Comics Interview — Issue #036

Mills traces his career from D.C. Thompson through the creation of BATTLE, ACTION, and 2000 A.D. with John Wagner, revealing that ACTION's extreme violence led to it being banned by the British press, while 2000 A.D. succeeded by being the first British comic to compete on strong visual storytelling. He discusses the genesis of Judge Dredd (his original concept was an occult character), the ABC WARRIORS, and the strip CHARLEY'S WAR, which required extensive historical research into World War One. The interview concludes with discussion of METALZOIC, a DC graphic novel he and Kevin O'Neill are creating, centered on robot evolution and featuring a deliberately anti-heroic protagonist named Armageddon.

Goodwin recounts his career arc from EC fan to editor at Warren Publications (CREEPY, EERIE), through stints at Marvel and DC before returning to Marvel to launch Epic Comics. He explains how Epic came about partly through his own intervention after Jim Shooter initially approached Al Milgrom, and how creator ownership at Epic means creators like Jim Starlin can take their books elsewhere if dissatisfied. He discusses the New Universe at length — four of the eight launch titles were concepts he developed — describing it as a more realistic universe proceeding from a single event (the "White Event"), and praises ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN (Miller/Sienkiewicz) as breakthrough material.

Rubinstein discusses his start at age thirteen as an assistant at Neal Adams and Dick Giordano's Continuity Studios, crediting Giordano as the definitive influence on a generation of inkers including Klaus Janson and Terry Austin. He argues passionately that inking is a full artistic discipline requiring anatomical knowledge and an understanding of light and rendering, not mere tracing, and discusses his approach of preserving each penciller's individual style rather than imposing a homogeneous look, and his pride in inking 164 different pencillers for the Marvel Universe Handbook. This is part one of two.

Black, publisher and lead artist at Americomics in Florida, describes the company's structure: AC-owned titles (FEMFORCE, NIGHTVEIL, SENTINELS OF JUSTICE) plus creator-owned books. He reflects candidly on overexpanding during the 1983 independent comics boom and then having to retrench when sales collapsed, and on the economics of small-press publishing under the direct-sales system. He defends FEMFORCE and his other female-led titles against charges of sexism, arguing the characters are intelligent and resourceful, and notes that FEMFORCE alumni include Paul Ryan and June Brigman, who went on to work at Marvel and DC.

A wry account of the trials of dealing with printers as an independent publisher, including deceptive quoting practices, missed deadlines, and creative excuses.

Reader letters responding to the Batman issue; readers debate whether Adam West and Burt Ward should appear in the upcoming Batman film and suggest future interview subjects (Kirby, Ditko, Gene Colan).