Matt Wagner, creator of the legendary independent titles Grendel and Mage, shares his journey to become one of comics' most respected writer-artists. Our conversation explores the origins and complex publication history of his signature character Grendel, which debuted in Comico Primer #2, as well as the creative process and development behind the more personal Mage trilogy. Beyond his creator-owned work, Matt discusses his affinity for pulp characters like Batman, The Shadow, Green Hornet, and Zorro in his work for DC and Dynamite, explaining why these characters resonate with him stylistically and thematically, while also touching on his distinctive work on Demon. He shares the thinking behind DC's Trinity, and his current collaboration with Kelley Jones on the ambitious Dracula series. 

You can follow Matt on his site, mattwagnercomics.art, on X @MattWagnerComic or on Instagram @mattwagnercomics.

Support the show

___________________

Check out video versions of this and other episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/dollarbinbandits!

If you like this podcast, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you found this episode. And if you really like this podcast, become a member of the Dollar Bin Boosters on Patreon: patreon.com/DollarBinBoosters.

You can follow us @dollarbinbandits on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky, or @DBBandits on X. You can email us at [email protected].

___________________

Dollar Bin Bandits is the official podcast of TwoMorrows Publishing. Check out their fine publications at twomorrows.com.

___________________

Thank you to Sam Fonseca for our theme music, Sean McMillan for our graphics, and Pat McGrath for our logo.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.