I was a college student before I began writing comics professionally -- I sold my first script the day before graduation.

I had always wanted to be a writer, but didn't read comics that regularily as a kid. But, when I did start reading them on a regular basis, when I was about 14, I realized quickly that some people made their careers at this, and it seemed like fun. So I aimed myself in that direction, studied and practiced as much as I could, and by the time I was finished with school, my samples had gotten me work.

There's this sense that History is a spiral. We seem to go back to the same spot, yet enhanced. Is it happening in comics now? Not once have I heard people expressing their desire for lighter comics as opposed to the gritty ones from the eighties. Is the new trend going to be a kind of Silver Age revival?

I don't think it'll be a Silver Age revival so much as a rise in popularity for well-written, character-oriented stories. I see it more as a pendulum effect than a spiral -- people get excited about, say, dark heroes, and the industry loads up on them, giving readers more and more until everybody's bored. Then the lighter heroes seem like the fresher ones, so the pendulum starts swinging that way. If we overload on that, something else will catch the attention, and so on.

Any plans for Peter Parker's future (in his past)?

I'm just following the history Stan and Steve set for the character, exploring and expanding on it as opportunities arise.

Do you have more gadgets like that Galactus helmet you wore for the Wizard Profile?

That's actually Alex's -- he made it so he could do photo-reference on Galactus in MARVELS #3, and I borrowed it for those pictures.

Character revamping is becoming faster and faster these days. Is it because these icons had simply became too old for their sake or it's just sign of the times?

It's just a combination of two things, I think -- the desperation of the publishers, seeing sales dropping across the board, and the bandwagon effect of successful revamps like the death of Superman and Knightfall. Once something works, people rush to imitate it until it loses its novelty value and doesn't work any more. I think we're reaching that saturation level with dramatic, sweeping revamps.

Astro City's moved to Homage. Independents are carving a niche into safer publishers. Does it indicate a bright future for independents and author-owned pieces?

I hope so. As creator-owned material gains the ability to compete with company-owned material, the resistance to doing traditionally "risky" creator-owned lines fades.

Someday, I hope the comics industry is like the book publishing industry, with work-for-hire still around, but the big successes being creator-owned, just as prose writers write such things as STAR TREK novels work-for-hire, but Stephen King and John Grisham own their own best-selling work.

In an interview for the Comics Journal, where you stood for superheroes, you mentioned those old thick superhero anthologies as an example of good market solution. Here in Brazil the most common are eighty-page pocket-size comic books containing four stories (usually featuring different characters each) and costing an average 2.50 dollars. Would it be a viable alternative to all those expensive, sophisticated 23-pagers (which are invading Brazil too)?

Depends on how well they're promoted and distributed, but in general I think anything that offers more value for money is a good idea, so long as it's supported by the publishers and marketed in such a way that it has a chance to catch on.

Will there be any planned interruptions in Astro City's current monthly distribution?

No planned interruptions, no. We did skip a month of solicitation, but that's only to allow for the fact that we're already late. We don't want to get any later.

Speaking as a fan, what are your favorite characters?

As a fan, my favorite characters are Iron Man, Hawkeye and Hal (Green Lantern) Jordan. Those are the ones I always wanted to write.

Given the chance to work with Green Lantern, would you resurrect Hal Jordan?

That kinda depends. If I couldn't resurrect Hal, I doubt I'd be interested in the book, unless I was able to start fresh with a new GL who had strong connections to Hal.

No disrespect meant to the creators of Kyle Rayner, who may well be a fine character; he's just not one I'm tempted to write.

It's not the ring or the name that interests me; it's the man and the history.

What are you reading nowadays?

Lots of stuff -- in terms of comics I read a wide variety of material from SAVAGE DRAGON to KANE to MAISON IKKOKU, and in prose, I read crime fiction, biographies, histories and more.

Astra and the hopscotch affair... Do you have children? Do you ever use personal memories to weave a story, mainly the Astro City stories?

I don't have any children, but I have four sisters. And everything, ultimately, is personal, whether it's as direct as something like the newspaper article in ASTRO CITY Vol. 1 #2, which is based on an actual article my mother sent me while I was in college and which I carried around for years, waiting for a chance to use it in a story, or as indirect as Samaritan's feelings in #1, which are familiar to anyone who loves what they do but sometimes gets so overwhelmed with it that he doesn't have time to enjoy it.

I know you've answered this before, but I've got to ask: Was 'First Family' purposely intended to be 'Fantastic Four?'

No -- in fact, I tried for weeks to come up with a name that worked as well as "First Family" but didn't have those initials. The First Family was intended to be an exploration of the superhero-team-as-family, with influences from the Fantastic Four, but also from, say, Henry Fonda and his children and grandchild, and stories like the Forsythe Saga. It's based on the same archetype as the Fantastic Four, but it isn't meant to be a direct copy at all.

Is a 'superhero' still a sure bet in comics?

No -- as witness all the superhero series that fail, like TAKION and FIREBRAND. Superheroes are still pretty popular with American comics buyers, but they're by no means a sure thing.

What's the main reason comic books don't reach the large audience they used to?

I don't think we produce material that's accessible any more -- both in terms of being understandable to newcomers and in terms of being widely available.

How could comics be turned widely available once more?

That's a question everybody in the industry would like the answer to. For my part, I'll work on making sure what I do is accessible to new readers, and hope that publishers find a way to get a lot of new readers to see it...

How was it writing a major saga for those Image characters? Did you ever feel you had to get away from your personal style to be successful?

It was fun, though it got a little hectic as people started suing each other and the plot had to accommodate sudden and drastic changes in the Image Universe. But I didn't worry much about style -- I approach everything a little differently, so ASTRO CITY doesn't have the same style as NINJAK, which doesn't have the same style as THUNDERBOLTS. On SHATTERED IMAGE, Barbara Kesel and I co-wrote it, and we just tried to make it fun and involving.

Do you think Superman's latest changes will actually help update the character for new generations?

I don't think they'll last long enough, but maybe they'll draw in some new readers who wouldn't have tried the books otherwise.

Is comics as powerful a myth vehicle as movies - not in terms of audience number, but exclusively effectiveness?

I think comics are more powerful, since they have, essentially, an unlimited budget. Whatever the artist can draw, you can put into the story, without worries about how much it's going to cost.

Also, comics engage both sides of the brain -- the receptive and the interpretative -- giving the reader more involvement with the work.

What's in your sleeve for Astro City next?

We're still rolling with the sidekick story. After that's over, we've got a one-issue story planned, about a super-villain who commits the perfect crime; a two-parter about Jack-In-The-Box; a one-parter about Looney Leo, a cartoon character who came to life in the Forties; and then another multi-parter about a super-villain trying to go straight, which is not easy when you're internationally infamous and head-to-toe stainless steel.

Aside Astro City, what are your near future plans?

I'm talking to Marvel about some new projects, but for now my schedule remains ASTRO CITY, UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN, NINJAK and THUNDERBOLTS.

Could you talk about these projects you've suggested to Marvel?

They're projects Marvel has approached me about, not projects I suggested. And no, I can't talk about them at present.

What will happen to the THUNDERBOLTS after the big shots come back - if they ever come back - from Heroes Reborn?

Good question, and one we've got an answer to, but you'll have to read the book to find out what it is...

Did you ever want to be a superhero sidekick yourself?

No -- I wanted to be the hero.

Any specific powers?

Flight, at the very least.