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A bombshell "First Look" about the stalled JLA/Avengers crossover. Perez gives a detailed, anguished account of the project's collapse — Gerry Conway's original plot was rejected by Jim Shooter, DC prematurely greenlit Perez to pencil 21 pages before Marvel approved, and Shooter then spent months neither approving nor rejecting Roy Thomas's revised plot. Perez announces he is leaving the project, calling the experience "the most heartbreaking decision I've ever had to make" and accusing Shooter of deliberate procrastination. Thomas corroborates Perez's account, describing Shooter's failure to read or respond to a 17-page plot as inexplicable and unprofessional, and vows not to let the blame be shifted onto DC. Both express deep frustration that a project they loved — one Perez had dreamed of since before turning pro — has been reduced to a political meatgrinder between the two companies.

This novel-length, issue-spanning interview covers Perez's entire career from fanzine work and his early Marvel years (Man-Wolf, Sons of the Tiger, Avengers, Fantastic Four) through his landmark DC work on New Teen Titans and Crisis on Infinite Earths, up to his then-current ongoing series Wonder Woman. Perez discusses his personal life candidly — his Puerto Rican heritage, his first marriage and divorce, his diabetes and dramatic weight loss, his community theater work — drawing direct connections between his personal experiences and his artistic output. He offers extensive behind-the-scenes detail on Crisis on Infinite Earths, including designing the Monitor, Anti-Monitor, Harbinger, Pariah, and Alexander Luthor, and the story reasons behind killing Barry Allen and making Wally West the new Flash. On Wonder Woman, he explains his feminist-humanist approach to the character, the importance of Greek mythology research, the departure of co-writer Greg Potter and arrival of Len Wein, and he also speaks at length about his views on industry censorship — opposing DC's new in-house guidelines introduced without creator consultation — and addresses Marv Wolfman's firing as editor over his public protest of those guidelines.

Perez discusses returning to Marvel after nearly a decade, pencilling The Infinity Gauntlet for writer Jim Starlin, working strictly as penciller without co-plotting credit for the first time. He also previews The Holy Wars, his DC crossover tied to Wonder Woman's 50th anniversary, and reflects on his six-year DC exclusive contract and his experience writing plots for other artists on Wonder Woman.

In a candid and detailed account, Perez lays out the full saga of production problems that plagued War of the Gods, DC's Wonder Woman 50th-anniversary crossover: late editorial communication, conflicting Captain Marvel projects with John Byrne, the departure of artist Cynthia Martin, and overlapping with Armageddon 2001. He describes losing all creative investment in the book mid-run, eventually hanging up the phone on DC after a delayed payment, and states he has not spoken to anyone at DC since — now working for Marvel. He argues that company-wide crossovers are generally harmful to creativity.

DAK's first-anniversary editorial reflecting on Comics Interview's first year: the titles and creators it covered first (Omega Men, Ronin, American Flagg, Dreadstar, George Perez/Roy Thomas), reader frustration at finding copies in stores, and an appeal for fans to request the magazine at their local shops.

Higgins, Marvel's longest-serving assistant editor (under Mike Carlin), recounts how he accidentally became a letterer through his friendship with George Perez, starting as a lettering correcter on staff in 1977 before gradually taking on full lettering jobs and then transitioning to the editorial side. He describes the mechanics of lettering (hawk quill pens, Ames guides), the behind-the-scenes production firefighting that editors rarely see, and his experience working with John Byrne on Fantastic Four — praising Jerry Ordway's inking as the best Byrne has ever received. He also discusses Steve Ditko's surprisingly easygoing nature on ROM, the editorial philosophy of Mike Carlin (a preference for comedic relief), and his personal obsession with the Grateful Dead (attending roughly 40 shows a year). He is currently lettering a Barry Windsor-Smith limited series.

Liebowitz, a former CPA who opened the Golden Apple stores in Los Angeles as a weekend hobby, describes his philosophy of making comic shops welcoming, informative meeting places for fans and creators alike. He discusses promotional events (Jack Kirby at the DC 50th Anniversary, Roy Thomas, George Perez, and over a hundred other creator appearances), his policy of discounting independents 20% to build readership early, and his views on the professionalization of comic retailing and the likely emergence of national chain stores.

Comics Interview Hot Tips From Top Comics Creators #1 is a reference compilation edited by Don Markstein that gathers practical advice from more than 250 working and legendary comics professionals, organized into six thematic chapters covering breaking in, storytelling, business practices, artistic philosophy, working methods, and miscellaneous craft observations. The book grew out of the tip segments that had appeared in Comics Interview magazine across 132 issues and was intended as a durable resource for aspiring creators. Contributors range from Golden Age veterans like Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino, and Dick Sprang to then-current stars like Frank Miller, George Perez, and Bill Sienkiewicz, with each contributor briefly profiled in a "Tipsters" biographical section before the tips chapters begin. The volume functions less as a collection of interviews than as a distillation of professional wisdom — a how-the-industry-works manual assembled from hundreds of individual voices rather than any single authoritative perspective.

Reis describes his extensive private collection of original Batman artwork, acquired over roughly fifteen years by trading handmade multi-layer 3-D paper shadow-boxes with artists including Berni Wrightson, Jack Kirby, John Byrne, Bill Sienkiewicz, Walt Simonson, George Pérez, and many others. He explains the mechanics and artistry of the 3-D shadow-box medium, offers advice for new collectors on acquiring original art at conventions and through trades, and reflects on how creating the 3-Ds deepened his appreciation for comic art as a craft.

Mallonee discusses the eight-chapter "Morrigan Wars" crossover between Hero Comics' League of Champions/Flare and CI Group's Southern Knights, scripted entirely by Mallonee with plotting input from Henry Vogel, featuring art by Mark Propst across most chapters and a George Pérez opening. He also addresses the challenges independent publishers face with retailers who reflexively prioritize Marvel and DC product.