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How did you break into professional comics? How did you get your first job with Marvel? Did you move to the USA to attempt a career in comics, or was your move unrelated to what would eventually became your profession?

It has been quite a few years since I have made my professional debut in comics. I was working at the time for an animation studio in the States, doing storyboards and layouts for Saturday Morning Cartoons. I kept sending samples of my work to Marvel Comics and other publishers. I went through quite a few rejection letters, before the phone rang and I got my first assignment from Marvel. It was a fill-in issue of "Power Pack", a comic book about kid superheroes. After the fill-in I illustrated four more issues and a Graphic Novel for the same title. Following that I became the regular penciler of "Moon Knight" for two years. That was about 16 years ago. Since then I have been working practically non-stop, illustrating comics for all the major US publishers and many of the independents.

What are the differences between "The house of Ideas" and DC, and between the two majors and the independent publishers.

Firstlly, I have to clarify that when we're talking about "working" for these publishers, at least in my case, we are referring to work done by correspondence. Even though I had a chance to visit the majority of publishers I have worked for, I have never done any work on location. Since I first moved to the United States, I have resided in Salt Lake City, in the Rocky Mountains of Utah. Therefore, I have been quite far away from the major publishers, which for the majority are located in New York City. My interaction with fellow-professional and editors has been mainly over the telephone. The only difference I have ever been able to discern , doesn't necessarily have to do with company policies, but deals with the personalities and methods of the different editors. I have a closer working relationship with some editors than with others. The interesting thing to consider is that as I have been working for different companies, so have these editors. As a matter of fact, my current editor for "Black Panther" used to work with me when I was drawing "Bloodshot" for Acclaim Comics. Before him, another Marvel editor had collaborated with me when both of us were working for DC and Image.

I have personally appreciated, among others, your work on Moon Knight (in the late 80s and early 90s) and what you're currently doing on Black Panther. Both these characters seem to have a huge potential, but it looks like they are still handled, by Marvel, as "minor characters" . I believe Christopher Priest keeps writing intelligent and original stories for BP and has been accompanied by very good illustrators. What is your take on the subject?

Black Panther has received considerable support from Marvel as a company, and great enthusiasm from fans and critics. When I was first asked to be be the regular penciler, Black Panther was entering its second year of publication with the threat of possible cancellation. After the first four issues illustrated by Mark Texeira, there had been quite a few different artists, drawing the title with different stylistic approaches. Compounding the problem, was a situation of chronic lateness in the publishing schedule which was affecting the overall sales. To resolve the situation, Marvel decided to assign the book to a different editor and establish a subscription campaign supported by a dedicated website. The internet presence helped in making new readers acquainted with the characters and the series, and consolidating the established readership. Recently Marvel has published a Trade Paperback edition, comprising the first five issues. Another reprint volume is expected to hit the stands shortly. Besides the publishing plans, there have been talks, for some time, about a motion picture starring The Black Panther, to be produced by the Wesley Snipes' company, Amen-Ra. I don't believe Marvel will miss the opportunity to repeat the huge success of the Blade franchise.

Black Panther is qualitatively one of the best Marvel titles, with a great following, (which includes myself) even here in Italy. However, Marvel Italia doesn't publish it, because, according to Marco Lupoi, Marvel italia publisher, Black Panther wouldn't sell. What do you think about that?

Mmmm... that reminds me. Maybe I should put Mr. Lupoi back on my Christmas card list...

As an insider, how do you perceive the situation of the comic market in the USA? Is there a crisis ? If so, what do you think the causes and possible solutions might be?

There have been talks of crisis during the '60s and '70s, then in the '90s. There are those who make talks about crisis their favorite pastime. I think the comic book industry is no different than any other sector of the economy. They are all cyclical. As we've risen out of previous crisis, we will rise again, maybe stronger than before, since we'll have shed all the debilitating factors ( mediocrity, lack of creativity etc.). Without a doubt, to get out of any crisis it takes more energy than what it took to get into the crisis in the first place. I look around, and the signals are good.

Is there any specific comic character you haven't had the chance to draw yet, which you would like to work on?

(Promise not to tell Bonelli, and I will admit that...) I would like to draw an issue of (Italian western comic icon) Tex. Maybe a "Night Eagle" story set in the Navajo Nation, with the real Indians, wearing real costumes. Or a tale with historical background in which Tex and his partners interact with real characters from the "Old West" like Orrin Porter Rockwell. I think I have the advantage of being one of the few ( if not the only) Italian comic book artist who lives where these adventures have really taken place. I'm immersed in the history of the west, surrounded by the sceneries of John Ford's movies and influenced by the spirit of these adventures. That's why I can't help being tempted to translate them for the pages of a comic book.

Besides comics, you are involved in the creation of videogames. How do you see the world of virtual entertainment? Is it a "menace" to the commercial health of comics? Can the two media coexist without problems?

Videogames have evolved in a way which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. When we were playing Pac-Man we didn't have the faintest idea that the next generation of kids would be exploring virtual worlds. If comics had evolved in a way comparable to videogames, in the same span of time, today we would find ourselves watching some short movie, on small screens imprinted on something resembling sheets of paper, with accompanying soundtrack, special effects etc. I don't know however, if the enjoyment of such a hi-tech comic book would make me feel the same way that I feel , when in my mind, I give voice and movement to the characters of those stories, printed on real paper with real ink. From a purely conceptual point of view, videogames are not a menace to comics, like they're not a menace to motion pictures, television or books. The only competition among these entertainment media happens in the consumer's wallet. Comics have to compete to get their corner of the market, just like books, radio, theater or the opera have to. If comics can produce a phenomenon like "Harry Potter" , " Lord of the Rings" or Pavarotti, then they would get a larger piece of the market's pie. Otherwise we'll continue to serve a smaller ( but still substantial) portion of the public who likes giving voice and movement to stories, decently written and illustrated, on real paper, with real ink.

What do you think of Joe Quesada?

I'm glad to see Quesada at the helm of Marvel Comics, knowing of his background as an artist. His editorial input with "Marvel Knights" first, and now as Marvel's Editor in Chief seems to have affected the overall artistic quality of the products coming out of "The House of Ideas". Joe surrounds himself with great artists and writers, along with marketing experts and a competent editorial staff. All these people are helping Marvel maintain a certain supremacy in the comic book market, nonwithstanding the budget restrictions the company has had to recently adapt to.

Do you agree with Scott Mc Cloud when he says that the Internet will be the future of comics?

Certainly the internet will be part of the future of comics, but I don't think the the fate of comics is limited to the internet alone. As a medium of communication, comic books continue to be valid and more easily accessible in their tangible form of paper and ink. The internet is becoming quite helpful as a medium of information, support, publicity and marketing for the comics as an industry and a medium.

I would like to ask you about the events of 9/11. You were among the artists involved in the "Heroes" project, to commemorate the victims of the attack on the Twin Towers. How were you touched by the events and how do you judge, for good or bad, what followed that tragic event?

The tragedy of September 11 has helped many people put their lives into perspective and better discern what the values that really count are. We have felt the need to help, in some way, those who have been victimized by this enormous act of violence. Many people, who like myself make a living doing comic books, have shown their support in the most congenial way they could express, with words and images. The result is "Heroes", one of several publications produced by the comic book industry, which serves not only to commemorate the victims, but to celebrate the real heroes.

Black Panther, Spiderman, Silver Surfer and Captain America are copyright and trademark of Marvel Comics.
JLA is copyright and trademark of DC Comics.