Episode 119

In which the Off-Panelist reveal hidden secrets. The Sphinx surprises his secret sleeper agent agenda to flood the US with haggis. While he plots, the Scot talks about the Dawn of Justice, the headdesk worthiness of Goyer, and the awesomeness of the Guardians. After news it's on to books. While Saga is pretty Saga, East of West is pretty East of West, and Forever Evil is temporarily good.

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Episode 118

In which the Off-Panelist try to avoid the wrath of Gojira all while trying to fill out their TPS reports on time. This week the Southerner and the Sphinx go through the trials of working for a living, and spending that living on fancy new eyeglasses. Now that they can see clearly, they get into the week's news and comics. 

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OFF THE PANEL #11 - Stumptown

Issue 11 follows the Southerner (Matt) and the Sloth (Alex) as they take the case and start to dig into the truth about Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth's Stumptown, a four crime issue mini-series from Oni Press. From the PI tropes that define the genre, to the killer stump of David Lynch, listen as the two hard-boiled buffoons get down to the bottom of it. 

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Episode 104

In which The Off-Panelists journey to Vegas and party all night long, throwing out their backs to bring in the latest from the comics' world! Join the Sloth, the Skirt, and the Sphinx as they try and unravel the mystery of the changing release date of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel follow-up, what a twist in Marvel's 'Agents of SHIELD' could mean for a Marvel Universe character's debut, who has the worst work related woes, and what really happened between Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Answer: read a book, dummy! Following that, the three delve into such favorite titles as Brian Azzarello's Wonder Woman, Scott Snyder's Batman, a gasp-inducing chapter of Mark Waid's Daredevil, and more! Damn it, Waid, you're gonna give us a heart attack!


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Episode 95

In which the Off-Panelists make it rain! Following a lengthy string of two-manned episodes, the terrible trio returns to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting listenership, as the Southerner leads the Scotsman and the Sloth in a recap of an eventful week in both the world of comics and their personal lives. Following their reactions to the new X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer, a brief early review of Thor: The Dark World from the release abroad, and impressions of Batman: Arkham Origins from the resident Bat-expert, the three dive into the week's books and recount yet another Saga-edition of Brian K. Vaughn's Saga, the long-awaited return of Neil Gaimain's opus in Sandman Overture, vengeance in the courtroom with the finale of The Punisher: Trial of the Punisher, and even a second review of an Image Comics release from last week, Pretty Deadly. This episode comes to you all the way from Dimension Z!

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Episode 90

In which the Off-Panelists lead them in easy and get picked off one-by-one, returning after a week away only to discover that their lives have remained pretty uneventful. Unless you count heart-stopping foot races to the local train station, hypothetical suicide attempts gone hilariously wrong, and being framed for murder, that is! Join the Sloth, the Southerner, and the Scotsman as they ceremoniously pop The Standard's Comixology cherry before giving their takes on the recently announced Agent Carter television series, CW's casting of The Flash in Arrow, and more! Featured in this week's episode are reviews of the Villain's Month tie-in issue for Swamp Thing, Image Comics' latest debut from writer Ales Kot in Zero, the start of a brand new arc within the pages of Thor: God of Thunder, a potentially controversial issue of Mark Waid's Daredevil, and a review of the first trade of Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray, among others. Remember to say uncle.

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Links of the Week

Buy John Lees' The Standard #1 on Comixology now! Only 99 cents!
Marvel developing an "Agent Carter" television series
The Walking Dead recieves spinoff show from AMC

Episode 89

In which the Off-Panelist may or may not commit vehicular homicide. Join the Skirt, Southerner, and Spaniard as they listen to tales of Southern conventions, reveal gagtastic personal hygiene information, and discover that it is in fact the humidity, not the heat.

After Merce recaps her journey into the heart of Georgia for Dragon Con, Matt and Sergio talk amongst themselves about this week's score of books. From the evil evilness that is Forever Evil to John Lees' macabre baby And Then Emily Was Gone. After that, Scott Summers invents rock n' roll as things get heavy.

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Links of the Week

Dispute Leads to "Batwoman" Creative Team Walking From Book
BATMAN DOES NOT SIT DOWN!
JMS & Templesmith Part Ways on "Ten Grand"
Sackhoff as Captain Marvel?

Review: And Then Emily Was Gone #1

 

Full disclosure: John Lees is a member of the Off-Panel Podcast and, obviously, a friend.

And Then Emily Was Gone #1 has only nineteen pages of story in between its covers... but, what a story it is. The Scottish duo of John Lees and Ian Laurie set up a lot of mystery and violence, in the first chapter of their supernatural mystery book. Ex-police detective Greg Hellinger is an expert on finding missing persons and a man literally battling his own inner demons. He is drawn into the case Emily Munro, a young girl from a small Scottish island who has seemingly vanished. 

I feel like the book draws a lot of inspiration from the famous off-kilter murder mystery televisions how Twin Peaks. And just like Twin Peaks, we're introduced to a small and isolated community, bizarre locals, and a boogeyman all at the heart of this mystery involving a young woman. There's a sense of dread in this first issue. You know something bad will happen eventually, but like some of the worse things in the world, you don't want to look away.

Episode 88

In which the Off-Panelists fall from grace and struggle to feel the feels, going head-to-head over acclaimed titles and proving that the tensions run as high as ever when it comes to the cruel mistress that is unemployment. Join the Spaniard, the Sloth, and the Southerner as they embark on yet another week of funny books, surprising even themselves with the length of their lists and wondering whether or not thirty seconds of a life can be reclaimed when taken by a video featuring Rob Liefield. After debating the merits of the casting of Rocket Raccoon and recapping the completion of the 30 Day Challenge, the three delve into such titles as Francis Manupal and Brian Bucceletto's The Flash, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark's Lazarus, Jason Aaron's Thor: God of Thunder, and a new title from the team of Art Baltazar and Franco, Itty Bitty Hellboy. First, there was Bennifer. Then there was Tomkat. Now, there is only... Malex.

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Links of the Week

Cooper Tappped to Voice Rocket Raccoon
James Spader Cast as Ultron for Avengers Sequel
Rob Liefeld Sings Game of Thrones Theme; People Ask "Why?"
Dini Working on Black Canary, Zatanna Stor

OFF THE PANEL #6 - Scalped

In episode six, the Scot (John) and the Southerner (Matt)return to examine a neo-noir classic published by Vertigo. Themes of destiny, corruption, families, and the price of freedom are all present as the members of the Prairie Rose Reservation play out their fates in the sixty issue crime comic epic SCALPED, by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guéra.

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John's Written Thoughts on Scalped 

Episode 87

In which the world crumbles and the internet tears itself apart under the strain of a casting announcement! That's right, we're tackling that topic. Join the Sloth, the Spaniard, and the Scotsman as they each tell tales of their initial reactions to the news that's sweeping the nation. No, not by important news. The news that Zack Snyder's new Batman/Superman movie has found it's Caped Crusader! Will they give the new Dark Knight a thumbs up? A thumbs down? Will one precariously sit on the fence?! Hell if we know, but following discussion of this historic event, the crew sit down for their share of weekly books, including the latest issue of Batman & Robi... er, Nightwing, the Silver Surfer-ing-ist issue of Mark Waid's Daredevil yet, a return to Jeff Lemire's Animal Man, and more! #Batfleck for life, son!


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Links of the Week
The Batfleck Rises!
Justice League Canada, eh? 

Episode 85

 In which the Funny Accent Brigade rule the day. The Scotsman and the Southerner fly solo together (if that makes sense?) for the latest episode. After waxing poetics on all things television, they get into the news of the week and come up with their dream Batman cast (Mads Mikkelsen Joker FTMFW), after that they leap into the books from Manhattan Projects, Trillium, and Sheltered, to Burn the Orphanage and Superior Foes of Spider-Man. Finally, they answer questions from the people too lazy to show up! You know who you are! 

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Links of the Week: 
Mark Millar's Rapeageddon  
Thor: The Dark World 2 Trailer 
Rumor: Mark Strong, Bryan Cranston Among Luthor Frontrunners 
Rumor: Gosling, Brolin Possible Batman Successors
Nolan: The Best or Worst Thing for Comic FIlms?
OPP Domain Blocks BKV

Episode 77

In which The Off-Panelists discover the disturbingly dark and hauntingly spunky visions of everyone's favorite SICBA award winning Scotsman, as he's joined by The Sloth, the Spaniard, and returning special guest the Shlee (Ashley Bob) in yet another week of comics-related debauchery. With reactions to everything from the godfather of Marvel's own cologne line to the critically polarizing release of Man of Steel, the frightful four take a glance at such titles as the one-shot American Vampire: The Long Road to Hell, the latest bout of wartime sci-fi insanity in The Manhattan Projects, the long-awaited debut of Snyder and Capullo's Zero Year storyline in the pages of Batman, a battle of epic proportions in the latest Thor: God of Thunder, and a review from a non-Superman fan about the Man of Steel's newest title in their look at Scott Snyder and Jim Lee's Superman: Unchained. By the end of this episode, your week will have been ruined.

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Links of the Week

Stan Lee Cologne 
Batman's 'Zero Year' event to debut in November 
Is DC Distancing Itself from 'Identity Crisis'? 
WB, DC Considering Aquaman and Wonder Woman films