Friday, June 9, 2000

PALMIOTTI TALKS DEADPOOL, FUTURE

After leaving his post at Marvel Knights, Jimmy Palmiotti remains pretty busy, including writing three issues of Marvel Comics' Deadpool, beginning with Deadpool #46.

The Continuum caught up with Palmiotti for a question-and-answer to get the latest information.

The Continuum: What is the Deadpool story about?

Palmiotti: The story is basically a film noir movie in comic-book form with Deadpool as our protagonist. Basically he gets himself into a bit of a mess when he's caught short of cash and needs to take on a job that he normally would pass by. A policeman offers Deadpool a certain amount of cash to kill a bunch of mob guys that he's going to turn state's evidence against. For the first time in a while, Deadpool is going to act like a true mercenary. Along the way, we meet a cast of characters, including a sort of love interest named Anastasia. I don't want to give away too much about the story, but let's just say that it takes a lot of bloody surreal twists and turns.

The Continuum: What do you like about Deadpool?

Palmiotti: What I find fun about the character is that the editor, Mike Marts, pretty much let me go in and do whatever I wanted with Wade. I like the fact that under his mask, he's hiding this grotesque, cancer-ridden body, yet is able to run around as if he doesn't have a care in the world. In the three issues I'm writing, plus the 11-page back up in X-Men Unlimited, we get to see another aspect of the character that I think has not been hit on enough. I am still playing it up for laughs but mostly the giggles come from what the character is doing and not from what he is saying. Wade is a very sad character who has a mask to hide behind, but when you get down to it, a normal life is something he's never going to have.

The Continuum: What is it like working with Paul Chadwick on the Deadpool series?

Palmiotti: Paul Chadwick, in my opinion, is one of the most intelligent graphic storytellers that we have in comics today. I am a huge fan of his Concrete series and when Mike Marts approached me with the writing gig on Deadpool, he asked me if I had any suggestions for an artist. I knew this was my first solo writing gig, so I had to back myself up with some a-list talent. Before this, I had worked with Paul on a Dark Horse project as well a couple of Dr. Strange issues. I figured if my writing sucked, Paul would make up for it with his artwork. I couldn't have been more right. And, as an added bonus, Ron Randall, Paul's inker on his creator-owned The World Below, was available to join Paul for the three issues.

The Continuum: What was it like writing on your own?

Palmiotti: It was just what the doctor ordered. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun collaborating with another person, like right now I am working with Mark Waid on Gatecrasher, which is a total pleasure. But when you do that, your focus gets a bit blurred and a lot of times you wind up with an amalgamated end product. Sometimes it's great and sometimes it's not, but at this point in my career, I was long overdue to strike out on my own in a number of ways. I am one of those annoying people who comes up with around 40 ideas a day and believe me 42 of them are usually crap. But once in a blue moon or a drug-induced haze, I get what I think is a good idea and write it down. Currently, besides the three-issue Deadpool series, I also wrote an 11-page Deadpool back-up story for X-Men Unlimited, which was illustrated by Liam Sharpe.

The Continuum: Anything else about Deadpool you want to say?

Palmiotti: Well, the cover for part one is painted by one of the best illustrators in the business, Joe Jusko. Joe has done a poster-quality image which will sell the book all by itself. The second cover for the series is by Paul Chadwick and myself and it is a very Sin City-like piece. The third cover is done by a special guest star who will be announced soon.

The Continuum: What are your future plans?

Palmiotti: My future plans are all over the map. I can't be specific and reveal whom I will be working for, but I can tell you I will be writing a creator-owned title for someone that will be announced soon. I am creating two characters for entertainment websites, as well as designing a couple more for a new company that will be online in 2001. Also in the works are two TV projects that hopefully will be green-lighted and in production by the end of the year. As far as inking goes, I will continue on Gatecrasher with Amanda (Conner) and Mark, I will be finishing my 12 issues of Punisher with Marvel Knights and I have two top-secret projects that will be announced this summer at DC Comics.

All and all, I am trying to keep myself busy and everyone else out of trouble.

X-MEN MOVIE UPDATE

X-Men producer Ralph Winter said to expect plenty of special effects in the movie, although it won't be as effects-driven as a Star Wars film.

"We're trying to do it for a price because, frankly, we're trying to do more than one movie," Winter said. "We'd love to do a franchise. We'd love to see many stories get told. So we're trying to start at a level that establishes the characters and makes people want to go further. So, we're starting at a budget level that's very large, but not the biggest budget ever. So it gives us some place to grow to."

Winter said there are nearly 400 special effects in X-Men.

"Which in today's special effects movies, is about right. It's sort of inched up to that level in the last 10 years to that level, that sort of special-effects movie level," Winter said. "The first Star Wars was at about this level. Certainly, Phantom Menace was - I lost track - maybe 2,000. It was huge. Every shot almost went through the computer. We're not at that level by any means, but this is a big special effects movie.

"The distinction I would want to make is it's a big special effects movie like a Star Trek movie, not like a Star Wars movie. Star Trek is more about the characters as well. That's a better analogy, since I did five of those, I gravitate to that kind of analogy quickly."

Winter said that director Bryan Singer has handled the effects part of the movie well.

"Bryan is very smart, very smart about the story, and he's crafted a great story with strong characters," Winter said. "Frankly, that's the kind of stuff people will be attracted to and come back for, to see these characters come to life on the screen. There's effects and action along the way that Bryan's good at, but I think the characters are what he's best at.

"I think that's why you go to these movies. You want to live in that world with those characters and watch the decisions they make, what they value, what they fight for â¤| that's interesting. His track record shows that he can do a great job with that."

DEADWORLD MOVIE UPDATE

Caliber Entertainment on Thursday announced that its film option on Deadworld has been extended by Warner Bros.

Gary Reed, president of Caliber, told The Continuum that he's been told that Deadworld is in "heavy activity" at the studio and is expecting news on the actual production schedule.

"The script is finished by Todd Alcott, the special effects have been budgeted, and locations have been scouted," Reed said.

Deadworld, the story of intelligent zombies taking over the Earth after a supernatural holocaust, is being produced by Maysville Pictures, led by George Clooney and Robert Lawrence.

Other developments at Caliber include another -- undisclosed -- property being optioned by Reed, and a third property being discussed with Wesley Snipes possibly being attached.

Reed said Caliber is proceeding with an Internet division, which will include programming for webisodes based on the Helsing comics series Reed created and wrote.

"It provides the perfect mechanism to showcase our extensive line of properties and how adaptable they are to a variety of different mediums," Reed said.

FIRST LOOK - SPIDER-GIRL #23

Spider-Girl #23 will ship on June 14 from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Tom DeFalco, with art and cover by Pat Olliffe and Al Williamson.

Here's how Marvel describes the story:

"Things definitely aren't what they seem when May 'Mayday' Parker encounters something she never thought possible: someone who's better than her on the basketball court. What will our hero do when she finds out the true nature of her rival's uncanny abilities? And what does J. Jonah Jameson want to offer our very own Spider-Girl? Plus: appearances by the Ladyhawks and Darkdevil."

Spider-Girl #23 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

THIS JUST IN: CLERKS CANCELED

ABC has announced that it is canceling the Clerks animated series after just two episodes.

Repeats of Spin City air in the 9:30 p.m. Wednesday time slot starting next week.

On his View Askew web site, Clerks creator Kevin Smith responded to the news:

"What more can I say about the wonder boys in charge of ABC that I haven't already? Hey man - I know the ratings weren't great, but there were only four more to go. It was about the only bone they could've thrown us after the tremendous f----- they bled us with earlier in the year.

"F----- big business. Turns my damn stomach."

Clerks' ratings dropped from a 5.2/9 in its first week to a 4.1/7 in its second.

ABC had scheduled episodes of Clerks through Wednesday, June 21, listing an episode synopsis.

BRIEFLY