Round three of my current project of superhero podcast reviews where I’m taking a closer look at some of the many superhero and comic book movie podcasts out there and seeing how they align with my own tastes. I’m still going with my regular listens though this time it’s a much more recent show having debuted within this past year. I generally listen to a lot of different podcasts, mainly indie movie podcasts, but I’m always looking to grow my subscription list so if you have or know of a superhero-focused podcast, primarily on the movie side of things, give me a shout in the comments or on Twitter so I can make it a future review.

Meanwhile…

The Basics

Website: Meanwhilepodcast.Libsyn.com
Episode count (as of 6/11/16): 17
Episodes listened to: 12
Release schedule: Weekly, typically on Wednesdays
Episode Length: between 45 minutes to 1:15
Audio Quality: Clear
Language rating: PG-13 with occasional swearing depending on the guest
Spoilers: Yes
Production format: A single friendly discussion specifically focused on the serial or movie at hand with a single break for a produced comedy commercial related to the feature.

The Format

Host James Thompson brings on a different guest for each episode as he works his way chronologically through every notable comic book movie ever made, starting with the movie serials from the 30’s and 40’s, he’s currently made it to the 70’s and into the feature films. The tone of the episode can vary from guest to guest, but it’s usually a very lighthearted examination of the feature and you can tell that most of the guests are his real life friends and they have been recorded live rather than over Skype which always gives a more personable feel to it. It’s not always just jokes as he does do his research to bring in interesting tidbits of information here and there. The commercials are also a nice bit of fun that break up the conversation a little bit and it helps that James has a voice that captures that old-timey radio spirit.

Comics vs Movies

It’s still early in the show’s life but he’s already managed to cover a great deal of variety covering all of the serials based on comic books (excluding the Shadow and Dick Tracy since those started as radio and a comic strip respectively) and hitting a wide range of comic book movies from the late 60’s from the campy Batman to the campy Danger Diabolik and even the campy Barbarella. Ok, maybe the 60’s was primarily camp, but the genres were varied in their camp. While most of the discussion is focused on the feature, Thompson spends some time talking about the origins of the comic book and some of the differences between the film and the comic. One of the more interesting episodes was one on Blackhawk with Michael Sullivan who was old enough to have actually read Blackhawk comics as a kid in the 50’s and shares some of his first hand experiences.

The Verdict

As with the previous two reviews, James has also been a guest on my own Filmwhys podcast, but unlike the others I have also been a guest on his show where we discussed Danger Diabolik. James is a great guy so I’m a little biased, but what really sold me into his show is how much it feels like how I started this site. He has a specific goal in mind and it’s a slightly narrower focus than mine, but also stricter since he’s going in chronological order. I’ll be very curious to see how his perspective on these films changes as he gets to see them evolve with a much clearer insight as to where they came from. Even though this is a relatively recent show, James has been a podcaster previously so he brings that experience to this show so that it feels much more like a fully formed show rather than how most shows this young do.

Meanwhile… Subscribed