We recently connected with Jimmy Palmiotti and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jimmy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

The job I hold now is the most satisfying and gives me the most room to create. It is being my own publisher of my own creator content on our website www.paperfilms.com and publishing our own books via Kickstarter and other platforms. I was excited to get into comics any way possible so many years ago, but as my time working on comics grew, I wanted to do more. First leap was co-owning Event comics with Joe Quesada and creating our own comics. Next up was Marvel Knights and lending a hand to get Marvel comics out of bankruptcy. After that I have been writing and producing my own titles for my company Paperfilms. With this, I have the most freedom to create and not give away so many ideas and not benefit from them. This is why all your favorite mainstream talents are moving away from the big two…they just do not compensate you very well in this business. Even small companies offer their people healthcare, but in comics, no retirement compensation, no healthcare, no nothing but a super tiny % of a royalty. And even then, if you are working hard for them, like myself for over 30 years, they can drop you for no reason. I was forced to do something else to survive in a comfortable way and started creating my own books. It is why that is most satisfying doing my own thing.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Sure, I’m a writer, Editor and ceator with a wide range of experience in advertising, production, consulting, editorial, film writing, development and production, media presentation and video game development. I’ve worked with clients such as Nike, Nickelodeon, Universal pictures, Disney, Warner Brothers, DreamWorks, Lion’s Gate, Vidmark, Starz, Fox Atomic, Alliance films, New Line, Spike TV, MTV, 2kgames, Midway, Radical games, Activision, and THQ games.

In the past, I have co-founded such companies as Event Comics, Black Bull Media, Marvel Knights, a division of marvel comics, and the currently Paperfilms, where I’m partner with Amanda Conner. Together we have created and co-created numerous universes, comics, TV series and characters including: The New West, Monolith, 21 Down, The Resistance, The Pro, Gatecrasher, Beautiful killer, Ash, Cloudburst, Trigger Girl 6, Thrill Seeker, Trailblazer, Ballerina, The Twilight Experiment, Killing Time in America, Rage, Queen Crab, Retrovirus, Pop Kill and the TV series, Painkiller Jane.  We worked on the hit series Harley Quinn, assisted DC Comics relaunch into the Wal-Mart nationwide stores, Jonah Hex, and several other series.  Several of my contributions for both DC and Marvel can be found in major motion pictures and TV series for Marvel and DC, including Black Panther, Daredevil, Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn animated tv series and more.

My parents were hard working parents of 4 boys. My father was in World War 2 and my mother grew up during the depression and ended school at 4th grade and worked in a factory after. They were supportive, and I felt loved my whole life by them till they were gone. They influenced me by being honest, non-judgmental and open-minded to new things. They were my support group, my teachers and where I felt safe. They taught me success comes from hard work and that respect for others is everything and always be generous.

For me, at a very young age did I start noticing my talent got me attention and that translated into me looking at all different types of art. I would say at about 6 years old when it all started happening for me, where I noticed different art styles and musical styles.

To be honest, when I turned 30 I decided to change directions from advertising to comic’s full time and have not stopped since. It’s been an interesting run so far and I am still experimenting with things, so it all stays fresh with me.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I wake up and get to work. I have deadlines so they define when I have to get to work, and I spend a lot of time outlining new ideas. The process is the same as any business. You want to get paid, you get to work. Ideas come all the time, but sitting down and nailing them is the part of the process that can be most satisfying. I look at every year coming and try to decide where I want to take my business and plan ahead for the projects with the Paperfilms crew.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think we create really superior quality projects with our Kickstarters. We make sure to print our books right here, in the United states and are proud of that. We offer an alternative to a lot of the books being made right now and I think our audience are people that have seen it all and are looking for a different voice set to the work. That said, there are tons of great books coming out, so we compete best we can.

Having the ability to control the story, the creative team, the execution of the campaign to the fans and those who support our projects is the most rewarding aspect. We run and manage them from starting concept all the way to packing our books up and mailing them out to the fans and backers. This is all done with a small team. So it is basically “farm to table” mentality. When fans support us, they really are supporting us.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paperfilms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paperfilms1/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepaperfilms
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/paperfilms1