Classic Comics Cavalcade

In part three of this epic interview with Jim Shooter, the legendary writer and editor discusses Shooter's favorite work of his own, the reasons VALIANT had a consistent universe which changed in real time, the death of the New Universe, behind-the-scenes stories of Marvel's 1980s financial problems, the birth of VALIANT Comics, Shooter's failed bid for Marvel Comics in 1989 and much more. Come ba...

In part two of this epic interview with Jim Shooter, the legendary writer and editor discusses how he received the editor-in-chief job at Marvel, the 1970s Comics Guild strike against Marvel, the time Stan Lee thought Shooter was an idiot, Marvel's work-for-hire contract, the secret origin of the "Secret Wars" series, the reasons behind "Crisis on Infinite Earths", the idea behind the VALIANT "Uni...

Jim Shooter is one of the most fascinating and controversial figures in comics history. Loved by some, hated by others, and misunderstood by many, Shooter stands alone as one of the most complex figures ever to work in comics. Several years ago, in preparation for Jim Shooter: Conversations , Eric Hoffman, Dominick Grace and Jason Sacks had the chance to interview Shooter for several hours. We wil...

For many years Harvey Comics were perhaps the premier publisher of kids' comics in America, with characters like Casper the Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich providing wholesome entertainment for elementary school kids. But since Havey went under in the mid-1990s, this "little company that could" has largely passed out of the imaginations of readers and fans. I was joined by Jonny Harvey, director of...

In part three of our three-part celebration of the great comics historian Bill Schelly, Bill's good friend Jeff Gelb. We talk about the "golden age of fanzines" in the 1960s, Bill's rediscovery of comics fandom in the 1990s, what made Bill a special historian and all that good stuff about history. What makes this episode special, though, is that it's a portrait of the deep bond between these two f...

In part two of our three-part celebration of the great comics historian Bill Schelly, Bill's good friend, fellow historian Frank Young joins Jason to reminisce about Bill, sharing stories about Bill's commitment to greatness, his love for film, and the unique challenges of having a friend who wrote a book about which you are an expert. This was another wonderful episode of the show. You can hear F...

In part one of our three-part celebration of the great comics historian Bill Schelly, Bill's close friends Gary Groth of Fantagraphics Books and John Lustig of Last Kiss join Jason to reminisce about Bill, sharing stories about Bill's interesting life and happy late career. We discuss Bill's outstanding writing, his strong motivations to do his work, his unique life and approach to the world, and...

Editor and writer Gideon Marcus joins Jason to talk about two fascinating science fiction projects: Rediscovery , his new collection of science fiction by women, and Galactic Journey , a website which explores the world of pop culture from 55 years ago. Jason is an excited contributor to Galactic Journey and reader of Rediscovery , and enjoys talking about these passion projects with him. It's a f...

Welcome to the first episode of the Classic Comics Cavalcade Book Club, as Keith Silva and Daniel Elkin join Jason for an in-depth discussion of a fascinating graphic novel sure to become a classic, Upgrade Soul by Ezra Clayton Daniels. It's fair to say that Daniel, Keith and Jason found the book to be fascinating, and they spend an interesting hour discussing it before they move to the exciting a...

Every once in a while you get to meet one of your heroes and they turn out to be even more wonderful than you expected. Lynn Johnston is one of the great newspaper cartoonists of her era. The creator of the classic "For Better or For Worse:", a most delightful and humanistic strip, joined me for a most delightful and humanistic chat which left me smiling for hours after we spoke. I don't want to s...

David Heath Jr. was a legend among the fanzine and small press movement of the 1970s and early 1980s. In his long-running sci-fi fanzine No Sex (as in "All Violence and No Sex"), Dave published stories, comics and art by some of the greatest young talents of the time, including a very young Daniel Clowes and Jaime Hernandez. Dave was a fascinating character and a larger than life figure for many o...

One of the highlights for me at this year's Washington State Summer Con was a chance to see Chris Claremont as the subject of a panel and to ask him a question during the panel. Of course, Claremont being the consummate storyteller that he is, he couldn't stop telling interesting stories and sharing speculation and comment about subjects like the X-Men movies, the MCU, the X-Men in comics, his bel...

Terry Moore is one of the greatest indie cartoonists around. His work on series such as Strangers in Paradise, Echo, Rachel Rising and Motor Girl is consistently entertaining: smart, powerful and incisive. My interview with him fit all those adjectives, along with a healthy dose of interesting reflection. Moore was an interesting and honest interviewee, and I think that makes this half-hour interv...

Several years ago I had the opportunity to talk with Jerry Robinson, legendary creator of the Joker as well as many other iconic comics and comic characters. Though he was in his eighties, Robinson was sharp and spellbinding, bringing to life stories from comics history that my co-interviewer Alex Rodrik and I thought were fascinating. Listening back on it now I'm struck by the man's incisive memo...

Bob Burden is one of the most idiosyncratic comics creators of all time. Jason interviewed Bob at the 2011 SDCC and had a great time listening to Bob's unique plans for his oddball roster of comics. 

I had the chance to eat breakfast with Jon Bogdanove, one of the legendary artists responsible for the death of Superman, at San Diego Comic Con 2013. Jon and his family and friends shared stories about that legendary tale, as well as discussing the circus roots of many superheroes, his deep love for Jack Kirby, and the pleasures of getting outdoors while living in LA. Though the Kickstarter proje...

Dom Grace and Eric Hoffman, Jason's co-editors of Steve Gerber: Conversation (now available at Amazon and many other outlets) join Jason to talk about the life and fascinating career of one of comics' most original and unique creators.

This week we deliver a bonus episode of Classic Comics Cavalcade. Jim Shooter and Roy Thomas appeared on a panel at the Washington State Summer Con in June 2019, and I recorded the session. The two men share interesting and fun stories from their three decades in comics and present portraits of some of the most interesting men in comics history, including Stan Lee and Mort Weisinger. I thought it...

Jonathan Baylis of the mini-comic So Buttons joins Jason to talk about following the autobiographical traditions of Harvey Pekar, the experiences of working for seminal '90s publishers Valiant and Topps Comics (as well as pre-bankruptcy Marvel), and the joys of collecting original art. Jonathan's stories start with, "My first day at Marvel, Jack Kirby died"... and the stories go from there!

Dan Gearino, author of Comic Shop: the Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture , joins Jason to talk about the evolution of the culture around comics retailers in America. The conversation makes for a surprisingly fun, interesting and entertaining hour.

John Wells and Keith Dallas. who co-produced the Eisner nominated Comic Book Implosion , join Jason to discuss that book, their work on The American Comic Book Chronicles, why Archie Comics needs a good book about their history, and much more. 

This week Jason is joined by Aaron Kashtan, author of the Eisner Award-nominated Between Pen and Pixel: Comics, Materiality, and the Book of the Future . Aaron and Jason have an interesting discussion around comics theory and practice, focusing on work by Chris Ware, Lynda Barry, Alison Bechtel and more, around questions of the power of physical books, the ways to simulate hypertext in print, and...

Carlos Rodela joins Jason again to talk about one of the biggest impacts of the success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: the epic 1986 black and white comics boom and bust.

This week Jason is joined by Comics Journal writer and reviewer Keith Silva to discuss the complicated legacy of Dave Sim, the controversial aueturist creator of Cerebus. Sim is generally acknowledged as one of the finest cartoonists of his era but the subject of his alleged misogyny continues to haunt his legacy. Jason and Keith discuss that legacy and attempt to help find Sim's place in the pant...

Jason's old pal Chris Kiser joins Classic Comics Cavalcade to discuss one of his favorite comic runs, Mark Waid's epochal run on The Flash.