How did you get the job
working on Punisher 2099?
Jimmy: The editor, Joey Cavalieri,
he was looking for somebody to compliment Tom's artwork. He wanted something
with a little more oomph to it. A little more special
effects to it. The way I inked Tom was very organic. He was a real
solid penciler. But I would do some zippatones. White paint. Splatter. Things shining. Make
it look wild. So it was just about finding the right
inker over Tom. It worked pretty well. I inked Punisher 2099. I also inked
some Spider-Man 2099. I also some Humberto Ramos...it was one of the X-Men
2099....
X-Nation!
Jimmy: Yeah, X-Nation. I did the first three
issues of X-Nation. That office was using me for everything that they could.
And I was the deadline guy. So if they needed it,
Monday or Tuesday I would come in with it and say, 'what else you got?' So I kept getting work because I kept getting it in on
time. An editors job is give out the work, make his
own life easy, right, so I was the guy who would make editors lives easy.
What recollections do you
have about working with Joey?
Jimmy: Joey's a great guy. You know, another
paisan. He let me do whatever I wanted. He was one
of the few editors who would go over the pages, each one. He was very
complimentary, which we need because we are pretty much sitting at home with nothing
but work all the time.
Why did you leave the
book?
Jimmy: I think I left when Tom left. I think
we left at the same time. They were always shuffling us around. I got
shuffled from book to book You gotta remember I was
inking three books a month. It might have been just to do something else. I
think also, this was mid 90s, so I was just
starting. When you’re just starting, anything they offer you, you don’t want
to say no. Because they might not hire you again. I took on everything they
offered. But I loved Punisher 2099, I loved the writing on it, I loved the
premise. Where else are you going to get Punisher
throwing five guys on an electric chair to save money? I actually went back
last year to pitch Axel and Marvel a new Punisher 2099, but they weren’t
interested. Maybe they had somebody else in mind to do it. I thought, I can
write this thing hardcore. I started as an inker, but I thought wouldn’t it
be nice to write it. I really did like it. It used to make me laugh out loud,
it was so crazy. Maybe that’s something to do with why I like writing Harley
Quinn. It’s a little twisted. I think comics should have humor to them. Even
if it’s real dark. There should be some joy to the madness.
