Comics Interview — Issue #020

A married writing team from California, Tom and Mary Bierbaum discuss their work on the Lightning feature in Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents for Deluxe Comics, which came about through their long friendship with Keith Giffen, initially forged through the Legion of Super-Heroes Amateur Press Association (Interlac). They explain that Giffen handles the majority of the plotting, with Tom doing rough scripts that he and Mary then polish together, and they praise Giffen's commitment to artistic growth over commercial comfort. They also reflect on the decline of younger comics readership, the value of APAs as training grounds for aspiring professionals, and their admiration for writers like Paul Levitz who tell stories through dialogue and art rather than heavy narration.

Part two of a continuing interview with the Canadian creator of Neil the Horse, Saba discusses his philosophy of working in the face of financial insecurity, the challenge of attracting women and broader demographics to comics, and his thinking behind the character of Mam'selle Poupee — a deliberately attractive but also independent and active female character. He expresses deep admiration for the Hernandez Brothers' Love and Rockets and speaks at length about the failures of animated features due to poor storytelling, drawing comparisons to Walt Disney's genius for story and people management, which he consciously models in his own collaborative approach with artists like Barb Rausch. Saba reveals plans to expand Neil the Horse into children's books, a 3-D issue, color, and eventually animation, and reflects that he sees himself primarily as a writer and conceptualist.

Cockrum discusses his current workload at both Marvel and Deluxe Comics, including the four-issue Nightcrawler mini-series he is writing, pencilling, and inking himself (with his wife Paty coloring), a swashbuckling dimensional adventure that grew from a prior story he did with Jo Duffy. He explains how The Futurians graphic novel moved from Marvel to Deluxe Comics after David Singer made a substantially better offer that Marvel chose not to match, and describes plans for a Futurians ongoing series at Deluxe dealing with the aftermath of meteors devastating major cities. Cockrum also talks about his longtime love of the original T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents — he owns a complete set of the Tower books — and his suggestions to Singer on story directions, including using Lightning's suit as a plot element around the immortal android No-Man.

Giffen reflects warmly on his years on Legion of Super-Heroes, his one-upmanship creative dynamic with Paul Levitz, and his single regret of leaving before he could kill off Karate Kid. He discusses how the completed four-issue Ambush Bug mini-series pushes the humor and parody of the earlier Action Comics appearances even further, with Julie Schwartz as a supportive but usefully moderating editorial influence, and explains that the gags were designed to be funny on their own terms, with comic-book references added as an extra layer rather than as the core joke. Giffen also mentions upcoming work including a World's Finest story written by Zimmerman, a Spider-Man inventory story with Bill Mantlo, a Superman/Brainiac special for the European market, a Robert Bloch "Hell on Earth" DC graphic novel, and a Legion annual with Levitz; he also confirms a new Deluxe Comics character called the March Hare, described as a cross between Ambush Bug and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Theakston, a veteran illustrator and publisher (Pure Imagination), discusses his first comics coloring assignment: Jack Kirby's The Hunger Dogs DC graphic novel, which he colored using aniline dyes with laser separation, and for which he also painted the cover in oils over a canvas transcription of Kirby's pencils. He offers detailed analysis of coloring theory — the importance of keying color sequences, directing the reader's eye, the difference between coloring Kirby (direct, punchy animation-style color) versus Williamson (delicate pastels) — and argues that coloring is the weakest and most undertaught link in comics production. He addresses rumors about Jack Kirby's health, firmly denying the Alzheimer's reports, and provides historical context on coloring technology from the 1940s through the new laser-separation and water-ink printing processes then being introduced at DC.

Singer, publisher of Deluxe Comics, recounts his background in entertainment marketing and PR, his early failed ventures at Archie Comics and with the short-lived Comics Times and Comics Spotlight magazines, and how he arrived at launching Deluxe to revive the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents in the direct market after being burned by newsstand distribution problems. He explains the public-domain status of the characters, his initial agreement with prior publisher John Carbonaro (and Carbonaro's subsequent reversal once Singer assembled a high-profile creative team), and articulates his vision for stylish, mature comics aimed at adult readers. Singer also discusses Deluxe's expansion plans — The Futurians series, Tales of Thunder!, a fourth Keith Giffen book (the March Hare), possible publication of Evangeline, and a project from Jerry Siegel — while acknowledging that sales have been disappointing given the difficult market timing.

A brief editorial column in which DAK teases a major surprise planned for the milestone 25th issue, promising it will be an instant collectible. Runs to only a short paragraph.

(int. Darrel Boatz) — A lively group interview with eight members of the University of Illinois-based Chambana Comix Club, founded in 1973 and reorganized in 1976. The club operates as an informal buying cooperative with weekly meetings, and members hold strong and outspoken opinions: they are openly skeptical of Marvel under Jim Shooter, enthusiastic advocates for American Flagg, Thriller, Swamp Thing, Grimjack, and Dreadstar, and critical of the lack of editorial control over star creators like Claremont and Byrne. The conversation ranges across comics literacy, the distinction between soap operas and literature in comics, the merits of alternative-press titles, and the club's own history of writing protest letters — including one addressed in single-syllable words to a comics executive, with a pocket dictionary enclosed.