Legendary artist Joe St. Pierre teams up with ZOOP to release his latest project: Joe Saint-Pierre Sketchbook 2025. The crowdfunding campaign was fully funded in just 4 hours. This sketchbook contains over 50 pages of sketches, iconic covers, and more from Joe’s 20-plus-year career in comics, including his legendary Marvel work (Venom, The Amazing Spider-Man) and his co-creation “The Brave Man’s Secret Weapon”.
The Beat caught up with Pierre via Zoom to discuss this brand new project and Pierre’s plans for the future!
Diego Higuera: We do need a storyteller – that’s for sure. My first question: You’ve had a long and successful career in comics, from Secret Weapon to big projects like Insurgency. What are some of the most memorable moments or projects that have shaped your career?
Joe St. Pierre: Well, ever since I was a kid – probably around 10 – I’ve always wanted to draw Spider-Man. It felt like a mission from God, you know? I remember putting together my best drawings, folding them, and sending them to Marvel Comics. I was only 10 years old and they politely sent me a rejection letter. That letter derailed my career path for decades, but I still have it. I had nothing after the first rejection, but I kept that one – and that meant a lot. So, I would say that my first job at Marvel, actually drawing Spider-Man or a Spider-Man character, was probably the highlight of my career in non-creator-owned comics. This is indeed the fulfillment of life’s purpose.
Higuera: How do you come up with a new cover or key moment for such a well-known character?
Pierre: Yeah, I don’t know. Probably the same way I approach any project – you know, trying to make it the best, the most exciting, or the most appropriate story cover. I guess I really enjoy doing covers, so I’ll often do 10 to 20 different layouts, just to mix things up a bit. I like this process. I spent a lot of time trying out ideas and perfecting the ones I liked.
Higuera: Great, that’s a really interesting insight into your process – it sounds like you like to try out different ideas before perfecting them. Which actually leads me nicely to my next question: can you tell us a little bit about what inspired your upcoming sketchbook and what fans can expect in this new series?
Pierre: Yeah, so we’re running a sketchbook activity on Zoop, which is a collection of a lot of commissions that I’ve done over the last year and a half or so. I joined Whatnot – have you heard of that app? Yes? OK I have an account there and I go on Whatnot every Thursday at noon. It’s my little way to escape my day job and just hang out, draw, and see what’s going on.
I do a lot of sketches there, so I thought it would be cool to combine them as a souvenir of my recently completed commissions and sketch work. For the first draft, I put together 163 sketches, which I’m now narrowing down because the format of the book is 52 pages total – 48 pages inside, with a cardstock cover. So I’m paring it down, refining the collection to its best parts, and cropping out about 100 drawings in the process.
Higuera: I also wanted to ask – because you’ve had so much work over the years, and you’ve narrowed it down to this carefully curated selection – I can’t imagine what it’s like to have all of that laid out in front of you and think about you , “What do I want to keep?” What does that process look like for you?
Pierre: Yeah, if we were to do some sort of career overview of all my work, I think I would pass out. There are just too many – too hard to see clearly. So I like to keep it simple. This sketchbook focuses on recent sketches, something loose and spontaneous.
One of the things I really enjoy about doing commissioned and sketched covers is their energy and spontaneity. With professional cover work, sometimes things can get a little too polished, a little too perfect. But with sketches and commissions, there’s room for looserness, and I really like that quality in the drawings – it feels more alive, you know?
Higuera: What do you think is the best part of it?
Pierre: Well, I was a little surprised at how many sketches there were – oh my gosh! A lot of people know me from being a full-time Marvel/DC guy in the ’90s. From there, I started dabbling in commercial art and publishing my own work full-time.
For this sketchbook, I brought back some of that behind-the-scenes feel. I still have pencil copies of some of the classic covers, so I thought it would be fun to throw some of those in as well, just for the fans.
Higuera: Your sketchbook campaign was a huge success–reaching its funding goal in less than four hours! marvelous. What do you think it is about this campaign and the rewards you’re offering that really resonates with fans?
Pierre: Well, I think a lot of that comes from my Whatnot followers – I have about 1,100 followers now. Many of them would like to see the sketches they purchase included in a sketchbook, like an almanac of their own work.
This was my second Zoop event, so I kept my goals manageable. I have a very clear idea of what I can get from my Whatnot fans, and now that we’ve achieved that, it’s a matter of seeing how far we can go.
Higuera: How important is direct support from fans to you?
Pierre: To me, when it comes to standalone stuff, it’s pretty much everything. I do have support from mainstream publishers like Diamond, who have been great throughout my career. But it’s really the personal connections and the word-of-mouth that come with it—those connections are everything. The more I connect with my fans, the more they spread the word, which is the most important part of the process, especially with something creator-owned.
Speaking of which, can we also talk about the new zodiac book? Yes? Amazing. The street cred of Marvel and DC definitely helped when I was on the show. Fans walking by might not be familiar with my name, but know characters like Spider-Man, Venom, or Green Lantern, and they’ll stop and become interested. That’s usually how they’ve checked out other projects I’ve worked on. So, we’re launching a sketchbook next year, as well as a zodiac book!
Higuera: What’s interesting is that what you just mentioned actually leads to my next question. How does working on a personal project like a sketchbook compare to working with a team on a large comic book issue?
Pierre: Well, I’ve been a cartoonist since I was a kid, and cartoonist to me also includes the ability to write. I’ve always wanted to write and draw my own stories, even when Marvel was doing Venom and Spider-Man. But soon after, I wrote a book in Image because I wanted to work on my own ideas and creations. We published a book called Megahertz in 1997, and it’s hard to believe we’re now celebrating its 25th anniversary. I even republished it with a foil cover.
I’ve always had this passion since I was a kid, and it’s something I’ve never been able to shake off. I believe my role is competitive with today’s roles. Some people may be tired of long-term storylines with traditional characters that have been around for 60, 70, 80 years. So I wanted to offer something new, with some fresh spin, but still capture some of the same feeling.
As for quality, I think we could put an issue of “New Zodiac” next to “The Amazing Spider-Man” and have it be equally compatible in terms of production, quality, and price. I think this piece would look great on the shelf next to mainstream products.
Higuera: It’s interesting because a lot of projects, once they gain traction or get noticed by retailers, get released and end up in comic book stores. For example, the series “Fox in the Woods” is very American comic style, but also has a strong animation influence. It reminds me of those anime-style comics from the 90s and early 2000s, like Gen 13 or Empowered. Such books still sell well.
I mention all of this because I’ve seen projects like New Zodiac and I can tell they’re very well made. In my opinion, the success of a project has more to do with how it is made and who is responsible for it than where it comes from. Wondering if you’d like to comment on this or share your thoughts?
Pierre: I’m still a fan. I love reading and keeping up with the latest news, but it can be difficult when you’re buried in a project. Now, I am still a one-man show. I wrote almost everything in this book. I got some help with coloring and other things, but I was still the one calling the printer, dealing with the dealers, contacting the retailers to get them to order the book in their spare time. It was a lot of work, so I wasn’t able to read as much as I would have liked, but I did appreciate the Fox in the Woods reference.
Higuera: Is there anything you would like to say to your readers and the projects you are currently working on?
Pierre: In addition to the sketchbooks on Zoop, I’ve also posted several creator-owned books that I’ve been a part of. one of them, New zodiac sign: Piscesis currently soliciting through Diamond this month, and the deadline for retailer orders is December 27th.
The New Zodiac is like my own Marvel Universe, with 12 characters who channel the cosmic energy of the Zodiac. Each character represents a different zodiac sign and possesses their own celestial or supernatural abilities. Pisces’ character is Cricket, who combines elements of “Ghostbusters” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” She is an advanced medium with the unique ability to communicate with the dead trapped on Earth. The story follows her adventures with clients, two of whom appear on the cover – one a gentleman solving a mystery, the other a bat-like creature in the top corner. The book has two cricket-centric stories. This is another 52 page square bound beautiful book filled with goodies.
Higuera: Any final notes for readers or fans reading or moving this post?
Pierre: Yes, stay tuned. Looking at the project and the zodiac, there are 12 zodiac signs in total, so this is only the second one. The more you support my projects (like sketchbooks), the more helpful it will be. Any funds raised above production costs will be used to keep me at my desk working on more material. So I really appreciate everyone’s support. Thank you!
If you don’t want to miss out on Pierre’s latest projects, be sure to check out Joe St. Pierre’s events before it’s too late!
