Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill

Grab your pickaxes and mining helmets, this week Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) uncover the seedy underbelly of comics history! First, a detailed look at Tijuana Bibles and a sadistic sex comic drawn by Superman co-creator, Joe Shuster. Then we take a long look at the careers of satirist and publisher Harvey Kurtzman and talented yet tragic Wally Wood, including their independently-produced works that would be so influential to a generation of comics creators. Will the reason behind the "X" in "comix" be revealed? You'll have to listen to find out!

Will Eisner speaks well of Harvey Kurtzman at the Dallas Fantasy Fair on July 5, 1990

Circle the wagons and prepare for American history when Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) read a more recent comic about a much older time: Skybound Comics' Manifest Destiny #1 by Chris Dingess and Matthew Roberts! There's scant biographical information about the creators, but plenty of information about the expedition of Lewis and Clark, of which they go into great detail. Then, our fellas read through the entire first issue of Manifest Destiny and do their best not to offend too many folks from the United Kingdom, or Australia, or both. After revealing some secrets of the Oregon Trail, Chris and Reggie talk about the comics history of history...in comics, and then list some other works of comic book historical fiction that we happen to like. Listening to this episode constitutes thirty percent of your final grade, so you don't want to miss it!

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facebook.com/cosmictmillhistory

@cosmictmill

chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

 As requested by esteemed comics enthusiast Matches Balone, Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) read Batman #681 from 2008! They give some details on writer Grant Morrison and penciller Tony S. Daniel, and provide a synopsis of the entire Morrison run on Batman that led to this issue--and beyond! They also speculate on the true identity of Batman's nemesis Doctor Simon Hurt, a character we may never see again. Join us for the monumental death of Batman...then his resurrection, then his death again, and another resurrection!

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FURTHER READING:

http://rikdad.blogspot.com/2009/05/wizard-211-platinum-batman-rip.html

http://sequart.org/magazine/775/deconstructing-batman-r-i-p/

http://www.comicmix.com/2008/11/26/the-stories-that-informed-batman-r-i-p/

TAGS: comic books, comics history, Batman, Grant Morrison, Tony S. Daniel, DC Comics, biography, Black Glove, Doctor Simon Hurt, Bruce Wayne

This week, Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) become werewolf hunters when they read issue #405 of Captain America from 1992 by Mark Gruenwald and Rik Levins--"Dances With Werewolves!" Including the usual creator biographies and history of the character, our duo go through every issue of the six-part "Man and Wolf" story arc, paying special attention to issue #405 which contains the emergence of Capwolf! Then they wrap it all up with a cultural and comic book history of werewolves, and list a few other times in comics that heroes were subject to bizarre transformations. You'll want your silver bullets loaded for this one, it's a howler!

[email protected]

facebook.com/cosmictmillhistory

@cosmictmill

chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

BREAK: A snippet from an episode of Mark Gruenwald's public access cable television show from 1984, "Cheap Laffs"

This week, Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) become werewolf hunters when they read issue #405 of Captain America from 1992 by Mark Gruenwald and Rik Levins--"Dances With Werewolves!" Including the usual creator biographies and history of the character, our duo go through every issue of the six-part "Man and Wolf" story arc, paying special attention to issue #405 which contains the emergence of Capwolf! Then they wrap it all up with a cultural and comic book history of werewolves, and list a few other times in comics that heroes were subject to bizarre transformations. You'll want your silver bullets loaded for this one, it's a howler!

[email protected]

facebook.com/cosmictmillhistory

@cosmictmill

chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

BREAK: A snippet from an episode of Mark Gruenwald's public access cable television show from 1984, "Cheap Laffs"

Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) talk about the lives and careers of two of comics' greatest luminaries: Joe Simon and Jack "the King" Kirby! They discuss Jack and Joe's respective childhoods right up to the moment they meet, and continue along their whirlwind and somewhat unorthodox paths through comics' Golden Age. Then you'll learn about Kirby's ascendancy to rewrite the way comics were told while Simon quit comics...sort of. They also detail the late lives of the legendary Captain America creators, including the legal battle with Marvel fought by Jack Kirby's estate that was settled very recently! You'll definitely want to learn about these creative powerhouses that changed the comics industry--several times over!

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BREAK CLIP: WBAI August 28, 1987 celebration of Jack Kirby's 70th birthday (snippet)

SOURCES:

http://www.tcj.com/the-joe-simon-interview/

http://kirbymuseum.org/biography/

Kirby’s vs. Marvel (2011-2014)

http://www.copyhype.com/2011/08/marvel-v-kirby-work-for-hire-and-copyright-termination/

Simon vs. Marvel (2003)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/books/16gust.html?_r=0

Stan v Jack - Who did what

http://zak-site.com/Great-American-Novel/ff_Lee-Kirby.html

My Life in Comics by Joe Simon, Titan Books, 2011

TAGS: comics, history, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Marvel Comics, Captain America, Young Romance, romance comics, Fantastic Four, Archie Comics, Harvey Comics, DC Comics, Challengers of the Unknown, New Gods, Kamandi, Thor, the Hulk