Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast

Brad & Lisa Gullickson
  • 4.9 (306)
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Join married couple Brad and Lisa as they explore the various dynamics of comic book relationships throughout pop culture and publishing history.

  1. 1D AGO

    A Slasher Celebration: David Bowles, Drew Edwards, and Monica Gallagher on The Matron

    The horror genre occupies an important moment in our romantic relationship. We started dating nearly eighteen years ago. Our earliest outings were at the theater, watching one mediocre to terrible horror film after the other. As you'll hear in this week's episode, those violent excursions caused us to sharpen our ideas of who we are. Gosh, we sure could have used The Matron back then. Comic creators David Bowles, Drew Edwards, and Monica Gallagher join us to discuss their new slasher comic, The Matron. It's a distinct, bloody trip across multiple generations. While it began as a thought experiment related to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, it quickly transformed into a rich, thoughtful exercise in how the slasher story can contain and process profound human anxiety. Fifty years after her great-great-grandmother slaughtered her way into infamy, Roz desperately wants to find space on this planet away from her family's murderous past. Mostly in the arms of her girlfriend, Samantha. However, as winter sweeps across the Texas town of Ascuas, celebrations centered around the original Matron's killings begin. As do a new set of killings. The Matron allowed us to discover our history with the slasher and our love for it. While these musings tend to occur around the Halloween season, the first two months of 2025 have proved to be the perfect moment to seek solace in characters like The Matron, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and other masked maniacs. The Matron is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter. As of this writing, they have sixteen days left on the campaign. CLICK HERE to explore this unique slasher further. You can follow David Bowles on Instagram. You can follow Drew Edwards on Instagram. You can follow Monica Gallagher on Instagram. Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Support Your Local Comic Shop - Episode 2 - Now Or Never (San Diego, CA) Married to Singles: Michael Schwartz on Darkhold: Iron Man Support Your Local Comic Shop: Episode 1 - Four Color Fantasies in Winchester, Virginia Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. The Comic Book Couples Counseling TeePublic Merch Page. Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 3/09 at 5:00 PM for Josie and the Pussycats, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @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 Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

    1h 19m

  2. 4D AGO

    CBCC Book Club: Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm on Spectrum 3

    We try not to gatekeep. We try to resist nostalgia, but on some days, we feel the purest expression possible in comics can only occur through monthly serialization. Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm return to the podcast for the third month, discussing Spectrum #3, the latest entry in their magical, sci-fi tour through an alternate musical history. As you'll hear Rick Quinn say at some point in our conversation, Spectrum #3 is not their "Bohemian Rhapsody" or "Hey Jude." It's twenty-two pages; it's their three-minute pop song, and nothing is more simplistically significant than a three-minute pop song. Lives are often altered within those beautiful constraints. We're halfway through the Mad Cave Studios series and our monthly Book Club discussion of it. Feel free to jump on board here, but also, catching up won't take you long. Find the links to those conversations below. Spectrum #3 introduces more characters and artistic mediums for our heroes and readers to consider. Last month, we explored how fine art interacts with music, and now, through the character of Walton Naves, we look at photography's relationship to sound. What separates the "click" from the picture triggered by it? As always, Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm are more than willing to travel deep with us into Spectrum. This time, they're packing their own notes! We discuss how the third issue still reveals their discovery of the material and how next month's comic will show them confidently accepting its mission. Between the pages, lives were literally born, and perspectives radically transformed. Can you find the page created between childlessness and fatherhood? Just look for signs of exhaustion and obsessive detail. Spectrum 1 - 3 are currently available from Mad Cave Studios, and the fourth issue will arrive in shops on March 19th. Make sure you're following Dave Chisholm on his Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Bluesky. And follow Rick Quinn on his Website, Bluesky, and Instagram. Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Spectrum Book Club Part One Spectrum Book Club Part Two Ask Your Spectrum Book Club Questions Married to Singles: Michael Schwartz on Darkhold: Iron Man Support Your Local Comic Shop: Episode 1 - Four Color Fantasies in Winchester, Virginia Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. The Comic Book Couples Counseling TeePublic Merch Page. Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 3/09 at 5:00 PM for Josie and the Pussycats, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @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 Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

    1h 15m

  3. FEB 19

    Thomas Jane and Mike Carey on The Lycan

    They couldn't let go. Thomas Jane and Mike Carey resurrect The Lycan, a comics project languishing for over fifteen years. Jane and screenwriter David James Kelly initiated the concept and hired Carey to write the script. An artist was also hired. That artist disappeared. An opportunity arose years later, and a new artist, Diego Yapur, finally materialized this ruthless tale of adventure and horror. The North Sea. 1797. A ship shatters on the shore of a Scottish isle. The hunters within spill upon the sand, encountering a Red Coat regiment and a Convent-turned-Fortress. The three factions mistrust each other but must find unity if they're to defend themselves from a hirsute plague. The Lycan recalls the gnarliest stories in the best comic book anthologies: Twisted Tales, Creepy, Vault of Horror, etc. Yet, it's given the space that writers like Bruce Jones were never afforded. Thomas Jane and Mike Carey are confident storytellers who've spent a lifetime consuming this beautiful medium and know they can let the title and the many engaging characters below it do the work. The beast is coming, but in The Lycan #1, the horror explored is utterly, painfully human. With the French Revolution on the horizon, paranoia grips everyone, and the faith carried by pirates, soldiers, and nuns is challenged and found fractured. How can they possibly fight their doggie dinner destiny? The Lycan allows our podcast conversation with Thomas Jane and Mike Carey to travel into various caves and crannies. We dig into their passion for the comic book medium and how it differs from movies (The Punisher) and novels (The Girl With All The Gifts). We discuss the comic's complicated origin and the challenge of collaboration, as well as the powerful, relatable themes at this book's center. Fear, paranoia, and faith - who needs a werewolf to do you in? The Lycan #1 is now available on ComiXology but will eventually see physical release through Ablaze. Continue this conversation with Thomas Jane by following him on Instagram. And follow Mike Carey on Twitter. Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Married to Singles: Michael Schwartz on Darkhold: Iron Man Spectrum Book Club with Dave Chisholm and Rick Quinn The CBCC Newsletter - Our Psychic Rapport Support Your Local Comic Shop: Episode 1 - Four Color Fantasies in Winchester, Virginia Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. The Comic Book Couples Counseling TeePublic Merch Page. Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 3/09 at 5:00 PM for Josie and the Pussycats, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @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 Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

    1h 1m

  4. FEB 12

    Clay McLeod Chapman on Seance in the Asylum

    Always challenge certainty. The moment you know, watch out. Clay McLeod Chapman arrives with another spooky story to confront your perspective, if not outright shatter it. His latest comic, Seance in the Asylum, done in collaboration with artist Leonardo Marcello Grassi, colorist Mauro Gulma, and letterer Frank Cvetkovic, propels us back into our past when science sought belief to cure the mad. It's 1865. America sits soaked in blood after the Civil War. The Ashcroft Hospital is bursting at the seams with an influx of patients, and Doctor Templeton believes spiritualism could form the spine of a radical new therapy. Unfortunately, Alicia Wilkinson, the medium he hired for the job, is a fake. But how does that explain all these ghosts appearing after she's committed her little act? All lovers of storytelling should make themselves aware of Clay McLeod Chapman. Check his website and follow his footsteps. If he's speaking at a film festival, a bookstore, or a comic shop near you, ensure you're there. His readings are kinetic events powered by passion and imagination, and he brings all that to this week's podcast conversation. We discuss the deep research he brought to Seance in the Asylum, his take on science versus belief, and how he and his collaborators found a unique way to depict possession—oh, and ectoplasm. We talk a lot about solid, not at all wet, architectural ectoplasm. All four issues of Seance in the Asylum are out now from Dark Horse Comics, and the trade paperback will hit shops on June 3rd. Continue our conversation with Clay McLeod Chapman by following him on Bluesky and Instagram. Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Patreon Exclusive: Clay McLeod Chapman on Extreme Carnage The CBCC Newsletter - Our Psychic Rapport Support Your Local Comic Shop: Episode 1 - Four Color Fantasies Patreon Exclusive: Eamon Winkle on Peter Parker: Spider-Man Vol. 2 #33 Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. The Comic Book Couples Counseling TeePublic Merch Page. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @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 Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

    1h 6m

  5. FEB 5

    Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar on Bug Wars

    After doing a stint on Conan the Barbarian for Marvel, Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar aimed to keep their collaboration roaring. They loved their time in Hyperborea but also wanted a realm to claim as their own and one where they could unleash their most vicious instincts. Bug Wars, their latest partnership, published at Image Comics, is the beautifully brutal saga of "The Yard." Here, in the tall grass, below teenager Slade Slaymaker's home, Beetle Clans rage against the Ant Imperium while the Systers of the Spyder whisper of a coming storm. We're excited to have Jason Aaron back on the podcast, this time bringing Mahmud Asrar with him. We discuss their fascination with "Oh, No! I'm Shrunk!" stories and why their version required a bloody battleground. Our conversation also ventures into why Bug Wars may be one of Jason Aaron's most personal stories and how Mahmud Asrar challenged some legitimate creepy crawly phobias to bring this tale to the page. This week's podcast begins with a discussion about our "Comics Will Mend Your Heart" 2025 theme and how it relates to the famous Jack Kirby quote, "Kid...comics will break your heart." When and where did Kirby first say it, and what was the quote's original context? We get into it. Bug Wars #1 arrives in comic shops on February 12th. It's written by Jason Aaron, illustrated by Mahmud Asrar, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered and designed by Becca Carey, and edited by Heather Antos. Consider continuing this conversation with Jason Aaron via his Substack, Instagram, and Bluesky. Please do the same with Mahmud Asrar via his Instagram and Blueksy. Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: The Beat: Did Jack Kirby Really Say, "Comics Will Break Your Heart, Kid?" The Beat: Kirby's Warning: How Comics Will Break Your Heart Mark Evanier's News From ME: Quotable Kirby Support Your Local Comic Shop: Episode 1 - Four Color Fantasies Patreon Exclusive: Eamon Winkle on Peter Parker: Spider-Man Vol. 2 #33 Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. The Comic Book Couples Counseling TeePublic Merch Page. Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 2/09 at 5:00 PM for Conan the Barbarian, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @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 Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

    1h 1m

  6. JAN 29

    John Harris Dunning on Ripperland

    Time is inescapable -- as if we need to explain that to anyone living in January 2025. However, our listeners who've been paying attention to our podcast this past month know the tyrannical clock is particularly present in our imagination. This preoccupation began with this week's conversation about Ripperland with John Harris Dunning, which we recorded in December last year and has been informing nearly every episode we've released since. Dunning co-wrote Ripperland with Steve Orlando, and it's illustrated by Alessandro Oliveri, colored by Francesca Vivaldi, and lettered by Fabio Amelia. The comic is set in 2188, three hundred years after Jack the Ripper terrorized London. In exchange for financial and military aid, England has given itself over to America, transforming into a gargantuan Victorian theme park. While no dinosaurs go on a rampage, a Jack the Ripper impersonator does. Enter American Special Agent Jesse Holden and local British Police Detective Edwin Fogg. Ripperland is a cracking good time but carries a sharp, damning wit. For as obsessed about Jack the Ripper as we are, we don't really understand or appreciate the reality surrounding the horrific murders that occurred in Whitechapel in 1888. It's a vicious, societal spook story in which storytellers of every medium - prose, song, cinema, comics - return repeatedly and readers hungrily accept. What does that say about the giver and the receiver? We discuss Jack the Ripper's hold on our planet with John Harris Dunning and how exploring the past from a position of the future creates a tantalizing mental exercise. Does fate damn us to repeat our mistakes, or are we just too stupid to learn? Ripperland #1 is currently on sale from Dark Horse Comics, and issue two will arrive in shops on February 26th. To continue this conversation with John Harris Dunning, follow him on Instagram and Bluesky. Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Patreon Exclusive: John Harris Dunning on Spider-Woman #50 Patreon Exclusive Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Club Married to Singles: Tyler Crook on Mage: The Hero Discovered #5 Spectrum Book Club with Dave Chisholm and Rick Quinn Buy eBooks via Bookshop.org The BINC Foundation Introducing Sweet Shop The Beat Reports on Sweet "Comics Will Mend Your Heart" by Kevin Alvir Merch (Benifitting BINC) Funny Business: An Insider's Look at the Art of Cartooning The Art of Richard Thompson Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. The Comic Book Couples Counseling TeePublic Merch Page. Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 2/09 at 5:00 PM for Conan the Barbarian, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @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 Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

    1 hr

  7. JAN 22

    CBCC Book Club: Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm on Spectrum 2

    They're back! Writer Rick Quinn and artist Dave Chisholm return to the podcast to discuss Spectrum #2, the second issue in their science fiction tour through an alternate musical history. As the plot reveals itself, adding new elements and several more splash pages, we dig deeper into its characters, emotions, and references. Adding this conversation atop our previous one about the first issue, we're building something grand - a comic book dissection as we've never done before - so we might as well officially make it a Book Club and invite everyone listening to join in on the comics summit. Have you read Spectrum #1? Have you read Spectrum #2? Do you have any thoughts? Do you have questions? We want to hear them! CLICK HERE and drop them into the comments. Next month, when we return to the podcast with Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm, we'll work our way through them on the show. This is your chance to shape the conversation and connect with the big ideas about art these creators are exploring. Spectrum #2 introduces Ada Latimer, the retail warrior trying to keep her Unpopular Pop record store afloat. Within the comic's first few moments, she meets the reality-bending Melody from issue one and has a cosmic encounter that would curl Jack Kirby's toes. A quest is discovered, one that will slam Ada and Melody together as they search for a mythical music producer while battling a creature of song called Echo. Now, more than ever, community offers relief. We must find our people and love and fight by their side. For us, we feel the most connected when we're engaged with art, whether it takes the form of music, movies, or comic books. Creating a book club, determined to cover this series for the next five or so months, is an act of hope and optimism. And so is joining one. Spectrum #2 is now available from Mad Cave Studios, wherever rad comics are sold. Make sure you're following Dave Chisholm on his Website, TikTok, Instagram, and Bluesky. And follow Rick Quinn on his Website, Bluesky, and Instagram. Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Spectrum CBCC Book Club #1 with Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm "Comics Will Mend Your Heart" by Kevin Alvir Merch (Benifitting BINC) Patreon Exclusive Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Club Married to Singles: Tyler Crook on Mage: The Hero Discovered #5 Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. The Comic Book Couples Counseling TeePublic Merch Page. Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 1/26 at 5:00 PM for Speed Racer, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @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 Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

    1h 24m
  8. Patreon Preview: Tyler Crook on Mage - The Hero Discovered 6

    JAN 15

    Patreon Preview: Tyler Crook on Mage - The Hero Discovered 6

    In 2024, we published 58 Comic Book Couples Counseling episodes. However, that was not the total Comic Book Couples Counseling experience. Over on our Patreon, we published an additional 61 episodes, including our Married to Singlesseries, where we talk with comic book creators about their favorite single issues. In 2025, we'll make these a regular thing, starting with Tyler Crook this week, diving deep into his cherished Mage: The Hero Discovered #6. Crook has appeared on the podcast multiple times, mostly exploring his exceptional Dark Horse Comics series, The Lonesome Hunters (links to those episodes below). He's a passionate, enthusiastic champion of this medium, and that devotion began at a very young age thanks to books like Mage: The Hero Discovered. We enjoyed this conversation with Crook about this comic so much that we've decided to drop it into the main podcast feed to entice some of you over to the CBCC Patreon, which we consider one of the most welcoming, loving comic book communities on the internet. Published by Comico in March of 1985, Mage: The Hero Discovered #6 landed just as the industry shifted. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 arrived the year before, while Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns were just on the horizon. Comics were ready to celebrate themselves as thematically rich, adult entertainment. NOT. KIDS. STUFF. Mage: The Hero Discovered #6 was written and illustrated by Matt Wagner and features additional inks by Sam Kieth. The series follows Kevin Matchstick, who is basically a stand-in for Wagner, as he tumbles into a fantasy adventure where each obstacle represents some issue or situation from his own life. Be warned, our conversation with Tyler Crook spoils the entirety of the sixth issue, as well as some critical plot points from the rest of the series. Although, knowledge of those plot points won't ruin your overall reading experience if you decide to read after you've listened to the episode. We make the Comic Book Couples Counseling Patreon as cheap as we can. Our "Smitten Kitten" level costs only a dollar and gives you access to all the Patreon episodes. Our "Dearly Beloved" tier is $5, which grants you access to our Slack community. For the month of January, we're donating all proceeds made by our Patron to BINC (The Book Industry Charitable Foundation). They're helping all the bookstores and comic book shops affected by the LA Wildfires, and Bookshop.org matches all donations up to $10,000. If you would prefer to support another charity aiding in the wake of the LA Wildfires, here are a few that we'd recommend: The Red Cross Wildfire Disaster Relief LA Food Banks Assisting After Fires The LAFD Foundation World Central Kitchen Help provides fresh meals to communities in need in California The California Community Foundation Pasadena Humane Helps with Animal Rescue and Care Baby2Baby Provides Essential items such as diapers, food, formula, and hygiene products for children and families in Los Angeles. At least three comic creators lost their homes to the fires. Click on their names below to find their GoFundMe pages: David Booher Steven T. Seagle Andrew Robinson Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Tyler Crook on The Lonesome Hunters Tyler Crook on The Lonesome Hunters: Chapter One Patreon Exclusive: Daniel Warren Johnson on The 'Nam #9 Patreon Exclusive: Jason Ayers on The Uncanny X-Men #183 Patreon Exclusive: Christian Ward on Arkham Asylum Patreon Exclusive: John Harris Dunning on Spider-Woman #50 Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. The Comic Book Couples Counseling TeePublic Merch Page. Join us at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, on 1/26 at 5:00 PM for Speed Racer, co-sponsored by Four Color Fantasies. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickso

    1h 6m
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    Join married couple Brad and Lisa as they explore the various dynamics of comic book relationships throughout pop culture and publishing history.

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