Brian Doob, the host of the British Invaders and Hooked on Bond podcasts, returns to the book club with an interesting choice from a 1960s comic called Diana. Get your copy from the Big Finish site and listen to the trailers for the audio adaptations of these stories.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Jordan Thomas joins the book club to discuss the fifth volume of Slaine's adventures and to talk about Pat Mills' writing and Glenn Fabry's artwork in some detail. Check out Jordan's own comics work including Frank at home on the Farm and Quarantine on his Kickstarter page and follow him on Twitter
You can buy Slaine: Demon Killer from the 2000AD store.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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We drift off-piste to cover some American comics as Comicbook Sam joins me to discuss possibly the greatest Daredevil story of them all. Get your copy from Bookshop.org And check out Sam's YouTube channel and his interview with John Wagner.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Get your copy of Insurrection from the 2000AD store and check out Colin's Facebook art page.
Get your copy from the 2000AD store.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Check our Barry's author webpage and get on board with his new book series.
And you can get your copy of the Judge Dredd Essential from the 2000AD store.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Get your copy from the 2000AD store, and check out Robert's published paper on Ann Nocenti's Daredevil run.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Head to the Comisy store to buy your copy and other publications from Hibernia, but be quick as they sell out fast. And keep up with their latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Rob Foster joins me from Canada to discuss the return of Johnny Alpha in The Project and Dogs of War. We discuss great work by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, as well as chatting about resurrecting comic book characters, and who is the best Strontium Dog sidekick.
Check out Rob's collection on ComicArtFans, and get your copies of these two trades from the 2000AD store.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Tony Esmond is back in the book club with the 2000AD folk horror of Thistlebone. Check out his work at Never Iron Anything, and on the Tribute Press site, and the Awesome Comics Podcast.
Get your copy of T.C.Eglinton and Simon Davis' lovely hardback book from the 2000AD store.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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And please contact the Samaritans if you need someone to talk to.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Go to the Lawless covention website to see Peter and Phillip Vaughan's interview with Pat Mills and Ian Kennedy.
And head to the 2000AD store for your copy of the book.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Distinguished man of letters Jim Campbell joins me to discuss a classic story from the first year of Strontium Dog. He also takes me through some of the basics of comic book lettering from the 1970s to today, including how he did the re-lettering on the first volume of the Rebellion Charley's War collections.
You can donate to the Justgiving page for Dave Evans here, or check out the forum tribute thread here.
Check out Jim's lettering website, or the Nate Piekos resources on Blambot. And you can read Journey into Hell in the first Agency Files collection.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Check out Jules' writing about horror movies at the Big Comic Page and on the We Belong Dead site. And get your copy of Slaine the King from the 2000AD store.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here
Or
Download here
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You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Paul Trimble is my guest in the book club to discuss one of the most brutal and controversial war comics from the 1970s. A story that reflects the harsh and uncompromising circumstances of the Burmese campaign, Content note: this John Wagner and Mike Western comic is not for the faint-hearted.
This episode is dedicated to the memory of British comics collector, historian, and all round good guy, Colin Noble.
The Darkie's Mob Titan collection is still available from Bookshop.org Keep an eye on Paul's Enniskillen comic fest facebook page for details of when the convention will return. And join the Battle Fans facebook page for more information about this fascinating British comic.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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Get your copy of the complete Skizz from the 2000AD store.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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This is a bonus episode with an interview I did with Mark McDermott who is lucky enough to own the original Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott artwork for the first page of Fantastic Four #51 from 1966. I recently appeared on Tony Esmond's Never Iron Anything podcast to talk about this issue. You can also find Tony on the Awesome Comics Podcast.
Check out Mark's ComicArtFans gallery, and his own website for more wonderful art.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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I persuaded Tony Foster to come back to the book club and chat about Moore, Totleben, Bissette, and Wood's great run on Swamp Thing from the 1980s.
The History of Comics Kickstarter is still live or you can join the Comic Scene comic club to get the History of Comics magazines. And join the Comic Scene community on Facebook.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.
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I chat with the great 2000AD artist Mike Collins about his career, and about his wonderful graphic novel about Apollo 11. We also talk about his work for American comics and television.
Pick up a copy of Apollo from bookshop.org or from your own independent book shop, and find more of Mike's work at http://www.freakhousegraphics.com/home
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
The music for this episode is Circuit Breaker by Robodub.
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I sat down with Jenny Clarke to revisit The Ballad of Halo Jones again. This time in an exciting new audiobook version from Penguin Random House.
You can get a copy from Penguin, Audible, or the Google Play store.
And subscribe to the Handful of Dust podcast for more episodes coming soon.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here
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Get your copy from Penguin, Audible or Google Play and buy the other 2000AD titles from them as well.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
The music for this episode is by the artist Robodub at the Free Music Archive.
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Damian Harvey joins me to discuss a classic from Dredd's early years. Having survived the Cursed Earth can the Mega-City One lawman overcome Chief Judge Cal and the Kleggs? We discuss John Wagner's gift for comedy, and the great line-up of artists on this story.
Read this epic in Case Files volume 2, or in the Digest edition
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
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Get your copy of Death Wish, look out for the new paperback version of Wrightson's Frankenstein coming soon. And check out the ACP interview with Barrie Tomlinson in episode 147. And please consider Vince's own comics and look for Blak the comic on instagram.
You can find a list of episodes so far and all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on Twitter, and on instagram, or email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
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Check out the I Love Comics event on Facebook and head to JuliaRound.com for details of all of her work including the searchable Misty database. Julia's next online lecture will be on the Romancing the Gothic website on February 21st.
This
interview was conducted by email by the 2000AD writer James Peaty in
December 2020. Thanks to John and James for permission to publish the
interview as a supplement to the discussion James and I had about the
Wagner, Grant & Breyfogle run on Detective Comics on episode 143 of the Mega City Book Club podcast.
You had
co-written/co-created one DC Comic (Outcasts) before this run began. How did
the transition to American comics come about and how easy/difficult was that
change?
In my case it was more of a dabble than a transition. It was just something we felt we had to do. Everyone was working for America, a good run on Marvel or DC comics could turn out quite lucrative, so why not. It wasn’t that hard writing in the American format, what was difficult at first was getting them to take any notice. The Dredd ‘Kenny Who’ story was a commentary on our efforts.
When
and how did the opportunity to write Detective Comics arise?
I guess Denny
O’Neill had seen our work in 2000AD, or Outcasts, and was looking for a new writer
and thought we’d be worth a shot.
How did
you approach writing one of the most recognisable characters in comics?
You’re probably labouring under the misapprehension that I played more of a part in the writing of Detective Comics. In fact I co-wrote five or six of our first efforts and from then on it was all Alan. I don’t thnk our approach was that different to the way we did Dredd.
What
was your connection to the character prior to working on the title?
I knew Batman
but I wasn’t a big fan or even a reader.
Alan was more into American comics, so I relied on him to keep us
straight on continuity and the character.
The
late, great Norm Breyfogle was the artist on most of these stories. He was an
emerging artist at the time, but would go on to become - arguably - the
definitive Batman artist of the late 80s/early 90s. What was he like to work
with Norm?
Alan handled all the communication. I barely knew Norm, but on our one meeting he seemed like a very decent fellow. I loved his art, one of the greats.
Your run mainly focused on new villains rather than the classic Bat-rogues such as The Joker, Two-Face etc. Certainly some of these new characters - specifically Scarface and The Ventriloquist - feel like they could very easily fit into Mega City One. Was it part of the brief to ‘Dredd up’ Batman’s world when you took the job?
Scarface and
the Ventriloquist sprang from a set-up we used briefly in a 2000AD story - just
a couple of throwaway frames that we decided not to pursue because it struck us
as an idea that needed a much broader canvas. So we put it aside for later use.
The very first Detective story we wrote proved to be the perfect place.
This move into US comics came
around 10 years into the life of 2000AD. Did this shift into working for US
publishers on longer form stories influence the solo work you would
subsequently do for both 2000AD and The Megazine in the late 80s/early 90s? I’m
thinking specifically here about stuff like The Dead Man/Necropolis and
America.
No, don’t think so. Good practice though working in a longer format.
Around this time your full time writing partnership with Alan Grant came to an end. Why were you happy to let Alan continue to write Batman solo?
Yes. He had more affinity with the character and
Dredd was mine anyway, so it was a natural division.
Why do you think Alan found
such success writing Batman on his own?
He was very good at it.
When you look back on these stories - and this period of your career - what do you think?
I wish I could be that young again. Seriously, it was interesting but with a few exceptions I’ve always preferred working for British publications.
How
significant was the experience of working on Detective (as well as Outcasts and
The Last American). What did you learn that stayed with you as you moved into
the 1990s?
I worked on quite a few other US stories after those - Boba Fett, Star Wars, The Crow, Punisher, Aliens, Chain Gang War and others. So I suppose I became comfortable working for the US. But like I said, British comics – especially DC Thomson ones of the 60s and 70s – is where my heart lies, as you may be able to tell if you’ve read ‘Rok of the Reds’ or ‘Rok the God’ (copies available from rokofthereds.com!).
Thank you to James and John for this interview.
