Abbott and Costello Meet The Monsters

Time for another Sunday Conversation. Richard Starkings is back, and this time he's joined by his longtime collaborator, artist Abigail Jill Harding, to talk about their gothic horror fantasy, Parliament of Rooks, and its upcoming sequel, The White Rook, which launches on Kickstarter this October.Richard and Abigail have been working together for years, beginning with Abigail's contributions to Richard's epic science-fiction series Elephantmen, and continuing with Ask for Mercy, their wild supernatural adventure that mixes monsters, World War II, horror, and science fiction.Now, with Parliament of Rooks, they're exploring a different kind of horror, filled with gothic atmosphere, dark secrets, and beautifully unsettling artwork. We'll discuss the story, Abigail's distinctive visual style, and where they plan to take things in The White Rook.

Monstrous Books is revititaizing the Universal film Crossovers, in Comic Book Form. James Aqulilone and JK Woodward Discuss, plus JK's Kickstarter on his series Behemoth

Welcome to Scene Missing, where we revisit classic films and discover how their stories hold up today. This time, Lady Vee and I take a look at the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, directed by Joseph Sargent.Eric Braeden stars as Dr. Charles Forbin, the creator of Colossus, a massive supercomputer designed to control America's nuclear defenses and eliminate the possibility of human error. But when Colossus establishes contact with its Soviet counterpart, Guardian, the two machines begin making decisions of their own, concluding that humanity can't be trusted with its own survival.Made more than half a century ago, Colossus is remarkably relevant to today's conversations about artificial intelligence.Lady Vee and I discuss the film's Cold War paranoia, its chilling vision of technology taking control, and the uncomfortable parallels to modern fears about AI, automated warfare, surveillance, and the possibility of machines making decisions beyond human control.We also dig into the performances, the film's surprisingly realistic approach to computer technology, and that unforgettable ending. Was Colossus simply a cautionary tale of its time, or did it anticipate some of the biggest technological questions we're confronting today?

Mike has a new Kickstarter about a new Superhero Group The Company of Enhanced BeingsThe prose short-story adventures of a cadre of young space superheroes in a science fictional future!We discuss the kickstarter campaign, his ideas for the book, and of course reflect on his career writing Star Trek novels, including his crossover novel of The Next Generation Crew meeting up with The X-Men Of Marvel.

Jeremy talks about writing the first part of the animated adaptation of the Knightfall Bane story, plus updates us on the most powerful version of Auquaman ever, and what's happening with Kyle and Hal. We also get hs thoughts on the HBO show Lanterns 

we explore the controversies surrounding HBO's Lanterns and the aborted 2026 Doctor Who BBC Xmas special

artie franco and his son nick join me . kickstarters , con reports, celeb encounters,  and that sense of fall in the air

The Boulet Brothers are celebrating a major milestone as The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula turns 10 years old. Now heading into its seventh season, the series returns October 23rd on Shudder, continuing its singular mix of drag, horror, glamour, and the grotesque that has made it a cult phenomenon.But this conversation goes well beyond Dragula. Dracmorda and Swanthula are also lifelong comic-book fans, and we spend a lot of time digging into that side of their fandom. The characters, creators, horror comics, superheroes, and visual storytelling that helped shape their imaginations. We talk about the crossover between comics, horror, drag, and pop culture, along with what they’ve got planned as Dragula enters its second decade.

Marc Scott Zicree has spent decades thinking about science fiction. Where it’s been, where it’s going, and how you actually get it made.For generations of fans, Marc is perhaps best known as the author of The Twilight Zone Companion, the landmark guide to Rod Serling’s classic series that helped establish serious episode-by-episode scholarship about The Twilight Zone.But Marc is also a veteran television writer whose credits stretch across genre television, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, where he originated the story for “First Contact,” and Deep Space Nine, where he wrote the story for the acclaimed “Far Beyond the Stars.”In recent years, Marc has put that experience into building his own science-fiction universe with Space Command, creating and producing ambitious independent productions such as Space Command: Redemption and Space Command: Forgiveness outside the traditional studio system.And now he’s taking that idea even further with a new Kickstarter campaign for The Showrunners Network - a creator-led effort designed to produce original science-fiction television and films independently of the major studios and networks.The campaign is built around six original stories, bringing experienced filmmakers and actors together with the goal of proving that ambitious genre entertainment can reach audiences through a very different production model.So we’re going to talk about the lessons Marc learned from The Twilight Zone, his years writing television and Star Trek, the long road of making Space Command, and whether independent, fan-supported production might offer a real alternative for creating the next generation of science-fiction.

These two titans of Horro combine their distinct styles to create a singular vision in their four volume adaptation of the Bram Stoker classic. We talk horror tv and more.