THE SOURCE: How do you introduce a new hero? JIMMY PALMIOTTI: Luckily we didn't have to do that with ALL STAR WESTERN, since Jonah has been around before most of the readers were born. How we introduced him to a new audience with All Star Western is we explain and examine the character through another's eyes. This is a simple technique to get the reader into the book from page one and start to open up the universe he inhabits as well. How do you introduce a new villain? The best villains are the ones that have a bit of mystery to them and at the same time are driven by what they think is the right things to do, no matter how sick and twisted that may be. The reader must relate to them on some level, otherwise the involvement is limited and no one will care. What was the first comic you ever worked on? I inked a book for Eternity comics called NINJA that was pretty crappy, and it paid less than a cheeseburger and fries...but I didn't care. All I ever wanted was to create comics and nothing was going to get in my way, not even a dozen rejection letters...which I keep in a drawer nearby. Who was the first character you followed? I think the first real character I picked up was SUPERMAN ...which was probably handed down by my two older brothers. Back then the series didn't have any continuity to follow, just pick up an issue and you are all in. What was the first series you collected? Fantastic Four was the first comic I had a complete set ...from issue 1- 125. Later, I sold my issue one for a few hundred dollars and bought a used car, took up girls and forgot about comics for a few years. It happens. Who was the first writer you followed? Stan Lee wrote a ton of comics I read, but it wasn't until much later in life I started to notice writers and my favorites were Roy Thomas, Doug Moench, and Denny O‘Neil. What was the first convention you attended as a fan? The first real comic con I went to was a Phil Sueling con in the bottom of a hotel in Manhattan. I still remember a pile of artwork on a table that has a sign on top that read "Kirby pages, $15 dollars each.” Where is that damn time machine??? What was the first convention you attended as a professional? San Diego comic con, 20 years ago in 1991. It blew my mind and was nothing like it is now. Back then, the comics people were the stars. What was the first comic book you read? My first comic was probably an Archie comic or a Superman. That was so long ago...I really don't know how anyone remembers that far back. I must have been 5 years old. What was your first job in the comic book industry? It was when I was in high school, I was hired by Chic Stone to do the backgrounds on the frank Robbins Invaders comics for Marvel comics...and in that same week hired to do backgrounds on a Don Newton story in a D.C. war comic. It was a wild time. What was the first piece of original art you bought? I am pretty sure it was a Master of Kung Fu page by Paul Gulacy. I still own it. It's a treasure. What was the first digital comic book you downloaded? That's an easy one, JONAH HEX #1...I was dying to see how it would look on my iPad...and it looked amazing. D.C. has since then put up 24 more issues.