1/ WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

I just finished up directing and producing the pilot for a series I sold to Cartoon Network entitled FERRET AND PARROT. It airs here in the states on August 3rd, and can be voted on to go to series on August 24, 25, and 26. It's about a ferret and a parrot and how they're convinced the newspaper they use for a toilet is daily news being delivered to them, when it's usually a tabloid or old bills or something. Very Laurel and Hardy slapstick comedy sort of stuff.

Comics-wise, I'm working on the four issue MAGIC PICKLE series for ONI PRESS and the three issue ANCIENT JOE series for Dark Horse Maverick, and the painted graphic novel THE BAREFOOT SERPENT for TOP SHELF. Magic Pickle is all-ages fun, about a genetically engineered superhero pickle from the Cold War era who lives under the floorboards of an eight-year-old girl's bedroom. They end up helping each other adapt to their prospective lives.

ANCIENT JOE concerns the mythic quest of a strange man trying to confirm if the sould of his deceased wife is in the hands of El Diablo. ANCIENT JOE takes place in Cuba, and has a real hard-edged latin flavor, snappy dialogue, and lots of barroom bareknuckle fighting.

THE BAREFOOT SERPENT deals with a little girl on vacation in Hawaii with her dysfunctional family, coping with the recent suicide of her sister. Everything that happens to her on the island reflects a theme of a different Akira Kurosawa film, and the story is bookended by full-color sequences about Kurosawa's life.

2/ YOU HAVE MANY DIFFERENT STYLES AND WAYS OF WORKING,ANY FAVORITES?

Well, I enjoy painting quite a bit, but really, it all depends on what the story in question calls for. Some stories are hard-edged and deserved crisp line-art, some need a bit more atmosphere, and the painting comes into play. I try to keep everything cinematic, as a rule, and always try to deviate away from narration. I feel it slaps the audience in the face, where most things can be told visually, without the crutch of over-explanation.

3/ WHO INSPIRES YOU?

I'm inspired by everything. My Fiance, my dog, my cat, movies, books, people on the street. I try to draw from everyday life and experiences, and add what interests me.

Some things I admire, though include the comics work of David Mazzuchelli, Kyle Baker, David Lapham, Stan Sakai, Los Bros. Hernandez, Baru. Film work by Kurosawa, Welles, Capra, Bergman, the Coen Brothers. Lots of actors, books. I like anything that suprises me.

4/ IF YOU COULD WORK WITH ANY COMICS ARTIST, WHO AND WHY?

I'd like to work with anyone that I respect, who respects me. I'm not elitist, but I don't like assholes. There's lots of friends I've made in comics that I'd love to collaborate with, and friends outside of comics as well.

I can tell you of some projects that are in the works with different people, to give you an idea: Jim Mahfood, Kelley Seda, Mike Huddleston, and I are planning a graphic novel revolving around the concept of jazz; Mahfood, Troy Nixey, and I are planning a book for next year's conventions; a bunch of animation designers from Pixar and Disney and I are planning a tribute to our late mentor, Maurice Noble.

5/ ANY MORE PLANS TO WORK WITH MAHFOOD?

Sure! The above mentioned jazz thing and other stuff. We're always coming up with ideas, funny stuff and serious stuff. I think we're going to suprise some people with stuff we have planned.

6/ WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOUR GHOST DOG WORK (BECAUSE WE CAN'T FIND A COPY)?

The GHOST DOG one-shot was financed by Artisan Entertainment. They paid for the project to come out through ONI, and then bought out the entire backstock. So they own everthing but the original art, which I still have some of. It'll be on display at an upcoming festival in Portugal later this year. I only have a couple copies of the book myself, and I'm told ONI is sold out. So watch those dollar bins...

7/ IF YOU COULD DO A COMIC OF ANY MOVIE WHAT WOULD YOU DO...?

Well, I'm not big on straight adaptations...I like working on licensed titles, like STAR WARS and the GHOST DOG book, but I really wouldn't want to just translate a film into comics form. I'd like to play with characters like Indiana Jones, though. Or Harry Potter...;)

8/ HOW DO YOU FIND THE MAINSTREAM COMPARES TO INDY COMICS?

Well, I think there really isn't a comparison...the quality of the indy scene far surpasses the mainstream stuff.

Bendis, Azzarello, and Brubaker, guys like that, they're helping to beef up the quality of the mainstream, but it's going to take some editors with balls to jumpstart the house-styles of art. Marvel's attempting it, and Schreck's doing what he can at DC with the Batman books, but there needs to be a leap in what is acceptable as art. There's way too much inbreeding as far as styles go, and not enough branching out and trying new things. I'll get off my soapbox, now...;)

9/ HOW DO CARTOONS COMPARE TO COMICS?

They're two different animals. Cartoons and film are projects by committee, with a lot of input form outside parties, while comics can literally be produced by one person, instilling one vision in the project. Cartoons, though, are a blast to work on, playing with sound and editing to deliver a completely unique experince to the audience. I love both mediums, for different reasons...but it is nice to actually hold a package in your hand when you're holding a comic book. It makes you feel like you're personally part of something, and you have proof.

10/ WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH 'THRAVE'?

THRAVE seemed like a good idea at the time. It still exists, though I'm no longer involved with them. The project I was doing with them is still in the works, however, in a different medium with a different company. There'll be an announcement at San Diego Comic Con that will shed a little more light on that, though. :) Sorry I have to be vague, but the contracts aren't signed just yet...a couple more weeks, and all will be told. (we just found out...Scott's "Volcanic Revolver" is to become a movie..check out Comics2film for details)

I wish the THRAVE guys and girls luck, though, as they helped prove that high-end flash animation is possible on the internet, as long as someone's got deep pockets.

11/ IF YOU COULD BE A MONSTER, WHAT WOULD YOU BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU TERRORIZE?

Hah! I think I'd want to be somehting small, unexplained, and mysterious, like the Chupacabras or Bigfoot or the Jersey Devil or something. Something that a few people would see and be freaked out by, maybe a couple of pictures would exist, but no one would know what the hell I am. I'd just show up in different places and steal someone's hat or something, and instill panic, and move on to the next place. Heehee!

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