JM: I love it!
MM: And of course, we have the lovely winters that no one else has…
JM: We have actual winter down there because we’re at a little over 4000 feet above sea level! I spent 21 years in San Diego where there was no weather at all. But now here, we have summer in the summertime, and we get winter, snow and rain and all of that stuff.
MM: Did it take time to get used to it?
JM: A little bit. But I enjoy the fact that there’s weather.
MM: Moving over to comics, for me the exciting news is that IDW is producing a DESPERADOS (Mariotte’s classic western series, originally published by Wildstorm, then IDW) omnibus. How did that come about?
JM: They started doing this omnibus thing, and they’ve done a few now, and they came to me and said “Hey- would you like to do a DESPERADOS omnibus?” and I said “Absolutely!” Get those out-of-print stories back into print, get the John Cassaday and John Severin work back out there… they didn’t have to ask me twice.
MM: Is it going to be in color?
JM: It is full-color. It’s got all the DESPERADOS stories that exist- the Cassaday and John Lucas one-shots, the John Severin stuff, and the material that IDW did… all five DESPERADOS stories collected together.
MM: With the publication of the omnibus, does this mean the end of DESPERADOS?
JM: It does not! In fact, sometime later in the year, I don’t think this has been announced anywhere yet, there’s a DESPERADOS/GRAVESLINGER crossover coming out, also from IDW.
MM: Very cool!
JM: Yeah! Written by me and Shannon Denton and art by Mike Dubisch.
MM: Oh my goodness. Mike Dubisch! Really? That should be quite horrifying to look at- that guy’s work is kinda scary!
JM: It is! It’s some pretty scary monster stuff.
MM: How did the crossover come about?
JM: Pretty easy. Shannon and I just wanted to bring these two worlds together, and we had done the GRAVESLINGER miniseries (as writing partners)- it’s coming out in trade paperback from IDW, by the way.
MM: You’re also known for being a prolific novelist. What are you working on these days?
JM: Right now I’m working on a C.S.I. novel, which I’m not sure what the publication date will be- it’s called C.S.I.: BRASS IN POCKET…
MM: Focusing on Jim Brass, I’d assume?
JM: Somewhat! And I’ve also got COLD BLACK HEARTS, which is the third supernatural thriller in a very loose trilogy with MISSING WHITE GIRL and RIVER RUNS RED. COLD BLACK HEARTS will be out in May. There’s also some more 30 DAYS OF NIGHT stuff on the horizon.
MM: As you are such a prolific novelist, what keeps you tied to comics? What keeps you coming back?
JM: I love the form. I have forever- I’ve always been a reader, and since the 90s I’ve been a writer of them. I can’t ever pull away from them.
MM: What else do you have coming in comics?
JM: In comics, I’ve also got ZOMBIE COP coming from Image, I’ve got a miniseries coming that I’m not supposed to talk about yet, some other stuff I’m not supposed to talk about… and I’m part of the TERMINATOR 4 adaptation, also from IDW.
MM: When do you find time to sleep?!
JM: I don’t! Very little sleep for me!
MM: Jeff, thanks for your time!
Marc Mason
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