I'm currently inking Adventures of Superman (moving over to Action soon), a Superboy fill-in, and this year's Flash Annual. I'm also trying to develop some writing projects that are still forming in my mind right now.

Who will you be working with on Action?

Stuart Immonen. We start with issue #738. I've been working with Stuart since Adventures of Superman #520, as well as an occassional job here and there with him (Final Night mini-series).

How long is Superman's costume change going to last?

I plead the fifth amendment.

Well I tried :) Can you tell us anything that will be upcoming in the Superman titles that has not already been released?

Nothing really, other than what's been mentioned in magazines like Wizard etc. I actually have a contract with DC that states that I'm not supposed to blab things like what you may want to hear.

Let's talk about your work on the Flash.

I started on the Flash with #38, and continued until about #60-something (exactly which issue I forget.) I then moved onto Thunderbolt, and after that was cancelled I came back to the Flash with #80 until I left with #119. A couple of issues along the way in both runs had some fill-ins.

You only worked with two writing teams during your entire run on the Flash. Was there much difference between working with Bill Messner-Loebs and Mark Waid (or Mark Waid/Brian Augustyn)?

No difference since I didn't contribute to the stories, but I had more connection with Mark , since I had already known him better since his days at DC as an editor and previous boss. Brian had been my editor on the Flash and many other projects way before Mark Waid came on board.

After having been on Flash for so long, why did you leave?

I had been doing two books a month for some time and was getting a bit tired out of the grind. One book had to give and it was Flash.

What other titles or characters would you like to work on in the future? Or what people in the comics industry do you want to work with in the future?

I'm more interested in working with people than on characters (although I do find some characters intersting). It's really hard to name people. I've never worked with John Romita Jr, Sal Buscema, or the Kubert brothers and would certainly like to someday. I'd also like to work with Pete Krause, John Romita and Oscar Jimenez again due to the good mixture I feel we had.There are certainly many others who I would like to list but that would take up the rest of the interview.

Could you give us a list of your past credits?

The past few years have been spent on Flash and Adventures of Superman. Before that is a mixed bag of projects. For DC(going back through the years)--Thunderbolt, Jaguar, Justice League, Time Masters, Haywire, and Action when it was weekly; plus a variety of one-shots, mini-series, posters, etc. Way back(1988-89) for Marvel I worked on Solo Avengers(my first regular work), Dr. Strange, and the usual fill-ins, and miscellaneous projects. I also did War Dancer for Defiant when they were around.

How did you come to work in comics? Was it something you always wanted to do?

I had always wanted to do comics. Rarely thought of doing anything else. I started showing my work on a regular basis to Ernie colon when he was an editor at DC(1982-82). At about that time I became an intern at Marvel doing the usual office work(filing, xeroxing, etc.). While I was an intern I started doing background work for Joe Rubinstein(after showing him samples of my work.) This also led to doing backgrounds and helping out people like Jim Starlin, Bob Wiacek and doing some production work in Marvel's bullpen. While doing backgrounds I started working for John Romita in Marvel's apprenticeship program(mainly doing art corrections under John's supervision.) After showing enough editors my samples regular inking work slowly started to come in that by 1988 I was no longer doing background work.

Related to that: do you see yourself working strictly in the comic book industry for the rest of your career, or is there something else you want to do also?

I see myself staying in comics for some time, long enough to be an old timer, but I've always wanted to do general illustration work(editorial, book covers, etc.), but that has taken a back seat for now. Perhaps some painting work in the comic industry...someday. I did have some of my work exhibited in The Society of Illustrators gallery some years back, and printed in a Fractal Design Painter Newsletter so it would be nice to get back into that, whether by traditional painting or digital/computer art.

Have you done any penciling work in the past?

Not much. Just some redo covers and miscellaneous things when I was doing art corrections under John Romita's supervision (1986-88.)

The Fractal Design Painter Newsletter mentioned you with some of your work: Is there a way that fans of your work could find this, if they wanted to?

The newsletter is called Artistry. It's a small newsletter published by Karen Sperling, with no newsstand distribution. I don't have her address handy, but she maintains a folder for Artistry in Fractal Design's AOL area. She occasionally uploads issues in PDF format. Take a look there, but I don't know if my particular issue was uploaded. There is certainly information about subscribing there.

I've also uploaded some images (image names - Soraya, Cora, Dancer Robin, Dancer Close Up, Flashdancer and Shieks Painting) to Fractal Design's AOL area, and Wizard's AOL area (image names - Supergirl, Nice Vampy and Anima in the bad girls folder). I also uploaded a Superman and some Sandman paintings to Wizard's site but for some reason I can't seem to locate them in the folders. It seems as if there may have been a glitch in the uploading.

Who were the biggest influences on your artwork?

Oh boy - Here we go Ingres, Disney animators, Arisman, Hopper, Giordano, Rubinstein, Palmer, Williamson.

Can you describe for us where you fit in during the creation of a comic book?

I come in after the pages are lettered. They are sent to me by DC, but usually I pick them up at the office. Every freelancer sends his completed portion of the job to the office so it can be approved, and logged in so that they know where each book is at any particular time. My job is to make the artwork printable with our crude printing standards (not so crude anymore). I usually recieve finished pencils. That is all details, shadows etc. are already there, and there is very little room to deviate from the pencils. Occasionally I recieve breakdowns (sometimes called layouts) where only the basic structures are drawn in, leaving me to interprete mood, shadows, details etc. In both cases after I'm done I drop off my work at the offices (because I'm a local New Yorker, most guys Fed Ex it in), where it's okayed by the editor and photocopied for the colorist.

How much communication goes on between you and the rest of the creative staff on a comic book? Do you still meet in person with the other people, or is everything done by fax, phone, and e-mail now?

It depends on the job. On fill-ins, not much. On the Superman books everyone is allowed to contribute to oncoming plans in the meetings that are held every so often to plan the next year or two's books. After that, communication is primarly by phone since most freelancers live all over the states and Canada. I usually talk over the job with the penciller (Immonen) and we discuss ideas that he wants, and things that I think might work for the job at hand. After I've completed the issue, I usually talk with the colorists (Glenn Whitmore on Superman, and Tom McCraw on Flash) about any special things that the penciller and I might have had in mind (specific moods, special effects, color holds etc.)

With the evolution of computers and the change it has had on the industry, it seems possible that in the near future there will be creative teams working together that have never met.

Oh sure. Even before there were times I had worked with people and finally met them months if not years later.

Inkers, along with colorists and letterers, have long been the "unsung heroes" of the comics industry. Now that some of the emphasis on comic book quality (from the fans) has shifted to writing and away from the enormous popularity that pencillers enjoyed about 5 years ago, do you think that inkers will eventually have their day in the sun?

I hope so. I think the more people see, read and study these books, they'll see how different people contribute they're own talents to the books. Just look at books drawn by John and Sal Buscemas. They've been inked in a variety of ways, by many different people. Some good, some bad, but you can't deny how important an influence those inkers were to final product.

With the increase in popularity of such titles as Flash, Impulse, Legion of Super-Heroes, and Legionnaires, do you see comics moving away from the "grim-n-gritty"/big guns style and the pessimistic/self-pitying style (example: X-titles) that have been so popular in the industry for the past five years or so?

I had seen that coming for some time know. If I saw one more panel of a sqinty eyed superhero being pissed off I'd go crazy. That's why I enjoyed Flash. It wasn't a "grim-n-gritty/big guns" style of book. It's ok with the Punisher and Batman, but not for every character. Each book has to find what's right for it. You can't make them into something they're not.

What do you think of Superman's new look?

I rather like it. I like to see the boat rocked every know and then. It makes things interesting. I don't think of it as a real change for the Man of Steel, but rather an extension of the character. Kind of like a new haircut or suit for someone. We've all had them. After all he's still the same person underneath the suit. Maybe he'll change as a result of what he has to go through due to the new powers, and lack of powers as Clark. Kind of the way people change when they're confronted with obstacles in their lives.

Why the switch from Adv. of Superman to Action?

Stuart Immonen was offered the position of writer of Action after Dave Michelinie left, so it made sense for him to pencil Action as well, with me moving along as well as the inker of the book. It was just a matter of musical chairs among us Supes guys.

Did you and Stuart Immonen decide to switch books together, since you worked together on the Adventures of Superman?

Well, it was kind of a mutual agreement. Stu moved over to Action, asked for me to stay as inker (echoed by Joey Cavalieri), and I agreed. The only thing that changes is that we (the Action team) will be having our schedules move up a week. No big deal. I take that back. It is a big deal to work on Action Comics. It's nice to work on Superman's first comic. What's also nice is that Stu and I will be doing Action in time for Supes' big birthday party!

Lastly, I'm sure a lot of people would like to have the opportunity to talk to you in person. Are you making any scheduled appearances at conventions or shows any time soon?

I don't usually go to shows outside the New York City area due to time/work load, etc., and don't have any scheduled appearances coming up. But if there's a show in NYC I'm usually there, unless I'm backed up with a lot of work.

Thank you, Jose.