THRILLER (DC Comics, 1983)

Comics Rot Your Brain!

Steven and Chris embark on the paradigm-shattering psychedelic trip that is the first seven issues of THRILLER — published by DC Comics in 1983 — and find themselves awestruck in its wake. One thing is certain: Trevor Von Eeden is a goddamn genius.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions). In this weekly podcast, screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) and Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.
SHOW NOTES
0:05 - Discussing our first exposure to this unsung “shock-your-brain" idea bomb of a comic
9:07 - An attempt to summarize our unwieldy pulp beast of a story, with an assist from Robert Loren Fleming, as well as discursive detours into THE SHADOW, DOC SAVAGE, and the great Richard Pryor
18:04 - Unconventional pacing in THRILLER and the powerful "delayed cumulative impact" of its story rhythms
23:20 - Novel panel compositions ("an obscene amount of panels!"), storytelling innovations, and the downright psychedelic properties of THRILLER. “…an incredible sense of discovery... Trevor Von Eeden is literally inventing new storytelling mechanics on every page." "It's impossible for us to convey verbally how inventive this guy was.”
39:27 - TVE’s atypical, kinetic, emotionally resonant approach to inking. "...no one was finishing their work with this roughness and gestural vitality... Von Eeden is all about the emotion..." With detours into the styles of Alex Toth, Neal Adams, and David Mazzuchelli
44:23 - Drawing characters "acting" without masks in non-superhero comics
50:09 - Innovation in art, from Michaelangelo to manga, Frank Miller to Steven Spielberg, and how David Mazzuchelli’s relatively small body of work that casts a huge shadow
1:30:17 - Dick Giordano’s inking of TVE, plus TVE being uniquely unrecognized for being such an absolute frickin' genius
1:37:17 - Celebrating the vibrant and unique voice of Robert Loren Fleming — way ahead of his time in his decompressed approach to comic book storytelling, as well as the bold originality of his ideas
1:38:45 - Reading from Heidi MacDonald’s amazingly astute, contemporaneous review of THRILLER from THE COMICS JOURNAL #93
1:47 - Discussing the outrageous letter column (mis)behavior of THRILLER's so-called editor, Alan Gold
1:49:34 - Back to Heidi MacDonald's absurdly prescient review, praising the overarching ambition, skill, and style of TVE
2:08:39 - Dick Giordano, TVE, and polished inks vs. holding onto the "magic" of original pencils
2:11:15 - The transcendent, beautifully progressive coloring of THRILLER; take a bow, Tom Ziuko!
2:16:04 - Discovering — in real time — how TVE’s brilliantly composed page layouts and panel compositions *really* reward repeat study! M

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Chapters

1. Our first exposure to the "unsung-shock-your-brain" idea bomb that is THRILLER (00:00:20)

2. An attempt to summarize this unwieldy pulpy beast of a story (00:09:11)

3. The "delayed cumulative impact" of its story rhythms (00:18:19)

4. Novel panel compositions ("an obscene amount of panels!"), storytelling innovations, and psychedelic properties of THRILLER (00:23:35)

5. "...No one was finishing their work with this roughness and gestural vitality... Von Eeden is all about the emotion..." (00:39:52)

6. Drawing characters "acting" without masks in nonsuperhero comics. (00:44:48)

7. Innovation in art, from Michaelangelo to manga, from Frank Miller to Steven Spielberg to David Mazzuchelli’s small body of work that casts a huge shadow (00:50:14)

8. Dick Giordano’s inking of TVE plus TVE being uniquely unrecognized for being such an absolute friggin' genius (01:30:28)

9. Recognizing Robert Loren Fleming's work — ahead of its time in its decompressed storytelling (01:37:24)

10. Reading from Heidi MacDonald’s amazingly astute, contemporaneous review of THRILLER from The Comics Journal #93 (01:38:54)

11. Discussing the outrageous letter column (mis)behavior of THRILLER's editor, Alan Gold. (01:47:07)

12. Back to Heidi MacDonald's absurdly prescient review, praising the overarching ambition, skill, and style of TVE. (01:49:40)

13. Dick Giordano, TVE, and polished inks vs holding onto the "magic" of original pencils (02:08:46)

14. The transcendent, beautifully progressive coloring of THRILLER; take a bow, Tom Ziuko (02:11:29)

15. Discovering, in real time, how TVE’s page compositions *really* reward repeat study. (02:16:29)

16. "The Chair Incident" - in conversation with Michel Fiffe, TVE recounts the depressingly racist bullshit that contributed to his departure from mainstream comics. (02:19:00)

17. The fates of innovators in the arts: TVE, Alan Moore, Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, and Orson Welles. (02:26:26)

18. Dick Giordano's shockingly candid interview with Heidi MacDonald from The Comics Journal #100 (02:51:32)