The Corner Box
Welcome to The Corner Box, where we talk about comic books as an industry and an art form. You never know where the discussion will go, or who’ll show up to join hosts David Hedgecock and John Barber. Between them they’ve spent decades writing, drawing, lettering, coloring, editing, editor-in-chiefing, and publishing comics. If you want to know the behind-the-scenes secrets—the highs and lows, the ins and outs—of the best artistic medium in the world, listen in and join the club at The Corner Box!
Episodes
89 episodes
Tyrants Fall on The Corner Box S2Ep30
Team Tyrant Fall, Max Davenport and C. Brennan Knight, join hosts John and David to talk about all things comic book, how Brennan wrote a pro-level first comic, perfecting the writing process, building the world and characters, merging traditio...
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Season 2
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Episode 30
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49:07
Todd Nauck Draws It All on the Corner Box S2 Ep29
Comic book great Todd Nauck joins the show to talk about his work on Pooluminati, Young Justice, his big break into comics, working at Extreme Studios, keeping the drive through the decades, leveling up with digital, be...
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Season 2
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Episode 29
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59:25
The Next James Bond and Creator's Get Vocal at The Corner Box S2Ep28
John and David talk about the financial struggles of comic book creators, how freelancers can effect lasting change, and the sad business practices of corporate comics companies. Also, David pays creators more than Marvel, and John writes an in...
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Season 2
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Episode 28
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31:49
Stephanie Williams' Effortless Joy on the Corner Box S2Ep27
Writer and comic historian Stephanie Williams joins the show! John and David talk with Stephanie about swapping her electron microscope for a career in comics, how the best butts in Marvel gave her a big break, increasing comics access w...
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Season 2
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Episode 27
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49:02
Tony Fleecs Gets Grimm on The Corner Box S2 Ep26
Tony Fleecs joins The Corner Box to talk about his "meteoric" rise within the industry, his upcoming work on The Thing, the lack of institutional knowledge at the "Big 2", how to create evergreen characters, focusing on creator-...
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Season 2
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Episode 26
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56:54
Pat Shand Making Outside In on The Corner Box S2Ep25
Pat Shand returns with hosts John and David to drop a metric ton of self publishing knowledge! Pat talks about finding his place in self-publishing, embracing horror and sexy comics, Kickstarter vs Direct Market publishing, and how to launch an...
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Season 2
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Episode 25
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32:39
Pat Shand Writes Everything on The Corner Box S2Ep24
Comic book disruptor and entrepreneur Pat Shand joins John and David to talk about his journey into becoming a comic book professional, comic books being a lucrative creative endeavor, working with difficult licensors, the reality of having a p...
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Season 2
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Episode 24
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31:49
Boom! Studios Elizabeth Brei Goes Gaga Over Nana on The Corner Box S2 Ep23
Elizabeth Brei returns with hosts John and David for Part 2 of this Valentine’s Day Special to talk about all things NANA, visual art choices, emotional depth in comic writing, comics that should be in print but aren’t, and Ai Yazawa’s m...
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Season 2
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Episode 23
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32:27
Boom! Studios Editor Elizabeth Brei on The Corner Box S2 Ep22
Boom! Studios Editor, Elizabeth Brei, joins the show! Elizabeth joins John and David for this Valentine’s Day Special to talk about the gatekeepers of the comics industry, where new comic readers should (and definitely shouldn’t) get sta...
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Season 2
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Episode 22
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36:04
Rich Douek is Cooking on The Corner Box S2Ep21
Writer Rich Douek (Batman, Edge of Spiderverse, Drive Like Hell, Heartpiercer) joins hosts John & David to talk about how Rich found his way into comics from prose-writing, turning ideas into stories, the ripple effects of tariffs and Diamo...
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Season 2
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Episode 21
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51:57
El Santo and the Blue Demon vs the Diamond Bankruptcy on The Corner Box S2Ep20
Episode SummaryJohn & David discuss the state of the comics industry after losing Diamond, the possible future of the TMNT license, what taxes and tariffs could mean for the industry, reminisce about their fondest memories of ...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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42:24
The Real Creature Commandos Storm the Beach on The Corner Box S2Ep19
The show gets its first archenemy! John & David talk about their successful Kickstarter campaigns, David’s new and expensive collector bug, Jim Lee’s return, and David dives into the DC Creature Commandos limited series from 1999 by Truman ...
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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43:00
Kirt Burdick’s Bringing Heat with “Death of Power” on The Corner Box S2Ep18
Kirt Burdick joins hosts John and David to talk about Kirt’s new and extended Death of Power series, the problematic marketing of superhero comic tropes, how Batman memes will cause a nuclear meltdown, the future of digital art, and how extende...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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1:03:42
Diamond BANKRUPT?! Neil Gaiman did WHAT?! Plus, Famous First Editions: Sensation Comics #1 on The Corner Box S2Ep17
John & David dive into the 1974 Famous First Edition facsimile reprint of Sensation Comics #1, the clumsy progressive attempts found in the book, and all the unhinged storylines. Then, John toots his own horn as we discuss the conseq...
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Season 2
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Episode 17
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59:20
Making Bold Predictions for 2025 with The Corner Box S2Ep16
The Corner Box goes INTO THE FUTURE (waver your voice and wiggle your hands when you read that)! John & David make their predictions for comics in 2025, talk about the different directions the big publishers are taking, the state of superhe...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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58:21
Top Comic Book Picks of 2024 on The Corner Box S2Ep15
John & David wrap up 2024 with their Top 3s (or 8s), and talk about John’s uncanny impressions, the new version of Jonathan Hickman, John’s disappointment in non-sex comics, the end of David’s Dog (Man) Days, and John revives a “classic” Co...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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58:46
Famous First Editions: Detective Comics 27 on The Corner Box S2Ep14
This week on The Corner Box, hosts John & David do a deep dive into some Famous Firsts, and talk about navigating the racism in some very old stories, the most appropriate ways to solve crimes, skipping comics with no pictures, what an anth...
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50:50
Year in Review: The Big Picture on The Corner Box S2Ep13
On this episode of The Corner Box, hosts John & David gather round the fire to reminisce about the past year in comics, and get into the reinvigoration of older properties, how different publishers approach existing properties, DC and Marve...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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42:40
NEXTWAVE: Agents of H.A.T.E.: The Finale! A Corner Box Deep Dive S2Ep12
John & David wrap up their deeper dive into Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.! The guys make a noble attempt at trying to explain The Captain’s drunken origin, Machine Man’s dark origins, Elsa’s childhood training origins, Forbush Man’s pot, the...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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36:37
NEXTWAVE: Agents of H.A.T.E.! A Corner Box Deep Dive S2Ep11
On this episode of The Corner Box, hosts John & David do a deep dive on Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., and get into where this series came from, the original creators’ thoughts on the meaning behind the series, how the project got greenlit i...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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36:12
Sharing Turkeys and Giving Thanks on The Corner Box S2Ep10
John & David get together to celebrate the season of giving THANKS by discussing the comics that they’re thankful for! Then, keeping with the spirit, they discuss some comic book TURKEYS that weren’t quite what they should’ve ...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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53:42
Ultimatums and Absolutes on The Corner Box S2Ep09
Episode SummaryOn this episode of The Corner Box, hosts Ultimate John Barber and Absolute David Hedgecock return for the much-anticipated sequel to The Corner Box vs Marvel and DC’s Ultimate and Absolute comic lines, to talk about...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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29:32
The New Big Two! Talking the Absolute and Ultimate lines at The Corner Box S2Ep08
Episode SummaryOn this episode of The Corner Box, hosts Ultimate John Barber and Absolute David Hedgecock get into the Ultimate and Absolute comic lines at DC and Marvel, the differences between Marvel and DC characters, how the n...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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39:06
Dog Man Deep Dive! The Corner Box S2Ep07
Episode SummaryOn this episode of The Corner Box, hosts John Barber and David Hedgecock talk about the genius of Dav Pilkey, life lessons from Captain Underpants, the true main character in Dog Man, the limitless possibilities of ...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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1:00:23
It's Not Weird to Own Mark Gruenwald's Ashes, Right? The Corner Box S2Ep06
You got your JLA in my Avengers! John & David regroup to talk about David’s adventures into the Avengers, the true difficulty of comic book collecting, Marvel’s legacy numbering solution, and how you too could own Mark Gruenwald’s as...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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36:53