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Loeb (screenwriter of Commando and Teen Wolf) and Sale discuss their collaborative process on the Challengers of the Unknown mini-series, including their cinematic, rules-breaking approach to page layout and storytelling influenced by Loeb's film background and Sale's preference for bold black-and-white design. They address DC's decision to require them to strip profanity and nudity from the series after a policy change, and defend their revisionist take on the Challengers' history.

Foglio discusses his Hugo Award history (youngest winner at 21 in 1977), his work adapting Bob Asprin's Myth-Adventures novels for WaRP Graphics, and the collaborative dynamic with inker Tim Sale and publisher Richard Pini. He reveals that he's been significantly rewriting the source material beyond his original mandate, with Asprin's blessing after the fact; Asprin even took a pay cut so Foglio could receive more money for the extra writing work. Foglio also discusses the troubled history of D'Arc Tangent — a project he co-created with Freff that collapsed when he discovered Freff was erasing and redrawing his pencils — and his upcoming Buck Godot graphic novel series for Starblaze, which he fears will embarrass him by the time it's finally published.

Part Two of the Elfquest interview, focusing on the series' approaching conclusion with issue #20 and the Pinis' future plans. Wendy discusses the emotional challenges of sustaining the story over six years, including drawing a key scene of Cutter and Skywise years in advance out of fear she wouldn't be able to recapture the emotion later. They detail post-Elfquest projects including the Blood of Ten Chiefs storybook, a Stormbringer art book compiled from Wendy's aborted college animation project, and plans to publish new comics in the Elfquest format. Richard offers publishing philosophy — distinguishing genuine "alternative" comics driven by personal vision (Elfquest, Cerebus, D'Arc Tangent) from "independent" four-color comics that resemble mainstream superhero books. They give a cautiously optimistic update on the Nelvana animated film, noting three other studios have also made offers, and discuss the explosive growth of the direct sales market that made their self-published success possible.

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.

Scroggy, Editorial Director of Pacific Comics, gives a wide-ranging account of the company's origins (growing out of a retail and distribution operation), its editorial philosophy ("Excellence"), and the realities of the direct-sales marketplace. He discusses Pacific's best-selling titles (Alien Worlds consistently tops the list; MS. Mystic #1 was their all-time single-issue peak), the challenge of maintaining schedules as an undercapitalized publisher, and their plans to add advertising pages to reach break-even. He addresses the adult content debate — arguing Pacific doesn't go beyond an "R rating" and that real-world censorship concern has been minimal — and discusses Groo moving to Marvel's newsstand distribution, which he diplomatically accepts as better for Aragones' reach even as he regrets losing the title. He also previews Pacific's forthcoming reprint deal for Warrior material from Quality Comics UK (potentially including Marvelman under a different name) and the new anthology Pathways to Fantasy, featuring a Barry Windsor-Smith story.

The owner and resident comics expert of The Book Nook in Champaign, Illinois discuss the daily realities of running a direct-sales comic shop: erratic distributor shipments, the challenge of ordering new titles blind before issue one even arrives, managing a volatile collectors' market, and the burden placed on retailers by publishers who ignore their end of the supply chain. Brian argues for quality labeling of mature-content comics rather than a full ratings system, while Doug objects to content that pushes toward pornography, calling out Neal Adams' Echo of Futurepast as an example. Both express optimism about comics' future growth and the quality renaissance underway.

Condon, who came to DC from Delacorte Press (where Kurt Vonnegut was among his authors), explains his role as Managing Editor: scheduling, contract negotiation, liaison between editorial and sales/production, and vetting new proposals including graphic novel pitches from mainstream book-world agents and authors. He reflects on his surprise at how exciting and professionally serious the comics industry is compared to trade publishing, and expresses optimism that DC's fiftieth anniversary year and upcoming projects (he mentions Ronin) signal a creatively bright future. He keeps deliberate distance from story conferences, describing himself as "the one who carries the whip" on scheduling.

Singer, publisher of Deluxe Comics, recounts his background in entertainment marketing and PR, his early failed ventures at Archie Comics and with the short-lived Comics Times and Comics Spotlight magazines, and how he arrived at launching Deluxe to revive the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents in the direct market after being burned by newsstand distribution problems. He explains the public-domain status of the characters, his initial agreement with prior publisher John Carbonaro (and Carbonaro's subsequent reversal once Singer assembled a high-profile creative team), and articulates his vision for stylish, mature comics aimed at adult readers. Singer also discusses Deluxe's expansion plans — The Futurians series, Tales of Thunder!, a fourth Keith Giffen book (the March Hare), possible publication of Evangeline, and a project from Jerry Siegel — while acknowledging that sales have been disappointing given the difficult market timing.

Perles, Marvel's former general counsel and longtime friend of publisher Martin Goodman, provided a detailed oral history of Goodman's publishing empire from the 1930s pulp-Western era through the sale to Cadence Industries. He recounted litigating the original CAPTAIN AMERICA lawsuit brought by Louis Silberkleit and working with Stan Lee and other key Marvel figures. On the current censorship debate, Perles was unequivocal: "It's censorship, pure — or not so pure — and simple," opposing the Comics Code historically and the Meese Commission presently.

Comico co-founder and publisher Gerry Giovinco and Art Director/Production Manager Geraldine Pecht reflect on the company's five-year journey from crude black-and-white self-published books through Black September to its current position as a quality color publisher competing with Marvel and DC on the newsstand. Giovinco attributes survival of Black September to lucky timing — no product in the pipeline meant no capital exposure — and credits Diana Schutz's production scheduling with Comico's 100% on-time delivery record since February 1985. Both discuss ambitions to move beyond the direct-sales market into bookstores, K-Mart, and educational institutions.

Lyle recounts how he landed the Robin assignment after finishing Starman and lobbied for Chuck Dixon as writer. He discusses Robin #1's stunning 600,000-copy sales (three times DC's projections), his fight to give Tim Drake spiked rather than helmet hair, and the involvement of Tim Burton in selecting the new Robin costume designed by Neal Adams. Post-Robin, Lyle is writing, plotting, pencilling, and inking a revival of The Comet for DC.

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.

Shepherd describes how he revitalized Frew Publications' The Phantom starting in 1988 — overhauling their reprint policy, researching the King Features archives, publishing full unedited stories, and launching original Australian Phantom stories. He discusses the character's extraordinary Australian popularity, the massive sales and media coverage around the 1000th-edition milestone, and upcoming plans including The Legend of the Phantom definitive history timed to the forthcoming movie.