by KC Carlson

PREVIOUSLY ON NEVER-ENDING STORY: (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

The early 1980s were a tremendously exciting time for comic books, as comic creators were making bold new leaps in presenting their stories to an increasingly sophisticated audience. Superhero comics began to mature, introducing more and more elements of “realism” into the four-color pages. Long-dormant genres of comics — as well as brand new ones — appeared. Things were changing so rapidly that old publishers — pushed by their writers and artists — scrambled to invent new ways to present comic material, such as mini- and maxi-series and graphic novels. There was more emphasis on the self-contained story (with beginning, middle, and end), another mature industry development that the media and readers traditionally outside of superhero comic books began to embrace in a big way. And if the old-school publishers weren’t willing to try something new, there were dozens of young independent publishers anxious to experiment.

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When I first started working at DC Comics, they were still in their legendary offices at 666 First Ave. in NYC. The offices were legendary because A) They were at 666 Fifth Ave. in a building with a giant “666” in bright red neon at the top of the building. This wasn’t too exciting in the daylight, but at night, seeing a giant “666” in flaming red neon made you think twice about a lot of things. B) By the time I got there, the offices were already past their capacity – yet they were still adding people. When Piranha Press editor Mark Nevelow moved into the building, they put him in a modified closet. When Archie Goodwin came over from Marvel, he had to share a conference room – as well as the conference table – with 4 other staffers. Close quarters doesn’t begin to describe how crowded it was.

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