Explore the life and genius of Steve Ditko, Spider-Man's co-creator, in a special 2-hour interview featuring his family. Discover his early years, creative process, and love for science and Batman, shaping his superhero creations. Dive into his youthful influences, like Tarzan and Charles Bronson, and how Ayn Rand's philosophy impacted his work and comic industry relations. Known for his privacy and humor, Ditko's ethos was to let his work speak for itself, focusing on the present and future. This intimate family perspective highlights Ditko's legacy and enduring impact on the comic world.

#SpiderMan #Marvel #DCComics #StanLee #DrStrange #Batman #SteveDitko
#ComicStrips #JackKirby #WW2

©2023 Comic Book Historians

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In 1973, John A. Mozzer, lover of pop culture interviewed 6 people in Reading, Pennsylvania to track down the history of Jim Steranko.  The 6th person was Western/Kid Colt and Hot Rod comic artist, Jack Keller who worked in comics since the Golden Age for companies like Quality, Fawcett, Atlas/Marvel, Charlton and more who went into detail into the history of his comics career as well as discussing meeting a young impressionable Jim Steranko as well as Stan Lee, Dick Giordano and Sal Gentile.  John was gracious to share these files with the world and CBH from his soundcloud, so the first 5 were given a massive audio restoration treatment by Alex Grand and are located and transcribed at the interview section of comicbookhistorians.com, and the 6th one, Jack Keller is digitally restored and audio engineered by Alex Grand and presented here.   John A. Mozzer also provided great imagery of these encounters located both at the CBH website, his flickr and as the thumbnail image for the recording presented here. 

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David Armstrong interviewed Silver & Bronze Age great, John Romita Sr. in 2001 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books with Les Zakarin, first meeting Stan Lee at Timely, his suspense science fiction stories like IT!, working for Famous Funnies, his relationship with Stan Lee in the 1950s, and again in the 1960s, getting inking advice from Joe Maneely, why he joined DC Comics to work on Romance Comics with Zena Brody and Robert Kanigher, discussing Alex Toth, the editorial culture at DC compared to Marvel, Jack Kirby, Martin Goodman, terrible distribution through Independent News, and DC Comics' achilles heel.

Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong.
Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.

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Everyone should know that Steve Ditko was the co-creator of Spider-Man and the creator of Dr. Strange, The Question, Mr A., and many others. But most people do not know who he was, let alone know anything about him. Who was he as a person? Did he have a family? What type of person was he? Mark Ditko (Ditkoverse; Steve's nephew), Lenny Schwartz (writer, Ditko the Play; filmmaker, The Haunted and the Hunted), Jackie Estrada (Eisner Awards administrator; correspondent with Steve), Alex Grand (Comic Book Historians; author, Understanding Superhero Comic Books), and Marci Singel (Steve's first cousin) dispel those strange rumors and provide more information about Steve Ditko than you've ever believed possible. 

Moderated by Tyler McPhail (The Grand Geek Gathering).
Recorded and post-production by Alex Grand

Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians, LLC. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.  

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A sit down chat between Alex Grand and Jose Villarrubia, Eisner nominated Comics colorist and Professor of Art at various colleges, universities & museums on various key aspects of his life and career including renovating Richard Corben's Den for Darkhorse. His personal and working relationships with Corben and Alan Moore are discussed, as well as his childhood reading comic books in Spain, moving to the USA in 1980, working as a photographer in the 1980s, entering comics with Jae Lee in the 1990s at Image Comics, working on Neil Gaiman's Wheel of World's, coloring for Marvel, DC Comics, Vertigo on titles such as X-Men, Batman, Spider-Man, Sentry, Sweet Tooth, Promethea, Tom Strong,  Cuba, My Revolution, Django Unchained and more .  Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.

Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.  Music ©Lost European

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Today we are joined by  special guest-host and resident CBH book Editor and Globo Comico social media founder, N. Scott Robinson, Ph.D., who interviews Alex Grand,  author of the new book, Understanding Superhero Comic Books A History of Key Elements, Creators, Events and Controversies , delving into its in-depth exploration of the origin, growth, and major influences of superhero comic books. The discussion illuminates how iconic characters such as Batman, Wonder Woman, and Captain America are more than just fictional characters, but reflections of their societal contexts. Further, they delve into the contributions of pivotal creators like Julius Schwartz, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jim Starlin, John Byrne, and Alan Moore, highlighting their unique takes on superhero realism, design, revitalization, and deconstruction.

Understanding Superhero Comic Books can be found at:

click: Amazon, the book's publisher, McFarland & Co, Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart,
Target and more...

Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians, LLC. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.  Music ©Lost European

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Alex Grand interviews Jesse Simon, the grandson of Captain America creator, Joe Simon on his creative and influential grandfather and his family's new comic series, SHIELDMASTER found on Kickstarter. Jesse discusses his grandfather's career at Timely Comics with figures like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Martin Goodman, DC Comics, Harvey Comics with Al Harvey, Crestwood, SICK magazine and more. You can get SHIELDMASTER at this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/simonstudios/shieldmaster-3. 

Photo © Jesse Simon. Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians, LLC. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.  Music ©Lost European

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Bill Field returns from the exciting life of television production to host and interview comics historian Alex Grand & medical marijuana pioneer Joshua S. Berman about their award-winning graphic novel, Hashman about real-life raconteur 'Joey Berkowitz' and his life in the vice world of the illegal and legalized cannabis trade. 

Hashman available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and other online retailers.
Hashman Trailer here: https://youtu.be/0j2FALN9KbQ

Hashman synopsis: Award-winning graphic novel about Criminal-turned-psychologist Joey Berkowitz whose complicated past, extends through East Coast mobs, the psychedelic 60s, the New York celebrity drug culture, Berkeley Peace movement, the Paris riots, Altamont, Woodstock, laundering money in Southeast Asia, and sitting meditation courses in Tibet. Join Joey as he manages to escape prosecution time and time again by the seat of his pants, ultimately becoming a noteworthy shrink in Seattle where he manages to find himself as a central figure in the worldwide cannabis legalization scene as its most notorious authorizing doc, dispensary financier, and industry stalwart. Will he make it thru? Or will the law finally catch up with him?

Hashman is important because it offers a true snapshot of life as a hustler in the late 20th century American pop culture landscape, and how he enters the modern era, offering a view of the underground world of cannabis, and how it evolved for the last 5 decades from its seedy roots to a sterile and legalized corporate venture. Get a front row seat in how the massive need for security, rooted in a childhood trauma, can mix with greed and an obsession for vice to eventually lead to one's personal destruction.

Based on a series of interviews with eye witnesses, court reports, and newspaper articles carefully used to construct an authentic and visually visceral ride through the life of a well connected cannabis pioneer.

Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.  Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.

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A sit down chat between Alex Grand and Bud Plant discussing his early years in 1960s fandom, Rocket Blast Comic Collector, Golden Age Timely, Quality and Fiction House comics, EC Comics, Carl Barks, Julius Schwartz comics, Jules Fei¦er's Great Comic Book Heroes, business in the first comic book shops, Sci-Fi Bay Con 1968, 1960s Fanzines, meeting Steranko at New York Comic Con 1970, starting Bud's Mail order, co-founding Comics and Comix and its various stages, finding the Tom Reilly Collection at 1973 Bay Area Comics Convention, from meeting Phil Seuling, starting the direct market, New Media/Irjax lawsuit, Seuling's death, encountering Gary Groth at Fantagraphics, business with Kirby and Eisner, getting into the comic direct distribution business from 1982-1988, publishing Alfredo Alcala and Jack Katz, encountering Steve Geppi at Diamond which decided the course of comic history, getting the inkpot award in the 1990s, and phasing out of San Diego Comic-Con. 

©Comic Book Historians, LLC.

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A sit down chat between Alex Grand and Bud Plant discussing his early years in 1960s fandom, Rocket Blast Comic Collector, Golden Age Timely, Quality and Fiction House comics, EC Comics, Carl Barks, Julius Schwartz comics, Jules Fei¦er's Great Comic Book Heroes, business in the first comic book shops, Sci-Fi Bay Con 1968, 1960s Fanzines, meeting Steranko at New York Comic Con 1970, starting Bud's Mail order, co-founding Comics and Comix and its various stages, finding the Tom Reilly Collection at 1973 Bay Area Comics Convention, from meeting Phil Seuling, starting the direct market, New Media/Irjax lawsuit, Seuling's death, encountering Gary Groth at Fantagraphics, business with Kirby and Eisner, getting into the comic direct distribution business from 1982-1988, publishing Alfredo Alcala and Jack Katz, encountering Steve Geppi at Diamond which decided the course of comic history, getting the inkpot award in the 1990s, and phasing out of San Diego Comic-Con. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. ©2021 Comic Book Historians.

Vote Bud Plant for Eisner Hall of Fame here:  https://form.jotform.com/230927489799177

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