Classic Comics Cavalcade

This week Jason speaks with J. Michael Catron, a senior editor at Fantagraphics Books who is responsible for the E.C. Comics and Disney Comics libraries, among others. Jason and Mike talk for around an hour about what made E.C. the greatest company of their time, celebrate some great cartoonists and some rather subpar lettering. They also delve into Mike's history as a publisher at his own Apple Comics. 

Show notes at comicscavalcade.tumblr.com

This week Jason chats with one of his favorite cartoonists of all time about many topics, including Campbell's remarkable work of comics history "The Goat Getters: Jack Johnson, the Fight of the Century and How a Bunch of Raucous Cartoonists Reinvented Comics." It's a very fun listen.

Show notes at  comicscavalcade.tumblr.com

Jon B. Cooke has once again delivered a definitive comics history. "The Book of Weirdo" is an amazingly in-depth history of one of the most important comics anthologies of the 1980s and 1990s, featuring work by such prominent cartoonists as R. Crumb, Peter Bagge, Bill Griffith, Kim Deitch, Ace Backwards and many more, as well as by some of the most obscure and fascinating talented creators of that era. I had a great time talking "Weirdo" and its impact with Jon and I think you'll enjoy the chat too.

For more on Weirdo and Jon's book, click here. Jon's podcast is called Subterranean Dispatch -- and the first episode includes an interview with R. Crumb. Show notes at comicscavalcade.tumblr.com

We've all forgotten how strange the phrase "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" sounds. To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Turtles, Carlos Rodela joins Jason to discuss the creation and amazingly rapid rise of the Turtles, to a point where the two creators were earning $50 million a year from the Turtles.

Show notes -- including some vintage photos from Eastman -- are posted at  https://comicscavalcade.tumblr.com/ 

Jason interviews award-winning comics historian Bill Schelly about his new book James Warren: Empire of Monsters. Warren was a fascinating and important character in comics history, and Schelly shares some fascinating stories about this unique and often person.

Show notes are at comicscavalcade.tumblr.com

Jason talks with Zack Davisson, translator of classic manga by creators such as Go Nagai, Mizuki Shigeru, Satoshi Kon and Leiji Matsumoto , about the art of comic translation and what happens when you finally achieve everything you've dreamed of.

Jason chats with Kurt Mitchell, author of The American Comic Book Chronicles: the 1940s, about some of the most important and exciting comics from that era. We talk Simon & Kirby, Eisner, Lou Fine and a slew of more obscure creators and comics. Kurt's book is available at tomorrows.com or amazon.com, or through Diamond at your local comic shop. Show notes, including pages from some of the comics we mention are available at comicscavalcade.tumblr.com.

Jason is joined by Daniel Elkin of My Chicken Enemy and Nick Hanover, esteemed critic, for a discussion of some of the fascinating life and career of writer Steve Gerber. Nick, Daniel and Jason discuss the chilling feel of the Foolkiller comic, how writing six comics per month can change one's attitude, and the importance of having the right artist to match a story.

Show notes at comicscavalcade.tumblr.com. Please leave us a review on iTunes and tweet us @jasonsacks!

In part two of his history of the crazy American comic book distribution system, Jason talks about the 1980s comic book boom and bust and about the 1990s comic book boom and its terrible bust, which led to bankruptcy for many businesses and a single national distributor of comic books. How did we get to the bizarre place in which only one company distributes comic books to American comic stores? Find that answer -- and a lot more -- in this week's Classic Comics Cavalcade.

We're all used to Diamond Distribution being the only company that distributes comic books to the American direct market. But how did we get that way? We look at the corrupt and complex beginnings of comic book distribution and learn about a crucial lawsuit that changed everything.  Part one of two.