Jimmy Palmiotti

The worst advice I’ve ever gotten was my first girlfriend said there’s no money in comic books and that pursuing my dream is a stupid thing to do.

Don’t get me started on Hollywood saying that the Western is dead. Every time I pitch, I get the reply that the Western is dead, but if it’s a good story, people will care. [Warner Brothers, in fact, is working on a Jonah Hex film. The early script, Palmiotti says, is remarkably true to the comic.]

The best advice my mother ever gave me: First, to treat people like I would like to be treated, and to respect my elders. Classics, I know, but lessons that need to be imprinted in the brains of every generation.

When I was a kid, people said: “He’s awful quiet; I sure hope he snaps out of that phase.”

My favorite “comic” moment took place in Arizona, when an older gentleman in his 50’s came up to me with some Jonah Hex books to sign, and he told me to make the signature out to his father. He told me that since Justin [Gray] and I have been doing the book, he buys it every month and it’s the only thing his dad reads. I was flattered beyond words.

Jonah Hex is a classic good guy, bad guy. He carries a lot of mental and physical scars, and struggles with his temper and alcoholism. He’s alone, miserable and not an easy guy to talk your way around.

The Civil War taught me that no one is 100% right, and never fight your brothers.

Westerns in comic form are just as fun as novels, films and rodeos … okay, maybe not as fun as a rodeo.

A deadline is something I nail every time. I got that from my days in advertising. The worst thing I can do is have an artist sitting at home waiting.

Bounty hunting is an always risky, extremely solitary way to make a living.

I collect classic artwork, gun replicas and old music.

Graphic novels about the West in Europe are pretty accurate and entertaining because they are written by people with a true love for history and especially American history, but with a different perspective and they tend to be less romanticized.

The brutality of the West is beautiful in its own way … and just as unforgiving.

Jonah Hex, in a fight against A&E’s Dog the Bounty Hunter, would kill Dog in a heartbeat. Hex just wouldn’t want to deal with him and his wife.

History has taught me that every mistake we make now could have been avoided and that the smartest people are those who can admit they were wrong about something and were open-minded enough to change or fix it.

Jimmy Palmiotti, Cowriter of Jonah Hex

Writes the DC comic Jonah Hex with partner Justin Gray. Palmiotti often finds inspiration for his gunslinger tales in the pages of this magazine. (A nice ego boost we are willing to accept.) Palmiotti’s other projects vary widely and include a TV production of his comic Painkiller Jane, currently filming in Vancouver.