Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast Brad & Lisa Gullickson

March 5th, 1984. Forty years ago, three thousand copies of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 hit the newsstands. The title was impossible to ignore. Born from a joke between fresh collaborators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it sparked an instantaneous passionate response. Many quickly dismissed the concept or rolled their eyes, but those who actually read that first issue recognized the love for the medium within. Eventually, cartoons and toys would follow, and a phenomenon occurred that truly has not been replicated in the comics space since.


This week's podcast is our "Thank You" to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. We return to those Mirage Studios' early years, examining three critical comics that would shape and define the characters: the Leonardo micro-series one-shot and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issues ten and eleven. These stories would form the climax of the 1990 movie adaptation and propel the brothers into a momentous clash with The Shredder in "Return to New York" and its "City at War" aftermath.
No Love Expert guides our hands this week as we draw lessons directly from the comics. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird poured so much life into their stories, and the result is a beautiful mirror reflecting our hopes and fears. In these pages, the reader exists already; they merely must find themselves.

Mirage Studios published these comics between December 1986 and June 1987. They were written and penciled by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, inked and toned by Eastman, Laird, Stephen R. Bissette, Michael Dooney, and Ryan Brown, and lettered by Steve Lavigne. You can currently read them via IDW Publishing's massive Compendium Vol. 1.
As always, Omnibus, the Digital Comic Store and Reader, sponsors our Referrals segment. This week, we selected two comic book titles on the site that satisfy this episode's themes. We won't spoil what they are here, but if you click the links below, you'll be immediately escorted to those books.



Brad's Referral


Lisa's Referral



Other Relevant Links:



Jason Aaron on CBCC


Kevin Eastman on CBCC


The TMNT CBCC Counseling Sessions


An Era of Struggle for (Comics) Journalism



Final Round of Plugs (PHEW):

Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY

Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 5/19 at 4:00 PM for our Batman 35th Anniversary Screening, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies.

Watch the latest episode of The B&B Show, where Brad and Bryan Review the Hottest Cinematic Releases.

And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren.
Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts.

Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website, where we have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators.

Podcast logo by Aaron Prescott @acoolhandfluke, podcast banner art by @Karen_XmenFan.

For this week's podcast, we're digging out a treasure from the CBCC Patreon Feed: our deep-dive conversation with Daniel Warren Johnson about The Nam # 9. This thorough discussion launched our "Married to Singles" Patreon exclusive series, where we examine the favorite single issues of various comic book creators and critics. It's one thing to dissect an artist's work alongside or in front of them, as we often do, but it's an entirely different thing to scrutinize an artist's work with another artist.

Daniel Warren Johnson is a can't-miss cartoonist. If he's on a book, you want that book in your pullbox. Extremity, Murder Falcon, Do a Powerbomb!, and Transformers are essential reads for those obsessed with the comic form. If you want to understand what DWJ does so well, our conversation with him about his passion for Michael Golden gives you another angle.

As Johnson remarks in our chat, Michael Golden in The 'Nam # 9 does things he would never do, and those choices mystify and compel him. Johnson came to the Marvel series late in his comic reading history, picking up the first two issues and enjoying them but only coming across the rest of those Golden books years later at C2E2. He profoundly appreciates all those early 'Nam issues, but the ninth one just hits differently. Why? We get into it.
After you enjoy our conversation with Daniel Warren Johnson, consider digging into the rest of our "Married to Singles" episodes. We have thorough inspections with Jason Ayers on Uncanny X-Men # 183, Christian Ward on Arkham Asylum, and more. The CBCC Patreon costs as little as $1 a month or $12 a year. You can also purchase these episodes individually, without joining the Patreon, for $3 an episode via our Online Shop.

The 'Nam # 9 was originally published by Marvel Comics on May 19, 1987. It was written by Doug Murray, penciled by Michael Golden, inked by John Beatty, and lettered and colored by Phil Felix. G.I. Joe mastermind Larry Hama served as editor, while Jim Shooterwas Editor-in-Chief.

You can continue this conversation by following Daniel Warren Johnson on Twitter, Instagram, and his Website.
Other Relevant Links:




Robert Kirkman, Joshua Williamson, and Daniel Warren Johnson at SDCC




Appreciating Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers, an essay




Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly on Duke




The Ultimate Do a Powerbomb! Daniel Warren Johnson Interview




The Ultimate Beta Ray Bill Daniel Warren Jonson Interview




Subscribe to the Free CBCC Newsletter




Final Round of Plugs (PHEW):

Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY

Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 5/19 at 4:00 PM for our Batman (1989) screening, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies.

Watch the latest episode of The B&B Show, where Brad and Bryan Review the Hottest Cinematic Releases.

And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren.
Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts.

When people dare to complain about modern Transformers stories, they often single out the human characters and how they drag the spotlight away from the glorious Cybertron titans they paid their money to see. Optimus Prime is enough. Bumblebee is enough. We don't need Spike or Sparky to stretch the narrative. Just give us the 'bots.

And yet, Daniel Warren Johnson, the virtuosic cartoonist behind Extremity, Murder Falcon, and Do a Powerbomb!, could not imagine telling his Transformers story without Spike and Sparky. Why? The humans are at the forefront of this week's podcast as we reflect on Daniel Warren Johnson and colorist Mike Spicer's first six issues and their catastrophic climax.

Johnson sees Optimus Prime as the ultimate dad, and he wants to tell his ultimate dad saga while simultaneously reintroducing the Autobots and the Decepticons to Image Comics readers. His Transformers create a significant branch in Skybound's ever-expanding Energon Universe, which includes other titles like Void Rivals, Duke, and Cobra Commander. Telling an emotional and singular story while supporting the most exciting event in comics is a herculean task, and thankfully, for all his readers, Johnson is absolutely up for it.
After we pour ourselves over Transformers issues one through six, we invite Daniel Warren Johnson onto the show for a hearty debrief. We discuss the humanity at the core of his story, why Sparky was always Optimus Prime's parallel figure, and what we can expect after the heroic and tragic events of the sixth issue.
Transformers 7 is currently on comic stands, while the trade paperback collecting the first story arc will arrive on May 21st. Catch a preview of Transformers 8 on Skybound's website. You can continue this conversation by following Daniel Warren Johnson on Twitter, Instagram, and his Website.

As always, Omnibus, the Digital Comic Store and Reader, sponsors our Referrals segment. This week, we selected two comic book titles on the site that satisfy this episode's themes. We won't spoil what they are here, but if you click the links below, you'll be immediately escorted to those books.




Brad's Referral




Lisa's Referral




Other Relevant Links:




Robert Kirkman, Joshua Williamson, and Daniel Warren Johnson at SDCC




Appreciating Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers, an essay




Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly on Duke




The Ultimate Do a Powerbomb! Daniel Warren Johnson Interview




The Ultimate Beta Ray Bill Daniel Warren Jonson Interview




Subscribe to the Free CBCC Newsletter




Final Round of Plugs (PHEW):

Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY

Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 4/21 at 4:00 PM for our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II screening, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies.

Watch the latest episode of The B&B Show, where Brad and Bryan Review the Hottest Cinematic Releases.

And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren.
Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts.

Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website, where we have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators.

Podcast logo by Aaron Prescott @acoolhandfluke, podcast banner art by @Karen_XmenFan.

How many words belong on a page? How many panels? In this week's podcast, we uncover the answers by chatting with Pornsak Pichetshote and Jesse Lonergan about their new Boom Studios series, Man's Best. It's a radically personal work about three emotional support animals lost in space, and it forced its creators to rethink their collaborative impulses to achieve the best comic possible. And we're excited to report they pulled it off. Man's Best is, without doubt, one of the year's best comics.
In our conversation, before we dig into the craft and math behind the comic, we challenge the themes Pichetshote and Lonergan are exploring with Man's Best. It's a saga born out of crisis, and it required the artists to adopt one of the most tried-and-true fictional devices: anthropomorphization. We consider the intrinsic value of placing animals in harm's way and how it immediately - and perilously - heightens an audience's emotions. One dog dies, and we're happy to watch John Wick eradicate a hundred goons. It's not a vice-versa situation.
The first issue of Man's Best is out now, and the second issue will arrive in comic shops on April 24th. You can continue this conversation online by following Pornsak Pichetshote on Twitter and Instagram, as well as Jesse Lonergan on Twitter and Instagram.

As always, Omnibus, the Digital Comic Store and Reader, sponsors our Referrals segment. This week, we selected two comic book titles on the site that satisfy this episode's themes. We won't spoil what they are here, but if you click the links below, you'll be immediately escorted to those books.




Brad's Referral




Lisa's Referral




Other Relevant Links:




Jesse Lonergan on CBCC, Talking Miss Truesdale




SKTCHD's Exploration of the Connection Between Comics and Podcasts




Subscribe to the Free CBCC Newsletter




Final Round of Plugs (PHEW):

Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY

Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 4/21 at 4:00 PM for our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II screening, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies.

Watch the latest episode of The B&B Show, where Brad and Bryan Review the Hottest Cinematic Releases.

And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren.
Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts.

Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website, where we have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators.

Podcast logo by Aaron Prescott @acoolhandfluke, podcast banner art by @Karen_XmenFan.

We've dreaded this moment for more than a minute. The Death of Comics Bookcase is here. Journalist Zack Quaintance has assembled a mighty fine coffin in the form of a comic book and put his old self into it. Having written for his old site, we'll miss him, but we also recognize this death as a rebirth loaded with possibility, and we can't help but be excited, too.

Having dipped his toes into comic-making with Next Door, Zack Quaintance now plunges all the way in with his latest project. The Death of Comics Bookcase is an anthology featuring various rad artistic talent: Nick Cagnetti, P.J. Holden, Luke Horsman, Ryan Lee, Anna Readman, Pat Skott, and more. With stories like "The Werewolf Priest" and "The Responsibili-Teen," the book surfs through numerous genres, playing with our love of the medium while crafting a profoundly personal pseudo-biography.
On this week's podcast, we grab Zack Quaintance for an intimate discussion regarding his need to make comics after spending so many years writing about them. We discuss the necessary death of his old self and his hopes for the new one. We chat about the various doors he's closed in his life and how he was able to kick down the one that blocked his path to becoming a comics creator. If he can do it, you can too. Prepare yourself for inspiration.
The Death of Comics Bookcase is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter. The project is already complete; we've read it and backed it ourselves. You can also continue this conversation with Quaintance by following him on Twitter and Instagram.

As always, Omnibus, the Digital Comic Store and Reader, sponsors our Referrals segment. This week, we selected two comic book titles on the site that satisfy this episode's themes. We won't spoil what they are here, but if you click the links below, you'll be immediately escorted to those books.




Brad's Referral




Lisa's Referral




Other Relevant Links:




WonderCon with The Geekly Grind Part 1




WonderCon with The Geekly Grind Part 2




WonderCon with The Geekly Grind Part 3




Subscribe to the Free CBCC Newsletter




Final Round of Plugs (PHEW):

Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY

Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 4/21 at 4:00 PM for our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II screening, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies.

Watch the latest episode of The B&B Show, where Brad and Bryan Review the Hottest Cinematic Releases.

And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren.
Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts.

Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website, where we have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators.

Podcast logo by Aaron Prescott @acoolhandfluke, podcast banner art by @Karen_XmenFan.

A story is never one story. A story is several stories. It's the story imagined by its author or authors, as is often the case in comics, and it's the story imagined by its many readers. They can be similar or significantly different, but none of them are the same. Never have we been more aware of this phenomenon than when we were talking to Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay about their new comic, Somna.

The DSTLRY series gripped us immediately. One issue in, we found ourselves challenged, wrestling with how these witch trial stories typically propel themselves. Fear and hate are the enemy, but what happens when the paranoia is justified? Both of us interpreted the story differently, but our interpretations differed slightly from Becky Cloonan's headcanon, and hers differed slightly from Tula Lotay's headcanon. Fascinating.

We can agree on Somna's plot. Ingrid is unhappily wed to the town bailiff, who succeeds by sniffing out witches and bringing them to a cleansing fire. His work consumes him, drying his desire for Ingrid and leaving her open to shadowy whispers from a potentially demonic phantom. Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay trade pages throughout, setting barriers between dream and reality before breaking them down in tremendous fashion.

Somna's third and final issue arrives in shops today. It's the culmination of a decade-long journey for Cloonan and Lotay, and they're eager to share their inspirations, interpretations, and intentions with us. Our conversation is spoiler-ish -- we HAD to talk about that last panel, so it's best if you're caught up on the series before diving into our episode.

To continue this discussion, you can find Becky Cloonan on Twitter and Instagram, and Tula Lotay on Twitter and Instagram.

As always, Omnibus, the Digital Comic Store and Reader, sponsors our Referrals segment. This week, we selected two comic book titles on the site that satisfy this episode's themes. We won't spoil what they are here, but if you click the links below, you'll be immediately escorted to those books.




Brad's Referral




Lisa's Referral




Other Relevant Links:




Subscribe to the Free CBCC Newsletter




Final Round of Plugs (PHEW):

Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY

Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 4/21 at 4:00 PM for our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II screening, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies.

Watch the latest episode of The B&B Show, where Brad and Bryan Review the Hottest Cinematic Releases.

And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren.
Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts.

Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website, where we have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators.

Podcast logo by Aaron Prescott @acoolhandfluke, podcast banner art by @Karen_XmenFan.