Make Mine Manga!
Books & Literature
About
After years of staying in his superhero lane, John has finally allowed Stephen and Aldo to introduce him to the wonderful world of manga. Join him on his adventures as he learns to turn pages the other way from what he’s used to.
Episodes
- Episode 13: Baku Meet Cute
A day late, but we still have a quality podcast for you! After a successful audition, the boys of Bakuman have a new audience to impress: the fellows of the “Make Mine Manga!” podcast. How does Bakuman stack up against the other title were…
- Yu-Gi-Oh Nooooooo
The hosts of Make Mine Manga! accidentally read Burn the Witch during auditions, narrowing the field for the next reading competition. They must now decide whether to continue with Yu-Gi-Oh or Bakuman.
- Episode 11: Why the Penguin Has Depression
This episode of Make Mine Manga! covers discussions on parenting, celebrity cartoons, and concludes the reading of The Emperor and I while starting Sakamoto Days.
- Bonus: Make Mine Magic
In this episode, Stephen and Aldo discuss the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cards for Magic: The Gathering. They focus on the financial implications and temptation to spend money associated with this new release.
- Episode 10: They Both Molt
In episode 10,
- Episode 9: Sack of Spy Punches
This episode of Make Mine Manga! reviews three Shonen Jump series: Sakamoto Days, which follows a reformed hitman teaming up with a psychic; One-Punch Man; and Spy x Family. The hosts discuss whether the stories will be hits, referencing p…
- Disturbed Can Shut Up About It
We close the book (for now) on Death Note - the manga so good we keep calling it One Piece for no apparent reason. As Light and L’s rivalry comes to an end, how are the boys feeling? And is The Emperor and I an adequate palate cleanser?
- A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Kill
That’s a series wrap on All You Need is Kill - a first for this podcast adventure. Which, considering the length of the popular shonen manga series, isn’t all that surprising. We talk about AYNIK - the good, the bad, and how it compares to…
- Episode 6: The Plot Thiccens
Join us for an hour where the boys editorialize about current events, sexiness in comics, and the relative strengths and weaknesses of black and white vs. color art. Also, we talk about Death Note and All You Need Is Kill in there, too.
- Episode 5: Penguin and Chill
Well, the boys have committed to Death Note for the long haul, but it’s time to commit to a new series as well. There stories are on the ballot: The Emperor and Me, All You Need is Kill, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Can a cute penguin sta…
- Episode 4: 4Kids Death Piece
After meeting Usopp and getting into… a whole lot of discourse, we say goodbye to One Piece (for now?). But we can’t quite bring ourselves to quit Death Note yet, especially now that things are getting so… interesting. Aaaaaaand cue Ryuk e…
- Fill-In: Roll for Initiative!
Well, poor Aldo came down ill over the Thanksgiving holiday, so John and Stephen take a moment to reminisce over their history with the current hottest pastime: tabletop roleplaying games!
- Episode 3: That Pirate Boy Ain’t Right
In episode 3, we continue our exploration of One Piece and Death Note. We continue to marvel at the surprises and moral complexities of the latter, and we laugh as the former shows us how one man can kick another in the sensitives in new a…
- Episode 2: Maybe Batman Was the Villain All Along
We continue our journeys through the worlds of One Piece and Death Note. We contemplate the morality of murder and the practicality of holding a sword in your mouth. You know, deep philosophical stuff.
- Episode 1: Welcome to Make Mine Manga!
I’d like to say we workshopped a better title than this, but we clearly didn’t. John, Aldo, and Stephen embark on a new journey into the world of manga! This week: we trial three chapters of four different stories to get a feel for the lan…
- God Raptured My Brain - FINALE
All good things… In light of the highly disappointing (and frankly cowardly) behavior of Marvel’s parent company Disney in the face of government pressure, we’re… done? After this episode, no more Marvel comics. We’ll be back next month, t…
- The Brute that Shouted Love at the Center of Aldo
Well, the boys must be feeling angry. I’m sure there’s no reason identifiable in, say, literally any current events, so… it’s the Hulk this week! Three different brief Hulk stories, including the marriage of Bruce Banner, as well as the Hu…
- Stay Away from Microwaves, Kids
The Superhuman Registration Podcast celebrates back to school season with another visit to Strange Academy, followed by a field trip to Avengers Academy. Magic! Mayhem! Teen drama and angst! The stuff dreams are made of. I mean, the kind o…
- Assistant TO THE Omniversal Menace
The Age of Apocalypse has ended, and we’ve turned our sights away from anything mutant related to focus instead on the new Ultimate universe (well, new-ish) and the Donny Cates run on Thor. After spending so much time with Marvel’s mutants…
- Apocalypse is a Vibe
And we’ve finally arrived - the end of the Age of Apocalypse. We read the final stories making up the mega event, and we finally, FINALLY rank the the story on the official superhuman registry. How does the event rank?
- Stay Home and Be Sad For Free
Boy, we’ve been wandering through this dark alternate universe for what feels like months now. Will we ever find our way through this endless Age of Apocalypse? Well, almost. The conclusion will be next time, but for this week we have to t…
- Another Moody Cyclops
Our tour of the Age of Apocalypse continues! This time, we look through the mirror darkly at Factor X, X-Calibre, and Generation Next. As we do, we ask ourselves the question: is this all TOO dark? But only briefly, cuz we still weirdly se…
- New Whitest Thing I’ve Done
Almost since the beginning of this podcast, Stephen has looked for a way to have the boys review the classic 90s event comic, the Age of Apocalypse. Finally, we decided to rip the Band-Aid off and just dive in. We start this week with Legi…
- Fill-In: Wizard’s 100 Greatest Villains
Since John’s away, Stephen decided to break out an old issue of Wizard magazine - that giant of pop-culture reporting back in the early 2000s - to spark a conversation with Aldo over who the best villains of all time are. How well do these…
- King, Kang, Mojo
No, it isn’t a crossover between malefic monkeys King Kong and Mojo Jojo. Rather, we’re exploring some curious side stories featuring everyone’s favorite villains. Kang! Kingpin! Mojo! …well, Stephen likes Mojo.
- What You Love Sucks
Two thirds of our little group have never played Marvel Rivals. Will the comic adaptation (tie-in? advertisement?) convince them to join the bandwagon? We’ll find out right after we check in with where we left the Runaways last time in Mia…
- That’s Barely a Name
The Marvel Mangaverse is one of the weirder artifacts of early-2000s comicsdom. Is it a back-issue bizarrerie, or a buried gem? Also, Iron Fist was one of the stars of the post-Civil War Marvel universe. How does this Fraction/Brubaker hol…
- Dave-agar Boltagon
It’s the joke that won’t die! When Medusa appears in the replacement roster for the FF, of COURSE we see it as an opportunity to dunk on our favorite weird superhero name. Also… Star Wars! You know Star Wars, right? But do you know Star Wa…
- Fill-In: MCU Top (and Bottom) Five
With the others out of commission, Stephen takes the bold stand of declaring that some of the MCU films aren’t very good, while others are pretty great. Yes, we’re still talking about this in 2025. Come for the bad takes, stay for the regr…
- Nunchucks from Betsy Ross’s Femurs
Well, none of us are feeling particularly patriotic at the moment. Luckily, neither is Cap, which makes Ta-Nehesi Coates’s “Captain of Nothing” an appropriate read for the moment. ”Cosmic Cooties,” featuring both Moon Girl AND Devil Dinosa…
- Distinct Lack of Scuttlebutt
With the earth looking so bleak these days, we turn our eyes to the stars… only to see the Annihilation Wave headed for us? What the crap, stars?!!? It’s Annihilation: Scourge and the origin of Spider-Woman on this week’s Superhuman Regist…
- Okay Boomer…ang
Way back in 2014, the Superior Fors of Spider-Man took the world by storm. [checks notes] Excuse me… I’m reading here that they got up to a lot of mischief and… peed themselves a lot. [clears throat] Awkward. Anyway, how do their adventure…
- We Are Legion, We Are Dumb
We continue to slowly make our way through a pair of critically-acclaimed series: The Mighty Thor and The Immortal Hulk. Both arcs today deal with themes of superheroic theology, which excites the heck out of Stephen. But are the stories a…
- This Sweater I Don’t Like
For the holidays, we each picked someone out and gave them a single issue story that we thought they would like/find interesting to discuss. Then, of course, we all met up to talk about them! Happy holidays! See you in 2025!
- Days of Future Daredevil
After a 2014 publication revealed some significant gaps in our Marvel readings, we plugged a couple of them in a double-feature, including Daredevil: Born Again and Days of Future Past. Bottom line: these are good books. But to find out ju…
- Hulk Has a Ball Peen
There’s nothing to fear but fear itself, the saying goes. But is Fear Itself even worthy of fear? That’s the question the boys have to face tonight as they read the main event and the tie-in, Hulk Vs. Dracula. Don’t miss it!
- Fill-In: Our Top Ten Tops Your Tops
Poor Aldo’s taken a sick day, so Stephen and John provide a bit of banter over the best Marvel stories as chosen by Marvel readers… in 2014. How has their selection of best Marvel stories aged? And why is ours better?
- Keith Fight Me, Doom Demands It
Happy Halloween! And, like every Halloween, we’re bringing you a factory sealed and packaged treat full of Marvel Zombies and other spooky stories. No razorblades here - we promise! This season, in addition to tackling Marvel Zombies Supre…
- Fill-In Issue: The Anime Episode
When John’s away, Aldo and Stephen will play. And the game they play is “Which Marvel characters would make good guest stars in classic anime?” John’s presence never really deters the weabiness from coming forth, but be warned: this episod…
- A Story for You Heathens
After we continue our journey through Superior Spider-Man, we realize that we’ve hit a real milestone. It’s our 300th story… with a twist so devilish you’d think we were reading One More Day again! Alas, it’s not to be… It’s potentially wo…
- I’m the Problem, It’s Me (Daredevil)
It’s a bit of a lighter read this week, but a good one. The boys tackle Johnathan Hickman’s Doom one-shot… well, Hickman was the writer, but the real draw (no pun intended) was Sanford Green’s amazing art. From there, things get EVEN MORE…
- None Shall Marry But Doom!
We’re feeling a touch romantic this week. No particular reason. We just love you! Three of Marvel’s biggest wedding stories are in the spotlight this week: Reed and Sue, Spidey and MJ, and Northstar and Kyle. How will the books fare on the…
- Namorita Margarita
Nostalgia is a strong spice, but does it accent the quality of John’s first comic (the 1992 New Warriors event “The Hero Killers”), or is it simply so much pepper to mask the stink of something rotten? Also… Venom! It’s not the 90s anymore…
- Fill-In: The Mighty Marvel Musical
Aldo spent our usual recording time at Evo, so John and Stephen were left to their own devices. So they did what any parents would do when their kid leaves town: brainstorm which Marvel characters would make for the best musicals! Featurin…
- I Think I Love the Hulk
Today’s hero double-feature is… less heroic. First, we’ve got the slightly monstrous Immortal Hulk. Then, we’ve got the wonderful She-Hulk, who’s very heroic in deed, but her personal life is kinda trash. Between the continued descent into…
- The Bible Book of Alpha
It’s Patriot Season in the US, which means the boys are reading some more Captain America stories. Will the Star-Spangled avenger help our boys overcome their current nationalist-fatigue? Or will they walk away cold? (You get it? Cuz… cuz…
- Read Me a Lotta Peach’s (Comics)
The X-Men and Captain Britain are, perhaps, the two most convoluted corners of the Marvel universe… and when they intersect in Betsy Braddock, you know there are gonna be shenanigans! Can our curious kiddos keep their craniums above the co…
- Redneck Pied Piper
Join us for another episode where the boys valiantly strive - and fail - to stay on topic. The topic: Iron Man “Armor Wars” and Ms. Marvel… mutant? The tangents? Hololive, the Flash’s Rogue’s Gallery, and Whoopie cushions. The usual.
- Hot Chewie & Tsundere Leia
The boys get back to that far, far away galaxy for another crack at Marvel’s Star Wars. First, we check in with that lovable scamp Dr. Aphra to see where her adventures have gone. Then, we tackle an unconventional (manga) adaptation of… po…
- Chekhov’s Juggernaut Bullet
A bit late this week, but this discussion is worth it. We cover all things Sins of Sinister, including: The extreme stylishness of Sinister himself The horror of a teleporting baby The return of the gun fired in the first act How to make c…