Word Balloon Comics Podcast

Today, we're catching up with one of the most distinctive voices in modern comics, Skottie Young, a writer and artist whose wildly imaginative style, outrageous humor, and surprising emotional depth have made him a fan favorite for more than two decades.

We're talking about his latest work on DC's Lobo, bringing his own brand of mayhem and irreverent comedy to the Main Man. But we're also taking a deep dive into Skottie's career, going all the way back to his earliest days breaking into the comics business.We revisit his early Marvel work on characters like Venom, the Human Torch, and the X-Men, and trace his evolution as an artist, including his beautiful and inventive adaptations of L. Frank Baum's Oz books with writer Eric Shanower.

And of course, we spend plenty of time talking about I Hate Fairyland, Skottie's gloriously twisted creator-owned fantasy series that turned the conventions of children's storybooks upside down and became one of his signature creations.Along the way, we discuss his creative influences, the evolution of his art, his move into writing, and how he's managed to carve out such a unique place for himself in the comics industry.

Today, I'm joined by one of the most imaginative and thought-provoking writers working in comics, Ram V, whose work on The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, These Savage Shores, Detective Comics, Swamp Thing, and The New Gods has established him as a storyteller who's never afraid to explore big ideas.

We're talking about two fascinating new projects.First, Deicidium, his ambitious new science fiction and fantasy graphic novel series from Image Comics, created with artists Evan Cagle and Anand RK. It's set in a future where religion and corporate power have become intertwined, and ancient gods are returning to Earth in human form. It's a story about mythology, faith, power, and what happens when humanity decides its gods have become a threat.

Then there's Black Tower: The Raven Conspiracy, Ram's new DC Vertigo series with artist Mike Perkins. The two reunite for a supernatural espionage thriller involving British intelligence, secret societies, occult warfare, and a hidden world of magic operating behind the scenes of international politics.

We discuss the inspirations behind both stories, Ram's approach to world-building, his collaborations with these incredible artists, and the creative freedom of telling stories outside the traditional superhero universe.

For comic book fans, he's the voice of John Stewart, the Green Lantern, in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, and the title character in Static Shock. Animation fans know him as Hermes Conrad on Futurama and Samurai Jack.

But Phil LaMarr's career goes well beyond the recording booth.He was an original cast member of MADtv, appeared in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and has spent decades moving effortlessly between sketch comedy, live-action performances, and some of the most memorable voices in animation.

In this conversation, originally recorded in May of 2020, we look back at Phil's remarkable career, the craft of voice acting, and the comedy and characters that have made him such a familiar presence in pop culture.

Today we're spending time with one of the great inkers in comic book history, Joe Rubinstein, whose incredible career spans more than five decades and includes collaborations with some of the biggest names in the business.

Joe's work helped define the look of some of Marvel and DC's most memorable stories, including Frank Miller's groundbreaking Wolverine miniseries, his work with Jim Starlin on The Infinity Gauntlet, and his contributions to The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, where he inked an astonishing gallery of characters drawn by many of the industry's finest artists.

But Joe is much more than an inker. He's a storyteller, an artist, a historian of the craft, and a guy who's never been shy about expressing his opinions on the comic book business.

We discuss The Studio One broadcast of George Orwell's 1984 from September 21, 1953, on CBS. Starring Eddie Albert, Norma Crane and Lorne Greene. We also talk about other film TV and radio adaptations of the novel.

Curt Pires is back on Word Balloon, and he's got a lot happening in the world of creator-owned comics.First, we're talking about his new Kickstarter project, The Objectivist, a dark psychological vigilante thriller with artist Alex Diotto that draws inspiration from Steve Ditko's uncompromising philosophy, The Question, Sin City, and Taxi Driver. It's the story of a man who decides to take justice into his own hands, armed with a hammer and a dangerously rigid worldview.

Then there's Creature Corps, his new Image Comics series with artist JOK, debuting in December. Imagine the creature-battling craze of the '90s colliding with the brutal satire of The Boys. It's a world where monsters from the future have become the stars of a billion-dollar blood sport, and a former teenage champion is dragged back into the game.

We'll also catch up on Curt's expanding fantasy universe at Image, including Lost Fantasy, with artist Luca Casalanguida, where a hidden world of magic and monsters threatens our reality, and Fireborn, co-written with Franklin Jonas and illustrated by Patrick Mulholland, which brings dragons, ancient magic, and superhero action into that same universe.Four ambitious projects, some fascinating creative collaborations, and plenty to discuss about building original comic book worlds in today's industry.

Back in 2015 , this was a great chance to talk with 2 TV writer producers who are at the top of live action television and animation. Both were at Long Beach Comicon that weekend and have great insight on the 2010s superhero tv explosion

Writer- Exec Producer Marc Guggenheim talks about The CW's Arrowverse.  Given the success of both shows, it's no surprise that it was annouced this week that the characters Atom, Professor Stein and White Canary were being devolped for their own future CW TV series.

NOTE- This conversation took place before the Legends Of Tomorrow announcement , but Marc did give insight about the success of introducing these new characters and in theory about expanding the DCU TV universe on The CW. 

Animation writer exec producer Greg Weissman looks back at Gargoyles, Young Justice, Spectacular Spider-Man, his current work with Star Wars Rebels, and the realities behind producing comic book/toy adaptaions for kids television.

Louis has just completed a sucessful kickstarter and has an upcoming X-O Manofwar story coming up, but mostly he's here  to discuss his new column at the beat , where he tells his observations about how breaking into writing comics has changed in the post covid studio consolidation era.

plus other movie and tv talk?