#794 “The Ballad of Halo Jones” – in color!

Halo Jones
To mark the recent passing of artist Ian Gibson, Kumar and Dana dive into a long-overdue discussion of his masterpiece with writer Alan Moore, The Ballad of Halo Jones. Halo Jones is an early work by Moore that was never completed, but it is rich, immersive, and fully developed at every turn, from the characters to the world-building, largely due to the influence of Gibson himself on the creative process. But is there something familiar about it all…?

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#788 Alan Moore’s “1963”

1963

In 1993, the Image revolution was underway, itself a result of the 1986 earthquake brought about by Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Moore was on a mission to counteract the wave of “grim and gritty” comics he had inadvertently helped to start. This led to Moore’s 1963 series, a combination parody of and homage to the Marvel comics of the Silver Age, with art by the likes of Stephen Bissette, Rick Vietch, Dave Gibbons, Don Simpson, and Jim Valentino. Tim and Kumar review the series, discussing why it was never completed and why it’s not currently in print.

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#771 Jose Villarrubia on restoring Richard Corben

Den

Colorist Jose Villarrubia had trouble getting work from Marvel because his style was “too artistic” — but then other creators started asking for him, and he’s colored many Marvel titles since then. He’s also done photo art for Alan Moore‘s Voice of the Fire and The Mirror of Love. This August, a new edition of Richard Corben‘s Den, with color corrections by Villarrubia, will be released by Dark Horse. What can Corben fans look forward to in this new edition? And, why do recolored comics sometimes look Gaudy? Villarrubia covers all this in a talk with Kumar.

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#361 “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” marathon!

FLASHBACK! While this podcast has covered the odd League of Extraordinary Gentlemen book here and there, no one has dared think of trying to discuss all of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill‘s series in one episode… until now! Kumar and Dana take on the task, with special attention paid to Black Dossier (and the record that was recorded for it), the Century trilogy, and the injustice that Kumar feels was done to Volume 2 way back in 2006, episode 21!

(Originally published June 24, 2013. Re-presented in observance of the passing of League artist Kevin O’Neill.)

#695 Zander Cannon talks “Smax”!

Smax

A comics series that’s sadly hard to find these days is Smax by Alan Moore, Zander Cannon, and Andrew Currie. Emmet has been waxing nostalgic for this spinoff of Moore, Cannon, and Gene Ha’s Top Ten, so this week he calls up Cannon to chat about it – the meaning of the handprint on Smax’s chest, how the collaboration on this book (and Top Ten) worked, controversies in the fantasy genre, and more.

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#691 Moore and Andrade’s “Crossed +100”

Crossed Plus 100

It’s debatable whether Garth Ennis’ series Crossed, about a disease that causes people to act in the most reprehensible ways possible, had any redeeming qualities, but when Alan Moore steps in to write the next chapter, you know it’s going to be worth discussing. And so we have Crossed +100 by Moore and Gabriel Andrade. In Moore’s hands, what is it, exactly, that the disease does? Is his attempt at writing future dialects of English annoying or fascinating? Kumar and Jordan settle in for a fascinating, but depressing, sequel.

#685 Hilary Barta interview

Where Monsters Smell

Hilary Barta has been drawing (and sometimes writing) comics for decades, for nearly any publisher you can name. He even worked with the great Alan Moore on “Splash Branigan.” In this week’s show he talks to Koom about working with Moore, his Plastic Man stint, and his new humor story with Doug Rice “When Monsters Smell” in Marvel #4. And, the utility of drugs to the creative process is debated.

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#682 “John Constantine: Hellblazer”

Hellblazer

The pandemic has caused a variety of entertainment content to go unreleased or even unmade. Unfortunately, that extends to the recent series John Constantine: Hellblazer by Simon Spurrier and Aaron Campbell, canceled after issue 12 when Spurrier had expected to get six more issues. Kumar and Jordan are big fans of the series, and this week they walk through the hilarious and frightening series we got.

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#670 Moore and Burrow’s “Providence”

Seemingly every time a horror comic comes up on our show, it seems to have some kind of connection to H.P. Lovecraft. In this case, it’s Alan Moore and Jacen BurrowsProvidence, part of the Lovecraftian “Cthulhu Mythos.” Kumar, Emmet, and Dana discuss whether you need to have read Moore’s other Lovecraft-inspired comics (or any Lovecraft at all) before reading Providence, how Lovecraft’s work contrasts with Dracula stories, Lovecraft’s problematic personal views, and more.

#662 Warren Ellis’ Three Pieces of ‘Watchmen’

Black Summer

Warren Ellis’ Black Summer, No Hero, and Supergod are three separate stories, but if you put them together you’ve kinda got all the elements of Alan Moore’s Watchmen. But was Ellis really writing these books in response to Marvel’s Civil War? Kumar and newcomer Jordan evaluate all three books.