Worlds will live! Worlds will die! The skies will turn red, and cowboys and cavemen will fight side by side! Written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by George Pérez, Crisis on Infinite Earths celebrated 50 years of DC Comics by blowing up the multiverse in a massive crossover featuring virtually every major character from its history (and introducing several new ones). Designed to make a bold statement in a comics industry overwhelmingly dominated by Marvel, the original plan was to reboot the entire DC Universe from scratch. Instead we got…well, what exactly did we get? We discuss whether Crisis was a new beginning or an ultimate ending, but we also focus on the comic itself and how this apex of superhero maximalism holds up 40 years later.

Discussed in this episode: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1-12

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It was 40 years ago this month that the calendar ticked over to 1986, often heralded as one of the high points of the comic book industry—perhaps even the most important year in the history of the medium. Comics began to find the mainstream acceptance they’d long craved, superheroes got grimmer ‘n’ grittier, and DC Comics reinvented itself for an older and more discerning audience. We walk through the highlights of this annus mirabilis, take a look back at what was left behind in this brave new era, and wonder whether we’ll ever see another year of its like again.

Discussed in this episode:

• ​Crisis, Dark Knight, and Watchmen (again, but briefly, we promise!)
• ​Marvel’s 25th anniversary
• ​The New Universe
• ​X-Men as franchise
• ​Classic X-Men debuts
• ​Grim ‘n’ gritty and the dawn of “the Dark Age”
• ​Daredevil and Elektra by Frank Miller
• ​The Punisher gets his own series
• ​Licensed comics and other cancellations at Marvel
• ​The rise of the post-Crisis DCU
• ​Legends
• ​Many fine comics written by Alan Moore
• ​The founding of Dark Horse Comics
• ​Maus
• ​Creator’s rights, starring Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, and Jim Shooter

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The Iron Age boys reflect on another year of reading classic comics and three years since launching the podcast by answering YOUR questions! (Assuming you sent them in, that is to say.)

Discussed in this episode:

• Current reads
• Underappreciated Iron Age creators
• Fashion trends of the Iron Age
• Comics we don’t want to revisit
• Missed opportunities
• Non-Iron Age comics with Iron Age flavor
• Cursing and podcast editing
• Dick Tracy and the British 20th century
• Marvel trading cards
• Creator pronunciations
• Most representative American comics
• The Iron Age outside the U.S.
• Which comic book universe we want to live in
• Growth and change vs. “the permanent Act II”
• When are you going to cover __________?
• Transition to video?
• The origin of the podcast
• Are we critics?
• What we learned in 2025

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Jim and Justin are know-it-all comics guys normally, but in this episode they’ll enter unfamiliar territory for them: the 22nd century milieu of brutal supercop Judge Dredd…as well as the longrunning weekly comic 2000 AD and the British comics industry in general! The epic “Necropolis” storyline might seem like an unusual entry point to Dredd: genres clash as the sci-fi dystopia of Mega-City One is attacked by the supernatural horrors of the Dark Judges, and the title character doesn’t even appear for much of the story; Dredd has exiled himself to the wastelands of the Cursed Earth, leaving a younger, less experienced genetic duplicate to carry his name and badge. Will our intrepid podcasting Yankees be hopelessly befuddled by this arc’s British sensibilities and satire, or will the thrillpower writing of John Wagner and the gritty inks and paints of artist Carlos Ezquerra cross the cultural divide?

Discussed in this episode: Judge Dredd strips from 2000 AD progs 674-699

(Do not adjust the rabbit ears on your podcatcher app; sound quality in this episode is suboptimal due to a recording issue. It’s probably the Sisters of Death’s fault.)

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When Bryan Hitch took over as artist on WildStorm’s low-selling StormWatch title, writer Warren Ellis was inspired to ditch most of the characters and reinvent the book from the ground up. The resulting series, The Authority, pointed the way to the future of mainstream comic books and stands as one of the milestones marking the end of the Iron Age. It’s an important and influential comic, so we’ve invited writer and podcaster Cameron Kunzelman (last heard on our X-Men: The Animated Series episode) back to read the entire Ellis and Hitch run with us. We discuss the advent of “widescreen comics” and what it means for comic books as a medium to adopt a more cinematic storytelling language; the transition from StormWatch’s murky politics to the ends-justify-the-means justice of the Authority; and how the run attempts to comment on and close the book on the genre fiction of the 20th century.

CONTENT WARNINGS: The plot and story contents of this series prompt discussions of racism, terrorism, colonialism, genocide, sexual violence, and related topics. We also talk at great length about toxic and manipulative patterns of behavior from writer Warren Ellis, as extensively detailed by his accusers at SoManyOfUs.com.

Visit RangedTouch.com to listen to the podcasts Cameron co-hosts. You can also check out his book Everything Is Permitted on the Assassin’s Creed video game franchise here:

https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517914943/everything-is-permitted/

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A listener asked us some time ago if we’d consider reading some Moon Knight; instead, we read a lot of Moon Knight. We used Moon Knight Epic Collection Volume 3: Butcher’s Moon to take a broad survey of a Bronze Age character’s transition to the Iron Age. In these pages, the multiple-personalities angle of the character is de-emphasized, and multiple creative teams try to crack the character of Marc Spector in their absence. The Fist of Khonshu goes from a silver-suited urban vigilante to a supernatural avenger decked out with gold accessories, then back to a gritty and grounded international action hero (this time, with an unwanted sidekick). We’ll compare these very different iterations of the character, ask ourselves why Chuck Dixon and Sal Velluto’s take was more popular than Alan Zelenitz and Chris Warner’s, and try to figure out whether all these phases of the Moon Knight have a common denominator.

Discussed in this episode: Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #1-6, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #1-7, plus Marvel Team-Up #144, Marvel Fanfare #30 and #38, and Solo Avengers #3

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Hey, remember when they used to make official comics adaptations of major motion pictures? Hellboy auteur Mike Mignola drew one for the 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula! We look at this unusual gem from Topps Comics and weigh in on how the subject matter plays to Mignola's strengths and how it functions as an adaptation of the film. Plus, history and context for the novel that started it all.

Listen to the rest at patreon.com/ironageofcomics

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Ghost Rider was something of an also-ran character in the 70s and 80s, so when editor-turned-writer Howard Mackie was invited to pitch a revival in 1990, Marvel didn’t have high hopes. But, with a brand new human host created by Mackie and a gritty and powerful redesign by artist Javier Saltares, the Spirit of Vengeance soon became a massive commercial success. We figured the first Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch - Vengeance Reborn Epic Collection would be seasonally appropriate reading for Halloween, but there’s very little of the supernatural in these pages (except for the flaming-skull-headed biker himself). Instead, mysteries layered on top of mysteries are the order of the day, so your hosts will try to untangle what it all means (and whether it matters). We’ll also uncover Mackie’s personal connection to Danny Ketch’s neighborhood and debate how to pronounce "Zarathos"!

Discussed in this episode: Ghost Rider #1-12, Doctor Strange #28, and selected material from Marvel Comics Presents #64-71

Justin and Jim spent all their money on leather jackets covered in spikes and chains, so they don’t have any money left over to buy comics! Help them out at patreon.com/ironageofcomics