Back To Pop
Back to Pop Podcast: Your All-Access Pass to Pop Culture Icons Dive headfirst into the vibrant world of pop culture with the “Back to Pop Podcast,” where we celebrate the legends and lore of the entertainment universe. From the visionaries behind the scenes to the iconic faces in front of the camera, we bring you exclusive, heart-to-heart conversations with the diverse talents that have shaped our cultural landscape. “Back to Pop” is not just a podcast; it’s a vibrant dialogue with the movers and shakers of music, movies, TV, and comics. Each episode is a unique journey, offering you a front-row seat to the untold stories, creative inspirations, and behind-the-scenes insights from your favorite pop culture personalities. “Back to Pop” is where nostalgia meets novelty, where we reminisce about classic moments while exploring the latest trends that are defining the future of entertainment. It’s your chance to hear from the legends you admire and the rising stars you’re curious about, all in one place. So, if you’re looking to get your pulse on pop culture’s past, present, and future, tune into “Back to Pop Podcast.” Be part of a community that thrives on the excitement, creativity, and passion that pop culture brings into our lives. Join us, and let’s celebrate the stories that connect us all.
Episodes
George Vega grew up in Newark, New Jersey watching Voltron and filling sketchbooks with Jim Lee panels. Today he’s doing G.I. Joe cover work through Skybound and his art has appeared across Marvel, DC, Alien, Firefly, and Rick and Morty. In this conversation, George talks about the artists who shaped him — Jim Lee, Brom, Todd McFarlane, Larry Elmore — and what he actually took from each of them. We get into his proc...
JP Mavinga has spent over twenty-five years building one of the most distinctive careers in illustration and comics — born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, trained at SCAD, and forged across three continents before landing as a senior concept designer and art director at Sideshow Collectibles, where his work on the Thanos on Throne maquette set sales records.
In this episode, JP joins Back to Pop to tal...
If you grew up reading The Batman Adventures, Batman: Gotham Adventures, or Superman Adventures, Rick Burchett’s work shaped how you see those characters.
His pages don’t just look good — they move, they breathe, they act.
In this episode, we sit down with Rick to talk about how a commercial art background at a St. Louis ad agency quietly became one of the best training grounds for comics storytelling, why the a...
He’s covered the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and decades of Hollywood from the red carpet out. Now Nelson Aspen is turning the lens on himself.
Nelson joins Back to Pop to talk about Dancing Between the Raindrops: Happily Ever After? — the final chapter in his trilogy blending romance, identity, and the unfiltered realities behind the spotlight.
It’s a book that feels lived-in, because it is.
We dig into rein...
He named 200 characters like Megatron, Starscream, Grimlock, Bumblebee, Prowl, and more . He wrote the character bibles that turned a line of Japanese toys into one of the most beloved franchises in pop culture history — and most people have never heard his name.
Bob Budiansky spent 20 years at Marvel Comics as an editor, writer, and penciller. He drew Ghost Rider covers for five years, co-plotted the conclusion...
Jeremy Robinson has written nearly 100 novels. He’s a #1 Audible and New York Times bestselling author published in 14 languages. His kaiju series Project Nemesis is in development at Sony Pictures Television with John Wick director Chad Stahelski. And now he’s back where he started — in comics.
But he’s not adapting his novels.
He’s creating something new.
Nectar, the debut title from Robinson’s own Breakne...
William Harms has spent thirty years building worlds — and the dead ones are his best work yet.
From small press comics in the early ‘90s to writing Captain America and Wolverine for Marvel, to crafting the entire story of inFAMOUS for PlayStation 3 (IGN’s Best Story of the Year, 2009), to serving as Narrative Director on Mafia III — a BAFTA-nominated game that ended up in a Victoria and Albert Museum exhibit — ...
Before streaming. Before shared universes. Before fandom went mainstream — there were heroes who meant it.
This week on Back to Pop, we give Marc Singer’s career the full treatment it deserves. He was a classically trained stage actor before any of this happened on a screen — playing Petruchio in A.C.T.’s landmark 1976 Taming of the Shrew for PBS, Christian in Cyrano de Bergerac opposite Peter Donat and Mar...
Today, on Back To Pop we dive into the pages of comics, with acclaimed writer Doug Wagner
Doug Wagner writes serial killers in love, cannibal furries, fashion designers with a taste for human flesh, and Viking curses — and somehow, every single one lands with genuine heart. This week, Marc sits down with the creator of Plastic, Vinyl, Plush, I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer, and the upcoming Narco to...
Michael Watkins (CEO/Editor-in-Chief, Highburn Studios) is back — and this time he brought the whole crew. Joining him are Lyle Pollard, creator of the slice-of-life series Tribulations, and Mike “Mez” Phillips, freelance artist and creator behind No More and the upcoming Hemlock.
Over the course of an hour, we get into what Highburn actually looks like from the inside in 2026, the challenges of running a creato...
He covered the O.J. Simpson trial, the Rodney King riots, the Northridge earthquake, Columbine, the Las Vegas mass shooting, and Michael Jackson’s death. For 58 years, Hal Eisner was there — camera rolling, microphone in hand — for the moments that defined Los Angeles and shook the nation.
But here’s what makes his story different: he never planned any of it.
In this episode, the legendary FOX 11 and KC...
People know the kicks. The costumes. The Christmas magic.
But they don’t always know what it cost to stand on that line — and what it takes to stay whole after you do.
This week on Back to Pop, we sit down with Jennifer Jones — history-maker, dancer, author, and survivor — who became the first Black Rockette at Radio City Music Hall in 1987. What followed wasn’t just applause. It was pressure, resistance, re...
Comic Creator Caitlin Yarsky joins us to discuss her journey from early creative impulses to becoming one of comics’ most distinctive visual storytellers. Known for her work on Coyotes, Bliss, Black Hammer, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Yarsky shares insights into her creative process and evolution.
We explore how Coyotes became a breakthrough moment, the intentional balance of mythology and ...
What happens when a lifelong comic book fan decides to build the convention he always wanted to attend? You get TerrifiCon – Connecticut’s largest comic book convention and a love letter to creators and fans alike.
In this episode, we sit down with Mitch Hallock, the visionary behind TerrifiCon, to explore his journey from discovering Marvel Team-Up #12 as a kid to producing one of the Northeast’s most beloved p...
The most unbelievable three-act story in pop culture.
Ron Fazio suited up for the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. Then he became the man inside the costume in The Toxic Avenger Part II and Part III. Today, he saves lives as a cardiothoracic surgery professional.
In this episode, Ron shares:
∙Life in the NFL and the injury that ended his football career
∙Taking over the role of Toxie mid-produ...
Join us for an in-depth conversation with talented comics artist Patrick Piazzalunga as he shares his journey from Bergamo, Italy to the international comics scene.
Patrick opens up about his early days studying at the Scuola Internazionale di Comics in Florence, working as an inker on series like Dampyr, and developing his distinctive style that blends dynamic action, horror elements, and grindhouse aesthetics.
...
Every line in a comic tells a story. Some shout. Others whisper.
Today on Back to Pop, we’re sitting down with Keith Williams — an inker who’s defined the look of Superman, The Phantom, and so many heroes we grew up with. This isn’t just a career retrospective. It’s a conversation about craft, rhythm, and what it means to tell stories one line at a time.
From a childhood moment with Batman #184 to ...
What happens when a classically trained flutist who beatboxed with Parliament-Funkadelic picks up a pen and starts drawing worlds? You get Afua Richardson — musician, illustrator, mythmaker, and cultural architect whose work refuses to stay inside the lines.
In this soul-stirring 60-minute conversation, we trace Afua’s journey from Carnegie Hall at eleven to the panels of Marvel’s Black Panther: World of Wakanda...
She was a five-time World Karate Champion before the world even knew her name. Then Hong Kong discovered her, and Hollywood spent the next three decades trying to keep up.
From the high-octane streets of 1980s Hong Kong in Yes, Madam! to the cult-classic grit of China O’Brien and her latest powerhouse project Black Creek, Cynthia Rothrock didn’t just join the action genre—she redefined it.
In this career-spanning deep...
In December of 1993, a small team of artists was handed an impossible assignment: take a direct-to-video project, pivot to a theatrical film, and deliver it in just eight months.
It should’ve been a disaster.
Instead, it became the gold standard.
This week on Back To Pop, we’re celebrating Batman: Mask of the Phantasm—a noir tragedy wrapped in a mystery, draped in Art Deco shadows that still haven’t faded. Decades late...
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