Comics Interview — Issue #090

Recorded panel discussion from a Los Angeles comics convention, addressing whether creators work for love or money. Panelists discuss creative burnout, the challenges of working with editors, the difficulty of breaking in as a writer vs. an artist, and the dual necessity of passion and business sense for a comics career. Kirby reflects on his long career spanning romance comics to Fourth World, while younger creators like Liefeld and Silvestri describe their own paths into the industry.

Murray discusses his career as a pulp historian and ghost writer of The Destroyer paperback novel series, tracing his path from Doc Savage fandom to co-writing The Assassin's Handbook and eventually taking over the Destroyer novels following Richard Sapir's death. He explains his writing process for both novels and Marvel's Destroyer comic, and talks about his collaboration with artist Lee Weeks and his working relationship with series co-creator Warren Murphy.

Norwood recounts his roots in 1960s MIT science-fiction fandom, his early days as a comics letter hack writing to Julie Schwartz, and his evolution into publisher of Manuscript Press (producers of the deluxe Prince Valiant reprint series) and editor of Comics Revue. He discusses the independent comics market, the challenge of getting adults to read comics, and his concerns about growing illiteracy and the over-emphasis on speculative collecting in comics fandom.

DAK frames the issue's central theme of love vs. money in comics, drawing on a letter from pulp writer E. Hoffmann Price to question whether comics are art or commerce.

Reader Cary Brayboy criticizes a prior John Byrne interview for focusing too narrowly on editorial controversies; editor Pat O'Neill defends the interview's focus. Reader letters from England and Canada round out the column.