The Fantasticast

Stephen Lacey & Andrew Leyland
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Stephen Lacey and Andrew Leyland are your guide to Marvel's First Family, The Fantastic Four. Starting at the very beginning of the Marvel Age of Comics, they cover every issue of The Fantastic Four, every spinoff title (Strange Tales, Marvel Two-In-One, FF, and more), every guest appearance and every cameo, all in order of publication.

  1. 04/05/2024

    Episode 368: Marvel Two-in-One #77 - Only The Swamp Survives

    Cancelled Comic Cavalcade Hello, and welcome to episode 367 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. After an extended break, Steve is back to continue his journey through the latter issues of Marvel Two-in-One. What happens if a team-up books doesn't involve a team-up, and neither title star recognises each other? What happens if the non-title guest stars are more interesting than the actual guest star? And what happens if The Thing is actually his own grandfather in an attempt to match the Marvel sliding timescale with a story set in a very specific timeframe? Find out in this week's Fantasticast! Tom DeFalco, Ron Wilson, Chic Stone, George Roussos, Michael Higgins, Jim Salicrup, Jim Shooter, and Bob Wiacek present Marvel Two-in-One #77 - Only The Swamp Survives. In which a walkabout in a swamp goes horribly wrong, Alicia Masters has no agency at all, we discover a new element of World War II, and find out what The Thing would look like as a Muppet. All this, and brief looks at Avengers #209 and Dazzler #5 as well! Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

    53 min

  2. 05/20/2023

    Episode 367: Fantastic Four #232 - Back To The Basics

    John Byrne Doesn't Play Well With Others Hello, and welcome to episode 367 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. We're finally here, the start of the 1980s renaissance of the Fantastic Four. John Byrne is here as writer and artist, and the Fantastic Four will never be the same again. Diablo is back in town, and looking to use the elemental nature of the Fantastic Four against his old enemies. Only some cunning thinking, and a well-stocked scuba store, can prevent the team from being defeated by their own dark reflections. And only the former co-host of The Fantasticast can help guide Steve through this new beginning. Yes, returning to the show for the start of the Byrne run is former Fantasticast co-host Andrew Leyland. He tore himself away from reviewing The Overlooked Dark Knight, and from hosting his eclectic pop-culture review show The Palace of Glittering Delights, to dust off his Fantastic Four longbox and make a return to the world of Fantastic Four review and commentary. Missed him? As well as his podcasts, you can also follow him on (what's left of) twitter where he is @leyland_andrew! John Byrne, John Byne, Bjorn Heyn (but actually John Byrne), Glynis Wein, Jim Novak, Jim Salicrup, Jim Shooter, and Terry Austin present Fantastic Four #232 - Back To The Basics! Featuring two-month-old Oscar talk, Yeoh before bladder, Not Bjorn Heyn, a catalogue of redheads, and the cleansing of New York with fire. Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

    1h 15m

  3. 04/28/2023

    Episode 366: Steve Further Fan-'Splains The FF

    A Veritable Everything Bagel of 1970s Fantastic Four Hello, and welcome to episode 358 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This time around, the Fantasticast is taking a short breather between the end of the Moench/Sienkiewicz run, and the start of the Byrne run. Picking up from where we left off in mid-2015, Steve is here to guide you literally through every issue and spin-off of the Fantastic Four, from Fantastic Four #121 through to Fantastic Four #131, including all of Marvel Two-in-One to date, and a few extra appearances as well. Yes, it's Steve Further Fan-'Splains The FF, a chance to catch up on everything that's been happening so far in The Fantastic Four. It's a non-stop skip-and-a-jump through the post-Kirby years and into the 1970s, with revisits of the good, the bad, and the Conway. It's a chance to revisit old memories, and remind ourselves of the just how weird things could get in the 1970s. Part 1 of the Fan-'Splain series can be found in Episode 137, and Part 2 can be found in Episode 138. Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

    2h 12m

  4. 02/16/2023

    Episode 365: Marvel Two-in-One #76 - The Big Top Bandits

    We Need To Talk About Sue's... Uh... Hello, and welcome to episode 365 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, we're taking a well-earned break, both in the real world and in the podcast. Steve's travelling to Los Angeles to attend the Gallifrey One convention, and Ben, Alicia, Bobby, and Bill are off to the circus in Marvel Two-in-One. Such a shame that there's only one circus in the Marvel Universe (yes, we're discounting the one with Johnny's cousins from Strange Tales), and that one is the Circus of Crime! Tom DeFalco, David Michelinie, Jerry Bingham, Chic Stone, George Roussos, Michael Higgins, Bob Budiansky, Jim Salicrup, Jim Shooter, Joe Sinnott, and Gaspar Saladino present Marvel Two-in-One #76 - The Big Top Bandits. Guest-starring both Iceman and Giant Man, and featuring some curiously silent heroes, a thoroughly irriating clown, an accidentally-forgettable artist, and the strong need to talk about Sue's... uh... As well as this, we're also joining the latest of Marvel's merry mutants to follow her disco-laden adventures with Doctor Doom in Dazzler #3 and #4. Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

    45 min

  5. 02/04/2023

    Episode 364: Fantastic Four #231 - In All The Gathered Gloom

    He Is Styggor, And He Is Not Important Hello, and welcome to episode 364 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. The end has arrived, and, well, it's probably about time. The creative team are departing the book to make way for a fresh start, but they've got some unfinished business to take care of. The Baxter Building and the surrounding city block are stuck in the Negative Zone, and Lorrie Melton is missing her boo. Can the Fantastic Four overcome civilian insurrection, and the least important villain see in the Fantastic Four to date, and make it back home to Franklin? Doug Moench, Roger Stern, Bill Sienkiewicz, Joe Sinnott, And Moore (but actually Al Milgrom and Frank Giacoia), George Roussos, Jim Novak, Bob Budiansky, Jim Salicrup, and Jim Shooter present Fantastic Four #231 - In All The Gathered Gloom. Featuring someone who is a gangster and not a Wolverine writer, someone who is not Magneto, someone who is not Jim Shooter, someone who is not Jerome Moore, and wouldn't you know it? Bill Sienkiewicz is inking, and he wants you to know it! Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

    57 min

  6. 09/30/2022

    Episode 363: Marvel Two-in-One #75 - By Blastarr -- Betrayed!

    Ah, F**k Me Dead, I've Got To Draw All This Shit Hello, and welcome to episode 363 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. For the second week in a row, the Avengers nose their way into the podcast, but to greater narrative effect. Blastarr and Annihilus are teaming up to tame the Negative Zone, and only The Thing and his poker-playing Avengers buddies can stop them. And only Steve and his Antipodean podcasting buddy Paul Hix (Waiting for Doom, The DCOCD Podcast, Dial F for Flanger, The Gary Show) can recap and review this oversized anniversary issue. Tom DeFalco, Alan Kupperberg, Chic Stone, George Roussos, Mike Higgins, Jean Simek, Bob Budiansky, Jim Salicrup, Joe Sinnott, and Jim Shooter present Marvel Two-in-One #75 - By Blastarr -- Betrayed! Featuring pre-emptive podcast notes, some tips for She-Hulk, a spaceship called Tim, Annihilus's best life, the bestial bastard Blastarr, sexy Highfather, the anatomy of a boot, and an inevitable discussion about Neighbours. Find Paul on twitter where he is @reading_hix and find Waiting For Doom (and all his other shows) at https://www.waitingfordoom.com/ Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

    1h 29m

  7. 09/12/2022

    Episode 362: Fantastic Four #230 - Firefrost and the Ebon Seeker

    Hello, and welcome to episode 362 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This time on the Fantasticast, we discover what happens after an all-action issue. Yes, it's the inevitable exposition, and there's plenty of it. From decaying cultures in the far future to the inside of a black hole, this issue is not short of great concepts, but can they be spun into an engaging story that stands alongside it's predecessor? Uh... Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, Joe Sinnott, George Roussos, Jim Novak, Bob Budiansky, Jim Salicrup, and Jim Shooter present Fantastic Four #230: Firefrost and the Ebon Seeker. Featuring lots of blatant rip-offs of recent science fiction films, a gratuitous Avengers appearance, and an astonishingly awful UK Number One single. Well, that bit isn't in the comic itself, but after last week, you do deserve a bit of warning. Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

    38 min

  8. 07/17/2022

    Episode 361: Marvel Two-in-One #74 - A Christmas Peril

    Festive Clay Snuffling Hello, and welcome to episode 361 of The Fantasticast. Each episode, Steve Lacey guides you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week, the Fantasticast hits a new milestone - the first comic covered twice by the show. We looked at Marvel Two-in-One #74 almost an entire decade ago, and it's time to look at it in context of the run, and see if Steve has worked out just who the people at the party really are. Except that Steve isn't doing this along. Joining him for a thoroughly unseasonal Christmas bash is returning guest host Stacey Taylor. Host of Stacey's Pop Culture Parlor, Stace and Barry In The Morning, and new show Never Seen, Stace is back and delightful as ever. Together, they examine a unusual Christmas tale, as childlike wizards and bovine nannies meet the holiday spirit.  Mark Gruenwald, Frank Springer, Chic Stone, George Roussos, Michael Higgins, Bob Budiansky, and Jim Salicrup present Marvel Two-in-One #74 - A Christmas Peril, featuring parole, a guy with a big face and a lack of talent, all of the swears, uncensored smut, and... hold on, that's the hosts! In addition, Steve takes a quick peak at Avengers #206, as he forgot to do it last time. Fantasticast guest-host Christine Hanefalk has published her first book. Being Matt Murdock: One Fan's Journey Into The Science of Daredevil is now available as both a book and an e-book from Amazon. Do go and check it out! Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

    1h 19m
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4.9
out of 5
111 Ratings

About

Stephen Lacey and Andrew Leyland are your guide to Marvel's First Family, The Fantastic Four. Starting at the very beginning of the Marvel Age of Comics, they cover every issue of The Fantastic Four, every spinoff title (Strange Tales, Marvel Two-In-One, FF, and more), every guest appearance and every cameo, all in order of publication.

Information

  • Creator
    Stephen Lacey & Andrew Leyland
  • Years Active
    2011 - 2024
  • Episodes
    382
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Stephen Lacey and Andrew Leyland. All characters, concepts and music within are copyright of their respective copyright holders.
  • Show Website
    The Fantasticast