You can listen to the episode by clicking: Episode 98
There comes a time in every podcast, where you need to talk about inconsequential cameo appearances made by the members of the team of heroes that you are podcasting about. Trust me, there is a law about that somewhere. I am sure I have read it. The point is, Power Pack has been mentioned or has done some drive-byes in a few issues that we wanted to mention. This is also a nice break before a change to what we have been doing.
Luke Cage is crazy because the demon Boogey Man has taken over his brain. Yeah, we have all been there. Interesting career move for a Power Pack villain. A strange issue with a cameo by Dakota North?
We are on Madripoor Island for some sexy swimsuit times. And because Alex headed over with the New Warriors….here we are. Can we appreciate how Alex has not been skipping bicep days? I really do not know what else to say here.
Remember that time when Power Pack wiped the floor with Mysterio? Well the pack does. And during one of Mysterios fights with Daredevil, he replays his entire life, all of the moments that made an impact on him….and then he disses the Pack. Seriously!!!
HYDRA is attacking and all the heroes are responding, including Power Pack. That is just about it. Thanks for coming folks!
And now we have a comic about C class super-villains who are bad at doing what they do, finding better uses for their “talents”, and becoming better. And yet…AND YET….the losers still need to belittle the Pack. Man….give our kids some love.
OK, it is time for the kids to get some respect. The kids need to be part of the universe. They need to be part of some great teams. Unfortunately, this is the Great Lakes Avengers. Still, we will take it.
And that is what we have folks. Stay tuned for a new direction next episode.
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Eighties Action by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3703-eighties-action License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Some Amount of Evil by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4388-some-amount-of-evil License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Jeff and Rick Present 
I’m not even halfway through the episode but I had to respond to you saying that none of the Cage creative team were associated with Power Pack.. Cage writer Marcus McLaurin was assistant editor on Power Pack 35-52 so would have been very invested in Power Pack.
Hope you’re both having a great New Year,
Damien
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Hey, Damien! Glad to hear from you!
This is why we are the “experts” on Power Pack, it is because people that know more than us tell us things like this. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this bit of information with us, it is something that totally slipped our radar.
Hope your holidays were grand (how the heck are we past them already?) and that your new year is amazing! Hope to talk to you again soon.
-Jeff
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Greetings fine fellows!
I was finally able to listen to this episode after a week populated by returning to the work place after winter break and all the fun that entails. ( staff absence, student illness, wacky weather) My first thought in seeing the title was “Good! The boys are doing the word correct, and not using it as a website domain where athletes, musicians, actors, influencers and the like charge money to send you. personalized messages.” I am surprised Jeff didn’t give a random banter theme in the style of ‘Word Up” by the R&B group Cameo, but good job crooning Diamond Dave!
It is a weird schism between some creators regarding this title in that you can tell who has ever really sampled the stories and those who have not. As a life long fan of comics, I had always thought some characters or groups have a scintilla of respect given based on their past deeds. It would be a acknowledged fact to incoming creators wherever they enter from that there are certain points not to sway from regarding continuity. In the larger picture of Marvels universe, Power Pack was in the mix with the top tier characters for five years or so, latching onto significant crossovers through the back end of the 80s. There always seemed to be a pivot away from adherence to continuity in the late 90s early aughts with an influx of screenwriters and indie darlings given seeming more free reign over the property’s characters, and it shows. I realize this comes off as the old man screaming at a cloud meme but it has always bothered me.
The titles you list in this episode I have some knowledge or little knowledge about. Cage was one I think my younger brother had gotten the first couple of issues based on the Dwayne Turner pencils. The Thunderbolts title I had at least the first 25 issues of back when it was being published and in a long box. That was a fun book given the ruse perpetrated on the public, and I recently had gotten volume one omnibus at a great temporary low price. If I can whittle down my reading pile further, that book is on the future agenda. ( a struggle I think you both can sympathize with) That swimsuit special… I was guilty of buying back in the day and using it to practice my figure drawing in high school during Art 3 class (as well as other class periods instead of being clued in on the subject and assignment at that moment.) The Great Lakes Avengers; I remember the appearance of them in West Coast Avengers because in that time period whatever John Byrne put a pencil or word processor to was good as gold in my teenage mind. Being a more mature-ish adult, the idea of GLA reminds me of Byrne’s take on the Giffen/DeMatties JLA books at DC in that time. It is probably because of more things I have read today regarding John Byrne that leads me to think he had the hubris to say, “I can do that humor superhero book but better!”
Despite the change in format to compliment the bits for this episode, I commend you guys for the fun coverage. Looking ahead to Runaways… I think you both will be in for a pleasant surprise. It has been years since I have possessed the book run or read an issue, but the team of BKV and Alphona were just sublime. Vaughn really gets the tone of adolescence in his dialogue, and his story ideas back in this time were very creative. I have become a lapsed Vaughn reader given his Hollywood work taking him away from working on stuff like Saga. (Is Saga still worth a read? At some point early on I felt it was playing like an intergalactic Kramer vs. Kramer story)
I hope this electronic missive finds you and your families well and safe. I look forward to another year of friendship and friendly banter. I am going to sign off now to start watching Squid Game. I heard a lot about it but have not found the time to commit to watching.
Stay safe!
Jeremy
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Jeremy!
It’s fun returning to a workplace after being away from it for awhile isn’t it? Especially in the now times in a school setting. I don’t envy you that at all. My neighbor is a teacher and I know that he spent a good chunk of time not having a fun time.
Ahhh, Word Up would have been an excellent choice. Oh well, missed opportunity there, but glad you liked the Diamond Dave-ing I did. As you can tell, the Swimsuit issue really moved me in this episode. 🙂
Scream away at all the clouds you want old man, I could use the company. Some people that take over characters really remain faithful to them and tie into their histories to make a really cohesive ongoing story…some…do not. I think PP got lost in the mix due to people wanting all these new extreme characters, and also because new people wanted their classics as well. Hard to tell really, but I think that your points on the matter are probably right on the money.
Oh the whittling down of the reading pile. Good luck with that. I had been hitting MU stacks pretty hard for a couple of years, but recently have been hardly reading anything on it at all. All this extra time, and my offline stack hasn’t shrunk at all for some reason. So much new stuff to read, so much old stuff to read, so much life responsibilities that rise up and get in the way of all that reading I want to do.
Glad you are okay with the slight format change. I promise you though that we will continue to keep the fun coverage up. We will always try and approach what we do from a joyful place with jokes and a mostly positive attitude. Unless we don’t. 🙂
Saga is a title that tons of people that I know LOVE. And as big a fan of BKV stuff that I am (I would be down for doing a Y the Last Man podcast) I am not one that shares the love. I have read…I don’t know how many issues to be honest, it’s been awhile, and it never really clicked with me. So the short answer to “Is Saga still worth a read?” is: I don’t know. There, that was my unhelpful public service for the day.
Thank you for your electronic missive, it found us and our families both well and safe. Looking forward to more friendship and banter with you in the coming year(s) as well. We have years of shows left to share and I am excited to have you there with us.
Hope you like Squid Games, I really enjoyed it but understand that it’s not for everyone. Looking forward to your take on it.
Later, gator!
-Jeff
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