Comics Interview — Issue #028

Guice discusses how he and Bob Layton pitched X-Factor to Jim Shooter as a vehicle for the original X-Men characters, with Mike Carlin coming aboard as editor and coining the title. He explains that Jean Grey's return was not part of their original plan but was incorporated after John Byrne and Roger Stern proposed it. Guice also reflects on his origin story: breaking into comics via Southern Knights while working a day job designing patches, then drawing his first Micronauts issue with his arm in a cast, and his goal to make X-Factor feel as landmark as Kirby's Fantastic Four run. He describes his collaborative full-time creative process with Layton, and why he departed Swords of the Swashbucklers at issue #4.

In a brief phone sidebar, Carlin expresses confidence that X-Factor will succeed, calling the original X-Men his favorite Marvel comic as a kid and noting that the book's built-in character history and established personalities give it a strong foundation. He describes the book's tone as public and adventurous — "hiding in plain sight" — compared to the secret-school format of X-Men and New Mutants, with a "James Bond" feel for adventure.

Part one of a wide-ranging retrospective with the top-paid Golden Age comics writer, covering his entry into comics through MLJ Publications in 1942, his work across Quality, Fawcett, and DC on titles including Blackhawk, Captain Marvel, The Spirit, Superman, and Plastic Man. Woolfolk recalls his editors (Harry Shorten, Otto Binder, John Beardsley), his admiration for artist Reed Crandall, his uncertain role in the creation of Captain Marvel Jr., and his self-published ventures (The Mad Hatter, Animal Fables). He characterizes himself as a skilled craftsman-for-hire who invented nothing but pleased every editor, and credits the Golden Age as the best writing ground he ever knew.

Patterson traces his career from early porno magazine covers and background work at Neal Adams' Continuity Associates, through his tenure as production coordinator at First Comics (where he inked Warp and the "Black Flame" backup), to his celebrated run inking Brian Bolland on Camelot 3000 and his current work on Green Lantern with Steve Englehart and Joe Staton. He speaks frankly about losing the Camelot assignment due to scheduling conflicts, his enthusiasm for Japanese animation and robot toys, his admiration for the Crisis on Infinite Earths series, and his dismissal of Marvel's Secret Wars as pointless. He offers blunt opinions on artists, publishers, and the state of alternative comics.

Conklin discusses running The October Country, an independent comics specialty store in rural New Paltz, New York, drawing customers from up to forty miles away. He explains his philosophy of reading every new title so he can give honest recommendations — including actively discouraging purchases he considers poor value — and credits this transparency with building his loyal customer base. He criticizes Marvel for overextending Spider-Man titles and Secret Wars, praises Grimjack and Thriller, and argues that comics reviewers and publishers alike fail the medium by either panning experiments before they mature or flooding the market with celebrity-name tie-ins that neglect quality.

Features letters debating a previous She-Hulk controversy between readers Darrel Boatz and Barry Dutter; a sharp rebuttal from David M. Singer of Deluxe Comics responding to allegations made by letter-writer Bob Sodaro in issue #25; a letter from horror novelist Ramsey Campbell thanking CI for his issue #22 interview and recommending Alan Moore's Swamp Thing; and a note from Gerard Jones and Will Jacobs promoting their forthcoming book The Comic Book Heroes, with a response from DAK.