.. in which we, Tony Asaro, Patrick Clarke, & Ryan Miller, celebrate the best in comics & comics-related media of 2019, in our fifth annual Vaulty Awards show!! Download EP_174_-_THE_2019_VAULTY_AWARDS_FIN.mp3By Cracking The Vault Podcast

.. in which we, Ryan Miller, Patrick Clarke, & Tony Asaro, celebrate Ryan's birthday in a town beset by evil, trying to fend-off the fury of Dracula, The Wolf Man, & The Mummy, in a round of Prospero Hall's Universal Monster-mash cooperative board game Horrified, out of Ravensburger Games!! [Note: This episode is a tad noisy! 'Cause that's what hap…

.. in which we, Patrick Clarke, Tony Asaro, & Ryan Miller, indulge in one of our longest-running annual traditions & take a look at how we did on our comics-related resolutions from 2019, before then making a whole batch of spectacularly-ill-advised new resolutions for 2020!! [image from My Hero Academia by Bones/Funimation, created by Kōhei Horiko…

.. in which we, Ryan Miller, Patrick Clarke, & Tony Asaro, try our level best to wrangle, explain, & discuss, our feelings about the biggest comic event of 2019: Marvel's 12-part, showstopping, X-Men miniseries, House of X & Powers of X, by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia, R.B. Silva, & Adriano Di Benedetto!! [Note: We recorded this epi…

.. in which we, Tony Asaro, Patrick Clarke, & Ryan Miller, travel all the way back to The Bronze Age of Comics in honor of Tony's birthday, & rap about what was on the spinner rack in 1979!! (featuring reviews of Ghost Rider, Elfquest, & the original Marvel-era Star Wars comics) Download EP_170_-_The_Year_Was_1979_FIN.mp3…

.. in which we, Tony Asaro, Patrick Clarke, & Minnie Saucedo, (with additional contributions from Ryan Miller, & Ben Schwartz), helped celebrate Tony's birthday way back in September of 2018 by talking-out all our feels concerning The Big Blue Boyscout, himself, Clark Kent. *** This one sat buried in The Vault for an embarrassing length of time, wh…

.. in which Tony Asaro sits down with Ben C. Schwartz for a our debut rapid-fire-questionnaire mini-episode of 10-in-10 with Ben!! Download 10_in_10_w_Ben_SEPT_19_FIN_FIN.mp3 [cover image from Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man #309, by Chris Bachalo & Tim Townsend]By Cracking The Vault Podcast

.. in which we, Patrick Clarke, Ryan Miller, & Tony Asaro, belatedly celebrate Patty's birthday by discussing one of his favorite-ever comics: Planetary, written by Warren Ellis, drawn by John Cassaday, & colored by Laura Martin!! [Warning: We talk about the entire book, in this episode! Consider yourselves officially spoiler-warned!! Additionally,…

.. in which we, Tony Asaro, Ryan Miller, & Patrick Clarke, gather to talk Eisner Award Winners, newly released movie & tv trailers, & the rest of the biggest announcements that dropped at this years San Diego Comic Con!! Download EP_166_-_SDCC_News___Reviews_FIN.mp3By Cracking The Vault Podcast

.. in which we, Tony Asaro, Patrick Clarke, & Ryan Miller, finally weigh-in on the 23rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Far From Home!! [*Be-warned: This review contains spoilers from the get-go!*] Download EP_165_-_Spider_Man_Far_From_Home_FIN.mp3By Cracking The Vault Podcast

.. in which we, Ryan Miller, Tony Asaro, & Patrick Clarke, muse & speculate upon what the Marvel Cinematic Universe might look like, in the next few years, as it moves into Phase 4!! Download EP_164_-_The_Future_of_The_MCU_FIN.mp3By Cracking The Vault Podcast

.. in which, at long last, we, Tony Asaro & Ryan Miller, reveal our thoughts & our feels on the 22nd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Endgame! [This episode begins with Non-Spoiler talk, after which we issue a clear Spoiler Warning, before diving into a more detailed discussion of the film] Download EP_163_-_Avengers_Endgame_Review…

.. in which we, Tony Asaro, Patrick Clarke, & Ryan Miller, celebrate Cracking The Vault's 4th anniversary with our 4th-ever ramen bowl roundtable AMA special! Download EP_162_-_Fourth_Anniversary_Ramen_Bowl_Roundtable_FIN.mp3 [episode image from The Best of DC #16, by Rich Buckler & Dick Giordano, courtesy of DC Comics]…

.. in which we, Tony Asaro, Patrick Clarke, & Ryan Miller, dive into our annual sneak-peek of the creator line-up, festivities, sale info, & some of the array of FCBD 2019 books that will be available at Empire's Comics Vault, on Saturday, May the 4th, aka Free Comic Book Day 2019!! Download EP_161_-_FCBD_2019_Preview_FIN.mp3 [official FCBD 2019 t-…

.. in which we, Tony Asaro, Patrick Clarke, & Ryan Miller, review the latest blockbuster from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain Marvel! *Please note: We do discuss spoilers for the film, in this episode!* Download EP_160_-_Captain_Marvel_FIN.mp3 [image from The Life of Captain Marvel #4, by the great Jen Bartel, courtesy of Marvel Comics]…

.. in which we, Ryan Miller & Tony Asaro, review the first season of Netflix's adaptation of the Gerard Way, Gabriel Ba, & Dave Stewart, Dark Horse comic, The Umbrella Academy!! [Please be aware: The first 20 minutes or so are our spoiler-free impressions, after which we give a clear spoiler warning, & then proceed with loads of spoilers for both S…

.. in which we, Ryan Miller, Tony Asaro, & Patrick Clarke, celebrate Ryan's birthday by finally devoting an entire episode to one of our most beloved characters, & most-favorite comics on the stands: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Download EP_158_-_The_Unbeatable_Squirrel_Girl_FIN.mp3 [image from The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #9, by Ryan North, Erica…

.. in which we, Patrick Clarke, Tony Asaro, & Ryan Miller, take a look back at how we did on our 2018 comic book resolutions, & then look forward to what comics-related goals we're hoping to accomplish this year!! [image from Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1, by Paul Dini, Dan Riba, & Bruce Timm, courtesy of DC Comics] Download EP_157_-_Comic_B…

.. in which we, Tony Asaro, Ryan Miller, & Patrick Clarke, take a look back at the best in comics from last year, & announce the winners *including your Listener's Choice picks* in all 21 categories celebrating our favorite comics, characters, & creators, of 2018, in our 4th annual Vaulty Awards! Download EP_156_-_2018_Vaulty_Awards_FIN.mp3…

.. one of our long-lost summer specials has finally surfaced(!), in which we, Minnie Saucedo, Patrick Clarke, & Ryan Miller, discuss how we go about introducing non-comics readers to our favorite four-color medium! Download EP_155_-_INTRODUCING_PEOPLE_TO_COMICS_FIN.mp3By Cracking The Vault Podcast

.. in which we, Patrick Clarke, Ryan Miller, & Tony Asaro, offer up a smorgasbord of comics chatter, including-but-not-limited-to what we've been reading & enjoying recently, & whether or not Disney/Marvel will have a tough time working The Fantastic 4 into the MCU!! Download EP_154_-_Hot_Takes_FIN.mp3…

.. in which we, Ryan Miller, Patrick Clarke, & Tony Asaro, don our warmest woolens & have a fire-side chat about our favorite wintery or rainy-day comics! Download EP_153_-_Welcome_to_Winter_FIN.mp3By Cracking The Vault Podcast

.. in which we, Tony Asaro & Ryan Miller, do our level best to say farewell to the face, voice, & soul, of American comics: Smilin' Stan Lee. Download EP_152_-_Stan_The_Man_FIN.mp3By Cracking The Vault Podcast

.. in which we, Patrick Clarke, Ryan Miller, & Tony Asaro, gather to profess so much love for one of our very favorite books, Brian Clevinger's, Scott Wegener's, & company's, brilliant action-adventure comic Atomic Robo!! [You can read Atomic Robo in print, available through IDW at your friendly local comic shop & everywhere else comics are sold, &…

.. in which we, Tony Asaro, Ryan Miller, & Ben Schwartz, celebrate ye annual Turkey Day by talking about what we're thankful for, in comics! [episode image from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Peanuts was created by Charles Schulz] Download 2018_Thanksgiving_Day_Special.mp3By Cracking The Vault Podcast

.. in which, to celebrate the landmark, we gather 'round once more with some of our favorite people for an evening of custom-baked comic-book-trivia, to see who is worthy enough to take home Mini-Mjölnir (& also a giant homemade cookie, thank you very much)!! Emceed, Gamesmastered, & Written By Ryan Miller! & starring our three teams of hopeful con…

.. in which we, Minnie Saucedo, Patrick Clarke, Ryan Miller, & Tony Asaro, celebrate the season by discussing some of our favorite & least-favorite horror genres & October-appropriate movies!! [episode image from Secrets of Haunted House #5, drawn by the great Bernie Wrightson, courtesy of DC Comics] Download Oct_Special_Ep_2_fin.mp3…

.. in which we, Patrick Clarke, Tony Asaro, & Ryan Miller, kick off our October celebrations with a special episode all about our favorite villains!! [episode image from The Mighty Thor #3, by Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, Matt Wilson, & Joe Sabino, courtesy of Marvel Comics] Download Oct_Special_Ep_1_-_Villains_FIN.mp3…