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Wide-ranging conversation covering his move to California and his work as story editor at Ruby-Spears animation. He delivers a blistering critique of Saturday morning TV censorship, describing network Standards & Practices departments as trying to create "animated Valium" and blaming them for breeding the punk-rock generation. Discusses co-creating Thundarr the Barbarian with Joe Ruby and designing it around known censorship limits (the Sunsword, rubber-tipped arrows). Expresses deep frustration with mainstream comics' lack of creativity — "recycled 1960s comic books" — while singling out Frank Miller's Daredevil and Dave Sim's Cerebus as the exceptions. Voices strong optimism that independent publishers like Eclipse and Pacific are "redefining the mainstream" and discusses his collaboration with Jack Kirby on Destroyer Duck.

Gerber briefly explains the premise of Void Indigo — a dark, violent saga of reincarnation spanning twenty thousand years, from pre-Columbian America to the present day — and the particular theory of reincarnation underpinning it (souls reincarnate only when their earthly mission was disrupted). He stresses that his arrangement with Epic Comics is one of the best deals in the industry and gives him creative control unavailable in Marvel's regular line; he acknowledges he is "back" at Marvel only in the limited sense that Epic is publishing his work. He also confirms a potential new Howard the Duck series is under discussion, and that Howard has been optioned for a live-action film on which he will serve as creative consultant.

Gerber describes his experience as story editor of the G.I. Joe animated series in 1985, explaining how he recruited comic-book writers to raise the standard of animation writing and push the show toward more complex, character-driven storytelling. He discusses several standout episodes, including a biting satire of Saturday-morning pro-social programming called "The Wrong Stuff." He also reveals that he and Frank Miller had pitched a far more radical Superman revamp to DC before the Byrne version was chosen, and that the deal fell through over the "Superman bake-off" concept and DC's refusal to grant them a creator share in a new Supergirl character.

Part two of Gerber's interview focuses on the Howard the Duck film: Gerber recounts how Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz approached him after the Marvel lawsuit settlement, describes his limited consulting role including helping develop a horror sequence and writing ad slogans, and discusses the collapse of his DC Spectre project (he skipped a deadline to visit the set). He also reflects on how his lawsuit against Marvel helped establish creator rights for a new generation, his admiration for the Dark Knight format, and his hope to eventually return to comics as a publisher.

Three creators respond to the question of why readers are concerned about the spate of superhero deaths. Terry Austin questions the inconsistency of keeping Phoenix dead while Elektra was resurrected; Steve Oliff argues stale characters should be killed off to make room for new ones; and Steve Gerber delivers a nuanced meditation on the difference between genuine emotional impact (Siegel's "Death of Superman," Miller's Elektra) and cynical marketing stunts, warning that handling death callously and "sold for $5.95 in the graphic novel format" trivializes the ultimate question.

The former comics writer, publisher, and Marvel direct sales manager discusses his new career as the comics industry's first professional agent, representing creators like Steve Gerber, Roy Thomas, Craig Russell, Mark Evanier, and Will Meugniot in negotiations with publishers. Explains the value he provides — top-level connections, knowledge of the deal landscape across all publishers, and time savings that let artists earn more by working instead of spending months negotiating contracts. Offers a bullish forecast for the direct sales market, predicting that specialty outlets will eventually match the reach of traditional magazine distributors and that the first million-selling comic is only two years away. Delivers a provocative long-term prediction: as creator ownership becomes the norm, company-owned characters will become "entry-level jobs" and established properties may wither — "It is possible that in thirty years no one will want to write Superman." Reflects on his own career trajectory driven by the pursuit of control — from writer to editor to publisher to distributor to agent — and notes his creative writing impulse has simply been replaced by the creativity of deal-making.

Mayerik reflects on his early association with Howard the Duck — which he was the first to draw, in Man-Thing — and the grueling experience of the Howard newspaper strip. He describes how Steve Gerber's agent Mike Friedrich brought them together for the creator-owned graphic novel Void Indigo, which Mayerik fully painted, and which Marvel's Epic imprint published under what he considers one of the best creator contracts in comics at the time. He also discusses his Ohio-based lifestyle, his passion for karate (which he credits with giving him a sense of realistic combat choreography), his cable television work, and his hopes to eventually write and draw his own graphic novel.

Part two of a multi-issue interview covering DeMatteis's Marvel career: his struggles finding his voice on Defenders, Marvel Team-Up, and Captain America, and his eventual creative breakthrough with the Gargoyle limited series and the Epic series Moonshadow. He discusses the controversy over Moonshadow being labeled potentially pornographic, argues passionately that the future of comics lies in creator-owned work outside the mainstream superhero square, and singles out Frank Miller, Alan Moore, and Steve Gerber as exemplars of the driven, personal vision that makes great comics. He also previews an upcoming Doctor Fate project with Keith Giffen at DC.

Readers respond to recent issues; topics include praise for the Steve Gerber and Buzz Dixon interviews, a defense of G.I. Joe's characterization, comments on the Howard the Duck movie, and a reader's complaint about Marvel killing off major heroes under Jim Shooter's editorial tenure.

Grant discusses his approach to the Punisher Graphic Novel: "Return to Big Nothing", describing the Punisher as a "clinical psychotic" who is emotionally dead but not a mindless killer. He also explains his decade-long effort to get the original Punisher Limited Series greenlit at Marvel, his philosophy that the character cannot be reformed without ceasing to be the Punisher, and his co-founding of WAP (Words and Pictures), the freelancer communication network organized with Frank Miller and Steve Gerber.