PROFILE: PEET JANES, EDITOR

To hear him tell it, his career in comics has been a rags-to-slightly-better-rags story. After traveling across the U.S. in a beat-up Volkswagen van ("the Conestoga wagon of the late twentieth century"), Peet ended up in Portland, Oregon. "My old boss back in North Carolina always told me that my skills would serve me well -- no matter where the van broke down -- and he was right."

Starting at Dark Horse as the comics industry equivalent of a "copy boy," Peet climbed the corporate ladder (such as it is) to his current position as Editor. Fresh from working at such magazines as Back Home and The Journal of Entomology, Peet was looking for a way to stretch his creative legs. "I was extremely over-qualified for the position of editorial assistant, but I saw it as an opportunity to get into the comics business. Comics combine two of my favorite things: escapist literature and art."

Peet's talents were soon recognized, and it wasn't long before he was cutting his editorial teeth on manga and "classic" Star Wars comics. Currently the lead editor for Dark Horse's Star Wars line and the primary liaison to Lucasfilm, Peet credits his background as an illustrator with helping him understand the visual requirements of a script and with helping him to communicate with artists.

In addition to his many other arcane abilities, Peet has mastered the aboriginal Australian musical instrument the didgeridoo; a kind of bassoon filtered through rubber bands (but don't get him started on it -- we just recently broke him of playing it in the office).

Name: Peet Janes
Favorite comics: Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library and anything by Rick Geary
Favorite authors: H.P. Lovecraft and Evelyn Waugh
Shoes: Doc Martens or Converse "Chucks" (black high-tops)
When I'm not at work I'm probably ... : looking for a good woman.
Career highlights: Working on a never-before-published Edgar Rice Burroughs manuscript (Tarzan: The Lost Adventure) and going to Skywalker Ranch for the Star Wars: Episode One summit meeting.
Career goals or aspirations: To write more.
Worst job I've ever had: Working at a print shop where the long-time employees were practically brain-dead from breathing all the chemicals. I was out of there within two weeks.