GateCrashers

In Our Flag Means Death, sailing the open seas meant freedom for many in the 1700s, and that could not be more true than it is for real-life pirate captain Stede Bonnet, the Gentleman Pirate! Running away from his life and family among the colonial elite of British Barbados, Stede builds a boat, hires a crew, and fails miserably as a pirate captain... that is until he meets the infamous Blackbeard!

To celebrate the last week of Pride, Amanda and Patrick find themselves sailing the high seas, where they stay mostly on topic as they discuss the breakout queer pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death from HBO Max! Join us as we delve into our favorite moments, characters, and themes of one of the best-executed queer shows on television today. Come listen as they talk about the subtle ways this show keeps important topics light and how empowering it is to see a wide variety of actual queer folk (actors and characters) represented onscreen. Patrick delves into his roots as a history major to bring you some fun facts from the history of Atlantic piracy, while Amanda screeches about kissing, Mary’s post-Stede life, and how showrunner and creator David Jenkins fights queerbaiting head-on.

With a second season recently announced, Amanda and Patrick talk about what they’re looking forward to in the new season. Their love for all things Taika Waititi is evident as they gush over the powerhouse cast that includes the likes of Rhys Darby, Vico Ortiz, Con O’Neill, Nathan Foad, Leslie Jones, and Samson Kayo. Later, Patrick declares himself firmly pro-pirate, while Amanda brings up other notable ways this show creates an inclusive space.

So join us as we set sail in search of some booty (and love) on this edition of GateCrashers! Spoiler Warning: this episode discusses the first season of Our Flag Means Death in its entirety in the second half of the episode.

Cover art by Liana Kangas.

We are joined by Sam Puc (EIC of Fatventure Magazine & Managing Editor of The Beat) to talk about Watchmen. Sam helps us dissect some of the tougher to handle topics that the book deals with. This is a rough one so buckle in for a bumpy ride.

CW: Discussion of sexual assault

Story covered:

Watchmen

I have been a Power Rangers fan since before I could even read. I grew up with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The first film was one of the first films I saw in theatres. I never really expected to end up interviewing one Ranger let alone many. But today's episode features our second original ranger, Amy Jo Johnson aka the original Pink Ranger Kimberly. Amy was kind enough and enjoyed our interview enough to call her co-writer Matt Hotson as soon as we wrapped our interview to make him jump on. Together they have written a new comic from BOOM! Studios called Power Rangers: The Return which you can get now anywhere you get your comics.

Power Rangers: The Return brings us back to Angel Grove years after the Power Rangers have disbanded. We see a much older version of the Rangers and friends that we knew from the show. The Rangers haven't done their teenagers with attitudes thing in years. A few members get together after a memorial for a fellow Ranger. Things from there get hectic and that quiet life that Kimberly thought she finally had will be slipping through her fingers.

Amy Jo Johnson has done much since her Power Rangers days which includes directing and becoming a singer/songwriter. We discussed creating art from all the different angles that she has a hand in. We discuss the co-writing process at length with each writer but at separate times. It's an interesting interview to listen to to see how each side of a duo works and sees the other in the process.

Amy also talks about how writing a comic has been Matt's dream for some time. We get to hear how happy she was for him on the day of release then we get to hear it straight from him. We discussed putting art out into the world but it was very exciting getting to hear on the day that someone's dream came true.

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! Today we have an EXTRA special episode of the GateCrashers Podcast. Patrick and Amanda finally convince Bernadette to join the Pod to talk about all things queer media! This special episode covers a range of media types with LGBT+ characters and themes, both textual and subtextual, including Rent, Glee, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise, Adventure Time, Moonlight, Steven Universe, The Owl House, Gravity Falls, The Little Mermaid, Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files, Inuyasha, Will & Grace, the slate of shows on Dropout, and more!

The hosts dive into some important moments in their own consumption of queer media, including the first shows they remember seeing growing up with explicitly LGBT+ characters. They discuss how some historically groundbreaking queer media, despite its importance at the time, aren’t necessarily perfect representations of queer folk. Amanda, Bernadette, and Patrick also have a discussion about the history of queer-coded villains (and discover that Ursula in The Little Mermaid was inspired by none other than the iconic Drag Queen Divine). They go on to talk about fanfiction/fanart and the role it shaped in both their own lives as queer folks consuming media (including today), as well as how it can help bring new life and complexity to characters from existing franchises.

Bernadette, Patrick, and Amanda also talk about the current state of media (are shows being canceled because of diverse representation or because Hollywood just sucks now?); the risks to LGBT+ content from big, soul-sucking media companies; the role that smaller, independent media plays in this new landscape; and what they think the future of queer media looks like. All-in-all just three queer folks talking about gay stuff. Patrick and Amanda even argue in this one!

So come join us and give a listen as we celebrate some of our favorite queer media this Pride Month! As always, we here at GateCrashers hope that we can kick open the door to your next favorite thing, and hopefully, this time that new thing is a little gay! Remember, never stop fighting for queer liberation and for the liberation of all of our siblings across the world.

Come join Amanda and Patrick as they dive into Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, the hit anime about the power of... gourmet food? That’s right! The world of Food Wars is one driven by the power wielded by the stars of the culinary world, and they’re willing to go to war over it... a Food War, that is! Following Soma Yukihira, Erina Nakiri, Takumi Aldini, Megumi Tadokoro, and their fellow classmates of the prestigious, ruthless, and cutthroat Tohtsuki Academy, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma follows these ambitious, talented teens as they polish their culinary skills, engage in Iron Chef-like culinary battles, and change the face of the world’s restaurant scene forever. But, of course, there will be plenty of rivals and pitfalls along the way! This is the 4th episode of Anime August with one more coming soon, we've covered Chainsaw Man, Your Name, Digimon, and now FOOD. The show is available on Crunchyroll.

Amanda and Patrick talk about how this show about gourmet chefs has all the hallmarks of traditional superpowered shōnen, with a healthy dose of fan service thrown in. Amanda goes on about best girl Megumi, while Patrick talks about his love for Meat-Meat. They talk character arcs and developments over the first season, including the wealth of characters introduced and how Soma power-of-friendships each one of them into being a powerful ally who is stronger than they were as his rival. Amanda tries not to cry about Joichiro and Soma’s father-son relationship, while Patrick tries his hardest not to spoil the plot of seasons 2-5. Patrick discusses some of the craziest dishes they make over the course of the seasons, while Amanda tells us about how she cannot believe how obsessed she is with a cooking anime.

So come and join us as we dive into the apparently wild world of the Japanese culinary scene as it trains the next generation of gourmet super stars in Season 1 of Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma!

Warning! Contains spoilers for Season 1 of the anime and the corresponding arcs of the manga.