Comics Interview — Issue #023

Foglio discusses his Hugo Award history (youngest winner at 21 in 1977), his work adapting Bob Asprin's Myth-Adventures novels for WaRP Graphics, and the collaborative dynamic with inker Tim Sale and publisher Richard Pini. He reveals that he's been significantly rewriting the source material beyond his original mandate, with Asprin's blessing after the fact; Asprin even took a pay cut so Foglio could receive more money for the extra writing work. Foglio also discusses the troubled history of D'Arc Tangent — a project he co-created with Freff that collapsed when he discovered Freff was erasing and redrawing his pencils — and his upcoming Buck Godot graphic novel series for Starblaze, which he fears will embarrass him by the time it's finally published.

Vokes, a self-described late bloomer who only pursued comics professionally in his late 20s, describes how he and inker Rich Rankin broke into comics through Comico's Primer anthology and were tapped for the Robotech adaptation. He explains that his approach to Robotech Masters deliberately departs from the Japanese animation style — he draws in his own American style rather than mimicking the source material — and defends this as giving the comic its own identity. He's enthusiastic about writer Mike Baron joining the title and hopes to develop an original series with Baron after the Robotech work wraps up.

Macek explains in detail how he assembled the Robotech animated series by combining three unrelated Japanese Tatsunoko Studios productions (Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospeada) into a single 85-episode continuity, rewriting all storylines to create a coherent saga covering three generations. He describes the technical and cultural challenges of Westernizing the material — re-timing animation with digital equipment, replacing Japanese dialogue with lip-synched English, and editing out nude bathing scenes that would "culturally shock" American audiences. Despite no toy line support at launch, Robotech was the #1 rated show in its Los Angeles time slot, and Macek outlines ambitious future plans including a Robotech feature film and adapting Captain Harlock.

Yronwode ranges widely across her history as a Marvel fanzine fan, her belief that the Overstreet Price Guide killed the collegial atmosphere of early fandom by turning collecting into wealth-driven speculation, and her philosophy of editing. She argues that fine art has been dead since the 19th century and that commercial artists like N.C. Wyeth, Craig Russell, and Dan Spiegle are the true artistic heirs — a position she uses to defend Eclipse's eclectic publishing philosophy against critics who want independents to be more experimental. She discusses the Eclipse line at length — praising Crossfire, Zot!, and Miracleman, defending the complexity of Aztec Ace, and noting that Eclipse's commitment to creator ownership of copyright still surprises professionals who assumed creators' royalties were sufficient.

DAK introduces new West Coast correspondent Shel Dorf, crediting him as the longtime organizer of the San Diego Comic Convention, former founding editor of the Steve Canyon magazine, and current letterer of the syndicated Canyon strip. DAK notes that Dorf's first contribution was an interview with Rick Hoberg in issue #21, and that Dorf himself will eventually be profiled in a future issue.

(int. Clint McElroy) — Smith, a West Virginia audio/video salesman and prolific comics letter writer, is interviewed by his collaborator at Comicast, an audio fanzine dedicated to bringing the fun back to comics coverage. Smith traces his collecting from childhood (his first read-through was a Batman issue the night before first grade) and argues passionately against speculation, peer-pressure buying, and the over-serious tone creeping into both comics and fan journalism. He praises underrated artists Don Heck, Dan Spiegle, and Curt Swan, and offers advice to aspiring letter writers: write sincerely about your real feelings rather than trying to flatter creators.