Were there stories I wrote along the way that were terrible clinkers? God, yes. But they were all a product of their time, and I did the best I could.

There is an ancient legend which warns that, should we ever learn our true origin, our universe will instantly be destroyed.

Unfortunately, there are writers whose only concern is how good they could make themselves look on a title.

The bottom line always remains the same: What is the basic humanity of the character? How do I make them resonate with the reader?

I think jazz and comic books are probably the two uniquely American art forms.

It's all about who's where on the food chain. When I'm the story editor, I expect my writers to follow my vision. When I'm working for another editor, I'm obliged to follow their vision.

The curse of comic book adaptations, when I was younger, was that the director or producer would go, "Don't worry about it, it's just a comic book."