Dollar Bin Bandits

Creativity and business savvy are what made Greg Goldstein so successful in the comics industry. From helping Topps Comics get off the ground to his head honcho role at IDW Publishing, he’s got the knack and know-how to make it big in the world of comic books. He also played crucial roles in the growth of Activision and Upper Deck. You can follow Greg at his blog here: greggoldsteincomicartgallery...

P. Craig Russell deserves all the awards. Even with a more than a handful of Harveys, Eisners, and Inkpots to his name, he probably could be nominated every year and no one would blink an eye. From his very first Amazing Adventures run to the Killraven graphic novel; from inking Batman over Michael Golden and Jim Starlin pencils to the sword and sorcery Elric stories; from his acclaimed Night Musi...

Cartoonist Chris Giarrusso needs no introduction... but we'll give him one anyway! Rising in the ranks from lowly intern to production support in Marvel's famed bullpen, Chris' life changed when his strip Mini Marvels was chosen to grace the Bullpen Bulletins column in nearly every Marvel book. After dozens of strips, as well as one-shot stories and collections, Chris took his talents to Image, wh...

The Bandits welcome our first actor, Daniel Roebuck, to the pod in this special Just Joe episode! You may know Dan from juicy roles in Matlock , The Late Shift , Lost , The Fugitive , and U.S. Marshals . Most recently, he appeared as the Count (aka Grandpa Munster) in Rob Zombie's The Munsters . Joe digs into it all, including Dan's love of horror and Universal monster movies, his connections to t...

The Dragon Master is back! Fresh off Image's 30th anniversary and the release of Savage Dragon: Ultimate Collection, Volume 1 , Erik Larsen takes stock of his long-running, creator-owned comic Savage Dragon . We get into the origins of Dragon and the original mini-series, the real-time narrative approach, the dedication to hand-lettering, back-up features, and all that went into compiling the Ulti...

Do you love Harvey Comics? Well, Jonathan Sternfeld sure does, and that love has translated into one of the biggest collections of Harvey Comics merchandise in the world! From toys to soap dispensers, The Harvey Mercheum is the end-all for Richie Rich and other Harvey characters merchandise. Check it out here: https://www.harveymercheum.com . __________________________ If you liked this podcast, p...

Do you like DC Comics? How about the 70s and 80s? And what about DC Comics in the 70s and 80s? Well, you're in luck, folks: we have someone who wrote and edited DC Comics during those expansion years as today's guest. That's right, it's Jack C. Harris! Jack was hired at DC as part of its "Junior Woodchuck" program, where he started as an assistant editor. Soon he was writing books too, starting wi...

Dollar Bin Bandits Year 3 kicks off with a bang as the inimitable Bill Sienkiewicz joins us for a spell. If you don't know sin-Kev-itch from his eye-popping covers and commercial art, surely you've consumed some of his sequential work, including New Mutants , Elektra: Assassin , and the Delirium chapter of Sandman: Endless Nights . Working with Kelly Sue DeConnick, Bill will be debuting Parisian W...

The Bandits (all three of them) are joined by a couple special guests to look book at the year that was 2022! Mitch Hallock (Terrificon) and Jean Michel (Megabrain Comics) lend their insights and opinions to a wide-ranging review of the comics, news, movies, and events that moved us this year. But mostly, we just dunk on Black Adam . Happy New Year, Banditos! ______________________________ Check o...

OK, let's get it out of the way early: J.H. Williams III is an amazing artist with an equally amazing name. From his early work on Deathwish , Shade , and Chase , you might get an inkling that there's something special going on. But then, after two Elseworlds projects ( Justice Riders and Son of Superman ), J.H. blew our minds with a 32 issue run on Promethea with Alan Moore. Changing sizes, media...

The top five reasons to buy the DC Book of Lists are pretty easy….it’s awesome! Author Randall Lotowycz poured hours of research into this project, and it shows. From Batman’s vehicles to superhero family lineage, it’s all there. __________________________ If you liked this podcast, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts . And tell your friends! Looking for more ways to express your...

Guess who's back on X-Men? That's right, it's today's guest, Whilce Portacio! The Bishop co-creator is revisiting that time-traveling mutant in a pair of X-Men Legends issues, starting with #5 on January 24, 2023. So yeah, we start with that. But then we rewind, as we do, all the way to the beginning, tracing Whilce's intro to the comic scene as a military brat born in the Philippines. We get into...

Let's not start off with a silly joke about how everything Mike touches turns to Gold. Oops, too late. But Mike Gold has had one of the more interesting careers in comics, starting with a stint as DC's first public relations manager in the early 80s. He's perhaps best known for launching First Comics later that decade, featuring a murderer's row of talent, including Frank Brunner, Mike Grell, Howa...

Mr. Holly Jolly is back as Bill Leff returns to talk about the Toon in With Me Holiday Special on December 5 at 8 PM. The cartoon curator discusses favorite Christmas gifts, toys, comics, movies and a whole lot of craziness. Hold onto your hats folks, this one goes off the rails in a hurry! _____________________ Check out a video version of this episode on our YouTube channel : youtube.com/dollarb...

From Y: The Last Man to the weekly 52 series to Final Crisis , his covers are iconic. But if you're judging JG Jones just by his covers, you're missing a whole other side of his artistic prowess. We're talking of course about the storytelling skills he brings to interior pages, such as on Black Widow (introducing Yelena Belova and helping kick off the Marvel Knights imprint), Marvel Boy (with Gran...

It's here! Ronin Book II , the long awaited sequel to the Frank Miller classic, hits stores today (11/23), and we have our guest to thank for its breathtaking art. It's just the latest homerun from penciller and writer Philip Tan, who has lent his talents to a number of our favorite books over the years. From Batman and Robin , Green Lantern , and Suicide Squad at DC to Uncanny X-Men at Marvel to...

Teamwork makes the dream work. That phrase especially holds true in comics as some of the greatest and craziest team-ups have appeared in a variety of books over the years. Back Issue magazine editor Michael Eury joins the Dollar Bin Bandits to discuss his new book, The Team-Up Companion, which chronicles some of the greatest team-up books ever. A walking comic book encyclopedia, Eury talks about...

Say you're studying filmmaking. And then you bankrupt yourself on one of your student films. Where do you go for a job to make ends meet? Well, if you're D.G. Chichester, the answer is the office of Marvel's EIC, Jim Shooter! From those humble beginnings as the assistant to the assistant of Marvel's head honcho, D.G. went on to serve as editor of the creator-owned imprint Epic Comics. And if that...

Correct Handed Comics is the brainchild of independent creator David Whalen. With titles such as The Offspring, The Loved Ones, Shady Lady and more, his creative ability spans a variety of genres. With insight into the independent comics world, Whalen shares his knowledge with the Dollar Bin Bandits. Check out his creations here: https://www.correcthandedcomics.com/books . _____________________ If...

In movies, there's Star Wars. In TV (but also movies), there's Star Trek. And in comics, there's Star*Reach . That highly influential independent comic book anthology was the brainchild of today's guest, Mike Friedrich. The forerunner of indie comics that proliferated in the 80s, Star*Reach published 18 issues in the mid 70s, and is fondly remembered for its envelope-pushing style. Mike was also a...

Writers and artists: we're always talking about them. But even though they're the primary movers in the creation of a comic book, they're not everything. Particularly overlooked is the design of the books, especially in physical form. Today's guest, Richard Bruning, knows all about design and how much it contributes to the comic book medium. After serving as editor-in-chief and art director for Ca...

Hailing from the Great White North, comic creator Ryan Howatt brings the world the next great indie book, Badger . A mix of humor, action and a little bit of everything else, Badger is gaining a strong following for its creator. Ryan chats with us about the ups and downs of independent comics along with so much more!  Follow Ryan and Badger on Facebook . ______________________ If you liked this po...

There's only one Paul Kupperberg. But there's a big group of creators that came up at DC Comics during the so-called Bronze Age of comics, and lucky enough, Paul's friends with most of them. So he decided to do what friends do and reminisce about the days of yore, bringing the adventures of our four-color heroes to life in the 70s and 80s. And then he did something different. He recorded those con...

From Popeye to YouTubers, Vannotes has written books that younger readers can relate to, and done it with a distinct style. The author has also created superheroes in the Enigma Agents series. The popular YouTube creators The Spy Ninjas inspired their latest project for Scholastic, and the current graphic novel is a huge success! You can follow Vannotes @vannotesbooks on Instagram and Twitter . __...

Tom Mandrake is a magician… of comic book art! From his early days on Grimjack , New Mutants , and Batman to his acclaimed work with John Ostrander on The Spectre and Martian Manhunter series, Mandrake can capture emotion like few others. Now, several years after his Sidekick series with J. Michael Straczynski, he's teamed with writer J.M. DeMatteis for one part of his "DeMultiverse" project on Ki...