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

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+ 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

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+ 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

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+ 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

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.

…

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

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

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 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

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

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

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 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

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