Allen: Tell us something about yourself.

J.J.: I’m a very private person, newly married to the future mother of my children. I spent the first nine years of my education in a private school, moved out of the city into public school and wrapped up with college abroad. The J.J. comes from being born in the seventies. My family thought it would be dyno-mite to call me by my first two initials. Currently I’m 32 and living north of St. Paul.

Allen: What was the first comic book you ever read?

J.J.: The first comic that I can remember getting my hands on tumbled out of one of my parents many storage closets. It was an issue of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, A black and white stoner magazine with cursing, drugs and nudity. For a Catholic school third grader, this was like finding the Holy Grail. The issue vanished soon after and no one will talk.

Allen: How did you get involved in the comic book industry?

J.J.: I’ve been a collector since the third grade. College spoiled me with great teamwork and high tech gadgetry. All that was gone after graduation, stuck with bigger ideas and no resources to work with, I turned my screenplay into a comic book.

Allen: Tell us about your comic book called The McGuffin Exchange. Do you have imprint name for your small press comic? Is this a color or black and white issued story?

J.J.: It’s a story about dangerous artifacts and powerful objects. They get traded and collected among the world’s super rich. I mean what else do you do after you have all the money and all the toys, right? The story is told from the gritty perspective of the bagmen who make the trades. The rich guys don’t do it because trading these packages unavoidably means getting shot at or tortured by some other crazies that want this fancy stuff for themselves. J.J. Kocholek is the current business name I operate under. This sweet baby is black and white; I’ll sneak some color in once the grosses go up. The film will be all color though, that washed out watercolor kind of look. Except for the villain, his environment will be shrouded in shadows but I see the colors that do come through being really vibrant.

Allen: Who are some of the characters in The McGuffin Exchange?

J.J.: Jayson is the adopted son of the rich guy he delivers for, often referred to as “The Old Man”. Years before The McGuffin Exchange he watched the boss’s only son, Nick, get assassinated, so he has some issues. Simon, Jayson’s much older partner, used to have the good life until he found his wife drown in their swimming pool. He demanded The Old Man put him on the beat, why isn’t totally clear. He has issues too. The Fanatic, he’s the guy causing all the trouble up in Duluth, he’s the one responsible for messing with all the bagmen.

Allen: Where can we find this comic book on the stands? How many issues have been published? Is book self-published?

J.J.: Right now you can find issue #1 at, The Source Comics and Games in Falcon Heights, also Uncle Sven’s, Hot Comics, and Collectors Connection in Duluth, where a critic at the university gave it a great review (You can find that on my web site, www.jjkocholek.com). If someone can’t find an issue near him or her they should ask their comic guy to contact me. mcguffin@jjkocholek.com . I’ll send issues out and make sure they get an autographed copy for their trouble. Issue two is ready for print and I’m half way through the artwork for issue three. Big things happening for this years FallCon, and yes these are all self published. Wheew! It’s a lot of work. * http://the-master-list.com/USA/Minnesota/index.shtml . Site link gives contact links of all mentioned Minnesota stores.

Allen: Are you only person creating The McGuffin Exchange? Do you have creative team beside yourself?

J.J.: Issue one was all by me It took three years! Issue two had proofreaders and my brother Dave took over the art and story concept for Simon’s memory sequence. Issue three will again have proofreaders, one of which is my beautiful wife Christina. She also handles proof on the web site. I’m hoping to see this team continually grow as the story develops.

Allen: How did the concept of The McGuffin Exchange come about?

J.J.: It started in high school, dreaming of being the next Spielberg or Lucas. I loved the X- Files and Indiana Jones; I wanted to create that creepy supernatural world with adventure and fun. The first 28-page draft was real serious and grim, after college, four of us came together to form our first production company, Chocolate Thunder Productions. The 28 pages were now a fully storyboarded 101-page screenplay. Life got in the way for some of us and C. T. P. was no more. I moved back home to get the feeling back in my head about the story and continued on with a comic book format. It’s still growing and shaping itself but it’s much further along now and an ending is in sight.

Allen: What conventions will you be attending or have attended?

J.J.: We get to the FallCon www.mncba.com and MicroCon every year, we also do free comic book day at the Source. Minnesota’s 20th anniversary FallCon at the fair grounds, you will find David and me giving autographs. Christina will be there keeping us from scaring people away (She’s the pretty one), and I pop into The Source when ever I can.

Allen: How do you promote your comic book?

J.J.: Through things like this, going to Con’s, appearing at comic shops, bugging friends at parties. Honestly we need to get better at it.

Allen: How can someone contact you?

J.J.: Talk to your neighborhood comic shop attendant, hop onto the web site or just e-mail me at: mcguffin@jjkocholek.com . www.jjkocholek.com

Allen: What are your hobbies and recreational activities?

J.J.: I’m a huge Resident Evil fan so I’m perpetually waiting for the next game. Basketball and Softball are my sports even though I don’t do enough of either, Skidouche, if you know what I mean. I have an addiction to knowing what irons are in the fire for movies. I don’t get off on the gossip, just the project development.

Allen: If you can have 6 dinner guests, 3 fictional and 3 real-life from any time period, who would those 6 people be and why?

J.J.: Superman, to hear the truth, sometimes he just wants to watch the late show and go to bed. Sherlock Holmes, I’ll bet he’s got some stories. Jessica Rabbit, VA VA VA VOOOOM! Holy J.C., just to get some things cleared up. I would like Sam Raimi there, just to give the guy a break, and to learn the secrets to his rise to power. No dinner would be complete without the sultry sounds of the Shat. I have to have William Shatner at the party.

Allen: If you could go into any time machine, what year would you stop at and tell us why.

J.J.: - Insert entire plot of Back to the Future 2 here, minus all the mean stuff. -

Allen: What TV shows, movies, cartoons do you like?

J.J.: For television I’m currently a Weeds and Battlestar Galactica fan. Movies, I can never get tired of John Carpenters, The Thing. The Aliens Quadrilogy, I go through those when I’m working on a project, but I’m a big fan of the epics like Laurence of Arabia and Dances with Wolves, the great landscape pictures. For cartoons, I was digging on Shaolin Showdown and Batman until they took them off the air. I’ll toss in Ninja Scroll or pick up something random just to look at different techniques.

Allen: What books do you enjoy?

J.J.: Currently I’m reading The Diary of Laura Palmer (Twin Peaks nerdage). I really liked the Timothy Zahn trilogy back in the 90’s. I read 1984 a short time ago, what a trip. I like all genres, but I’ve never read a true crime novel, that’s just disturbing to me.

Allen: What comic books do you read now?

J.J.: Walking Dead, 100 Bullets, Fables, Punisher, Conan, New Avengers, Green Lantern, Spawn, and the Amazing Spider-Man.

Allen: What gives you your creative energy?

J.J.: Not wanting to fail, the need to be creative and tell these stories.

Allen: What future projects comic wise are you working on at present time?

J.J.: The McGuffin Exchange, Issue three and beyond, baby!!

Allen: This ends the interview, any encouraging words of wisdom?

J.J.: Follow through, and learn to accept the choices you’ve made. Also, help control the pet population, have your pet spayed or neutered.