After Writing BLACK PANTHER, This MARVELous Scribe Co-Created the FIRST AMERICAN GRAPHIC NOVEL!

Chris and Steven explore the first few issues of Don McGregor and Paul Gulacy's groundbreaking series, SABRE — a surreal, post-apocalyptic spectacle.COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) and Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.SHOW NOTES:00:52 - Some background info on the storyline for SABRE — the first “graphic album” for the direct market — a sci-fi story set in the “distant future of 2,018” LOL4:40 - Don McGregor’s delightfully ornery introductory essay to the Image reprint of SABRE.14:55 - The “throw you in the deep end”-style storytelling of SABRE — in media res, wildly expository and dense dialogue, the art of melodrama — all of it in service of casting a rather immersive spell. 18:33 - Soliloquies in Shakespeare and SABRE — “thought balloons” spoken aloud, and the eternal battle to believe in a smart audience that wants to be challenged. 23:14 -  “Pure comics!” A post-apocalyptic ghost of an amusement park and the bizarre evildoer known as Grouse — a rapscallion refugee from an animated film/Nazi cat-rat… The high weirdness of stories built specifically for comics.25:34 - The gloriously purple prose of Don McGregor and how Paul Gulacy’s stunning artwork is at risk of being drowned under a roaring river of words.41:35 - Paul Gulacy in 1978 was merely 25 years old, and yet creating impressively lovely, Steranko-influenced art with a bizarre plasticine rigidity all its own.43:14 - Paul Gulacy never read “How To Draw Comics the Marvel Way” …and that’s absolutely not a problem!47:13 - Don McGregor making life Hell for Paul Gulacy — “Draw me a giant train crash and a massive gun battle with dozens of characters... on horseback!”57:56 - Lord help us, we attempt to describe the psychedelic visual world of SABRE and its wild cast of characters.1:06:14 - The inconcievable notion of releasing a comic book as narratively dense as SABRE in the ADD world of today.1:12:53 - SABRE: THE EARLY FUTURE YEARS - a SABRE relaunch from Don McGregor …and Trevor Von Eeden?!! The Kickstarter that almost was.…01:19:26 - SABRE is a story about battling conformity and this also appeared to be one of Don McGregor’s chief battles in life.1:23:52 - The British Invasion in comics — and their florid, evocative prose stylings — owe a debt to Don McGregor’s poetic voice in his vast ouevre (BLACK PANTHER, KILLRAVEN, NATHANIEL DUSK, DETECTIVES INC, and, of course, SABRE), with a detour into how impossible it was to ink the amazing Gene Colan.1:26:45 - McGregor’s impassioned, provocative text piece in SABRE #2, pushing back on the regressive culture of the comics world, “...a medium that would Drop us a line! Support the show+ Check out our YouTube channel to get a look at some of the fantastic art featured in our episodes. Visit ComicsRotYourBrain.com to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. You can also find us wherever you stream your favorite podcasts.+ We appreciate your support of the show via Patreon: ComicsRotYourBrain+ For even more cool shit, read Chris's Substack (cinema, comics, and culture) - THIN ICE©2024  Comics Rot Your Brain!#comicbooks #comics #graphicnovel