A Man to Watch

Dan Jolley

by Jennifer M. Contino (jennifer@sequentialtart.com)

Dan Jolley, writer of the recent wonderfully done Dr. Strange mini-series from Marvel Knights, recently agreed to undergo the third degree from our contributing Tart Jennifer M. Contino. In between new projects from DC, Dark Horse, and Marvel, he was able to answer a few questions about his influences and what characters he'd like to write if given the opportunity.

Sequential Tart: What was the first comic you can remember reading?

Dan Jolley: The first ever -- and this goes back to when I was about six -- was an issue of the WWII-era Wonder Woman. I don't remember too much about it, just that the cover featured a Nazi in a steel mask stepping on Wonder Woman's neck, and that during the course of the story, she got her bracelets welded together when she used them to stop a mortar shell. I do remember thinking it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen, though.

ST Who is your favorite comic character--heh I know you really like Doc Strange, but who is your absolute favorite?

DJ: Probably Nightcrawler. See, I never had any money to buy comics when I was a kid, and my parents certainly weren't going to buy any for me, so all the comics I got, I had to scrounge off my older brother. He was a big fan of the X-Men back then -- I guess this was around #120 or so, of the new series with Colossus and Storm and such -- and I just couldn't get enough of Nightcrawler. I've been fascinated with teleportation ever since.

ST: What was your first published comics work?

DJ:Vampirella #5, may it rest in peace.

ST: Who is the greatest influence in your carreer?

DJ: I guess that's a toss-up between three people: the novelist Dean Koontz, Alan Moore, and James O'Barr (for his original six-issue Crow mini-series). I love Koontz's far-reaching ideas, I aspire to Moore's structure and skill, and for sheer visual power and storytelling, the original Crow is hard to beat.

ST: What character would you like to work with--if you could choose any Marvel or DC?

DJ: Actually, I would LOVE to do an ongoing series with the old Marvel group "The Rangers" (Firebird, Texas Twister, Shooting Star, Phantom Rider and Red Wolf). They're based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I live, and they've never even had their own series before. I have several complete storylines worked out for them in my head. Depending on how things go in the future, both for me and for Marvel, I plan on proposing a monthly Rangers title. What kind of reception that'll get...well, who knows? : )

ST: What upcoming projects are you working on now? (Heh got any secrets to share with our readers?)

DJ: Well, DC has recently really cracked down on "security," so I can't say too much about my upcoming DC projects, at least not until they're on the production schedule -- though I think I can safely say that I have two creator-owned mini-series coming out in the next eighteen months or so (co- owned with Tony Harris and Ray Snyder), as well as a prestige-format Elseworlds project. At Marvel, nothing is definite, but I'm trying to get a follow-up Doctor Strange mini-series accepted. Paul Chadwick has agreed to pencil the project, and I'm pretty excited about the story, which makes use of a few elements from "The Flight of Bones." I really hope it goes through. And at Dark Horse, it appears that I might be writing a few small Star Wars stories, depending on several different factors and LucasFilm's approval of my ideas. : )

ST: What piece of work are you most proud of? And what piece of work would you like to see burried under a ton of cement?

DJ: I read once that a "novel" could be defined as "a long piece of prose that has something wrong with it." : ) What the writer there meant was that in any long work, there are bound to be flaws, no matter how careful you are -- but that a short story can be perfect. That's why I love The Killing Joke so much; in my humble estimation, TKJ is flawless. And that's why, of my published stories so far, my favorite one is "Jumper," a four-page story that saw print in Negative Burn #46. Ray Snyder drew it for me. It's a mean- spirited little tale, and I'm quite fond of it. As far as the ton of cement goes...well...may Vampirella #5 rest in peace.

ST: What's your favorite movie?

DJ: "Sling Blade." No question. It blew me away.

ST: There has been a lot of interest in the MARVEL KNIGHTS series that are being published now, how did you get the job on Dr. Strange?

DJ: Basically I got the job because Tony Harris and I have a long history of coming up with pretty groovy stories together; he and I had just gotten some interest fromDC in the first of our creator-owned projects when Joe Quesada called Tony up. Joe said that Marvel Knights was about to get access to a few more Marvel characters, and were there any that he'd like to work on? Tony immediately called me – this was a Monday -- and we decided on Doctor Strange in about two minutes. Then Tony said what he usually says: "Okay, Ray (Snyder, his studio partner) and I will think of stuff, and you think of stuff, and we'll compare notes tomorrow." We did that, and by Tuesday night had the basic story worked out. I wrote the proposal and faxed it off Wednesday morning, and on Friday Joe called Tony to tell him that it had been approved. I think my head is STILL spinning from how fast that happened.

ST: What's your favorite indy comic on the market today?

DJ: Honestly, and to my shame, I'm not all that familiar with very many indy comics. I'm not THAT familiar with all that many comics these days, period... But the last indy comic I looked at that really impressed me was Strangers in Paradise.

ST: Got any advice for budding writers?

DJ: Well, it's been my experience that breaking into comic writing is pretty freakin' hard. Now, I know a couple of guys who've only been at it for, like, six months to a year, and they're already doing monthly series. But I think they're the exceptions. The main thing, I'd say, for a budding writer is to GET SOMETHING PUBLISHED. Even if it's for a company no one's ever heard of, and even if you get paid nothing, just get something in print. And make it GOOD. Pour your heart and soul into it. That way, once it actually comes out, you can send that to an editor or hand it to one at a convention and say, "THIS is what I wrote." Just that someone was willing to publish you makes people realize that, most likely, you don't suck, and that you're worth considering.

ST: What does your family think of your career? Are your folks proud or are they telling all the neighbors you are off in the army or something ?

DJ: These days Mom and Dad are exquisitely proud of me and are happy to tell people about what I'm doing. It wasn't always that way. I can recall more than a few occasions when Dad yelled at me for reading "funny books" instead of, say, mowing the lawn. : )

ST: Was it always your goal to write comics?

DJ: Not always, no. I've known since I was 13 that I wanted to write for a living, but it was my intention to write short stories and novels. That changed when I was 19, when I met Tony Harris, Craig Hamilton, and all the guys at Gaijin Studios in Atlanta. These days, I certainly intend to keep writing comics, but I'm also polishing up my first novel (a process that's going on two and a half years now), and my friend Josh Krach and I have written a screenplay that looks like it might be going somewhere. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

ST: If you could write any comic on the market today, which title would you choose and why?

DJ: Gee whiz...I don't know. I'd certainly love to do more Doc Strange stuff. That's sort of an overwhelming question for me, 'cause I'd enjoy being given the reins on SO many books out there.

ST: Got any creator owned projects in the works?

DJ: Ha! Yes -- see answer above...

Comment on this article.

Home | Features | Columns | Culture Vulture

Etcetera | Archives | Contact | Site Map

Copyright © Sequential Tart, 1999
Articles in Sequential Tart may be reproduced without alteration of its contents for distribution in print or electronically if permission has been granted. ST may be linked to on the condition that it is notified of any such linking. Email Info@SequentialTart.Com for information.