WORDBALLOON: JEPH LOEB - Part Two

[MattBrady]

<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/wordballoon/WBlogo.jpg" border="0" width="275" height="198" align="right" hspace=5/><a href=http://www.wordballoon.com target=new><b>Wordballoon.com</b></a>, in association with Newsarama, presents Part 2 of our conversation with Jeph Loeb as host John Siuntres wraps things up with the Marvel-exclusive writer of many of the publisher’s highest-profile titles and the co-executive producer of NBC's <i>Heroes</i>.

We discuss Joss Whedon’s <b>Buffy Season 8</b> comic book from Dark Horse and Loeb's upcoming involvement with that series. We also get into a detailed debate about the recent pace of the line-wide publishing events DC and Marvel are serving to their readers. Finally we wrap thing up with Loeb’s insider view of the breakout hit TV series of this season, <i>Heroes</i>.

Click here <a href=http://media.libsyn.com/media/wordballoon/WBloeb0307pt2.mp3 target=new><b>to listen to Part Two of the podcast</b></a>.

Part One of the conversation goes in many directions, ranging in subject from Loeb's current run on <b>Wolverine</b>, to his participation in the Marvel editorial retreat the spawned <b>Civil War</b>, to a bi-product of that retreat - <b>Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America</b>, the five-part Loeb-written mini-series that chronicles the reactions to Captain America's death by the Marvel heroes, through the traditional five stages of grief.

Click here <a href=http://media.libsyn.com/media/wordballoon/WBloeb0307pt1.mp3 target=new><b>to listen to Part One</b></a>.

[cuckoo]

This show is amazing.

[The Guvnor]

Cool. I'll get around listening it sometime soon as I really enjoy podcasts. Hopefully there will be plenty more to come.

[mac b]

I like these podcasts a lot but I could do without the "laff track" aspect.

[nickmaynard]

I like these podcasts a lot but I could do without the "laff track" aspect.

what the ____ are you talking about?

[Skinshark]

Good follow up...

I devour this stuff...must be the solitary confinement of my artistic life that makes this voyeuristic listening a bright spot in my day?

I bet a lot of other artists feel the same way.

Thanks John!

[leafinsectma]

I've downloaded parts 1 and 2 but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Should be listening to it tomorrow on the way to work. Thanks to Jeph for taking the time to do this and thanks to John for keeping me company on the bus :D

[First Post]

One of the best podcasts on the 'net...very professional, although not always for kids, depending on the guest. Siuntres is quick on his feet and avoids the cliche questions that often come with interviews.

First Post!

[Jeremy Williams]

I'm not sure I agree with him over his view on bigger characters over the other ones. Sure Batman may be more popular than Nightwing-heck we can even definitly say Batman is the better character-but it's right for people to like Nightwing better than Batman mainly because second-stringers are not appreciated by as large a group of people so fans feel ownership to them. But that doesn't mean because the sales are not there that every second-stringers are on the same level and are not up to the superstars. Loeb also take the example of Firestorm and I think he's a great character, from his origin to his look most of it feel iconic. If DC had played their cards right he could have been the superstar of his generation when he was introduced in the 80.

Loeb prefering to play with the stars and star artists shows to me a lack of depth on his part. He's like the Ron Howard of comics.

[BornToRun]

Loeb prefering to play with the stars and star artists shows to me a lack of depth on his part. He's like the Ron Howard of comics.

I think that's a great, and very apt, comparison.

I also don't really like the attitude about fans and posters. I understand a backlash on the part of professionals toward the very vocal minority who spend their days bitching on the Internet, but belittling comments made about fan-reviewers as a whole is not a good attitude for such an insular industry to take.

[Clem]

How dare he insult Nightwing! It's cr*p like this that gets Didio talking about killing him.

[nickmaynard]

How dare he insult Nightwing! It's cr*p like this that gets Didio talking about killing him.
who gives a ____? dc is terrible.

[PatrickG]

I'm not sure I agree with him over his view on bigger characters over the other ones. Sure Batman may be more popular than Nightwing-heck we can even definitly say Batman is the better character-but it's right for people to like Nightwing better than Batman mainly because second-stringers are not appreciated by as large a group of people so fans feel ownership to them. But that doesn't mean because the sales are not there that every second-stringers are on the same level and are not up to the superstars. Loeb also take the example of Firestorm and I think he's a great character, from his origin to his look most of it feel iconic. If DC had played their cards right he could have been the superstar of his generation when he was introduced in the 80.

Loeb prefering to play with the stars and star artists shows to me a lack of depth on his part. He's like the Ron Howard of comics.

I think in terms of A-listers, he has a point.

But what he said about the "Sleeper-effect" is also true.

A big event is going to drag all kind of people in, including people who have no idea what's going on.

A "little engine that could" book is pretty much only read by people who love it.

I can see advantages to both and I'd like to think the latter is something that can gain readers. And the payoff, particularly with creator owned works, comes when you sell the movie rights.

But I can't disagree with his assessment of the Lee/Kirby FF. Somehow, for seven years or so, they made every issue an event. Is it Shakespeare? Not always. But the Lee/Kirby FF run is the foundation for most of the Marvel Universe.

That's exciting stuff to me. Not in a continuity/minutia-building kind of way but in a WORLD BUILDING kind of way.

IMO, a REALLY nice miniseries can come out of a closed ended, powerful, superbly crafted story. A DKR or WATCHMEN.

But monthly comics are monthly comics and they have different goals. If you leave an issue without asking "OMGWTFBBQ What next?", they didn't quite hit the target.

I think it takes special work on the part of everyone involved in a comic to make people care. As it stands, I can't believe that the Scorpion (now Venom), the New Warriors, Speedball, Thor, Drax the Destroyer and the Avengers are a blip on the comics industry radar, much less supporting HUGE followings and a HUGE amount of online speculation.

These are all cool concepts with a history in which they've underperformed more often than not in spite of having the attention of some of the best people in the industry... and I salute Quesada and his crew for getting people to care.

And with that in mind, an ongoing that ticks people off and keeps them caring and reading and spending $3 a pop is better than a quiet little opera that can't cover the costs of the viking helmets.

But what we have at Marvel is the best of both worlds. Take somebody like Bru with his Cap run. He's been getting a lot of support and the big, loud event has been benefiting him too, which is a sign of a well-planned event rather than something driven purely by marketing.

And marketing has everything to do with a good super-hero yarn but MCW and the surrounding events have enough character conflict and drama that a quiet book can get what it needs out of it, rather than simply having the Joker show up to release Doomsday.

(That said, I don't think Loeb's Doomsday issue really lacked for the Joker inclusion... I mean, it had The Joker, Luthor, Darkseid and Doomsday in it. Might have benefited from being 80 pages... But I don't think the Joker inclusion was bad except that it swiped pages from the main story.)

[PatrickG]

How dare he insult Nightwing! It's cr*p like this that gets Didio talking about killing him.

At this point, what difference does it make?

I like Dick, especially as Robin.

But even the current direction changes don't make him relevant.

I like the character and I'd miss having him around. But a few years "in the grave" might do Dick some good as my interest in any continuation of Dixon's or Grayson's runs or stuff from New Teen Titans just isn't there.

I don't like the edge he's been given either. It doesn't seem true to the kid in the short pants.

New costume. New attitude. New role.

Nightwing just doesn't have the staying power of Robin IMO. I think it's time to knock Dick out of the picture, evolve him to a new role or make him Robin again.

[The Foreigne]

Loeb prefering to play with the stars and star artists shows to me a lack of depth on his part. He's like the Ron Howard of comics.

This is one of the best descriptions of Loeb I've ever heard.

[Jeremy Williams]

I think in terms of A-listers, he has a point.

But what he said about the "Sleeper-effect" is also true.

A big event is going to drag all kind of people in, including people who have no idea what's going on.

A "little engine that could" book is pretty much only read by people who love it.

I can see advantages to both and I'd like to think the latter is something that can gain readers. And the payoff, particularly with creator owned works, comes when you sell the movie rights.

But I can't disagree with his assessment of the Lee/Kirby FF. Somehow, for seven years or so, they made every issue an event. Is it Shakespeare? Not always. But the Lee/Kirby FF run is the foundation for most of the Marvel Universe.

That's exciting stuff to me. Not in a continuity/minutia-building kind of way but in a WORLD BUILDING kind of way.

IMO, a REALLY nice miniseries can come out of a closed ended, powerful, superbly crafted story. A DKR or WATCHMEN.

But monthly comics are monthly comics and they have different goals. If you leave an issue without asking "OMGWTFBBQ What next?", they didn't quite hit the target.

I think it takes special work on the part of everyone involved in a comic to make people care. As it stands, I can't believe that the Scorpion (now Venom), the New Warriors, Speedball, Thor, Drax the Destroyer and the Avengers are a blip on the comics industry radar, much less supporting HUGE followings and a HUGE amount of online speculation.

These are all cool concepts with a history in which they've underperformed more often than not in spite of having the attention of some of the best people in the industry... and I salute Quesada and his crew for getting people to care.

And with that in mind, an ongoing that ticks people off and keeps them caring and reading and spending $3 a pop is better than a quiet little opera that can't cover the costs of the viking helmets.

But what we have at Marvel is the best of both worlds. Take somebody like Bru with his Cap run. He's been getting a lot of support and the big, loud event has been benefiting him too, which is a sign of a well-planned event rather than something driven purely by marketing.

And marketing has everything to do with a good super-hero yarn but MCW and the surrounding events have enough character conflict and drama that a quiet book can get what it needs out of it, rather than simply having the Joker show up to release Doomsday.

(That said, I don't think Loeb's Doomsday issue really lacked for the Joker inclusion... I mean, it had The Joker, Luthor, Darkseid and Doomsday in it. Might have benefited from being 80 pages... But I don't think the Joker inclusion was bad except that it swiped pages from the main story.)

Personaly I prefer somebody that sticks with characters for a while and grow with them like a PAD or a Claremont than somebody that does a six issue event or a 12-issues event and run to moma. It takes a heck of a dedication and love for the medium and writing to stay there and it add weight on the long run. I think the star British writers in particular are sometime described as genius but have it easy, I think. Since they're never there when the going's get tough during a comic run. They have all these plans like "I'm doing 6 issues there, 12 issues there, a year there and two years there" and the whole feels so cold and calculated. I think you would take anybody on the street and ask them to do their definite take on a character in 6 issues or more and it would feel like genius because that particular person would put everything in that limited run. That's far easier than to stay there afterwards and continues to do stories and show growth in the characters. And Loeb is using the same slam bam thank-you-mam, I was there, i'm not, all big, all action, super-light, no meat approach.

[wordballoon]

Personaly I prefer somebody that sticks with characters for a while and grow with them like a PAD or a Claremont than somebody that does a six issue event or a 12-issues event and run to moma. It takes a heck of a dedication and love for the medium and writing to stay there and it add weight on the long run. I think the star British writers in particular are sometime described as genius but have it easy, I think. Since they're never there when the going's get tough during a comic run. They have all these plans like "I'm doing 6 issues there, 12 issues there, a year there and two years there" and the whole feels so cold and calculated. I think you would take anybody on the street and ask them to do their definite take on a character in 6 issues or more and it would feel like genius because that particular person would put everything in that limited run. That's far easier than to stay there afterwards and continues to do stories and show growth in the characters. And Loeb is using the same slam bam thank-you-mam, I was there, i'm not, all big, all action, super-light, no meat approach.

I think those days are almost completley gone, given the "event" marketing nature of the Big 2 , where it seems with the exceptions of a few you're only getting creators for 6-12 issues, so they can trumpet the new creative team to re-boost sales.That's seems to be more dictated by the publishers than the creators.

Btw, Loeb did have 26 issues of superman-Batman & a lengthy solo superman run too.

I also think Loeb has written some very deep characterization in stories like the Marvel Color books (Spider-Man Blue Hulk Grey etc ) Superman For All Seasons, The Long Halloween & Dark Victory, The Catwoman series, When In Rome, and HUSH, so you're "no meat" suggestion doesn't hold up to me.

[mac b]

what the ____ are you talking about?

I'm talking about the host's laugh. Take a down a notch, buddy.

[wordballoon]

I'm talking about the host's laugh. Take a down a notch, buddy.

uh gee sorry I have genuine reactions to the person i'm speaking to :rolleyes:

I'll laugh when I feel like it, but hey thanks for listening.

[nickmaynard]

uh gee sorry I have genuine reactions to the person i'm speaking to :rolleyes:

I'll laugh when I feel like it, but hey thanks for listening.
john, in my opinion, your interviews are the best the comic community has. this dude is a bozo. keep it up!

[mac b]

john, in my opinion, your interviews are the best the comic community has. this dude is a bozo. keep it up!

oh man, ____, you're so right! I am just a bozo! a big one too. thanks dude!

[Proty3000]

i like the show a lot, but just wish the sound were better. i can understand the host perfectly but on my ipod i have so much trouble hearing the guests well (especially during that endless bendis interview.) do other people have this issue or do i just need better speakers?

[Peagle8]

i like the show a lot, but just wish the sound were better. i can understand the host perfectly but on my ipod i have so much trouble hearing the guests well (especially during that endless bendis interview.) do other people have this issue or do i just need better speakers?

Nope, it's not just you. I think it has to do with the phone quality of the person being interviewed.

Bendis needs to take some of that Spider-man Animated money and buy a decent g-damn phone! ;) :D