word balloon the comic book creators interview show

a one on one interview show with pop culture creators from the worlds of comic books, TV, film, novels, animation, and video games.

The past informs the present. Today's episode features clips from past interviews that inadvertently provide insight on some recent events. The past informs the present. Today's episode features clips from past interviews that inadvertently provide insight on some recent events. The Death Of Sports Icon Muhammad Ali  hits me personally. As a sports reporter I covered Boxing for 16 years in print and radio, and had the opportunity to meet and interview Ali in 1991. I tell the story of our encounter that was full of the Ali magic and charm, even as his Parkinson Syndrome was slowly robbing him of the ability to speak. His ailment did NOT keep him from thinking and he proved that to me directly with his thoughts on previewing The Evander Holyfield George Foreman Championship fight. Of Course comic fans all know a bit about the DC comics Superman Vs Muhammad Ali, which was an event unto itself. In 2005 Co-plotter and artist Neal Adams talked about his experience on the project and lots of thoughts on the man and his legacy.  Then a look at The conclusion of DC Rebirth featuring the invasion of the Watchmen story and characters in the current DC universe . Was does it mean? Should it happen, given the creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons have no involvement and in Moore case objects to every continuation of the original story. These same issue came up in 2012 when DC launched Before Watchmen, featuring prequel stories of the heroes and villains drawn and written by different creators. To illustrate the debate we look back at 2012 comments from Dave Gibbons, Ed Brubaker and Brain Azzarello,

a one on one interview show with pop culture creators from the worlds of comic books, TV, film, novels, animation, and video games.

Wow! In one issue, Writer Nick Spencer has changed the status quo of Steve Rogers in a new exciting way that has polarized the comic book readership. Captain America is evil, and all of a sudden the Most Trusted Man In the Marvel Universe is now its most dangerous enemy. Nick joins us to explain the new direction for Caop, and what it means for Civil War 2 and all the relationships in the Marvel Universe.  We also talk about the crazy backlash from fans and media that the story received, including blowing the DC Universe Rebirth coverage off the front pages. 

a one on one interview show with pop culture creators from the worlds of comic books, TV, film, novels, animation, and video games.

Wrapping up our look back at the 20 year old classic, we speak to the guy who had the idea first Alex Ross. he tells us about the influence of Alan Moore on this story, how he came to be paired with Mark Waid, and the debates of their ideas on how to present the story, and what it means to be a hero.  We also talk about current and future projects with Alice, including some incredible lithographs of The Beatles, and The beginnings of work with Universal on the classic Hollywood depictions of their monsters. Not a Robert De Niro Frankenstien or  Gary Oldman Dracula in the bunch. 

a one on one interview show with pop culture creators from the worlds of comic books, TV, film, novels, animation, and video games.

To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the acclaimed DC Elseworld story, Word Balloon presents 2 conversations with the creators themselves. First up writer Mark Waid, who looks back on how he was chosen to join Alex Ross and flesh out the initial ideas.  We also pay tribute to the passing of Darwyn Cooke and I review Captain America Civil War 

a one on one interview show with pop culture creators from the worlds of comic books, TV, film, novels, animation, and video games.

a one on one interview show with pop culture creators from the worlds of comic books, TV, film, novels, animation, and video games.

First up Documentarian Maria Paz Cabardo talks about her seminal documentary BETTER THINGS THE LIFE AND CHOICES OF JEFFERY CATHERINE JONES.  The film is available on DVD and streaming  Jeff Jones was one of the founding members of THE STUDIO, an influential 1970's art studio collective featuring Jones, Michael Kaluta Bernie Wrightson and Barry Windsor Smith. Jones's fantasy art was featured in DC Warren National Lampoon and countless fantasy publishers. Late in life Jones decided to transgender and became Jeffery Catherine and candidly spoke about this life change , and the decades of dealing with this difficult personal journey while creating groundbreaking art.  We talk about Jones personal relationships from his marriage to Louise Simonson, his relationship with Vaughn Bode, friendships with his studio mates, and influences on artists like Bill Sienkiewicz, Jean (Moebius) Giraud, Jon Muth, Kent Williams, Paul Pope and others. Then Greg Pak is back with an audio excerpt of his new e-book Kickstarter Secrets . These are useful hacks on what you need to know if you're thinking about doing a kickstarter campaign. This audio itself gives great tips, and gives you an idea of the additional useful information that will be in the e-book. 

a one on one interview show with pop culture creators from the worlds of comic books, TV, film, novels, animation, and video games.

Celebrating Word Balloon's 11th and The Amazon's 75th anniversaries it's a pleasure to welcome the incredible Susan Eisenberg, who's portrayed Wonder Woman since the 2001 debut of cartoon networks Justice League. She's since played Diana in the follow-up Justice League Unlimited series, animated films like Superman-Batman Apocalypse , Justice League doom, and video games like Injustice . We talk about her beginnings  in acting and voice work, her getting the WW role and the experiences of working with the Warner Animation cast and crews.  Check out Susan's website to see a table reading of the original Justice League cast, including WW-Batman moments from the fan favorite episode This Little Piggy 

a one on one interview show with pop culture creators from the worlds of comic books, TV, film, novels, animation, and video games.

Really enjoyed this talk with Ted Adams. It's IDW's 17th anniversary this year, and we look back at the company's beginnings it's present and future. We talk about their approach to licensed comics from CSI to current successes like Star Trek GI JOE Transformers My Little Pony and more. We talk about Wynonna Earp eau Smith's creation currently a SyFy Network TV series and IDWs first foray into television. You'll hear about IDW's experimentation with comic formats, from their mini comics to the oversized Artist Editions and the  equally historic Library Of American Comics volumes. Coming off my last episode, this is another must listen conversation.