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Jimmy Palmiotti Dishes The Dirt On A Hectic Harley

by Vince Brusio

Are there enough 5-hour energy drinks to keep up with the pace of writing monthly books and coming up with new ideas that hold onto the audience throughout the year? Apparently, Jimmy and Amanda are getting a better grip on Harely Quinn's hectic schedule, and Twitter is turning out to be a lifeline they need to keep things fresh ... and mental. Find out what's going on behind-the-scenese in this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview!

Harley's Little Black Book #1 (OCT150151) is in comic shops December 2.

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Article ImagePREVIEWSworld: First question: How are you finding the time to write two Harley books? Do you have your OWN little black book of unfinished plots and perils that are finally being opened to the public?

Jimmy Palmiotti: Finding time is a pretty difficult thing to do these days because we both have a lot of things going on at once and doing conventions at the same time, (which we are cutting back on in 16). The bottom line is we love the characters and it’s a dream come true, so we manage. We were lucky to have Justin Gray give us a big hand on the Harley/Powergirl series. Without him we would still be working on it. When that was over, DC approached us to do this book and it was hard to say no since the concept was so wild, the publishing schedule a bit more relaxed and the format appealing because we can tell an entire story in one issue. As far as our own little black book, it’s basically a file we keep of ideas we have for future stories, characters, and so on that once in a while we go back to. What I will say about Harley is that she is one of the easiest characters to write that I ever worked on. That says a lot about the creators that came up with her.

PREVIEWSworld: Tell us a little about how Harley’s Little Black Book will work. It sounds like it could go in a million and one directions, and you might be having TOO much fun.

Article ImageJimmy Palmiotti:  We are looking at the book as a team-up book, and every other month we will be writing 38 pages of Harley Quinn teaming up with another DC character, and we have some wild stuff planned down the line to keep it interesting. Each issue is a self-contained one-shot that is in continuity with the regular monthly. The first issue with Wonder Woman takes Harley to London to have an adventure. The second one teams her with a classic superhero. No, I cannot tell you who it is yet.

PREVIEWSworld: The credits for this book tout artwork by “Amanda Conner and a bunch of people who owe her favors.” Any chance you can elaborate on that for us, so we know who the madcap magicians are in the future?

Jimmy Palmiotti:  It was our way of saying Amanda is drawing the entire book, but if she gets behind, we will be putting our good friends to work helping her along. It was our plan “B,” and so far it is looking pretty good, and we might not need the help. We were just trying to be realistic and this goes back to the first question. We are always fighting time. My hope is she does it all, but we got a great dugout of talent ready to lend a hand.

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PREVIEWSworld: Harley seems to be conquering the world lately, appearing in many different DC books. Are you surprised by how well the character’s being received by the fans?

Article ImageJimmy Palmiotti: I’m always surprised when something I write finds an audience, so yes … I got totally caught off-guard with this book. But like anything, you have to give the readers something interesting and unique every single month or you lose the audience.  The real accomplishment in comics is to keep that audience and try to grow it by offering a better book each time. I think our secret weapon is Chad Hardin on the monthly and with Little Black Book, having Amanda on art makes this issue of the book something unique since she hasn't drawn anything but the covers and a few pages of Harley in the past. Outside of our titles, seeing all the different cosplay, all the clothing, products and such is just awesome. The character is growing by the day, and I can’t wait untill the rest of the world catches on. My hope is that DC decides to bring back an animated Harley ASAP at this point. Even better, a live action sitcom set in Coney Island would be awesome. I just think this is a character with universal appeal. 

PREVIEWSworld: Last question: You seem to have taken Harley in a different direction for your monthly book. As compared to the Harley in Suicide Squad, or the video games, in your book she seems to be more of a sociopath than a psychopath. Yes? And is this the same direction you’re taking in Harley’s Little Black Book #1 (OCT150151)?

Article ImageJimmy Palmiotti:  We only know how to write her the way we’ve been doing for the past few years. I think a different part of Harley works for those other titles because she is part of a team and every page isn’t focused on her. But to write a monthly, you have to get into her head more and her day-to-day activities, and to do this another direction had to be explored. I would find it very difficult to write her without creating her own supporting cast around her.

The focus on the Little Black Book is to team her up with another character from the DCU and have some fun. We’ve been having a great time on Twitter listening to people’s suggestions for team-ups and there are some great ideas coming in that we are totally going to steal! 

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