Before the cartoon, the toys, and the pizza-fueled catchphrases, there was a scrappy black-and-white comic that nobody saw coming. In this episode of We Love Comics, we crack open Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, the 1984 book two young cartoonists, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, scraped together enough to self-publish. It’s gritty, strange, and violent, a world away from the Saturday-morning version most of us grew up with. Was it a parody? A love letter? A lightning strike? All three?

Joining us as artist Aaron Conley (Sabertooth Swordsman, Bully Wars) brings an artist’s eye to the book that started it all. Beyond breaking down Mirage’s first issue, Aaron talks about why the Turtles still win over kids and adults of every age four decades later, and how they shaped him as an artist.

Four turtles, one rat, and a photocopier’s worth of attitude. Forty years later, they’re still the coolest guys in the sewer.

Want to go deeper? Kyle has compiled the articles, interviews, and essays he used to prepare for this conversation. Check the links below and keep reading.

From Mirage to Millions: The 40 Year Journey of the TMNT - Independent Magazine

Every Day Is Like Wednesday: Some notes on IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection line

Peter Laird Shoot Interview! The Co-Creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Joins the Boys!

PETER LAIRD goes through Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Issue 1 page-by-page with Cartoonist Kayfabe!The Kevin Eastman Interview Part I - The Comics Journal

This week on We Love Comics, artist, educator, and Odyssey Comics creator Professor Raco joins us to dig into James O’Barr’s The Crow. The 1989 black-and-white "Outlaw style" classic is a revenge story on the surface and, at heart, a gothic love story born from real grief. We talk about what makes it so beautiful and so brutal, where it stumbles, and what it means to make art out of pain. Along the way we wander into goth and punk subcultures, the 1994 film, life drawing, breaking into indie comics, AI, and why art is ultimately about connection.

Professor Raco is a writer and artist for Odyssey Comics, where the supernatural YA thriller Everybody Is Happy Nowadays is out now, and teaches life drawing at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Raco's upcoming anthology project, This Is Not a Love Song, will be released just in time for their appearance at the Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival in Yorkshire!

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussion of sexual violence, graphic violence, self-harm, drug use, a racial slur, trauma, and grief, along with strong language. These subjects are examined critically. Listener discretion is advised; intended for adult audiences.

Want to go deeper? Kyle has compiled links to the information and material he discovered while preparing for this episode. Check the links below and keep reading!

https://www.aprilconnorsart.com

The Crow: When Fantasy Manages Trauma - by Alec Worley

The Crow - The Comics Journal

My 1994 James O’Barr “The Crow” Author/Illustrator Interview – Anything Goes – Allman Brothers Band Forum

But What ARE Outlaw Comics?

The Crow: A Deep Dive into James O'Barr's Graphic Novel and its Enduring Legacy - Lbibinders

This week on We Love Comics, award-winning cartoonist Ethan Young joins us to dig into Dave Cooper's Ripple: A Predilection for Tina, a strange, unsettling, unforgettable story of an artist, his model, and an obsession that turns into something far more dangerous. We break down what makes Cooper's book so hypnotic and so uncomfortable, then widen the lens to the books and films of the same ilk: stories of desire, fixation, and exploration of taboos & fantasies. What makes this kind of work so great... or so dangerous?

Ethan also talks about his own path: how he broke into comics by self-publishing his work, the firsthand feedback and professional he got from the legendary Jim Lee, and how learning to accept criticism has helped make him the creative force he is today.

Ethan is the creator of Nanjing: The Burning City, winner of the 2016 Reuben Award for Best Graphic Novel and an Eisner and Harvey nominee. His other books include The Dragon Path, Space Bear, Life Between Panels, and The Battles of Bridget Lee. He's a prolific cover artist for DC, Marvel, Image, IDW, Dark Horse, and more. He's also a character designer on Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man for Marvel Studios, and his creator-owned action-horror series Demon Run is currently sold on his website

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussion of sexual content, obsession, controlling and possessive relationships, and psychological manipulation. It also includes discussion of Lolita, a novel involving child sexual abuse. These works are examined critically. Listener discretion is advised; intended for adult audiences.

Want to go deeper? Kyle has compiled links to the information and material he discovered while preparing for this episode. Check the links below and keep reading!

About — ethan young

Dave Graphics – The Artwork of Dave CooperWizard #61: Dave Cooper – Palmer’s Picks – Suckle Crumple RippleDave Cooper | du9, l'autre bande dessinée

The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.: Ripple: A Predilection for Tina by Dave Cooper

Before superhero comics went dark and gritty, there was a four-issue fever dream that got there first. In this episode of We Love Comics, we crack open The Last American — the Marvel Epic imprint miniseries from John Wagner, Alan Grant, and Mike McMahon — a bleak, unflinching vision of a lone soldier waking up in a post-nuclear America, with brief moments of dark humor that never undercut its weight. Is it satire? Prophecy? Both?

Joining us is guest Doug Wagner, a comic book writer himself, who brings his own perspective on the industry to the conversation. Beyond breaking down The Last American, Doug talks candidly about the ups and downs of writing comics for a living — the creative highs and the grind — and shares his experience working with publishers along the way.

Thirty years before prestige TV got obsessed with the apocalypse, this book already knew there was nothing prestige about it.

WARNING

This episode contains discussion of sensitive material, including extreme violence, sexual violence against women, cannibalism, death, mental illness, in addition to other difficult subjects. Listener discretion is advised.

Want to go deeper? Kyle has compiled the articles, interviews, and essays he used to prepare for this conversation. Check the links below and keep reading.

The John Wagner and Alan Grant Interview - The Comics Journal

The John Wagner Interview: Part One (Listen to all three parts!)

The Last American (novel) — Grokipedia

George M. Cohan Biography: The Man Who Owned Broadway

I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia - Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia

Einstein's Last Message Was a Dire Warning | RealClearScience

On Episode 4 of We Love Comics, host Kyle McNeal sits down with Victor Santos — the acclaimed Spanish cartoonist behind Polar and an Eisner and Harvey Award nominee — for a wide-ranging conversation that spans one of comics' most influential noir works and the career it helped inspire.

Their touchstone: Sin City: The Hard Goodbye (Frank Miller, 1991-92) — the story that launched Miller's stark, high-contrast crime saga and redefined what noir could look like on the comics page.

And who better to explore it with than Victor Santos, whose own Polar — later adapted by Netflix — has been called Sin City's spiritual successor for its black-and-white, blood-and-orange visual language? Victor opens up about that influence, his own creative process, and the passions behind a body of work.

It's the kind of conversation We Love Comics was made for: two people who love this art form, talking seriously about what makes it great.

WARNING

This episode contains discussion of sensitive material, including extreme violence, sexual violence against women, cannibalism, death, and torture, in addition to other difficult subjects. Listener discretion is advised.

Want to go deeper? Kyle has compiled the articles, interviews, and essays he used to prepare for this conversation. Check the links below and keep reading.

A Trip to Sin City | Sequart Organization

A Place for Bold: Understanding Frank Miller | Sequart Organization

When Macho Angst Turns into Violence: Frank Miller’s Sin City – PopMeC research blogProblematic Faves: Sin City

The One Movie Blog: Dark Streets, Dangerous Women and Knights in Dirty Armor: Frank Miller’s “Sin City” and the Conventions of NoirSin City | Literature and Writing | Research Starters | EBSCO Research

On Episode 3 of We Love Comics, host Kyle McNeal sits down with the legendary Michael Allred—the visionary force behind Madman and one of the most celebrated cartoonists working today — for a wide-ranging conversation that spans one of comics' greatest stories and the extraordinary career it helped shape.

Their touchstone: the Galactus Trilogy (Fantastic Four #48-50, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, 1966) — the arc that introduced the Silver Surfer, brought Galactus to Earth, and pushed superhero comics into something genuinely mythological.

And who better to explore it with than the artist who — along with Dan Slott and Laura Allred — brought the Sentinel of the Spaceways back to life in their own acclaimed Silver Surfer run? Mike opens up about that experience, his inspirations, his creative process, and the passions behind a body of work that stands among the finest in the medium

It's the kind of conversation We Love Comics was made for: two people who love this art form, talking seriously about what makes it great.

Want to go deeper? Kyle has compiled the articles, interviews, and essays he used to prepare for this conversation — the same sources that informed every question. Check the links below and keep reading. The rabbit hole is worth it.

"Put Your Raygun To My Head": An Interview with Michael Allred - The Comics Journal

MIKE ALLRED Reflects on the End of SILVER SURFER | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

KIRBY 100: Mike Allred on the King and the Bug | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

A Free-Wheelin’ Talk With the Free-Wheelin’ MIKE ALLRED | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

The MIKE ALLRED INTERVIEWS: From Jack Cole to Frank Frazetta | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

The MIKE ALLRED Interviews, Part 2: A Marvel-ous Start | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

MIKE ALLRED on Meeting Kirby, Eisner, et al | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

A Failure To Communicate – Part One | The Kirby Effect

(Part 1 of 7. Every article is worth the read!)

The Marvel Method According To Jack Kirby – part one | The Kirby Effect

Stan Lee Vs. Jack Kirby #1 - The Silver Surfer

In this episode, host Kyle McNeal sits down with graphic novelist Dave Horowitz for a deep dive into Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. Dave and Kyle dig into the storytelling, the art, and what makes this graphic memoir still resonate with readers today, along with the impact it's had on Dave as a reader and creator.

WARNING

This episode contains discussion of sensitive material, including genocide, the Holocaust, war, sexual violence, death, and torture, among other difficult subjects. Listener discretion is advised.

Articles referenced during the discussion are provided below for listener convenience.

Persepolis and Marjane Satrapi's Legacy

Emma Watson Interviews Persepolis Author Marjane Satrapi | Vogue

Marjane Satrapi’s masterpiece Persepolis transformed the world’s understanding of Iran

Episode 101: Patrick Meaney — Uncanny X-Men #165–175

In our very first episode, host Kyle McNeal sits down with filmmaker Patrick Meaney for a deep dive into Uncanny X-Men #165–175 — a stretch widely regarded as one of the high points of the Claremont era. Patrick and Kyle dig into the storytelling, the art, and what makes this run still resonate with fans today, along with the impact it's had on Patrick as a reader and creator.