Click Here for Part I.

RICHARD: I didn't mention Neil [Gaiman], did I Joe? (20) Nevertheless, this is a man who refused to take over Swamp Thing when Rick Veitch left after DC refused to publish an issue of Swamp Thing. Gaiman negotiated with DC so that no other creator could use his Sandman characters without his explicit permission and approval. A man who is being supported by Marvel to fight for the rights to Miracleman. Who resigned from a newspaper after he was asked to rewrite a Dungeons And Dragons feature so that it condemned the activity. The lady's not for turning. What, do you suppose, would be Neil Gaiman's reaction if you asked him to put in something he was diametrically opposed to? (21)

I would hope the Internet fan would see an opportunity.

THE TRUTH #1 – SIGNED BY ARTIST KYLE BAKER!

There's still no hate or anger here, Joe. I doubt I'll end up propping up the bar with dead eyes - not in comics anyway. Advertising, who knows? That's my chosen career, whether you believe it or not. I may moonlight occasionally, but that's all. (22) We were talking about creators at Marvel who feel they are being over re-written and might be tempted elsewhere as a result. You said I might have a point in one in three cases. I asked, given that statistic, is it something you're concerned about, or is it just par for the course? (23) JOE: (20) Whoops, my mistake, I read the paragraph so quickly my speed reader's dyslexia took in all of those names and saw the Gail or Gail's name and interpreted it as both Gaiman and Gail. See, you got more answer than you bargained for.

(21) Well, that's a completely different thing. If Neil were to take on an assignment and we were to change the ground rules on him then by all means, drop out. But that's not what we're talking about here. We are talking about the fact that at Marvel there are a few projects, that going into it we have told the talent what the ground rules are. If they agree and then decide to bitch about it who is changing the ground rules?

(22) Oh, I get that, but you stated that you see pros who end up propping up the bar and I believe that that makes you fearful of what this industry can do to someone. I'm just stating that that is an object lesson for anyone who wants to break in. If that's what you focus on then that's most likely where you're going to end up before you even start. Come on, work with me here, Rich, I'm trying to offer our readers something other than our usual back and forth.

(23) Well, you have a point absolutely just by the sheer odds. Not every company is for every talent, some people work better in different environments, so yes there will always be one or two people who will be mildly unhappy and there will always be acceptable losses. Look, even when I took over as EIC in the beginning there were losses, people who either got angry for their own reason or didn't fit in with the program, we survived. Not every new talent is going to make it for one reason or another. You as the rumor monger, I'm sure, could name at least 10 people whose careers ended before they started just because of attitude alone. Come on spill it, give your readers some juice and then lets move on to what else is horrible at Marvel.

RICHARD: I get the feeling not everyone feels they agreed to ground rules which are then sprung upon them. I also get the feeling that people believe things have changed of late. (24)

Fearful? Again, these are emotions you're reading in here which don't seem relevant. I mean, I'm no Vulcan but I'm not someone on Oprah either. (25)

That's kind of an answer. I think. May well be to a different, probably better question, but moving on is good... and look, we're almost out of time here! Dynamic Forces have a deadline to keep. (26)

How about the following five questions... short, sharp and sweet. There is nothing wrong with short answers. The shorter your answers, the quicker this wraps up, the sooner I can try and arrange it into some kind of order and the speedier Dynamic Forces can put it up for all to see... and judge.

Continued Here...