A discussion related to Adventures Into Digital Comics.

1) Can you tell us about your background?

  Started serious drawing at six -- a late bloomer -- (a curse that would follow me all my life) filled the margins of my schoolbooks and any other offensively blank piece of paper that came my way. Teachers took exception to this trait. I later found that it is the job of teachers universally to take exception to anything that isn't within the strict confines of academy. All I ever wanted was to draw comics. I copied all the masters -- Eisner, Caniff, Tootie Perricone (kid who sat four seats down from me could draw smoke so well, the sinking ship was almost a dot on the horizon, while the smoke billowed in beautifully rendered, smeared pencil across the whole page.)

2) You've been a comic book illustrator for years. What do you find in comics that you wouldn't find in another type of visual exercise?

  The only other visual exercise (other than J-Lo doing the funky chicken in a thong bikini) that appeals to my storytelling obsession, is the movies. Now that we're married -- the movies and comics -- there isn't much else in the world that even qualifies as a visual exercise. Ballet? Theater? (TV doesn't count -- they're the parasites that feed on the creativity of all the above.) They all have their own visual and construct conventions. I prefer those of comics (and no one has invited me to direct a movie yet.)

3) You began your career in the late 60's. What was the overall mood in the industry back then? How has it evolved? Do you remember what kind of readerships the publishers were trying to reach at that time?

  Obviously they were trying to reach as many as possible. What with Westerns, Romance, Raggedy Ann and Andy and Casper types, Disney, Detective, whatever -- they were trying to cover a wide readership. The mood then was one of optimism unbounded; once we got past the Wertham fifteen minutes of infamy there seemed to be no limits for writers and artists.

4) You worked for years in a non-digital environment. Can you tell us more about the coloring and lettering process at that time. How was it done? Was it that important in the production process?

  The non-digital environment... jeez -- sounds like the quill sharpeners went out of business just about then. Lettering. Well, guys like Joe Rosen sat for eight to ten or twelve hours lettering with a B-6 Speedball pen nib. Some of them put a chisel edge on them with a piece of emery cloth. Production was: script, (editor sticks his two cents in), pencils (editor attempts to tell the artist how to draw), inking (with sable brushes costing many dollars each -- editor erases what's left of pencil marks on originals -- counts this as most demanding and creative part of his/her day.) Xeroxes are made of pages, on which colorist carefully lays down beautiful washes of dyes which are then ignored and colored according to a numbered chart made up by some unknown printer with whom no one argues because he's the top chicken in the pecking order. At the other end of this assemblage, out came a cheap, badly colored, badly printed comic on crap paper of lesser quality than grocery bags. And everyone loved them.

5) Once you were established, was it hard to find new jobs in the industry? What was the size of the talent pool? How would you compare it to today's market?

  No to the first; plenty of work for everybody. The talent pool was huge, with the quality and range of talent awesome. Basically, it was because a very high level of craftsmanship was expected. Today's artists are not as concerned with craft as they are with whiz bang whamo. The emphasis then was on telling the story. As dynamic as the art was and is the story then was everything, The art was in service to that story, even though the art often took the glamour spot. The art, often blasting past panel lines and twisting itself around the plot -- if there is one -- has taken first place.

6) 1993 was the last profitable year for the industry. The market has been shrinking ever since. What do you think are the causes of the industry's collapse in the 90's?

  Times change. Have you noticed? But the industry deserved everything it got. Unfortunately, many of the people in it didn't. As usual, there were not enough lifeboats. The power players stayed pretty much where they were -- screwing up the navigation. Think of the six different covers for six comics with the same content at Marvel. That master stroke of cynicism (the completists will have to buy all six -- get it guys?) among others like it, the insistence on snarling brute superheroes as the only venue for publishing -- but why go on? We know what poisoned the industry.

7) The recent numbers for 2002 show us that the sales have increased for the first time in years. Do you see it as a sign of better things to come?

  I don't know. Also, I don't much care.

8) For the past few years, we've seen the big companies trying to improve quality. Better paper, big names, etc, but it never seemed to have an impact on sales. What do you think could be a key to solve the sales' problem?

  They're no longer interested in sales. They'll take 'em if they come, but they're not concerned; they want ancillary stuff -- movies, animation, TV, t-shirts, jock straps with the Hulk on them, that kind of stuff. The comic has become the vehicle on which all these bozos ride -- and it's groaning under the weight.

9) Between 1993 and 2001, many readers left comic books in the US. Some people in the industry blamed video games and movies, two media now able to offer visual miracles. Do you agree on this point?

  The miracle comes with a price tag that's getting more bloated with every passing gassed up piece of trash. Consider Pearl Harbor the movie; we're talking here about a serious candidate for worst damned movie ever made. If you're going to tell me that there is no unhappy ending for these educated morons making these multi-million non-floating balloons... well... keep it to yourself -- I hate bad news.

10) The early 90's saw the first digital lettering and coloring in American comic-books. You saw the whole industry changed. Do you think it helped to improve the overall quality of comics, or maybe reach a wider audience at that time?

  The only thing that improves overall quality in a storytelling environment is storytelling. Period, Jim. End.

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