Getting the chance at 40 to make up stories that other people would draw and other people would then read is pretty weird.
I started a publishing company just so I could get the phone numbers of everyone that I'd ever admired.
It's hard to point to any single inspiration for 'iZombie' since, in actuality, it's made up from elements inspired by all kinds of different thing all mashed up together.
So many of the fantasy stories I encountered growing up were set in worlds that were largely modelled on medieval Europe in one way or another. Lots of white folks in feudal societies, castles and kings, that kind of thing.
I grew up in the '70s and '80s, at a time that I'd argue was the absolute golden age of American popular culture. Because not only did we have all of the fantastic new stuff in print and on screens, but we had a constant supply of everything that came before, as well.
There was an enormous revival of pulp fiction that started in the '60s and continued into the '70s, which in large part gave rise to things like 'Star Wars' and 'Indiana Jones,' among others. But I developed an appetite for the original stuff at the time, and that appetite has never really abated.
I very much use Bill Willingham's approach on 'Fables,' which is that rather than having an end point to a series, I have an end point for the various story lines.
I think the character of Superman may be the greatest fictional creation of modern times, and working on the book is for me a sacred trust. I'm just doing my best not to disappoint!
