In light of Paul Ryan's way-too-premature passing, I thought I'd run an interview I conducted with him way back in 1997 for FFPlaza.com, my old Fantastic Four site. During his tenure on the FF, he and DeFalco were sometimes criticized for the direction they had taken the book -- from killing off Mr. Fantastic to the Invisible Woman's "inappropriate" costuming to retconning the Human Torch's marriage -- but, despite not agreeing with every decision they made, I found it to be an incredibly fun run of stories. And working for nearly five years on the book, it put Ryan and DeFalco third behind only John Byrne and the team-up of Stan Lee & Jack Kirby for longest creative run on the title.

SKleefeld: I have been a long-time fan of the Fantastic Four and I would like to tell you that I thought you did an incredible job on the series. Your excellent ability to draw any and every hero as well as frequently create new ones makes your run on the book truely outstanding. I have found very few artists with your caliber and even fewer who have tackled "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine."

I was hoping you might be able to answer some questions about your nearly five year run on the book. I think it might provide some excellent insights to your outlook on both the Fantastic Four and comics in general. If I have offended you by asking this (or from any of my questions), I sincerely apologize.

Paul C. Ryan: I never consider it an insult when someone shows interest in my humble efforts in the comics field. Thank you for your kind words concerning my run on the FF.

SK: How did Marvel first approach you about doing the Fantastic Four? What was your initial reaction? At the time, did you know Tom DeFalco would also be working on it?

PCR: It is kind of funny how my tenure on the series came about. When word of Walt Simonson's decision to leave the FF was announced I got a call from John Byrne asking if I would be interested in working with him on the title. John and I had recently collaborated on Avengers and Avengers West Coast. I was very excited at the prospect of not only working with John again (his FF run was one of my favorites) but working on my favorite Marvel title. I bought the first issue at the tender age of 11.

What John failed to mention at the time was that editor Ralph Macchio had not offered him (John) the book. John was of the opinion that because Ralph knew that John wanted the book that Ralph should call John. In speaking with Ralph I discovered that Ralph was of the opinion that if John wanted the book, he (John) should call Ralph. I made repeated calls to both parties. They wouldn't budge. I could see the FF series slipping through my fingers. Finally I just gave up and continued to work on the two Avengers titles.

Not too much later John asked me to pencil Iron Man. I gave up the WCA to do Iron Man. The following Friday, Ralph called to offer me the penciling chores on the FF. DeFalco was to be the writer. I said NO, along with a few expletives. I had just taken on another series and I wasn't too happy at the prospect of having to give up the Avengers to take on the FF. That's how we left it on Friday. All weekend long I kept thinking about the FF and how much I loved that series. First thing Monday morning, even before office hours, I left a message for Ralph, "I'll take the book."

My timing couldn't have been better. On Friday, after I turned down the offer, Ralph called Dan Jurgens to offer him the book. Unable to reach Dan, Ralph left a voice mail message. I got through to Ralph first and the rest is history.

SK: How did you feel about so closely following Walter Simonson's run?

PCR: I never gave much thought to following Walt on the book. Walt is a great guy and we've have a good relationship for years. I heard that he left the book because of too many restrictions placed on him during his stay.

SK: You and Tom seemed to collaborate quite well; how did the two of you work together?

PCR: I worked with Tom the same way I worked with all my writers. I would occasionally pitch ideas, some were used some not.

SK: You received plot credits more often than not; did you have more input on the FF than other books you've worked on?

PCR: Tom just liked to spread the guilt around.

SK: Your stories have a similar flavor to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's FF; how intentional was that? Were you a fan of Stan and Jack's FF?

PCR: If the stories had a Lee/Kirby feel to them it's because both Tom and I were big fans of those two giants of the industry.

SK: What was the biggest problem that you ran into with the book and how did you work around it? Are there any issues or stories that stand out for you, either good or bad?

PCR: One problem I faced were late plots. I tried for nearly five years to get that book ahead of schedule, turning down other assignments, to no avail. Tom was just too busy with other projects, not to mention his duties as Editor-in-Chief.

Another was changing plots. A story we discussed and which I found very exciting was frequently changed when it reached printed plot stage. I think Tom spent too much time second-guessing himself. Lyja and Johnny were supposed to actually have a child. I was shocked and dissapointed when Tom changed the child into an artificial implant housing a monster.

SK: When Marvel had begun laying plans for Onslaught and Heroes Reborn, were you and Tom hurried in finalizing certain plotlines to accomodate that series? Why didn't you work on issues 415 and 416?

PCR: The whole Heroes Reborn situation came as an unpleasant surprise to me. I learned through the internet that I was losing the FF. Tom and I were suppossed to work together through issue 416. Yes, we were told to complete our story arc as quickly as possible. The powers-that-be (executive level management) came up with the idea of luring Jim Lee back to Marvel in the hopes of recouping lost sales figures. Jim wanted the FF. Marvel gave it to him over the head of Editorial. Editorial decided to show that they also could do an Image style book without Jim Lee. Therefore I was unceremoniously removed from issues 415 and 416 and they were given to Carlos Pacheco.

This whole situation left a bad feeling with me toward Marvel. I was cast adrift after 11 years of loyal exclusivity. I have not followed any of the Marvel titles since then, so I cannot comment on their merits.

DC welcomed me with open arms. They seem happy to have me on board and are keeping me very busy these days.

SK: Would you like to return to the Fantastic Four? What are your future plans?

PCR: Nobody at Marvel has offered me the FF again and I don't think I would return to the title any time soon if they did. I have always been of the opinion that things happen for a reason. I am going forward with DC projects right now and I am content.

If some time in the future I was offered the pencilling AND WRITING chores on the FF.......who knows?

SK: I appreciate your taking the time to answer these questions. I mentioned before that I have a great respect for you as an artist and creative thinker. I hope to see your work in some of my other favorite titles.

PCR: Hope that answers your questions satisfactorily.

SK: I think your answers have been quite enlightening. Thank you very much.

PCR: You're welcome.

On Saturday, I swang by the Schaumburg, IL public library for a mini-comic-con they were holding. They had about a dozen creators (Scott Beaderstadt probably being the most famous), two vendors, some face-painters, a variety of professional cosplayers (including members of the 501st), and a decent-sized display of historical comics presented by a local comics fans/historian. There were a few panel presentations and a "superhero storytime." The last library comic con I attended in Elgin had many of the same types of things and was about the same size, but it was was a very different type of show.

The biggest, most noticeable difference was in the layout. That previous one I attended had all of the activities besides the panels in a single room. Much like how you're used to seeing at a comic convention. This weekend's, however, had the show spread out over a sprawling chunk of the library. The cosplayers were centrally located in the reception area, the Artists' Alley was over past the A/V equipment, the vendors were at the front of the children's section, and the face-painting was in a separate room beyond that. Scattered throughout the library were various comic character standees (Superman, Spider-Man, Olive Oyl, etc.) and someone had set up a good-sized Batman display in one of the alcoves. The library had hung "Pow!" and "Zowie!" type effects on the walls throughout, and most of the librarians I saw were wearing capes.

I haven't been able to figure out which approach is better. I certainly liked the consolidated approach of the Elgin show better myself, and I heard more than a few people at this weekend's event who were complaining that they couldn't find what they were looking for. The show seemed disorganized with creators and vendors just kind of dropped wherever there was a few square feet of space, with seemingly no regard to traffic flow. (Indeed the line for the face-painting wove back through the library, completely blocking off access to the two vendors.) Other patrons who didn't seem to be at the library for the show struck me as irritated that they had to deal with the crowds.

However, by spreading the show throughout the library, it forced visitors to check out several different sections of the library, perhaps bringing them into contact with areas they might not normally visit. Given that the standees seemed spread out well beyond the areas where the "main" portions of the show was taking place, and that librarians were caped regardless of where they sitting, I suspect this was the intention. I'm not familiar enough with that library building to know if they could have housed everything in one room, but I saw at least one corner with several large-ish rooms that could have "confined" the convention to a only a portion of the library preventing the congestion that cropped up in several places.

I suppose the ideal, from a librarian's perspective, would be somewhere in the middle. Having a set-up where visitors are encouraged to walk through multiple portions of the library, but without disrupting the regular flows of traffic. One of the perennial complaints I seem to hear about larger, "professional" shows also frequently boils down to traffic issues. But they have the advantage of A) a more malleable space that's expressly designed for events like these, and B) a considerably larger budget with which to have people dedicated to addressing traffic concerns. Libraries, by contrast, have the constraints of A) a crudload of essentially unmoveable furntiture loaded with books and such that restrict traffic patterns already, and B) being fiendishly understaffed and underfunded. Given that, I'm not about to say that Schaumburg shouldn't do a show until the sort out any traffic concerns but, speaking as a third-party participants, I definitely like the approach that just encourages reading and doesn't try to showcase the pretty building.

Here are this week's links to what I've had published recently...

Kleefeld on Comics: On Business: Light
http://ift.tt/1TMCOmq

Kleefeld on Comics: On History: My First Webcomic
http://ift.tt/1TOoCJw

Kleefeld on Comics: Weekly Comics Links
http://ift.tt/1oP4ZEb

FreakSugar: Webcomics Wednesday: Guest Appearances
http://ift.tt/1QTmGiE

Kleefeld on Comics: On -isms: Proxies
http://ift.tt/1SkMRxM

Kleefeld on Comics: On Strips: Dust Bowl Willy
http://ift.tt/1SnJKFk

So the "current" storyline in Get Fuzzy revolves around Bucky trying to convince everyone to read lines from old Dust Bowl Willy comic strips, with his rationale being that it must be good since it was so popular back in its heyday...

(I should point out that it's only a "current" storyline in that it's the one being syndicated right now. The story first appeared back in 2008, and has been re-run at least one other time before now, I believe.)

There was, from what I could tell, some debate at the time on what Dust Bowl Willy was. Many people, especially those who weren't very familiar with newspaper comics from the 1930s, hadn't heard of it. What they didn't realize was that people who were very familiar with newspaper comics from the 1930s hadn't heard of it either. Dust Bowl Willy never existed. Darby Conley simply made it up to sound like a comic strip that might have come from that time period.

I'm not sure if Conley was deliberately using a fictional strip to amplify some of the themes and ideas he had seen in period strips, or if he simply didn't want or wasn't able to do any substantive research to use a real strip. In either case, he utilizes his strip to comment on how language and humor are tied to culture, and that culture can shift and change over time even if it remains geographically static.

What's interesting here is that Conley has been criticized in the past for falling back on re-run strips without really telling anyone he was doing so. Re-run strips began appearing with greater regularity around 2011 and, by 2013, the daily strip (excluding Sundays) was entirely old material. Which means that this "Dust Bowl Willy" storyline that is commenting on how culture can shift over time is becoming itself increasingly dated.

"Ha ha! Remember this strip and how we had that long conversation on Usenet trying to figure out if Dust Bowl Willy was real?"

Yeah, I actually dug up an old Usenet thread discussing exactly that.

Irony, thy name is Darby Conley.

One of the "tricks" that writers use to tackle social issues like racial injustices is switching to a proxy. People can get so wrapped up in their feelings on an issue that addressing it head-on can set them off into their self-prescribed justifications such that they don't actually process anything you're trying to tell them. There was an incident a few weeks ago where a county courthouse hung a "Black Lives Matter" poster drawn by a middle-school student. A retired-NYPD-officer-turned-local-talk-show-host started clamoring for it to get pulled down because he felt it constituted hate speech. There is nothing anti-police about Black Lives Matter, nor was there anything anti-police in the poster. But you can't tell that to this guy because he's so wrapped up in his defensiveness that he's not hearing what anyone in the BLM movement is actually saying. Even though they've expressly and repeatedly said that it's not about hating on police, but demanding equal treatment for people with darker skin.

(I won't get into why someone might be so defensive as to hear "Black Lives Matter" as hate speech.)

One of the more famous (though not necessarily best) examples of a proxy in fiction is the "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" episode of the original Star Trek series. It's still very obviously a discussion and observation on racial disharmony -- a fairly heavy-handed one at that -- but by using utilizing the half-black/half-white characters where most viewers would not immediately notice the deliberate switching sides between the two characters. It uses a not-naturally-occurring characteristic to showcase the absurdity of hatred based on something so superficial that most viewers would miss the difference. M.I.A.'s video for her song "Born Free" similarly utilizes an easily over-looked characteristic (red hair) as a proxy for race.

There are similar examples in comics, as well, although they tend to be more immediately obvious analogues for the reader. The Kree in Marvel comics, for instance. Some are Caucasian, some are blue. Or the Inhumans -- there are 'regular' Inhumans and then there are the Alpha Primitives. (Although I think this overall storyline has largely been "resolved.") There are enough significant/obvious visual differences that readers can spot the race dialogue coming a mile away, and the use of proxies becomes moot because any defenses a person might have about race got thrown up immediately. I mean, DC's Tyroc isn't really even an analogy -- no one is going to come to that story without seeing the message right on page 1!

That's not to say racial issue proxies can't be done well in comics. But even EC's famous "Judgement Day" is an blatant racial analogue; the story largely works so well because of the "twist" at the end that runs as a counter-point to the obviousness of the robot proxies. Generally, to be effective, the reader can't see the parallel immediately. The message only comes across successfully, I think, when it kind of blind-sides the audience after they've invested themselves in the characters and/or the story as a whole. You can do the whole blue skin/orange skin/purple skin/black skin direct route like Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams famously did, but I suspect the stories that have a greater impact and change more minds are the ones that sneak up on the reader with an unobvious proxy when they aren't expecting it.

• David Robson examines ancient Mayan pottery and sees that they were making what we can easily recognize as comics as early as 650 BC.
• Michael Davis wonders what happened to the Milestone Comics that were announced last year.

I have been reading webcomics regularly since late 2004. If I bothered to do a little digging, I could probably pinpoint the precise date. (But I'm not going to bother because it'd be too much and beside my point anyway.) The reason I know that is because it was Phil and Kaja Foglio's Girl Genius that got me reading webcomics.

I knew Phil's work from years earlier when he did the "What's New?" comic strip in the back of Dragon magazine in the 1980s. I didn't buy the magazine regularly, but that was consistently one of the highlights of every issue I read. His illustration style was delightfully energetic and he had a great sense of comic pacing. I stopped reading Dragon (or indeed paying attention to any role-playing games!) when I left for college, and Phil fell off my radar.

Cut to a decade later and I heard he and his wife were starting a new comic book called Girl Genius. I was immediately on board based on what I remembered about Phil's older work, and I was not disappointed. They were doing a lot of great things in the book, and I enjoyed it immensely for the next several years.

Somewhere around then, I had certainly become aware of webcomics. But I didn't care for reading them on the screen. Primarily because, at the time, I was unaware of feed readers or other methods of delivery. I was forced to go to each webcomic site individually and click through to wherever I dropped off last and then navigate through whatever clunky navigation was set up. (There were no good navigation standards developed at that point.) So even though the Foglios had moved to presenting their story online, I kept buying the print version. That is, until they stopped doing a print version with issue #13, and presented the material only online. I was enjoying it enough that I didn't want to miss out.

That's when I started doing some digging into better ways to read webcomics. Because I still wasn't down for this just-go-check-the-site-every-day bullcrap. I was already familiar with RSS, thanks to some work projects, but it was only after I "needed" to keep reading Girl Genius that I really began investigating feed readers and found something I liked. But once I did, that's when I started actively looking for more webcomics to read.

I recall thinking at the time that I was coming to the webcomics party exceptionally late. I mean, guys like Scott Kurtz, Jerry Holkins, and Mike Krahuli had been working for years at that point and they weren't even really the old guard. It already seemed like a crowded market, and I was thrilled when I could find the occasional webcomic that was JUST getting started. (Now that I think about it, I recall having similar feelings when I first discovered comics in general and came across a new series.)

That's what continues to catch me off guard today though. That over a decade ago, I was thinking I was late to webcomics and yet all this time later and we're just now starting to see mainstream comic news sites talk about them with anything approaching regularity.

In any event, it was my following creators in their transition from print to digital that really got me interested in webcomics. My journey followed theirs and, since I still read Girl Genius, I suppose it still does.