party" and Stephen Weiner's A Bone Companion (what, they couldn't get Hy Bender?). Plus, Paul spent his summer vacation reading 131 comic books and Arlo describes Akron's diverse grilled cheese climate.

Next: Jeff Bridges poet Donora Hillard returns to the show to talk about whatever she damn well pleases.

The truth is out there: season 3 of The X-Files is the show's strongest season. That is, if you can trust Paul, Arlo, and the inimitable Wesley "Wezzo" Mead as they have another of their periodic discussions of Chris Carter's '90s masterwork. What makes season 3 work so well? It might have something to do with the series' expanded tonal range--a tense thriller in "Pusher," Satanic panic meetsHeathers in "Syzygy"--and the confidence with which it tackles both the monster-of-the-week hours and the increasingly complex (or is that convoluted?) mytharc installments. Then there are the Darin Morgan episodes ("Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," "War of the Coprophages," and "Jose Chung's From Outer Space"), which are something else entirely. Plus holy cow, UK politics have gotten super depressing since the last time Wezzo stopped by.
 
Next: Paul and Arlo return to Boneville, site of last year's Four-Color Flashback, for a look at the newly published Bone: Coda.