Today, we welcome six-time New York Times bestselling comics writer Fred Van Lente to discuss his career, starting with Action Philosophers, moving throughhis acclaimed Marvel and Valiant work, and focusing on his ambitious new project The Future is ******. We get into his early work with Platinum Studios, Marvel titles like Marvel Zombies and his acclaimed Incredible Hercules run with Greg Pak, plus his Harvey Award-nominated Archer & Armstrong at Valiant. We then dive into the new work, a 60-issue cyber-sci-fi epic that fuses elements from Mr. Robot, The Matrix, and Ghost in the Shell. We discuss working with Rekcah Comics, why he committed to such a massive story, and balancing creator-owned work with other projects.

You can follow Fred on his site, fredvanlente.com, or on all the socials @fredvanlente.

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Check out video versions of this and other episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/dollarbinbandits!

If you like this podcast, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you found this episode. And if you really like this podcast, become a member of the Dollar Bin Boosters on Patreon: patreon.com/DollarBinBoosters.

You can follow us @dollarbinbandits on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky, or @DBBandits on X. You can email us at dollarbinbandits@gmail.com.

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Dollar Bin Bandits is the official podcast of TwoMorrows Publishing. Check out their fine publications at twomorrows.com.

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Thank you to Sam Fonseca for our theme music, Sean McMillan for our graphics, and Pat McGrath for our logo.

Today we've got writer and publisher Dennis Mallonee, who moved from CalTech economics to #comics by pitching story ideas to Bill Mantlo and helping develop the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe with Rick Hoberg. Dennis recounts launching The Champions at a 1985 SDCC panel, first publishing through Eclipse, and then forming his own imprint that evolved into Heroic Publishing. We dig into the complicated licensing history with Hero Games, the disputes over tone and pinup art that led to revoked rights and renamed characters (Marksman → Huntsman, Foxbat → Flying Fox), and the 1988 ruling confirming Marvel had abandoned the Champions trademark. Dennis also touches on publishing 100+ comics, his 2009–2012 Flare newspaper strip, and building a unique #superhero universe.

You can follow Dennis and his Heroic exploits on his site, heroicmultiverse.com, on X @heroicpublish, and on his own YouTube interview show, The Heroic Voice.

Support the show

___________________

Check out video versions of this and other episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/dollarbinbandits!

If you like this podcast, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you found this episode. And if you really like this podcast, become a member of the Dollar Bin Boosters on Patreon: patreon.com/DollarBinBoosters.

You can follow us @dollarbinbandits on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky, or @DBBandits on X. You can email us at dollarbinbandits@gmail.com.

___________________

Dollar Bin Bandits is the official podcast of TwoMorrows Publishing. Check out their fine publications at twomorrows.com.

___________________

Thank you to Sam Fonseca for our theme music, Sean McMillan for our graphics, and Pat McGrath for our logo.

Today we sit down with legendary cartoonist Gilbert Hernandez, who was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2017, to discuss his newest Love and Rockets book, Lovers and Haters. First, we explore the early years of L&R, and how Gilbert and his brothers, Jaime and Mario, created a world unlike any other in comics. We talk about Gilbert's Palomar saga as well as his standalone graphic novels that adapt fictional B-movies in this world. Gilbert then shares why and how he put together Lovers and Haters, a "sleazy" collection of Palomar stories, focusing on 50-year-old cult movie actress Fritz as she battles alcoholism, a controlling lover, a jealous rival, Fritz imitators, a sex cult, and mad scientists.

You can find Lovers and Haters, as well as many other Love and Rockets collections and more, at Fantagraphics: fantagraphics.com.

Support the show

___________________

Check out video versions of this and other episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/dollarbinbandits!

If you like this podcast, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you found this episode. And if you really like this podcast, become a member of the Dollar Bin Boosters on Patreon: patreon.com/DollarBinBoosters.

You can follow us @dollarbinbandits on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky, or @DBBandits on X. You can email us at dollarbinbandits@gmail.com.

___________________

Dollar Bin Bandits is the official podcast of TwoMorrows Publishing. Check out their fine publications at twomorrows.com.

___________________

Thank you to Sam Fonseca for our theme music, Sean McMillan for our graphics, and Pat McGrath for our logo.