Comics Interview: Dissected – Issue 5
Welcome to the latest instalment of a brand-new feature here on Nerdly, where one of our comic gurus, Ian Wells, delves into comics history and dissects Comics Interview, the long-running journal of interviews and criticism from David Anthony Kraft.
Up Front
DAK uses the Up Front space in this issue to plug upcoming releases from Fictioneer Books. Both in fact have had adverts run in every issue of Comics Interview so far. The first is Omniverse #3 by Mark Gruenwald (work on OHOTMU has held him up). Second, is a Don McGregor-penned James Bond series. From now on I won’t be dedicating a space to any new additions to the credits page. I will just mention any newcomers as and when the articles they contributed to come up. Also, I will not be calling out the letters pages every issue. Of course, if they get lively I will reconsider this decision, at the moment they are too friendly! At the moment there is a lot of people asking to be pointed in the right direction for certain issues. For instance, this issue we had Dale Sutton looking for Frank Miller’s lesser know Gold Key horror comics. The last thing of note about CI#5 is that this is the first time the back cover hasn’t been a second colour piece for the cover feature. Instead, we get an ad for DC’s Star Raiders by Elliot s. Maggin and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez.
New Kids on The Block
The issue launches with a look at Comico. Right off the bat, the opening quote reads “The comic industry has to grow up.” Beneath this is a picture of a shirtless man, ripping the head off a Ben Grim statue outside Comico HQ. The year previous they had released two issues of the anthology Comico Primer. From those two issues AZ, Skrog, Slaughterman and Grendel are going solo. I don’t want to delve too much into Comico history as we will probably see more of them in the pages of Comics Interview before they fall. Notably Shelly Bond had started out at Comico before moving on to bigger and better things. Grendel by Matt Wagner is of course the biggest success story and it is a shame he isn’t in this interview. Of course at the time perhaps they didn’t know Grendel would become what it did or perhaps it was something as simple as Wagner not being available on the day of the interview. Instead, we get Phil Lasorda (AZ), Gerry Giovinco (Slaughterman), Bill Cucinotta and Bill Anderson (Skrog). To continue the theme of the immature photo, in response to the first question they guys are straight on to talking about penis envy! Despite his absence, the guys do a good job in building up Wagner and Grendel “I think he is going to be the next Frank Miller.” Chimes in Giovinco. They said he was working on a story based on Arthurian legend but put it on the back burner when Camelot 3000 hit. Of course, Wagner would later bring Mage to Comico. They comment a few times on how Grendel won’t last forever, whether Wagner has told them this or it is their speculation. Giovinco says he also doesn’t want Slaughterman to last forever. I see this as a positive because even though they are one of the new kids on the block they don’t seem interested in long, overdrawn storytelling. They seem more focused on fun, exciting characters with quick in-and-out stories. There are echoes of the Image origin story, as they started Comico with creator rights as its basis. “We are artists first. Businessmen second.” Says Lasorda. They even face the same deadline issues as those early Image comics. In fact, at the time there was an article on Comic Buyers Guide which listed every late publisher, it was a whole page long! Despite their self profession of naivete and the hurdles they face daily the word fun is thrown around a lot.
Side Quest with The Pinis
So far in my reviews of Comics Interview I have been pretty lucky that most of the main interviews have held some interest for me. Whether that is because of the creators or the series being talked about. Going into this issue I knew right away this Elfquest interview would be tough for me. I am not a furry comics or fantasy comics fan and I haven’t experienced any other work by the Pini’s to catch my interest. Anyone who has ever read a comic or comics magazine in the 80s has seen an ad for Elfquest, so still think there will be some takeaways from the interview. Mainly stuff focusing on remaining constant and world-building in the creator-owned market. The interview is conducted by Freff, that is the name he is credited as in the credits page too. So I have no idea who this person is! But whoever they are they start with a good thought-provoking question; to paraphrase “As a male/female production team, any idea of what percentage of your readers are male and what percentage are female?” In every issue of CI so far editors and retailers have sung the praises of the direct market, as they know exactly who is buying what. Richard and Wendy both feel readership is 50/50 from their experiences meeting fans at cons. But they have had numerous retailers telling them how many teenage girls read Elfquest. Sticking with the convention circuit for the time being, They say how being a creative couple gives some fans the perception of parental figures. So they are often sought out by young fans on how to get started in the industry. Wendy has been cited as a role model but, of course, is too modest to take the title. Already I can see why Elfquest would be appealing to any young female comics fan. Even today if there are any aspiring female comic creators out there I would recommend doing a deep dive into Wendy’s career first. There is a large portion of the interview then revolving around recent criticism Elfquest has got for a perceived lack of understanding of anthropology. In a nutshell, it reads like an argument you still see today on social media. Because the story revolves around tribes readers are imparting their own beliefs into things and essentially the Pini’s response is that it is all fiction, they can do what they want with their creation. Further still in echoes of today, Wendy says even Elfquest has a fringe element of fans. “There is a lack of manners amongst some fans.” She says. The interview takes a heavy turn when stories of receiving suicide notes from fans and a letter from a young boy who was being beaten by his father. With the latter Wendy was able to track the boy’s school from the mailing address and talk to somebody there. It is a real eye-opener to the extremes of fandom and something still prevalent today. Social media is a great tool for the comics industry, especially for the smaller/self-publishers but it comes with so much hate. When you could just reinforce all the positives you see about comics on social media. Richard and Wendy return next issue to talk more and I want to say how good a job Freff did in this interview. They asked great questions and had a great rapport with the Pini’s. Of course this comes from prior interactions with them, but I look forward to seeing them conduct more interviews in the pages of CI.
Giordano Returns
As I guessed last issue Dick Giordano returns for a more artistic-based chat. He starts off by talking about the balance between still being able to contribute as an inker and his new role at DC. He is currently working on a four-issue Green Arrow series inking over Trevor Von Eedon. Before we get into the bulk of the interview there was one part that annoyed me I wanted to mention. For someone like me who has no artistic ability to hear someone like Giordano who is so skilled and respected say inking is monkey work grates on me! Again it is really good to have Klaus Janson’s input in this interview, especially now the focus has shifted from industry talk to art talk. Janson had previously worked as an assistant to Giordano and here he points out how many of the current top inkers in the industry also filled that role. Terry Austin, Bob Layton and Joe Rubenstein are the names he offers up. The duo then get into a discussion on inking philosophy and how the role has evolved. Janson feels a current shift is towards “…a good ink job is when you overpower the pencils.” which counteracts his own philosophy of “…the job of a good inker is leaving the character of the penciler.” Giordano describes inking as almost a silent bond between penciler and inker, in that only those two people should know if any improvement/changes have been made from the pencils. The conversation then turns to Giordano’s new initiatives to get new talent through the door at DC. Most notable is Steve Bissette from a handful of students from The Kubert School. It was strange to read the sentence “Steve Bissette was one of the best of them, but he has not made a strong mark in the industry.” By 1985 he along with Alan Moore and John Totleben were receiving all sorts of acclaim for their run of Swamp Thing. After this opening exchange the tone soon changes back to some of his editorial decision making. They get into a direct market discussion where they elude to the fact the top artists hold sway over what sells. It is foreshadowing in a way of the Image explosion, with the top talent dominating the sales. However, Giordano rather sits on the fence and says a writer is as important. A comic can sell on the strength of a cover, yes, but it has to be a good story in between those covers. Again the purchase of the Charlton characters are mentioned and he talks about upcoming plans to revitalise DC’s top five biggest characters. I assume this to be the early seed sowing for Crisis on Infinite Earths. I wanted to end with this feel-good quote as it is something you hear time and time again from creators from this era and it signifies how times have changed. “For years I would put down illustrator or commercial artist on forms. The change in money is one of the things that made me come out the closet…Now I put cartoonist and do so proudly.”
Legendary Letters
John Costanza is certainly riding the crest of a wave as he burns the candle at both ends with some drawing gigs, as well as being one of DC’s go-to letterers. Working on some of DC’s biggest titles he kicks things off by saying how much he is enjoying the work there. The positives include a higher page rate and a good working environment, although he concedes he works at home in his basement! He attributes all the positivity around DC to the influence of Jeanette Khan, even going as far as to call her the real Wonder Woman. As I mentioned Costanza has also been doing some drawing gigs for both Marvel, Western and some other kids books. As always the interview is accompanied by some artwork and we get to see Costanza’s renditions of Winnie the Pooh, Bugs Bunny and some Muppets. For someone best known as a letterer, his renditions are completely on brand of how you picture those characters. The only real bit of shop talk is how it takes him 20-30 minutes to letter one page.
Ad Space
There are lots of eye-catching ads in this issue. Whether that is because they represent a moment in time or are just cool artwork. There is an ad for the Nemo Classic Comic Library. They are dedicating their second issue to Superman and the upcoming publication includes a reprint of the OG Superman story from Jerry Siegel’s fanzine five years prior to Action Comics #1. I am going to do a dive into these Nemo publications and see what I find, no doubt expensive listings on eBay. There is a piece of Iron Man art that accompanies the Stan Lee interview and it looks amazing in black and white. Luke McDonnell was the Iron Man artist at the time of this issue so I would take a stab at it being him. The inside back cover is an ad for Geppi’s Comic Subscription Service. The history books say Steve Geppi founded Diamond in 1982 so this ad must be during the transition. If you order over 480 in a year you get the following year’s Overstreet Price Guide for free! The best ad though has to be from Eagle Comics who have the first three issues of Judge Dredd coming in July. They are only a Dollar and are now in full colour! If I was going to track down Dredd comics this is the format I would go for.
Hollywood Stan
Again this is an interview I approached with trepidation, you’ve read one Stan Lee interview you have read them all. It is often said the Stan Lee persona is his greatest creation and he has his stories down pat and repeats them time and time again. The man loves to talk and DAK doesn’t usually edit the interviews down too much, so this goes long. Obviously, at the time of the interview, Lee has long since stopped writing Marvel comics and is now based on the West Coast trying to get Marvel animation projects off the ground. The report on how that is going is mixed, Spider-Man was renewed, whilst Hulk wasn’t. Dungeons and Dragons is doing well and Marvel Productions have just teamed with Fred Silverman for a project called Meatballs and Spaghetti (that one never made it to UK TV). One thing you can never fault Stan for is his commitment to pushing the Marvel brand. You really sense his excitement when he says Roger Corman is working on a Spider-Man movie, and when Jim Salicrup asks if it will be in the same vein as Superman, Lee replies he hopes it is as successful. The poor guy had to wait till 2002 to get an adaptation worthy of one of his greatest co-creations. This ties nicely into where the interview goes next as Salicrup cites in a recent interview for The Spirit magazine Jack Kirby claims to have created Spider-Man, though he was originally called the Silver Spider. Lee’s response is nearly a page of one of his stock answers of how he came up with the idea and how Ditko was better suited to drawing it. The bulk of the interview then revolves around his new Hollywood life and there isn’t much comics talk as he admits he isn’t reading them anymore, but is glad to see the industry in the middle of a renaissance. He does admit to missing having more time to write. He is still writing the Spider-Man syndicated strip. Though he jokes Kirby will probably take credit for it. For the milestone fifth issue, an interview with Stan Lee is a good draw. Unfortunately, Stan is Stan and all you get is the stock answers. I doubt we will ever now get a real look into Stan Lee and his history through comics to Hollywood. If you were reading this interview at the time you would have got as much of a kick out of the movie talk as Stan did. I doubt back then he ever dreamt that Marvel would become what it did on the big screen.
