It’s time once again for another superhero podcast review. This time I did have one suggested to me to check out from a fan of the show. I almost considered not reviewing it as the podcast is more of an overall nerd culture podcast that has a handful of superhero episodes, but there were additional episodes that interested me so I figured I’d allow it. That’s also why one of the dials on the below podcast statistics graphic is missing as it didn’t quite make sense for this show. But I will still be giving the stats, my review, and it will come down to a rating of: Subscribe, Unsubscribe, or Selected Episodes. And if you know of or host a superhero podcast that you’d like me to review, feel free to let me know.

The Basics

Website: https://soundcloud.com/wizbru
Episode count (as of 2-7-19): 131
Episodes listened to: 5
Episodes recommended to me: Deadpool
Release schedule: Weekly on Thursdays
Episode Length: 1:00-1:30 averaging around 1:10
Audio Quality: Clear
Language rating: R
Spoilers: N/A for the most part
Production format: A single conversation between cohosts as they discuss the main subject of the episode which varies across all sorts of nerd culture from superheroes to video games to movies, even tangentially related things like Doritos and Mountain Dew. They go in depth into the history and tend to have fun along the way.

The Format

The hosts are Holden McNeely and Jake Young and they do a deep dive into a specific aspect of nerd culture, whether it’s a superhero character, a nerd-friendly movie, a video game series, or an anime. They go through the entire history of the subject as well as several of those involved whether it’s the author, director, or whatever else. They also spend some time with tangents and other things here and there but mostly stick to the topic at hand.

Comics vs Movies

I only listened to a few episodes that were specifically superhero related: Deadpool, Wolverine, and Hellboy, and both had more of a focus on the history of the comics as well as the author and writer’s backgrounds while still spending a fair amount of time on the movies including the two animated movies in Hellboy’s case as well as other various animated appearances from Deadpool. I also listened to the Neverending Story and Katamari Damacy episodes which covered a brief history of Namco in the latter ep and information about the original book in the former.

The Verdict

At first, I wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to like this show as I felt like there was too much of a high energy morning zoo feel to it. As in, the hosts felt like they were putting on characters too much and were trying too hard to be loud and funny. The rest of the episodes I listened to either had less of that energy, or I got used to it and it didn’t bother me as much. It may have also been that the latter episodes were all more recent and the hosts may have toned it down since the earlier episode. The only other complaint with the more recent episodes was that they had an ad, but it was jammed into the middle in a way that felt like they just stuck it into a brief moment of silence between topics rather than preparing for the ad ahead of time and giving it a spot within their conversation. Aside from that minor complaint, it was entertaining and informative. I learned a lot that I didn’t know and I had a good time listening. If more episodes were focused on superheroes, it would get a higher rating, but for now

Wizard and the Bruiser: Selected Episodes