With DC's Rebirth underway we welcome Tom King back to talk about his debut run on Batman, and the new heroes he's introduced GOTHAM and GOTHAM GIRL. What do they represent and how will the Dark Knight contend with these new rivals as the city protectors?

Plus we continue to discuss his excellent runs on Vertigo's The Sheriff Of Babylon  and Marvel's Vision

Writer John Ostrander is back, because he and frequent Star Wars collaborator Jan Duursema are in the closing hours of their kickstarter campaign for Hexer Dusk, a new sci-fi epic that starts with a 72 page graphic novel. John gives us the low down on the concept.

We also take a long look at the history of The Suicide Squad John's 1986 creation spinning out of the DC Event LEGENDS. John wrote the event and talks about it's significance as the 1st DC line event a year after Crisis On Infinite Earths. With the film adaptation just 2 months away, John also talks about his new DC Rebirth One Shot also coming in August.

Two great books that deserve your attention are featured in today's Word Balloon Conversations. If you want to buy them consider doing your Amazon Shopping thru the Word Balloon Portal, where I get a few pennies on the dollar of your amazon purchases.

First Up Brad Meltzer is back talking about THE HOUSE OF SECRETS his new thriller co-written with Tod Goldberg is another great action adventure with a new female hero who is trying to uncover the secrets behind history and her own life. Of course we talk to about DC Rebirth, and Brad's TV shows decoded and Lost History. 

The Comic Book Historian Bill Schelly talks about his expanded biography OTTO BINDER THE LIFE AND WORK OF A COMIC BOOK AND SCIENCE FICTION VISIONARY . Binder wrote many Shazam Captain Marvel  stories in the 40's for Fawcett including the creation of Mary Marvel and the Marvel family. He also wrote the epic Monster Society Of Evil story and created Mr Tawny the Talking Tiger, Mister Mind and many other classic Marvel stories. Then Otto went to work for DC in the 50's creating Supergirl, The Bottled City Of Kandor, The Legion Of Super Heroes and many other significant parts of the Superman Mythos. 

The past informs the present. Today's episode features clips from past interviews that inadvertently provide insight on some recent events.

The past informs the present. Today's episode features clips from past interviews that inadvertently provide insight on some recent events.

The Death Of Sports Icon Muhammad Ali  hits me personally. As a sports reporter I covered Boxing for 16 years in print and radio, and had the opportunity to meet and interview Ali in 1991. I tell the story of our encounter that was full of the Ali magic and charm, even as his Parkinson Syndrome was slowly robbing him of the ability to speak. His ailment did NOT keep him from thinking and he proved that to me directly with his thoughts on previewing The Evander Holyfield George Foreman Championship fight.

Of Course comic fans all know a bit about the DC comics Superman Vs Muhammad Ali, which was an event unto itself. In 2005 Co-plotter and artist Neal Adams talked about his experience on the project and lots of thoughts on the man and his legacy. 

Then a look at The conclusion of DC Rebirth featuring the invasion of the Watchmen story and characters in the current DC universe . Was does it mean? Should it happen, given the creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons have no involvement and in Moore case objects to every continuation of the original story.

These same issue came up in 2012 when DC launched Before Watchmen, featuring prequel stories of the heroes and villains drawn and written by different creators. To illustrate the debate we look back at 2012 comments from Dave Gibbons, Ed Brubaker and Brain Azzarello,