In Firestorm the Nuclear Man vol. III #27 (Sept. 2006) by Stuart Moore and Jamal Igle, Mikhail Arkadin returned to comics after a more than fifteen year absence.  Some time prior to his reappearance, Mikhail was exposed to plutonium from a dirty bomb while inspecting a former Soviet power plant in Lithuania.  This resulted in Mikhail gaining his new powers.  He adopted a new costume and began calling himself Firestorm.  Since then he’d been operating in Eastern Europe trying to prevent nuclear disasters.  Once Firehawk informed Mikhail of Jason’s role as Firestorm, he re-adopted to his Pozhar codename.  Sadly, we also discovered that his wife Nina had left him some time ago.  When Jason first met Mikhail in issue #28, a battle nearly erupted between the two of them (in classic superhero team-up fashion).

Next, our heroes were ambushed by some atomically-powered Dolly cyborgs. In his Pozhar identity, Mikhail helped Firestorm and Firehawk defeat the man-machines.

Y’know, I really dig Pozhar’s symbol on this costume.  It’s like a zoomed-in version of the classic Firestorm symbol.  If you look, you can clearly make out the edge of the sun symbol, along with the three electron paths.  Nice attention to detail, Mr. Igle!

Then, in an effort to trace the origins of the Dolly attackers, our favorite Nuclear heroes freed the Pionic Man (a former Firestorm foe) from his containment at S.T.A.R. Labs.  This lead to Hewitt Enterprises, the place where Lorraine first became Firehawk against her will (in Fury of Firestorm #17, way back in Oct. 1983).  Mikhail joined Lorraine and Professor Stein in their investigation at Hewitt Enterprises.  There they met Victor Hewitt, CEO of the company and son of Henry Hewitt.

Later, Jason discovered that Victor Hewitt was actually Henry Hewitt (a.k.a. former Firestorm villain Tokomak).  After being defeated by Firestorm way back in Fury of Firestorm Annual #1 (1983), Henry merged with a clone of himself taking on the role of his own son, Victor Hewitt.  Victor had been manipulating events in Firestorm’s life for quite some time, including directing the actions of: the Pupil, the Pionic Man, the Dollies, and even Jason’s girlfriend Gehenna (who turned out to be another altered clone of Henry Hewitt – awkward!).  Victor explained his imminent plan for causing numerous nuclear disasters around the world, while at the same time making himself invincible. Jason, Professor Stein, Firehawk, the Pionic Man, and Pozhar put a stop to Tokomak before he could realize his mad scheme.  During the final battle, Jason unintentionally caused Tokomak’s death.

With the world saved, our heroes took some time to catch their breath.  When we last saw Mikhail, he and Lorraine were ringing in 2007 with a New Year’s Eve kiss.

This was Mikhail’s last appearance before the New 52.  I gotta say, there are certainly worse ways to go out.  Way to go, Mikhail!

That’s it for today! Come back tomorrow as we wrap-up our look at Pozhar!

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Stuart Moore wrote FIRESTORM vol III for 19 issues from 2005 through 2007.  Thanks to the length of his run, Stuart has written Jason Rusch more than any other writer.  Stuart’s run brought dramatic changes for the FIRESTORM title, including: the return of Professor Martin Stein and Mikhail Arkadin, Firehawk joined the Firestorm matrix, incredible growth in Jason’s character, the introduction of Gehenna, and much more!

Stuart Moore has been a writer, a book editor, and an award-winning comics editor. He’s written many titles, such as: NAMOR: THE FIRST MUTANT, CLOAK & DAGGER, WOLVERINE NOIR, THE 99, DETECTIVE COMICS, EARTHLIGHT, PARA, SHADRACH STONE, and much more!  Before turning to writing, Stuart was a book editor at St. Martin’s Press, publishing a wide variety of science fiction and pop culture books. More recently he served as editor of the Virgin Comics / SciFi Channel comics line, and of the bestselling Marvel Knights imprint, where his credits included Brian Michael Bendis’s ALIAS and DAREDEVIL and the Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon PUNISHER. At DC Comics, Stuart was a founding editor of the acclaimed Vertigo imprint, where he won the Will Eisner award for Best Editor 1996 and the Don Thompson Award for Favorite Editor 1999. His editorial credits there include PREACHER, THE INVISIBLES, SWAMP THING, HELLBLAZER, THE BOOKS OF MAGIC, TRANSMETROPOLITAN, and too many others to mention.

Stuart was kind enough to spend some time discussing his run on Firestorm with FIRESTORM FAN.

BACKGROUND

FIRESTORM FAN: How did you first get interested in reading comics and what were some of your favorites?

STUART MOORE: Most people I know either liked DC or Marvel growing up…I have a slightly different story. When I was young, I only read DC Comics; I think I still have a copy of ACTION from when I was five years old. Then, when I was in high school, a friend sat me down with huge piles of Marvel comics — this was before trade paperbacks, but it was the same effect, just enormously long, sprawling runs of stories. And it completely changed me, opened up my mind to all this great, crazy stuff. So to me, DC Comics are the books I loved as a kid, but Marvel are the really exciting, dangerous ones.

FF: What attracted you to writing comics and how did you break into the business?

SM: I’d always done some writing, but I started out as a book editor, then a comics editor. When I was at DC/Vertigo, DC wasn’t really encouraging staff people to write anymore, which I understood — there’s a lot of potential for conflicts of interest there. Though I’ve come around a bit to thinking it can be managed, and that some of the best work of the ’70s and ’80s was done by writer/editors.

Anyway, I left DC in 1999 and had a short stint at Marvel Knights, then started writing full time. I wrote everything — indy stuff, my own work, short stories for anthologies. I still do, actually. Jumping around between genres, styles, and companies keeps me fresh.

FF: What do you find are the major influences on your work?

SM: There are a hell of a lot of them, actually. In comics: Alan Moore, Steve Gerber, Howard Chaykin. In books: Philip K. Dick, Charles Willeford, Cordwainer Smith, recently Rick Moody. A lot of film, too, particularly the work of Alex Cox.

FF: Who would win in a fight – Willie Lumpkin or Doiby Dickles?

SM: Bet on the mailman. He’s got all the keys.

FIRESTORM

FF: How did you get the Firestorm assignment?

SM: I’d written some JLA ADVENTURES stories for Steve Wacker, who fled to Marvel after almost a year editing the monstrous 52. At that time, Steve had recently inherited FIRESTORM, which was going through a gradual but full creative team changeover. Steve knew I had a background in science fiction and thought that would work for the character.

FF: You incorporated lots of Firestorm history into your run (i.e. Firehawk, Pozhar, Tokamak).Were you familiar with the character before taking the job? If so, do you have any favorite issues, storylines, or characters?

SM: I love the character…I actually got hooked in the first few issues of the very first run, when it was abruptly canceled in the middle of a storyline. It was the purest example of a Marvel-style character in the middle of the DC Universe, which was pretty cool at the time. Firestorm also had a great rogues’ gallery, and Firehawk was a volatile, exciting supporting character.

FF: What aspects of Firestorm did you enjoy writing the most? What aspects did you find the most challenging to write?

SM: I really liked Jason, the character. It was very important to me to deal with his relationship with his father and his mother, whom I introduced. The stuff with the father was tricky because the book had been written into a corner: In the very first issue, before I came onboard, we’d seen Jason’s father hitting him. To my mind, once you do that, the character either has to fight back directly or else he has to roll out a series of complex, difficult distancing techniques, which people in abusive relationships do all the time. I worked pretty hard on that aspect of the story.

The pseudo-science was fun too. And the racial undertones, which were mostly in the background but very, very important to who the character was.

The challenging part was that the editorial mandates about the character changed frequently. That’s part of working on a company-owned book, and I think we rolled with it all pretty gracefully.

FF: Were there any situations where editorial or company-wide events impacted your plans? Did the Infinite Crisis, Villains United, and OMAC Project tie-in stories come naturally or did they create challenges for you?

SM: Oh, that was part of the game from day one. FIRESTORM was a borderline-selling book when I came on; we knew we had to take every opportunity offered to keep sales up. And I liked the idea of Jason, who had just graduated from high school, being the young guy thrown into the middle of the DCU, almost like an identification character for the reader. “That’s Donna Troy! She looks like a goddess!” That sort of thing.

FF: What would you say are some elements that make a story a “Firestorm story”, rather than just any other superhero story?

SM: There have been several different takes on the character, so I don’t know if you can generalize too much. But to me, it’s the interplay between the two people making up the persona. We dealt with that in a lot of different combinations. I initially resisted bringing Professor Stein back into the book, but I will say that once it was him and Jason, the character just MOVED. It shows that Gerry Conway knew what he was doing — the young kid, all energy and impulse, combined with the older man who knew the science. They’re doing a variant on that now, with Jason as the science-savvy half.

FF: While working on Firestorm, you had the opportunity to work with Jamal Igle on interiors, and Matt Haley & Brian Stelfreeze on covers. What were some characteristics these artists brought to your stories? Did you write full-script or plot-first, and how collaborative were your relationships?

SM: Full script, as I write just about everything. Jamal was a great collaborator…he’s very underrated; he can draw anything, and when you give him a little room, there’s an amazing power to his action sequences. I had a storyline in mind that we didn’t get to, a racially sensitive story about Jason’s mother, and I probably would have asked Jamal to be a more active co-plotter on that.

As for the covers, both artists were just great. I didn’t have much direct interaction with Matt or Brian, but they did superlative work.

FF: You created some interesting supporting characters for the Firestorm title. Were there any you enjoyed writing more than others?

SM: Gehenna was a lot of fun…her directness, her lack of tact. I thought Professor Stein would be a drag, but I kind of liked him as the shell-shocked older guy among all these young people. And Lorraine, Firehawk, was great to write. I loved that she had a whole career, a calling that was important to her and that had nothing to do with being a superhero. Sometimes she seemed like the only adult in the whole book.

FF: Just to satisfy my fanboy curiosity, I always had the sense you were leading up to Jason and Doctor Otaki merging to become Firestorm. Was that ever part of your plans?

SM: No, that was never the plan. I can’t remember exactly how she fit in…I think she was just there as one of Jason’s many mentors, somebody who’d been through real bad shit on a level he’d hopefully never know.

FF: Any thoughts about what happened to Gehenna after your Firestorm run and in Blackest Night?

SM: It wasn’t what I’d have done, but that’s fine. When you create characters for company-owned books, they always live on (or die, in this case) after you’re done with them.

FF: In the climatic battle with Tokamak, he said to Jason, “I know why you’re Firestorm”. Jason never uncovered what that meant. Can you tell us anything about that cryptic message?

SM: I did have something in mind for that…after all, it was never really explained why the Firestorm energy chose Jason when Ron Raymond died, though the Earth-8 thing provides a certain justification, now. Anyway, I had an idea for an extended story involving Jason’s ancestry and the origins of life on Earth, little stuff like that. I’m sure there are notes for it around somewhere, which I’ll use for something else. But I deliberately wrote the ending so it could also be read just as Tokamak screwing with him, giving him one final jab.

FF: Why did you leave the Firestorm book?

SM: I left because it was canceled. Then they decided to extend it for three more issues, tying it heavily into some New Gods continuity, and they brought the late, much-missed Dwayne McDuffie on to do those. But the book was already dead.

AFTER YOUR FIRESTORM RUN

FF: You recently had the opportunity to write the Ronnie Raymond/Jason Rusch incarnation of Firestorm in JLA/The 99. What differences did you find writing Firestorm for that mini-series versus your previous Firestorm experience?

SM: I originally thought I’d stay away from that character, leaving those scenes to Fabian (my cowriter), precisely because it WAS so different from the character I’d written. But through circumstance, I wound up writing a lot of those scenes, and I really enjoyed it. Firestorm’s role in JLA/99 kept growing because of his powers — he’s a great team-up player because he’s very mobile, and because he can actually draw members of the other team inside himself.

FF: You’ve written more Jason Rusch stories than any other writer. Any words of advice for Gail Simone, Ethan Van Sciver, and Yildiray Cinar as they relaunch Firestorm?

SM: Oh god, I wouldn’t presume to give advice. Those guys know what they’re doing. The initial graphics look fantastic.

FF: What comic books are you reading nowadays?

SM: Most of my mainstream work is at Marvel these days, and I read basically everything there by Bendis, Fraction, Millar, lots of other guys I don’t want to offend by forgetting to mention. I’ll read anything by Grant Morrison, whom I’ve known forever. I’ve recently been catching up on SCALPED, THE BOYS, and SCOTT PILGRIM, all of which are absolutely amazing in completely different ways. But I read a lot more prose these days.

FF: Looking back at all the work you’ve amassed during your career, what are you most proud of? What do you consider a high point both personally and creatively?

SM: FIRESTORM is the longest run I’ve had on a company-owned book, and I’m still proud of the character work in particular on that book. My original graphic novels PARA and EARTHLIGHT are both very personal works that I like quite a bit. I also really like the Wolverine stories I’ve written, particularly WOLVERINE #41 (“The Package”), WOLVERINE NOIR, and the UNDER THE BOARDWALK special. But the answer to that question changes every day. I wrote some STARGATE ATLANTIS comics that absolutely no one read — I have scientific proof — but that came out really nicely.

FF: Are there any projects you are currently working on or have coming up?

SM: I’ve just finished up NAMOR at Marvel, which finished off pretty strong, I think. Since then I’ve written a bit of SPIDER-MAN and I’m currently adapting the upcoming JOHN CARTER film into a young adult novel for Disney. In July, I had a WOLVERINE/DEADPOOL: THE DECOY one-shot,  from Marvel, and a sort-of adaptation of the new CONAN film, THE MASK OF ACHERON, from Dark Horse. I have a few original comics projects in development, and I also run a small graphic-novel packaging partnership called Botfriend. I like to keep busy.

FF: What would your dream comic book project be?

SM: I don’t think in terms of ultimates and dreams; but a long-form, creator-owned monthly would be great. Other than that, I’m happy bouncing around.

Thanks to Stuart Moore for generously donating his time to this interview! To keep up with Stuart, check out on his blog, Pensive Mischief, and follow him on Twitter. Be sure to tell him FIRESTORM FAN sent you!  For more on Stuart’s era of Firestorm, click here for a FIRESTORM FAN interview with artist Jamal Igle!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the interview!

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Jamal Igle was the penciller on Firestorm vol III for 23 issues and has drawn the Jason Rusch Firestorm more than any other artist.  Jamal posted this awesome Ronnie Raymond Firestorm sketch on his DeviantArt page back in June.  It was done for a fan in Belgium using Copic markers on Canson Dessin Blanc wit tekenpapier.

Our friend Brandon DP (Bdog) took it upon himself to color this sketch and did a phenomenal job!  Be sure to check out other works from Brandon DP (Bdog) on his DeviantArt page!

My thanks to Brandon DP for the heads-up about this sketch and for sharing his fantastic colored version.

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Below you’ll see the solicited artwork from 2005 for those individual issues, and then the final covers.  You’ll notice the coloring on the final two covers changed dramatically between the time of solicitation and the final product.

Here is the official solicitation.  Be sure to tell your local comic book shop to order this for you, don’t assume they’ll stock it otherwise.  At $7.99 they may not order many copies for the shelf.

DC COMICS PRESENTS: BRIGHTEST DAY #2

Written by JOHN OSTRANDER and DAN JOLLEY; Art by BRYAN HITCH, PAUL NEARY, DALE EAGLESHAM, WADE VON GRAWBADGER, JAMAL IGLE, ROB STULL, LARY STUCKER, DOUG MAHNKE and PATRICK GLEASON; Cover by IVAN REIS and OCLAIR ALBERT

Spotlighting Martian Manhunter and Firestorm – two heroes who returned after BLACKEST NIGHT as the BRIGHTEST DAY dawned in the DC Universe! First, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold guest-star in a story from MARTIAN MANHUNTER #24, while three travelers seek answers on Mars in the distant future in a tale from issue #11. Then, in an epic from FIRESTORM #11-13, Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond clash for the first time as they battle some of their greatest foes.

96pg. | Color | $7.99 US | On Sale November 10, 2010

You really can’t lose with this collection – Jason Rusch meeting Ronnie Raymond for the first time! Artwork by Dale Eaglesham and Jamal Igle! John Ostrander’s writing! Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Martian Manhunter!  This collection is a win-win all the way around!  I can’t wait!

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The figure was only available in a deluxe package and was apparently somewhat hard to find.  The official name of the package is, Batman: The Brave and the Bold Rocket Blast with Firestorm Figure.

The rocket blast included features a flaming projectile.  Like other Batman: The Brave and the Bold equipment, the rocket blast is modular and can be used with other figures.  Also, the rocket blast itself is supposed to be the robot Gold from the Metal Men.  I’ve always had a soft spot for the Metal Men, so this was kind of cool to realize.

It’s interesting to me that the action figure’s costume has some noticeable variations from the Firestorm that appeared in the TV series. Perhaps this is because the figure came out several months before the television episode aired.  It’s worth noting the action figure’s costume has much in common with the Jamal Igle-designed costume for the Jason Rusch Firestorm.  Whereas the TV version reflects much more of the traditional costume for the Ronnie Raymond Firestorm.  If you look at the side-by-side shot below, you’ll notice several differences:

• The belt and briefs are completely different.
• The boots and glove sleeves are different.
• The electrons in the chest emblem are different (red circles on the TV version, white circles on the action figure)
• The headgear of the action figure features a white accent line just below the flaming hair.  This accent line matches the white accents on the gloves and boots.

Overall this is a decent figure.  I like the fun styling of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.   It’s unfortunate that it was only available in the deluxe pack and somewhat scarce in stores.  I’d recommend eBay or Amazon if you are interested in buying this figure.  Hopefully they’ll re-release the figure by itself on a card.  Who knows, perhaps they’ll even change the costume to reflect the TV series.

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• We’ve got a sneak peek of Firestorm from the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD scheduled for release next Tuesday, February 23. These photos confirm that the Firestorm that appears in the movie is the Jason Rusch version and he’s from the “good” Earth.  I guess in hindsight it’s not too surprising that it’s the Jason Firestorm since Dwayne McDuffie wrote the story for this movie; McDuffie wrote a few issues of Firestorm vol III and a JLA run with Jason.  It’ll be interesting to see if there is an “evil” counterpart to Firestorm within the Crime Syndicate.  Firestorm will apparently have a speaking part as Cedric Yarbrough has been identified as doing the voice of Firestorm in this film.  Also worth noting is that Firestorm’s costume is based upon the Jamal Igle version from Firestorm vol III.  Huge thanks to Rob over at the Aquaman Shrine for granting me permission to republish these images here.  Also, my thanks to Joshua Wolf for directing me towards this news.

• Comic Book Resources had some great coverage of the New York Toy Fair earlier this week.  They managed to get some amazing shots of upcoming DC figures from Mattel.  Below are the images they ran of Firestorm from the Justice League Unlimited line.  This figure is due out sometime in 2010 and will be available online and at Target.  Check out the Comic Book Resources article for pictures of other fantastic figures on the horizon (i.e. Blue Devil, several Aquaman figures, Blue Beetle, Ultra-Humanite, and more.  They’ve even got Cyclotron?!?!)

• I just stumbled across a nice blog post about Shadowstorm, the evil Firestorm doppleganger from the Elemental-era.  The post was written by NicodemusLegend for his Transforming Seminarian blog.  Click here to read the Shadowstorm post.  Additionally, NicodemusLegend did a thorough three-part series on “The Hard Life of Professor Martin Stein”.  Check out that series by clicking on the following links: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.

• Steward Cook (a.k.a. bricolage) laid out his Firestorm: Rebirth proposal that he pitched to DC back in the 1990s.  Sounds like it would have been interesting.  Check it out by clicking here.
• The episode of Batman: The Brave & the Bold that featured Firestorm is now available to view online.  Click here to be watch.  My thanks to Jerrod Porter for sending this link my way.

Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD this coming Tuesday!

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In the meantime, it’s time for more original Firestorm pages from our friend Jon at the Fizzit Firestorm-themed blog.  He happens to own several of the original Firestorm pages and has been kind enough to allow me to publish scans of them here. I’ve been horribly negligent in publishing his more recent acquisitions, so I’m playing catch up today.  Jon’s been a great contributor to FIRESTORM FAN and my thanks go out to him. You may view scans of his entire art collection online by clicking here.

Below is an amazing shot from the series 52.  This is page three from issue #24 featuring Firestorm’s attempt to create a new Justice League.  It was drawn by Phil Jimenez with inks by Andy Lanning.  Such a wonderful shot of a truly quirky team.  I love every character in this group!

Below are two preliminary sketches by Matt Haley as he tried to figure out the design for the cover to Firestorm vol III #11.

Below are two pages from Firestorm vol II #19.  These were drawn by the legendary Gene Colan. The second page was even signed by the artist!

The following page is a nice piece from Firestorm vol II issue #30 by penciller Rafael Kayanan and inker Romeo Tanghal.

These next two pages come from Firestorm vol III issue #5 and were penciled by ChrisCross and inked by Keith Champagne.  In these pages, Firestorm meets Superman and the Flash for the first time.

This next one is from Firestorm vol III issue 11 and features a great shot of Killer Frost.  This was drawn by penciller Dale Eaglesham and inker Wade von Grawbadger.

The next page is from Firestorm vol III issue 12 and features the return of the Ronnie Raymond Firestorm!  In this shot he’s chasing down his long-time foe Multiplex.  This nuclearrific page was penciled by Jamal Igle and inked by Rob Stull.

The page below is from Firestorm vol III issue 22 and features the fusing of Jason Rusch and Professor Martin Stein.  This page was penciled by Eddy Barrows and inked by Rob Stull.

Finally a nice quiet diner scene from Firestorm vol III issue 32.  This one was penciled by Jamal Igle and inked by Keith Champagne.  Be sure to watch for the characters in the background!

My thanks again to Jon at the Fizzit Firestorm-themed blog for providing me with theses scans to publish!

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Today we’ll be presenting several Killer Frost images.  Most of these were taken from lazy afternoon web surfing, so I’m unable to identify the artist for many of them.  I apologize to any artist who I fail to credit.  If a reader can identify a particular artist that I’ve missed, please feel free to leave that in the comments.

Below is a close-up from the cover to The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Man #20 (1984).  I’ve always liked the cover, but this zoomed-in shot is particularly nice.  Art by Rafael Kayanan and Dick Giordano.

Below is a nice image of Killer Frost from one of her earlier appearances.  I believe this may be a George Perez drawing.

Below are two shots of Killer Frost as she appeared in the Justice League Unlimited animated series (2003).  Mattel still hasn’t made a JLU Killer Frost action figure yet, but there are lots of customs on the net.

Below are two cheesecake shots of Killer Frost from her time with the Suicide Squad (2002).  During this era, they really softened her looks and played up her attractiveness.  I guess they figured since she was an antiheroine with the Suicide Squad, she needed to be made really sexy. The first image was drawn by Paco Medina.

Below is the gorgeous cover to Green Arrow #55 (2005) by James Jean.

Below are three shots of Killer Frost in her post-Underworld Unleashed outfit.  She still wears this costume to this day.

The shot below is by Jamal Igle from Firestorm vol III.

Finally, here is the origin of Killer Frost as presented by Scott Beatty and Jamal Igle in Countdown #25 (2007).  You can find this origin story on the DC Comics web site.

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Jamal was kind enough to spend some time discussing his run on Firestorm with FIRESTORM FAN.

Firestorm Fan: How did you get the Firestorm assignment and were you familiar with the character before taking the job?

Jamal Igle: Well, I was actually approached on two different occasions, once by Dan Jolley and later by Peter Tomasi, who was the editor at the time. I turned Dan down initially because although I did want to do it I was otherwise committed. The second time I was still working on one project full time and doing a fill in on Marvel Age Spider-Man when Pete asked me if i was available to do a fill in on the series and I turned him down again. I thought that would be the end of it, but Pete called the next day and offered me the series.

I said no again, hung up the phone and walked about 3 feet before screaming out loud “WHAT ARE YOU DOING???”. So I called Pete back and took the job.

I was of course very familiar with Ronnie Raymond, having grown up reading the Fury of Firestorm and watching him on the Superfriends. At one point Jay Faeber and I had pitched a Ronnie-centric Firestorm series to DC that went pretty far before ultimately being killed.

FF: You worked with both Dan Jolley and Stuart Moore on Firestorm. What were some of the differences in their writing styles? Were they full-script or plot-first? How collaborative were your relationships with them?

JI: They were both full script writers and that made it very easy for me. Style wise they were very similar but tonally very different. Dan, by the time I came on the book, was trying to right the sinking ship I guess. DC had asked him to make the series very Vertigoesque in tone but there was a bit of a backlash, not just from the book but the revelation of Ronnie’s death in Identity Crisis. So, he and the editors decided to bring in more aspects from the original series and give Ronnie a proper heroic send off. Stuart was much more about incorporating as much real science into the stories but making them more fun.

FF: Do you have any favorite issues or storylines from your time on Firestorm? Or from any other era of Firestorm?

JI: Wow, well issue 17 is one of my favorites,which had Jason taking on the Secret society. issues 24 and 25 were fun because it was the first time that I got to draw both Mr. Freeze and Batman.

FF: You designed a fantastic new costume for Jason Rusch. How did you go about creating the redesign? Were you provided any input, or was it solely your design?

JI: It was my design. We were given the go ahead to design a new suit actually around issue #14 , where we have what I like to call the proto-costume. We wanted the change in costume to coincide with Martin Stein’s return but One Year Later was put in place when we make the jump in issue #23 you see Jason’s current costume.

FF: Your new costume for Jason has appeared on two action figures (with a third coming out this year), numerous comics, and is set to appear in the Batman: Brave and the Bold cartoon. What is it like seeing something you designed grow beyond your original involvement?

JI: It’s pretty cool actually, you don’t really get used to it. I’ve designed a few other characters like the new Vigilante and Dreadbolt from Terror Titans.  I have to admit I get a little upset when I see other artists drawing the costume wrong, LOL.

FF: You had the opportunity to redesign several classic characters (Firehawk, Pozhar, Multiplex) as well as design some new ones yourself (Pupil, The Pionic Man, DOLLIES). Were there any you enjoyed more than the others?

JI: There were designs that never saw print that I loved but were cut for space and time issues. The Pupil is one of my favorites , I modeled him after a caricature of Peter Lorre from an old Bugs Bunny cartoon. He was just so creepy.

FF: You took over the Firestorm book with issue #8. This issue started the return of Ronnie Raymond storyline. Were you aware of some fans concerns surrounding Jason replacing Ronnie? If so, did this affect the way you approached the storytelling?

JI: I did, but I try not to think about those things. The truth is, if I let people getting upset about creative decisions bother, I wouldn’t get anything done. I don’t draw to please fans necessarily. Everyone has an opinion about what you should and shouldn’t do. I have to please myself as an artist, and be satisfied with the work first before anyone else sees it. I don’t want to sound like a tool or conceited but you can’t serve so many masters. I’m just happy that other people seem to like my work.

FF: You are truly an amazing storyteller, from action sequences to subtle facial expressions. You can do it all. Once you get the script/plot from the writer, how do you tackle it?

JI: Usually I read a script two or three times to get comfortable with the story and then I thumbnail the entire story over the course of a day, working out the major beats and getting the general layout down. I really prefer working from a full script because the dialog allows me to think about the acting each character does and staging. Depending on the script and what’s required it’s the hunt for reference. After that I take the first day of the week and layout that weeks pages. So I layout 5- 6 pages in one day and then I spend the rest of the week penciling.

FF: You’ve worked with a few different inkers, each bringing their own distinctive feel to the art. What are some characteristics that different inkers bring out in your pencils?

JI: Well, let’s concentrate with the three guys I had the longest collaborations. Rob Stull has a very graphic drawing style. Sharp angles and a very slick stylization. Keith Champagne’s work was equally as fluid but Keith in many ways was far more faithful to my line. I always liked Keith’s work because he was a brush inker like myself and inked me in a similar way that I inked my own work. Jon Sibal is phenomenal as well. His style actually brings a rougher quality than I normally have but for some reason it works so well.

FF: I understand you’ve lectured for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art and the Art Students League of New York. Would you tell us a little more about your involvement?

JI: Well I was involved with MOCCA very early on but it wasn’t in an artistic manner. In a former life I worked in public relations so I was assisting them with their PR and marketing. I lectured a few times afterward. the League was my first actual teaching experience. I taught there for two semesters, starting their comics program.

FF:  Looking back at all the work you’ve amassed, what are you most proud of? What do you consider a high point both personally and creatively?

JI: I don’t know. I haven’t done it yet. I’m a work in progress, I feel like my work is getting better with each issue so the next project is the one I’ll be proudest of.

FF: Your work on Supergirl is awesome and has been very well-received. Are there any other projects you are currently working on or have coming up?

JI: I’ll be penciling World’s Finest #3 but it’ll be Supergirl for the next year.

FF: What would your dream comic book project be?

JI: I still haven’t done my Superman run.

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Thanks again to Jamal Igle for generously donating his time to this interview.  Be sure to visit Jamal Igle’s blog by clicking here. Jamal’s blog features amazing artwork, updates on current projects, and his convention schedule.  Be sure to stop by and tell him FIRESTORM FAN sent you!

Also, be sure to support Jamal’s current work on Supergirl.  Supergirl #45 is on stands now – check it out!

Support Firestorm (and Supergirl)!  Fan the flame!

• Newsarama did a page-by-page summary of Blackest Night #1.  If you didn’t get a chance to read the issue, there are some nice moments related to Ronnie Raymond.  
• IGN featured a really great interview with Geoff Johns about Blackest Night.  Firestorm is mentioned in the interview.
• Can’t wait for the DC Direct Black Lantern Firestorm action figure?  Then check out this custom action figure selling on eBay right now.  My thanks to ComicByComic.com for originally drawing my attention to this.
• The San Diego Comic Con has started and at least three Firestorm-related creators will be there: Jamal Igle, Dwayne McDuffie, and Geoff Johns.  If you’re going to the Con, be sure to attend one of the panels for these guys and tell them how much you love Firestorm!
• If you haven’t been keeping up with Justice League of America, Jason Rusch/Firestorm recently met the Shadow Thief.  For those of you who don’t remember, Shadow Thief is the one who killed Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm.  Luke over at Being Carter Hall published a fantastic page from JLA where Shadow Thief gets some payback from Firestorm.
• Gerry Conway (Firestorm creator and primary Firestorm writer from 1978 – 1986) has been in the news quite a bit lately thanks to the success of his current mini-series, The Last Days of Animal Man.  Here are links to two interviews he’s done recently:
  • Comics Nexus (Firestorm is briefly mentioned in this interview)
  • Cary’s Comics Craze – Part 1 and Part 2
    
• If you like trivia, check out the Firestorm trivia thread over at the DC Comics Message Board.  Please feel free to chime in and join the fun!
• Finally, DC has released a new Firestorm Black Lantern sketch by Ethan Van Sciver.  Enjoy!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!