I always figure I'm not unique, and something that would please me hopefully would please a lot of other people that have the same tastes that I do.

When I was a kid, I loved reading Sherlock Holmes. Now, you don't think of him as a superhero, but he was so damn much smarter than anybody else.

Of what import are brief, nameless lives . . . to Galactus?

I hated teenagers in comics because they were always sidekicks. And I always felt if I were a superhero, there's no way I'd pal around with some teenager, you know.

I always sympathized with the people who did work for hire; I was one of them.

I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people's lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you're able to entertain people, you're doing a good thing.

With great power comes great responsibilty.