George Caragonne was the writer and editor in charge of Penthouse's comics wing. He was a Jim Shooter protege who really wanted to make it in the biz, but for a while could only do low tier stuff through the 80s and early 90s on stuff like Marvel's Star Comics imprint and Valiant's Nintendo licenses. He wound up with the keys to a whole Penthouse comics line, but something went wrong and he went wild with drug use, rampant spending, etc. In 1995 the higher ups locked him out of his office to do an audit on his spending. After going AWOL a few days he went to the tallest hotel in Times Square and took an elevator to the 45th floor. Put in his Walkman headphones to listen to James Bond themes. Then climbed over a railing to jump 500 feet to his death. His 400 pound body bounced off of ledges before falling on a buffet table. No one was hurt, but some witnesses required years of psychological treatment. Mark Evanier has written about George www.newsfromme.com/2005/07/20/george-3/ And you can find the original 1995 New York Daily News article www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/stunned-tourists-man-plunge-death-article-1.703352
You guys finally hit my first Wizard. I was 13 and had just started reading comics a year earlier. I was stoked because Batman and Spawn were my favorite characters.
Good stuff, as always. That Akira catch is crazy. I'd say the Stormwatch/Aliens crossover was a good one though. Clear "winner", and it 'matters' because it totally sets up The Authority. Like what happens is pretty important to the continuity thereafter.
Another great episode! The more of these I watch, the more I realize I only looked at the pictures. That Brutes and Babes article on styles was a fave. Also, enjoyed the mini comics coverage.
Man I’m so glad you guys called out that insane Defiant ad. I remember reading (and rereading) that thing as a kid and just being totally thrown by it! I guess it was memorable in a batshit crazy kind of way but it 100% did not translate into getting me to buy a Defiant comic at any point during the 1990’s.
Hoang Nguyen still does comics and art to this day. He is actually pretty incredible at it now. He finally kickstarted the reboot of his Metal Militia series in 2017, and another series called Carbon Grey. If you ever look at some modern stuff it'd be interesting for you to check out.
I have to add the story of how Scott Lobdell got his job. Byrne complained to Bob Harras about how late Lee and Portacio were. Bob Harras said he'd do something about it and he did. He asked every writer at Marvel to write X-Men and nobody wanted to touch it. At the bottom of the list was Scott Lobdell. Bob asked him at the office Christmas party on Friday if he could script the issue by Monday. Turns out he could, and if you read that issue, I'm sure you can tell how quick it was churned out.
That's a Brad Gorby Spawn illustration with McFarlane's head superimposed over it. I think it originally appeared as a pin-up in an early issue of Spawn, or possibly on a trading card.
Scott Lobdell was on my Sideshow podcast and he mentions that they gave him X-Men because nobody could follow Claremont so they just sacrificed him instead of an established talent. The books kept selling, so...
I enjoy your uploads and I wonder if Nabiel Kanans Exit, or his graphic novels,ever crossed your path.? Exit was one of the greatest self published comics I ever read, it was picked up by Caliber for a second volume. Any love out there for this extraordinary piece of work?
Check it out from the cutting room floor- the unreleased Shadowhawk SNES game. Starts off with a sweet Cherub Rock soundalike ua-cam.com/video/KiAB60-_8WA/v-deo.html
@@CartoonistKayfabe It's very cinematic, beautifully coloured. Format of the comic is similar to European comics. Combine it with large panels and awesome perspectives and you are in for a treat. It would be amazing to have your analysis of the book AND an interview with the creators would be even better ;)
I've always heard the 50's EC era refered to as the Atomic Age. Also, I believe the Copper Age begins with TMNT #1 and that lasts until around 1993. After that is when the Modern Age begins and that covers up until about 2003. After that, everything's just considered Current Comics. Personally, I've always thought that 2003-2013 should be called the Digital Age and then everything after that we could just consider Current Comics until another appropriate age marker reveals itself.
I can't imagine why. I don't say that to disparage Wizard or your suggestion. I loved magazines growing up. But in this day and age, I'm not sure what a magazine like that would offer. We can follow creators now. There are tons of podcasts that interview creators (including our channel) and talk about comics. Some websites cover comics news and have reviews. I'm just not sure what a magazine like Wizard would offer today that isn't already available for free and in quantities that exceed my time to consume. What do you think? What are we missing? Do you think that channels like Cartoonist Kayfabe are the next generation of Wizard, Comics Journal, etc.? Maybe it's just a matter of curating who/what you follow to cover your interests. It's like you can build your own Wizard based on who/what you choose to follow. - Jim
I loved Valiant comics and it's always so strange to hear you guys consistently speaking disparagingly about them. What happened to the company was a shame. Just as they start to garner attention for the quality of their work, Shooter is ousted in a toxic hijacking. They continue on for a bit, but whatever else Shooter is he's a genius, and without him the company is suddenly rudderless, creatively. Akklaim eventually finished off whatever creative worth remained. Personally I remember the downturn, post-Shooter, being first visible in the pages of "Harbinger". There was a weird storyline where some of the characters spontaneously go crazy and the team is broken up then replaced with a whole new cast, with Faith, the only original team member, as the new leader, and it just...didn't work. Then "Magnus" and "Shadowman" got weird makeovers as well. New books like "Ninjak" were not up to par. The whole company just gradually went sideways. In my opinion there's no company from that era that was as gutted by insidious corporate shenanigans. Shooter's shady ouster, then Akklaim's meddling in particular, were too much, creatively, to endure. Broke my heart when it happened, man. I still maintain they were the best written superhero books of that era. Until they weren't.
I remember buying the Spawn/Batman crossover books, I had both pulled, and was one of the few to get the DC version, remember another customer not even knowing there was a DC version of it... but the thing I'd say, I hated both comics, found them both bland, still have my beat up copies to this day lol
Hey Ed, coming from the Kayfabe Brain trust to bring you...THE SHADOW HAWK VIDEO GAME. The rom is availible online, it just was never fully released. Here's a link to a video of the game, I believe you can find the rom online and play it. ua-cam.com/video/KiAB60-_8WA/v-deo.html
Rank a couple of them. I am mostly out of the loop on x-books of the 00's so what are a few good or memorable ones? I remember people talking about the Joss Whedon/John Cassiday run and I read some of the Grant Morrison run. What else stood out? Was the Peter Milligan/Mike Allred X-Force/X-Statix in the 00s? - Jim
@@CartoonistKayfabe basically all you need to read in the 00s: Grant Morrisson New X-men Joss Whedon Astonishing Messiah Complex to Second Coming Peter David X-Factor. It's a Noir/Detective book really well done.
George Caragonne was the writer and editor in charge of Penthouse's comics wing. He was a Jim Shooter protege who really wanted to make it in the biz, but for a while could only do low tier stuff through the 80s and early 90s on stuff like Marvel's Star Comics imprint and Valiant's Nintendo licenses. He wound up with the keys to a whole Penthouse comics line, but something went wrong and he went wild with drug use, rampant spending, etc. In 1995 the higher ups locked him out of his office to do an audit on his spending. After going AWOL a few days he went to the tallest hotel in Times Square and took an elevator to the 45th floor. Put in his Walkman headphones to listen to James Bond themes. Then climbed over a railing to jump 500 feet to his death. His 400 pound body bounced off of ledges before falling on a buffet table. No one was hurt, but some witnesses required years of psychological treatment.
Mark Evanier has written about George
www.newsfromme.com/2005/07/20/george-3/
And you can find the original 1995 New York Daily News article
www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/stunned-tourists-man-plunge-death-article-1.703352
Holy...shit😲
"Even the fetus has muscles" is the best quote about 90's mainstream comics I think I've ever heard.
You guys finally hit my first Wizard. I was 13 and had just started reading comics a year earlier. I was stoked because Batman and Spawn were my favorite characters.
How you gonna just breeze by that Entombed ad?😆
Jim, you really want us to believe you came across those Penthouse Comix while “looking for something else” 😂
Here's a hot tip - if anyone's looking for Penthouse Comix, Eides has a bunch of issues. - Jim
"you came across those Penthouse Comix"
Phrasing matters, people.
Cartoonist Kayfabe well I know what I’m doing on my next trip to the burgh! Haha
Good stuff, as always. That Akira catch is crazy. I'd say the Stormwatch/Aliens crossover was a good one though. Clear "winner", and it 'matters' because it totally sets up The Authority. Like what happens is pretty important to the continuity thereafter.
Another great episode! The more of these I watch, the more I realize I only looked at the pictures. That Brutes and Babes article on styles was a fave. Also, enjoyed the mini comics coverage.
43:27 Ed's turn around on the poster is hilarious!
Love the content guys. I tune in every week to get my masters class on comics.
Man I’m so glad you guys called out that insane Defiant ad. I remember reading (and rereading) that thing as a kid and just being totally thrown by it! I guess it was memorable in a batshit crazy kind of way but it 100% did not translate into getting me to buy a Defiant comic at any point during the 1990’s.
I've been having a great time binging your vids! Keep up the great work, guys!
My first Wizard Magazine. Didn't know anything about what Wizard was but the cover made me want it.
Hoang Nguyen still does comics and art to this day. He is actually pretty incredible at it now. He finally kickstarted the reboot of his Metal Militia series in 2017, and another series called Carbon Grey. If you ever look at some modern stuff it'd be interesting for you to check out.
I have to add the story of how Scott Lobdell got his job. Byrne complained to Bob Harras about how late Lee and Portacio were. Bob Harras said he'd do something about it and he did. He asked every writer at Marvel to write X-Men and nobody wanted to touch it. At the bottom of the list was Scott Lobdell. Bob asked him at the office Christmas party on Friday if he could script the issue by Monday. Turns out he could, and if you read that issue, I'm sure you can tell how quick it was churned out.
That'd be a great hourly rate with the royalties that book generated at the time!
Yes! Please do an episode on the different ages of comics!
Ed's reaction to the poster insert ('Oh, that's hard as fuck!') was the highlight of this episode for me.
That's a Brad Gorby Spawn illustration with McFarlane's head superimposed over it. I think it originally appeared as a pin-up in an early issue of Spawn, or possibly on a trading card.
Love these Wizard installments
I love mini comics.The do-it-yourself thinking is exciting! Photocopy comics are like skateboarders street skating; simple satisfaction.
Street Angel and Night Thrasher writes itself!
That off looking Wolverine is from Wolverine/punisher Damaging evidence, really strange artwork in that series from Gary Erskine.
YES! Please do a Kayfabe Timeline episode!!!
Good job spotting the Akira Background in the Batman vs Spawn book! Also, Batman vs Predator by Gibbons is a GREAT crossover!
I loved the coloring on Rune
That Entombed ‘Wolverine Blues’ ad is always wild to see.
That Agent Three Zero is a STEPHEN PLATT cover. It’s the same drawing inside. I’m a big Stephen Platt fan. Great videos guys
MULKEY MANIA RUNNING WIIIIIIILD!
I turn on these Wizard read throughs as white noise/background listening when I write or draw.
Deathblow, the original series, ran for 29 issues, but Tim Sale only penciled until issue #13.
That Rune issue is hard AF! I gotta track that down now!!!
Another fun fact on Phantom 2040 - Peter Chung brought Eric Canete on to the show as a artist.
Oh shit! Jin & Jam! Hellen is amazing! Great to see her work show up here!
the whole mini comic diversion was excellent
The Superman Madman Hullabaloo! is another example of the rare, good crossover. Because Allred.
all of that New Warriors art (Nova, Speedball, Namorita) is all Darick Robertson.
i always saved my lunch money to buy comics too
Scott Lobdell was on my Sideshow podcast and he mentions that they gave him X-Men because nobody could follow Claremont so they just sacrificed him instead of an established talent. The books kept selling, so...
ua-cam.com/video/qtaB7cGadeA/v-deo.html
I enjoy your uploads and I wonder if Nabiel Kanans Exit, or his graphic novels,ever crossed your path.? Exit was one of the greatest self published comics I ever read, it was picked up by Caliber for a second volume. Any love out there for this extraordinary piece of work?
Check it out from the cutting room floor- the unreleased Shadowhawk SNES game. Starts off with a sweet Cherub Rock soundalike
ua-cam.com/video/KiAB60-_8WA/v-deo.html
just heard about the typhoon/earthquake in japan, hope ed is ok.
I thot Miller did well on the Xover save Batman riding the ICBM at the end cuz they travel at prolly Mach 10 or so😂
I was just thinking. I would love you go through Brother Man issues and especially the latest Graphic Novel.
I like Brotherman a lot! Although I haven't seen the latest graphic novel. Your comment reminds me that I need to track that down! - Jim
@@CartoonistKayfabe It's very cinematic, beautifully coloured. Format of the comic is similar to European comics. Combine it with large panels and awesome perspectives and you are in for a treat. It would be amazing to have your analysis of the book AND an interview with the creators would be even better ;)
I've always heard the 50's EC era refered to as the Atomic Age. Also, I believe the Copper Age begins with TMNT #1 and that lasts until around 1993. After that is when the Modern Age begins and that covers up until about 2003. After that, everything's just considered Current Comics. Personally, I've always thought that 2003-2013 should be called the Digital Age and then everything after that we could just consider Current Comics until another appropriate age marker reveals itself.
I had this exact issue
I loved the Phantom cartoon even though I was 20 at the time, it actually had a story, it wasn't your typical afternoon cartoon toy commercial crap
This is my fav issue of Wizard. I own 10 copies still in polybag.
LOL I admit I bought a couple of Peter Davids xeroxed scripts at a wizard con.
I like you dudes a lot, but i'm not parting with my poly-bagged Agent Three-Zero #1. Would love a Stephen Platt video by you guys though.
Maybe it's time for a Wizard magazine revival helmed by you two with Tom Palmer Jr. As editor/publisher?
I can't imagine why. I don't say that to disparage Wizard or your suggestion. I loved magazines growing up. But in this day and age, I'm not sure what a magazine like that would offer. We can follow creators now. There are tons of podcasts that interview creators (including our channel) and talk about comics. Some websites cover comics news and have reviews. I'm just not sure what a magazine like Wizard would offer today that isn't already available for free and in quantities that exceed my time to consume. What do you think? What are we missing? Do you think that channels like Cartoonist Kayfabe are the next generation of Wizard, Comics Journal, etc.? Maybe it's just a matter of curating who/what you follow to cover your interests. It's like you can build your own Wizard based on who/what you choose to follow. - Jim
The Pittsburg Powerhouse is cutting promos and droppin science
I loved Valiant comics and it's always so strange to hear you guys consistently speaking disparagingly about them.
What happened to the company was a shame. Just as they start to garner attention for the quality of their work, Shooter is ousted in a toxic hijacking. They continue on for a bit, but whatever else Shooter is he's a genius, and without him the company is suddenly rudderless, creatively. Akklaim eventually finished off whatever creative worth remained.
Personally I remember the downturn, post-Shooter, being first visible in the pages of "Harbinger". There was a weird storyline where some of the characters spontaneously go crazy and the team is broken up then replaced with a whole new cast, with Faith, the only original team member, as the new leader, and it just...didn't work.
Then "Magnus" and "Shadowman" got weird makeovers as well. New books like "Ninjak" were not up to par. The whole company just gradually went sideways.
In my opinion there's no company from that era that was as gutted by insidious corporate shenanigans. Shooter's shady ouster, then Akklaim's meddling in particular, were too much, creatively, to endure. Broke my heart when it happened, man.
I still maintain they were the best written superhero books of that era. Until they weren't.
If Pitt #4 was the fifth hottest book a year before this issue, how is Pitt #3 the fourth hottest book in this issue's Top 100???
Before y'all do a mini-comic episode, let me send you some. I have a bunch of Michigan based stuff that I got like 20 years ago.
Mini-comics could be their own channel!
I remember buying the Spawn/Batman crossover books, I had both pulled, and was one of the few to get the DC version, remember another customer not even knowing there was a DC version of it... but the thing I'd say, I hated both comics, found them both bland, still have my beat up copies to this day lol
Hey Ed, coming from the Kayfabe Brain trust to bring you...THE SHADOW HAWK VIDEO GAME. The rom is availible online, it just was never fully released. Here's a link to a video of the game, I believe you can find the rom online and play it. ua-cam.com/video/KiAB60-_8WA/v-deo.html
Peter David wrote the best x-book of the 00s... just saying.
Rank a couple of them. I am mostly out of the loop on x-books of the 00's so what are a few good or memorable ones? I remember people talking about the Joss Whedon/John Cassiday run and I read some of the Grant Morrison run. What else stood out? Was the Peter Milligan/Mike Allred X-Force/X-Statix in the 00s? - Jim
@@CartoonistKayfabe basically all you need to read in the 00s:
Grant Morrisson New X-men
Joss Whedon Astonishing
Messiah Complex to Second Coming
Peter David X-Factor. It's a Noir/Detective book really well done.
@@CartoonistKayfabe I've not read X-Static but I will buy the omnibus someday.
great jim moment: ua-cam.com/video/EsQOaNL_vzE/v-deo.html