From: Extract from the Internet.

 

Mid-September Interview with Bill Morrison (Creative director)

• On the upcoming Radioactive Man comic books: "Yeah, the next issue coming out at the end of October is a parody of old Gold Key and Super Key comics from the 1960s, like Dr. Solar and Magnus Robot Fighter. It has a fully painted cover that I'm working on right now.
  
  "The issue after that is going to be really cool. There is an episode of 'The Simpsons' where some Hollywood producers come to Springfield to film a Radioactive Man movie, and Milhouse is cast as Fallout Boy and Ranier Wolfcastle is Radioactive Man. We decided to do a movie adaptation. Fallout Boy will be Milhouse. Ranier Wolfcastle will be Radioactive Man. And we're taking things you saw in that episode and working them into that story we've created about what that Radioactive Man movie would have been."
  
   
• On why Radioactive Man Comics arrive so sporadically: It's been averaging twice a year. Batton Lash is the writer. I've really given him a lot of leeway when he puts these books out, because he has his own book, which is called Supernatural Law. ... Because of that, I allow him to sort of work them in and get them done when he can.
  
  "It (Radioactive Man Comics) was initially planned as a quarterly book, but it's been coming out about twice a year. Because of that, we're planning a supplemental Radioactive Man book that will come out occasionally, and it's going to feature more of the supporting cast, more of the Superior Squad characters and Gloria Grand and Fallout Boy. I'm not sure what the title of that will be, but we've got stories in the works for that one so when Batton's sort of behind on a Radioactive Man issue, we can plop this in."
  
   
• On the possibility of bringing back any defunct Simpsons comic books, such as Bartman Comics or Itchy & Scratchy Comics: "I think there is a possibility of bringing Bartman back. We're actually planning a couple of Bartman stories for upcoming issues of Bart Simpson Comics. We may decided to come out with a revived Bartman Comic.
  
  "As far as Itchy & Scratchy goes, we realized at some point after a couple of issues, although they really work in television, to see them in print is really very horrible sometimes. And we were always doing this high-wire act where we were balancing on this thin line between pleasing fans who really wanted lots of gore and what you'd expect from Itchy & Scratchy, and also placating the Comics Code and parents who were being horrified by this stuff they were seeing in these comics. So we never felt like we could really do Itchy & Scratchy because we were always trying to please too many people."
  
   
• On the success of the paperback reprints of Simpsons comic books: "We really want to keep this stuff in print. You know, there's a whole market out there -- just thousands and thousands of people who have never set foot in a comic book store. And they just don't understand comics. They don't want to go in these creepy establishments where they're not sure whether they'll get out alive. But they'll go into a Borders or a B. Dalton. ... It makes sense to market our stuff in different ways, I think. I don't think that necessarily takes a shine off the collectibility of the comics because I think most comics are collected now in trade paperback eventually, and people still seem to want to buy those original issues."
  
   
• On Groening's involvement in Simpsons comic books: "He's more involved in working on 'Futurama' and the 'Simpsons' TV series. Also, every week he does 'Life in Hell' (comic strip). So he leaves the things Bongo produces pretty much to us. But he's always looking at what we're doing, either giving us kudos or, if there's something we're doing he'd like us to do a different way, he lets us know.
  
  "Originally, every issue he would do an editorial. And it got to be too much for him, especially when 'Futurama' started and he really had to devote most of his time to that. So that, unfortunately, fell by the wayside. But he still gives us a lot of input and the creativity really flows from him. We get really inspired by his comments and his ideas."
  
   
• On whether there's a chance of reviving Simpsons Illustrated, the short-lived magazine from the early 1990s. "Not that I know of. I know (its publisher) Welsh is out of business. They were swallowed up by Marvel Comics at one point some years back.
  
  "But we are considering doing more features along the lines of what we did in Simpsons Illustrated -- more articles and games and things like that -- within the pages of Simpsons Comics. So some of those concepts could be revived."
  
   
• On the expanding line of Simpsons comic books: "We went from doing only seven comic books a year ... to 27. That was due mainly to renewed interest in 'The Simpsons,' but also because we have a lot of foreign licensees who take our material and translate it. They were coming out with their issues every month, whereas we were only bi-monthly. And they were starting to catch up with us. They started several years after we did, and they were starting to catch up. So we had to make a decision.
  
  "I had really wanted to revive Radioactive Man (Comics), so that was one idea. Matt came up with the idea of a Simpsons book that was more aimed at younger kids. So that's why we created Bart Simpson Comics. And then we really just had to go monthly with the Simpsons Comics to keep up with everybody overseas. And then with 'Futurama,' Matt wanted to start a comic book version of that. So we're doing that six times a year."
  
   
• On how well Simpsons comic books are selling: "The whole comic book market right here in the United States is not great. You know, our sales have dipped along with everybody else. But we're holding our own here in the States, and with all the trade paperbacks and the foreign licensees, we're doing fantastic."
   

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