Springfield’s favorite menace trades his skateboard for spandex in Bartman Meets Radioactive Man, and somehow the result ended up on both the NES and Game Gear. Whether it’s justice or just pure mayhem, this is one crossover nobody asked for but we’re glad to have anyway.

But Chris can’t do this along, so he’s joined by the always enlightening Tommy Proffitt from Distant Echos and Lee Carvallo’s Podding Challenge. Together they unravel what happens when cartoon superheroes meet 8-bit hardware and common sense takes a vacation.

So grab your cape, your slingshot, and your best “Eat my shorts” energy, because things are about to get weird, nostalgic, and slightly irradiated. Just like Bart would’ve wanted.

Learn such things as:

• How has The Simpsons secretly wormed its was into your everyday life?
• What happens when you have such a character driven franchise and use hardly any of them at all?
• Were the Radioactive Man comics just a testing ground for future characters?
• And so much more!

You can find Tommy on Bluesky @awkwardcomma, and his podcasts Distant Echoes and Lee Carvallo’s Podding Challenge.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

The next episode is going to be Sailor Moon Another Story, so get your thoughts ready and over to me if you want to hear them in the show.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads, @playcomics on YouTube, or the Play Comics website.

If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine is probably something you should check out.

A big thanks to The Glitter Jaw Queer Podcast Collective and Gender Pop for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who still wears Bart Simpson underwear.

Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics

Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

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They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, but in this case, it’s paved with quick‑time events and awkward platforming. Step back into 2010, when grim determination, button mashing, and a suspicious amount of artistic license gave us Dante’s Inferno on the PS3 and Xbox 360, the game adaptation no one asked for but we secretly loved anyway.

Joining Chris this time is Adam Williamson. You know, that guy who’s somehow managed to pop up in both past and future episodes of Play Comics. It’s like he’s got his own metaphysical time loop going, except with fewer torturous souls and more witty banter.

So grab your favorite medieval poetry anthology (or just pretend you’ve read it. No judgment), crank up the over‑the‑top orchestral soundtrack, and prepare to descend through nine circles of beautifully rendered weirdness. Let’s find out how a centuries‑old Italian masterpiece got a glow‑up full of demons, guilt, and surprisingly good level design.

Learn such things as:

• How many sins can you commit before hitting a loading screen?
• What might Dante have thought of boss battles?
• Was someone just really into God of War? It’s the God part wasn’t it?
• And so much more!

You can find Adam absolutely nowhere except for on Play Comics where he writes comic reviews and appears on other episodes. Of particular interest to listeners of this episode are The Gimmick #1 and The Job #1.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads, @playcomics on YouTube, or the Play Comics website.

If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine is probably something you should check out.

A big thanks to Kaiju ComiCast and Anime Field Guide for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who was wondering the whole time why neither of us brought up X-Men Inferno at all.

Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics

Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

Read transcript

Look, We’ve seen a lot of comic-based video games in my time, but when a mafia hitman gets murder powers from an eldritch shadow monster so he can take vengeance on, well, everybody, you know we’ve entered elite storytelling territory. The Darkness isn’t here to make you feel good about humanity. It’s here to make you ask if you’d trade your soul for a pair of talking demon heads who love street lamps way too much.

This week, we’re diving into The Darkness on PS3 and Xbox 360, that moody, gritty, and surprisingly heartfelt adaptation of the classic Top Cow comic series. And joining us for the chaos? None other than Sarah of Mars. Yes, that Mars. Because let’s be real: if you’re dealing with an ancient, malevolent cosmic force, you might as well bring in someone from a planet that already knows about hostile takeovers of a planetary variety.

So get comfy (preferably not in the subway tunnels of New York with a swarm of writhing demons), because we’re unpacking love, loss, corruption, and whatever dark surprises the game decided to throw at us just for kicks. Oh, and if your shadow starts talking back… maybe turn off the console.

Learn such things as:

• How long did it take Chris to realize that the British band wasn’t going to show up?
• Which band do you associate Mike Patton with, and is it the same band that makes the most sense to match with this character?
• Do you have to follow the source material to get a game that really feels correct?
• And so much more!

You can find Sarah on BlueSky @sarahofmars.bsky.social, on that old blog Now I Write, and sometimes as a guest on Super Deluxe GamesCast.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads, @playcomics on YouTube, or the Play Comics website.

If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine is probably something you should check out.

A big thanks to Infinite Earths Guide and Gender Pop for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who really wants to hear a Mike Patton cover of Reading Rainbow.

Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomics

Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.