EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Welcome back, fellow mecha maniacs, to another electrifying episode of Play Comics! This week, we’re strapping into our mobile suits and diving headfirst into the pixelated battlefield of Gundam Wing: Endless Duel on the Super Famicom. Prepare for a high-octane journey through the cosmos as we dissect this classic fighting game based on the legendary Mobile Suit Gundam franchise.

But wait, there’s more! We’re thrilled to announce the return of our dynamic duo of guests, the incomparable Billy and the ever-enthusiastic Erinn! These two are back by popular demand, ready to share their insights, banter, and perhaps a few heated debates about their favorite Gundam pilots and mobile suits.

Billy is a seasoned fighting game player who has mastered the intricacies of Endless Duel’s combat system, while Erinn is a die-hard Gundam fan with an encyclopedic understanding of the series’ lore and mecha designs. Together, they bring a unique perspective to the discussion, blending gameplay analysis with a genuine appreciation for the source material. Their chemistry and friendly banter are sure to keep the conversation engaging and entertaining throughout the episode.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Welcome to another spine-tingling, joystick-wiggling episode of Play Comics, where the pixels meet the page and the game controllers are always at risk of being thrown in excitement or frustration. This week we’re diving into the dark cobwebbed corners of the gaming world to unearth the 1992 classic The Addams Family, a game that dared to ask “What if we took a beloved, macabre family and turned their life into a platforming adventure?” Based on the 1991 film of the same name, this game sprawled across the NES, SNES, Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, and Game Boy, proving that no console was safe from its kooky, spooky charm.

In this episode we’re thrilled to welcome back the illustrious Adam Williamson, a man whose knowledge of games is only rivaled by his ability to survive encounters with the supernatural—or at least supernatural-themed video games. Adam, who last graced us with his presence in a bodyslammin’ discussion on WWF No Mercy, returns from the depths of the gaming archives to help us navigate the twisted halls of the Addams’ mansion.

Prepare for a journey where every jump is a leap of faith (into a pit of who-knows-what), every enemy is as bizarre as an Addams family member, and the only thing scarier than the game’s difficulty is the thought of turning it off before finishing. Will Gomez find his beloved family members, or will he be doomed to wander the pixelated corridors forever? Join us as we explore the mystery, the humor, and the sheer Addams-ness of The Addams Family game.

So tighten your seatbelts, adjust your monocles, and make sure your hand (Thing, is that you?) is firmly attached to your wrist. It’s going to be a wild ride through the Addams Family estate, where the only guarantee is laughter, nostalgia, and maybe, just maybe, a newfound appreciation for games that make you want to pull your hair out—in the most delightful way possible.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Sometimes I just get confused when it comes to localization decisions. Why can’t we get the manga license with our games? Did they think we wouldn’t like a plane based shooter because it had a comic with it that we didn’t recognize?

Good thing that I have Steampunk Link and Emmy Zero from SNEScapades here to help straighten things up. Listen in as we try to solve this and other mysterious aspects of this early SNES Era gem.

Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Sometimes Japan gets something super cool that we don’t. Alright, that happens all the time. But in this case it really sucks because it’s a good Spider-Man game based on a comic mini series and it really wouldn’t have taken much to get it ready to come out over here.

Listen in as Adam Messinger comes to talk about Spider-Man Lethal Foes and we cry over the fact that this game never got a proper US release.

Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

One of the things that I like about anime (and manga probably too if I’d consistently read it) is magical realism. There’s just something cool about a world where paper animals can be brought to life or dragons are real or things like that and it’s not a big deal. Or where people can fall into a haunted spring and get transformed if they’re hit with the right, or wrong, temperature of water.

Listen in as Steampunk Link from SNEScapades comes on the show to talk about this game about a crazy manga where people switch genders and turn into animals nobody seems to really care about anything except literally fighting over a girl before school. Except the teachers, they don’t care at all.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Pretty much everyone dreams of flying. And of not getting on the wrong side of gangsters and Nazis. But mostly of flying. So imagine how cool it would be if a jetpack just fell into your lap! Or rather the seat of your airplane. Oh who care, YOU’VE GOT A JET PACK!

Listen in as Derek Graziano from Rolling Misadventures comes by the show to take a look at The Rocketeer and a pair of games that really couldn’t have been much more different if they’d tried.Continue Reading

Bonus EpisodesEpisodes
By:
On:

In another bonus episode that’s totally not just to manipulate the numbering so I can pull something off later (that’s a lie and we all know it but we’ll roll with it anyway) Kayleigh Osborne comes back to take a look at one of the world’s most well known and important comic characters. Theatrical films, cartoons from multiple decades, and running pretty much since the 1930s. Yup, it’s Tintin. Take a listen as Kayleigh joins to talk about this comic franchise that somehow just hasn’t caught on in the US yet. We never do figure out why it hasn’t.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Every super hero story has to eventually end. Maybe not in our world, but in the comic world as long as timelines don’t get reset or just stop progressing then all the heroes will eventually get old. Except The Phantom, who just straight up hasn’t died. Because he can’t.

Listen in as Karrington Martin from Real Dudes Podcast comes to talk about Phantom 2040 and how it relates to the Phantom comics, and of course the SNES and Genesis games that came out with it.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

In a world of corrupt politicians working with the letter, but definitely not the spirit, of the law it’s inevitable that if time travel become a possibility that it would be used for evil. Which means you’ll have to have cops specifically for time related things.Listen in as Mark Diaz from Mark’s Movie Collection comes to talk about this Jean Claude Van Damme classic and a game that kind of maybe has something to do with it.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Alien races fighting an ancient war. Characters that aren’t exactly like the rest of Earth’s population. Jim Lee art. A 90s Saturday morning cartoon. I’m thinking this sounds pretty familiar…..Listen in as Jeffrey Brown, writer of The Valkyrie Quartet, comes to talk Jim Lee’s WildC.A.T.S. and how despite the familiarity of it, this is a franchise that you really need to check out for it’s own awesomeness.Continue Reading

Bonus EpisodesEpisodes
By:
On:

A lot of you (and by that I mean at least 1 person) has asked if I’d ever look at the Alien franchise. This is as close as I’ll get since the movie clearly came first and didn’t get made with the comic in mind. But you asked for it, and there are comics. So why not?Keith Gawla from Pop Up Film Cast comes by to continue ridiculing me for my horrible appearance on his show. Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

In the “fictional” future a single person gets to be judge, jury, and executioner. Well, a bunch of single people but you get the idea. This is the world of instant justice. This is the faaaaar far future of 2080.

Drew Hallum from Reel Feels and CritStorm Cast comes by the show to take a look at the 1995 Sylvester Stallone classic Judge Dredd. Just make sure you follow the law while you’re doing it so you don’t get judged!Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Even without reading comics growing up, my friends and I always knew about Spawn. Or at least that he existed. Not that we really knew anything about him. But come on, look at the guy! How can he not be cool? Listen in as author and comic writer BJ Mendelson comes to talk not only Spawn as a character but also the fascinating real life origin story of the comic and how this is possibly the most 90s thing that ever 90s-ed.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Batman the Animated Series is apparently a huge part of a ton of childhoods. Except mine, because I somehow kept missing it. But from giving characters much better back stories to creating a few characters that we couldn’t imagine not having today to just being objectively awesome, it’s an important part of today’s Batman culture.So of course it had a game to go with it. You know, besides the Gameboy title that it actually shared a name with the series. Listen in as Chris Sims from War Rocket Ajax, The ISB, and writer of some Marvel things comes to talk about a wonderful pair of Batman games, and a few others that exist.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Here comes Speed Racer racing around the track. But he’s got the the Car Acrobatic Team hot on his tail. Can Speed make it around the curve and onto the finish line without getting caught?

Micah Ulmer joins the show to help find out where exactly Speed got his origins and all kinds of cool things that show this franchise is more than just that anime you saw when you were 6.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Did you know The Mask was a comic? Us either. But somehow Dark Horse got a movie made about a comic that totally slipped past my young knowledge.

But how well did the Jim Carey movie stick to the comics? Listen in as Karrington Martin from Real Dudes Podcast comes back to take a look at this movie tie in game that takes full advantage of Carey’s insanity.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Remember back in the 1990s when Wolverine was everywhere and you couldn’t get away from him? When if there was ever going to be a game focusing on just a single member of the X-Men that it would unquestionably be him? And how we already got that once? Well guess what, it’s time for round two!

Listen in as Chris Baker from SuperHero.vg and author of WRONG! Retro Games, You Messed Up Our Comic Book Heroes! comes by to look at the 16 bit entry. Or is it entries? Just listen, I’m sure we’ll figure it out along the way.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

In the 1990s Batman was everything. A comic movie franchise, cartoons, you name it. And then things started to fall off the rails. Tim Burton gets pushed out the door and we get this. But will the game be worth it despite the movie? Or will we get yet another example of a weak game that exists only because of a movie tie in?
Listen as Alex Whiteley from Thors-Kin joins the show to talk Batman Forever.Continue Reading

EpisodesRegular Episodes
By:
On:

Spider-Man makes another appearance and this time time it’s based on the 1994 animated series. So with such an iconic part of my childhood as the basis, this game has to be good? Right? 

Listen in as Matt Gardner from Floating Hands Studios and writer of the comic Alabaster Shadows comes on the show to take a look at this SNES and Genesis take on our favorite wall crawler.Continue Reading