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Direct Comments: Comic Book Creators in their Own Words Paperback – June 12, 2021
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From 1988 to 1995, Paul Kupperberg wrote DCDirect Currents, the company’s monthly promotional newsletter. Like several predecessor publications (DC Coming Attractions, DC Coming Comics, DC Releases), Direct Currents was distributed free through comic shops to promote upcoming events, specials, and title launches.
Writing Direct Currents could be a chore; endless capsule descriptions of tortured plot twists...and often, the editors had no plot specifics to share, leaving the writer the even more tortuous task of trying to make nothing sound interesting. But conducting the interviews for the Direct Currents “People at Work” feature, profiles showcasing the writers and artists behind the comics,was anything but work. It was an excuse to call and chat with a wide array of creators, running the gamut from Golden Age pioneers to contemporaries, including admired creators on whose work he had grown up. One month, he even interviewed himself.
But only excerpts of those interviews were used in the published profiles, and the unedited transcripts of only twenty-two of the more then ninety interviews survived. Now, newly edited and annotated, you can read the Direct Comments (along with some rarely seen interviews from the 1970s) from some of the greatest creators of the first half-century of the comic book business, including:
Murphy Anderson
Jim Aparo
Kyle Baker
Brian Bolland
John Byrne
John Costanza
Chuck Dixon
Keith Giffen
Dick Giordano
Mike Grell
Ed Hannigan
Adam Hughes
Carmine Infantino
Klaus Janson
Paul Kupperberg
Tom Lyle
Lee Marrs
Pepe Moreno
Denny O’Neil
Jerry Ordway
Jerry Robinson
Kurt Schaffenberger
Julie Schwartz
Walter Simonson
Jim Warren
- Print length192 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJune 12, 2021
- Dimensions6 x 0.44 x 9 inches
- ISBN-13979-8516840661
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Product details
- ASIN : B096TL8FSW
- Publisher : Independently published (June 12, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 192 pages
- ISBN-13 : 979-8516840661
- Item Weight : 10.5 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.44 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #746,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,004 in Literary Graphic Novels (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Paul Kupperberg is the author of dozens of books of fiction and non-fiction for readers of all ages and an Eisner Award-nominated writer of more than one thousand comic book stories.
According to bestselling author Alex Segura (Poe Dameron: Free Fall, Secret Identity), SUPERTOWN, Paul’s young reader novel coming in February 2013 from Heliosphere Books and now available for pre-order as an e-book, is “... A top-flight sci-fi adventure that introduces readers to a very memorable—and relatable—protagonist in Wally Crenshaw. Paul Kupperberg blends his decades of expertise writing fun, engaging superhero comics with skillful prose to create a can't miss YA novel.”
Paul’s other books include JSA: RAGNAROK (2020), THE SAME OLD STORY: HITLER’S BELLHOP AND OTHER STORIES, all from Crazy 8 Press, as well as PAUL KUPPERBERG’S ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO WRITING COMICS (Charlton Neo Press, 2020), I NEVER WRITE FOR THE MONEY BUT I ALWAYS TURN IN THE MANUSCRIPT FOR A CHECK (Comics Career, 2020), and for Buffalo Avenue Books, DIRECT COMMENTS: COMIC BOOK CREATORS IN THEIR OWN WORDS (2021), THE UNPUBLISHED COMIC BOOK SCRIPTS OF PAUL KUPPERBERG (2015) and SON OF THE UNPUBLISHED COMIC BOOK SCRIPTS OF PAUL KUPPERBERG (2021). He is also the author of SPIDER-MAN: CRIME CAMPAIGN and SPIDER-MAN AND THE HULK: MURDERMOON (Pocket Books, 1979), and JEW-JITSU: THE HEBREW HANDS OF FURY (Kensington, 2008).
He is the co-creator and a contributor to the Crazy 8 Press fantasy anthology trilogy, REDEUS: DIVINE TALES, REDEUS: BEYOND BORDERS, and REDEUS: NATIVE LANDS, as well as a contributor to the collections BAD ASS MOMS, THRILLING ADVENTURE YARNS, the PANGAEA trilogy, THEY KEEP KILLING GLENN, and the upcoming PHENOMENON: EVERY LIVING CREATURE. He has also contributed stories to anthologies from Ace, DAW Books, Pocket Books, Warner Books, Moonstone Books, and others, and is a columnist for the comic book website, 13thDimension.com.
His earlier young readers novel include WISHBONE: THE SIRIAN CONSPIRACY (Wishbone Books, 1999), POWERPUFF GIRLS: BUTTERCUP’S TERRIBLE TEMPER TANTRUM (Scholastic, 2002), KEVIN (Grosset & Dunlap, 2013), based on the first gay character in the Archie Comics Universe, was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award, and EMMA’S LANDING (Buffalo Avenue Books), a time travel adventure story set in the Florida Everglades, was published in 2021. He has also written storybooks and color & activity books featuring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Firehouse Tales, Kung Fu Panda, Megamind, and others for Stone Arch Books, Dalmatian Press, Simon & Schuster, and others, as well as MAD LIBS for Grosset & Dunlap. He authored more than a dozen non-fiction books for young readers on subjects ranging from history and science to biography and business for Rosen Publishing and Facts on File.
Paul’s comic book career includes writing such characters as Superman, Supergirl, the Doom Patrol, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Star Trek, Conan the Barbarian, the Simpsons, Scooby Doo, and scores of others, including his own creations, ARION LORD OF ATLANTIS, CHECKMATE, and TAKION. His alternate reality take on a grown-up Archie Comics gang in THE LIFE WITH ARCHIE: THE MARRIED LIFE series (Archie Comics, 2009 - 2014) changed the face of Archie Comics, culminating in the bestselling “Death of Archie” storyline that made headlines around the world. He has also written humor and satire for Marvel's CRAZY Magazine, syndicated newspaper strips (SUPERMAN, TOM & JERRY), online animation, and advertising. Past day jobs include 20-years as an editor for DC Comics, executive editor of WEEKLY WORLD NEWS, and senior editor of World Wrestling Entertainment's WWE KIDS Magazine.
You can visit Paul at PaulKupperberg.com or on Facebook and Twitter.
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