Comic Book Creator #28 Spring 2022 (magazine review).
The opening is the first part of an interview with Mike Gold. Before becoming DC Comics publicist and later co-founder of First Comics, he reveals his background as a political journalist during the 1960s and there’s a big reveal on American history that makes for insightful reading. When you consider so many in the American comicbook history see comicbooks as their first career than anything else, this came later for Gold, although he was always a comicbook fan.
The second part of the interview with Bud Plant fills us in on his comicbook publishing career and how he prefers to sell comics than distribution, not to mention the ups and downs of the comicbook industry.
We have the second instalment of memories of Joe Sinnott and a reminder of how good his career and effect on other inkers in the business.
Of course, the biggest part of this edition is devoted to an interview with Steve Bissette and although I’m not really a horror fan, his insight into the comicbook industry and people is an intense read and took more than a couple hours to read. Unless you can do it all in one setting, decide a cut-off point to bring your senses together. Considering the number of unfinished projects he’s done and still has, I’m surprised no publisher has thought to release them if for no other reason to demonstrate that people don’t see all the work any artist does.
The look at comicbook distribution stateside was especially enlightening and how bringing it down to one destroyed many of the independent comicbook companies and comicbook shops. Looking at this logistically, I do have to wonder why a monopoly was possible but American regimes are no doubt dependent on removing business rivals to what we have today. Oh, Bissette does cover his own art career in all of this and plenty of art samples to keep you happy.
I’m left still wondering why Swamp-Thing has fingernails as its hardly living tissue.
GF Willmetts
June 2022
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: $10.95 (US). ISSN: 2330-2437. Direct from them, you can get it for $10.95 (US))
check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_132&products_id=1660
