Comic Book Historians

Presented by Alex Grand
As featured on LEGO.com, Marvel.com, Slugfest, NPR, Wall Street Journal and the Today Show, host & series producer Alex Grand, author of Understanding Superhero Comic Books (with various co-hosts such as Bill Field, David Armstrong, N. Scott Robinson, Ph.D. and Jim Thompson) and guests engage in a Journalistic Comic Book Historical discussion between professionals, historians and scholars in determining what happened and when in comics, from strips and pulps to the platinum age comic book, through golden, silver, bronze and then toward modern Support us at https://www.patreon.com/comicbookhistorians. Read Alex Grand's Understanding Superhero Comic Books published by McFarland & Company here at: https://a.co/d/2PlsODNSeries directed, produced & edited by Alex GrandAll episodes ©Comic Book Historians LLC.

All Episodes

I'm thrilled to share something truly special with you. Writing my book was a seven-year journey, culminating not just in publication but also in an audiobook that's now available, thanks to an option I discovered with my publisher. Encouraged by my friend, Eric Bailey, I decided to lend my voice to the project. Leveraging years of experience from producing and audio engineering the Comic Book Historians podcast, I poured every ounce of my patience and expertise into recording and editing this audiobook over four months. It was a labor of love to get every detail just right. I'm delighted to announce that it's now available across all major platforms, including Audible, Google Play, and Chirp. For those who love comic history and prefer their reading on the go, this is for you.audible link: https://a.co/d/4n7qXVJSupport the Show.

Jul 17

12 min 12 sec

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Tom Palmer about his extensive career as both inker and illustrator starting at the Frank Reilly school, learning from Jack Kamen, illustration for advertising, then inking various Marvel comic book pencilers in the Silver Age like Gene Colan, Neal Adams, John and Sal Buscema, and eventually others like Howard Chaykin, Walt Simsonson, and Ron Frenz on characters  & properties like Dr. Strange, X-Men, Avengers, Dracula, Thor, Star Wars, Batman, Wonder Woman and more.   Learn about his first 1968 penciling job with Stan Lee plotter, Roy Thomas writer, and inked by Dan Adkins and move forward in time to inking John Romita Jr's Kick-Ass.   Tom was also friends with Stan Drake and gives interesting details of the car accident that killed Alex Raymond. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.  Interview ©Comic Book Historians 2020.Support the Show.

Jul 1

1 hr 24 min

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Tom Palmer about his extensive career as both inker and illustrator starting at the Frank Reilly school, learning from Jack Kamen, illustration for advertising, then inking various Marvel comic book pencilers in the Silver Age like Gene Colan, Neal Adams, John and Sal Buscema, and eventually others like Howard Chaykin, Walt Simsonson, and Ron Frenz on characters  & properties like Dr. Strange, X-Men, Avengers, Dracula, Thor, Star Wars, Batman, Wonder Woman and more.   Learn about his first 1968 penciling job with Stan Lee plotter, Roy Thomas writer, and inked by Dan Adkins and move forward in time to inking John Romita Jr's Kick-Ass.   Tom was also friends with Stan Drake and gives interesting details of the car accident that killed Alex Raymond. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.   Interview ©Comic Book Historians 2020.Support the Show.

Jun 3

1 hr 34 min

Join Alex Grand and Bill Field as they sit down with legendary comic artist Steve Rude in an enlightening episode of the CBH podcast. Dive deep into Rude's early influences, from his passion for 1960s Marvel  to the impact of artists like Jack Kirby and Gene Colan on his style. Discover the pivotal moments of his career, from his initial challenges in the business to his successful partnership in creating Nexus with Mike Baron, his dislike of Marvel of DC in the 1980s, and his impression of the corporate side of comic books. Explore his artistic evolution and the personal stories behind his work, including his venture into fine art and the narrative of his documentary on bipolar disorder. Tune in for a masterful blend of art, storytelling, and personal struggle, reflecting over four decades of comic artistry.Support the Show.

May 2

1 hr 14 min

David Armstrong interviewed Nick Cardy for a second round on set in 2005 about his time at the Eisner shop, Fiction House, illustrator influences, Lou Fine, anatomy, reference, army sketch book, his Paris exhibit, Science Fiction stories, design, page rates, Brushwork, advertising, his sense of religion, and a sex comic experience at comic con. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.Support the Show.

Apr 1

33 min 59 sec

David Armstrong interviewed Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age great, Joe Kubert in 1997 on set at San Diego Comic Con discussing his childhood strip and pulp influences, entering comic books in the early 1940s as a high school student, working with Harry Shorten & Frank Z. Temerson, his professional relation with Norman Maurer, his first job at DC, the 3D Comic book craze of the 1950s, working with Will Eisner, the Green Berets daily strip, functioning as an Editor at DC under Carmine Infantino, the Joe Kubert school, his graphic novels and his pride over his two talented sons, Andy and Adam Kubert. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.Support the Show.

Mar 1

37 min 27 sec

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview painter, autobiographical comics pioneer and 11-time Eisner nominee  Carol Tyler, author of Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father: A Daughter's Memoir (You'll Never Know), Fab4 Mania, and Late Bloomer in the second of  a two parter.  We cover  her early work for Weirdo, Wimmen’s Comix and Twisted Sister to her current  project, as well as her marriage to Justin Green (Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary), her friendship with the Crumbs, the controversy over her accepting the first  Dori Seda Memorial Award, Leonardo DiCaprio’s babysitting skills and her life’s most tragic losses and greatest triumphs. Part 2 of 2. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.  #Beatles #CarolTyler #Eisner ©Comic Book Historians 2020Support the Show.

Feb 1

1 hr 41 min

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview painter, autobiographical comics pioneer and 11-time Eisner nominee  Carol Tyler, author of Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father: A Daughter's Memoir (You'll Never Know), Fab4 Mania, and Late Bloomer in the first of  a two parter.  We cover  her early work for Weirdo, Wimmen’s Comix and Twisted Sister to her current  project, as well as her marriage to Justin Green (Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary), her friendship with the Crumbs, the controversy over her accepting the first  Dori Seda Memorial Award, Leonardo DiCaprio’s babysitting skills and her life’s most tragic losses and greatest triumphs.  Part 1 of 2.  Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.  #Beatles #CarolTyler #Eisner ©Comic Book Historians 2020Support the Show.

Jan 1

1 hr 32 min

David Armstrong interviewed Golden and Silver Age great, Nick Cardy in 1998 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books in 1940, working with the Eisner & Iger shop, his influences like Gary Cooper, Noel Sickles, working at Fiction House, drafted into the Army, Tarzan and Casey Ruggles daily comic strips, entering DC Comics, interacting with Alex Toth, Jack Kirby, Neal Adams and Mike Sekowsky, working with Julius Schwartz and Carmine Infantino, working on animation, illustration and movie posters for New Line Cinema. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong.  Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.Support the Show.

Dec 2023

30 min 54 sec

Explore the life and genius of Steve Ditko, Spider-Man's co-creator, in a special 2-hour interview featuring his family. Discover his early years, creative process, and love for science and Batman, shaping his superhero creations. Dive into his youthful influences, like Tarzan and Charles Bronson, and how Ayn Rand's philosophy impacted his work and comic industry relations. Known for his privacy and humor, Ditko's ethos was to let his work speak for itself, focusing on the present and future. This intimate family perspective highlights Ditko's legacy and enduring impact on the comic world.#SpiderMan #Marvel #DCComics #StanLee #DrStrange #Batman #SteveDitko#ComicStrips #JackKirby #WW2©2023 Comic Book HistoriansSupport the Show.

Nov 2023

1 hr 48 min

In 1973, John A. Mozzer, lover of pop culture interviewed 6 people in Reading, Pennsylvania to track down the history of Jim Steranko.  The 6th person was Western/Kid Colt and Hot Rod comic artist, Jack Keller who worked in comics since the Golden Age for companies like Quality, Fawcett, Atlas/Marvel, Charlton and more who went into detail into the history of his comics career as well as discussing meeting a young impressionable Jim Steranko as well as Stan Lee, Dick Giordano and Sal Gentile.  John was gracious to share these files with the world and CBH from his soundcloud, so the first 5 were given a massive audio restoration treatment by Alex Grand and are located and transcribed at the interview section of comicbookhistorians.com, and the 6th one, Jack Keller is digitally restored and audio engineered by Alex Grand and presented here.   John A. Mozzer also provided great imagery of these encounters located both at the CBH website, his flickr and as the thumbnail image for the recording presented here. Support the Show.

Oct 2023

34 min 32 sec

David Armstrong interviewed Silver & Bronze Age great, John Romita Sr. in 2001 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books with Les Zakarin, first meeting Stan Lee at Timely, his suspense science fiction stories like IT!, working for Famous Funnies, his relationship with Stan Lee in the 1950s, and again in the 1960s, getting inking advice from Joe Maneely, why he joined DC Comics to work on Romance Comics with Zena Brody and Robert Kanigher, discussing Alex Toth, the editorial culture at DC compared to Marvel, Jack Kirby, Martin Goodman, terrible distribution through Independent News, and DC Comics' achilles heel.Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong.Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.Support the Show.

Sep 2023

50 min 31 sec