Comics Interview — Issue #045

Moebius discusses his newly signed contract with Marvel for six graphic album reprints of his French work, noting that his company Starwatcher Graphics retains full quality-approval rights — an unprecedented deal in American comics. He speaks at length about his philosophy of balancing commercial and artistic life, his spiritual evolution away from violence and toward beauty in his work, and his disciplined daily routines including raw-food diet, t'ai chi, swimming, and martial arts. He also describes his ambitions to explore new media such as oil painting, airbrush, and sculpture, and his work on the animated film Internal Transfer.

Lofficier, acting as editor and translator for the six Moebius Marvel volumes alongside his wife Randy, outlines the contents of all six books in detail: Upon a Star, Arzach, The Airtight Garage, The Long Tomorrow, The Gardens of Aedena, and Pharagonesia. He explains the challenges of faithfully re-translating Moebius from French — particularly correcting the Heavy Metal translations' loss of cultural nuance — and notes that The Gardens of Aedena will appear in the U.S. before its French publication, a first for a Moebius book.

Part one of a two-part interview; Woggon recounts his career from ghosting the Chief Wahoo strip with his brother Elmer to creating Katy Keene for Archie Comics in 1945, which at peak circulation approached one million copies and generated bags of fan mail from readers submitting fashion designs. He discusses how Katy Keene inspired a generation of professional fashion designers — including Antonio Lopez, Betsey Johnson, and Willie Smith — and how the strip was cancelled in the 1960s as TV eroded readership, after which he retired from Archie. Rausch, one of Woggon's most successful "graduates," describes her own journey from teenage Katy Keene fan to professional artist and co-creator of the current comic Vicki Valentine.

Armstrong, a veteran cartoonist born in 1917, describes his career highlights including drawing the Little Lulu newspaper strip, ghosting Ella Cinders and Napoleon and Uncle Elby, inking the Flintstones comic strip in its first two years, and currently producing Scamp. He recounts that Western Publishing routinely destroyed original art rather than returning it to artists, shares a colorful anecdote about how a rival student's drawing at age fifteen inspired him to master the Landon cartooning correspondence course, and discusses his work as a museum director and art teacher.

Bruning, DC's art director, and Rozakis, DC's production manager, explain the shift from letterpress to offset printing that has transformed DC's output, noting that Camelot 3000 was the first DC book printed offset and tracing the development of Baxter paper, Rono-web paper for Ronin and Dark Knight, and the new dollar-priced offset format debuting with The Spectre. Bruning describes his integrated design philosophy — as seen in Watchmen (where the cover is literally the first panel) — and his earlier career founding Capital Comics and publishing Nexus, Badger, and Whisper before "Black September" drove small publishers out. Rozakis details the production department's heroic efforts to meet press deadlines, including Murphy Anderson's late-night runs to Teterboro Airport with film for the Montreal printers.

DAK reflects on the shifting power balance in the comics market, noting that independents have risen to compete head-to-head with Marvel and DC in the direct sales market.

Reader letters include a campaign pitch to lobby the U.S. Postmaster General for a Superman commemorative stamp in honor of the character's upcoming 50th anniversary (1988), and a correction/addendum from Todd R. Reis clarifying details about his 3D artwork displays.