MATT WAGNER on Magic, Masked Men and Madame Xanadu

We've had a lot of guests on this show over these last 18 months and they've all been pretty great. Every once in a while though, it's a real treat for us to chat with one who has undeniable gravitas. With a career spanning over 25 years in the comics biz, Matt Wagner joined us on the esteemed SiDEBAR microphones and brought just that!

Where do you really start with a guy like Matt? Mage, Grendel, Batman, The Demon, Sandman Mystery Theatre—it's all good. Let's just say we jumped in at the deep end with the guy and did our best to keep heads above water.

He's the quintessential writer and artist in our opinion, from the very beginning, establishing himself with creator-owned projects (he's not new to this, boys and girls). His start with Comico is well chronicled, so we won't go into it here. His present and his past work with DC are also equally well known. Currently, he has two irons in the fire—Zorro for Dynamite Comics, in stores now, and Vertigo's upcoming Madame Xanadu, due out June 25th. Plus, he's in the midst of a Grendel run for Dark Horse, that started late last year to commemorate the character's own 25th anniversary (damn Matt, slow down!).

As mentioned above, Wagner is a man of many talents and he rocks at all of 'em. As a writer, it's terrific seeing him collaborate with great artists like Francesco Francavilla on Zorro and Amy Hadley on Madame Xanadu. As both the artist and writer, it's even more exciting watching him get back to Grendel and Hunter Rose after a 10 year hiatus from the series.

We had a great time talking with Matt and he was nice enough to put up with our nonsense. Do yourselves a favor and check out his many projects wherever you can find 'em—they really are all good. And look for his appearance at the Heroes Convention in Charlotte, June 20-22. The Con has a terrific guest list this year and by far, he's one of their heavy hitters!

**This is only Part I with Matt and for it, we played a snippet of Santana's incendiary Black Magic Woman. In honor of Matt's new...umm, madame.

http://www.mattwagnercomics.com/