Apr 30, 2026
In part two of their discussion, Steve Bissette lays out the
late-1980s self-publishing moment after his run on Swamp
Thing, tracing how Dave Sim’s Mid-Ohio Con outreach and
critique of corporate profit flows led Bissette and John Totleben
to launching the horror anthology Taboo and all points
in-between: the Cerebus/Diamond Distribution "phone book"
controversy, the Puma Blues fallout, the Creator Summits
and the Bill of Rights that came from them.
From there to topic focuses on Taboo itself and the
creative pitfalls he had to navigate to get out even the short run
that eventually saw print. The topic of comics as creative protest,
then and now, is brought up and run through its paces: what would
something like Mad Love's Aargh! look like today? Where
does ego sit in the publisher's toolbox? The importance of
creatives learning business before the business teaches it to them
is just one of the threads in this back-half of the epic Steve
Bissette conversation!
[This episode is number 832 in a series.]
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Intro
04:41 - Meeting Dave Sim at Mid-Ohio
05:44 - The Inverted Pyramid Lesson
09:40 - Collaboration Complications
11:55 - Launching The October Project
14:11 - Diamond vs the Cerebus Phone Books
20:17 - Taboo Goes Independent
21:29 - Creator Summits and Bill of Rights
27:52 - Modern Contracts and Creator Traps
36:12 - Promotion Is Still on You
40:41 - Curating Disturbing Horror
45:34 - Taboo Shock Factor
46:35 - Rick Grimes Defense
47:48 - Lost Girls Risks
48:58 - From Hell Origins
49:51 - Eddie Campbell Choice
52:49 - Cover Art Rivalry
55:14 - Midwife Ego Lesson
58:35 - Aargh! and Activist Comics
59:59 - Sticks and Stones Fallout
01:04:20 - Anthology Survival Advice
01:12:33 - Budgets Page Rates
01:20:49 - Business Truths Teaching
01:23:10 - Huckster Hat Plug
01:26:45 - Outro