DF Interview: Joe Kelly yanks on readers’ heartstrings in ‘Immortal Sergeant’

By Byron Brewer

On the eve of his unwelcome retirement, Jim Sargent (aka "Sarge"), a grizzled, old-school detective, catches a break on a murder case that's haunted him for decades. Unfortunately, Sarge must drag his anxiety-riddled adult son, Michael, along for the ride or risk losing the lead forever. Can this dysfunctional duo overcome their own hang-ups, blind spots, and secrets to catch a killer?

Award-winning I Kill Giants storytellers Joe Kelly (Deadpool, Savage Spider-Man) and Ken Niimura (Eisner Award-winning Umami) return to yank on your heartstrings with Immortal Sergeant! I had the honor of sitting down with legendary scribe Joe Kelly to see what this latest limited series is all about.


Byron Brewer: Joe, before we get to Immortal Sergeant proper, how does it feel to be reunited with your I Kill Giants artist, Ken Niimura? How did this reteaming come about and why did it take 15 years?



Joe Kelly: It is always a pleasure working with Ken – and luckily for me we have worked together since I Kill Giants was published! We’ve done some Marvel work as well as a BlackJack story in Japan, not to mention our thrilling cameos in the I Kill Giants film. (Blink and you’ll miss us!) Despite these smaller pieces, it’s amazing to be back in a long form story like Sarge.

Ken and I have always wanted to do more graphic novels together and plan to do more post-Immortal Sergeant. But the best laid plans of mice and comics professionals often go awry. Sometimes it’s scheduling, sometimes it’s financial issues – there are a ton of things that can get in the way of moving forward on a project.
I will take the lion’s share of the blame this time, though, as Ken is a machine who’s always working and it took me a long time to find the words for Sarge. I knew that this was my next book with him, but it was a challenge to write.


Byron: I understand this story is very personal for you. What can you tell readers about the inspiration for this new limited series?



Joe Kelly: To put it bluntly, Immortal Sergeant is almost entirely inspired by my father and our relationship. That’s what made this one a challenge to write, even though it had been a decade since my father’s passing that I finally started the script.

My dad was a complicated figure in my life, as many fathers are. Even though we had a good relationship, especially in the latter years of his life, there were some rocky parts. I loved him and miss him, but growing up was tough. We didn’t exactly gel. I learned some family secrets in my teens that explained a lot, but there is a big difference between understanding a thing in your mind as opposed to in your heart.
So Immortal Sergeant was a way to process a lot of that, but it took time. Even the title of the book came from him – It was his email address, though he spelled “Immortal” incorrectly, which was kind of perfect.


Byron: Tell us a little about the world, the canvas Ken and you are building in this book.



Joe Kelly: The story takes place now, on a road trip that begins in suburban Long Island, New York and ends in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. As usual, Ken went to great lengths to research the route our father and son would take and does a beautiful job painting a portrait of this span of the East Coast.

It's a world of cops, criminals, and the relationships between them and their families. It’s a very human story, again, challenging to write because of the times we live in, but Ken and I went through great pains with our editor, Joe Illidge, to make sure we were telling a layered story that touches on many societal issues while keeping everyone’s humanity in sight.


Byron: Introduce readers to Jim Sargent aka Sarge. Give us your take on this character.



Joe Kelly: Sarge is a pain in the ass. He’s a career cop who has stayed on the force well beyond the time any sane person would. The sort of guy who tells stories about crime scenes at dinner in front of his kid/grandchildren because he thinks that’s a normal thing to do. He’s a detective with no aspirations other than putting “bad guys” in jail. The world is pretty black and white for him, which is his biggest flaw. Nuance isn’t his thing. Sarge doesn’t do subtle.

That said, even though it’s hidden away behind layers of sarcasm, gruffness, and emotional armor, Sarge does have a heart. Trying to find it is a huge part of his story.
As he relates to my Dad, some of Sarge’s character is plucked right from reality. The rest is the distilled, espresso version of who my dad might have been. My father was a policeman in Nassau County, and while he never had to draw his gun he saw a lot of pain and inhumanity. It affected him in many ways, the least of which was an anger issue that took a long time to fade. He was also incredibly fearful and raised me to be “aware of my surroundings” which was code for “bad sh*t is going to happen wherever you are, so be ready.”
And yes, he did tell us tales of murders over dinner when we were young.


Byron: Without spoilers, clue us into the relationship between Sarge and his son Michael. What else can you tell us about the Sargent offspring?



Joe Kelly: So if Sarge is a dramatized version of my dad, Michael is a dramatized version of me – actually it’s me and Ken as we both put a lot of ourselves into the book. (Daddy issues abound!) Michael’s creative mind is a breeding ground for anxiety, especially as a kid of a cop who taught him that there was danger around every corner. So he’s afraid of the world at large, afraid of his father…

And now he’s Sarge’s “partner” on a murder investigation. Perfect storm of hell for that poor guy.


Byron: Can you give us an overall summary of Immortal Sergeant, of the new mini readers will be picking up come the new year?



Joe Kelly: When Michael and his family visit Sarge on the eve of his reluctant retirement from the police force, Sarge gets a break on a decades old cold case. Sarge must make a split-second decision to follow his lead or let the case that’s haunted him for years remain unclosed. So Sarge follows the trail of a killer with his maladjusted, confrontation averse, anxiety riddled adult son from Long Island to Atlanta where truths are told, secrets are exposed, and their relationship is put to the ultimate test.



Byron: Talk more on the awesome art of Ken Niimura, what he brings to the table here.



Joe Kelly: It’s hard to compliment Ken without embarrassing him – he’s a humble master of his craft. Ken is an exceptional storyteller and character designer and graphic designer and a writer – he can do it all! I am lucky that he doesn’t have a huge ego and allows me to drop into his life from time to time and write for him, because anything he touches, he just makes better.

One of the things I love most about Ken’s work is the magical way he can keep a light, open style with cartoony elements while delivering stories with emotional heft and punch. Very few people can ride that line, but Ken is always pushing his art in subtle ways to convey more emotion and subtext with fewer lines – he’s a true wizard.
And for Sarge, he had to learn to love drawing cars, because Sarge’s ride – The Beast – is a character in its own right. Sometimes I think Ken believes I write these things just to torture him, but I like to think I’m helping him evolve. (smiles)


Byron: Joe, I know your talent covers multiple media. So tell readers what you can about projects involving you coming up, inside or outside comics.



Joe Kelly: Ken and I are already talking about the next book, since I have not made him sick of me yet. As I continue my run as luckiest guy in comics, I have a two-issue arc on Amazing Spider-Man happening at the top of the year, illustrated by Terry Dodson. It’s the first time we’ve ever worked together and I’m pumped – also Spidey is my fave. In a completely different corner of my brain, there’s kids animation! Sonic:Prime airs on Netflix in December, courtesy of Man of Action and Wildbrain. We have been working on that for a long time, so I’m excited for it to finally be out in the world. There’s plenty of other work that I hope will be announceable soon, but you know the NDA game. And lastly, even though I don’t do it as often as I would like to, I continue to post videos on YouTube about creativity, writing, and comics on my channel @ThatJoeKelly.



Dynamic Forces would like to thank Joe Kelly for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Immortal Sergeant #1 from Image Comics is slated to be on sale January 18th, 2023!



For more news and up-to-date announcements, join us here at Dynamic Forces, www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/, “LIKE” us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dynamicforcesinc, and follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/dynamicforces.

Another day, another milestone for “Avatar: The Way of Water.” James Cameron’s blockbuster sequel has generated $623.5 million at the domestic box office, taking down “The Avengers” ($623.4 million) to become the 10th-highest grossing domestic release of all time.Now that “The Way of Water” has cracked the top 10, the sci-fi tentpole’s competition to move up the list includes “Jurassic World” (at No. 9 with $653 million), “Titanic” (at No. 8 with $659 million) and “Avengers: Infinity War” (at No. 7 with $678 million).Globally, “Avatar: The Way of Water” stands as the fourth-biggest movie in history with $2.128 billion. It ranks behind only “Avatar” ($2.92 billion), “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.7 billion) and “Titanic” ($2.19 billion) in terms of worldwide ticket sales. For those keeping track, three of those four movies were directed by Cameron.Thanks to stratospheric interest among international audiences, “The Way of Water” became the second-fastest movie to surpass $2 billion after “Avengers: Endgame.” It’s earned a monster $1.5 billion at the international box office, ranking as the fourth-biggest overseas release. Outside of North America, the top earning territories include China ($238 million), France ($137 million), Germany ($125 million) and Korea ($103 million). (via Variety)  

BOOM! Studios revealed today a first look at SPECS #4, the final issue of the mysterious new series from highly acclaimed writer David M. Booher (Canto, All-New Firefly), artist Chris Shehan (House of Slaughter), colorist Roman Stevens (Batman Fortnite), and letterer Jim Campbell (Giant Days), about a pair of misfit teens who mail-order a pair of novelty glasses, and realize they’ve received much more than they bargained for, in stores February 2023.

In the midst of Ted still being a suspect for murder with the town against him, a sequence of events following Skunk’s disappearance could change things forever. But what consequences will one final wish have for Ted and Kenny’s present?

SPECS #4 features main cover art by highly acclaimed artist Skylar Patridge (Trial of the Amazons) and variant cover by fan-favorite illustrator David Talaski (Nightwing).

SPECS is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney; Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera; Once & Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora; Eve by Victor LaValle and Jo Mi-Gyeong; The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V and Filipe Andrade; Wynd by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas; Grim by Stephanie Phillips and Flaviano; Briar by Christopher Cantwell and Germán García; Stuff of Nightmares by R.L. Stine and A.L. Kaplan; The Approach by Jeremy Haun, Jason A. Hurley, and Jesus Hervas; Damn Them All by Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard; Behold, Behemoth by Tate Brombal and Nick Robles; Once Upon a Time at the End of the World by Jason Aaron, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Leila del Duca, and Nick Dragotta; Know Your Station by Sarah Gailey and Liana Kangas; A Vicious Circle by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo; Mosely by Rob Guillory and Sam Lotfi; and the upcoming Harrower by Justin Jordan and Brahm Revel; The Neighbors by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Letizia Cadonici; and The Seasons Have Teeth by Dan Watters and Sebastián Cabrol. The imprint also publishes popular licensed properties, including Dune: House Harkonnen from Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Michael Shelfer; Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Melissa Flores and Simona Di Gianfelice; Magic from Jed McKay, Rich Douek, and Ig Guara; and The Expanse: Dragon Tooth by Andy Diggle and Rubine.

Print copies of SPECS #4 will be available for sale on February 22, 2023 exclusively at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one) or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Kindle.

Fans and readers can purchase copies of SPECS SC, collecting the entire four-issue series, in local comic shops on August 16, 2023 and in bookstores everywhere on August 22, 2023.

Next month, writer Erica Schultz and artist Edgar Salazar will take fans back to X-23’s days as mutantkind’s fiercest assassin in X-23: DEADLY REGENESIS! Set during the X-Men’s Utopia era, the five-issue saga will present a key adventure in the life of Laura Kinney that sheds new light on her transformative journey into the hero she is today. In addition to going up against an iconic Marvel Comics villain, X-23 will also face off against her bitter foe, Kimura, as well as a brand-new enemy!

Kimura, Laura’s sadistic former handler from the Facility, is back with a vengeance to try to break X-23’s spirit and this time, she’s recruited a mysterious figure from Laura’s past to help her do the job—HAYMAKER! A skilled fighter with a personal vendetta against Laura, Haymaker is more than a match for X-23 and will earn their spot as X-23’s new archnemesis. After Haymaker (Jordan Gastin) makes their first appearance, readers will learn more about their backstory throughout the series. In the meantime, check out the character for the first time on the newly revealed design variant cover by Marvel’s Stormbreaker artist Jan Bazaldua for X-23: DEADLY REGENESIS #1 and the main series cover by Kalman Andrasofszky for May’s X-23: DEADLY REGENESIS #3.

“I'm really excited to have gotten the opportunity to work with Jan Bazaldua and Edgar Salazar in adding Haymaker to the Marvel Universe,” Schultz said. “Between Haymaker (aka Jordan Gastin) and Kimura, Laura's got her work cut out for her in this one.”

Don’t miss this exciting new chapter in Laura Kinney’s history and the debut of HAYMAKER when X-23: DEADLY REGENESIS #1 hits stands on March 8!

Plans have begun to formulate for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s slate of DC Studios films, with filmmaker James Mangold in early talks to take on “Swamp Thing.”

Variety is reporting that Mangold is a longtime fan of the DC Comics supernatural hero and approached Gunn and Safran with his idea for the forthcoming project.

Of course, Mangold is a comic book veteran after writing, directing and executive producing the R-rated superhero movie “Logan,” the third “Wolverine” film starring Hugh Jackman, which is regarded as the pinnacle of the “X-Men” movie franchise. However, the filmmaker has a particularly busy dance card, with “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” set to hit theaters in May and Searchlight’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” starring Timothée Chalamet, up next.

News of Mangold’s interest in “Swamp Thing” comes just 24 hours after Gunn and Safran announced the first 10 film and TV titles within the rebooted DC Universe on Tuesday morning. The co-chiefs explained that these films make up Chapter 1 of the DCU, which they are calling “Gods and Monsters.”

“Pennyworth” has been canceled at HBO Max after three seasons, Variety is reporting.

The third season, officially titled “Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler,” was the first season of the show to originate on HBO Max. The series originally debuted on Epix in 2019, with Season 2 airing on that channel in two chunks in 2020 and 2021. Season 3 launched on HBO Max in October 2022.

“While HBO Max is not moving forward with another season of ‘Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler,’ we are very thankful to creator Bruno Heller and executive producers Matthew Patnick, Danny Cannon and John Stephens, along with Warner Bros. Television, for their brilliant, unique, gripping depiction of the origin of Alfred Pennyworth, one of the most iconic characters in the Batman world,” an HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement. “An incredible blend of action, drama and humor, for three seasons, ‘Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler’ has taken fans on a mind-bending ride into Alfred’s eccentric world and the beginnings of cutting-edge super heroes and super villains.”

If the title did not make it clear, the series told the origin story of Alfred Pennyworth, most famously known as Batman’s butler. Jack Bannon starred as Pennyworth, a former SAS soldier who forms a security firm in 1960s London. During this time, he begins working with a young Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge) and Martha Wayne (Emma Paetz). The cast also included Paloma Faith, Ryan Fletcher, Dorothy Atkinson, Ramon Tikaram, Harriet Slater, and Simon Manyonda.

Emma Thompson is set to star in Brian Kirk’s upcoming action thriller “The Fisherwoman,” Variety reports.

In the feature, Thompson is set to play a widowed fisherman who, while trapped in a Minnesotan blizzard, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenager and soon finds she is the young victim’s only hope.

Kirk will direct from a screenplay by Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb, who have just been tapped to write the “Hot Wheels” movie for Warner Bros and Bad Robot. The duo are also currently working on “The Fall” for Amblin and Blackmaled Productions.

Greg Silverman of Stampede Ventures, who are co-financing the film alongside Augenschein Filmproduktion, Film und Medienstiftung NRW and German broadcaster ZDF, announced the project on Wednesday.

Legendary Entertainment — Hollywood’s high-profile producer and co-financier of big-budget studio fare — has inked a deal to turn Syd Hoff’s classic kids’ picture book series Danny and the Dinosaur into a live-action feature film, THR reports.

The movie adaptation will be produced with Caroline Fraser of HarperCollins Productions, HarperCollins Publisher’s in-house production company. Danny and the Dinosaur follows Danny and a dinosaur he meets at a museum and the adventures they have together.

Those include Danny and the dinosaur spending their day playing together, going on a trip to the big city, visiting the zoo, eating ice cream and allowing other children to jump on the dinosaur as a slide.

The comical book series, which has sold over 11 million copies in 12 languages, was first published by HarperCollins in 1958. Legendary acquired the book series rights from the Authors Guild Foundation, with the Anti-Defamation League Foundation, ORT America, Inc. and the United Negro College Fund.

After nearly two months of uninterrupted glory, this may be the weekend that “Avatar: The Way of Water” gets bumped from No. 1 on box office charts.

That’s because M. Night Shyamalan’s newest thriller “Knock at the Cabin” is poised to open to $15 million to $20 million, which looks to be enough to claim the top spot from “Avatar 2.”

“The Way of Water,” which has towered above the competition for seven consecutive weeks, is estimated to bring in roughly $11 million during its eighth weekend of release. So far, the blockbuster sequel has generated $620 million in North America and $2.117 billion globally to stand as the fourth-highest grossing movie in history. “Avatar 2” will compete for second place with Paramount’s new comedy “80 For Brady,” which hopes to touch down with $10 million or more from 3,800 locations.

For “Knock at the Cabin,” a debut in the mid-teens ranks on the lower end compared to past Shyamalan films like “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable.” His latest mind-bender was 2021’s “Old,” which opened to $16.8 million as the omicron variant of COVID was surging. After notching the lowest start of the filmmaker’s career, ticket sales for “Old” eventually climbed to $48 million domestically and $90 million globally. However, Shyamalan takes the unusual step of self-financing his movies while keeping budgets low, so they don’t require a ton of coinage to turn a profit. “Knock at the Cabin” cost $20 million to produce. (via Variety)

BOOM! Studios today revealed a first look at HARROWER #1, the premier issue of a brand new four-issue limited series from Spread creator and co-creator of The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, writer Justin Jordan, with highly acclaimed artist Brahm Revel (Guerillas), and letterer Pat Brosseau, about a horrifying ancient legend that lurks within a small, forgotten town, available in stores February 2023.

There’s nothing to fear in the quaint town of Barlowe, New York–except, that is, for the Harrower. The children wish this boogeyman was just an urban legend, but this purveyor of puritanical vengeance against the unrighteous is very real, and there's no escape, because the Harrower seems unkillable, and spans generations, always returning…

What secrets will Jessa Brink, a teenage girl obsessed with the Harrower, uncover, and will she be able to escape the pull of her morbid fixation?

HARROWER #1 features main cover art by series artist Revel, and variant covers by highly acclaimed artists Erica Henderson (Creepshow), Michael Walsh (Carnage), and InHyuk Lee (Venom).

HARROWER is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney; Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera; Once & Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora; Eve by Victor LaValle and Jo Mi-Gyeong; The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V and Filipe Andrade; Wynd by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas; Grim by Stephanie Phillips and Flaviano; Briar by Christopher Cantwell and Germán García; Stuff of Nightmares by R.L. Stine and A.L. Kaplan; The Approach by Jeremy Haun, Jason A. Hurley, and Jesus Hervas; Damn Them All by Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard; Behold, Behemoth by Tate Brombal and Nick Robles; Specs by David M. Booher and Chris Shehan; Once Upon a Time at the End of the World by Jason Aaron, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Leila del Duca, and Nick Dragotta; Know Your Station by Sarah Gailey and Liana Kangas; A Vicious Circle by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo; Mosely by Rob Guillory and Sam Lotfi; and the upcoming The Neighbors by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Letizia Cadonici. The imprint also publishes popular licensed properties, including Dune: House Harkonnen from Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Michael Shelfer; Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Melissa Flores and Simona Di Gianfelice; and Magic from Jed McKay, Rich Douek, and Ig Guara.

Print copies of HARROWER #1 will be available for sale on February 8, 2023 exclusively at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one) or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Kindle.

Tuesday was a huge day for DC fans with DC Studios announcing the first half of the DC Universe's Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters slate, but while there were several new film and television projects to get excited about, co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran also had some news about existing projects as well — including Harley Quinn. At the press event outlining the slate, Gunn and Safran were asked about the fate of the fan-favorite HBO Max animated series and Gunn made it clear that Harley's adventures will be continuing.

"We're going to keep forward with that," Gunn said.

Safran noted that the show is "fantastic", and Gunn added, "Yeah, considering I'm on the show."

Harley Quinn had already been renewed for a fourth season on HBO Max back in August of last year but given the numerous changes at Warner Bros. Discover — particularly in terms of HBO Max — there was a great deal of uncertainty about the series' longer-term fate. Gunn's comments seem to make it clear that, at least under this new direction for DC, Harley's adventures are far from over. (via ComicBook.com)