295: The Trials of Nasty Tales

The hardest working man in British comics returns, Tony Esmond guides me through the history of underground comics and some of the legal difficulties they encountered in the early 1970s. The Trials of Nasty Tales is a 1973 British anthology comic that covers one of the court cases in madcap detail, and it features an early appearance by Dave Gibbons.

Find Tony at NeverIronAnything.com including our Never Iron Anything episode about Gerald Scarfe, you can buy Tony's own comics at Tribute Press, and listen in to the weekly Awesome Comics Podcast which has recently celebrated 500 episodes.

You can find a list of all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and BlueSky. And email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com

Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.

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294: Judge Dredd The Movie

Conrad Leiden joins me to discuss the 30th anniversary edition of the adaptation of the Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd movie. Find Conrad at SpaceSpinner2000.com and BigMegOne.com

You can find a list of all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and BlueSky. And email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com

Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.

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293: City of the Damned

Dave Wynn makes his third visit to the book club to discuss the Judge Dredd epic that sort of tapered out, and even got lost in a pub. We chat about City of the Damned, four great artists, and what makes a good epic. You can find this story in Case Files vol 8 and read more about the lost and found Steve Dillon artwork at Comic Book Resources.

You can buy the Henge comic with Boo Cook cover here, and their album here. The Strange Days festival takes place in September 2025 and features both Henge and Crab.

You can find a list of all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and BlueSky. And email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com

Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.

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292: Grandville

Alan Fisher joins the five star club as he returns to discuss the collected edition of Bryan Talbot's five Grandville stories. Order your copy of the collected Grandville adventures, and look out for the forthcoming prequel series about Stamford Hawksmoor.

If you want one of the few remaining Johnny Alpha statues contact Alan through Fish Collectibles.

You can find a list of all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and BlueSky. And email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com

Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.

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291: Cover Story. The 2000AD Design Art of Robin Smith

Jon Hymus has come back with a belter of a book from 2000AD. Join us as we marvel over the contributions of Robin Smith to the golden age of the galaxy's greatest comic.

And send your votes for the top ten best prog covers of all time to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com
The results will be revealed in episode 300!

You can find a list of all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and BlueSky. And email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com

Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.

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290: Born Again into a Brave New World

Movie time! We have seen Captain America: Brave New World and the first three episodes of Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+. Very mild spoilers for the rather dull film but nothing you haven't already seen in the trailers.

Most importantly, both Space Spinner 2000 and the Big Meg One are back. Get them back in your podcast apps.

You can find a list of all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and BlueSky. And email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com

Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.

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289: The Drunken Bakers

Brian Walsh is back in the book club, and he's brought cake! We discuss the history of Viz and the existential comedy of the Drunken Bakers by Barney Farmer and Lee Healey. I wouldn't touch that Battenberg sponge if I were you.

You can find Brian's own artwork on his website, and on Instagram and Facebook.

You can find a list of all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and BlueSky. And email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.com

Music used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub.

Click here to listen to the episode online.
Or Download here
Right click and choose save link as to download to your computer.