Conducted by Marc Mason
Jimmy Palmiotti doesn’t need to take any crap from anybody. He’s smart, quick-witted, and more successful than almost anyone he’s ever going to have to deal with. He’s also a cool New York guy with a lot of soul. Recently, he took time out of what must be an absurd schedule to talk to us here at the Shoot…
MM: Okay, Jimmy, thanks for being here. Let's get started with some basics. This is a pretty broad site, with a large non-comics audience, so tell the kind folks who Jimmy Palmiotti is, what he is, and where he comes from.
JP: Well, I am a comic book creator, basically, a writer and artist. At times I am also an editor and a project manager. And even at times, owner of small businesses. I was born in Brooklyn N.Y, grew up there, and went to high school in Manhattan and college in Brooklyn then N.Y.C. Worked a number of years in advertising then decided to change careers and get into the comic book business. From there, co-owned a publishing company, started a line of comics for a major publisher and since then am now writing a number of comics and involved in some film projects as well.
MM: You have a pretty long and distinguished career in the comic book industry. In fact, you've been one of the best, and most prominent, inkers in the business for a long time. Explain exactly what an inker does; after all, the owner of this site did a good job of making fun of inkers in CHASING AMY, so maybe you can clear that up for the wider audience…
JP: Kevin made an inside joke in his film, and it was a common one for a long time. Personally, explaining inking to a mass market is a boring subject…but I will give it a 10-second try. An inker gets a penciled comic page, and using different tools such as brushes, tech pens and crow quills, takes the drawing from pencil to ink. He separates and defines the characters with the help of shading and various line techniques. After that, it is scanned and given to a colorist. I think the colorist has the more important job…to me, that’s the person that people not into the mechanics of comics get most influenced by, outside the penciler and writer.
MM: How many times have you started turning teeth into Chiclets when punks at cons call you a "tracer"?
JP: It never bothers me at all...I think it might bother the guy looking for work a bit more. I think when a kid says that, he really understands what he is saying and is just trying to get a rise out of me. I usually respond by asking them if their mother or sister is still coming by my house later to blow my friends and me. That usually levels the playing field pretty quickly.
MM: These days you're becoming known for more than just your ability to add depth and texture to pencils. You've built a strong writing career for yourself, starting with some company properties (DEADPOOL, SUPERBOY), and moving into the area of creator owned stuff. BEAUTIFUL KILLER, 21 DOWN, and THE RESISTANCE are all playing at a comic shop near you right now. Tell us about them.
JP: Well, I am very proud of my work these days. Inking for so long, a lot of people forget that it is only one part of what I do. Writing SUPERBOY & DEADPOOL were a bit of fun, especially working with all the great artists I had both series, but I tend to look back even further when I was co-creating and co-writing all the Event books for a while as my starting ground. There was ASH, PAINKILLER JANE and the 22 BRIDES. Fun stuff for a short while.
With the new books, well, it’s a whole new ballgame. BEAUTIFUL KILLER was something I came up with a couple of years ago while I was running Marvel Knights with Joe Quesada. It was one of many characters I had in my notebooks that I was waiting for the right opportunity to present. I had just finished GATECRASHER with Mark Waid and was editing Garth Ennis on JUST A PILGRIM when they approached me with the opportunity to do a creator owned series. I waited for the right artist for BEAUTIFUL KILLER and finally stumbled upon him at the Orlando con a couple of years back. Amanda Conner was telling me about a cool guy in artist’s alley that she thought would be perfect for the project. His name was Phil Noto…a new cover guy at DC Comics. One look at his work and I was sold. Three issues in and I can’t tell you how pleased I am by his fantastic work.
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The other two books I am working on are both for Wildstorm Comics. My writing partner on both 21 DOWN and THE RESISTANCE is Justin Gray, a great friend who I met while he was interning for us at Marvel Knights. After I left, we stayed friends and continued to work together on projects outside comics. These two totally new books came about by another good friend -- Bob Harras, who was hired by Wildstorm to freelance edit a couple of titles. Bob was a huge help when we were doing Marvel Knights. When he got the gig with Wildstorm, I was one of the first people he called…so he says…lol…and Justin and I hit him up with a couple of ideas.
The first was 21 DOWN, a series that loosely ties in with the GEN 13 universes. It’s the story of a 20-year-old tattoo artist that finds out he has a year to live and was given a very special, as well as screwed up, power to boot. This book is drawn by Jesus Siaz, the artist behind Vertigo’s MIDNIGHT MASS series. THE RESISTANCE is about a group of young outlaws trying to survive future N.Y and the government that wants them killed. It’s a wild action movie of a book with some of the most stunning visuals you have ever seen in comics by new comers Juan Santa Cruz and Francis Portela. Both books are colored by my close friend Paul Mounts, one of the finest colorists we have in this industry.
MM: BEAUTIFUL KILLER has gotten a lot of extra notice lately as it took a step towards feature film (starring Jessica Alba). 21 DOWN and THE RESISTANCE both also seem other-media friendly. How does it feel to garner that kind of attention? That has to be an interesting change after being in the background with an inkpot for so long.
JP: Not really…lets see…we sold ASH to DreamWorks years ago, put GATECRASHER into development two times already, SURF & TURF into development, I sold SPY GIRLS to Fireworks Television and have a couple of development deals in the works as we speak. Was co-creator of Event Comics, Marvel Knights, owned part of an advertising agency for a couple of years, freelance project manager at Black Bull, self published a few times as well as currently 2 of those projects for film.
The perception that I am in the background with an inkpot is a very dated one. Event, Marvel Knights and such were all team efforts. No one owns 50% of something for just putting ink on a page, trust me.
MM: How involved will you be in seeing any of your creations make it to the television or movie screen? Do you have any creative control?
JP: Well, with each project comes a different set of rules. At least with the current crop of work, the contracts are written with just that in mind. With something like ASH, there is no direct involvement outside that it is based on the comic. With GATECRASHER, I oversee the scripts and production. With SURF & TURF…I oversee everything with Amanda. BEAUTIFUL KILLER…well that remains to be seen. Talks are still going on and contracts are still being worked out. I am hoping for the best from all parties involved. My fingers and toes are crossed.
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MM: BK comes out from Black Bull, and that is a publisher not without a bit of controversy behind it. WIZARD magazine is the largest comics-related magazine being published today, and like it or not, it holds a great deal of power in its ability to make a title successful. The head honcho of WIZARD is the head honcho of Black Bull. You're a writer and editor there. You have projects running at least three other different companies (Wildstorm, Marvel, Image). How awkward of a position can that be for you? Do you ever feel pressured by various parties to exert some influence on their behalf? Do you ever wonder if your participation at Black Bull is maybe (in fanboy-speak) working for the enemy?
JP: All my work for Black Bull is on a freelancer basis, as was Marvel Knights, as is everything I do. I do not have a contract with any company except for the individual job I do. That said, I think Black Bull and WIZARD can do whatever they want…it’s their money. It’s the American way. HBO can produce their own movies and TV shows…and they can put out their own videos and DVDs…they can even buy a chain of movie theaters…again, it’s their money. Who really cares? It’s the end product and the consumer that decides what is a hit and what isn’t. Why should anyone be upset if there is another company giving people work?
A prime example is the fuss that store owners made over GATECRASHER when it first came out. Two years later and they are buying JUST A PILGRIM and BEAUTIFUL KILLER and not saying a word. Initially I think everyone thought that Black Bull was going to flood the market with a ton of crap. When they realized that the quality was great and the publishing schedule was so slight, no one cared anymore. Trust me, companies were freaking for the first six months. Silly looking back now. They were never a threat, and even if they bought ads in their own magazine, lets be honest, it’s their magazine. Who really gives a shit?
As far as working for the enemy…WIZARD is the enemy? That’s crap. I hear from time to time pros and company people saying WIZARD sucks. I think its silly coming from people that if they were featured in the magazine, they would go out and buy 20 copies. It’s really no big deal. They are reporters. Solid workers and talented writers putting out a monthly magazine that tries its best to report on mainstream comics. Not huge, insightful 40 page articles like the COMICS JOURNAL, just articles covering a lot of different things going on in our industry. They do a good solid job every month, just like the JOURNAL, COMIC BUYERS’ GUIDE and any number of comic sites on the web. Between all these outlets, you can get a big picture of our industry. Reporters…not the enemy. The enemy is anyone that stops you from being creative and wanting to own everything you do. The enemy is the company that does not include you in the success they are having from something you had a hand in creating. The enemy is anyone who says they love comics, yet feels they should bad mouth comics as well. The enemy is making word of mouth gossip the news story, and not the actual work put into the book. I save my fights and harsh words for the real deal problems with our industry out there.
MM: Speaking of Image, you were part of the team behind 2002's most notorious (and hilarious) graphic novel, THE PRO. A satire about a prostitute given super powers and how she interacts with the more straight-laced superheroes, it came out with huge sales and critical acclaim this past August, after facing a minor shitstorm when it was first announced. How gratifying was it to see the overwhelmingly positive response to the book, and to see it sell out and need a second printing?
JP: Well…second printings are rare for a book like this, so to say I am happy is an understatement. The shitstorm we faced was not really a storm, just an unusually narrow-minded statement made by a fellow professional. I love this guy and his work, but he focused on this book for all the wrong reasons, and we [Garth, Amanda, Paul Mounts and I] chose to take advantage of the extreme amount of press that this book was given. It paid off big time for us. Since then, the success of this book has been so wide spread that the rights to it have been sold all over the world. The market, with all the silliness that goes on in and around it, was primed for this kind of book, and a book like this opens the doors for a lot of people outside comics to take a look and see that we can make fun of ourselves. The guys at Midtown Comics in NYC were telling me that when the VILLAGE VOICE article ran about Amanda, they had people they had never seen before come into the store and ask for THE PRO. That kind of thing is what we need more of. Expanding the market guarantees our survival. For the team on the book, it proved that comedy and parody does have an audience. Not the kind that takes the time to pick on an individual, just the fun, harmless kind…with an X rating.
MM: Your partners on THE PRO were Irish madman Garth Ennis, and your partner for life, Amanda Conner. Of course, no good interviewer would leave the Amanda question alone, so let's tackle it. You are one half of (for lack of a better term) a comics industry "celebrity couple". That has to be damned strange, to see the tabloid fascination of the fanboys about your love
life.
JP: Well, I personally couldn’t think of a better person to be teamed with, in my personal life and my professional one. The fanboys, to tell the truth, have been really respectable with Amanda. I still get the fan here and there saying ”I better stop hitting on Amanda now that you are here” at me, but it is all playing up to us. Amanda can handle herself. She gets flowers, candy, and small gifts all the time at cons, and loves that there are people out there that follow everything she does. Who wouldn’t? The thing you have to understand about Amanda is that she really is a kind person who knows karate and kickboxing, and can handle a knife in a knife fight. Once you get that, everything becomes clear.
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I think Amanda and I work on so many levels and that’s what keeps both our professional and private live a dream. We both have no egos at all about our work, and are constantly looking to grow at what ever we do. It’s a really healthy relationship and I thank God [and her parents] every day that we met. We were meant to be together.
MM: Previously, you were also part of comics' main “behind the scenes” celebrity couple, "Joe and Jimmy". It must seem like you can't get away from it!
JP: Not really, not any more. It’s over two years ago, and a lot has happened since then. I think Joe and Nancy are doing a great job at Marvel. I look back on the work we did, with Event and Knights, and am very proud of it, but it’s the past. Very yesterday to me. I really just focus on today and my future. Looking back stops anyone from moving ahead.
MM: Jimmy, you recently inked an issue of STRANGERS IN PARADISE for Terry Moore, which was certainly a shocker for his regular readers, who hadn’t seen someone else besides Moore work on art since Jim Lee did it almost a decade ago. How did that come about, and what other unexpected places might we be seeing you pop up to lend a hand in the near future?
JP: Well, Terry and I had been talking, since we all were going to do the three BIRDS OF PREY that are out now, and he had taken on a bit too much work at the time. He needed help with STRANGERS and since I was a big fan, and totally flattered that he asked me, I took the issue on. I tried to stay loyal to Terry’s inking style while doing it. The last thing I wanted to do was make him look slicker or different. I think it worked out fine in the end.
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As far as other places, I juggle so many projects as it is, I think the one thing you can depend on is seeing me somewhere you don’t expect. A lot of what I do is very behind the scenes, and I’m not really interested in making it everyone’s business, to tell the truth. Books like THE RESISTANCE and 21 DOWN…well…I am willing to go the extra mile for. Let’s just say you will see me popping up in a couple of creator owned projects with Warren Ellis in the future, as well as a Garth Ennis project as well…and an ongoing series set in the DC Universe.
MM: As you noted, you’re writing, inking, editing, and generally having a pretty good time of things right now. That said, is there something out there that you haven’t done that you’d like to take a crack at? What terrain is left for you to conquer?
JP: Well, I would have to say self-publishing some odd ideas I have would be a fun thing to take on, and maybe writing something that might sell better [laughs]…but I am intentionally trying to keep my work a bit to the left of everything that is out there right now. I also would like to break more into the European graphic novel end of the business a bit more. I have so much more respect for their take on format and printing. They are 20 years ahead of us with what kind of product should be out on the stands. Other than that, write a series specifically for Amanda Conner and get a publisher behind it. That’s 2003 for me.
MM: How do you feel about comics as an industry right now? There’s a real disparity between the nay-sayers who claim that comics are on their way out, no matter what quality work is being done, and those who think that all is happy and shiny, and that comics are the best thing to be working on, bar none. Where do you stand, and do you have a message for those on either
side?
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JP: Well. Comics are not selling much better. The SPIDER-MAN movie didn’t help much…it made 400 million; did we get 100,000 more people reading comics because of it? I look at the numbers…we didn’t get jack shit. Because of that hit movie, SPIDER-MAN should be selling at least 500,000 copies…the Top 10 is low, as far as numbers go…we are in a spot that isn’t moving either way. The movies make more people aware we as an industry are out there, but guys like Kevin Smith bring more people into the business than comic movies. It’s a fact. Let me tell you, X-MEN 2 will not make the books double in sales for the next year…it will spike interest, but movie properties hardly ever make a big difference in the monthly grind of comic-book land.
What Marvel has done great are the hardcovers and trade books. The PUNISHER and ORIGIN hardcovers are everywhere. These, along with the constant flow of DC trades, have made a difference and have probably taught the powers that be that the time is coming when the comic book format has to change with the readers’ tastes. We are not bringing in younger readers, we are catering to the same old ones, but they are now money-earners and want more sophisticated packaging. That’s the real positive trend going on that I see.
MM: What is floating your boat as far as other media right now? Reading any good books? Stuck on any TV shows? What else entertains you besides comics?
JP: I have a great love for film. This past month I have seen PUNCH DRUNK LOVE [twisted fun], JACKASS [a frat boy classic], BELOW [fun, tight ghost story on a sub], THE TRANSPORTER [total stupid shit], BALLISTIC [total ass], BARBERSHOP [goofy fun], THE FOUR FEATHERS [good when Kate Hudson was off-screen], IGBY GOES DOWN [oddball fun], ONE HOUR PHOTO [decent watch], RED DRAGON [better than HANNIBAL, but so was most everything], THE RING [loved it], SPIRITED AWAY [must see of the year] and TUCK EVERLASTING [I took my mom, a real solid mom movie].
I have been reading less because I have been going to school to learn piano, so any extra time I have, I am trying to learn how to read music. As far as novels, I try to read when I go on trips and such…it’s a real luxury for me to do these days. I do read my friends’ comics out of respect and also I get quizzed on them all the time. I always get the ”did you read the part where” questions from other writers. I also think it is fun to read a book by someone I know because I love reading between the lines and learning more about them.
MM: What should we know about Jimmy Palmiotti that we don’t?
JP: That you don’t? Well…I get angry right away about things and then let it go right after. I like inking on my living room floor from time to time. I collect artwork from all over the world. I can find something good in even the most messed-up person. I don’t like those meter maids much. My favorite time I can ever spend is with Amanda…doing anything or nothing at all. I sing in the shower along with my radio. I have a huge music collection and prefer to listen to soundtracks while I work, metal when I drive and Brazilian music when I rest. And last, my close friends are the best group of people in the world and I feel bad for people who don’t know how to appreciate others.
MM: Jimmy, thanks for your time. I greatly appreciate it!
For more information on all of Jimmy and Amanda's projects, please visit their website, Paperfilms.com. And outside of work, make sure to check out his other site, Brooklyn Bizarro.
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