I was in the beginning when [comic book superheroes] started, but not anymore. Now I expect it. I've gotten very used to it.

I think it's just the challenge. It's not that all my life I've wanted to do characters [in Marvel] , because I never particularly thought about it, but the challenge of saying, "How could they be done differently that may be more absorbing or more effective?"

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 had been writing comic books for years and I was doing them to please a publisher, who felt that comics are only read by very young children or stupid adults. And therefore, we have to keep the stories very simplistic... And those were all things I hated.

A superhero's catchphrase should be like a really memorable advertising slogan. It sticks in your head and you can't stop humming it. And let's face it, superheroes are just really selling themselves as products.

I like Spider-Man because he's become the most famous. He's the one who's most like me - nothing ever turns out 100 percent OK; he's got a lot of problems, and he does things wrong, and I can relate to that.

We have enough to do just trying to make our company what we want it to be. As far as whether I would like to own Marvel, sure, I'd like to own Marvel.