
First Issue Club Comic Books
443 episodes — Page 1 of 9
The Good Side of Comic Books
Corpse Knight / In Your Skin
Marvel Blind Bags / Fireborn / The HAB
Ep 429The Fury of Firestorm
EA lot of first issues this week! We'll talk about Pretty Hate Machine, Everybody Loves a Jewel Theif, Neighborhood Watch, Fury of Firestorm, Web of Venom, & Romeo & Juliet and Godzilla. Also in this episode: Florida trip, Mind MGMT returning, Flux House "no AI used" stamp, and the Bendis Spider-man legacy discourse.
Ep 428Daredevil / Royals / MAD
EThis week we play a game of "Metal band or comic character?" before talking about first issues with old pal The Budget King! We'll cover Stephanie Phillips new Daredevil run, Captain Marvel Dark Past, Royals by Derek Kirk Kim (who you may remember from The Last Mermaid), the MAD Magazine DC special, and we'll round out the convo with Alien King Killer out on Marvel. I'll also mention we had a great time at Planet Comicon this past weekend, and enjoyed meeting tons of fellow comic fans at the Boulevard Brewing Company Space Camber tasting booth! We'll talk a bit more about our experiences on Monday's patreon episode.

Podsquisite Corpsecast - Issue 11
bonusThe corpsecast hosts are back in Oak Valley Maine talking issue 11 of Exquisite Corpses!
Ep 427DC Next Level / Spider-Man Trailer
EWe had some level issues! I tried to fix them in the edit, sorry they go up and down a bit... I did the best I could! This episode we'll talk about the 3 DC Next Level titles with Lobo, Deathstroke, and Batgirl. Also on DC we got promised a decent jumping on point on Nightwing, so we skimmed that one as well. And if you thought we forgot about Marvel, you thought wrong! Andy read the Sentry. At the top of the episode we'll talk the spider-man trailer, and get all of our fan theories out of the way.
Ep 426X-Men United / Tigress Island
EPut on your headphones! It's time for more first issue club. This week Mike and Vargas talk Eve L. Ewings X-Men title that gets the whole gang back together, Imperial Guardians spinning out of Marvels Imperial event, a new red-band Alias series starring Jessica Jones, a new take on Usagi Yojimbo in Kaito '84, and wrapping it up with this weeks indie darling - Tigress Island.
Ep 425Punisher / Is Ted Okay?
EThis week, the members of the club collectively read Ben Percy's Punisher, Is Ted Okay by Dave Chrisholm, Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral by all the guys, Phantom of the Opera by my dudes, The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery by the other guys, and Predator: Bloodshed by the boys.

Podsquisite Corpsecast - Issue 10
bonusEExquisite Corpses has gone double digits! Join Greg and Mike as they cover the issue beat by beat, and speculate about what it all could mean for the finality of this series!!! NOTE: We were trying to remember how many issues there were during this episode... it's 13! An issue for each of the 13 colonies and killers.
Ep 424White Sky / Wolverine
EA bunch of first issues this week, so we skipped the news and got right to readin'. This week we speculate on Avengers Armageddon while reading a Wolverine series lead-in by Chip Zdarsky. Outside of that we're all indies! End of Life by Kyle Starks is full of dirtbags, White Sky on Image Comics is the most hyped book of the week, Kermit becomes a PI in Muppets Noir, A movie frachise extends into comics with Smile for the Camera, stuff obviously gets crazy in Florida Hippopotamus Cocaine Massacre, 80's cartoons meet drug filled action thriller in Death Fight Forever, aaaaaand I think thats it?! Happy reading!
S1 Ep 423Onslaught of Firsties: Mega Episode
EVargas and Mike walked into the comic shop this week after taking out an equity loan on the podcast studio, to buy something like 12 first issues! I'll try to list them all for your benefit: Wade Wilson: Deadpool, Cyclops, Jar Jar, and Marc Spector Moonknight are all new volumes out on Marvel. Over on DC's imprints we have have Sirens: Love Hurts on Black Label and Bleeding Hears on VERTIGO!!! (YAY! Welcome back!). On the independent front we've got The Center Holds on Boom, Just Brutal on Ignition Press, and The Thing on the Doorstep on Image comics.
Ep 422Crossover Extravaganza
EThis week had everything: Superheroes, deadites, Riverdale teenages, murderous bears, a planet full of apes, alien vampire babes, haunted dolls, and so on and so forth. Aside from our three crossovers we'll also discuss our picks of the week D'Orc and Ripcord!

Podsquisite Corpsecast - Issue 9
bonusEWe're nearing the end game in Oak Valley Maine! Join us as we recap and speculate about the loose ends of issue 9.
Ep 421Vargas watched Wonder Man / Malevolent
ENot only are we talking Wonder Man & Malevolent from Image Comics (as the title promises!), we're also talking about stolen comics, remembering Sal, the Hindenburg baby, Sex Criminals, Spirit of the Shadows 1 on Oni Press, and Iron Man 1 on Marvel Comics. Thanks for listening, and see ya next week chew relievers!
Ep 420Rogue and Psylocke Have Flashbacks
EIt's episode 420 of first issue club maaaaan! We're talking mostly marvel flashbacks this week with two first issues that take the X-ladies back to revist their pasts, and the publisher plans to revisit the Civil War event.
Ep 419Knull Gets His Own Comic
EWe're covering brand new comics about Knull, Doom, and some Marvel music stars this episode! In the news we've got another record comic sale, and Russo bros hints about Doomsday. FYI - We tried a different audio setup this week, and it turned out a little fuzzy. Oops! Should be plenty listenable. We'll try tweaking again next week!
S1 Ep 418Microdosing Marvel Trailers / Ark-M
EHow many times will you see Avatar to collect mini-marvel trailers?! We'll talk about them a bit, as well as Archies move to ONI before getting into our comics this week WHICH INCLUDE: Absolute Batman ARK M Special, Hank Howard Pizza Detective: The Two Hollwoods (Best title of the week award winner), and Carmen Red Claw from the world of Hellboy.
Ep 417Best of 2025!
EWe'll talk through some of our favorites from the last year! Also in the news... Blind bag woes.
Podsquisite Corpsecast - Issue 8
bonusEAnother issue, but this time THE ABSOLUTE MOST HAPPENS! Mike D breaks it down for Vargas.
Ep 416Black Panther: Intergalactic / Wrestle Heist
EIt's a holiday week, so I'm taking some time off from writing podcast descriptions. We do have an episode for you though! The books we cover are in the title!
Ep 415Supergirl Trailer / Absolute Joker / Ordained
EA lot to talk about this week! Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow's influence is all over the new Supergirl teaser, and we'll break it down. In addition to the books in the title, we'll also discuss The Darkness on Image & Our Soot Stained Heart on Mad Cave. Upcoming on the patreon: Vargas has nerdy gifts for his nerdy co-hosts Greg and Mike!
S1 Ep 414It's The Greg Show!
EIn this solo episode of the First Issue Club, Greg reflects on the challenges and quirks of hosting a podcast alone.
Podsquisite Corpsecast - Issue 7
bonusEHappy November Halloween! Let's break down Exquisite Corpses issue 7 together!
Ep 413Batman+Deadpool / Ferocious
EWe've got some stuff to talk about!!! (It's comics. It's been comics the whole time!) - In addition to the books in the title, we'll also try to make sense of X-Men of Apocalypse
Ep 412Felix Variant Frenzy / TMNT v Godzilla
EThis week, one of the audio editing tools we use suggested a synopsis to me that said this episode was about the liberation that freeform jazz provides... WHAT? My garauntee to you is that our episode descriptions will remain written by the same idiots talking on the podcast. In this episode we talk about eating habits, James Gunn movie updates, Felix Variants, and the DC/Marvel digital crossovers! Our comics are TMNT v Godzilla, Youngblood, American Caper, & Thor/Shazam!
Ep 411Alien V Captain America / Harley & Ivy
EIt's late because we recorded a couple long ones tonight! In this episode Vargas and Mike talk about collections too big for their britches before getting into comic books like Planet She-Hulk, Knightfight, Die!Namite: Blood Hunt, Harley & Ivy: Live & Crimes, Alien V Captain America, No Place, AND the first comic released as a DECK OF CARDS?! Ice Cream Man: The Mortal Coil Shuffle.

BONUS: Podsquisite Corpsecast - ISSUE 6
bonusEWe're back in Oak Valley, and these time we had a death that busted the bracket of one of the club members... WHO WILL IT BE!??!!?

BONUS: Podsquisite Corpsecast - ISSUE 5
bonusEOkay - We just found out our first upload of this failed, so here it is! Not-so-fresh out of the oven one month later... Here's our takes on issue 5 of Exquisite Corpses. We'll be posted issue 6 reactions on Monday!
Ep 410Godzilla vs Kansas City / Return to Sleepy Hollow
EIt's an audio oopsey episode of first issue club! It's mostly intact but beware spooooky tech trouble this halloween. In addition to the books in the title we'll talk about the Absolute Batman Annual, Supernatural and a new volume of The Beauty!
Ep 409Death of Godzilla / X-Men stuff
EGiddy-up for episode 409 of the First Issue Club! This week we're chatting about the death of Godzilla, and remembering President Crow. For first issues, we'll be talking about Age of Revelation issues Omega Kids & The Last Wolverine. In the Hellboy universe we have Captain Henry and the Graveyard of Time. There's a Halloween anthology from Boom Studios that we'll briefly cover, and Vargas brings us home by walking us through a new 30 Days of Night story arc!
Ep 408NYCC FOMO / Endeavour / Yuletide
EThis week its just Vargas and Mike. We'll talk about what we're feeling FOMO about from NYCC, along with a heap of first issues. Aside from the books in the title we'll talk Iron & Frost, Sinister's Six, Rogue Storm, Marian Heretic, Mary Sue, and Hector Plasm!
S1 Ep 407NYCC Exclusive News / DCKO Controversy
EI'M WALKING HERE! In this episode, Greg and Vargas dive into a variety of topics ranging from pranking schools to the latest news from NYCC. What happens when the Ultimate Universe ends? Fun implications of Superman entering the public domain? We're your home for breaking and exclusive THURSDAY-related NYCC coverage. We dive head first into the controversy surrounding the newest DC event, DCKO. No other podcast is brave enough to ask the tough questions. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Fuzzy Duo 03:00 Pranking 101: The Art of Mischief 05:47 NYCC Buzz: The Hottest Night of the Con 08:38 The End of the Ultimate Universe 11:35 Marvel's Strategy: Alternate Realities and Money 14:36 DC's Future: Quality Control and Creative Direction 17:17 Vertigo's Comeback: New Series Announcements 22:51 Zombie Dinosaurs and Comic Book Premises 24:35 Exploring Unique Storytelling in Comics 26:04 Thrillers and Obsessions in New Comics 27:36 The Return of Vertigo and Indie Comics 29:12 Rick Veitch's Swamp Thing Saga 32:57 Superman and the Public Domain Debate 39:43 The Future of Public Domain Characters 40:41 Big Dumb Comic Book Fun 44:52 The Twist of Darkseid and Booster Gold 46:10 Superman's Moral Dilemma 49:08 Crossover with the Absolute Universe 51:04 The Stakes of the Tournament 52:57 Final Thoughts on DCKO 53:50 Harley Quinn Meets Elvira 56:40 Exploring UFOs in Comics 59:41 Deluge: A Flood of Monsters 01:02:28 Unique Codes in Ignition Press 01:05:18 Transformers: A New Jumping Point
Ep 406Absolute Evil / Spider-Man Noir
EOn this weeks episode, we pour one out for the passing of Zdarsky Comic News, and speculate what the next Marvel DC Crossover to be announced might be. On the first issue front, we've got a lot to cover! Al Ewing pens Absolute Evil, and Spider-Man super-star Erik Larson writes Spider-Man Noir! Beyond our headliners we talk Starship Godzilla, Author Immortal, Roots of Madness, Gunpoweder Prophets, & Savager. Even still there were more first issues that sounded great that we didn't get to, so keep your eyes peeled for other firsties at your LCS this weekend. If you're interested in learnin' more about getting a club pin, check out our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/FirstIssueClub
Ep 405Spider-Man MTG cards / Twilight Zone / Kirkman's Skinbreaker
ELotsa firsties as usual! We're talking Madcave's Phantom, Detective Comics 1101 (which is a first issue in spirit by modern day standards), Ultimate Hawkeye, Robert Kirkmans Skinbreaker on Skybound via Image Comics, Viking Moon also on Image, and Twilight zone! Maybe another one I'm spacing on, but is that not enough for you?!?! I also check with Vargas on how much I should freak out about these crazy Spider-man Magic the Gathering prices.
Ep 404Deadpool Batman Crossover / No Man's Land
EThis week we talk the biggest release since Batman 1 a couple weeks ago... and its another batman book! In the news Batman books sell a lot, and theres speculation about the Villian in the new Matt Reeves Batman movie. BATMAN BATMAN BATMAN! When asked about this weeks episode, Robin was heard saying "Holy Batman, Batman!" On our Patreon, we'll be covering WAY more first issues from the past 2 weeks.

BONUS: Exquisite Corpsecast - ISSUE 4
bonusEMORE FREAKY DELIGHTS AWAIT, in Exquisite Corpses Issue 4 - And it might be our favorite of the series thus far! Featured creators in this issue are Che Greyson & Adam Gorham.
Ep 403Batman by Matt Fraction / Who To Ban From Cons
EThis week we're living in a version of Earth that has two volumes of Batman running simultaneously! Are we blessed or are we cursed?! Find out on this weeks episode of F.I.C.!!!! Also, does Jim Lee have a conflict of interest between Image & DC!?! What are 5 things to get rid of at cons?!? AND MORE!!!
Ep 402Mortal Thor / Immortal Legend Batman / Masterminds / The Invisible Man
EHey everyone! Mike here — I'm sick and my house is filling with water, so Greg and Vargas gave me the night off. They have an Immortal and Mortal book to cover in the same week. WHAT A WORLD WE LIVE IN?! The boys are talking about Marvels Mortal Thor from Al Ewing & Pasqual Ferry, with covers by Alex Ross. Next up, Mastermind out on Dark Horse from Zack Kaplan and Stephen Thompson. Immortal Legend Batman from the Radiant Black crew. AND FINALLY!!! My most anticipated book of the week is James Tynion, Brad Simpson and Dani taking on the Invisible Man as the next entry into Image Comics Universal Monsters set of mini-series. Have a safe and lovely holiday weekend to our US folks. We'll see you next week with another episode or two!
Ep 401Event Horizon / Spider-Gwen / Escape
ESince last week we had a very special episode, we're talking two weeks of first issues! Vargas has us covered for last week with Superman: Kryptonite Spectrum and Predator Kills the Marvel Universe. This week, the club at large covers a nice swath of firsties with Event Horizon Dark Descent on IDW's Dark imprint, Rick Remender and Daniel Acuna bring us a Giant Generator firsty called Escape, club favorite Stephanie Phillips pens the reset of Spider-Gwen in the 616, G. Willow Wilson takes Black Cat on a heroes journey over at Marvel, AWA has a magazined sized "Future of Fear" one-shot called Kill or be Killed, Mad Cave launches an immortality succession type tale with Eat Your Young... And if thats not enough first issues for one week, I don't know what to tell ya! Happy comic book reading!

S1 Ep 400Episode 400!!!
EWe take a break from first issues to celebrate a landmark episode, and look back on the best things that have happened in comics since we started the show.
S1 Ep 399Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone / Orla
EThis week is all comics no news! It's a shorty, but come back next week for a whopper, when we'll be celebrating our 400th episode!

BONUS: Exquisite Corpsecast - ISSUE 3
bonusEJoin us for another bonus episode where we discuss the issues of Exquisite Corpses out on Image comics!
S1 Ep 398SDCC / Fantastic Four / Speed Racer
EThis week, the club debriefs on San Diego Comicon & the Eisners, talks the fates of DCs Absolute & Marvels Ultimate universes, and gets into some Fantastic Four takes before talking... you guessed it: FIRST ISSUES! This weeks offering includes WAR (A Hello Darkness Spinoff on Boom!) from Becky Cloonan and Garth Ennis, Werewolf by Night by Michael Giacchino (who wrote/directed the MCU Werewolf by Night film), & Speed Racer by David Pepose out on Mad Cave! Keep reading comics and being nice!
S1 Ep 397Early SDCC / Godzilla on IDW
EThis week, were going over day one of SDCC news, talk some exclusives, and slowly make our way to and through this weeks comics which include the new Godzilla on IDW, The Voice Said Kill & Texarcanum on Image, and Look into my Eyes from Boom!
S1 Ep 396Superman - The Film! (2025)
EToday, the club discusses their reactions to the Superman movie from Soup(er) to nuts! The cast, the plot, the reveals - we'll talk about it all. That means spoilers folks! Be aware that we'll meander into spoiler territory a little bit at a time, so if you haven't seen the movie, you might want to avoid this one. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! In addition, you know we gotta cover first issues (its our core premise afterall). We'll talk about Ghost Pepper, and manga inspired double sized indie debut on image comics from Ludo Lullabi, then we get a double dose of Duggan with his indie offering also on image with "This Ends Tonight". He's joined by Kelvin Mao, Robert Windom, Jae Lee, and June Chung in this action fantasy. His big two entry was Marvels "Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe".
S1 Ep 395Fantastic Four / Tons of Indies
EThis week we're talking 2 Fantastic Firsties! Fantastic Four 1 by Ryan North is the star of the week, with its new jumping on point to the classic series (It had 20 variants!), and to follow it up, we'll talk about last weeks Fantastic Four: First Steps by Matt Fraction, which gives MCU fans a taste of whats to come. In the indies, you'll hear our takes on Beneath the Trees Vol 2, Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob, Planet Death, The Unchosen, and Wild Animals! What a week for first issues! Hope you saved your pennies and used them wisely at your local comic shop this week.
S1 Ep 394Captain America by Chip Zdarsky
EIn addition to talking the big book of the week (Captain America - duh), we'll cover Sisterhood and Gehenna: Naked Aggression, both out on Image Comics. These are going to be fun to talk about, but please - I beg of you... Don't forget the news! We'll talk about the reveal from the X-Men Hellfire Vigil, Bots comic book Reddit needs, and a goodbye to the legend Jim Shooter.
S1 Ep 393News from the Fallout / Don't Forget Your Briefcase
EThis week the Budgets back in town, and we're talking about... COUNT EM! THREE new indie comics. News From the Fallout out on Image, Don't Forget Your Briefcase on Mad Cave & Tramps of the Apocolypse on Dark Horse comics! In the news we talk a little Iron Heart, the new FF trailer, a record sale for just the cover of Action 1, and Dan Mora and Robert Kirkman take over Transformers! Thanks for joining us!

Podsquisite Corpsecast - Issue 2
bonusEWelcome to the first episode of Podsquisite Corpsecast!!! We talked about the first issue a few weeks back in one of our regular episodes, so if you need to catch up, start there! Otherwise, welcome to the party as we discuss Exquisite Corpses issue 2 as the creative team of Michael Walsh and James Tynion welcomes artist Marriana Ignazzi (who has a killer style!). Also, we need your help! Podsquisite Corpsecast needs a theme song, and we're hoping one of you can help us! We'll send a goody bag to whoever gets the winning theme (and some stickers and buttons for runners up!) Send your WAVs or MP3s to [email protected].