MARK WAID responds

Mark Waid has come a long way from the days when his only bed were some sofa cushions in a back office at Fantagraphics. After huge successes on "Flash," "Captain America," "Kingdom Come," and soon "JLA," he can now afford really spectacular sofa cushions to sleep on. One of the things I like best about Mark's work is that when most writers were still in the grim and gritty rut, he was writing wonderful stories of bright sparkly superpeople. I find that neat. And don't play superhero Trivial Pursuit with him. You'll lose bad. (GS)

Jesus H. Christ in a birchbark canoe, is that a list disturbing in its length. And, yes, there are even more male characters who could make up a similar list--but it would be a smaller PERCENTAGE of male characters than this is of comics' females. Brrr...

I'm with Isabella. Most males are fans of or in comics because they're social misanthropes who can't get laid or can't keep girlfriends and they're pissed about it on some level. There's the famous--and true--anecdote of the Hellcat story that consists mostly of her being beaten to a pulp by a man, a story that BY THE *WILDEST* COINCIDENCE was written by a man in the middle of harsh divorce proceedings.

I'm responsible for the death of Ice. My call, my worst mistake in comics, my biggest regret. I remember hearing myself ask the editor, "Who's the JLAer whose death would evoke the most fierce gut reaction from readers?" What a dope. Mea culpa. But I've learned my lesson. In fact, one of the only reasons I still hang on to FLASH is because I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that the moment I walk, the next guy's gonna drop a safe on Linda Park's head before my last voucher's been paid.