Steven and Chris embark on the paradigm-shattering psychedelic trip that is the first seven issues of THRILLER — published by DC Comics in 1983 — and find themselves awestruck in its wake. One thing is certain: Trevor Von Eeden is a goddamn genius.

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 ++ See our YouTube vid for art! ++ https://youtu.be/V8VR90DYhIk

00:00 - Intro music

00:30 - Steven explains why this episode might be his FAVORITE EPISODE EVER of CRYB!

2:06 - Chris recounts what else was happening in pop culture in America in 1983 -- at the time THRILLER came into being.

03:21 - The “connection” between MJ’s THRILLER and RLF & TVE’s THRILLER

04:37 - The perils of being “too ahead of your time” as an artist

06:05 - The shockingly unprofessional and hostile conduct of THRILLER’s editor that helped to seal the comic’s fate

18:02- Discussing our first exposure to this unsung “shock-your-brain" idea bomb of a comic

27:13 - An attempt to summarize this unwieldy pulp beast of a story, with an assist from Robert Loren Fleming, as well as discursive detours into THE SHADOW, DOC SAVAGE, and the great Richard Pryor

37:14 - Unconventional pacing in THRILLER and the powerful "delayed cumulative impact" of its story rhythms

41:10 - Novel panel compositions ("an obscene amount of panels!"), storytelling innovations, and the downright psychedelic properties of THRILLER. “…an incredible sense of discovery... Trevor Von Eeden (TVE) is literally inventing new storytelling mechanics on every page." "It's impossible for us to convey verbally how inventive this guy was.”

55:50 - The rare artistic vision of Trevor Von Eeden --

1:01:23 - TVE’s atypical, kinetic, emotionally resonant approach to inking. "...no one was finishing their work with this roughness and gestural vitality... Von Eeden is all about the emotion..." With detours into the styles of Alex Toth, Neal Adams, and David Mazzucchelli

1:06:24 - Drawing characters "acting" without masks in non-superhero comics

01:21:08 - How David Mazzucchelli’s relatively small body of work that casts a huge shadow

1:29:11 - Why Von Eeden passed on BATMAN: YEAR ONE

1:52:14 - Dick Giordano’s inking of TVE, plus TVE being uniquely unrecognized for an artist of his caliber

02:05:18 - Celebrating the vibrant and unique voice of Robert Loren Fleming — way ahead of his time in his decompressed approach to comic book storytelling, as well as the bold originality of his ideas

02:00:29 - Reading from Heidi

Drop us a line!

+ Check out our YouTube channel to get a look at some of the fantastic art featured in our episodes. Visit ComicsRotYourBrain.com to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. 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 #explained #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics #horrorstories #spaceopera #scifi

In this episode, Chris and Steven confront highly disturbing revelations about the CIA and American global politics, courtesy of the explosive whistleblower comic, BROUGHT TO LIGHT (Eclipse Comics, 1988), written by Alan Moore and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz. Buckle up, folks. This is a wild one. BROUGHT TO LIGHT really is the most dangerous comic book ever published!

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
0:00 - CRYB! theme song

01:07 - The origins of BROUGHT TO LIGHT: The Christic Institute, Eclipse Comics, Cat Yronwode, Dean Mullaney, Alan Moore, Bill Sienkiewicz, Warner Books, the CIA, the U.S. government, and the target on everyone's back for even telling this story

14:49 - “How America Was Robbed...”

17:17 - An American eagle walks into a bar... A discussion of the audacious narrative conceit of this comic

23:42 - Swimming pools of blood as a visual metaphor ...for the horrifying worldwide death toll caused by far-reaching immoral CIA covert operations ...and for the U.S. government's secret involvement in a multitude of global assassinations and coups = “An infographic from Hell”

28:47 - “I want to talk about Sienkiewicz’s art.” “We need to.”

38:55 - A reading from the gospel of our CIA eagle-agent guy and his squawkings about the assassination of JFK

44:35 - “An assault on your whole belief in America.” In the spirit of Noam Chomsky & Manufacturing Consent

46:29 - The suppression and burial of BROUGHT TO LIGHT

57:30 - Peak Alan Moore and peak Bill Sienkiewicz -- reinventing comics with everything they do at this point

1:02:08 - Our eagle agent contemplates suicide with a gun to his own head; the brilliant juxtaposition between Moore’s words and Sienkiewicz’s pictures

1:15:00 - Things get meta. The eagle goes after The Christic Institute with vitriol and makes his final desperate case to us, the readers

1:21:17 - Creators who risk infusing their art with their own deeply held political beliefs

1:28:14 - Sienkiewicz’s stunningly-wrought hand-done lettering on BROUGHT TO LIGHT; Steven's eternal soliloquy raging against the dying of the light, as the scourge of font lettering comes over the hillside like a plague of end-time locusts devouring modern comics, etc.







©2024 Comics Rot Your Brain!




#alanmoore #billsienkiewicz #sienkiewicz #comicbooks #new #content #explained #bronzeagecomics #80s #eclipsecomics #catyronwode #cia #whistleblower

Drop us a line!

+ Check out our YouTube channel to get a look at some of the fantastic art featured in our episodes. Visit ComicsRotYourBrain.com to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. 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 #explained #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics #horrorstories #spaceopera #scifi

Chris and Steven testify before you all, spilling their guts on how DC Comics’ OG Superheroes were laid low by the spectre of McCarthyism in “The Red Scare” era of post-WWII USA. This is their battle to rise again in THE GOLDEN AGE (1993), written by James Robinson, drawn by Paul Smith, colored by Richard Ory, and lettered by John Costanza. Will our motley gang of “dirty commies!” triumph in this Elseworlds tale? Featuring OG Hawkman, OG Green Lantern, OG Starman, OG Flash, OG Sandman, Robotman, OG version of The Atom, Hourman, Liberty Bell, The Tarantula, etc.

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

02:01 - Introducing the creative team, explaning the concept behind DC Comics’ Elseworlds stories, and summarizing THE GOLDEN AGE

10:03 - Hot take alert! Chris makes the bold claim that THE GOLDEN AGE is “as good or better than WATCHMEN” …and, in fact, HE likes GA better!

39:44 - Richard Ory’s exquisite coloring in THE GOLDEN AGE — how the heck did he do it? Chris has the scoop, straight from the horse’s mouth — a CRYB! exclusive

43:27 - Paul Smith’s artistic influences, plus what exactly is his peak period?

57:35 - The rarely used literary device of “Second Person Narration,” deployed expertly by James Robinson here in THE GOLDEN AGE

1:04:10 - The art and design for Paul Smith’s classic covers

1:12:21 - THE GOLDEN AGE’s surprisingly disturbing hallucinatory imagery — rats, eagles, and folks’ faces being chewed off!

1:16:18 - Chris declares that when it comes to being a wordsmith, the Tarantula ain’t no Fitzgerald; we read some of the prose aloud, just to be sure

1:26:00 - Circling back on the comparison to Moore & Gibbons’ WATCHMEN with a detour through Lindelof/HBO’s WATCHMEN, expanding into a discussion of the built-in dramatic weight afforded one when telling stories with iconic characters

1:44:36 - The ability to make extreme choices in storytelling with non-mainstream characters, evolving into some ruminations on DC Comics’ Elseworlds line

1:49:43 - The “Eisners Situation” with THE GOLDEN AGE

1:57:24 - Rob Liefeld, Youngblood, Image Comics, Neal Adams, creators’ rights, and big personalities with big dreams

2:07:26 - Terminal City, Dean Motter, Michael Lark, Mister X, Vortex Comics

2:27:00 - More gushing about the amazing art of Paul Smith





©2024 Comics Rot Your Brain!




#dccomics #dcuniverse #justicesocietyofamerica #comicbooks #new #content #explained

Drop us a line!

+ Check out our YouTube channel to get a look at some of the fantastic art featured in our episodes. Visit ComicsRotYourBrain.com to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. 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 #explained #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics #horrorstories #spaceopera #scifi