DF Interview: Paul Tobin unleashes murder, mayhem and mathematics in ‘A Calculated Man’, now in early development by Hulu as a TV series



By Byron Brewer

A verifiable math genius, Jack Beans used to run the numbers for the Pinafore crime family, until one day he ran them too well and concluded that the only way out of this life was in a casket or Witness Protection. So, he turned state's evidence and ran.

Now, the Pinafores are out to end their favorite accountant. Little do they know that Jack's skills with math and his perfect memory have made him a better killer than they ever could have realized. What follows is a journey full of murder, mayhem and mathematics.
Writer Paul Tobin (Bunny Mask, My Date With Monsters) and artist Alberto Albuquerque (Amazing Spider-Man, Savage Sword) unleash a master of math on a mission to eliminate a criminal empire for good.
AfterShock had be at “Paul Tobin”. I sat down with my old friend and acclaimed scribe to see what he is concocting for us in this noir tale, literally by the numbers!


Byron Brewer: Paul, I had to reshuffle my deck of Qs after the news that your coming comic, A Calculated Man, is in the very early stages of development by Hulu as a television series. I know you cannot discuss this at all, at least at this stage, but can you at least tell us how it feels having a comic as yet unpublished be so highly thought of? And any other remarks about the situation that you are free to make.



Paul Tobin: It was a fun process, bringing A Calculated Man to Hulu. We grabbed a lot of interest from different studios immediately upon announcing the upcoming process, and Lee Kramer, AfterShock’s film/TV guru, kept me up to date on all the various incoming offers and thoughts from the studios. We liked Hulu’s thoughts the most, and Peter Calloway being aboard helped turn my eye in Hulu’s direction, because I’ve always admired his work. It was weird, though, still working on the fourth issue of the series when it had already sold to Hulu! I had to put aside thoughts of what actors might portray Jack Beans and the others, and focus on what is always paramount to me: a good story with interesting characters, making the best comic I can.



Byron: Tell readers a little bit about your inspiration for this crime comic, A Calculated Man. Was this take on murder, mayhem and mathematics something that has been bubbling on the Tobin backburner awhile?



Paul Tobin: To a certain degree, yes. I love a good action/crime story, but I wanted to wait until I had something unique, something that really spoke to my love of character. I have a love for somewhat eccentric geniuses, the likes of Richard Feynman, or the INCREDIBLY eccentric Jack Parsons, and I started to have thoughts of, “What if they applied that genius outside their own fields?” A Calculated Man grew from that germ.



Byron: Introduce us to math genius Jack Beans. Tell what his life was like and what it will become in this series. Can you offer any insight into the character of the man beyond mathematics?



Paul Tobin: Jack is far more than just mathematics. He has several other aspects that deviate from the norm. His memory is absolute, for one, and he sees numbers as colors, which contributes to his math genius, and he absolutely can’t lie. At all. That said, I really wanted to make Jack normal in most respects. I’m tired of entertainment tropes that say if a person is gifted in one way, they must “pay the price” in some other way, aka Rain Man. Jack is, for the most part, a pretty normal guy. You could have a beer with him and never know he was any different from anyone else at the bar.



Byron: What can you tell readers about the Pinafore crime family? Any individuals you can spotlight here as well?



Paul Tobin: Hector Pinafore is the head of the company. Is he a bad guy? Oh, absolutely yes. But not that bad a guy for a crime lord. He’ll even draw the line at some crimes. His son turns him against Jack, though, convincing his dad that Jack—the family’s ex-accountant—is too dangerous to let live. After all, this is a guy who knows everything, forgets nothing, and can’t lie. It’s decided Jack has to die, and events snowball from there.



Byron: What other important characters might you let us know about? Is there an agent who is Jack’s contact with Witness Protection, or similar? Love this storyline!



Paul Tobin: Other main characters are Omaha Avery, Jack’s contact in the Witness Protection agency. Omaha and Jack have an actual friendship that’s built over the years, but Omaha is retiring, and his replacement, Elene Santos, isn’t quite the Jack fan that Omaha has been. Another hugely important character to the plot is Jack’s “kind of” girlfriend, Vera, a woman he met online, and who he’s never met in person at the start of the series. Jack’s relationship with Vera is odd, because he doesn’t want to tell her the truth about his life, but…he literally can’t lie. Jack solves this in a unique way that readers can see in the series!



Byron: Can you give readers a type of overview for this coming series, an extended elevator pitch, if you will?



Paul Tobin: I talk about it as John Wick, mixed with A Beautiful Mind, when ex-mobster/math genius Jack Beans is flushed from hiding in the Witness Protection program, and decides that all he needs to do to safely return to his old life is…kill every last member of the Pinafore crime family.



Byron: Talk about the pulse-pounding pencils of artist Alberto Albuquerque. What makes him right for this book?



Paul Tobin: Alberto is right for ANY book. I love working with him because he’ll always bring an ENTIRE scene to life. If I ask him for a city scene, there will be unique architecture populated by interesting, unique people. He manages to make anything, from a bedroom to a boardroom to a back alley, vibrant. He inspires me to bring more to the story. And plus we’ve been friends for years, and have interests outside comics as well, which I think can really help with a creative team. It allows us to feel like more than a couple of people brought together in their work: we’re friends having a blast sharing our passion for telling stories in our own way.



Byron: Paul, what other projects do you have upcoming that you can tell readers about?



Paul Tobin: In the all-ages market, I still have more Plants vs. Zombies and Wrassle Castle on the way. In the horror field, I’m still working on Bunny Mask, and there are two more horror series on my slate. I’m also working on a western. Never really had a good western idea coalesce in my head, but it finally happened! Really excited about it. I have a huge graphic novel that I just finished scripting, based around adventure and cooking (yeah!). And then there’s another horror germ that’s been percolating, and that’ll probably find a home, too. And, as I continue to make my mark on several genres, I even have a romance on the way!



Dynamic Forces would like to thank Paul Tobin for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. A Calculated Man #1 from AfterShock Comics is slated to be on sale June 15th! Stay tuned to DF News on further information of the comic’s development into a Hulu TV series.



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