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

+ 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 #explained #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics #horrorstories

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 #explained #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics #horrorstories

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 #explained #indiecomics #scificomics #marvelcomics #horrorstories