Comics Interview — Issue #058

The three producers of Marvel Productions' X-Men: The Living Weapons syndicated cartoon pilot discuss dividing production duties three ways, co-producing with Japan's Toei Animation, and character selection driven by New York marketing. They address TV violence debates, explain why the X-Men pilot was set during Kitty Pryde's joining to give a child's point-of-view, and Stan comments on the SPIDER-MAN movie's uncertain status, THE PUNISHER as the likely first Marvel film to reach screens, and the HOWARD THE DUCK movie's failure to maintain a consistent identity.

The Fleetway editors discuss their plans to launch a new full-color fortnightly for simultaneous U.K./U.S. release, with a Judge Dredd/Batman crossover book as the format flagship, signed talent including Ian Gibson and Pat Mills. They trace the history of why American superhero reprints consistently failed in the British market, contrast creator contract terms at Epic, DC, and IPC/Fleetway, and debate the British tradition of strict separation between editors and writers.

In the third installment of a multi-part interview, Robinson discusses the abrupt cancellation of his Jet Scott science-fiction newspaper strip just before Sputnik would have made it timely, his teaching at the School of Visual Arts where Steve Ditko and others were students, and his philosophy of comics as a living medium that uniquely manipulates time and engages reader imagination. He describes founding the Cartoonists & Writers Syndicate and launching Views of the World, a weekly round-up of international editorial cartoons now carried by over 100 U.S. papers.

Marvel's 23-year-old production letterer explains that he entered lettering because it offered faster income than illustration after art school, having interned at Marvel at age 15. He describes the specialized role of a production letterer — mimicking other letterers' styles for corrections — and discusses logo design principles (readability, contemporary feel, longevity), citing his work on Classic X-Men, Star Brand, Iron Man, and the Giant-Sized Annual logo strip.

Vogel argues that publisher's rights deserve the same recognition as creator's rights, noting that his own publisher David Kraft and former partner David Willis hold shares in the Knights because without their investment the comic would never have existed.

Extended letter from John Trauger and W. Everett Chesnut condemning John Byrne's handling of Star Brand #13, specifically the brutal death of supporting character Debbie Fixx, which they argue constitutes a mean-spirited vendetta against former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter through his fictional creations.