Batman Bonanza! (and Superman, Daredevil, and Spider-Man . . .)
Share:
of the films Commando, Teen Wolf and Burglar or the author
behind such comic book mini-series as Batman: The Long Halloween,
Superman For All Seasons, Daredevil: Yellow and Spider-Man:
Blue. Along the way he’s also written the monthly Superman title,
several Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight specials, Gambit, and a
number of others. Known for his numerous collaborations with artist Tim Sale, it
was recently announced he was taking over the reigns of Batman with
artist (and WildStorm Productions founder) Jim Lee. He also recently signed on
as a consulting producer to WB’s Smallville TV series.
Here’s the SCOOP on Jeph Loeb:
SCOOP: You’ve had a
nice run on Superman. Now you’re moving on to Batman with Jim Lee and the
upcoming Batman/Superman title with Ed McGuiness. What are you most looking
forward to with Batman?
Jeph Loeb: Well, first off, thanks for the
kind words about Superman. It was great fun and I don’t like to think
that I’ve left the Superman group, just moved down the hall into a new suite of
very cushy rooms. As long as we’ve got Ed McGuiness, Richard and Tanya Horie,
Hip Flask creator Richard Starkings and his Comicraft Orchestra and
Superman Group Editor Eddie Berganza, I’d be pretty darn happy doing Pete
Ross, All American!
Second, that title, whatever it is going to be
called, will be more Superman/Batman than what you’ve posed. It’s a subtle
distinction, but in our minds, the book is a Superman title that has access to
the Batman family. There are already so many natural bridges-Bruce Wayne owns
(or rather WayneTech owns) The Daily Planet and the apartment building
that Lois and Clark live in; Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are running around
Metropolis; Maggie Sawyer is in Gotham; LexCorp has offices in Gotham that are
now run by Talia Head (Ra’s Ah Ghul’s daughter); and, of course, both men have a
healthy disregard for the current President of the United States, Lex Luthor.
So, we hope to be able to handle the title not as just a team-up book,
but an ongoing, in-continuity title that has stories that are relevant to both
“families.” That means we’re thinking about Nightwing in Metropolis;
Supergirl and Batgirl together; Perry White meeting Jim Gordon; and Jimmy Olsen
with Robin-all in the first five pages of the first issue. KIDDING! But, that
will give you sense of what we’re looking to accomplish.
Now, over in
Batman, the secret is two words. JIM LEE. This is the first ongoing
monthly title that Jim has done for DC Comics, and in many ways the first
mainstream, non-creator owned stuff since he did a little book called the
X-Men. So, here is the “James Cameron of comics” actually
sitting down and without promising the retailers too much. We have 6 issues in
the can already and we have a secret number that will be done by time the first
issue ships. So, barring a Crisis On Infinite Earths (which could happen
any day, y’know), those Batman titles are going to ship right on time and
schedule. And, man, are they gorgeous. Jim is working with the god who
fell to earth, inker Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair is doing such amazing
things with computer color matched with Richard Starkings and Wes Abott’s
incredibly organic lettering to create what is hopefully the state of the art in
comics.
So, I try and handle the writing aspect the same way I handle
everything else in comics. I tell the best story I can and hope that folks like
it. Batman is a very controversial book. The fans are very outspoken
about whether his costume should have long ears or short; whether there should
be a yellow oval around the bat or not – and we’re not even getting around to
whether or not Bruce Wayne is the guise or Batman is the guise. And, of course,
you can’t please everybody. So, with all due respect to everyone who has read
the title for the last 60 years, our plan is to try and rope in some new fans
and those fans who have swaggered away over the years. The book will have a
definite jumping on point and there isn’t much you will need to know when we
start. After that, it’s a rocket ride and everybody needs to hold on tight.
We’ll be telling what is essentially a stand alone 12-part story, much
in the same way that Kevin Smith told the ten-part “Quiver” in
Green Arrow. There will be little mini-arcs so people can hop on, but all
in all, it will read as a big epic tale that doesn’t need a time warp or the sun
being blotted out to make it drive (that’s not taking anything away from those
types of stories, but we’re hoping to ground this in the character himself as
opposed to an outside force that creates upheaval.)
This isn’t The
Long Halloween – Part III -but a Batman story that takes place today and
affects the character on an on-going basis. We have some new villains, new takes
on old villains and, hopefully, some solid character based adventure stories
with some of the best rogues from the Batman gallery. Working closely with Jim,
there is, of course, an absolute need to make sure there is plenty of action,
gadgets and some of the hottest women ever put down on the comic book page. I
don’t want to draw (no pun intended) a direct comparison, since I don’t think
anyone is really in their league, but I’m most influenced this time by the Denny
O’Neil and Neal Adams stories about the character. We start there and make it
our own.
I enjoy the character enormously; he’s so wonderfully tragic
that you can easily identify with him. There will be a love story that I’m sure
will have folks burning up the Internet. But, it is my greatest hope that
everyone realizes we’re not doing anything out of character. I think I’ve earned
enough trust with the readers who have read either Haunted Knight, The
Long Halloween or Dark Victory that I do have a handle (they may not
like the handle, but it’s a handle!) on the character and I’m trying to move the
ball down- field. There should be plenty of twists and unexpected
turns.
Through your Legends of the Dark Knight specials, The
Long Halloween, and Dark Victory, Batman fans are very familiar with
your work with Tim Sale on the character. What are the differences working with
Jim Lee as opposed to Tim?
It’s very different. First off, Tim and I have
worked together for so many years that neither of us would like to admit it.
I’ve known Jim for a long time, but we’ve never worked together. Jim is creator
and writer as well, and I try and respect what he brings to the table; Tim is a
master storyteller who has no interest in the writing or plotting other than on
an instinctual level which is quite extraordinary. When Tim and I work together,
the emphasis is on two things: mood and mystery. His artwork simply lends itself
toward that. So, when we begin talking about Batman, we want to stick to the
world of Year One. It’s a simpler time, the character isn’t quite as sure
about himself and the tech part of being Batman isn’t as important. Now, fast
forward to Jim. Few people can handle tech the way he does, so while we’re not
doing a “James Bond Batman,” it’s very natural to approach the
character from a place where these external devices are things that he has
developed along with his career. In the Tim Sale Year One world, Batman
is still feeling his way and still believes that he can rid the city of the evil
that took his parents’ lives. Now, with Jim, we’re talking about a seasoned
veteran. He’s been doing this for at least ten years; he’s had 3 different
partners in the Robins; and he’s inspired others to follow in his lead-Huntress,
Batgirl(s), Azreal, and to a certain extent, Catwoman. So, his head is in a very
different place. We’re talking about a character that is in the prime of his
life-and again, the natural thing is to shake that confidence and see how he
handles it.
This will be the first regular work from Jim Lee in quite
a while. Is there any extra pressure, like “This has to be a home
run!” or anything similar as far as you’re concerned?
Well, as I’ve
pointed about above, all I can do is tell the best story I can hope that folks
like it. I think the cards are stacked in our favor because his artwork is so
astounding that even a bad page is leagues above what others try, but he doesn’t
play into that at all. He’s very driven and it shows in his work. We made a
deal, up front, that if I found out that someone in his studio was doing
backgrounds or he was getting lazy and Scott (Williams) was doing the finishing,
we were done. I wasn’t interested in working with the WildStorm Studios; I
wanted to work with Jim. I had no desire to offend him, but I wanted our working
relationship to be very clean from the beginning. And don’t get me wrong, he’s
busted my chops on more than a few occasions about things as well! At the end of
the day, it’s all about the work. If it shows on the page and the readers-new,
old, casual-feel like they’ve gotten their money’s worth, we’ve succeeded. If
not, we haven’t.
You’ve also recently joined the team behind the
Smallville TV series. What will you be doing there?
I love
the show. I loved the show before it was on the air-’cause I got an early
screening. It’s a period in Superman’s life that I’m very comfortable with and
I’m overwhelmed by the thought that Series Creators/Executive Producers Al Gough
and Miles Millar cite Superman For All Seasons as one of the many
influences in the creation of the show. So, when they asked if I was interested,
I moved into an empty office and they’ve been trying to get rid of me
since!
Anyway, I’m a writer and consulting producer on the show. What
that means in real terms is that I spend an enormous amount of time with some of
the most creative, talented people working in television trying to make the
second season of Smallville top the first. No easy task, I assure you.
But we’ve got Al and Miles in the writer’s room guiding the team. It’s their
vision and a tremendously successful one. Much like in comics, we work out the
characters overall arcs, pitch storylines, detail out each scene for each
episode and then, eventually, each writer for each episode spins off from the
group and writes. So, I will be writing an episode or three and having a (tiny)
hand in the creation of the overall season. But, and I want to stress this, it’s
a team effort. Nobody works in a vacuum, and nothing goes forward without Al and
Miles working it into the best story we can tell. All in all, I’m having a
blast.
Marvel recently published Daredevil: Yellow, and
Spider-Man: Blue is mid-run, two more collaborations between you and Tim
Sale. What makes things click for the two of you? Do you have more projects
lined up?
What Tim and I have I can’t really put my finger on. It’s a
little bit like magic, in that once you know the trick, it isn’t magic anymore.
I don’t want to know what the deal is; I just want to work with him! Now,
there are certain things I can point to that will give you some indication.
We’re both incurable romantics. We have similar tastes in food, music, movies,
television and, often, women. But, just to throw a curve ball into it, he’s a
sports fan, I’m not; our political views are best left undiscussed; he loathes
the “business” end of the comics’ business and I swim in it; so it’s
not all peanut butter and jelly; nor is it peanut butter and mustard. I think it
helps that we have an unspoken agreement that if one of us is uninterested in a
character or a story, we don’t do it.
We’re very, very lucky that both
DC and Marvel have extended to us a rather open door policy to work on what we
want-within editorial boundaries. We’re rather particular about the format, the
color, the lettering (it has to be with Richard Starkings or it isn’t going to
happen) and a lot of other things that many folks don’t think we should have a
hand in. So, those folks probably shouldn’t work with us. At the moment, Nanci
and Joe Quesada at Marvel/Marvel Knights and Mark Chiarello at DC really
understand what giant pains in the arse we are and accept that as part of the
dinner. In return, we work our fannies off to come up with a comic book that is
worthy of being collected in a hardcover edition that folks are going to keep as
long as they read comics. That’s a big time responsibility and we take it very,
very seriously. For that reason, we were incredibly flattered that in the recent
Wizard top 100-hardcover/softcover collections of all time, all five of
our collaborations, Haunted Knight, The Long Halloween,
Superman For All Seasons, Dark Victory and Daredevil:
Yellow made the list. By the same token, we’re both adolescent males who
never outgrew the joy of lying on the floor of our bedrooms reading comics and
talking about them endlessly. We’re lucky, very lucky.
As someone who
works in both film and comics, what are the similarities and differences in
working in those fields as a creator?
Money. And on some level, that’s a
very serious answer. I’m not talking about what I get a paid, that doesn’t
figure into the equation. But, film and comics are things that have to be made
based on my writing. These are not novels that exist unto themselves. I have to
create something that will look good as a comic book page; I have to write
something that is doable in film. Even though we work in a medium that has CGI
and special effects, and comics have computer coloring, it still comes down to
whether or not you have the funding to do it correctly. As such, I’m very
conscious of what is doable and what isn’t. I try and tell stories that will be
carried mostly on the emotion, so you don’t have to rely entirely on the
execution. Sometimes I’m successful and sometimes I’m not. Now, just to
complicate my answer, I think the two mediums are very much cousins. Comics are
essentially storyboards for movies; Movies are moving comic books-even if the
movie is Kramer vs. Kramer or the comic book is Night Nurse. It is
sequential storytelling in one form or another. So, I look for the humor, the
drama and the love story in everything I do. Kind of like life!
What’s
the first comic you remember reading?
The first … hmm … that’s sort
of a three-part answer. I remember being very interested in Veronica’s
relationship with Archie while I was away at summer camp-I can’t imagine why a
vivacious brunette who has an unspoken sexual aura over the hero would interest
a preadolescent boy, but it did. [laughs].
Then, I also remember a
two-part Superman story that I think crossed from Superman into
Action, that had Superman dying from a fatal virus and his body being
sent into outer space in a glass coffin so all the planets could mourn. The
trick was that as it passed by the cubed Bizarro World, the Bizarros came out
and instead of throwing flowers, they threw rocks-and in this case it was White
Kryptonite rocks that killed all forms of plant life and since Superman’s virus
was bacterial, the White K killed it and Superman woke up! Great
stuff!
But, mostly, I remember that the summer my parents got divorced,
we rented a house on Cape Cod. There was a little general store with a spinner
rack and I found a copy of Sub-Mariner #29 that had Captain Marvel guest
starring. Marv is yelling for Subby to come into the water and the Sub-Mariner,
almost girlish, is turned away with a thought balloon that says, “I can’t
go into the water, but I can’t let HIM know that!” And I read that comic
and it referred to an Iron Man comic, so I sought that one out and the next
thing I know, I was hooked. I started my collection off that issue. Now, that
may have been a different time, but to this day, I’m bewildered by fans who say
that continued stories make it difficult for new readers to jump on. I mean, who
watches the first episode of any television show? You have to catch up and you
either get them hooked or you don’t. If the success of Smallville and
Spider-Man has taught us anything this summer is that there is a
tremendous appetite for comic book material-we now have to figure out the
best way to get those books into the hands of the readers. And, as creators, to
tell stories that get you hooked in.
What kind of impact did it have
on you?
Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?
Do you collect anything?
If so, what?
A better question is what don’t I collect? I get
nearly everything that DC and Marvel print and have done so since 1970. I have a
near perfect collection that goes back to about 1964. It’s just huge and out of
control and all boxed and bagged and my wife would like her garage back. I try
and keep up on some of the independent stuff – Red Star, Powers,
Hip Flask, but it’s pretty much mainstream for me. Right now, I’m really
enjoying Daredevil, the Spider-Man books, Alias, Batman,
all the Superman titles, Green Arrow, JSA, Flash,
Hulk – man, I could go on forever. I also tend to follow talent – Bendis,
Geoff Johns, Joe Kelly, Joe Casey, JMS, Kevin Smith – all really great
storytellers.
my chops on more than a few occasions about things as well! At the end of the day, it’s all about the work. If it shows on the page and the readers-new, old, casual-feel like they’ve gotten their money’s worth, we’ve succeeded. If not, we haven’t.
par
par b You’ve also recently joined the team behind the i Smallvillei0 TV series. What will you be doing there?
par b0 I i lovei0 the show. I loved the show before it was on the air-’cause I got an early screening. It’s a period in Superman’s life that I’m very comfortable with and I’m overwhelmed by the thought that Series Creators/Executive Producers Al Gough and Miles Millar cite i Superman For All Seasonsi0 as one of the many influences in the creation of the show. So, when they asked if I was interested, I moved into an empty office and they’ve been trying to get rid of me since!
par
par Anyway, I’m a writer and consulting producer on the show. What that means in real terms is that I spend an enormous amount of time with some of the most creative, talented people working in television trying to make the second season of i Smallvillei0 top the first. No easy task, I assure you. But we’ve got Al and Miles in the writer’s room guiding the team. It’s their vision and a tremendously successful one. Much like in comics, we work out the characters overall arcs, pitch storylines, detail out each scene for each episode and then, eventually, each writer for each episode spins off from the group and writes. So, I will be writing an episode or three and having a (tiny) hand in the creation of the overall season. But, and I want to stress this, it’s a team effort. Nobody works in a vacuum, and nothing goes forward without Al and Miles working it into the best story we can tell. All in all, I’m having a blast.
par
par b Marvel recently published i Daredevil: Yellowi0 , and i Spider-Man: Bluei0 is mid-run, two more collaborations between you and Tim Sale. What makes things click for the two of you? Do you have more projects lined up?
par b0 What Tim and I have I can’t really put my finger on. It’s a little bit like magic, in that once you know the trick, it isn’t magic anymore. I don’t i want i0 to know what the deal is; I just want to work with him! Now, there are certain things I can point to that will give you some indication. We’re both incurable romantics. We have similar tastes in food, music, movies, television and, often, women. But, just to throw a curve ball into it, he’s a sports fan, I’m not; our political views are best left undiscussed; he loathes the ldblquote businessrdblquote end of the comics’ business and I swim in it; so it’s not all peanut butter and jelly; nor is it peanut butter and mustard. I think it helps that we have an unspoken agreement that if one of us is uninterested in a character or a story, we don’t do it.
par
par We’re very, very lucky that both DC and Marvel have extended to us a rather open door policy to work on what we want-within editorial boundaries. We’re rather particular about the format, the color, the lettering (it has to be with Richard Starkings or it isn’t going to happen) and a lot of other things that many folks don’t think we should have a hand in. So, those folks probably shouldn’t work with us. At the moment, Nanci and Joe Quesada at Marvel/Marvel Knights and Mark Chiarello at DC really understand what giant pains in the arse we are and accept that as part of the dinner. In return, we work our fannies off to come up with a comic book that is worthy of being collected in a hardcover edition that folks are going to keep as long as they read comics. That’s a big time responsibility and we take it very, very seriously. For that reason, we were incredibly flattered that in the recent i Wizardi0 top 100-hardcover/softcover collections of all time, all five of our collaborations, i Haunted Knighti0 , i The Long Halloweeni0 , i Superman For All Seasonsi0 , i Dark Victoryi0 and i Daredevil: Yellowi0 made the list. By the same token, we’re both adolescent males who never outgrew the joy of lying on the floor of our bedrooms reading comics and talking about them endlessly. We’re lucky, very lucky.
par
par b As someone who works in both film and comics, what are the similarities and differences in working in those fields as a creator?
par b0 Money. And on some level, that’s a very serious answer. I’m not talking about what I get a paid, that doesn’t figure into the equation. But, film and comics are things that have to be made based on my writing. These are not novels that exist unto themselves. I have to create something that will look good as a comic book page; I have to write something that is doable in film. Even though we work in a medium that has CGI and special effects, and comics have computer coloring, it still comes down to whether or not you have the funding to do it correctly. As such, I’m very conscious of what is doable and what isn’t. I try and tell stories that will be carried mostly on the emotion, so you don’t have to rely entirely on the execution. Sometimes I’m successful and sometimes I’m not. Now, just to complicate my answer, I think the two mediums are very much cousins. Comics are essentially storyboards for movies; Movies are moving comic books-even if the movie is i Kramer vs. Krameri0 or the comic book is i Night Nursei0 . It is sequential storytelling in one form or another. So, I look for the humor, the drama and the love story in everything I do. Kind of like life!
par
par b What’s the first comic you remember reading?
par b0 The first ... hmm ... that’s sort of a three-part answer. I remember being very interested in Veronica’s relationship with Archie while I was away at summer camp-I can’t imagine why a vivacious brunette who has an unspoken sexual aura over the hero would interest a preadolescent boy, but it did. [laughs].
par
par Then, I also remember a two-part Superman story that I think crossed from i Superman i0 into i Actioni0 , that had Superman dying from a fatal virus and his body being sent into outer space in a glass coffin so all the planets could mourn. The trick was that as it passed by the cubed Bizarro World, the Bizarros came out and instead of throwing flowers, they threw rocks-and in this case it was White Kryptonite rocks that killed all forms of plant life and since Superman’s virus was bacterial, the White K killed it and Superman woke up! Great stuff!
par
par But, mostly, I remember that the summer my parents got divorced, we rented a house on Cape Cod. There was a little general store with a spinner rack and I found a copy of i Sub-Mariner #29i0 that had Captain Marvel guest starring. Marv is yelling for Subby to come into the water and the Sub-Mariner, almost girlish, is turned away with a thought balloon that says, ldblquote I can’t go into the water, but I can’t let HIM know that!rdblquote And I read that comic and it referred to an Iron Man comic, so I sought that one out and the next thing I know, I was hooked. I started my collection off that issue. Now, that may have been a different time, but to this day, I’m bewildered by fans who say that continued stories make it difficult for new readers to jump on. I mean, who watches the first episode of any television show? You have to catch up and you either get them hooked or you don’t. If the success of i Smallvillei0 and i Spider-Mani0 has taught us anything this summer is that there is a i tremendous i0 appetite for comic book material-we now have to figure out the best way to get those books into the hands of the readers. And, as creators, to tell stories that get you hooked in.
par
par b What kind of impact did it have on you?
par b0 Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?
par
par b Do you collect anything? If so, what?b0
par A better question is what i don’t i0 I collect? I get nearly everything that DC and Marvel print and have done so since 1970. I have a near perfect collection that goes back to about 1964. It’s just huge and out of control and all boxed and bagged and my wife would like her garage back. I try and keep up on some of the independent stuff - i Red Stari0 , i Powersi0 , i Hip Flaski0 , but it’s pretty much mainstream for me. Right now, I’m really enjoying i Daredevili0 , the Spider-Man books, i Aliasi0 , i Batmani0 , all the Superman titles, i Green Arrowi0 , i JSAi0 , i Flashi0 , i Hulki0 - man, I could go on forever. I also tend to follow talent - Bendis, Geoff Johns, Joe Kelly, Joe Casey, JMS, Kevin Smith - all really great storytellers.f1fs20
par }
or $57,500
par i
par Young Allies Comics #1i0 Pennsylvania pedigree (Timely, 1941) CGC VF/NM Off-white pages - sold for $20,700
par i
par Marvel Comics #1 i0 (Timely, 1939) CGC VG+ 4.5 Cream to off-white pages - sold for $34,500
par i
par All Winners Comics #3i0 (Timely, 1941) CGC VF+ 6.5 Tan to off-white pages - sold for