Comics A-Z Podcast

About Comics A-Z Podcast

COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Like an encyclopedia but it's a podcast. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry. Hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated, and TV Comics. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. Kevin was also the Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic, card, and toy distributor in the country, and the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic merchandise. Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer. Thank you to our sponsor, the SantaBarbaraMint.com This podcast is made by humans. © Kevin Cleary 2025

Publisher

ComicsA-ZPodcast

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Dec 2025

Latest episode

16 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

36 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   16 Oct 2026

   J is for James Bond - The Spy Who Conquered Comics

   J is for James Bond - The Spy Who Conquered Comics The history of Bond comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels offers a fascinating look at the evolution of the comics business itself. It encompasses the British newspaper tradition, American comic-book publishing, the influence of Hollywood, the emergence of licensed entertainment properties, and the changing standards of violence, sexuality, and political representation in popular entertainment. Unlike superheroes, who often maintain a recognizable identity across generations of creators, James Bond has always been a licensed character whose portrayal depends upon a delicate balance between the original literary creation and the demands of contemporary audiences. His comic-book history is therefore not simply a collection of illustrated spy stories. It is a record of how one of the twentieth century's most influential fictional characters adapted to changing media and international markets. Recommended reading list for this episode: James Bond Warren Ellis Collection Ian Fleming's JAMES BOND Signature Comic Strip Collection Vol1 Coming from Titan Publishing in February of 2027. This is going to be great! The Complete James Bond: Goldfinger - The Classic Comic Strip Collection The Complete James Bond: Octopussy - The Classic Comic Strip Collection James Bond: Spectre: The Complete Comic Strip Collection From Blofeld to Moneypenny: Gender in James Bond The James Bond Omnibus 003 The James Bond Omnibus 004 The James Bond Omnibus 005 The James Bond Omnibus 006 All in Color for a Dime — David G. Hartwell, editor Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerard Jones Comic Book Nation by Bradford Wright The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu One the best books about comics ever! COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry. COMIC A-Z is hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated Comics, and TV Comics.  Kevin was also the Sales Director for the Dream Factory chain of 22 stores and Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic book, trading card, and toy distributor in the country. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. He was the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic book related merchandise. He even wrote THE MUNSTERS from TV Comics. Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer. This podcast is made by humans. Accept no substitutes. © Kevin Cleary 2026

2. 

   7 Oct 2026

   I is for Ibis the Invincible Magic, Myth, and the Golden Age of Comics

   I is for Ibis the Invincible - Magic, Myth, and the Golden Age of Comics Among the more successful of the less-remembered characters of the Golden Age of Comics was Ibis the Invincible, a magical adventurer published by Fawcett Comics beginning in 1940. He was not simply another Superman imitation. Ibis belonged to an older tradition of supernatural heroes that included comic-strip magician Mandrake the Magician, pulp occultists, stage magicians and the fantasy literature of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. What made him distinctive was the peculiar mixture of ancient Egyptian mythology, superhero action and contemporary American crime fighting that Fawcett created around him. Recommended reading list for this episode: Ibis The Invincible #1: The Miracle Man In Golden Age Comic Action Whiz Comics #154 HardPress Vintage Comic Book Collection KINDLE EDITION  only $3.99! The Golden Age of Comic Books: 365 Days — By Les Daniels and Chip Kidd The Fawcett Companion: The Best of FCA — P. C. Hamerlinck, editor Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History by Mike Benton The Comic-Book Book — Don Thompson & Dick Lupoff, editors All in Color for a Dime — David G. Hartwell, editor The Encyclopedia of American Comics — edited by Ron Goulart The Art of the Comic Book: An Aesthetic History — Robert C. Harvey Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerard Jones Comic Book Nation by Bradford Wright The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu One the best books about comics ever! COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry. COMIC A-Z is hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated Comics, and TV Comics.  Kevin was also the Sales Director for the Dream Factory chain of 22 stores and Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic book, trading card, and toy distributor in the country. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. He was the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic book related merchandise. He even wrote issue #4 of THE MUNSTERS from TV Comics. Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer. This podcast is made by humans. Accept no substitutes. © Kevin Cleary 2026

3. 

   2 Oct 2026

   H is for Burne Hogarth - From Tarzan to Teacher

   H is for Burne Hogarth - From Tarzan to Teacher Few artists in the history of the American newspaper comic strip approached their subject with the combination of theatricality, anatomical precision, classical training, and sheer visual energy possessed by Burne Hogarth. For millions of readers, Hogarth's name became inseparable from Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs's legendary jungle hero. Yet Hogarth was considerably more than an illustrator of an established character. He was an artist who regarded the comic strip as a legitimate form of visual storytelling, an educator who helped shape generations of commercial artists, and a theorist whose books on anatomy and drawing became standard references for artists long after his newspaper work had ended. Recommended reading list for this episode: Dynamic Anatomy by Burne Hogarth Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth Drawing Dynamic Hands by Burne Hogarth Dynamic Light and Shade by Burne Hogarth Drawing the Human Head by Burne Hogarth Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery by Burne Hogarth The Arcane Eye of Hogarth by Burne Hogarth Tarzan - In The City of Gold (Vol. 1): The Complete Burne Hogarth Sundays and Dailies Library Tarzan - Versus The Barbarians (Vol. 2) The Complete Burne Hogarth Sundays and Dailies Library Tarzan - and the Lost Tribes (Vol. 4) The Complete Burne Hogarth Sundays and Dailies Library Tarzan - Tarzan and the Adventurers (Vol. 5) The Complete Burne Hogarth Sundays and Dailies Library Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan: Burne Hogarth's Lord of the Jungle The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics — edited by Bill Blackbeard and Martin Williams The Encyclopedia of American Comics — edited by Ron Goulart Children of the Yellow Kid: The Evolution of the American Comic Strip by Robert C Harvey The Art of the Comic Book: An Aesthetic History — Robert C. Harvey Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerard Jones Comic Book Nation by Bradford Wright The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu COMICS A-Z is the podcast that showcases the history of sequential art: comic books, comic strips, the characters, their creators, one letter at a time. Each episode highlights an interesting aspect of the long history of comics, as a creative medium and a growing industry. COMIC A-Z is hosted by Kevin Cleary, a former executive with First Comics, Classics Illustrated Comics, and TV Comics.  Kevin was also the Sales Director for the Dream Factory chain of 22 stores and Purchasing Director for Heroes World Distribution, the 3rd largest comic book, trading card, and toy distributor in the country. Kevin was an advisor to the Overstreet Price Guide, The Overstreet Premium Ring Guide and a columnist/feature writer for the Comic's Buyers Guide, Overstreet Monthly, and Wizard Magazine. He was the founder of Quantum Licensing, a company that produced pins, rings, and other licensed comic book related merchandise. He even wrote issue #4 of THE MUNSTERS from TV Comics. Kevin currently works in Hollywood as a literary manager and occasional producer. This podcast is made by humans. Accept no substitutes. © Kevin Cleary 2026

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

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Guest appearances

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.