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with Jimmy Palmiotti
Part 1
Interview
with: Troy
Brownfield
Welcome
again to the Big Question! Our guest this time has distinguished
himself in several facets of the comics business. As an inker
on too many projects to count without an abacus, he’s indelibly
contributed to the evolution of comic art in the last decade.
Not to be content with this, he co-produced the Marvel Knights
project, acting as an editor to spearhead the revival of characters
like Daredevil and The Punisher. He’s recently begun a stint
as writer as well, taking on Deadpool for Marvel.
Take a
look at what he’s got going on RIGHT NOW: “The two part, JLA:
Secret Society of Super Heroes book written by Howard Chaykin
and penciled by Mike Mckone, a 5-part Legends of the Dark
Knight series by Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy, writing a load
of issues of Deadpool and working with Paul Chadwick on the
first three have been a gas. Also, (we’re) always pushing
gatecrasher which I co-plot with Mark Waid and get to work
over Amanda Conner, as well as writing for the animated series
with Mark.”
What else
can I say? It’s Jimmy Palmiotti!
THE BIG Q&A
Q1. You're primarily known as one of the best inkers in
comics, but you've also had some extensive editorial experience.
Could you tell us how you and Joe Quesada went about building
the Marvel Knights project?
A1.
Well, Gareb Shamus recommended to Joe Calamari to try new
things and we were at the top of the list. We were already
editing the Event books as well as working on Ash, Painkiller
Jane and 22 Brides, so it was not really a big thing to do
the Knights. We took all our friends who did good work for
us and brought them along. We had to play ball with Marvel
totally. I already had art director and editorial job experience
for 10 years previously in advertising. For Joe, it was a
natural to work up at Marvel, he was made for it, and we liked
the space!
Q2.
You've recently been writing Deadpool for Marvel. Coming from
the "art" side of the equation, how does that experience influence
your writing style?
A2.
Well, I see things visually so I laid out Paul’s run as well
as Mike Lopez's issue. They don't have to follow it, but it
helps me with the pacing. Paul actually thought they were
good, a huge compliment coming from such a talented creator.
Q3.
Lately, you've worked with Mark Waid and your fiancée Amanda
on Gatecrasher at Black Bull. I find Gatecrasher to be an
incredibly enjoyable book. What's it like working on that
team?
A3.
Working with Amanda and Mark is the single best thing to happen
to me in the last year. Everything about Gatecrasher is perfect
to me; Mark is brilliant, Amanda is the best storyteller in
the biz hands down, Paul Mounts is a colormaster and Chris
Eliopoulos spells his name right each and every month. Black
Bull treats us like all pros should be treated and they really
put in a huge effort to give the reader their money’s worth
with the letter column, pin-ups and cool stuff in each and
every issue. Now with our tie-in with Mainframe, it looks
like we are going to get the chance to do some cool TV work
in the future.
Q4.
The Punisher and Daredevil are two of Marvel's icons, and
you've gotten to contribute to their revamping in significant
ways. What do you feel that you've brought to the look and
feel of the characters as they are now?
A4.
Well, as for the feel, we changed the tone of the book from
light to heavy...good heavy. DD has always been a great comic
and I think it takes more work to do it bad than good....the
premise is perfection! Punisher is all Garth and Steve right
now. I am really happy to be inking this title; it’s how I
got my start at Marvel in ‘91. Lots of Punisher! This is how
we all wanted him to be and we all agreed to it. The 2 mini-series
before, we picked some far-out ideas and concepts to shake
up the readers, and they too were very successful.
We’d like to thank Mr. Palmiotti for taking the time to visit
us and The Big Question! Look for another installment with
him coming soon!
Troy
Brownfield is the Editor-In-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. Despite
what James Brown says, we seem to think that Mr. Palmiotti
might be the hardest working man in show business. Email Troy
at psikotyk@aol.com.
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