Marv Wolfman
Writer, DC Comics
Working on: *Batman* (ongoing), *New Teen Titans*
Wolfman discusses taking over the Batman title in its 50th anniversary year, including his plans for Batman: Year Three and the challenge of balancing present and past storylines at editor Denny O'Neil's direction. He reflects on his history with the character through Dick Grayson's transition to Nightwing and his fondness for Tomb of Dracula as the book where he learned his craft. He also addresses the Batman movie's influence, upcoming villains like Two-Face and Crimesmith, and returning supporting characters like Lucius Fox and Alfred.
Matt Groening
Cartoonist/Writer, Freelance (syndication/Fox/Pantheon)
Working on: *Life in Hell* strip, *The Simpsons* (Tracey Ullman Show)
Groening discusses the origins of Life in Hell (conceived on the Hollywood freeway in 1977, strip launched 1980), his philosophy of writing humor from a personal point of view rather than to please others, and how his childhood in Portland and difficult school experiences shaped his work. He mentions his animated bumpers for The Tracey Ullman Show featuring the Simpsons family, his plans to expand into fiction, and Pantheon Books' push to bring alternative cartoonists into mainstream bookstores.
William Stout
Artist/Production Designer, Freelance
Working on: *Leviathan* (film); dinosaur book follow-up; various illustration projects
Stout traces his career from early fandom and art school at Chouinard/Cal-Arts, through assisting Russ Manning on Tarzan, working with Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder on Little Annie Fanny, producing movie posters for films including Wizards, Monty Python's Life of Brian, and Rock 'n' Roll High School, and then production design work on Conan the Barbarian, Return of the Living Dead, and Masters of the Universe (where he hired Moebius). Part one of two.
Steve Sibra
Comics Retailer, Rocket Comics (Seattle)
Working on: Overseeing shop during Batman movie boom
Sibra, owner of Rocket Comics in Seattle, assesses the Batman movie's impact on comics retail, noting a wave of new adult customers buying merchandise and occasional comics but questioning how many will become regulars. He observes that Batman mania has boosted DC's adult-oriented titles like Animal Man, Sandman, and Hellblazer while slightly eroding sales of Marvel's mutant books, and predicts the fad will fade while hoping comics gains a few permanent converts.
A film-critic essay analyzing Jack Nicholson's performance as the Joker in the 1989 Batman film, arguing that his "over the top" portrayal is a self-aware extension of his career-long persona of characters in pain, tracing it back to his bit part in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).