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Bronze-Age Monsters

Bronze-Age Monsterswww.patreon.com
With the Comics Code loosening in 1971, monsters came roaring back into the pages of our favorite medium. Kids that grew up reading comics were now making them; many of them were members of the counter-culture. Throw in a desire to do something all-new (and some fads like kung-fu) and you have all the makings of a wild decade of comics. Join Jacob Balcom & Matt Howell as they explore some of the craziest comics of the 1970s (and early '80s). Each season focuses on a different character.
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Episodes

Skywald's Shoggoth Saga! (A Patreon Exclusive Unleashed!)

We will be back with Atlas/Seaboard's TALES OF EVIL next week. In the meantime, here's our review of the SHOGGOTH SAGA... We review 'Archaic' Al Hewetson and a stable of Spanish artists' take on the Shoggoth, a creature from the Lovecraft mythos. Watch it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/NwRXvDJ-asw?si=MixtzHxx5-JVIzij Get our PDF here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z1uS_hT19-K8wvfEQSVeiExeIRhwibnI/view?usp=sharing...

Jun 28, 20251 hr 48 minSeason 7Ep. 195

S07E11: Atlas/Seaboard - The Scorpion (LIVE w/ Brad Elmore!)

We're joined this episode by guest Brad Elmore, director of THE WOLFMAN'S HAMMER , BIT , and BOOGEYMAN POP , to talk about the book Howard Chaykin created for the Atlas/Seabord line, THE SCORPION , set in the 1930s about an immortal adventurer. Chaykin later reworked the character into DOMINIC FORTUNE for Marvel. WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/live/g9X3QqtQ-Kw You can read all 3 issues here: https://archive.org/details/the-scorpion-complete_20240616/The%20Scorpion%2001/ WATCH THE WOLFM...

Jun 16, 20251 hr 56 minSeason 7Ep. 194

S07E10: Atlas/Seaboard - Savage Combat Tales

MEET BEN STRYKER: a soldier pummeled by Rommel's forces in the Kasserine Pass...a soldier and pacifist who's managed to survive WWII without taking a human life...so far. MEET THE 'DEATH SQUAD': a crew of misfit soldiers destined for court martials and military prison. The two parties collide for our comics enjoyment in SAVAGE COMBAT TALES f/ SGT. STRYKER'S DEATH SQUAD! Archie Goodwin pens 2 WWII tales, the 1st with art by Al McWilliams and the 2nd by Jack Sparling. WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE: https://...

May 31, 20251 hr 31 minSeason 7Ep. 193

S07E09: Atlas/Seaboard - Police Action (YouTube LIVE!)

For our final season, we're covering the short life of Martin Goodman's Atlas/Seaboard comics by reviewing all the debut issues from their line. WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE! https://youtube.com/live/FxDNA8jYfpo Goodman also published a POLICE ACTION at the pre-Marvel Atlas. This one seems to appeal to fans of the swarms of detectives and cops that cluttered up American TV screens in the mid-'70s, like Banacek, Kojak, and Baretta. POLICE ACTION offered up TWO lead characters in their own stories: Sam Lom...

May 17, 20252 hr 16 minSeason 7Ep. 192

S07E08: Atlas/Seaboard - Planet of Vampires

Jeff Rovin wanted Atlas to publish The Omega Man comic book, but when he couldn't secure the rights to it, they came up with PLANET OF VAMPIRES , a mash-up of I AM LEGEND and PLANET OF THE APES written by Larry Hama with an art team of Pat Broderick & Frank McLaughlin. We're joined by Russ & Josh from Taste the Pod of Dracula . WATCH THE EPISODE WITH GORGEOUS ART HERE: https://youtu.be/xJvX8c2gg2E You can read all 3 issues here: https://archive.org/details/planet-of-vampires-complete/Pla...

May 03, 20251 hr 38 minSeason 7Ep. 191

S07E07: Atlas/Seaboard - Morlock 2001

For our final season, we're covering the short life of Martin Goodman's Atlas/Seaboard comics by reviewing all the debut issues from their line. What do you get when you make a stew out of Orwell's 1984 heavily seasoned with Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and generous pinches of A Clockwork Orange and a dash of The Time Machine ? Why, Michael Fleisher 's crazy dystopian body horror sci-fi book MORLOCK 2001 , of course! You can read all 3 issues here : https://archive.org/details/morlock-2001-complete...

Apr 12, 20251 hr 36 minSeason 7Ep. 190

S07E06: Atlas/Seaboard - Devilina (w/ Ben Potter)

For our final season, we're covering the short life of Martin Goodman's Atlas/Seaboard comics by reviewing all the debut issues from their line. This episode, we cover Seaboard's swipe at Warren Publishing and Marvel's Curtis magazines...the horror anthology DEVILINA! Watch it on YouTube with BEAUTIFUL B&W ART ! https://youtu.be/Az-xzgNzgzE MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/BronzeAgeMonsters DISCORD: h...

Mar 29, 20252 hr 4 minSeason 7Ep. 190

B.A.M. Shadow Show #111 - Skull the Slayer!

We make the Shadow Show every other week for our Patreon supporters, but we're giving this one out as a sample. If you enjoy, consider backing the show on Patreon for future episodes and access to the archives of previous eps. We discuss Marv Wolfman and Steve Gan's wonderfully bizarre SKULL THE SLAYER wherein a Vietnam War POW returns home and everything gets worse...then he and plane full of people go through the Bermuda Triangle! Matt got it in his head that the main character's name was Mike...

Mar 22, 202529 minSeason 7Ep. 189

S07E05: Atlas/Seaboard - The Destructor

For our final season, we're producing the episodes as videos. Check out our YouTube channel for the full experience. YOUTUBE VERSION: https://youtu.be/oM815qWFhS8 This episode, we cover a creative dream team assembled for the 1 straight superhero book of the line: Archie Goodwin, Steve Ditko, and Wallace "Wally" Wood. READ ALL 4 ISSUES OF THE DESTRUCTOR ON ARCHIVE.ORG: https://archive.org/details/destructor-complete/Destructor%20001/ MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemons...

Mar 15, 20251 hr 40 minSeason 7Ep. 188

S07E04: Atlas/Seaboard - The Brute

For our final season, we're producing the episodes as videos. Check out our YouTube channel for the full experience. YOUTUBE VERSION: https://youtu.be/1mfM4Fnpw_Q This episode, we're joined by friend of the show M.J. to cover Martin Goodman's one demand: he wanted a Hulk knock-off. He got a murderous thawed Missing Link instead, written by Michael Fleisher with art by Mike Sekowsky & Pablo Marcos. READ ALL 3 ISSUES OF THE BRUTE ON ARCHIVE.ORG: https://archive.org/details/brute-complete/Brute...

Mar 01, 20251 hr 42 minSeason 7Ep. 187

S07E03: Atlas/Seaboard - Phoenix

For our final season, we're producing the episodes as videos. Check out our YouTube channel for the full experience. YOUTUBE VERSION: https://youtu.be/7pCHU3EL7Ds This episode, we cover Jeff Rovin & Sal Amendola's messianic sci-fi hero PHOENIX! When catastrophe strikes a space mission, lone surviving astronaut Ed Tyler is recovered in the North Pole by a race of aliens who have remained hidden from Earth since they jump-started human evolution millions of years ago. Now they want to destroy ...

Feb 15, 20251 hr 29 minSeason 7Ep. 186

S07E02: Atlas/Seaboard - Ironjaw

For our final season, we're producing the episodes as videos. Check out our YouTube channel for the full experience. YOUTUBE VERSION: https://youtu.be/gHSGiELg6vw We're in our final season and we're reviewing all of Atlas/Seaboard's #1 issues. Next up, Michael Fleisher and Mike Sekowsky's IRONJAW ! In the distant future the Earth is a ravaged wasteland with only one law--survival of the fittest. And in a land of kill-or-be-killed, none is more efficient at it and revels in it more than the man k...

Feb 01, 20251 hr 44 minSeason 7Ep. 185

THE SAGA OF SATANA: Bloody Is the Path to Hell!

The Saga of Satana continues! The Devil's Daughter seeks a back door into her father's realm to warn him of the mutinous plans of The Four . On the way, she is reunited with a childhood companion, the incubus Zannarth , and they encounter pack of hellish demons sent to stop them. From The Haunt of Horror #2 (July, 1974) by Gerry Conway & Enrique Badía Romero . CAST: Athena Howell as Satana, Jacob Balcom as Zannarth, Renee Howell as Karath, and Matt Howell as Narrator and assorted voices. It'...

Jan 18, 202511 minSeason 7Ep. 184

S07E01: Atlas/Seaboard - The Grim Ghost

For our final season, we're producing the episodes as videos. Check out our YouTube channel for the full experience. YOUTUBE VERSION: https://youtu.be/dKoNBvy3i4k We're in our final season and we're reviewing all of Atlas/Seaboard's #1 issues. First up, Michael Fleisher and Ernie Colón's THE GRIM GHOST! A colonial highwayman bandit goes from the gallows, to the Inferno, to 1970s America as a collector of damned souls for the Devil's furnace. MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronz...

Jan 18, 20251 hr 35 minSeason 7Ep. 183

Season 6 Finale! Weird War Tales #121 (live on YouTube 12/6/24)

We took to YouTube to review "Death Smiles Thrice!" from Weird War Tales #121 and the one-page conlusion to the Commandos' story from the final issue, "Destination Unknown!" We were joined by friends of the show via video and chat and had a great time. Watch the video on YouTube : https://youtube.com/live/Mb7msRNmpPA?feature=share We'll see you in January for the final season! Happy holidays! MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: htt...

Dec 11, 20242 hr 2 minSeason 6Ep. 182

S06E12: Weird War Tales #119 - World Under Glass

Fed up with being feared and despised by the civilians they protect, the Commandos jump at a chance to see if the world of 2943 holds an opportunity for them to return to their human states. It gets a little weird. MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/BronzeAgeMonsters DISCORD: https://discord.gg/NcFaq9Ednq...

Nov 16, 20241 hr 32 minSeason 6Ep. 181

S06E11: Weird War Tales #117 & #118

We've got double your monster pleasure with WWT #117's "A Miracle for Monsters!" and 118's "Heroes Come in Small Sizes" as the Commandos are finally free of Lt. Shrieve and, without a commanding officer, take in the sights of war-time Paris. Then, we learn how they were awarded medals from the King of England! MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/BronzeAgeMonsters DISCORD: https://discord.gg/NcFaq9Ednq...

Nov 02, 20241 hr 30 minSeason 6Ep. 180

S06E10: Weird War Tales #116 - The Doorway to Hell! (w/ Matt Harvey!)

We're joined by death metal god Matt Harvey ( Exhumed , Gruesome , et al) for a jumbled tale of Roman gods, mis-used monsters, and a conversation about how invested Robert Kanigher really was in this book. Check out Matt's music on Bandcamp: https://mattharveymustbedestroyed.bandcamp.com & Exhumed https://exhumed.bandcamp.com/music MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/BronzeAgeMonsters DISCORD: https://di...

Oct 19, 20241 hr 52 minSeason 6Ep. 179

S06E09: Weird War Tales #115 - You Can't Pin a Medal on a Robot

Meet the new J.A.K.E., same as the old J.A.K.E.... or his he? Sgt. Coker & the G.I. Robot get leave in dear old Blighty and end up personal guests of a royal princess in a castle in Scotland! Is this G.I. Robot a pile of nuts and bolts or does he have the capacity to love? The Creature Commandos are also there. MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/BronzeAgeMonsters DISCORD: https://discord.gg/NcFaq9Ednq...

Oct 05, 20241 hr 25 minSeason 6Ep. 178

B.A.M. Shadow Show #100! Hundredth Episode Spectacular!

OUR 100th BONUS SHOW IS FREE TO ALL! WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE W/ THE ART HERE : https://youtu.be/G8CI70uQ4ms Back us on Patreon to access the archive of 99 previous episodes and tons of members-only content! We cover "Return from Oblivion" ...Part 8 of the Ulysses Bloodstone Saga , written by John Warner w/ pencils by Val Mayerik and finishes & inks by Sonny Trinidad. We talk about what we'll be doing in the Shadow Show in our 7th and final season. We review Zuma (1985) a wild Pinoy movie based o...

Sep 27, 20241 hr 36 minSeason 6Ep. 177

S06E08: Weird War Tales #114 w/ Bryan & Jamie from Marvel by the Month!

We're joined by Marvel by Month 's Bryan Stratton & Jamie Wenger! Forget Schrödinger's cat; we've got Kanigher's comic. How can a war comic be both ridiculously surreal and disturbingly real at the same time? The commandos go deep undercover in Germany as a traveling circus freakshow to kidnap Einstein's bomb buddy from a Nazi concentration camp! If you aren't already subscribed to MbtM, you're comics-podcast listening wrong! MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters...

Sep 21, 20241 hr 47 minSeason 6Ep. 176

S06E07: Weird War Tales #112 - The Medusa Sting!

After Rommel lands a crushing blow on the Allied forces in Tunisia, the Creature Commandos are sent in to keep the Afrika Corps off balance until reinforcements arrive. Did YOU know about this? Why wasn't this part in the history books??! Anyway, yadda yadda: an ancient gorgon pyramid tomb and some magic wine later, we have doll-sized monsters. All in a day's work for our "freaks." MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.pa...

Sep 07, 20241 hr 2 minSeason 6Ep. 175

S06E06: Weird War Tales #111 - The Doomsday Robots!

Kanigher's newest new G.I. Robot, J.A.K.E. #1 meets up with our motley crew of monstrous misfits when they return to the South Pacific to investigate some mysterious attacks on Allied ships. The resulting adventure defies pithy blurb explanations! MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/BronzeAgeMonsters DISCORD: https://discord.gg/NcFaq9Ednq...

Aug 24, 20241 hr 38 minSeason 6Ep. 174

S06E05: Weird War Tales #110 (YouTube live!)

We took to the YouTubes for the introduction of the newest Commando. If the goal was to tap into humanity's collective unconscious and use our most ancient and intuitive fears as a weapon against our enemies: it doesn't get much older or scarier than our newest "freak"... HISS HISS! You can watch the episode (w/ art included!) HERE . ( https://youtube.com/live/bBob95RBGaA?feature=share ) MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://...

Aug 10, 20241 hr 8 minSeason 6Ep. 173

S06E04: Weird War Tales #108 & 109 w/ Ryan Pardee

We're joined by Ryan Pardee, co-host of The No Ticket Podcast, to talk about the final J.M. DeMatteis-written issue and the 1st issue from veteran comics writer Robert Kanigher. Remember the mission to find French scientist Dr. Frederique? That comes up again (cool!)...with some tragic consequences (sad!). Kanigher's story is 1 part The Dam Busters , 1 part Dr. Strangelove , and 1 part Force 10 from Navarone . Art by Dan Spiegle! MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters...

Jul 27, 20242 hr 19 minSeason 6Ep. 172

S06E03: Weird War Tales #102 & 105 w/ Monster Kid Grace

We're joined by friend of the show Grace to talk about 2 short and wild Creature Commandos stories from J.M. DeMatteis and Fred Carrillo. This one's got it all: super-strength brainwashed Nazi kids, latex masks, trapdoors, Hitler doubles, and a Norman Rockwell-esque village in upstate NY crawling with Axis sympathizers. MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/BronzeAgeMonsters DISCORD: https://discord.gg/NcFaq9E...

Jul 13, 20242 hr 3 minSeason 6Ep. 171

S06E02: Weird War Tales #100 - Dinosaur Convoy

Mike W. Barr takes up writing duties as Lt. Shrieve and his "Freaks" are deployed to Dinosaur Island from The War That Time Forgot stories of DC's past. The Allies' pet monsters encounter Japanese troops and a whole mess of "Thunder Lizards." Plus, Matt's daughter Athena judges the haiku contest. Art by Bob Hall & Jerry Ordway. We'll be back next week with more Ulysses Bloodstone monster hunting action for our Patreon supporters. MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemons...

Jul 01, 20241 hr 8 minSeason 6Ep. 170

BAM Shadow Show: The Ulysses Bloodstone Saga, Pt. 1

We're bi-weekly now! On our off weeks, we'll be publishing 'shadow show' that covers different bronze-age goodness. During Season 6, we'll be looking at the life and times of immortal monster hunter Ulysses Bloodstone. We're making the first part a freebie for all to check out. We HIGHLY recommend you check out the video version w/ art HERE . We'll be making audio-only versions like this one available to our Patreon supporters, too, in a private feed they can add right to their favorite podcast ...

Jun 22, 202444 minSeason 6Ep. 169

BAM S05 Finale

We have had requests for the Season 5 finale to be published as audio only. Here it is. MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/BronzeAgeMonsters DISCORD: https://discord.gg/NcFaq9Ednq VM: 971-220-JUNK...

Jun 22, 20241 hr 55 minSeason 6Ep. 169

S06E01: Weird War Tales #93 & #97

We kick off our first non-Marvel season with TWO short stories from Weird War Tales: "The Creature Commandos!" and "The Faceless Enemy" written by J.M. DeMatteis with art from Pat Broderick, John Celardo, and Fred Carrillo. The U.S. has created Project M to use man's inherent fear of monsters to give the Allies the advantage in the war against the Axis forces...with explosive results. MAIL: bronzeagemonsters@gmail.com STORE: https://bronzeagemonsters.threadless.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www...

Jun 15, 20241 hr 56 minSeason 6Ep. 168
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