Crime Justified In BOOM! Studios' The Con Job
Jan 15, 2015
by Vince Brusio
What’s even more of a surprise than being conned? Finding out that you’re being conned, and that those who are pulling your leg are making it up as they go. And they don’t care! They’re having too much fun spinning you around telling you up is down, and black is white. To be specific, Jimmy Palmiotti and Matt Brady are having such fun with writing the BOOM! Studios book, The Con Job (JAN151104). In this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive, both writers say they want to touch on how there is no safety net in life, and for that reason some may have an easier time justifying their crimes as they are more convinced that it’s for their own good.
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PREVIEWSworld: Here we go: the most important question: did you guys have fun doing The Con Job? Got some memories to share?
Jimmy Palmiotti: We are still writing it so we are still enjoying the process of discovery based on the framework of the outline, which is always an exciting part of the job. I think the most fun is watching what we wrote come in, art wise, and blow us away. Seeing something you imagine appear before you is a part of making comics that will never get old.
Matt Brady: I’m only going to admit that the seed for the story came from my run of covering cons for years with Newsarama, and we’ve really run with it from there. But yeah—what Jimmy said—the most fun here, as with all comics-making, is seeing the crazy stuff we’re talking about come to like with Domo and with Amanda on her covers. And I have to admit, working with Jimmy is a heck of lot of fun, too.
PREVIEWSworld: No girls dressed up like clowns in this book, but we do have a comic book convention crime caper. So gentlemen, please elaborate: The Con Job? What's the scoop?
Matt Brady: It’s a fun story, but I think we’re also touching on some of the larger issues of today when it comes to nostalgia-fueled entertainment turning cult favorites into billion-dollar franchises. Some of those cult players start to think about things a little deeper.
Jimmy Palmiotti: The main idea is that times are changing and there isn’t a safety net created for the people that have entertained us for most of our lives, and a small group of them decide they have to create one. It's a simple premise that has a lot of heart at the center of it. A lot of it is, when is a crime okay and what are the repercussions to people that think they are good people at heart?
PREVIEWSworld: "Oceans 11-style crime story" is used to describe the chemistry in this book. Along with a pinch of Galaxy Quest. If you could drop another tag line, what would it be?
Jimmy Palmiotti: Those two are pretty good. I don't think I would go any further because there is a lot more to the book than just the caper and the convention. Our goal is to make these people and what they are going through real to the reader and for them to understand how they might feel they have to do this particular thing based on their experiences.
Matt Brady: Yeah, those two sum it up, but with what Jimmy said, our gang of characters have become such a great group as we’ve been playing with them…so to think of other tag lines, we’d get into good ensemble pieces, which are, honestly, a lot less sexy than “’Ocean’s 11’ meets ‘Galaxy Quest’”—that just oozes entertainment value, doesn’t it?
PREVIEWSworld: You're making a trailer for your book. You're the director. What comes up on the screen? The action heroes, sex symbols, sci-fi types: what are they doing?
Jimmy Palmiotti: The trailer opens with an establishing shot of the con, the announcer reading the stats of con attendance, then a quick cut to the empty signing tables of our stars, and quick cuts to them having horrible experiences, then cuts to eviction notices, not having cash, Hollywood abuse, and then the mastermind meeting and the con job logo. You can’t give too much away in a trailer. It kills a movie.
Matt Brady: Jump-cut cameos of me and Jimmy, too, which will work to jumpstart our movie careers.
PREVIEWSworld: Tell people where to go so they can learn more about this book, and when they can get it at the comic shop.
Jimmy Palmiotti: They can first make sure their retailer ordered it right now…go in and ask them to reserve a copy because it will be sold out if you don't. Second, I would always check the BOOM! web site and the twitter account at @boomstudios for updates and previews for the next solicits. You can also catch some updates on my Twitter account at @jpalmiotti or stop by my site at Paperfilms.com
Matt Brady: It hits stores in March!