Comics Interview — Issue #008

A "First Look" presented as a transcript of an actual editorial plotting session for World's Finest Comics #300, held over lunch at a Japanese restaurant in Manhattan. DAK, editor Slifer, and writer Barr hash out the logistics of a massive story involving Superman, Batman, the JLA, the Outsiders, and the new villain Zeta on the alien world of Olda — juggling a red-sun-depowered Superman leading the JLA, alien hordes invading Earth through a "Cosmic Tree" whose roots emerge in major cities, and time-field disruptions that allow cameos from Sgt. Rock and Jonah Hex. The freewheeling session captures the genuine collaborative energy of plotting, from serious structural debates about the overpopulation moral dilemma to gleeful tangents like "Let's kill them all! Big Death Issue!" The resolution they land on: Zeta, the god-level villain searching for purpose, will be left in charge of the alien world as a "God of Guidance."

A wide-ranging conversation between two Capital Comics writers about theme, philosophy, and motivation in superhero comics. Baron explains that Nexus is fundamentally about entropy and the second law of thermodynamics — his hero is compelled to execute mass murderers by agonizing dreams that will physically kill him if he doesn't act, making his vigilantism a form of self-defense fraught with moral ambiguity. Grant describes Whisper as a story about betrayal, built around a non-superpowered heroine trained in aikido whose education in the world's treachery drives her from innocence to hard-won experience. Baron then discusses The Badger as the logical extension of vigilantism — his hero is genuinely psychotic, a personality-disordered martial artist whose costumed crime-fighting will eventually land him back in a mental institution. Both writers argue passionately that comic books carry inherent ideologies whether creators acknowledge them or not, and that the medium's philosophical implications — particularly the endorsement of vigilante violence — deserve more honest examination than the industry typically provides.

The creator of Zippy the Pinhead traces his path from fine-art student at Pratt Institute through the San Francisco underground comix scene to mainstream recognition. Describes how Zippy evolved from a pinhead character in a 1970 romance parody, inspired by Tod Browning's film Freaks — and reveals a remarkable coincidence: the original circus pinhead "Zip, the What-Is-It" was named William Henry Jackson, born in 1842, the same name and birth year as Griffith's own great-grandfather. Discusses Zippy's appeal as a "fun-house mirror" for 1980s anxieties, his "poetry of nonsequiturs" reflecting media overload, and shares stories about John Belushi's fan letter wanting Zippy to host Saturday Night Live and Dan Aykroyd developing the Coneheads after reading Zippy Stories in a van. Offers a bleak assessment of current newspaper cartooning as "a vast wasteland" of "formula-ridden pablum" and reflects on the underground comix market's decline from 20,000-30,000 print runs to a state where 10,000 copies counts as a major success.

DC's rising colorist discusses his trajectory from fat-pencil Jack Kirby imitations to becoming the company's go-to specialist for mini-series and Baxter-format books. Reveals he has just finished coloring seven different costume proposals for the new Robin, working from Marv Wolfman's directive to "reflect Batman's colors but not copy them." Details his technical innovation of introducing K-tones (black tones) to the Baxter printing process — previously unavailable for interior pages — allowing true shadow effects without color shifts, a breakthrough he pioneered on Thriller and refined for Gene Colan's pencil-only Nathaniel Dusk, where the unprecedented challenge of coloring unlinked pencil art required ultra-delicate handling. Also discusses his colorist theories centered on storytelling through contrast, continuity, and emotional cueing, and shares editor quirks: "Len Wein does not like pinks — he feels they look 'fey.' Karen Berger hates greens with a passion."

IPC Magazines' assistant editor on 2000 AD provides a comprehensive look at the British comics industry. Describes how 2000 AD, launched in 1977 by writers John Wagner and Pat Mills, broke British conventions by adopting American-style splash panels and dynamic dialogue, attracting an older readership including college students and pop musicians — slowly eroding the British social stigma against reading comics past age 14. Explains the unique economics of British weekly comics publishing: IPC launches titles with heavy TV advertising and high print runs, then systematically cuts 1,000 copies per week, with only "boom" relaunch issues or mergers with other titles pushing circulation back up. Details his own path from fan publisher of Comic Media News through a chaotic stint at Marvel's British office under Dez Skinn — where three people produced the entire output — to IPC, where he landed on the doomed Tornado (22 weeks before merger) before joining 2000 AD. Notes that superheroes don't work in Britain ("it would be impossible to do that in London because it's a lot flatter") and praises Dez Skinn's Warrior magazine, singling out Marvelman and V for Vendetta.

Addresses reader requests for more alternative and independent publisher coverage, noting that the magazine has always aimed for breadth across the field but has been constrained by space. Promotes issue #8's alternative-leaning content and previews issue #9 as a giant-size special with a Walt Simonson Thor cover.

(int. Jim Salicrup) — Part one of a two-part interview with a legendary Marvel collector whose 8,000-book collection includes a copy of Marvel Comics #1 signed by three original artists. Reece recounts his childhood in Brooklyn, his lonely teenage years collecting comics at English flea markets while attending school near Manchester, and his return to America in 1967 with his comics as virtually his only possessions. Describes the awe of attending his first Phil Seuling convention in 1968, where he acquired Captain America #1 for a fraction of its later value, and his brief, unhappy stint in Marvel's reproduction department — where he believes an editor sabotaged his hiring for a better position out of fear that Stan Lee would rely on Reece's encyclopedic knowledge over the editorial staff.