Zero Episode

For ZERO EPISODE, the show’s debut, Steven and Chris sit down and gab about the genesis of this podcast, how the team was formed, and the CRYB! mission.

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) & Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.

SHOW NOTES:

1:05 - The “Why?” behind this show

5:02 - Experimentation in mainstream comics in the ‘80s, specifically Jenette Kahn’s extraordinary, game-changing reign as Publisher of DC Comics

6:44 - Our thoughts on why the ‘80s were such a halcyon period to read American comics and the importance of examining the more obscure titles from that era

9:10 - DC’s much lamented horror anthology, WASTELAND, and other comics that leave a lasting mark on their audiences, regardless of commercial success

10:56 - Paul Chadwick’s CONCRETE from Dark Horse Comics and other once-acclaimed works that somehow slipped between the cracks of our collective memory

12:05 - Marvel, Ron Perelman, HEROES REBORN, and the birth of the modern comics mainstream as IP farm, first and foremost

13:37 - Epic Comics, EPIC ILLUSTRATED, DREADSTAR, ALIEN LEGION, GROO THE WANDERER, AKIRA

16:00 - SKREEMER, VIGILANTE, GRENDEL, and our raison d'être. Also: Chris’ love of big French words and the types of comics that inspired us

17:59 -  MR. MONSTER and revisiting the indie comics of our youth to see how well they hold up (spoiler: still dope)

19:43 - The list of comic books we want to cover: SCOUT, HAWKWORLD, AZTEC ACE, BROUGHT TO LIGHT, COYOTE, BWS’ STORYTELLER, WISE SON: THE WHITE WOLF, THE LIGHT & DARKNESS WAR, MARS, AMERICAN FLAGG!, THE SHADOW (Mike Kaluta, Howard Chaykin, Andy Helfer, Bill Sienkiewicz, Marshall Rogers, Baker)

23:10 - The pre-Vertigo era, Vertigo, AMERICAN CENTURY by Chaykin, Tischman, and Laming; BLACK KISS and the transgressive works of Howard Chaykin

28:00 - Tim Vigil and David Quinn’s FAUST: “If you’re not offending somebody with your work, you’re not doing it right.”

29:52 - The difference between mainstream comics then and now — the devolution of American genre comics. IP management versus creative stewardship — the work of Steve Englehart, Cary Bates and Carmine Infantino’s insane TRIAL OF THE FLASH, Ann Nocenti, JRJR, and Al Williamson’s DAREDEVIL. Today, Marvel and DC Comics feel like product; back then, at their best, they were zany expressions of quirky creators who were given actual creative freedom.

33:15 - THE MIGHTY THOR, BETA RAY BILL, and the brilliant Walt Simonson

35:56 - “Do you remember when First was publishing LONE WOLF & CUB?” reflections on the early days of US manga comics translation — MAI THE PSYCHIC GIRL, THE LEGEND OF KAMUI, Eclipse Comics, etc.

37:00 - EPIC ILLUSTRATED and HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE

38:30 - Why we feel deeply committed to the cause of this show: remembering and celebrating iconoclastic comics (featuring discussions of the great Tim Truman and his ouevre: GRIMJACK, SCOUT, HAWKWORLD, WILDERNESS). Remembering great old comics and WHY IT MATTERS

43:53 - Our idiosyncratic definition of “The Bronze Age” as it pertains to comics




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