You can read a Shakespeare play, but does that mean you wouldn't want to see it on the stage?

Usually, the biggest hang-up is the script. You could have a script done in six months that you love, or it could be like The Fantastic Four it's been almost 10 years.

The public always loves anything that's different, as long as it's well-made, if it's well-done. You never know what to expect when you go to one of these so-called superhero movies.

I see myself in everything I write. All the good guys are me.

When you work with people whom you like and you admire because they're so good at what they do, it doesn't feel like work. It's like you're playing.

I have always tried to have a message, not to be a preacher, but a message that shows it's better to be a good guy than a bad guy, and I try to make it clear that doing the right thing is more attractive than not.

Some artists, such as Jack Kirby, need no plot at all. I mean I'll just say to Jack, "Let's let the next villain be Dr. Doom" ... or I may not even say that. He may tell me. And then he goes home and does it. He's so good at plots, I'm sure he's a thousand times better than I. He just makes up the plots for these stories. All I do is a little editing ... I may tell him that he's gone too far in one direction or another. Of course, occasionally I'll give him a plot, but we're practically both the writers on the things.