Creators | How did Darwyn Cooke get involved with the Before Watchmen comics? "I was kind of dragged into it kicking and screaming by [DC Comics Co-Publisher] Dan DiDio. He had been discussing this for what does amount to several years now, and the first time he had approached me about it, I had actually turned it down simply because I couldn't see doing anything that would live up to the original. And, it was about a year later, the story idea that I'm working on now sort of came to me and I realized that there was a way to do the project, and I had a story that I thought was exciting enough to tell. So I phoned Dan up and said, 'Hey, if you still got room, I'm in.'" [Rolling Stone]

Creators | Ron Marz discusses Prophecy, his upcoming comic that turns the whole Mayan calendar thing into a crossover event that will bring together an eclectic group of characters, and defends the idea of crossovers in general: "If your objection is "they're not in the same universe," or a crossover somehow offends your sense of continuity, I'd suggest you're missing the point. More than any other medium, comics are about unfettered imagination, about making the impossible possible. If you're going to let some perceived "rules" prevent you from telling an exciting story, you're just not trying very hard. Having a sense of wonder, of discovery, is much more important than following some set of perceived rules and regulations." [MTV Geek]



Creators | Jack Kirby's son Neal pens a guest essay on growing up with the King of Comics. [Hero Complex]

Creators | Paul Gravett talks to comics legend Robert Crumb. [Paul Gravett]

Creators | Brian McFadden, who draws the weekly political comic Big Fat Whale as well as a weekly comic for The New York Times Magazine, talks about his tools, his influences, and his inspiration. [David-Wasting-Paper]

Creators | In a video interview, Nick Spencer (Morning Glories) discusses writing comics and his plans for the future. [Previews World]

Events | Karen Green talks about putting together the Comic New York symposium at Columbia University, which brought together such diverse talents as Chris Claremont, John Romita Sr. and Jr., Bill Griffith, and Ariel Schrag, among others. [comiXology]

Events | Erica Friedman contrasts two very different comics events, Japan's enormous winter Comiket (Comic Market) and a small yaoi and yuri show in the Netherlands. [The Hooded Utilitarian]

Commentary | Tim Callahan continues his "Great Alan Moore Reread" and talks about Moore's work with Ian Gibson on "The Ballad of Halo Jones." [Tor.com]