In the landmark, hologram-covered 500th episode of Off Panel, my pal Brandon Burpee returns to the show to hand out some awards and to answer questions from friends of the podcast. We discuss favorites and surprises from the first 500 episodes, the comics that aged the best and worst from the past decade, comic book crushes, advice for our previous and future selves, comics that made us cry, comic character influencers, what we would change in comics, the comic we think everyone should read, our favorite X-Men comic ever, my approach to interviews, detail in art, our Star Wars connections, comics that get better with rereads, who won the past decade, favorite birthdays and Halloween costumes, our favorite writer, artist, and comic from the past decade, comic and music pairings, and more.

You can find Burpee on Instagram.

You can download the episode directly here on Libsyn.

Big thanks to Deanna Chapman for editing this episode, as per usual.

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts or follow it on its LibSyn page. The show is also on Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Don’t forget to rate and review Off Panel wherever you choose to listen, but five stars only!

You can find Off Panel on Patreon! Support the show on there and get early access to each week’s podcast.

Thanks to the sponsor of this week’s podcast: 2000 AD! If you love sci-fi, horror, fantasy and action, then 2000 AD is the greatest comic you’re not reading! 2000 AD has a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog through to Rogue Trooper, Zenith, Shakara and many more. In every weekly issue you get five action-packed stories from incredible creators including Garth Ennis, Rob Williams, Alex de Campi and Dan Abnett. Get a print subscription and it’ll arrive at your door every week – and your first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue – for just $9 a month. That’s 128 pages of incredible comics every month for less than $10! And all subscribers get amazing offers, like money off vouchers and exclusive products! Head to 2000AD.com and click on ‘subscribe’ now – or download the 2000 AD app and start reading today!

Thanks to the show’s other sponsor, Oni Press! In stores this June, Oni Press proudly presents a science-fiction icon’s unlikely return to existence in BENJAMIN #1 – a new, prestige format limited series from Philip K. Dick Award winner Ben H. Winters and artist Leomacs. Do you remember the work of acclaimed novelist Benjamin J. Carp? Across more than 44 novels and hundreds of short stories, Carp established himself as a counterculture revolutionary. He died in 1982, after years of Southern Californian excess finally claimed his life. Until 2025…when Benjamin Carp awakens, alive, in a burned-out motel room on the fringes of Los Angeles. He remembers dying. He knows he shouldn’t exist. Is he a dream? A robot? A ghost? A clone? A simulation? In his own time, Carp pondered all of these scenarios through his fiction—and, now, as he treks from Studio City to Venice Beach and onward into the paranoid sprawl of 21st-century Los Angeles, he will be called to investigate his greatest mystery yet: himself. Explore the metatextual nexus between existence and oblivion, past and future, genius and madness this June in BENJAMIN #1 – only from Oni Press.

Also, big thanks to my patrons, including – but not limited to – Luis Filipe Alves, John Walsh, Brandon Paul, Aaron Bussey, AC, Simon Birch, Austin, Sion, T.S. Luther, Megan Marsden, Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast, Scott Carpenter, Gus, MKFreigeist, Saunter, Brian, Chris Robinson, David Byrne, Milton Lawson, Benjamin Wilkins, Chris Hacker, John NeSmith, Jon Auerbach, Dustin Weaver, Brandon Hayman, Aaden Hamann, Faith Erin Hicks, Ben Wroe, Cameron Brown, Jonathan Breen, Charlie Stickney, Tom Drennen, Jeremy Thomas Burke, Jared Schwab, Scott Dunn, Chip Mosher, Seth Pomeroy, James McEwan, Andrew Leamon, Christina Merkler, Scott Place, Travis Gibb, Darcy Van Poelgeest, Tom Evans, Reid Beaman, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Max Wood, Jeremy Lambert, Bryan, Nir Levie, Jason Hussa, Kieron Gillen, Jonathan Kent-Uritam, Henry Johnston, Dennis Hoffmann, Django Bohren, James Tynion IV, Chris Lankford, Jason Wood, Tom Peachey, Ben Damstedt, Ram V, Nick Walker, Patrick Coyle, Isaac Orin, Klaas Van de Ven, Submet Industries, Jack Mulqueen, Karl Kerschl, Robert Masella, Elsa Charretier, Luc Nakashoji, Dr. Luke, Scott Haselwood, CanadianByProxy, Bradley Roeder, Carl Choi, Brandon De Pillis, Patrick Brower, Declan Shalvey, Dan Gearino, Atom Freeman, Ben Wild, Brian Klein-Q, Liana Kangas, Nick Bennett, Susana Polo, Reed Hinckley-Barnes, Mario Tiambeng, Robert Wilson IV, Andrew Kurita, Stefan Hull, Phillip Maira, Chris Bachalo, Torunn Grønbekk, FuzBubbles, Christopher Ta, Transmitterdown, Walt’s Comics & Books, Akil Wilson, Alex Dimitropolous, Terry Dodson, Wesley Gift, Shawn Kirkham, Julio Anta, Brett A. Schmidt, Jason Goodmanson, Paul Reinwand, Vita Ayala, Akylle, Phillip Sevy, Al Ewing, David Kelley, Jason Nassi, Adam Bogert, Matthew Taylor, Nick Pitarra, Jacob Sareli, Ford Gilmore, David Baroldy, Nick Hall, Bjorn Basen, John Hendrick, Ian Maxfield, Cliff Chiang, Colin McMahon, Adam Highfill, Fiona Staples, Mark Abnett, Michael Shirley, Tom Barnett, Jim Demonakos, Norbert, Nick Lowe, James Kaplan, and Mission: Comics and Art in San Francisco. You’re all the best.

Have a question for Off Panel? You can reach David by email or Bluesky.

Header photo is from Andy Kubert’s cover to X-Men #25. Off Panel’s opening theme music is Vulfpeck’s “Outro,” used with permission from the band (and thanks from me for them doing so!), with the rest of the music being an original track by custom music agency Upright T-Rex Music, written and performed specifically for the podcast. A huge thanks to Ross and Cody from Upright T-Rex Music for putting the track together!