Join your host Garhdo as they take a special deep dive into one of the most interesting stories in comic history! Nowadays Marvel is the biggest franchise in the world, but in the late 1990s, after years of ownership by a capitalist corporate raider, they declared bankruptcy on the back of the comic book industry crash, something that their own actions a few years before to feed the comic spectator boom had helped to create. It is a story about Marvel about as astounding and interesting as anything they have printed in one of their fantastic comics, as unlikely as it is true. This is the story of how Marvel caused the comics crash, and nearly destroyed the whole industry for good.

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:05 The State of the Industry 
• 24:58 Rise of the Superstars 
• 49:50 All About the Image 
• 1:12:27 Send in the Clones
• 1:41:17 The Crash of 1996 
• 1:52:35 Weathering the Storm 
• 2:16:14 The ToyBiz Problem
• 2:23:41 Bankruptcy 
• 2:45:26 Righting the Ship
• 3:13:03 Outro
• 3:20:34 Sign-Off

Season 5, Episode 03

July 1st 2023

The story of the Nineties Comic Book Crash is truly fascinating, being a tale of corporate greed, a spectator bubble, poor contracts, unbridled ego, bitter rivalry and sheer hubris. It is truly fascinating and it is one I had wanted to discuss for sometime, looking at the stories that came out at the time in the comics, as well as the behind the scenes legal struggles.