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Send us Fan Mail There was a time when telling Hollywood you wanted to write an X-Men movie could get you written off. Robert N. Skir wrote the story anyway. That screenplay became the start of a career behind some of the most memorable animated worlds of a generation: X-Men: The Animated Series, Batman: The Animated Series, Spider-Man, Gargoyles, Extreme Ghostbusters, Godzilla: The Series and Beast Machines. In this one-on-one conversation, Marc Childs goes behind the credits with Bob to talk about: • The kid who loved these characters before Hollywood understood them  • How his writing partnership with Marty Isenberg worked  • Writing "Days of Future Past," "A Rogue's Tale," "His Silicon Soul" and "Lock-Up"  • What a story editor does that fans never see  • Why Beast Machines took such a big swing, and how he looks at the reaction now  • Co-developing X-Men: Evolution, a show of kids trying not to be superheroes  • Writing for kids without writing down to them, and what he tells new writers If a cartoon from this era taught you something bigger than the cartoon, you'll want to hear this one. Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail What actually makes someone spend years building something that doesn't exist yet? Brooklyn artist and writer Serena Bell is building a house out of that question. It's called In This Sacred House, her debut graphic novel: gothic horror built on psychological architecture, tragic romance, and the ghosts we build within ourselves. This isn't a credits rundown. It's a deep dive into the why behind the work. We talk about: The moment "artist" stopped being something she did and became something she isHow you tell inspiration from imitation, and find a voice that's yoursImposter syndrome, rejection, and the silence nobody warns you aboutWhat it means to own your world and your characters outrightWhat happens in the room where no one's watchingWhat it takes to build doors for other women in comicsThe real blueprint for young artists trying to break inIssue #1 of In This Sacred House is releasing in segments on her website, with a print edition to follow. Serena has also contributed variant covers for Lilith: Blood & Burlesque #1 from Vault Comics, the sapphic horror, supernatural romance, and dark comedy from creator Corin Howell, arriving in October 2026. Follow Serena: serena-bell.com | Instagram @serenabellxoxo New episodes every Thursday. Follow Back to Pop on Instagram and Facebook @BackToPopMedia, and find more at BackToPopMedia.com. Back to Pop: preserving pop culture, one interview at a time. Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail Before the movie that scares you becomes the career you build, there's a VHS cover you couldn't walk past. Jason Leavy grew up in a Staten Island house where movie night meant Freddy, Chucky, Gremlins, and a little green troublemaker with a pot of gold. Today he's the co-founder of Fuzz on the Lens Productions and a producer on Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3. He co-wrote, produced, and acted in STREAM, and he co-directed and produced Leprechaun Revenge, a love letter to the franchise he grew up on. Jason and his brother Michael went from homemade shoots to a high school TV studio to helping build one of the biggest independent horror phenomena in years. We talk about the movies that built them, what it's like to watch a new horror icon emerge while you're standing on set, and what it means for two lifelong fans to bring back Ozzie Jones and the Leprechaun themselves. And with Lionsgate now developing a brand-new Leprechaun film, the timing is hard to ignore. What does it feel like when the franchise you made a fan film for finally gets its own shot? Because sometimes fandom isn't where the journey ends. It's where it begins. Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail She was Rainbow Brite. She was Lucy Little. She was Dotty Dog. And she was only twelve years old when one of those roles began with an improvised voice for a black-and-white sketch. Bettina Bush joins Back to Pop to look back on a career that shaped Saturday mornings, from her earliest days as a child actor, to the audition that became Rainbow Brite, to credits spanning The Littles, The Get Along Gang, My Little Pony, and beyond. With Rainbow Brite's 40th anniversary and a franchise revival underway, Bush reflects on what it's like to watch a character she created decades ago step into a new generation.  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bettinabushofficial?stkn=MXkyajczOTZyYTIycg==   To find out more about Bettina, her upcoming appearance, work, and more click here https://bettinabush.com/  Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail You've seen Keith Coogan's face a hundred times, but you might not know his name. This week on Back to Pop, I sit down with the actor who voiced Young Tod in Disney's The Fox and the Hound, got left in charge in Adventures in Babysitting, fought for his country in Toy Soldiers, and delivered one of the most quotable lines of the '90s in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead ("The Dishes are done, man!"). Keith opens up about growing up as the grandson of Jackie Coogan, whose real-life legal battle against his own parents literally rewrote the law protecting child actors, and why he waited until 1986 to legally take the Coogan name as his own. It's a conversation about legacy, survival in Hollywood, and how his career quietly became a time capsule for an entire generation. New episodes drop every Thursday,  subscribe so you don't miss it.  Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail From 1978 to 1984, Karen Whitfield toured alongside Adam West and Burt Ward as DC Comics' Bronze Age Batgirl — suiting up in the cape and cowl for audiences across America and getting a front-row seat to who Batman and Robin really were when the cameras stopped rolling. She was 20 years old. She left Durham, North Carolina for California. And then, for nearly 35 years, she barely spoke of it. In this episode, Karen opens up about the audition that changed her life, what it actually felt like wearing that costume, the real Adam West behind the dry humor, and why it took her decades to finally tell her story in the book Batdriven West. This is a conversation about identity, legacy, and what it means to hang up the cape, and pick it back up again.  To keep up with Karen, click the link below. https://www.comiccollectorsguild.com/karenwhitfieldbatgirl 🦇 Listen now on Back to Pop. Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail Morph. The Joker. Countless characters you’d recognize instantly, and a voice you’d never place a face to. This week, JP Karliak steps out from behind the mic to talk about what it actually means to become someone else for a living. We go past the credits and into the craft: how JP prepares an instrument that isn’t a violin or a guitar, but himself, his voice, his body, his nervous system. He talks about stepping into Morph in X-Men ’97, carrying forward a character first brought to life in the early ’90s X-Men: The Animated Series, and about building a completely different kind of performance as the Joker in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. But this episode isn’t really about characters. It’s about creativity, fear, failure, and what success looks like once you’ve actually achieved it. JP also opens up about his work with Queer Vox and NerdsVote,  and what keeps him grounded when the mic is off. All things JP can be found below.  https://linktr.ee/jpkarliak?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=551ba552-d638-4046-886b-eb2cc6469f48 To learn more about either Nerds Vote or Queervox the links are below.  https://www.nerdsvote.com/ https://queervox.org/ Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw= Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail Mike takes us behind the curtain on the creative process: how a character comes together, why silhouette and shape language matter more than people realize, and what it really means to inherit a character fans already love before you ever pick up a pencil. We dig deep into three animated milestones that still command cult followings , Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, The Batman vs. Dracula, and Justice League: The New Frontier, talking about tone, atmosphere, and what it took to push animated storytelling into more cinematic territory. From there we travel through Eternia with He-Man, swing through the city with Spider-Man, and slow down for some comedy timing with Scooby-Doo and ALF (yes, there’s a story about a concerned grandmother). Mike closes out his animation career on an Emmy-nominated note with Kung Fu Panda, and shares what a surprising new chapter,  acting, has taught him about performance from the other side of the frame. If you grew up with these characters, this is a conversation about the people who shaped how you saw them. 🎙️ New episodes every Thursday 🔗 backtopopmedia.com Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw= Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail This week, Kelly Slaughter (aka “Slaughter Daughter”) joins Back to Pop for a raw, one-on-one conversation about discovering who you are when you grow up in someone else’s spotlight, and what it actually took to find her own. We talk childhood behind the curtain, the identity crisis nobody warns you about, her fitness transformation, and why she’s now dedicated to helping other women find their strength, inside the gym and out. This one’s less about the ring and more about the mirror. 🎧 New episode out now. Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw= Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail Before streaming, before binge-watching, there was a voice you didn’t just recognize , you carried it with you. Beginning in 1992, Lenore Zann gave Rogue her unmistakable Southern charm, her strength, her vulnerability, and that unforgettable “sugah.” Decades later, she stepped back into the booth for X-Men ’97, introducing Rogue to a whole new generation. But Lenore’s story goes far beyond Xavier’s mansion. She’s played Marilyn Monroe on stage, served in elected office fighting for environmental justice and mental health awareness, returned to genre television in Syfy’s Revival, and poured her extraordinary life into her memoir, A Rogue’s Tale. In this episode, Lenore takes us from her earliest days on stage to the audition she almost didn’t take, the family atmosphere behind the original X-Men series, the complicated pull between Rogue and Gambit, and what it felt like coming back to a character who never really left her. We also dig into her path from voice actor to politician, the causes she carried into public office, and how it all connects to the woman fans have come to know as Rogue. Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw= Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail In 1983, Chuck Patton became the first Black artist to draw Justice League of America, and helped build one of the most divisive, and now most re-examined, eras in the team’s history: Justice League Detroit. This week on Back to Pop, Chuck takes us from a kid in Detroit who wanted nothing but to draw comics, through Dick Giordano’s New Talent workshop, the fan backlash over Vibe and Gypsy, and the napkin story behind his Titans work with Marv Wolfman,  all the way to the moment he walked away from comics entirely. He rebuilt a second career in animation, from Saturday morning staples like G.I. Joe to an Emmy for Spawn and one of his proudest credits, Dead Space: Downfall. We also talk about his late collaborator Gerry Conway, the co-creator of Justice League Detroit, and what it means to watch a generation of readers reconsider work that was once torn apart on arrival. To learn more about Chuck Patton and keep up with his work head over here: https://www.artofchuckpatton.com/ To follow Chuck Patton  https://www.instagram.com/chuckpattonart?igsh=MWh3NTlkeGVranNwZg== Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail Before the algorithm, there was a bell over the door. For us over at Back To Pop, that door belonged to Comics Plus in Macon, Georgia — and the man behind the counter, David Roland, is still there. This week, we sit down with David for a living-legacy conversation that pulls items out of a metaphorical time capsule: an old receipt from the shop’s earliest days, an ’80s comic with the price sticker still stuck on tight, a box of trading cards from the era when cards were “the gateway drug,” a foil-cover #1 from the wild speculation of the ’90s, and a pull list full of names who never missed a week.   Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail Kevin Conroy sat in a recording booth for thirty years playing a man who wore two faces,  and somewhere along the way, that dual identity became personal. Before he ever put on the cowl, Bruce Timm was just a burned-out animator tired of being told kids’ cartoons couldn’t be art. And a Warner Bros. executive gambled the whole look of Gotham City on painting black backgrounds onto cels instead of the other way around. None of it should have worked. All of it did. This week, Daniel Dockery joins Back to Pop to talk about I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series (St. Martin’s Press, out September 1, 2026) — his deeply reported new book built on exclusive interviews with the writers, animators, and voice actors who turned a merchandising afterthought into the show many still call the best Batman has ever been on screen. We go deep on the creative team,  Timm, Eric Radomski, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, and the fights they had with the network over things as small as a recycling bin in the Batcave. We talk about Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, thirty years of partnership, and what it meant when Hamill said there wasn’t a Joker for him without his Batman. We get into Harley Quinn’s improbable survival past a single episode, the reinvention of Mr. Freeze in “Heart of Ice,” and why, unlike almost everything else from the ’90s, this show has never had its backlash moment. Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer at Crunchyroll and the author of Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All. His new book hits shelves September 1, 2026. I Am the Night is available for preorder now wherever books are sold.  Get your copy here.  🔗 https://www.danieldockery.com/ 🔗 https://www.instagram.com/thedanieldockery?igsh=MTNqcGpoZWN6YTNhZg== Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail William McNamara joins Back to Pop for an honest conversation about the life that unfolded beyond the movie screen. Known for memorable performances in Dream a Little Dream, Surviving the Game, Copycat, Chasers, and numerous television appearances, William reflects on navigating fame, typecasting, addiction, sobriety, and eventually stepping away from Hollywood’s expectations. He also opens up about the deeply personal inspiration behind The Trouble With Billy, his commitment to animal rescue and activism, and how life experience has changed the way he approaches acting, filmmaking, and storytelling. This is more than a conversation about a career. It is a story of recovery, purpose, second chances, and finally taking ownership of your own narrative. Join us as we look back through the eyes of someone who was there, and discover what happened after the credits rolled. Support a great cause.  https://eastwoodranch.org/ Catch William’s new project here,  https://thetroublewithbillyseries.com/ Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman x X Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==

Send us Fan Mail Every generation has a movie that finds them at exactly the right age. For a lot of us, that movie was The Last Starfighter — and at the center of it was Lance Guest, who turned Alex Rogan into one of the most quietly beloved heroes of ’80s sci-fi. This week, Lance joins Back to Pop for a candid conversation spanning his career — from playing Jimmy opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween II, to stepping into the Brody family legacy in Jaws: The Revenge alongside Michael Caine and Mario Van Peebles, to his Broadway and Off-Broadway run as Johnny Cash in Million Dollar Quartet. Theme music composed by Ron Wasserman  Audio composed and edited by  Lauren M. Antoine  Website:  Composer Ron Wasserman  Back To Pop  https://lantoine2.wixsite.com/portfolio Instagram/  https://www.instagram.com/backtopopmedia?igsh=MTd0dGNid2hjdWd5cA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/4ronwasserman?igsh=MTR6ZGZ5dXJzYXN3eQ== Support the show Ever had an idea for an action figure, or maybe you just wish one had been made? Well at Lecroy Toys you don't have to wait anymore, head over and tell Matthew we sent you!  https://www.instagram.com/lecroystoys?igsh=MW1ndWE5cHhzaGQ3dw==