Comics Interview — Issue #034

Pasko explains his quiet departure from comics roughly two years prior, driven by disillusionment with the superhero-only marketplace and his desire to work in anthology formats that no longer existed. He contrasts his constrained run on Swamp Thing — hampered by the Comics Code, page limits, and concerns over the Swamp Thing film — with Alan Moore's freer, celebrated approach, arguing the comparison is "apples and oranges." He reflects candidly on his satirical X-Men parody featuring thinly veiled versions of Claremont, Byrne, and Shooter, noting that those parodied complained through third parties rather than confronting him directly — a symptom, he says, of the industry's allergy to confrontation. He also critiques the "war" between commercial marketplace demands and Superman's mythology as the core problem for DC's flagship character.

Part two of Weiss's interview covers the creation of the Marvel KISS Super Special, including the story of Stan Lee attending a Kiss concert where a firecracker went off under his seat. Weiss discusses his philosophy of collaborative storytelling — preferring a "What do you want to draw?" conversation with artists over handing off a finished script — and describes his upcoming projects: Steelgrip Starkey (Epic), the World War II fantasy graphic novel Wonderwar, and Drastic Action Comics featuring sidekick character Scuff. He also reflects on the Spirit Jam and his Pellucidar work for DC.

Sienkiewicz discusses his radical shift to fully painted, mixed-media originals for the Elektra limited series, describing the psychological and technical challenges of working in cut paper, acrylics, and other color media rather than pen and ink. He compares working with Chris Claremont (emotionally driven, soap-opera storytelling on New Mutants) versus Frank Miller (thematically and politically driven on Elektra), calling Elektra "a punk book — counterculture, very political." He also discusses plans to begin writing his own material, citing Orwellian imagery and the political subtext of David Lynch's Eraserhead as major influences.

Bryant recounts his thirteen-year journey from a Virginia coal-mining background through DC staff work, background inking for Marvel and DC, science fiction magazine illustration, and arcade game art, to his recent breakthrough inking The Badger for First Comics and Hero Alliance for Sirius. He describes being effectively blacklisted at Marvel and DC despite his skills, until Keith Giffen championed him, and notes his passion for NASA and the space program — he attended a shuttle launch as a press guest — and discusses plans for a series of NASA-themed paintings.

Second in a series, DAK humorously describes the realities of publishing: committing to a project in a flash of optimism, setting impossible deadlines, and the inevitable scramble that follows.

Reader letters discuss the Batman/Superman comparison, praise for issue #31, and requests for back issues; DAK responds briefly to each.