Despite his incredibly hectic schedule, the comic book writer was kind enough to take the time to answer the questions I recently sent over to him. In the following interview, he talks to me about his work on the Thunderbolts, the comic book characters that he'd like to see make their way onto the big screen and a lot more! Thanks again to Jeff for sharing his thought with me!
After illustrating comic books published by DC, Dark Horse, and Image, Jeff Parker went on to work as a storyboard artist before being hired by Marvel. His work as a writer there includes the limited series
Agents of Atlas,
X-Men: First Class, and
Marvel Adventures The Avengers as well as more recently on the critically acclaimed
Thunderbolts from #138 as part of the "Heroic Age". To find out more about Jeff and his work, click
HERE to visit his website or find him on Twitter by clicking
HERE!
JOSH WILDING: How did you get into the comic book industry?
JEFF PARKER: As an artist, I started out drawing comics. It's easier to tell if you're professional enough to draw a book, no one wants to read a script with all they have to do. But eventually I published my own graphic novel The Interman and then people could judge my writing as well.
JOSH WILDING: You've worked on a wide range of characters for Marvel. Do you have a particular favourite and are there any that you'd still like to write?
JEFF PARKER: I still want to write Dr. Strange in a horror book. I think that's the way to make a book with him work best. I want Marvel to get back into Horror like it's the early 70's again!
JOSH WILDING: The Heroic Age Thunderbolts team is quite a mixed bunch. Can you give us an idea of why you picked those characters and Luke Cage as leader?
JEFF PARKER: It was a long process of grabbing characters, and one of the biggest motivators was to have some members who readers had actually heard of. Cage I felt would be a really natural fit for the top spot, and I really wanted to write him. I like him as this figure we can identify with who is constantly put upon by super powered freaks.
JOSH WILDING: Can you give us any idea what to expect from both you and future issues of The Thunderbolts in future?
JEFF PARKER: First, a bit of movement in the line up. And then extra issues!
JOSH WILDING: What do you think of the current and upcoming Marvel movies? Which ones are you most looking forward to?
JEFF PARKER: I'm looking very forward to Thor, and I have to admit, because THE DESTROYER is in it. That was a very Kirby thing to see working when the trailer came out.
JOSH WILDING: Would you like to see a Thunderbolts movie? Are there any incarnations of the team in particular that you'd like to see on the big screen?
JEFF PARKER: I've seen it, and it was called The Dirty Dozen! My problem with Thunderbolts as a movie is that the concept is very reliant on Marvel continuity as a whole. It makes for too much to explain. The X-Men aren't a problem that way because you can give them all the same origin- "they're mutants, that's why."
JOSH WILDING: You've also done a lot of work on Agents of Atlas. What is it that appeals to you about them and would you like to see a TV show or movie featuring the characters?
JEFF PARKER: I think they would work well as a movie- it would be easy to strip out the continuity and simply present them as heroes from the past who have returned for the present day. The audience would get that and not need to have heard of them because they're all archetypes.
JOSH WILDING: Are there any specific characters that you'd like to see receive a movie adaptation who haven't yet?
JEFF PARKER: The Flash? He's the kind of character I think doesn't work as well in a comic for the most part, because it's frozen moments in time, but would have millions of possibilities in real-time film with a real budget.