Comics Interview — Issue #092

Mackie discusses launching the new Ghost Rider series to a surprise second printing, drawing on his Brooklyn/Cypress Hills upbringing to set the book's gritty tone. He explains the character's core premise — Dan Ketch as the Spirit of Vengeance avenging innocent blood — and pushes back on the notion that Ghost Rider is simply another "kick-ass" violent character, noting that unlike Punisher or Wolverine, Ghost Rider has never killed anyone. He also covers his path into comics through childhood friend Mike Carlin and mentor Mark Gruenwald.

In Part 1 of a 2-part interview conducted in Mexico City, Bastien provides a wide-ranging overview of the Mexican comics industry: its three dominant publishers (Vid, EJEA, Novedades), the staggering estimated 1.5 billion comics sold per year, the dominance of homegrown working-class titles over licensed American product, the decline of the fumetti photonovel format, and a detailed breakdown of the distribution and returns system. He contrasts the Mexican market — cheap weekly comics sold at newsstands, read and discarded — with the American direct-market model.

Ramos talks about being tapped by editor Jim Salicrup to pencil Marvel's new Toxic Avenger series, his enthusiasm for the character's outrageous gore and black humor, and his working relationship with writer Doug Moench. He describes the challenge of finding the right exaggerated visual style for the book and mentions prior work on What If? X-Men, Conan, and Valiant titles.

In a broad career retrospective, Wein recounts the creation of Wolverine (a name supplied by Roy Thomas, with a costume designed by John Romita Sr.) and the new X-Men lineup with Dave Cockrum, including the origin of Storm from two merged character concepts. He shares opinions on what subsequent writers did with his creations — disliking the move toward Wolverine killing — and discusses his fondness for The Incredible Hulk, favorite Batman stories, working with Alan Moore on Swamp Thing, and early career breaks through fanzines and Joe Orlando at DC.

Markstein argues that nostalgia, not quality, is what makes fans venerate the "Golden Age" of comics, proposing that whatever comics a person read at age twelve becomes their personal golden age by default.