ReNerding Episode 0: Origin Story! Friendship! Unnamed Local Used Bookstore?

All heroes have epic origins, and your fearless podcast hosts are no different. In this episode, Matt and Chris briefly share our stories: Matt bitten by a radioactive spider, Chris retconned into existence circa 1985, both of them the overlords of Latvia at differing times. Learn how our friendship grew whilst employees of Unnamed Local Used Bookstore! Learn how Chris once nerded, then stopped, then nerded anew! Learn how Matt has devoted his life to the ways of nerding! Learn how the two friends decided to embark upon this nerdtastic voyage! Listen to Chris talk about Lady Death’s boobs!

More importantly, this episode lays out what ReNerding is all about; it also lets you know the format of each episode:

1. Matt assigns Chris an assignment to help him ReNerd.

2. Matt and Chris do each assignment

3. We come together to discuss what they dug, what turned them off, interesting info.

4. We decide if they will continue to ReNerd over the particular assignment (Will they continue the series?! Will they rewatch that movie?!)

Next week’s assignment: Follow Matt and Chris as they watch for the first time (Chris) or rewatch (Matt) Hellraiser and Nightbreed as part of the ReNerding spooooooktacular Halloween horror funness! If you have Netflix, they are both there (at least at the time of this recording/blog post.) Thanks for listening!

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A couple more things:

1. Sorry about the audio quality! We were/are learning the ways of audio recording, and this episode is a result of that. Not all our episodes sound this way, so bear with us as we are learning. If you like what we are doing, consider donating to our Patreon so we can afford better microphones to be all melodious in your earholes.

2. ReNerding needs you! This whole process is an experiment in community, and while Matt and I are content to hang out and talk about all this stuff by ourselves, we’d eventually go apeshit and probably murder each other. You don’t want to be responsible for that, do you? DO YOU?! Join our Facebook page, our ReNerders Mailing List, follow us on Twitter! From there, shoot us your messages, thoughts, ideas, and ReNerding assignments. Be sure to use #renerding!

3. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, rate us, give us reviews! The more of these we get, the more people find out about us, and the more folks we can get in on this whole ReNerding shebang.

4. We love you!

The Rantcor Pit #55 - Fett-Ish

The Rancor Pit welcomes you to join us in celebrating our third anniversary with a brand new episode on our new schedule, the second and fourth Sundays of every month!

This outing it is time to explore one of the biggest breakaway characters in Star Wars cinematic history, Boba Fett!

The clone of a long-dead bounty hunter, Fett took up the family business and got in good with the Galactic Empire by successfully tracking the Millennium Falcon to Bespin.

From being the sole highlight of the Star Wars Holiday Special to a lackluster "death" in the maw of the Sarlacc, Boba Fett is one of the most iconic players in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  The notorious bounty hunter not only brought Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt, he also captured the imagination of fans worldwide.  

Enjoy "Your Favorite Star Wars Guys" as they bet on the Fett Man in this special anniversary episode of Rantcor!

Hey Kids, Comics! #199 - Red All Over

“Your Commie has no regard for human life, not even his own. And for this reason, men, I want to impress upon you the need for extreme watchfulness. The enemy may come individually, or he may come in strength. He may even come in the uniform of our own troops. But however he comes, we must stop him. We must not allow him to gain entrance to this base.” - Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper (Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)

Get ready for a Cold War flashback as your HKC! hosts Andrew "Little Red One" Farmer and Cole "Red Scare Bear" Houston take a look at Communism in comics and the heroes and villains thereof in the history of the comics. 

A red dawn rises in comics from Red Ghost and his super-apes to the Chinese super team, Great Ten to the People's Protectorate.  Communism and the Red Scare ledto a myriad of characters that endure to this day. 

A red dawn rises in comics from Red Ghost and his super-apes to the Chinese super team, Great Ten to the People's Protectorate.  Communism and the Red Scare ledto a myriad of characters that endure to this day. 

So get Red-y for some fun and flashbacks in an in-depth exploration of Soviet and Communist characters of an era where they were a major force in comics!

CCCP you next week, comrades!

Figments Case File #011: Deep in the Haunt of Texas

A new season of Figments begins now with the first of four spooky episodes for October leading right up to Halloween!  

Colleen and Eddie, "The Cryptid Couple", are back with new episodes of "Figments". Prepare yourself as they talk Texas-sized tales of terror with "Deep In The Haunt Of Texas". They also give the low down on the Grandbury Paranormal Expo. Celebrate "Weird Wednesdays" the Figments way!

Hey Kids, Comics! #198 - Get Off of My Page!

Welcome to a follow up to a previous issue of the show that simply could not wait another week!  Following up on the incomplete HKC! #195, Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston are proud to bring you an exploration of comic book creators insinuating themselves into their own work.

From the ubiquitous appearances of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to the Marvel Bullpen insinuating themselves into the X-Men, comic creators seem to love joining their own creations.  "The Rantcor Pit" co-host Eddie Mednina returns to join in on this discussion of a phenomenon that seemed to run rampant at Marvel Comics.

Learn all about the John Byrne Swagger and more!

Hey Kids, Comics! #197 - Comicsumentary

Hey Kids, Documentaries!

Welcome to a different kind of HKC! issue that takes a look at comics in cinema, but not in the way most would think these days.   Given the proliferation of comic book movies and television today (Russia even has a super-hero movie coming out!), it is easy to forget that documentary filmmakers are getting in on the popularity of the genre.  Well, Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston are your Pepperidge Farms in this particular case!

Exploring the work of documentarians in general, and highlighting four films specifically, your hosts invite you to join them in exploring “the other comic book” movies.  Discover why you really need to see “Crumb!”, “Finding Steve Ditko”, “Comix: Beyond the Comic Book Page”, and “The Death of Superman Lives”.  

Roll 'em!

The things you see in small town Ohio

Hey Kids, Comics! #196 - HKC! Team-Up #8: The Fantastic Four

Welcome back to Hey Kids, Comics!  Almost four days late due to technical difficulties and scheduling issues, Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston are proud to share the latest edition of HKC! Team-Up.

Marvel's "First Family" have been a staple of super-hero comics for decades.  Your hosts explore their endearing charm and their enduring presence in the genre.  How have the first iconic creations of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby managed to be timeless?  What is it about the unlikely dynamic of family and friends that has kept readers coming back for more?  

Discover for yourself by checking out this amazing issue where Andy and Cole hang out at the Baxter Building and swap tales of the most fantastic quartet of adventurers int he history of comics!

The Rantcor Pit #54 - Rogue Gallery Part 2

The Rantcor Pit is back!  A bit late but back.

As promised on the September 4, 2016 edition of The Rantcor Pit Live, Cole Houston and Eddie Medina continue their discussion of the upcoming Star Wars film Rogue One.

Joining them for this episode is none other than Andrew Farmer of Hey Kids, Comics! because Andy and Eddie just can't seem to get enough of each other!  Expect things to get way out of hand as this trio of podcasters delves deep into speculation, anticipation, and what we know so far about the latest addition to the Star Wars Saga.  

pre-production art for "Rogue One"

And that twitter post, as promised.

Happy Batman Day!

Happy Batman Day, From Hey Kids, Comics!

Hey Kids, Comics! #195 - Never Meet Your Heroes

As The JediCole Universe expands, things starting running a bit behind.  So the Friday, September 9 release of the show is running a tad late.  

This week hosts Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston share some personal stories about brushes with comic book greatness.  Eddie Medina also joins in on this trip down memory lane.  From memorable hits to misses that sting to this day, this episode has it all!

Learn first hand what happens when you get that big chance to talk to a favorite comic book creator.  Was it everything hoped?  Was it a disaster?  Did something amazing happen or did aspirations simply fizzle.  From Lee and Kirby to more contemporary creators, the tales told were so numerous that this issue runs nearly two hours! 

Growing Pains

The JCU is in the midst of some big changes!  

The new website is wonderful but also very new.  As in new to me.  Thus your "Unfrozen Caveman of Technology" is having to learn some new tricks in order to get the latest content on the site.  Andrew Farmer has done an amazing job getting us here, now I just need to figure it all out as we move forward.

The timing was ideal as I am working on a multiple-box Back Issue Bins section for Hey Kids, Comics! that will be available in the coming weeks.  The first 200 issues will be at your disposal with easy access and 50 issues (plus annuals or specials) per bin.  

The really big news is that The Rantcor Pit and Hey Kids, Comics! are both about to be available on the Cinelinx network!  More details will be coming soon on that front, so keep an eye on this site for more.

Thank you all for bearing with us through the transition.  New episodes of your favorite shows will be on the site very soon, including some returning shows and a brand new one too be announced very soon.  

- JediCole

Welcome to the New JCU

Hey there, Fearless Listeners.

We here at the JCU, wanted to take a moment and welcome you to the New JCU.  As you can see, somethings have changed, and have been moved around.  All the older posts are still available in the Archive (linked above), and we are going to have a much more agile platform to deliver awesomeness to you on a daily basis.  This isn't something that is going to be fully up and running right away, but like all things here at Half Ass Productions, it's a labor of love, and will grow with us.  Thanks for sticking with us, we couldn't do this without your support.

The JCU Staff