Episodes

I had the chance to talk with writer Kirsten Thompson about her Kickstarted ongoing comic book I Am Hexed! We talk about the book’s world of magic, how it fits topically in so much of 2020, and tips for Kickstarting comics. I Am Hexed Is: Writer: Kirsten Thompson Artist: Amagoia Agirre Letters: Taylor Esposito Support the Kickstarter Here! ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Music for Best Comics Ever by Anthony Weis. Check out more music at anthonyweis.com. Su...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with artist Joshua Cassara about X-Force in Marvel’s Dawn of X, creating Krakoa’s Green Lagoon Tiki Bar, and what’s to come in X of Swords! On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enjoyi...

The word retcon gets thrown around – sometimes wildly, sometimes recklessly – a lot in comic book circles to describe an act of rewriting a character’s history, changing seemingly fundamental details long thought to be that character’s truth. Spelled out, it’s “retro continuity,” or a sort of revisionist history that upends a status quo. For me it effectively boils down to one question: Does this irrevocably change the way we read the character’s previous appearances in comics? In the world of ...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with writer Lonnie Nadler about Black Stars Above, writing the X-Men event Age of X-Man, and a whole lot more. On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enjoying the intricacies and thinki...

Even during the promotional build to Jonathan Hickman’s takeover as the “Head of X,” there was theorizing that Charles Xavier – if that even was our once and future Professor X, adorned in his Maker-esque Cerebro helmet at all times – and the X-Men would be taking on a more sinister, antagonistic role in the Marvel Universe. Through House of X / Powers of X, the establishing of Krakoa as a sovereign mutant nation, and now one year into the Dawn of X the question has persisted: Are the X-Men vil...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with cartoonist Tom Scioli about his Marvel work on Fantastic Four: Grand Design, the recent biography, Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics, and the Stan Lee vs Jack Kirby credit debate! On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. ...

I had a unique opportunity this week to talk to Zack Quaintance, head of Comics Bookcase and writer at The Beat, about the upcoming Kickstarter launch of his comic book one-shot, NEXT DOOR. I ask Zack about what it’s like Kickstarting a comic book, how comic book journalism has paved the way for this launch, and finding time for creativity in a packed life. Next Door is a one shot from the following creative team: Writer: Zack Quaintance Artist: Pat Skott Colors: Ellie Wright Letters: Hass...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with writer and artist Rob Guillory about Farmhand, adapting comics for TV, lessons from Chew, and plans for adapting to the future of comics! On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enj...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with writer Ram V about These Savage Shores, Big 2 work like Justice League Dark, and a whole lot more. On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enjoying the intricacies and thinking in t...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with writer Stephanie Phillips about The Butcher of Paris, and the complexities of writing both historical fiction and true crime. On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enjoying the in...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with writer Rodney Barnes about Killadelphia, the influence of “Hamilton,” bringing horror to vampire comics, and a lot more. On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enjoying the intrica...

What happens when mutantkind runs into their erratic god? Welcome to Krakin’ Krakoa #59 where today I’ll be exploring a Milestone in Marvel mutant history, the infamous Secret Wars II and the X-Men’s relationship to the event and to the all-powerful Beyonder. Today I’ll answer: What happened when the X-Men met the Beyonder in Secret Wars II? What do these encounters have to do with the Hickman era of X-Men and the ongoing Dawn of X? Potential spoilers for discussed comics may follow! Related...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with writer Steve Orlando about his upcoming MMA graphic novel Kill A Man, as well as his comics career and what comes next for Wonder Woman and creator-owned work. On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual a...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with artist Sanford Greene about the Eisner nominated Bitter Root! On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enjoying the intricacies and thinking in the art. Thanks for listening, and enjo...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with writer Darcy Van Poelgeest about Little Bird and the upcoming sequel Precious Metal. On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enjoying the intricacies and thinking in the art. Thanks...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with writer Ryan O’Sullivan about Fearscape and the upcoming not-sequel A Dark Interlude! On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enjoying the intricacies and thinking in the art. Thanks ...

Since the launch of House of X and the Hickman era of X-Men, and certainly throughout my Krakin’ Krakoa exploration of X-Comics, the possibility of Krakoa as an alternate reality is a popular and potentially exciting theory. The ambition and vision of Professor X, Magneto, Moira MacTaggert and mutantkind is grand enough that it begs the question whether all this change is really happening in Marvel’s core Earth-616 timeline. Today I’ll answer: Is the Krakoa Era an Alternate Reality? Who are t...

X-Men Dawn of X comics are back! Marauders #10 kicks off the return of post-Comics Shutdown X-Men, and it’s another great entry by Gerry Duggan, with art from Stefano Caselli and Edgar Delgado. Today I’ll answer: What happens in Marauders #10 and what does it mean for the Dawn of X? Where’d the Marauders get a spaceship? Ok seriously, what’s the deal with Kate Pryde and resurrection?! Potential spoilers for discussed comics may follow! Related Reading Orders: Hickman X-Men Modern X-Men All...

This week on Creannotators, I talked with Tyler Boss about 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, his work on Lazarus, and the upcoming Dead Dog’s Bite! On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enjoying the intricacies and thinking in the...

The Jonathan Hickman led era of Marvel’s X-Men began in July 2019, and continued through the end of March 2020 prior to all of comics – and in many ways, all of the world – being put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the return of X-Men comics imminent – Marauders #10 is scheduled for publication on May 27, 2020, followed by Excalibur and New Mutants #10 on June 10, 2020 – it’s a good time to look back on what’s happened in this new era of X-Men comics so far, and to refresh our memori...

I’m very excited to launch a new series, “Creannotators,” exploring the Image Comics comic Ice Cream Man in depth with book writer W. Maxwell Prince. On Comic Book Herald’s ‘Creannotators’ I’ll be interviewing some of my favorite creators in comics about specific runs, graphic novels or series, looking for their insights on the inspirations behind the work and ideas or hidden material readers may have missed. Creannotators is an audio/visual annotative guide to enjoying the intricacies and thin...

In between the end of Marvel’s 2019 Uncanny X-Men #22 and the start of the Jonathan Hickman led era with House of X #1, there’s an in-universe time jump forward of 6 months. Over the course of House of X and the Dawn of X we’ve seen a smattering of flashbacks filling in details from this time period, but many questions remain, the biggest of course being: Just what exactly happened during these 6 months that we haven’t seen yet? Today I’ll Answer: What’s the Age of X-Man mystery that still mat...

The Zeb Wells written run on New Mutants (the 2009 to 2011 volume) is definitely an underrated gem of the era, bringing the Xavier School students of the 1980’s Chris Claremont X-Men into the 2010’s as fully formed young adults, graduating to X-Men status. Through connections to X-Men history and lore, Wells and company weave in developments for Legion, Inferno, and the realm of Limbo, all concepts and characters that have plenty of resonance in the X-Men comics of 2020. Today I’ll Answer: Wh...

Counting down our top 5 favorite comics of the year so far with the head of Comics Bookcase and writer at The Beat, Zack Quaintance! You can also find our full lists via the links below. Otherwise we chat about our very favorites (including plenty of overlapping picks!) on this episode. Stick around to the end to hear our picks for favorite books that aren’t quite getting the attention we think they should. Comic Book Herald’s best comics of 2020 (so far) Comics Bookcase’s best comics of 2020 ...