IS TRAVELING TOUGH ON YOUR FAMILY?
Small price to pay. We're here, we're safe.

DOES YOUR WIFE FREAK WHEN YOU'RE ON THE COMPUTER BULLSHITTING WITH US INSTEAD OF SPENDING TIME WITH HER?
My wife, like any friend, (and your wife is your best friend) let's you be who you are, not change you to make you who they think they want. My wife is very cool, that's why I married her.

DO YOU SAVE ARTICLES ABOUT YOU FROM WIZARD OR EW?
I rub them all over my naked body and do a pee pee dance, is that what you're asking?

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU DREW FOR FUN?
I drew an issue of layouts for DD and POWERS that I didn't show anyone.

EVER BEEN ARRESTED?
[...] That is true. I was held at gunpoint and detained. Not arrested. I don't recommend it, unless you're a crime writer.

HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU LOSE WHEN OLIVIA WAS BORN?
I scheduled three months off but I didn't end up needing them. I was able to find my schedule and my wife is very supportive. I took off a few weeks off but even then I found myself long hand writing. Little babies sleep a lot. My kid is awesome, btw and thinks I'm fucking hilarious. Wait till she can speak, it's going to be such a let down.

DO YOU COLLECT ACTION FIGURES?
Nope, sorry. I do have the ones based on my books.

HAVE YOU EVER GONE ON A RIDE-A-LONG BEFORE?
Oh yeah. A bunch. Not since my daughter was born though. Vegas was the most intense.

WHAT CAR DO YOU DRIVE?
Toyota something. I so don't even care. My wife likes it.

DO YOU EVER HAVE MOMENTS WHERE YOU WANT TO SNAP LIKE SHATNER DID, AND YELL AT FANS "GET A LIFE!"
Yeah, but he started the (Q&A) thread, so I feel guilty :)

DO YOU SMOKE?
No.

WHAT WERE YOUR SAT SCORES?
Pretty good, don't remember.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT CLEVELAND THAT GIVES BIRTH TO BALD, BRIAN COMIC WRITERS? WHAT IS IT THAT DRIVES THEM AWAY?
It is the question of the ages.

WHAT SHAMPOO DO YOU USE?
The thread will get to 100 on its own, stop padding, I hate padding. :D

DO YOU STILL THINK KELLY RIPA IS A HOT LITTLE MONKEY?
Not so much. Looking for a new one.

YOU SAID IN THE PAST IT ANNOYS YOU WHEN PEOPLE SAY THEY PREFER YOUR OLDER/CREATOR OWNED WORK.. WHY?
Oh, you misunderstand me. I said I didn't like when someone said my creator work was better.. as if I tried harder on it. It's only because I try the same on everything. I am so grateful to people who buy indy comics. SO SO SO SO much.

DO YOU PREFER TO READ A COMIC OR MOVIE SCRIPT BEFORE YOU SEE THE FINAL VERSION?
Before. It's fun to direct it yourself before hand. It's an interesting exercise.

DO YOU PREFER BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, RATHER THAN JUST BRIAN BENDIS?
Depends on how pompous I feel. :)

WERE YOU BORN IN CLEVELAND OR IN A SUBURB?
University Heights or Lyndhurst, I forget. I was young. :) Why?

WHAT CHARITIES DO YOU DONATE TO?
Doctors Without Borders is a big one for my wife. There are others, but I don't remember.

DO YOU GET APPREHENSIVE ABOUT MAKING MAJOR CHANGES. IT'S GOTTA BE WEIRD TO KNOW ALL OF THIS STUFF MONTHS IN ADVANCE AND WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP, SO TO SPEAK.
Oh, it is. And it's never what I think it will be. And as far as gauging my neurosis, you don't have a big enough gauge.

DO YOUR FRIENDS/FAMILY GET PISSED AT YOU FOR KILLING OFF CHARACTERS?
Most of my family can't read the balloons in the right order, so...

ARE YOU PLANNING ON INTRODUCING YOUR CHILDREN TO COMICS?
Sure, comics are great.

WHEN DID YOU REALIZE YOU WANTED TO BE A WRITER?
Last Thursday.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
Gerasci's Pizza WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE DRINK?
Coca Cola Classic

EVER BUMP INTO HARVEY PEKAR BACK IN YOUR EARLY DAYS IN CLEVELAND?
Yes, I did. Couple of times. None of them pleasant. As he describes. Both he and Joyce are not plesant people. Saving the stories for a rainy day. I have my own issue of American Splendor.

WHEN YOU LEAVE THE COMICS BEHIND, WHAT LEGACY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE?
I don't think about my legacy as a whole, I think about the thing I am working on not sucking. And I am a comic creator, it's not a stepping stone to anything but the midnight shift at Wendy's.

WHAT DOES YOUR FAMILY THINK ABOUT YOUR SELF DEPRICATING LETTER COLUMN HUMOR? HOW WILL YOUR GRANDCHILDREN REACT WHEN THEY DISCOVER POWERS #1 AND FIND OUT YOUR WERE OFFERING HANDJOBS FOR $35?
Well, my wife thinks I'm hilarious, probably why I married her :D I think this will make me the coolest grandpa ever.

WHAT COMICBOOK WRITER WAS THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOU?
Howard Chaykin.

I RECENTLY MOVED TO PORTLAND, RECOMMEND SOME THINGS TO CHECK OUT.
Powells, 360 Records, Toji on Hawthorne, Reading Frenzy, Music Millenium on Burnside, Excaliber Comics, Things From Another World on Sandy

WHAT DO YOU LIKE WRITING BETTER? MALE OR FEMALE CHARACTERS?
Both really.

IF YOU HADN'T GOTTEN THE MARVEL WORK, WHAT WOULD YOU BE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW BESIDES POWERS?
I'd be cleaning the fry vat.

WHEN WERE YOU BORN?
August 18, 1967.

YOU EVER THINK OF GETTING ON THE WRITING STAFF OF ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE SHOWS?
I love working in other mediums, but comics is the best gig for me. I am happiest doing it. It fills me creatively and genuinely makes me happy.

WHO DID YOU ENDORSE? BUSH OR KERRY OR SOMEONE ELSE?
Kerry. No more Christian fundamentalist right-wing Bible-thumping crazy for me.

WILL YOU TELL US WHO YOU VOTED FOR IN NOVEMBER 2004?
Kerry. It's not a R vs. D issue for me. I voted for two issues - against extreme Christian fundamentalist organizations controlling the media and culture (and with this president they do). And for stem cell research. Also, Cheney is an arrogant criminal.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN ANY OUT AND OUT WRONG DOING BY THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION, AND IF SO, BY WHOM AND IN WHAT WAYS?
Yes I do. It's all fact. They lied about their reasons for the war. That sheer act alone...

BENDIS, ARTISTS WHO ALIENATE THEIR FANS BY STATING THEIR POLITICAL VIEWS MAKES ME SICK. FEELING JUST AS STRONGLY FOR BUSH AS YOU DO ABOUT KERRY, NOW PUTS ME IN THE POSITION OF FEELING ALIENATED. YOU WERE MY FAVORITE WRITER AND I BOUGHT EVERYTHING YOU WROTE UNTIL NOW. YOU CAN MAKE SOME PITHY BULLSHIT COMEBACK BUT I'M PISSED AT YOU FOR THIS. I READ YOUR BOOKS AS AN ESCAPE, AND NOT AS A REMINDER OF OUR DIFFERENCES.
And isn't it great that we live in a country where we can speak our minds. Do what you must my friend. But.. I am not Anti-Republican. I have read a lot on the subject and respect the philosophy of the Republicans a great deal, and if a Republican who I could believe in ran for something I could vote for, it's possible I would vote for him or her. My Anti-Bush concerns are not political. His presidency is being controlled in part by a religious agenda that has no place in government. And if it were a Jewish agenda I would feel the same way. Stem cell research is so important. And for the White House to stand in its way is insane. If you are a fan of my writing, then you are a fan of free speech. You are a fan of adult material written for adults. This is something your president is working steadily against. And it's not a secret -- he has stood up and said so. He and his administration is trying to regulate what you see, hear and read. So do what you have to do my friend. I respect it. But my thoughts on this are researched and clear, please make sure yours are as well.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COUNTRY THAT YOU HAVE VISITED OUTSIDE OF AMERICA?
Spain was amazing.

HOW ARE THE WIFE AND KID DOING?
Sitting right next to me watching School of Rock. Baby O loves School of Rock.