HARD AGREE

In this annual festive charity edition of Hard Agree from Friday December 19th 2025, Andrew Sumner is joined by the egg-nog-sipping Hard Agree Yuletide Players, recruited from the worlds of comics, movies, TV and theatre: legendary fantasy author Michael Moorcock; BBC presenter & wine expert Olly Smith (BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, Olly Smith’s Home Cocktail Bible); author, actor & MCU star Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit, Ant-Man and The Wasp); comic book legend Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Kingsman, The Originals); West End theatre star Julie Stark (Chess, Les Misérables, We Will Rock You, Sister Act); comics editor & creator David Leach (Psycho Gran, David Leach Conquers the Universe); comics PR guru Will O’Mullane (Titan Comics, Establishing Shots) and designer, artist & comics creator Kelly Yates (Amber Atoms, MonstHer, Doctor Who - Kelly also donated our annual Hard Agree Yuletide Players illustration). A Hard Agree Christmas Carol is the December 2025 edition of Hard Agree’s annual yuletide charity podcast and features Sumner and his guests performing Charles Dickens’ live version of his festive classic A Christmas Carol (in support of Comic Books for Kids).As Sumner says: “ComicBooks for Kids is a wonderful charity founded by Mark Weiss that does amazing work getting comic books into the hands of children in long-term hospital care on both sides of the Atlantic. Myself and Kenric Regan & John Horsley have always admired Dickens’ timeless seasonal message of empathy & civic responsibility, and thought ‘what better way to underline & amplify ComicBooks for Kids’ mission than to return to the words of Charles Dickens himself, the great believer in human society pulling together?’ Please visit their website CB4K.org, please check them out and please do what you can to help.”You can donate to Comic Books for Kids HERE:https://www.comicbooksforkids.org/donatestartYou can check out everything Comic Books for Kids does at these links:https://CB4K.org https://www.comicbooksforkids.org/homehttps://twitter.com/Comicbooks4kidshttps://twitter.com/CB4KUKhttps://www.facebook.com/comicbooksforkids https://www.instagram.com/cb4kuk/https://www.instagram.com/comicbooks4kids/Check out Andrew Sumer's interviews with the cast here at Hard Agree and at Forbidden Planet TV on YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLct3NgjqopMP45kVzdeb8cFsBC6G8UrPW&si=ygPvXZKTfW0bo4QeFollow Evangeline Lilly online:https://www.instagram.com/evangelinelillyofficial/Follow Michael Moorcock on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/buggerly.otherlyFollow Dave Gibbons on Instagram:https://twitter.com/davegibbons90Follow Olly Smith online:https://ollysmith.com/https://twitter.com/jollyollyhttps://www.instagram.com/ollysmith/Follow Julie Stark online:https://www.juliestark.co.uk/https://twitter.com/juliejuliestarkFollow David Leach online:https://twitter.com/davidleach2000Follow Will O’Mullane online:https://twitter.com/willomullanehttps://establishingshotcomic.wordpress.com/Follow Kelly Yates online:https://twitter.com/kellyyates_arthttps://subscribe.kellyyatesart.com/© 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this annual festive charity edition of HARD AGREE from Wednesday December 18th 2024, Andrew Sumner is joined by the merry Hard Agree Yuletide Players, all hailing from the worlds of comics, movies, TV and theatre: legendary fantasy author Michael Moorcock; BBC presenter & wine expert Olly Smith (BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, Olly Smith’s Home Cocktail Bible); author, actor & MCU star Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit, Ant-Man and The Wasp); comic book legend Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Kingsman, The Originals); West End theatre star Julie Stark (Chess, Les Misérables, We Will Rock You, Sister Act); comics editor & creator David Leach (Psycho Gran, David Leach Conquers the Universe); comics PR guru Will O’Mullane (Titan Comics, Establishing Shots) and designer, artist & comics creator Kelly Yates (Amber Atoms, MonstHer, Doctor Who - Kelly also donated our annual Hard Agree Yuletide Players illustration). A Hard Agree Christmas Carol is the December 2024 edition of Hard Agree’s annual yuletide charity podcast and features Sumner and his guests performing Charles Dickens’ live version of his festive classic A Christmas Carol (in support of Comic Books for Kids).As Sumner says: “ComicBooks for Kids is a wonderful charity founded by Mark Weiss that does amazing work getting comic books into the hands of children in long-term hospital care on both sides of the Atlantic. Myself and Kenric Regan & John Horsley have always admired Dickens’ timeless seasonal message of empathy & civic responsibility, and thought ‘what better way to underline & amplify ComicBooks for Kids’ mission than to return to the words of Charles Dickens himself, the great believer in human society pulling together?’ Please visit their website CB4K.org, please check them out and please do what you can to help.”You can donate to Comic Books for Kids HERE:https://www.comicbooksforkids.org/donatestartYou can check out everything Comic Books for Kids does at these links:https://CB4K.org https://www.comicbooksforkids.org/homehttps://twitter.com/Comicbooks4kidshttps://twitter.com/CB4KUKhttps://www.facebook.com/comicbooksforkids https://www.instagram.com/cb4kuk/https://www.instagram.com/comicbooks4kids/Follow Evangeline Lilly online:https://www.instagram.com/evangelinelillyofficial/Follow Michael Moorcock on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/buggerly.otherlyFollow Dave Gibbons on Instagram:https://twitter.com/davegibbons90Follow Olly Smith online:https://ollysmith.com/https://twitter.com/jollyollyhttps://www.instagram.com/ollysmith/Follow Julie Stark online:https://www.juliestark.co.uk/https://twitter.com/juliejuliestarkFollow David Leach online:https://twitter.com/davidleach2000Follow Will O’Mullane online:https://twitter.com/willomullanehttps://establishingshotcomic.wordpress.com/Follow Kelly Yates online:https://twitter.com/kellyyates_arthttps://subscribe.kellyyatesart.com/© 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this Christmas charity edition of HARD AGREE from Tuesday December 19th 2023, Andrew Sumner is joined by eight special guests from the worlds of comics, movies, TV and theatre: legendary fantasy author Michael Moorcock; BBC presenter & wine expert Olly Smith (BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, Olly Smith’s Home Cocktail Bible); author, actor & MCU star Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit, Ant-Man and The Wasp); comic book legend Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Kingsman, The Originals); West End theatre star Julie Stark (Chess, Les Misérables, We Will Rock You, Sister Act); comics editor & creator David Leach (Psycho Gran, David Leach Conquers the Universe); marketing guru & ComicBooks for Kids UK director Will O’Mullane (Titan Comics) and designer, artist & comics creator Kelly Yates (Amber Atoms, MonstHer, Doctor Who - Kelly also donated our annual Hard Agree Yuletide Players cartoon). A Hard Agree Christmas Carol is the December 2023 edition of Hard Agree’s annual yuletide charity podcast and features Sumner and his guests performing Charles Dickens’ live version of his festive classic A Christmas Carol (in support of Comic Books for Kids).As Sumner says: “ComicBooks for Kids is a wonderful charity founded by Mark Weiss that does amazing work getting comic books into the hands of children in long-term hospital care on both sides of the Atlantic. Myself and Kenric Regan & John Horsley have always admired Dickens’ timeless seasonal message of empathy & civic responsibility, and thought ‘what better way to underline & amplify ComicBooks for Kids’ mission than to return to the words of Charles Dickens himself, the great believer in human society pulling together?’ Please visit their website CB4K.org, please check them out and please do what you can to help.”You can donate to Comic Books for Kids HERE:https://www.comicbooksforkids.org/donatestartYou can check out everything Comic Books for Kids does at these links:https://CB4K.org https://www.comicbooksforkids.org/homehttps://twitter.com/Comicbooks4kidshttps://twitter.com/CB4KUKhttps://www.facebook.com/comicbooksforkids https://www.instagram.com/cb4kuk/https://www.instagram.com/comicbooks4kids/Follow Evangeline Lilly online:https://www.instagram.com/evangelinelillyofficial/Follow Michael Moorcock on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/buggerly.otherlyFollow Dave Gibbons on Instagram:https://twitter.com/davegibbons90Follow Olly Smith online:https://ollysmith.com/https://twitter.com/jollyollyhttps://www.instagram.com/ollysmith/Follow Julie Stark online:https://www.juliestark.co.uk/https://twitter.com/juliejuliestarkFollow David Leach online:https://twitter.com/davidleach2000Follow Will O’Mullane online:https://twitter.com/willomullanehttps://establishingshotcomic.wordpress.com/Follow Kelly Yates online:https://twitter.com/kellyyates_arthttps://subscribe.kellyyatesart.com/© 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this Yuletide charity edition of HARD AGREE from Friday December 23rd 2022, Andrew Sumner is joined by seven special guests from the worlds of comics, movies, TV and theatre: legendary fantasy author Michael Moorcock; BBC presenter & wine expert Olly Smith (BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, Olly Smith’s Home Cocktail Bible); author, actor & movie star Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit, Ant-Man and The Wasp); comic book legend Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Kingsman, The Originals); West End theatre star Julie Stark (Company, Chess, Les Misérables, We Will Rock You); comics editor & creator David Leach (Psycho Gran, David Leach Conquers the Universe) and marketing guru & ComicBooks for Kids UK director Will O’Mullane (Titan Comics). A Hard Agree Christmas Carol is the Christmas 2022 edition of Hard Agree’s annual yuletide charity podcast and features Sumner and his guests performing Charles Dickens’ live version of his Yuletide classic A Christmas Carol (in support of Comic Books for Kids). Our annual Hard Agree Players cartoon was donated by artist supreme Kelly Yates (Doctor Who, Amber Atoms, MonstHer). As Sumner says: “ComicBooks for Kids is a wonderful charity founded by Mark Weiss that does amazing work getting comic books into the hands of children in long-term hospital care on both sides of the Atlantic. Myself and my co-producers Kenric Regan & John Horsley have always admired Dickens’ timeless seasonal message of empathy & civic responsibility, and thought ‘what better way to underline & amplify ComicBooks for Kids’ mission than to return to the words of Charles Dickens himself, the great believer in human society pulling together?’ Please visit their website CB4K.org, please check them out and please do what you can to help.”You can donate to Comic Books for Kids HERE:https://www.comicbooksforkids.org/donatestartYou can check out everything Comic Books for Kids does at these links:https://CB4K.orghttps://www.comicbooksforkids.org/homehttps://twitter.com/Comicbooks4kidshttps://twitter.com/CB4KUKhttps://www.facebook.com/comicbooksforkids https://www.instagram.com/cb4kuk/https://www.instagram.com/comicbooks4kids/Follow Evangeline Lilly online:https://www.instagram.com/evangelinelillyofficial/Follow Michael Moorcock on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/buggerly.otherlyFollow Dave Gibbons on Instagram:https://twitter.com/davegibbons90Follow Olly Smith online:https://ollysmith.com/https://twitter.com/jollyollyhttps://www.instagram.com/ollysmith/Follow Julie Stark online:https://www.juliestark.co.uk/https://twitter.com/juliejuliestarkFollow David Leach online:https://twitter.com/davidleach2000Follow Will O’Mullane online:https://twitter.com/willomullanehttps://establishingshotcomic.wordpress.com/Follow Kelly Yates online:https://twitter.com/kellyyates_arthttps://subscribe.kellyyatesart.com/© 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this twenty-eighth episode of HARD AGREE from Tuesday October 18th 2022, Andrew Sumner is joined by his old comics industry pal, Professor Ed Catto. The always-cheerful-and-upbeat Ed has fulfilled many roles in the comics business: illustrator, marketeer, entrepreneur, founder & managing director at the Agendae consulting agency, co-owner of Captain Action Enterprises, pop culture columnist at Comic Mix and professor & instructor at Ithaca College. He’s also one of the nicest guys Sumner has ever met - and their freewheeling conversation in this episode covers: Ed’s diverse career history; his lifelong love of comics; working with Stan Lee; working with the Bonfire Agency; teaching at Ithaca College; working with Joe Ahearn and his business partners on Captain Action, DC Comics’ classic short-lived 1960s Captain Action series (created by Jim Shooter, Wally Wood & Gil Kane) and IDW’s beautiful collected edition of those comics (edited by the mighty Scott Dunbier), the ongoing brilliance of comics writer Mark Waid, the beauty & brilliance of James Robinson’s Starman and Giffen, DeMatteis & Maguire’s Justice League and Brubaker & Phillips’ Reckless, the majesty of Will Eisner; Michael T Gilbert’s groundbreaking research into the life of Eisner’s supernaturally-gifted letterer on The Spirit: Abe Kanegson; Ed’s own tireless work as a leading comics journalist & historian – and the power & importance of aspirational positivity.Follow Ed online:https://www.facebook.com/edcattohttps://twitter.com//EdCatto/ https://www.instagram.com/edcatto3/Read Ed’s With Further Ado column:https://popculturesquad.com/tag/with-further-ado/Check out Captain Action Enterprises:https://www.captainaction.com/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this twenty-sixth episode of HARD AGREE from Tuesday September 27th 2022, Andrew Sumner is joined by the renowned long-term president and publisher of DC Comics: Paul Levitz. Paul talks with Sumner about his unique career and his amazingly eventful 48 years on the payroll at DC, where he was involved with a massive amount of positive change that affected both DC and the entire US comics industry. Paul discusses working on DC’s war books, particularly Men of War (starring Gravedigger) and Star Spangled War Stories (starring The Unknown Soldier); enjoying My Favorite Martian and Get Smart; loving Mort Weisinger’s Superman line; working with the legendary Steve Ditko and co-creating with Steve the Prince Gavyn Starman and Stalker (inked by the unique Wally Wood); the brilliance of James Robinson’s Starman, working with his hero Will Eisner on DC’s complete The Spirit Archives; the acclaimed comic-book alumnae of DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx; working with the illustrious Joe Kubert; the importance of family life and the delights of parenthood; working with the great Gerry Conway; his long association with the Justice Society of America; the underrated-but-abiding creative power of the Milestone Comics line; the brilliance of Curt Swan; the amazing publishing team at BOOM! Studios and Ram V’s best-selling, critically-lauded The Many Deaths of Laila Starr.If you dig listening to these guys chat, you can watch another, earlier hour of conversation between Paul & Andrew at Sumner’s Forbidden Planet TV show on YouTube :https://youtu.be/bcdhgZ2c-TUFollow Paul online:https://twitter.com/paul_levitz https://www.facebook.com/paul.levitzhttps://paullevitz.com/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this twenty-sixth episode of his HARD AGREE audio podcast from Wednesday September 7th 2022, Andrew Sumner welcomes back the world’s greatest living fantasy author, Michael Moorcock, for the fourth instalment in their ongoing series of conversations about Michael’s life and work. In this wide-ranging episode (aka Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse volume IV) , Mike starts out recounting his skiffle adventures with the tea chest bass before covering off: Pete Seeger & Woody Guthrie; subscriptions to Encounter magazine; the intricacies of CIA funding; Bob Calvert, Dave Brock & Mike’s association with Hawkwind; the abiding evil of Kensington Tories, William Shatner’s interpretation of Sonic Attack; P.J. Proby reading T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land; tornado season in tornado alley; anti-Moorcock sentiment at the BBC; the secret origin of The Deep Fix, 2021’s England vs Italy result, British soccer tribalism and mayhem in London’s Frith Street. This is Moorcock’s Multiverse, we’re just living in it.Follow Michael online:https://www.facebook.com/buggerly.otherlyVisit Moorcock’s Miscellany:https://www.multiverse.org/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Michael Moorcock & Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this twenty-fifth episode of HARD AGREE from Wednesday February 16th 2022, Andrew Sumner is joined by comics columnist supreme Rich Johnston, the founder of the world’s leading comics news site Bleeding Cool. Rich has been at the top of his game for thirty years, despite starting out as the ultimate outsider, living 3000 miles away from the heart of the US publishing industry. Rich tells Sumner all about how an English bloke from West Yorkshire became the world’s foremost source of comics industry news while also namechecking some of his favorite industry figures and celebrating his undimmed love of the comics medium.Follow Rich on Twitter:https://twitter.com/richjohnston/ Follow Rich at Bleeding Cool:https://bleedingcool.com“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this special Yuletide charity edition of HARD AGREE from Thursday December 23rd 2021, Andrew Sumner is joined by four special guests from the worlds of comics, movies, TV and theatre: actor, author & movie star Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit, Ant-Man and The Wasp), comic creator Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Kingsman, The Originals), TV wine expert/author Olly Smith (BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, Olly Smith’s Home Cocktail Bible) and West End stage actress Julie Stark (Company, Les Misérables, We Will Rock You). A Hard Agree Christmas Carol is the Christmas 2021 edition of Hard Agree’s annual yuletide charity podcast and features Sumner and his guests performing Charles Dickens’ live version of his Yuletide classic A Christmas Carol (in support of the Binc Foundation’s vital comic book industry work). As Sumner says: “We’re coming to the end of another wildly-turbulent & damaging pandemic year, during which the comics industry’s all-important network of individually-owned comic book stores – the temples of pop culture in which we all worship – have remained hard hit & struggling to survive. With the Comic Book United Fund, the Binc Foundation have dedicated themselves to helping comic store employees/owners who have unforeseen emergency financial needs – and so we thought ‘what better way to underline & amplify the Binc Foundation’s mission than to return to the words of Charles Dickens himself, the great believer in human society pulling together?’”You can donate to the Binc Foundation’s Comic Book United Fund HERE:https://secure.donationpay.org/bincfoundation/ComicBookUnited.phpYou can check out everything the Binc Foundation does HERE:https://www.bincfoundation.org/Follow Dave Gibbons online:https://twitter.com/davegibbons90Follow Olly Smith online:https://ollysmith.com/https://twitter.com/jollyollyhttps://www.instagram.com/ollysmith/Follow Julie Stark online:https://www.juliestark.co.uk/https://twitter.com/juliejuliestarkVery special thanks to comics artist supreme Kelly Yates for his festive illustration of John, Kenric, Sumner, Evangeline, Dave, Olly & Julie!Art by Kelly Yates https://www.kellyyatesart.com/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this twenty-second episode of HARD AGREE from Friday October 25th 2021, Andrew Sumner is joined for a wide-ranging comics-heavy conversation with one of his all-time favorite comic book editors: artist, writer & thirteen-year Marvel Comics veteran Carl Potts. Carl joined Marvel in 1983 and, in addition to co-creating Alien Legion, he oversaw the reinvention & redevelopment of The Punisher (transforming Frank Castle from an occasional Spider-Man/Daredevil supporting player into one of the two most popular Marvel characters not created by Kirby, Ditko or Lee) and served as the executive editor/editor-in-chief of Marvel’s high-quality Epic Comics imprint from 1989. Throughout those years, Carl worked alongside many legendary comics creators, from Al Milgrom and Neal Adams to Jim Starlin, Jim Lee and the peerless Steve Ditko. Sumner and Carl talk about all of this at length before discussing Carl’s latest creative project: two beautiful volumes of Pacific Theater graphic novels that he’s creating with artist Bill Reinhold - The Flying Column and Guests of the Emperor - inspired by Carl’s family’s unique experiences during WWII.Follow Carl online:https://www.facebook.com/cpotts1https://twitter.com/cpotts1https://www.instagram.com/potts4751“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

Whenever Sumner gets asked “who’s the most talented person you’ve ever worked with?” there’s only one answer: “Rob Biddulph.” Back when they worked together in the magazine biz, Rob was an innovative, multi-award-winning art director (responsible for zeitgeist-defining titles like SKY and the NME before his storied run on the Observer Magazine). Now Rob’s an innovative, multi-award-winning and wildly-successful children’s author/illustrator and no-one could deserve that success more. Because, as you’ll hear in this edition of Hard Agree from Friday October 1st 2021, Rob Biddulph isn’t just an amazing talent, he’s a genuinely nice guy who truly believes in community - the architect of the immensely popular #DrawWithRob, a series of twice-weekly draw-along videos designed to help parents whose children were forced to stay home from school due to the coronavirus pandemic - now used as a learning resource by thousands of families across the globe. Check out Rob’s website here:http://www.robbiddulph.com/Check out #DrawWithRob here:http://www.robbiddulph.com/draw-with-robCheck out Rob’s books here:http://www.robbiddulph.com/booksFollow Rob online:https://www.facebook.com/robbiddulphauthorhttps://twitter.com/RobBiddulphhttps://www.instagram.com/rbiddulph/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this twentieth episode of HARD AGREE from Wednesday September 2nd 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes back the world’s greatest living fantasy author, Michael Moorcock, for the latest instalment in their ongoing series of conversations about Michael’s life and work. In this third episode, Sumner & Moorcock discuss Mike’s battles with WH Smith about John Norman’s Gor; puritanical America; the artistry of CC Beck and Mac Raboy - and the brilliance/anti-capitalism of Fawcett Publications’ Captain Marvel; thanking Paul Levitz; the one-world idealism of the UK’s Eagle comic; Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors in North Hollywood; fake beer expertise and Michael’s friendship & adventures with the late Harlan Ellison. This is Moorcock’s Multiverse, we’re just living in it.Follow Michael online:https://www.facebook.com/buggerly.otherlyVisit Moorcock’s Miscellany:https://www.multiverse.org/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Michael Moorcock & Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this nineteenth episode of HARD AGREE from Monday September 6th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes his old friend Mark Askwith. Mark’s done it all and interviewed everyone in the pop culture sphere over the last thirty years. After starting out in the late 80s publishing scene (like Sumner himself - but 3,000 miles further west, in Toronto), Mark managed the hugely-influential Silver Snail comic book store in Ontario, before co-writing the comic book sequel to The Prisoner TV show - Shattered Visage - with Dean Motter in 1988. The next year, Mark became a full time TV producer and writer, co-creating and launching the long running Canadian pop culture show Prisoners of Gravity, before spending 20 years as one of the founding producers of Space, Canada’s equivalent to the Sci-Fi Channel. Over those two decades, Mark got to meet, befriend and hang out with some of global popular culture’s most influential creators – and he’s here to tell Sumner all about it (in between lengthy bouts of celebrating their mutual pop culture obsessions).Check out Mark’s entry at Wikipedia here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_AskwithCheck out Mark’s IMDB entry here:https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0039497/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this eighteenth episode of HARD AGREE from Sunday August 15th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes comics writer/illustrator John K Snyder III. Possessed of a unique style that’s both ethereal and hyper-real, that lends itself to hardboiled noir and fantasy, John has spent 35 years super-delivering in both genres (and sometimes jamming them both together). Sumner & Snyder spend a couple of hours walking through John’s storied career, beginning with Fashion in Action and Matt Wagner’s Grendel and moving on to DC Comics’ Mr. E and Doctor Mid-Nite (again with Wagner) before discussing Snyder’s collaboration with John Ostrander on James Gunn’s favourite DC book, Suicide Squad. They close out with a deep-dive into the creation of one of Sumner’s favourite graphic novels, John’s critically-acclaimed adaptation of the great Lawrence Block’s classic Matt Scudder adventure Eight Million Ways to Die.Visit John’s website here:http://johnksnyder.com/Follow John online:https://www.instagram.com/johnksnyder3/https://twitter.com/johnksnyderIII1“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this seventeenth episode of HARD AGREE from Thursday August 5th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes award-winning musician/composer/producer Tyler Bates for a chat about his working life in music & movies. Over the last twenty years, Tyler has scored some of the most impactful Hollywood productions of the 21st century – including Watchmen, 300, Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & 2, Hobbs & Shaw, Deadpool 2 and all three John Wick movies. He’s composed music for a wide range of TV shows & video games, written & produced a bunch of top-selling rock albums and created this year’s aural Batman project Dark Nights: Death Metal. As Sumner observes, Tyler’s achieved all of that through sheer ability (wrapped in refreshing humility), an unparalleled work ethic and a positivist, talent-nurturing belief in the beauty of artistic collaboration. Tyler Bates is the real deal: a creator who believes in the beauty & diversity of art - and the talented humans who create that art, whatever form it may take.Listen to Tyler’s music here:https://open.spotify.com/artist/75fIuwXxhZ1atNzWLMrgF0?si=kWJoDktiROSHVW-lekq15g&dl_branch=1Visit Tyler’s website here:https://www.tylerbates.com/Follow Tyler online:https://twitter.com/tyler_bateshttps://www.instagram.com/tylerbatesofficial/https://www.facebook.com/TylerBatesOfficial/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this sixteenth episode of HARD AGREE from Thursday July 29th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes Mark Ditko - a successful civil engineer and the nephew of Sumner’s all-time favorite comics artist: Pennsylvania’s finest, the legendary Steve Ditko. Mark’s beloved uncle co-created, plotted & illustrated the adventures of Peter Parker, the amazing Spider-Man, across an amazing 38 issue run that’s never been equaled. Along the way, he also designed the most famous, most-instantly recognizable superhero costume of all-time, before creating Doctor Strange, The Question, Ted Kord (AKA the 1960s Blue Beetle), Captain Atom, The Hawk and the Dove, Shade the Changing Man, Mr. A and another Sumner favorite, The Creeper! Mark is the jovial keeper of the Ditko flame and the guardian of his Uncle Steve’s legacy - and he’s here to discuss many aspects of the great man’s career, to shed some light on his personal relationship with his uncle, to lay out his future publishing plans for the Ditkoverse, to update the status of certain pieces of unpublished Ditko work (long speculated about by fans) and to celebrate the launch of Johnstown PA’s Hometown Heroes: Steve Ditko Exhibition, curated by the Ditko Family and running from July 15th – Sept 11th 2021.Check out the Hometown Heroes Steve Ditko Exhibit here:http://bottleworks.org/hometown-heroes-steve-ditko-exhibit/Join Steve Ditko’s World on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/steveditkosworld“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this fifteenth episode of HARD AGREE from Wednesday July 21st 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes one of his favorite writer-artists, Matt Wagner, for a deep dive into Matt’s forty years at the top of the comics industry – from his constantly-evolving signature creations Grendel and Mage, to his love of pulp fiction and his inspired adaptations of The Shadow, The Green Hornet, Zorro & The Spirit; to his deconstruction/amplification/expansion of the pulp form’s possibilities with Vertigo’s groundbreaking Sandman Mystery Theatre (mainly illustrated by the great Guy Davis). Along the way, they also discuss Matt’s unique, evocative artwork and his many DC Universe books - including his various Batman projects, The Demon, Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman - Trinity, Madame Xanadu and Doctor Mid-Nite (co-created with upcoming guest John K Snyder III).Follow Matt online:https://www.facebook.com/matt.wagner.3158652https://www.instagram.com/mattwagnercomics/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this fourteenth episode of HARD AGREE from Thursday July 1st 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes back the world’s greatest living fantasy author, Michael Moorcock, for the latest instalment in their ongoing series of conversations about Michael’s life and work. In this second volume, Sumner & Moorcock discuss Mike’s wild ride through Hollywood – including working with Irvin Kershner, Peter Weir’s high-level conjuring ability, the limitations of Ray Harryhausen movies, Mike’s opinion of Ralph Bakshi and his rotoscoped Lord of the Rings, meeting the extremely-tall Christopher Lee, scripting The Land That Time Forgot for Amicus, the brilliance & charisma of Doug McClure, working with underrated director Kevin Connor and partying with Milton Subotsky, JG Ballard, Max J Rosenberg & John Brunner. They wrap up with a discussion of Donald A Wollheim’s massive contribution to the global fantasy genre, the unsung greatness of Piccadilly Cowboy authors George G Gilman & JT Edson – and Moorcock’s evaluation of Eric Clapton vs Eric Burdon. This is Moorcock’s Multiverse, we’re just living in it.Follow Michael online:https://www.facebook.com/buggerly.otherlyVisit Moorcock’s Miscellany:https://www.multiverse.org/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Michael Moorcock & Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this thirteenth episode of HARD AGREE from Thursday June 14th 2021, Reverend Sumner welcomes one of his closest friends, Mandy Bardisbanian, to Hard Agree. Mandy B is a tireless, take-no-prisoners, stamp-the-accelerator-to-one-hundred creativity machine. Born & raised in two of the USA’s most socially & politically conservative states, Oklahoma & Texas, Mandy B parachuted into Hollywood in 2011 without friends, a job or a place to live. Within days, she’d talked her way into a receptionist job at Hot Topic’s head office and, a fourteen years later, she’s the EVP of Licensing & Retail Development at Stryker Entertainment, married to an equally-talented wife. She’s a property developer, the dedicated foster parent to a growing army of abandoned dogs and the 4’ 9” standard-bearer for relentless hard work and empathic self-belief. Her inspiring tale is not for the faint of heart but it IS the best example Sumner knows of 21st century never-surrender self-actualization. And there’s no better person to tell that story than two-fisted Mandy B herself…Follow Mandy B online:https://www.instagram.com/mandybardisbanianhttps://twitter.com/mbardisbanian“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this twelfth episode of HARD AGREE from Friday June 18th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes John Hughes, Senior Vice President of Fan Engagement & Innovation at Rhino Entertainment – where they chat about John’s career at Rhino Records, his early years in the US Army, his friendship with the late, great Adam Schlesinger (That Thing You Do!), his long-time relationship with Sumner’s favorite band, The Monkees, producing The Monkees’ amazing comeback album Good Times! in 2016 and his trio of epic music & comics podcasts – before jumping into a deep dive with Sumner about their mutually-favorite superhero: Steve Rogers AKA Captain America.Check out John’s podcasts:The Rhino Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWEtnEiVwUy7mwFeshyAWLATotally 80s - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9m5tup6Hl5PsZqFyNWuKQABronze and Modern Gods -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkHTY1eNYHr9JoTndx_m6kA“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this eleventh episode of HARD AGREE from Monday June 14th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes the UK’s most famous TV-presenting wine connoisseur, supercharged bon viveur Olly Smith (star of BBC One’s mighty Saturday Kitchen).Sumner & Olly have a wide-ranging positivity-bomb conversation that covers Olly’s relationship with music, playing the French Horn, meeting Mike Rutherford of Genesis, Bert Kaempfert, Barenaked Ladies, Iggy Pop’s Post Pop Depression Tour, Tom Petty, the life-threatening brilliance of Condorman, the wonder of airports, lovely restaurants, fine architecture, the beauty of London, the ongoing success of Saturday Kitchen, Olly’s relationship with co-presenter Matt Tebbutt, his friendship with James Bond legend Roger Moore, his epic celebrity-laden podcast A Glass With… and - of course - some fantastic wine recommendations.Check out Olly’s website:https://www.ollysmith.com/Listen to A Glass With…https://www.aglasswith.com/Follow Olly online:https://twitter.com/jollyolly“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this tenth episode of HARD AGREE from Friday June 4th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes the world’s greatest living fantasy author, Michael Moorcock, for the first in an ongoing series of conversations about Michael’s life and work. In this debut volume, Sumner & Moorcock discuss Michael’s parents, his Dad’s regard for Arthur C Clarke, completing the most recent Elric of Melniboné novel - The City of Forgotten Myths, the beginnings of Jerry Cornelius, Michael’s great friendship with feminist author Andrea Dworkin - and they begin a discussion of Michael’s years in Hollywood that will roll into Michael's next episode. This is Moorcock’s Multiverse, we’re just living in it.Follow Michael online: https://www.facebook.com/buggerly.otherlyVisit Moorcock’s Miscellany: https://www.multiverse.org/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Michael Moorcock & Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this ninth episode of his HARD AGREE audio podcast from Wednesday May 26th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes one of the most prolific Marvel Comics writers of the 80s/90s, the always-honest and endlessly fascinating Fabian Nicieza. Fabian worked through one of Marvel’s most turbulent decades, starting in 1985 in the production department before working his way into editorial (via sales & promotions). By the time he left Marvel in 1995, he’d scripted wildly successful runs on X-Men, X-Force, Thunderbolts, New Warriors (Fabian’s personal favorite), Two Gun Kid: The Sunset Riders (Sumner’s personal favorite), co-created Deadpool, Domino, Shatterstar & Silhouette and witnessed boardroom shenanigans almost wipe Marvel off the face of the earth. Now he’s back with his phenomenally-well-reviewed crime novel Suburban Dicks - and he’s here to tell Sumner about all of it. Follow Fabian on Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/fabian.nicieza“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this eighth episode of his HARD AGREE audio podcast from Friday May 21st 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes one of the hardest-working humans he knows, celebrity agent par excellence Barry Greenberg. If you’ve ever attended a comic convention and stood in line for a celebrity signature or a celebrity photograph (or both), you have Barry to thank for making that happen. Barry’s led an incident-packed life that’s taken him from serving with the US Air Force in Panama, to building a client base like no other, to working on his latest interactive venture, Storyfile – all of which he discusses in this episode.Check out Celebrity Connection here:https://www.celebconn.com/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this seventh episode of his HARD AGREE audio podcast from Wednesday May 12th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes one of his lifelong favourite performers – and one of Hollywood's greatest-ever actors - the mighty Ed Asner, for a candid discussion of his 60-plus years onscreen, during which Ed has starred in two of the all-time great TV shows (Mary Tyler Moore and Lou Grant), won more Primetime Emmy Awards than any other male actor, starred in a wide variety of unforgettable movies (including the beloved instant classics Elf and Up), worked with a variety of entertainment legends (including John Wayne, Elvis Presley [twice], Paul Newman & Sidney Poitier), played Jack Kirby’s classic Fourth World character Granny Goodness, served as the President of the Screen Actors Guild for two terms and dedicated himself to progressive activism & numerous humanitarian charity projects – all of which Ed writes about in his biography, Son of a Junkman.“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this sixth episode of HARD AGREE from Wednesday May 5th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes legendary comics artist Brian Bolland (the definitive DC Comics artist, the definitive Judge Dredd artist and the co-creator of Camelot 3000 and Batman: The Killing Joke) to talk about the great British city of Liverpool (and his 2021 Batman-in-Liverpool cover for Forbidden Planet); Brian’s 40 years creating iconic versions of Batman, the Green Lantern Corps, The Flash & Wonder Woman for DC Comics; his creation of Camelot 3000 with Mike W Barr; the early days of Judge Dredd for 2000 AD; working with the great Alan Moore and creating their Batman masterwork The Killing Joke (including a discussion of Grant Morrison’s take on the book and Brian’s definitive, inside-track revelation of what really happens at the climax).“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this fifth episode of HARD AGREE from Wednesday April 28th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes his producers (and Spoilerverse founders) Kenric Regan & John Horsley to the show for a deep dive on the classic 1966 Batman TV series and the huge impact it had on Sumner's life. Well, that’s how their conversation starts and ends but, along the way, they detour into how Kenric & John met John Wesley Shipp; the brilliance of David Caruso & NYPD Blue; Sumner’s hugely-influential grandfather Pops Smythe; Sumner’s best-in-the-business San Diego Comic-Con booth crew; James Cucciara’s Stylin Online; gentleman actor Peter Scolari; gentleman super-agent Barry Greenberg; the one and only Adam West; the three faces of 1960s Catwoman (Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether & Eartha Kitt), Zsa Zsa Gabor and Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman.“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO Find Kenric and Johnny at the Spoilerverse on Facebook and YouTube: http://facebook.com/spoilercountry/https://youtube.com/channel/UCstl1UHQVUC85DrCagF-wuQ © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner, Kenric Regan and John Horsley. All Rights Reserved.

In this fourth episode of HARD AGREE from Wednesday April 21st 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes his old pal (and the three biggest names in noir fiction) - multi-award-winning crime writer Max Allan Collins – to discuss Max’s wildly successful career creating long-running series characters like Nathan Heller & Nolan, their work together on Max’s completion of the adventures of Mickey Spillane’s two-fisted PI hero Mike Hammer, Max’s writing style & working practice, Max’s adventures writing movie tie-in novels, the influence of music over both their lives and Max’s legendary all-star San Diego Comic-Con garage band, Seduction of the Innocent.Follow Max online:http://facebook.com/maxallancollinsofficialhttp://maxallancollins.com/blog/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this third episode of HARD AGREE from Wednesday April 14th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes The Boys creator Garth Ennis (creator of Preacher, Hitman, The Punisher and Crossed) to talk about Garth’s then-current comics projects - Jimmy’s Little Bastards and Marjorie Finnegan: Temporal Criminal – before exploring their mutual love of war comics, war movies and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2025 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this second episode of HARD AGREE from Wednesday April 7th 2021, Andrew Sumner welcomes incomparable British super-artist, the one and only Dave Gibbons (co-creator of Watchmen, Martha Washington, Rogue Trooper & Kingsman) to Hard Agree, for a freewheeling chat about Dave’s career (from the early days until now) and their mutual love of comics, with plenty of stops/detours along the way, digging into comics history & celebrating the industry titans who inspired (and continue to inspire) Dave.Find Dave online:https://twitter.com/davegibbons90https://www.facebook.com/groups/1422408991449809/“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner. All Rights Reserved.

In this introductory episode of HARD AGREE from Wednesday March 31st 2021 (recorded off the back of episode 5, Batman '66), Andrew Sumner tells his producers Kenric Regan & John Horsley the tale of his grandfather Pops Smythe buying him his first comic book in Liverpool, England when he was three years old. Sumner spent the next fifty years hurtling around the pop culture kaleidoscope - first as a fan and then as a journalist, editor, publisher & presenter. Along the way, he met a bunch of interesting people who’ll be joining him here: creators, performers, professionals & public servants. We live in divisive, fractured times but art & popular culture connect people from all viewpoints and from all walks of life. Sumner’s fascinated by the passions people share & enjoy, that they can set aside their differences for and agree on, whatever those passions are (whether he shares them or not). And that spark, that moment of instinctive connective agreement, is what Sumner calls a Hard Agree.“Golden – The Hard Agree Theme” written and recorded for the podcast by DENIO Find Kenric and Johnny at the Spoilerverse on Facebook and YouTube: http://facebook.com/spoilercountry/https://youtube.com/channel/UCstl1UHQVUC85DrCagF-wuQ © 2021-2026 Andrew Sumner, Kenric Regan and John Horsley. All Rights Reserved.