Had a fine time doing my interview with Tom Spurgeon for The Comics Reporter. Here's the intro: "I know Larry Young by reputation as a fair, honest, and supportive publisher; through his work, on the Astronauts in Trouble series in particular, as a clever, economical writer with a penchant for the American adventure story as realized in modern motion pictures; and through my comics-related duties as an unrelenting promotional force on behalf of books from the first two categories.

"It's the last role I'm interested in here. Unlike most of the other marketing and sales people I know in comics, Young approaches his role as point man for the works he publishes with a fearless, unwavering zeal that hasn't been seen since Stan Lee in his prime. In the interview that follows, Young and I enter into a brief exchange about whether or not the books AiT/Planet Lar publishes cure cancer. I think I lost the argument.

"Comics is still a relatively small industry in that a certain amount of imagination, careful planning, and furious hard work can secure someone a place in which to create, publish and thrive. I've long been interested in how Larry Young pursues the marketing portion of his day, how he relentlessly hand sells his comics not just to consumers but to press and shop owners as well. A week or two after a personal appearance on something the Time-Warner magazine Entertainment Weekly was calling its 'Must List,' Young was eager to share some of his insights with me. I appreciate the generosity he showed with his time, and although I could have asked a ton of follow-ups to some of little sidepaths explored in what follows, I think adhering as closely as possible to marketing issues and results was the better choice.

"It may be the kind of thing only I find interesting, but while preparing this interview I noticed that Young mentioned nearly 20 of the titles his company publishes."