In The Shadow Of Stalin With Andrea Chalupa

Here are the full radio episodes of my top 5 sci-fi clasisic dramas 

This Halloween, Word Balloon heads back to the golden age of radio for a special countdown of my Top 5 Sci-Fi Old Time Radio Show Adaptations — stories that defined cosmic horror and speculative imagination long before television ever caught up.We’ll explore chilling classics like Ray Bradbury’s “Mars Is Heaven” and “Zero Hour,” the unnerving double-life tale “Marionettes, Inc.”, the surreal mystery of “The Junkyard,” and James Blish’s haunting micro-evolution fable “Surface Tension.” This episode features authentic audio clips from each of these legendary radio adaptations — the sounds, the voices, and the atmosphere that made 1950s sci-fi radio unforgettable.And stay tuned — a follow-up episode will present each of these radio shows in their entirety, so you can experience the full broadcasts as they were originally heard. It’s a celebration of science fiction, suspense, and Halloween chills 

Welcome back, everybody — it’s Word Balloon, the comic book conversation show. I’m your host, John Siuntres. Today, I’m catching up with one of the busiest and most inventive creators in comics right now — Tony Fleecs. You know him from his breakout hit Stray Dogs, and now he’s back building on that legacy with not one, but two killer new creator-owned projects — Feral and Uncanny Valley. Feral takes the “cute-meets-terrifying” idea from Stray Dogs and turns it loose in a whole new world — a horror-survival story about cats, secrets, and survival that’s every bit as emotional as it is brutal. Meanwhile, Uncanny Valley dives into something totally different — a wild, imaginative blend of cartoon logic and family mystery, about a kid discovering he’s literally part-animated in a world that doesn’t make sense. It’s heartfelt, it’s weird, and it might be Tony’s most ambitious story yet.But that’s not all — Tony’s also been flexing his storytelling muscles over at Marvel. He’s got the Omega Kids X-men mini series, a brand-new Winter Break Special, and the Thing mini-series that digs deep into Ben Grimm’s humanity with that signature mix of humor and heart.We’ll talk about balancing the Marvel work with creator-owned books, how he builds tone between horror, humor, and heroism, and what it’s like to be one of the few creators who can make you cry over cats and cheer for the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing — all in the same year. It’s Tony Fleecs — back on Word Balloon — stick around, this one’s a great conversation.

A Halloween Special...Welcome to Word Balloon Theater, where we bring classic radio and record drama back to life — only this time, I’m part of the cast. On this episode, we step into a smoky pool hall, straight out of a 1950s crime picture. I’m your host, John Siuntres, playing opposite one of Hollywood’s great voices — Don Ameche.You know Ameche from his Oscar-winning performance in Cocoon, his sharp comic timing in Trading Places, and a career that stretched from golden-age radio to the silver screen. This scene comes from his 1958 Roulette Records album, Co-Star: The Record Acting Game — a clever concept that let fans play a speaking role opposite their favorite stars.In this track, Ameche plays a streetwise hustler working his angles over a crooked game of pool. So chalk up your cue, light a Lucky, and take a seat by the jukebox. You’re about to hear a slice of mid-century cool — Don Ameche and John Siuntres in “The Pool Hall.”This… is Word Balloon Theater.

On this episode of The To The Outer Limits, we review  “The Sixth Finger.”Joining me are storytellers Gabriel Hardman, Jeff Parker, and Ande Parks.t’s the story that dared to ask what happens when humanity fast-forwards its own evolution—and the answer, as usual, isn’t pretty. Starring a young David McCallum years before The Man from U.N.C.L.E., this 1963 classic turns the lab experiment trope into a gothic tragedy, complete with telepathy, hubris, and a proto–Professor X look that must have haunted comic readers who saw it first-run. Joining me for the discussion are three of my favorite storytellers who know a thing or two about pushing human potential to the breaking poin Together we’ll talk about the episode’s influence on pop culture and comics—from McCallum’s transformation makeup to its echoes in The X-Men, Planet of the Apes, and every “science-goes-too-far” story that followed.

Before Watchmen shocked readers with the idea of a staged alien invasion meant to unite humanity, The Outer Limits had already explored that same chilling premise more than two decades earlier. “The Architects of Fear,” one of the series’ most haunting episodes, aired in 1963 at the height of Cold War anxiety. In it, a group of idealistic scientists concoct a desperate plan to save the world from nuclear annihilation by creating a common enemy—an extraterrestrial threat—through grotesque transformation and deception.The story’s moral gravity and tragic human core—anchored by Robert Culp’s anguished performance—make it an emotional blueprint for Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen. Where Moore’s Adrian Veidt executes his plan with cold perfection, The Outer Limits delivers the same concept as human tragedy rather than triumph. It’s a tale not about success, but about sacrifice and futility—a broadcast parable warning that even the noblest lies can’t save us from ourselves.

Wayne and I discuss the story so far, plus wayne's take on Starflet academy's trailer and the SNW season 4 teaser 

In this Scene Missing panel, we dive deep into the 1972 made-for-TV movie Gargoyles — a cult classic that helped define the early wave of ’70s creature features. Joining the discussion are Gabriel Hardman, Jeff Parker, Ian Brill, and Allison Baker, each bringing their sharp insight into the film’s production, themes, and its influence on modern genre storytelling.The panel explores the film’s eerie desert setting and its surprising critical success, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup that launched the career of Stan Winston, who went on to create the iconic creatures of Aliens and Predator. We spotlight the performances of Cornel Wilde as anthropologist Mercer Boley, Jennifer Salt (Sisters, Soap) as his daughter Diana, and Bernie Casey as the noble Gargoyle leader — one of television’s earliest sympathetic monster roles. We also examine the creative team behind the movie: director Bill L. Norton, later known for Cisco Pike and Law & Order, and writer-producers Steve and Elinor Karpf, who blended mythology, horror, and social reflection into an unexpectedly thoughtful TV thriller.

Comics writer and cartoonist Kyle Starks joins me to talk about his brand-new Image Comics series, Wrestle Heist — a wild blend of pro-wrestling spectacle and fast-paced crime caper energy. We get into how the idea came together, his trademark mix of humor and heartfelt chaos, and what makes this book stand apart from his previous creator-owned hits.Kyle also discusses his recent work writing Peacemaker for DC’s Black Label, sharing how he brought his offbeat humor and emotional grit to one of DC’s most unpredictable antiheroes. He teases his upcoming Vertigo series debuting next year, which pushes him into darker, more character-driven territory while still keeping his sharp dialogue and storytelling muscle.Plus, we dig into the next wave of creator-owned projects he’s got cooking — from new collaborations to long-planned solo works that show just how versatile and fearless he’s become as a writer.

In part two, writer B. Clay Moore dives into his latest creator-owned projects — the gritty 1970s crime saga Last Flight Out of Wichita from DSTLRY, and the political-horror series Bloodland (Vampires in the White House) from Ignition Press. Plus Netflix is makinga John Cena movie based on Clay and Jeremy Haun's 2007 comic The Leading Man Moore talks about chasing new stories, creative freedom, and pushing beyond the superhero mainstream into bold new worlds.