YGCTO Episode 28 - The Power Fantasy Vol I

Growing Up With Comics

Comics have always been a strong part of my reading life. Some of the first things I read were Archie and Mad magazine digests that my Grandpa had. Archie comics were approachable as a 4-6 year old. The gang felt like full grown adults as I couldn’t yet tell the age difference between High Schoolers and my parents’ friends. But the stories I understood. And they were funny.

In first grade, I remember typing up an Archie play for my friends on my mom’s old mechanical typewriter. It was 1984 and I was 6. The elementary school had a wooden cutout of a car just the right size for some kids to carry as a prop on stage. I picked a story where the gang had to jump out of a running car because I knew that would make a good live show for the other kids - and give the actors a fun activity.

Since then I’ve always liked the vivid nature of comics. Reading traditional books exercises a different part of the imagination. It relies on both the author’s descriptive abilities paired with the reader’s imagination. It’s a very individual experience. Comics bring you into the author’s vision on a second level. It also gives us as readers a second clear way to talk about the material. We have words and images as a starting point for conversation, rather than the text and our imaginations in the case of traditional books.

The Books I Choose

When I had some money in Jr High it was around ‘92. The Image exodus was happening and I started collecting as Youngblood #1 hit the shelves. See the Youngblood episode of Nerd! for the full story.

I settled on Marvel cosmic as my corner of mainstream comics. Jim Starlin was my guy for years. I dipped in and out of Marvel for the next 20 years, but always loved those characters first.

It was the Vertigo line that first broke me of my Marvel bias. I bounced off so many attempts to read more DC - but Vertigo offered something different. Superheroes were no longer an absolute requirement.

That itch for non-superhero independent comics was later scratched by Image. By the third time I returned to comics around the 2010s, Vertigo was no longer a thing but Image had all the independently owned titles. This is when I discovered Hickman’s many great Image series along with his Secret Wars Avengers run. I also got to read a book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie Kelvie called “The Wicked and the Devine”.

That book was definitely the start of my path to The Power Fantasy. I read through everything I could get a hold of by Kieron Gillen after that. So when I had the Power Fantasy pitched as “All the shit Kieron Gillen wanted to do with Marvel’s X-Men but could not”, I was immediately sold.

The Power Fantasy

The Power Fantasy is a book I am happy to bring more attention to. Please do yourself a favor and read the entire book before listening to the podcast. It’s the kind of book that inspires great conversation - perfect for this podcast.

You can read The Power Fantasy on the Hooopla app if you have a library card at a supporting library. The volumes are out and can be found wherever comics are sold.

This Week’s Guest

Carin Slater

Carin Slater from the “Hey, Have You Read This Yet?” podcast returns. Carin is an avid reader of sci-fi, romance and horror novels but took a break for Volume I of The Power Fantasy.

Check out Hey, Have You Read This Yet?.

Check out Carin’s former podcast with friend of the show Megan Boshuyzen Geek Out! with Megan and Carin.

Mike’s Image Picks

Etienne starts the story by proposing he and Val take over the world.

Remember this panel

He only survives by laying it all out to Val.

Remember this panel

By the end of the conversation, we understand the difference between this superhero comic and others. This is about not fighting.

And now we understand where this is headed

Heavy gets blasted in a majestic 2-page spread

KARAKATHOOOOOM!!

Etienne shows how the Superpowers are playing a game above everyone else by signalling Magus.

Secrets inside secrets

Turns out Heavy has a Kid. The least surprising secret reveal ever.

Meet "Kid Ignition"

Here’s the page of the past and future events we gush about in the podcast.

What was and what will be

Jacky Magus’s Pyramid Cult is introduced in a distressed ‘zine style..

You too can be an Arsehole

What Did We Learn?

Read good comics like The Power Fantasy

Next Episode

For the next full episode, we continue our coverage of Kieron Gillen and Casper Wijngaard’s “The Power Fantasy” comic with Atif Myers. The episode covers Volume 2, issues #6 - 11 of The Power Fantasy.

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Cheers, all!