Zack Quaintance and Anna Readman on Macabre Valley

Zack Quaintance and Anna Readman on Macabre Valley

Author: Brad & Lisa Gullickson October 9, 2025 Duration: 1:01:07
Weeks ago, we told you to keep an eye glued to the Macabre Valley #1 Kickstarter from writer Zack Quaintance and artist Anna Readman. Now, you have only one week left to back the project and secure yourself a copy of this fiendishly fun comic. Based on Quaintance’s own experiences reporting along the American/Mexican border, Macabre Valley tells a viciously recognizable story, energized by Anna Readman’s gnarly creature designs and trippy sequential storytelling. You can even support the project knowing you’ll receive your comic soon, as Macabre Valley has surpassed its funding goal spectacularly. To celebrate and encourage last-minute stragglers, we’re thrilled to have Zack Quaintance back on the podcast this week to discuss the werewolf priest at Macabre Valley’s center, and he’s even joined this time by his talented collaborator Anna Readman (making her podcast debut, no less). We discuss what makes the best werewolves and how both creators relate to the real-life horror that surrounds the fantastical horror throughout Macabre Valley. The conversation considers uniforms, from the lawful to the hirsute, and the influence they have on those who wear them. Finally, it leaves the listener imagining a wild, wonderful alternate reality where Cormac McCarthy wrote for EC Comics. Again, Macabre Valley #1 is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter. It’s written by Zack Quaintance, illustrated by Anna Readman, colored by Brad Simpson, and lettered by Becca Carey. Please follow Zack Quaintance on Blue Skyand Instagram, and follow Anna Readman on her Website and Instagram. This Week's Sponsors Judge Dredd Megazine turns thirty-five years old this October, and it’ll be celebrating with a very special issue perfect for first-time readers! Featuring the return of the critically acclaimed series Dreadnoughts and Megalopolis, this 100-page issue is a brilliant way to jump into the crazy world of 2000 AD. You’ll also find incredible new stories featuring Judge Dredd, Judge Anderson, and much more inside! Get a print subscription to the Megazine and it’ll arrive through your American mailbox every month – or get a combi subscription and receive 2000 AD each week as well! If you subscribe digitally, 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! Launching this October, it’s the latest entry in IDW Publishing's Kei-Sei line of Godzilla comics: Starship Godzilla, a cosmic adventure. It’s written by award-winning scribe Chris Gooch (of In Utero fame) and illustrated by inventive artist Oliver Ono (I mean, come on, did you read their Godzilla: Monster Island Summer Camp? Insta-Classic). The Kai-Sei Era is the only ongoing Godzilla story of its kind, crafted for comics readers who have never bought a Godzilla book and Godzilla fans who have never read a comic. Starship Godzilla #1 is out now wherever rad comic books are sold. Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Subscribe to The Stacks, Comic Creators Name Their Favorite Comics Zack Quaintance on The Death of Comics Bookcase Watch The Harvey Awards 2024 via Popverse Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. The Comic Book Couples Counseling TeePublic Merch Page. 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 have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators. Podcast logo by Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

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
CBCC Book Club: Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm on Spectrum 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:45
We try not to gatekeep. We try to resist nostalgia, but on some days, we feel the purest expression possible in comics can only occur through monthly serialization. Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm return to the podcast for…
Thomas Jane and Mike Carey on The Lycan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:32
They couldn't let go. Thomas Jane and Mike Carey resurrect The Lycan, a comics project languishing for over fifteen years. Jane and screenwriter David James Kelly initiated the concept and hired Carey to write the script…
Clay McLeod Chapman on Seance in the Asylum [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:10
Always challenge certainty. The moment you know, watch out. Clay McLeod Chapman arrives with another spooky story to confront your perspective, if not outright shatter it. His latest comic, Seance in the Asylum, done in…
Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar on Bug Wars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:25
After doing a stint on Conan the Barbarian for Marvel, Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar aimed to keep their collaboration roaring. They loved their time in Hyperborea but also wanted a realm to claim as their own and one whe…
John Harris Dunning on Ripperland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:24
Time is inescapable -- as if we need to explain that to anyone living in January 2025. However, our listeners who've been paying attention to our podcast this past month know the tyrannical clock is particularly present…
CBCC Book Club: Rick Quinn and Dave Chisholm on Spectrum 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:56
They're back! Writer Rick Quinn and artist Dave Chisholm return to the podcast to discuss Spectrum #2, the second issue in their science fiction tour through an alternate musical history. As the plot reveals itself, addi…
Patreon Preview: Tyler Crook on Mage - The Hero Discovered 6 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:44
In 2024, we published 58 Comic Book Couples Counseling episodes. However, that was not the total Comic Book Couples Counseling experience. Over on our Patreon, we published an additional 61 episodes, including our Marrie…
Chip Zdarsky and David Brothers on Time Waits [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:34
New Year's always has us looking inward, hoping for a fresh start. Creating resolutions, however, causes too much pressure, so we prefer to announce our intentions and free ourselves from potential regret if/when we don'…
The Stampies: Best Comics of 2024 (Part Two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:56:15
We made it. Another trip around the sun. Congratulations, everyone. Let's celebrate with our final episode of the year, The Stampies: Best Comics of 2024 (Part Two). In our final episode of 2024, we name the Best Comic o…