I've become hesistant to join the story discussions because I don't want to take away from them, and I enjoy reading all of your responses (LOVING the conversation about who are the zombies in this).
But regarding the fantastic element: It's not zombies and it's not Wolverine (although it is kind of cool Wolvie appeared in both the initial and final stories of our Borderlands month, but I digress). The speculative/fantastical element is the painting, which is a work of art. And which, just like Art, everyone seems to have a very distinct (and different) perception of what it actually is. That the actual painting couldn't be left behind, no matter how hard Art tried, is what makes the story speculative (IMO).
Some stories we run, the speculative element will be more subtle than others, although our theme this month was fantasy stories that pushed the envelope of what people consider fantasy - whether it be thematic elements, character studies, stories that could be classified in several different genres (not only "Bespoke," but especially "A Spot of Bother," which really could have gone on any of the EA podcasts IMO), etc.
For other stories the speculative element will be much more in your face. Next week's story, frex, has demons and warlocks. Which is not to say we won't throw you a curve ball in the future, but this month in particular was a special one.
We've always loved the diversity of each of the EA podcasts, and hope to continue that tradition. Thanks for all the discussions, and for hanging in there with us.