Comics Interview — Issue #145

Main Topics: Magic: The Gathering, Trading Card Games, Zorro / Lady Rawhide, Warren Comics History

Contents
  1. Anson Maddocks
  2. Glenn Elliott
  3. Don McGregor
  4. "Up Front: Magical" (David Anthony Kraft)
  5. "The Last Word" (Letters)
interview Anson Maddocks
Interviewed by Mike Mikaelian
Anson Maddocks Illustrator / Artist, Wizards of the Coast Working on: Magic: The Gathering card art, Vampire (JYHAD) expansion
A Seattle-based illustrator who broke into Magic: The Gathering through art director Jesper Myrfors, Maddocks discusses his background in editorial illustration before becoming one of Magic's most sought-after card artists. He talks about the game's surprising success, the royalty structure for artists, and his plans to return to fine art gallery work.
interview Glenn Elliott
Interviewed by Mike Mikaelian
Glenn Elliott Product Manager, Wizards of the Coast Working on: The Great Dalmuti, Robo Rally, Battletech Deckmaster
Elliott, Wizards of the Coast's product manager for The Great Dalmuti, Robo Rally, and the upcoming Battletech Deckmaster game, offers a detailed explanation of how Magic: The Gathering works as a trading card game and describes the company's explosive growth from five volunteers in mid-1993 to 120 full-time employees by year's end.
interview Don McGregor
Interviewed by Lou Mougin
Don McGregor Writer, Freelance (Topps / Fictioneer) Working on: Zorro, Lady Rawhide mini-series
The second installment of a career-spanning interview covers McGregor's work on Zorro and Lady Rawhide at Topps — including the historical research behind the series and the origins of Lady Rawhide — then shifts to his early life, military service, and first forays into the industry through his confrontational first encounter with publisher Jim Warren that led to his early Warren stories.
article "Up Front: Magical" (David Anthony Kraft)
DAK's editorial draws a parallel between the visual style of Magic: The Gathering's logo and the romantic aesthetic of the classic pulp magazines (*Weird Tales*, etc.), arguing that the game recaptures the sense of adventure those magazines once provided.
article "The Last Word" (Letters)
Reader Karen Applegate recommends the indie comic Shades of Gray Comics and Stories by Jim Gownley; DAK responds encouraging readers to seek it out.