Franklin Jonas and Curt Pires on Fireborn

Franklin Jonas and Curt Pires on Fireborn

Author: Brad & Lisa Gullickson April 17, 2026 Duration: 1:17:56
It’s a topic we discuss a lot. When you love comics, you eventually want to make them. Curt Pires heard Franklin Jonas professing his love for the medium on a podcast. Immediately, he recognized a kindred spirit. Pires invited Jonas to play. The result is the new Image Comics series Fireborn, spinning out of Pires’ massive comic book playground, Lost Fantasy. Maybe you’ve already read the logline: Fireborn is Invincible meets How to Train Your Dragon meets Absolute Batman. Whoa, okay. That’s a lot, but what does that actually mean? On this week’s podcast, we get into it with Franklin Jonas and Curt Pires. We break down those other stories and consider what they owe to Spider-Man and his Amazing Fantasy #15 debut. Where do you begin when creating an F’d up Peter Parker? And did we mention the hot takes? Franklin Jonas has them! We give the musician the space to profess his passion for comics, champion his all-time favorite Daredevil run, and explain why not enough of you are reading the current JSA monthly written by Jeff Lemire. In Fireborn, Aaron Hillburg is a rich kid who runs face-first into Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. He answers the call to action, but when will he reject it? With great power there must also come great responsibility. One issue in, we got part one of that statement. Is part two coming? Let’s geek out about what comics can do that no TV pitch can ever contain. Fireborn #1 is out now from Image Comics. It’s written by Curt Pires and Franklin Jonas, illustrated by Patrick Mulholland, colored by Mark Dale, and lettered by Micah Myers. Make sure you’re following Franklin Jonas on Instagram and Curt Pires on BlueSky and Instagram. This Week's Sponsors Everyone loves to talk and debate about comics, but few people get to see what it’s actually like behind the scenes. Now, IDW Publishing is changing that with the launch of IDW Studios. The first monthly show is CreatorxCreator, a free-flowing, fun and honest chat between two comic book creators as they discuss their craft, process, inspiration, and what life is really like as a creative. The second monthly show, Superlatives, brings IDW’s knowledgeable and spirited editors head-to-head to debate each of these categories, with another editor stepping in as the moderator to pick the winner once the pros have made their arguments. The Future is Calling! 2000 AD is the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, with new issues published every single week! Every 32-page issue of 2000 AD brings you the best in sci-fi and horror, featuring characters like Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, and more. Get a print subscription to 2000 AD and it’ll arrive to your mailbox every week - and your first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, and you can download DRM-free copies of each issue for only $9 a month. That’s 128 pages of incredible comics every month for less than $10! Head to 2000AD.com and click on ‘subscribe’ now – or download the 2000 AD app and start reading today! Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Subscribe to the Comic Book Couples Counseling YouTube Channel Watch The Stacks, Comic Creators Name Their Favorite Comics Previously on CBCC: Henry Barajas and Rachel Merrill on Death to Pachuco The Four Color Fantasies Charity Sketch Cover Auction The Literacy Volunteers of the Winchester Area Comic Book Club: Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees at Meanwhile...Coffee in Herndon, Virginia, on 5/3 at 3:30 PM Comic Book Film Club: Paying For It on 4/26 at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia. Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren. Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts. Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website, where we

Ever wonder what keeps Lois Lane and Clark Kent together, or why the Joker and Harley Quinn’s dynamic is so endlessly dissected? That’s the kind of territory you’ll find in Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast. Hosted by real-life married couple Brad and Lisa Gullickson, this isn’t just a rundown of famous pairs. Instead, they use their own relationship as a lens to examine the loves, feuds, and complicated bonds that define our favorite characters. Each episode feels like a lively conversation between two passionate fans who happen to share a life, digging into the psychology, history, and narrative impact of relationships across comic book publishing and wider pop culture. You’ll hear them analyze everything from classic Golden Age partnerships to the messy modern entanglements in contemporary graphic novels, always with a mix of deep knowledge and genuine curiosity. This podcast offers a uniquely personal and thoughtful way to engage with the stories you love, moving beyond powers and plot twists to ask what these fictional connections really say about us. Tune in for a smart, often funny, and always insightful look at the heart of the narratives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Jock on Absolute Batman 15 - Oh, that Joker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:29
With the release of Absolute Batman #15 and the big reveal of Absolute Joker, we’re excited to welcome artist Jockonto the show for the first time. We would consider this comic an event even without the gnarly origin sto…
Patrick McDonnell on The Gift of Everything [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:05
Sorry to inform you, friends, but it’s December already. The gift-giving season is here, and with it, if you’re at all like us, a month filled with tremendous anxiety. We may love putting together a Comic Book Holiday Gi…
Adam Rose Talks Big Noir Energy and a Huge Detective [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:35
There are big swings, and then there are huge swings. Writer Adam Rose and artist Magenta King go for the fences with Huge Detective, a genre mashup mystery where giants roam the Earth and wind up dead like any other sac…
Tribute to a Father [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:42:42
Two weeks ago, Lisa lost her father. In August, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and the last three months have been some of the most harrowing days we’ve ever experienced. While we’ve hovered around this topic i…
Grant Morrison on Batman/Deadpool [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:30
Toward the end of our last conversation with Grant Morrison, they mentioned how they would soon be returning to comics, writing a new Batman story. We were ecstatic to hear, but we could not have possibly imagined that t…
NYCC '25 Dispatch: Michael Walsh and Tristan Jones [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:00
Every October, New York Comic Con (NYCC) rolls around. Normally, they don’t acknowledge their proximity to the spooky season, but this year, as crowds reached pre-pandemic sizes, they embraced Halloween. Cosplay took on…
Exclusive: Daniel Warren Johnson on Absolute Batman Annual [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:13
There’s zero doubt, Absolute Batman Annual #1 will be one of the year’s most talked-about comics. Featuring three stories by Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer, James Harren, Dave Stewart, Meredith McClaren, and Clayton…
Kelley Jones and Matt Wagner Make a Feast Out of Dracula [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:35
We all crave a good meal. The challenge is savoring it once it's placed before you. Kelley Jones and Matt Wagner have wickedly, and delightfully, discovered a way to make Bram Stoker’s Dracula not one good dish, but thre…
Alex Firer and Fred C. Stresing Cook a Tasty Doughboys Soup [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:46
Transplanting the Doughboys from one medium to another demands collaborators with a firm grasp on both worlds. Podcasters Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger know their realm, but require a few comic book maniacs to hurl them c…