Better Than Fiction

Episode #584! Heroes Con 2026! After much contemplation, I decided to skip NYCC to attended Heroes Con this year. This episode, I tell Scott about some of my con experiences while in Charlotte. Creators I talked to, panels I attended and some of my purchases are discussed. Check it out!     

Episode #583! The Invaders, FCBD and Donald Duck Vol. 8 Trail of the Unicorn! This week we are back talking about FCBD '26. After that, Scott talks about his newest omnibus purchase...The Invaders! DL brings a Kansas City find to the table. Agony and Ecstasy from Pure Imagination collects over two hundred illustrations of bible stories from Basil Wolverton. Also this episode another Donald Duck bo...

Episode #582! X-Men Mutant Empire, Smudge Manga and Usagi Yojimbo! This week we start off with some pre-FCBD talk. Scott has the Christopher Golden written novel X-Men Mutant Empire. DL brings the latest Smudge manga tankobon to the podcast. Hide and Seek from mangaka Naono Yoshiko contains many stories full of regret. Also this episode DL has the next volume of Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai. 10,000...

Episode #581! Uri Tupka and the Gods, Neuromancer and Donald Duck! This week Scott talks about the William Gibson award-winning novel, Neuromancer. DL brings the newest book written and drawn by Mike Mignola to the table. Uri Tupka and the Gods (vol. 1) is another tale from Mignola's Lands Unknown.  Also this episode DL has Carl Barks library vol. 7 Lost in the Andes from Fantagraphics. Check it o...

Episode #580! Game of Thrones Exhibit, Bizarro Year None and Metal Hurlant! This week DL talks about seeing the Game of Thrones traveling exhibit while in Arlington, TX. Bizarro Year None #1 is out. Scott talks about this first issue by Kevin Smith and Nick Pitarra. Scott also has Limelight Rush in the 80's by Martin Popoff. DL brings Carl Barks' Donald Duck vol. 6 Old Castle's Secret and the four...

Episode #579! Anthem: Rush in the '70's, Junji Ito Exhibition book and Shogun! This week Scott brings Martin Popoff's book Anthem: Rush in the '70's to the podcast. Scott also talks about Force Works featuring the art of Thomas Tenney. After a year and a half, DL finally acquired the Junji Ito Exhibition - Enchanted Illustrations art book. It makes it's way to the table this episode. Scott also ta...

Episode #578! Batman, Ra's al Ghul, The Shadow and The Avengers! Scott has been telling us about the Sanctum Books reprints of The Shadow. This week he has news about his quest to obtain all the volumes. Batman: Tales of the Demon features the earliest meetings of Batman and Ra's al Ghul. Batman: The Demon Trilogy combines three early Batman graphic novels into one volume. DL brings both to this e...

Episode #577! DC Finest Suicide Squad, Library Book Bingo and Dark! This week DL brings the first collected volume of the Suicide Squad under the DC Finest imprint to the table. Trial By Fire collects the earliest issues and crossovers of the 80's version of the Suicide Squad. Meanwhile, Scott tells us about his progress on his Metropolitan Library Winter Reading Book Bingo card. We also talk abou...

Episode #576! Our Best of 2025! Better late than never. Our top 5 favorite things from 2025. This episode your hosts Scott Sackett and DLNelson count down their favorite pop culture items (mostly books) they enjoyed last year. Five items. Honorable mentions. Check it out!  

Episode #575! From Shadow To Light, Hero At Large and Brain Damage! Welcome back! This episode Scott brings a couple of comic book creator biographies to the table. N.C. Christopher Couch's Jerry Robinson Ambassador of Comics focuses on the art and career of The Joker and Robin co-creator. From Shadow To Light The Life and Art of Mort Meskin by Steven Brower takes a look at one of the masters from...

Episode #574! Cryptology and The Fatal Bullet! This week we look at Cryptology magazine #1. This issue features articles on Bernie Wrightson, The Munsters, The Addams Family, pre-code horror comics and has classic horror movie reviews. Also this week we have Rick Geary's The Fatal Bullet which tells the story of the assassination of President James A. Garfield. And we talk about the first two seas...

Episode #573! Do A Powerbomb, Taschen Fantastic Four and Tulsa! This week Scott talks about the gigantic Taschen Fantastic Four book. At over 12 lbs and 700 pages, this monster of a book collects the first 19 issues and annual #1. DL brings Daniel Warren Johnson's Do A Powerbomb to the table. And we talk about another road trip to check out the comic shops in Tulsa. Give it a listen!

Episode #572! The Fantastic Art of Roy G. Krenkel and The Giant! This week we look at three book on two creators. First up Scott has The Giant Orson Wells, The Artist & The Shadow. Written and draw by Youssef Daoudi, The Giant gives readers a nice looking fictionalized biography of Orson Wells. After that, DL brings two incredible art  books to the podcast. First is Craig Yoe's The Fantastic A...

Episode #571! The Shadow and The Wicker Man! This week Scott has The Shadow vol. 5 which features the stories The Black Falcon and The Salamanders. DL has vol.2 Frozen Gold from The Complete Carl Barks Donald Duck Library. Also on this episode Scott has the books Will Eisner's Shop Talk and The Art of The Real Tom Sawyer. DL brings Death In Trieste the newest book from Norwegian cartoonist Jason a...

Episode #570! THB, Daredevil and Drome! This week DL brings two NYCC purchases to the podcast. Finally after 10 years or more in the making, Total THB vol.1 is out. Originally produced as single issues, large format comics and con exclusives, those long out of print issues are finally collected into a standard size trade paperback, available now. Drome, by Jesse Lonergan, is visual treat that show...

Episode #569! NYCC '25, The Frazetta Art Museum and New York! This week we are back talking about our trips to the east coast. While in Pennsylvania, DL (and wife) had the absolute pleasure of a guided tour of the Frazetta Art Museum from grandson Frankie Frazetta. After that he talks about his NYCC '25 experiences. Scott also had a trip to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and NYC the same week. He gives...

Episode #568! Works by Carl Barks, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko! This episode we look at a number of books featuring the work of comic's top creators. Scott starts by bringing two very nice Vanguard sketchbooks to the table featuring John Romita and John Buscema.  DL has Ditko's Shorts from Craig Yoe. We also look at Fantagraphics' Complete Walt Disney's Donald Duck vol. #1, Donald Duck Finds Pirate...

The Horror! The Horror!, Disneyland and Elric! The week Scott talks about his recent trip to Disneyland while visiting southern California. He also talks about scoring a hard to find book while on his trip. DL looks at the wonderfully gruesome book The Horror! The Horror! In his book Jim Trombetta examines 1950's pre-code horror comics with many examples of comics and covers. Check it out!

Episode #566! The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics, The Night Stalker and a Rebellion 2000AD Masterpiece Edition! This week we have four books to discuss. First up is the Mighty Marvel Calendar Book which reprints the seven Marvel calendars from the 70's and 80's. Scott has Tom Alvarez' How To Create Action, Fantasy and Adventure Comics. DL sheds some light on 50's horror artist Howard Nostrand...

Episode #565! Hercules Unchained, Dungeons & Dragons World & Realms and Cryptology! This week we talks Dungeons & Dragons with a book and a documentary. First, from Ten Speed Press is their next hardcover Worlds & Realms covering Greyhawk and more. Scott has the documentary Eye Of The Beholder The Art Of Dungeons & Dragons. Scott also has two Hercules movies and a movie starrin...

Episode #564! The Greasy Strangler and The Green Slime! This week we talk about several movies we've watched recently. Scott talks about The Gamma One Sextet: The Green Slime and The Mask of Fu Manchu from the Hollywood Legends Of Horror collection. Meanwhile DL has some Good, Bad and Ugly picks featuring Ballerina, On The Line and The Greasy Strangler. Check it out!  

Episode #563! Jack Kirby bios, Cryptology and Kevin Smith in OKC! This week Scott tells us about the 1981 film Scanners. Kevin Smith was recently in OKC (without Jason Mewes). DL talks a little about the experience and what happened to Mewes. We also spotlight Cryptology issue #3 and a couple of Jack Kirby biographies. Check it out!   

Episode #562! The Illustrated History of Warren Magazines and Monster Zoo! This week Scott brings three works from Earthworm Jim creator Doug Tennapel to the table. While he touches on Creature Tech and Ratfist his focus is on his new acquisition Monster Zoo. Next up is The Book Palace's Illustrators Special #14. Loaded with photos, this square-bound 152 page magazine covers the rise and fall of t...

Episode #561! Foul Play!, Anatomy Drawing Class and Castle of Frankenstein! This week Scott has the very impressive book Anatomy Drawing Class by Rockhe Kim. He also talks about his recent Godzilla movie marathon (of sorts). And this week DL brings the book Foul Play! and the magazine Castle of Frankenstein #41 to the table to talk about the history of EC Comics. And The Art of John Byrne makes an...

Episode #560! All video discussion! After a long hiatus, we are back with an all video discussion. Scott talks about two documentaries he has recently watched. Pee-Wee As Himself is the new doc about Paul Reubens' life as Pee-Wee Herman. From Darkness to Light explores the unreleased Jerry Lewis Nazi concentration camp film The Day The Clown Cried. Also this episode DL talks Star Wars with Andor/R...