The Short Box Podcast: A Comic Book Talk Show · Badr Milligan of The Short Box Entertainment Company | Comic Book Podcast

Torunn Grønbekk is feeling festive: An interview about Catwoman, Jason Aaron, and Christmas in Norway

·1 hr 19 min·5 clips

Torunn Grønbekk says she writes by finding a person's “honest reasoning” without judging it.

Episode 479 has a cozy little engine to it. Botter opens with a researched setup, naming The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Shiver of Christmastown as Dynamite's first ongoing comic in that film's world. The mood is bright without turning sugary. Gronbeck describes Christmas as quiet and joyous, with people staying close while everything slows down a bit. That feeling runs through the whole conversation. Botter gives her space to move from holiday atmosphere into licensed comics, big-company work, and the odd limits of all-ages storytelling. Disney ends up feeling like the practical editor in the room. Gronbeck jokes that her bad jokes were weeded out with love and care, which says a lot about trust, restraint, and knowing the audience. Botter catches the joke and stays with it. He turns the Nightmare Before Christmas thread into a wider question about how comics became real work for her. Her answer starts well away from superheroes. Gronbeck says she always wanted to write, but a small market made staying local feel impossible. She had another life first. She worked in design and tech, built web projects, sold one to a media company, and spent years consulting around that world. Then it started taking too much out of her. Her phrasing is blunt and funny, especially when she admits her self-worth is tied to what she makes. That lands harder than a neat career timeline. It makes a standard comics interview question feel more like a conversation about pressure, ambition, and finding work that still feels alive. The guest brings the candor. Botter's best move is letting the answer wander without sanding down the weird edges, so the episode keeps the receipts attached.

As heard by us

A warm comics-industry conversation with useful craft detail.

The guest brings a steady sense of craft to a conversation that moves from mainstream superhero work to the practical realities of building a comics career from a small home market.

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Why you'd press play

You want comics career talk that moves from Catwoman to Christmastown.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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