What is DC Comics’ MOST *BRUTAL* GANGSTER Neo-Noir Dystopian SciFi COMIC BOOK of All Time, You Ask?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 มี.ค. 2024
- Chris and Steven descend into the fetid futuristic cesspool of gangsterism and “a little of the old ultraviolence” that is SKREEMER (DC Comics, 1989), a brutal neo-noir postapocalyptic science fiction comic that makes A CLOCKWORK ORANGE look G-rated*. An explosive precursor to Vertigo Comics, this 2000 AD-adjacent series was created by Peter Milligan, Brett Ewins, and Steve Dillion.
* Please Note: Our YT video imagery displays comparatively tame examples of SKREEMER art in order to respect YT guidelines concerning violence and graphic content.
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions) in a weekly podcast format. Screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) & Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.
SHOW NOTES
02:16 - A brief introduction to the world of SKREEMER - somewhere between James Joyce’s FINNEGAN’S WAKE and Stanley Kubrick’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
12:08 - Celebrating the ahead of its time design of the logo and covers for SKREEMER. These are “pop comics.”
13:56 - An attempt to summarize the overarching narrative of SKREEMER
37:47 - Why you ought to buy the original floppies of SKREEMER (almost no ads!)
40:10 - The groundbreakingly transgressive nature of SKREEMER
40:42 - Dense, substantial storytelling in SKREEMER - a mark of the days before “decompressed stories”
53:47 - The poetry of Pete Milligan. Purple prose or evocative writing?
1:01:17 - Exploring the racial and sexual politics of SKREEMER
1:20:43 - The art of Brett Ewins and Steve Dillon on SKREEMER vs. Steve Dillon’s art on PREACHER; also, a discussion of Dillon’s early UK work for 2000 AD and DEADLINE magazine
1:22:44 - The extraordinary, nuanced, and sophisticated coloring choices of Tom Ziuko
1:40:19 - The modern day relevance of Vito’s evil masterplan
1:50:29 - Spoiler warning for Warren Ellis and John Cassaday’s PLANETARY (skip ahead 30 seconds if you haven’t read it!)
1:52:37 - Further discussion of the depiction of women and people of color in SKREEMER
1:57:02 - EC Comics’ “Judgement Day!” by Ray Bradbury, Al Feldstein, and Joe Orlando
2:16:58 - Final thoughts on the wildly ambitious SKREEMER - its place in the ‘80s comics canon and why it matters
2:25:50 - Grant Morrison and his love for the writings of Pete Milligan, specifically Vertigo’s ENIGMA
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#dccomics #2000ad #bronzeagecomics #alanmoore - บันเทิง
🎙 SHOW NOTES
Chris and Steven descend into the fetid futuristic cesspool of gangsterism and “a little of the old ultraviolence” that is SKREEMER (DC Comics, 1989), a noir-styled postapocalyptic science fiction comic that makes A CLOCKWORK ORANGE look G-rated*. An explosive precursor to Vertigo Comics, this 2000 AD-adjacent series was created by Peter Milligan, Brett Ewins, and Steve Dillion.
* Please Note: Our YT video imagery displays comparatively tame examples of SKREEMER art in order to respect YT guidelines concerning violence and graphic content.
⏱ TIMESTAMPS
02:16 - A brief introduction to the world of SKREEMER - somewhere between James Joyce’s FINNEGAN’S WAKE and Stanley Kubrick’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
12:08 - Celebrating the ahead of its time design of the logo and covers for SKREEMER. These are “pop comics.”
13:56 - An attempt to summarize the overarching narrative of SKREEMER
37:47 - Why you ought to buy the original floppies of SKREEMER (almost no ads!)
40:10 - The groundbreakingly transgressive nature of SKREEMER
40:42 - Dense, substantial storytelling in SKREEMER - a mark of the days before “decompressed stories”
53:47 - The poetry of Pete Milligan. Purple prose or evocative writing?
1:01:17 - Exploring the racial and sexual politics of SKREEMER
1:20:43 - The art of Brett Ewins and Steve Dillon on SKREEMER vs. Steve Dillon’s art on PREACHER; also, a discussion of Dillon’s early UK work for 2000 AD and DEADLINE magazine
1:22:44 - The extraordinary, nuanced, and sophisticated coloring choices of Tom Ziuko
1:40:19 - The modern day relevance of Vito’s evil masterplan
1:50:29 - Spoiler warning for Warren Ellis and John Cassaday’s PLANETARY (skip ahead 30 seconds if you haven’t read it!)
1:52:37 - Further discussion of the depiction of women and people of color in SKREEMER
1:57:02 - EC Comics’ “Judgement Day!” by Ray Bradbury, Al Feldstein, and Joe Orlando
2:16:58 - Final thoughts on the wildly ambitious SKREEMER - its place in the ‘80s comics canon and why it matters
2:25:50 - Grant Morrison and his love for the writings of Pete Milligan, specifically Vertigo’s ENIGMA
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions) in a weekly podcast format. Screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) & Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.
This book came out during a bonkers period. Batman The Cult and Longbow Hunters were pretty fresh. Hellblazer was hitting its stride. Lobo was the hot new thing. And Screemer came in prestige format. I read the first few, but I remember finding it excessively graphic.
Yup, “bonkers” is the perfect word. Mid to late ‘80s is my favorite period for DC. Post-DARK KNIGHT and WATCHMEN, there were a few years there where they put out some truly wild stuff - like the comics you mentioned, plus SKREEMER and also WASTELAND (another comic we may cover soon). And yeah, haha, I get why you bailed on SKREEMER - as we discuss, it is a highly disturbing story. Thanks for listening and commenting! - Steven
Yes, PLEASE do a video on The First Kingdom!!! It is an incredible and unique comic.
Yeah, agreed! It’s an amazing comic and we are definitely making a video on it… Stay tuned. Jack Katz is the man!!
- Steven
Peter Milligan is my favorite comic writer, beating out even Mike Baron by a little bit. Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman are okay, at least their early work. Grant Morrison wouldn’t have a career without Milligan to swipe from, the less said about him the better.
I don’t think I have ever seen Skreemer discussed before, let alone at length, very, very cool!
If you want more great 80s material... Check out Milligan and McCarthy's Skin. It's one of the most diffcult and raw comics ever published, they had trouble finding a publisher, and when Tundra finally published, they had difficulty finding a printer who would print the comic. Their comics Freakwave (serialized In Pacific Comics Vanguard, and Eclipse Comics Stange Days) and Paradax (published by Vortex Comics and also in Strange Days) are also fun 80s greatness.
If you want something more mainstream, his 70 issue run on Shade: The Changing Man (where Chris Bachalo cut his professional teeth) was one of the comics that inspired DC to formalized the Berger books as Vertigo.
Also I should mention: Some of Milligan's superhero work feels phoned in, so don't prioritize it. X-Statix, which is a competent take on the Youngblood celebrity superhero concept is a notable exception, it's a really good read.
However, the non-cape mini-series he has written for a variety of publishers over the decade are almost uniformly fantastic and original.
I really respect Peter Milligan being your favorite comic book writer. He is so supremely underrated that it’s not even funny. He’s one of the very best least talked about writers out there. We were so happy to shine a light on his writing, in depth - it’s such extraordinary work and truly deserving of more discussion/analysis. From ENIGMA to GIRL to ROGAN GOSH to any of the books you mentioned… I’m also familiar with SKIN. I read that when I was a kid and it was so damn heavy. Btw, we have plans to do an episode on STRANGE DAYS (including PARADAX) at some point - I love the Milligan/McCarthy team SO MUCH. And while we can agree to disagree about Grant Morrison, haha, you’ll be happy to know that Milligan and Bachalo’s SHADE THE CHANGING MAN is most definitely going to be covered on our show in the near future! Please stay tuned and keep the suggestions coming - thank you for the comment!
- Steven
Eastman and Laird Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should be on y'all's list!
Yeah, for sure! Would love to cover those early black & white issues. Thank you, great idea! - Steven
💬 TELL US
❓What other titles besides SKREEMER paved the way for Vertigo Comics at DC? Any others you’d like us to spotlight? Let us know!
The Invisibles.
THE INVISIBLES is one of my favorite comics ever - we will definitely be covering it! Thanks for the comment! - Steven
@@piotrd7355The Invisibles was early Vertigo, but it was after the line was established. The Morrison book that was most foundational pre-Vertigo was his reboot of Kid Eternity in a 3 issue prestige format mini-series.
@@RarebitFiends Hey, I just noticed your comment! Yes, thank you for the clarification that THE INVISIBLES was indeed a part of Vertigo proper. The KID ETERNITY reboot is a perfect example of a book that laid the pre-Vertigo groundwork; I haven’t looked at that series for like 20 years - would be curious to revisit it now. - Steven
You're Steven who??...
Lol...
Great video...
Subscribed...
Thanks for subscribing… Glad you enjoyed the show!
Oh, and you can see my last name in the episode descriptions or if you turn on the subtitles. :)
- Steven