Recent News & Episodes

In this very special episode, Chris and Cindy Franklin are joined by Chris’ friend and podcasting mentor, Rob Kelly! Rob is the co-host of The Fire and Water Podcast, the writer of the award-winning Ace Kilroy web strip, the editor and compiler of Hey Kids, Comics! True-Life Tales from the Spinner Rack, and one helluva nice guy to boot!

Rob and the Super Mates discuss three Batman tales penned by award-winning television writer and successful novelist, Alan Brennert. Brennert has only written a handful of comics in his career, but all are great gems, and his Batman tales are some of the character’s best in his 75 year history.

“To Kill A Legend” from Detective Comics #500: Batman is offered a chance to save his parents in a parallel reality. But should he deny that world a Batman?

“Interlude on Earth-Two” from The Brave and the Bold #182: Batman finds himself mysteriously pulled to the alternate world of Earth-Two… a world where his counterpart has long been dead! He must strike an uneasy alliance with the Robin of that world to stop a vengeful Hugo Strange from destroying Gotham!

“The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne” from The Brave and the Bold #197: Shortly before his tragic death, the Batman of Earth-Two recalls how he came to marry the love of his life…his former foe, the Catwoman!

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Big thanks to Rob for stopping by for a very lively discussion! Be sure to check out Rob’s blogs and podcasts, starting at the Aquaman Shrine, with The Fire and Water Podcast. Do yourself a favor and sample the awesome webstrip that Rob co-created and writes, Ace Kilroy! And you, as a comic fan, owe it to yourself to own and love a copy of Hey Kids, Comics! True LifeTales From the Spinner Rack!

Be sure to let us know what you think! What did you think of these tales? Would you like to hear mor guests on the show? Let your voice be heard! We’d love to read it aloud in an upcoming episode. Drop us a line in our comments section, or email us at supermatespodcast@gmail.com. If you’re listening on iTunes, please consider leaving a review of our show! We’re also on Facebook!

Chris (aka Earth 2 Chris) co-hosts the Power Records Podcast with the aforementioned Rob Kelly over at the Fire and Water Podcast feed!

Next time, Cindy and Chris read YOUR comments on past episodes!

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This time around we chat about WHO’S WHO: Volume XX, discussing characters such as Sandman, Sargon The Sorcerer, Saturn Girl, Scarecrow, Sgt. Rock, Shade The Changing Man, and more! We wrap up the show with Listener Feedback!

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Summer is almost here! This episode Rob and Shag wax nostalgic about some of their favorite comics read as children while on summer vacation. As Rob likes to call them, “Mountain Comics.” Then the guys tackle some of the best (and worst) DC company crossover events of the 1980s and 1990s! Get out your zinc oxide sunscreen, geeks. Summer is coming!

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This episode Shag and Rob discuss DC Comics’ new year-long weekly series, THE NEW 52: FUTURES END featuring Firestorm. Next we present our second installment in a new reoccurring feature covering backup stories of our favorite heroes! This time we’re covering the Aquaman backup stories from ACTION COMICS #s 517/518, by J.M. DeMatteis and Don Heck. Finally, we wrap-up with a healthy dose of YOUR feedback!

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In this episode, Chris and Cindy Franklin share two of their favorite comic book mini-series; The Untold Legend of the Batman by Len Wein, John Byrne and Jim Aparo, and The Legend of Wonder Woman by Kurt Busiek and Trina Robbins.

Batman is targeted for destruction by a foe who knows his every secret! The Darknight Detective must reexamine his own history to discover the shocking identity of this merciless tormentor before it is too late!

Listen as Chris and Cindy wade through flashbacks filled with Silver Age retcons, and question how long it takes to build a Batmobile! Plus, how does this thing REALLY end, anyway? It’s apparently open for debate…and they have one!

Then, on to Paradise Island, where Queen Hippolyta mourns the loss of her daughter in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. She gazes back through time to witness Wonder Woman’s battle with the evil Atomia and her subatomic world!

Our hosts delight at Robbins’ great Golden Age-inspired artwork, but bemoan the presence of the most irritating brat ever to grace the comic page…SUZIE!!!

So slide down the Batpole, hop in the Invisible Plane, and join us for a nostalgic trip, deep in the recesses of long boxes everywhere!

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Be sure to let us know what you think! What did you think of these two mini-series, or what’s your opinion on retcons and reboots like Crisis on Infinite Earths? Let your voice be heard! We’d love to read it aloud in an upcoming episode. Drop us a line in our comments section, or email us at supermatespodcast@gmail.com. We’re also on Facebook!

Chris (aka Earth 2 Chris) co-hosts the Power Records Podcast with the Esteemed Rob Kelly over at the Fire and Water Podcast feed! Check them out here:

http://www.fireandwaterpodcast.blogspot.com/

Next time, Chris and Cindy are joined by Rob Kelly of the Fire and Water podcast to talk about some of the greatest Batman stories ever told, by writer Alan Brennert!

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The new golden age of Aquaman continues as we cover the 2nd issue of AQUAMAN AND THE OTHERS, by Dan Jurgens, Lan Medina, and Allen Martinez. Next we present our first installment in a new reoccurring feature covering backup stories of our favorite heroes! This time we’re covering the Firestorm backup stories from THE FLASH #s 289/290, by Gerry Conway and George Perez. Featuring Perez’s very first work for DC Comics!

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This episode Rob and Shag have ringside seats for the fight with Hercules in AQUAMAN #30 by Jeff Parker, Paul Pelletier, Sean Parsons, Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez, and Rain Beredo. Next, the return of the Hyena in THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #10 (Mar. 1983) by Gerry Conway, Pat Broderick, Rodin Rodriguez, Gene D’Angelo, and Adam Kubert. Finally, we sprinkle in a dash of Star Wars and Futures End chat!

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Chris and Cindy Franklin dig deeper into their 80s toy box! Chris waxes poetically about his love for the be-all-end-all of DC toy lines, Kenner’s Super Powers Collection. Oh, yeah, he also mentions its “pretty-in-its-own-way” cousin, Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. Cindy talks about My Buddy, and of course the conversation must touch upon his demon-spawn, Chucky!

But there’s more! You’ll get fond childhood memories of Care Bears, Transformers, and My Little Pony along the way. Chris laments how M.A.S.K. went Nascar, and Cindy says some truly, truly outrageous things about Jem!

This episode has more 80s goodness than a Trapperkeeper stuffed with a Flock of Seagulls!

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Be sure to let us know what you think! What are your favorite 80s toys? Let your voice be heard! We’d love to read it aloud in an upcoming episode. Drop us a line in our comments section, or email us at supermatespodcast@gmail.com. We’re also on Facebook!

Chris (aka Earth 2 Chris) co-hosts the Power Records Podcast with the Esteemed Rob Kelly over at the Fire and Water Podcast feed! Check them out here:

http://www.fireandwaterpodcast.blogspot.com/

Next time, Chris and Cindy will discuss two legendary comic mini-series: The Untold Legend of the Batman, and The Legend of Wonder Woman!

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This episode Shag and Rob provide audio commentary for the second episode of the 1985 classic, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians! Superman, Firestorm, and Cyborg discover “The Ghost Ship!” and then Wonder Woman, Firestorm, and Cyborg meet “The Bizarro Super Powers Team!” Then they tackle the first two episodes of the 1967 Filmation Aquaman series: “Menace of the Black Manta” and “The Rampaging Reptile Men.”

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This time around we chat about WHO’S WHO: Volume XIX, discussing characters such as The Question, Ragman, Ra’s Al Ghul, Red Tornado, The Riddler, Robin, and Robotman! We wrap up the show with Listener Feedback!

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