Dollar Bin Bandits

Today we've got writer and publisher Dennis Mallonee , who moved from CalTech economics to #comics by pitching story ideas to Bill Mantlo and helping develop the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe with Rick Hoberg. Dennis recounts launching The Champions at a 1985 SDCC panel, first publishing through Eclipse, and then forming his own imprint that evolved into Heroic Publishing . We dig into...

Today we sit down with legendary cartoonist Gilbert Hernandez , who was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2017, to discuss his newest Love and Rockets book, Lovers and Haters . First, we explore the early years of L&R , and how Gilbert and his brothers, Jaime and Mario, created a world unlike any other in comics. We talk about Gilbert's Palomar saga as well as his standalone graphic no...

Today, we welcome veteran animation writer and story editor Stan Berkowitz to discuss his career spanning decades of superhero animation. Stan shares his experiences working on the DC Animated Universe including Superman: The Animated Series , The New Batman Adventures , and Batman Beyond , where he served as series story editor. He also worked on shows like Static Shock , Justice League , and Jus...

We sit down with writer Stephanie Williams as the second issue of her debut creator-owned comic Roots of Madness launches today through Ignition Press . Stephanie discusses the cosmic horror series loosely inspired by Madame C.J. Walker that combines alternate history with the supernatural, illustrated by artist Letizia Cadonici. We also get into her previous projects like Nubia: Queen of the Amaz...

Bandit Mike sits down with friend, ex-boss, and veteran comic book editor Ben Abernathy to explore his vast editorial career. From breaking in at Dark Horse in 1998 through stops at DC and Marvel , his editorial work at Wildstorm and pioneering DC Digital projects before becoming EIC and founder at Madefire in 2012, we get into it all! We discuss his return to DC where he became Group Editor of th...

One of our favorite cartoonists returns, as Jamar Nicholas gets back in the hot seat! He's giving us a preview of the next book in his popular Leon series, which is still in the works and doesn't have a name yet. We get into all the details, exploring Jamar's approaches to character development and creating stories for kids. As always, you can follow him on his site, jamarnicholas.weebly.com , on...

Today is Pop Mhan Day on the Dollar Bin Bandits! Pop, who was born in Thailand, broke into comics under Jim Lee at Wildstorm Productions in San Diego, and then really broke out on SpyBoy with writer Peter David. Since then, his extensive career included stops at Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and other publishers with titles including Batgirl , Robin , Bionicles , and World of Warcraft . Pop shares how h...

Today we welcome legendary comics writer Joe Kelly to explore his remarkable career! We get into the joint Marvel/NYU Stan-Hattan Project that gave him his start, his redefining run on Deadpool , his acclaimed Spider-Man work, and his time on Uncanny X-Men and Action Comics . Joe reflects on co-founding Man of Action Studios and creating the global phenomenon Ben 10 , how he balances solo comics w...

We sit down with veteran comics artist Howard Simpson (who also works under the pen name Poppy ) to explore his diverse career that began after earning his BFA from Tyler School of Arts and working as a commercial artist during the 1980s for major clients including Action News, Bantam Books, Sony, and various Fortune 500 companies. Howard shares his transition from commercial work and fanzine cont...

Acclaimed comics writer Mike Carey joins the show to take us through his remarkable career! While working as a teacher for 15 years, Mike began breaking into comics with heavy metal biographies and 2000 AD stories, before moving into mainstream with a Lucifer miniseries that unexpectedly became a critically lauded 75-issue run! We dive into his Marvel work on a slew of Ultimate titles and a length...

In today's exclusive interview, we sit down with legendary creator Rick Veitch to discuss the groundbreaking NYCC 2025 announcement that has Swamp Thing fans celebrating after more than three decades! Rick shares how it came to be that DC will finally publish Swamp Thing #88 as part of a Swamp Thing 1989 miniseries, completing his epic run that was abruptly halted when DC refused to publish a stor...

Franco 's back on the pod! And he's talking his latest collaboration with Art Baltazar on the hilarious Flash Gordon Adventures! series from Papercutz and Mad Cave Studios. Franco shares his approach to bringing a fun, all-ages take on the classic Flash Gordon property, exploring he and Art balance humor with sci-fi action to make the legendary space hero accessible to young readers. We dive into...

Today we welcome Duncan Rouleau to discuss his remarkable career spanning comics and animation, from discovering comics as a young reader to breaking into the big leagues in the 90s with Venom: The Hunted and working with Larry Hama on various X-books. Duncan shares the origin story of co-founding Man of Action with Steve Seagle, Joe Kelly, and Joe Casey, discussing his unique perspective as the o...

Today we welcome veteran comic book journalist and publicity agent Rik Offenberger to explore his multifaceted career, where he started as a retailer before transitioning to writing for Comics Buyer's Guide in 1992 and pioneering Internet-based comics journalism. Rik discusses his work as interviewer and senior feature editor at Silver Bullet Comic Books (now Comics Bulletin ) and his interviews f...

We set off on a wild journey with returning guests Jimmy Palmiotti and Dan Panosian to discuss their new Marvel Knights: Punisher series set in the world of Joe Quesada's and Christopher Priest's The World to Come . Things start innocently enough, with the duo explaining their collaboration on " the most unforgiving Punisher story ever " and how they're bringing Frank Castle and his world to bruta...

For our final Hollywood Week episode, we welcome iconic character actor and comedian Eddie Deezen for a career retrospective exploring his journey from performing stand-up at The Comedy Store to becoming Hollywood's go-to "nerd" character in beloved films. Eddie shares his origin story growing up in Cumberland, Maryland, moving to Los Angeles after graduating high school in 1975, and his breakout...

In the second part of DBB's Hollywood Week, we welcome writer-producer Marc Guggenheim to discuss his remarkable career spanning comics, film, television, and novels. After an internship at Marvel, Marc worked as a lawyer for a time, before transitioning to TV to become one of the architects of the Arrowverse . Marc reflects on his comics work for Marvel and DC, including The Flash and Amazing Spi...

Today, we sit down with comedy legend Bruce Vilanch for a wide-ranging career retrospective, tracing his path from early days as a writer for the Chicago Tribune and Hollywood Squares to becoming one of the most in-demand joke writers in show business. Vilanch reflects on decades of crafting sharp one-liners for the Oscars, Emmys, and Tonys , his work with icons like Bette Midler and Whoopi Goldbe...

Today, we explore the career of Sweeney Boo , from studying graphic design in southwest France to becoming a sought-after artist and writer in mainstream comics. We discuss her early work as a letterer and colorist for French publishers and her bold decision to move to Canada in 2015 to pursue her comic book dreams. We then get into her deeply personal work on Eat, and Love Yourself , which she la...

Today, we welcome back legendary comic writer J.M. DeMatteis to discuss the impressive array of recent reprints celebrating his diverse career, starting with Moonshadow - The Definitive, Expanded Edition , where he reflects on his introspective collaboration with Jon Muth and how Marvel's Epic line was crucial to realizing this unique narrative. We also explore: His acclaimed run on Doctor Fate ,...

Today, we welcome the always versatile Terry Beatty to explore his diverse, four-decade career spanning comic books, newspaper strips, and cover art. Terry discusses his co-creation of the long-running female detective series Ms. Tree with writer Max Allan Collins, as well as their other collaborations including Mike Mist , Mickey Spillane's Mike Danger , and Johnny Dynamite . We explore his work...

Today we sit down with acclaimed comic writer-artist David Lapham to explore his remarkable journey from penciler at Valiant Comics on titles like Shadowman and Harbinger , to working under Jim Shooter at Defiant Comics where he co-created Warriors of Plasm , before creating his own publishing company, El Capitan Books , to self-publish his signature series Stray Bullets . David reflects on that c...

Today, we welcome legendary artist Joe Jusko and writer-publisher Joe Pruett to discuss their new Kickstarter art book, The Book of Jusko :a career-spanning deluxe hardcover celebrating Jusko's epic 40+ year legacy in fantasy, comics, and pop culture illustration. Joe Jusko reflects on the challenge of curating decades of his own work for this comprehensive retrospective and shares how his artisti...

The newest book by Jim Beard, Jack of All Comics! , takes a deep dive into the career of the legendary Jack Kirby . With essays focusing on his various projects, this book is not only informative but also a great conversation starter between fans! Contributors Ed Catto and Paul Kupperberg join Beard on this episode to discuss the book's development and their feelings about the King of Comics. Buy...

Today, we welcome veteran comic writer and animation producer Steve Seagle to explore his remarkable career. He started at Renegade Press with early creator-owned series like Kafka , The Amazon , and Solstice before temporarily leaving comics and then returning to work on major Marvel titles like Uncanny X-Men and Alpha Flight during a pivotal era in the company's history. Steve discusses his accl...