Pop Kill #1-4 Review

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time to talk about the comics we are reading

right now here inside the pullback. Hello and

welcome to the pull bag. This is episode 395.

I'm of course TF2 and Mike We are five episodes

away from 400 and I think I actually have a plan

for what the hell we're doing for the 400th episode

more details on that later also Joining me this

time as they have been throughout what I'm essentially

deeming Jimmy January at this point, because

it's been all Palmiotti all month so far anyway,

is Edward and Kendra Hale. Hello. Hello. Hello.

And as I said in Batwing volumes four and five,

that was going to always be the very first Jimmy

Palmiotti coverage I ever did in the pull bag.

However, those were not the first things I read

from him. What we're covering today, tonight,

whenever you're listening to this is the actual

first thing I read from Jimmy Palmiotti. It's

his original idea along with Dave Johnson. They

did it on Kickstarter. It is called Pop Kill.

They had already done the first issue by the

time I had found out about it. And then I had

seen That the second issue was on Kickstarter.

I'm like, okay, cool. And they had a $10 level

where you could get both the first issue and

second issue. So I'm like, 10 bucks for digital

editions. Fine. Great. I think they raised, uh,

they raised a ton of money for all of these.

And then, uh, one night, I one morning actually,

I wake up to an immediate email. Oh, this is

Kickstarter. Just to let you know, Palmiotti

and Johnson have started, uh, pop kill issues

three and four and I'm like yeah it was like

a month after the second issues campaign ended

I'm like cool I can't wait to see the end how

this story ends you know when it's right I can't

tell you who's gonna win today's game but listen

close cuz three you folks are gonna be big winners

uncontestably tasteable, and minimally wonderful.

You got the right one, baby! You got the right

one, baby! You got the right one! If it's irrepressibly

lovable, unsurpassably colorful, and minimally

soulful, you got the right one, baby! So that's

how I came to this now, I know I introduced you

guys to this and Apparently this wasn't for you

guys Yeah, I mean I'm not like bad mouth and

Jimmy or nothing like that, but right right It

wasn't my cup of tea, bro. Mm -hmm. I mean I

crushed it all four issues, you know actually

just Read all of it, you know, we're getting

last night and I'm just like meh Really? That's

all I'll just I Mean it was I mean, I don't mind

the action and all this other third, you know

this that and the third but I don't know. There

was a lot of stuff that just kind of Left both

of us our I guess you can say Okay All right.

Well, what about was so okay before we get too

far into that Again, creative on this. Jimmy

Palmieri and Dave Johnson, creative story writers.

All that. Juan Santa Cruz is on art. Brian Reber

is on colors. Sean Connott, or Connott, I'm not

sure how he pronounces his last name, was on

lettering. John J. Hill is on design. Dave Johnson

did the covers. Amanda Conner and Dave Johnson

did the variant covers for this. So what so the

basic story so people understand it is it's basically

two Cola companies are owned by Former conjoined

twins and they hate each other and they want

to destroy each other essentially Hey, I was

a fan of the 90s Cola Wars Got them cornerstone

Yes, we seem to be down to our last Diet Coke.

A gentleman is on his way to pick some up. Just

look for a black car. No, this black car will

be rather difficult to miss. And by the way,

the gentleman is usually in quite a rush. I don't

know. or so that makes it even better. Yeah,

like right across each other in Japan. Yeah,

yeah. That was, yeah. That's the thing. I do

love the art though. The art style. I think that

is really cool. And the colors in this are so

bright in every panel in all four issues. I think

I like the outer lying story. Is the best way

that I'm gonna put it I love the the throwback

to like Not only like you we were talking about

earlier the the coke and Pepsi Wars But also

the left left versus right tricks. Mm -hmm with

them being across from each other So I do like

I like not only the art, but I like the underlying

story for this one as well. Mm -hmm I've read

these now because again When I got this on Kickstarter,

I read the first two issues. And then when I

got the third and fourth one, I read it and I

just read all of it just now, just before we

started. And I think it, I think it ends a little

too fast in the fourth issue, but overall, I

mean, and we're trying our best not to spoil

this folks, because if you were a Kickstarter

member like me, you want to be able to read this

on your own. I'm curious to know if they're going

to put this anywhere else after. The Kickstarter

stuff after all the physical rewards from Kickstarter

are out there because I Think everybody needs

to at least check it out Even if it isn't their

cup of soda kind of thing I'll be nice enough

to say that I will be nice enough to say that

with popkill it is Something that you should

at least give a read to see if it is your cup

of soda but That's about as far as I'm gonna

go Okay What was it about the story that you

didn't like Kendra? Oh With this one, I'm I'm

personally not a fan of the James Bond movies.

Okay, there's a big big feel of that in this

comic. So if you're a huge fan of the Bond, then

you're going to be great. This is for you. This

is all Rock 'em Sock 'em robots for you. But

for me, the one thing that's always struck me

with the Bond films is how they treat their female,

like their protagonists, their leads, anything

in that spectrum. And that was something that

absolutely got picked up in the book as well.

So I don't know if it's more the time period

feeling that's coming out. No, this definitely

isn't my cup of tea. Or if it's just all of the

cheesecake that's really not necessary for me

as a female reader, not to say that I don't like

cheesecake. I do appreciate it when it has a

purpose, when there's a story, when it goes with

the story, but I don't like it just for Here

you go, fanboys. Here's some cheesecake for cheesecake

sake. So I think those are my main issues with

Popkill. When I said to you that I'm not the

target market for it, it's because I can't vibe

with James Bond flicks. I absolutely refuse to

even watch them because I know how the females

are treated. And that follows along with the

book as well. So for me, this was a miss. Yeah.

And I understand that. I completely do. And that's,

you know, I just, the way I looked at it and

since I've read it, obviously I've read all four

issues twice now. I do see more of the bond influence

on it. I didn't at first, but I do now after

the second reading through here. And I like it,

but for me, it's more so about The cola companies.

It's more so about the cola war. It's more so

about the fact that John's plant John pile the

main character who is the main Hitman assassin

person that is actually working for one of the

cola companies And you know the whole twist with

him and everything else just you know Shining

a light on the fact that most of the cola companies

in general in the real world They're all, you

know, you have polar bears, you have Ray Charles

on the advertisements, but deep down, they're

probably pretty sinister. And this kind of takes

it to a whole other extreme with, you know, oh,

I want you to kill this girl if she can't give

you the formula kind of thing. Very bond -esque.

Yes, yes. I see it now. wrong. Please don't get

me wrong. And if you listen to this, this is

my apology ahead of time, sort of. But the story,

I absolutely loved it. I thought it was creative.

I thought that it was, it was really cool. It

was a great concept. I personally loved the fact

of the two competing companies with, you know,

other ones in the background. I loved that. That

was very It was it was it was a unique and I

liked it. It was just all the other stuff that

I was just like, okay Like if if it wasn't there,

I think I would have enjoyed this more because

I would have gotten a feeling of Like Steve or

not Steve Mark Russell's a billionaire island

is what this one reminds me of with them taking

from the real world and the advertisements that

you see everywhere, which are absolutely hilarious.

So I mean, I do find things that are enjoyable.

It's just that really, like Edward said it earlier,

it soured it for me. Because by the time we got

to issue two, I no longer cared. Like I wanted

to know the main story, but I didn't care about

John Pyle or what's her name? Dina Deluxe? Yeah,

Dina Deluxe. He was a completely flat character.

I feel so bad. I don't normally like hate comics

I love them and I want I wanted to enjoy this

but it was so Flat like there I I get that that

maybe that was the intention was that these guys

were just supposed to be flashes in the pan and

you weren't supposed to feel anything towards

them But that's not normally why I get into reading

a comic book true What about you ed? I mean I

I know that She has said her piece and whatever

else. Were you feeling the exact same way as

Kendra or did you have any other? Things to add

before I try to convince you guys that they're

not so flat Well, I mean, you know I grew up

on steady diet of the James Bond flicks and you

know your espionage films and Mission Impossible

and this and that the third and so I had a respect

for that but I Mean if I was a 16 year old boy

This would have been like right up my alley.

I mean you got your gratuitous violence for no

particular reason other than it calls for somebody

to get shot in the face and Then you got your

TNA all over the place, but as a 44 year old

man I don't need TNA in my comics in order for

them to be cool actually that kind of Actually,

let me rephrase that the way that the TNA in

here was used was no substance whatsoever. It

was literally just to get a kick out of fanboys.

I mean, even in the back of the first issue,

the artist was drawing sketches of other characters

or NPCs, I guess you can call them in the book.

And 90 % of them are chicks with their boobs

hanging out. And I'm just, you know, yeah, I'm

turning my man card or whatever you want to say

about it. But it doesn't do anything for me.

It actually detracts from the story because of

that. I mean, the artwork was hit or miss for

me okay some spots it looked really good you

know you have a good panel or you know create

layout or something like that that looked really

good but then in other spots and I'm gonna single

out John pile on this because he looked like

a Ken doll with no expression on his face through

half the book and that just bugged me I mean

if you're getting cut you're at least gonna be

like oh shit you know I just got cut but or at

least have a reaction on your face, but he was

just like, you know, Ben Stein, you know, sitting

in there looking for some clear eyes. I mean,

just no emotion at all. And now I have the Visine

ad in my head. Well, yeah, you're welcome. But

I mean, I don't know, just a lot of that detracted

from the story for me. And it felt like they

were trying to pull out. The vibes from like

wanted or kick ass or something like that to

appeal to the older audience But at the same

time it just it turned me off I guess I should

have said my problem was I compared it to Well,

you can't compare anything to sin city. Yeah,

I know sin city is its own beast Yeah I think

I probably should have said at the beginning

of this podcast and maybe i'll go back and edit

something in for this This is an adult comic.

This is not for This is not for kids at all.

Uh, and user discretion advised. Yeah, right.

Exactly. But it's one of those things where the,

the, the, the main, the main crux of the idea

grabbed me when I first heard about, I think

I saw Jimmy tweet about it or I don't know, maybe

I was on Kickstarter. doing something else i

don't know how i first found out about this i

know it was through something on social media

or online where i was like oh what's this i think

it was a tweet from jimmy or something that i

had seen him talk about oh by the way our second

campaign is up for the second issue i'm like

what's this and i go to it and i look and i'm

like okay yes it has female gratuity and and

all of that and everything else and Was like

okay, but it's a spy thing. I kind of get it

and I Think I think the first two issues play

heavily the whole thing plays heavily on the

spy thing But once you get into issue three and

four Like I said earlier, I think it and it wraps

up a little too quickly however issue three with

the backstory that it gives for the characters

for the brothers the that you know, so we see

how their characters basically grew to hate each

other kind of thing. I like that part of the

story. I thought that was good. Me too. And I

wouldn't necessarily say John and Dina are or

Dinah, whatever you want to say, whatever. I

don't necessarily. Yeah, I don't necessarily

think they are flat characters. They don't have

a lot of fizz either, but it's one of those things

where They are supposed like she's supposed to

be the quote -unquote damsel again. They're playing

off of stereotype sir stereotypical things and

I don't necessarily like I don't necessarily

have a problem with it because I know where it's

I kind of can see where it was gonna go and I

think by the time we get to the third and fourth

issue We see John care more about her and vice

versa. Like we see something happening with them

even though, you know, not a lot of substance

happens with them because he's basically having

to save her. And I should say that the character

of Ms. Deluxe, she has created this formula where,

you know, soda has extra fizz longer. The carbonation

lasts longer. Hence why the soda companies are

fighting over her. kind of thing and it just

made me think so much of all of those old Pepsi

and Coke ads and I Meant to tweet Jimmy and I'll

probably do this afterwards and I'm like, okay

So if pop so is Pepsi and fizz one is Coke or

vice versa, whatever Who the hell's prime pop

RC Cola? Yeah, I don't know and I do like that

they give you the like the little interview things

and you know, they they ask questions and they

answer them and in the back of the books and

I gotta say I like for I End up yeah, basically

for 20 bucks for four issues. I mean because

it was a Kickstarter kind of thing I'm pretty

happy with this because not only did like 20

bucks gets you almost. I would say 40 or 43 pages

of story. Usually you don't get the usually in

single issues, you get 20 pages, 22 pages of

story and then ads. I mean, I'm not counting

like the back pages where it's the, you know,

the. the q &a section and that can you know the

biographies and the advertisements at the back

but like. We have a good number of pages here

with story. And i think they hit the mark on

getting the story done and i think it's cool

to have a comic that's you know set i'm sure

there are plenty of others that i have not read

but like for me. Outside of turtles. This is

the first one that I've actually seen set in

Japan like the one that I've actually read I

mean outside of turtles outside of Batman that

kind of like Batman's always going to Japan.

I'm sure because he's got a train with somebody

Traveling hero. Yes. Yes You know issue three

does have a couple of gratuitous sex scenes in

it we get the setup of the rivals between John

and and the other bad guy would be he's basically

the the jaws or the odd job character Like how

they set up the history between him and John

I thought that was really good Laughing at Because

I feel bad because everything that you're bringing

up as a positive is written down as a negative

for me Like I'm just like, okay. Yeah, the setup

was great if it didn't have to do with you know

John sleeping with his with his wife and You

know Hold on. Let's be John sleeping with everybody's

wife. I mean my god the mistress This is everybody's

wife the board of directors wives in a cuddle

puddle. I mean Yeah, that's not exactly good.

But hey those old guys are paying him to do that

At least there's benefits. Yeah Along with the

other benefits women on his bed with him. Yeah,

that was the whole thing was like I'm assuming

because it doesn't actually spell it out but

one of the wives comes over to him before they

leave and she's like, oh, well, here's one more

year of lease. So I'm assuming that the benefits

to him sleeping with the board of directors and

keeping them satisfied is that he doesn't pay

rent on his apartment. Well, that and whatever

works. I mean, if the board of directors, like

it's not like the board doesn't know about it.

I mean, you know, I could see your point and

agree with it if it was like, You know if if

one of the brothers paid him to sleep with the

brother's mistress Kind of thing but the board

is paying him to pay attention to their wives

So they don't have to because they're all old

men and feeble at this point apparently So I

kind of get it if that were the only thing or

even you know if that and the scene that we get

with Which brother was it? Goro That and the

scene with Goro where you find out that John

slept with his mistress, one of his mistresses,

that apparently was pretty important to him.

That had been the only, you know, couple of key

figures to show us as readers that he was a dog.

I'd have been great. But we had several other

indicators, like a closet full of female clothing

left behind by his quotation friends. No, it

was every single issue. It was you know, how

can we make John a bigger dog than the last issue

and they succeeded in doing that in every single

issue because every issue afterwards I hated

him worse just like God, he's a chauvinist piece

of shit. Jesus. Okay, man, but rather than killing

him they give him Stuff That's enough negative

like I like I said, I really didn't most like

I would I would even say as much as 75 % in this

book series. I actually did like I Did yeah,

I mean I and I see your points and I agree with

them. Yes. John is a chauvinist pig Yes, John

is an oversex, but again, that's his Yeah, most

of us are I don't mean that like as in how does

Jeremy put it are a life. I don't mean that in

real life I mean, yeah most comic girls. Yeah,

or pop kill specifically most of them are I mean

Kaido and Gore The birthday they definitely are

yeah, like holy crap and Then I can't remember

the other assassins name Brom's Her arm sounds

close. We're gonna call him something like that.

We're gonna call him her arm for right now That's

fine. But that that him I mean, I I was not okay

with Neapolitan matter how creative that was

Yeah, yeah, I was not okay with the The scene

with Dina I at all I that that is one thing I

will agree with the scene where she's captured.

Yeah dudes trying to get in her pain. I was not

okay with that at all. Absolutely not. I understand

why it was as much so that part actually felt

genuine because here she is and you know in captivity

with this guy who's obviously been made to be

a bad guy and Yeah, that logic follows. Okay,

well, I'm supposed to be watching you, but they

never said that I couldn't, you know, do this.

They just said I couldn't hurt you. So that part

actually, I guess, made more sense to me than

all of the rest of it, because that makes sense

in a captive situation. That's one of the first

tactics they're going to use. Especially on a

female like that. Especially on a female. It's

like prisoner of war. So that made sense to me.

Doesn't make it right, but it made sense, but

it just that that was like I Don't know. I guess

I see the the character of John for what he is

like I know he is the way he is and I would like

to think by the end and You know again trying

our best not to spoil this so people can actually

read it themselves You know, I think but you

know, you know trying slight spoilers We're not

going to sit here and tell you that, you know,

John ends up with a bullet in his head out the

window at the end. That's not what happens at

all. But I think John plays a good hero type

and I think by the end of it, where it ends up,

he's not really The chauvinist anymore by the

end of it. I Wouldn't call him charming either

though. No, I never said that I'm just saying

he's not he's The lesser of two evils when it

comes to horrible people. Yes, I will give him

that But I think that was my problem like I don't

want to say two -dimensional because that's But

I don't think that he is truly like a flat, flat,

flat character. But he's not charming. Like when

I think of the Bond villain, or when I think

of what avenues these guys might have been pulling

from Hell -Eater, the TV series, where it is

in that secret agent man style, you know, at

least there's some charm. Hold on, but at least

they have humor to make it funny. Yeah, there's

humor, too. There was humor in this, but it came

from none of the main characters at all. I mean,

it literally came from all your side people,

you know, like the chick that Haram met when

he got over to the strip club or whatever the

whorehouse or whatever you want to call it. I

mean, the name of like a one. I think it was

supposed to be a steak sauce reference. Oh, of

course. But I mean, she had some jokes and the

big bad guy that was like trying to get it in

Dinah Deluxe's pants. I mean, he had some jokes.

And a lot of other people did. But anytime that

John or one of the brothers tried to crack a

joke, it literally fell on its face. And I was

just like... That's not true. There was one.

There was one joke that had us giggling. And

it was the Post -It Note joke. That's my favorite

thing in the whole book, honestly. And that's

sad. I really liked that joke. I think that if

you have a squabble between brothers, this actually,

Popkill is a way to showcase that beautifully.

I really do think that they did that justice.

Yeah, I will give them that. Because you felt

it. It was palpable. These guys were doing any

and everything to just literally make each other's

lives. Hell. Yeah, and it was some serious Yakuza

vibes up in there, too. You know, when everything

starts going down, I'm just like, god damn, so

this is Popkill. He's got a freaking mill, you

know army underneath of it, you know Fucking

assassins over here and you know, you got your

big giant bald bad guy over here that you know

weighs like, you know 1200 pounds of it is built

like a brick shithouse I'm like, alright, so

apparently I'm just in the wrong right wrong

wrong line of work We had a coke plant down the

street I want to go see if I can get a job there

and You know, be a part of the Yakuza. I don't

think that's how it works, but sure. Don't cash

my dreams. I just love the juxtaposition of everything.

I love that basically you, I mean, if you think

about it, Though the brothers Kato and Goro,

they're like, they're just ruthless. And it,

you know, bridges from their upbringing and bridges

from the resentment from each other. And the

beginning part, when I reread it, you know, right

before we started recording this, I'm like, Oh,

that's right. He was about to have his head of

security kill himself until the head of security

turned around and kill all the guys that failed

him. I'm like, Oh, that's genius. Okay. That

works. Right? Why would I kill myself when I

can just kill everybody else and we can get new

lackeys to do our dirty work for us? I found

that slightly amusing, but at the same time,

I'm also like, wow, so everybody in this company

is just a horrid piece of shit. Because the guy

that was about to kill himself and kill the other

guys was the one that fucked up. So. True. You

know, the boss should have been like, you know,

I'm not gonna just put the gun in your mouth

and make you pull the trigger. I don't pull the

trigger myself since that's the one that primarily

fucked up. Yeah. It was a learning moment. It

was a learning moment for who? It wasn't a learning

moment for his subordinates. They got killed.

For no reason. They're dead. They learned shit.

They learned to get a bullet hole in their head.

They learned not to work for people that would

kill them. And people have been doing that for...

millennia so it's still going to happen. I mean

that's one of the things like I said this isn't

like a whole bash session on it because I truly

did enjoy moments there was a lot of it where

I was like this is truly unique and it is a fascinating

thing to read about because I mean if you think

about it that's I don't know if they go that

serious with it but they are very most companies

are very secretive about what goes into their

product and what makes them better. And it's

always been always always been a rivalry Better

so I mean for that to come into the the comic

world It was really cool to see especially when

they were able to realize it The way they did

I didn't think that they were gonna be able to

pull that off I really truly enjoyed The two

brothers going at it the way that they did. Yeah

Dave Johnson the the main Artist on the on the

series the co -creator he I Believe it's called

drink and draw if it's not I'm sorry Dave He

has a show called drink and draw and they did

a live stream on YouTube and all the whatever

else As they were coming to the end of the campaign

or they wanted to promote the campaign at the

time for issues three and four and It was him

and Jimmy and they brought in other people As

as it went along and I. I said hey guys is there

going to be more pop kill after this or is this

story it is this going to be the end kind of

thing and Jimmy said oh well this is a full story

issue one through four it does have an ending

but that's not to say we won't come back to these

characters at some point in the future that was

my biggest fear with. doing the Kickstarter thing

for them because as much as Kickstarter doing

a Kickstarter allowed them to do a comic that

you would never see maybe image maybe image comics

would do this Marvel and DC would not do this.

Well, like I said earlier adult Comic it's not

for kids. It's not really for comic shops. Although

I'm sure they might have gotten it in some shops.

Anyway, the point is is that I wanted to make

sure I wasn't going to have to shell out $10

every three months for the next 10 years, depending

on how long the story was going to be. Not that

I wouldn't have done it, but it was just one

of those things where I'm like, is it a whole

story or is there going to be more? And I love

the answer that he gave with, yes, it is a whole

story. It is a beginning, middle and end. And

that's not to say we won't play with them in

the future at some point if we get another idea.

And I think that's cool. Because by the time

it gets to the end of the fourth issue, I'm like,

OK. That went well. DC would have put this out

if they still had the Vertigo imprint. And Marvel

would have too if they had the Marvel Max imprint

still. I think Dark Horse would jump on it too.

Dark Horse would have jumped all over it and

like, mailed him candy and soda and shit. Yes,

it is adult material, but it's not so much adult

material that it's like, let's go way back in

the day. It's not cherry. It's not pornographic.

Image did do sex criminals and that was way more

adult than this is. They did I think they didn't

want it didn't they I'm not sure if they didn't

want it or not. Oh, I mean Everything that's

come out of image in the past few years. I mean

like walking dead ice cream and Yeah There's

some great adult stuff there that doesn't know

TNA to get their point across true. I think that

I think the thing with the TNA in, in, in pop

kill is it was another part of the whole, um,

I don't want to say genre. What the hell word

am I looking for here? It's part of the whole,

it's part of the whole experience of being, you

know, a hit man for a Cola company, I guess,

I don't know. And again, like, like we said,

they were aiming to, you know, do a James Bondian

type. Thing and I Had seen plenty of James Bond

movies as a kid I am NOT like I think the first

one I really remember actively watching was licensed

to kill and then You know as I get a little older

than the 90s. I watched some Sean Connery I watched

a lot of Roger Moore because there's way more

more movies than anyone anything else Uh, but

really where Bond got me was when Brosnan took

over in 95 when they came back and the Craig

ones I could leak, you know, take or leave. But,

um, yeah, I mean, I, I think it works for what

it, what it is. I, I see your problems with it,

Kendra. And, and I acknowledge those and I think

that's you, you're right. However, it's still

a fun read. Well, Going to go back to what I

said about vertigo Garth Ennis put preacher out

through vertigo in DC and that it's substantially

more TNA and Graphics X in it then this four

issues had in the entirety of it, but they did

it in a way That it wasn't gratuitous. They did

it in a way that it was like, okay This is in

your face and this is happening, but you understand

why and you understand, you know How it led to

these two having sex or walking in on a sex party

or something like that, right? It's just it's

between writers. I guess I mean Garth Ennis has

been doing dark stuff his entire career. So That's

my I mean and like I said, it's not that it It

does I can't even lie. It does detract for me

as a female reader That's not to say that that

would be the same viewpoint that every female

is going to take but for me it feels more like

a read the room situation because we're seeing

we're seeing that we you know females don't really

necessarily want that kind of stuff in their

their comics at least if we do for me and for

those that i talk to i want story Like, I don't

mind if you have tits and ass. I don't even mind

if there's anything like that. I'm not a prude.

I understand that they're trying to base this

in real life and in real life, this stuff happens.

But for me, I just don't think that in this specific

case that where they wrote it into play fit for

me. I don't know. I don't even know what I'm

trying to say. Well, look at something else,

too. I mean, look at the time when this came

out. This came out in May of 2020. So this was

last year. You're in the middle of God and everything,

you know, pandemic, VLA, the whole shebang right

there. And I don't know, it just seemed kind

of a little. It just seems like a throwback to

a different era. And maybe that's what it is

to me. Maybe that's what it is. I don't know

what the actual setting time wise is for this,

because I don't think it ever actually portrays

that aside from the Pop Wars. Yeah, no. It doesn't

really ever give us whether this is right here

and now or if it's taking place back then. I'm

going to go out and live and say it's today because

they're all running around with smartphones.

This is also true. But it's a new Pop War. Just

don't feel like for me that it did it did what

it needed to withdrawn and and Mr. Lux I mean

yes, it gave me obviously the bond feels and

that's coming from somebody who Doesn't watch

bond, but I knew I knew it when I read it. I

was like oh, okay, so this is that kind of but

I Don't know I just I don't know like I said

earlier. I think it's my fault because when I

read thing I tend to compare it to things that

I've already read, like Sin City or Preacher.

And in both of those scenarios, yes, I understand

that those are pillars of community. I get it.

But I really like Jimmy Palmiotti's work. I really

do. I mean, almost everything that I've read

from him has been something that I absolutely

grasp onto and like. Especially with that wing

and that that's something that we talked about

a couple of nights ago when we were getting ready

to Go over everything for this and I said, you

know, I loved that wing and I loved the build

-up. I loved the writing I loved the connection

that you got with Lucas Fox, but I don't get

that with any character in the series see I've

been reading Jimmy for I Don't know since 95

when Quasada started event comics And they gave

us Ash, which was absolutely bloody amazing.

And then when he jumped over to Marvel after

Quesada started the Marvel Knights thing imprint

over there. I mean, I loved the stuff that he

did because he gave us an amazing run in Daredevil

with a brand new character that has become a

staple in the Marvel universe now. Yeah. Echo.

Excuse me. You know, for anybody who didn't know.

But, you know... and then his Harley stuff is

fun and it's it's it's lighthearted and the dialogue

feels really good and fluid and then you know

we jump over here and it just felt like he was

trying to get an itch out basically maybe i mean

maybe that's what it was maybe he just wanted

to be like like well i can write adult comics

too see but all of his other stuff is infinitely

better I would like to think that... I'm not

hating on you, Jimmy. I'm really not. I just...

I was let down. I'm sorry, bro. Don't do it again.

Shut up. I would like to think that, as you pointed

out, and that... I would like to think that because

this came out at the time that it did... That

even though it is set in the modern day with

the cell phones and the fast cars even though

they had fast cards cards before cell phones

kind of thing but it's It was something that

they wanted to do It was an idea they had and

I think again if you read the the letters the

Q &A things the the questions that they you know

They they mentioned about ideas and how it came

about and whatever else Honestly, I think it's

like, is it a series I'm going to go back to?

Not these four issues. I've read the full story.

I enjoy the full story. Yes, there are several

issues with the story and things like that that

are around it. But at the same time, this added

to my overall comics enjoyment, especially with

what 2020 was and how we've all just kind of

had to stop. You know the fact that I'm putting

in old Pepsi and Coke ads in this podcast like

I haven't Outside of the diet coke one. I mentioned

earlier in the diet Pepsi one with Ray Charles

I haven't looked at any a lot of those old ads

in a long time and it's just I don't know it's

making me think of better times and Similar times

Exactly, and I can get a nostalgia. Like I said,

that's part of the story that I actually really

love Right. And I mean, I hate to sound like

we're harping on it, but like you said, with

2020, I look back at what I read in 2020 and

all of the comics that I digested and given what

I do, that's a lot. So, I mean, for me, maybe

that's also a reason why I was like, OK, but

that's because I hold what I read on a really

high plane. Right. Because I get to read such

cool stuff like you know stuff from boom studios

and Like I said billionaire island from from

Mark Russell I mean, I I love what I got the

chance to read especially ice cream man and darn

y 'all for keeping bringing that up cuz I'm so

excited This entire podcast you brought it up

twice But uh, but like also stuff, I mean, and

I'm not even talking about things I discovered

in 2020 that were from that year I mean I I discovered

beasts of burden Mm -hmm. I discovered all of

these great worlds that were created revival

from image. I mean my god I I could go on and

I'm not going to because I feel like I'm rambling

now, but I Really really wanted to like this

I really did. I went in with absolutely no expectations

except for the fact that this was Jimmy. And

I was excited for that. And I was excited because

you were excited. Open at the bit excited. Yeah,

and you're kind of infectious when you get that

way you are you are very passionate Yeah, apparently

I get very loud when I get that way too because

when we recorded episode 393 or 390 no, it was

394 cuz 394 was the two -hour long one She's

like for that first hour. You're you were like

so loud. You really need to go apologize to the

neighbor and I'm like How am I supposed to hear

myself when I have headphones on I was so passionate

about it that I was like, you know what, this

is about to be the most awesome read because

when you brought up Batwing, I was like, who

is that? I was like, I remember them from the

new 52. I really was. I was like, who is that?

And then I read it and I was like, this is genius.

I want so much more. I just want to stay in this

little world that they've created because these

characters are amazing and then they're like

serious kids. Yeah, but This one I really did

enjoy I would honestly if I were reviewing it

it wouldn't get a 10 out of 10 for me Because

of certain things but it would definitely get

at least a decent 7 .5 for me Yeah, since we

have a 0 to 5 scale here at the JCR. And we do

use half points as well. So technically it is

a 10 scale, but zero to five. Ed, what would

you give pop kill one through four, the whole

series? I'm going to give it a three. Okay. And

I'm going to tell you exactly why I'm going to

give it that three. The fucking post -it notes

scene, man. Internally, I'm fucking rolling when

I saw it because I kept seeing all the posts.

It's all over the walls. I'm like, what the fuck

man and then they finally gave us you know the

payoff shot and they pulled back and his brother's

looking at his building from across the way with

telescope and whatever and you know my my mom

like me best you asshole and that was a genuine

moment for me and for that moment alone which

happens in what issue three I think so yeah for

that alone I'm gonna give it the three So okay,

just so people know and this link is in our every

episode of the pullback. This is our GCR and

universal rating system. Like I said, zero to

five, which includes half points, a 3 .0 average

while overall taking away was positive. You do

not necessarily walk away happy. It does not

extraordinarily succeed in any specific areas.

Or if it does, it gets weighed down by something

as equally unsuccessful, though overall enjoyable.

It is easily disposable. I would necessarily

say this is disposable, but it's not. Again,

like I said, it's probably not like I won't go

back and read these four issues again anytime

soon. I'll go back at some point and see, you

know, and I was like, yeah, that's, that's perfect.

Beautifully summed. Yes. Okay. What about you,

Kendra? What would you give it zero to five?

I mean, if I gave it a 7 .5, wouldn't the equal

be 3 .5? probably all right well i'm going to

do the equivalent okay all right so again because

and i won't always explain this but i just thought

of this oh we can actually explain why we're

writing it the way we're writing it 3 .5 according

to our scale is good. Issues are certainly prevalent,

but so are the successes. Typically, there is

one specific area of extraordinary achievement,

like the post -it note scene, or a multitude

of quality moments that make the negative aspects

relatively easy to accept. Maybe not in this

case, though. That's me adding something into

this. The failures are not necessarily glaring.

Some of them are here. That's me adding something

into this. The by -product of design though the

difficult ones Though the difficulties one encounters

hold your enjoyment back from reaching its fullest

potential and I think that does describe your

I mean something you've said since the beginning

of this podcast is it ended very abruptly Yeah,

you didn't explain that but you know Because

at the end of it I'm like I feel like I need

at least two more issues to tie up all the bullshit

that just happened. But it, the I don't, I, I

don't think they were under any, I mean, this

is through their own company, paper films. It's,

you know, maybe put a time crunch. I didn't watch

the Kickstarter, so I don't know, but were they

under any time constraint? I mean, Kickstarter,

not really Kickstarter. You know, they set. They

said all that themselves and they said it for

like, I think a month to get the funding and

they get funded within one day. So maybe it was

something along the lines of, you know, well,

if we reach this, then this is the date we would

be expecting to have it out and something happened

during production. So they had to just get it,

get it out. Well, we're also going to say that

it was 2020 as well. Yeah. Don't I honestly do

not think so. I honestly do not think so because

as soon as Okay, so as soon as the Kickstarter

ended My payment was taken which obviously that's

what happens when the Kickstarter ends and it

does reach its funding your payment does get

taken right? Yeah, and then couple months after

like I literally just got these things like I

don't know, two and a half weeks ago and the

campaign ended back in December. Maybe, maybe

not necessarily two and a half weeks, but it,

you know, it's one of those. Yeah. It ended on

Christmas, Christmas day, new year. Uh, anyway,

whatever. The point is, well, the point is, yeah.

And I mean, the thing of it is, is I got the

digital copies immediately. Like as soon as I

filled out my survey and as soon as I sent the

survey back into, you know, where this is how

you get the rewards kind of thing. Like within

20 minutes, the same day I got the digital PDFs

to be able to read this. Now I know they're still

filling rewards currently, like the physical

rewards, like you would actually order all four

issues. In physical copies you could order naughty

covers done by uh amanda connor you could Depending

on what you were willing to spend with the with

the campaign You know, so I don't know. I'm not

sure what crunches they were under I would actually

I'm not gonna scoff at that. Yeah, because I

can see that you So having Jimmy and Amanda back

together on something like that. Well, and not

only that, but Nani covers so regardless of who's

doing it. It could be Xenoscope. It could be

Lady Death. It could be... What's the other one

that's done by Raven Gregory? Spider's Web? Or

Raven's Web? Something. Widow's Web. Something

like that. I mean, they do that stuff all the

time and it's just an incentive. White Widow.

Thank you. Sorry. It's just an incentive and

that wouldn't have that wouldn't have done shit

for me for the book. Yeah, I would have been

like get your money I've been a part of a Kickstarter

that had naughty covers attached to it Lord have

mercy. Yes, we were and so I am a freaking hypocrite,

but we didn't Until the Kickstarter went lost

and he started adding people in there that was

doing titties and stuff, so I'm like, okay. Are

we allowed to say titties? We've said fucking

shit in this podcast, so I think so. Yeah, it's

explicit, don't worry, it's fine. All right,

so we can say titties. I mean, I'm not being

disgusting about it, I'm just saying titties.

I know, now we're like... I'm not being chauvinist

and... titties. No, I think that that's cool,

I think that that's cool that they had that...

That offering and I mean, that would be my question

to Jimmy would be, you know, with pop kill for

this whole inclusive all in one series of one

through four. Did you get to tell the story that

you wanted to or did you feel rushed towards

the end? Yeah, I mean, that kind of goes along

with my question that I that he answered was,

is this going to be a complete story? And part

of his answer was, yes, it is, as I said earlier.

But that doesn't mean we can't go back and use

these characters at some other point in the future.

Right. So at least, at least the ending of this,

I want to say arc, or the ending of this series

is, you know, it leaves it off in a good place,

but it also leaves it off in a place where you

could continue the adventures. And I think It

leaves an open door. Yeah, and I think because

of where John idea. It's called chips magnet.

Oh, yeah, let's do this. It's a chip or any chip

companies. Oh, you got ruffles. You got Pringles

and you got lays and they're sisters. Let's do

this. Technically, technically Pringles are not

potato chips. They're crisps. They actually have

no the fast food wars with all the art that's

out there of the fast food people dude it could

be a whole trilogy now because she didn't come

up with fast food wars oh my god i don't know

if i want to see birdie's boobs though who's

birdie birdie the early bird from mcdonald's

i mean it's bad it's bad enough we would see

some really really horrendous grimace art yeah

that the uh That's only if they brought them

in. But you know what? They could make that genius.

They could make that genius. It's a loyal scepter.

Not tight. No, I'm giving Jimmy ideas here, man.

Let's do this. Come on. No, but they could make

that genius have the whole fry gang in the background

as like his killer squad, his assassin. The fry

guy's assassin squad. That's funny. Oh, my. Just

to kick your ass. Are you throwing french fries

like shirkens? Get over here! Damn, this guy

got mashed. And that's all he does is potato

puns the whole time. Please, no. That's a bad

spud right there. This guy looks loaded. Quick,

let's help him get baked. Oh my gosh. Well, at

least you didn't pull a scallop out of your ass

Have to get a hold of you for the egg puns for

the egg McMuffin No, that you're gonna be on

me period Like I said, I enjoyed it. I do see

the issues with it at the same time. It led to

this great conversation. It did, yeah. Of course,

now that we've said all of this, they can't use

any of these ideas because they might have to

pay us for them. Not that I am willing to settle

on the side for my ideas, let's say. Hit me up

on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, you know, wherever

you need to hit me up. Either that or they're

gonna be like, how are you guys in our heads?

Probably. We'll be sitting here one day. Hey,

is this Ed and Kendra? Hi, I'm Jimmy Paldiotti.

What the fuck? Come in, come in. We have shit

for you to sign. Yes, exactly. We have all the

action figures you can sign. Yes! A lot of them.

Well, I'd be probably for that. All right. For

me, I am also going to give it a three and a

half, which as I said, good. Well, I do see where

you're coming from, Kendra. At the same time,

for me, like it instantly, even though it takes

place in the modern day and instantly transported

me back to the 90s with the Cold Wars. But I

mean, three and a half, it's not a bad rating.

It's not like we gave it a two and a half, which

is below average. I can give it a zero. Yeah.

Oh. Yeah. I'll tell you guys what zero is off

air. Where can the people find you online, Ed?

YouTube, the Sith rules, Ed. Twitch, the Sith

rules, Instagram. Twitter, bad at 700 on Twitter

and on Facebook, of course, hanging out being

like, what's up? Here's some good memes to satisfy

y 'all. Absolutely. What about you, Kendra? Oh,

no, after this one, I kind of figure I'd rather

them not find me. My life backlash. I don't like

they're going to send John Pyle after you to

Google you or anything. He can keep his cross

-dressing clothes on. Honestly, if you guys want

to find me, the easiest way is Twitter. I'm at

Devour All Words. All of my reviews from Dark

Knight News, DC Comics News, Gothic Fight Magazine,

and Fantastic Universes are available there.

I post them when I remember to. They published

I've only forgotten like two or three times.

I always make sure I put it back up on there

But that's probably the best way I Aside from

that Honestly, googling me with the word review

after it will bring up about 300 different links.

So there's that Am at TF2 and Mike on Twitter.

You can also follow at the pull bag coming up

next We've got JT from Saskatoon and myself talking

about Batman Beyond volume 6 divide conquer and

kill from rebirth and Then after that we're going

to hate fairyland Then we have like I said as

of this episode we have five episodes until 400

so we've got that planned out and everything

else Make your greatest game in the comics and

we will catch you next time here inside The Pole

Bag. Facebook .com slash The Pull Bag. Send us

an email, feedback at GeekCastRadio .com, follow

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So until next time, make your great escape into

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