Fun Time Go Editor-in-Chief and Corner Box Substitute Teacher, Chase Marotz, joins hosts “John” and David to talk about the past 30 years of Comic-Cons, the do’s and don’ts of attending Comic-Cons (for both fans and professionals), and the importance of avoiding the nachos. Plus, David wins a fight, and Chase has an elevated experience with Civil Rights Legend, John Lewis.

Timestamp Segments

• [01:07] Substitute teachers.
• [02:31] What turned Chase into a comic book fanatic?
• [05:10] Chase’s first ComiCon.
• [06:08] David’s first ComiCon.
• [07:46] San Diego ComiCon Madness.
• [08:15] The First Rule of Con Fandom: Spatial Awareness.
• [10:42] The Second Rule of Con Fandom: Recognize the Humanity.
• [17:12] The Biggest Rule: Extra Socks & Good Shoes.
• [19:01] Books are heavy.
• [19:53] Sienkiewicz is too good.
• [21:34] Join the FunTimeGo Campaign!
• [22:21] ComiCon programming.
• [23:42] The First Rule for Professionals: Read the Room.
• [26:27] The Second Rule for Professionals: Be Kind.
• [30:52] BarCon: Know Your Limits.
• [32:06] Meeting John Lewis.
• [37:50] Credit Cards Have Ramifications.
• [38:53] David falls down the Roger Corman Cosmic Comics rabbit hole.

Notable Quotes

• “There’s 100,000 other people in that room that want the same thing you do.”
• “Recognize the humanity of the people you are approaching and talking to.”
• “The gift is that they’re there, period.”
• “The Convention Center nachos are not going to be the help you think they are.”
• “You never know where you’re meeting somebody in their journey.”

Relevant Links

David's Fun Stuff!
Miss Mina VIP Launches Here!

John is at PugW!
Pug Worldwide

Books Mentioned

• The Amazing Spider-Man #400, J.M. DeMatteis, Stan Lee, Mark Bagley, Tom Grummett, & John Romita Jr.
• Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller.
• Death Race 2020, by Pat Mills, Tony Skinner, & Kevin O'Neill.

John and David return to talk about more of their Comfort Comics, diving into nostalgia, learning how to make comic books, and how creative teams have shaped the future of the industry. Also, David gets his own post-credits scene.

Timestamp Segments

• [01:00] John’s Comfort Comic #2: Lone Wolf and Cub.
• [03:59] Saving urban space collecting Lone Wolf and Cub.
• [07:10] What everyone gets wrong about Lone Wolf and Cub.
• [09:36] David’s Comfort Comic #3: Justice League International.
• [12:11] Keith Giffen’s famous pitch.
• [14:06] The Justice League lineup.
• [19:01] Join the FunTimeGo Campaign!
• [20:02] John’s Comfort Comic #3: Cerebus.
• [22:04] Dave Sim’s contribution to comics education.
• [29:43] The nostalgia of comfort comics.
• [30:44] Bloopers.

Notable Quotes

• “That’s the way to read it, because that’s the way it exists, but I wish it wasn’t.”
• “Very difficult to argue that he didn’t go mad during that.”
• “If you live long enough, you eventually have a heel turn or two.”

Relevant Links

David's Fun Stuff!
Miss Mina VIP Launches Here!

John is at PugW!
Pug Worldwide

Books Mentioned

• Ambush Bug, by Keith Giffen.
• Batman: Hush, Batman: Hush 2, by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams.
• Cerebus, Cerebus Guide to Self-Publishing, by Dave Sim.
• Conan The Barbarian.
• Crisis on Infinite Earths, By Marv Wolfman & George Perez.
• Daredevil, by Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, & Alex Maleev.
• Innocent, by Shin’Ichi Sakamoto.
• Justice League International, by J.M DeMatteis, Keith Giffen, Adam Hughes, Bart Sears, Kevin Maguire, Mike McKone, Steve Leialoha, & Ty Templeton.
• Legion of Super-Heroes.
• Lone Wolf and Cub, by Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima.
• The Omega Men.
• Ronin, by Frank Miller.

John and David get together for Part 1 of a conversation about comfort comics and the creative teams that made them possible, crossing the border to win drinking contests, when panel descriptions become dialogue, and Daredevil’s bright red costume. Also, John saves on oversized comics, and David finds comfort outside of Captain Carrot (we're all as shocked as you are).

Timestamp Segments

• [04:42] John’s move to Mexico.
• [05:26] Chase breaks a record in Mexico.
• [09:15] David’s Comfort Comic #1: All-Star Superman.
• [14:06] Join the FunTimeGo Campaign!
• [15:05] John’s Comfort Comic #1: Daredevil.
• [18:13] David’s thoughts on Daredevil’s costume.
• [20:11] “Shot of Barbara.”
• [22:56] John’s thoughts on Daredevil’s costume.
• [24:26] David’s Comfort Comic #2: New Warriors.

Notable Quotes

• “I think I don’t like the costume […]. It’s not very interesting to me.”
• “That’s the most bizarre thing you’ve ever said.”
• “Read more comics.”

Relevant Links

David's Fun Stuff!
Miss Mina VIP Launches Here!

John is at PugW!
Pug Worldwide

Books Mentioned

• Absolute Batman, by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, & Frank Martin.
• All-Star Superman, by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Jamie Grant, & Neal Adams.
• Batman #158, Batman: Hush, by Jeph Loeb, Scott Williams, & Jim Lee.
• Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew.
• Civil War, by Mark Miller & Steve McNiven.
• Civil War.
• Daredevil, by Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, & Alex Maleev.
• Daredevil, by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson.
• Daredevil: Black Armor, by D.G. Chichester, Netho Diaz, & Mark Bagley.
• Daredevil: Fall From Grace.
• Deathblow, by Jim Lee, Brandon Choi, & Tim Sale.
• Groo the Wanderer, by Sergio Aragonés.
• Marvel Knights Daredevil, by Kevin Smith & Joe Quesada.
• Marvel Knights, by Joe Quesada, Kevin Smith, Garth Ennis, Jimmy Palmiotti, Rob Haynes, & Dave Ross.
• New Warriors (1990-1996).
• New Warriors, by Zeb Wells & Skottie Young.
• Nightwing, by Chuck Dixon, S

Team Tyrant Fall, Max Davenport and C. Brennan Knight, join hosts John and David to talk about all things comic book, how Brennan wrote a pro-level first comic, perfecting the writing process, building the world and characters, merging traditional and digital art, and Heavy Metal’s influence on Tyrant Fall. Also, John manages to get back into the U.S. after his vacation, and David discovers why he’s not a big DC guy (or is he?!)

Timestamp Segments

• [01:48] Brennan’s gateway comic.
• [06:17] Max’s Comfort Comic.
• [08:49] Absolute Wonder Woman.
• [11:32] What’s Tyrant Fall all about?
• [12:37] Character and world building.
• [21:42] Join the Kickstarter Campaign!
• [22:29] Brennan’s writing process.
• [25:36] John’s veteran writing process.
• [29:26] Where to start writing a story.
• [36:51] Brennan’s day job.
• [41:04] Digital vs traditional art.

Notable Quotes

• “When good story is married with great art, they’re always classics.”
• “The horniness of Heavy Metal Magazine is undeniable.”

Relevant Links

David's Fun Stuff!
Miss Mina VIP Launches Here!

John is at PugW!
Pug Worldwide

Support Great Comics!

Tyrant Fall Kickstarter is HERE!

C. Brennan Knight | Twitter | BlueSky.

Max Davenport | Instagram | Twitter | BlueSky | Cara | TikTok.

Books Mentioned

• Tyrant Fall, by C. Brennan Knight, Max Davenport, Roman Stevens, & Rob Jones.

-----------------------------------

• Absolute Batman, by Scott Snyder & Nick Dragotta.
• Absolute Superman, by Jason Aaron & Rafa Sandoval.
• Absolute Wonder Woman, by Kelly Thompson & Hayden Sherman.
• Akira, by Katsuhiro Otomo.
• Avengers (2012-2015).
• Batman (2011-2016).
• Batman: Arkham Asylum - A Serious House on Serious Earth, by Grant Morrison & Dave McKean.
• Birds of Prey.
• Black Lightning, by Brandon Thomas & Fico Ossio.
• Captain Marvel (2019-2023).

Comic book great Todd Nauck joins the show to talk about his work on Pooluminati, Young Justice, his big break into comics, working at Extreme Studios, keeping the drive through the decades, leveling up with digital, beating the Imposter Syndrome, the Mount Rushmore of comic artists, and Todd’s wish list of characters he has yet to draw. Also, John finds out he’s old, David takes over the interview, and a call to assist writer Peter David.

Timestamp Segments

• [02:11] Drawing 2 pages a day.
• [12:33] Is Todd a Wednesday Warrior?
• [13:04] What’s Todd working on?
• [14:27] A perfect pairing.
• [17:44] Moving to LA.
• [18:41] Getting started in comics.
• [23:03] The Wildguard mini-comics.
• [25:34] Join the FunTimeGo campaign!
• [26:33] Traditional vs digital drawing.
• [29:47] Winning a talent search.
• [33:48] Beating the Imposter Syndrome.
• [39:36] What keeps Todd motivated?
• [42:02] Todd’s main influences.
• [46:19] Don’t be Lisa.
• [47:37] Reading runs in order.
• [51:38] Todd’s character wishlist.
• [53:10] Does Todd have a few more runs in him?
• [56:21] Help Peter David.

Notable Quotes

• “Stop trying to be what you think people want to see.”
• “I’m so old, I don’t know how to do anything else.”
• “There’s always 50 artist that can draw kind of like whatever the hot style is.”
• “Drawing is a physically demanding job.”

Relevant Links

David's Fun Stuff!
Miss Mina VIP Launches Here!

John is at PugW!
Pug Worldwide

Todd Nauck has the coolest stuff!
toddnauck.com

GoFundMe for Peter David...
Help Peter David

Books Mentioned

• Miss Mina and the Midnight Guardians: The Legend of the Golden Jaguar!
• Badrock and Company, Youngblood, by Rob Liefeld.
• Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2005 - 2007).
• Guarding the Globe, Invincible Universe, by Phil Hester, John Rauch, & Todd Nauck.
• Legion of Super-Heroes (1989-2000).
• New Men, by Rob Liefeld, Eric Stephenson, Marat Mychaels, & Jeff Matsuda.
• Nightcrawler, by Chris Claremont & Todd Nauck.
• Pooluminati (2025 - ).
• SpyBoy/Young Justice, by Peter David, Todd Nauck, & Pop Mhan.
• Stargirl: The Lost Children, by Geoff Johns & Todd Nauck.
• Team Youngblood.
• Teen Titans Go! (2004-2008).
• Young Ju

John and David talk about the financial struggles of comic book creators, how freelancers can effect lasting change, and the sad business practices of corporate comics companies. Also, David pays creators more than Marvel, and John writes an inspired James Bond movie script.

Timestamp Segments

• [01:10] The show’s newfound popularity.
• [01:37] The financial problems at Marvel.
• [10:14] How change will happen.
• [12:43] Join the FunTimeGo campaign!
• [13:42] The craziest thing about comics.
• [16:37] Marvel’s double-damning response.
• [19:33] David writes a superhero comic.
• [24:08] James Bond News.
• [25:19] The plot of Bond 26.
• [28:58] This episode’s topic.

Notable Quotes

• “They should be paying what the artist is worth.”
• “This is the most opinionated version of The Corner Box we’ve ever done.”
• “Sometimes, the world is enough.”

Relevant Links

David's Fun Stuff!
Miss Mina VIP Launches Here!

John is at PugW!
Pug Worldwide

Books Mentioned

• Miss Mina and the Midnight Guardians: The Legend of the Golden Jaguar!
• Batman: Li'l Gotham, by Derek Fridolfs & Dustin Nguyen.
• Captain America & The Falcon, by Christopher Priest.
• Justice League Europe.
• Spawn, by Todd McFarlane & Greg Capullo.
• Wolverine (2020- ).

Writer and comic historian Stephanie Williams joins the show! John and David talk with Stephanie about swapping her electron microscope for a career in comics, how the best butts in Marvel gave her a big break, increasing comics access with fewer bookstores, the nature of corporate comics, building momentum in the industry, and Stephanie's exciting upcoming projects. Also, John reveals his true origin.

Timestamp Segments

• [00:48] Stephanie’s incredibly neat background before comics.
• [01:59] The yellow brick road to comics.
• [07:03] Becoming fans of YA.
• [10:17] What turned Stephanie into a fan?
• [12:03] Access to comics.
• [17:28] Working at Marvel.
• [20:20] Stephanie, the Wednesday Warrior.
• [21:34] Horrible corporate comics.
• [27:07] The business of momentum.
• [28:16] Ignition Press.
• [31:17] New comics coming soon.
• [34:45] Comics and side gigs.
• [39:47] Rewatching old movies.
• [42:23] Stephanie’s favorite comics.

Notable Quotes

• “If Alien had come out before babies had come out, Alien would’ve sued the concept of babies.”
• “Corporate comics are just—they’ve always been horrible. Do not create anything for corporate comics.”
• “Be careful about turning your hobby into your job.”

Relevant Links

David's Fun Stuff!
Did Someone Say Fun Time? Let's GO!

John is at PugW!
Pug Worldwide

Stephanie Williams Does the Coolest Things!
www.whysteph.com

Books Mentioned

• Living Heroes, by Stephanie Williams & O’Neill Jones.
• Magic Planeswalkers: Noble, by Dan Warren, Dave Rapoza, Stephanie Williams, Lea Caballero, Raul Angulo, & Arianna Consonni.
• Marvel's Voices: Legacy.
• Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur: Wreck and Roll, My Little Pony: Tournament of Mysteries, by Stephanie Williams & Asia Simone.
• Nubia & The Amazons, by Stephanie Williams, Vita Alaya, Alitha Martinez, & Mark Morales.
• Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, by Stephanie Williams & Alitha Martinez.
• Parenthood Activate, by Stephanie Williams & Sarah A. Macklin.
• The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater, Stephanie Williams, & Sas Milledge.

-----------------------

• Angry Birds/Transformers: Age of Eggstinction, by John Barber, Marcelo Ferreira, & Livio Ramondelli.
• Archie.
• The Avengers.
• Backflash, by Mat Johnson, Steve Lieber, & Clem Robins.
• Black Panther.

Tony Fleecs joins The Corner Box to talk about his "meteoric" rise within the industry, his upcoming work on The Thing, the lack of institutional knowledge at the "Big 2", how to create evergreen characters, focusing on creator-owned work, how Stray Dogs changed the face of comics, and building a winning creative team. Also, the podcast becomes a dog show, Tony shares a Corner Box Exclusive, and there's a "surprise" ending!

Timestamp Segments

• [02:04] Tony’s career trajectory.
• [04:59] Where’s the knowledge?
• [11:16] Are superheroes getting smaller?
• [15:43] Tony’s Marvel work.
• [17:59] Switching artists in The Thing.
• [20:50] Creating evergreen characters.
• [26:23] Breaking the toys.
• [27:11] Tony’s creator-owned stuff.
• [29:00] Is this a dog show?
• [29:48] The craziest break into comics.
• [33:57] Stray Dogs’ success.
• [42:59] Making cool things count.
• [44:57] Corner Box Exclusives.
• [45:22] What is Tony drawing?
• [47:36] Building a winning team.
• [49:23] Go buy Tony’s trades.
• [50:25] Corner Box Bonus Content.

Notable Quotes

• “They should be so lucky, seeing me in my Ben Grimm costume.”
• “I want them punching each other at the dinner table.”
• “We are more of a dog show.”
• “More importantly, check out the stuff that I own myself.”

Relevant Links

David's Fun Stuff!
Did Someone Say Fun Time? Let's GO!

John is at PugW!
Pug Worldwide

Tony Fleecs is a Powerhouse Creator!
www.tonyfleecs.com

Books Mentioned

• Army of Darkness Forever, by Tony Fleecs & Justin Greenwood.
• Feral, by Tony Fleecs, Tone Rodriguez, & Trish Forstner.
• Local Man, by Tony Fleecs & Tim Seeley.
• Stray Dogs, by Tony Fleecs, Trish Forstner, & Brad Simpson.
• The Thing, by Tony Fleecs & Nick Bradshaw.
• Uncanny Valley, by Tony Fleecs & Dave Wachter.

-----------------

• Absolute Batman, by Scott Snyder & Nick Dragotta.
• Age of Apocalypse.
• Avengers A.I., by Sam Humphries & André Lima Araújo.
• Batman: Hush, by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, & Scott Williams.
• Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, by Patrick Horvath & Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
• Beta Ray Bill, Wonder Woman: Death Earth, by Daniel Warren Johnson.
• Cool World, by Micheal Eury, Stephen DeStefano, Chuck Fiala, & Bill Wray.
• Doctor Strange: Fall Sunris