Comic Book Historians

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview comic writer Don McGregor, in the first of a multi-parter on his road to Black Panther, discussing his childhood, jobs out of high school, his first experience with social justice at a Hopalong Cassidy fan meeting, Phil Seuling Comic Convention, introducing himself to Jim Steranko in 1969, heckling Jim Warren into a job, meeting collaborator Billy Graham, and writing the first interracial kiss in newsstand comics.  Don also discusses the comics and book writers and artists that influenced his writing as a kid in this kick off episode including Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein, Jim Steranko, and Reed Crandall. 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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“Comics Detective” Ken Quattro talks in detail with Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson about his terrific new book, “Invisible Men:The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books.”  The lives of pre-Golden Age figures are examined such as Adolph Barreaux who contributed to the first DC and Harvey Comics, Matt Baker, Orrin Evans, George Evans, Hollingsworth, and Calvin Massey.  Learn about some behinds the scene information on Will Eisner, Stan Lee, Walter Gibson, Harry Donnenfeld and more.  Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. 

#InvisibleMen #KenQuattro #MattBaker #StanLee

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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview comic artist, Ron Frenz in the third of a 3 parter discussing his run on the Mighty Thor with Tom DeFalco co-creating characters like Mongoose, Quicksand, Earthforce, Code Blue, the Celtic Gods, Stellaris, the New Warriors, starting up and ending Thunderstrike amidst the Marvel Bankruptcy, leaving Marvel to work on Superman/Blue with Dan Jurgens, co-creating Spider-Girl and the MC2 Universe, making the second Thunderstrike volume, drawing for Outdoors life and his current project, The Blue Baron inked by the legendary Sal Buscema.  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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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview comic artist, Ron Frenz in the second of a 3 parter discussing his run on Spider-Man with Roger Stern and Tom DeFalco, working under editor Danny Fingeroth and then Jim Owsley, co-creating characters like Black Fox and Puma, the circumstances of leaving Spidey, and ending up with The Mighty Thor for 5 years co-creating a pantheon of characters and places.  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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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview comic artist, Ron Frenz in a first of a 3 parter discussing his childhood in Pittsburgh,his favorite comics as a kid,  meeting Marie Severin at a local convention, reading How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by John Buscema, giving art samples to Jim Shooter at a later convention, his work in animation working on the Creepshow 1982 film, starting work at Marvel on Ka-Zar with Bruce Jones and Louise Jones, Star Wars with Tom Palmer, Marvel Team Up with Tom DeFalco and the beginning of his comics career on Spider-Man.  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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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview comic artist, Joe Staton in a second of a 2 parter discussing his DC Career with All Star Comics, The Justice Society of America, Earth 2 Superheroes, Green Lantern, Omega Men, collaborations with Paul Levitz & Marv Wolfman, conflict with Sol Harrison, his art director career with First Comics working with guys like Mike Gold and Howard Chaykin, over 100 issues of Scooby Doo comics, and his current Harvey Award winning project with the Dick Tracy comic strip.  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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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview comic artist, Joe Staton, from his early fanzine days in the 60s, to starting his professional comic's career with Jim Warren Magazines, Charlton with their bullseye fanzine and the CPL gang, co-creating E-Man with Nick Cuti, Space: 1999, Six Million Dollar Man, inking Sal Buscema on the Avengers and Herbe Trimpe on the Hulk in the mid 1970s, the Marvel black and white magazines and his work on Mike Friedrich's Star Reach in this first of a 2 parter.  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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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview author & Comic Art Museum curator Kim Munson, the editor of the Comic Art in Museums anthology and the exhibition catalogs Dual Views: Labor Landmarks of San Francisco and On Reflection: the Art of Margaret Harrison, as well as many contributions to academic books, journals, magazines, and other publications. She is also the co-curator with her cohort, Trina Robbins Society of Illustrators museum in New York, the Women in Comics: Looking Forward and Back exhibition.   We discuss her museum exhibition as well as the history of Comic Art in Museums going back 100 years.  Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. 

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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Lawyer and writer Brett Dakin, about his new book, a biography of his grand-uncle Lev Gleason of Lev Gleason Comic Publications discussing his formation of the first modern comic book with Charles Max Gaines, starting the Golden Age Daredevil and Crime Comics with Charles Biro and Bob Wood, his political battles with the House of Unamerican Activities Committee, the FBI, Frederick Wertham, Estes Kefauver, and the Comics Code of America.  Explore the life of both Lev Gleason and Lev Gleason Publications.  Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. 

CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.  Music ©Lost European

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Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview David Anthony Kraft discussing his Defenders run, then dive into his character defining run on She-Hulk in her first series, his Music references like Blue Oyster Cult, his Beatles Marvel Super Specials, his Children Books with Marvel Special Projects under Sol Brodsky, why he left Marvel and DC Comics in 1983, publishing his Comics Interview Magazine from 1983-1995, publishing sci fi books by authors like Don McGregor, his work in animation for shows like GI Joe Extreme, his recent work Yi Soon Shin, and his 3 mentors, Leigh Brackett, Stan Lee and E. Hoffman Price in this second of a 2 parter. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.  Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/comicbookhistorians

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