Talking With Jimmy Palmiotti About New Kickstarter ‘Rage’ And The Wider Issues Concerning Comic Book Publishing Today

Jimmy Palmiotti and Scott Hampson are releasing their new graphic novel, Rage, through Kickstarter and it’s already got off to a good start. This fully painted, mature-readers book follows, “Braden Radovick as he embarks on a cross country journey to find his daughter Friday after a catastrophic, worldwide event takes place, leaving the world in a state of panic and survival.” One man’s post-apocalyptic road trip across America in search of his loved one. And, a great excuse to interview Jimmy Palmiotti on this new project and more! Someone I have yet to interview, until today. What I wasn’t expecting was such an informative and frank discussion of some of the bigger issues circling the comic book industry today! And for that I have to thank Jimmy for answering my questions on this oft-times thorny subject So, as well as reading the interview why not check out Rage here now? 

Olly MacNamee: First of all, Jimmy, many thanks for fielding these questions. After all, it’s a very buys time for you, what with the Blondie and Anthrax graphic novels from Z2 Comics as well as your writing gig on Red Sonja, And now you have a new Kickstarter too. So, let’s start there shall we. Rage is described as “one desperate father’s cross country journey to find his daughter in the wake of a global catastrophe.” It sounds like a very character-focused, highly emotive-driven story. And one in which a father is going to have to do very bad things in order to find his daughter. Is it?

Jimmy Palmiotti: The father isn’t a character that sets out to do bad things to be clear, both father and daughter are doing what they can to survive and most of the violence is brought to them to deal with. It is situation violence mainly. The emotional ties between father and daughter are the core elements, but a lot of other things are going on in the world around them they have to deal with first. Rage is about the trauma and separation more than the confrontations. That said, a lot of people come to a horrible end around them. We did warn that it is an adult graphic novel.  

OM: An apocalyptic road trip across America, Rage seems to be tapping into a rising trend for such odysseys-across-America. What with the Sweet Tooth adaption on Netflix and Scott Snyder’s Undiscovered Country and Nocterra. Maybe this is a tough one, but why do you think there is an appetite for such dystopian stories that explore the American psyche in this day and age? And, will this be a theme in Rage too?

JP: I think after a year of a pandemic, people not doing what is best for others and watching mother nature kick our asses, I think it’s only natural that we see these kinds of stories happen more and more. The one we tell with Rage is a positive one where we see characters dealing with trauma head on. Overall, this is a story of hope through bad times and how love is a true connection – just like in real life. I think as a genre –  the imagination goes wild with these case scenarios and it’s all very reflective of each writer’s world view. I am a pretty positive person that has been through many things in my lifetime and I like to stay in the moment as much as possible these days, but my imagination, well, that goes wild and its good for business.

OM: You’re working with industry legend Scott Hampton on the artwork for Rage. What was it about Scott’s style that made him such a great fit for this graphic novel?

JP: Scott is a grounded realistic and stylistic storyteller. He can ground characters and a situation quickly and his emotional beats with the characters really add another level to the story presented. Scott illustrates real life and it’s the perfect fit for Rage. It’s a visually beautiful book with some horrific things happening in it. At times, the violence seems almost quiet, which in itself is kind of creepy. 

OM: Now, this ain’t your first Kickstarter. And, I imagine this one will be yet another raging success. Pardon the pun. So, are we seeing a new dawn in publishing with creators like yourself taking more of the reins and more control of your ideas, characters and stories?

JP: Here is what happens. A professional works for years on others characters for other people, and a lot of their ideas make millions of dollars for the people involved BUT they get next to no attention for their hard work, get screenwriters getting all the attention for ideas they adapted, and a payoff in the end that boarders insulting, if anything happens at all. A “thank you” in a film is great but it doesn’t pay the bills. What has happened is freelancers are speaking up to how they are excluded and finding it less beneficial to work for these companies and breaking their own characters in other ways. The big companies, because of this greed, are losing the best ideas to Crowd funding and to wonderful companies like Image Comics, and at this point, there is no going back. Used to be you needed the big 2, but that is swinging in the other direction and the audience of comics understands this and supports the creators that they love. It is great to see and long overdue. 

OM: For me, as a comic book fan, crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter can offer something unique with additional surprises, such as stretch goal rewards, but may not necessarily sell in the numbers bigger comic book publishers can still reach. And with your own work on Red Sonja, there’s still plenty of room for the older models of publishing comic books too. So, I take it you can still see life in the old dog yet?

JP: Dynamite made us a deal – we saw the contract and understood we don’t own a thing with Sonja and took the gig totally sober to the fact we are just writing a book and character we enjoy, but expect little after that. The good news is we are going wild and editorial is along for the ride. It’s fun to do a gig like this, but it’s not my main focus otherwise. 

OM: As for you work on both Blondie and Anthrax for Z2 Comics, anything you can share with us? Any updates?

JP: Anthrax came out, so hopefully some of you have gotten the book already, and it looks like the Blondie book will be taking a while, but at the same time, it will be worth the wait. I love music and working on this material is a blast. Getting to talk to the band member is the extra thrill for me. I was the perfect age when Blondie came on the scene and saw them many times live and was a part of that new wave/punk movement. I lived it, so it all came together and made sense. 

OM: And, coming back full circle so to speak, is Rage going to be a one-shot graphic novel, or do you have plans for a series, or even a trilogy of books? 

JP: As of today, it is a one shot IF it does amazing business, then always open for more. I want to stay in the here and now and this book does have a beginning, middle and end. We wanted to deliver an entire story with Rage. 

OM: Jimmy, one again, a huge thank you, and all the best with Rage, and all your other projects. 

JP: Thank you, my friend.