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.

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