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AICN COMICS: Q&@ is our new semi-weekly interview column where some of your favorite @$$Holes interview comic bookdom’s biggest, brightest, newest, and oldest stars. Enjoy this latest in-depth interview filled with @$$y goodness and be sure to look for more AICN COMICS as we gaze into the future of comics every week with AICN COMICS: SPINNER RACK PREVIEWS every Monday and then join the rest of your favorite @$$Holes for their opinions on the weekly pull every Wednesday with AICN COMICS REVIEWS!
Q’s by Squashua
@’s by John Romita Jr!
Hey folks, Squashua here. Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Marvel Comics artist John Romita Jr. about his upcoming film KICK-ASS, his book THE AVENGERS, and some future projects of his. I also had a chance to review KICK-ASS: CREATING THE COMIC, MAKING THE MOVIE, so be sure to check out that after the interview. Let's jump right in.
SQUASHUA (SQUASH): How many times have you seen the KICK ASS film, so far?
JOHN ROMITA JR (JRJR): I've seen it twice.SQUASH: And what did you think?
JRJR: I enjoyed it more the second time. I knew what I wanted to look for the second time as opposed to not knowing what was coming, and I actually enjoyed it more the second time, so every time it's going to get better.SQUASH: I hear you're considering a new job as a barista.
JRJR: {laughs} Yeah, but I got trimmed. My scene was trimmed, so my face is on the cutting room floor.SQUASH: You're not even in it?
JRJR: I'm in it, but you can just see my side and the back of my head.SQUASH: What about Vinnie?
JRJR: My son is in it, yes! He's in there, in the background. The scene where, wait, have you seen the film yet?SQUASH: No, I haven't. I've just read every issue of the comic and the comic-to-film book that Titan sent me, so everything's pretty much spoiled for me.
JRJR: Well, when you do see it, the scene where Dave's friends push him to meet Chris D'amico in the comic book/coffee shop, when the bodyguard tells him to f-off, to the left and in the background is my beautiful son. He's all excited; he was there with his friends Monday and he pointed himself out.
SQUASH: Is he into comics?
JRJR: Yes he is.SQUASH: Following your footsteps as an artist?
JRJR: Not yet. He hasn't shown an affinity for art, but he does like to draw when he's in art class, so maybe he'll be a late bloomer, I don't know. No, I don't think he'll be an artist. I think he wants to be an actor now.SQUASH: He has to get his IMDB profile set up. He's not in there yet, I checked.
JRJR: Definitely, a bunch of his friends are into the drama classes, and acting. It could be he'll follow along.SQUASH: Getting back to the movie and Nic Cage's character Damon Macready/Big Daddy in particular, it looks like he's a graduate of the John Romita Jr. School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.
JRJR: {laughs} Yeah, he's a hell of an artist, isn't he?SQUASH: He's pretty good. I know you drew the comic he shows his friend, and much of the villains and cast mug shots, but since you're not in there, do you suppose Big Daddy is your movie avatar?
JRJR: {laughs} You know, my wife asked me if I was going to put my face into the "Wall of Villains", the mug shots, and I kind of shrugged and said, "Naaah," and I figured it would look too gratuitous and I probably couldn't do a good enough drawing of myself, however the producers put my name in as a dead thug during the film, "Tony Romita", and they have his name up there, so they threw my name in anyway, good ol' Matthew [Vaughn].
SQUASH: Do you think Big Daddy squandered your artistic talent?
JRJR: Yes, he should have done something more with his ability. I agree, he squandered it.SQUASH: About your costume designs vs. [Costume Designer] Sammy Sheldon's designs, can you tell me a bit more about them? From what I've seen in the photos and in the book, there were several departures. Did you have any direct input or communication with the costume designer during the process?
JRJR: No, I really didn't get a chance to speak to the costume designer at all about where they went with it, when they went with it, and I believe I did the comic book versions [of the costumes] first.SQUASH: Was every design based off your original?
JRJR: Well, for example I did my version of Red Mist and then it was sent to them, and then it was bounced off of [the design team] and became what it is. According to what I was told, they wanted something a little bit more wild and brash, so it looks like a huge departure from what I did. The only thing they kept was my 'M' logo.SQUASH: What do you think of the Batman-styled costume they used for Big Daddy? I felt like that was the biggest departure in design.
JRJR: Yeah, but then I understood what Matthew's reasoning was, and it makes perfect sense. A deranged mind, the first thing you imagine and channel is an iconic costume, and that's pretty much what they did with the character and Batman. I bought it, and that's fine, that's cool, and you'll see when you see the film, you'll understand what Nicholas Cage was doing as the actor and how he channels the character he channels.
SQUASH: I read that he does an excellent Adam West send-up.
JRJR: It's interesting. It made me worry at first, but then when you know what the character is like, that he's a deranged character, for good reason too, you understand. He actually affects three characters in the role, so you have to watch it, and he's brilliant.SQUASH: I have a few questions about your Hit-Girl costume design. Her cape is attached to her arms in the comic. Is that a Spider-Man homage?
JRJR: No, I think Mark [Millar] wanted something, and this might have been what we had spoken about in advance of [writing the book]; these are amateurs and we want amateur costumes. So, if the cowl is attached to the cape, and the cape is attached to this and that, consider that it would be something that you would get from a costume store. Originally, the reason I had the lock around her neck…SQUASH: Oh man, that's my third question in my list here.
JRJR: Well, go ahead and ask.SQUASH: I was curious about the lock from the beginning. I was expecting it to eat a bullet at some point in the comic. Is it symbolic? Is it simply a weight to keep her cape in place, or is it an emphasis on a home-made design, or is it chastity commentary due to her age?
JRJR: {laughs} That's an excellent question. No, I didn't think of the chastity end of it. The lock I thought of, as a little girl putting that around her neck in kind of a protection thing to keep her cape from being ripped off. To me, it's an everyday common household item, and I wanted to emphasize that it was an everyday common household costume, so that's why I chose the lock around the neck, but to me the lock is strength and it's the security of the house, so to speak, and that's what I was thinking. It really is a metaphor. And I've never told anybody this. Nobody has asked about the lock except Chloe [Moretz], the actress. She said that she loved the lock and wishes she could have put the lock around her neck because she thought that it was a very securing, grounded thing. She is a brilliant young lady.
SQUASH: Speaking of the cast, what did you think about meeting everyone on the set?
JRJR: Now, I would be completely honest with you if they were stand-offish in any way, but they were the nicest group of young people that I have ever met. They were comic fans, except for Aaron Johnson [Kick-Ass], who is the nicest guy in general, but Clark Duke and Chris [Mintz-]Plasse are comic fans and they're familiar with my work, so they came over to me and shook my hand. Just completely blew me away. The nicest people. And Chloe, having been shown the comic in advance, actually was more tickled than the older kids because this is something different to her, and then I did her a drawing, so she was excited about that, and her parents are so sweet. And even the people on the set, the grips and all of the camera people and all of the crew. Even working with days without sleep, were just wonderful. It was a completely exiting experience, and there wasn't one person that pissed me off {laughs}.SQUASH: Going back to Hit-Girl, I had a question down and I'll ask it even though I think I already know the answer; she also has a ponytail and a cape. When considering hand-to-hand fighting in super-hero costumes, I can't help but think of Dollar Bill from THE WATCHMEN getting his cape stuck in the revolving door, or the examples where ponytails gets yanked in battle, or caught somewhere; what came to mind when designing those elements of her costume?
JRJR: Right, I can think of the "No capes!" scene from THE INCREDIBLES. Anything that happens because of the amateurish nature of the costume fits with the idea, and that was the whole purpose. It's OK to throw the cape in and the ponytail and any mistakes that a costumer would make, this is the real world it's not the super-hero world, so they wouldn't know, especially a little girl or a deranged father, what those dangers could be.
SQUASH: Considering how she ended up in the book, are we going to be seeing Hit-Girl in the sequel?
JRJR: Absolutely. She's the break-out character in this series; the character is brilliant and the actress is fantastic. Yes, you will see Hit-Girl again.SQUASH: Any tidbits about the comic book sequel?
JRJR: The comic book sequel will be called "Balls to the Wall", and the name of the main villain is Mother Fucker.SQUASH: Can I inquire as to the gender or motives of Mother Fucker?
JRJR: That's all the info I can give out about that.SQUASH: With Disney having purchased Marvel, have you heard any feedback regarding Disney reactions to the concept of Hit-Girl?
JRJR: Nothing yet. That's an interesting question, and I haven't heard a sound and I think that's because it's creator-owned and there's no need to address it, but Disney as a whole hasn't contacted anybody about the content, and I'm wondering what they would say if they do.SQUASH: Has there been a change in atmosphere at Marvel since the purchase?
JRJR: No. As a matter of fact, anything I've asked to that point has been, "No, right now everything's cool," and they're just letting us be us.SQUASH: You're known for having an extremely fast turn around for comic artistry, and as someone who was purchasing every issue of KICK-ASS as they were released, I felt there was a serious delay between issues. Was that delay artificial and timed to be in release with film production?
JRJR: No. Absolutely not. That wasn't anybody's fault but mine, and the reason for it makes me not as embarrassed. The point is, I was working on the film, KICK-ASS, and SPIDER-MAN at the same time, and it just got to be too difficult. Marvel didn't want SPIDER-MAN to miss shipping, I had to address that immediately, and I wasn't going to tell Matthew Vaughn, "Sorry, I'm not going to work with you on your movie, I have comic book work to do," so I had to pick and choose, and I slogged along at night and on weekends and in the middle of the night doing KICK-ASS. I'm amazed that we got it finished at all considering the amount of work that the movie work cost me.
SQUASH: Can you tell me about doing THE AVENGERS with [Brian] Bendis? What's the most exciting part so far?
JRJR: Working with Bendis. The other thing is handling THE AVENGERS. I've never done THE AVENGERS as a book, so this is another fun chapter in my career. It's doing Thor again, doing Captain America, doing Spider-Man, Wolverine, all of these cool characters. I'm not thrilled about doing Iron Man because I'm not used to the costume yet, but the more I get comfortable with the costume, the easier it will get and the more fun I'll have with it. It's a whole new challenge. Working with Brian, who I consider one of, if not the best writer in the business, along with Mark, that is the main attraction. When I heard Bendis is working on this, I said, "I gotta have it," and although they had picked me to do it, they said in the conversation, "We want you to do THE AVENGERS, and by the way Bendis is writing it," that was it.SQUASH: Any exciting spoilers?
JRJR: I can't because I learned my lesson working with [J. Michael] Straczynski on SPIDER-MAN. I will only let the writer say what he wants, or the editor, for fear that I might say something that would cause trouble, and that's mostly because there are so many things that are inter-connected with these storylines.SQUASH: Well, you brought up the name Straczynski and a fear of saying stuff that might cause trouble, so I'll just ask this next one now instead of later. When is your best guess when the next couple issues of THE TWELVE are coming out?
JRJR: I honestly don't know what the schedule is like. I guarantee you it's not Straczynski's malicious intent. {chuckles}.SQUASH: What do you think about the recent Image Comics tribute parodies of your AVENGERS promo material?
JRJR: I honestly haven't seen them yet. It sounds like flattery though, and I'll take it as a compliment.
SQUASH: You've been with the comic industry for decades. What's your opinion of the price point, considering today's economic state?
JRJR: That's kind of uncomfortable to say. I honestly didn't come up with a real good opinion of that because I'm kind of going back and forth on it. Anything on the business end of the field that could help the individual companies and the industry, I'm all for, and remember it may not always be popular with fans, but if it's got to be done to save or improve the industry, so be it.SQUASH: Do you read reviews and do they affect you?
JRJR: I do read some reviews, and they only affect me when it's an annoying human being that is just really vicious, and that happens occasionally. The rest of them, even the critics, I pay attention to. I read occasionally. I'll go on two or three times; I'll read reviews about a series. Occasionally I'll make my mistakes and get caught up with somebody who's completely irresponsible or nasty, but most of the time I read reviews two or three times a year, and pay attention to it, thank the guys that are complimentary, and mess around with the people who don't like my work. And I never say anything maliciously back, but it can be taken that way. We go back and forth. My point is that they are free to say whatever they want. It's their dime and it's their money, let them do whatever they want. And I'm not so politically-inclined to say it's a "freedom of press" thing because sometimes people are nasty.SQUASH: Speaking of that, I was researching some questions to ask you and came up with a good one about "The Hunk of the Month"…
JRJR: {laughs}
SQUASH: …but, a fellow AICN @$$hole told me not to mention it because in an interview with you at another website, the way you come off, it looks like it's a sore point with you. From our talk here, I wouldn't get that impression. Is that accurate?
JRJR: I laugh about that because it was such a great practical joke. There is not anything about that that bothers me, I love it.SQUASH: OK then, fair game. So, should Marvel re-instate the "Hunk of the Month" program, and if so, do you feel like you could still be a contender?
JRJR: Yes, and I would love to hand off the title to the next hunk of the month. I've been told [John] Cassaday is the guy.SQUASH: Aw. I was hoping for Dan Slott.
JRJR: {laughs} Dan would accept that with aplomb.SQUASH: I have a question here from fellow AICN @$$hole Professor Challenger. He wants to know if you remember shaking his hand at the 1986 Dallas Fantasy Fair.
JRJR: Oh, of course! Like it was yesterday! Tell him I look forward to seeing him at the next Dallas Comic Con, they've invited me. Tell him to be there so we can refresh our friendship.SQUASH: I'll be sure to do that. Is there a writer you'd like to work with that you haven't yet?
JRJR: I'd like to work with Alan Moore, just because he hates my guts.SQUASH: {laughs} Why does he hate your guts?
JRJR: I don't know, I don't know. We met back in the late 80's, and we didn't hit it off for some reason, and we might have even had some nasty words, but not for comics' sake. He's a political radical, but he's a brilliant writer, so I'd love to write with him. It's like you want to go out with the girl that hates your guts {laughs} so that's what I'm thinking.
SQUASH: I looked up your father [John Romita Sr.] on Wikipedia, and he has this beard that almost makes him look like Sean Connery, so I have to ask if he ever refers to you as "Joon-yer", like Sean does to Harrison Ford in LAST CRUSADE?
JRJR: {laughs} No, but I'll bring that up to him, he'll get a kick out of it.SQUASH: I have another question from the team here. What would DC or another company have to do to get you to switch teams?
JRJR: Ooh, that's a tough one. I don't know, they've had their opportunities, but Marvel has always matched and surpassed, but there's a lot of loyalties involved with Marvel. I have this affinity for the characters, but I also love working with [Joe] Quesada and Dan Buckley and David Bogart and Jim Sokolowski, John Dokes; all of those guys have been so good to me that it goes beyond the money at this point. I'm loyal to them, maybe even to fault. It would take a lot, it would really take a lot, to get me to go freelance, than work for them.SQUASH: Want to talk future projects?
JRJR: The next creator-owned project I'm going to hop on before the KICK-ASS sequel, and maybe my work on them will cross paths, is called SHMUGGY AND BIMBO. It's based on two real, previously living characters that grew up with my parents in Brooklyn in the '40s. They became hit-men, and I've used their names and created a story about it, and now Howard Chaykin's come aboard as co-creator and writer. These two guys are of indeterminate age and origin, and that's the interesting part about them. They are the super men of hit-men, the Wolverine and Colossus of hit-men. That's the backdrop, really. It ends up being the best part about it, but there's a lot of political intrigue and organized crime and some international arms dealings. Howard and I are really excited about it. I've told Mark [Millar], who has about fifty projects coming out at the same time, I told him we're going to beat his ass to the screen on one of these. I don't know if it's true, but it's a nice challenge. It'll win an Academy Award.
SQUASH: {laughs} So it's primarily about these two?
JRJR: It was supposed to be about three guys, Shmuggy, Bimbo and The Sugarman; one of the characters is Jimmy Zucharo, which in Italian means sugar. Jimmy is also the third main character in it, but for brevity he didn't make it into the title.SQUASH: And who is that coming out through?
JRJR: Icon. And the project beyond that is called JACK THE COP. It's based on a deceased dear, dear friend of mine, one of my closest friends in the world that was a New York City cop. It's about a political cartoonist, whose thought-to-be-dead roommate, a police officer, is actually in witness protection, and he comes back and on the sly gives the cartoonist some info about a would-be presidential candidate. The twist in this is the cartoonist is a Rush Limbaugh-type conservative, and everybody hates his guts, so he's challenged to find a way to reveal the truth about this political candidate. He is a syndicated cartoonist, but no one will listen to him. It's a complete reversal of the typical story in film and in stories, it's always the conservative government and the ultimate evil is always a powerful conservative. In JACK THE COP, the conservatives are at the bottom, looking up and, believe it or not, there are some pretty corrupt liberals in the world. So since it's a reversal, Matt Damon probably won't be involved in the film version.SQUASH: {laughs} That's all the questions I've got for you so, before we wrap up, was there anything you were hoping I'd hit in this interview?
JRJR: I was hoping you'd have seen the film and I wanted to ask you what you thought, but when you see the film I'd like to hear your reaction to it.SQUASH: Yeah, they don't screen anything in my area, but I'll let you know when I do see it. This has been awesome, thank you very much. KICK-ASS hits theatres on April 16th, 2010, and "KICK-ASS: CREATING THE COMIC, MAKING THE MOVIE" is out now from Titan Books. Check out my review below.
KICK-ASS: CREATING THE COMIC, MAKING THE MOVIE
Publisher: Titan Books Reviewer: Squashua
Disclaimer: Right at the start, let it be known that I do not normally purchase tie-in books for movies, and that Titan Books sent me this copy for review. And I'm keeping it. Consider it payment for transcribing an awesome half hour spent interviewing John Romita Jr. (posted above this review). Plus, I'm still not done reading it (see last paragraph for details).The book is a pretty slick 175-page volume of glossy, full-color prints retailing for $20. There are shots from all throughout the film, action sequences, torture sequences, downtime sequences, gadgetry specs and costume details, snaps of the production crew and between-takes, big promo photos, the entire Big Daddy-drawn (John Romita Jr.-by proxy) comic that appears in-film, and all of the hand-drawn (by JRJR again) mug shots of the criminal empire. I think the only significant pictures missing are the recently released classic wartime-style promotional posters and any photos of press kits and supplementary material, but to be honest, that stuff doesn't belong in a book whose primary topic is to discuss the tasks of creating the comic and bringing it to the big screen. And I'd say every aspect of that topic is covered here.
Author Mark Millar lays his thought process out for us across scans of his notebook pages and snippets of the film script. He explains how KICK-ASS's origins grew from a teenaged idea of his own youth into a full-fledged reality, and how he worked Matthew Vaughn and John Romita Jr. into the project. Matthew discusses how none of the studios wanted to touch the film and the ultimate process it went through to get produced. Throughout the book, as it progresses from the story of creating the comic, through the screenplay writing, to the actual filmmaking, and each character in particular, both Mark and Jane Goldman, the co-screenwriters, explore the divergence between the comic and movie iterations and the rationale behind many of the choices made. Comic art is placed with associated set photos to express the differences or similarities as each scene is discussed.
For every single character costume, both JRJR and costume designer Sammy Sheldon get a chance to explore their varying designs, with plenty of sketches exploring style evolution. As the book makes its way through the film plot, each associated actor takes multiple opportunities to comment on the characters, the script, the other actors and creators. Interspersed throughout are numerous random comments about the easter eggs, backstories, feelings about being on set or in costume, cursing and the ratings system, and even a reproduction of Chloe Moretz' blog. By the way, these people just love that kid; they keep referring to her as the next Jodie Foster. I hope that doesn't mean she'll acquire a stalker who tries to assassinate the President to get her attention. Anyway, once you reach the end, there are some pages containing major movie spoilers on how the final scenes branch thematically from the comic, and a definite exploration into Volume Two of KICK-ASS.
Also, titties appear on pages 124 and 131. And Matthew Vaughn puts his ultra-hot wife on display at page 87, which is a shot of a sexy billboard from the middle of the film.
Look, as I said, I don't buy movie tie-in books, but this one is extremely comprehensive, like watching a couple hours of DVD extras about the creation of the film. So, if you're into picking up supplemental material, this one is quite worth your money. In fact, I've been reading through the book since last Thursday and I still don't feel like I've completely consumed it, so it's totally got that bang for your buck factor going. Also, I really enjoyed reading it, so there is always that. And titties.
Kuax'kua plucks and strums the fibre electric between worlds, writhing in amorphous ecstasy with each pulsing nanobyte of digitized information. A fount of queries and feedback cloaked as an unassuming sass-imbued avatar, this shapeless servitor scribes only of that which fuels its emotion, driving all observers to a slow and inevitable madness.
