Comics Interview — Issue #109

McWhorter, curator of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Memorial Collection at the University of Louisville and president of the Burroughs Bibliophiles, discusses the scope of the 30,000-item collection and his forthcoming bibliographic catalogue. He covers ERB's literary legacy, the origins of characters based on real people, the history of the Tarzan comic strip from Hal Foster onward, and the ongoing Ballantine Books reprint program. Part 1 of 2.

Murphy recounts his career as a sports and magazine illustrator before moving into syndicated strips, beginning with Big Ben Bolt in 1950 and eventually being chosen by Hal Foster as his successor on Prince Valiant in the early 1970s. He discusses his working relationship with Foster, the challenges of reduced reproduction sizes, the evolution of Prince Valiant as a character, and his artistic influences, particularly Norman Rockwell and George Bridgeman.

Becton explains how he bluffed his way into the coloring coordinator role at Marvel after a decade in the reproduction department, and describes the mechanics of the job: maintaining costume-color consistency across titles, correcting coloring errors, and coordinating cover colors with art director John Romita. He discusses the challenges of coloring complex modern artwork, the limitations of the flexographic printing process, and the industry's inevitable shift to computer coloring.

(int. Darrel L. Boatz) — Bob Hyde, founding president of the Burroughs Bibliophiles, provides a detailed chronological survey of every artist who worked on the Tarzan newspaper strips from 1929 to 1971, and covers Tarzan and John Carter comic-book history from Dell/Gold Key through DC and Marvel.

A humorous set of tongue-in-cheek awards from a Manhattan cable TV talk show segment, recognizing notable industry events of the period including Peter David's Incredible Hulk run, Image Comics' founding, Marvel's X-Men #1 marketing tactics, and the Sandman/Maus literary achievements.