Hey Kids, Comics! #298 - It's Not Easy Being Green: In Blackest Night

Welcome to the penultimate chapter of “It’s Not Easy Being Green”! Andrew Farmer takes the forefront as he and Cole Houston take a look at the darkest times for Earth’s many Green Lanterns and the Green Lantern Corps.

Not simply a look at the story arc that introduced the full spectrum of Lanterns, this issue delves deep into the worst days of many a Green Lantern, the times that threatened to ruin them mentally or physically. Willpower is not always enough when disaster strikes.

Join your hosts for a darker kind of green before things take an uplifting turn with the next issue. They promise!

Hey Kids, Comics! #297 - It's Not Easy Being Green: Green to the Corps

There is strength in numbers. No question about that. So after the modern Green Lantern was introduced it was little wonder that it was revealed that, unlike his mystic predecessor in comics, he was not alone.

Far from alone, actually. The Oan’s personal intergalactic police force has proven to be legion. Over decades many a writer and artist have introduced one or two or even more new members of the Green Lantern Corps to the point that it seems that their ranks are endless.

Your hosts Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston take a look at the seemingly endless parade of Green Lanterns in the middle chapter of “It’s Not Easy Being Green”. With only an hour available for such a daunting task, they cover as much ground as possible in regard to this iconic super-hero community.

Hey Kids, Comics! #296 - It's Not Easy Being Green: Blinded With Science

Green Lantern is the focus of the latest story arc for HKC! In this case Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern of the Silver Age of comics.

Andrew Farmer takes the lead in discussing his favorite super-hero as the next chapter of “It’s Not Easy Being Green” unfolds. Cole Houston lends his own insights and thoughts on the career of Hal Jordan as Earth’s emerald protector.

Discover the transition from a Green Lantern of mystic origins to one straight out of the realms of alien science as the five-part exploration of Green Lantern continues!

Hey Kids, Comics! #295 - It's Not Easy Being Green: Green Lantern is Magic!

The 300th issue of the show draws ever closer as the latest story arc begins! This week Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston launch a five-part exploration of Green Lantern and the many incarnations thereof.

Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, is the focus of this issue. With a mystical power source and a flamboyant costume, he fought crime and helped establish the Justice Society in a simpler era of comic book history.

While the Green Lantern is an icon of DC Comics past and present, the true origins of the character lie elsewhere! Listen to Cole get blown away by such insights and Andrew get “Martha’d” into realizing an aspect of the original GL is not a bad idea after all, even if it is a retcon! All of this and so much more in a discussion of a grossly underrated super-hero.

Hey Kids, Comics! #294 - Santa's Big Ol' Sack: 2018 Edition

There is no denying that the Christmas holiday is fast approaching and with it the impending dread of what to give to the comic book fan in your life! With so many possibilities out there - in nearly every price range - it is often difficult to know where to turn for advice, much less the ideal gift.

Your hosts Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston know share your dread and annually do something about it, just in time for Christmas. (Frankly some years are more “just in time” than others, this being one of them.) So grab your “Nice List” and tune in this week’s HKC! for plenty of great gift choices that are certain to make any fan happy to find them under the tree this year!

No images of the gifts suggested are provided this year in the interest of keeping them fresh and surprising.

Hey Kids, Comics! #293 - Order on the Court or: (Comicsportsballs III)

And now the catching up to getting #300 continues as a mere six issues remain to provide before the end of the year. Following the "Law & Order” pairing from the previous two shows, the boys turn their attention to a different kind of court (or field, rink, or track) to bring you the return of Comicsportsballs!

Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston are joined, as always in this particular look at sports in comics and pretty much anything that touches on that subject even remotely, by Eddie Medina. This outing (or inning?) gets a little bizarre as “Strange Sports”, Mars Attacks, and more become fair “game”!

Hey Kids, Comics! #292 - Order in the Court!

And now another issue of HKC! gets published at last! This week Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston continue to stay on track to hit 300 issues before the end of the year with a look at the Judicial System in comics.

From high profile court cases to the insidious kangaroo courts that are all too often convened in comics, your hosts have a full docket as they preside over an issue that looks at the courts, the lawyers, and the law as they occur in comic books over the decades.

So check your briefs, review black letter law, and prepare to judge the latest issue of HKC!

Hey Kids, Comics! #291 - Off Beat

The Police. Cops. The Fuzz. The PoPo. The Blue Knights.

By any name, the folks that have made a career of law enforcement have a huge role to play in comic books. But how does street-level law enforcement change in a world of super-heroes?

From some of the most famous police in comics to some of the more obscure, from policemen as background characters to those who interact on a regular basis with the “super” community, police are the subject being tackled by Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston this week.

As your hosts catch up on the “hot pursuit” of the 300th issue of this show, they hope that you will enjoy this most “arresting” issue.

Hey Kids, Comics! #290 - A Tale of One City

Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston are scrambling to get caught up on unpublished issues of Hey Kids, Comics! as the countdown to #300 begins! Look for several new issues over Thanksgiving weekend, this one takes you on a trip to one of the most iconic cities in the country (and in comics, too)!

That “Hell of a Town” is the focus of this issue. The city of New York is more than just a backdrop for comic book tales, it is something of a character in its own right. Like so many tourists, your hosts explore New York and its unique position as a comic book staple.

From comic creators to comic characters, New York was, and still is, the place to be! Find out more right now…

Hey Kids, Comics! #289 - I Started a Joke

Over three quarters of a century ago Bob Kane was inspired by a film - “The Man Who Laughs" - to create a character who has become the longest running joke(r) in comics history! Naturally this would be none other than Batman’s maddest foe, the Joker!

With nearly 80 years under his belt, the Clown Prince of Crime has been not only a thorn in the Dark Knight’s side, but also the subject of many a compelling tale. Your hosts Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston delve into some of the more curious, fascinating, compelling, and downright bizarre such appearances.

Round up your “bang” gun, your acid squirting flower, your can of Smilex, and your favorite purple suit and enjoy an exploration of the man who laughs all the way to your funeral!

Hey Kids, Comics! Quarterly #2 - I Go Ditko

Welcome to the second edition of Hey Kids, Comics! Quarterly, the four-times-a-year special issue of the show. Your hosts ran out of quarter between July and September, so the issue for the third quarter of the year has run rather a bit into the fourth quarter!

In June of this year a giant in the comic industry passed away, none other than Spider-Man and Doctor Strange co-creator Steve Ditko. That made what would have been a standard issue of HKC! somewhere down the line a bit more akin to the topic for a quarterly. And who better to explore the career of this comic book legend than Eddie Medina, the ad-hoc third host of this very show!

So get ready for a lively exploration of the life and times of comics’ most fascinating recluse…and don’t get too hung up on the timing of last quarter’s Quarterly!

Hey Kids, Comics! Halloween Special #3 - Suck It!

A day late (on this site anyway), Hey Kids, Comics! none the less proudly presents the third annual Halloween Special!

This year Andrew (An’ Helsing) Farmer and Cole (Stake-’Em) Houston sink their teeth into the vampire in comics. From the alter ego of good old Vlad the Impaler to more curious and fascinating takes on this segment of the undead, there is a lot to get any vampire enthusiast’s attention this time!

Enjoy this journey into the blood-sucking history of comic book vampires as HKC! wishes you a very happy Halloween!

Hey Kids, Comics! #288 - Horse of a Different Color

Truly one of the great success stories of comic publishing history is that of Dark Horse Comics! Welcome then to an issue of Hey Kids, Comics! in which your hosts Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston take a look at this underdog that made it big in a very difficult marketplace and thrives to this day.

Shrewd choices, ideal licenses, and a respect for comic book creators would become a recipe for success when a former comic shop owner decided to create the kind of comics that simply did not exist. Starting with the anthology series, “Dark Horse Presents”, a little niche was carved out that grew and grew until the market share eclipsed by Marvel and DC would acknowledge one of two indies that upset the status quo.

From the obvious to the obscure, Dark Horse comics has brought forth many a classic and fan favorite. With license like Predator, Conan, Star Wars, and Stranger Things to bring in the bucks, they have also been the showcase for creator owned projects like Hellboy, Concrete, and Tank Girl. Explore decades of amazing titles with your hosts with this publisher spotlight!

Hey Kids, Comics! #287 - Friends, Powers, Leagues

Getting caught up with things here at the JCU, so a few issues of Hey Kids, Comics! are finally getting their overdue due. In this case, a special look at the various animated incarnations of the Justice League of America!

Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston start way back in 1973 with the Super Friends, the first animated series to bring together something of the JLA. From there they set their sights on Super Powers, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited!

Join the discussion as your hosts reminisce and explore four iconic series that defined DC Comics heroes for several generations.

Hey Kids, Comics! #286 - Now What?

What if…? What if Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston got their latest issue up the week it was due to be published rather than a week later? Well, we may never know, at least in this case where your hosts discuss the perennial favorite Marvel Comics title “What If?”

A classic title that ran from 1977 to 1984 in its original run. Then started up again in 1989 and kept going at intervals, often with large gaps through 2015. Marvel plans its return, so the timing was perfect for this issue of HKC!

Join this lively exploration of the most interactive comic series ever published. A title that has intrigued and entertained for decades and picked up on the possibilities that existed in classic and obscure Marvel tales! And from time to time, just had a bit of fun, too.

Hey Kids, Comics! #285 - Family Reunions: We Are Family

Yet again things at the JCU are running behind schedule, so there has been a delay getting the final chapter of “Family Reunions” into play here. Your hosts Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston are back in the saddle and catching up on the end of this arc and a couple of upcoming shows to post this week.

Closing out this arc, your hosts take a look at one of the oldest families in comics, the Captain Marvel Family. With a Shazam! movie on the horizon, this is the issue of this arc that actually inspired the entire thing. Fawcett Publications’ most popular comic book, which once outsold Superman, gave the world a unique family of characters who share an association with a weird old magic guy down in the catacombs of the city that bears the company’s name.

From shared powers to bizarre villains to anthropomorphic animals, this is the most whimsical, if often eyebrow raising, family in the arc. It won’t take an anagram of mythic proportions to enjoy this episode, so just enjoy the tale of an orphan boy who’s family kept on growing after he became a hero.

Hey Kids, Comics #284 - Family Reunions: Along Came a Spider

Due to unforeseen entanglements (pun intended) this issue of HKC! ran late, but has arrived "just in time".  Fans of Ol' Web-Head's early animated appearances will get the joke.  But it is no joke that Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston have returned to usher in the next-to-the-last issue of the "Family Reunions" story arc, this time exploring the Spider-Man family!

Perhaps the most unique family dynamic of the arc thus far, Peter Parker and his alter-ego share a lot in common with other characters profiled in the family dynamic.  With a minimum of blood relatives and ever-growing circle of friends and associates (as well as alternate reality incarnations), Spidey's got quite a family thing going!

The advent of the Spider-Verse simply adds to the diverse mix of "Spider-Folks" that have come to populate the life and work of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man as you will discover in this overview of a family that grows like a well-woven spider's web!

The Rantcor Pit #77 - Something Wicket This Way Comes

The Rantcor Pit goes small this outing with a look at the fascinating career of a Star Wars icon since 1983, Warwick Davis!

Proving that short help is better than no help at all, a twist of fate on location in Redwood National Park landed a pre-teen Davis the role of Wicket (the full name will not be spelled out here), the plucky Ewok who befriends Princess Leia.  A role he would reprise twice on television before adding another cinematic icon to his resume, Willow Ufgood!

The title creature in Leprechaun, varied roles in the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia, and additional Star Wars roles would follow, as well as the brilliantly hilarious television series Life's Too Short.  From Star Wars' own teddy bears to an unexpected career spanning decades, Warwick Davis proves an amazing topic for Your Favorite Star Wars Guys, Cole Houston and Eddie Medina.

Hey Kids, Comics! #283 - Family Reunions: Last Son and Then Some

The boys got a bit of a late start last week due to many a difficulty, but that just means that there will be two issues in the "Family Reunions" arc in fairly short order.  This week Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston explore the real first family of comics, the Superman family!

Krypton may have been obliterated, but one child escaped to become the sole survivor of a culture light years from Earth.  Or so he thought.  As the ultimate orphan, Kal-El aka Clark Kent aka Superman created his own family dynamic wherever he could find it on his adopted world, in his past, present, and even future.

Join your hosts in exploring just what kind of family do you wind up with when you have two sets of parents, lots of girlfriends, plenty of hometown and big city pals, and even blood relatives you thought met the same fate as countless Kryptonians!  

The Rantcor Pit #76 - The Spirit of '76

Once upon a time there was no Star Wars.  But that would not be a condition for long!  Back in 1976, what was then known as The Star Wars was in pre-production and ultimately production...and the world had no clue what was about to happen!

Juxtaposing the state of film, television, toys, and more in 1976 against what true fans of that Galaxy Far, Far Away have known for decades, your hosts Cole Houston and Eddie Medina discuss the year before Star Wars came out and a cultural phenomenon began.

Joining them for this pop-culture exploration is Revenge of the Fifth's own Vic Medina.  All children during the American Bicentennial year, three lifelong Star Wars fans reminisce about their own experiences with the best that 1976 had to offer.

Just over a year before its theatrical release, Star Wars began principle photography in Tunisia, a quiet beginning to a little movie that had few allies at 20th Century Fox and was poised to fail at the box office...as far as anyone knew in 1976.  Enjoy this look back at the year before the year that Star Wars took over the world!