Interview: Jimmy Palmiotti And Dave Johnson Discuss All Things ‘Pop Kill’

Welcome to the table,

 

Every so often, a really fun and chaotic comic comes along that scratches an itch I did not even know I had. Mad Cave Studios, one of the leading publishers when it comes to fun and fresh ideas, has dropped one of the most irreverent and, at the same time, totally entertaining comics I have read in a while. The book in question: Pop Kill.

The creative team behind it are writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Dave Johnson, artist Juan Santacruz, colorist Brian Reber, and letterer Sean Konot. I had a chance to sit down and talk with the writers on this charmingly chaotic cola caper.  Yes … the story is about soda! You can find out more about it in the interview below:

Anton Kromoff: Hello! Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me. Your works have spanned my lifetime and I can remember Heroes Conventions where I had the opportunity to watch you work or listen to you speak, you are mainstays in the industry, as fundamental as nails to a house, but for our new readers to the table, could you please tell us a little bit about yourselves?

Jimmy Palmiotti: I am a native New Yorker living in Florida these days and started in the business as an inker at Marvel and DC Comics. I eventually started moving to other jobs including penciling, inking, and coloring, and from there to editor, writer, and publisher over the years. I am best known as the co-creator of Ash and Painkiller Jane for our company, Event Comics, co-creator of Marvel Knights for Marvel Comics, and EIC of Paperfilms and Black Bull comics over the years. Characters I am best known for are Deadpool, Jonah Hex, Daughters of the Dragon, Punisher, Powergirl, and Harley Quinn. Odds are if you have a comic collection, my work is in there somewhere.

Dave Johnson: I grew up in the Atlanta metro area. Now in Los Angeles since 2001. In the early ’90s, I joined Gaijin Studios. And it wasn’t long before I got steady work at DC doing Chain Gang Wars. That led to working at Image on Superpatriot. Then back to DC to do Superman: Red Son.

After that I moved to Los Angeles to work at WB on a bunch of Bruce Timm shows as a designer. That led to me getting the offer to design from scratch a new show at Cartoon Network. The show was Ben 10. The whole time I worked in animation I was moonlighting as a cover artist for just about everyone. A big standout was doing all the covers for 100 Bullets for over 10 years. I’m mainly a cover artist now, but have just finished an issue of Batman: Last Halloween coming out this year.

A: So how did the collaboration between the two of you come about? Did one of you bring the initial concept, or was it developed together?

J: Dave had the initial idea and he brought it to me to see if I was interested in working together with him to bring it to life. Dave came fully loaded with ideas so it was an easy thing to develop and I had a blast working on it with him, being a fan and longtime friend of the great man.

D: Yeah, I had most of the story beats in place, but it was missing something so I asked Jimmy if he wanted to jam on the story. He brought the romance angle and dialog. I’ve never officially written before and Jimmy made it a blast.

A: As someone who spent time in the trenches of corporate America managing the voice and look of a brand, the concept of rival soda companies feuding in a very direct way speaks to me at a core level. What inspired the idea of the companies being owned by feuding former conjoined twins? Was this spun out of the star stuff that makes up shower thoughts and strokes of genius or was there some kind of real-world inspiration behind it?

J: That was all Dave’s idea and where he got it, he is better equipped to talk about it. My job was to wrangle the entire thing together. I will say that before comics I worked in an ad agency in New York and one of our clients was Pepsi cola, so I had some first-hand experience dealing with the corporate soda world and that experience helped somewhat.

D: I’ve had the idea for years to do something with soda, a wholesome product. Originally, the story revolved around a girl and a robot set in the future. But I never really developed it and forgot about it. Then it came back to me years later, and I slowly developed a story.

A: If someone has not read issue one yet, how would you describe the tone of this series?

J: It’s a bit of a throwback to old-time James Bond meets corporate espionage meets a romantic thriller. This series has something for everyone, really, and in the end, I think the humor also shines through.

D: Yeah, action with humor. I’ve always been a fan of combining those two in stories and movies. Like Red and Man Bites Dog.

A: The world of big-brand rivalry already has its fair share of myths and conspiracies. Did you pull from any existing corporate legends when building this story?

J: We all know about corporate rivalry and how cutthroat it can be. Movies and real life have shown us how cold and manipulative corporations can be and how they look at money first and people last, and this helped shape both of the soda companies in our eyes … especially what they are capable of. Is anything in Pop Kill over the top? For sure, that is our job to tell stories in this graphic form, but truth is always stranger than fiction, and no matter what we put on the page, I am sure there is a story in the real world that outdoes it.

D: To be honest, not really for me. The whole idea just fits my brand of humor.

A: What kind of artistic direction did you envision for this world, and how has Juan Santacruz’s art brought that vision to life?

J: Honestly, hiring Juan to deliver this worldview was our biggest stroke of genius. Juan has a sense of worldbuilding in everything he touches and with such clear storytelling and brilliant visuals, he does what it takes 2000 people on a film to do with his illustrations. Juan’s storytelling is impeccable. He nailed the characters, and their body language and set it all in the real world, which grounds the insanity between the covers. He is one of the best artists in the business and Pop Kill is a showcase for his amazing work.

D: I mainly wanted an artist who would be able to draw normal situations with some flare without it being too cartoony. Juan did a great job. Made it fun to look at.

A: Outside of comics, where do you both seek out inspiration to craft stories and continue to be creative?

J: I self-publish through my company, Paperfilms, about 4 times a year and in between that I work for other companies. I am currently writing a monthly series for Image Comics called Deadly Tales of the Gunslinger Spawn and do smaller gigs here and there. I still have my hands in some film work and other projects, mainly because I love what I do, and what I do pays terribly, so it’s a constant hustle.

D: This being my first go around, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t embarrass myself. I tend to pull stuff from everywhere.

A: Is there anything in this inaugural run of Pop Kill that people should keep an eye out for? Any Easter eggs or small surprises you can let our readers in on?

J: Well, we have some amazing guest artists that are coming to do some of the later covers, so keep your eyes out for that, but inside the book, I think everything you need is presented as completely as possible and we are telling a story that does the job. I think the surprises are within the story itself … some twists and turns should bring a smile to everyone’s face.

D: Agreed. It’s been amazing the response so far. For a non-superhero book about soda, I’m quite happy about the journey this book has sent us.

A: Before we wrap up I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I for one think the book is fantastic. It made my day when I read it and I encourage our readers to grab a copy as soon as they can. The series is irreverent and over the top in a way that works so seamlessly into selling soda. Where can our readers keep up with you and all you have going on?

J: Please follow me at paperfilms.com and you can easily find me on Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram, all under my name. As far as work, please check out my next Kickstarter, Painkiller Jane, and G.I.Zombie, coming in a few weeks.

D: Check out Batman: Last Halloween #7, out mid-year. And of course more covers. And maybe more writing.

Until next time, you can check out my review of the first issue at this link!