Ed Hannigan
Writer/Artist, DC Comics
Working on: *Skull & Bones* (3-issue prestige series); upcoming *Catwoman* (pencils)
Hannigan discusses Skull & Bones, his self-written and -drawn DC prestige limited series set in the Soviet Union, which follows an Afghanistan veteran who targets the Kremlin. He reflects on collector-driven market distortions, the superiority of writer-artists, and the bleak future of comics if Virtual Reality takes hold, while noting tentative plans to pencil a Catwoman ongoing with Doug Moench.
Chuck Pfarrer
Screenwriter/Comic Writer, Dark Horse
Working on: *The Thing* (2-issue series); *Virus* (4-issue series)
Hollywood screenwriter (*Darkman*, Navy Seals) discusses his debut comic work for Dark Horse: a two-issue The Thing continuation picking up immediately after the Carpenter film's ambiguous ending, with the new twist that Things compete rather than cooperate. He also previews Virus, an *Alien*-style horror series set on a hijacked Chinese satellite ship, and expresses enthusiasm for comics as a storytelling medium.
John Arcudi
Writer, Dark Horse
Working on: *Aliens: Genocide*; *The Thing* (continuing); *The Mask*; *The Creep* (Dark Horse Presents)
Arcudi explains that his Aliens: Genocide arc follows the events after Earthwar using entirely new characters, deliberately avoiding conflicts with the impending Alien 3 film. He discusses picking up The Thing from Pfarrer, his flexible script-writing approach, the successful Mask series, and his new ongoing Dark Horse Presents character, the acromegalic private detective called The Creep.
Tad Pietrzykowski
Writer/Publisher, Southern Cross Comics (Australia)
Working on: *Dark Nebula*; *Southern Squadron/Dark Nebula* crossover
Australian writer/publisher and radio announcer Pietrzykowski traces the origins of his superhero Dark Nebula — an RAAF astronaut who merges with an alien psionic entity — and its role in sparking the mid-1980s Australian independent comics scene centered around the anthology Cyclone! He discusses his Marvel-style collaborative plotting method, his frustration at never receiving replies from Marvel to submission attempts, and his ambition to pitch Dark Nebula to US independent publishers.
DAK presents a curated selection of reader survey responses from the #100 milestone issue, covering questions about theme issues vs. variety issues and interview length preferences.