Episode 87 - A Publisher Spotlight on Dynamite’s Gold Key Titles

The Two Guys with PhDs (talking about comics) are back with another Publisher Spotlight episode. This time they are focusing on Dynamite Entertainment, specifically the new Gold Key comics that they have been reviving: Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, by Greg Pak and Mirko Colak; Magnus: Robot Fighter, by Fred Van Lente and Cory Smith; Solar: Man of the Atom, by Frank J. Barbiere and Joe Bennett; and Doctor Spektor: Master of the Occult, by Mark Waid and Neil Edwards. They discuss the new series in the order in which they’ve been introduced, and the guys even comment on Dynamite’s strategy of staggering releases and not just publishing everything at once, much like Valiant did with their new revived titles a couple of years ago. Andy is more familiar with the original Gold Key comics, at least most of them, than Derek, so when they can they point out the similarities and differences between the recent comics and their earlier manifestations from Gold Key, Valiant, Acclaim, and Dark Horse.  The guys definitely have their preferences — e.g., they love Van Lente’s humor in Magnus, they appreciate both Van Lente and Waid’s send up of reality television, they’re curious where Barbiere is going with Solar’s daughter, and while they’re not big fantasy/Conan fans, they do like what Pak and Colak have done with Turok — and much of this comes out in their discussion. Overall, they really like what Dynamite is doing with their recent revival and look forward to seeing how it unfolds…and how things may all come together (as we are teased in the first issue of Doctor Spektor). Plus, the guys share listener mail that they’ve recently received. Keep ‘em coming!