AG Monday!
Jim Starlin's run on Marvel's Adam Warlock.
In the 1970s, Jim Starlin, a comic artist and writer, revamped a C-list Marvel character named Adam Warlock. Starlin’s unique art, sharp writing, and unique vision for this “cosmic” superhero made us instant fans! Plus, Warlock’s story became a foundational part of The Infinity Gauntlet, in which Thanos strives to destroy life across the universe! (You may have heard of this Thanos fellow.) Starlin went on later to write some of our favorite comics, both at Marvel and DC.
Totalitarian theocrats! Crazy plot twists! Actual insanity! Aliens! Obvious Elric connections! Trolls! It’s all here.
Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!
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Well, you mentioned Star Trek Prodigy.
I don’t know what annoys Tom. Prodigy is a kid’s show, centered on teens saving the galaxy. Wasn’t it made for Nickelodeon, too? But I found it among the best incarnations of Trek. I don’t suppose there’ll be a third season, though….
@Kathy: I would totally be down for s3, but it seems unlikely.
And yes, s1 aired in Nickelodeon.
I’ve been meaning to check out the podcast since you began it, but it took this episode on Starlin and Warlock to get me there. Thanks for this! Although I’ve never written a word like anything Starlin ever did, the Magus run on Warlock was one of the foundational texts of my entire writing career. Great to hear it discussed (and appreciated) so intelligently.
And particular kudos for the short bit near the end where you guys are talking about the weirdness of the kinds of comics Marvel was putting out in the early 70s. This was my comic book period, and Starlin and Steve Englehart and Steve Gerber and Frank Brunner were my heroes and inspirations.
(I might have included Gerry Conway, but then I worked with him many years later. Never meet your heroes, they say…)
My one regret is that, judging by your colloquy on pronunciation, you won’t seen be talking about another foundational work, John Fowles The Magus.
By the way, and at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot, my idea of your voice has always been the erudite professorial tone of your posts about, say, weak parties. Here you came across sounding like one of my peers.
Which of course, you are! I’ve spent my life around academics — my father was an English professor at UC Berkeley — and many of my closest friends have toiled in academia… as I do now.
So in retrospect it’s obvious that I should check out a podcast and hear people who sound like my friends and not like a political science lecture. I’ve always admired your posts here… but it’s very nice to meet you “in person”!
@wr: We appreciate you listening! And I am certainly pleased to hear you enjoyed it. It’s funny: this one felt like one of out most niche episodes, but yours is the second unexpected compliment about the topic I have received today.
And it is always funny to hear what someone you read sounds like (or to see someone you only ever hear!). Glad to hear we sounds like friends!
Cheers.