Word Balloon Comics Podcast
Word Balloon Comics Podcast is a one-on-one interview show featuring the creative minds behind comics, TV, film, novels, and animation. Hosted by Chicago pop culture expert John Siuntres, the podcast delves into the stories and processes of industry professionals. Each episode offers in-depth conversations about the art and business of storytelling across various media.
Episodes
WB Playhouse Stacked Deck Vincent Price
Welcome to Word Balloon Playhouse: Western Edition. Where through the magic of audio editing, I get to act with some of my favorite film stars in a short scene. Today we present Stacked Deck, starring Vincent Price. Price plays a smooth-talking gambler who arrives in town with a winning smile, a quick wit, and a reputation that makes honest men nervous. But when the stakes rise and tempers flare,
Kelly Thompson Absolute Wonder Woman Buffy and Jeff
Along with the obvious detail about her Absoulute Wonder Woman run, Kelly previews her Buffy Angel cooks coming for Dynamite, a new Jeff Summer Special in July, and a lot about soap operas
The Secrets Of Lex Luthor By Eliot S! Maggin
Maggin has rleased his 3rd superman universe novel Lex Corp, a first person narritive of Luthor telling his own story. Now He also is reading the book chapet by chapter as a free weekly podcast. You can also hera him read his ast Son Of Krypton and Miracle Monday books as well.
Jacob Edgar Talks Rocketeer and The Ones
Artist Jacob Edgar has a cartoony style that evokes the work Bruce Timm. We talk about his worl with Bendis on The Ones for Dark Horse and The Rocketeer : The Island With John Layman for IDW
The Punisher and DC Westerns With Jimmy Palmiotti
Jimmy Palmiotti has worn just about every hat in comics, artist, writer, editor, publisher, and creator, but today we're focusing on some of the stories that have defined his career and some exciting new work hitting shelves right now.Jimmy joins us to talk about his latest return to Marvel's hardest-edged vigilante in the new Punisher miniseries with artist Dan Panosian. We'll discuss Frank Castl
Masters Of The Universe With Tim Sheridan
Tim Sheridan is back with a tie-in MOTU Dark Horse Mini series
Simpsons TV Tales and Bad Trips Mike Reis
One of the cornerstone ceators on The Simpsons and Co-Creator Of The Critic Mike Reis is back ! He has a new travel book Bad Trips which is collection of his Substack essays about his trips to some of the scariest ports of call. From Iran and Iraq to The Ill Fated Titanic Submarine Tours. He scares us with tales of ABBA , the best food in the worst country, lots of Simpson TV writing tales and mor
The Origin Of CBR With Jonah Weiland
For nearly three decades, Comic Book Resources was one of the most influential destinations in comics journalism. What began as a fan-driven website in the mid-1990s grew into a daily stop for comic book news, creator interviews, reviews, industry rumors, and commentary, helping shape the way fans followed the business and culture of comics online.Today we're talking with the man who started it al
MOTU Talk with Tim and Steve Seely
Brothers Tim and Steve discuss their coffeetable book The Art Of He-Man and The Masters Of The Universe from Dark Horse. From toy to tv series to horrible 80s film and the subsequent revivals. We pour over the strange history of the franchise.We will review the film this Wed night on WB Live
RIP Anthony Head
Some brief thoughts on he actor's passing From Buffy's Giles To Merlin's Uther Pendragon, To Rupert Manion on Ted Lasso, you could always count on a compelling performance
Entering The Twilight Zone With Tony Fleecs
Tony Fleecs and artist Andy Price have shown a very different side of their My Little Pony output crafting a tight one shot disturbing Twilight Zone for IDW call the Taxidermist
Brian Hurtt Talks Fort Psycho Hard Time and More
Brian Hurtt on Fort Psycho with Matt Kindt for Oni, we also chat about his long tiemcollaborations with Cullen Bunn on The Sixth Gun and The Damned. Plus we look back at his work with Steve Gerber on Hard Time, Gerber's last story
Supergirl Marvel and More W Rod Reis
Today on Word Balloon, we're catching up with one of comics' most distinctive visual storytellers, Rod Reis.Rod is taking on a huge creative challenge with DC's new Elseworlds Supergirl series, serving as the complete artistic force behind the book. Writing the visual language, designing the worlds, drawing, painting, and bringing every page to life. The series imagines a dramatically different de
Deathstroke and Feral with Tony Fleecs
Today on Word Balloon, we're talking with one of comics' most versatile storytellers, Tony Fleecs.Tony first grabbed readers' attention with his creator-owned work, helping redefine horror comics with the Image hit Stray Dogs, the chilling tale that mixed Disney-style visuals with a dark serial killer story. He followed that with Feral, another unsettling animal-centered horror series that's been
Spider Noir and Star City Reviews With Larry Young
DaVinci Remixed With Richard Ashley Hamilton
Leo DaVinci is a YA adventure romp with a little dose of history as Hamilton depicts the great artist and inventor as a teen prodigy entering Florence and iscovering goverment conspiracies and action adventure.
Speed Racer Space Ghost and The O.Z. With David Pepose
Into the 3rd Dimension, With Hilary Barta
Hilary and Chris Barnard join us to talk about recent 3-D projects , but no glasses needed to enjoy this convesation, where we cover the history of 3-D comcs and film.They adapted the 3-d film Robot Monster for a new German pblication, Chris also worked on the restoration of a 1950s Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis film,"Money from Home" coming soon on BluRay from Kino Lober.We also talk about Hilary's
Civil War and Other Marvel Hits from Christos Gage
Chris revisits The Civil War era with a new 5 issue mini series Civil War Unmasked. It features untold stories form that era. We also talk about Chris's work in the original mini series, plu Union Jack, Batlleworld, Avengers Academy , and his love for Hank Pym.We also talk about the new Spider Noir series from Amazon, and Chris's work on the Netflix Daredevil TV series.
Jeremy Adams Talks Knightfall GL Aquaman
Jeremy Adams Aquaman is the most exciting version of the character in many years. He's taking big comedic swings with Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner in Green Lantern. Both books have tremendous supporting players as sickkicks and vilians. We also get into the animated adaptation of Batman Knightfall which introduced Bane and Azreal in the early 90s for a signinficant chapter of the Bat Mythos. . Adams
Grilling With Howard Chaykin
Howard Chaykin is back for a casual chat that includes detais of his Zorro run at Dynamite with Jorge Fornes,but mostly we go through obsevations on his brief stint at Atlas Seaboard creating The Scorpion, then going to Marvel with Dominick Forutne. plus toughts on film tv and books .You'll also hear some shocking accounts of his time at National Lampoon Magazine. Strong Language advisory
The Mandolorian and Grogu and The Boys Reviews
War Comics with Garth Ennis pt 2
From Feb, Barth talks about Babs from Ahoy Comics, his savage sword-and-sorcery riff that weaponizes absurdity, blood, and pitch-black humor to skewer genre clichés while still delivering the kind of brutal action Ennis fans crave. It’s funny, ferocious, and very deliberately unserious, until it suddenly isn’t.From there, we shift gears into war stories, both old and new. Ennis talks about his lo
War Comics With Garth Ennis pt 1
Garth discusses his comics Tankies originally published by Battle in The UK, and by Dead Reckoning in the US
Garth Ennis The Boys pt 2
In this Terrficon Panel Garth Joe Ryband and I discuss the Boys comics and at the time the wrap up to season 3
Garth Ennis The Boys pt1
The first of two interviews with Garth about The Boys. In psrt one from October 2020 Dynamite Editor Joe Ryband interviews Garth during the covid era. They also discuss Garth's Graphic novel Sara from TKO.
The King Kirby Podcast Drama
In 2020, playwrights Crystal Skillman and Fred Van Lente joined me to talk about transforming their acclaimed stage play King Kirby into an ambitious audio drama. The original play explored the life, imagination, and complicated legacy of comics legend Jack Kirby — from the birth of the Marvel Universe to the battles over credit, ownership, and artistic identity that followed him throughout his ca
Kirby Vs Lee On-Stage Pt 2 Mark Pracht
From 2024 Chicago Playwright Mark Pracht, and his actors who playedd Stan Lee and Jack Kirby discuss his play The House Of Ideas.
Larry Lieber’s Chirps: From Marvel Heroes To A Talking Mutant Budgie?
Today on Word Balloon, comics legends Larry Lieber and Danny Fingeroth join us for a fun and imaginative conversation about Larry’s new prose novel Chirps. The story centers on Chirps, a mutant budgie who can think and speak like a human being. Alongside his billionaire industrialist friend, Chirps finds himself pursued by dangerous forces determined to capture him and exploit the secrets behind h
Comicpalooza With Stanford Carpenter
Today on Word Balloon, we welcome educator, writer, and pop culture historian Stanford Carpenter to talk about this year’s Comicpalooza happening Memorial Day weekend in Houston.Stanford gives us a preview of some of the convention’s standout programming, including an exciting panel on the history and cultural impact of Blaxploitation cinema featuring acclaimed writer David F. Walker and legendary
The War Between Stan And Jack On-Stage
Playwright and Director Josh Chamberlin has created a new play exploring the partnership of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby playing this June at the Fringe Festival in Los Angeles. We talk about their iconic collaboration, and the behind the scenes conflict, over the decadesThis episode includes AI-generated content.
Word Balloon Playhouse With Cesar Romero -The Heist
Ceasar and I star in this little playlet about a safe heist gone wrong.
History Of Radio Sketch Comedy The National Lampoon Radio Hour
Back in 2016, Word Balloon welcomed the late great satirist and comedy legend Tony Hendra for a fascinating conversation that covered everything from modern political comedy to the birth of some of the most influential comedy institutions of the last fifty years.Tony joined us to promote the comedy album Are There Any Triggers Out There?, but the discussion quickly became a remarkable tour through
Book Club Absolute Martian Manhunter
Welcome to another Word Balloon League Bendis Discord Book Club conversation, as Brian Michael Bendis and I gather with our dedicated Word Balloon listeners and Discord members for a live Zoom chat all about Absolute Martian Manhunter, written by Deniz Camp with stunning artwork by Javier Rodríguez.It’s a real back-and-forth with passionate readers digging into the themes, storytelling, artwork, a
A Retro Bat-Man. and New Vertigo With Mike Perkins
Artist Mike Perkins returns to Word Balloon to talk about The Bat-Man: Second Knight, now available in graphic novel format. Mike breaks down the visual approach behind this 2nd series set in 1939, collaborating with writer Dan Jurgens, and the challenge of capturing a dark pulp-era Gotham through his detailed painted style. We also discuss Mike’s artistic process, from layouts and reference work
Marvels Revisited With Steve Darnall
Today on Word Balloon, we welcome writer Steve Darnall to talk about his new prose adaptation of Marvels, the landmark series created by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross that redefined how readers looked at the Marvel Universe. The new novel with new cover and illustrations by Alex is out in the next 2 weeks from Abrahms. Steve has a long history with Alex Ross, including their acclaimed collaboration o
Scene Missing Spies Super Heroes and Action With Tatiana Neva
It's a very special Scene Missing as Actress and stunt performer Tatiana Neva joins Word Balloon to talk about her new espionage thriller Prey Of Wrath, now streaming free on XUMO, alongside martial arts legend Cynthia Rothrock.Neva discusses the physical and emotional challenges of making the indie action thriller, balancing fight choreography with character work, and what it takes to bring inten
Word Balloon 21st Anniversary Trivia Quiz
To celebrate the milestone, I asked my computer to whip up questions for us , in some of the categories I love, comics star trek, spy tv shows, and 40's mystery films. This is like when Gary Kasperov played Deep Blue in chess. I'm happy to say our AI orverlords still don't get everything right. Thanks for all the support all this time since may 10th, 2005.
Star Trek The Last Starship Can Jim KIrk Solve The Burn?
Jackson L Star Trek Comnzing and Colin Kelly, the Hivemind writer team is back to chek in mid-story on ths epic IDW Tek Comic, that takes place 100 years before Discovery jumped to the future. How did Starfleet try to solve the problem> Could ressurected Jim Kirk save the day?In addition, we discuss their epic Captain America Sentinel Of Liberty 18 issue sage with Marvel, and a lot more.
Happy Birthday David Michelinie
In our first talk from 2007 Dave talks about beaking into comics, writing The Unknown Soldier, Runs on Superman and Spider-Man. The Iron Man "Demon In A Bottle" saga, and of course The creation of Venom
David Lloyd The Cinco De Mayo Hangover Cure
It's David Lloyd's Birthday week, bor on ay 5th . Grab some tomato juice and aspirin, and enjoy this 2019 chatIn case you haven't noticed, David Lloyd isn't drawing comic books any more. He's still very much involved in the medium creating the digital comic anthology Aces Weekly, a weekly digital only comic featuring serialized stories in genres from humor to crime adventure and sci-fi. David's cu
Fortress Of Word Ballloon May 2026
Welcome to a brand new Fortress of Word Balloon, where the mic gets handed over to the League of Word Balloon Listeners, straight from patreon.com/wordballoon.Coming to you from my secret headquarters, and this one’s a freewheeling hang with the smartest fans in comics as we bounce from comics to TV to film, hitting everything we love . And along the way, I dig into the Word Balloon vault to share
The Career and Life of Len Strazewski, With Scott Larson
Scott Larson, the creator of the supernatural commic Visitations talks about his mentor Len Strazewski, co-creator of Jesse Quick for DC, Prime for Malibu and so much more.Len also did 17 ssiues of The Fly for Impact Comics, and wrote 10 issues of Jstice Society in 1992
Gerry Conway Why he came back to comics
On this episode, we go back to 2009 for a great conversation with Gerry Conway, a writer whose career has taken some fascinating turns across comics and television. We talk about why Gerry stepped away from a successful run in TV, writing shows like Law & Order and Diagnosis: Murder, to return to DC Comics for a surprising and, frankly, underappreciated project, The Last Days of Animal Man.Tha
In Memoriam Gerry Conway pt 3
The 2020 One On One chat between Gerry Conway and Brian Michael Bendis I arranged this chat between the guys the wrote their share of Spider-Man Superman, Avengers and Justice League stories.
In Memoriam Gerry Conway pt 2
from 202o. during covid gerry abd I talked about where the punisher fits in the post Black Lives Matter era, his DC and Marvel yeras, and adventures in TV and film writing.
john layman chew rocketeer and new stuff coming
In Memoriam Gerry Conway pt 1
From 2013. A great talk spanning the scope of Gerry's Career.
Drew Friedman Explores The Underground
On this episode, I sit down with Drew Friedman for a deep dive into the wild, rebellious world of the underground comix movement of the 1960s and 70s. It's all covered in his Fantagraphics book Maverix and Lunatix: Icons of Underground ComixWe talk about the artists who broke all the rules Figures like R. Crumb, Vaughn Bode, and Trina Robbins , and how their raw, unfiltered storytelling reshaped c
scene missing lured-1947 lucille ball noir
On this episode of Scene Missing, we head into shadowy postwar London for a stylish and strange detour in the career of Douglas Sirk. Before the lush Technicolor melodramas of the 1950s, Sirk took a crack at noir with the 1947 thriller Lured. A serial killer mystery wrapped in elegance, obsession, and just a touch of dark humor. Starring Lucille Ball in a rare dramatic role, the film follows a wom
aw yeah podcast spring has sprung pt 2
We talk about The re-release of Avengers Endgame with new doomsday related scenes, and other TV anf film talk.
aw yeah podcast spring has sprung pt 1
all the guys are back to talk cartoons tv and film
The Rucka Debrief pt 2
Greg talks about the dangers of Canon,and promots the return of his series The Forged with Eric Trautman. Plus updates on Lazarus, Black Magic Attikus Kodiak and more.
The Rucka Debrief The Return Of Batwoman
Greg gets i depth about returning to the world of Kate Kane.
Love Boat ep 3 Kristy Loves Chachi ?
It’s time for another voyage of E-Motion Sickness: A Love Boat Re-Watch, and this one’s got everything you want out of classic late-70s TV chaos. Joining John and Franco this trip is artist and pop culture lifer Andy Price, ready to break down Episode 3. An hour packed with crushes, awkward reunions, and Julie getting absolutely zero help from the romance gods.You’ve got Kristy McNichol going all-
The Bendis Tapes Part 2
In part 2 Brian answers uestions from the chat and we announce the dates and books for the next book club episodes for April and May.Next Tuesday night we'll record our book club observations of Absolute Martian Manhunter from Deniz Camp. You'll hear aout our favorite recent tv podcast and film recommendations, and Brian look back in detail on writing Marvel's Secret Invasion comic event.
The Bendis Tapes Part 1 Powers To Netflix?
In part 1 of The Bendis Tapes, we’ve got a double shot of Brian Michael Bendis that hits both his past and his next big moves. First up, Powers is back with issue 8 from Dark Horse Comics, dropping Wednesday. And here’s the kicker. Powers isn’t just living on the page. It’s back in development, this time as an animated series at Netflix. That format might finally be the right fit to capture the sc
Bad Thoughts and Black Ops Ande Parks
Today on Word Balloon, I’m talking with a guy who’s built a career jumping between crime, history, and deeply human storytelling, Ande Parks. You know him from powerful graphic novels like Union Station and Capote in Kansas, and from his work across comics and film, where he always finds a way to ground big ideas in real emotion. Now he’s back with something new, and it’s a sharp turn into darker
Tim Sheridan Lower Decks He-Man and More
Only in New York Capturing the City in Comics
From the streets to the sketchbooks, this conversation dives deep into Only in New York, the upcoming graphic anthology from my guests Dean Haspiel, Doug Latino, and Eli Schwab. Arriving Fall 2026 from Cosmic Lion Productions and Real Life Comix, this 216 page hardcover delivers 50 short stories capturing the grit, absurdity, heartbreak, and humor of life in New York City. There kickstarter cmpaig
Taki Soma and Cat Farris talk PARAPSYCHOLOGIST
From Comixology, a new hilarious graphic novel about a Doctor who gives therapy to all sorts of monsters and deamons.
Scene Missing - Sam Fuller’s Newspaper Noir
Scene Missing returns with co-host Gabriel Hardman for a deep dive into the ink-stained world of filmmaker Samuel Fuller and his hard-edged newspaper stories. From the crusading idealism of Power of the Press to the scrappy, street-level ambition of Park Row, and the tabloid-fueled moral collapse at the heart of Scandal Sheet, we trace how Fuller’s real-life reporting experience shaped his cinemat
Joe Casey Ben 10 and a new Skybound Robert Kirkman Jam
Joe Casey’s back, and he’s not here to play it safe. The architect is returning to the world that helped define a generation, BEN10 this time at Dynamite Entertainment with a bold new take aimed straight at the fans who grew up with the Omnitrix. Expect something sharper and more evolved, Casey revisiting his own legacy with the kind of perspective you only get after decades in the trenches.This J
Bizarro World with Eric Carrasco
Eric is writing the new Bizarro Year None with Kevin Smith and Nick Pitarra. Think of it as the reverse mirror image of All Star Superman. It's Jimmy Olsen and Perry White trapped in a very dark Bizarro World held by a very evil Bizarro.Wealso reflect on Eric's workon the Supergirl TV show and his thoughts on the upcoming movie, His work on Masters Of The Universe Revelations, with the new film co
A Super Talk With Mike Carlin pt 2
In Part 2, Mike Carlin dives deeper into his defining years at DC Comics, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from his time shaping Superman and reflects on co-editing the landmark Marvel vs. DC alongside Mark Gruenwald, which led to the wild creative experiment of Amalgam Comics. From there, Carlin discusses his role as DC’s animation liaison from 2010 to 2011, helping bridge the gap between comics
A Super Talk With Mike Carlin pt 1
In Part 1 of this conversation, Mike Carlin takes us back to where it all began, starting with his 1974 internship at DC Comics under legendary editor Julius Schwartz and the early lessons that shaped his editorial instincts. Carlin then charts his path into Marvel Comics, breaking in through the irreverent Crazy Magazine before landing as an assistant editor under Mark Gruenwald, where he worked
a few thoughts
Some musings about current headlines. The Supergirl Moview franchise reboots, He-Man Star Wars Dr Who Sherlock Holmes and more.
COMIC BOOK COUPLES COUNCELING CROSSOVER
Worlds collide in a special podcast crossover as Word Balloon teams up with Comic Book Couples Counseling for a funny insightful conversation .
Keith R.A. DeCandido Green Hornet The Moonshot and more
We discuss the moonshot, andI can't help but think about apollo days. Keith promotes Green Hornet Noir City from Moonstone Books, and we talk about his TV essays at Reactor Magazine and many other short stories in current magazines, like Weirdi Tales.
The Galactic Worlds Of Curt Pires
Today on Word Balloon, I’m talking with a creator who’s carving out his own lane between nostalgia, genre chaos, and straight-up adrenaline storytelling, Curt Pires. From his breakout fantasy hit Lost Fantasy at Image Comics: a monster-slaying throwback with serious momentum thanks to artist Luca Casalanguida. To the hyperviolent sexy cosmic trip parody of Galactic at DSTLRY with Amilcar Pinna, Cu
LIVE C2E2 Svengoolie and The Sven Squad
The Beasts Of Berwyn joined ne live on stage to discuss their careers and their excellent Saturday night show on METV
History Of Sketch Comedy Dave Thomas and SCTV
SCTV Head Writer Dave Thomas joined to to discuss writing comedy, his love for Superman and promoting his sci-fi comedy book we wrote with Max Allen Collins
History Of Radio Sketch Comedy Phil Proctor
For Part 2 of my conversation on radio sketch comedy, we’re diving deeper with one of the true architects of the form, Phil Proctor from The Firesign Theatre. Long before podcasts made audio storytelling cool again, Firesign was bending minds and blowing up the rules with albums like Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers. Layered, surreal, and way ahead of its time. For anyone like me who gre
History Of Radio Sketch Comedy THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Back in my WXRT days, when rock radio still had a little room to get weird, there was one audio ,The Usual Suspects. Their sharp, character-driven sketches didn’t just make me laugh, they lit the fuse for everything I later tried on The Score and even here on Word Balloon. Today, I’m talking with two of the masterminds behind that magic, Barb Wallace and Tom Wolfe, a brilliant writing team whose p
Miss Tessmacher Valerie Perrine RIP
From 2021 Filmmaker Stacey Souther made an incredible documentary about Valerie Perrine , who made us all fall in love with her Superman performance as Lex Luthor's Moll not to mention Lenny, Slaughterhouse Five, WC Fields and Me and more. She was nominated for best actress in the Oscars for Lenny with Dustin Hoffman but then was in the Disco Bomb Can't Stop The Music with The Villiage People. I
starfleet academy cancelled. why?
Ok, I gave Mitch Wayne and Franco the day off while I vent my spleen with the guys from Dork Court John Price a teacher and essayist who's been writing about Star Trek for Years, and Larry Young of Planet AIT LAR and the excellent Astronauts In TRouble series.I swear a lot on this episode. I couldn't hold back on my frustrations about Alex Kurtzman Star Trek. The confirmation that there will be no
Matthew Rosenberg King Spawn Sci-Fi Epics and More
The Fantastic Four were colonialists ? Dr Stanford carpenter
Today on Word Balloon, we’re diving into one of those conversations that I love—because it’s not just about comics, it’s about how we read comics. My guest is Dr. Stanford Carpenter, cultural anthropologist, comics scholar, and one of the driving forces behind Comicpalooza University, and we get into a really interesting debate about the Fantastic Four.Stanford makes the case that the Fantastic Fo
Walt Simonson on Thor Star Wars New Gods and More
A WB classic from 2005 Walter Simonson looks back at his classic work. From Thor The Frog and the creation of Beta Ray Bill, to Orion and The New Gods.From his collaborations with Martin Pasko to put the bronze age spin on Dr Fate, to reviving Manhunter with Archie Goowdwin. We talk about the Fantastic Four, his spin on X-Factor co-plotted with his wife Louise , to working on the Marvel Star Wars
Carla Speed McNeil
The Finder creator is back with a new famiy fantasy series eries she's posying free at her patreon. It's part Harry Potter Part Twilight Zone and part star trek. patreon.com/carlaspeedmcneil
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