Podcasts in Review

February 5, 2015 at 12:00 am | Posted in Comic Books, Conventions, DC Comics, Interview, Marvel, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Star Trek, Star Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Television | Leave a comment
Tags: dave dorman, jess harnell, jim cummings, jon eaves, neal adams, randy martinez, rob paulson, tasia valenza

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Bombad Radio: Episode 185 is their first release from their trip to Salt Lake Comic Con FanX. In this episode they have interviews with Jess Harnell and Rob Paulson. They talk about doing voices, Animaniacs, and Jess mentions Rock Sugar. It’s funny because I’ve been listening to a lot of Rock Out Loud lately and Steve often mentions Rock Sugar, so I’ve grown familiar with the band. However, I forgot he also did the voice of Wakko. It’s also odd just how close Rob Paulson’s normal voice is to Yakko. Afterwards they talk with legendary comic artist Neal Adams who talks about Batman, Gotham, Green Arrow, X-Men and the comics industry. Really nice interview. Following that is an interview with Star Trek designer Jon Eaves who talks about working on the various films and tv shows. Then they have a great interview with Star Wars artist Dave Dorman who talks about getting his first gig with Star Wars, his latest work with Marvel on several comic cover variations, and the deal with Star Wars Celebration Anaheim (which Dave mentions there might still be a chance that he can go). Lots of great interviews making this an excellent episode to check out.

Coffee With Kenobi: Rebels Reactions “Idiot’s Array” episode features guest Dennis Keithly as they talk about the Star Wars Rebels episode, Lando’s presence, Hera’s prominent role, and the use of Lando as a divide and conquer mechanism to the crew which turns into a message of unity for them all to stick together. It’s a fun review of the episode.

Full of Sith: Tasia Valenza Special Release features an interview with the voice actress for Shaak Tii (and many more characters). First off, Tasia’s audio is superb, which makes this a great interview to listen to. She talks about switching from on camera acting to voice acting, working on Star Wars, doing conventions, working with Mark Hamill, thoughts on The Force Awakens and the excitement of seeing the original cast again on screen, and much more.

Episode C is a live recording from Salt Lake Comic Con FanX. With Bryan Young onsite and Amy Ratcliffe and Mike coming in remote, they’re joined by guests Matt Martin (writer for StarWars.com) and Jim Cummings (voice of Hondo Ohnaka in Star Wars: The Clone Wars). Unfortunately the audio is a little choppy sketchy. It can be hard to hear as the audio cuts in and out, which is a shame as it had some great content.

Geek Out Loud: Episode 119 features special guest Michael Cohen as he and Steve talk about DC Comics and their aim towards adult readers rather than kids. Then they cover George Lucas’ latest comments about The Force Awakens and how Disney isn’t using his story treatment. Steve postulates that this could be misdirection as it’s unlikely they threw out all of his original ideas. They cover Marvel comics and the planned Secret Wars event, weighing in on rebooting the franchise and the stories Marvel has done. All in all an excellent comic discussion. I have to say I enjoy the episodes with a co-host better. It’s more fun to hear multiple viewpoints and ideas bouncing off each other.

Radio 1138: Episode 24 starts off with a chat with Iain Lowson who talks about the Build a Millennium Falcon magazine and Star Wars Fact Files. They also have the third part of their interview with Anthony Daniels, and a new discussion with Jonathan Wilkins covering Star Wars Insider Magazine. Wrapping things up is some discussion of UK Toy Fair. While James does have a frog in his throat for this episode, some of the interviews were done prior, so they’re frog free. Good episode to check out.

RebelForce Radio: Episode 1.30.2015 starts off with their dog or baby discussion regarding an old Mark Hamill interview and some background noise (it’s clearly a baby), then they get into the good stuff. First up, they talk about the latest Star Wars standalone movie news with Chris Weitz as they new writer and the Twilight controversy surrounding that. Then Joseph Tavano joins them as they discuss his blog article on how Padme did not die of a broken heart. Having read the article before, I was prepped for this one. They go through the points of Joey’s argument of why Padme didn’t die of a broken heart, and how Palpatine could have been the real cause for her demise. Personally, I think it’s a great explanation. The idea of Palpatine stealing Padme’s life essence to save Vader in a trick that would make Plagueis proud, is just perfect. It’s Sithy, it makes sense, and it adds a lot to the story, much more than the broken heart idea ever did. Definitely worth a listen.

Rock Out Loud: Bruce Springsteen episode starts out with just one listener email before jumping into the main discussion of Bruce Springsteen. Now I’m a hard sell on Bruce Springsteen, but I liked “Racing In the Streets”. It’s a quiet song, but it sounded good. It’s one I’ve never heard before. If you’re like me, you might just find some songs you like, and for those who are big Bruce Springsteen fans, there is plenty to enjoy. They play a bunch of Springsteen songs as wells as some audio clips of him and the E Street Band talking about the music.

Skywalking Through Neverland: Episode 64 kicks off with the details for their Star Wars Celebration podcast stage event and their callout for volunteers, as well as a giveaway. Afterwards they have a great interview with artist Randy Martinez who talks about drawing Jaws and TIE fighters as a kid, being mentored by Drew Struzan and Steve Sansweet, meeting John Alvin, playing guitar with his girlfriend on stage, doing Marvel comic book covers, doing Star Wars sketch cards, and his plans for Celebration Anaheim. Then Rich and Sarah are joined by Mark Oguschewitz for a review of Strange Magic. All three of them had different opinions of the film which should give people a really good idea of what to expect without spoiling anything. With a top notch interview with Randy Martinez and a much appreciated review of Strange Magic, this is a great episode to listen to.

Star Wars Action News: Episode 441 is actually a repeat of a really old episode, however it’s an apt release. With a new intro and closing, they set up the premise: 2015 is the 20th anniversary of the Hasbro Power of the Force 2 Star Wars line. As such, the old episode they play is from 1995–twenty years ago–as Arnie talks about going out to the store to buy these new figures and his thoughts on them. Part of the fun on this one is the nostalgia. From hearing Arnie complain about the $4.99 price tag to passing up on the original vintage Kenner figures going for $30 to $40 in package at a local shop, it’s fun to shake your head and laugh as we look at where we are now with the Star Wars toys. The old episode also includes a comic review by Nathan P. Butler covering the Dark Empire series, and a book review by Brock covering Kevin J. Anderson’s Darksaber. It’s a enjoyable trip in the wayback machine.