I got into comics because I loved comics. At first, I needed a real world job to be financially independent, but as time went by I was rewarded with steadily increasing page rates, the introduction of royalties, and eventually an income commensurate with the exploitation of the work I was producing.

Incidentally, if you hear about various writers and artists “fighting” for our rights, keep in mind that we were dealing with big corporations who could look at their books and see that MARVEL TALES sold just as well as any other Spider-Man book. The bean counters knew the talent was of secondary consideration—especially with legions of fans eager to work in comics for whatever pittance was offered.