The Stacks is Back: Jim Rugg Picks His Favorite Comics
- CBCCPodcast
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The Stacks Season Two is a go! Launching with cartoonist and Street Angel creator Jim Rugg.
We're back on YouTube! Jim Rugg (Street Angel, Hulk: Grand Design) picks his all-time favorite comic books from The Stacks at Third Eye Comics in Annapolis, Maryland. Among his favorites are Daniel Clowes's undeniable Eightball run, Barry Windsor-Smith's iconic Weapon X, and Brian K. Vaughan's latest, Spectators.
If you want to visit The Stacks in person, get yourself to the Third Eye Comics mothership in Annapolis, Maryland: 209 Chinquapin Round Rd, Suite 200, Annapolis, MD 21401. Phone: 410-897-0322. Email: info@thirdeyecomics.com.
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Comic Book Couples Counseling Launches Season Two of The Stacks, the Comic Book Answer to the Criterion Closet
Popular comics podcast, Comic Book Couples Counseling, premieres the second season of their YouTube Series, The Stacks, where comic book creators like Nick Dragotta, Jim Rugg, and Joshua Williamson celebrate their favorite comic books.
Reston, Virginia, 2/10/2025—This month, the all-time great comic books and comic book creators are getting the star treatment. On February 10th, the popular podcast Comic Book Couples Counseling premieres the second season of their YouTube series, The Stacks, in which contemporary comic book writers and artists pull books off the shelves at Third Eye Comics in Annapolis, Maryland, and celebrate their significance within the medium and pop culture in general.
The Stacks Season Two will feature creators like Frank Barbiere (Five Ghosts), Rodney Barnes (30 Days of Night: Falling Sun), Morgan Beem (The Author Immortal), Tyler Boss (You’ll Do Bad Things), Jorge Corona (Lobo), Nick Dragotta (Absolute Batman), Justin Jordan (The Strange Talent of Luthor Strode), Jim Rugg (Street Angel), Matthew Rosenberg (We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us), Christian Ward (Event Horizon: Dark Descent), and Joshua Williamson (Iron Man). No two episodes are alike, as creators steer the conversations based on the comics they find in The Stacks.
The series concept originated while Brad and Lisa Gullickson, co-hosts of Comic Book Couples Counseling, were watching The Criterion Closet on the Criterion YouTube channel.
“I was obsessed,” says Bad Gullickson, “and as I was listening to Denis Villeneuve, the Dune director, lavish praise upon Akira Kurosawa’s iconic Seven Samurai, I just thought, ‘Why don’t we have this for comics? I want to hear what Chip Zdarsky has to say about Hellblazer!’ CBCC can make this happen.”
The Stacks is filmed inside the legendary comic book shop Third Eye Comics, at their massive mothership location in Annapolis. The shoots often coincide with a creator signing event, while some other creators make the trek to Third Eye after they were lured by season one.
"The Stacks is one of the coolest things I've seen hit comics in ages!” says Steve Anderson, co-owner of Third Eye Comics. “The spirit of what Brad and Lisa, who do one of the best damn comic podcasts around with Comic Book Couples Counseling, takes me back to reading about my fav creators in Wizard Magazine!”
For participating creators like Matthew Rosenberg, The Stacks is a chance to flaunt what comics can do that no other medium can. The Stacks grants comic book creators space to geek out about the shoulders they’re standing on and explain how their work is informed by others.
“I've always felt that the best thing you can do for comics is talk about and share the ones you love,” says Rosenberg. “There's a celebration of the medium in it, there is community, but there is a bit of a confessional nature to it, too. It feels so personal and intimate. That's why I love The Stacks. It's not just about discovering new books I might have missed; it's about getting to know the creators whose work I love a little better. Getting to understand who they are, what inspires them, what they love.”
Make sure you view The Stacks Season One with David Brothers (Time Waits, Good Devils Don't Play Fair With Evil), Chip Zdarsky (Batman, Daredevil), Benjamin Percy (Predator vs. Spider-Man, X-Force), Steve Anderson (Third Eye Comics), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (The Incredible Hulk, Batman and Robin), Sanford Greene (Bitter Root, Doom), Brad and Lisa Gullickson (Comic Book Couples Counseling), and Chris Condon (That Texas Blood, Ultimate Wolverine).