Episode 2: Mr Jim Steranko

Eli finally lets Rocko loose on one of his favorite subjects: Jim Steranko. Join our hosts as they chat and explore the work and impact on one of the most influential, oft imitated but never duplicated artists of all time.

Download from iTunes, or one of the below.

Episode 1: Jack ‘King’ Kirby

Eli and Rocko have circled around the topic of King Kirby more than a few times on previous episodes. This time, they zero in directly on the man who more than any other has defined the superhero genre.

What does his work mean to them? Find out in the debut episode of Season 2. We’re going Back To The Comics.

Download from iTunes, or one of the below.

Free Comic Book Day Special Edition!

We’re back! Just in time for Free Comic Book Day, Rocko and Eli attempt to narrow down which books to jostle for from your local comicbook shop on May the 3rd.

There is also a good deal of Star Wars talk in time for May the 4th, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier gets some high-fives.

Download from iTunes, or one of the below.

Season 1: It’s a wrap

When we conceived the idea of the Back To The Comics podcast, we set ourselves up for short-term success by committing to an initial series of six episodes (a proof-of-concept, if you will). And we made it! Season One is in the can, and in your ears.

It was always with the promise of a second season if people dug what we did, so now we’re off planning Season Two. Let us know what you’d like us to riff on, here, on Facebook or Twitter, and spread the word wherever you can (rate us on iTunes and Stitcher Radio please!). 

Here’s how Season One shaped up:

Episode 1: Back To The Comics

The movies are all fine and good, but what about the source material? It’s time to celebrate a unique art form based on its own merits and go Back To The Comics. Rocko and Eli are here to discuss just why and how much they matter. Listen.

Episode 2: Creators Over Characters

Comic books don’t just magically arrive fully formed every Wednesday down at your local shop. Rocko and Eli explain just how much the makers of the thing define the way the thing is made, as they make a case for Creators Over Characters. Listen.

Episode 3: DC Comics

Home of the best-known comic characters of the 20th century, things seem to have gone sideways at DC Comics in the 21st. Rocko and Eli reminisce, and then go in-depth on what’s happening at DC, and just what’s gone wrong for them under editor-in-chief, Dan Didio. Listen.

Episode 4: Marvel Comics

Although it’s become best known as a movie studio, Marvel Entertainment used to be known as Marvel Comics Group. Even though those panelled-paged pamphlets are now just the smallest runts of a litter of cash cows generating huge revenue, all intellectual property goes Back To The Comics. Rocko and Eli look back over the years of the Stan and Jack House Of Ideas all the way to now, and explore how Marvel Comics continue to innovate today thanks to creators like Fraction and Aja. Listen.

Episode 5: Independent Comics

In the shadow of the “Big Two”, a garden grows, and that’s where some very resiliently powerful work resides. Rocko and Eli explore how the superhero genre came to dominate the form, and just what goes on in that legendary “Indie Comics Scene.” Listen.

Episode 6: Comic Conventions

Comic Convention season is in full swing, and all around the world, fans of all media are packing them out. Is it good or bad for the culture of comics? Rocko and Eli have a thing or three to say about it, here on the final show of the first season. Listen.

Download the whole season from iTunes.

Episode 6: Comic Conventions

Comic Convention season is in full swing, and all around the world, fans of all media are packing them out. Is it good or bad for the culture of comics? Rocko and Eli have a thing or three to say about it, here on the final show of the first season.

Download from iTunes, or one of the below.

Welcome To The Con: A Starter Guide

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This article originally appeared in Louisville’s Voice Tribune newspaper.

You might be wondering if you’re ready to make the step into geekdom that is attending a comic convention like Wizard World. Maybe you’re an avid watcher of the superhero movies and TV shows, but new to the geek scene. Maybe you’re an old-school comic collector who, somewhere in that Bermuda Triangle period between middle school and high school, lost interest. Maybe you’re ready to reengage. Maybe you’re like I used to be: a closeted fan.

I was the guy who followed the sagas and storylines of the comic book industry both on the paneled pages and in the industry behind-the-scenes, thrilling at the writing and artwork of my favorite creators, but almost never spoke to another human being about it. For me, attending a con for the first time just a scant few years ago was a declaration of allegiance to a medium and art form that I’ve always loved, to answer in the affirmative a question I’d danced around all my adult life: “Do you like comics?” I would often demure, but from the time I can remember laying eyes on anything, starting with the four color Sunday Funnies, I remember comics. They’ve been a part of my life ever since, and it’s such a joy to find that they’re as much a part of the lives of others as they are my own, something I never knew until I showed my face to my brothers and sisters at a convention (or “con,” for those in the know). I felt sorry that I had missed out for so long by being uptight and “too cool for school,” because the kids at the cons were having a blast all along.

You will see people in amazing homemade costumes acting out fantasies. You will see old friends in their element, catching up. You will see new friends bonding over their common interests. You will see the thrill of the hunt as enthusiasts track down key issues missing from their collection, just to find out exactly how Spider-man survived that fall at the hands of Doctor Octopus way back in that issue from the seventies that they missed. You will see the people who create the comics, smiling and shaking hands with fans for whom they might as well be the most admirable people alive, like movie stars or athletes. In fact, you’ll also see movie stars and athletes, like “Airplane”’s Robert Hayes and WWE Superstar Randy Orton.

Conventions are now all the rage, moving from something that was just a few years ago on the fringe of society to a major cog in the machine that is the entertainment industry. Now it’s nouveau-hip to be a fan, absolutely cutting edge. Just an example: if you were into “The Walking Dead,” the comic from Image Studios, before “The Walking Dead,” the top-rated show on AMC, you were fully engaged and aware of a massive pop cultural force literally years before anyone else. Wherever you are on the spectrum, take pride. Even if your geek obsession isn’t ready for prime time, it might soon be. Come to the place where you will find your brethren and get ready to have a good time with your crowd – you’re so out, you’re in!

Episode 5: Independent Comics

In the shadow of the “Big Two”, a garden grows, and that’s where some very resiliently powerful work resides. Rocko and Eli explore how the superhero genre came to dominate the form, and just what goes on in that legendary “Indie Comics Scene.”

Download from iTunes, or one of the below.

Episode 4: Marvel Comics

Although it’s become best known as a movie studio, Marvel Entertainment used to be known as Marvel Comics Group. Even though those panelled-paged pamphlets are now just the smallest runts of a litter of cash cows generating huge revenue, all intellectual property goes Back To The Comics. Rocko and Eli look back over the years of the Stan and Jack House Of Ideas all the way to now, and explore how Marvel Comics continue to innovate today thanks to creators like Fraction and Aja.

Download from iTunes, or one of the below.

The Mighty Marvel Manner!

Spidey

It’s funny how things that come to you as a child completely randomly can shape your life. I was made a Marvel fan forever as a result of a few seeds planted in my youth by odd Dollar General Store knickknacks like a plastic Hulk riding a motorcycle, another Hulk that did acrobatics at a push button pressure point, a Spider-man with a parachute, a box of Spider-man caps for use in any cap gun, some Fantastic Four party favors.  These ill conceived, non comic canon pieces of odd marketing were some of my first possessions, and they ignited my imagination the way only the mind of a young child can be fired up. By the time I met the Amazing Spider-man himself at K-Mart, I was so indoctrinated that I thought I myself was a superhero, just there fulfilling my Team-Up destiny, trying to keep Icee Bear out of the picture.

By the time I got my hands on actual Marvel Comics, I found that they were every bit as wild and untamed as I thought they had to be. I’m fully aware of all the corporate maneuvering behind the scenes, especially after reading Sean Howe’s tremendous Marvel Comics: the Untold Story,  but the fact is, on most days I only see the characters of mad creators running ram-shod through  a fantastic universe.  I’m no blind fan; I’m not saying that every single issue of every single series is a winner, but pound for pound, I think Marvel is the greatest comic book publication house of them all.

“Marvel” to me is completely synonymous with “fun.”  So from the proud owner of a No-Prize:

Make Mine Marvel!

Episode 3: DC Comics

Home of the best-known comic characters of the 20th century, things seem to have gone sideways at DC Comics in the 21st. Rocko and Eli reminisce, and then go in-depth on what’s happening at DC, and just what’s gone wrong for them under editor-in-chief, Dan Didio.

Download from iTunes, or one of the below.