J.P: I’m 29, a native of the United Kingdom and for the past three years I’ve been working in the rarefied environment of comic books. Before that I worked in education and was a university lecturer in a Politics department in London. Some members of my family see my change of career as bewildering. Luckily….my wife isn’t one of them!

BOF: I'm sure your are a lifelong comic book fan. What comics did you "cut your teeth on - so to speak - growing up?

J.P: Well, my earliest comic book memories so to speak relate to a book I was bought for Christmas in 1978. I was barely three and my godmother bought me a book which was essentially that generations "The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told." It had strips from every era of Batman up to that point as well as a huge and bizarre cover gallery. So, my first experience was a profound one and one I never recovered from. From the ages 7-12 I was a huge reader of UK comics which were weekly and contained a variety of action, adventure sport strips, but when I was 12 I stumbled across a copy of the most recent issue of "Detective Comics" by Alan Grant, John Wagner and Norm Breyfogle in my local newsagent and I became hooked on American comics. From there I picked up Frank Miller’s "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Ronin" from my local library as well as Alan Moore’s work, Grant Morrison’s "‘Animal Man" and "Doom Patrol" and buts and pieces by Peter Milligan, James Robinson, Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. In most cases I really loved these guys Bat-work and –without an exception- all of them have written at least one "classic" Batman story. In Milligan’s case there’s an issue of "Detective Comics" he did in about 1990/91 drawn by Jim Aparo called "The Bomb" which is just beautiful.

BOF: Did you gravitate more to Marvel or DC characters?

J.P: DC definitely! You have to remember, when I was growing up, DC’s titles were in a kind of golden period creatively and Marvel’s books – bar Peter David’s "Hulk" – were in the main pretty middling. I also really loved – and still love – the fact that DC’s characters had such a long history. To know these characters is in many ways to know a significant portion of the history of comics. The times I’ve visited DC you do get a sense that it’s a company that loves and respects its own history and as someone who loves and respects that too…let’s say I respect that too. All that aside, I do love what Stan, Jack, Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, Gil Kane did over at Marvel and I defy anyone to read those comics now and say those aren’t great pieces of work, ‘cos they are.

BOF: Any particular character you are particularly fond of? If so, why?

J.P.: Aside from Batman I’m a big fan of Superman. SUPERMAN 2 was the first movie I ever saw in a theatre and that hooked me for life. Other than the two icons, I’ve always liked the Flash, Spider-Man, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Man and - dear old third stringers though they may be - Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and Animal Man.

BOF: BATMAN BEGINS - Based on everything you've seen and heard so far, what's your thoughts on it?

J.P: Well, apart from comics and books, my other big passion is film, so to say I was excited about the line up for a new Bat-flick would be an understatement. It’s a terrific cast, a cast full of great actors rather than stars, which is unusual for this type of movie. I think casting Michael Caine as Alfred is a stroke of genius personally as is Gary Oldman as Gordon. As for Bale, well he looks and sounds the part, so it looks promising there. As for the talent involved, Chris Nolan is a "proper" film maker, not some over stylised art director or some second rate imitator of a "hot" style. He makes challenging, but commercial movies and his tropes as a director and writer seem a natural fit for Batman. As for David Goyer, well he knows the genre and the material and that is good, but not essential. I have to admit I’m a bigger fan of the comics he’s written ("JSA," "Starman") than the movies he’s been a part of, but maybe that’s just me. Saying that he definitely brings a level of understanding and love to the project that is desperately needed to make this work. I like the fact they seem to be making Bruce Wayne front and centre in this film, evoking a kind of David Lean/widescreen pulp feel to Bruce’s "lost years," as well as dumping that whole tired Batman/Bruce Wayne dual personality schtick. He’s more complex than that and I think these guys seem to have grasped that particular nettle.

BOF: What did you think about the previous four films - the "Schumacher/Burton" movies?

J.P: I have mixed feelings about all of them. I think Burton’s films are beautifully constructed/designed, yet ultimately hollow, while Schumacher’s movies are basically the same, but with a swinging camp joi de vivre running through them rather than Burton’s rather broody, pseudo-gothic ennui. In a perverse way, even though I know Burton’s films are "better" in my head, Schumacher’s movies are at least entertaining in a "Flash Gordon" kind of way.

BOF: I've got to ask. Many of the comic book professionals that I've talked to disliked BATMAN RETURNS and fans seem to be split. What's your feelings about this film?

J.P: I think it’s the better of the two Burton films. Better constructed, designed, realised and funnier. The first movie has an air of "we don’t know what we’re doing" about it and Burton’s default position when that happens is to "Activate Jack!" At least RETURNS has a consistent tone and a much more fully fleshed out villain in the Penguin (who is my least favourite Bat-villain anyway, so maybe I didn’t mind his re-invention so much for this film as others do) as well as Catwoman who makes you wonder why Batman would bother with Eminem’s mother in the first movie! (lol) I think what I’m trying to say is that BATMAN RETURNS is a much more successful Tim Burton movie than the first one, though as a Batman movie - much like the other three - it kinda sucks.

BOF: The Joker and Two Face are rumored to be the villains in the next two films. Who would you like to see Batman square off against on screen in future films?

J.P: Well, they’re the obvious characters to go with, especially as they’re opening up with two lesser known villains to help re-introduce Batman as a credible hero. Beyond them I think the Riddler and Catwoman always work on screen, but for me the Bat-villains who would really work are Black Mask and Hugo Strange. You could have a lot of fun with those two characters.

BOF: Robin. Yes or no in the films?

J.P: It’s tricky. I think Robin is an essential part of the mythos and – for the general audience – when you say "Batman" they echo "And Robin." I’m not a fan of how they used Robin in the Schumacher movies, but I think they way they used him in the animated series really worked. I have to say, I think the best way to make Robin work in a movie would be either to go the Frank Miller approach and make Robin a girl or go for the gut of the character and make him a very young version of Dick Grayson, like 12 or 13 years old, like John Connor in TERMINATOR 2. Saying that the key is always telling the right story and being true to the character. I think perversely, a dark, faithful Batman movie with a fully realised version of Bruce opens the way to bringing in Robin more logically. Batman is a dark character and that is why Robin exists. He is everything Batman would have loved to have been. Everything he was that was taken away. I think the versions of the character that have worked least well in the comic books and movies are the ones that have deviated from that core concept. Jason Todd was just too dark, while Tim Drake – on the other hand – is the most boring character ever created. The reason why, on the surface, the most radical departure from the norm, the female Robin, works is because Miller knew it was just a spin on the classic formula. It also brilliantly undercut all the sexual innuendo inherent in that relationship in a stroke. In fact, the comic book I’m looking forward to most at the moment is Miller’s upcoming "Batman & Robin" book with Jim Lee where he takes on the classic Bruce and Dick dynamic in his own way. After talking to the editor the other day, I think everyone’s gonna love it.

BOF: What's your favorite live-action comic book film to date? Any character you would like to see make it to the big screen?

J.P: Superman: The Movie, Spider-Man 2 and X-Men 2 are my favourites of the superhero genre, though I think Ghostworld and American Splendor were great comic book movies too. I haven’t seen Sin City yet as it doesn’t hit the UK till June, but I’m looking forward to that. Can I also say that I really like Ang Lee’s Hulk. I know I’m in a minority, but that – to me - was a really brave and interesting take on a super-hero movie. As for other characters? Apart from Superman, I’m looking forward to V for Vendetta immensely and I’d really like to see a good Green Lantern movie. Now that’s a franchise waiting to happen!

BOF: Do you feel that fan sites such as BOF have any influence on how comic book characters are treated and adapted on film?

J.P: I think fan sites like BOF (which is a reasoned and intelligently put together proposition) are hugely influential up to a point. Now, in the case of BATMAN BEGINS we know that BOF was a useful resource for the studio, but lets not overstate their importance in general. Using Batman as an example, we all agree that it was the early internet stink around BATMAN AND ROBIN that HELPED kill the Batman franchise before, but what really sunk the franchise faster than a rock in a lake was the fact that the general critical community and audiences agreed that the movie was absolutely awful and that meant that another quickly made addition to the franchise would make no money at all. So, when you have a film that’s rejected by every demographic it’s in the studios interest to be open to - at the very least - making sure that the core audience (the ones who will see the movie 3-4 times in theatres) is on side. But, lets be frank here, Batman would have come back anyway, regardless of BOF as these characters are huge intellectual property cash cows for their parent companies. And while BOF is a quality fan site with reasoned and measured arguments, did you see some of the online reaction to Brandon Routh as Superman?! Some of those posts were hilarious, almost as if "well, I don’t like it and because I don’t like it and my OPINION is on the internet the studio is going to ditch all their carefully considered work and start again." That is laughable and does fandom a disservice.

BOF: Tell us what you are working on now or in the future.

J.P: Well, in June I have an issue of "Green Arrow"(issue 51) shipping from DC which features GA going toe to toe with the old Bat character Anarky. I also recently had a story in an issue of "X-Men Unlimited" (issue 8) through Marvel and I have a Batman arc hopefully coming out sometime in 2006. For those of you who like something a bit different from superheroes, you can buy a collection of some of the serials I wrote for the Black Library’s "Warhammer Monthly" (alongside work from other fine contributors such as "Klarion The Witch Boy" artist Fraser Irving) in the pages of "The Call of Chaos" trade paperback. Enjoy!

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