Bob Rozakis
DC Comics (Executive Director of Production)

DC Comics Executive Director of Production, Bob Rozakis aka The Answer Man! Bob graciously agreed to subject himself to the 20 questions battery, because he's a really nice guy, and...well... a lot of whimpering was involved. Bear in mind that these questions were asked in no particular order. The opinions expressed herein are solely his and do not reflect those of DC Comics.

#1.
Q: What, exactly, are your duties as Executive Director of Production?
A: I oversee the Graphic Services, Production, Purchasing, and Film Library departments and am the primary contact between DC and our two major printers, Ronalds (Quebecor) and Quad Graphics (which prints MAD). Once the books are turned in by the editors, Graphic Services proofreads and corrects them, then Production deals with color separators and the printers to get them done.

#2.
Q: How involved are you in the decision of whether or not DC publishes a new series?
A: I am usually not involved at all. If there is something out of the ordinary about how the art will be done, I am consulted about what problems we might face.

#3.
Q: How did you first become in volved in the comics industry?
A: I started out as a fanboy. I wrote over 500 letters to the editors -- had over 135 published-- in the late 60s and early 70s. I went up to the DC offices to visit Julie Schwartz and brought along some comics-related crossword puzzles I'd made up to submit to fanzines to give to E. Nelson Bridwell. Julie took the puzzles and showed them to then-VP Sol Harrison. Sol came in and said "If you can make up ones only about Superman and Batman, we'll buy them." That was a Friday. On Monday I was back with nine puzzles. The puzzle pages appeared in the over-sized Limited Collector's Editions (the first ones were actually in a Tarzan collection, though they were not the first ones I sold to DC) and in the 100-PAGE SUPER-SPECTACULARS. When I graduated from college a couple of months later, I asked Sol for a job. The first thing they had me doing was answering the mail, and some of the letters in the box were ones I'd sent in. I then took over driving the Comicmobile, which was an innovation Sol had come up with... a van filled with comics that drove up and down suburban streets in search of customers. Then it was back to the offices when summer ended and I became Julie Schwartz's assistant editor for three years before moving into Production in 1976.

#4.
Q: Other than DC, who have you done work for?
A: The only non-DC work I have done was two stories for RENEGADE ROMANCE that Stephen DeStefano and I collaborated on.

#5.
Q: Have you ever turned down a project only to see another company pick it up and have success with it?
A: Since I am not directly involved in that process, I'd have to say no.

#6.
Q: Of the active pros today, who are your favorites to work with?
A: I enjoyed working with a lot of different people over the years, bridging the gap from the "first generation" to the current one. With a couple of minor exceptions (working with guys who did not last long in the business for a variety of reasons), I don't think there was anybody I worked with that I didn't enjoy working with.

#7.
Q: What are your views on the state of the comic book industry today, as opposed to ten years ago?
A: The electronic revolution, particularly in coloring and separations, has made major changes in how the books are done and what they look like. I am quite proud of the part I played in this, having pushed DC into having books computer-colored and sepped in the late 80s. I think we still have some way to go along this road and that we sometimes lose sight of the fact that our primary goal is to entertain our audience in our attempts to out-glitz everything that's come before.

#8.
Q: Do you attribute the general drop in readership the entire industry is experiencing with anything specific?
A: Most people point at electronic games, the world-wide web, infinite numbers of cable-TV channels, or something else. I think we have missed a significant factor. When my wife started teaching in 1973, 1800 kids graduated from the two high schools in the district. That same year, 175 kids entered kindergarten. By 1985, the district had four less elementary schools, only one junior high and one high school. Anybody want to postulate a theory using that piece of information?

#9.
Q: What was your role in orchestrating DC VERSUS MARVEL?
A: I worked with my counterparts down at Marvel, Gene Durante and Alison Gill, to get the stuff done behind the scenes.

#10.
Q: How difficult was it to pull off the DC/Marvel crossover?
A: No more difficult than anything else we do, except that we kept trying to keep it a secret.

#11.
Q: Is DC planning any crossovers with anyone other than Marvel in the near future?
A: Yes, and I hear about most of them via my AOL chat hour before anybody in the office tells me or I see them on a schedule. There's a LOBO/ THE MASK crossover coming up, CATWOMAN/VAMPIRELLA, and AZRAEL/ASH.

#12.
Q: Why don't you write comics any more?
A: My comics writing kinda wound down after 'MAZING MAN and HERO HOTLINE. I spend my "free time" coaching my daughter's softball team, teaching a creative writing class for 4-th-6th graders, and being an advancement counselor for my son's Boy Scout troop, among other things.

#13.
Q: If you weren't in the comic book industry, what would you want to do?
A: I'd like to have my own tv talk show. But, in reality, I would enjoy spending my time teaching. I spend two weeks each summer teaching a creative writing course for gifted 5th and 6th graders in a program run by Johns Hopkins University and enjoy it immensely. (I must-- I use my vacation time to do it!)

#14.
Q: Are there any titles on your "must read" list?
A: KINGDOM COME was on the top of the list. Also TERMINAL CITY, most of the Superman books, and JLA: MIDSUMMER'S NIGHTMARE.

#15.
Q: Will DC be publishing more creator-owned titles a la PREACHER and SOVEREIGN 7?
A: I'm sure we will.

#16.
Q: Are there any characters you've never had the chance to work on that you always wanted to?
A: The original Justice League. During the heyday of my writing, it was the only series I never had a chance to write an issue of.

#17.
Q: Who were/are your idols in the comics field?
A: Julie Schwartz, who likes to say that I was his protege, after which I quote former NY Yankees player Yogi Berra describing predecessor as Yankee catcher Bill Dickey: "He learned me all of his experiences."

#18.
Q: What sort of input do you have when DC and Warner Bros are developing a character for TV or the movies?
A: None.

#19.
Q: What is Kevin Dooley's phone number?
A: 212-636-5400...just like the rest of us here at DC.

#20.
Q: Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, or George Clooney?
A: Since I haven't yet seen Clooney do it... Kilmer.