In the lead-up to Kick-Ass, we were able to score an interview with the writer, Mark Millar.  While we don’t have the full interview ready yet, we thought we’d transcribe this little bit of news from the Ultimate Avengers front that came out during the interview.

Check back later in the week for the story about Kick-Ass.

“For Ultimate Avengers I’m revamping Blade which is a character I’ve loved since I was a little kid.  And I’m revamping The Punisher and so on.  So it’s all characters that we’ve never really seen in the Ultimates and I’m having a lot of fun doing that.  The next story line…the one that’s running just now is all about Captain America and his son, The Red Skull, and the second story arc is called “Crime and Punishment” and it’s where the Punisher  is captured, has an implant put in him and is forced to work for S.H.I.E.L.D.  And you see Ghost Rider.  I’ve done this with Ultimate Ghost Rider, Punisher, and I’ve got the African-American Hulk who was Bruce Banner’s mentor and the first Hulk, the guy who taught him everything he knows and he’s probably the character I’m most excited about.”

Then he said something in his accent that seems unintelligible about Blade and something called Vampire X.  We asked him about the artists on the Ultimate Avengers books, too.

“The first arc is Carlos Pachecho’s thing and that story is called The Next Generation.  The next one was called Ultimates Black, but I changed it to Crime and Punishment and the guy who’s doing that is Leinil Francis Yu.  Above that, I’m not sure.  I’ve written four of the six issues, but I haven’t decided upon an artist yet, because the guy who I originally was gonna use I’ve ended up pulling away and using on a creator owned property, you know? So, I’m meeting Marvel next week and I’ll finalize that next week.  And we’re thinking about Steve McNiven for the final arc.  We’ll see the Hulks versus, and see Punisher versus Captain America, you know the African-American Hulk versus the regular Hulk and so on.”

Check back soon for the full interview to talk about the future of Kick-Ass, the Kick-Ass movie and why Mark Millar would ever pour whiskey into his eyes on purpose.

We did an interview with John Romita, Jr. last week as part of the new blitz for Kick-Ass and he let drop a few juicy tidbits about his involvement with the new Avengers book launching this May.  This will be the first time the triumvirate of Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America will be reunited on The Avengers since Brian Michael Bendis’ “Avenger’s Disassembled” Arc from almost 10 years ago.

Romita is a superstar in the Marvel world and one of my favorite artists.  When he let slip a few things about the book, I was incredibly excited.  It might not be much, but it gets me going, for sure.

“I can’t tell you a whole lot about [the Heroic Age] because I’m not really privy to a lot of it.  And second I’m kind of jumping onto Avengers without a lot of advanced notice even on my part.  It was a last second thing.  It’s kind of like trying to hop onto a causeway with a tricycle.  I’m catching up. So I don’t know much about the Heroic age other than what’s in the Avengers book I’m working on, and it’s a very contentious story line.  Brian Bendis is brilliant and I know where he’s going with it and it’s amazing.  As far as how it’s connected to the other stories I don’t know, but what I’m doing with the Avengers and every character in the world is in it, I’m sure it has a lot to do with what I’m doing right now.“

When asked about keeping up with things in the Marvel U, he dropped this tidbit:

“But because of Brian and the advent of doing this, right after I was supposed to be doing Thor, and I did the Free Comic Book Day issue with Iron Man and Thor, I started reading some side issues and paying attention and I’m really loving it.  Now they have a time travel story line involved here and the Hulk is involved here. It’s amazing.  It’s incredible and it’s a testament to Brian, a testament to all the writers, but I don’t read enough to give you guys any insight.”

So come back later today or tomorrow for the full interview with John Romita, Jr. as well as another interview with Mark Millar, and a bigger look at Kick-Ass and the future of the Millar’s work in the Ultimate Marvel U.

Anthony Hopkins took time out of his busy schedule filming the role of Odin in Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming Thor film to talk to the Los Angeles Times.

You can read the whole article here, but here’s a nice excerpt:

He said he has high hopes for “Thor” ( ”Kenneth Branagh is such a terrific director and a wonderful guy to work with”) especially because he finds a personal resonance in the Odin role.

“He’s a stern man. He’s a man with purpose. I play the god who banishes his son from the kingdom of Asgard because he screwed up. He’s a hot-headed, temperamental young man — probably a chip off of the old block — but I decide he’s not really ready to rule the future kingdom, so I banish him. I’m harsh and my wife complains and I say, ‘That is why I’m king.’ He’s ruthless, take-it-or-leave-it. Women are much more forgiving; men are not so forgiving. I know in my life, my karma is, ‘If you don’t like it, tough, move on.’ And I move on. I’m a little like Odin myself.”

Thor is set for release next summer.

Jake Black is a comic book and television writer. He’s comics work includes the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Legion of Superheroes and worked on adaptations of Orson Scott Card’s Ender series. He’s also written materials for Smallville and episodes of Ben 10 and Batman: Brave and the Bold, among others.

He was kind enough to talk to us about his involvement with Supergirls fiftieth issue, hitting comic book stores and newsstands tomorrow. His contribution was co-written with Helen Slater, who played Supergirl on film in the 80s, and was drawn by Cliff Chiang.

Big Shiny Robot!: You’ve done story in Supergirl #50 with Helen Slater, who played Supergirl in the 80s. How did you get put together with her and what was that process like?

Jake Black: A couple of years ago, Helen and I were guests in the annual Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL. We both loved Supergirl, and as we talked, developed a story we wanted tell for DC Comics. DC passed on that first pitch, but as they were looking at the 50th issue, revisited the initial story we wanted to do. While this is a much shorter version that we’d originally pitched, it’s thematically *very* similar.

Helen and I had several conversations about the character, and went back and forth on the story. We each did pass after pass, back and forth, until we got a script/story we were happy with. It was a very positive experience, and something I’m very proud of.

BSR!: Tell us about the story (but not too much about the story) and where it fits into Supergirl’s mythos.

JB: Our story is a celebration of 50 years and 50 issues of Supergirl. OBviously Helen has a deep, long-running affection for the character, and we both had things we wanted to say about her. This was our chance.

BSR!: #50 seems like a milestone a lot of comics reach, why is Supergirl #50 so special…

JB: It’s a big year for DC Comics. The company is celebrating its 75th anniversary. As part of that year-long commemoration, special event issues such as Supergirl 50 are being emphasized as something special. 2009 was Sueprgirl’s own 50th anniversary, and he 25th anniversary of the Supergirl movie Helen starred in. This issue celebrates not only 50 issues, but also 50 years of Supergirl, and 25 years of the Supergirl movie. With the covers by Michael Turner, who created the look of the modern Supergirl as well as a variant by Josh Middleton who did amazing work on past issues of the series, it’s become a huge event for the anniversaries its celebrating.

BSR!: What is it that draws you to the character?

JB: I love Supergirl. I love watching her evolve, grow from girl to woman. I also love strong female characters. I grew up with a lot of strong women around me. Seeing Supergirl evolve in such a way is rewarding and exciting.

BSR!: What do you have coming up comics-wise?

JB: I’m doing a few issues of DC’s “Cartoon Network Action Pack” featuring “Ben 10.” I’m also one of the lead writers on the “DC Comics Super-hero Collection” which is a series of magazines that profile DC characters and are packaged with a small lead statue of the featured subject. Throw in a couple of Smallville DVD things, and I’ve got some exciting comics projects going on.

BSR!: I know you work on a lot of superhero cartoons, what’s cooking there?

JB: I’ve done some stuff like “Chaotic” and “Ben 10″ for Cartoon Network. I also recently wrote an episode of “Batman: Brave and Bold” that will premiere on CN later this year. Can’t give too many details about that one, yet. But it’s a fun romp that Batman comics fans will love!

BSR!: Big Shiny Robot! ran a few stories in support of the T-shirt Mirage put together for your cancer treatments, as well as the comic benefit Ryan Ottley and a few others came and did for you. Our readers are curious how you’re doing now and how all that worked out.

JB: It’s good! I was overwhelmed by the love and support the comics community showed me while I was fighting the disease. I truly appreciate BSR’s help in getting word out about those fundraisers. I had a scan right before Christmas a couple of months ago, and everything showed up good. I have exams and stuff every couple of months, but I pleased to report that the fight has been won.

Again, thank you to everyone who helped. You literally saved my life.

BSR!: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us!

Supergirl #50 hits stands tomorrow, be sure to go to your local comic book store and check it out!

To read a preview of the book, check out the one over at Newsarama.

Q TV interviews Peter and Dan about Peter’s book “A History of Ghosts; The True Story of Seances, Mediums, Ghosts and Ghostbusters. Some fun insight into Dan’s fascination with the paranormal.

Boxoffice.com spoke to The Wolfman director Joe Johnston about his upcoming film. Just like every other director that is attached to a comic book film and has a movie coming out, the subject turned to his Marvel Superhero project. In Johnston’s case, he’s set to direct The First Avenger: Captain America. Here’s what he had to say:

What can you tell me that people might not have already heard about Captain America?

It’s not going to be a Captain America that you expect. It’s something different. It is influenced by the comic book, but it goes off in a completely different direction. It’s the origin story of Captain America. It’s mostly period—there are modern, present-day bookends on it—but it’s basically the story of how Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. The great thing about Captain America is he’s a super hero without any super powers. Which is why this story, among the hundreds of super hero stories, appealed to me the most. He can’t fly, he can’t see through walls, he can’t do any of that stuff. He’s an every man who’s been given this amazing gift of transformation into the perfect specimen—the pinnacle of human perfection. How does that affect him? What does that mean for him emotionally and psychologically? He was this 98-pound weakling, he was this wimp, and he’s transformed instantly into this Adonis. You’d think he got everything he wanted. Well, he didn’t get everything he wanted. The rules change at that point and his life gets even more complicated and dire. For me, that’s the interesting part of the story. It’s got some great action sequences in it and some incredible stuff that we’ve never seen before. But at the heart of it, it’s a story about this kid who all he wants to do is fit in. This thing happens and he still doesn’t fit in. And he has to prove himself a hero—essentially go AWOL to save a friend. Eventually at the very end, I don’t want to give away to much, but he does fit in. But it’s the journey of getting him there that’s interesting. And it’s a lot of fun.

I for one was hoping that Captain America would be a period piece and a lot of what Johnston said really gave me some confidence that just like Iron Man with Favreau, Captain America is in good hands. The only point of concern is when he said, “It is influenced by the comic book, but it goes off in a completely different direction.” But, of course, that could mean one of a million things so I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.

Johnston also skirted around some Jurassic Park questions and you can read the full Q&A over at Boxoffice.com.

For those of you who haven’t heard, Bryan Singer has signed on to do another X-Men film, this time it’s First Class and tells the story of the founding of Xavier’s school for the gifted.

He recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter and talked about some details, of which there were few. The most encouraging thing about this conversation is that he’s taking it seriously and it looks like it’s going to happen. Here’s to hoping that after first class he comes back to pull a Superman Returns on X-men and forget the 3rd movie and go from there.

They also talk about his upcoming Jack the Giant Killer project and his big-screen version of Battlestar Galactica that is unrelated to the recent television series.

An excerpt:

Do you think the X-Men can exhaust themselves? You’ve got the original three, you’ve got “Wolverine,” you’ve got a “Deadpool” and “Magneto” in the works …

Singer: This story would probably utilize some of the Magneto story because it deals with a young Magneto, so it might supersede that because this would explore that relationship between a young energetic professor and a disenfranchised victim of the Holocaust.

But no, I don’t see an exhaustion. The X-Men universe is boundless. These are great characters. And as young characters, they are quite different than the characters we have seen in the contemporary movies.

Read the full interview here.

In my Preview Reviews column a couple of months ago I brought up cartoonist Dash Shaw as one of the most exciting new creators working in comics today, and his upcoming book, The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century AD (Fantagraphics, $19.99), as one of those I was looking forward to the most this year. A collection of new stuff and previously released short stories and rarities, it’s currently set for a December 30th release, and for it Dash has teamed up with IFC in order to create a series of animated shorts to be shown on their website.

From the press release:

“Each episode of this four-part Web series chronicles Rebel X-6, a man who works for an anti-droid organization in a futuristic world where student artists can no longer draw the living human form. Challenging the convention of hiding the use of line in animation and using an intricate, organic drawing style, Shaw attracts attention to each frame as a complete illustration. With an uplifting, constantly evolving soundtrack that mirrors Shaw’s work, he uses surreal dreams and an achingly human touch to bring his characters to life.

The series’ animated human hero, Rebel X-6, sets out on a quest to initiate change in the 35th Century A.D. An artist guild that believes living people should model for live drawings instead of droids in art class hires Rebel X-6. Rebel X-6’s assignment is to enter Art School 46 posing as “Model-Droid #343.” He must appear life-like but take on the characteristics of standard model droids, which do not laugh, cry, swear or exhibit other human shortcomings. His mission is to subvert the school’s ban on drawings of real humans by tricking the students into drawing him. His journey ends with a new compatriot and understanding of the humanity that surrounds him.

THE UNCLOTHED MAN IN THE 35TH CENTURY A.D. is Shaw’s first book since his breakthrough graphic novel of 2008, Bottomless Belly Button, which was named Publishers Weekly’s best graphic novel of 2008 and one of Entertainment Weekly’s top ten books of 2008, among numerous other accolades. The book also collects Shaw’s acclaimed, genre-bending short stories from MOME, including Look Forward, First Son of Terra Two, Galactic Funnels, Outstanding Story, Satellite CMYK and Making the Abyss, a fictionalized story of a surreal film set filled with nuclear tanks, hot tubs, and blind ambition.”

I recently had the chance to briefly discuss the project with Dash:

BIG SHINY ROBOT: I plugged the Unclothed Man in one of my columns a couple of months ago, based on the strength of your previous work, specifically the MOME short stories. Are all of them included in the book? And what else is in it?

DASH SHAW: All of them are in the book except for “Train” because I looked at it again and it sucked too hard. Some of them have been slightly changed for this collection. An older comic from 2005 called “Cartooning Symbolia” is in it. I still liked it for some reason. A new story called “The Uncanny Reproduction” is in it. And the first 24 pages of the book have the Unclothed Man short stories plus backgrounds and storyboards and a flip book from the animated series. The first 24 pages are like an “animation art book” and the next 80 pages have the short stories.

BSR: So, other than “The Cartographer,” of which I only know from the back pages of The Mother’s Mouth, I am not aware of any other forays of yours into animation or film. Is this something you have been doing or interested in doing for a while now? And how did the IFC thing come about?

SHAW: I did animations for Bottomless Belly Button and BodyWorld, just one minute animation tests. Those are online if you look for them. I’ve always liked animation and watched a lot of cartoons and collected animation art books. The IFC thing came about because I showed them the animations for Bottomless and BodyWorld and the Unclothed Man comic. Based on that, they said “okay” for the animated series.

BSR: Speaking of BodyWorld, this acclaimed webcomic of yours is about to be published as a book by Pantheon. Having read it, I can imagine some instances where the translation from web to print would be rather difficult. What are some of the differences between the two?

SHAW: The differences are many, and most of them are probably obvious. Webcomics aren’t printed.  There aren’t any “pages.” It was serialized online, rather than one long reading experience. The print version has new material and I made a lot of changes to the comic. I’d change the colors or add different elements in a way that I think favors the print format. I just got a dummy of the book to see how the covers and everything will look and I’m very happy with it. Pantheon is smart. They believe in the beauty of print and they believe people will shell out for a nice book, even though a different version of the same story is online. They have a lot of faith in the new material and the book as an object.

BSR: A lot of your previous work, like Love Eats Brains and Mother’s Mouth, was done at least partially in color, but eventually published in black and white only. Why is that?

SHAW: You’ve done your research! It’s because I wasn’t thinking about what I was doing at the time. I did those while a student at the School of Visual Arts, where I’d show the originals. Sometimes I’d do the originals in color and sometimes in black and white. When they were printed, it made more sense to just do a gray book then figure out how to make the color pages printed in color and the black and white pages in black and white. Really, the honest answer is that I wasn’t thinking about it as much as I guess I should have.

BSR: I’ve followed your work for some time now, and you have rather quickly established yourself as a creator to watch out for. Your climb up the publishing ladder, from Oddgod Press (note: a publishing operation run by a Richmond, VA comics retailer) to Pantheon, certainly seems to reflect that. Is the pressure greater now, or do you not concern yourself with the commercial aspects of your work until after it’s completed, if at all?

SHAW: This is a long answer. Oddgod Press published Love Eats Brains because they asked me about it. I know those guys because I’d shop there when I lived in Richmond. And then I did a collection called Goddess Head because I used to contribute to an anthology called Garish Zow and one of the editors called me and asked about doing a collection of my shorts. So things would happen pretty organically for a while, but those felt like weird arrangements, like Tim Goodyear, who published Goddess Head, took a loan out from a bank to do it!  Ha ha. It was awesome that he did it (I mean, I love Tim), but I think he lost a lot of money on it.

I kept applying for Xeric Foundation grants to self-publish and I kept losing. And then Fantagraphics did Bottomless Belly Button and they’d publish me in MOME, so then all of the comics I’d been drawing for a few years would now have a regular publisher. I’d also done half of BodyWorld by the time Bottomless came out. BodyWorld started online in 2007. But after Bottomless came out, I was going to have to get a day job. I’d run out of the money I’d saved while living so cheaply in Richmond. So I called Fantagraphics and told them I was going to try to sell BodyWorld. They understood. I mean, I guess what I’m saying is that all of these projects I was doing anyway. I’ve never sold a treatment and then executed something with the expectations of the publisher looming over my shoulder. By the time I got the advance for BodyWorld I was drawing the last chapter of it. These comics were going to exist in some form anyway. It’s all been a combination of drawing a ridiculous amount and total luck.

If there’s a way to do what I’m already doing and luck into a situation where I don’t have to think about money, because I have enough to live off of for a while, I’m going to try to get in that situation. I think a lot of it stems from my general hatred of illustration work. I hate illustration gigs. I tried to get them (for money) for a while, and I’d always half-ass it because I hated doing it. I hated feeling like I had to draw consistently, in some consistent “style.” I hated everything about illustration. So after having that experience for a couple years, I just decided I’m not an illustrator and I’m not going to do work-for-hire and I don’t want any commercial expectations and that I’d just do whatever I wanted to do for as long as I possibly could. If I run out of money, I’ll move back to Richmond, where I paid 200 dollars a month for a shitty room, and work as a figure-drawing model again for 12 bucks an hour. I drew all of Bottomless that way, but right now I have even more time to do whatever I want. I don’t know how long it’ll last.

BSR: So, do you read a lot of other people’s comics? Are there any of your peers whose work you would say you admired?

SHAW: I basically only read comics that I get at conventions now, because when I’m at home I’m just drawing, and when I’m on the subway I’m reading a magazine or an all-word book. But I got a lot of comics at the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival this past weekend. It was run by my friends Dan Nadel, the Picturebox publisher, and Gabe Fowler, the Desert Island comic store owner. There was a lot of good stuff there. I got new minis from Matthew Thurber and C.F. and Anya Davidson and they’re all really great. Those are available on the Picturebox website. I recently got to collaborate with two peers I admire: Tom K (who does amazing short stories for MOME), we did a comic for the next volume of MOME about computer rendered society; and Jesse Moynihan (who does a webcomic called “Forming” on his website) who wrote a story about his father and the TV show Lost that I drew that’ll be a mini comic insert in a forthcoming issue of The Believer magazine.

I’d name more people but I’d feel like a dick if I left someone out. I probably already forgot someone.

BSR: Gary Panter strikes me as an obvious influence, but who are some other creators you would say have shaped your artistic sensibilities and style?

SHAW: I haven’t gotten Gary for a while, nowadays people always say Mazzucchelli. But I’ve ripped off of both of those guys. When someone tells me who they think my influences are, it usually says more about the comics they read. When Mazzucchelli flipped through “Bottomless” years ago, he said: “looks like manga.” Because he looks at the same manga I look at. But for a lot of people it’ll look like something else.

Anyway, instead of listing a bunch of people I’ll just name three people who I’ve learned a lot from in college and I think deserve more attention:

1. Keith Mayerson’s comic Horror Hospital Unplugged,

2. Thomas Herpich’s comics Cusp and Gongwanadon,

3. Hal Hartley’s movies.

BSR: Finally, what’s next for you, Dash?

SHAW: I’m working on an animated feature called “Slobs and Nags” and a comic called “Torture Hospital.”  I don’t want to say more about them because I don’t want to jinx it.

BSR: Thanks again, and best of luck!

You can view the animated shorts for The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century here. To pre-order the book, talk to your local retailer, or click on the image below:

Yamazaki’s Halo Legends episode, “The Duel,” goes back to ancient
times, at the dawn of the Covenant. A shamed Elite defies his role as
an “Arbiter” – an honored but suicidal role that would regain him a
shred of honor—to take a path of revenge against those that stole the
only thing that matters to such an amazing warrior: His true love.
This ancient Arbiter must fight his way through ever-growing groups of
his former allies (grunts, elites, hunters, etc.) until he finally
stands face-to-face with the elite who betrayed his trust.

The episode showcases the richness and depth of the Halo universe, and
gives fans a glimpse of one of their favorite protagonists, The
Samurai-style mythos of the Elites is framed in an animation style
that branches away from many of Halo Legends’ CG and traditional
animation approaches to present the anime via a unique filter – giving
the episode the look of a moving watercolor painting. Yamazaki and the
artists at Production I.G were responsible for this singular artistic
vision. So stunning and different are the tones and forms that
multiple viewings offer new insights on each pass.

A rising star in the anime community, Yamazaki has developed a loyal
following as he has grown his career from sound direction and
storyboarding to a celebrated run as an episodic director of
innovatively-blended visual action on the critically acclaimed hit CG
anime series KARAS. Similarly, Production I.G has been responsible for
numerous acclaimed feature films, television series and video games,
including the cyberpunk classic Ghost in the Shell, Jin-Roh, The Wolf
Brigade and parts of Batman Gotham Knight.

Warner Home Video will distribute Halo Legends on February 16, 2010 as
a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™, as well as
single disc DVD and available On Demand and Digital Download. The DVD
anthology of episodic films based within the mythology of the popular
game Halo is produced by 343 Industries, a unit within Microsoft Game
Studios.

Yamazaki answered a few questions in regard to his participation in
bringing Halo Legends to animated life. Here’s that Q&A …

QUESTION:
What made you think Halo would lend itself to anime/animation?

HIROSHI YAMAZAKI:
I believe that the suitability (of a property for animation) depends
upon each story. This story definitely worked well in animation, and
in this style.

QUESTION:
What was the inspiration for your artistic vision in your episode of
Halo Legends?

HIROSHI YAMAZAKI:
I have been a lover of viewing the Halo art /illustration collection
books and such for some time and the entire collection of Halo
properties inspired me.

QUESTION:
Were there any particular images within the Halo realm that helped
shape or drive your creative vision?

HIROSHI YAMAZAKI:
When I was contacted by I.G about the project, I imagined that the
project would be very Sci-Fi in taste. However, when I met Mr. Frank
O’Connor (of 343 Indutries, Microsoft Games Studios) for the first
time, his requirement was to create a Samurai episode featuring an
Arbiter, and I was considerably and happily surprised.

QUESTION:
What did you set out to accomplish in this episode, and why do you
think you achieved or exceeded your goals?

HIROSHI YAMAZAKI:
What I was aiming for in this project was to make audiences understand
there should be other styles of animation beyond the existing two
primary kinds of animation presented – precisely cel-drawing 2D style
and CG 3D style. I wanted to show that creators are not limited, that
they have many options for different (animation) styles to create
stories.

QUESTION:
Did you feel you had the proper Halo experience to to bring the world
to life in anime?

HIROSHI YAMAZAKI:
I have played Halo 1 and 2 all the way through to the end. As I was so
busy in this project, I could not play Halo 3 but instead I watched
the gaming movie many times from the beginning to end.

QUESTION:
Did you include any “Easter eggs” for the devout Halo fans in your episode?

HIROSHI YAMAZAKI:
I employed the phrase “Akuma-da!” (“He is a devil” in English) as part
of the dialogue of a grunt soldier for fun for game lovers. I’m not
certain whether everyone will get to enjoy that treat, though, as I
understand the English version and Japanese version differ
considerably and I am not sure how this dialogue by the grunt is
treated in the English version.

For more details, check out the website here.

Image in Post Caption Taken by: Philip Lethen

A man so prolific, yet he remains unknown. His name is attached to more releases than I can even imagine; be it performing, producing, mixing, re-mixing or just given thanks. You could practically play the six degrees of J.G. Thirlwell within the music industry he’s touched so many people and projects.As he gains more public notoriety with his scoring of “The Venture Bros.” on The Cartoon Network. This robot hopes that this will get some more people to pay attention to the genius output he’s been giving us for years. His various projects throughout the years have given sound varying from: ambient noise, rock ’n’ roll, big band swing, and even a full orchestra. This was one of my long time dreams to conduct an interview with J.G. himself, and he graciously took time out of his busy schedule to answer all of my questions with very thoughtful answers and even breaking exclusive information. Without further delay an all new interview with J.G. Thrilwell.

Photo By: Taylor Crothers

Juke-bot:

First off, I noticed you have set the title for your new album to be ‘Hide’, how far along is the album? And what is the sound shaping out to be like?

JGT:

I think it is very different again to what I’ve ever done… I have been working on it off and on for a few years. It’s shaping up to be perhaps the best album I’ve made. The melodies are challenging, with strange dissonance and the arrangements are quite complex. Some parts are operatic, some might be described as symphonic psychedelia. Dynamically it’s very varied and it has some swooping beautiful parts and sometimes is a little more abstract; sometimes very bombastic. It is a concept album that I began under the reign of GW Bush and some of it is imbued with a sense of dread and anticipation. I have most of it composed but I’m still working on overdubs and mixes.

I’m also working on a new Manorexia studio album, which I am mixing in both stereo and surround sound. I’ll be releasing those two albums on Ectopic Ents.

I’m also working on a new commission for Kronos Quartet which is based on the desert. I travelled to Oman in February and recorded the singing sands, a natural phenomenon where the dunes create a moaning sound when the sand grains slide down. Parts of these recordings will be embodied in the work. It premieres at Carnegie Hall on March 12 2010.

In December I will also be recording an album of Manorexia chamber arrangements, which I have been performing live over the last few years, and that will be released in 2010 on Tzadik.

Juke-bot:

From the way you describe ‘Hide’ shaping up, it sounds very interesting. Is there any chance of you playing any of those songs in a live setting? Mini-tour or a grand live show like Love was given?

JGT:

I’d actually like to present it in a theatrical setting but here are no plans for that as of yet. Its swimming round in my head. However I am hoping for a different big show in summer 2010 – details will be released when it’s confirmed.

Juke-bot:

When ‘Hide’ comes out next year it’ll mark the 30 year anniversary of you using various forms of the Foetus moniker. That’s a long time, and more impressively you seem to never run out of ideas and keep things fresh. Where do you come up with your inspirations for all of your various projects?

JGT:

I have a pretty thirsty mind, and I like to challenge what I have done before.
I suppose I am also a cultural sponge and some of what I am interested in has a way of infecting what I am working on, consciously or not. The conclusions that I reach often take very circuitous routes and they come from a subconscious place. Maybe in a few years they’ll make more sense.

Juke-Bot:

Lyrically your style and delivery has changed a bit with your recent releases, what would you account the changes to? The old style wouldn’t fit with the new music, or has your point of view shifted a bit or something else entirely?

JGT:

My lyrics have perhaps gotten more direct. Not that they weren’t personal before but that was shrouded in a lot of “wit”. I’m not writing in the same style I wrote in 1983, or 1995. I also have been experimenting with different styles of writing, from spontaneous improv to spam cut-up and different styles of singing. When someone tells me my work is moving that’s the highest compliment.

Juke-Bot:

I’m excited for the new Manorexia album; I’ve been waiting a long time, like so many other people. How would you say the new album compares to the two previous Manorexia albums? How far along is the third album, and how does it compare to the previous two recordings? Also will the live album contain any of the new tracks performed on it?

JGT:

The third Manorexia album is almost all composed but not finished and mixed. I’m doing a version in 5:1 surround sound too, so those mixes will be done after the stereo mixes. It’s different from the other two; it’s tighter and more heavily composed. Probably influenced by some of the composing I’ve been doing for other ensembles. It maybe steers closer to the contemporary classical world at times. It’s still very evocative and cinematic. But it’s a little denser than the other two and there are more discreet pieces, but also things you’ve never heard from Manorexia.

Juke-Bot:

I’m not going to lie, the thing that got me most excited out of all of the things you told me, was of your new commission for the Kronos Quartet, and that brought up a whole slew of questions. How did you get asked to commission your first piece for them?

JGT:

David Sefton at UCLA, who commissioned the Steroid Maximus big-band project, turned David Harringtron of Kronos Quartet onto Manorexia. He loved it and contacted me. We got together when he was in NYC and he came to my studio and I played him a bunch of stuff. He was excited by what he heard and asked me to do a composition for them. But that still didn’t come together for a couple more years.

Juke-Bot:

Do they have any plans to record and release either piece? About how long is your new piece for them shaping up to be?

JGT:

I don’t know if Kronos plan to record the pieces yet. The new piece looks like it will be about 12-15 minutes, Nomatophobis was about 12 minutes. We will be rehearsing it in Feb 2010 and it will premiere on March 12 at Zankel Hall, which is part of Carnegie Hall in NYC.

Photo by: Sebastian Mlynarski

Juke-Bot:

How does writing for them compare to the writing process you take for the things you release under your own monikers?

JGT:

I write with a string quartet in mind. On my own work there is no restriction on the instrumentation. But with a quartet you have a limited amount of voices. And I write within the range of the instrument. But Kronos are top notch players so you can write creatively – they are extremely expressive players.

Juke-Bot:

Moving on to another project you’re involved in, how did you get the job scoring the Venture Bros. cartoon? Has doing the score affected your other projects in any way or the other way around perhaps?

JGT:

Jackson Publick approached me after he had heard a Steroid Maximus album. They wanted me to score the pilot. I wasn’t so sure, and instead they licensed tracks from Steroid Maximus and Manorexia to score it. The Cartoon Network liked and picked up the series. At that point they came back to me and asked me again if I’d be interested in scoring the series – and I thought I would challenge my rigidity and do it. It was a challenge. It was difficult at first as I hadn’t figured out a musical vocabulary for the show and characters, or working methods, so I was a lot slower. But doing so much work in such a short period has made me a lot better. And as time has gone by, I have built up such a large library of cues that I can re-purpose, re-arrange and extend some older ones in each episode, so that I can spend more time on the new ones that I create. I’ve gotten much better at switching with the action, and Jackson keeps throwing emotional nuances at me that he wants me to illustrate – which some times happen every bar.

Juke-Bot:

Do you still pull stuff from your older releases while doing the score for the show?

JGT:

No, actually everything is done from scratch and written specifically for the show. I often re-fashion themes I’ve already written though, and they recur in different forms.
Some themes have sections that never appeared when they were originally used in the cartoon and they may pop up years later. Jackson is good at remembering cues that I’ve written and forgotten about and sometimes something from the first season might reappear thoroughly overhauled.

Juke-Bot:

I know that you’re a fan of the Simpsons (or were), what do you think of the Venture Bros.?

JGT:

I think it’s a good and often clever artful show with high aspirations. I like that it progresses, the animations have gotten better and it has a deep web of mythology. I find some of the characters grating, especially when I have to hear their voices and gags over and over as I work on it. My favorite character is Brock Samson.
I tend not to watch the finished episodes as I never feel the score is mixed loudly enough – a common gripe of soundtrack composers.

Juke-Bot:

Any plans on doing a Volume 2 soundtrack for the Venture Bros.? Or presenting any of the music in a live setting?

JGT:

I would like to do Volume 2. It depends on whether Williams Street (Cartoon Network’s label) wants to pick up the option. I have the material but I have to spend a couple of months reworking and mixing it and preparing it for release.

Juke-Bot:

There have been lots of rumors about you doing a compilation of the 7 inch’s and some of the 12 inch’s from your way back catalog; is there any truth to this? Also in an old interview you spoke of doing a Box of Excellence 2, any hope of that coming about these days, possibly to hold all of the website only releases?

JGT:

Yes it’s true it will probably emerge in 2012 along the lines of LIMB as a deluxe package with early singles, radio sessions and rarities with a DVD of raw live material. As for The Foetus of Excellence 2, I don’t remember ever planning that. But stranger things have happened.

Juke-Bot:

Is there anything new coming from your Baby Zizanie project with Jim Coleman? Or possibly releasing it state side on vinyl or CD?

JGT:

We made a new piece as a tribute to Jodorowsky which was intended to be released in a project to accompany his remastered films but it never came to fruition. Baby Zizanie may yet rear its head in some form or another one day, but no plans currently. An anthology? Possible.

Photo by: Anne Katrine Senstad

Juke-Bot:

Let’s move onto your artwork. What inspired the Foetus international series of shirts? Will the final Japanese one follow the same color scheme of red, black and white?

JGT:

I thought t-shirts would create an interesting new canvas for me. I like the idea that they are fleeting limited artworks, and using a different platform.
The Japanese one will be red and white on a black shirt, so yes, continuing that color palette.
By the way the Japanese isn’t the last one in the series. The series is in sets of three. After the Japanese shirt I’ll be making a Manorexia shirt. Then the next set of three in the International Series will be Hebrew, Chinese and Korean. I might be adding colors in the next series, but I haven’t decided, as I designed them yet.

Juke-Bot:

You do all of the artwork for your releases, sans Gash. Do you go into the creative process for the art in the same way you go into the recording process or does the music inspire your artwork? Have you ever considered selling a series of prints through the Shoppe?

JGT:

I’m not necessarily trying to mirror the music with the artwork. I don’t know where it comes from, my obsessions from the time. I usually think about it for a long time and ideas start to emerge. I’m working within certain parameters as there is a thread to the sleeves I’m working on for Foetus-the red, white black color palette. I have deviated from this palette on my non “primary” albums (e.g. remix albums etc) but now have decided to stick with red white and black for all Foetus releases as they look so much better en masse, and I like the unity of a body of work. I have thought about making lithographs. I’m interested in making a book too.

Juke-Bot:

You were once on a major label, Columbia Records, and now you have no label at all and you do most of the distribution yourself. Do you find this more rewarding or are there times you wish you could have that blanket back to where they would attempt to promote and distribute things for you?

JGT:

It’s not true that I don’t have a label. I have my own label, it is Ectopic Ents. Over the last ten years are I have licensed some Ectopic projects to other labels (e.g. Steroid Maximus to Ipacec, Foetus to Birdman, Nois-o-lution and Thirsty Ear), and others I have distributed purely by mail order. Some of those mail order items are sneaking into retail now via Carrot Top distribution.
Ectopic now has digital distribution to all the major outlets (Itunes, Amazon, EMusic, Rhapsody etc) as well as thru my own site, www.foetus.org
This is how I began, with my own label Self immolation records in 1980, but I have always worked with many different labels and distributors. Self Immolation morphed / was swallowed into Ectopic Ents in about 1995. Self immolation remains the name of my recording studio.
Promotion is difficult as everything I do seems to fall on deaf ears as far as mainstream media is concerned (e.g. Pitchfork, Spin etc), although thankfully The Wire actually pay attention to what I do. That blanket you describe is not always so cozy.

Juke-Bot:

What is your greatest accomplishment? And on the flip side what are some regrets you might have?

JGT:

You’re not supposed to have regrets because if I didn’t take the course I had, I wouldn’t be where I am today!
Apart from certain girls I wish I’d slept with, I’d say I wish I had developed Butterfly Potion into an album, that was a good sound and creative time and I wish I’d taken it further. I wish I had come out of my chemical daze earlier; there are a few wilderness years around 96-97.

Greatest accomplishments – - possible fronting the 18 piece band in Los Angeles, or having Kronos quartet play my work.

Juke-Bot:

And finally you’ve been like a permanent fixture on the music scene since you’ve made your way in, what words of advice would you offer to someone just trying to make their way in?

JGT:

“Permanent”, that’s a laugh. When you are a self employed artist nothing feels permanent, it’s always walking a financial tightrope, especially in the age of the internet, where the artist is reduced to content provider. I am a lifer in the business of sound and music. I couldn’t think about what I’d say to someone trying to make their way in. It’s very crowded! One finds one’s own path. Innovate, there enough imitators. My goal has always been to please myself, and it just so happens that along the way other people have enjoyed it. I’d say you better be passionate about what you do and don’t expect luxuries like health insurance.

For more information on any and all J.G. Thirlwell related projects and releases check Foetus.org regularly.