One of my longer efforts to date, this one is about Marvel Comics #1, the first issue by what would eventually become the juggernaut of American comic book publishing. In this podcast I discuss:
- just how many Jewish folk were an integral part of Golden Age comics
- Martin Goodman and his background, the pulps he worked on, and what got him into comics
- comics packagers and Funnies, Inc.
- all the moving parts that came together to produce Marvel Comics #1
- the historical context in which Marvel Comics #1 appeared
- the six stories appearing in Marvel Comics #1, and what each one was about
- what the supposed influences were on Bill Everett when he created the Namor the Sub-Mariner story for Marvel Comics #1, and what were more likely the actual influences on him
- a bunch of stuff about the various comic book and pulp Ka-Zars
- a deep dive into the Namor the Sub-Mariner story in Marvel Comics #1--its plot, what it did that was new, and what set Namor apart from virtually every other character in the popular culture of the time
- and, unfortunately, an element of the Namor stories of the Golden Age that requires a Content Warning to listen to
I think this is a pretty good podcast, but I'm not kidding about the content warning--I discuss some pretty dark and potentially triggering stuff. Caveat emptor.
