Ethan Van Scivere
CYBERFROG (Creator)

This interview was conducted by Eitan Shapiro with CYBERFROG creator, Ethan Van Sciver. All Ethan asked for in return for his time was for us to mention that somewhere around the 3rd anniversary thing, Harris will reprint the early Hall of Heroes CYBERFROG stuff. No problem with that. Everyone, go out and buy!

#1.
Q: How'd ya come up with CYBERFROG?
A: As the story goes, my girlfriend at the time was getting sick of my lethargy and slothfulness. She told me to do SOMETHING with my artwork, or else she would leave me. I decided to take step one towards becoming a comic book artist, and actually draw her a comic book. CYBERFROG was just a joke character I made up for that purpose. Shortly after she read it, she dumped me anyhow. Sad, really.

#2.
Q: How did you break in to comics?
A: I didn't really have a gag or anything. There was no method of 'breaking in', it was just luck. And I was smart enough to know that I should start at the bottom, which for me was Hall of Heroes.

#3.
Q: What are some main differences when it comes to Hall of Heroes and Harris?
A: Harris pays me, Hall of Heroes didn't. But I needed Hall of Heroes as a training ground, in order to improve enough to take that next step.

#4.
Q: You've had some guest artists handle cover chores. Are there any writers or artists you'd love to see take on CYBERFROG?
A: I love seeing artists I admire rendering my character. I always will. But for the most part, I don't want to relinquish control over my book. So I really don't have a 'dream team' for the actual interior of CYBERFROG.

#5.
Q: When are we going to see Cyberfrog action figures equipped with live bombs -- not recommended for children?
A: Toys are coming, don't worry. And hopefully they will be as dangerous to children under three as possible.

#6.
Q: Tell us a little about what's planned for the frog's 3rd anniversary.
A: That was something Harris cooked up, as a parody to VAMPIRELLA's 25th anniversary. A 3rd anniversary hardly seems like something to celebrate, at least to me.

#7.
Q: How'd you come up with the frog's arch-enemy, Ben Reilly? And did Marvel try to sue?
A: It's spelled differently, Ben RILEY. And I was using that name before Marvel was. In my old fanzines, CYBERFROG was always thwarting Ben Riley, the 'Fly', as he then was called. And Marvel has enough problems of their own to come bugging me.

#8.
Q: How can you explain Roger Clemens' huge salary?
A: Roger Clemens? The ball player? I think it's better left unexplained.

#9.
Q: Can you ever see yourself taking CYBERFROG over to IMAGE town, following the current trend?
A: No, CYBERFROG will never move to IMAGE. It's a Harris property, and I think they might want to keep it.

#10.
Q: Are there any characters from any company you're dying to play with?
A: Yeah, I like the SAVAGE DRAGON. I also would like to poke around through some of Marvel's stuff. Things like GHOST RIDER and the HULK. I'm still very interested in superheroes, which doesn't mean that I actively READ any of them. I just have a fondness for the HULK that I read as a kid,and would be happy to work on him and try to add my tiny piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

#11.
Q: In the wizard chat room on AOL, you enjoy discussing your more 'manly parts'. Why is this?
A: It's a big subject.

#12.
Q: Would you ever cut your hair Travis Bickle style and attempt to assassinate a president?
A: A mohawk? Yeah, maybe. I wouldn't try to assassinate THIS President, though. I kinda like Bill.

#13.
Q: What does the future hold for CYBERFROG?
A: I just hope people continue to read and enjoy CYBERFROG. Maybe we'll even pick up a few new readers along the way. If this happens, CYBERFROG will have a good future.

#14.
Q: Do you have any other characters or series in the works? Maybe some 'top secret' things?
A: Yeah, check out SALAMANDROID, coming in March from Hall of Heroes. I've decided to get back into self-publishing a little bit. It's good to keep a toe on the lily pad behind you, you know?

#15.
Q: What do you think of the industry as a whole?
A: I think it sucks. But I think that's a pretty unanimous opinion.

#16.
Q: How can your salivating fans get in touch with you?
A: You can take that literally if you want to. Fan mail comes straight to my apartment, and I read all of the letters. My address is in the back of every issue of CYBERFROG.

#17.
Q: Quick--- your favorite cereal?
A: SPECIAL K, believe it or not.

#18.
Q: Your favorite meal at Red Lobster?
A: I've never been there.

#19.
Q: What advice do you have for comic wannabes?
A: Draw a damn comic book for your psycho girlfriend.

#20.
Q: Who is "the man"?
A: (Cheesily) Each and every one of you. Good luck and God Bless.