The Iron Age of Comics

In what promises to be the snappiest episode of the podcast to date, we do a deep dive into the early years of Mike Allred’s signature creation, Frank Einstein (sometimes but not exclusively also known as “Madman” in the comics themselves) at Tundra Publishing and Dark Horse Comics. Born of a desire to fuse existentialism with costumed adventure, Allred mixes ‘50s sci-fi movies, Silver Age comics, David Bowie lyrics, a dash of Mary Shelley and J.D. Salinger, and a whole lot of other influences and ingredients. With heart-on-its-sleeve earnestness tempered by gonzo absurdity, Madman asks the big questions: What makes us human? Is evil necessary to define good? Does God exist? But most importantly: Isn’t it super-neat-o to have a girlfriend?Discussed in this episode: Madman #1-3, Madman Adventures #1-3, Madman Comics #1-10, plus material from Creatures of the Id #1 (recently and conveniently collected as Madman Omnibus Volume 1 from Dark Horse Comics)Man oh man, did you know you can back the podcast and get a monthly newsletter and Fifth Week Bonus episodes at patreon.com/ironageofcomics?

It’s April Fool’s Day* and the Joker has led an inmate revolt of Arkham Asylum! In 1989, Tim Burton’s Batman was the year’s hottest movie, and fans took to comic book shops and bookstores starving for more Dark Knight content. What they found was…a dense, 128-page experimental narrative featuring terrifying expressionist paint and artwork with a story crammed with allusions to the Tarot, Passion plays, St. George the Dragonslayer, and Carl Jung. Was this an April’s Fools prank DC was pulling on new readers? Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth has been praised as a brilliant psychological-horror take on Batman by some and a pretentious mess by others; even writer Grant Morrison and artist Dave McKean don’t see eye to eye! It’s a graphic novel open to interpretation, and we’ll guide you through a bunch of possible readings, unpack some symbolism, and use the book’s subtitle to unlock the ambition behind one of the strangest Batman stories ever told.* No really, check your calendarCONTENT WARNINGS: Lurid and sensationalist approaches to the concepts of mental health and “insanity,” as well as other disturbing topics befitting a “mature readers” graphic novel.

Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley's 1997 launch Thunderbolts had a killer high concept: what if a band of supervillains posed as heroes to con the public into trusting them? But by the end of issue #12, the central conflict and premise of the series had been effectively dismantled by exposing the team's deception and turning them into fugitives. Where could the series possibly go next? We investigate a narrative swerve that some fans thought was a mistake, but we'd argue took the series to new creative heights. Targeted by the good guys and the bad guys alike, the Thunderbolts go on the run, and Bagley and Busiek turn what could have been a limited premise into a true ongoing series in the tradition of Claremont and Byrne's Uncanny X-Men, constantly shifting the status quo and packing each monthly issue with intrigue and subplots. Plus: Jim and Justin explain why Hawkeye is one of the coolest Avengers ever as he takes the reins of the team.Discussed in this episode: Thunderbolts #13-33, #0Baron Zemo says, "Under no circumstances should you support this podcast at patreon.com/ironageofcomics!" But are you gonna let that guy tell you what you can and can't do??

We revisit George Pérez’s redefinition of Wonder Woman with the second major arc, 1987’s “Challenge of the Gods.” In these pages, you’ll get to know Diana’s supporting cast better and find out how a hard-rebooted Wonder Woman fits into post-Crisis continuity; meet the Cheetah, a savage reimaging of one of the series’ most iconic villains; delve into an underground prison beneath Paradise Island swarming with mythological monsters; and learn the secret origin of why an Amazon warrior wears a costume that looks a bit like an American flag. It’s Wonder Woman vs. Greek mythology’s greatest hits, and Jim will explain all the historical and classics-based context that Justin did not pick up on repeated viewings of Clash of the Titans.Discussed in this episode: Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #8-14.Show your support at patreon.com/ironageofcomics

It was 40 years ago this month that the calendar ticked over to 1986, often heralded as one of the high points of the comic book industry—perhaps even the most important year in the history of the medium. Comics began to find the mainstream acceptance they’d long craved, superheroes got grimmer ‘n’ grittier, and DC Comics reinvented itself for an older and more discerning audience. We walk through the highlights of this annus mirabilis, take a look back at what was left behind in this brave new era, and wonder whether we’ll ever see another year of its like again. Discussed in this episode:​Crisis, Dark Knight, and Watchmen (again, but briefly, we promise!)​Marvel’s 25th anniversary​The New Universe​X-Men as franchise​Classic X-Men debuts​Grim ‘n’ gritty and the dawn of “the Dark Age”​Daredevil and Elektra by Frank Miller​The Punisher gets his own series​Licensed comics and other cancellations at Marvel​The rise of the post-Crisis DCU​Legends​Many fine comics written by Alan Moore​The founding of Dark Horse Comics​Maus​Creator’s rights, starring Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, and Jim Shooterpatreon.com/ironageofcomics

Jim and Justin are know-it-all comics guys normally, but in this episode they’ll enter unfamiliar territory for them: the 22nd century milieu of brutal supercop Judge Dredd…as well as the longrunning weekly comic 2000 AD and the British comics industry in general! The epic “Necropolis” storyline might seem like an unusual entry point to Dredd: genres clash as the sci-fi dystopia of Mega-City One is attacked by the supernatural horrors of the Dark Judges, and the title character doesn’t even appear for much of the story; Dredd has exiled himself to the wastelands of the Cursed Earth, leaving a younger, less experienced genetic duplicate to carry his name and badge. Will our intrepid podcasting Yankees be hopelessly befuddled by this arc’s British sensibilities and satire, or will the thrillpower writing of John Wagner and the gritty inks and paints of artist Carlos Ezquerra cross the cultural divide?Discussed in this episode: Judge Dredd strips from 2000 AD progs 674-699(Do not adjust the rabbit ears on your podcatcher app; sound quality in this episode is suboptimal due to a recording issue. It’s probably the Sisters of Death’s fault.)Become a supporter of The Iron Age of Comics at patreon.com/ironageofcomics. It’s not just a good idea; IT’S THE LAW!

A listener asked us some time ago if we’d consider reading some Moon Knight; instead, we read a lot of Moon Knight. We used Moon Knight Epic Collection Volume 3: Butcher’s Moon to take a broad survey of a Bronze Age character’s transition to the Iron Age. In these pages, the multiple-personalities angle of the character is de-emphasized, and multiple creative teams try to crack the character of Marc Spector in their absence. The Fist of Khonshu goes from a silver-suited urban vigilante to a supernatural avenger decked out with gold accessories, then back to a gritty and grounded international action hero (this time, with an unwanted sidekick). We’ll compare these very different iterations of the character, ask ourselves why Chuck Dixon and Sal Velluto’s take was more popular than Alan Zelenitz and Chris Warner’s, and try to figure out whether all these phases of the Moon Knight have a common denominator.Discussed in this episode: Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #1-6, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #1-7, plus Marvel Team-Up #144, Marvel Fanfare #30 and #38, and Solo Avengers #3Support the podcast at patreon.com/ironageofcomics and get Steven Grant-caliber bonus content on a Jake Lockley budget!

Ghost Rider was something of an also-ran character in the 70s and 80s, so when editor-turned-writer Howard Mackie was invited to pitch a revival in 1990, Marvel didn’t have high hopes. But, with a brand new human host created by Mackie and a gritty and powerful redesign by artist Javier Saltares, the Spirit of Vengeance soon became a massive commercial success. We figured the first Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch - Vengeance Reborn Epic Collection would be seasonally appropriate reading for Halloween, but there’s very little of the supernatural in these pages (except for the flaming-skull-headed biker himself). Instead, mysteries layered on top of mysteries are the order of the day, so your hosts will try to untangle what it all means (and whether it matters). We’ll also uncover Mackie’s personal connection to Danny Ketch’s neighborhood and debate how to pronounce "Zarathos"!Discussed in this episode: Ghost Rider #1-12, Doctor Strange #28, and selected material from Marvel Comics Presents #64-71Justin and Jim spent all their money on leather jackets covered in spikes and chains, so they don’t have any money left over to buy comics! Help them out at patreon.com/ironageofcomics

Following the triumph of Marvels and from the ashes of a proposed sequel that fell apart, Kurt Busiek launched Astro City with Brent Anderson on interior art and Marvels collaborator Alex Ross on covers and character designs. On the series’ 30th anniversary, we look at the complicated development of the series and its first six stories. We also ask some conceptual questions. Should Astro City be considered part of the larger superhero deconstructionist movement of the Iron Age, or something else entirely? Are the series’ familiar-but-different superheroes “analogues” or “archetypes”? Is there such a thing as including too many Easter eggs? And what’s the difference between “superheroes in the real world” and Astro City?Discussed in this episode: the first volume of Kurt Busiek’s Astro City #1-6, published by Image Comics (as originally reprinted in the Life in the Big City trade paperback and other subsequent collected editions)The municipality of Astro City is probably supported with robust and progressive property taxes, but our podcast relies on listener support at patreon.com/ironageofcomics

SUMMER CROSSOVER SPECTACULAR CONTINUES! We’ve discussed tie-ins to DC’s 1994 continuity-altering crossover Zero Hour on a couple occasions so far, but now we finally tackle the main series itself. Billed as “The Beginning of Tomorrow!” and a fresh entry point for new and lapsed readers alike, writer-artist Dan Jurgens pits DC’s heroes against Extant and Parallax for the fate of the universe…and the good guys don’t quite stop them in time! The result is a new timeline (reflected in a literal printed timeline of events included in the last issue), a hard reboot for the Legion of Super-Heroes (the first of many, unfortunately), and some questionable changes to Batman’s history (which have since been overturned). We also do a real nerdy deep-dive on DC continuity and the lingering effects of 1986’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Justin finally lets Jim explain what the deal with Monarch was.Discussed in this episode: Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #0-4 (well, actually #4-0…)Bonus episodes and a newsletter at patreon.com/ironageofcomics

In the wake of Tim Burton's 1989 version of Batman, Hollywood tried to recapture its blockbuster success by fast-tracking a number of movies featuring other masked heroes. It may seem strange today, however, that so many of those heroes were pulp and pulp-inspired adventurers in period 1920s/30s settings. The films that followed--The Rocketeer (1991), The Shadow (1994), and The Phantom (1996)--were neither financial hits nor critical darlings, but they each have their fans. In this preview episode, we theorize about why studios in the 1990s thought this was the way to go. If this discussion whets your appetite, you can find a full-length bonus episode where we talk about each film in depth on patreon.com/ironageofcomics

The Iron Age boys share a few personal reflections about former Marvel editor-in-chief, writer, and all-around controversial comics industry figure Jim Shooter on the occasion of his passing.

SUMMER CROSSOVER SPECTACULAR BEGINS! Love 'em or hate 'em, big event comics were a defining feature of the Iron Age, cramming a whole universe of superheroes into a single miniseries and/or spreading a single story out over multiple titles. We begin three months of surveying the crossover phenomenon with one of the first major examples: Marvel’s Secret Wars II, written and architected by friend-of-the-podcast* Jim Shooter. Whereas the original Secret Wars was designed to take place relatively unobtrusively between issues of the regular monthly books, the sequel sprawled across the Marvel Universe for nine months. The cosmic being known as the Beyonder has come to Earth seeking the meaning of existence, and his limitless power—coupled with childlike curiosity and naivete—makes him a potential threat to the entire multiverse. But, in contrast with its action-packed predecessor, the frequently bizarre Secret Wars II spends much of its time on fish-out-of-water hijinks, thinly veiled attacks on former Marvel creators, mild satire of '80s consumer culture, and some uncomfortable fixations regarding women and relationships. Discussed in this episode: Secret Wars II #1-9, plus various tie-ins._________* (Not really.)Support us at patreon.com/ironageofcomics