The Corner Box

Part 2 of the Bart Sears interview continues as Bart walks David and John through the high-pressure years where every career move looked massive and every deadline came with teeth. Bart talks Eclipso, DC exclusives, the frustration of not getting one of the big characters, and the Valiant jump that put him on X-O Manowar and Turok right as the 90s boom was cooking itself alive. Then things get even more beautifully ridiculous with ...

Bart Sears joins David and John to unpack the early grind behind one of comics’ most muscular, instantly recognizable art styles. Bart talks about learning from Neal Adams, Ross Andru, Frank Frazetta, John Buscema, and How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way before landing work through Larry Hama and eventually walking into Hasbro with full superhero energy. From designing the heroic proportions of C.O.P.S. figures, to Hasbro badly...

The guys get into Frank Miller’s 300, from its brutal Spartan swagger to the underappreciated magic Lynn Varley brought to every inch of the page. John is out today, but David is joined by special guest and fill-in co-host Chase Marotz to talk about Miller’s later art style, the historical homework behind Thermopylae, and why this book still feels like a giant opera made of sweat, shields, and testosterone. Before the m...

The guys get into the real mechanics of launching a comics Kickstarter without just throwing a link into the void and praying to the algorithm gods. David breaks down why the campaign is won before launch day, how email lists and “notify me” clicks create the first-day fire, and why stretch goals work best when they feel like party favors instead of cheap bait. John digs into the questions creators actually ask: do upda...

David & John talk about the brutal math of making comics after the pages are done and the hard truth of the hard work behind every Kickstarter project. The guys talk about Marvel's changing of the guard, Dan Buckley’s legacy, DC’s momentum under Marie Javins, and whether comics are being pulled closer to media-brand machinery than comic-book instinct. John then drags Clive Barker’s Razorline out of the longbox...

John and David welcome Eisner-nominated comics journalist and podcaster David Harper for an Eisner Awards heat check. Absolute Batman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Assorted Crisis Events, Ghost Pepper, Jerome, Land, and Hirayasumi all get thrown into the ring. David Hedgecock argues for Denis Camp, Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, and books that actually make you feel something, even if that feeling is misery. David Harper brings the mang...

David & John get into Ken Landgraf, Ghoul Butcher, New York City Outlaws, and the strange thrill of “Outsider Comics” that feel half-feral but wonderfully alive. David maps out his outsider-comics reading list, including Revenger, C.R.O.W.Bar 9, The 7 Guys of Justice, and Amerikarate. John counters with Bobby Benson’s B-Bar-B Riders, a 1950s ranch comic reprint that somehow includes Bob Powell, Dick Ayers, a m...

Kirt Burdick returns to talk Death of Power, the upcoming finale of his gloriously unhinged bootleg-superhero epic, and the creator realities of trying to turn Kickstarter momentum into something resembling an actual career. Along the way, the conversation veers hard into outsider comics like New York City Outlaws, Hayden Sherman’s Batman work, Scott Snyder’s hit-or-miss post-Batman output, Frank Miller’s weird se...

This episode, things get spicy fast as Kickstarter loyalty gets tested. David lays out a frustration that hits a nerve: paying more, waiting longer, and watching cheaper versions hit shelves first. From there, the guys pivot into creator mode—John’s secretly drawing comics again, Chase is juggling screenplays, and everyone’s got projects they can’t quite talk about (yet). Frank Miller creeps back into the co...

Things gets weird when David decides he’s one of the cool kids now and starts reading the hot books everyone’s chasing. Join David and John as they get into D’orc, Tigress Island, White Sky, and Florida Hippopotamus Cocaine Massacre, weighing which books have real legs and which ones are riding the heat wave. There’s a sharp little debate about speculation, blind bags, first printings, and whether indie laun...

David admits that his comic collecting is a full-blown lifestyle problem, complete with eBay piles, office deliveries, and one gloriously baffling Rob Liefeld ashcan. John and David then bounce from a weirdly amazing 1972 fanzine packed with future legends to Marvel Knights: The World to Come, a book that asks for patience before it finally starts paying off. From there, it’s straight into Groo territory, where the art still ...

David survives a once-in-a-century storm in Hawaii, and it’s back to business as John and David break down the creative DNA of comics — including the return of the “Top 10 Hottest Artists” list! From a Silver Age deep dive into Don Heck and the surprisingly bold Avengers #32, to the wild discovery of a pre-Fantastic Four appearance of Ben Grimm as a WWII flying ace, it’s equal parts nostalgia, disbelie...

A new segment hits The Corner Box this week as John and David roll out “Here’s What We Read This Week!” John dives into Alien: Salvation, arguing that Mike Mignola and Kevin Nowlan teaming up is just plain unfair, while David revisits Dark Knight Returns and DK2, wondering if Frank Miller’s chaos is actually the point — and loving it either way. Along the way: DSTLRY’s return, Ditko Artist’...

Guest Dave Baker stops by the show as David and John dig into the industry shake-up following Mike Richardson’s exit from Dark Horse and ask: is the “one guy” publisher era over? The conversation hits the rise of indie collectives and webtoons, then Dave’s new OGN, Punk’n Heads, and wraps with a deep-cut dive into Stephen R. Bissette’s Tyrant. Also, the zen of marathon tattoo sessions.

Captions

John breaks down the final chapter of a decades-long war that makes the Avengers Civil War look like a playground spat. That’s right! We are back in the archives to wrap up the "Anything Goes" saga, tracking the fallout of the most infamous punch in science fiction history and a legal feud that just wouldn't die.

The  Recap

John digs deeper into the rabbit hole to close the book on Michael Fleisher, Gary Groth, and the leg...

David and John break down the fallout of a massive industry earthquake and step back in time to the most surreal courtroom drama in comic book history. It’s the kind of "inside comics" that reminds you why the business is just as wild as the pages we print.

The  Recap

The era of the "comic book guy" CEO is officially on life support as Mike Richardson exits Dark Horse, leaving the company in the hands of a video game-focus...

In this episode, Anything Goes! John rises from the dead (again) to team up with David, for a deep dive into the wildest comics scandal of the 1980s: the Harlan Ellison interview that sparked a $2 million libel lawsuit and divided the comic book industry.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Everything Went!

Timestamp Segments

• [01:11] Warner gets bought… again.
• [06:33] Anything Goes!
• [08:04] Byron Preiss: The Trailblazer.
• [13:41] John meets...

David and John dive into the state of comics, using insights only decades in the industry can provide, and yet another Corner Box prediction comes true. At this point, should we be worried?

David reads and reviews all three Breed miniseries (yes, all of them), there’s renewed excitement around the epic Superman VS Spider-Man crossover, M.A.S.K. gets a facelift, and more importantly, Captain Underpants is set to become a manga.

...

David is joined by Editor-in-Chief of Fun Time Go, Inc., Chase Marotz, for a free-dive into the wild world of comics, from their weekend adventures with snare drums, cold beers, and tall stacks of comics, to the wild world of comic book publishing rights and the decades-long saga of Miracleman, one of the industry’s most infamous legal nightmares.

Then, Chase steps into the ring to do the unthinkable: defend The Clone Saga. Lo...