Jackson Gillis
Screenwriter/Novelist, Freelance
Working on: Novel Chainsaw (St. Martin's Press); consulting on Columbo
Veteran TV screenwriter Gillis discusses his work writing 15 episodes of The Adventures of Superman (1950s), explaining how he pushed the series toward science-fictional fantasy and deliberately introduced kryptonite to give the invincible hero vulnerability. He reflects on the difficulty of plotting mystery series like Perry Mason and Columbo, and notes that a 1953 Superman episode he wrote included a prescient anti-nuclear speech drawn from his experience as a WWII intelligence officer who flew over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Wendy Pini
Writer/Artist, WaRP Graphics / Father Tree Press
Working on: ElfQuest: Siege on Blue Mountain; Father Tree Press anniversary color volumes
Richard Pini
Writer/Publisher, WaRP Graphics / Father Tree Press
Working on: ElfQuest 10th anniversary publishing campaign; Blood of Ten Chiefs anthology
On the 10th anniversary of ElfQuest, the Pinis trace the book's origins in the proto-independent comics market of 1977–78 alongside Cerebus and First Kingdom, arguing that ElfQuest succeeded by breaking every industry rule (wrong size, wrong price, fantasy, female artist, continued narrative). They discuss why the series generates an unusually deep emotional bond in readers — attributing it to the unified writer-artist vision and its 50% female readership — and contrast this warmth with the cynicism of Dark Knight and Watchmen. Richard announces plans to relaunch all of ElfQuest in six Father Tree Press color volumes through Berkley distribution to reach mainstream bookstores, while Wendy reveals that Siege on Blue Mountain is an eight-issue allegory about child abuse.
Marco Lupoi
Translator/Editor, Star Comics (Italy) / Fumo di China / Alessandro Distribuzioni
Working on: Translating Spider-Man (L'Uomo Ragno); editing Fumo di China magazine
The young editor of Italy's leading comics fanzine-turned-prozine Fumo di China and translator of Marvel's relaunched Spider-Man (L'Uomo Ragno) describes the Italian comics landscape: a market dominated by digest-format Western heroes (*Tex*, Zagor), horror (*Dylan Dog*), and the thief-hero Diabolik, with quality magazines mixing comics, fashion, and literary content. Lupoi explains that Marvel had a five-year gap in Italian publishing after the Corno bankruptcy, that pornographic comics are entirely legal and widespread in Italy, and that the Lucca convention functions as a genuine global comics melting pot.
Outgoing managing editor Mark Borax bids farewell after two-and-a-half years, noting his pride in initiating the "Real War" issue (#53) and the anti-censorship issue (#43); he is leaving to pursue a professional astrology practice in California.
Chicago retailer Jacobsen writes an open letter arguing that the comics industry's talk of expanding to adult mainstream audiences is hollow, because nearly all so-called "adult" comics still fall within genres the average adult dismisses as niche or childish; he calls for diversified, regularly published mainstream titles available outside specialty shops.