Comic Book Historians

Join Alex Grand and Bill Field as they sit down with legendary comic artist Steve Rude in an enlightening episode of the CBH podcast. Dive deep into Rude's early influences, from his passion for 1960s Marvel to the impact of artists like Jack Kirby and Gene Colan on his style. Discover the pivotal moments of his career, from his initial challenges in the business to his successful partnership in creating Nexus with Mike Baron, his dislike of Marvel of DC in the 1980s, and his impression of the corporate side of comic books. Explore his artistic evolution and the personal stories behind his work, including his venture into fine art and the narrative of his documentary on bipolar disorder. Tune in for a masterful blend of art, storytelling, and personal struggle, reflecting over four decades of comic artistry.

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David Armstrong interviewed Nick Cardy for a second round on set in 2005 about his time at the Eisner shop, Fiction House, illustrator influences, Lou Fine, anatomy, reference, army sketch book, his Paris exhibit, Science Fiction stories, design, page rates, Brushwork, advertising, his sense of religion, and a sex comic experience at comic con. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.

David Armstrong interviewed Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age great, Joe Kubert in 1997 on set at San Diego Comic Con discussing his childhood strip and pulp influences, entering comic books in the early 1940s as a high school student, working with Harry Shorten & Frank Z. Temerson, his professional relation with Norman Maurer, his first job at DC, the 3D Comic book craze of the 1950s, working with Will Eisner, the Green Berets daily strip, functioning as an Editor at DC under Carmine Infantino, the Joe Kubert school, his graphic novels and his pride over his two talented sons, Andy and Adam Kubert. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview painter, autobiographical comics pioneer and 11-time Eisner nominee Carol Tyler, author of Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father: A Daughter's Memoir (You'll Never Know), Fab4 Mania, and Late Bloomer in the second of a two parter. We cover her early work for Weirdo, Wimmen’s Comix and Twisted Sister to her current project, as well as her marriage to Justin Green (Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary), her friendship with the Crumbs, the controversy over her accepting the first Dori Seda Memorial Award, Leonardo DiCaprio’s babysitting skills and her life’s most tragic losses and greatest triumphs. Part 2 of 2. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.

#Beatles #CarolTyler #Eisner
©Comic Book Historians 2020

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview painter, autobiographical comics pioneer and 11-time Eisner nominee Carol Tyler, author of Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father: A Daughter's Memoir (You'll Never Know), Fab4 Mania, and Late Bloomer in the first of a two parter. We cover her early work for Weirdo, Wimmen’s Comix and Twisted Sister to her current project, as well as her marriage to Justin Green (Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary), her friendship with the Crumbs, the controversy over her accepting the first Dori Seda Memorial Award, Leonardo DiCaprio’s babysitting skills and her life’s most tragic losses and greatest triumphs. Part 1 of 2. Edited & Produced by Alex Grand.

#Beatles #CarolTyler #Eisner
©Comic Book Historians 2020

David Armstrong interviewed Golden and Silver Age great, Nick Cardy in 1998 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books in 1940, working with the Eisner & Iger shop, his influences like Gary Cooper, Noel Sickles, working at Fiction House, drafted into the Army, Tarzan and Casey Ruggles daily comic strips, entering DC Comics, interacting with Alex Toth, Jack Kirby, Neal Adams and Mike Sekowsky, working with Julius Schwartz and Carmine Infantino, working on animation, illustration and movie posters for New Line Cinema. Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong. Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.

In a rare 2-hour interview, delve into the enigmatic life and mind of the late Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, through the reminiscences of his brother Pat and nephew Patrick and never before seen photos and footage. Uncover the roots of Ditko's analytical and creative genius, beginning from his early years growing up in a hardworking immigrant family, to his intuitive yet analytical approach to art which later defined the iconic characters we love. Discover the blend of scientific curiosity, love for Batman and artistic passion in Ditko's youth, including his makeshift science lab and his early fascination with solving problems, which hinted at the iconic superhero worlds he would later create. Amidst the exploration of Ditko's youthful adventures, a nostalgic recall unveils his admiration for Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan and Charles Bronson's rugged charisma, embodying a blend of heroism and humble tenacity that subtly mirrored in Ditko's later creations. Explore how Steve's quiet but profound philosophical outlook, including his interactions with Ayn Rand’s philosophy, shaped his work and relationships within the comic book industry, and despite being labeled as a recluse, was quite interactively funny. Gain insight into Ditko's personal and professional ethos of letting his work speak for itself, his aversion to the spotlight, and his enduring focus on the present and future over the past. Through a blend of heartwarming and insightful anecdotes, this interview not only sheds light on Ditko's complex persona and his journey through the comic book world, but also underscores the indelible legacy he left behind, as seen through the eyes of his family.

#SpiderMan #Marvel #DCComics #StanLee #DrStrange #Batman #SteveDitko
#ComicStrips #JackKirby #WW2

©2023 Comic Book Historians

In 1973, John A. Mozzer, lover of pop culture interviewed 6 people in Reading, Pennsylvania to track down the history of Jim Steranko. The 6th person was Western/Kid Colt and Hot Rod comic artist, Jack Keller who worked in comics since the Golden Age for companies like Quality, Fawcett, Atlas/Marvel, Charlton and more who went into detail into the history of his comics career as well as discussing meeting a young impressionable Jim Steranko as well as Stan Lee, Dick Giordano and Sal Gentile. John was gracious to share these files with the world and CBH from his soundcloud, so the first 5 were given a massive audio restoration treatment by Alex Grand and are located and transcribed at the interview section of comicbookhistorians.com, and the 6th one, Jack Keller is digitally restored and audio engineered by Alex Grand and presented here. John A. Mozzer also provided great imagery of these encounters located both at the CBH website, his flickr and as the thumbnail image for the recording presented here.

David Armstrong interviewed Silver & Bronze Age great, John Romita Sr. in 2001 on set at San Diego Comic Con about his entry into comic books with Les Zakarin, first meeting Stan Lee at Timely, his suspense science fiction stories like IT!, working for Famous Funnies, his relationship with Stan Lee in the 1950s, and again in the 1960s, getting inking advice from Joe Maneely, why he joined DC Comics to work on Romance Comics with Zena Brody and Robert Kanigher, discussing Alex Toth, the editorial culture at DC compared to Marvel, Jack Kirby, Martin Goodman, terrible distribution through Independent News, and DC Comics' achilles heel.

Interview conducted, recorded and copyrighted to David Armstrong.
Remastered, edited, timestamped and postproduction by Alex Grand.

Everyone should know that Steve Ditko was the co-creator of Spider-Man and the creator of Dr. Strange, The Question, Mr A., and many others. But most people do not know who he was, let alone know anything about him. Who was he as a person? Did he have a family? What type of person was he? Mark Ditko (Ditkoverse; Steve's nephew), Lenny Schwartz (writer, Ditko the Play; filmmaker, The Haunted and the Hunted), Jackie Estrada (Eisner Awards administrator; correspondent with Steve), Alex Grand (Comic Book Historians; author, Understanding Superhero Comic Books), and Marci Singel (Steve's first cousin) dispel those strange rumors and provide more information about Steve Ditko than you've ever believed possible.

Moderated by Tyler McPhail (The Grand Geek Gathering).
Recorded and post-production by Alex Grand

Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians, LLC. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.