Hello, friends! Welcome back to a very special edition of The Sunday Post. This past week, Friends From Work became more than just a single podcast with the official launch of the Friends From Work Podcast Network.

One of the hallmarks of FFW since its inception seven years ago has been the community of listeners and MCU fans that it has cultivated. So when Kyle and Robby decided to expand to include other podcasts that share similar values and a similar mission, there was really only one choice to be the first new show under the Friends From Work umbrella- The Sons of Gunn is a podcast hosted by two FFW listeners who met through their shared loved of the MCU and Robby and Kyle’s podcast. Matt File and Jaylen Blue record weekly episodes about all things in James Gunn’s DC Universe (and beyond). They are currently covering the first season of Creature Commandos and you can get a special preview of their coverage of episodes 3 & 4 in your regular FFW feed right now. Please support Matt and Jaylen and subscribe to The Sons of Gunn wherever you get your podcasts. Stay tuned for more news about the Friends From Work Podcast Network over the following weeks and months.

Also on the main feed this week- the latest episode of Kyle, Listen! featuring Neil Scharnick! Neil’s bonus episodes are yet another reason to consider signing up for FFW+. Additionally, Kyle is working on a very special episode of Friends From Football and a new bonus episode is coming soon for plus subscribers.

The MCU may be in-between projects right now, but FFW is as busy as ever. Now, for the latest MCU news and more (including Robby’s return with a PBC pick of the week!), over to…

THE WATERCOOLER

THIS WEEK IN THE MCU

• Wonder Man continues to stay in the public conscience with unique and clever promos like the “retro” 1980s Wonder Man trailer above. The Hollywood Reporter put out a terrific feature that I highly recommend which goes deep into Marvel’s meta marketing campaign for the show.

• Don’t look now but Daredevil: Born Again is just over five weeks away. A full trailer is expected soon. For now, enjoy the behind-the-scenes video above with the show’s Action Director and Supervising Stunt Coordinator Philip Silvera.

• An interview with Avengers: Doomsday directors Joe and Anthony Russo was featured in the latest Empire Magazine. They did not reveal much, but they did confirm the movie is quite complex.

BEYOND THE MULTIVERSE

• It is still sometimes hard to believe this show exists, but the first teaser trailer for Spider-Noir debuted last week, starring Nicolas Cage as “The Spider” aka Ben Reilly. All eight episodes will be available on Prime Video May 27th, in both “authentic black-and-white” and “True-Hue full color”. Which way do you plan to watch?

TRUE BELIEVERS RUMOR OF THE WEEK

• The wait continues for the first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The latest rumor is that the wait may continue into March.

PANEL BOUND COMICS PICK OF THE WEEK

I've read a good bit of Kieron Gillen over the years, and if you're a fan of modern Marvel comics, chances are you have too. From Iron Man to Thor, he's left his stamp on some of the publisher's biggest characters. His 2021 Eternals run remains a personal favorite of mine (as does the Judgment Day event that marks its finale). He's currently wrapping the third (and final?) arc of The Power Fantasy with co-creator/artist Capser Wijngaard. I've so enjoyed that book that I couldn't help but check out Gillen's latest creator-owned book: Die: Loaded. But I couldn't do that without reading the first installment -- Die. And that brings us to this week's rec.

Before Gillen was a comics writer, he was a gaming guru and journalist. And it comes through (to varying degrees) in all his work. You can see it in how he utilizes the respawn feature in Eternals and save states in Immortal X-Men. But it goes a lot deeper than that. He has a knack for world-building, character creation, and (shoutout to Kyle) power levels, and that makes a lot of sense coming from an RPG guy. So it also makes sense that Gillen would eventually write a book like Die, which is a comic about an RPG (sort of).

The story starts out in the 1990s when a bunch of high school kids get together to play a new game for Dominic Ash's 16th birthday. They all pick their characters and roll the first dice...and disappear. When they reappear two years later, one of them is missing an arm and another is just missing. None of them ever discusses what happened -- at least not what really happened -- until 25 years later, when a middle-aged Ash is sent the same 20-sided die.

What follows is weird and wild and kind of impossible to put down. It's Labyrinth meets Jumanji meets The Magicians meets Nice House on the Lake.

This feels like a book Kieron Gillen was meant to write, and he couldn't ask for a better artist than co-creator Stephanie Hans. Hans' painted artwork is breathtaking and gets better with each issue. You can see her stretching herself across the series, taking bigger swings but also dialing it in. She creates this otherworldly backdrop that drenches the whole thing in melodrama. But she also brings a certain humanity to her characters in a way that grounds it all.

It's dark and funny and moody and epic. And man, the hardcover is a real stunner. If this seems like your kind of thing, get the whole first series here and use code “FRIENDSFROMWORK” for a discount off your purchase.

RE

Thank you, Robby! I might just be adding that to my PBC cart as we speak. And thank you to all the readers and listeners who continue to support Friends From Work each and every week, and remember to check out our friends Matt and Jaylen over at The Sons of Gunn.

Until next week,

-Greg