The Comic Book Bears are back to five strong as Bryan rejoins Matt, Steve, Justin and Bill this week! The state of Marvel is up for discussion first and the boys dig deep into Secret Wars, Thors, The All-New All-Different Avengers, Hercules and more. Then DC gets time with Justice League: The Darkseid War, Starfire, Bizarro and the new books from Vertigo. Indie talk is dominated by the extraordinary Huck, F__k Fairyland and The Devilers. And Justin's retro pick is not Harry Potter. (That's a hin...
Dec 07, 2015•1 hr 46 min
The bear boys are thrilled this week to welcome to the show Vivek Tiwary, the author of The Fifth Beatle, the fantastic graphic novel which he wrote with art by Andrew Robinson and Kyle Baker!! The Fifth Beatle is a #1 New York Times bestseller and the winner of two Harvey awards which tells the story of Brian Epstein, the manager of the Beatles. A flamboyant but troubled figure who guided The Beatles to worldwide success, Epstein struggled with his homosexuality at a time before it had been dec...
Nov 25, 2015•1 hr 4 min
The bear boys (minus Bryan) are back with the first of their episodes in their new weekly format! That's right - instead of twice a month, you will be getting hairy heavy homo comic talk every week now! Bill Z and Justin start off with a New York Comic Con recap! There is a Valiant Moment with Steve and Matt! Billy Z leads the DC talk! Matt takes the lead with Marvel and Indie talk! Steve gets in some Vertigo chatter! And newly christened Retro Bear Justin offers up the first of his retro pics! ...
Nov 19, 2015•1 hr 9 min
We start off the show welcoming Sean Lewis for an interview about his upcoming series for Image Comics SAINTS with artist Benjamin Mackey. Sean is an award winning playwright and This American Life personality and he drops in to tell us about this new ongoing series he is writing; a crime/horror action-packed new series that promises heavy metal, sex and deadly one-liners at every turn. Sean delves into how a Catholic upbringing informs the story, how he and Benjamin came up with the idea for SA...
Sep 30, 2015•2 hr 8 min
We all fell in love with them when we saw Barry Bishop propose to Billy Brooks on stage last month at San Diego Comic-Con International. Now we at the Comic Book Bears Podcast are thrilled to bring both Billy and Barry to the show to discuss their Hall H experience, their work in the film industry including Space Station 76 and the upcoming Con Man, their VFX company Mind and Machine, how they developed their interests in geek culture and so much more! Barry and Billy were AMAZING guests: listen...
Aug 27, 2015•2 hr 40 min
In the first part of our 65th episode, Jamal Igle makes a return visit after his appearance at our New York Comic Con Super Week show last October to discuss his Kickstarter campaign to help fund the ongoing series of his Molly Danger and the bear boys couldn't be more thrilled! Molly Danger is a super powered 10-year-old-alien girl who protects the city of Coopersville, New York from an army of villains called The Supermechs. Although Molly is an internationally famous super heroine, she is inc...
Jul 31, 2015•58 min
The Comic Book Bears are back with a special episode where we close the funnybooks for an hour and shift our focus to the silver screen! We are thrilled to have on the show for an interview some of the big names behind the upcoming Bear City 3! Writer/Director Doug Langway and Producer Sam Kite join Billy Z, Justin, Steve and Matt to discuss the Indiegogo campaign to help fund the third and final hilarious installment of the award-winning BearCity Trilogy! Matt pulls double duty on this episode ...
Jul 31, 2015•56 min
NYC is about to have its very first LGBTQ comic convention! And coming on the show to discuss Flame Con are very special guests Joey Stern and Josh Siegel from Geeks OUT! Billy Z, Steve and Matt enlist Joey and Josh to take us through what to expect at Flame Con as well as the history of Geeks OUT, the NYC based queer geek culture group behind it. Josh is also an artist, better known by his pseudonym ModHero, and he talks with us about his work. We then become six on the mic when Brother Bryan j...
May 30, 2015•1 hr 58 min
T.H.U.N.D.E.R.H.O.S.T.S. Bill and Rob return to talk about Dynamo #1, originally published by Tower Comics and cover dated August 1966. A giant size offering of our boy Len Brown in solo action! Listen in and hear how Dynamo faces the evil likes of The Red Dragon, The Iron Maiden, Demo, Dr. Sparta, mysterious men from the moon (maybe), Andor and Dr. Oom in battle! He gets nowhere (again) with Alice! He forgets to ask for a raise! He punches dinosaurs in the face! AND we are treated to the debut ...
Mar 31, 2015•1 hr 39 min
Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger are back and it is a big one folks, as they cover T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #7, cover dated August 1966. After their customary tour through the spinner rack of June 1966 (and maybe a little too much Spider-Man talk) they tackle T-Agents #7 which includes some guest appearances from the ladies of Marvel (sorta kinda) ... but more importantly, they end with spotlighting "A Matter of Life and Death", probably the most important T-Agents story ever. T.H.U.N.D.E.R.tracks thi...
Feb 28, 2015•1 hr 50 min
After an extended hiatus, Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger finally return with another episode that breaks down T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6, originally published by Tower Comics and cover dated July, 1966. The action starts with a few selections from the Silver Age spinner rack as Bill and Rob choose, as always, other books they would have picked up that were on the stands at the same time as T Agents #6. Then they dive into the five stories that make up the book including the first NoMan story with a...
Jan 12, 2015•1 hr 55 min
As part of New York Comic Con's official Super Week schedule of events, the Bears convened at Rockbar NYC on October 8th, 2014 for their very first live podcast recording! And we have the audio for the event for you! Join us as the three Bear Boys Billy Z, Justin and Bryan welcome special guests Jamal Igle (Molly Danger/Supergirl/IDW's Kiss) and Yale Stewart (JL8/Amazing Adventures of Superman) who stop by to discuss their work. Then Greg Boas (producer of such films as Drew: The Man Behind the ...
Oct 31, 2014•1 hr 4 min
The thunderrific fifth episode brings you five villains facing the T-Agents! The Golem! Demo! Baron Von Kampf! The Entrancer! Mastermind! T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #5 from Tower Comics cover dated June 1966 is the issue that Bill Zanowitz and Rob Stager cover in this episode! All this plus our regular shopping at the Silver Age spinner rack, comic convention advice and Thundertracks from The Subdudes and Toyah!
Sep 30, 2014•1 hr 44 min
The long awaited Thundercast Episode 4 is finally here! Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger once again take you back to early 1966 to cover Tower Comics' titantic T-Agents! And what an issue it is - The return of Iron Maiden! Mod swastikas! The debut of Lightning! NoMan shoots a dude in the face! Weed smoking at super speed! Dinosaurs in Manhattan! Dynamo tells Alice to leave him alone! Plus Thundertracks from Iron Maiden and Eddie Floyd if that wasn't enough to get you to turn the pages of Issue #4 a...
Aug 30, 2014•1 hr 34 min
This is the first of a number of special edition episodes when the Bears and their extended family will have a chance to talk about topics outside of four-color funnybook goodness. In this episode regular CBB co-host Bill Zanowitz and past guest and geek culture commentator Chris Cummins spend some time talking toys. You'll get to hear what toys Bill and Chris enjoyed as kids, their history with toys as certified manchildren, toy lines they would love to see exist and a lot more. Mego's World's ...
Aug 30, 2014•1 hr 53 min
The bear boys welcome Steve Bryant, the writer and artist of the adventures of that angelic and adventurous aviatrix Athena Voltaire. Dark Horse/Sequential Pulp will be releasing the Athena Voltaire Compendium later in the year, collecting Athena's complete adventures and Steve drops in to talk about her publishing history, what to expect next with Athena, his influences and much more. Plus Billy Z and Steve talk a little football! Then the bears get down to recent comic talk discussing Original...
Aug 30, 2014•1 hr 57 min
The bear boys come back to you with a three-pronged attack in their latest episode! First up, Billy Z interviews Dave O'Hare and Sal Zurzolo, the co-producers of the Garden State Comic Fest, happening in Morristown, NJ on Saturday, July 23rd. Dave and Sal discuss the guests and the events at the upcoming convention. Then Billy takes Dave and Sal through a series of trivia questions about comics. (Wonder what that means?) After that Justin and Bryan join Billy and Sal to discuss the Guardians of ...
Aug 30, 2014•2 hr 18 min
Get ready for our biggest episode yet! Over 3 1/2 hours! We had originally planned to get an episode out to you earlier in the month but ... life happens. So instead enjoy a grizzly-sized double dose. First, author Clifford Meth returns to the show. This time Ciff brings along Jim Reeber, his partner in Aardwolf Publishing. Cliff and Jim take us through their Kickstarter campaign for a project involving the late Dave Cockrum's Futurians. (Fitting that we talk Cockrum in an episode we can banner ...
Jul 27, 2014•3 hr 38 min
Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger have returned to analyze T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #3, originally published by Tower Comics and cover dated March, 1966. And what do we get in this issue? Dynamo vs. The Subterraneans! NoMan vs. Vibraman! Dynamo vs. The Red Dragon! The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad vs. gray make-up! And best of all - Menthor vs. Dynamo! We also cover what was on TV and what comics were on the spinner rack at the same time T-Agents #3 was on newsstands.There are also tangents galore to enjoy in t...
Jun 30, 2014•1 hr 50 min
Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are joined by guest bear and fan of the show Steve Mowry! Steve and Bryan recently attended HeroesCon where Bryan presented a panel about gay characters with Los Brothers Hernandez (Love and Rockets), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise, Echo, Rachel Rising) and Kate Leth (Kate or Die!, Bravest Warriors). Bryan covers how the panel was put together and how it went down coupled with other con stories from Bryan and Steve. Billy Z was also in attendance at the inaugural Sp...
Jun 30, 2014•1 hr 54 min
Billy Z, Bryan and Justin are back together in the comic bear den. First up, a little X-Men: Days of Future Past talk. Then it is a big 'ol helping of current comic book talk which includes Forever Evil, Teen Titans, Superman: Doomed, Batman/Superman, Earth 2, Future's End, Firestorm, The Wake, Secret Origins, Cyclops, Amazing Spider-Man, Afterlife with Archie, C.O.W.L., Prophet, Velvet and Thanos Annual #1 (sort of). Then the mega funny and uber sexy Brad Taylor of Warner Brothers Studios Tours...
Jun 18, 2014•1 hr 56 min
As Brother Bryan is sequestered on the job, Billy Z and Justin start the show off with a terrific interview with writer Clifford Meth. Cliff has compiled a series of his past columns about the comic book industry into Comic Book Babylon, out now from Aardwolf Publishing. Cliff takes us through his history in comics and his advocacy for creators rights, why he decided to put together Comic Book Babylon and where he thinks the industry is at today. Dave Cockrum, Gene Colan, Stan Lee, Neal Adams, H...
May 28, 2014•1 hr 40 min
Bill Zanowitz and Rob Staeger return to cover T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2, cover dated February 1966. Hear all about the terror that is Dynavac, a big reveal about The Warlord, Dynamo's love interest, Mr. Fong, the Junior T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, NoMan's cloak in Newfoundland, and the best mutated fish-man of all time! All that plus Thundercorn, Rob's wife Kathy makes a brief cameo appearance and we let you know what you should ask Rob Liefeld to sketch.
May 27, 2014•1 hr 9 min
The Comic Book Bears are very pleased to welcome Kyle Schmidt to the show for the first time! Kyle is the comic book editor at Milwaukee’s Crimespree Magazine. Both Kyle and Billy Z attended the C2E2 convention in Chicago recently and they both recount their con experiences. Billy also talks about the Batman at 75 program at the Paley Center in NYC that he went to. After that the bears all join in for some Free Comic Book Day and Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie talk. Then they shift over to current c...
May 17, 2014•2 hr 16 min
Justin, Bryan and Billy Z are back together in the bear den for the first time in a while! Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD dominates the opening part of the cast, then they switch over to current comic talk, rapping about the current Cap books by Rick Remender, Uncanny Avengers, Magneto, All-New X-Men, Nightcrawler, All-New X-Factor, Inhuman, Daredevil, Action Comics, Supergirl, Batman and Wonder Woman, Batman: Eternal, Batgirl, Earth 2, The Wake, Trillium, Moll...
Apr 30, 2014•2 hr 14 min
Billy Z and past guest Bob Joy are joined by Chris Cummins for an Riverdale-riffic episode. Chris is a geek culture writer for Den of Geek US, Topless Robot and Geekadelphia and he also hosts the Nerd Nite Philadelphia events. Chris has hosted a number of trivia events in the past. He serves in the same function here with a trivia contest between Bob and Billy. Chris is also an Archie Comics expert and the conversation turns to a lengthy discussion of all things Archie, past and present. Life wi...
Apr 10, 2014•1 hr 37 min
Bill Zanowitz of the Comic Book Bears and Rob Staeger are the hosts for a new podcast about one of the coolest concepts from the Silver Age of Comics - The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents!! Rob and Bill will be conducting an issue by issue examination covering the entire history of the super-heroic espionage team, from its beginnings in 1965 to the current book published by IDW. On this first episode, the spyglass is focused firmly on T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1, published by Tower Comics and cover dated Nov...
Apr 08, 2014•1 hr 6 min
Billy Z and Justin welcome the amazing Wendi Freeman to the Comic Book Bears Podcast for a rockin' crossover episode with Wendi's Double Page Spread podcast!!! In the first of a two episode crossover, Wendi and the bears talk about rock and roll related comics from the 50s to the 80s. On the turntable - The Beatles, The Originals, The Defenders, Korn, Wings, Matt Wagner, The Micronauts, The Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, the Josie and the Pussycats movi...
Mar 27, 2014•1 hr
Brother Bear Justin is still on the mend from his most recent surgery so filling his corner of the den this time around is James Figueiredo of the amazing Brazilian online community Bear Nerd! We start off with James taking us through the comic scene in Brazil, some of his all-time favorite books, Bear Nerd, Grizzly and the Bear Patrol (which weaves a little bit into the upcoming Crime Fighter Inquiry) and comic translations. Then it's a whole lotta comic book and comic creator talk with James, ...
Mar 14, 2014•2 hr 25 min
It's an especially schizophrenic episode this time round. Our bi-weekly bear blabfest covers a whole lot of ground - Charles Soule's Strange Attractors and She-Hulk, Mike Allred, lawyers who write comic books, Ms. Marvel, Justice League, Batman, weekly comics (Action Comics Weekly, 52 and more), Scooby Doo Team Up, Looney Tunes, Batman: The TV Stories, Lil' Battlestar Galactica, Bergen Street Comics scaling back on carrying monthly titles from the Big 2, Miracleman, Marvelman, more Miracleman, e...
Feb 26, 2014•1 hr 51 min
