IMAGINE YOU'RE AT A COMIC-CONVENTION AND YOU SPOT YOUR FAVORITE CREATOR.
YOU KNOW THEY HAVE BEEN SIGNING BOOKS FOR HOURS BUT YOU MAKE THE DECISION TO
ASK THEM SOME QUESTIONS WHILE YOU'RE WAITING IN LINE.
YOU ONLY HAVE A FEW SHORT MINUTES, BUT WHAT DO YOU ASK THEM,
THAT THEY HAVEN'T ANSWERED ALL DAY, AND HOW MANY QUESTIONS CAN YOU SQUEEZE IN?
SIT DOWN WITH US AS WE BROWSE THE ARCHIVES AND
TAKE FIVE with...
Whether you agree with him or not, you cannot escape the fact that the comics industry has been
turned upside down and Marvel Comics has been the buzz of it all, due to it's President, Bill Jemas.
Controversial, outspoken, and not afraid to make people bristle, he has taken Marvel to the top again. From the Ultimate line (in which he co-wrote some work), the dropping of the Comics Code Authority, the No Reprint/Overprint decision, and lately, the Alias/Adult line controversy, Bill has firmly been in the middle of it all. And retailers, creators, and fans alike, either see him as a hero, or a villian. With his comments of retailer "IQ tests" and "bad girls for fanboys" ...you never really know if he's joking around, or being serious.
But Marvel is on everyone's lips, and that's the way he likes it, no matter what is said about him directly.
Thanks to Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, I was able to conduct this short interview with Bill via email. I was surprised at a few of the responses I received, as his replies had me thinking..."Is he being serious?!?"
So as you're reading this, remember the spirit of these interviews, and place your tongue firmly in your cheek.
Afterall...it's about comic books. And comics are supposed to be about fun!!!
Thank you Bill, for taking some time to do this, and again, thanks to Joe Quesada!
1) I just need to start off by asking...why do you let Joe work naked?!?
Can't SOMETHING be done about that?!? (FOR MORE ON THIS, SEE T5w INTERVIEWS w/ JQ & LEE FERGUSON)
BILL: I wish this rumor would just go away. Joe does not work naked! He wears a bowtie, and sneakers - and that's about all - but never, ever naked...not on my watch!
2) I've heard Joe has a ton of toys in his office. When you and he are sitting around, hashing out story ideas, do you use his toys to act out the scenarios?
BILL: It's true, Joe has an extensive Barbie collection, and yes, of course, we use them to work out all of the Marvel 1 tea party scenes.
3) Do you read the various message boards, where creators revel in taking
pot-shots at you and M*RV*L? And if a particular creator would be a perfect
fit for a project, would you not ask them, because of things they said?
BILL: I don't read creator message boards, but I do know you are referencing
J*hn B*rn*...and come to think of it...we do have a daily empty the wastebasket project that would be perfect for him. Maybe I should call...
4) I asked Joe this, and I would like to hear your response as well...Do you worry that all the hyping will hurt Marvel in some way? People seem to feel the Alias/Printer problem was a hoax, or at the very least, blown out of proportion, and the same has been said of a few other things in the recent past.
Will the time come where you will become the "Boy Who Cried Wolf?"
BILL: Well of course the Alias/Printer thing was a hoax.
And now the one everybody likes...Question Five...
You have to pick someone to live with on a deserted island, for the rest
of your life. You're choices are...
Carrot Top
Todd McFarlane
Miss Cleo (The "Jamaican" psychic hotline woman)
Who do you pick...and why???
BILL: It is too hard to choose. See... I love comic books and I'd like to spend all that time with somebody who knows how to make and sell good comics.
And the three of them are dead even in their ability to do that.
THANKS AGAIN TO BILL, FOR AGREEING TO THIS INTERVIEW!!!
