Word Balloon Comics Podcast

2014 was a turning point for Marvel — and Axel Alonso was right in the middle of it.In this archival conversation, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso sits down with me to break down exactly where the House of Ideas stood in 2014: the big swings, the new voices, the editorial gambles, and the seismic moves that were reshaping the entire line. We get into:The rise of the “All-New Marvel NOW!” eraHow Marvel was recruiting and developing its next wave of writers and artistsThe push toward diverse character spotlights like Kamala Khan, Miles Morales, and a newly elevated Carol DanversThe build-up toward Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers mega-architecture and the early tremors leading to Secret Wars (2015)How editorial was navigating movies, TV, digital comics, and a rapidly changing readershipThe state of the X-Men and what Alonso could — and couldn’t — say about their futureThe balance between legacy characters and new heroesMarvel's strategy for creator-owned-adjacent projects and keeping top talent in the foldIt’s a sharp, candid snapshot of Marvel at a moment when everything was about to level up.If you love behind-the-scenes talk about how big superhero universes actually get made, this one is essential listening.

In this episode of To The Outer Limits, we crack open one of the series’ most talked-about remakes: “I, Robot.” This is the 1964 original revisited in 1995, a rare case where The Outer Limits returns to its own past to re-examine a classic moral question—what makes something alive? We break down the performances, the courtroom drama spine, the deviations from Eando Binder’s source material, and how the ’90s revival reframed the debate over artificial intelligence and responsibility. We’ll talk directing choices, tone, budget realities, and how the episode stacks up against both the ’60s version and the later pop-culture takes on robotics and sentience. Whether you first met Adam Link through classic sci-fi magazines, the original series, or this revival, this review digs into why this story refuses to fade—and what it still has to say today.

Step behind the curtain of one of the most ambitious new crime comics of the year. In this panel conversation, editor Shelly Bond, writer Lazlow, and artists David Lapham and Chris Anderson dig into the DNA of American Caper — a sharp, character-driven noir series built by creators who know how to craft worlds that hit hard. Writer Lazlow breaks down his creative process, including how he co-writes American Caper with longtime collaborator and Grand Theft Auto III co-creator Dan Houser, bringing that same mix of satire, danger, and grounded crime storytelling to the comics page. We cover the book’s early development, the editorial shaping from Shelly Bond, and the unique push-and-pull between Lapham and Anderson as they construct the book’s gritty visual identity. It’s a full craft breakdown from four creators who live and breathe crime fiction.

Join us for a powerhouse conversation with Jason Aaron, one of the most versatile writers in comics. We dig into the bold reinvention behind Absolute Superman, his upcoming Thundarr the Barbarian series at Dynamite, and his  Namor mini at Marvel. Jason also previews the wild sci-fi chaos of Bug Wars from Image, wrapped up his year on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and looks back at career-defining work on Thor, Scalped, Wolverine, and his other creator-owned favorites. It’s a candid, craft-driven talk about legacy characters, new worlds, big swings, and why he’s still chasing the kind of stories that punch you in the gut.

Art Bltixar Franco and I, the original Aw Yeah Podcast line up join to tell comn stories celeb encounters and lots of voice imitations

From 2020. Award-winning cartoonist Dean Haspiel moderates a powerhouse discussion with four of the most influential creators in the history of American comics who all shared a studio in 1— Howard Chaykin, Walter Simonson, Denys Cowan, and Bill Sienkiewicz. Together, these legendary artists and storytellers explore the evolution of comic art from the Bronze Age to today — from groundbreaking experimentation in page design and narrative structure to the ongoing battle for creator rights and artistic freedom. Expect bold opinions, sharp humor, and a masterclass in how innovation and attitude reshaped the medium. Whether you grew up on American Flagg!, The Mighty Thor, The Question, or Elektra: Assassin, this conversation offers an unfiltered look at the artists who changed comics forever — and continue to inspire new generations to push boundaries.

Before there was the Marvel Universe… before Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four changed everything in 1961… there was Atlas Comics. It was the 1950s — the so-called “lost decade” for Marvel. The superheroes were gone. In their place came monsters, crime, westerns, romance, and science fiction. But inside those pages, you could already see the DNA of what was coming next.From artists like Joe Maneely, Bill Everett, and a young Steve Ditko… to Stan Lee’s endless experiments with genre and tone… the Atlas years are the missing link between Timely’s Golden Age and Marvel’s Silver Age explosion. In this episode, we’re diving deep into that forgotten era — the stories, the creators, the rise and fall of the Atlas line, and how those books quietly paved the way for the Marvel Revolution.

Welcome back to Word Balloon! Today, we’re diving deep into the Star Trek universe with one of its most accomplished storytellers — David Mack. You know his work from the Deep Space Nine episodes “Starship Down” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon”, two fan-favorite installments that captured the show’s emotional depth and moral complexity.Since then, Mack’s become one of Star Trek’s defining novelists — the author behind landmark books like Destiny, Vanguard, and Control, and now, the brand-new Strange New Worlds novel, Ring Of Fire. We’ll talk about how David approaches writing for different eras of Trek, what it’s like balancing the optimism of Strange New Worlds with the grittier tone of his earlier work, and how he helped expand Star Trek’s literary canon into something as rich and compelling as the shows themselves.Plus, we’ll get into his latest creative venture — co-writing the Star Trek: Khan audio drama, exploring the rise and legacy of one of the franchise’s most fascinating villains. It’s a fascinating look at a writer who’s helped shape Star Trek across television, novels, and now audio storytelling. So grab your communicator, set your phasers to “listen,” and join me as we boldly go into the creative mind of David Mack — right here on Word Balloon!

Today on Word Balloon, I’m talking with two legends of Disney TV animation—Greg Weisman, the creator of Gargoyles, and Tad Stones, the mind behind Darkwing Duck. They’re teaming up for the first time in decades for a brand-new crossover comic series — Gargoyles / Darkwing Duck, debuting this January from Dynamite Entertainment.We’ll dig into how this unlikely mash-up came together, what it’s like blending the gothic mythos of Gargoyles with the high-energy satire of Darkwing Duck, and how the characters reflect two very different eras of Disney storytelling. Beyond the comic,Greg and Tad share their memories from the golden age of Disney Afternoon syndication—what it was like building shows like DuckTales, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Aladdin: The Animated Series, and of course, Gargoyles—when animation was a daily fixture for millions of kids. And we’ll get real about today’s landscape—how streaming has upended the business model that supported those kinds of shows, what that means for creators, and whether there’s still room for original animated series to thrive outside of nostalgia.

Today, we’re heading off-world — straight into the events of Marvel’s massive Imperial Cosmic Epic, as the Green Goliath of Law gets a brand-new chapter in Planet She-Hulk. Writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Aaron Kuder join me to break down how Jennifer Walters finds herself at the heart of an intergalactic power struggle — torn between the laws of a reformed empire and the raw fury that made her a legend. We’ll talk about the tone of this new book — part political sci-fi, part space opera — how it connects to Hickman’s larger cosmic tapestry, and what fans can expect from Kuder’s out-of-this-world visual design and Phillips’ signature balance of empathy and grit. Whether you’ve followed She-Hulk since the Byrne and Slott days, or you’re jumping on now, this is the perfect gateway into Marvel’s next great cosmic saga.