Comics Interview: Dissected – Issue #14
Welcome to the latest instalment of our Dissected feature here on Nerdly, where one of our comic gurus, Ian Wells, delves into comics history and looks back at Comics Interview, the long-running journal of interviews and criticism from David Anthony Kraft (DAK).
Hembeck Out! Shooter In!
DAK’s Up Front column leads directly into the Spotlight article. Originally Fred Hembeck had been slated to talk about his project ‘Fred Hembeck Destroys The Marvel Universe.’ He has however been replaced with a look at Marvel’s Secret Wars. DAK goes as far as to call this CI’s most up-to-the-minute interview. Mike Zeck’s cover of the issue would back this claim up. Zeck is an artist of high standards, and I am myself sampling as I track down for the issues of Master of Kung Fu. The cover to this feels rushed and the fact inks and colours are credited to the Marvel Bullpen back this up. To put this interview into context this issue of CI is dated August 1984 so we are somewhere between the release of the third and fourth issues of SW. It is funny how now they are suddenly hyping it up as a big deal here and never gave it a First Look article before it came out. A lot of the hype surrounds the fact Spider-Man will be returning from the event in a new black Costume! Comic fans largely accept SW is a Jim Shooter creation for Mattel action figure tie-in. Shooter says he started planning it three years before the Mattel deal. He explains Secret Wars was made possible from day one of the Marvel Universe once Stan Lee established the shared universe of characters. So he sees this event as fulfilling a destiny of sorts. I have read SW twice and never really connected with it, much like this article. The stand out is the black and white pencils of the always impressive Zeck, including the memorable often homaged cover to #4.
Scripting with Steve
Steve Englehart is a writer I have a lot of time for. When it comes to work on the ‘Big Two’ whether it is Captain America, Batman or The Avengers he has made an impact on their lore. I feel his name should get wider recognition, obviously people who know good comics, know his work. But with his impact on characters who have made it to the big screen, you would like to hear more praise from wider circles for him. Again I have to point out the little details that make the interview comforting, with DAK explaining the lack of hotel reservations in Atlanta as this interview takes place over a weekend at the 1984 Atlanta Fantasy Fair. DAK has previously been an editor of Englehart at Marvel so I expect a good repertoire between the pair. Right away a regular theme in recent issues is the story of writers returning to Marvel to do work for the Epic line. One little take away from this is that one selling point Shooter put forward is the fact they now pay for the creators to fly to conventions. While he states his return to Marvel has been amicable he does face the misfortune of not having an ongoing to work on. Instead, it is Coyote at Epic, a 12-issue Silver Surfer story and has been told he can do as many maxi-series or graphic novels as he likes. Another recent project of Englehart’s that comes up despite him saying it may be a secret is him being the writer on T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents. It is an old Wally Wood creation that is now at Deluxe Comics. I actually picked up the first issue a few years back for £1 on FCBD. So naturally now I feel a re-read coming on. He says it is his offbeat team book where he would like to be more light-hearted after so many serious stories under his belt. Moving on to Coyote he had ideas for heavily Russian-influenced Black Widow stories but instead felt with Coyote being in its own more adult universe they would be better suited there. Coyote is a series I know very little about. I kind of lump it into that 80’s era of line heroes like Scout, Grim Jack and others of that ilk. Like I say after every interview I would consider picking up some issues for the right price! A huge part of this interview is taken up explaining the complex lore of Coyote. Just skimming through it does seem an interesting blend of genres, philosophies and mythologies. Most importantly in his own words “This is my shot to do what I want to do, The way I want to do it… I can do Silver Surfer, but Coyote’s gotta be Coyote.” He says in his head he would do Coyote forever so as someone who has spoken of their love of passion projects in these interview breakdowns I’m sad to say Coyote only lasted 16 issues.
Hot New Thing
The cover asks the question; “Matt Wagner, is he really the new Frank Miller?” This is picking up on a comment made in #5 of CI which featured the big Comico interview. Wagner himself was absent from that interview of all the other Comico creators. Here he gets his own spotlight as CI continue to ride the Comico bandwagon, despite what we have heard from retailers! The interview opens up with a talk about his second series at Comico, Mage. All I know of Mage is that Kevin Smith likes it! I do like how Wagner admits to his rather simple approach to the creation of Mage. He liked the word and he then based the visual of the character on himself. After talking up the fundamentals of Mage the conversation turns more to his career as a whole. This is where we can start to dissect the Miller comparisons. Obviously, he cites Miller as an influence as well as Will Eisner. He paraphrases a quote from Edgar Alan Poe in that every line has to tell a story. As he is also working outside of comics with illustrative work he names a bunch of artists who influence him I’ve never heard of. The one comic artist he name-checks, who I can definitely see as having some crossover with Miller is Mike Kaluta. When you see pencils for Mage and Grendel side by side you see two different styles. Both are much more animated than anything Miller has done. At this stage in Miller’s career he has gone from his Daredevil work which was innovative, yet restricted by Marvel house style. Then he made a major departure from this on Ronin and years later changed things up again with Sin City. Grendel is something Wagner would reinterpret and revisit over the years each time with new art styles. This interview is too early in Wagner’s career and alongside my lack of knowledge on his later work I think the comparison is unfair. I know a great deal about Miller and could make the assumption it was a misdirected comment in that earlier interview. It was simply a friend hyping up a friend. Now I am not putting one down to praise another. They are both big creative forces in comics, but undoubtedly they both have strengths in different areas.
Groth/Thompson = Statler/Waldorf of Comics
When I saw their names on the cover I had the feeling that this could be an interview that would intimidate my commentary skills. The Comics Journal is a cornerstone of the comics industry, but it is definitely something fans have to discover of their own accord. There have been comments in recent issues of CI from creators and fans alike that call TCJ too divisive. So what better way to tackle that than to talk to the two men behind it. Right away the interview kicks off with a lot of jest from Groth and Thompson, but it is all very good-natured. As they point out sensationalism and divisiveness are part of what sells TCJ. Thompson says you can tell a negative review is based on a profound love for the medium. When they say they hate comics, it’s not entirely true they both cite Swamp Thing as a good comic and that is as close to a ‘Big Two’ comic as this conversation gets. As readers we have all probably faced the accusation that comics are only about superheroes. Groth and Thompson’s editorial work was the front-runner in changing this perception. Nowadays you can walk into a comic shop from all different genres and the sense you get from this interview is that this is exactly what Groth and Thompson are striving for. They admit to reading superhero comics as a kid now their tastes have evolved and they want more. I think it is something that comes with age. When it comes to Wolverine I am a Wednesday Warrior. On the other hand, however, there are huge elements of the cycle of ‘Big Two’ comics I am so disconnected from. A quote from the interview perfectly sums this up “In comics, there’s an enormous enthusiasm for crap.” Switching track I found it interesting when Groth states “It’s evident that contrary to what people might say… the market is not expanding indefinitely.” I picked this out first and foremost because it goes against the grain of what we have heard in the pages of CI. Time and again creators and retails alike have sung the praises of the direct market. What stood out most was he name-checked Mike Friedrich as someone to have made this claim. We have read in CI how he has carved out a niche for himself as an agent as he sees the industry go. The way the interview shapes up you could be forgiven for thinking Groth’s statement is just another attack on ‘Big Two’ comics. It is widely accepted in this era that the comic industry changed for the better. While superhero comics continue to dominate, without the direct market other genres wouldn’t have flourished to where we are today. There is a fair amount of questions from DAK towards the other Fantagraphics comic-centric publication Amazing Heroes. As I would like to dip into some of these issues further down the line, I’d like to keep the focus here on TCJ. One point that raised an eyebrow and connected to the last statement is Thompson saying AH has gone bi-monthly because the market of books grew and he had too much content for one monthly publication.
Fan on The Street
As I have made clear before this is not my favourite part of CI, but the fact that this month’s Fan Ian Jack is from Australia may add some interesting titbits. First up he describes the Australian comics scene growing up as a mixture of American and British products, with a small amount of local output. The two big ones for him as a reader were Superman and The Phantom. The latter in Australia was as a comic as opposed to a newspaper strip and in his words was something of a cult. I know I have a lot of issues of Wolverine but when he says Jack says he has 400 issues of The Phantom it was a Wow! Moment. I think it is because he is a Golden Age character with more prestige so to have so many issues albeit I’m assuming reprints is a huge accomplishment. My knowledge of The Phantom stretches to the 1996 film which I’m sure I saw at least once. I actually remember enjoying the animated show Phantom 2040 much, much more. The interview soon veers down the well-trodden route of Jack listing what comics he reads, what TV he watches and what movies he likes. All that stands out really is his explanation of the similarities and differences between the US and Australian marketplace. To be honest I’m sure it isn’t that different from country to country.
Ad Space
I won’t be spotlighting the letters page this month as Barry Dutter strikes again and Largely people are just listing creators they would like to see interviewed. But one letter did catch the eye. It was from Sherill J. Ayers of Westfield Comics who have actually been buying Ad Space in CI for their fledgling subscription service. Every ad that isn’t for a new comic it seems is for a subscription service. I have probably overlooked their ad in previous issues and have never actually highlighted a specific subscription ad. They are a fun artefact of a bygone era of the industry. To younger fans, pre-internet subscriptions must seem unfathomable! The Westfield ad doesn’t actually run in this issue. Next time it does I will do a larger look at these services and do a little comparison between them. The two Fantagraphics ads kind of run against the grain of the previous interview. There is an ad for Amazing Heroes and a special publication ‘Focus on John Byrne.’ These two publications both appeal to Wednesday Warriors as opposed to the usual TCJ demographic. So these guys know where their bread is buttered.
NEXT: Grimjack! Mayerik! Olshevsky!
