Dear Watchers: an omniversal comic book podcast

>> Rob: They said it couldn't be done, but here we are. Marvel dc. Marvel N dc. We talk all about it on Dear Watchers in our Universal comic book podcast, where we do a deep dive into the multiverse.

>> Guido: We are traveling with you through the stories, the worlds and the crossovers that make up in omniverse of fictional realities we all love. and your watchers on this journey are Guido and Rob. Or is it Rob and Guido who get that'the first billing?

>> Rob: We're gonna have to fight this out. Alphabetical order or order of importance? We'll never know.

>> Guido: Or whoever the bigger publisher is.

>> Rob: Yeah, well, I am Rob. And before we begin our trip through collaboration. Question mark. You know what's new in our little section of the multiverse?

>> Guido: Not much. We're still in anticipation of New York Comic Con. This episode is just a few weeks before we get there, so we can't wait, wait to share all about it. And if you are a listener and you're going to be at New York Comic Con, make sure to reach out. Let us know because we'd love to connect. We'll be there all four days. It is my happy place.

>> Rob: My feet are feeling it already.

>> Guido: My wallet's feeling it all. that too.

>> Rob: Oh, my gosh. Well, if you are joining us for the first time, we have three parts of our journey through the multiverse today. Origins of the story, exploring multiversity and pondering possibilities. So thanks for coming along.

>> Guido: And remember, find us on most social media, Dear Watchers, and leave us a five star review wherever you are. Listening.

>> Rob: And with that, welcome to episode 169. And let's check out what's happening in the Omniverse. With our travels, today's alternate universe, two publishers, both alike in dignity, are come together. I'm trying to be saakespearan because this is big news. Because today we are answering the question, what if Marvel and DC were the same company?

>> Guido: I bet no one realized that. Is the question being answered in the issue that we're covering today? They said it couldn't be done. Or actually, that's not true because for so many years, every few years, there's a rumor that that one is gonna subsume the other. So who knows, Maybe this is the near future we're actually speculating on in this.

>> Rob: That's true. Well, it seems to be happening everywhere else, so why not in comics?

>> Guido: Exactly. So we are going to jump right in in this episode because everything from the earth we're on to, the place it holds is a part of our Story.

>> Rob: Yes. So let's kick off with Origins of the Story. Right now, on this very show, you're gonna get the answer to all your questions. Our amazing story begins a few years ago to Guito. Are you going to tell us a little bit about collaborations?

>> Guido: So we are covering, as our listeners probably know from reading the title, but if they blind listen to us, well, that's awesome. Thank you. But we're covering Deadpool Batman today, and we won't get into, the substance of the issue until the second segment, but for this first segment, we have talked crossovers so many times on this show. In fact, if you want to see all the times we've talked about them, go to deerwatchers.com and you can search our old episodes if you click episodes. We have talked about intercompany crossovers like Milestone dc. We've talked about weird ones like he man and Thundercats, and we've, of course talked about Marvel and DC. It was back on episode 97 that we did a whole history of Marvel and DC crossovers. So there is a long legacy of this.

>> Rob: What about Marvel, Marvel World, and the World Wildlife Federation? That's a really good crossover.

>> Guido: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Before we go into the substance of our story, and since we've talked about crossovers so much, we're not going to give a history, but why do you think people like intercompany crossovers? And we just did one in our last episode with Jason versus Freddy versus Ash, but we haven't really talked broadly, like, what is it from a storytelling fan perspective that you think people are into this kind of storytelling?

>> Rob: Well, it kind of is fan storytelling, but done professionally, right?

>> Guido: Fiction.

>> Rob: Yeah, it's fan fiction. It's fan films. Like, it's all the things that people dream about and write on Tumblr, if that was still a thing, and also make their own videos on YouTube. You want to see Freddy versus Jason versus Ash, but here, like, this is the official version. Like, these are the licensed versions and usually hopefully done with more professionalism, with more money. So I think that's one of the big reasons it is fan fiction wrot writ large.

>> Guido: So it's sort of fulfilling a fantasy, if you will. Because as a little kid too, you know, people always talk about, like, with your action figuresh totally usually crossing companies when you're a kid, you don't care. You care that they're different sizes, but you don't care that they're different companies. And so this sort of fulfills the.

>> Rob: That's a good point.

>> Guido: That you have your whole life of oh, I want to see what happens when I mix my gem with my Barbie. Yeah, that cross over has't happened but.

>> Rob: I mean neither of us are sports fans so maybe a sports fan can tell me if I'm wrong, but I feel like in sports people really do love one team. But I don't think there's many people out there who it's like I'm just Marvel. I don't read any D.C. i, I. All I love is Marvel.

>> Guido: Oh, there are a lot of people like that.

>> Rob: Oh, are thereah? There's a lot of people. But is, but do you think the majority of people read both publishers?

>> Guido: I don't know. I'm thinking this maybe majority, have some mixing but I think people have a pretty strong stance because I feel.

>> Rob: Like going back to even our last week's most recent episode with Freddie and Jason. Like I think you're a horror fan first above being a Friday the 13th fan or a Nightmare on Elm street fan. Just like I would imagine most people would say I'm a comic book fan first above being a DC fan or a Marvel fan or even a Batman fan or a Deadpooll fan.

>> Guido: I just don't know if that's true. I think it's a little closer to Coke Pepsi than you're describing it. Where people don't generally drink Coke and Pepsi, they generally choose one.

>> Rob: That's true.

>> Guido: So it might be somewhere in the middle of those two extremes but it's definitely Dr. Pepper if you will. It's definitely not as ah, rosy and everyone's fluid and happy to consume from both companies, that's for sure. So yeah. But I think the other piece of the storytelling that I likeus we always talk on here about canon and meta. I think for those of us who are are like world building nerds, these stories always present just interesting questions about how they're, how are they going to do it? M. What, what's it going to include? Is it going to change the rules a little? And that's a really fun aspect I think also of these kinds of crossovers.

>> Rob: And we've talked about before and obviously we'll get into this particular issue in a moment but we've talked about the before the merits of really building a device around this like amalgam you had with the Access character or just saying, you know what, never mind. We're just go going to put these two characters together. We're not going to explain it. There's not going to be any magical device that brings them together. I think there's benefits to both things. One of them, I think, has more world building. The other focuses a bit more just on story and character and gets to the meat of it. But it's interesting because we've seen both of those approaches happen throughout these kind of collaborations.

>> Guido: Yeah, agreed. So why don't we go into our world? I don't know what Earth it is. There is an Earth we've been on in this issue. And that's the really cool, surprising part to most of our, listeners. But then there's also a whole new Earth where we'figuring out what if these two companies coexisted.

>> Rob: Well, let's talk about it in Exploring Multiversity.

>> Guido: I am your guy through these vast new realities. Follow me and ponder the question, what if?

>> Rob: And today we are asking the question, what if Marvel and DC were the same company? Oh, this is personified by Deadpool Batman number one from Marvel and dc, but published by Marvel. More on thatido. You can explain. And this is just hot off the presses. Oh, it's hot. From September 2025.

>> Guido: Cover date, November 2025.

>> Rob: Oh, okay.

>> Guido: So this is the not that long announced. Honestly, it was only a few months ago, it only got delayed by a few weeks that they announced that this was happening. And it is Marvel dc. Deadpool Batman is its actual title. And that's because what has been true for since they did the amalgams is that they tend to alternate publishing. So inevitably there was going to be a follow up. Recently announced, there is a follow up in November called Batman Deadpool. So there will be another issue that D.C. publishes and that's how they negotiate all this business stuff.

>> Rob: Now, we might need an insider to tell us more, but Guido, do you know what does that really mean? Does Marvel get more of the money? Does Marvel have more say in this particular book? DC might have a little bit more say in the other one. Or is it just multwise?

>> Guido: If it's structured like most of the old crossovers were, they both have ultimately final say over it. But what it tends to mean is it's like who's in charge of the production? So the other company can approve the creative teams, they'll approve the final product. There is definitely no holding back. But this, what it tends to mean is like Marvel ran with this one and took care of it. And you can see that a little bit in the lineup of creators also. So let me go through who all the key creators for these stories are, and you'll see they're really drawing from Marvel and of course there's some crossover, but these are like Marvel people. And then similarly the future upcoming DC issue is more DC people. So we had Deadpool Batman, the Dead of Night written by Zeb Wells and pencils by Greg Capulo. Captain America, wonderroman, the Gun and the Sword written by Chip Zdarsky and penciled by Terry Dodson. Jeff the Land Sharark and Crypto titled Catch. This is written by Kelly Thompson and penciled by Guihiu. We have Daredevil, Green Arrow, the Red and the Green written by Kevin Smith, penciled by Adam Kubertt. Rocket Raccoon, Green Lantern. Rocket Raccoon has a Green Lantern ring now. Very original title written by Al Ewing and penciled by Dyke. Ruin Old Man Logan and Batman the Dark Knight Returns titled Showdown, written and drawn by Frank Miller. And the surprise story here, Logo. Enter Logo written by Ryan north and penciled by Ryan Stegman. So we have these seven different stories again top a list creators across the board working on these things but skewing a little bit toward Marvel. So where should we begin? Let's begin with what was your favorite story in the book?

>> Rob: Oh, well, I think I have to go with the, the headliner. Deadpool Batman was probably my, my favorite story. of course it is about 2, 3, 5 times, sometimes longer than some of the other stories that are in this book. It is but was very. I was very impressed by it. How about you?

>> Guido: I loved Deadpool Batman but Captain America Wonder Woman was very special to me.

>> Rob: That's probably. And it's if these were bands that is like the other opener that, that's like the last opener or like right below co headliner because's it's also probably like twice the length of like some of the other ones which are really short but it's still like half the length of Deadpool Batman.

>> Guido: So let's hold those two then and let's talk about some of the others. We'll hold Logo also. So we'll just talk about Jeff Crypto, Daredevil, Green Arrow, Rocket Raccoon, Green Lantern and Old Man Logan, the Dark Knight and any of those stand out, anything you want to remark on them. They're all very short within this anthology. Little bite sized stories I liked as a New Yorker.

>> Rob: The Dead, the not Deadpool Daredevil Green Arrow story because there's so it was.

>> Guido: Fun and it put Green Arrow in New York which is fun because he's not normally in New York because D.C. doesn't normally spend time in real cities. So that was a fun aspect of it for Kevin Smith to.

>> Rob: And there's a few. And Kevin Smith, being, like, someone from at least the New York area, he would know that Hell's Kitchen was kind of trying. They were trying to rebrand it Clinton at one point.

>> Guido: Ye. So it was a funny gentrification joke, but very New York.

>> Rob: Yeah, you wouldn't get that unless you lived in New York, really. So I liked that it was actually embracing that. And I also like the fact that there's some quips that they each have about their costumes. So Green Arrow says, why are you dressed as a villain? Or something like that to Dareevil. And of course, Daredevil says, oh, I didn't think the Renaissance Faire was in town now, because. And when you're looking at them both, then after's reading those, it's like, oh, yes, these especially Green Arrows costume are fairly ridiculous. So.

>> Guido: Yeah. Yeah, I agree. So it did have that right tone. I think I enjoyed that one and the Rocket Raccoon one a bit. The Rocket Raccoon. I'm, not a huge Green Lantern fan, but it was just fun to explore what would have happened. And I liked the callbacks to certain things. Like ending with Parallax was a cute, cute thing for people who know Parallax, of course. So I thought it was clever. And it was interesting to put the Guardians of the Galaxy up against the Guardians of Oa. I never thought about that. Other than that the name is, like, literally so similar. But generally people compare the Guardians of Oa to, like, the Watchers Council, so it was fun to consider those two.

>> Rob: But you can.

>> Guido: Also has good humor.

>> Rob: See, that isn't there. And I'm not a Green Lantern, so people might be screaming into their podcast right now, but isn't there. Isn't there, like, a little fox or something? That's all right. There is a Lantern. So when I saw that, my brain was almost going, like, wait, isn't Rocket Raccoon, like, already kind of like it was going. Because they have a lot of those cute little furry animals.

>> Guido: Yeah. And Jeff and Crypto was cute. It's. It's hard to. To really take in a story that doesn't have any words. but it was cute. I don't mind it being there. It's not my favorite kind of thing, though. and then there's the one that probably shouldn't have been here.

>> Rob: I wouldn't go that far. I imagine you're referring to the Frank Miller Y. But I think like the Jeff Crypto one, although very different tones, they're. They're kind of palate cleansers because they're really super'very slight short.

>> Guido: Yeah. And it's a, it's a, the concept of putting the Batman from Dark Knight Returns with old Man Logan specifically. So these aren't like Wolverine and Batman. These are the alternate Earth versions that we know that are haggard and cynical old men. So I think that's a clever idea. But Frank Miller's art in this just was not for me.

>> Rob: There was one panel, I think it's a Wolverine that I actually thought was quite striking. It's like a close up of Wolverine and I felt like he put more detail into that. But the other ones, if you told me he sketched this out at his table at some convention in between wal like coming up. So yeah, it definitely gave me that feeling with like maybe one or two panels that he gave a lot more attention to than the rest.

>> Guido: Yeah, agreed. All right, let's go back to our two favorites and we'll hold Logo for the, for the tail end of our conversation. So let's, we'll back into the title. So let's go to Captain America. Wonderw Woman. I'll tell you what I loved about this, and it's something that's true for all these stories that leads to our question of what if these two companies coexisted? And I think this story leans into that the most because this story is a total what if elsewh worlds.

>> Guido: Where Wonder Woman and Superman at the very end, Supergirl. So Marvel and DC just coexist in this world. And it's really fascinating because it's also looking at that historically. So it's looking at Wonder Woman in World War II with Steve Trevor. And then of course, Steve Trevor gets frozen. And so you then cut to the Avengers.

>> Rob: Steve Rogers.

>> Guido: Steve Rogers. Yeah. Thank you for stopping me. So Steve Rogers gets frozen. Normal history. But when you cut to like his re, the Avengers thawing him out of the ice, Superman's there, Wonder Woman's there. So it's just so cool that in this very short story that's more about what these two characters would mean to each other if they had this shared history. It's really fun that there's all these little panels. Like there's a panel that's the famous Crisis on Infinite Earth moment when Supergirl dies, but behind Superman in the background is Storm, because the worlds just coexist in this story. And seeing that with Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson's art just made me happy. It was just so good. I.

>> Rob: Well, these are two characters that I don't think. I don't know, maybe you would disagree, but I don't think these are two characters that naturally in my head I put together. But when you think about it or you see them here in this story do make so much sense. Their, their long history from World Two.

>> Guido: Fought in World War II. Yep.

>> Guido: And what's so cool too is the reason it's so good, because I agree with you. I would not have imagined these two together. But what Chips Darsky does with justifying it is that they're exploring the question of justice and how far you go. And of course Steve, Captain America is struggling with whether or not he should kill Hitler. And what I really love, especially as a huge Wonder Woman fan in this is it even alludes to the time that she killed Maxwell Lord.

>> Rob: M.

>> Guido: And so it's like bringing in this question, which is a perennial Wonder Woman question, especially in the last 25 years. I'd say that people ask, which is like when you are this is going to sound a little peacemaker, but when you are like a warrior for peace, how far should you go? And I. So I really think it's a good moral question for the two of them to be facing. And I like that. I think it's a great way of having this have a deeper meaning for such a brief story.

>> Rob: Yeah. And. And I think it's also. It only got it dawned on me in the final panels of it. And it's interesting that you were saying Steve Trevor when it was Steve Rogers, because there is this Steve Trevor slash Rogers about parallel, and that there is this romance or slash friendship. It kind of goes back and forth, it seems like in these pages between these two characters. And it was very interesting that she is in both cases in her actual DC continuity and here tied to a Steve that she goes back to World War II with and who's a human versus her being something more than human. Although what's interesting is even though he's the. He's the human showing kind of these human emotions and she is almost, almost above the emotions or at least in that moment, like she is the voice of reason, but its'almost like out of emotion, beyond emotion, if that makes sense.

>> Guido: Yeah. Which is how she'when shes written. Well, I think thats s how shes written. So yeah, I loved this one. And again, just the cool Idea that they just coexist, these worlds just exist together. And what would that be like? So I loved that. So let's shift into the headliner for this issue.

>> Rob: Yes. Because this is different than the one you just mentioned. Because in the one you just mentioned in Wonder Woman, Captain America, they're basically. It is a new universe, we could say, where they are just existing together. But here in Batman, in Deadpool, Batman, there actually is a device that brings Deadpool in.

>> Guido: Yeah, well, not a literal device. Not a literalice narrative device.

>> Rob: A narrative device. Because we are now, in this story, we can imagine we are in the DC universe and Deadpool has dropped into it.

>> Guido: Yeah, well, Deadpool arrives to Gotham and he doesn't know Batman is Bruce Wayne, but he knows of Batman. And then the device you're referring to is just a one line from Joker.

>> Rob: Where he is running wa. He gets the witch boy. Right. I don't know this character.

>> Guido: Clarion. The witch boy. Yes, Clarion. Clarion. To bring him someone from another world that he can use to essentially defeat. Because he says, mirror, mirror, hear my plea. Show me one as mad as me. So he thinks he's gonna get, like, another Joker to help him defeat Batman, and he ends up with Deadpool instead.

>> Rob: Well, at first he's also. He's also imp. Part of this. He's running on, like, the cosmic treadmill, but then gets Reverse Flash to wind up running the rest of the time. Although the Joker is still impressed by the, like, the exercise it gave to his glutes. That was a very, like, Harley Quinn, the Animated show kind of joke I thought they had in there.

>> Guido: Yeah, I thought all the jokes were really good. It was very. And I'm not surprised. I'm a big fan of Zebewell's writing, but it's very clever and smart. I think he uses Deadpool's humor well to play off Batman. But at, like any good Batman writer does, Batman's not totally devoid of humor. He's just very, He's very dry and very dry with it. I think Jim Gordon has a great sense of humor here. I think the scene between Deadpool and Jim Gordon is really funny. I like the meta commentary that Pool makes about how, like, he must have just had a, smoke a cigarette between panels.

>> Rob: Between panels. That was one of my. That was definitely one of my favorite jokes there as well. Like, kind of also commenting on his age that we always think. We always have Gordon portrayed or drawn in these comics as, like, this much older man. And, like, is he actually out in the field. And I like those jokes.

>> Guido: and even the fact that, like, you don't show smoking in comics anymore, but you did 40 years ago, just like in movies. So it's very clever.

>> Rob: Yeah, there was a bunch in here I loved early on when Deadpool first shows up and he is trying to see if Bruce wants to have him do like a hit somewhere. And Bruce says, I'm not that kind of billionaire. And then Deadpool says, like, oh, but you had a butler. And I bet you had your butler call you Master Bruce, and you're really not that kind of billionaire. So some nice little kind of jabs there at the ultra rich, I thought. And then I think like, even some of the jokes that they have about Robin, which we've all kind of heard, like, oh, the Bruce Wayne Robin. But even that, I thought it took it into some different territories.

>> Guido: Well, I love, he says, fighting crime with a shapely young boy. Safe to assume you've already heard every joke I can make about that. So, yeah, it'got the right amount of knowingness to it, and I think that's in the writing and this character lends himself to it. But I do think that's the other fun thing. You know, we didn't talk in our first segment that I think sometimes when you have an, intercompany crossover or just a big crossover like this, it. It'a chance for characters to be, to question what we know. Right. So this Deadpool sort of is questioning the absurdity of some of the Batman lore. And that's fun for an audience to be able to experience. So I think that's the other neat aspect of this.

>> Rob: But what I think they were really smart with though, is it's not just a vehicle to get these jokes out. There's actually a plot that makes sense. Like, I love this idea that Deadpool is double crossing Batman. But then Batman reveals that he knew all the time that Deadpool wasn toa be double crossing him. So he was one step ahead. And all that is like, so Batman and so Deadpool. So I thought, like, that that was very. And even the fact when the Joker came in, I was like, I'm kind of. I've never been the biggest Joker fan and there's so much Joker. But once you saw that Batman is kind of using the Joker's ego against him by saying like, oh, Deadpool, is he really the crazy one? Like, you think you're crazy, but Deadpool's really crazy. It's like, oh, yeah, there probably couldn't have been a better Batman villain to actually use that with.

>> Guido: Yeah. And I think there's also some clever stuff like the Joker venom, not really affecting Deadpool Deadpools. I mean, both because of his healing factor, but also because he's like, already a little nut. It's sort of fun that the Joker venom, turns sh. His face into Joker, but doesn't actually corrupt him in the way that it would someone else. So I think there are a lot of really clever ways these three characters are being used with each other. And that's great, great fun. And of course, it ends with a question mark.

>> Rob: Yes.

>> Guido: So we can expect that there are. I'm going to guess in the next issue it'll be the same world and tell another story. That's my guess. Mmm.

>> Guido: So why don't we, this world is.

>> Rob: New, ponder some possibilities. Guido, how's that sounds?

>> Guido: Yep. We have one more story left and we can talk about what else is to come.

>> Rob: Will the future you describe be avertedertderted? Yes. O Guito. What are we talking about for our pondering possibilities?

>> Guido: Well, we do have that one Logo story left and we do have the future. In just a few kind of weeks, essentially, there will be another issue to continue this Deadpool Batman.

>> Rob: Well, Logo seems very fitting though, for pondering possibilities because it is the most tantalizing of a future. Something that's beyond like, I don't think we're gonna go back to seeing Rocket as a Green Lantern. Right. That, like, that is it. But there's definitely with the Logo story, it's like, oh, I kind of almost think maybe this was just the beginning, if not of that character, of something larger.

>> Guido: Oh, I think something larger. So if anyone's listening who didn't read this issue and you're just listening, sorry we didn't give you a spoiler warning, but at this point you've realized that we spoiled the whole issue. But this is a surprise unannounced story in the back of this issue that is squarely and confirmed set in the, Amalgam universe, but introducing a brand new amalgam character that we've never met before. So it is so cool. It was a neat surprise, even though I'm not a huge Lobo fan.

>> Rob: Oh, we should say he's he. Well, for he, it's Logo because he is Logan meets Logbo. Although the name of course itself kind of almost. It's something of like what Amalgam always did with kind of also commenting on capitalism and things like that. Too. I see, like, that in the name of Logo. Ye.

>> Guido: And I love that he comes from a race called the knuckleslesians. So, like, totally, combining everything about him. And then he's got Coltron. And I don't know who Ultron is mixed with because I just don't know Lobo or the DC world enough to say who Coltron would be. So someone will have to tell us what we're missing about Coltron. But then we also get Thanos seed Thanoside, which is really fun. And the Thanos side copter, which is great because it's the Thanos copter, but with the Thanos side, the Thanos dark side character using it. And then to confirm fully that we are in the amalgam universe, it ends with Logo saying, he's coming for Super Soldier. So it is like, whoa. Okay. There's no way we're not following up on that. Also ends with a question mark, exclamation point.

>> Rob: So I was just checking. So it's DC's Cobra. Cobra with a K. Is the K.

>> Guido: Not a character I have any idea? It is. So that works. Maybe.

>> Rob: But I guess we did. We did see this character back in classic Amalgam. And Coltron, he was with the Sinister Society with a bunch of. Showdown with the Sinister Society. Yeah. So we have seen this character. So, it's love. It's amazing that they've brought so many of these characters back.

>> Guido: Yeah, they're drawing well again. Ryan north is clearly trying to. If it's not obvious enough by the time you get to tell the Super Soldier, he's making sure it's very clear. This is the amalgam universe. This is not a new amalgam universe. This is not a new, concept. This is the old school universe. So I will not be surprised if after the next issue in November, we get at the very least an amalgam one shot, if not an amalgam line of books.

>> Rob: Mm Yeah, I definitely agree.

>> Guido: Not getting us closer to that.

>> Rob: I think maybe they did it this way because for folks that were less familiar with the amalgam universe, it gives them, maybe especially younger readers, it gives them a time, a chance to familiarize themselves with the, concept as a whole. And then maybe we'll get like another of those kind of soft openings kind of in the next book. And then, as you said, we'll get like a full series after that because, yeah, it's much easier to jump into. Batman, Deadpool, we both know those characters. But here it is like a whole different concepts to grasp.

>> Guido: Yeah. So it's exciting. I think they pulled this off really well. I think we're both looking forward to the next issue, and I'm looking forward to what's beyond.

>> Rob: And have they announced any of the collaborations aside from Batman, Deadpool for the next issue?

>> Guido: They have. They have announced them. They have announced all 376 variant covers.

>> Rob: Yeah, I have so many for this order.

>> Guido: I have Pre ordered all 376 variant covers. just as I did for this one. Yeah, this one I think had. It had at least 18 main covers. And then there were like incentive covers, blank covers, foil covers. I mean, it really was out of control, but I couldn't stop myself and I had to get them all. And here. Okay, the November 1 has 20 covers coming out and it has the lead stories by Grant Morrison, which when this book was first announced months ago, they had been rumors that Grant Morrison was writing it. And then they weren't announced in the first one, so it makes sense. And then we have a Nightwing, Laura Kinney, Wolverine, a Harley Quinn Hulk, a static Ms. Marvel, and a Constantine, Dr. Strange. And now that one is by Scott Snyder and James Tinian, which is awesome. And my guess is that's the one that is going to, lead us into some sort of universe crossover.

>> Rob: I could see.

>> Guido: That's my guess. Yeah.

>> Rob: Because my guess is that they won't do. I don't know, maybe they won't bring back Access and some of the other charact, some of the other lore that was around creating the amalgam universe. And maybe. Are you implying that they'll use Strange and Constantine instead to, bring this back?

>> Guido: I mean, maybe Access will be there and stuff, but. But having two magic characters close out the book written by powerhouse authors is like, okay, I have a feeling that's going somewhere. Although in the official synopsis, they also say that Grant Morrison's main story launches a reality bending saga that's equal parts cosmic horror, slapstick noir and metaictional therapy. So I think this one has the chance to even be better than the one we just read because the teams are really awesome and the variant covers are amazing. You've got Storm and Wonder Woman, which is also a nice little hint at the amalgam universe because we know that Storm and Wonder Woman combined to be the Amazon in the Amalgam universe. You have Batman and Punisher. You've got Gambit and Robin, another Wonder Woman, Captain America, Scarlet witch and Zatana, Dr. Doom and Joker, Dr. Strange and Consttantine. Harley and Hulk and Nightwing and Wolverine. So a lot of cool variant pieces of art. There's a whole lot going on in this issue in November.

>> Rob: And I guess do they announce Guito? Like what the. How this did financially? Like what, what, what. What's revealed about those kind of things?

>> Guido: Sadly, nothing anymore. since diamond died. Diamond used to be. Diamond used to release a sales list but I mean Marvel left Diamond years ago and so their sales have been. I don't remember what data is shared, but it's not just like raw sales data.

>> Rob: So yeah, I'm just curious obviously, as you said, with like 18 varyingt covers and all these other covers and things like that, they're obviously banking on this being a huge seller. So I'm just curious if that depending on how big it does, could this become an annual thing or something more?

>> Guido: Yeah, that's an interesting idea. I don't know. I don't know. But we'll find out in the coming months. And in the meantime, it has been, fun to explore this world. And that is a wrap. I have been Rob Guido and I.

>> Rob: Have been Guido Rob.

>> Guido: And our reading list is very simple but in the show notes follow us on all social media Deer watchers and.

>> Rob: Leave us a five star review wherever you listen. And we'll be back soon with another trip through the multiverse.

>> Guido: Any words Ofuatu Keep pondering the possibilities. U.