Hey folks, this week will be a shorter than usual post because I have a number of jobs I am working on and have a guest at my house that gets my undivided attention before anything. Anyway, here we go…
MARK WAID: I think by now people know I am a huge fan of Mark Waid… the man and the author. At a time I totally lacked any confidence to start writing, mark was always around with advice, encouragement and compliments as well… something other writers tend not to do very much, especially since a lot of other writers looked at me as only an inker or someone that was connected with a lot of players and would just figure I got my work by schmoozing or blackmail. Mark was around when I would pitch a few books a week looking for work.
The funny and cool think about Mark is that one conversation with him about character development will make you a better writer instantly and one of the greatest things I have to look forward to, as a fan, for 2009 is the amount of new characters that Mark will be writing at Boom Studios where he also happens to be the Editor-in-Chief. On the Boom site, they have set up a special section of message boards for Mark and I have to tell you… get in there and have some fun and ask him questions and such, because this is a rare opportunity. When you go there you will notice a few other creators stopping by and throwing their weight around as well, so don’t delay… click on the link and tell them I sent you. Hopefully one day when they do a necessary book on Mark’s career, I will be allowed to contribute to the introduction. Until then, verbally volley with the man at: http://markwaid.boom-studios.net/
P.S.: Mark, thanks for the nice words in Wizard this month. I actually blushed.
INKERS: I look over my monitor and there sits my drawing board. Lots and lots of inked pages have crossed that table over the years and even though I am inking barely a thing these days, I have an unbelievable appreciation and respect for the craft and think, any penciller…with a good inker, will get a much better looking book than simply scanning and coloring. There, I said it. Notice the words “ good inker” …there are a few good ones these days and I personally think they can make or break a book in some cases. This rambling is really my way of introducing Bob Almond and the Inkwell Awards.
Bob, for those few that don’t know, has been of the top inkers in the field now since 1992 and writes a piece for Sketch Magazine monthly and is an all around nice guy. Go check out the page and the boards and give a look
FACEBOOK: I made a page for myself a little under a year ago and its actually a much better application than MySpace for a number of reasons…mostly navigation and saving time are the best parts for me. I use this site mostly to find other people I know and keep up with their lives. Its great if you are a guy like me that used to hang out with a ton of people and moved someplace where there are only a few. It’s great to be connected and keep in touch.
The other cool thing is that there are sites dedicated to books I enjoy, movies I love, and pages that are about places. One of them was a place I used to go to camp in the summer and everyone posts pictures they have, from way back when. It’s a real rush and I have a decent amount of photos up as well. The other thing I enjoy is the tagged photos on the site. Seems I have posed for a lot of horrible photos with fans over the years and I get to view them weekly and consider plastic surgery and a diet each and every time.
Funny thing I find with Facebook is that people I have had words with, and I mean complete assholes, seem to think its OK to ask me to friend them. Well, as you can probably guess I don’t and usually write a nice letter to them as well before they are officially blocked. Ask anyone, I am a pretty forgiving guy, but man… some people have a short memory, that’s for sure.
MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3-D: saw this with a friend of mine and enjoyed the insanity of it all. It delivers as a vehicle for 3-D as well as a slasher film. I think the best part of the flick for me was when a guy was secretly videotaping him and the girl he was with fooling around and she ran after him with a gun completely naked through a parking lot to get the film back. That’s the stuff horror movies USED to do… but now all we get is lame ghost children in a closet or haunted house with an extra room crap. I want nudity, blood and insanity in a film… not something I can watch on the SCI FI Channel! Man, we need more grindhouse movies to be made. Enough with making them kid friendly. I am a sucker for 3-D movies… I just wish they would get to making a adventure porno movie already in 3-D. Something a little sci-fi, otherworldly with a hot girl having sex all over the galaxy. Maybe the remake of Barbarella will give this a shot.
ZIGGY: A friend of mine and a long time friend of Amanda is a really nice guy named ziggy Blumenthal. Amanda knows him from way back when she used to own a comic store in New Jersey [What? You didn’t know that?]. Anyway, he has, with a friend, animated a convention experience and its on line. It’s fun and accurate and be sure to leave a comment and rating here.
GERMAN MUCH: The TV series PAINKILLER JANE starts this week in Germany and I did an interview for them. Check it out here.
You do have to speak German to understand what I am saying though. Another thing that amazed me about the original SCI FI run of Jane was that they never did one piece of print advertising. Not a single poster… so when the German company approached me for this, I made them promise to send me a German poster, which they said they will do. Honestly, I would like to have a poster for my wall.
10 WORST COMIC ART ALBUM COVERS: I actually inked the book that #1 is about. So sad. Enjoy.
BOB SHRECK: Love the guy and know he will end up somewhere doing what he does best. A lot of people are being cut because of the economy and this was an unfortunate choice all the way. I have so much respect for him and genuinely like talking and hanging with him [Chiller Con comes to mind] and Amanda and I think the world of him. I never worked with Bob, which is unusual, but always had something to chat about with him and like I said, a guy with that much talent will wind up someplace where he will make his mark again. A toast to you, Bob, and here’s hoping I finally get to have you as an editor on a project soon!
WORK, WORK, WORK: This week Justin and I finished up writing Powergirl #4 and we are taking a small break to allow Amanda to catch up with the art and pitching some new stuff we were asked to give our take on. Amanda is penciling and inking the book herself, just like she did on the TERRA miniseries, even though I was credited for inking a few issues which I think was a reflex move on the part of editorial. We are really excited about this book and have driven Amanda to drink with the amount of stuff we have happening in the first two issues alone. I think Amanda might bring a set of Xerox’s to Megacon if anyone wants to take a look and I think the book now will be solicited for a may release and is a monthly ongoing series. I am also beginning work on helping translate the Torpedo books that were published in Europe and will now be collected by IDW as a series of hardcovers. A lot of people know the work of JORDI BERNET by way of Jonah Hex, but Jordi has gotten international acclaim based on this series and I cant tell you how excited I am to be involved on this project. I will talk more about it when the time comes, but for now you can check out a piece of black and white art I happen to have in my personal collection by Jordi featuring the main character. Enjoy!
Jimmy
You can read the rest of Jimmy Palmiotti’s columns here.
January 27th, 2009 at 9:31 am
I have no doubt YOU could write, storyboard, and even direct an adventure porno 3-d film. Put all the things you love about movies, comics and general entertainment into it, call your friends for finanacial backing, and get this puppy made!!
BTW, another great column, I think we’ve all been enjoying your blog.
Cheers,
B
January 27th, 2009 at 10:03 am
This is a classic example of how I’m amazed that people so busy still find the time to come to conventions.
Even more amazing is when fans get ANGRY at the creators for being there, when they should be home working. I recall JG Jones getting no end of crap for such last year when he was “letting Final Crisis go” by showing up at cons.
I recall at least one show last year Amanda had to skip because she wanted to stay on top of her work, and good on her for that. But I’m sure there were more than a few people grumbling that she made THAT choice.
The folks in artist alley are, at any one moment at a con, trying to meet the fans, drum up work, try to find NEW fans by being in public and showing off their work, running to panels and signings, then go back to their room and get a few more pages done that would have been a lot easier to do to if they’d just friggin’ stayed home, all the while trying to make enough money by selling sketches and portfolios to break even on the money it took to GET there in the first place.
Yes, I’m sure there’s some fun crammed in there as well, but it’s a lot more work than it seems. So if you’re at a show, try and remember that while are there to say hi to you, they are not there to say hi to YOU. Be polite, be friendly, and try and keep in mind that you are not the sole person who wishes to meet them.
At the NYCC I will be presenting a number of creators (including Amanda ‘n’ Jimmy) small tokens of appreciation as a thanks for the times they have made me happy in my life. You could do worse than doing the same, even if it’s just saying “Thanks for being good at this silliness”. It don’t pay the rent, but it does go in the positive column.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:25 am
I just reread Geoff & Amanda’s Power Girl mini the other night. Great stuff. Seriously Jimmy, tell Amanda that Kevin Maguire needs to watch his back, because she’s overtaking him as “Best Facial Expressions Artist.” Can’t wait for the new series. You plus Justin plus Amanda plus PG equals sold!
January 27th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I didn’t realize IDW was putting out hardcovers of Torpedo, that’s fantastic news. I’ve got some of the Catalan-produced books that I had to hunt down, but having them in hardcover collections would be nice. And I didn’t realize Mark Waid was hanging out in any message boards, thanks Jimmy!
January 27th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Your work with Justin Gray on Jonah Hex is one of DC’s best books. Looking forward to the Torpedo and Power Girl books.
January 27th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Sean and I went to see MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3-D and were depressed to find out the theater we chose was not outfitted to offer the movie in 3-D. I ask: THEN WHAT’S THE POINT?
CORNERKICKED is hilarious in both comic book and animated form!
Great column Jimmy!
~Mary E.
January 27th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
jimmy, i totally agree with you about the whole coloring over pencils thing. i think the whole process looks very muddy and does some great artists a disservice. every time a new book comes out that looks like that the patrons of that very comic store in NJ you mentioned have to listen to me rant about it for at least 10 minutes. computers aren’t the answer to everything!
and thanks a bunch for the plug to the cartoon. i hope everyone who follows the link enjoys it. and to all who do, stay tuned, episode 2 should be up by the end of the week!
January 27th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Yay for Torpedo. Can’t wait till these come out from IDW. I’ll be pre-ordering for sure.
And spot on for the calls on the inking process in today’s comics. A good inker and make or break a book. Actually that goes double for coloring. Coloring is critical and if they shoot straight from pencils and the coloring is poor, the publisher may have saved a ton of money but the final product sucks.
Fun little tidbits as usual. Keep buying Jonah Hex people!
January 27th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I love that inkers have their own award. Good inking certainly deserves recognition. I’ve always thought that inkers are the bass players of comic book art – sometimes unnoticed, but their presence is felt throughout. They add substance, depth, and nuance. And like good bass playing, good inking is really stylish and cool. Frank Miller often quotes Will Eisner, who once said “Inking is sexy” and I’m inclined to agree (everyone should read EISNER/MILLER from Dark Horse if you get the chance).
Anyway, kudos to Bob Almond and thanks for mentioning it here in your column.
January 27th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Hey Jimmy,
I’ve got to agree with you on how much fun My Bloody Valentine 3D was. Can I make a movie suggestion…if you haven’t seen it yet I recommend going out and renting Repo, The Genetic Opera. It’s ridiculously funny. Both my friend Eric Burke ( had to get his name in print for him) and my wife, Dawn have very diverse personalities and both were laughing and enjoying the hell out of this movie. I’d compare and recommend any Rocky Horror picture fans to see it. Hell, even if you’re not I’d recommend it since I find Rocky Horror amusing but this was hilarious.
Again I have to agree with your statements on an Inker making or breaking a book. They can make a passable penciler look great or bring a good one down. And not just the inker but colorists too. I remember first seeing some art work out by the hot new artist ( I won’t mention names) that month and didn’t think much of it but then I saw the pages in pencil and was floored at how good they were. It was the very vibrant cinematic coloring going on in that companies books that was bleeding out and covering all the detail up that made them look so-so instead of showing off their strengths.
Lastly, I’ll go over and look at Mark Waid’s message board. I’ve enjoyed his work over the years and haven’t had the pleasure of meeting many comic pros. Speaking of which, any idea why there is no big convention up here in Boston.
Take care
January 27th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Finally! A publisher has the sense to bring TORPEDO back to the US. To those who’ve never read it before, you are in for a treat. TORPEDO ranks at the top of crime comics. Fantastic news…thanks, Jimmy!
January 27th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Oh, and I’m really glad to see TORPEDO getting a new release from IDW.
I just bought a really fantastic book a couple months ago called THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST CRIME COMICS edited by Paul Gravett, which featured a TORPEDO story among dozens of other brilliant crime comics. Highly recommended and Jordi even did the cover.
I can definitely see why you’re so glad to be involved in the new hardcover editions. Keep us posted!
January 27th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
BRIAN: thanks…a 3-d porno, maybe thats my calling after all.
VINNIE: Thanks for that, really, all we ask is the fans to continue to be polite and really just say hi, ask questions and have a good time.
RWE: amanda and i love kevin’s work and i think if those two were able to do more work, it would really help any company out. pretty pictures look nice, but storytelling is forever in my eyes.
EVAN: yeah, excited about the torpedo books because more than have have never been in english. now go stop by and say hi to mark for me. tell him i sent ya!
MARY: I had to actually shop for the place showing the 3-d. and you are right…as a regular movie, its just ok…but in 3-d, hysterical.
ZIGGY: some artists scan and color their work and do a great job. some. not all…personally i didn’t like the Conan comics at dark horse for that reason alone. When mark texeria and i got a chance to work on the Daughters of Midora, we made sure to have a fully inked story. in a way, wasn’t conan the place where the really talented inkers showed up?
PWEDGE: dude, I love you…in a manly way.
DPEACE: Inking is sexy, especially when i do it in my boxers.
LOU P: I would just get on a train to ny in a few and come to the con there. why wait for boston to throw a big bash?
FELIXLU: I couldn’t be happier to be helping out on the books. more info is coming from idw as well very soon. i cant go into details, but keep an eye out. The man himself, Jordi Bernet will be at supercon in san jose in may.
January 27th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Jimmy, you rule! Sorry to bust in here late…out of town for much of the day. I’ll be at NYCC all weekend at J6 in artist alley representing The Inkwell Awards with committee members Jimmy Tournas, Bob Shaw, and Dave Simons also in the house (we’ll be in Boston March and April). We’ll be selling shirts and offering our compilation sketchbook with a $10 donation, all for raising funds for IA-related expenses. Please show your support and thanks much for the kind words and plug, Jimmy! I’ll see you and Amanda soon.
January 27th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
BTW, it looks like I’ll be sitting right behind you and Amanda at NYCC;-)
And thanks to the other posters for their kind words.
January 27th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Jimmy,
Nice job with the Bob Almond plug. I’ve been a fan of his inking for quite a while. I really enjoyed the work he and Sal Velluto did on the Captain Gravity series for Penny-Farthing Press. Anyone who hasn’t checked that out should head over to the Penny-Farthing web-site and give it a look.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Can’t wait for the Torpedo books. I have, I think 4(?) issues from when Fantagraphics(?) / Kitchen Sink(?) or some such company last issued them in the US. I understand that not all the work was published back then.
Jimmy, re: toward the end of your #6 column…are we supposed to see a picture by Jordi on this particular blog? I’m not seeing it. Maybe I read you wrong and confused myself or my Firefox browser disabled it somehow.
Totally agree with you about Facebook over Myspace. What’s worked best for me is: I add just about anyone on Myspace, which I treat less personable. That is, so long as “Friends” aren’t spammers or a$$#ol3s I’ll add them. But I try to keep Facebook friends strictly down to only people I really know and have been acquainted with in real life and it’s the ideal tool for KIT (keeping in touch) and that kind of thing. When I first started using Facebook I made the mistake of befriending Bendis (who’s work I also really dig, but I don’t know in real life) and I had to remove him from my Facebook because I could never control/regulate/get Facebook to trim back the updates the way I wanted. I’d tell FB to give me less noise about Bendis feeds, but I instead kept getting informed about the 100K friends he was adding daily. It’s was overkill too since I already got Bendis on Myspace, Jinxworld.com, and Comicspace. The other sites are more than good enough for this here fan.
It’s really cool to read all the behind the scenes industry stuff, like how Mark Waid was a good mentor/supporter. Sometimes us fans on the internet tend to focus only on the negative industry buzz (like what publisher screwed over what creator, or who’s fighting whom) and it’s nice to finally read something positive when there isn’t a funeral going on.
I, too, am annoyed at how people on the whole like to label or pigeon hold other people to just one thing, e.g., if you’re good at one sport; then you shouldn’t be at another. If you’re a singer, you’re not supposed to be a good actor, and if you ink, then conversely you can’t or shouldn’t write or draw or whatever. BS!
I’ve always been puzzled by this kind of generalization or deranged thought, why can’t people accept the fact that other people can and should be able to do multiple (creative) things well?
Oh, right now I am gearing up for the 5th Season of The Wire on DVD and I wanted to hear your thoughts on the show since you’ve actually worked with Ed Burns on Dock Walloper. If I remember right, I think Ed Brubaker had wrote that The Wire finale was so strong to him he couldn’t stop thinking about it and couldn’t very well write anything for a couple days.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:26 am
BTW Jimmy…your Bernet original doesn’t show up…would love to see it!
I got all 7 volumes of the Catalan TORPEDO reprints back in the 80′s. I was such a nut for this stuff, that I got the remaining 8 editions…in French! I translated it with a French/English dictionary, lol! I hope that IDW has the balls to reprint ALL the stories…it’s really one of the most un-PC series I’ve ever read. That’s as good an endorsement as any, I suppose:)
January 28th, 2009 at 5:24 am
I have a question regarding Torpedo : will there be some censorship on it, like there was on the recent US version of The Incal ? (see http://les-mangeurs-dimages.blogspot.com/2008/06/avant-lincal-aprs-beltran-apres-ladronn.html for details – I guess it’s NSFW)
January 28th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
censorship? none.
January 29th, 2009 at 2:37 am
Yeepee!!! Thanks for clearing that up, Jimmy.
January 29th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Hi Jimmy,
I’ve chatted briefly with you a few times over the years at cons and have loved your Hex stuff since issue #1. I wanted to point your attention to a DC artist who I’ve no doubt would be ideal for a Jonah Hex story. He is currently doing a Western-themed week on his blog at my request and just did a quick Hex piece. I’ve no idea if he’d be interested or available to do Hex, but he’d be spot-on perfect in my opinion and thought I’d toss out Chris Samnee’s name and a link to his site:
http://www. chrissamnee. com
Look forward to running into you at the NYCC and also seeing more of your work in the future! Thanks for doing what you do!
January 30th, 2009 at 11:27 am
saw the art fred, pretty cool. he looks quite busy at the moment though.