Worlds will live! Worlds will die! The skies will turn red, and cowboys and cavemen will fight side by side! Written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by George Pérez, Crisis on Infinite Earths celebrated 50 years of DC Comics by blowing up the multiverse in a massive crossover featuring virtually every major character from its history (and introducing several new ones). Designed to make a bold statement in a comics industry overwhelmingly dominated by Marvel, the original plan was to reboot the entire DC Universe from scratch. Instead we got…well, what exactly did we get? We discuss whether Crisis was a new beginning or an ultimate ending, but we also focus on the comic itself and how this apex of superhero maximalism holds up 40 years later.

Discussed in this episode: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1-12

Become a supporter of the podcast at patreon.com/ironageofcomics or else Pariah will cry some more.

It was 40 years ago this month that the calendar ticked over to 1986, often heralded as one of the high points of the comic book industry—perhaps even the most important year in the history of the medium. Comics began to find the mainstream acceptance they’d long craved, superheroes got grimmer ‘n’ grittier, and DC Comics reinvented itself for an older and more discerning audience. We walk through the highlights of this annus mirabilis, take a look back at what was left behind in this brave new era, and wonder whether we’ll ever see another year of its like again.

Discussed in this episode:

• ​Crisis, Dark Knight, and Watchmen (again, but briefly, we promise!)
• ​Marvel’s 25th anniversary
• ​The New Universe
• ​X-Men as franchise
• ​Classic X-Men debuts
• ​Grim ‘n’ gritty and the dawn of “the Dark Age”
• ​Daredevil and Elektra by Frank Miller
• ​The Punisher gets his own series
• ​Licensed comics and other cancellations at Marvel
• ​The rise of the post-Crisis DCU
• ​Legends
• ​Many fine comics written by Alan Moore
• ​The founding of Dark Horse Comics
• ​Maus
• ​Creator’s rights, starring Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, and Jim Shooter

patreon.com/ironageofcomics

The Iron Age boys reflect on another year of reading classic comics and three years since launching the podcast by answering YOUR questions! (Assuming you sent them in, that is to say.)

Discussed in this episode:

• Current reads
• Underappreciated Iron Age creators
• Fashion trends of the Iron Age
• Comics we don’t want to revisit
• Missed opportunities
• Non-Iron Age comics with Iron Age flavor
• Cursing and podcast editing
• Dick Tracy and the British 20th century
• Marvel trading cards
• Creator pronunciations
• Most representative American comics
• The Iron Age outside the U.S.
• Which comic book universe we want to live in
• Growth and change vs. “the permanent Act II”
• When are you going to cover __________?
• Transition to video?
• The origin of the podcast
• Are we critics?
• What we learned in 2025

Keep the show going through 2026 and beyond by becoming a supporter at patreon.com/ironageofcomics