Word Balloon Comics Podcast

Welcome back to E-Motion Sickness, the Love Boat rewatch podcast where we chart the smooth seas, the rough waters, and the truly baffling creative decisions behind one of television’s most unlikely hits. Today we’re tackling the third Love Boat pilot film,the one where things finally start to feel like The Love Boat we remember. This time around, the puzzle pieces are coming together. Gavin MacLeo...

The IDW Editors of The Twilight Zone Ellen Boener and Nic Nino talk to me about the new series. It's a great collection of one and done stories that honor the tone and spirit of the iconic show. Technical issues really messed up the majority of the talk. Apologies, the arctic weather has been screwing with my streaming ability

All aboard for a brand-new podcast that dives headfirst into smooth seas, wild guest stars, and peak pop-culture chaos. E-Motion Sickness: A Love Boat Re-Watch is hosted by John Siuntres and Franco from the Word Balloon Network, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: a loving, clear-eyed, occasionally seasick revisit of The Love Boat, episode by episode. This isn’t just a recap show. Each episode b...

Today we’re breaking down Starfleet Academy, Episode 3, the episode that really tells us what kind of show this wants to be. The training wheels are off, the characters are starting to lock into focus, and the series finally leans into its core question: what does it actually mean to earn the uniform in a post-Burn, post-myth Federation? Wraslling with the finer points of the frat wars of the epis...

Today on Word Balloon, we’re joined by one of the true originals of independent cinema, Lloyd Kaufman, the co-founder and driving force behind Troma Entertainment, the longest-running independent film studio in the world and the home of cult classics like The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke ’Em High. For more than five decades, Lloyd has made movies completely on his own terms, low budget, high at...

Taking a short break with ny voice and letting my colaborator and friend Eoin, host this edition of Word Balloon with an episode of his podcast Creator In Conversation. On this episode of Creator in Conversation, we’re sitting down with two voices from very different ends of the comics spectrum-Eoin McAuley, the head of Lightning Strike Comics out of Ireland, and a true legend of the medium, Frank...

Jeremy Haun joins Word Balloon for a timely, wide-ranging conversation about creator ownership, publishing independence, and the moment The Beauty is having right now. With The Beauty debuting this week as an FX/Hulu television series produced by Ryan Murphy, Jeremy breaks down how the show translates his original Image Comics series to the screen, what stayed true, what changed, and why those dif...

Van Jensen joins Word Balloon for a wide-ranging conversation about genre, adaptation, and why the best stories don’t play it safe. We dig into God Fall, Van’s epic, faith-shaking fantasy novel series that’s now being developed as a television project by Ron Howard and Imagine. Van breaks down what drew Hollywood to the property, how the story’s mix of theology, rebellion, and cosmic war translate...

Today on the show, I’m joined by one of the most influential visual storytellers in modern comics, Charlie Adlard. Best known as the co-architect of The Walking Dead, Charlie helped redefine what long-form horror could look like on the page, grounding the apocalypse in raw humanity, brutal choices, and unforgettable imagery that fueled a global phenomenon across comics, television, and pop culture...

School is in sessio with new characters and old Disco folk. What did our crew members think?

Brad Meltzer is back talking comics and his amazing novels. You ever hold a book in your hand and feel like the world just flipped on its axis? That’s what happens when Brad drops a thriller. And today? We’ve get the lowdown on The Viper — the latest, pulse-pounding, turn-every-page thriller that just hit bookstores and is already getting the kind of buzz most authors only dream about. It's a bizz...

Today we’re dialing it up with one of the most provocative, inventive voices in comics: Tom King. We’re breaking down all the big news around Tom’s upcoming DC slate — including the Mister Miracle animated project that’s turning heads with its bold reimagining of Scott Free, and the fresh twists he’s bringing to Lanterns that are already reshaping the mythos of the emotional spectrum. Yep, we’re t...

It's a new King's speech with writer Tom King We open with breaking ground on the big screen. Tom King talks about the upcoming Supergirl movie and how his Eisner-winning comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow became the creative DNA for the film.  In Trinity, Tom breaks down the core idea behind the series—using time travel not as a gimmick, but as a way to finally let Wonder Woman’s daughter Lizzie...

This special episode commemorates the 60th anniversary of the groundbreaking ABC television series Batman, the pop-culture lightning bolt that turned comic books into primetime spectacle and permanently rewired how superheroes could be portrayed on screen. I share a couple of professional and personal encounters with "The Bright Knight"  But, at the heart of the episode is a rare 2016 interview wi...

Word Balloon Book Club brings together John Siuntres, Patreon supporters, and members of Brian Michael Bendis’s Discord for an in-depth, no-nonsense discussion of The Hunter, the hard-boiled graphic novel adaptation by Darwyn Cooke. The conversation digs into Cooke’s razor-sharp storytelling, his mastery of mid-century crime aesthetics, and how The Hunter distills the brutal, minimalist spirit of...

set sail with its maiden voyage, and we’re not easing into calm waters. In this debut episode, John Siuntres and Franco dive headfirst into Season One, Episode One of The Love Boat, the episode that launched a TV institution and defined late-’70s comfort viewing for decades to come. Joining them as this week’s guest passenger is Margaret Larkin from The Radio Girl Podcast, bringing sharp insight, ...

Today On Word Balloon Scene Missing takes a deep dive into Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder, the landmark courtroom drama that shattered Hollywood taboos and rewrote how adult themes could be portrayed on screen. Joining me is Chicago radio legend Dan McNeil, known to generations of listeners from WSCR and WMVP, bringing his sharp perspective and cultural memory to the conversation. We break d...

Tim Seeley joins met talk about many current projects includng Deadpool, Godzilla, He-Man, X-Factor Psylocke Ninja, and the status of his SyFy TV Show Revival, 

On this episode, I’m joined by writer Chris Roberson for a wide-ranging conversation about Star Trek past, present, and occasionally frustrating. Chris discusses his Star Trek novella and his ambitious IDW Comics crossover teaming up the original series crew with the Legion of Super-Heroes, blending two classic sci-fi universes with big ideas and deep-cut continuity. From there, the conversation e...

Today a discussion of one of the father's of pulp hero fiction. Edgar Rice Burroughs , honoring the legendary creator of Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, Carson of Venus, and a galaxy of other characters who helped define adventure and imaginative storytelling for generations of readers.. ERB was a pioneer in creator ownership of his heroes, and made a masswive media bltz in film radio and comics.  In...

Welcome back to Word Balloon! Today, we’re diving deep into the Star Trek universe with one of its most accomplished storytellers — David Mack. You know his work from the Deep Space Nine episodes “Starship Down” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon”, two fan-favorite installments that captured the show’s emotional depth and moral complexity. Since then, Mack’s become one of Star Trek’s defining novelists —...

A look back with Art Baltazar Franco Scoot McMahon and Me 

Powers. Black Hammer Minor Threats, and more. Dark Horse Comics editor Daniel Chabon joins the show for an in-depth conversation about shaping creator-driven comics in today’s industry. Daniel breaks down the editor’s role behind the scenes, from developing pitches and guiding visual storytelling to balancing creator vision with long-term publishing strategy. We talk about Dark Horse’s approach to...

In this episode, we sit down with one of the defining writers of modern Marvel to talk about what’s next, what still matters, and what didn’t quite land. Paul discusses his two new Marvel series coming in 2026, including his long-awaited return to The Sentry, launching this March. We dig into why this new Sentry story feels necessary now, how it builds on the psychological core that made the chara...