Classic Comics Cavalcade

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.

Vancouver-based editor, podcast host and fellow comics lover Kurtis Findlay joins Jason this week to discuss Lynn Johnston's brilliant classic comic Strip For Better or For Worse , which Kurtis is assembling and editing for the Library of American Comics. Jason and Kurtis also discuss his work for the LOAC before launching into a discussion of some comics they will have to trade with each other so...

This week Jason speaks with J. Michael Catron, a senior editor at Fantagraphics Books who is responsible for the E.C. Comics and Disney Comics libraries, among others. Jason and Mike talk for around an hour about what made E.C. the greatest company of their time, celebrate some great cartoonists and some rather subpar lettering. They also delve into Mike's history as a publisher at his own Apple C...

This week Jason chats with one of his favorite cartoonists of all time about many topics, including Campbell's remarkable work of comics history "The Goat Getters: Jack Johnson, the Fight of the Century and How a Bunch of Raucous Cartoonists Reinvented Comics." It's a very fun listen. Show notes at   comicscavalcade.tumblr.com

Jon B. Cooke has once again delivered a definitive comics history. "The Book of Weirdo" is an amazingly in-depth history of one of the most important comics anthologies of the 1980s and 1990s, featuring work by such prominent cartoonists as R. Crumb, Peter Bagge, Bill Griffith, Kim Deitch, Ace Backwards and many more, as well as by some of the most obscure and fascinating talented creators of that...

We've all forgotten how strange the phrase "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" sounds. To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Turtles, Carlos Rodela joins Jason to discuss the creation and amazingly rapid rise of the Turtles, to a point where the two creators were earning $50 million a year from the Turtles. Show notes -- including some vintage photos from Eastman -- are posted at   https://comi...

Jason interviews award-winning comics historian Bill Schelly about his new book James Warren: Empire of Monsters. Warren was a fascinating and important character in comics history, and Schelly shares some fascinating stories about this unique and often person. Show notes are at comicscavalcade.tumblr.com

Jason talks with Zack Davisson, translator of classic manga by creators such as Go Nagai, Mizuki Shigeru, Satoshi Kon and Leiji Matsumoto , about the art of comic translation and what happens when you finally achieve everything you've dreamed of.

Jason chats with Kurt Mitchell, author of The American Comic Book Chronicles: the 1940s, about some of the most important and exciting comics from that era. We talk Simon & Kirby, Eisner, Lou Fine and a slew of more obscure creators and comics. Kurt's book is available at tomorrows.com or amazon.com , or through Diamond at your local comic shop. Show notes, including pages from some of the com...