Bernet Saddles Up With Jonah Hex
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on October 31, 2006 Sign up now!
by Chris Arrant, PW Comics Week -- Publishers Weekly, 10/31/2006
One of the most popular and revered European comics creators working today, Jordi Bernet remains relatively unknown to all but the most-studious comics fans in America. Best known to American readers for the Torpedo series, which he took over from Alex Toth, Bernet's career has spanned more than 50 years creating a variety of stories and genres.
In an upcoming three-issue story arc of DC Comics' western series Jonah Hex, Bernet teams with series writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti to present the never-before-seen origin of the titular western character. Debuting 35 years ago, the surly Wild West–era bounty hunter is best known for a scarred face and a cynical attitude, balanced with a high code of honor. Jonah Hex will be Bernet’s most widely distributed comic work in the U.S. market, and PW Comics Week interviewed the 62-year-old cartoonist via e-mail from his home in Barcelona, Spain.
PW Comics Week: You've done westerns in the past, most recently the Italian western character Tex Willer. Can you tell us what you enjoy about a good western?
Jordi Bernet: I have always liked the western genre. From John Ford to Clint Eastwood in cinema. In art, Frederick Remington to Charles Russell, including Harold Von Schmidt or Fred Harman. It is a genre I enjoy very much, and I’ve lived many good moments with it, allowing the artist to create epic stories with great spaces and lots of action.
PWCW: Were you familiar with the character of Jonah Hex before you signed on to do this three-issue stint?
JB: I recalled Jonah Hex from some comic book from the ’70s. However, I was not familiar with the character, so I had to do some research to know him in-depth.
PWCW: Tell us about some of the standout moments illustrating the scripts by writers Palmiotti and Gray?
JB: Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are intelligent writers, and they always leave enough room for the artist to develop his ideas with great freedom. I always try to add as much as I can in order to enhance the story. In general, it was a pleasure to work with them, especially in the most dramatic scenes, such as when Hex (as a boy) is locked in the latrine by his father, or those with lots of action and violence. I think we are a good team.
PWCW: This three-issue stint on Jonah Hex is a follow-up of sorts to your work on Solo, another DC Comics project. What brought you back to work on American books and DC in particular?
JB: I first received a message from [then-editor] Stephen Wacker offering me to draw the three issues of The Legend of Jonah Hex. I was delighted and accepted the job.
PWCW: What are you working on after you finish Jonah Hex?
JB: Michael Wright has asked me to draw another western project for D.C., Bat Lash, co-written by Sergio Aragonés and western novelist Peter Brandvold. It will be a six-issue miniseries I will start drawing in the near future.
PWCW: There’s very little of your work published in the U.S. There is Bernet by Auad Publishing, the Best of Clara from last year, Solo and now this. Has it been difficult to get your European work translated and available in America?
JB: Yes, regretfully most of my work is virtually unknown in the U.S. I don’t know the reason, but this is the case with many of the series that worked extremely well in Europe. My most popular character is Torpedo, but I created others, such as Kraven, Ivanpiire, Custer, Sarvan or Snake that could also be popular among American readers. I really hope some American publisher will decide to mend this in the future.
