Volcanne was directly inspired by Arnim Zola, a character created by Jack Kirby (see image) that first appeared in issue 208 of Captain America. The similarities are apparent and we don’t want to hide them. Arnim Zola is a fascinating character because he isn’t possessed by the desire to rule the world or to get rich. His objective seems to be to continue his experiments without any moral constraints. We liked this trait a lot and wanted to create a character who was motivated by similar goals.

Some comic-book writers are iconic, but there are also other more low-profile writers who were also influential. Steve Englehart, who worked at Marvel during the 70s, is one of the latter. While everyone raves about the work of Alan Moore, I think we shouldn’t overlook writers like Englehart who incorporated very contemporary issues into his stories. Take for example the Watergate subtext in the “Secret Empire” saga (for instance, in issue 175 of “Captain America”) and corruption in the business world, which is shown through Roxxon Oil (“Avengers” issues 141 to 149). Englehart also had a gift for creating coherent worlds that were well adapted to the titles he worked on. He served the storylines without twisting them around to fit his own style. Because of that, some claim he lacked personality, but we feel this demonstrated great skill and respect for the reader.