Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast Brad & Lisa Gullickson

The Gill-man just does it for us. Or Lisa, more specifically. You can have your Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Wolf Man, and Invisible Man; we'll take the wet and wild one off your hands any day of the week. Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! And no more ravishingly than in our hearts.

Where other Universal Monsters stem from rich, lurid literature and folklore, the Creature is a far more contemporary cat...er, fish. His origins are chained to the 1954 film, its few sequels, and the morality of that brief timeline. While we've seen artists offer some spins on the design here and there, for the most part, it's been a long time since anyone's properly played in the Creature's intoxicating fish tank.

As part of Skybound Entertainment and Universal's recent partnership, writers Ram V and Dan Watters (The One Hand, The Six Fingers), along with artist Matthew Roberts, colorist Dave Stewart, and letterer DC Hopkins, continue the Gill-man's saga, some indeterminate time after the movie climaxed. Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! begins with a journalist tracking a serial killer to the Amazon.
We're so darn pleased to have Ram V and Dan Watters on the show this week, talking about Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives!, what the Gill-man represents culturally and thematically, and why we have a Kate this time around and not a Kay. Also, which Universal Monster is the most sexy? We get into it whether anyone else wants to or not.

The first two issues of Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! are currently available from Skybound. The third issue will land in comic shops on June 26th.

To continue this conversation with Ram V, follow his Twitter, Instagram, and Website. To keep chatting with Dan Watters, follow his 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:



James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds on Dracula


Pots and Panels: A Comic Cook Book Anthology



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 Green Lantern 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.

It's been a week. You've had a minute. The sixth and final issue of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees is out there, living its life, rattling around our collective imaginations. We need to talk about it. You need to talk about it. Let's talk about it together. And drag cartoonist Patrick Horvath into the chat, crack his melon open, and root around in all of his delicious secrets. Yep, it's time to go full spoilers with this comic.

When Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees first landed in shops, it hooked its first readers in a profound way. The elevator pitch was beyond infectious; it was powerful. Mesmeric, maybe. The first issue transformed us into evangelists, preaching the good (grotesque) word of Sam the Bear and her sleepy Woodbrook community. Perhaps we glimpsed ourselves within her, as troubling as that was, and that caused us to seek new readers to share in our compelling confusion.

Half a year later, with the whole story inside us, we can confidently declare that we had no real idea where Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees would take us. Go back and listen to our first conversation with Patrick Horvath. We had an inkling but not a clue. Now, our perceptions are (semi)clear, and we need to run them through Patrick Horvath himself. Plus, go on a rant about Australian Traitors season two and make a few parallels between Sam the Bear and Sam the Sheriff.
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees was a smash hit for Patrick Horvath and IDW Publishing. Each of the sixth issues caused a stir, and we're extremely excited about how its recent Eisner Awards nomination and upcoming trade paperback release (September 17th) will attract even more new, unprepared readers. Hopefully, folks will also run toward Patrick Horvath's current Zoop campaign for Free For All, his Eat the Rich, dystopian, gladiatorial relationship drama. (CLICK HERE NOW)

Continue this conversation with Patrick Horvath by following his Twitter, Instagram, and 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:



Our Review of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #1


Our First Convo with Patrick Horvath


Patrick Horvath on his Favorite Comic Book and Movie Endings


The 2024 Eisner Awards Nominations



Final Round of Plugs (PHEW):

Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY

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.

He's back—like you've never seen him before. Kyle Starks, the writer behind I Hate This Place, Peacemaker Tries Hard!, and Where Monsters Lie, just released an original graphic novel at First Second that's all-ages and without swears. Karate Prom is a heart-forward action adventure about two teens who find love in the ring, or after it, when Sam knocks Don "TheDragonWilson" Jones out cold.

As Starks puts it in our conversation, he's entered his "two people who just love the sh*t out of each other phase." And how could Comic Book Couples Counseling not celebrate? Conflict is necessary and inevitable, but it's nice to witness a couple find it outside their relationship and in the forms of terrifying exes, a global crime cartel, and an onslaught of ninjas.

Karate Prom also offers us an opportunity to relive our squidgy high school rituals and force Kyle Starks to do the same. Who was the biggest player in high school: Brad, Lisa, or Kyle? The answer may surprise you. Or not...probably not.
Be sure to stay current on all things Kyle Starks by following him on Twitter HERE, on Instagram HERE, and by visiting his Website HERE.

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:



Kyle Starks on I Hate This Place


Kyle Starks on Old Head



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.

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.