Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

When I first hit play on Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men, I was sure I was going to hate these guys. The tone, the confidence, the sheer density of it all, I braced myself. I thought it would be smug. I thought it would be exhausting. I thought I’d bounce off after an episode or two. Instead, hundreds of episodes later, I’m still here. Somewhere along the way, skepticism turned into respect. Then admiration. Then something like gratitude. Jay and Miles don’t just know the X-Men. Their breadth of knowledge is staggering, yes, but what keeps me listening is their heart. They treat comics, and the people who love them, with care. They use critique not as a weapon but as a craft. They show that analysis can be rigorous without being cruel, funny without being dismissive, political without being preachy. In particularly trying political times, when it’s easy to feel worn down or isolated, their voices have mattered more than I expected. They remind me that stories are worth fighting for. That messy, contradictory, mutant stories about survival and solidarity still have something to teach us. That joy and resistance can share the same page. I started this podcast ready to roll my eyes. I stayed because Jay and Miles helped me see how critique itself can be a beautiful art form, and how talking seriously about comics can also be a way of talking seriously about the world. I’m grateful I was wrong about them.

I’ve been following the podcast for a couple years now, dipping in and out as I attempt to read the X-Men (et. Al) from the very beginning. I burn out and take a break every so often, but I always come back to the podcast. Not only do they provide helpful reminders of old plot threads getting referenced, as well as insightful commentary, the chemistry between the hosts and natural levity keeps what can be dark material appropriately light for a comic book. I doubt I’ll ever catch up to the current episodes of the podcast, but I don’t have to. There’s very little about the older episodes that don’t hold up. For me it sets the bar for read-along companion podcasts.

The pod itself is ok, most of the episodes are mid but there is some fun and useful info to be had. The latest episode is where I take issue, this show or any other show should not be attempting to mobilize its listeners into a militia. No matter your political cause, asking listeners to usurp federal authority is disguising and dangerous. This type of disturbing rhetoric has taken lives, and is threatening our democracy. In a time where the X-men should draw the audience together the hosts have chosen to divide us, insult our intelligence, and risk their listeners freedom and very lives.

I recently set out to re-read my childhood collection of X-Men comic books. Because I am a normal person I became helplessly confused when I got to Inferno, so I turned to the internet for help. I am so happy that led me to discover this podcast. I went back and started re-reading from the start, listening to each and every episode along the way. As an older person who does not have friends or family who’d be interested in joining me on such a literary journey, it was truly a pleasure to have Jay and Miles act as surrogates. They are absolutely brilliant and this is just an all-around excellent podcast (though I’m still a bit confused about Inferno).