So to Kick off our new blogs section I decided to start with a bit of a bang. I recently got the opportunity to interview comic book writer Jim Hardison. The new superstar scribe is responsible for creating the very funny Dark Horse comic "The Helm." Here is the interview in it's entirety.
Arnie: Ok Jim so let’s start off with the basics. Where are you from, how old are you (if you don’t mind) and what did you do before this?
Jim Hardison: Well, I’ve lived in Oregon for the last ten years, although I’m from Chicago. I’m 43 until October and, in addition to writing the Helm, I work as a story consultant with a company called Character LLC. We work on characters for entertainment and branding. As part of that work, I co-wrote the script for the2004 hour-long Popeye adventure Popeye’s Voyage: The Quest for Pappy, I’ve developed characters and wrote the pilot episode for the PBS kids series SeeMore’s Playhouse and I’ve worked on most of the major brand characters like Tony the Tiger, the Jolly Green Giant and Finn, the Goldfish crackers character. Before Character LLC, I was a director on an animated TV show called Gary and Mike and of TV commercials.
Arnie: How did you prepare for this sort of work?
Jim Hardison: I’m new to comics, so my editor at Dark Horse had to give me the comics 101 crash course. I do a lot of writing in my work, but comics writing is its own unique thing. I’m hoping I’ll get to keep writing comics as I feel like I’m just starting to learn how it’s done after completing the four issues of The Helm.
Arnie: The Helm is a very funny book with a great story, how did you come up with the concept? 
Jim Hardison: I’d had an idea floating around in my head for a while about an underdog character who found a magic artifact at a garage sale—and that idea sort of collided with another concept I’d been playing around with about building a character who was so unsuited to be a hero that his own superpower hated him. In my work on characters, I’ve often seen that the difference between a good character and a great one is the difference between external and internal conflict. External conflicts are cool and create a lot of excitement, but it seems like internal conflicts make a connection point between the character and the audience. I wanted to build a character with a conflict like that. In Mathew Blurdy’s case, that conflict is between destiny and comfort and is symbolized by his dysfunctional relationship with the Helm. I’ve no pretensions that Mathew is a great character, but hopefully he’s fun and funny enough that I can slip some deeper meanings in here and there.
Arnie: Are you a Thor fan by chance?Jim Hardison: I haven’t read much about Thor in comics since I was a little kid—but I loved the character then and the stories and imagery certainly influenced me as I was writing the Helm. I am now, and have always been, a fan of the Norse God of Thunder.Arnie: I have to ask this one is Matt Blurdy based on anyone? He kind of reminds me of a former roommate of mine. I think that’s one of the reasons I like this story so much.Jim Hardison: Quite a few people have asked this question—all citing someone they’ve known who reminds them of Matt. Yes, he’s based on a real person—but someone whose identity must remain secret. And, of course, the real guy was just a scaffolding I built the character around. Mathew Blurdy is an amalgamation of several folks I’ve known, with a healthy (unhealthy?) dose of me thrown in for good measure.
Arnie:You capture the thought process and emotional distress of a creative person very well and still manage to do it with humor, especially on Matt’s myspace page, are any of those experiences based on your own?
Jim Hardison: Thanks and yes. I draw on my own creative and emotional shortcomings to write Matt—fortunately, my distress is of the ridiculous variety. Like Matt, I am a past my prime basement rock god, novelist, screenwriter and comics author who doesn’t like to eat his vegetables and needs to get a better workout than that provided by hoisting a 2 liter bottle of Dr. Pepper to my lips in sets of 20.
Arnie: Speaking of processes, could you gives some insight into your process while making this? Do you listen to music while writing or do you need silence, etc.
Jim Hardison: love to write to music and frequently make iPod playlists as the sound tracks to my writing. Not only does the music help set a mood, but it screens out unwanted interruptions. I have these absolutely gigantic headphones—if I had an orange plastic flashlight, I’d look like I was landing an airplane—which help to insulate me from the world. I am a streak writer—meaning I don’t have any discipline and consequently prefer to write in long, uninterrupted streaks, basically until whatever creative vein I’m mining runs out. Writing a four issue series was interesting because it required the appearance of discipline. I have two exhaustingly wonderful daughters, so I wound up doing most of the writing for the Helm by getting up super early and writing from about 3:00 AM until 6:30 AM when it was time to rouse the girls for breakfast. Normally, I prefer to write starting around 10:00 PM and going through until I’m done, whenever that happens to be.
Arnie: How much World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, and Magic the gathering did you have to play to do research for this story?
Jim Hardison: I used to be a big time Dungeons and Dragons player. When I was in high school and college, I was the dungeon master and we’d play three times a week during the week and do one all nighter every weekend. I even took a year off school between high school and college to try to start an game company. I haven’t played World of Warcraft because, like a junkie looking at a big pile of heroin, I think I might never make it back to reality—but I have read about the game enough to recognize how dangerous it would be for me and to learn a bit about Leroy Jenkins. Somehow, I missed out on the Magic the Gathering experience.
Issue #1 was insane as it set the pace for the story, #2 kept it going and even threw some nods to fantasy movies like “Highlander,” anything you would like to share about issue #3?
Well…there’s a twist or two coming that I hope I haven’t telegraphed too clearly. Apart from that, I start hinting around a bit more about a previous Valhalladrim, I throw in a ghost, a necromancer, that sort of thing.
Arnie: This is a 4 issue story, is there any chance we may be seeing more of Matt or the Helm past those for issues?
Jim Hardison: I hope so! I’ve got quite a few additional stories mapped out with Matt and the Helm—sales figures allowing, they may even make it to print.
Arnie: What’s next for you? Are you going to work for any other companies or do any more comics?
Jim Hardison: I’ve pitched a few more comics at Dark Horse—I’ll keep you posted on how that pans out—and I’m always working on stories in one form or another. I’ve got a folder on my computer that I call the Idea Dumping Ground, and any time anything occurs to me, I jot it down, file it away and wait to see if it blooms into something interesting. The Helm started off that way. Beyond that, my work on at Character keeps me pretty busy and we’re working on a book about our approach to characters and story. No release date yet, no publisher, no manuscript—but we’re working on it.
Arnie: How has being a comic writer affected your life? Do people recognize you on the street? What do your friends and family say?
Jim Hardison: It’s been really rewarding getting letters from folks who have read the Helm and reading reviews from people who thought it was funny (the negative reviews have been less pleasant), but overall, I have not vaulted to movie star status just yet. I suppose there is still time. My family and friends have been incredibly supportive and encouraging, proving that I have chosen my family and friends with great discretion. Unfortunately, the Helm is a bit age inappropriate for my daughters, so I have tried to keep the book out of their hands—well, #2 anyway. One day I’ll be able to share the Helm with them.
Arnie: How has it been working with the legendary Bart Sears? The man is a god among men.
Jim Hardison: Working with Bart has been fantastic. His art continually surprises and pleases me. I’ve had great fun opening the new emails of his art and seeing how he’s interpreted my writing. Randy Elliott’s finishes and Dan Jackson’s colors have also been great—I’ve got an awesome art team and I thank the comic gods, among them my editor Dave Land, for showering me with such riches. Wow. That was a pretty pompous statement…and yet heartfelt.
Arnie: What comics are you reading currently and did you go to the Comic-Con?
Jim Hardison: Just today I read issues #1 and 2 of The Foxwood Falcons by Darren Sanchez, art by Tow & Balke. Apart from that, I just finished up Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files 1-4 and Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein 1 and 2. I also just got a con-preview of Dog Eaters by Macolm Wong and Guillermo A. Angel—which answers the next question—yes, I was at the Comic-Con. Apart from the Stumptown ComicCon here in Portland, it was my first Mega Con ever, and kind of a doozie of an introduction to the world of Comics Pop Culture. I was doing some signings of the Helm at the Dark Horse booth—which was a really cosmic experience. Reminded me of the old days and going to GenCon for Dungeons and Dragons.
Arnie: If the Helm were to chose one of the current Presidential candidates which one would be “the chosen?”Jim Hardison: Wow, nice question. Matt Blurdy isn’t a terribly political guy for two reasons—one, he’s a bit lazy about filling out voter registration forms and two, he tends to believe that no one could run things as well as he’d run them, given the chance. Despite all that, if Matt was voting, he’d probably vote Libertarian—not because he really agrees with what they actually stand for, but because he likes the sound of it. It sounds so much more romantic than Democrat or Republican.
Arnie: What would you do if you had the Helm?
Jim Hardison: Ouch. I’d probably be in a very similar situation to Matt. The Helm would have to start with an intensive work out regime to get me into anything resembling shape. And it would probably hate me for my soft and cushy existence and my deep attachment to my wife and children. I’m afraid I’d have the same inner struggle Matt does—between my comfortable existence and a larger destiny. Me though, I think I’d opt for the comfortable existence and leave destiny for more worthy heads than mine.
The Helm issues #1 and #2 are available at your local comic book stores now. To find out more about Jim or The Helm please visit the website at Thehelmcomic.com
Arnie Bermudez
Tucson Citizen Cartoonist and creator of Coyote Wash
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ABOUT THIS BLOGGER
ARNIE BERMUDEZ is the Cartoonist/Illustrator for the Tucson Citizen. He is a lifelong artist and a full-time goofball. He likes to read comic books, listen to the Cure, draw, read more comic books, draw some more, and enjoys being a sma
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