ED BURNS & JIMMY PALMIOTTI ON VIRGIN'S DOCK WALLOPER

[MattBrady]

Along with checking out Virgin’s restart of Dan Dare this week in comic shops, readers looking for something new may want to grab a copy of the publisher’s Dock Walloper #1 as well.

Created by filmmaker and actor Ed (Brothers McMullen, Purple Violets) Burns, this latest offering in Virgin’s “Director’s Cut” line turns the clock back to Prohibition Era New York, and a colorful cast of characters…led by John “The Hand” Smith. Burns has said that his goal with the project is to capture a modern American mythology, hence the borderline fantastic characters of “The Hand” (who has a larger than normal left hand), Bootsy, Rin-a-Ling and the rest.

The five issue miniseries is co-written by Jimmy Palmiotti and illustrated by Siju Thomas.

We spoke with Burns and Palmiotti about the series.

Newsarama: Ed, give us the origin of Dock Walloper – how did this all start out?

Ed Burns: I have wanted to make a Prohibition era gangster film for years, but it always proved to be too expensive to recreate the era. When I met with Gotham Chopra, Chief Creative Officer of Virgin Comics, I saw a perfect visual way into this world by creating an exaggerated, stylized universe, a mythic reinvention of the era, first as a comic, and then ultimately as a feature film.

NRAMA: What was attractive for you of the offer to get the project rolling as a comic from Virgin?

EB: I was impressed that Virgin Comics had partnered with filmmakers to make a series of auteur-driven comics. I was excited to collaborate with their experts in making these books.

NRAMA: Give us the thumbnail of the story here – it has a feel of infusing the fantastic with known history to create something…different. It doesn’t sound like your usual type of story…

EB: The story is an archetypal gangster tale, where an outsider rises up through the gang world, ultimately challenging his mentor and boss. In this case I wanted to play with the real life gangsters of that era, but give it a mythic spin, where they have enhanced powers, and are literally larger than life.

NRAMA: On the comic book side of things, how did this all get rolling and when did you come into the picture, Jimmy?

Jimmy Palmiotti: Well, I got a call from MacKenzie Cadenhead at virgin to talk about the project and to tell me everyone involved thought I would be the perfect fit to work with Ed on this on a number of levels. I think what sold Ed on me was the Monolith book Justin Gray and I did at DC and the fact that I was someone, like himself, that grew up in the New York area. When we finally got together, we found we had a lot in common and a slew of stories about growing up in New York and then from there we got the ball rolling. At our first meeting, we discussed what Ed’s vision was and we all talked about how, with comic books as a medium, we can take the ideas even further.

NRAMA: What are you working with from Ed on this? You’re scripting, so Ed’s…what, plotting and working up the characters, keeping an eye on the big picture?

JP: This is Ed’s idea and vision all the way, but together we’re fleshing out the world they live in and at the same time creating some new situations because of the genre we are working in. It’s a perfect collaboration on a number of levels for me…this is the kind of work I really enjoy doing. As we outline and I go in and script, we are both finding the characters coming to life and the world around them offering up new ideas and circumstances. It’s a very organic process in a number of ways and how I like to work. I’m pretty lucky on a number of levels to be working with someone like Ed because he has an open mind and has the vision to see things a lot of writers never would. He really understands character development and how important it is to a story. My job is to bring everything we discuss together and make it work within the five issues that we have to tell the story.

NRAMA: So – who are these characters?

JP: It’s the 1920’s and this story takes place during prohibition. First, we have the two main characters, Smith, the “Dock Walloper” a character with an extremely large arm that gets him in and out of trouble and his childhood friend Bootsy, a nimble, loyal chatterbox of a guy. We follow the adventure through their eyes, and together they are a classic combination of brawn and efficiency. These are the two characters that we root all the way as they try to make it in time where they just about have nothing going for them.

Next up is Rin-a-Ling, an Asian woman who makes an impact on Bootsy’s life and gets herself involved in their troubles as well. She is both beautiful and deadly.

As far as bad guys go, we deal a lot with the Italian and Irish gangs in nyc at the time and as the story evolves we get to meet each of them doing what they do best as they pit themselves against each other over constant turf wars and liquor distribution.

The boss of the Irish gang is Mad Dog Madden, who eventually develops a soft spot for Smith who he feels he is the son he never had. We have a whole cast of characters that work for Madden or are affiliated with him. We also have people that want Smith dead and Diamond Jack is that man. The first few issues see them going at it in a very spectacular fashion. From there we have the boss’ girlfriend Cora, some unsavory political figures and the rest. It’s a really colorful array of characters that seem to write themselves as each issue is being done.

NRAMA: And the visual looks of everyone – Siju Thomas is on the art. It sounds like the two of you had very specific ideas for the characters’ looks, so how much back and forth was there until he got the looks just right?

EB: Siju did a fantastic job on the art. I was blown away. At the inception stage I helped the overall shaping in terms of the character looks and types, and the world and atmosphere, but once the ball got going, the team at Virgin guided the process.

JP: Siju has an animation background and he uses it in each and every panel and this really sets a tone and compliments the fluidity of the action we present. I couldn’t be happier with the amount of hard work he is putting into each issue. This book looks like nothing I have ever seen before.

NRAMA: Looking at the larger picture, it seems as if you’ve got some echoes of The Spirit and Dick Tracy in there with the slightly characture-ish characters. How do you keep things from dissolving into a farce or unintentional humor?

JP: There are things that you have to look at when writing and creating a period piece and a lot of research that goes into it. As we were digging in, we realized that a lot of clichés about the time period are dead on to what was really happening during that era and you just have to be careful to not get wrapped up into fighting it so much.

For us, the characters and the language define the era and the action going on was every day at the time. We took reality and went a bit hyper and over the top with it to make it more exciting and I think it works on a number of levels. Anyone with a love for the era will appreciate a lot of the nuances, and at the same time, anyone that knows nothing will gain something from the series as well. We try to stay loyal to the individual characters motivations and really, there is always some kind of dark humor present. It’s unavoidable and we try to embrace it and not fight it. Hopefully the audience will appreciate all the tender loving care put into this series.

NRAMA: Okay then, that said, what’s the tone of the story?

JP: Survival of the fittest. It’s a classic theme and tone that makes, to me, some of the most interesting storytelling. It’s something we all can relate to…the underdog getting his day in the sun and then realizing there is a price to pay for it.

NRAMA: At the same time, the original press release about Dock Walloper said they’re out to change organized crime? What’s their goal here?

JP: Their goal is to have everything they think they don’t have and then to appreciate it once it’s theirs. Again, a very basic want and instinct.

NRAMA: AS you’ve said, this is a five issue miniseries - will things keep rolling along?

EB: Currently, we have just done the five issues, but the characters and world do lend themselves to more....

JP: As I always say, the retailers and fans decide it all.

NRAMA: Finally – Ed, what are your plans for this story in terms of other media?

EB: My plan with the Dock Walloper is to use the comic books/graphic novel as the basic for a feature film. It is a film I would like to make in the next two or three years, ideally.

To catch Burns’ latest film, check out Purple Violets at iTunes – the first feature-length film to be distributed exclusively via iTunes. For more, check out www.purplevioletsmovie.com

[Blackbeard]

You had me at "1920s." This looks fantastic!

[Mark Cardwell]

He should cast Johnny Drama in this.

[PatrickWedge]

Sounds great and Ed is a wonderful creator so these things can really turn out so great results. And from the sounds of it, Ed will at least be involved with the project than just attaching his name.

[ducko5]

Prohibition Era NY is one of my favorite settings!

Also, "Doc Walloper" is one of the coolest character names I've heard in a long time!

[Sluggo]

I've not tried Virgin's output yet, but this, Seven Brothers and The Gameskeeper interest me. I'm a bit wary about the fact that everything with Virgin is being used as a springboard for making movies, once again relegating comics to a souped up set of storyboards. It implies that comics only work as a way to support "more important" media, but I have to say that there seems to be an impressive level of craft involved with some of these projects.

The additon of top notch creators like Garth Ennis and Andy Diggle (and, to a lesser extent, Jimmy Palmiotti) help bolster the impression that they are doing these books for love of the medium and not just as a way to prop up other media.

Dock Walloper sounds like it could be fun, if it shies away from the many cliches of the genre, or at least embraces them with gusto, as Palmiotti seems to suggest. The art is very nice and reminds me of Kieron Dwyer's stuff, which is a very good thing.

[Mithel]

Ring-a-Ling? Are you serious? Wow.

Also, the inevitable flood of jokes concerning the size of the character's hand vis a vis his participation in certain other activities begins in 3...2...1...

[Cray_ws]

Originally Posted by Mithel

Ring-a-Ling? Are you serious? Wow.

Also, the inevitable flood of jokes concerning the size of the character's hand vis a vis his participation in certain other activities begins in 3...2...1...

It already started to you.

Ed Burns is great creative force, I hope this goes well for him and brings more to the comics scene.

[stlfan79]

I love Ed Burns but I can't bring myself to get this, Virgin has let me down with pretty much everything I have purchased from them (except for 7 Brothers Vol1 and early Snakewoman stuff). I have just spent too much money and received way too little return, I'll check it out from the library in trade eventually.

[GenerallZodd]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

EB: My plan with the Dock Walloper is to use the comic books/graphic novel as the basic for a feature film. It is a film I would like to make in the next two or three years, ideally.

Yep I saw that coming.

I knew from jump street that what we had was a situation where comics were being used as a platform for Hollywood. Nowadays you see faces that wouldn't have gone NEAR comics ten years ago, suddenly developing an interest in the medium.

[marioboon]

characters…led by John “The Hand” Smith. Burns has said that his goal with the project is to capture a modern American mythology, hence the borderline fantastic characters of “The Hand” (who has a larger than normal left hand),

Erm,... but that's his right hand, surely? Right?

[Jimmy Palmiotti]

I am sure ed was thinking right...lol. hope you enjoy the book!

[ThatGuamGuy]

I was really annoyed by this cover. I saw a cop and the name "Ed Burns", and I immediately though of 'The Wire'. But no, this is the guy who was Edward Burns until Ed Burns became a more acclaimed writer. Isn't the Writer's Guild supposed to protect this sort of name poaching? Christopher Priest and the real Ed Burns should form a club or something.

[BernyRB]

The premise sounds very interesting.
And I love the art. It's to me like JRJR meets Willam Vance (the artist on XIII and Marshall Blueberry).
I am definately sold on this title. This will be the first book by Virgin I will pick up.

[jcohoon]

I don't know if any of the posters actually had a chance to go out and pick up a copy yet, but my question to them is why not. This comic delivered way more than what I originally thought. I have to admit at first I was kind of skeptical about the whole premise, after reading through it just yesterday, I'm glad I did not share my thoughts with anyone about it. It is a good read, the art is interesting as well as the story. For all the posters to this blog, I say quit talking about how cool the comic could be, go out buy it and experience it first hand. It is truly awesome!

[jcohoon]

The poster who said something about the jokes about the size of his hand. Yes, there in there. Truly funny, a great read!