In the second half of our all-night talk-a-thon with Athena Voltaire's Steve Bryant, we punch a few dead Palominos in the name of the current state of the comic book industry, sussing out Marvel's collected edition strategy, trades and new readers, Alan Moore's Top Ten, Image's Ted McKeever Library, Michael Avon Oeming, Neo Expressionism and other pretentious ways to classify pretty pictures, Cheap Ass Trades, and much more! Plus, the most Hotline messages we've received to date!

Athena Voltaire's Snazzy Steve Bryant joins us for a marathon four-hour giant-size comic book throwdown! In the first of two parts, we tackle Final Crisis #5, selling David on Fables, channeling Kirby, Mike Allred, the language of comics, God-Size Thor, the Athena Voltaire/Black Coat crossover, the impact of $4 comics on independent publishers, X-Men: Messiah Complex, Hellboy: The Wild Hunt, Steve Epting and Captain America, Frank D'armata, Fear Agent, Camelot 3000, an angry Chris Neseman, and much more! Plus, the usual Hotline hijinks!

The Woodman returns to drag us through a discourse on Amazing Spider-Man, Phonogram: The Singles Club, Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness' (Red) Hulk hardcover, Mike Norton and Green Arrow/Black Canary, X-Force #9, Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch, Original Sin, X-23, Savage Dragon #139-141, Secret Invasion #8, Image Comics and the Man of Action team, the Wanted movie, Top Cow and The Darkness, Dark Horse's Dylan Dog, back issue buying online, old comic book ads, Star Wars: Early Victories omnibus,  with everything descending into an old fart "Remember when..." lament. Good times. Bonus! Happy Hotline messages! Well, one of 'em, anyway...

Around Comics' Sizzlin' Brion "Sal" Salazar drops by to help us journey to the 5th Dimension to tune the Bat-Radia for a special episode devoted to Batman R.I.P. Bonus! Incoming transmission from the Raph-Radia and a few fabulous forumites finger the Hotline!

Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for the opportunity to talk about Dan Didio, James Robinson, Greg Rucka, and Action Comics (along with some Flamebird and Nightwing thrown in for good measure), Skottie Young and Young X-Men, monthly comics and reading for the trade, The Boys from Dynamite, Gemini Blood, the craft of comic book lettering, JSA, Mia Kirschner's I Live Here from Pantheon, the !mpact and Charlton characters at DC, Ambush Bug: Year None, more Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, and much more!

This time around, we meander across the comic map with meaty musings on Dan Didio and James Robinson, Terra #2, WizKids, the Fourth World, Supergirl #35, Superman #677-681 and Action #871, Blackest Night, Batman R.I.P., JLA/Avngers, Deadpool, an Action without a Superman, the Brave and the Bold cartoon, Spectacular Spider-Man, Sgt. Rock: The Last Battalion, Kingdon Come Special: Superman, the World War Z film, Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel, Uncle Scrooge #382, Captain Britain and MI 13 #7,  Iron Fist, Godland, Gigantic, an much more! Plus, the Hotline is exploding with an unprecedented SIX messages from the fantastic 11 O'Clock forumites! Yee!

We're stranded on Bizarro Shit Planet with nothing more to do than talk about Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Bruce Jones, Blue Beetle (Say it ain't so, Dan!), Brit, Antarctic Press' Gold Digger, S. Clay Wilson, Scott Saavedra, McDuffie and Benes' Justice League of America, Greg Rucka, Azzarello and Bermejo's landmark Joker graphic novel, Deadpool, Ex Machina, Transformers: Stormbringer, more Avatar Press love, Freak Angels, JSA Superman Special, Zero Killer, HeroClix, and much more! Bonus! Darrel dings da Hotline!

Things get a bit serious as we ponder the price of monthly periodicals, hardcovers, digital comics, Terra #1, Agents of Atlas, G.I. Joe #0 from IDW, advertising in comics, Smallville, paper quality, Terry Moore's Runaways and Echo, Freak Angels, Alan Davis' Thor: Proof of History, Warren Ellis and Avatar, the effect of the election on comics, Final Crisis: Resist, Submit, and Rage of the Red Lanterns, Watching the Watchmen, the Adventure Comics Special featuring the Guardian, X-Men/Spider-Man #1, Jeff Lemire, Ghost Talker's Daydream volume two and coffee enemas (Okay, maybe not so serious, after all...), and a whole mess more! Plus, another hit on the Hotline!

The Contingent's Zack Kruse and Thomas Stephen Katers pitch in to help us talk about the Man-Thing, Cassie Hack, Hellboy, Savage, Archie Goodwin, Steve Ditko, Joe Orlando, Steve Niles, Eerie, Creepy, Sergio Aragones, Frank Frazetta, Ben Templesmith, Tony Moore, Mike Mignola, Vampirella, Myron Fass' Eerie Publications, Skywald, EC Comics, House of Mystery, Jose Gonzalez, Seven Soldiers Frankenstein, Werewolf by Night, 30 Days of Night, the Heap, XXXZombies, Eric Powell and the Goon, Tom Sutton, Robert Kirkman and Walking Dead, Savage, Hellblazer, Swamp Thing, and much, much more in this, our first Halloween horror comics special! Plus, the usual assortment of Hotline hijinks!

The Woodman returns just in time to talk about Mike Mayhew and Savage, Dead Ahead #1 and the incomparable Alex Nino, Cyblade #1 from Top Cow, Rick Remender, Jerome Opena and the Punisher, Judd Winick and Bruce Jones, Chuck Austin, Amazing Spider-Man #574, Final Crisis #4 (sorta), Final Crisis: Submit, Ed McGuinness, Gene Colon and the Tomb of Dracula omnibus, Dwayne McDuffie and JLA, Gigantic, Jeffrey Brown's Sulk Volume 2: Deadly Awesome, and much more! Plus, Darrel gets nasty on the Hotline and more Madness than you deserve!