PROFILE: SCOTT ALLIE, EDITOR
"Daring." "Visionary." "Nervous." "Watch out, he bites." These are just a few of the terms that have been used to describe Scott Allie, the editor of ZombieWorld, Mike Mignola's Hellboy, Sergio Aragonés' many titles, Randy Bowen's Decapitator, and other comics.The young Massachusetts native could have had it all, but in 1982 made the mistake of reading Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. "As a twelve-year old, I thought the writing was pretty good." That four-issue series led to Allie's downfall. He wound up attending an extremely liberal college that allowed him, as one of its top students, to design his own major. Either unable to rectify their mistake, or snowed by the fact that Art Spiegelman's Maus had won a Pulitzer that same year, the college graduated Allie with a B.A. in Comics (!).
A short time later Scott found himself in Portland, Oregon. "I had heard good things about Portland -- mainly that it was on the other side of the country from Massachusetts." But he had no idea Dark Horse was located in the area until he responded to a "help wanted" ad from a company looking for computer color separators. Thus Scott was introduced to Dark Horse. Sadly, he didn't get the job.
For the next year he worked as a staff editor for the literary anthology Glimmer Train, but eventually the lure of comics got the best of him and he jumped into the glamorous world of self-publishing. As publisher, editor, writer, and sometimes artist, Allie conned a few close friends into producing ten issues of the comic Sick Smiles. Fortunately, just as the money was running out, Scott received a call from then-Dark Horse editor in chief Diana Schutz. Diana had seen Sick Smiles and was convinced by it that Allie had what it took to run a copy machine and pack Federal Express boxes. This time, Scott got the job and the rest, as they say, is history.
Now, Allie is known throughout the comics world as one of the hardest working and most innovative editors in the business. Even as you read these words, many exciting new projects are taking shape under his fevered direction. Among them, a new Hammer miniseries by Kelley Jones, more ZombieWorld by Pat Mills and John Hicklenton, and a new Hellboy story written and laid out by Mignola and illustrated by Kevin Nowlan.
Lately, Allie has set for himself the task of single-handedly "saving comics." So if you're a comics fan worried about the fate of the medium, you can sleep soundly at night; Scott Allie is on the job.
Name: Scott Allie
Nickname: Bitey the Clown, Scammin' Scott Alchemy Allie.
Favorite comics: From Hell, Hellboy, Slow Death
Favorite books: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, Spider by Patrick McGrath
Favorite movies: Lost Highway, She's So Lovely, Simple Men, Last Tango in Paris
Favorite music: What fellow editor Jamie S. Rich assures me is "old crappy stuff."
When I'm not at work I'm probably ... : Witchin' up some hoodoo.
Comics project I'd most like to work on: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. Screw you, Dunbier.
Career goals or aspirations: Isn't it pathetic when editors aspire to write?
Worst job I've ever had: Stage hand to Broadway bimbo Julie Taymor, working 16-20 hour days 5-7 days a week for about $180/week.
Career highlight: Mike Mignola's Eisner Award acceptance speech in 1997.
Quote: "What do you mean you won't sell me another round of Jaegermeister?"