The Rantcor Pit #52 - Later, Vader

Are you ready for some more "simple tricks and nonsense"?  The Force of July concludes with one more episode for the month!  This time it is all about the Dark Lord of the Sith!

Darth Vader (a.k.a. "Old Annie") is topic of discussion as Cole Houston and Eddie Medina are joined by returning guest David Bunds.  Much exploration of Vader as the central antagonist in the original trilogy is put forth without the benefit of respirators.

What makes Darth Vader such an iconic villain?  What aspects of the character had to be retrofit as the story evolved after "A New Hope" paved the way to an ongoing saga?  What is up with the melty helmet in "The Force Awakens"?  These and other questions are explored as man is separated from machine.

As promised, the "Bad Lip Reading" video...

The Rantcor Pit Live #52 - Happy Birthday George Lucas!

The big catch up of posting live show archives continues with this episode which streamed live on Sunday, May 15, 2016. 

The Rantcor Pit Live follow's its second birthday celebration with yet another birthday celebration!

With George Lucas' birthday in such close proximity to the original live streaming air date of this episode, Cole Houston and Eddie Medina felt it was only fitting that they throw a little party for the inspiration of this show and much of their own lives.

Don your party hats, grab some cake and ice cream, and enjoy Your Favorite Star Wars Guys as they celebrate the life and career of their favorite Star Wars guy!  

Hey Kids, Comics! #189 - Caucus on Infinite Earths

"Politics! Politics! Politics! Politics!" - Comicus (History of the World:  Part 1)

Hear ye!  Hear ye!  We now convene the first Comicental Congress of the United States!  

Actually your hosts Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston are going political this week in honor of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.  Simply put, they are finally getting around to exploring politics and especially politicians in comics!

Just a glimpse at Richard M. Nixon's storied comic book Presidential career.

From the fictional politicians to those of the real world who have managed to wind up in the pages of many a super-hero or other comic book, there are many examples discussed and debated.  As with any aspect of life, art is a keen imitator and politics are as vital to these ongoing narratives as social issues and personal internal struggles.  

Cast a vote for comics by giving this electoral issue of HKC! a listen!

The Rantcor Pit Live #51 - Always Two (Years) There Are

The ongoing catch-up phase of TRPL continues.  This episode originally streamed live on Watch On Air Live on Sunday, May 1, 2016.

Happy Anniversary, Rantcor Pit Live!

Cole "JediCole" Houston and Eddie Medina were equally surprised and grateful to have come to the realization that the live version of the show had been a part of Deep Ellum on Air for two full years!

Two years and three studio locations later (and on the cusp of moving into their fourth), Your Favorite Star Wars Guys, joined by "The Talk Lord of the Sith", reminisce on the origins of the live show.  From the unlikely beginnings after being invited to join Deep Ellum on Air a few months into the recorded show to many a Sunday talking up Star Wars, there was plenty to share.

Enjoy the memories...

HKC! SDCC 2016 Special

It was bound to happen...

San Diego Comic Con very nearly got a pass this year.  Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston just didn't get all that incensed about this industry juggernaut and its hobby-ruining exclusives.

But something changed.  Something stirred within their fanboy consciousnesses and they simply could not let a year slip by without addressing the annual hurt that is SDCC!

This year they are joined by Mrs. JediCole of Whadjahthink? as they wax bitchy about all of the cool things they were not going to see in 2016, if ever in some cases!  

This EXCLUSIVE special edition is only for those who could not attend San Diego Comic Con 2016.

We've got your back!

"NOT lying!"

The Rantcor Pit Live #50 - Among the Stars

The catching up phase is now in full swing.  Big changes are afoot for The JediCole Universe so it was high time to get the episodes of The Rantcor Pit Live from the archive published on this site!  Look for #51 on Wednesday and #52 on Saturday this week!

This episode originally aired live on Sunday, May 1, 2016.

Who doesn't love meeting the actors and actresses who brought that "Galaxy Far, Far Away" to life?  Hosts Cole Houston and Eddie Medina have enjoyed their own brushes with Star Wars greatness and they are not alone!

Cartoonist, martial artist, and podcaster Bobby Blakey joins them in the studio for a discussion of close encounters of the Star Wars kind.  

Hey Kids, Comics! #188 - Identity Theft (or "Let Me Talk to Bruce."

"Don't surround yourself with yourself" - Yes; I've Seen All Good People (The Yes Album); 1971

Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston are back to face off on a weighty issue that confronts many a comic book hero.  This would be, of course losing oneself in one's alter-ego.  

When someone loses themselves wholeheartedly in their secret identity their "other self" can exert control to the point that they are lost within that self.  

Batman tends to spring to mind first, but there are many other examples sited.  Beyond a hero becoming too much the mantle thereof, your hosts also explore examples of alter-egos taking on alter-egos of their own!

Do It Yourself 8: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Seriously?!  Has it been over a YEAR since the last Do It Yourself appeared on the JCU?!

Yes, it's true!  After a one year hiatus those diligent movie critics turned improvement specialists Vegabomber and Joose have been called out of retirement!  What could possibly have compelled them to take up mics and share their thoughts on how a popular, money-making-machine film could be vastly better if anyone had bothered to consult them?

Simply put, "Batman v. Superman:  Dawn of Justice.

Need we say more?  Perhaps not.  In fact it is best that you just sit back and take in a little cinematic wisdom as your hosts guide you through their thoughts on the actual movie and how it really could have been even more epic!  Or just plain epic at all.  

The JCU highly recommends this episode as a mental appetizer for the release of the longer director's cut of the movie which will soon enjoy a theatrical release.

The Rantcor Pit Live #49 - Beep-Boop and the All-Con Cavaliers

This overdue posting of the live show continues!  This show originally streamed live on Sunday, March 20, 2016.  Look for more episodes coming soon as the JCU finally catches up with its alter ego over at Watch On Air Live!

JediCole has vanished!

Actually he was just busily running talk shows, game shows, and panels at All-Con 2016 the Sunday that this episode went out live from On Air Live!  So Eddie Medina brought in a special guest host, Tim Kennedy of VaderCast!  It was Tim who facilitated Cole's entree into podcasting so it was only fitting that he return to the show.  

Joining them in the studio were LubbockCon director DeNae Griffith, along with her capable convention insider Chris Cortez.  Eddie and his guests talk about All-Con, LubbockCon, and more!

The Rantcor Pit #51 - Far, Far Away

Cole "JediCole" Houston and Eddie Medina are back!  And stuck in Texas while thousands of fans are enjoying the tail end of the third Star Wars Celebration Europe! 

Undaunted, they have chosen to share thoughts about the entire Celebration phenomenon as well as many of the aspects of this year's European edition.  From the cool exclusives to some pretty amazing announcements and features, there is plenty to discuss.

Even from half a world away, Your Favorite Star Wars Guys are happy to celebrate Celebration.  Won't you join them?

Watch the Rogue One Celebration Reel here.
Watch the Rebels Season 3 Trailer here.

Hey Kids, Comics! #187 Salon de Refuses

Hey Kids, Comics! goes all art history on you with a look at some of the most overlooked, underrated, and obscure comic books that can be found.  That is if you really look around a lot!

For this issue, Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston are going to party like it's 1863!  Invoking Napoleonic-era France, your hosts present their own Salon de Refuses for comics.  Not even the "Big Three" always hit their marks, but most of the topics of discussion are so obscure and ignored as to teeter on the brink of abject obscurity.  This exhibition of sorts will seek to bring attention to some gems among the back-issue stones.

Your hosts even go so far as to raise forgotten or ignored comic characters to a new and artistic level that you will have to hear to believe!

Hey Kids, Comics! #186 - Tarzan of the Comics

Heyyyayyayyyaayyayyayyyayyyyyyyyyyyyyy Kids, Comics!

The mysterious sounds emanating from the primeval forests of Africa mingle into a symphony of the beautiful and the deadly.  Into this unexplored jungle Andrew Farmer and Cole Houston dare to press forward on a safari of discovery.  Their quarry is none other than Edgar Rice Burroughs' most famous creation.  The Lord of the Jungle himself, Tarzan!

The ubiquitous ape-man is such a part of the cultural vernacular that it is little wonder that Tarzan has a long and rich history in comic books.  In honor of a combination of Cole's decades long affection for the English aristocrat voted most likely to really pull off the doe-skin loin cloth look and the arrival in theaters last Friday of The Legend of Tarzan, this issue of the show heeds the call of the wild(s of Africa)!

It is important to have a capable guide when mounting such an expedition and your hosts are duly outfitted with the help of their amazing guest, comic book and movie historian, prolific author, and gentleman scholar Michael H. Price!  So gather your spear, your bow and arrows, your grass rope, and your father's hunting knife and join in on the journey into the realm of Tarzan in comics!