There have been many great poker books through the years, but the game has been featured less in the comic book genre. That changed with the recent release of Trapped from Twisted Comics.
Longtime poker commentator, player, and comedian Joe Stapleton played a major role in getting the project off the ground over the last few years. He recently spoke with 888poker about the graphic novel and finally getting the idea off the ground.
Creating the Comic
How did the graphic novel come about?
In 2020, a fellow by the name of Kenny Diack worked at PokerStars, but was moonlighting as a comic book publisher. He and the writer of their most successful comic – Neil Gibson – thought it would be cool to do one regarding poker and started asking around at PokerStars if they knew anyone who might want to do it. They eventually found me and after pitching them a few ideas, they eventually settled on the one about my life.
What was your overall involvement? 
I was the co-writer on this with Neil, a very talented and experienced comic book writer. I had never written a comic book and he hadn’t done much comedy. His usual books are very twisted and dark. In fact, they’re called Twisted Dark.
Anyway, the comic is loosely based on some things that have happened to me (and a few I’d like to see happen). We wrote this thing together over the course of four months during early 2021. Neil let me mostly write the dialogue and the story, up until the point where things become totally fictional and then is when his experience was incredible to see in action.
He’s just excellent about the technique of writing a story. The funny thing about writing a comic though is that you end up describing a lot of how things look too, which I didn’t realize. That part was annoying. ‘He's wearing a GREEN SHIRT – I DON’T KNOW, MAN.’
Comics & Poker
What can readers and poker players expect?
When the guys asked me to pitch them some ideas, I asked them for some clarification and if there was a particular type of vision that did or did not work best for comic books. They said 'if it can be a movie, it can be a comic book' so I set out to write the kind of movie I like best: a wise-crackin’ caper with a likable protagonist who wins out in spite of his major flaws because he’s inherently a good dude trying to do the right thing. And poker. There’s only a few hands in the book, but make no mistake it is about poker.
What's your own background with comic books?
I loved comic books, but we didn’t have a lot of money growing up so I probably only ended up reading a couple dozen issues over the course of my childhood and as an adult. I now own plenty, but my brain isn’t really good at reading them. I love the stories and the themes but I struggle to keep my eyes from scanning the entire page all at once and it feels like I don’t really take them in properly.
Looking Ahead
Do you have plans for more comic books in the future?
Depends how this one is received. If it sells really well, then yes, definitely. If it is well regarded but doesn’t sell all that well, then only maybe. It was a lot of work and the last thing I’d want to do is cram this down everyone’s throats again if nobody gave a **** about the first one.
Anything else to add or more to know about the project?
Trapped is a love letter to a whole bunch of themes that generally appear in the sorts of stories I adore: action, capers, comedies, poker, reluctant heroes, reluctant heroes making out with beautiful women, twists, turns, double-crosses, and a good old fashioned 'switch-er-oo.'
To order or for more information on the comic, check out Stapleton on Twitter/X at @Stapes. Photo courtesy of Twisted Comics.
