Episodes
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In today's special episode, Alex Grand and Bill Field delve into a fascinating phone conversation from August 27, 1994, between comic book historian and writer, Steve Ringgenberg and the legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta. Steve Ringgenberg, known for his deep knowledge and contributions to the comic book industry, chats with Frazetta about his then-upcoming projects and his return to comics, albeit in a supervisory role.
Frank Frazetta, whose iconic "Death Dealer" paintings have left an indelible mark on the fantasy genre, shares insights into his collaboration with Glenn Danzig and Simon Bisley for Verotik comics. They discuss Frazetta’s transition from comics to painting, his influence on the sword and sorcery genre, and his unique approach to creativity in art that continues to inspire artists worldwide.
The conversation also touches on Frazetta's frustrations with creating statues, particularly his experiences working with Randy Bowen and the challenges of capturing the three-dimensionality well from all angles. Additionally, Frazetta reflects on his collaboration with Ralph Bakshi on the animated film "Fire and Ice," discussing his contributions to character creation and action scenes. Frazetta also expresses his frustration with the high art world for looking down on comic artists, despite their significant contributions to visual arts. Join us as we explore this rare and candid exchange, shedding light on the creative genius of Frank Frazetta and his impact on the world of fantasy art.
Tiny Bar Chats
Frazetta interview ©1994 Steve RinggenbergChats with influential, inspiring, prolific and community oriented folks.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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Alex Grand interviewed Rob Liefeld for the Comic Book Historians Podcast, a key figure in the revolution of comic books in the 1990s, known for his intense storytelling and artistic impact. The conversation focuses on Liefeld’s approach to comics, particularly his efforts to inject fun and boldness into his work, drawing inspiration from his inner child and childhood influences like Jack Kirby. Liefeld discusses how his passion for comics is reflected in his art, sharing anecdotes about his career, including his influence on the creation of X-Force and characters like Deadpool, emphasizing his commitment to staying true to the excitement and action-packed style of classic comic books. Additionally, he shares thoughts on the challenges he faced working in the industry, his interactions with other iconic figures, and the enduring appeal of action-driven, visually dynamic storytelling.
Tiny Bar Chats
#xforce #deadpool #wolverine #robliefeld #newmutants #xmen #weaponx #youngblood #cannonball
©2024 Comic Book HistoriansChats with influential, inspiring, prolific and community oriented folks.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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David Armstrong interviewed Golden & Silver Age great, Jim Mooney in 1997 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into pulp magazines like Weird Tales, meeting Julius Schwartz and Mort Weisinger, entering comic books in the early 1940s with Fiction House, Ace Magazines and Timely, meeting Golden Age publishers like Victor Fox, entering DC Comics under Whitney Ellsworth, his friendship with Stan Lee, working on Spider-Man, and independent comics of the 1990s. Armstrong also interviewed Golden Age great, Marv Levy in 1998 on set at Long Island, New York about his entry into comic books in the early 1940s while in high school, working for Harry Chesler, Leon Harvey at Harvey Comics, Lloyd Jacquet, Bernard Baily, analyzing the Lou Fine comics vs the Jack Kirby style, serving in the military and leaving comic books for newspaper comic strips and advertising. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.
Tiny Bar ChatsChats with influential, inspiring, prolific and community oriented folks.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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David Armstrong interviewed Golden Age great, Irwin Hasen in 1999 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books in the late 1930s, illustrating sports figures for newspapers including an interesting experience at the Daily Worker, working for Harry Chesler, covers for DC Comics, rivalry with Shelley Mayer, contributing to the Justice Society of America, working with Bill Finger, Alex Toth and a tense situation at a syndicate that caused him to walk away from a strip before creating Dondi. Armstrong also interviewed Golden Age great, Harry Lampert in 2000 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into Max Fleischer's animation studio, entering comic books with Sheldon Mayer at All-American comics, working under Max Charles Gaines, co-creating the Flash with Gardner Fox, his humor approach to comics, penciling the Justice Society of America, joining the Army, working with Siegel and Shuster, Harry Donenfeld, Irwin Hasen, and DC filler pages after World War 2, until starting his own very successful advertising agency. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.
Tiny Bar ChatsChats with influential, inspiring, prolific and community oriented folks.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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I'm thrilled to share something truly special with you. Writing my book was a seven-year journey, culminating not just in publication but also in an audiobook that's now available, thanks to an option I discovered with my publisher. Encouraged by my friend, Eric Bailey, I decided to lend my voice to the project. Leveraging years of experience from producing and audio engineering the Comic Book Historians podcast, I poured every ounce of my patience and expertise into recording and editing this audiobook over four months. It was a labor of love to get every detail just right. I'm delighted to announce that it's now available across all major platforms, including Audible, Google Play, and Chirp. For those who love comic history and prefer their reading on the go, this is for you.
audible link: https://a.co/d/4n7qXVJ
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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Tom Palmer about his extensive career as both inker and illustrator starting at the Frank Reilly school, learning from Jack Kamen, illustration for advertising, then inking various Marvel comic book pencilers in the Silver Age like Gene Colan, Neal Adams, John and Sal Buscema, and eventually others like Howard Chaykin, Walt Simsonson, and Ron Frenz on characters & properties like Dr. Strange, X-Men, Avengers, Dracula, Thor, Star Wars, Batman, Wonder Woman and more. Learn about his first 1968 penciling job with Stan Lee plotter, Roy Thomas writer, and inked by Dan Adkins and move forward in time to inking John Romita Jr's Kick-Ass. Tom was also friends with Stan Drake and gives interesting details of the car accident that killed Alex Raymond. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. Interview ©Comic Book Historians 2020.
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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Tom Palmer about his extensive career as both inker and illustrator starting at the Frank Reilly school, learning from Jack Kamen, illustration for advertising, then inking various Marvel comic book pencilers in the Silver Age like Gene Colan, Neal Adams, John and Sal Buscema, and eventually others like Howard Chaykin, Walt Simsonson, and Ron Frenz on characters & properties like Dr. Strange, X-Men, Avengers, Dracula, Thor, Star Wars, Batman, Wonder Woman and more. Learn about his first 1968 penciling job with Stan Lee plotter, Roy Thomas writer, and inked by Dan Adkins and move forward in time to inking John Romita Jr's Kick-Ass. Tom was also friends with Stan Drake and gives interesting details of the car accident that killed Alex Raymond. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. Interview ©Comic Book Historians 2020.
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Join Alex Grand and Bill Field as they sit down with legendary comic artist Steve Rude in an enlightening episode of the CBH podcast. Dive deep into Rude's early influences, from his passion for 1960s Marvel to the impact of artists like Jack Kirby and Gene Colan on his style. Discover the pivotal moments of his career, from his initial challenges in the business to his successful partnership in creating Nexus with Mike Baron, his dislike of Marvel of DC in the 1980s, and his impression of the corporate side of comic books. Explore his artistic evolution and the personal stories behind his work, including his venture into fine art and the narrative of his documentary on bipolar disorder. Tune in for a masterful blend of art, storytelling, and personal struggle, reflecting over four decades of comic artistry.
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David Armstrong interviewed Nick Cardy for a second round on set in 2005 about his time at the Eisner shop, Fiction House, illustrator influences, Lou Fine, anatomy, reference, army sketch book, his Paris exhibit, Science Fiction stories, design, page rates, Brushwork, advertising, his sense of religion, and a sex comic experience at comic con. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.
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David Armstrong interviewed Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age great, Joe Kubert in 1997 on set at San Diego Comic Con discussing his childhood strip and pulp influences, entering comic books in the early 1940s as a high school student, working with Harry Shorten & Frank Z. Temerson, his professional relation with Norman Maurer, his first job at DC, the 3D Comic book craze of the 1950s, working with Will Eisner, the Green Berets daily strip, functioning as an Editor at DC under Carmine Infantino, the Joe Kubert school, his graphic novels and his pride over his two talented sons, Andy and Adam Kubert. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.
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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview painter, autobiographical comics pioneer and 11-time Eisner nominee Carol Tyler, author of Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father: A Daughter's Memoir (You'll Never Know), Fab4 Mania, and Late Bloomer in the second of a two parter. We cover her early work for Weirdo, Wimmen’s Comix and Twisted Sister to her current project, as well as her marriage to Justin Green (Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary), her friendship with the Crumbs, the controversy over her accepting the first Dori Seda Memorial Award, Leonardo DiCaprio’s babysitting skills and her life’s most tragic losses and greatest triumphs. Part 2 of 2. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.
#Beatles #CarolTyler #Eisner
©Comic Book Historians 2020Support the show
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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview painter, autobiographical comics pioneer and 11-time Eisner nominee Carol Tyler, author of Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father: A Daughter's Memoir (You'll Never Know), Fab4 Mania, and Late Bloomer in the first of a two parter. We cover her early work for Weirdo, Wimmen’s Comix and Twisted Sister to her current project, as well as her marriage to Justin Green (Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary), her friendship with the Crumbs, the controversy over her accepting the first Dori Seda Memorial Award, Leonardo DiCaprio’s babysitting skills and her life’s most tragic losses and greatest triumphs. Part 1 of 2. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.
#Beatles #CarolTyler #Eisner
©Comic Book Historians 2020Support the show
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David Armstrong interviewed Golden and Silver Age great, Nick Cardy in 1998 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books in 1940, working with the Eisner & Iger shop, his influences like Gary Cooper, Noel Sickles, working at Fiction House, drafted into the Army, Tarzan and Casey Ruggles daily comic strips, entering DC Comics, interacting with Alex Toth, Jack Kirby, Neal Adams and Mike Sekowsky, working with Julius Schwartz and Carmine Infantino, working on animation, illustration and movie posters for New Line Cinema. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.
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Explore the life and genius of Steve Ditko, Spider-Man's co-creator, in a special 2-hour interview featuring his family. Discover his early years, creative process, and love for science and Batman, shaping his superhero creations. Dive into his youthful influences, like Tarzan and Charles Bronson, and how Ayn Rand's philosophy impacted his work and comic industry relations. Known for his privacy and humor, Ditko's ethos was to let his work speak for itself, focusing on the present and future. This intimate family perspective highlights Ditko's legacy and enduring impact on the comic world.
#SpiderMan #Marvel #DCComics #StanLee #DrStrange #Batman #SteveDitko
#ComicStrips #JackKirby #WW2
©2023 Comic Book HistoriansSupport the show
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In 1973, John A. Mozzer, lover of pop culture interviewed 6 people in Reading, Pennsylvania to track down the history of Jim Steranko. The 6th person was Western/Kid Colt and Hot Rod comic artist, Jack Keller who worked in comics since the Golden Age for companies like Quality, Fawcett, Atlas/Marvel, Charlton and more who went into detail into the history of his comics career as well as discussing meeting a young impressionable Jim Steranko as well as Stan Lee, Dick Giordano and Sal Gentile. John was gracious to share these files with the world and CBH from his soundcloud, so the first 5 were given a massive audio restoration treatment by Alex Grand and are located and transcribed at the interview section of comicbookhistorians.com, and the 6th one, Jack Keller is digitally restored and audio engineered by Alex Grand and presented here. John A. Mozzer also provided great imagery of these encounters located both at the CBH website, his flickr and as the thumbnail image for the recording presented here.
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David Armstrong interviewed Silver & Bronze Age great, John Romita Sr. in 2001 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books with Les Zakarin, first meeting Stan Lee at Timely, his suspense science fiction stories like IT!, working for Famous Funnies, his relationship with Stan Lee in the 1950s, and again in the 1960s, getting inking advice from Joe Maneely, why he joined DC Comics to work on Romance Comics with Zena Brody and Robert Kanigher, discussing Alex Toth, the editorial culture at DC compared to Marvel, Jack Kirby, Martin Goodman, terrible distribution through Independent News, and DC Comics' achilles heel.
Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong.
Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.Support the show
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Everyone should know that Steve Ditko was the co-creator of Spider-Man and the creator of Dr. Strange, The Question, Mr A., and many others. But most people do not know who he was, let alone know anything about him. Who was he as a person? Did he have a family? What type of person was he? Mark Ditko (Ditkoverse; Steve's nephew), Lenny Schwartz (writer, Ditko the Play; filmmaker, The Haunted and the Hunted), Jackie Estrada (Eisner Awards administrator; correspondent with Steve), Alex Grand (Comic Book Historians; author, Understanding Superhero Comic Books), and Marci Singel (Steve's first cousin) dispel those strange rumors and provide more information about Steve Ditko than you've ever believed possible.
Moderated by Tyler McPhail (The Grand Geek Gathering).
Recorded and post-production by Alex Grand
Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians, LLC. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.Support the show
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A sit down chat between Alex Grand and Jose Villarrubia, Eisner nominated Comics colorist and Professor of Art at various colleges, universities & museums on various key aspects of his life and career including renovating Richard Corben's Den for Darkhorse. His personal and working relationships with Corben and Alan Moore are discussed, as well as his childhood reading comic books in Spain, moving to the USA in 1980, working as a photographer in the 1980s, entering comics with Jae Lee in the 1990s at Image Comics, working on Neil Gaiman's Wheel of World's, coloring for Marvel, DC Comics, Vertigo on titles such as X-Men, Batman, Spider-Man, Sentry, Sweet Tooth, Promethea, Tom Strong, Cuba, My Revolution, Django Unchained and more . Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.
Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians. Music ©Lost EuropeanSupport the show
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Today we are joined by special guest-host and resident CBH book Editor and Globo Comico social media founder, N. Scott Robinson, Ph.D., who interviews Alex Grand, author of the new book, Understanding Superhero Comic Books A History of Key Elements, Creators, Events and Controversies , delving into its in-depth exploration of the origin, growth, and major influences of superhero comic books. The discussion illuminates how iconic characters such as Batman, Wonder Woman, and Captain America are more than just fictional characters, but reflections of their societal contexts. Further, they delve into the contributions of pivotal creators like Julius Schwartz, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jim Starlin, John Byrne, and Alan Moore, highlighting their unique takes on superhero realism, design, revitalization, and deconstruction.
Understanding Superhero Comic Books can be found at:
click: Amazon, the book's publisher, McFarland & Co, Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart,
Target and more...
Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians, LLC. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians. Music ©Lost EuropeanSupport the show
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Alex Grand interviews Jesse Simon, the grandson of Captain America creator, Joe Simon on his creative and influential grandfather and his family's new comic series, SHIELDMASTER found on Kickstarter. Jesse discusses his grandfather's career at Timely Comics with figures like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Martin Goodman, DC Comics, Harvey Comics with Al Harvey, Crestwood, SICK magazine and more. You can get SHIELDMASTER at this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/simonstudios/shieldmaster-3.
Photo © Jesse Simon. Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians, LLC. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians. Music ©Lost EuropeanSupport the show
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