I think all kids understand from a very tender age that dinosaurs were real. They really walked around. That instantly sets them apart from monsters. And it instantly makes them safe. Because you can love 'em, and they're never going to bite you. They're not like a dog. They're safer than a pet, in a weird way.

The power of monsters is, it is a way of giving almost tangible substance to fears, beliefs, things that aren't real. You can coalesce it and draw it, or describe it, and it's a monster.

I had thought comics could only be one thing, and that was what mainstream comics were selling us. And the undergrounders proved anything you had in your head, as long as you had the skill to put it down on paper, was fair game. And I started filling sketchbooks with my own comics.

If you have birds, or if you're a herpetologist and raise reptiles - you look in those eyes, and there is nothing there that's human. I mean, they don't think like us, they don't see the world like us.

Horror is one of the few genres - romance and comedy are the other two that come to mind - that's all emotion-driven. It's not a rational genre, like science fiction is. It's irrational by nature. And it is capable of exploring all aspects of human experience.

If we can't get more John Rovnaks in this world, let's all support the John Rovnak we've got.

I think all kids understand from a very tender age that dinosaurs were real. They really walked around. That instantly sets them apart from monsters. And it instantly makes them safe. Because you can love 'em, and they're never going to bite you. They're not like a dog. They're safer than a pet, in a weird way.