Comics Interview — Issue #082

Wide-ranging dinner conversation covering Miller's two years writing the RoboCop 2 screenplay, his working relationship with director Irvin Kershner and producer Jon Davison, and the seven-draft development process. Miller discusses his three forthcoming Dark Horse projects — Give Me Liberty (with Dave Gibbons), Hard Boiled (with Geof Darrow), and Elektra Lives Again (with Lynn Varley coloring) — explaining why he took work to Dark Horse over Marvel and DC due to creative autonomy and concern over corporate interference. He also addresses creator rights, the WAP newsletter, censorship threats in comics, and his ambition to direct films.

Group interview conducted at Mirage Studios the week before the TMNT film opened nationally, focusing on the making of the movie and the comic adaptation. Laird discusses the film's development from a low-budget Hong Kong shoot to a Jim Henson Creature Shop production, the approval process over characters and screenplay, and the extraordinary animatronic Turtle suits. The group shares anecdotes from visiting the North Carolina set and debates whether the film's look has influenced how they draw the characters.

Part two of a continuing interview with the Flash Gordon strip artist. Barry recalls working alongside Mickey Spillane at Funnies Inc. in the early comic book days, describes the editorial brutality of Bob Kanigher at DC, and reflects on his philosophy of storytelling in a daily strip — avoiding hard science fiction in Flash Gordon for readability reasons and his use of understated comedy and social commentary. Part three will cover Frank Frazetta.

Interview with a Virginia stuntman who landed a role as a Foot soldier in the TMNT film through a martial arts connection. Beahm describes the two-and-a-half-month shoot in Wilmington, North Carolina, the stunt choreography led by coordinator Pat E. Johnson, the challenges of fighting alongside stunt performers in the bulky Turtle suits, and the film's extraordinary $25 million opening weekend.

Reader Bill Chadwick praises the Chaykin interview while criticizing frequent profanity in the Chaykin and Silvestri interviews; Batton Lash provides an update on Wolff & Byrd, noting the CBS/New World TV deal collapsed and that the strip will appear in TSR's Polyhedron Newszine.