The Runs Podcast Season 2 Finale! We're closing out strong, with another deep dive into Peter Bagge's Indy comics canonical series, Hate, with Whit Taylor (Fizzle, Dead Air, The Nib), who is one of my very favorite people to dish comics with.

Hama and Wagner's Nth Man with Zack Soto

Mar 18th, 2024

Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja is a series that I never gave a chance as a kid, and it would have stayed that way if Zack Soto (The Secret Voice, Power Button. Study Group) hadn't chosen it for this episode. This series is an early 90's deep cut

Jhonen Vasquez's Squee with Julia Gfrörer

Mar 11th, 2024

This episode isn't sponsored by Hot Topic, but it might as well be. Brilliant cartoonist Julia Gfrörer (Laid Waste, Black is the Color) comes by to talk about a formative run for her, Jhonon Vasquez's tremendously popular goth comic, Squee.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World with Jason Levian

Mar 4th, 2024

It was not my intention for this podcast to be so focused on 70's Kirby, but I can't say I mind it, either. Jason Levian, owner of Floating World Comics, sits down with me to talk about the first few issues of each of the four series that for

Slott and Allred's Silver Surfer with Ben Dewey

Feb 26th, 2024

I met Ben Dewey (Autumnlands, Beasts of Burden, Namor, Vampirella, The Tragedy Series, etc. etc.) about 20 years ago when we worked together on a Roller Derby comic. He's been one of those guys in comics that I'm always happy to chat with whe

Strakzynski and Romita Jr.'s Amazing Spider-Man with Mark Ginocchio

Feb 19th, 2024

Mark Ginocchio, co-host of the Amazing Spider-Talk Podcast, comes by this week to talk about... Spider-Man. But not just any Spider-Man! This is one of the most divisive runs in Spider-Man History, as evidenced by Mark declaring that it's the

McDuffie and Bright's Icon with Ronell Whitaker

Feb 12th, 2024

This week's guest is comics educator Ronell Whitaker, who chose Icon as the run to discuss. Icon was the flagship title of the Milestone line, which may have been the only new comics universe worth following of all the many that launched in t

The Mutant Massacre with Zayd Dohrn

Feb 5th, 2024

This week's guest recently won the DuPont Columbia University Award for audio and visual journalism for his podcast, Mother Country Radicals, and now he's here to talk with me about The Mutant Massacre. Zayd Dohrn is an accomplishment playwri

Kyoko Okazaki's Pink with Xena Lopez

Jan 29th, 2024

Up-and-coming comics superstar Xena Lopez comes on the show this week to talk about a series I'd never heard of, Pink by Kyoko Okazaki. We talk about manga, memoir, sex work and working at the library. Here's a link to The Runs Comics Podca

Dan Clowes' Eightball with Peter Bagge

Jan 22nd, 2024

One of the greatest living cartoonists, Peter Bagge (Hate, Yeah!, Weirdo) comes on the show this week to talk about an early run by another one of the greatest living cartoonists, Dan Clowes. This is one of those episodes where I couldn't rea

Steve Gerber and Co.'s Howard the Duck with Diana Schutz

Jan 15th, 2024

In this episode, comics hall-of-famer Diana Schutz comes by to talk about quintessential 70's Marvel series Howard the Duck. Did you have to be there at the time? Or do you at least have to be high to enjoy this run? Either way, I'm sure yo

John Byrne's Fantastic Four Part 2 with Alex Robinson

Jan 8th, 2024

In the premier episode of Season 2, Alex Robinson (Box Office Poison, Star Wars Minute) returns to continue our deep dive into John Byrne's legendary Fantastic Four run. Does it hold up? How is it if you've never read it before. It's got Ga

The Runs Season 2 Introduction

Jan 1st, 2024

Welcome to The Runs Season 2! This first episode is just a brief introduction in which Ryan checks in with you, the beloved viewer, and sets up the next 12 weekly episodes. Some great guests are on their way, along with some great runs, some

Jack Kirby's Omac with Dean Haspiel

Dec 12th, 2022

For this podcast's Season Finale, Dean Haspiel (The Red Hook, American Splendor, Cuba: My Revolution) and I discuss Jack Kirby's O.M.A.C. One Man Army Corps. A highlight of this podcast for me has been being prompted to read a bunch of DC com

Junji Ito's Uzumaki with Joelle Jones

Dec 5th, 2022

Superstar comics artist Joelle Jones (Batman, Catwoman, Lady Killer) comes by this week to talk about Junji Ito's celebrated horror Manga, Uzumaki. Are spirals really scary, or just ridiculous? Or are the ridiculous parts what makes this com

Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's Y: The Last Man with Amy Miller

Nov 28th, 2022

This week, famous comedian Amy Miller comes on to talk about Y: The Last Man, a series that answers a question that most women ask themselves every day: how great would it be if every man suddenly died? The series also inadvertently asks: Wha

Claremont and Byrne's X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga with Susan Kirtley

Nov 21st, 2022

Susan Kirtley (college professor and head of the Comics Studies Program at Portland State University) is really fun to talk to about comics because she's an accomplished academic and also a total comics nerd. We discuss the all-time classic X

Gaiman and Co.'s Sandman: World's End with Mark Russell

Nov 14th, 2022

When I asked comics writer Mark Russell (Exit, Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, Fantastic Four: Life Story, Superman: Space Age) to come on the show, he immediately said that he wanted to discuss Sandman: World's End because he thought

Claremont and Paul Smith's X-Men with Austin Gorton

Nov 7th, 2022

This week, comics blogger and pop-culture expert Austin Gorton talks with me about a real hall-of-fame run, Chris Claremont and Paul Smith's issues of Uncanny X-Men. Austin has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things X-Men and he's got some g

Todd McFarlane's Spawn with Matt Bors

Oct 31st, 2022

One of the comics industries greatest little-known-facts is that multi-Pulitzer prize nominated political cartoonist Matt Bors is in fact a die-hard Spawn fan. Revel in his un-ironic joy at one of the best worst comics of the early 90's. Lis

Kirkman and Walker/Ottley's Invincible with Joshua Silverstein

Oct 24th, 2022

My first guest who isn't a comic book creator of some sort, actor/comedian/musician/all-around-performer Joshua Silverstein comes by to talk about the first dozen issues of Invincible. This episode may or may not be a painful portrayal of how

Lobdell and Bachalo's Generation X/Generation Next with Terry Blas

Oct 17th, 2022

Brilliant comics writer and sometimes illustrator Terry Blas (You Say Latino, Lifetime Passes, Dead Weight, Reptil, Ariana Grande Vs. Sargeant Shade and the Clonebot Parade) joins me this week to talk about one of the weirder series launches in

Peter Bagge's Hate with Whit Taylor

Oct 10th, 2022

Beloved Comics writer, artist and editor, Whit Taylor (Montana Diary, Comics for Choice, Fizzle, The Nib) talks with me this week about the first 5 issues of Peter Bagge's definitive 90's alt-comic series, Hate. Can a series about crappy peop

Jack Kirby's Kamandi with Erik Larsen

Oct 3rd, 2022

Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon, Amazing Spider-Man, Image Comics co-founder) is my guest this week as we talk about the first six issues of Jack Kirby's brilliant, weird and brilliantly weird post-Marvel series, Kamandi, The Last Boy On earth. Ge

John Byrne's Fantastic Four with Alex Robinson

Aug 29th, 2022

Indie Comics superstar (Box Office Poison, Tricked, Our Expanding Universe) and Podcast celebrity (Star Wars Minute) Alex Robinson joins us to talk about the first 10 issues (232-241) of John Byrne's legendary run on Fantastic Four. Do they ho