New X-Men artist Phil Jimenez talks about working with Grant Morrison, why he hates drawing Wolverine and how fan love ain't always a good thing.we think you know what we mean!

MIKE COTTON: You originally teamed with Grant Morrison on The Invisibles. Was it like slipping on an old pair of jeans when you two starting working together again?
PHIL JIMENEZ: Oh, it's be awesome working with Grant again. It's, quite frankly, better than I could have expected. What he's writing for me is brilliant.

EMMA FROST #1 - SIGNED VERSION

COTTON: Do you two trade ideas or talk often? JIMENEZ: We never actually talk. We had one small Emma Frost questions that we conducted via e-mail. [laughs] It was just a plot thing that-well, she was absent from somewhere she should have been but I needed to know where she was. COTTON: Are there any X-characters you really love drawing? JIMENEZ: I love drawing Storm but I never get to draw her since she's in Extreme X-Men and not New X-Men. But of the characters I have, obviously Emma and Jean.oh, and Beast. There's something very cool about a big, blue, furry cat on a team of X-Men. I think it's that he's so physically different than the other X-Men.

COTTON: And which characters do you not enjoy drawing?
JIMENEZ: Wolverine-but let me quantify that-Wolverine is most interesting to me when he's a little guy, in cowboy gear standing next to all these very tall superheroes. I have no interest in drawing Wolverine in action, but I love to draw him in context to the other characters. Someone actually noticed that I drew him shorter than the White Queen and I love that. I love that he's this little furry guy, who can kill you, but he's 5'3. Wolverine is probably my least favorite character to draw.

COTTON: You've worked on so many projects. Are there any books you haven't had a shot at that you'd like to take a crack at?
JIMENEZ: A book I haven't gotten to draw? Maybe I have done it all. Literally, thinking about it, I was weaned on comics of X-Men and I always wanted to draw Wonder Woman and despite its problems I'm really proud of that work. I'm doing X-Men now. And I've got my creator-owned project at Vertigo. I feel like I've drawn everyone. So there's really not a book that I'm dying to do. That's what's so great right now, I've accomplished a goal. It's so much fun. Drawing X-Men makes me so happy to be at my drawing board.

THE NEW X-MEN #114 - SIGNED VERSION

COTTON: Other than New X-Men, which you're on right up until the end of 2003, what else do you have planned? JIMENEZ: I'm working on X-Men. I'm working on Otherworld. I'm doing a little eight-page story for Donna Troy's eulogy. And I'm trying to develop two other projects but they're very slow going. One's with DC's international heroes, which the proposal been submitted, the bible's done and the characters have been designed. We're just waiting. And then another project-well, there are two that have been pitched around-one of which is an untold tale of Donna Troy and Wonder Woman. It's a story I don't know why we haven't told. We're going to see if we can do it at some point. I'm got such great

contentioness, because I really have drawn just about everyone I've wanted to do. Oh, there is one more story I want to do-a Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman story.

COTTON: I know you're Vertigo project is very hush-hush. How much can you say about it?
JIMENEZ: My Vertigo project will be announced at Wizard World Chicago. There's going to be this huge video presentation. It's some big multi-media thing.

COTTON: Thanks for the plug.
JIMENEZ: It's a 12-issue maxi-series, designed to be a volume one sort of like taking my cue from Grant Morrison's Invisibles. It's science fiction, superhero, fantasy, adventure laced with some sociopolitical stuff I've been thinking about. I'm totally psyched. I think it's going to go really, really well. It'll come out just a month after I finish X-Men so I'm very excited.

COTTON: Speaking of conventions, what's been your worst convention experience?
JIMENEZ: There was someone at a comic convention who was pursuing me romantically, which I wasn't interested in and has now become my eternal nemesis on the message boards because of it. Everything I write was terrible and wrong to this person. I mean, come on, at the end of the day this is comics. We all get attached to stuff but let's not take it too seriously. Oh, and I met [movie make-up guru and toy designer] Stan Winston at Chicago last year and made a complete ass out of myself. He had me ushered out of his line. I was trying to ask him how someone would pitch-or more does an outsider have a shot at pitching a movie or do you have to be someone or know someone. But what came out of my mouth sounded more like a pitch. He immediately shut make down and ushered me out of the line. At the end of the day, it's hilarious but at the time it was awful.

NEW X-MEN VOL. 1: E IS FOR EXTINCTION TPB

COTTON: So, what writers are you dying to work with, when you're not writing your own stuff? JIMENEZ: Grant Morrison-I love working with him. I know we don't talk a lot but I love working from his scripts. He's my ultimate writer. If I had to team with someone for a long period of time, it'd be him. I feel like I get the material and he gets me. It's just a great team. I would have loved to drawn a League of Extraordinary Gentleman story for Alan Moore and a Desire story for Neil Gaiman. I always felt that the character wasn't drawn quite right. It's my ego but I think I could nail that character. I adore Geoff Johns and his work. I'd like to do some thing with him.

COTTON: Are there artists out there today that impress you?
JIMENEZ: [Ultimates artitst] Bryan Hitch remains my favorite artist working without a doubt. Some people complain about his use of photo reference but he uses it so well. His art blows me away. Salvador Larroca can really, really tell a story. I love artist who I think are perfect for a project. I love Scott Kolins on Flash. The guys who draw Promethea are too f**king good-I can't stand it.

COTTON: Last question: Who plays Phil Jimenez in the Phil Jimenez movie of the week.
JIMENEZ: So many people have said that I look like [Dawson's Creak star] Kerr Smith. I don't really see it but I need someone light, tall and handsome to play me. I'm going to go with it.

COTTON: Work it, dog. Work it.

Mike Cotton is a staff writer for Wizard: The Comics Magazine. For all the comic book news fit to print, check out Wizard on sale every month at comic book specialty shops and newsstands everywhere.

The Cotton Club Archive

August 7 , 2003 - HOLLYWOOD RUN DOWN July 31, 2003 - SPIDER-MAN 2 July 24, 2003 - BAG MAN July 17, 2003 - Moore or Less July 10, 2003 - Ink Test July 2, 2003 - HURRICANE WARNING June 25, 2003 - BANNER BANTER June 10, 2003 - PETER DAVID June 3 , 2003 - PAUL JENKINS May 28 , 2003 - GEOFF JOHNS May 21 , 2003 - BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS May 14 , 2003 - PHIL JIMENEZ May 9 , 2003 - Don't F[l]inch April 29 , 2003 - The X-Factors April 17 , 2003 - X2 Reviewed January 13, 2003 - Game Boy - WizKid’s HeroClix January 3, 2003- 2003 Bigger than 2002? December 20 , 2002 - Ring Bearer - A two-bit tour for ‘Two Towers’ novices December 13 , 2002 - ‘Sine of the Times December 6 , 2002 - Killer Read November 30, 2002 - Lex's World November 23, 2002 - Truth and Consequences November 15, 2002 - Triple X November 8 , 2002 - Giving the Devil his Due October 31, 2002 - Superhero DVD Preview October 25, 2002 - Mad Cow October 18 , 2002 - 80's a Go-GO October 11 , 2002 - Best Bets on Bats October 4, 2002 - Hunters & Pray September 27 , 2002 - The War Within September 19 , 2002 - Lee-Der of the pack. September 13 , 2002 - The Next Generation. September 6 , 2002 - Marvel Melee. August 30, 2002 - Breaking In. Joe Quesada reveals the ins and outs of getting work at Marvel. August 23, 2002 - Painted Into a Corner. An Interview with Greg Hildebrandt. August 16, 2002 - X-citing News on X-Men 2!