1. The word is out that Pantha #1 features some of the hottest talent in the comic book industry. So tell us: how did you sneak in?
That's an easy one. But without giving too much away, let's just say I've still got the negatives, Bogart—you know what I'm talking about. Just keep the work coming and everything's gonna be cool!


2. Enough about you already! We want to know about Pantha. Why should a self-respectingVampirella fan read Pantha #1, anyway?
Since Pantha has been a major player in recent Vampirella books, I'd be pretty amazed if any self-respecting Vampirella fan didn't read Pantha #1. Even for new readers, I think this book will prove to be a great introduction to the character. Also, regular Vampirella readers will definitely want to keep up with Vampi's crucial adventures that feature in the bonus back-stories that will run in Pantha #1/#2.


3. Who would win in a fight? Josie and the Pussycats or Pantha?
Are you kidding? Pantha, no sweat—Josie and the Pussycats are in a band, for God's sake! Take it from one who knows—everyone in a band is a pussy in the worst possible sense.


Yeah, but can Pantha jam?
Erm, musical proficiency isn't really a feline quality—try stepping on your own moggie's tail and see for yourself.


Do you ever see her having adventures in outer space?
All the time, man—but the lithium's finally beginning to kick in.


4. Hair color and cup size aside, what sets Vampirella and Pantha apart from one another?
If I were to make a dating analogy, I guess Vampi's really the kind of girl you could bring home to meet the folks (maybe not your dad, though). As for Pantha: bring her home and I think you could kiss that trust fund goodbye—unless your dad happens to be Hugh Hefner.


5. Pantha #1 is supposedly this year's most hush-hush project not directed by Stanley Kubrick. But there's been a leak that the villain in this issue bears a strong resemblance to a certain fallen superstar. Who is this mysterious creature?
Kubrick, huh? Do I infer an insinuation regarding an unwholesome interest in under-age girls? I don't want to spill too much here, but our new villainess does bear more than a passing resemblance to one Norma Jean Baker—except this time she's getting apocalyptic on Hollywood's ass.


6. What's it like having your script interpreted by Mark Texeira? Do you have to take cold showers after you see his work?
Well, even without the iconoclastic style, genius and wit of Steven's and my script, I reckon Mark's artwork would be recommendation enough for any comics fan to buy this book—I can't praise him highly enough without arousing the suspicion of more than a professional interest. Cold showers? Thanks to my strict religious upbringing, the merest mention of cold showers, regular beatings and absurdly uncomfortable underwear is enough to turn me on—gee, I love it when you talk dirty, guys!


7. Why are there so many celebrity parodies in Pantha #1? Are you, David Conway, completely obsessed with celebrities? Have you ever been arrested for sneaking around in a celebrity's bushes?
Obsessed with celebrities? Is Mark Chapman a Beatles fan?!


8. Why do you incorporate so much mythology and history into your comic book scripts? What, do you think you're smarter than everybody else?
There's a saying: patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Take it from an expert, mythology and history together constitute the first refuge of an unimaginative hack. As to the second part of the question, it's merely my innate sense of modesty and supreme self-confidence that prevents me from shouting my genius from the rooftops.


9. Well, you're not, you know.
Did I mention that's what I love about working on this book, that sense of being really valued and respected by the editorial team at Harris? (You haven't forgotten what I said about the negatives already, have you David? Hell hath no fury like an old hack scorned!)


10. You live in England, so you should know: What is "spotted dick"? Why do you call it that? Don't you realize how gross that is?
"Spotted dick" is a, uh, rather unfortunate social condition endemic within the UK. However, such is the stiff-upper-lipped reserve still prevalent in Merrie Olde Englande that most people still pretend it's just a traditional British dessert. The real tragedy is that while the rest of the world gets penicillin with their "spotted dicks", we only get custard with ours. That's why I'm donating all of my fee for Pantha #1 to the campaign for British "Spotted Dick" research. Once that's been conquered, I'll devoting all my philanthropic endeavours to the eradication of an equally neglected—but no less excruciating—condition: the dreaded "Toad in the Hole" for which no known cure exists today!