The Preacher Man

I've been reading comic books on and off since I was 15. Out of all of the books I've read, Irish writer Garth Ennis' Preacher has always been at the top. It's violent and offensive and completely subversive. On top of all that, it's a classic in modern storytelling.

But Garth Ennis is much more than Preacher. He's been an active and prolific creator for over 20 years, staying away from the mainstream with his decidedly adult works until his recent work on Marvel Comics' The Punisher, upon which both recent movies were based.

His most current books are a great revival in war comics, such as 303 and Battlefields.

As much as I would have loved to sit on the phone with Mr. Ennis and translate his accent, I was allowed a handful of answers via email from the always busy man. read more »

The Space(man) Between Panels

The publisher behind 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, GI JOE, STAR TREK, TRANSFORMERS, and Joss Whedon's ANGEL, IDW Publishing is celebrating its tenth year as a creative force in entertainment field. Iconoclast Clive Barker called Chris Ryall, IDW's editor-in-chief and publisher, "...a thoroughly decent human being who jus so happens to be brilliant."

Here Josh Jabcuga speaks with Ryall about what 3 1/2 years working for filmmaker Kevin Smith taught him, co-creating a new series with artist Ben Templesmith (GROOM LAKE, out this week!), opening the secret to Joe Hill's LOCKE & KEY, and the potential of a Chuck Palahniuk comic book. read more »

Double Feature

Thomas Jane is an actor who has taken on some iconic roles. He played the lead in THE PUNISHER. Mickey Mantle in 61*. And he's also starred in two films based on the work of Stephen King, most recently THE MIST. He's currently in post-production on his directorial debut, THE DARK COUNTRY. Thomas Jane is also no stranger to the comic book medium or its fans, thanks in large part to his work with fan favorite artist Timothy Bradstreet.

Tim Bradstreet is an Eisner-award nominated illustrator/production designer who has been working in the comic book industry for over twenty years. Perhaps best known for his work on books like THE PUNISHER, HELLBLAZER, and CRIMINAL MACABRE, Bradstreet's work has always had a cinematic quality that has jumped off the racks. read more »

The Comic Book World

Ed Brubaker has a very nice hat. He originally thought our interview was a Mark Millar prank because I asked him about writing a Batman porno story. I was serious, and he sincerely answered the question, which is pretty cool.

Last time I looked, he was on Wizard's top ten comics writers, and that's pretty cool. He's also known as the writer who killed Captain America. Yep, he's that guy.  I remember that story making the newspapers and I'd hate to pigeon-hole Ed into that role, so I'll also say he's the writer who killed Captain America, but he also wrote The Authority, X-Men, Batman, Daredevil, Catwoman, and that Law and Order in Gotham series Gotham Central. He's a writing machine and ex juvenile delinquent who likes to go bowling on his rare occurrences of free time, Church. read more »

The Last Man

Brian K Vaughan a superstar in the realm of comic books.  Although he's too cool to say that about himself, it's cool if I say it. He has won the Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Awards for his critically acclaimed works Y: The Last Man (which is currently being developed into a movie with New Line Cinema) and Ex Machina (also being developed, at a much slower pace.) He's written such mainstream comics as Wolverine, Captain America, Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In addition to these accomplishments, Brian also won the award for "2006 Best Comic's Writer" from Wizard Magazine. Most recently, he's broken out of the comic book writing medium and ventured into the realm of TV, writing for some show called Lost. Ever heard of it?  read more »

Liverpool's Finest

Mike Carey is one of Liverpool's finest. He's a devoted husband and father who worked as a teacher for 15 years. So, where does he get this massive imagination? With such a seemingly normal life, from what recesses of his mind does he pull these fantastically imaginative tales of the strange and unusual? After all, this is the guy who gave Lucifer a voice and took the reigns of the  character after Neil Gaiman -- a tough act to follow -- but Carey's run on Lucifer garnered him a Eisner Award nomination. He also did a phenomenal job on a 40 issue run on John Constantine's Hellblazer series. Currently, he's landed the big gig of writing X-Men: Legacy, which would probably seem like a stressful task, however, Carey has this unique attitude when it comes to writing the "big books". read more »