A look deep inside fandom as the earliest foundations were formed with an in house Marvel Fanzine! A legendary comic book writer shares his many inspirations! Fall Of X pt. 2 and Rob’s Recommendation’s returns! A jam packed episode for sure! (Updated for full content)
The Fall Of X is upon us! An era that has dominated the X-Men in recent years is coming to an end and as the curtains prepare to close we look at Marvel’s original mission statement for the X-Men and how it has shifted over time. I’ll take you behind the scenes, sharing the events that led up to the dramatic changes in the Marvel Mutants! We look forward to and ponder what comes next for the Children Of The Atom!
We go back and uncover an incredible archive covering the 1975 San Diego Comic Con! It was an industry hopeful for a better tomorrow, many talents struggling to get by. Which talent felt trauma watching their creation grow into a media darling? Who wouldn’t allow photos of their work to be taken? Stan Lee! Jack Kirby! Jim Steranko! Jerry Siegel! Chuck Norris! All in their own words straight from Comic Con ‘75!
As our Comic Con 2023 coverage continues, Rob invites you along to an epic dinner with Living Legends! Frank Miller! Arthur Adams! Robert Kirkman! David Mandel! Jeph Loeb! David Finch! The episode that boldly asks “Does anyone else desire a seafood tower?”
Rob walks you through the events of Comic Con 2023 with a behind the scenes wrap up of the dinners, the meet-ups, the personalities and all the special events that made this years annual comic convention such a blockbuster!
Greek Gods, Ghost Riders, Mutants & Russian Spies! The behind the scenes of a cult classic, Rob shares the story of The Champions, Marvel’s eclectic 70’s era team book that failed to stick the landing while becoming the darling of a generation.
We look at Sliding Doors, the moves and non-moves that defined both comic books and pop culture? Was there another group of artist’s that sought to be the next Image Comics? If so, how close did they get to actually making it a reality?
We are always entertained in sports when our favorite athletes pop off at each other and comic books has a rich history of testy rivalries as well. We look back on some of the more bitter vitriol exchanged by rivals of a competitive era. We have more beef to grill than a cattle rancher!
The DC Dilemma continues to confound their cinematic universe but a new Chief promises a new hope as James Gunn plots the future of the DCU. We look forward rather than back, towards what is to come and examine the shape a fresh Superman might take! Also, a Jack Kirby acknowledgment!
Comic Book Movie Mayhem is upon us! The past year has not been kind to either Marvel or DC as films from both studios struggle to regain their peak box office performances. We examine the state of the comic book movie, starting with the MCU. What does Marvel’s recent track record tell us going forward, what created the disconnect in the first place and most importantly, have they already found the path way towards their next break thru smash!
From Comics to Cosby, Springsteen to Super Heroes, the comic books, television, movies and music of a stellar year! Plus, the cult classics and the secret of Spider Man’s black costume!
Fresh franchises reached blockbuster status! Ghostbusters & Indiana Jones battled it out at the top of the charts! Gremlins, Karate Kid, Police Academy found the spotlight! Marvel’s Secret Wars series dominated the comic book scene and Spider Man was Back In Black! An incredible year of big swings and bigger hits!
Celebrating two titanic talents, Kubrick & The King! The comic book adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s landmark film, 2001 A Space Odyssey, arrives 8 years after the movie compelled audiences all across the globe. Produced by Marvel Comics, It was written & illustrated by Jack “King” Kirby who pushed the concept far beyond Kubrick’s initial film and inspired characters that populate and are published in the Marvel’s Universe to this day.
As Deadpool:Badder Blood #1 arrives in stores, Rob takes you behind the scenes of his latest work. From initial concept to finished page to the shelves of your local shop, this episode provides a comprehensive study of how a comic book is brought to reality.
The battle for chart dominance was never as competitive as it was in the late 80’s, early 90’s! Rob shares dozens of market reports from retailers from 1989-1990. Batmania rocked the industry, Marvel storms back! The future was unfolding in front of our eyes, the market expanded at a rate that it struggled to contain! Spider Man! Batman! X-Men! Wolverine! Punisher! Guardians Of The Galaxy!
As a Writer’s Strike grinds Hollywood, we strike back at Artificial Intelligence with part 2 of our A.I. series! Industry experts weigh in as the growing concern over A.I. continues! What does the future hold for the entertainment that we celebrate and enjoy as the threat of machines and the greed of corporations increases!
Our journey through 1983 continues as Marvel’s Canadian Super Team takes Flight, breaking records in the process. The British Invasion hits the music scene launching dozens of new acts to instant stardom! Michael Jackson & The Police battle for dominance atop the charts! Prime time soaps are all the rage! As entertaining a year as they come!
As Variety questions where are the stars of tomorrow, we look at the year where Super-Stars were born! Tom Cruise! Eddie Murphy! Michael Keaton! Matthew Broderick! The movies of 1983 launched them into stardom! At Marvel, Beta Ray Bill dominates! The Morlocks make their move!
We continue our foray into the year that was 1979! The movies, tv, music & comic books that impacted pop culture! Stan Lee returns to Marvel to introduce She-Hulk, Scott Lang becomes Ant-Man! Project Pegasus shakes the Marvel Universe! Michael Jackson goes Off The Wall, Supertramp has Breakfast In America and AC/DC takes the Highway To Hell! Don’t Take The Long Way Home, catch up on Robservations now!
Another banner year in our decades series! 1979 is spectacular! Superman! Alien! Star Trek! James Bond goes to outer space! You will believe a man can fly! Following the success of Star Wars, Marvel goes all in all licensed comics!
Avengers! X-Men! Marvel’s top titles for the past 4 decades! The ties that bind these two franchises run deeper than you can imagine! We examine characters, creators and events that unite them over the ages!
1985 was a banner year for Pop Culture! DC had a Crisis! A new Arthur was crowned King! Marty McFly went Back To The Future! Live-Aid rocked 2 continents! John Rambo returned and Rocky goes to Russia! What a year! We celebrate it all!
It’s time to shine the spotlight on the talented ladies that blazed the trail for women in comic books! We honor the pioneers that paved the way! Names behind such classics as Super Friends! Star Wars! Aquaman! Sandman! Elfquest! Glory! Power Man! X-Men and many more!
IMAGE UNITED combined the talents of 6 of the most popular artists of an era, each of them drawing on every page, sometimes every panel for over 60 consecutive pages! The most ambitious project attempted in the history of comics! We talk the inspiration, the execution and the obstacles in pulling it all off!
With multiple Comic Book and Pop Culture Shows popping up every weekend, Rob shares some of his own Convention experiences and some cautionary tales along the way!
An episode focusing on the process of finishing and embellishing comic book art! Breakdowns! Layouts! The construction of pages we love and the craft with which they are made is our focus in this edition of Making Comics!
Once again into the breach with the rarest of rare 1991 Frank Miller interview’s from L.A. Weekly. Frank has conquered comics and talks his achievements with Dark Knight, Daredevil, Hard Boiled, Martha Washington & Elektra!
A very special episode discussing the Rise of Artificial Intelligence and its growing influence on music, movies and art. Deep Fakes! Midjourney! Rob shares his own experiences with A.I. art as well as his belief why mankind will prevail!
Two comic books representing two separate factions of fans, each struggling to sell enough copies to stave off cancelation, combined to achieve success neither comic had experienced before! Marvel’s Power Man & Iron Fist checks all the boxes! It’s like Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder with lots of martial arts!
Rob takes you back to that fateful night in November 1978, the one and only showing of The Star Wars Holiday Special! We examine the culture of the 1970’s variety show format that informed the special as well as why access to anything Star Wars was at such a premium! Plus, Boba Fett! Life Day! Itchy! Lumpy! All that make-up on Luke Skywalker!
