In our second installment on Matt Wagner's Grendel, we dive into issues 1-20 of the ongoing series from Comico, as well as the Grendel: Devil's Vagary one shot. We begin with the second Grendel Christine Spar, continue to Brian Li Sung, and wrap-up with Captain Wiggins. We talk about the Pander Brothers, how 1986 is the most 80s year of the 80s, Wagner's experiments, and more.

We couldn't help it. We weren't going to read Grendel so soon, but irresistibly drawn to Matt Wagner's masterpiece. Once he started reading, he couldn't stop. Klint was soon sucked back into the world of Grendel too. In this episode, we look at the earliest Grendel stories from Comico Primer, the original black and white series, and the classic Devil by the Deed. Credits:Hosts: Klint Finley and John EkleberryMusic: krudler.bandcamp.com   Full show notes and transcript: https://sewermutant.com/podcast-grendel-part-1/

This episode we dive into <em>Manhunter</em> by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson. This was essentially a Dark Age comic that happened to come out in the early Bronze Age (1973). This comic was ahead of its time in many ways.   Credits:Hosts: Klint Finley and John EkleberryMusic: krudler.bandcamp.com   Full show notes and transcript: https://sewermutant.com/podcast-manhunter/

Dive into Marvel's first graphic novel: The Death of Captain Marvel by Jim Starlin. We discuss:- How this kicked off the character death trend during the Dark Age of Comics- The birth of the direct market- The roots of Cosmic Marvel- Why Michigan punches above its weight class in the comics industry Music by krudler.bandcamp.com For a full transcript and show notes: https://sewermutant.com/podcast-death-of-captain-marvel/

This is an emergency episode where we pay tribute to the Maxx creator, Sam Kieth, who passed away on March 15th of complications with Lewy body dementia. He was only 63 years old. In this episode we discuss three major Kieth works: I Before E, a collection of his early black-and-white work. Blood Hungry, a Wolverine story from Marvel Comics Presents that put him on the mainstream comics map. The first few issues of The Maxx. Music by krudler.bandcamp.com

We dive into the rest of Warrior magazine and discuss: The lasting legacy of Alan Moore’s Marvelman and V for Vendetta Warrior‘s successors (including… Boom! Studios?) A surprising influence from Warrior on Watchmen that WASN’T by Alan Moore Music by krudler.bandcamp.com

We can't talk about the Dark Age of Comics without talking about Alan Moore, so today we're diving into Warrior Magazine, the anthology that first published Alan Moore's groundbreaking V for Vendetta and Marvelman comics. Previously, Moore had worked mostly on humor strips comics and short sci-fi stories. Warrior gave Moore his first shot at writing the more serious, long-form superhero comics that he's known for today. In this episode, we look at some of the background and context of Warrior, Moore's work inside of it, and some of the other stories published inside.   Music by krudler.bandcamp.com

Sewer Mutant is back and we’re delving into the pre-history of the Dark Age of Comic Books with a look at Alack Sinner by Carlos Sampayo and José Muñoz. First published in Europe in 1975, this private detective/noir series laid the groundwork for Frank Miller’s Sin City and practically every other modern crime comic from 100 Bullets to Criminal.

The Sewer Mutant podcast is back at last! And I'm joined by a new co-host, John Ekleberry, who you might remember from the Sewer Mutant episode on James O'Barr. We're starting a podcast companion to the History of the Dark Age of Comics article series. This first episode is an introduction to the topic, then we'll be discussing a number of Dark Age milestones. Next up we'll discuss some precursors of the Dark Age, with an episode on Alack Sinner followed by a two-parter on Warrior magazine.

This month Miguel Ángel Espinoza talks about his RPG Nahaul, based on the Mexican outlaw comic Operación Bolívar. Music by Krudler. Show notes