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.
Join us!
Episodes
43 episodes
DC Comics’ Absolutely Psychedelic SUPERMAN & BATMAN As Drawn By TREVOR VON EEDEN Will Blow Your Mind
In this “one-shot” episode, Steven offers a solo examination of Trevor Von Eeden's mind-expanding artwork from issues 305 & 307 of DC’s long-running Superman and Batman team-up series, WORLD'S FINEST COMICS.
We Have Met The Enemy... And He Is Us! Archie Goodwin & Pepe Moreno's Lost Sci-Fi Classic
In this episode, Steve and Chris discuss the serialized story, GENERATION ZERO, from Marvel Comics' defunct Epic Comics flagship book, Epic Illustrated. A sci-fi story written by long-time comic industry luminary Archie Goodwin wi...
Before DARK KNIGHT and WATCHMEN, DC Comics Published the Most Devilishly FUN Character of the 1980s!
Chris and Steven dive into the first five issues of BLUE DEVIL (DC Comics, 1984), a comic book scientifically proven to be the most outrageously fun title of the 1980s; the madcap insanity of it all was written by Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn, p...
After Writing BLACK PANTHER, This MARVELous Scribe Co-Created the FIRST AMERICAN GRAPHIC NOVEL!
Chris and Steven explore the first few issues of Don McGregor and Paul Gulacy's groundbreaking series, SABRE — a surreal, post-apocalyptic spectacle.COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few nota...
Frank Miller's 1st Choice to Draw BATMAN: YEAR ONE? Meet This Unsung GENIUS ARTIST of '80s Comics!
Steven and Chris embark on the paradigm-shattering psychedelic trip that is the first seven issues of THRILLER — published by DC Comics in 1983 — and find themselves awestruck in its wake. One thing is certain: Trevor Von Eeden is a godd...
The MOST DANGEROUS Comic Book Ever Published
In this episode, Chris and Steven confront highly disturbing revelations about the CIA and American global politics, courtesy of the explosive whistleblower comic, BROUGHT TO LIGHT (Eclipse Comics, 1988), written by Alan Moore and drawn by Bill...
“DIRTY COMMIES!” DC Comics’ OG Superheroes Laid Low by The Red Scare & Rise Again in THE GOLDEN AGE!
Chris and Steven testify before you all, spilling their guts on how DC Comics’ OG Superheroes were laid low by the spectre of McCarthyism in “The Red Scare” era of post-WWII USA. This is their battle to rise again in THE GOLDEN AGE (1993), writ...
Q: Who Was the Inspiration for RORSCHACH in DC Comics' WATCHMEN? A: This FACELESS Urban Vigilante!
Steven and Chris take a roadtrip back in time, eventually arriving on the pothole-riddled streets of Hub City, and man do they have a lot to say -- almost 4 hours' worth of comic book chatter! Steve Ditko's urban vigilante, The Question, is bol...
The All-Time Wildest Most PSYCHEDELIC Brain-Exploding SciFi Time-Travel COMIC BOOK in Existence
Steven and Chris take a psychedelic voyage through time via the crackerjack indie comics team of Doug Moench, Mike Hernandez, Dan Day, and Nestor Redondo in AZTEC ACE (published by Eclipse Comics in 1984). The hallucinatory hijinx and tr...
That time DC Comics gave HAWKMAN his own BATMAN: YEAR ONE… Katar Hol’s “Dark Knight” of the soul
Chris and Steven swoop in to the Downside of Thanagar to squawk about Tim Truman’s bold and impassioned re-imagining of Hawkman's origin story in HAWKWORLD (DC Comics, 1989). Is this Katar Hol’s BATMAN: YEAR ONE? …Or his DARK KNIGH...
GRENDEL Comic Origins: Who wore the mask of the fiend in “Devil’s Legacy”? …SHE did!
Steven and Chris obsess over issues one through seven of Comico’s ongoing GRENDEL series (1986), the “Devil’s Legacy” story arc, pondering the lasting resonance of Matt Wagner’s extraordinary exploration of evil.SHOW NOTES:
What is DC Comics’ most BRUTAL GANGSTER noir dystopian scifi comic book of all time, you ask?
Chris and Steven descend into the futuristic cesspool of gangsterism and “a little of the old ultraviolence” that is SKREEMER (DC Comics, 1989), a noir-styled postapocalyptic science fiction comic that makes A CLOCKWORK ORANGE look G-rat...
NEXUS (Capital Comics, 1981 & First Comics, 1983)
Steven and Chris tackle the mind-bending "superhero" space opera, NEXUS (1981, 1983), created by Mike Baron and Steve "The Dude" Rude.COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions)...
Murderous Madman Merrily Massacres Merciless Monsters
In this episode, Steven and Chris venture into the bizarre and harrowing — yet entirely compelling — world of Michael T. Gilbert's legendary monster hunter, MR. MONSTER (1988).Comics Rot Your Brain! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus...
ALIEN LEGION (Epic Comics, 1984) Part Two
In this week's episode, Steven and Chris continue their wide-ranging discussion of Epic Comics' ALIEN LEGION series (Also check out Part One, which went live last week). Carl Potts, Alan Zelenet...
ALIEN LEGION (Epic Comics, 1984) Part One
This week, Steven and Chris begin their two-part exploration of Epic Comics' ALIEN LEGION, published in 1984, created by Carl Potts, Alan Zelenetz, and Frank Cirocco. Part One covers issues one through five;
Zero Episode
For ZERO EPISODE, the show’s debut, Steven and Chris sit down and gab about the genesis of this podcast, how the team was formed, and the CRYB! mission. COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few ...
Introducing… COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN!
They say the fabled history of American comic books is divided into four distinct ages — the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, and the Modern Age. In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) and Steven Baga...
