Comics Over Time

Episode 23 - Murdock and Marvel: 1985 This year Marvel is all about the cash grab, and so we get Secret Wars II, a bunch of vaguely copyright-infringing kids books, and some fantastic Bill Sienkiewicz art that makes everything else worth it.  Let’s talk 1985 in comics, Marvel and Daredevil. The Year in Comics  Notable and Newsworthy Comics and Sequential Art: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33...

Episode 22 - Murdock and Marvel: 1984 This week we enter continue with the massive expansion era for Marvel and the Direct Market, with important new creators, new companies, and a whole lot of turtles…its 1984!  The Year in Comics  Notable and Newsworthy Industry Trends Cartoon Art Museum: https://www.cartoonart.org/ Eagle Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel Events & Happenings Box Brown...

Episode 21 - Murdock and Marvel: 1983 This year things really start to accelerate in the comics world, as the direct market kicks into high gear. Marvel leads the way again, with a truly astounding number of new books. Welcome to the crazy years, folks. Its time to talk 1983.  Convergence Con: https://www.convergence-con.org/ The Year in Comics  Notable and Newsworthy Industry Trends Eagle Awards...

Episode 20 - Murdock and Marvel: 1982 Have you noticed that every year for about a decade we have been recounting the impending death of the comic industry, with sales seemly slipping another 10% and publishers falling to the wayside?  I am happy to say that at least for Marvel this is the year that things started to turn around.  Its 1982, and the Direct Market is showing its power as Marvel and...

Episode 19 - Murdock and Marvel: 1981 Welcome, my friends, to the dawning of a new Golden Age for Marvel Comics! Researching this episode was also a trip down memory lane for for Dan, because this was the summer when he first pulled a comic book off the spinner rack.  Let's take a look back at the wonder that was 1981 in comics! Announcement: This Week in Marvel Unlimited – Hiatus while we rethink...

Episode 18 - Murdock and Marvel: 1980 It’s a rough time for America and for comics in general, but big things are happening at Marvel this year, and it’s a great time to be a Daredevil fan.  Let’s talk a bit about the start of a new decade, and a new era for this podcast’s featured hero – welcome to 1980! Announcement: Duane screwed up... That's why the podcast was late last week. Sorry. The Year...

Episode 17 - Murdock and Marvel: 1979 This week the industry tries to pick itself back up after the disastrous DC implosion, the Direct Market starts to take on its modern look, and sales and hope are dwindling with retailers, publishers and creators.  Its time to see if the 70s go out with a whimper or a bang (hint: it’s a whimper).  Lets look at 1979. The Year in Comics  Notable and Newsworthy I...

Episode 16 - Murdock and Marvel: 1978 This week Marvel starts to steady the ship, even as the Distinguished Competition is kneecapped by their corporate overlords.  Prices go up!  Prices go down!  Great new companies sprout up!  Established companies die!  And as usual there are predictions about the impending death of comics.  Welcome to 1978, everyone.  Preshow Listener Mail from Zach Duane at F...

Marvel Unlimited for May 19-25  Dan and Siena return after a month away, and immediately dig into a number of new first issues, including the constantly rebooting Scarlet Witch, a new Spider-Punk mini-series, and Ultimate X-Men. QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE WEEK https://www.marvel.com/comics/calendar/ 20 total new comics 5 are Infinity Comics 15 are regular monthly issues There are 4 1st issues JUMPING O...

Episode 15 - Murdock and Marvel: 1977 Its 1977, and this week we see the dawn of a number of very influential independent titles, and Marvel and DC continue to try to bash each other into the ground.  Comics are gaining in popularity on TV, with THREE superhero shows now on the small screen, and Marvel catches a tiger by the tail as it agrees to do a comic book adaptation of a movie that is about...

Episode 14 - Murdock and Marvel: 1976 Another year of Marvel and DC vying for minds and coins of comic book readers which is consolidating the industry despite some up and coming indie publishers. To that end, Marvel is now publishing over a 3rd of all comics in the U.S. But is it sustainable and at what cost? This week we'll look at all that, the return of Jack Kirby to Marvel and Daredevil's adv...

Episode 13 - Murdock and Marvel: 1975 It's 1975. Things are improving a bit in the world but in comics the race continues to fill up newsstands. With that, we start seeing more company causalities if you weren't D.C. or Marvel. We have 2 comic gods duking it out in the rookie of the year and in the spotlight this week, we see Daredevil take on... A comic book character!?!?! Preshow Recap of Dan an...

Episode 12 - Murdock and Marvel: 1974 Well, here we are in 1974, when Richard Nixon leaves the White House in shame in real life even as he is shown to be leading a secret criminal organization in the Marvel universe.  The economy is a mess, crime is up, and comics are affected in all sorts of ways. Preshow Reminder about Dan and Sienna's C2E2 Panel Saturday, April 27th from 10:30am – 11:30am.  Ro...

Marvel Unlimited for April 7 - 13  Siena was puzzled about the way the Captain America storyline was set up, questioned why Vengeance of the Moon Knight #1 did not have Moon Knight in it, and appears to have reached her saturation point with Marvel Zombies.  On the bright side, Beware of the Planet of the Apes, Kid Venom and the Fantastic Four provided solid wins.   QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE WEEK http...

Episode 11 - Murdock and Marvel: 1973 Its 1973, which was a tumultuous and eventful year for America.  We left Vietnam without winning, VP Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace and the US dollar was devalued, while momentous events such as Roe v Wade, Nixon visiting China and Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs.  By end of year Nixon has resigned and the US has begun to slip into its first recession since...

Marvel Unlimited for March 31-April 6, 2024 Welcome back to What’s New in Marvel Unlimited!  This is Dan, and each week my daughter Siena and I are looking at which Marvel comics are releasing digitally through the Marvel Unlimited app.   QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE WEEK https://www.marvel.com/comics/calendar/ 21 total new comics 5 are Infinity Comics 15 are regular monthly issues There are 2 1st issues...

Episode 10 - Murdock and Marvel: 1972 This week it seems everything is coming up Marvel, as Stan Lee and his expanding young team seem to be flooding the market, but a lot of other interesting things happened around the comic world.  Preshow Marvel Snap new season: Thunderbolts https://www.marvelsnap.com/newsdetail?id=7296765558303775494 The Year in Comics  Superheroes take a bit of a back stage.....

Episode 8 - Murdock and Marvel: 1971 We have a fun show this week, with Marvel being a critical part of a couple big changes that happen in 1971.  We also see a new character swinging into Daredevil this year, who is going be a big part of Matt Murdock’s life for the next few years!  Preshow Note from Amanda The Year in Comics  1971 was a year of transition and upheaval for the comics industry, as...

Episode 8 - Murdock and Marvel: 1970 We have made it to the second decade of the Marvel era!  The 1970s saw significant changes and challenges for comics, and we start to see them immediately as we take a look at the very first year of this eventful decade! Preshow Steve Ditko is now a “Disney Legend.” https://d23.com/disney-legends-2024/   Dan and Siena C2E2 panel is on Saturday, April 27th from...

Episode 7 - Murdock and Marvel: 1969 Its 1969, and comics are returning to normal after the disruptions of the Marvel Age and Batmania.  Small publishers continue to fail, even as Marvel and DC expand their offerings, and small independent publishers begin to test the waters.  Marvel continues its expansion, but does so in some new directions, and Daredevil decides to stop keeping so many secrets....

Marvel Unlimited for March 3rd - 9th, 2024 Welcome back to What’s New in Marvel Unlimited!  This is Dan, and each week my daughter Siena and I are looking at which Marvel comics are releasing digitally through the Marvel Unlimited app.  For this week we are focusing on the week of March 3-9 QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE WEEK https://www.marvel.com/comics/calendar/ 16 total new items 5 are Infinity Comics...

Episode 6 - Murdock and Marvel: 1968 Marvel had been a dominant force in the comics world through most of the early and mid 1960s, which is all the more amazing when you realize that they made all the noise they did while limited to publishing only 8 -14 comics a month.  The Marvel contract with their distributor (essentially DC Comics) was up for re-negotiation in 1968, and Martin Goodman used th...

Marvel Unlimited for February 25th-March 2nd, 2024 Welcome back to What’s New in Marvel Unlimited!  This is Dan, and each week my daughter Siena and I are looking at which Marvel comics are releasing digitally through the Marvel Unlimited app.  For this week we are focusing on the week February 25th-Mar 02nd, 2024 QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE WEEK https://www.marvel.com/comics/calendar/ 34 total new item...

Episode 5 - Murdock and Marvel: 1967 This year we begin to see the backlash against superheroes as the Batman TV show enters its 3rd and final season, and many comic companies began to feel the effects of a contracting market and superhero fatigue.  Preshow Announcement: Murdock and Marvel moves back to Wednesday Starting Next Week Marvel Unlimited Show will be moving to Fridays The Year in Comics...

Marvel Unlimited for February 18th-24th, 2024 Welcome back to What’s New in Marvel Unlimited!  This is Dan, and each week my daughter Siena and I are looking at which Marvel comics are releasing digitally through the Marvel Unlimited app.  For this week we are focusing on the week February 18th-24th, 2024 QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE WEEK https://www.marvel.com/comics/calendar/ 30 total new items 5 are I...