Comics Rot Your Brain!
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) & Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss favorite books, runs, and creators.
The Bronze Age is — for us — the greatest era in comics history. This time period was defined by a weird rift in the fabric of spacetime that allowed an industry in flux to reimagine what was possible. We all remember the eye-popping results: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, WATCHMEN, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, LOVE & ROCKETS, MAUS, etc.
…But what of the lesser-known gems of this era: THRILLER, GRIMJACK, NEXUS, CONCRETE, MR. MONSTER, SCOUT, STRAY TOASTERS, and so many others!? These comics and their creators blazed radical new trails that changed the course of comics forever but often are left out of today’s discourse.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! exists to celebrate and reckon with the extraordinary legacy of 1980s American comics — all of it.
Join us!
- Update frequency
- every 17 days
- Average duration
- 123 minutes
- Episodes
- 35
- Years Active
- 2024 - 2025
After Writing BLACK PANTHER, This MARVELous Scribe Co-Created the FIRST AMERICAN GRAPHIC NOVEL!
Chris and Steven explore the first few issues of Don McGregor and Paul Gulacy's groundbreaking series, SABRE — a surreal, post-apocalyptic spectacle.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s co…
Frank Miller's 1st Choice to Draw BATMAN: YEAR ONE? Meet This Unsung GENIUS ARTIST of '80s Comics!
Steven and Chris embark on the paradigm-shattering psychedelic trip that is the first seven issues of THRILLER — published by DC Comics in 1983 — and find themselves awestruck in its wake. One thing …
The MOST DANGEROUS Comic Book Ever Published
In this episode, Chris and Steven confront highly disturbing revelations about the CIA and American global politics, courtesy of the explosive whistleblower comic, BROUGHT TO LIGHT (Eclipse Comics, 1…
“DIRTY COMMIES!” DC Comics’ OG Superheroes Laid Low by The Red Scare & Rise Again in THE GOLDEN AGE!
Chris and Steven testify before you all, spilling their guts on how DC Comics’ OG Superheroes were laid low by the spectre of McCarthyism in “The Red Scare” era of post-WWII USA. This is their battle…
Q: Who Was the Inspiration for RORSCHACH in DC Comics' WATCHMEN? A: This FACELESS Urban Vigilante!
Steven and Chris take a roadtrip back in time, eventually arriving on the pothole-riddled streets of Hub City, and man do they have a lot to say -- almost 4 hours' worth of comic book chatter! Steve …
The All-Time Wildest Most PSYCHEDELIC Brain-Exploding SciFi Time-Travel COMIC BOOK in Existence
Steven and Chris take a psychedelic voyage through time via the crackerjack indie comics team of Doug Moench, Mike Hernandez, Dan Day, and Nestor Redondo in AZTEC ACE (published by Eclipse Comics in …
That time DC Comics gave HAWKMAN his own BATMAN: YEAR ONE… Katar Hol’s “Dark Knight” of the soul
Chris and Steven swoop in to the Downside of Thanagar to squawk about Tim Truman’s bold and impassioned re-imagining of Hawkman's origin story in HAWKWORLD (DC Comics, 1989). Is this Katar Hol’s BATM…
GRENDEL Comic Origins: Who wore the mask of the fiend in “Devil’s Legacy”? …SHE did!
Steven and Chris obsess over issues one through seven of Comico’s ongoing GRENDEL series (1986), the “Devil’s Legacy” story arc, pondering the lasting resonance of Matt Wagner’s extraordinary explora…
What is DC Comics’ most BRUTAL GANGSTER noir dystopian scifi comic book of all time, you ask?
Chris and Steven descend into the futuristic cesspool of gangsterism and “a little of the old ultraviolence” that is SKREEMER (DC Comics, 1989), a noir-styled postapocalyptic science fiction comic th…
NEXUS (Capital Comics, 1981 & First Comics, 1983)
Steven and Chris tackle the mind-bending "superhero" space opera, NEXUS (1981, 1983), created by Mike Baron and Steve "The Dude" Rude.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a fe…
Murderous Madman Merrily Massacres Merciless Monsters
In this episode, Steven and Chris venture into the bizarre and harrowing — yet entirely compelling — world of Michael T. Gilbert's legendary monster hunter, MR. MONSTER (1988).
Comics Rot Your Brain! …
ALIEN LEGION (Epic Comics, 1984) Part Two
In this week's episode, Steven and Chris continue their wide-ranging discussion of Epic Comics' ALIEN LEGION series (Also check out Part One, which went live last week). Carl Potts, Alan Zelenetz, Fr…
ALIEN LEGION (Epic Comics, 1984) Part One
This week, Steven and Chris begin their two-part exploration of Epic Comics' ALIEN LEGION, published in 1984, created by Carl Potts, Alan Zelenetz, and Frank Cirocco. Part One covers issues one throu…
Zero Episode
For ZERO EPISODE, the show’s debut, Steven and Chris sit down and gab about the genesis of this podcast, how the team was formed, and the CRYB! mission.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80…
Introducing… COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN!
They say the fabled history of American comic books is divided into four distinct ages — the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, and the Modern Age. In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Chri…