STEPHEN R. BISSETTE Interview! Tyrant, Swamp Thing, Taboo, Kubert School, and More! Artwork

Comics Rot Your Brain!

COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) & Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss favorite books, runs, and creators.

The Bronze Age is — for us — the greatest era in comics history. This time period was defined by a weird rift in the fabric of spacetime that allowed an industry in flux to reimagine what was possible. We all remember the eye-popping results: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, WATCHMEN, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, LOVE & ROCKETS, MAUS, etc.

…But what of the lesser-known gems of this era: THRILLER, GRIMJACK, NEXUS, CONCRETE, MR. MONSTER, SCOUT, STRAY TOASTERS, and so many others!? These comics and their creators blazed radical new trails that changed the course of comics forever but often are left out of today’s discourse.

COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! exists to celebrate and reckon with the extraordinary legacy of 1980s American comics — all of it.

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Comics Rot Your Brain!

STEPHEN R. BISSETTE Interview! Tyrant, Swamp Thing, Taboo, Kubert School, and More!

April 09, 2026 • Steven Bagatourian & Christopher Derrick • Season 3 • Episode 4

0:00 | 2:50:11

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxONuw60a0sJXul6nw7-lmlyjgB-lkn5C&si=nqCc-4aNAl6ZsKid

The legendary Stephen R. Bissette joins Chris and Steven us for a CRYB! interview discussion spanning the breadth of his historic career as a writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Topics covered include SWAMP THING, TABOO, the Kubert School, and countless other things, all on the occasion of the first-ever collection of Bissette’s landmark indie classic, TYRANT (1994, Spiderbaby Grafix). Lighthouse Press and its publisher, Chris Stevens, have just launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring this magnificent work back into print, with the help of design guru extraordinaire, Jim Rugg! Everybody, please go and support this Kickstarter here…

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/comicslighthouse/bissette-tyrant-deluxe-editions

…and enjoy our nearly three-hour discussion with one of the true living legends of the comic book art form!

COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) and Christopher Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.

STEPHEN R. BISSETTE Interview! Tyrant, Swamp Thing, Taboo, Kubert School, and More!

SHOWNOTES/TIMESTAMPS 🎙️

00:00 - The Trance
01:14 - Theme Song
01:28 - Episode Intro
06:22 - ‘80s American Comics
14:15 - Mainstream Comics Today
21:06 - Jenette Kahn & Paul Levitz
28:26 - How ‘80s Comics Were Made
33:31 - Working with John Totleben
48:21 - Creating TYRANT alone
01:01:54 - TYRANT as VR Experience
01:16:57 - Putting Creators on the “Right Comics” (Joe Kubert, Lee Elias, Russ Heath, Doug Wildey)
01:30:25 - Steve Perry & TIMESPIRITS
01:35:35 - Horror Comics in the ‘70s & ‘80s (CREEPY, EERIE, TWISTED TALES, TABOO)
01:44:37 - Keith Giffen/José Muñoz controversy
02:05:40 - Teaching at the Center For Cartoon Studies
02:17:10 - The TYRANT Kickstarter!
02:29:34 - The Font Lettering Plague in Modern Comics

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