Quick Magazine, a free daily paper in Dallas, Texas, published an exclusive interview with John Layman today. Layman, along with Tom Peyer, is one of the writer for the 5-comic story arc in the “Tek Jansen” series. And again, another person closely involved with the project emphasises the fact that this was a very hands-on project for Stephen, and that he was very involved.
From Quick Magazine:
LAYMAN’S TERMS (PDF link)
Contacted through his blog, themightlayman.blogspot.com, John Layman recently answered a few questions via e-mail:
Q: You’re one of three writers on Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen. How do those responsibilities break down?
A: There are two stories per issue. Tom Peyer and I, friends and fellow Seattle-ites, are co-writing the main story. A guy named Jim Massey — also from Seattle, but I don’t know him — is writing the very funny backup stories.
Q: How did you and Peyer get this gig?
A: Oni told us when they got the license, and we pitched it. Not only did we pitch it ASAP, but our pitch was long and detailed and funny, and it was clear that we were very passionate about it, and the show. We got the news Oni was doing the book and got together that night and worked on it for 48 hours, and then turned it in about the same time everybody else was saying, “Hmm, this sounds good. I think I’ll pitch for it.” So Oni went with the bird in the hand, I guess.
Q: How much input did Stephen Colbert have in the script?
A: Stephen Colbert has been very hands-on with the scripts, which is flattering. He’s giving us lots of notes and feedback, and he’s clearly very enthused by the idea of putting out a comic.
Full text of article and interview (PDF link)
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