Hosts
The Irredeemable Shag
… or …
maybe The Irredeemable Shag managed a comic book store for four years, a movie theater megaplex for three years, and the FIRESTORM FAN website for seven years. Nowadays he’s just a really vocal geek with a microphone on the interwebs. He is the host of JSA IN THE 90s, ONCE UPON A GEEK, and the now-finished JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: BWAH-HA-HA PODCAST. Additionally he co-hosts several shows on the Network, including WHO’S WHO’S: THE DEFINITIVE PODCAST OF THE DC UNIVERSE with Rob Kelly. Recent reports suggest he’s running amuck in America and is a danger to society.
You decide…
Rob Kelly
Ryan Daly
Chris Franklin
Although no medical records can be found to substantiate this claim, legend has it Chris Franklin was born with a comic book in his hand. Or maybe it was a Mego action figure? His infatuation with drawing his favorite characters began nearly as early, and he channeled that into first a study, and then a career in art. While in high school he met a girl named Cindy, who did not judge him by his geekiness, but instead embraced it, and the two were soon inseparable, and sometime thereafter, married.
Chris’ art path steered him into a career in graphic design, although he has dabbled in independent comic and toy package design, as well as writing articles for Back Issue magazine. He found a new outlet for his fandom when Rob Kelly called upon him to guest on an early Power Records episode of the Fire and Water Podcast. Bitten by the podcasting bug, he became Rob’s permanent co-host on the subsequent Power Records Podcast. But that wasn’t enough, so he coerced his long-suffering, but completely understanding wife Cindy into producing the Super Mates Podcast, where they continue to apply a matrimonial approach to any number of genre topics, in between raising their wonderful (and equally geeky) kids.
Cindy Franklin
If her husband-to-be Chris was born with a comic in his hand, then surely Cindy came complete with a book…of ANY kind! A voracious reader from the start, Cindy has never discriminated on any literary subject, from children’s books to sci-fi, fantasy and horror fiction. It was this love of books that led Cindy to pick up a comic at Chris’ parents’ house, and thus Cupid’s arrow was fired.
With this, Cindy went from a casual comic reader to a full-blown fan. Her passion for the DC animated universe launched by Bruce Timm may be even greater than her husband’s! She also picked up Chris’ toy habit, channeling into a staggering doll collection, that takes up the OTHER half of their house. Her love of books and kids led to her career as a children’s librarian. Hey, Batgirl was a librarian! When not mothering her kids, Cindy can be heard on the Super Mates Podcast, where despite the voluminous notes her husband forces her to read for every show, she provides some much needed snark and logic to the genre topics we blindly love.
Siskoid
Xum Yukinori
Xum passed away in late 2019, but his voice—and his spirit—live on across the network.
Max Romero
Max Romero came to comic book fandom through an alchemical mix of Spider-Man cartoons and Superman: The Movie, but mostly by spending countless hours as a kid sitting in his aunt’s bookstore reading Bronze Age comics and eating cookies. He’s loved comics ever since (and cookies). He’s a former professional journalist, and today continues to work as a freelance copy editor and writer. Max — a longtime fan of Plastic Man — is the host of PLASTICAST, and the writer and curator of the blog Eeyow, It’s Plastic Man! He’s also the writer of the tragically neglected blog Great Caesar’s Post!, where he spent an inordinate amount of time talking about the Human Fly.
The Girls
Bass Levesque
Anywho…Bass Levesque…likes comics and movies and has a weird French Canadian accent.
Stella
Stella loves classics in every sense of the word, whether it be classical languages like Latin, classical literature like “Jane Eyre”, or classic heroes like Batgirl and Spider-Man. Her inaugural self-produced podcast BATGIRL TO ORACLE: THE BARBARA GORDON PODCAST began in 2010, and is still following Babs’ life in the comics (#DickandBabs4eva). Along the way, Stella picked up some riff-raff named Tom Panarese and started a podcast with him called REQUIRED READING WITH TOM AND STELLA. She’s just a teacher on a short hiatus who loves moose, is constantly betrayed, and will stand by her opinion that “Batman and Robin” is the best Batman film ever!
Paul Kien
Deeply traumatized as a child from a fall into a cave full of bats, Paul Kien turned to comics as a refuge. After attending college in Ivy Town, Paul traveled the world to study with the great comic masters in Hub City, Nanda Parbat, and Metropolis, but ultimately settled in Gotham City, NJ. There he has assembled a group of relatives created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe by teaching his three kids the nuances of the DC Universe and requiring his sister and sister-in-law to marry fellow comic fans. He recently discovered a long-lost Bat-Cousin, Shawn M. Myers, and they decided to co-host the BATMAN FAMILY REUNION as a testament to their love of this bronze age classic.
Shawn M. Myers
Shawn M. Myers is a great enthusiast of all things pop culture, books, movies, music, podcasts and more and is thrilled to be cohosting the Batman Family Reunion podcast with his “Bat-Cousin”, Paul Kein.
Shawn grew up with Super Friends, Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, and Batman ‘66 (in syndication, thank you!). Shawn adores his complete DC Digest collection and loves Kylie Minogue, Hitchcock, Deadman, Pet Shop Boys, the ‘Tales Of The City’ novels, the MCU, The Golden Age Flash, Disney, the NOW That’s What I Call Music compilations from the UK, Christmas music, and the MGM Musicals (and has an unending crush on Gene Kelly).
He loves to talk about superheroes with his six grandsons.
Sean Ross
Sean’s first comic book was G.I. JOE #10 (January 1983) and he has been chasing a nice little town called Springfield ever since. Sean is the host of PEACE BOUND AND DOWN; A WONDER WOMAN PODCAST and, like, Wonder Woman, tries to make the world a little better each day as a teacher. When not in the classroom or reading comics, Sean cannot be found.
Brett Young
Brett Young is a web designer/graphic designer/illustrator for his own company Imagine8 Design. Brett has loved comics since he was little, creating Green Arrow bows and arrows out of Tinker Toys and rubber bands. When not reading comics, Brett can be found rooting like a maniac for all Philadelphia sports teams. Brett originally guested on several FW podcasts such as TREASURYCAST, M*A*S*HCAST, JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL BWAH-HA-HA PODCAST, and many more. Once he got a taste for blood, the next logical step was doing his own podcast: THE FANTASTIC POUR. The podcast that combines comic, cocktails, and conversation.