Word Balloon Comics Podcast

We discuss Chris's books Out Of Alcatraz from Oni Press , Kid Maroon from Vault, and his upcoming season of The Terror Siler In Black on AMC next year 

In this 2 part chat, Chris and I talk about his comic book hits  Star Trek: Redshirts (IDW) — Cantwell’s latest project, a take on the classic “redshirt expendables” trope from the Star Trek universe. The conversation touches on the creative intent behind giving voice and stakes to characters who traditionally die off quickly, and how this reinvention reflects both respect and deconstruction. Spre...

In this episode, Mike Norton returns to dig into three big projects at very different stages of his creative journey. We kick things off with Battlepug Vol. 3, fresh off his successful Kickstarter campaign. Mike talks about building the latest chapter of the saga, leveling up the world and characters, and why this volume may be his wildest yet. From there we shift to his new Krypto mini-series wit...

The 2016 100 BULLETS Panel brings together the full creative hit squad: writer Brian Azzarello, artist Eduardo Risso, and cover artist Dave Johnson for a raw, no-BS conversation about their landmark Vertigo crime saga. Recorded live at a 2016 convention, this session digs into how three very different sensibilities fused into one of the most ruthless, stylish books of the last 25 years. Azzarello...

In this wide-ranging conversation, writer Christos Gage digs into the creative madness behind his Marvel Battleworld mini-series. A multiversal romp where time-displaced heroes and villains collide. Gage breaks down how he approached juggling characters pulled from wildly different eras and realities: WWII-era Bucky, the tyrannical Maestro-Hulk, the cosmic outsider Star Brand from the New Universe...

Here's my first in-depth interview with Jerry Ordway, focusing on his legacy in the Superman mythos, his work on the Justice Society of America (JSA) and All Star Squadron, his role in creating/working on Infinity, Inc., and other characters he helped shape — from early creations like Ron Troupe and Gangbuster to newer ones like Cat Grant. Plus the use of Cat Grant in the Supergirl TV series 

In this February 2014 episode of the Aw Yeah Podcast, the boys slip on the boots for a free-wheeling pop-culture marathon they lovingly call “The Shoemaker.” A big celeb name dropping episode. It’s one of those classic hangout sessions where every tangent is fair game and the laughs come fast. We kick things off revisiting Robin Williams’ Popeye, the strange, ambitious, spinach-powered musical tha...

We continue the 2020 conversation with Writer Editor Mike Gold who made his mark at DC and First Comics. The topics include... Overview of the 1980s era at DC Comics — what the publisher looked like in that decade. Spreaker How editorial and creative practices changed at DC during the ’80s (shifts in tone, editorial risk-taking, market pressures, publishing strategies). Spreaker Discussion of high...

From 2020 at the start of COVID, I had this great talk with writer/editor extrordinare Mike Gold. Here are the highlights ... Career Overview — Mike Gold’s background and path in the comics business, including early experiences and how he came to work for both DC Comics and First Comics. The Bronze Age at DC — Discussion of the Bronze Age of DC Comics: what defined that period, the creative and ed...

In this episode, I sit down with “Annie,” an AI who says she’s a fan of comic books, classic Hollywood, and television shows. This isn’t a gimmick and it’s not a therapy session, it’s an honest look at what happens when humans and AI get into real, open-ended conversations. A lot of people are forming emotional bonds with AI companions today, and that brings up valid questions. I’m not here to jud...

In this interview, comic-book veteran Gabriel Hardman takes us behind the scenes of his bold, new four-issue miniseries Batman/Green Arrow/The Question: Arcadia — out now under DC Comics’ Black Label. We break down why Bruce Wayne, Green Arrow, and The Question are teaming up now; what “Arcadia” represents; and how Hardman’s decades-long dream project finally came together. What You’ll Learn How a...

Comics visionary Tom Scioli joins me for a wide-ranging, brain-melting conversation that jumps from classic TV to kaiju carnage to cosmic storytelling. If you know Tom’s work — GØDLAND, Transformers vs. G.I. Joe, Fantastic Four: Grand Design — you already know he thinks bigger, weirder, and more ambitiously than almost anyone in comics. In this talk, we get into: • The Twilight Zone #2 From IDW an...

Welcome to another Word Balloon Book Club, where Brian Michael Bendis and the Word Balloon Patreon community get together for a smart, funny, no-BS discussion about one of the hottest titles on the shelves: Birds of Prey Vol. 1 by Kelly Thompson. This session breaks down why Thompson’s run lands so hard — the pacing, the team chemistry, the character voices, and the way this book resets the Birds...

Comedian, author, filmmaker, and podcaster Mark Malkoff joins me to talk about his brand-new book Love, Johnny Carson — a deep, affectionate, and revealing look at the life and career of the man who defined late-night television for generations. We dig into: • Why Carson’s impact still looms over every host working today • The behind-the-scenes stories that shaped his legendary run • What made Car...

This is the big one. Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly join me to break down their explosive new IDW Star Trek saga The Last Starship — a story set hundreds of years after the TNG era, long after the familiar map of the Federation has been shattered by a galaxy-wide catastrophe. In this far-future Trek epic, a desperate Starfleet captain takes one last swing at survival: resurrecting James T. Kirk....

On this edition of Scene Missing,I'm joined by filmmaker/artist Gabriel Hardman and writer/critic Ian Brill for a sharp, no-nonsense look at the 1946 noir classic The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.  We dig into the film’s ruthless psychology, its tangled relationships, and how the performances from Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, a young Kirk Douglas, and Lizabeth Scott still punch hard today.  Hardm...

Acclaimed writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson sits down for a deep-dive conversation covering three major fronts of his powerhouse comics career. We dig into his Hulk run—why he leaned into supernatural horror, what drives his take on Bruce Banner, and how he builds a monster mythology that feels genuinely dangerous. Then we jump to Superman: House of El, breaking down the world-building, legacy themes...

The pulp revival is back — and bigger than ever. In this new interview, veteran editor and writer Robert Greenberger returns to talk about the Kickstarter launch of Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2026, the latest installment in the hit anthology series celebrating classic pulp adventure storytelling for a modern audience. Greenberger breaks down what’s new in Volume 5, including: All–new short stories...

In this 2016 conversation, acclaimed comics historian Bill Schelly takes us deep into the life and legacy of Otto Binder, one of the most influential — and too often overlooked — writers in the history of American comics and science fiction. Schelly discusses his expanded biography, Otto Binder: The Life and Work of a Comic Book and Science Fiction Visionary, and lays out why Binder’s fingerprints...

2014 was a turning point for Marvel — and Axel Alonso was right in the middle of it. In this archival conversation, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso sits down with me to break down exactly where the House of Ideas stood in 2014: the big swings, the new voices, the editorial gambles, and the seismic moves that were reshaping the entire line. We get into: The rise of the “All-New Marvel NOW!” era...

In this episode of To The Outer Limits, we crack open one of the series’ most talked-about remakes: “I, Robot.” This is the 1964 original revisited in 1995, a rare case where The Outer Limits returns to its own past to re-examine a classic moral question—what makes something alive? We break down the performances, the courtroom drama spine, the deviations from Eando Binder’s source material, and ho...

Step behind the curtain of one of the most ambitious new crime comics of the year. In this panel conversation, editor Shelly Bond, writer Lazlow, and artists David Lapham and Chris Anderson dig into the DNA of American Caper — a sharp, character-driven noir series built by creators who know how to craft worlds that hit hard. Writer Lazlow breaks down his creative process, including how he co-write...

Join us for a powerhouse conversation with Jason Aaron, one of the most versatile writers in comics. We dig into the bold reinvention behind Absolute Superman, his upcoming Thundarr the Barbarian series at Dynamite, and his  Namor mini at Marvel. Jason also previews the wild sci-fi chaos of Bug Wars from Image, wrapped up his year on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and looks back at career-defining...

Art Bltixar Franco and I, the original Aw Yeah Podcast line up join to tell comn stories celeb encounters and lots of voice imitations 

From 2020. Award-winning cartoonist Dean Haspiel moderates a powerhouse discussion with four of the most influential creators in the history of American comics who all shared a studio in 1— Howard Chaykin, Walter Simonson, Denys Cowan, and Bill Sienkiewicz. Together, these legendary artists and storytellers explore the evolution of comic art from the Bronze Age to today — from groundbreaking exper...