Episode 269 – JLMAY 2020: Countdown to Infinite Crisis
Welcome to the kick off to JLMay 2020!
In case this is your first experience with JLMay, it is an annual podcasting crossover where a bunch of different networks and shows get together to cover a particular maxi-series, fifth week event, or crossover. It started in 2016 and over the years we’ve talked about JLA: Year One, Justice (the Alex Ross grown up Super Friends series), The Silver Age (a DC Fifth Week Event), and Blackest Night. This year we’re covering Countdown to Infinite Crisis.
Not Infinite Crisis.
Countdown to Infinite Crisis.
The event before the event.
Over the course of several hours, I, along with some guests, discuss the Countdown to Infinite Crisis 80 Page Giant that DC released to get the ball rolling. What happens when a hero that has seen better days, the Blue Beetle, stumbles upon a mystery that could shake the heroes of the DC Universe to their core? Why is Batman so paranoid and what is Brother I? What’s going on with magic and why is Captain Marvel fighting the Spectre? Why are the planets Rann and Thanagar at war? And what does the espionage agency Checkmate have to do with Blue Beetle’s life being in danger? Some of those questions are answered and some are merely hinted at over the course of this special, but one this is certain; the final fate of the Ted Kord Blue Beetle will be the shot heard around the universe.
Joining me for this special are some people I’ve been podcasting with for years and a bunch of people that I have listened to but never worked with. Things start, as they often do on Views From The Longbox with The Irredeemable Shag (of The Fire and Water Podcast ) but they continue with Mike Staley (Silent Knight: The Cassandra Cain Podcast), Jon and Maggie Schaefer-Hames (Married With Comics), Clinton Robison (The Coffee and Comics Podcast), J David Weter (Dave’s Gambit Podcast), and then back to The Irredeemable Shag. Shag and I break down the era this book was published during and then the rest of the crew and I tackle each chapter leading to Beetle’s last stand. It’s a fun three hours.
Yes, this is three hours. If that makes you go, “Wow, when am I going to have time to listen to all of this?”, fear not because the sections break down into smaller, more bite sized chunks of show. You can listen to the whole thing at once, or listen to a section, live your life, and then come back to it. The choice, as ever, is yours.
Below are the cover and select pages from the comic discussed in this episode.
The fun of JLMay 2020 is only just beginning! Be sure to check out the following shows over the course of May to continue the epic coverage of the event before the event.
- Aquaman and Firestorm: The Fire and Water Podcast
- Robin: Everyone Loves The Drake
- Pop Culture Affidavit
- The Fanholes Podcast
- Justice’s First Dawn
- It All Comes Back To Superman
- The Birds of Prey Podcast
- Married With Comics
- The Coffee and Comics Podcast
- The Longbox Crusade
- Task Force X
- Relatively Geeky Presents
- Wonder Woman: Warrior For Peace
Also, if you are listening to these shows and digging this podcast crossover, be sure to use #JLMay2020 if you’re sharing these episodes on social media.
Next Time: An episode I’ve had on the editing block for awhile, but haven’t gotten to because…reasons. Paul Spataro joins me for a Fireside Chat to talk about the Bring on the Bad Guys trade paperback.
That Fun. song was a good pull.
Ah, Countdown to Infinite Crisis. I remember getting the special for $1. I mean, you had to. It was basically the set up for everything afterward. Although the ending left a sour taste in my mouth. Not the same as others, since I really wasn’t a fan of the Bwa-ha-ha Era, but I have a bit of a soft spot for Blue Beetle, and i was not a fan of what happened to him.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get all the mini-series. I could really only afford the Superman books at the time, with the occasional splurge to pick up the JLA issues that ended the series and led into Infinite Crisis.
Other than Ted, things looked so promising after Infinite Crisis, but, to me, a different DC emerged from the rubble, and I just haven’t been able to really get into it ever since. This whole event marked the end of my “Golden Age” of collecting.