Comics Interview — Issue #130

Main Topics: Star Wars Comics (Dark Horse), Star Wars CD-ROM Games (LucasArts), Classic Newspaper Comic Strips (Moon Mullins History)

Contents
  1. Dan Thorsland
  2. Ferd Johnson
  3. Vince Lee
  4. "Up Front" (David Anthony Kraft)
  5. "The Last Word" (Letters)
interview Dan Thorsland
Interviewed by Mark Lucas
Dan Thorsland Editor, Dark Horse Comics Working on: Star Wars: Dark Lords of the Sith, Droids, Tales of the Jedi, Dark Empire II
Thorsland, editor of Dark Horse's Star Wars comics line, discusses the revived fan interest in Star Wars and how it parallels the cultural mood of 1977. He covers how Dark Horse secured the license from Lucasfilm, the creative freedom and restrictions imposed by Lucasfilm, the assembling of creative teams (including Tom Veitch, Chris Gossett, Louise Simonson, and June Brigman), and upcoming projects including Dark Lords of the Sith, Dark Empire II, Droids, and an X-Wing series based on the LucasArts game.
interview Ferd Johnson
Interviewed by Shel Dorf
Ferd Johnson Cartoonist, Freelance / Chicago Tribune Syndicate Working on: Watercolor and oil painting
The third and final part of Dorf's extended interview with the 85-year-old Moon Mullins cartoonist, now retired, covering his memories of newspaper strip legends including Milton Caniff, Sid Smith, Chester Gould, Frank King, Dick Moores, and Walt Disney. Johnson reflects on the decline of newspaper strips compared to the golden era and his late-career turn to oil and watercolor painting under Norman Rockwell's instruction.
interview Vince Lee
Interviewed by Darrel L. Boatz
Vince Lee Programmer / Game Designer, LucasArts Working on: Star Wars: Rebel Assault (CD-ROM)
Lee, programmer and designer at LucasArts, explains what CD-ROM technology offers game designers and describes how Star Wars: Rebel Assault went gold in its first week with over 100,000 copies sold. He distinguishes *Rebel Assault*'s arcade story-driven format from the flight-simulator complexity of X-Wing, and speculates on the future of networked multi-player gaming.
article "Up Front" (David Anthony Kraft)
DAK pays tribute to the recently deceased Jack Kirby, calling him the revitalizing force that drew him back to comics, noting that the very existence of Comics Interview is itself a tribute and pointing readers to the Kirby appreciation in issue #121.
article "The Last Word" (Letters)
An open letter from Lance Jacobs of Raging Rhino Productions argues that Diamond's tightening cancellation windows will destroy independent publishers; Jeph Loeb defends his Challengers of the Unknown mini-series against a critic's review.