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Jul
07

An Interview with Joe Bob Briggs

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From August, 2003

Joshua Jabcuga: At the age of nineteen you published your first movie review with the Dallas Times Herald. The column, called Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-in, quickly became a fan favorite among readers. Sounds like a great break for a young writer. Was this something that you just lucked into at the time and then it sort of snowballed from there?

Joe Bob Briggs: Well, it was something I did as a lark. The features editor and I kind of sneaked it into the paper when nobody was looking.
By the time the high sheriff editors figured out it was there, it was too late because it was already popular.

Joshua Jabcuga: Was it always your goal to be a movie critic/film enthusiast? At the time of your first break, were you in college taking journalism classes?

Joe Bob Briggs: I never took a journalism class. I started working at newspapers when I was fourteen, as an apprentice copy boy. I worked in every department of the paper, but especially sports.

Joshua Jabcuga: I believe the first film that you reviewed was a little gem called THE GRIM REAPER. Did you always have a penchant for these types of schlock films, or were you simply looking to fill a niche?

Joe Bob Briggs: I always loved two kinds of films: foreign films and exploitation films. What I could never stand was the Hollywood mainstream. At the time I started reviewing these films, they were ignored by the mainstream press. I think I was the only critic in America who reviewed THE GRIM REAPER, which holds up today as one of the finest Greek/Italian cannibal classics ever made.

Joshua Jabcuga: How open was the newspaper at first to a column called Joe Bob’s Drive-in Theater? Did you face a lot of stuffy opposition at first by so-called legitimate film critics, whatever that means?

Joe Bob Briggs: I was sneaky. The only person who knew the column was starting was the Entertainment Editor. We buried it in a Friday entertainment guide. It was way back among the discount furniture ads. We wanted to see if we could get away with it, knowing that most newspaper editors don’t read their own paper. We were right. By the time the high sheriffs discovered it, it was already too popular to kill. The opposition from stuffy film critics came later, after it became syndicated.

Joshua Jabcuga: By 1986 you were host of The Movie Channel’s JOE BOB’S DRIVE-IN THEATER. It became the network’s highest-rated show, ran for almost a decade, and was nominated twice for the Cable ACE Award. Initially, were you surprised by the positive reception for the show?

Joe Bob Briggs: I was surprised by how many people “got it.” It was the first program to treat cult movies seriously.

Joshua Jabcuga: The show had a great vibe that seems to be missing from a lot of television these days, a sort of loose, fun atmosphere. It seemed like you were having a blast making the show. Was that the greatest gig in the world at the time?

Joe Bob Briggs: I was definitely having a lot of fun doing it, yes, and we shot it in “real time” which added to the live feeling of everything.

Joshua Jabcuga: When you switched over to MONSTERVISION on TNT, which ran for four years up until July 2000, did you feel like the show lost anything in the transition from The Movie Channel to TNT?

Joe Bob Briggs: For the first two years it was virtually the same show, just cleaned up for basic cable. The last two years the network kept asking for changes to make it more “mainstream” or “female-friendly,” and they basically ruined a good thing.

Joshua Jabcuga: You have a new book out, PROFOUNDLY DISTURBING: THE SHOCKING MOVIES THAT CHANGED HISTORY. You cover twenty different films, ranging from DEEP THROAT to RESERVOIR DOGS to THE WILD BUNCH to DRUNKEN MASTER. What were the criteria for a film to make your list?

Joe Bob Briggs: It had to be a film that changed history, as the subtitle states. In some cases the film just changed the world of filmmaking, but in some cases, like SHAFT, it changed the whole culture. They’re also all films your mother didn’t want you to see. And they were films that I thought were due for a revisionist reading.

Joshua Jabcuga: Some of the reviews that I’ve seen so far seem surprised at the amount of work and detail you put into your research for these films. What were some of the goals you had in mind when you started working on this project?

Joe Bob Briggs: Just to get people to look at these films in a new way.

Joshua Jabcuga: Were there any films that you wanted to put into the book that you had to eliminate for the sake of space? Any that will pop up in a sequel?

Joe Bob Briggs: There were at least 100 other films I could have included, but I tried to limit it to films that had not been analyzed to death. For example, the original FRANKENSTEIN was a very important film, and definitely changed history, but it’s just been written about so much, I didn’t feel like I had anything to add to what’s already been said.

Joshua Jabcuga: One of the movies that you cover in your book is THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. What are your thoughts about this new remake that Hollywood is producing?

Joe Bob Briggs: I don’t really even want to watch it. I don’t really understand how you can remake that film, which is perfect in its way and is firmly rooted in its time and place.

Joshua Jabcuga: You also cover Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Of the Dead trilogy, which film is your favorite? NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, DAWN OF THE DEAD, or DAY OF THE DEAD?

Joe Bob Briggs: I think the first one, the original, is my favorite, because it was done without irony. I think ironic horror is usually a cop-out. Not that DAWN OF THE DEAD is not a great movie in its own way. But it’s not as scary as the original. DAY OF THE DEAD is certainly the weakest of the three.

Joshua Jabcuga: If you had to pick your top three films from any genre, what would they be and why?

Joe Bob Briggs: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. CRASH. HELLRAISER. They’re all original films that can never be duplicated.

Joshua Jabcuga: Are there any plans to do another cable TV show? I think you’d be a perfect match for Spike TV.

Joe Bob Briggs: At this point the networks aren’t clamoring for my services, but the interest in hosted movies, and cult movies in general, tends to run in cycles. Most of the shows I’ve had have commenced because a network executive thought the idea was CHEAP.

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Jun
14

Cuga’s Cuts – Issue #6

by admin

Wango Tango Xango: Wherein Josh Jabcuga chats up THE MUMMY: THE RISE & FALL OF XANGO’S AX (and ANGEL) artist Stephen Mooney.

Originally published July 15, 2008

JOSHUA JABCUGA (Writer: THE MUMMY: THE RISE & FALL OF XANGO’S AX, IDWPublishing.com): Can you tell me a little bit about your background, before you became an industry professional? How did you become involved with working in comics?

STEPHEN MOONEY (Artist: THE MUMMY: THE RISE & FALL OF XANGO’S AX, IDWPublishing.com, soon-to-be-newlywed): Sure thing. I started out in college here in Dublin studying Classical Animation. I had always drawn a lot as a kid, and was a big fan of U.S. comics since around the age of 12. So since there was no dedicated comics art course over here, and there was no way in hell I could afford the Joe Kubert correspondence course, I decided that animation was probably the next best thing, and at least that way I would get to draw all day.

It was a really beneficial course as it turned out, as there were classes purely geared toward storytelling, layout and design, and of course lots of life drawing, or human figure drawing. This was probably the best class to take in terms of studying and learning how to draw the human body. That and you got to look at naked girls all day.

I graduated with my animation degree in 2000, and started to dabble in freelance storyboarding. I was never the best animator in the class, but I could lay out a story sequence pretty well, so I tended to focus on that aspect. I did storyboarding and concept work for various companies over here (Coke, Guinness, etc.), and then in 2003 joined a fledgling animation company here in Dublin called Boulder Media as a layout artist. I drew key BGs for American shows like FOSTER’S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS. I also worked on a couple of shows for the BBC.

While working with Boulder I started to really think about trying to make a go of it in comics, as that was my real passion. Luckily for me a local owner of a comics store (Sub City Comics) in Dublin was about to start up the first real Irish comics company, Atomic Diner. The flagship book was to be a comic called FREAKSHOW, about a supernatural private-eye firm set in ’50s Los Angeles. So the store set up an open call for artists to pitch their portfolios and turned out I got the gig. I drew the first few issues of the book every evening after work for 5 or 6 hours, and then when it became clear that the series had some actual legs I jumped ship at Boulder to try and make a go of comics full-time. And that’s my heroic story.

JABCUGA: Who were some of your early influences as an artist?

MOONEY: Jim Lee. Squared. Seriously, I was that kid. X-MEN issue #1 landed at exactly the right time, just as I was starting to realize these floppy pamphlets had some real juice. And it really blew me away. There were many other artists that really influenced me and still do, like Adam Hughes, Travis Charest, Barry Windsor-Smith, Leinil Francis Yu, the list goes on. But Jim Lee was the be-all and end-all for me. And I love his stuff to this day. I met him at a big con over here last November which we were both guests at and it stunned me how down-to-earth and downright personable he is. My fianceé, Jackie, got him to do a big splash image of Nightwing inside my BATMAN: HUSH hardcover for my 30th birthday, and I was so, so happy. Good times *sniff*.

JABCUGA: How’d you hook up with IDW?

MOONEY: In a sleazy bar in a dimly lit alley.

JABCUGA: You too?

MOONEY: It was quite serendipitous, really. I was just coming off a 12-issue run on FREAKSHOW, and the editor wanted me to sign a new contract for a further 12 issues. At the time I was more keen to dip my toe in the American market, as that’s where all my favorite work was being produced. So I put a sample package together and e-mailed it to a few different editors that I thought might be interested. Chris Ryall (Publisher & Editor-in-Chief for IDW Comics, and www.Comics101.com founding columnist) was one such editor, and he answered, like, the next day. I’ve since discovered that Chris actually sits in bed with his Blackberry at the ready to answer any and all e-mails no matter what time, day or night. I’m … not sure why. He obviously doesn’t enjoy sleep as much as the rest of us do. (Note from Jabcuga: I think Ryall’s a cyborg, or a zombie, hence the ZOMBIES VS. ROBOTS pet project.) Anyhoo, Chris happened to be looking for an artist for their latest CSI book, and thought I’d be a good fit. Also, he couldn’t have been more cordial or professional, and that works for me. So I jumped aboard and haven’t looked back since. That was about three years ago now and I’ve been here pretty much ever since then.

JABCUGA: Let’s talk a little bit about our book, THE MUMMY: THE RISE & FALL OF XANGO’S AX, shall we?

MOONEY: Let’s!

JABCUGA: You and I had never collaborated before this. And I think just prior to touching THE MUMMY scripts, you’d done a story with the immensely gifted Brian Lynch, who is one of those writers that everyone seems to be digging these days. Besides the fact that Brian Lynch knows what he’s doing and I seem to be winging it as I go along, and besides the material existing in separate universes, how do you, as the artist, approach working with different writers? Does working with a different writer cause you to vary your approach or alter your own style at all?

MOONEY: I tend to change the ways I work a little bit based more on the property than the writer, I think. Working with Brian on a book like ANGEL I tend to sit in a darker place, literally and figuratively, just to put myself in the right frame of mind to execute the art. With our MUMMY book, it was a lot more swashbuckling, mixed with a little slapstick, so I’d be leaping around the place pretending I was flying on a mutant bat/pterodactyl type creature, much more fun and breezy. THE MUMMY is definitely the most I’ve ever enjoyed the process. But when it comes down to drawing the story I really work in the same way regardless of theme, just break down the contents of the page into the most readable sequence, and then start chipping away at it. I don’t know that I ever really alter my style at all, I don’t know if I even think I could.

JABCUGA: I know you had a tight deadline for THE MUMMY, plus you had to plan your upcoming wedding, which in itself is enough to keep anyone busy. After reading a script, did you have a technique for breaking down the pages? For example, did you say to yourself, “There’s a lot of potential with this scene, so I’m going to devote “X” amount of time to these pages here”? Or was it a page-per-day regardless of the scene?

MOONEY: I wish I could say that I cherry-pick pages here and there to devote more time to, but the truth is I spend almost exactly the same amount of time on each and every page. It’s the only way that I can be absolutely sure that I’ll deliver the book when I’m supposed to. I know I can draw a bit, but there are plenty of guys out there with that much more talent than me, so I need to be ultra-dependable as some of those more talented guys can tend to fall down on the discipline side of things. I’ve never missed a deadline yet, and I aim to keep it that way. I spend between 10-14 hours on a page, 5 days a week. Then I either do an extra page or a cover over the weekend.

To say it’s tough on my social life would be putting it mildly, but then I’m getting married in a few weeks so the groundwork’s been done…. As for breaking down the pages, I just print out the script and doodle a thumbnail or two right onto it next to the writing. I rarely do more than two drafts of the thumbnail, unless the layout is exceptionally tricky. I find the first idea is the best 99% of the time and I like to go with my gut.

JABCUGA: Let’s be sure to mention the amazing job Lisa Jackson did on the colors. It’s such a lush style. What’s it like for you to work with her?

MOONEY: Working with Lisa was the best. I got to basically “direct” the coloring, knowing that if I asked her to do something a particular way, using a particular palette, she would just knock it out of the park each and every time. The reason her stuff was so rich and “lush,” as you put it, was because she’s actually a really accomplished painter, and she just applied those techniques and knowledge to the comic work. Lisa is actually a very successful artist in her own right; she’s illustrated many children’s books and unfortunately for me, has decided to concentrate fully on that discipline for the time being. So no more beautiful Lisa Jackson colors on my inks. Sucks.

JABCUGA: You and I worked a bit in “real time” mode after the first issue (since I wrote the first issue without knowing you, really). You’d send me amazing artwork and I’d tweak the script I was working on after seeing what you’d done with the previous script. I’d say to myself, “Whoa! This is awesome! I wonder what it’d look like if Steve drew … a train being derailed.” And then I’d write the scene, just to see what you’d come back with. Regardless of how elaborate or wacky the scenario was that I’d cook up, you always came back with something incredible. The story benefited from this because we only had four issues to tell our story (which we wanted to feel like a big summer movie) but it allowed us to maintain a looseness with the material (which also helped to keep the tone similar to the movies, in my opinion).

Initially, once IDW and the studio and producers finally agreed on a pitch, we were talking with Chris Ryall, and you and I were both big on making this a throwback to the pulpy type stories of yesteryear, “adventure serials” as you initially tagged them, and that was right up Chris’ alley, too. (Although remember that phase I went through where I kept sending you e-mails filled with movie posters from old Spaghetti Westerns? Ha! I was certain you’d think I was crazy, but I know you “got” the vibe I was going for…AND you realized I was crazy.)

With all that being said, it was only fitting to have a bit of a cliffhanger-type ending. For the most part, we wrote the ending of the book together. There was one character I won’t mention so we can keep this conversation spoiler-free, but they were initially slated to bite the dust (and, well, they did, sorta), but you mentioned to me you were going to miss drawing this particular person. And I felt that this character had taken on a life of their own as well, but didn’t realize it until you pointed it out to me. Then you and I did a little back-and-forth e-mailing, me being in Buffalo, you being in Dublin, and bang!, we had our twist ending. I know it’s a bit of a cliché when creators say their creations take on a life of their own, but did you get the sense that some of the scenes or characters wrote or drew themselves?

MOONEY: Definitely, and this is actually my first experience of something like that. I’m a fairly cynical guy as it goes, and would be quick to scoff at such a suggestion as “the creations took on a life of their own,” but that really did happen with this one, it just snowballed. I was loving drawing the characters you’d cooked up, “Safari Swetland” and the character in question here being my particular favorites, and I just couldn’t bear to see any of them go! I think the characters are the real strength of this book, and the sticky situations they seem to inevitably find themselves in.

I’ve never had trouble killing off anybody before, I guess I was just that much more invested in these guys and wanted you to continue their journey. I’m so glad our ending was approved as I felt it really did write and draw itself, on my part anyway.

JABCUGA: Anything you want to plug?

MOONEY: Well, I don’t know if it’s common knowledge yet what I’m working on at the moment. It’s with Chris and IDW as usual though and it’s a doozy. I just gotta say thanks for the ride with THE MUMMY book, man, I really did love working on it with you. The writing was phenomenal, seriously. It was one of those books that I’d actually go out and buy myself. Preferably if some other guy drew it.

JABCUGA: Thanks, Steve-O! Working with you on THE MUMMY has been a real highlight for me. I can’t wait to see where your talent takes you next. Another cliffhanger!

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Apr
15

Cuga’s Cuts – Issue #5

by admin

By Joshua Jabcuga

Bob Fingerman’s novel PARIAH was given the prestigious honor of being named “Zombie Book of the Year” in the 2010 ’Cuga’s Cuts year-end awards. I have no doubt that that was the highlight of his year. PARIAH also received quite a bit of buzz from other places as diverse as ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (an A- review), to FANGORIA (“Book of the Month”), as well as blurbs from Robert Kirkman, Brian Keene, Jonathan Lethem, Trey Parker and Augusten Burroughs.

Josh Jabcuga: The success of PARIAH clearly demonstrates the crossover appeal of your writing. You couldn’t ask for a better response from critics and your peers. Now that the dust has settled, do you think the book has found its audience?

FINGERMAN: After that wonderful buildup, I hate to sound negative, but no. The praise it’s gotten is wonderful, but I feel PARIAH could and should reach a much larger audience than it has, thus far. I’m sure every author feels that way about his or her work, but publishing is such a weird state of affairs at the moment, it’s hard to figure out how to find your audience or, more to the point, have them find you.

That said, it’s not doing badly. I don’t expect to sell Stephen King numbers, but I would like a more robust readership. I think that opportunity is coming, though, as the mass-market paperback is coming out on June 28, so that will put it in a lot more outlets at a cheaper price. Hopefully, that will encourage more people to pick it up and read it. I need bigger numbers so I can do the sequels, which I’m dying to do.

Josh Jabcuga: Time is definitely on your side, Bob. Not to sound cliché, but zombies are hotter than ever. I believe much of this has to do with AMC airing THE WALKING DEAD. It’s as if the mainstream finally “gets” it. If I had to pinpoint when this “new wave” started, at least in terms of publishing, I’d have to give credit to one of the relatively newer masters of horror, Brian Keene, and the essential THE RISING. In my opinion, that’s basically the launching pad.

FINGERMAN: It’s always hard to pinpoint that kind of thing. I read and thoroughly enjoyed Keene’s zombie offerings, as well as Dave Wellington’s. Theirs are more magicky takes on the subject matter. More metaphysical and paranormal. Ancient spirits guiding the undead. I thought that was interesting as it’s completely at odds with what I do.

One of the reasons I’ve always responded favorably to David Cronenberg’s work was he always went for a more scientific-type approach. That’s not to say the “science” wasn’t totally sketchy, but it made the horror easier to swallow for me. That’s why as much as I admire Stephen King’s work, the presence of the divine always ruins it a bit. God can always come to the rescue and the devil or his evil lackeys are almost always to blame. Cronenberg really nailed the “disease of the cell” approach in modern horror.

I got there a little before the curve, but zombies in the late ’90s weren’t hot. PARIAH is actually a sequel, pretty much, to the zombie graphic novel I wrote in 1997 for Dark Horse Comics, WINTER’S DREGS, for their abortive ZOMBIE WORLD series. PARIAH was pitched first, but the editor wanted a prequel, and by the time I was ready to do PARIAH, the series was canceled.

Just was well. It worked better as a novel. Much better.

Josh Jabcuga: You worked for Harvey Kurtzman on NUTS!, Al Goldstein’s SCREW, HEAVY METAL, NATIONAL LAMPOON and HIGH TIMES, just to name a few. I’d imagine that provided some invaluable lessons for you as a young writer in the trenches. And it is an amazing portfolio and a snapshot at a different era, really. Do you look back at those experiences fondly?

FINGERMAN: I’m actually planning on writing a straight literary novel based on my experiences at SCREW. That was quite an office. I’ll tell you, in retrospect, I’m glad that I worked for all those places, especially the seedier ones. They had color. At the time, I wasn’t so happy about it. I mean, I liked the people I worked with, but those weren’t exactly tony employers to add to your CV or portfolio.

Some classier clientele would have been sweet, but you can’t put a price on the outsized characters I met over the years at those joints. But those places paid my bills. I wish I’d had my skill set where it is now to work for LAMPOON. I revere that magazine, but only did one job for it and it wasn’t really up to snuff. Still, I tried.

Josh Jabcuga: I was at a Joe Hill reading — actually, it was his first Comic-Con “panel” ever — and someone was looking for advice on writing. If I remember correctly, I believe Joe said he wrote about a million words before he felt he found his voice. He certainly paid his dues, though from what I understand, writing runs in that family — wink. At what point do you think you found your voice, and who were some of your influences?

FINGERMAN: I think I’ve always had a voice, for better or worse. I have what you might call a “strong personality.” I’ve always had a thing for words, since way back. But as to my voice, I think there’s a through line in all my work. Like there’s “that Barton Fink feeling,” I think there’s a Bob Fingerman feeling, too. Maybe it’s the initials.

That said, sure I’ve got influences: Terry Southern, Bruce Jay Friedman, Donald Westlake, Phil Dick, to go back a ways. Chuck Palahniuk is a contemporary influence. But my innate narcissism calls the shots and dictates how I put it down on paper. I don’t want to imitate anyone. For better or worse, I want it to sound like me.

There are writers out there who tell a brisk story — really propulsive plotters, that kind of thing — but they don’t have much style. They are all about telling the story and not into creating crafty prose. I like tasty sentences. Though I’ve kind of moved on from Martin Amis, he crafted some beautiful prose. That seeped in.

Josh Jabcuga: I mentioned Brian Keene earlier. Last Thursday, he launched a campaign for writers, retailers and readers to boycott Dorchester/Leisure. Unfortunately, I have friends affected by this whole situation, and maybe you do, too. It’s a raw deal and really shows the underbelly of publishing. Would you care to comment or offer some words of encouragement to those writers?

FINGERMAN: It sounds feeble, but of course, I totally feel for those writers. It’s a lousy predicament they’re in. And it looks, at least from an outsider’s point of view, like Dorchester is being less than forthright when it comes to how they’re handling their situation.

My friend Laura, also a writer, pointed out some of the language Dorchester’s used — “In bankruptcy, but not actually filing for bankruptcy” — and decoded that as meaning reorganizing debt with no protection for creditors. So, yeah, my sympathies, big time. It’s a precarious time to be doing anything creative and expecting to make a living at it.

Josh Jabcuga: Last but not least: Recommend a good book to me.

FINGERMAN: Just read a couple by R. Scott Bakker that I really enjoyed: DISCIPLE OF THE DOG and NEUROPATH. Also Walter Greatshell’s latest, MAD SKILLS, which was really fun. Currently reading I KNOW I AM, BUT WHAT ARE YOU? by Samantha Bee. Very funny stuff.

Oops, that’s not genre. Is that a no-no? And that was more than one. Fuck it, I’m a rebel.

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