Creator Spotlight: Talks taking creative risks and turning down Marvel and DC

For our milestone 400th episode, Rick Remender joins the AIPT Comics Podcast for a candid conversation about his creator-owned comics, why he turned down opportunities to write Batman and the X-Men, and what drives his most ambitious work yet. From Escape and The Seasons to The Sacrificers and Hammerfist, Remender opens up about storytelling, artistic freedom, and the future of his career. Plus, we break down the biggest comics news of the week in our full weekly recap!Visit our Patreon page to see the various tiers you can sign up for today to get in on the ground floor of AIPT Patreon. We hope to see you chatting with us on our Discord soon!400 episodes: big moment picks:Dave: 2019: Doomsday Clock finally concludesChris: The “resistance” against AI.&nbsp;Alex: House of X/Powers of X and more!NEWSNYCC: What we missedBarbie gets a comic seriesDinobots return!IDW announces ‘Godzilla vs Everything’ crossover event for March 2027Daniel Warren Johnson's 'Chainkata' #1 scores a whopping 116 retailer exclusive coversICV2 Numbers are inDC continues to CRUSH each quarterSomehow Batman still beats ASM 1000!Our Top Books of the Week:Dave:Legion of Super-Heroes #2 (Joshua Williamson, Hayden Sherman)The Nice House by the Sea #12 (James Tynion IV, Alvaro Martinez Bueno)Chris:​​The Karman Blade #2 (DVP, Ian Bertram)Hammer Head #1 (Ed Brisson, Damian Couceiro)Standout KAPOW moment of the week:Chris: Regicide #3 (Patrick Kindlon, Ludovic Lalliat)&nbsp;Dave: Wolverine: Paradise #1 (Dan Panosian)TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEKChris: The Twilight Zone #11 (Mark Russell, Victor Alpi)Dave: Avengers: Armageddon #5 (Chip Zdarsky, Delio Diaz)JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.Dave: Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy #4 (Dylan Burnett Polybagged With Collectible Card) (and Tyler Boss’ is good too)Chris:&nbsp; Amazing Spider-Man: Halloween Special #1 (Paco Medina Variant Cover)Interview: Rick Remender Creator SpotlightThe Seasons #12 out October 14 (and artist Paul Azaceta)Hammerfirst #3 is out October 28th (and artist Steve Epting)Escape #10 is out November 3 (and artist Daniel Acuna)Rick, this is our 400th episode, so I wanted to start a little bigger than usual. You’ve been making comics for decades now, from Marvel and DC to building Giant Generator and this huge library of creator-owned work. When you look at the comics you’re making right now, do you feel like you’re in a distinctly different creative era than you were five or ten years ago?With Hammerfist, you spend a surprising amount of time convincing us we’re reading this grounded crime noir before you really let the superhero and supernatural elements loose. Was holding that back always essential to the concept, and how much did having Steve Epting drawing the book give you the confidence to wait?Steve Epting is so associated with grounded espionage and superhero storytelling, and Hammerfist<str