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 Diamond’s bankruptcy, succeeding with a great writer/artist team, and how marketing could save comic books. Plus, David has some thoughts on Infinity Comics, and Rich cooks with comics.

Timestamp Segments

• [00:50] Rich’s 173-year career.
• [01:46] David’s thoughts on the Infinity Comics.
• [04:57] When Rich started loving comic books.
• [08:34] Comics as a medium, not a genre.
• [11:15] Making comics a career.
• [16:35] Making ideas work.
• [18:31] John reviews Rich’s scripts.
• [20:02] Getting Gutter Magic out into the world.
• [23:34] Hitting it big with Road of Bones.
• [25:37] Sea of Sales!
• [26:55] 3 Worlds / 3 Moons.
• [30:52] What’s Rich up to now?
• [32:22] The current state of the industry.
• [34:00] The digital comics conspiracy.
• [35:11] The Diamond silver lining.
• [40:32] Saving comics with marketing.
• [45:34] Comic Book Kitchen.
• [50:05] Rich’s announcements.

Notable Quotes

• “It’s sphincter-clenching time around comic books.”
• “In the long-term, we’re going to see, the industry’s going to come out of this healthier than it was going into it.”
• “Getting people to understand that you have a book out is so different now than it was even 3-4 years ago.”

Relevant Links

David's Fun Stuff!
Did Someone Say Fun Time? Let's GO!

John is at PugW!
Pug WorldwideCornerbox.club.

Rich Douek is Making Cool Things!

www.rdouek.com

BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram | X/Twitter

Books Mentioned

• 3 Worlds / 3 Moons, by Mike del Mundo, Jonathan Hickman, Mike Huddleston, & Nick Spencer.
• Batman: Knightfall.
• Batman: The Brave and The Bold.
• Civil War, by Mark Miller & Steve McNiven.
• Conan.
• Death of Superman.
• Drive Like Hell, Road of Bones, Sea of Sorrows, by Rich Douek & Alex Cormack.
• Edge of the Spider-Verse.
• Flash Gordon Quarterly #2.
• Gutter Magic, by Rich Douek & Brett Barkley.
• Heartpiercer, by Rich Douek & Gavin Smith.
• The Invisibles.