Comics Interview — Issue #011

In Part Two of his interview (continued from #10), Moench covers the full arc of his career since leaving Marvel in late 1982: his unexpected detour into Hollywood writing screenplays for Ralph Bakshi's Red Sonja film (produced by Dino De Laurentiis), brokered by Jim Steranko, which he found exhilarating but surreal and ultimately unproductive. He discusses SIX FROM SIRIUS, his 120-page science-fiction limited series with Paul Gulacy for Epic, born from a years-long passion project with no deadlines. On his DC work, he talks candidly about the complications of introducing Jason Todd as the new Robin, his ongoing Batman and Detective Comics run, and his upcoming assignment on Omega Men — diplomatically avoiding direct criticism of predecessor Roger Slifer while noting his intent to make the characters more sympathetic and optimistic. He closes with pointed opinions on the comics press's tendency toward extreme lionization and sudden dismissal, citing Frank Miller and Don McGregor as victims of this cycle, and dismissing the lavish praise for Love and Rockets as publisher-driven hype.

Two separate interviews are presented together: the first, conducted by Brian Talley, covers Romita Jr.'s career from breaking in via Iron Man (with Dave Michelinie and Bob Layton) through his long run on Amazing Spider-Man, exploring his father's influence (John Romita Sr. discouraged him from comics), his views on social commentary and violence in comics, and his feelings about ego and self-imposed pressure. The second, a shorter piece by Steve Saffel who caught him dropping off art at the Marvel Bullpen, focuses on his new role as X-Men penciller — he discusses the challenge of following Byrne, Cockrum, and Paul Smith on what he calls a "suicide book," his working relationship with Chris Claremont, his affinity for the diverse cast, and his careful research for location-specific issues.

Part One of Orzechowski's career retrospective, conducted by Schutz in her capacity as editor of The Telegraph Wire for Comics & Comix in California. Orzechowski traces his origins in Detroit fandom — where he worked alongside Terry Austin, Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom, and Rich Buckler — and his path to Marvel at age 19 via Tony Isabella, where Starlin championed him onto Captain Marvel before he felt ready. He recounts his famous prank of changing the Comics Code stamp to "The Cosmic Code Authority" on Strange Tales #179, and describes his move west with Mike Friedrich's Star*Reach collective (alongside Englehart, Starlin, and Brunner), his years freelancing for independents, and how he eventually settled into working almost exclusively with Chris Claremont on X-Men. Part Two (covering his X-Men alphabet design, Dark Phoenix lettering, and royalties) is promised for the next issue.

Scroggy, Editorial Director of Pacific Comics, gives a wide-ranging account of the company's origins (growing out of a retail and distribution operation), its editorial philosophy ("Excellence"), and the realities of the direct-sales marketplace. He discusses Pacific's best-selling titles (Alien Worlds consistently tops the list; MS. Mystic #1 was their all-time single-issue peak), the challenge of maintaining schedules as an undercapitalized publisher, and their plans to add advertising pages to reach break-even. He addresses the adult content debate — arguing Pacific doesn't go beyond an "R rating" and that real-world censorship concern has been minimal — and discusses Groo moving to Marvel's newsstand distribution, which he diplomatically accepts as better for Aragones' reach even as he regrets losing the title. He also previews Pacific's forthcoming reprint deal for Warrior material from Quality Comics UK (potentially including Marvelman under a different name) and the new anthology Pathways to Fantasy, featuring a Barry Windsor-Smith story.

DAK announces that Comics Interview is increasing its page count, thanks to reader and advertiser support, and promises coverage of more areas including production, merchandising, publishing, and the independents, while noting the magazine is still bursting with more ideas than even the expanded format can contain.

(int. Bill Chadwick) — Philadelphia attorney Meloney Crawford describes her lifelong relationship with comics, from childhood DC superhero reading (championed by her grandfather over her mother's objections) through active fan involvement in conventions and APAs, to her present-day reading of titles like New Teen Titans, American Flagg, and Love and Rockets. She comments on the growing presence of women in fandom, the positive and negative portrayals of women in comics (praising Teen Titans and Atari Force, criticizing the She-Hulk's handling), and the insularity of fandom culture.