Marvel’s Western comics are more than relics of a bygone era. They are foundational texts in the history of the company. They shaped the careers of key creators, sustained the publisher through lean years, and introduced storytelling techniques that would later define the Marvel Universe.

Featured biographies Doug Wildey & Dick Ayers

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry.

Recommended reading for this episode:

Marvel Masterworks: Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt Outlaw, Two-Gun Kid

Gunfighters: The Story of the American West in Comics by R. C. Harvey

Kirby: King of Comics by Mark Evanier

The Secret History of Marvel Comics by Blake Bell & Dr. Michael J. Vassallo

Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution by Ronin Ro

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe

COMIC A-Z is hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated Comics, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Sales Director for the Dream Factory chain of 22 stores and Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic book, trading card, and toy distributor in the country. He was the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic related merchandise. He even wrote issue #4 of THE MUNSTERS from TV Comics. Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer.

This podcast is made by humans. Accept no substitutes.

© Kevin Cleary 2026

Debuting in 1939, Namor is not only among the earliest costumed heroes in American comics, but he also closely coincided with archetypal figures such as Superman, Batman, and Captain America. Most importantly, he represents one of the earliest examples of a morally complex antihero in comics—an aristocratic warrior who is as likely to attack humanity as to save it.

Recommended reading for this episode:

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe

Marvel Comics The Timely Years 1939–1949 by Brad C. Bishop

Timely Confidential: When the Golden Age of Comics Was Young by Allen Bellman

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry.

Hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic, card, and toy distributor in the country, and the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic related merchandise.

Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer.

This podcast is made by humans.

© Kevin Cleary 2026

For more than half a century, MAD Magazine was not merely a humor publication. It was an attitude, a worldview, a survival guide for young readers navigating a confusing modern world filled with advertising lies, political hypocrisy, corporate doublespeak, and pop-culture absurdity. If Superman stood for idealism and Reader’s Digest stood for earnest uplift, MAD stood for skepticism—armed with jokes, cartoons, parody lyrics, and relentless mockery.

Recommended reading for this episode:

MAD Art: A Visual Celebration of the Art of MAD Magazine and the Idiots Who Create It — Mark Evanier (2002)

The MAD World of William M. Gaines by Frank Jacobs (1972)

Harvey Kurtzman: The Man Who Created MAD and Revolutionized Humor in America by Bill Schelly (2015)

Al Jaffee’s Mad Life by Mary-Lou Weisman (2010)

Foul Play!: The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s EC Comics by Grant Geissman (2005)

Tales of Terror!: The EC Companion by Fred von Bernewitz & Grant Geissman (2000)

The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America by David Hajdu (2008)

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry.

Hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic, card, and toy distributor in the country, and the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic related merchandise.

Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer.

This podcast is made by humans.

© Kevin Cleary 2026

From the outset, Little Orphan Annie distinguished itself. It wasn’t merely a humorous sketch or a suburban gag panel — it was a serialized adventure with recurring characters, dramatic arcs, and a wide thematic range.

Its blend of youthful innocence, gritty street-wise adventures, and socio-political flair helped it become both popular and provocative, captivating adults as well as children.

Recommended reading list for this episode:

Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray – (IDW / Library of American Comics editions) 2008

The Autobiography of Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray 1948

The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics by Bill Blackbeard & Dale Crain 1977

Comic Strips and Consumer Culture, 1890–1945 by Ian Gordon 1998

Broadway’s Bravest Orphans: The Making of Annie by Mark Alpert

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry.

Hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic, card, and toy distributor in the country, and the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic related merchandise.

Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer.

This podcast is made by humans.

© Kevin Cleary 2026

Kal-El, also known as Superman, the towering figure in blue with his red cape, stands as arguably the most recognizable fictional hero in global popular culture. First introduced in Action Comics #1 in June 1938, Superman predates and defines what generations of readers and audiences understand as the “superhero.” A conflation of immigrant aspirations, mythic archetypes, and escapist fantasy distilled into a costumed adventurer, Superman swiftly became an unprecedented commercial and cultural success.

Recommended reading list for this episode:

Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster — Brad Ricca (2013)

The Science of Superheroes – Lois H. Gresh & Robert Weinberg (2002)

Superman: The Complete History — Les Daniels (1998)

Comic Book Nation – Bradford W. Wright (2001)

Superman: The High‑Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero — Larry Tye (2012)

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry.

Hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic, card, and toy distributor in the country, and the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic related merchandise.

Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer.

This podcast is made by humans.

© Kevin Cleary 2026

The Justice League is a Cornerstone of Superhero Mythology. First appearing in 1960, the Justice League transformed the superhero genre by consolidating DC Comics’ most powerful and recognizable characters into a single, cooperative entity. The League was not merely a team but a conceptual shift in how superhero narratives could operate—emphasizing collaboration, shared universes, and escalating stakes that exceeded the scope of individual hero stories.

Recommended reading list for this episode:

The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu

Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes by Brad Ricca

Julius Schwartz: Man of Two Worlds by Brian M. Thomsen

The DC Vault by Martin Pasko

Superheroes: A Modern Mythology by Richard Reynolds

The New Mutants and the Golden Age by Marc Singer

Of Comics and Men by Jean-Paul Gabilliet

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry.

Hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic, card, and toy distributor in the country, and the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic related merchandise.

Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer.

This podcast is made by humans.

© Kevin Cleary 2026

Invincible is an American superhero comic book series created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker, published by Image Comics—more specifically under the Skybound imprint—beginning in January 2003. 

The series follows the journey of Mark Grayson, a teenager whose father, Nolan Grayson (Omni-Man), is the most powerful superhero on Earth.

At age seventeen, Mark manifests his own superpowers and adopts the mantle of Invincible, navigating both adolescent life and the brutal realities of superhero conflicts.

Recommended reading list for this episode:

Invincible: Ultimate Collections

The Walking Dead (Comic Series)

Outcast (Comic Series)

Oblivion Song

Super Dinosaur

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry.

Hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic, card, and toy distributor in the country, and the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic related merchandise. Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer.

This podcast is made by humans.

© Kevin Cleary 2026

Among the most recognizable and widely syndicated comic strips of the late twentieth century is Hägar the Horrible, a daily gag strip centered on a bearded Viking warrior, his family, and his clan. Since its debut in 1973, Hägar the Horrible has become an international phenomenon, appearing in thousands of newspapers worldwide and translated into dozens of languages. Its success lies in its ability to combine historical parody with modern domestic humor, allowing readers to see their own anxieties about work, family, and society reflected through the lens of a fictional Viking Age.

Recommended Reading List for this episode:

Hägar the Horrible: The Epic Chronicles by Dik Browne (1988)

Hägar the Horrible: Daily Strips 1973–1975 by Chris Browne (2010)

The History of the Comic Strip, Volume 2 by David Kunzle (1990)

The Funnies: 100 Years of American Comic Strips by Ron Goulart (1995)

Children of the Yellow Kid: The Evolution of the American Comic Strip by RC Harvey (1998)

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry.

Hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic, card, and toy distributor in the country, and the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic related merchandise. Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer.

This podcast is made by humans.

© Kevin Cleary 2026

Green Lantern isn’t just one superhero. It’s a legacy. A title. A symbol. And over the last 80-plus years, it’s become one of the most flexible and meaningful concepts in all comic books. From its mystical Golden Age origins in 1940 to its science-fiction reinvention during the Silver Age and its later evolution into one of comics’ most philosophically rich mythologies, Green Lantern has reflected shifting American ideals about heroism, authority, fear, and willpower.

Recommended reading list for this episode:

Gil Kane: Art of the Comics by Gary Groth (2003)

Neal Adams: The DC Comics Art of Neal Adams (2003)

DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World’s Favorite Comic Book Heroes by Les Daniels (1995)

American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1940s by Keith Dallas & John Wells (2019)

Men of Tomorrow by Gerard Jones (2004)

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry.

Hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic, card, and toy distributor in the country, and the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic related merchandise. Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer.

This podcast is made by humans.

© Kevin Cleary 2026

When The Fantastic Four #1 debuted, it did not merely add another superhero title to newsstands, it fundamentally altered the direction of American comic books forever. More than a successful comic, The Fantastic Four stands as one of the most influential works in the history of popular culture.

Recommended Reading List for this episode:

Tribute to Comics Legend Jack Kirby in “The Art of Fantastic Four.” by Chalgren & Lind. Dark Horse Comics, 2025.

The Art of Fantastic Four. Edited by John Lind, Penguin Random House / Dark Horse Books, 2025.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four. Hydra Comics, 2023.

The History of the Fantastic Four. VANAS, 2024.

Dark Horse celebrates Jack Kirby with “The Art of Fantastic Four.” by David Brooke.  AIPT Comics, 2025.

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry.

Hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic, card, and toy distributor in the country, and the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic related merchandise. Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer.

This podcast is made by humans.

© Kevin Cleary 2025