First Comic News: Who is Jacob Mars?
Jeffrey Kaufman: Jacob Mars is simply a guy who got downsized from the CIA who know does anything for money to payoff of an unbelievable amount of alimony and other bills.
1st: What made him want to be an FBI?
Jeffrey: He thought it was a good career for a guy with his skill set.
1st: Is it a sense of Patriotism?
Jeffrey: No, Mars just wanted to do something he was good at. He was a great soldier and just thought this would work for him. He might have had some patriotism deep down, but it was really deep down.
1st: Ultimately why can’t he become an FBI Agent?
Jeffrey: Being arrested for aggravated battery during his training at Quantico, ended his career with the FBI before it even started.
1st: He joins the CIA, in his mind isn’t this also patriotic and serving his country?
Jeffrey: He joined the CIA because he had no option. His new handler took his future away from him when she caused him to get arrested.
1st: How do things go from Patriotically serving his country to just being a killer?
Jeffrey: It was never about being patriotic. The CIA took away any moral or logical reasoning from him. He was taught “that things don’t matter other than the accomplishing the assignment”.
1st: By the time we meet Jacob, has he reconciled himself that he is just a killer for the government?
Jeffrey: Yes, and he’s comfortable with it. Mars is not a hero or a villain. He’s just a really talented guy who has accepted his place in the universe. This is not a redemption story or a Hero’s Journey. This is a book about how this guy survives after his world is flipped on him.
1st: Isn’t he supposed to be the American version of James Bond, 007 licensed to kill?
Jeffrey: When developing Jacob Mars, I did give him a little Sir Sean Connery. He was my favorite Bond, but I imagined him more of an updated version of the way I felt about him than the actual character of James Bond from “Dr. No.”
1st: Why doesn’t his life seem as glamorous as James Bond’s?
Jeffrey: Bond is more “champagne wishes and caviar dreams.” than desperate. I believe that part of the Bond character makes him suave not edgy. I see Mars as being more street smart then prissy. He would only wear a tux if the price was right. He’s a dominant force not a hood ornament.
1st: Does the government actually downsize their CIA Agents licensed to kill?
Jeffrey: No they don’t…They kill them and that’s why Mar’s world is now uncomfortable because it lacks order.
1st: When Jacob goes freelance, does he find any moral difficulty with what he has to do to pay his bills?
Jeffrey: Mars has a very low moral threshold. That is what made him so good at his job, so the answer is no. He could care less.
1st: Why would Jacob work for and or trust someone he didn’t know?
Jeffrey: He’s off balance. He has so quickly been put into this new situation that he’s learning as he goes.
1st: Why the title “Whore”?
Jeffrey: There is no better word to describe Jacob Mars. It’s all about the money. He sets a price and does the job no matter how bad or demoralizing it may be. It is the major theme of the book.
1st: Did you think the title might cause problems for retailers?
Jeffrey: I absolutely did, and with a disgusting and immature amount of ego, pride and artistic rigidity I kept the name. This book is a single entity from the design of gun in the masthead, the cover art, the forward, the artist, the colorist and the script. This might not be saying a lot, but I wanted this book to be the best thing I had ever done. Later, when I held that first copy in San Diego, I knew I had accomplished what I had set out to do.
1st: Why would you name the main character of Whore after your children?
Jeffrey: It’s the same reason my son Jacob’s middle name is Connor after “Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod”. I wanted them some day to be able to get a good laugh and thought it was cool as a parent to be able to include them in some way.
1st: What makes Whore so cool no comic fan should miss it?
Jeffrey: Jacob Mars is an original, humorous and challenging character who will keep you in an uncomfortable state throughout the book. Also, the ending might make you feel like an idiot which is fun for me.
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