Comic Book Historians
Comic Book Historians
Presented by Alex Grand
As featured on LEGO.com, Marvel.com, Slugfest, NPR, Wall Street Journal and the Today Show, host & series producer Alex Grand, author of the best seller, Understanding Superhero Comic Books (with various co-hosts Bill Field, David Armstrong, N. Scott Robinson, Ph.D., Jim Thompson) and guests engage in a Journalistic Comic Book Historical discussion between professionals, historians and scholars in determining what happened and when in comics, from strips and pulps to the platinum age comic book, through golden, silver, bronze and then toward modern Support us at https://www.patreon.com/comicbookhistorians. Read Alex Grand's Understanding Superhero Comic Books published by McFarland & Company here at: https://a.co/d/2PlsODNSeries directed, produced & edited by Alex GrandAll episodes ©Comic Book Historians LLC.
John Broome & Arnold Drake interview by David Armstrong
David Armstrong interviewed Golden and Silver Age great, John Broome in 1998 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books and pulps in the 1930s, working at Quality Comics and DC Comics, knowing Otto Binder, his favorite comic book genre, his science fiction stories synergizing with the space race, trying to gather support for creators to claim reprint rights from Jack Liebowitz, his stories of the 1950s, if comic books were a gateway to larger narrative projects, his ...
Jun 1
38 min
Jim Shooter Biographical Interview Part 4 of 6 by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson
Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Jim Shooter in a career spanning biography. Travel thru his life as he brought in and worked with Frank Miller on Daredevil, behind the curtain scenes into Marvel's sale from Cadence to New World, the transition from him to DeFalco in 1987 (6:32:00), raising money to bid to buy Marvel from New World in 1989, his long professional relationship w/ Steve Ditko, his professional relationship w/ Layton & Massarsky (6:35:45),...
May 1
1 hr 58 min
Jim Shooter Biographical Interview Part 3 of 6 by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson
Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Jim Shooter in a career spanning biography. Travel thru his life as he discusses the Ant-Man Wasp controversy, the dead Korvac saga sequel, oversaw Roger Stern create Monica Rambeaux, improving access to opportunities in the comics industry to African-American, Asian and female creators like Denys Cown, Ron Wilson, Larry Hama and Louise Simonson, how both Star Wars and the Superman film reinvigorated Marvel in 1978, ending the editor-writer ...
Apr 1
1 hr 42 min
Martin Filchock interview by David Armstrong
David Armstrong interviewed Platinum and Golden Age great, Martin Filchock in 2000 on set at his home in Rogersville, Tennessee about his entry into comic books in the 1930s with Tidbits Magazine, his blue collar background working the railroad, meeting Bill Cook at Comics Magazine Company, working on Mighty Man and other comics at Centaur, his life in the Civilian Conservation Corps and how it reflected in his C.C. Kid strip, working next to Bill Everett, Jack Cole, Lloyd Jacquet, leav...
Mar 2
31 min
Jim Shooter Biographical Interview Part 2 of 6 by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson
Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Jim Shooter in a career spanning biography. Travel thru his life as he joined Marvel as associate editor under Marv Wolfman and his first encounter with the Marvel Method in 1975, the editor-writer wars of the 1970s, origin of Jim Galton, working w/ Editor-in-Chief Archie Goodwin, plotted the Spider-Man news-strip w/ Stan Lee, became Editor-in-Chief in 1978, and wrote the Avengers comic w/ George Perez. Edited & Produced by ...
Feb 2
1 hr 42 min
Jim Shooter Biographical Interview Part 1 of 6 by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson
Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Jim Shooter in a career spanning biography. Travel thru his youth as Mort Weisinger's 14- year-old apprentice created the rogue's gallery of the Legion of Superheroes, Princess Projectra, #KarateKid, Ferro Lad's death & intended race, drew layouts with his scripts for DC artists Gil Kane, Wally Wood, and Neal Adams, Captain Action teaching him Toy-Comics synergy, DC’s first drug addiction and rehab comic story, Parasite...
Jan 1
1 hr 48 min
Creig Flessel & Fred Guardineer interview by David Armstrong
David Armstrong interviewed Platinum and Golden Age great, Creig Flessel in 1998 on set at Long Island, New York about his early training in the Grand Central Art School, his entry into comic books in the mid 1930s with Vincent Sullivan on More Fun Comics for Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Publications, his covers for Detective Comics, other artists like Leo O'Mealia, Bert Christman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, early Superman, depicting African American protagonists, why ...
Dec 1, 2025
34 min
Joe Simon & Vincent Sullivan interview by David Armstrong
David Armstrong interviewed Golden Age great, Joe Simon in 1998 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into Hearst comic strips in the 1930s, comic books in Funnies Inc and becoming Timely/Marvel Comics' first editor, meeting Jack Kirby at Victor Fox comics, Wonder Comics with Will Eisner's Wonder Man, Eisner and Iger's split, creating Captain America, leaving Timely for DC Comics, his relationship with Jack Liebowitz, Sandman & Boy Commandoes, his friend Charles Nicholas, Al Harve...
Nov 3, 2025
36 min
The Silver Age Panel at San Diego Comic Con 2025: How Flash Saved the Comic Book Industry
In 1955, comic book companies were struggling to stay afloat after a rough five years of censorship, a changing readership, and the invention of television. During an editorial meeting at National Periodical Publications, somebody suggested bringing back the company’s superheroes. National settled on a redesign of an old character—The Flash—and the world would never be the same. This created Marvel Comics and the Marvel Age. Michael Lites, Bill Field, Alex Grand, Kevin Garcia, Flaming Carrot ...
Oct 1, 2025
44 min
The Many Hands of Bill Finger SDCC 2025 Panel
Panel description: Before Gotham had shadows, writer Bill Finger cast them. Comics scholar Alex Grand (*Understanding Superhero Comic Books*) moderates a lively conversation with Athena Finger (Bill’s granddaughter and advocate), historian Bill Field (Field of Comics), and playwright/filmmaker Leonard Schwartz (Bill Finger: Rise of the Bat), and now with Mark Evanier (Bill Finger Awards). Together we trace Finger’s career across comics, television, and film, and show why crediting Batman’s co...
Sep 1, 2025
45 min
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