Steven and Chris take a roadtrip back in time, eventually arriving on the pothole-riddled streets of Hub City, and man do they have a lot to say -- almost 4 hours' worth of comic book chatter! Steve Ditko's urban vigilante, The Question, is boldly re-imagined by Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan as a Zen crimefighter for the ages. Check it out; here we cover issues #1-#8 of THE QUESTION (DC Comics, 1987).

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


SHOW NOTES:

00:30 - Intro to Vic Sage a.k.a. The Question (covering SteveDitko and Ayn Rand, Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan)

02:57 - THE QUESTION & SWAMP THING as “Proof of Concept” for Vertigo Comics

24:14 - Vic Sage’s relationship with “Tot” a.k.a. Aristotle Rodor

35:53 - Denys Cowan’s smart, efficient page compositions

1:27:30 - An urban vigilante story written by... a metaphysically minded, left-leaning zenned-out hippie?!

1:34:17 - Drawing Black characters in comic books

1:47:24 - Cowan’s skill at conjuring real-looking people who don’t all fit into cookie cutter, visual molds 

2:08:18 - Giving Denny O’Neil his flowers as a writer and noticing his evolution on THE QUESTION vs. GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW; an exsmination of his intricate, multi-character storylines

2:40:05 - Cowan’s lively, kinetic, uniquely gestural linework

2:55:55 - The “generosity of content” of ‘80s comic books -- more story pages, denser stories, letter columns, editorials, etc.

…

+ 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!

#dccomics #vertigocomics #alanmoore #comicbooks #new #content #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics

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!

#dccomics #vertigocomics #alanmoore #comicbooks #new #content #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #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!

#dccomics #vertigocomics #alanmoore #comicbooks #new #content #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #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!

#dccomics #vertigocomics #alanmoore #comicbooks #new #content #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics

Chris and Steven descend into the futuristic cesspool of gangsterism and “a little of the old ultraviolence” that is SKREEMER (DC Comics, 1989), a noir-styled postapocalyptic science fiction comic that makes A CLOCKWORK ORANGE look G-rated*. An explosive precursor to Vertigo Comics, this series was created by Peter Milligan, Brett Ewins, and Steve Dillion.

* Please Note: Our YT video imagery displays comparatively tame examples of SKREEMER art in order to respect YT guidelines concerning violence and graphic content.

CRYB! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions) in a weekly podcast format.


SHOW NOTES

02:16 - A brief introduction to the world of SKREEMER — somewhere between James Joyce’s FINNEGAN’S WAKE and Stanley Kubrick’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

12:08 - Celebrating the ahead of its time design of the logo and covers for SKREEMER. These are “pop comics”.

13:56 - An attempt to summarize the overarching narrative of SKREEMER

37:47 - Why you ought to buy the original floppies of SKREEMER (almost no ads!)

40:10 - The groundbreakingly transgressive nature of SKREEMER

40:42 - Dense, substantial storytelling in SKREEMER — a mark of the days before “decompressed stories”

53:47 - The poetry of Pete Milligan. Purple prose or evocative writing?

1:01:17 - Exploring the racial and sexual politics of SKREEMER

1:20:43 - The art of Brett Ewins and Steve Dillon on SKREEMER vs. Steve Dillon’s art on PREACHER; also, a discussion of Dillon’s early UK work for 2000 AD and DEADLINE magazine

1:22:44 - The extraordinary, nuanced, and sophisticated coloring choices of Tom Ziuko

1:40:19 - The modern day relevance of Vito’s evil masterplan

1:50:29 - Spoiler warning for Warren Ellis and John Cassaday’s PLANETARY (Skip ahead 30 seconds if you haven’t read it!)

1:52:37 - Further discussion of the depiction of women and people of color in SKREEMER

1:57:02 - EC Comics’ “Judgement Day!” by Ray Bradbury, Al Feldstein, and Joe Orlando

2:16:58 - Final thoughts on the wildly ambitious SKREEMER — its place in the ‘80s comics canon and why it matters

2:25:50 - Grant Morrison and his love for the writings of Pete Milligan, specifically Vertigo’s ENIGMA



#alanmoore #batman #thedarkknight #stanleykubrick #2000ad #vertigocomics #grantmorrison #scificomics #sciencefiction #comicbook #aclockworkorange

+ 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!

#dccomics #vertigocomics #alanmoore #comicbooks #new #content #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics

Steven and Chris tackle the mind-bending "superhero" space opera, NEXUS (1981, 1983), created by Mike Baron and Steve "The Dude" Rude.

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

SHOW NOTES

00:30 - Steven & Chris intro NEXUS
05:25 - How we first encountered NEXUS
15:41 - A detailed overview of the absurdly engaging high-wire act that forms the crux of NEXUS
27:40 - “If you’re writing fiction, you need to read NEXUS.” The series’ place in the American comics canon
28:39 - “...NEXUS feels like my platonic ideal of pure comics. Something that you can scarcely imagine existing in another medium without being dramatically changed or bastardized in order to dumb it down for some so-called 'mass audience'...”
36:04 - “...Neither fish nor fowl...” The elusive nature of NEXUS
48:39 - THE NAME OF THE ROSE by Umberto Eco; THE MASTER AND MARGARITA by Mikhail Bulgakov; IF ON A WINTER’S NIGHT A TRAVELER by Italo Calvino
1:00:30 - NEXUS’s stylish synthesis of Alex Toth, SPACE GHOST, and Jack Kirby. “...Mashing up elements that are clearly the individual passions of Baron & Rude... a crackling, kinetic mix.” In the words of Harlan Ellison: “It glows with originality.”
1:02:51 - The crossover with Mike Baron’s other First Comics title, THE BADGER
1:06:27 - The once-in-a-lifetime radiance of Steve Rude. “There’s nothing he can’t draw... That’s what’s f'd up.”
01:11:04 - “...These are alien landscapes, alien ships, alien clothing... Steve Rude... has lived in these worlds… a master class in comic book art
1:12:14 - The subtlety, grace, and beauty of Rude’s art -- a barrier-to-entry for some?
01:20:55 - The unbelievable alien physics of Steve Rude’s intergalactic architecture
01:29:55 - NEXUS as the apex of ongoing creator-owned comics
01:33:11 - Why you need to read NEXUS in the original floppy single issues: a rollicking letter column, “WHAT IT IS!” + Harlan Ellison’s hilarious exchange w/ Mike Baron
01:43:00 - The act of genius-level wholesale invention that is NEXUS, as opposed to WATCHMEN and SANDMAN
01:45:53 - A last fraught exchange, NEXUS letter column
01:49:46 - “...One of the greatest ongoing comics of all time -- and it isn’t even close.”

+ 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!

#dccomics #vertigocomics #alanmoore #comicbooks #new #content #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics

In this episode, Steven and Chris venture into the bizarre and harrowing — yet entirely compelling — world of Michael T. Gilbert's MR. MONSTER (1988).

CRYB! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few noteworthy exceptions). Screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) and Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.


SHOW NOTES

00:46 - The history of MR. MONSTER

12:59 - “The Mr. Monster Mantle” -- the tradition of “legacy heroes” -- Zorro, The Phantom... and Mr. Monster

22:07 - The uniquely charming, joyful art style of Michael T. Gilbert, full of raw gestural energy and dripping with love for this book (and this character)

36:24 - The gorgeous hand lettering of the legendary Ken Bruzenak on Mr. Monster

49:44 - Questioning the logic of the evil monsters’ plan to take out Mr. Monster

55:51 - The extraordinary density of the compressed storytelling in MR. MONSTER, plus text pages and a letter column! 30+ minutes of entertainment per issue! How comparatively lacking modern comics are in regard to ent. value & the immersive nature of older comics

58:19 - Early days of Dark Horse Comics: BORIS THE BEAR and WACKY SQUIRREL

1:01:30 - TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, FISH POLICE, GROO THE WANDERER, LONE WOLF & CUB, AKIRA

1:06:08 - Giving Michael T. Gilbert his due as a very compelling writer — especially considering the extreme switch-up on the tone of story he is telling here in MR. MONSTER: ORIGINS, as compared to his earlier MR. MONSTER stories

1:16:53 - “People like kids in movies that do cool shit.” Alex Derrick’s theory on the types of children that audiences enjoy seeing in stories

1:30:21 - “Mr. Monster... is about love.”

1:37:00 - More on the idea of legacy heroes, plus the impact that personal relationships have on the lives of the average international monster killer

1:48:11 - The idiosyncratic vision of MR. MONSTER, created in the glorious medium of comic books where, unlike Hollywood, no one will insist that you make your story more grounded. “In Hollywood, it’s very rare that the quirk survives.”

1:58:15 - Meeting Michael T. Gilbert at Comic Con and the artist’s pen he used for inking

2:00:03 - Racial dynamics in MR. MONSTER and the differences between then and now


#mrmonster #mistermonster #darkhorse

©2024 Comics Rot Your Brain!

+ 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!

#dccomics #vertigocomics #alanmoore #comicbooks #new #content #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics

In this week's episode, Steven and Chris continue their wide-ranging discussion of Epic Comics' ALIEN LEGION series (Also check out Part One, which went live last week). Carl Potts, Alan Zelenetz, Frank Cirocco, Larry Stroman.

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

00:08 - Issue 6: “Operation Nerve Center!” - The character of alien soldier, Dirge, and his all-too-human battle with an addiction to a performance-enhancing drug

01:53 - The use of thought balloons as an essential window into the deepest vulnerabilities of our traumatized cosmic battalion. “Soldiers in this insane crucible of battle.”

08:01 - Impostor syndrome in ALIEN LEGION — the neurotic, inadequate, deeply insecure messes, who are our main players, along with the increasingly expansive cast of characters in this world

12:50 - Sarigar usually keeps a lid on his id, but sometimes a mofo’s gotta use his big-ass lizard/reptile tail to beat some ass

14:51 - Issue 7: Whilce Portacio (!) inked this issue of ALIEN LEGION

15:37 - Issues 8 - 11: The Chris Warner issues: rock-solid work in between the more idiosyncratic runs of Cirocco and Stroman

16:59 - The rise of the grimmest and grittiest of all legionnaires, Jugger Grimrod, in the era of Wolverine and the Punisher

24:08 - Issue 12: “Hollow Harvest!” The arrival of the great Larry Stroman brings a distinctly new visual flair to the book and some awesomely stylized hair!

48:25 - Issue 13: “Moonlilies for Cora Cora!” = FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON

56:31 - Issue 14: “Reprise!” - the devastating next chapter

1:20:53 - Issue 15: “The Official Death of Jugger Grimrod!” The title says it all.

1:35:42 - Issue 16: “Demons!” - Intro of Tamara, the first woman legionnaire

2:04:04 - Travis Charest & Larry Stroman both drawing DARKSTARS for DC! Discussion of Charest’s early work -- WILDCATS w/ Alan Moore and METABARONS

2:06:23 - You can tell every genre of story as a war story.

2:07:51 - ALIEN LEGION as the ultimate, hyper-compressed metaphor for life. “We’re all in the ALIEN LEGION.”

#alienlegion #thealienlegion #carlpotts #larrystroman #epiccomics

+ 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!

#dccomics #vertigocomics #alanmoore #comicbooks #new #content #80scomics #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics