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David Anthony Kraft Interview, Rock N Roll Journalist, Writer, Publisher by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson

Read Alex Grand’s Understanding Superhero Comic Books published by McFarland Books in 2023 with Foreword by Jim Steranko with editorial reviews by comic book professionals, Jim Shooter, Tom Palmer, Tom DeFalco, Danny Fingeroth, Alex Segura, Carl Potts, Guy Dorian Sr. and more.

In the meantime enjoy the show:

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview David Anthony Kraft from his humble beginnings in the late 1960s becoming the agent of the Otis Adelbert Kline, Publisher of Fictioneer Science Fiction Books. His early 1970s Marvel work with Roy Thomas, his work at Atlas Comics in 1975 with Chip and Martin Goodman, Giant-Size Dracula with Marvel newcomer John Byrne, working under Gerry Conway at DC Comics, his editing run on FOOM under Sol Brodsky, his Marvel Defenders run under Stan Lee, working with Keith Giffen and Carmine Infantino, his character-defining run on She-Hulk in her first series, his Music references like Blue Oyster Cult, his Beatles, Marvel Super Specials, his Children Books with Marvel Special Projects under Sol Brodsky, why he left Marvel and DC Comics in 1983, publishing his Comics Interview Magazine from 1983-1995, publishing sci-fi books by authors like Don McGregor, his work in animation for shows like GI Joe Extreme, his recent work Yi Soon Shin, and a discussion of his 3 mentors, Leigh Brackett, Stan Lee and E. Hoffman Price.

David Anthony Kraft was an American comic book writer, publisher, and critic. He was primarily known for his long-running journal of interviews and criticism, Comics Interview, as well as for work for Marvel Comics in the late 1970s and early 1980s. David Passed away on 19 May 2021.

Transcript published in Comic Book Historians Presents… David Anthony Kraft, Mad Genius Comics Journalist:

🎬 Edited & Produced by Alex Grand, ©2021 Comic Book Historians, Sound FX – Standard License. Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders. Images used for academic purposes only.

David Anthony Kraft Interview 2019 by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson
📜 Video chapters
00:00:00 Welcoming David Anthony Kraft
00:00:25 The place born doesn’t define me
00:02:03 Agent of the Otis Adelbert Kline
00:05:11 Always into Avengers, not Spider-man
00:06:30 Roy hired me for Marvel | Sol Brodsky at Skywald
00:07:35 Going over to Atlas Comics | Tales Of The Zombie
00:08:30 Write Marvel Superheroes, not Horror | Man-Wolf
00:10:00 George Perez on Man-Wolf? | John Romita
00:11:36 Atlas as Larry Lieber’s associate editor
00:12:57 Chip Goodman and Martin Goodman? | Demon Hunter
00:16:29 Marvel used to fire and hire people
00:19:06 Co-creator of Devil Slayer, Demon Hunter | Rich Buckler
00:21:23 Working for Marvel & DC same time in 1976 | Gerry Conway
00:22:41 How was working on Richard Dragon, Swamp Thing?
00:26:00 My period in Marvel
00:27:39 Stan Lee bought you a suit?
00:32:08 Working on Blackhawk, Gerry Conway
00:34:03 Working on FOOM, fan magazine of Marvel
00:38:41 Jim Steranko’s FOOM issues?
00:39:49 Stan the man of words & Jack the man of art
00:42:22 Channeling the characters of Defenders?
00:43:17 Keith Giffen and Carmine Infantino on Defenders
00:44:18 Unpublished Swamp Thing issue 25
00:46:40 Concepts in Defenders, talk about these
00:50:50 Steve Gerber’s Defenders run
00:52:35 Defenders, was there pressure to make it more commercial?
00:53:19 Return of Demon Hunter – Defenders, Rich Buckler
00:55:32 Defenders? | Hellcat
00:57:00 About She-Hulk Character
01:03:32 Blue Öyster Cult, Rockband
01:07:24 Marvel Special Projects under Sol Brodsky
01:11:49 Leaving World’s Finest Comics
01:13:54 What was the experience both times in DC?
01:15:41 Fictioneer Science Fiction Books
01:18:18 Don McGregor books, Dragonflame…
01:19:42 What happened at Marvel from my point of view is…
01:21:09 Stopped doing Comics Interview Magazine
01:22:50 International Comics Distributors
01:24:01 Cartoon business? | G.I.Joe Extreme, Street Fighter
01:29:12 3 mentors, E. Hoffmann Price
01:31:32 Leigh Brackett
01:32:08 Stan Lee
01:32:41 Movies don’t do what comics do
01:33:33 Wrapping up

#DavidAnthonyKraft #ComicsInterview #Defenders #SheHulk #MarvelComics #AtlasComics #ComicBookHistorians #CBHInterviews #ComicHistorianInterviews #CBHPodcast #CBH

Interview transcript found here:

David Anthony Kraft (aka DAK), working under his mentor, Stan Lee, is best known for his creative vision in shaping and defining The Savage She-Hulk after Lee’s issue #1, and for his run on The Defenders with Keith Giffen and Carmine Infantino. In this special edition from Comic Book Historians, you will find first-hand, behind-the-scenes stories related to his music references to bands like Rush and Blue Öyster Cult, his work on The Beatles’ Marvel Super Specials, and even learn about his little-known work on children’s books under Sol Brodsky for Marvel Special Projects.

Also in this edition, you will find a definitive biographical interview that covers Kraft’s vast contributions to comic history. You will experience, via David’s own words and the reminiscences of his close friends, his humble beginnings in the late 1960s as a teenager producing pulp fanzines, and learn why he left Marvel and DC Comics in 1983 to begin his own publishing company, which produced science-fiction books by Don McGregor, science-fiction comics and, of course, his oft-touted David Anthony Kraft’s Comics Interview magazine. Learn how a young man from the harsh, rural realities of North Dakota devoured tales of superheroes and superhumans and ignited in himself a passion to pursue a self-proclaimed, destined path to write comics. Discover a dauntless and determined young DAK who becomes the agent of the estate of Otis Adelbert Kline while still in high school who will ultimately garner mentorships with writing industry greats Leigh Brackett, Stan Lee, and E. Hoffman Price.

This ‘zine will take you through the brilliant and fascinating world of a widely-loved, bronze-age Marvel writer, from his early 1970s Marvel work with Roy Thomas, through his work at Atlas Comics in 1975 with Chip and Martin Goodman, and into his 1980s work in animation for the shows Gem and the Holograms and G.I. Joe Extreme. It will also dive into his character-defining run on She-Hulk in her first series, and his most recent work, the independently published comic, Yi Soon Shin. Exclusive to this ‘zine is a complete and previously unpublished giant sized Dracula comic story!

Celebrate the life of writer, editor, and publisher, David Anthony Kraft with this career-spanning-‘zine that includes memoirs from various friends and colleagues including: Roy Thomas, Jim Salicrup, Don McGregor, Brian Stelfreeze and more!

 

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Photos and images ©Their Respective Copyright holders

Use of images are not intended to infringe on copyright, but merely used for academic purpose

Interview © 2021 Comic Book Historians

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