Two hundred and ninety-nine episodes ago, we could not have possibly imagined George Takei appearing on the podcast. Some version of the actor has hung in our imaginations for most of our lives, and we spent many days of our early marriage obsessing over Star Trek, the original series, and its subsequent films. Thankfully, through this beautiful medium called comic books, our paths have crossed, and we get to celebrate our three-hundredth episode with one of our creative and cultural heroes.

Takei's latest graphic novel, It Rhymes With Takei, reunites him with the same creative team behind They Called Us Enemy: artist Harmony Becker and writers Steven Scott and Justin Eisinger. Together, they tell the rest of Takei's story, which includes his time in the Japanese American internment camps during World War II. It Rhymes With Takei explores the many lessons George Takei learned from that experience, how it shaped his activism, and gave him the courage to battle through the numerous other injustices he would face and fight for and alongside others.

The word "dystopia" gets thrown around a lot these days. It's certainly a go-to for us, and when you look outside your window or scroll through your phone, it's an easy, seemingly apt descriptor. Star Trek has started to feel like fantasy, not science fiction. However, George Takei encourages us to hang onto utopian possibilities. He asks us to accept the inevitability of change but strive toward a brighter, better future.

As the news continuously fills us with dread, we needed this conversation with George Takei, and we're grateful to share it with you, beautiful comic book friends. Thank you for spending your time with us over these three hundred (or so) episodes. Your presence gets us to our recording table every week, and you've given new meaning to our lives.

It Rhymes With Takei is out now from Top Shelf Productions. Get it wherever rad comics are found. Follow George Takei on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/georgehtakei/], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/georgetakei.bsky.social], and his Website [https://www.georgetakei.com/].

This Week's Sponsor

We're sponsored by 2000 AD [https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/subscriptions], the greatest comic you're not reading! Within its pages is a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog to Rogue Trooper, Shakara, Halo Jones, and the poor sods slogging across the Cursed Earth in The Helltrekkers. Get a print subscription at your door every week - and the first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue for just $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible monthly comics for less than $10.

Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode:

 * Join Comic Book Club in Person [https://www.facebook.com/share/1EsHkh5Adb/]

 * 

Episode 300 - George Takei

When you love comics, you become comics. Denis Kitchen began as a self-published underground cartoonist in 1969, but he quickly sprang into other roles, all serving the medium that first called to him. A year later, he launched Kitchen Sink Press, which would house numerous pioneers from the industry (R. Crumb, Howard Cruse, Art Spiegelman, Trina Robbins, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, etc). His role as publisher would eventually force him into the position of defender, fighting for the rights of his artists and creating the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund [https://cbldf.org/].

Now, Denis Kitchen's career is the topic of a new documentary, Oddly Compelling: The Denis Kitchen Story, which is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter. The film gathers an astonishing array of talent to praise Denis Kitchen and offer context to a life that has shaped all comic readers, whether they know it or not.

In this week's podcast, we sit down with Denis Kitchen for a long chat about making comics and serving comics. The artist is an icon, but a humble one. He kindly accepts adulation while dismissing it in the same breath. We discuss how comics are "just pictures on paper," but simple images can have a world-altering effect. If you want to fall deeper in love with the art form, this episode is for you.

Please find the Kickstarter for Oddly Compelling: The Denis Kitchen Story here [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tinto-press/oddly-compelling-the-denis-kitchen-story]. Follow Denis Kitchen on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/denis_kitchen_art] and visit his website [https://www.deniskitchen.com/].

This Week's Sponsor

We're sponsored by 2000 AD [https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/subscriptions], the greatest comic you're not reading! Within its pages is a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog to Rogue Trooper, Shakara, Halo Jones, and the poor sods slogging across the Cursed Earth in The Helltrekkers. Get a print subscription at your door every week - and the first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue for just $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible monthly comics for less than $10.

Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode:

 * Join Comic Book Club in Person [https://www.facebook.com/share/1EsHkh5Adb/]

 * CBCC's Comic Shop Road Trip [https://www.comicbookcouplescounseling.com/post/comic-shop-road-trip]

 * Patreon Exclusive: Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Club [https://www.patreon.com/posts/gallivanting-of-125069526]

 * Support Your [https://www.patreon.com/c/cbccpodcast/posts?filters%5Btag%5D=Support+Your+LCS]

Denis Kitchen on His Oddly Compelling Life

It's always a sunny day when Patrick Horvath wanders into our Love Nest. Two years after his first appearance on the podcast, he's back with another first issue, and this time, it's the sequel to the comic that made him a sensation. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring takes us back to Woodbrook, years after the events of the original series, where Sam the Bear nearly lost control and many furry citizens lost their lives.

Sequels are scary. We crave them desperately, but too often, they leave us full of regret and not satisfaction. With our hands on our bellies, we grumble, frustrated at how we fooled ourselves into a second taste, knowing it could never be as delicious as the first. Patrick Horvath wickedly understands sour sequelitis and subverts its toxicity through revelation.

Danny the Duck, the first victim we saw Sam take in Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, haunts every panel of Rite of Spring #1. His sister, Monica, takes center stage, as does her tremendous grief, which threatens to annihilate the person she was and the person she could have been. We didn't know it at the time, but Danny's death would slowly drill Monica toward Sam, and we both fear and delight at their eventual confrontation.

In this episode, we ask Patrick Horvath why he couldn't stay away from Woodbrook. We discuss the function of the time jump between the first series and its new sequel, Monica's prominence in Rite of Spring #1, Danny the Duck's vengeance, and the beauty of childhood cliches.

Final Order Cutoff (FOC) for Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring #1 is Monday, June 2nd. The first issue will arrive in shops from IDW Publishing on July 9th [https://idwpublishing.com/blogs/news/idw-publishing-s-eisner-nominated-cozy-horror-hit-series-returns-in-beneath-the-trees-where-nobody-sees-rite-of-spring-1]. Continue this conversation with Patrick Horvath by following him on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/patrickhorvath.bsky.social], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/catbirdplanet/], and his Website [https://patrickhorvath.com/].

This Week's Sponsor

We're sponsored by 2000 AD [https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/subscriptions], the greatest comic you're not reading! Within its pages is a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog to Rogue Trooper, Shakara, Halo Jones, and the poor sods slogging across the Cursed Earth in The Helltrekkers. Get a print subscription at your door every week - and the first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue for just $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible monthly comics for less than $10.

Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode:

 * The Ultimate Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees Spoiler-Filled Episode [https://www.comicbookcouplescounseling.com/post/the-ultimate-beneath-the-trees-where-nobody-sees-interview]

Patrick Horvath on Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees - Rite of Spring

After half a year, our Spectrum Book Club podcast series with collaborators Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm finds its ending. It's bittersweet but equally exhilarating. The sixth issue in the Mad Cave Studios series lands the thesis, connecting every reader to every creator and revealing their powers in the process.

You. Yeah, you. You're probably a maker, whether or not you're actively aware of your creations, and your tiny results forever bind you to those who came before, those who surround you today, and those who will come after you. Through Spectrum 6, Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm plot a course through human history, and damn, we're super excited to follow.

Our final Spectrum Book Club session explores endings, forces our interpretations upon Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm, and sits in their squirmy silence as they let us hang with our unconfirmed story solutions. These episodes are a unique set within the Comic Book Couples Counseling catalog, and we're thrilled with those who have followed along from November 2024 to nearly June 2025. Even more exciting are those ears that will discover these conversations months and years from now.

All six Spectrum issues are currently available from Mad Cave Studios, and the trade paperback release [https://madcavestudios.com/product/spectrum-vol-1/?srsltid=AfmBOopytGhPSU3KnA_k_3Qno65iCTnsRauImT9WWewR48va1iF7oCAj&v=0b3b97fa6688] is scheduled for July 15th. Make sure you're following Dave Chisholm on his Website [https://www.davechisholmmusic.com/], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@davechisholmcomics], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thedavechisholm/], and Bluesky [https://app.bsky.cz/profile/did:plc:nledhpo4gwe65si72dvosjby]. And follow Rick Quinn on his Website [https://aphexquinn.com/], Bluesky [https://app.bsky.cz/profile/riqkquinn.bsky.social], and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/riqkquinn/].

This Week's Sponsor

We're sponsored by 2000 AD [https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/subscriptions], the greatest comic you're not reading! Within its pages is a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog to Rogue Trooper, Shakara, Halo Jones, and the poor sods slogging across the Cursed Earth in The Helltrekkers. Get a print subscription at your door every week - and the first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue for just $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible monthly comics for less than $10.

Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode:

 * CBCC's Comic Shop Road Trip [https://www.comicbookcouplescounseling.com/post/comic-shop-road-trip]

 * Spectrum Book Club Part One [https://www.comicbookcouplescounseling.com/post/finding-flight-with-dave-chisholm-rick-quinn-and-spectrum]

 * 

CBCC Book Club: Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm on Spectrum 6

Everyone has a Batman opinion. Inside your imagination is a definitive Batman: a Batman who should behave this way, and a Batman who should not behave that way. Your tight grip on your Batman is why Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta's carefully considered Absolute Batman works so damn well. They fully understand and appreciate how the character has congealed over the last eight decades into a rock-solid idea.

For the last eight months, alongside collaborators like Gabriel H. Walta, Marcos Martín, Frank Martin, Muntsa Vicente, and Clayton Cowles, Snyder and Dragotta have chipped away at the quintessential Dark Knight. They've altered elements of his origin, removed his social position, and rearranged his relationship with his rogues. Their Absolute Batman is a Bruce Wayne in motion, moving toward the impenetrable idea in your head, but struggling to match it. Here is a character growing into something, evolving into a recognizable hero for 2025.

After confronting Mr. Freeze in issues seven and eight and facing the final days of Matches Malone, Bruce Wayne must reassess his war on Gotham City crime. What lessons did he learn from that awful day at The Zoo? Do his nights as Batman honor his father's sacrifice? As he fights to find himself, a grotesque demonic doppelganger appears - Bane, the nineties sensation who once broke a bat from another universe.

FOC for Absolute Batman #9 is today (5/19/25)! Tell your retailers to order a copy for ya. With this comic, Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta have cooked an undeniable banquet. As the best alternate reality stories should, they've weaponized your knowledge of these characters against you, subverting in radically compelling ways, while delivering what should never be manipulated.

Today's podcast features two conversations. Up first, Scott Snyder joins us for a lengthy look back at the last eight months of Absolute Batman. We discuss Bruce Wayne's continuing development into the Dark Knight, his complex relationship with Joe Chill, his father's killer, and why Bane had to arrive sooner rather than later. Secondly, Nick Dragotta pops in for a conversation about his ultra chonky Bane design, and how what we've seen so far is only a hint of his true monstrosity.

Absolute Batman #9 will finally arrive in stores, courtesy of DC Comics, on June 11th. Follow Scott Snyder on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/ssnyder1835.bsky.social] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/Ssnyder1835/], and subscribe to his Substack [https://bestjackettpress.substack.com/]. Follow Nick Dragotta on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:3aibrstc2c7y27htdzaodphi] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/dragottaart/].

This Week's Sponsor

We're sponsored by 2000 AD [https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/subscriptions], the greatest comic you're not reading! Within its pages is a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog to Rogue Trooper, Shakara, Halo Jones, and the poor sods slogging across the Cursed Earth in The Helltrekkers. Get a print subscription at your door every week - and the first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue for just $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible monthly comics for

Scott Snyder/Nick Dragotta: Absolute Batman vs. Bane

Kids can take it. You can coddle them. You can protect them with everything you have, but life is not simply coming for them; it already has them. Last year, Armored, the spectacularly spooky adventure story from writer Michael Schwartz and artist Ismael Hernandez, struck a deep emotional chord in us. The series seemingly came out of nowhere and walloped us with a powerfully relatable ghost story about family, loss, and perseverance. We gave it the Stampie for Best Surprise Comic [https://www.comicbookcouplescounseling.com/post/the-stampies-best-comics-of-2024-part-two], and the more times we re-read it, the more comfortable we are with that declaration.

Armored traffics in recognizable tropes, but executes them perfectly through a singular vision. At the story's core is Andy, a child forced into the foster system after his parents mysteriously vanish. He's planted in a home dealing with its own awful tragedy, which propels him into a confrontation with a haunted suit of armor. With the ghostly Sir William by his side, Andy seeks to solve the disappearance of his folks while stumbling into battle with ancient evil.

Having devoured the single issues from Clover Press, we patiently awaited word of a proper hardcover collection. Friends, we're ecstatic to be the first to tell you this: the Armored hardcover is almost here, and its Kickstarter Pre-Launch Page is already up and running (CLICK HERE AND GET NOTIFIED [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cloverpress/armored-vol-1-graphic-novel-by-schwartz-and-hernandez]).

Not only that, but we also have the first look at the new Armored hardcover collection artwork by artist Francesco Tomaselli. Please bask in its beauty while you listen to this week's podcast [https://www.comicbookcouplescounseling.com/post/armored-michael-schwartz-hc-interview] with author Michael Schwartz discussing Armored, how the theft of his comic book collection only intensified his comic book addiction, and why kids need stories with emotionally dark realities.

Armored is published by Clover Press, written by Michael Schwartz, illustrated by Ismael Hernandez, lettered by Ferran Delgado, and edited by Chris Stevens.

To continue this conversation, follow Michael Schwartz on Bluesky [https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/themikeschwartz.bsky.social] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mikeschwartzwrites/].

This Week's Sponsor

We're sponsored by 2000 AD [https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/subscriptions], the greatest comic you're not reading! Within its pages is a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog to Rogue Trooper, Shakara, Halo Jones, and the poor sods slogging across the Cursed Earth in The Helltrekkers. Get a print subscription at your door every week - and the first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue for just $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible monthly comics for less than $10.

Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode:

Michael Schwartz on Armored

With the Invincible animated series propelling more and more fans to the comic books, now is the perfect time for Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley to reteam on a new series. In a universe populated with numerous rich, wild characters, they could have revamped an infinite number of ideas. They chose Battle Beast, the white lion-like humanoid cursed with an unquenchable rage, and in doing so, Kirkmann and Ottley create an opportunity to reframe the character's original narrative.

Battle Beast first appeared in Invincible #19 (2004) and did not return until Invincible #55 (2008). Between those comics is a massive swath of time, and the new series, Invincible Universe: Battle Beast, will explore it fully. The first issue arrives in comic shops next Wednesday. If it's any indication, when this series is over, it will radically alter our understanding of Battle Beast's narrative and its place within the larger Invincible storyline.

This week, we trap Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley in our Zoom room. We examine how this first issue challenges our previous interpretation of the title character, the pain at Battle Beast's core, and the brilliant action that erupts from it. Having built a utopia on his homeworld through violent combat, Battle Beast seeks an end through a worthy opponent. You should know that this episode ventures into conversations about suicide and mental health crises.

Helplines are available if you do not already have a support system. For the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline - dial 988 or visit www.988lifeline.org [http://www.988lifeline.org/] to chat with someone online. You can reach the Mental Health Hotline in Virginia by dialing 1-866-903-3787 or CLICK HERE [https://mentalhealthhotline.org/virginia/].

Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #1 is written by Robert Kirkman, illustrated by Ryan Ottley, colored by Annalisa Leoni, and lettered by Rus Wooton. It's published by Skybound Entertainment [https://www.skybound.com/], operating in partnership with Image Comics [https://imagecomics.com/press-releases/new-invincible-comics-incoming-invincible-universe-battle-beast-by-robert-kirkman-ryan-ottley-to-launch-in-april-2025].

To continue this conversation, follow Robert Kirkman on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/robertkirkman.bsky.social] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/robkirkman/]. Also, follow Ryan Ottley on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/ryanottley.bsky.social]and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/ryanottley/].

This Week's Sponsor

We're sponsored by 2000 AD [https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/subscriptions], the greatest comic you're not reading! Within its pages is a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog to Rogue Trooper, Shakara, Halo Jones, and the poor sods slogging across the Cursed Earth in The Helltrekkers. Get a print subscription at your door every week - and the first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue for just $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible monthly comics for less than $10.

Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley on Battle Beast

First issues are hard. Last issues are hard. Second-to-last issues are hard. Maybe...all issues are hard? Book Club is back in session with creators Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm, discussing Spectrum #5, the penultimate issue in their brilliant Mad Cave Studios series [https://madcavestudios.com/product/spectrum-5/?srsltid=AfmBOoorVSAITtAPLxxaNB8Xl5kdTTg1PCieolxaY2mn15xXocsWk6bd].

With the end just around the corner (the final issue arrives in shops on May 21st, as does our final Book Club episode with Quinn and Chisholm, so mark your calendars), Spectrum #5 must elevate and explode a bunch of grandiose ideas about art that the comic has so far been teasing or suggesting. Spectrum #5 is a BIG comic following two central characters while traversing multiple timelines and encountering alternate-dimension stand-ins for iconic cultural figures and places from our world.

Quinn and Chisholm might not say it, but we will: PBGBs is CBGBs, and Gloria Bell is Patti Smith. Half the pleasure of reading Spectrum is tracking their sci-fi alternatives of real-world legends, which recalls similar joys had when devouring Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. However, as Spectrum #5 ramps toward its fiery conclusion next month, the fervor with which Quinn and Chisholm explore vital artistry is the ultimate appeal.

Why do humans sing? Why do they paint? Why do they tell stories to one another? During a moment when artistic expression is recklessly dismissed or downright eradicated, Spectrum #5 shows its readers how they're constantly engaged with creative expression and why only the most vile and pathetic people are detached from it.

Last month's Spectrum Book Club was extremely process-heavy in its conversation. Now, for the penultimate issue, it's time to dig into the thematic weeds, have a serious chat about human connection, and worry not about labels of pretension. We're all friends here.

Spectrum 1 - 5 are currently available from Mad Cave Studios [https://madcavestudios.com/product/spectrum-3/?srsltid=AfmBOop8g9ayKGTDqJ2EKmAZO3OaJotUKdmz9fF5-BsND1eiSMQOBnM8], and the final issue will arrive in shops on April 21st. Make sure you're following Dave Chisholm on his Website [https://www.davechisholmmusic.com/], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@davechisholmcomics], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thedavechisholm/], and Bluesky [https://app.bsky.cz/profile/did:plc:nledhpo4gwe65si72dvosjby]. And follow Rick Quinn on his Website [https://aphexquinn.com/], Bluesky [https://app.bsky.cz/profile/riqkquinn.bsky.social], and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/riqkquinn/].

This Week's Sponsor

We're sponsored by 2000 AD [https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/subscriptions], the greatest comic you're not reading! Within its pages is a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog to Rogue Trooper, Shakara, Halo Jones, and the poor sods slogging across the Cursed Earth in The Helltrekkers. Get a print subscription at your door every week - and the first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download

CBCC Book Club: Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm on Spectrum 5

June. 1962. Two men do the impossible: break Out of Alcatraz. The legendary escape almost immediately caught the public's imagination, becoming fodder for TV, film, and prose. Maybe you've encountered a few of these stories; maybe you haven't. Whatever the case, you certainly have not read an interpretation like the Oni Press [https://www.onipress.com/news/dn37kv7un9dmyy0l9ugkflx1jdi2au] comic from Christopher Cantwell and Tyler Crook.

Their Out of Alcatraz begins in the crashing waters outside the prison. From there, it dips into a storm of speculation, terror, and hope. Through their story, Cantwell and Crook explore a critical moment in the American narrative. The Civil Rights movement hasn't quite popped off. John F. Kennedy still stands righteously in the White House. The confidence of Post-war America is about to burst. Three criminals taste freedom with all its bitterness and desperately attempt to choke it down.

This week's podcast considers the American story and those who were left out of it or forced from it. We chat with Cantwell and Crook about the real men who broke free from Alcatraz and the fictional men they became in Cantwell and Crook's imaginations. We discuss the allure of prison narratives and the cells we all find ourselves in at some point.

Issues one and two of Out of Alcatraz are now available wherever rad comics are sold, and issue three will arrive in shops on May 21st.

Continue this conversation by following Christopher Cantwell on BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/ifyoucantwell.bsky.social] and Tyler Crook on BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/mrtylercrook.bsky.social], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mistertylercrook/], and his Website [https://www.mistercrook.com/]. Also, you can listen to his music through his Bandcamp page [https://harrowcounty.bandcamp.com/album/harrow-county-vol-1] (although it's also available on Spotify, Apple Music, and the like).

This Week's Sponsor

We're sponsored by 2000 AD [https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/subscriptions], the greatest comic you're not reading! Within its pages is a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog to Rogue Trooper, Shakara, Halo Jones, and the poor sods slogging across the Cursed Earth in The Helltrekkers. Get a print subscription at your door every week - and the first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue for just $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible monthly comics for less than $10.

Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode:

 * Tyler Crook on CBCC: The Ultimate Lonesome Hunters Interview [https://www.comicbookcouplescounseling.com/post/tyler-crook-the-lonesome-hunters-ultimate-interview]

 * Tyler Crook on CBCC: Mage - The Hero Discovered [https://www.comicbookcouplescounseling.com/post/tyler-crook-matt-wagner-mage-interview]

 * 

Christopher Cantwell and Tyler Crook on Out of Alcatraz

Surprise, friends. Grant Morrison joins the show for Superman Day! As the writer behind the seminal All-Star Superman, which observes its 20th anniversary this November, we cannot think of a better person to help us celebrate the Last Son of Krypton on his 87th birthday. Action Comics #1, featuring the first appearance of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, hit newsstands on April 18th, 1938. It is the source of everything you love about superhero comics.

When Action Comics first arrived, America was in economic ruin. The world was about to enter its second great war. Despair was easily accessible, but two Jewish kids from Cleveland imagined a Man of Steel who could do the impossible and would act for those who could not act for themselves. As we look outside our windows in 2025, we see an incredible darkness, but we strive for a future beyond it. We can imitate the devils in the dark, or we can seek Superman, who reflects the best version of ourselves.

Like most people, probably, we first encountered Superman through television and film; it was the All-Star Superman comics by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Jamie Grant, Phil Balsman, and Travis Lanham that solidified our passion for the character. Those twelve issues showcased the joyous, awful, absurd, and adventurous universe Superman populated, making us fall in love with it and our own realm in return. As Morrison writes in Supergods [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/201094/supergods-by-grant-morrison/], we are the stories we tell ourselves. In Superman, we see who we've been, who we are, and who we could be.

We're positively chuffed to chat Superman with Grant Morrison. We discuss their approach to the character in All-Star Superman and how it differs from the version they wrote in JLA, Action Comics, Final Crisis, and other stories. We discuss the significance of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and what it means for Grant and others to extend their great idea. We talk about Lois and Clark, Lex Luthor, Samson, and Atlas, and Grant Morrison reveals their next big comic project somewhere along the line.

Continue our conversation with Grant Morrison by visiting their Website [https://www.grantmorrison.com/], Substack [https://grantmorrison.substack.com/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/grant.morrison/], and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:fayxt4a6spltgw4cyn6cn5nv].

This Week's Sponsor:

We're sponsored by 2000 AD [https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/subscriptions], the greatest comic you're not reading! Within its pages is a whole universe of characters, from Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog to Rogue Trooper, Shakara, Halo Jones, and the poor sods slogging across the Cursed Earth in The Helltrekkers. Get a print subscription at your door every week - and the first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, get free back issues, and download DRM-free copies of each issue for just $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible monthly comics for less than $10.

Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode:

 * Dan Slott and Mark Waid on Action Comics #1 [https://www.comicbookcouplescounseling.com/post/action-comics-1-mark-waid-dan-slott-interview]

 * 

Grant Morrison on All-Star Superman

Join married couple Brad and Lisa as they explore the various dynamics of comic book relationships throughout pop culture and publishing history.

Brad Gullickson

Shows