The Big Question with Jimmy Palmiotti
Part 2
Interview with: Troy Brownfield

Welcome again to the Big Question! This is the second installment of our two-part interview with Jimmy Palmiotti. Our guest 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

Q5. As one of the Marvel Knights engineers, you obviously have great ideas on how to refresh characters. What characters, DC or Marvel, might you like to take a crack at in terms of an overhaul?

A5. Let’s see, as far as Marvel goes, I’m really enjoying Deadpool at the moment, but would one day like to take a shot at the Fantastic Four. At DC, I’d like to take a shot at doing something Superman related, or maybe create something new for the Vertigo Line. Another cool thing would be to have a shot at illustrating an Alan Moore story for the Wildstorm guys.

Q6. It was noted in “Chasing Amy” that inkers often get little respect. How hard is being a “tracer”? :)

A6. Like anything else, all it takes is a lot of practice, a lot of patience and a little splash of talent. This could be said for most jobs.

Q7. Barely two weeks ago, it was announced that your Marvel Knights partner Joe Quesada was appointed as the new Editor-in-Chief of Marvel. If you don’t mind, what are some of your thoughts on the move in total?

A7. I think it’s a great move on Marvel’s part, and I know Joe will continue the standards we set when we created Marvel Knights together. It should be real interesting and exciting.

Q8. Will there be more of Ash?

A8. As far as I can tell, not in the near future.

Q9. How do you feel about online comics and the future of the small press?

A9. I think on-line is a great venue for small press because on-line doesn’t have the budget restrictions it takes to publish print and distribute comic books. There’s a lot of great stuff out there that doesn’t get seen because of the narrow mindedness of big time publishing. I personally think that Top Shelf comics publishes some of the best stuff out there these days.

Q10. What’s the single best piece of advice that you can give to young people who want to enter the field?

A10. My best piece of advice is to keep a positive attitude about your work, play nice with others and try not to badmouth people. This may all sound easy to you but you have no idea how much restraint it really takes.

We’d like to thank Mr. Palmiotti for taking the time to visit us and The Big Question! We urge you to seek out ALL of his projects. He honestly is one of the most creative guys in the field today. Reward yourself with some of his work.

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.

The Big Question 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.