516: It Was a Bit of a Zoot Suit Riot

516: It Was a Bit of a Zoot Suit Riot

From Zero Issues Comic Podcast by Bry Kotyk, Kyle Lees & Merk

March 18, 2026

About this episode

The episode discusses the firing of Mike Richardson from Dark Horse Comics and its implications for the comics industry.

Mike Richardson, the founder and head of Dark Horse Comics for the past 40 years….. has been fired. This is pretty big news and a huge shift in a rapidly changing comics world. We discuss the history of Dark Horse and how Mike Richardson crafted this strange middle space in comics, the fabulous comics they’ve given us over the years, the Embracer Group responsible for Richardson’s exit and most importantly…. we discuss the why. We lean heavily on Matttttttt on youtube for much of his excellent information and insight, but we also talk about what may have been left out of that analysis. The Dark Horse ups, the Dark Horse downs, the Dark horse all arounds through the years. It was a bit of a zoot suit riot. Direct Download: MP3

People in this episode

Hosts: Bry Kotyk, Kyle Lees, Merk

Topics covered

  • Dark Horse Comics
  • Mike Richardson
  • comics industry
  • Embracer Group
  • history of comics

Keywords

  • Mike Richardson
  • Dark Horse Comics
  • Embracer Group
  • comics history
  • Zoot Suit Riot

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dark Horse Comics, Embracer Group

More episodes of Zero Issues Comic Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Zero Issues Comic Podcast podcast page.