This week, we got to get tough - Yo Joe! - with Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly, the creative team behind the new Energon Universe series, Duke. The Man of Action experienced something unexplainable in Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers #2, which rewired his purpose. Now, the Real American Hero is slipping into a "Walking American Nightmare," and General Hawk is concerned. We should all be concerned. Duke #1 lands in shops on December 27th from Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment. It's an...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 214
Five years ago, we launched this podcast with Scott Summers and Jean Grey. Back then, our conversation concluded with a tumultuous debate surrounding Grant Morrison's New X-Men and the complicated three-way that seemingly shattered an iconic Marvel Comics romance. With so much life lived since those early podcasting days, we return to New X-Men issues 127 through 141, this time examining them through the lens of Scott Summers and Emma Frost. Are they the one true pairing? Is the question even fa...
Dec 08, 2023•2 hr 19 min•Ep. 213
Peanut butter and chocolate. Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Two great tastes that taste great together. Whether you first encountered their delicious collaboration through Daredevil, Moon Knight, Scarlet, or whatever, once experienced, you must gorge on the rest. And it's an event - an emergency feast - whenever they reunite. Hitting shops on December 13th, Masterpiece from Dark Horse Comics is the next irresistible banquet from Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. In the solicits, you c...
Nov 29, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 212
We invite Tom Taylor onto the show this week to discuss all the tasty relationship dynamics he's been exploring with the Titans ongoing series and why it's taken decades for these twenty-something superheroes to nab their first major DC Comics event book, Titans: Beast World. For too long, the world has relied on Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, but their decrepit Boomer attitudes won't save the day this time. Everyone, please shut up and listen to Beast Boy. The Titans may no longer be teena...
Nov 22, 2023•47 min•Ep. 211
Dedicated to Jesse Tapia II. "What are you picking up today?" At some point, we all meet Captain Nemo. He's an icon: a literary legend, a Disney villain, and a comic book mainstay. As with Batman, Superman, or any other decades-old character, you probably have your favorite interpretation. Thanks to Juni Ba, there's a new version loose on the planet, and he may very well be our favorite one so far. That's a bold proclamation, but it's Ba, so hyperbole usually quickly transitions into stone-cold ...
Nov 13, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 210
At five years old, Jeff Smith brought Fone Bone to life. Immediately enthralled by the characters of Walt Kelly, Charles M. Schulz, Walt Disney, and others, the kid desperately sought to contribute his own creation. While most abandon their childhood ideas, Smith carried Fone Bone into his teenage years, college life, and adulthood. Why? The question rests at the core of this week's episode. We chat with Jeff Smith about his nearly lifelong relationship with Fone Bone and how it evolved from a c...
Nov 06, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 209
We've wanted to have this conversation with Chris Samnee and Laura Samnee from the moment we read the first issue of Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters. Sure, we've had them on before talking about their beautiful comic celebrating sibling relationships, but we only had half the story. Now the comic is complete and contained in a gorgeously crafted new Deluxe Edition hardcover from Oni Press, and we can go full-spoilers, friends. Don't press play unless you're ready for a proper Comic Book Couple...
Oct 31, 2023•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 208
This week's episode has all the toppings. Kevin Eastman, Jeff Rowe, Tom Waltz, Gavin Smith, Vincenzo Federici, Sarah Myer, Ben Bishop, Esau Escorza, and Isaac Escorza. If you're a shellhead, you're already flipping out. If you're not, you soon will be. There is no better time to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan. No matter your favorite iteration, there is a comic, cartoon, or movie for you. Brought forth from the sewers nearly forty years ago by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, the Ninja Turt...
Oct 27, 2023•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 207
We return from New York Comic-Con , bursting with stories and conversations. We've never had a show quite like this one, where every corner revealed some incredible new encounter and discussion. Cartoonist Kevin Alvir was there, sliding his way through artist alley, riding high, after recently launching his new graphic novel Lisa Cheese and Ghost Guitar: Attack of the Snack. Having barely absorbed all that we did, we try to put it on the record in this episode, recapping as much as we could whil...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 206
Good evening, boils and ghouls. Welcome to a spooktacular conversation with comics scribe David Dastmalchian, discussing his devilishly delicious and wickedly personal horror comic Count Crowley. Currently, two volumes are available from Dark Horse Comics (Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter and Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter), and a third chapter is nearly upon us (Mediocre Midnight Monster Hunter hits the comic shops and graveyards on November 8th). To celebrate, Dastmalchian pulled up a coffin...
Oct 08, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 205
Don't take candy from strangers. Did you ever ask your mom or dad, "Why?" Or were you too afraid? Were you already too good at actively imagining what those strangers would do with you once they got you in the van? Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath brushes against that very particular dread, playing with your nostalgia and injecting grotesque horror into your picturesque youth. Sam the Bear appears as the ideal small-town neighbor. She runs the local hardware store. She has ...
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 204
Every accomplished creative work is miraculous. Bringing anything over the finish line should be celebrated. However, even rarer are the projects that find their way to the artist whom no one else could compete with regarding that project. Dave Chisholm was seemingly born to adapt Miles Davis' life into comic book form. Holding a doctorate in jazz trumpet from the Eastman School of Music, Dave Chisholm better understands Miles Davis than most cartoonists. The icon has haunted Chisholm since yout...
Sep 22, 2023•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 203
A particular story has rattled around Christian Ward's imagination for years. It's been there since childhood, really. Since he first encountered Grant Morrison and Dave McKean's Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth. Last year, he sent out a Tweet, taunting the universe to grant his wish - to tell his cosmic Batman saga. Now, we're weeks away from the cosmos' answer. Batman: City of Madness #1 lands on shelves from DC Comics on October 10th. It's a real humdinger, a comic that feels...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 202
Episode 200! Light Carries On by Ray Nadine refuses to allow death to get in the way of a little life-changing romance. We go into session with Leon and Cody, two souls in stasis, unsure how to move forward and afraid their future won't hold happiness. Together, they uncover the beauty they're already living or un-living. You may think you know where Light Carries On will take you, but Ray Nadine blissfully subverts genre convention and delivers a genuinely original ghost story. Only in the last...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 201
We close our San Diego Comic-Con International coverage with an epic roundtable conversation with Energon Universe shepherds Robert Kirkman, Sean Mackiewicz, Joshua Williamson, and Daniel Warren Johnson. As you have undoubtedly heard, Skybound Entertainment is the new G.I. Joe and Transformers license holder. They recently launched their shared universe with a new comic book series called Void Rivals, written by Kirkman and illustrated by Lorenzo De Felici, and we think it's the most exciting ev...
Aug 28, 2023•58 min•Ep. 200
Moving one character from one medium to another is a complex task. Nicole Maines was desperate to see her Dreamer fighting alongside the other DC Comics superheroes. However, when she pitched the idea to the publisher, she didn't expect them to ask her to participate in that process. Quickly, Maines found herself as writer of Dreamer's destiny, and such responsibility was as thrilling as it was daunting. Already, Dreamer has appeared in Superman: Son of Kal-El and the DC crossover event, Lazarus...
Aug 21, 2023•51 min•Ep. 199
During this year's San Diego Comic-Con International, finding someone working harder or as urgently as Todd McFarlane would be difficult. He was everywhere, announcing numerous projects one after the other. His partnership with Warner Bros. shows no signs of weakening as they unveiled numerous DC Multiverse figures, including a definitive cinematic Batman six-pack. McFarlane and Count Crowley creator David Dastmalchian revealed their Knights vs. Samurai series. He announced not one but five new ...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 198
The path Mother Nature took to its sequential form is beautifully compelling. When Jamie Lee Curtis was nineteen, an angry story of global catastrophe and corporate greed took root. Time would pass, and along with her co-writer Russell Goldman, she would mold it into a potential movie. Her eventual friendship with New Yorker cartoonist (and former CBCC guest) Karl Stevens would ultimately yield the new graphic novel from Titan Comics. Curtis never imagined herself as a comic creator, but here sh...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 197
For most of us, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series is where our shellshocked obsessions began. Now, IDW Publishing returns to this glorious era with their Saturday Morning Adventures offshoot with writer Erik Burnham and artists Tim Lattie, Jack Lawrence, and Dan Schoening busting out all the best Playmates action figures. The new series tickles nostalgic pleasures while keeping itself grounded in the now. Last week, we unleashed an onslaught of creator content to coincide with the...
Aug 04, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 196
In September, Usagi Yojimbo returns to Dark Horse Comics with the new mini-series Ice and Snow. However, that's just the warm-up. Stan Sakai and Julie Sakai have massive plans for their Dogu Publishing imprint, and we're eager to break it all down with them. Their creative partnership began on a short strip featured in Peanuts: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz. We go back to their beginning and trace a path to where they are today, creatively and as a romantic couple. How did they know they would ...
Jul 23, 2023•57 min•Ep. 195
When we first started That Texas Blood by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips, we enjoyed it as a nifty, nasty, clever Western Noir. Now, we're three trade paperbacks in and one issue into their spin-off series, The Great Enfield Gang Massacre, and we think we're reading an epic mythology saga exploring notions of lowercase evil and uppercase Evil. Friends, this is their Hellboy, whether they want to admit it or not. The Enfield Gang Massacre #1 hits shelves courtesy of Image Comics on August 9th. I...
Jul 22, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 194
Most people cringe a little when they look at their younger selves. Cartoonist Adrian Tomine certainly doesn't love revisiting his older work, but he was challenged to do so when adapting his own graphic novel, Shortcomings, for director Randall Park. We're ecstatic to have Tomine on the podcast today, discussing his recent revisitation of a work that gripped both of us when we cracked the page. The creator is generous with his time, process, and internal life. Shortcomings is - what did TNT use...
Jul 21, 2023•50 min•Ep. 193
The San Diego Comic-Con International is back, and just like last year, we're determined to bring the celebrations to our Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast feed. Whether you're attending the show or not, we aim to bring the con experience to your ears. All week long. Every day of the con, we're dropping one new, rad creator conversation episode. We're kicking things off strong today (Thursday), chatting with celebrated science fiction, television, and comics writer Paul Cornell. His new Ahoy...
Jul 20, 2023•55 min•Ep. 192
With four Mark Grayson and Atom Eve counseling sessions already behind us, we finally reach a conclusion regarding their Invincible relationship. In this episode, we discuss the final two trade paperbacks in Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, and Cory Walker's superhero masterpiece, The End of All Things Parts One and Two. While their ending is definitive, their story seemingly remains ongoing. We must reckon with what we're given and how far these characters have and have not grown since we first met...
Jul 18, 2023•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 191
Nearly to the day, Tyler Crook returns to Comic Book Couples Counseling to discuss The Lonesome Hunters, this time digging into its follow-up series, The Wolf Child. As he proved during his last session, Crook is eager to crack open his story and root around inside. There is life here, and we need to know what makes it tick. Centered in this conversation is a paraphrased Jack Kirby quote. In these notes, we'll present it in full as it was spoken during an interview on The Masters of Comic Book A...
Jul 13, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 190
Let the festivities begin! This year, Red Sonja celebrates her fiftieth anniversary, and as caretakers and licensors of the character, Shannon and Luke Lieberman are determined to transform 2023 into a massive birthday bash. A movie is on the horizon. Gail Simone has penned a new book, and a comics series is launching with a new number one written by Torunn Grønbekk and illustrated by Walter Geovani. It's set to release next week (7/19), which just so happens to coincide with the San Diego Comic...
Jul 10, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 189
For two years, we've discussed The Sandman on our Patreon, one episode at a time, one issue at a time. Periodically, we've dropped certain conversations into the main Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast feed, but it's been a while. Since we're nearly reaching the end of Neil Gaiman's original 75-issue run, we felt compelled to pull a Patreon conversation to all our wonderful listeners' attention. Our "Sleepwalking Through Sandman" Patreon series is an extremely vulnerable experience for us. Li...
Jul 04, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 188
Steel yourself. My Adventures with Superman is the Superman story you've been waiting for, friends. The new animated series (set to premiere on Adult Swim on July 6th and on Max the next day) is a joyful exploration, digging deep into what it means to be super. Not just from Clark Kent's perspective but also from Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane's points of view. My Adventures with Superman is a vibrant, radical, and passionate outburst. The cartoon is a relationship saga, beginning just as these three...
Jun 26, 2023•57 min•Ep. 187
It's not up for debate. American Born Chinese, now streaming on Disney+, is 2023's best comic book adaptation. The streaming series miraculously transforms Gene Luen Yang's iconic graphic novel into something unique without betraying the book's characters or core emotions. You can experience both separately from each other or in conversation with each other; they're doing their own thing. On this week's episode, Gene Luen Yang joins the show to discuss the adaptation process and how it somewhat ...
Jun 22, 2023•49 min•Ep. 186
You rarely encounter an accurate depiction of social anxiety in art. At least an accurate depiction that reflects our experience. We found ourselves in Turtle Bread, the new graphic novel from former Great Britsh Bake-Off contestant Kim-Joy. The discovery was thrilling, emotional, and somewhat hard to believe. Here we are, wrapped up inside a gorgeous baking comic wondrously illustrated by Alti Firmansyah. It's a gift we're eager to hand to friends, family, and strangers. Look inside and see the...
Jun 14, 2023•55 min•Ep. 185
