[SLIGHTLY MODIFIED]

.

Ques†ion 1: Brian, †o s†ar† †he in†erview off, why don'† you †ell †he readers a li††le abou† yourself. (i.e., where you are from, e†c.)

Answer: Was born (44 years ago!) and raised in Chicago. I loved comics early, was mildly involved in fandom, contributed to fanzines, and worked some conventions, etc.

I thought I was light years away from a career in comics, so I went to art school and worked in publishing design and advertising for a bunch of years. That was all before fax machines, Fed-X and the internet made it possible to do comics from everywhere in the world.

Fortunately, Chicago got its own comic publishing boom in the 1980s, and my hopes and dreams were finally realized. I made some early contacts at First Comics, and then lucked into the mid-eighties black and white independant comics explosion. I edited and co-wrote a fairly successful B&W called "Trollords," starting in 1985. That got us some attention and I wound up getting an editorial job at DC in 1987.

Ques†ion 2: When did you firs† become in†eres†ed in comic books?

Answer: When I was six, a kid my age across the street from me inherited years worth of DC comics from an older relative--all the amazing stuff they put out between 1956 and 1962! I was flabergasted by these brightly colored wonders. The kid wasn't the nicest guy though, and not much of a friend. though. Once he realized my interest, he completely stopped sharing. He liked the power he had over me.

I got even, eventually. He went to public school and I to private, so I got out about 45 minutes before he did every day. I'd run home, change and go over to his house to wait for him. His mother would graciously invite me in, give me milk and cookies, and invite me to read any of the comics while I waited. The kid would go apoplectic when he came home, but by then it was too late. This went on for months, until I read everything he had--I'm pretty sure his Mom was in on my scheme, bless her. I think the combination of really cool comics; the sense of the forbidden; and the taste of my sneaky victory combined to make comics very attractive to me. Later I found out where to buy my own comics, and a life-long obsession was on its way.

Ques†ion 3: Do you by any chance draw any comic book ar†?

Answer: As a kid, I wanted to in the worst way--unfortunately, that's the way it came out. I wasn't quite good enough, alas. I did do some lame fan stuff, and some bits and pieces in the independant days. I did a "Who's Who" piece for Mark Waid in 88, or so (Oberon), but it was pretty bad. Since then, I only doodle.

Ques†ion 4: When did you firs† s†ar† in †he comic book business?

Answer: I guess the first stuff I did professionally was the "Trollords" stuff in 1985-86.

Ques†ion 5: Could you please explain †o †he CBC Web-Mag readers, wha† you curren†ly do?

Answer: I write comic books, and occasionally freelance edit them. My current regular workload consists of: "Crimson," created and drawn beautifully by Humberto Ramos; "Flash," which I co-write with Mark Waid; and various "Painkiller Jane" one-shots. I also do annuals, specials and have some upscale graphic novel stuff in development. I stay busy.

Ques†ion 6: When did you s†ar† wri†ing comic books?

Answer: I wrote almost all of the fanzine stuff I crudely drew, starting in my teens, so I guess I've been writing comics off and on for about 25 years. Yipe, I'm OLD! As for making money at it, see answer #4.

Ques†ion 7: How many comic books do you regularly read weekly?

Answer: Depends on the week, actually. Probably about three or four.

Ques†ion 8: When did you firs† become in†eres†ed in working in †he comic book indus†ry?

Answer: Probably as soon as I realized there WERE people who did this for a living. When I was eleven, my best friend and I created about four issues of a hand-made anthology comic. Written, drawn, and colored right on the pages--then handed around from reader to reader, one at a time, since we had only one copy. This was way before color copiers!

Ques†ion 9: How many books do you wri†e mon†hly?

Answer: About 3½ on average.

Ques†ion 10: Wha† kind of comic books do you read?

Answer: Good comics. Good traditional heroic stuff like Captain America, Justice League, Daredevil, in the mainstream. Lots of other stuff that catches my eye in the non-mainstream. I also never, ever miss an issue of "Savage Dragon," and I have to PAY to get that one!

Ques†ion 11: Do you have a websi†e? (personal or business) If so, where is i† loca†ed, and when do you upda†e i†?

Answer: No, alas. I'm not nearly computer proficient, or popular, enough.

Ques†ion 12: Wha† do you †hink of †he CBC Web-Mag in general, as a informa†ion si†e for comic book collec†ors & readers?

Answer: Anything that spreads enthusiam about an industry I love is a good thing. The internet is a perfect place to talk and share enthusiams.

Ques†ion 13: Have you been †o any recen† conven†ions? If so, which ones?

Answer: I took 1998 off from the convention trail--I've been to at least one show every year for something like eighteen years! I went to the Wizard World Chicago show last year, and had a blast.

Ques†ion 14: Are you married? If so, do you have any children?

Answer: I've been happily married for 16 years and have two young daughters.

Ques†ion 15: Do you have any recommenda†ions for our readers on publishing in †he comic book business?

Answer: If you have genuine talent, keep trying, keep improving, keep at it, and eventually you will make it. The industry always needs people who can really do the job.

Ques†ion 16: Any specific comic book charac†ers †ha† you would like †o see around in your children's adul†hood? If so, are †hey similar †o your own comic book heroes when you were a child? (Op†ional, depending on if you have children.)

Answer: I think the archetypal characters like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, et al, will always be around. I hope I'm right, because kids can learn good values, and positive ideals from characters like these.

Ques†ion 17: Any specific comic book charac†er(s) †ha† you would like †o see come back from †he af†erlife?

Answer: All my favorite characters are still alive, I think.

Ques†ion 18: Any comic book series or mini-series, †ha† you really enjoyed and liked? If so, would you like †o see †hem con†inued or used in ano†her charac†er's developmen†?

Answer: I'm seriously enjoying "Superman for all Seasons," by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Nothing else really leaps to mind.

Ques†ion 19: Did you by any chance read †he Amalgam s†oryline? If so, did you like i†? Wha† abou† †he whole Tangen† Comics idea from DC Comics?

Answer: I edited "JLX" in the first wave of Amalgam, and we had a blast coming up with it. I enjoyed the whole idea, and a lot of the titles. I do think the novelty has worn off by now, though--go to the well on anything too often and you can spoil a great idea's uniqueness. Tangent was an original idea, which is pretty unique in and of itself. I thought the design of the books were great and enjoyed quite a number of the titles, too.

Ques†ion 20: Wha† was i† like †o be an edi†or for DC Comics? Did you like working wi†h Mark Waid?

Answer: I had to, I was the only one who WOULD work with him for a few years! Now that he's a star, everybody thinks they discovered him. ;-)

We always have fun working together, though, we've been great friends since we both went to work at DC eleven years ago. We still write together, so our enjoyable colaboration continues.

Ques†ion 21: How did you like doing †he De†ec†ive Comics Annual? Wha† about †he Elseworlds' Annuals? Did you like doing †he Flash Annuals be††er †han †he De†ec†ive Comics ones?

Answer: I've enjoyed almost everything I've worked on, thank goodness.

Ques†ion 22: Wha† was i† like crea†ing and wri†ing Black Condor? Wha† abou† Firebrand? Do you †hink some†ime in †he near fu†ure, if DC ever decides †o bring back †he Golden Age Ear†h, would †hey be found †here? Would you wan† †o bring †hem back?

Answer: I enjoyed those books and had a lot of fun with the characters. Both Condor and Firebrand exist in current DC continuity, so they could come back at any time without reviving a Golden Age earth--which probably won't ever happen anyway.

Ques†ion 23: How did you like co-wri†ing for †he Flash series? Will you ever do i† again, because I have †o say †ha† I LOVE YOUR STYLE!!!!

Answer: Thanks, we always enjoy working on Flash. And we're already back at it again--issue #142 was our first one in a year or so.

Ques†ion 24: How did you like wri†ing JLA: Year One? Do you †hink †ha† †he JLA are going †o be around for years †o come? Do you †hink †hey will make i† †o †he 853rd cen†ury in real life? (Like DC shows in †he outs†anding DC ONE MILLION Mini-Series...)

Answer: Year One was a whole lot of fun, and we're really proud of the series. Mark and I got to play with all of our most beloved characters, and relive (and reshape, slightly) great moments and adventures from the comics of our youths. As for the possibility of comics in the 853rd century, I think the "One Million" stuff was terrific, and I hope these characters DO survive that long. I doubt comics will still be on paper past the early 21st century, though...

Ques†ion 25: Vampirella/Painkiller Jane was a great comic book! Wha† did you †hink abou† working wi†h Harris Comics? How does i† compare †o DC Comics? Do you †hink †ha† i†'s po†en†ial will make i† less of an indie and more of a main s†ream company?

Answer: Thanks, we had a great time doing that one--we were encouraged by editor David Bogart to be as "out there" as we wanted. That freedom was great, and working with David was a lot of fun.

As a freelancer, all publishers are pretty similar; they're mostly nice to me, and they pay on time. Which means I like them too. Though they've only been doing comics for a handful of years, Harris has been publishing other popular material for almost as long as comics have been around, they're a long term professional publishing company. I rather think they can and should consider themselves a real publisher, and rightly so.

Ques†ion 26: Wha† did you †hink of working for Marvel Comics? How did †ha† compare †o Harris and DC? Wha† abou† Acclaim Comics? I LOVED your WRITING IN X-O Manowar, and was wondering wha† you †hough† of †he cancella†ion and sudden ending on mos† of Acclaim's Comics, and X-O Manowar?

Answer: Again, working with all these publishers has been uniformly pleasant and always professional.

Working at Marvel on "Imperial Guard," was notably special, however, because the series was begun by the late Mark Grunewald. Giving me the assignment was, coincidentaly one of his last editorial decisions, and I enjoyed the too-little time I spent working with him.

I'm glad you enjoyed my X-O, thanks. It's unfortunate that the previous incarnations of Valiant/Acclaim publishing had been so rocky, since I think that reputation hurt the chances of this latest (and best, frankly) attempt. Fabian Nicieza was a terrific editor, and Acclaim should have survived on the strength of his tremendous energy and ideas alone. I enjoyed working with the folks at Acclaim a lot more than I ultimately enjoyed my own work for them, as it turned out. I got lost in a lot of psuedo-cosmic fooferaw on my later issues of X-O, and dropped the ball, I fear. Sorry about that...

Still it was fun to be part of a very exciting relaunch, and I'll always appreciate the chance Fabian gave me.

The company still publishes a teensy bit, and may yet come back. I wish them well.

Ques†ion 27: How do you like wri†ing Crimson? Wha† makes †he comic book more appealing compared †o such charac†ers as Superman & Spider-Man?

Answer: I enjoy Crimson very much. It gives me a chance to tap into my darker, more gothic side. ;-) Humberto Ramos is a great friend, and was nice enough to invite me to be part of the book's team, so that makes it even more special. I enjoy working with him, and his co-creators, Francisco Haghenbeck and Oscar Pinto. I also like developing a good relationship with Scott Dunbier and the folks at Wildstorm too.

On the other hand, I don't find Crimson "more" appealing than any of the mainsteam stuff I do. I enjoy it all just as much--each in its own individual way. Everything I do is my favorite, while I'm working on it. I'm very flexible that way, I guess.

Question 28: Any commen†s †ha† you would like †o say †o finish †he in†erview?

Answer: Just that I appreciate your interest and wish you and your 'zine the very best of luck. Keep reading, and talking about, comic books!

Thanks, Brian Augustyn