The MOST DANGEROUS Comic Book Ever Published!

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

🎙SHOW NOTES In this episode, Chris and Steven confront highly disturbing revelations about the CIA and American global politics, courtesy of the explosive whistleblower comic, BROUGHT TO LIGHT (Eclipse Comics, 1988), written by Alan Moore and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz. Buckle up, folks. This is a wild one. BROUGHT TO LIGHT really is the most dangerous comic book ever published! ⏱ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - CRYB! theme song 01:07 - The origins of BROUGHT TO LIGHT: The Christic Institute, Eclipse Comics, Cat Yronwode, Dean Mullaney, Alan Moore, Bill Sienkiewicz, Warner Books, the CIA, the U.S. government, and the target on everyone's back for even telling this story 14:49 - “How America Was Robbed...” 17:17 - An American eagle walks into a bar... A discussion of the audacious narrative conceit of this comic 23:42 - Swimming pools of blood as a visual metaphor ...for the horrifying worldwide death toll caused by far-reaching immoral CIA covert operations ...and for the U.S. government's secret involvement in a multitude of global assassinations and coups = “An infographic from Hell” 28:47 - “I want to talk about Sienkiewicz’s art.” “We need to.” 38:55 - A reading from the gospel of our CIA eagle-agent guy and his squawkings about the assassination of JFK 44:35 - “An assault on your whole belief in America.” In the spirit of Noam Chomsky & "Manufacturing Consent" 46:29 - The suppression and burial of BROUGHT TO LIGHT 57:30 - Peak Alan Moore and peak Bill Sienkiewicz -- reinventing comics with everything they do at this point 1:02:08 - Our eagle agent contemplates suicide with a gun to his own head; the brilliant juxtaposition between Moore’s words and Sienkiewicz’s pictures 1:15:00 - Things get meta. The eagle goes after The Christic Institute with vitriol and makes his final desperate case to us, the readers 1:21:17 - Creators who risk infusing their art with their own deeply held political beliefs 1:28:14 - Sienkiewicz’s stunningly-wrought hand-done lettering on BROUGHT TO LIGHT; Steven's eternal soliloquy raging against the dying of the light, as the scourge of font lettering comes over the hillside like a plague of end-time locusts devouring modern comics, etc. COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comic books (plus a few notable exceptions) in a weekly podcast format. Screenwriters Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) and Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age. + Check out our KZbin channel to get a look at some of the fantastic art featured in our episodes. Visit us at www.ComicsRotYourBrain.com to sign up for our newsletter, Letter Column. You can also find us wherever you stream your favorite podcasts. + We appreciate your support of the show via Patreon: www.patreon.com/ComicsRotYourBrain + For even more cool shit, read Chris's Substack (cinema, comics, and culture) - THIN ICE, christopherderrick.substack.com

[@yeez13]

I know I’m less than 5 minutes in, but really reading the panels & examining the little details on the page, I’m reminded of a recent documentary I watched about a Tech Journalist in the 90s, who was found unalived in his hotel room w/ way too many slits where you’d usually find them + all his notes/paperwork on the Story gone. He was writing about something he called “The Octopus”, which fits the description of what The Christic Institute stated: A multi-prong cabal of world-shakers & movers who deal in all sorts of illicit activity and influence domestic & international affairs. I may chime in to this later after the episode but so far, this is a great obscure pick!

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Ooo! I’m very intrigued by this “The Octopus” story, do you recall the name of the documentary? - Chris

[@yeez13]

@@ComicsRotYourBrain yes, it’s a Netflix docuseries called American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders It’s pretty wild, man. I would even go as far as to say that’s it’s very charitable to both sides of the conversation around Conspiracy Theories and is headed by a photojournalist who spent a decade researching it to try and compile it all 👍🏽

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

@@yeez13 Thank you for the very intriguing-sounding recommendation… Will check it out! - Steven

[@AlexDerrick_DP]

Bill Sienkiewicz !! Did you guys do an episode on Screamer yet?

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Yes, we did! Check the main channel page!

[@TheChadTI]

The importance of the blood is because wars are rituals and these entities require blood.

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Wow, that is a fascinating and eerie point. Damn! - Steven

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Sure, the whole concept of Blood & Treasure, I think what stumped me was that Moore was measuring them in swimming pools! That’s such a strange metric.

[@jamesedwardclard]

love the art in this book. great talk

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Yeah, Sienkiewicz was channeling some kinda divine inspiration here. Glad you enjoyed the episode - thanks for commenting! - Steven

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Thank you! - Chris

[@YungAngelo69]

I think the part where the eagle tries to unalive itself represents that this legacy that it represents cannot be erased or killed? Like that it’s not that simple. Giving American gods a little bit.

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

@YungAngelo69 Valid Theory! Yeah, that scene is so multi-layered I think it (purposefully) lends itself to multiple legit explanations. - Steven

[@WakizashisTeahouse]

Great video and discussion. Why have I never heard of this comic?

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Thanks for the kind words! Yes, exactly… The invisibility of this book has been a crime against comics! - Steven

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

As we said, this book was suppressed! - Chris

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Uh… I’m sure the Bush & Reagan admins had something to do with the scant knowledge of the book. - Chris

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

🗯 COMICS TRIVIA Alright, all. Famously, Moore & Sienkiewicz had one other collaboration, the unfinished BIG NUMBERS; however, that wasn’t always the title. ❓What was the original title for the comic that became BIG NUMBERS?

[@_Ag-]

Pretty sure it was GARGANTUAN FIGURES. Or was it MASSIVE DIGITS?

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

@@_Ag-LOL! 😂😂 - Steven

[@Silver77cyn]

For some reason, I thought this was an angry birds comic......lol.

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Haha, that’s hilarious 😂 Thanks for commenting! - Steven

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

I mean, that’s one way to read it! Maybe this was the inspiration for the video game 🤣 - Chris

[@Silver77cyn]

@@ComicsRotYourBrain 😉

[@coinopanimator]

The bird looks like Alan Moore.

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

😂

[@YungAngelo69]

I’ve never heard of this wtf

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Hopefully you can grab a copy on eBay. - Chris

[@TheChadTI]

I feel like it's a Mandela Effect,😅 I've been very involved( since age12?) in fandom and sales (worked for Diamond and owned 3 shops) NEVER heard of it

[@zazenbo]

I miss my wife

[@believein1]

Search for “Freebird”

[@fletchkeilman2205]

Subbed

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Thank you for the sub and the comment! - Steven

[@5colorcowboy]

💯 🦅

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

😊

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

The Eagle is WILD!