Nick, Bryan, Luke
326 episodes listed below
Comic criticism with chaotic friend-group momentum.
The Comic Crusade treats comics criticism like a group chat that accidentally became a long-running project. Nick, Luke, and Brian move from DC events to manga and robot stories with blunt jokes, sharp tangents, and real reactions to the books.
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The Comic Crusade is a long-running comics conversation with the energy of a friend group that has argued itself into a format. Nick, Luke, and Brian sit with a comic, manga, or graphic story and let the episode build from there. The structure is simple. The texture is not. A book can lead to DC event mechanics, British myth, manga pacing, robot fatigue, superhero branding, video game roles, fan mail, or a stray argument about whether a childhood cartoon recap happened every episode. That looseness is the point. The show feels less like a polished review desk and more like a standing appointment between readers who know each other's habits well enough to interrupt, bait, and redirect each other without losing the book entirely. The comics still matter. Bokurano prompts real attention to young characters facing death, the sadness of the premise, and whether the story needs more hope to make the tragedy land. Once and Future becomes a conversation about Arthurian legend, reference density, and how much enjoyment depends on already caring about the source mythology. Absolute Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern keep the show tied to DC's stranger corners. Transformers and Patlabor push it into robot territory, where the recurring joke about robot books starts to become a mini-era of its own. Gokurakugai shows the trio responding first to art, character design, and the pleasure of going in with limited plot knowledge. The banter is blunt and often irreverent. It can be crude, impatient, and proudly unserious. It also gives the show a useful honesty, because a shrug, a laugh, or a pile-on usually means the book failed to light up the room. The approaching episode 300 milestone adds a self-aware countdown, with the trio joking about the strange fact that the project has lasted for years. Letters and named friends occasionally widen the circle, giving the show the feel of a small recurring universe. The Comic Crusade suits readers who like comics talk without reverence. It is for people who can enjoy a real critique arriving through jokes, tangents, mock arguments, and sudden bursts of surprisingly careful reading.
Made for: For comics readers who like DC, manga, robot stories, and superhero oddities discussed with blunt jokes instead of reverence. Best for listeners who enjoy casual argument, running bits, and criticism that can get serious without staying polished.
What sets it apart: The show pairs actual book-by-book reactions with a long-running trio dynamic that turns every pick into part review, part roast, and part friend-group mythology. Its range across DC events, manga, Arthurian riffs, and robot stories keeps the format from feeling locked to one corner of comics fandom.
Follow Nick, Luke, and Bryan as they crusade through the comic world. Each episode they will tackle a different comic and talk about its highs and lows. Western comics, Japanese manga, and web comics are all on the table when each week, one of our hosts will surprise the others with a book of their choice. Follow us on Twitter @crusade_comic for updates on the podcast.
A crusade where your assigned comic may be praised, puzzled over, or cheerfully roasted.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A breezy comic-book chat shaped as much by the hosts' own podcasting jokes as by the book.
The road to 300 gives the episode its frame, and Nick, Luke, and Brian use it well: six years of the show, the awkwardness of telling people they have a podcast, and the small unease of hearing their own voices all become part of the joke.
Continuity arguments at Marvel speed.
Comics talk with memory, tangents, and teeth.
Comics talk with issue-by-issue memory.
The Comic Crusade's Episode 308 reviews Batman: Hush 2, with the panel arguing that the six-issue sequel is a nostalgia-driven cash-in rather than a necessary Batman story.
The Comic Crusade reviews Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games through Street Fighter 6, Yuri subtext, and a fictional school full of competitive players.
Episode 306 of The Comic Crusade covers Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, a manga about a 45-year-old salaryman and a 24-year-old convenience-store cashier who dresses as a punk after work.
The Comic Crusade spends much of Episode 295 bouncing from Charlie Brown and Chuck Norris into a discussion of Once and Future by Kieran Gillen and Dan Mora.
The hosts of Comic Crusade engage in humorous and explicit speculation about the sexual dynamics between DC Comics characters like Superman and Batman.
Hosts joke about their long-running podcast and upcoming 300th episode while discussing comics.
The hosts banter about a missing episode next week and read a listener's letter criticizing their TMNT slander, then discuss Martian Manhunter.
The hosts engage in humorous banter about comics, including a riff on Transformers and political satire.
The hosts discuss their recent trend of robot-themed comics and answer a listener question about Deadpool in Marvel Rivals.
The hosts discuss comic book delays, Batman villains like Court of Owls and Hush, and joke about memory lapses and podcasting in a humorous, informal setting.
The hosts discuss their return to DC Comics after a brief Marvel detour, tease an upcoming DC KO fighting game event, and share amusing details about Superman wielding sun-powered brass knuckles.
The hosts discuss and mock the explicit content of the book 'Interspecies Reviewers' in a humorous and irreverent manner.
The hosts discuss the manga Vampire Hunter D and banter about their comic book preferences.
The hosts introduce the episode, discuss a listener's questions and recommendations, and prepare to review the manga Fruits Basket.
The hosts discuss the comic 'Apollo and Midnighter', analyzing its characters and humor.
The hosts introduce a guest and prepare to discuss a comic book chosen by one of them.
The hosts banter about Green Lantern comics and introduce their format of surprising each other with comic book selections.
The hosts engage in absurd improv comedy about fictional creatures called Scrungles before revealing they are discussing the manga Hell's Paradise.
The hosts engage in comedic banter and discuss a Superman comic, with a side mention of fan mail about DC Universe Online comics.