Neil Gaiman
Writer, Freelance (DC/Eclipse)
Working on: *Sandman*, *Miracleman: The Golden Age*, *Books of Magic*, novel *Good Omens*
A wide-ranging interview covering Gaiman's entry into comics via Black Orchid with Dave McKean, the origins and evolution of Sandman as a monthly series, and his approach to writing Miracleman: The Golden Age as a post-utopia character study. Also discusses Books of Magic (a four-issue guided tour of DC's magical universe with four different artists), his novel Good Omens co-written with Terry Pratchett, and numerous future projects including a Batman/circus graphic novel with Simon Bisley, a Death miniseries ("The High Cost of Living"), and a Sweeney Todd story for Taboo.
Dick Ayers
Artist, Freelance
Working on: *Dr. Solar* (Valiant); historical retrospective
A career retrospective spanning Ayers' WWII Army Air Corps service and early work at Magazine Enterprises, where he co-designed the original Ghost Rider. Covers his decades as a western and war specialist at Marvel, including his long run on Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (where he helped plot most stories), inking Jack Kirby on Fantastic Four, and later work for DC on Jonah Hex and Scalphunter.
Jim Mooney
Artist/Inker, Freelance (DC/Millennium)
Working on: *Superboy* TV comic; Anne Rice's *The Mummy* adaptation
Mooney traces his career from 1930s pulp illustration for Weird Tales through his Golden Age work at Ace, Quality, and Fiction House, his definitive decade-long run on Supergirl for DC under Mort Weisinger, and his move to Marvel in the late 1960s where he worked on Spider-Man, Man-Thing, Son of Satan, and Ms. Marvel. He discusses the contrasting editorial styles of Weisinger ("Jekyll and Hyde") and Stan Lee, and his current work on the Superboy TV tie-in comic.
John Dixon
Cartoonist/Artist, Freelance
Working on: Retired from *Air Hawk*; retrospective on Australian comics (Part 2 of 2)
Part two covering specific memorable Air Hawk storylines, the difficulties of maintaining creative freshness over decades on a single strip, the aborted Air Hawk TV pilot, his assistants, and his eventual burnout and relocation to Washington DC to work in defense publishing.
DAK shares reader survey responses asking what they hate most and would change about Comics Interview, covering complaints about interview length, lack of independent coverage, and black-and-white production.
Responses to the CI #100 "Power 100" list from John Byrne (arguing freelancers have no real power), Lou Bank of Marvel (defending omitted employee Sven Larsen), and Gary Groth and Kim Thompson of Fantagraphics (Thompson disputing DAK's characterization of Alan Moore); DAK responds to Thompson at length.