Comics Interview — Issue #131

Main Topics: Ren & Stimpy, Animation vs. Comics Industry, Warren Publishing History (1970s)

Contents
  1. John Kricfalusi
  2. Jeff Rovin
  3. Mike Kazaleh
  4. "Up Front: Bound or Bagged?" (David Anthony Kraft)
  5. "The Last Word" (Letters)
interview John Kricfalusi
Interviewed by Darrel L. Boatz
John Kricfalusi Writer / Producer / Director, Spumco Cartoon Studios Working on: Jimmy the Hapless Boy, George Liquor animated shorts, He-Hog the Atomic Pig
Kricfalusi sets the record straight on the Nickelodeon takeover of Ren & Stimpy, refuting a prior "real story" interview in CI #122, and details the creative and scheduling failures of the post-Spumco third season. He discusses new Spumco projects — theatrical shorts starring Jimmy the Hapless Boy and George Liquor, the planned Comic Book (™Spumco) for Marvel, the superhero spoof He-Hog the Atomic Pig, and The Ripping Friends feature film — as well as his philosophy of cartoonist-driven animation.
interview Jeff Rovin
Interviewed by Lou Mougin
Jeff Rovin Writer / Editor, Freelance Working on: Celebrity biography of Adam West (Part 1 of 2)
In Part One of a two-part interview, Rovin recounts his entry into comics in the early 1970s, starting with Skywald under Sol Brodsky, then writing at DC under Dorothy Woolfolk and Joe Kubert. He moves on to running Warren Publishing's Captain Company mail-order operation under Jim Warren, witnessing the rise of Spanish artists and creators like Rich Corben, Will Eisner, and Bernie Wrightson, and shares colorful anecdotes about Jim Warren's eccentric personality and the events that brought the Warren empire down.
interview Mike Kazaleh
Interviewed by Harry W. Miller
Mike Kazaleh Artist, Marvel (freelance) Working on: Ren & Stimpy comic (Marvel)
Kazaleh discusses his career path from animation (Bakshi's Mighty Mouse, which connected him to the original Ren & Stimpy crew) through his Marvel comic work on Ren & Stimpy, which requires Nickelodeon approval at every stage. He talks about his independent Fantagraphics work (Captain Jack, Har*Har, Critters) and his hobby of collecting and racing slot cars.
article "Up Front: Bound or Bagged?" (David Anthony Kraft)
DAK recounts a formative experience with bound pulp magazine collections and his time convincing Stan Lee to bind Marvel's reference comics, arguing that bound volumes offer superior practical pleasure over bagged collectibles regardless of speculative resale value.
article "The Last Word" (Letters)
Readers debate Majel Barrett Roddenberry's apparent unfamiliarity with Star Trek novel continuity and the suitability of Robin Williams vs. Mickey Dolenz to play the Riddler in Batman 3.