Five Years of The Pull Bag: What Comics Mean to Us

Hey, I'm Jesse Rass and you've jumped inside

the vast comic book world of the pullback only

on the GeekCast radio network What you think

the laddies What it's like calisthenics. You

might have missed a couple things, you know Doing

time is a capsicle. Can you believe it? It's

been five years or so since the pull bag started

here on the geek cast radio network Hey everybody,

TFJU and Mike here, and this is episode 140 of

the Pull Bag. It's actually going to be a fairly

short episode. I'm going to be very honest and

very blunt. I put out, every so often, I think,

oh, let's put out a GCRN press release to kind

of get information out about certain things we're

going to be doing over at the GCRN and things

like that. With this being the fifth year anniversary

of the poll bag I thought oh well let's get people

to send in mp3 clips to Tell us why you know

how how comics make them feel what comics make

them feel what comics mean to them and I only

got two clips from people which you'll hear here

in a bit, so I'm kind of disappointed with everybody

I've got Over a thousand Twitter followers. I've

got 387 Facebook friends and I get it people

are busy They're off doing their own thing and

everything else, but it's one of those things

where I'm not asking for a lot I mean a clip

that's ten minutes or less that you can record

on an iPhone or something, you know But five

years of the pull bag I can't believe the podcast

has been going on this long. We've covered so

much in five years. We've had so many origins

episodes, so many back issue classics episodes,

so many regular numbered episodes. Um, I'm 60

away from 200 on the regular numbered episodes

as of this recording for the pull bag. If you

add in the back issue classics, the origins,

the after darks and everything, I know, I know

it's already over 200, but just Anyone that has

known me more than two years knows that I have

a weird thing with numbering and doing certain

things in a certain way and sometimes that frustrates

people and sometimes it doesn't. Before I play

the clips of the two people that sent the clips

in, I'm just gonna tell you what comics mean

to me. As a kid, I knew about comics and I knew

of the comics and I knew that's where Batman

and Superman and Spider -Man and Iron Man and

all that stuff had come from. But as a kid I

was more, you know watching the cartoons or watching

the movies or Whatever. I wasn't really reading

comics as a kid The whole reason why the pullback

got started it's all Steve Megatron's fault he

had read because you know we're both big into

Batman DC animated universe the Bruce Tim stuff

and Mark Hamill is the Joker and Kevin Conroy

is Batman and all that and he had read batman

number thirteen from the new fifty -two run of

batman which was the start of the death of the

family arc where the joker comes back and everything

else and i read his review and i read the comic

myself and i read a few other uh... spider -man

like when amazing spider -man was hitting issue

seven hundred and they were gonna you know in

the series so i read that in spade and i talked

about that on a special geek cast radio episode

before the pullback started So yeah I'd say over

the last four or five years I've come to have

a very Interesting perception and opinion on

comic books. I love reading comics. It just depends

on what comic it is Any of the Batman Beyond

stuff that's been done from DC in the last you

know Five or ten years or so love that stuff

idw rules the uh... the uh... license properties

like turtles and transformers and things like

that uh... even some of the you know some of

the other stuff that idw does that is creator

only tom zollers long distance or loving capes

or you know other stuff like that uh... ryan

ferrier's dave series uh... hot damn and that

kind of stuff love that uh... even when the colonized

when when when beagles diva and i did the uh...

my little pony uh... coverage i didn't very much

enjoy that and i am so not a brony whatsoever

uh... dc's team and coverage uh... that that

it is there and i have been doing for a while

now uh... and i'd just love reading comics and

all this is going to be sacrilegious to some

people almost love reading comics more than i

love reading actual novels I mean I grew up reading

you know I for me reading books actual books

folks not comics but actual books was I started

out with as most every child of the eighties

did you know the Berenstain Bears and all that

and then I moved into the Hardy Boys case files

not the regular Hardy Boys series but the case

file series where Frank and Joe were a little

older a little wiser you know that kind of thing

and then I eventually found like R .L. Stein's

Fear Street look I get it people love goosebumps

I don't like goosebumps it's not one of my favorite

things and then it's no no disrespect to R .L.

Stein that just wasn't my I've often with books

if somebody presents me with a choice I go one

way and not the other and I stay on that one

path so I love the Fear Street books from R .L.

Stein I love most of the nineties stuff that

John Grisham wrote for his legal thrillers and

things. I haven't read a Grisham novel in years

at this point. I've told this story before when

I was living in Mississippi in the year 2000,

2000, 2001. I was near to the area and they had

a Books -A -Million there and one of the ladies

that was there said, okay, I'll give you a choice.

You can either read this... this new book series

or this series that's been out for a while about

a boy wizard or you can read this series about

a former lingerie buyer turned bounty hunter.

Now come on people, why the hell would I want

to read a book about a boy wizard when I can

read a book about a former lingerie buyer turned

bounty hunter? Janet Ivanovich's Stephanie Plumb

series is amazing. anyway back to comics for

me what comics mean is that it is a world that

sucks you in through the story and the art whether

you have a favorite character whether you have

a favorite series whether you you know if you're

like some people that like Captain America if

you're some people that like Wolverine stories

or spider -man and it's not just superheroes

Look again. I'm gonna reference Tom Zoller's

long distance the the four -issue story that

he did that he wrote up about Carter blue and

Lee Smith about a long distance relationship

Again a creator own title, and it's one of those

things where I've read that comic and I kid you

not folks It has been over a hundred times since

Those four issues have been out that I've read

that comic I go back to that and I just enjoy

it so much uh... you know amy nicole and i have

done it during the gym comics from i d w and

everything else uh... what is so great about

comics is that they pull you in just like regular

books do like Could turn on some low music as

a kid what it whatever you know pop rock or whatever

just in the background have background noise

And I could sit there in a chair or on my bed

or whatever and I could be reading a book and

my brain Just jumps right into the story like

I imagine myself as a fly in the wall in that

story It's the same thing with comics folks you

know I can see myself as a Observer comics when

I jump into these stories when I You know when

I have moments of oh my god They really did that

like coming up when JT and I do the Batman Beyond

books for Batman month in May The current series

the 2016 series the rebirth series that just

launched it's got Dan Jergens on on writing as

it had with the 2015 series In the 2016 series

and the third and fourth or fifth issue of that

series you know Dan does certain things that

reference the Batman Beyond television show and

it just It makes me feel so wonderful reading

something that someone is writing that they're

paying I know they're paying attention to it,

but the fact that they reference something as

Little as the date of the first air date of the

first episode of Batman Beyond in 1999 you know

that kind of thing so that's what comics mean

to me uh we're going to take a quick break you're

going to hear from my buddy Jesse Raz and you're

also going to hear from Jeremy Fine from Hunnic

Outcast podcast and I'll be back at the end to

close this out I'm not even supposed to be here

today Hello Geocast Radio Network listeners Hunnic

Outcast here what do comics mean to me Well,

that's an excellent question. I don't know if

I can answer this in ten minutes. I'm gonna have

to give you the abridged version but I It's not

that I have a short attention span and it's hard

to explain but anytime that I get my hands on

any type of book and Joking aside like Gaston

and from Beauty and the Beast would say there

are no pictures I have to visualize everything

that I'll read in a large or small print book.

It doesn't matter what the book is. I just...

I need to see it visualized as well to match.

Because otherwise I'll just take the book, keep

it on my lap, visualize it, and it'll take me

forever to finish anything. And isn't that the

point of books? The visualizations? But I also

have to appreciate... the illustrators, the layout

artists, the pencilers, the inkers, background

artists. I mean kind of the books start off just

being in Sunday papers and just meant for either

kids or eventually adults and they start off

as these three panel to eight panel jokes to

character development. But does one have anything

to do with the other? Is there a difference between

the Sunday funnies and the newspaper columns

to comic books slash graphic novels? Again, I

could give you an answer, I just can't give you

the answer that you want because it'll take forever.

But I will say this much. I started off with

Charlie Brown because I love the characters.

I started off with Charlie Brown because it was

relatable when I got older. I would say between

the time that Superman and Batman were coming

onto the big screen, I'd go to my library or

my local comic book store and pick up a comic

here or there. But you have to understand, since

it's very hard even then and now. Whether DC

wants to work on the reprints or not because

I'm sure there are royalty issues or whatever

the case may be You're never gonna get Golden

age silver age bronze and new 52 and rebirth

for the DC Coming out and separate volumes DC

tries it every now and then But I don't think

it ever really works you get compilations and

or trade paperbacks, but it's hard and for the

Golden silver age of DC and I guess Marvel if

you want if Marvel also has a golden age and

silver age the writing Was meant more towards

kids and It feels you know, I'm not gonna take

anything away from the writers But I guess I

understood I guess they figured their audience

was just for 8 to 10 year olds and that was pretty

much it But then when Bronze Age and new 52 and

rebirth came along the Ryan's a little bit tighter

So I appreciate Bronze Age to present for DC

Marvel it's The problem with Marvel it gets so

clustered and flustered with what age they're

working on whether it's Marvel now or I or you

know Because they're so content with their Earth's

because I think there's Earth 616 and then there's

2055 and then there's a separate one for the

MCU and Then there's there's all these different

series that I can't keep track anymore And then

everybody seems to be getting a comic nowadays.

I have nothing against tower the duck or Spin

-offs and miniseries, but Marvel has just overwhelmed

me DC I feel I still ask these idiotic questions

because what's the difference between Action

Comics and Superman and Detective Comics and

Batman? And then of course I know there's Legends

of the Dark Knight and there's Gotham City Central.

And I even get started with Supergirl or Blue

Beetle or Wonder Woman or, you know, all of that,

so... What do comics mean to me? God. It's an

abundance of just I guess the illustrations the

writing Some of the characters you can relate

to some you can't I mean It's really hard to

say in this time frame But I think what it means

to me is escapism And just I can Be at a certain

age and read a picture book and not feel like

I'm six years old I I just pretty much have picked

up a lot of comic books over the years just for

the visuals and just trying to put them on My

desktop on my PC or my tablet I mean currently

right now. I'm reading Deadpool because of the

movies and I watched the movies and some are

faithful annotations and some aren't and One

good thing about a bad adaptation of a comic

book movie You can always go back and read the

comic book or the graphic novel and see what

it really was supposed to be People have issues

with Batman v Superman and then some so I was

able to go back and pick up a couple Trade paperbacks

of world's finest from the 50s and 60s About

how Batman and Superman really met and I've discussed

that couple times on my podcast Deadpool the

same thing and I can go on and on and on and

on but I also feel bad for the writers because

a lot of them From the 30s until now some of

them got screwed because of that book seduction

of the innocent some got screwed after seduction

of the innocent because Compa companies were

still somehow screwing writers and artists for

a very long time. I think after Bronze Age or

during Bronze Age in the 70s to 90s, I think

artists and writers somehow have been able to...

I wanna say between the 80s and 90s, I think

artists and writers are able to solidify their

name in comics, I think, but don't quote me on

that. I mean, there are so many great writers

out there that I can think of. Grant Morrison,

Alan Moore. Of course, you know Stan Lee and

Bill Finger I mean there there are so many that

I can think of somebody probably never even heard

of because they're also the independent comics

now we have image IDW is very good for the nostalgia

factors. I Mean even Marvel back in the 80s had

something called star comics where they tried

to make these mini series, you know type of comics

just for kids like they they came out with Muppet

Babies well, it was loosely based on a TV show,

but you get the idea and top dog and God there

was just all these great ideas just visit your

local comic book store. You can just see What

comics have? Meant to people over the years and

what these artists or go to a comic book convention

just sit down and talk to an illustrator or writer

they're not all pompous I mean I've met a couple

comic book artists and creators that are mainstream

that won't give you the time of day but it is

what it is but what do comics mean to me I have

so many you know what I quote from the Joker

sometimes it's this way sometimes it's that way

but I just prefer it to be multiple choice but

Do appreciate what geek ass radio the pullback

is done. I've guessed it on a few times. I miss

it There's still some ideas that I want to collaborate

that well currently I'm I reviewed a comic book

movie and It's comic book and adaptation its

prequels cool world Which is rather interesting?

so what that said Make a great escape in the

comics and Goodbye folks Have a nice life. This

is starting to sound like a bad comic book plot.

Jeremy dude, you sound like you're so depressed.

You need something to brighten up your day. Now,

here's Jesse Raz. I slept for 70 years, sir.

I think I had my fill. Then you should be out

celebrating, seeing the world. I went under.

The world was at war. When I wake up, they say

we won. They didn't say what we lost. We've made

some mistakes along the way. Some very recently.

Here with the mission sir, I am trying to get

me back in the world trying to save it Hydra

secret weapon Howard Stark fished that out of

the ocean when he was looking for you He thought

what we think the tesseract could be the key

to unlimited sustainable All right, what? Do

comics mean to me? Alright, well first, hey,

this is Jesse Rass. I am a morning show co -host

on The Morning Play on 1069 Play in Louisville,

Kentucky. And what do comics mean to me? Well,

they mean a lot to me. They're a big part of

my identity. I do some cosplaying as Captain

America and some other superheroes, but for me,

growing up, comic books kind of helped define

that sense of right and wrong. Not that I didn't

have good influences in my life from, you know,

actual people, but... You know, that sort of

selflessness, that heroic sense that it's kind

of become a part of myself, that is where I got

a lot of that from comic books. And actually,

I wear a Green Lantern ring every day, not just

because I think it's cool and he's one of my

favorite superheroes, but kind of a core philosophy

for me has always been... Overcoming my fears

never letting fear dictate my life and that's

kind of something that I did pick up from Green

Lantern or at least I Recognized that there were

similarities there, you know, a Green Lantern

isn't inherently fearless They have the ability

to overcome great fear that for me has been a

driving force Never let fear stop me from doing

anything that I want to do. So I've jumped out

of airplanes. I've done stand -up comedy I talked

to tens of thousands of people on the radio all

the time It scares me, but you know what I don't

let the fear dictate my life and so comics have

had a huge influence with me I'm a father now,

and I can't wait to share those kind of stories

that kind of influence with him I hope he really

likes comic books. I mean knowing my luck. He'll

be really into sports and Which is something

I don't know very much about but but I'm looking

forward to eventually sharing some of my trades

with him And just getting him to read, that's

the other thing. I got my sisters, I have younger

sisters, I got them some Teen Titans trades way

back in the day, just as a kind of a way to get

them to do some reading. And I kind of helped

them along with that. So I think comic books

can really have that kind of influence on people,

especially kids that, you know what, books may

be not their thing. If you can get them to read

comic books, eventually they'll want those...

Richer stories that don't necessarily happen

in comic books So you can so you can get them

that way and that for me also was was something

that happened to is It helped me get into reading

a little bit more So I mean comics are a huge

part of who I am and who I continue to be Comic

books have kind of become a great unifier to

it used to be Comic book nerds weren't the popular

ones well with the advent of the movies and everything

if comic book nerds have Become the sort of popular

thing and it's funny I used to live in New York

City and I worked for Abercrombie and Fitch Which

you wouldn't think there would be too many comic

book nerds in there But I used to sit in the

break room and just sort of let my nerd flag

fly I'd sit, you know on the floor and I read

comic books on my break And it was amazing. The

people that I never thought in a million years,

based on stereotypes, were into comic books.

They'd stop me and go, oh, I just picked up that

issue, or oh, man, and we'd have all these conversations.

I made so many friends just on the fact that

I was sitting there reading a comic book that

either they were familiar with or they wanted

to be familiar with. So that's a pretty cool

story. And that's kind of what comic books have

been to me. Sure, there are a lot of people that

don't know what the heck you're talking about.

They don't care. My brother -in -law. More often

than not, when they see that, they think, oh,

it's a very approachable thing about somebody.

And suddenly, you have something in common. You

have a base reference, and you start getting

along. So comic books, huge part of my life.

I mean, they're a huge part of who I am. Even

if I don't ever read another comic book, the

influence they've had on me and who I am today

is just immense. I just want to talk. I've heard

all I want to hear from you ex -people. Excuse

me. This is getting expensive! Alright folks,

I am back here inside the pull bag, episode 140.

Thank you so much to Jesse Raz and to Jeremy

Fine. Jeremy, dude, like I said, you need something

to brighten up your life. You sound like you're

so disappointed and sad. And I swear at the end

of that when you're like... Goodbye, folks. Have

a nice life. I swear, I thought you said, have

a nice knife. And I'm like, a nice knife? What

the hell? So again, as I said at the very beginning

of this podcast episode, I'm kind of disappointed

I didn't get more responses on what comics mean

to you. But thank you to Jeremy and to Jesse

for sending in the clips that they sent in. Coming

up in the pullback, we've got a bunch of stuff.

Turtles, Transformers, Batman, more Hadrian's

Wall, more, what else? Stuff. You know, coming

up after this we've got TMNT's 61 to 64 which

is the Street Phantom and then after that we've

got the new series Geek Girl. uh... which steve

megatron will be on with me uh... sorry to cut

this short folks but i had to get this episode

out uh... make your greatest in the comics and

we will catch you next time you've just heard

the latest episode of the poll bag the gcr ends

comic review and discussion podcast there are

several ways to get in touch with us and leave

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So until next time, make your great escape into

comics and unleash the geek in you.