Steven and Chris take a psychedelic voyage through time via the crackerjack indie comics team of Doug Moench, Mike Hernandez, Dan Day, and Nestor Redondo in AZTEC ACE (published by Eclipse Comics in 1984). The hallucinatory hijinx and trippy time-travel scifi-of-it-all leave their heads spinning!

COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) and Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.

SHOW NOTES:

1:17 - Attempting to describe AZTEC ACE in a nutshell

6:17 - A story so weird it could only ever exist as a comic book (touching on THE ADVENTURES OF LUTHER ARKWRIGHT)

7:44 - A more expansive attempt at discussing the sprawling, non-linear time travel narrative of AZTEC ACE (touching on QUANTUM LEAP, DOCTOR WHO, APOCALYPTO, and noir private-eye stories)

15:08 - The shockingly dense prose poetry of Doug Moench

22:45 - Wait, AZTEC ACE is actually... a love story?!

32:20 - The immensely text-heavy density of AZTEC ACE; wildly overwritten or wildly immersive?

33:39 - Giving it up for the book’s trio of super impressive artists: Michael Hernandez a.k.a. Michael Bair, Dan Day, and Nestor Redondo

56:19 - Walt Simonson, THOR, and Beta Ray Bill

1:12:29 - Howard Chaykin and AMERICAN FLAGG!

1:18:09 - “The level of mystery of what was happening kept drawing me in...” The intriguingly puzzle-like nature of AZTEC ACE

1:33:19 - THE INVISIBLES by Grant Morrison

1:46:37 - The changing nature of what we expect from comic books; why the “velocity of ideas” in ‘80s comics was so intoxicating -- “batshit wild imagination exploding on the page... on a deadline!”

#alanmoore #80scomics #scificomics #doctorwho #sciencefiction #grantmorrison

+ Visit ComicsRotYourBrain.com to get a look at some of the fantastic art discussed in our episodes and to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. Check out our YouTube channel. You can also find us wherever you stream your favorite podcasts.

+ We appreciate your support of the show via Patreon: ComicsRotYourBrain

+ For even more cool shit, read Chris's Substack (cinema, comics, and culture) - THIN ICE

©2024 Comics Rot Your Brain!


#alanmoore #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #dccomics #marvelcomics

Chris and Steven swoop in to the Downside of Thanagar to squawk about Tim Truman’s bold and impassioned re-imagining of Hawkman's origin story in HAWKWORLD (DC Comics, 1989). Is this Katar Hol’s BATMAN: YEAR ONE? …Or his DARK KNIGHT RETURNS? …Or both?

COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comic books (plus a few notable exceptions) in a weekly podcast format. Screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) & Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.


SHOW NOTES:

00:36 - Introduction to HAWKWORLD

6:30 - The singular career of visionary artist/writer Tim Truman — SCOUT, GRIMJACK, WILDERNESS and, of course, HAWKWORLD

13:36 - The ahead-of-its-time themes of HAWKWORLD: imperialism, subjugation, and cultural appropriation

27:16 - The dirty, lived in, alien worlds of Tim Truman — touching on Joe Kubert and the Kubert School

36:46 - STIG’S INFERNO + KELVIN MACE by Ty Templeton and Klaus Schonefeld

39:35 - NIGHT FORCE by Gene Colan & Marv Wolfman

42:55 - “The haunted, super sad feeling” of HAWKWORLD

45:30 - Tim Truman on the genesis of HAWKWORLD

1:00:01 - Tim Truman’s unique artwork and speculation on his chief influences

1:10:42 - How the success of WATCHMEN, THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, and MAUS encouraged ambitious big swings from comic book artists in the late ‘80s

1:11:33 - Katar Hol’s exile on the island and the unrelenting, unapologetic brutality of HAWKWORLD

1:15:20 - The prescient nature of certain science fiction stories (including MINORITY REPORT)

1:17:07 - Metaphorical commentary embedded within HAWKWORLD: the outsourcing of American labor and industry

1:32:24 - Katar Hol leaves behind the lies he has been taught about Thanagar’s history, confronting the horrific reality of the actual history

1:40:37 - Tom King; THE SHERRIFF OF BABYLON, BATMAN

1:54:19 - COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! exists for this reason

+ Visit ComicsRotYourBrain.com to get a look at some of the fantastic art discussed in our episodes and to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. Check out our YouTube channel. You can also find us wherever you stream your favorite podcasts.

+ We appreciate your support of the show via Patreon: ComicsRotYourBrain

+ For even more cool shit, read Chris's Substack (cinema, comics, and culture) - THIN ICE

©2024 Comics Rot Your Brain!


#alanmoore #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #dccomics #marvelcomics

Steven and Chris obsess over issues one through seven of Comico’s ongoing GRENDEL series (1986), the “Devil’s Legacy” story arc, pondering the lasting resonance of Matt Wagner’s extraordinary exploration of evil.

SHOW NOTES:

00:32 - Intro to GRENDEL. Move over, Batman! The Dark Knight isn’t the only violent vigilante in town! Cue a valiant attempt to summarize the fascinatingly unique, complex concept of GRENDEL

03:12 - “DEVIL’S LEGACY” …Christine Spar dons the mask of the fiend. SHE is GRENDEL!

20:39 - The amazing Pander Brothers! ...and the inking of their highly stylized work — touching on ‘80s fashion art, Aeon Flux, and Patrick Nagel. The Pander Bros = style AND substance, plus “They draw some of the best hands in comics!”

29:10 - The eye-popping sales of the first issue of GRENDEL — 68,000 copies!

30:54 - How to pronounce “Comico”

37:22 - DC Comics’ amazing BLUE DEVIL by Paris Cullins, Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn

38:42 - The cleverly titled TEMPUS FUGITIVE by Ken Steacy; NOW Comics, ASTRO BOY, SPEED RACER

40:17 - THE SACRED & THE PROFANE by Dean Motter & Ken Steacy

41:14 - The bizarre & mostly unnoticed WAR BEARS from Dark Horse Comics by Margaret Atwood (!) & Ken Steacy

42:38 - Our conjecture re: why Matt Wagner brought in other artists on GRENDEL and why modern comics artists are no longer able to do long-ass runs on a series

48:15 - The looser, more gestural art of Hayden Sherman and Ashley Wood — drawing awesome comics with styles built for speed

50:57 - The super dense verbiage of Matt Wagner’s writing in this run of GRENDEL

55:06 - “THE DEVIL’S LAIR,” the GRENDEL letter column — Diana Schutz responds to a critical letter about Matt’s “wordy” approach, defending his “intentionally complex” writing choices

1:01:15 - GRENDEL: WARCHILD, Grendel Prime, the exquisite art of Simon Bisley

1:04:33 - Great unfinished stories in comic books — THE AERIALIST, TYRANT, BIG NUMBERS

1:08:51 - Edvin Biukovic & Darko Macan, the brilliant Croatian artist/writer team that created GRENDEL TALES: DEVILS AND DEATHS

1:12:33 - The progressive, multicultural, racial dynamics in this run of GRENDEL

1:13:33 - “…There’s so much greatness in the idea of GRENDEL…”

1:37:57 - The similarities between the mask designs for GRENDEL and SPAWN

+ Visit ComicsRotYourBrain.com to get a look at some of the fantastic art discussed in our episodes and to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. Check out our YouTube channel. You can also find us wherever you stream your favorite podcasts.

+ We appreciate your support of the show via Patreon: ComicsRotYourBrain

+ For even more cool shit, read Chris's Substack (cinema, comics, and culture) - THIN ICE

©2024 Comics Rot Your Brain!


#alanmoore #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #dccomics #marvelcomics