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
Steven wades into the murky waters of the bayous of Louisiana where a spaceship has brought some confused aliens into contact with DC’s mopey muck monster in a story that will shatter your heart into a million pieces. SWAMP THING no. 32 was written by Alan Moore and drawn by Shawn McManus.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this podcast, screenwriters Steven...
In this episode, Chris gives a eulogy to Archie Goodwin and the final MANHUNTER story, the one Goodwin plotted but never lived to script. Walt Simonson drew it anyway. Every page. Without a single word. "The Final Chapter" first appeared in 1999's MANHUNTER: THE SPECIAL EDITION, collecting the Goodwin/Simonson run from DETECTIVE COMICS no. 437-443.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few...
+ Check out our YouTube channel to get a look at some of the fantastic art featured in our episodes. Visit ComicsRotYourBrain.com to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. You can also find us wherever you stream your favorite podcasts.
+ We appreciate your support of the show via Patreon: ComicsRotYourBrain
+ For even more cool shit, read Chris's Substack (cinema, comics, and c...
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxONuw60a0sJXul6nw7-lmlyjgB-lkn5C&si=nqCc-4aNAl6ZsKid
The legendary Stephen R. Bissette joins Chris and Steven us for a CRYB! interview discussion spanning the breadth of his historic career as a writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Topics covered include SWAMP THING, TABOO, the Kubert School, and countless other things, all on the occasion of the first-ever collection of Bissette&rsq...
This Artist Made The Most Shocking Marvel Comic Ever, Then Disappeared - UNTAMED (Epic Comics, 1993)
Join Steven as he goes on a ride-along with an odd couple of hyper-violent cops, braving the squalid urban underworld of the futuristic, philosophical crime story that is UNTAMED (Epic Comics, 1993) ; written and drawn by Neil Hansen, this comic is a madly ambitious and profoundly bizarre piece of mainstream comic art that was somehow willed into existence by the passionate vision of one man.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep...
Uncanny X-Men #186 — “LifeDeath” — remains one of the boldest creative swings in Marvel history. Instead of battles and villains, Chris Claremont and Barry Windsor-Smith deliver a quiet, emotionally devastating story about identity, trauma, and the cost of rebuilding yourself after everything is taken away.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). I...
Chris and Steven journey to the surreal realm of the undead with the zombie-esque trapeze artist extraordinaire, DEADMAN (DC Comics, 1986), in this four issue mini-series written by Andrew Helfer and drawn by the incomparable Jóse Luis Garcia-López.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) and Christo...
See how this run reframes Cap’s identity through the lens of a cyborg from the future.
The Deathlok Saga | CAPTAIN AMERICA #286 – 288 (DeMatteis & Zeck). In this first episode of CRYB! Season 3, Chris dives into one of Marvel’s most haunting time-travel/identity stories. He examines how J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck transform a sci-fi popcorn thriller into a meditation on what makes a hero hu...
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxONuw60a0sJXul6nw7-lmlyjgB-lkn5C&si=KOQWYJLqYpDi04O2
In this solo episode, Steven excavates the tomb of the ‘80s most obscure proto-influencer/superhero, the weirdo wonder himself, that achingly irreverent NYC hipster super dude… PARADAX! (STRANGE DAYS #1 - 3, Eclipse Comics, 1984).
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exc...
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) and Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age of comics.
Steven and Chris enlist in Epic Comics' ALIEN LEGION (1984), created by Carl Potts, Alan Zelenetz, and Frank Cirocco. Later issues are dr...
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxONuw60a0sJXul6nw7-lmlyjgB-lkn5C&si=KOQWYJLqYpDi04O2
In a solo episode, Chris looks at Frank Miller's first published Elektra solo adventure, working for an on-the-run Nazi, in a story called "Cobra" that appeared in BIZARRE ADVENTURES #28 (Marvel Comics, 1981), a black-and-white anthology comics magazine.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few ...
In a solo episode, Steven descends into a “corpse world” in the furthest reaches of the galaxy to examine the infamous GREEN LANTERN CORP story, “Tygers” (GREEN LANTERN CORP Annual #2, DC Comics, 1986), otherwise known as “The Last Temptation of Abin Sur.” Brace yourself for a disturbing ride!
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In ...
Steven & Chris explore the rocky emotional terrain winding through the first four issues of Paul Chadwick’s imposingly granite-bodied softie, the brooding giant who is CONCRETE (Dark Horse Comics, 1987).
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) and Christopher Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) disc...
Steven and Chris sit down with legendary Mexican comic book artist, Jose Ladrönn, for a lively discussion about his influences, his work with Alejandro Jodorosky on the FINAL INCAL and SONS OF EL TOPO, plus a whole host of indispensable advice.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) and Christo...
Steven and Chris vividly discuss John-Paul Leon and Brett Lewis' post-Cold War crime magnum opus, THE WINTER MEN (Image Comics, 2005).
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) and Christopher Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.
Cloak and Dagger Marvel Comics' Most Underrated Art Team of the 1980s - Rick Leonardi & Terry Austin
Steven and Chris discuss Marvel's brooding teen superheroes — CLOAK AND DAGGER — from the 1985 on-going series; they go over the first four issues written by Bill Mantlo with art by the wildy incredible and overllooked but influential art team of Rick Leonardi and Terry Austin.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Steve...
Chris and Steven discuss Raymond Briggs's nuclear war nightmare WHEN THE WIND BLOWS, published by Penguin Books in 1982.
+ Check out our YouTube channel to get a look at some of the fantastic art featured in our episodes. Visit ComicsRotYourBrain.com to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. You can also find us wherever you stream your favorite podcasts.
+ We appreciate your support of...
n this CRYB! SPOTLIGHT, Chris and Steven discuss DC Comics' batshit-crazy SKREEMER (1988). This proto-Vertigo classic blends noir, cyberpunk, and family tragedy in a retro gangster apocalyptic fable created by Peter Milligan, Brett Ewins, and Steve Dillion. A science fiction comic that makes A CLOCKWORK ORANGE look G-rated.
This clip was taken from our full-length SKREEMER episode:
https://youtu.be/gfcvYF0aCd0?si=E5H1...
This week is a CRYB Spotlight episode on Marvel/Epic Comics' ALIEN LEGION, published in 1984, created by Carl Potts, Alan Zelenetz, and Frank Cirocco. This clip is taken from our epic (so to speak) deep dive into ALIEN LEGION (see earlier episodes).
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) and Steven B...
Steven and Chris discuss acclaimed graphic designer Dean Motter's science fiction opus, MISTER X (Vortex Comics, 1984); the first four issues were written & drawn by Los Bros Hernandez (Mario, Gilbert, and Jamie) of LOVE & ROCKETS fame and colored by Paul Rivoche.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Steven Bagatourian (AME...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.