ZEB FOR HIRE: Zeb Wells On Heroes For Hire

[MattBrady]

by Zack Smith

Zeb Wells has been behind some of Marvel’s most acclaimed miniseries of the last several years, including Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One, New Warriors and Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big in Japan. Now, he’s finally loose on a series in the Marvel Universe as the new writer of Heroes for Hire with issue #8, which came out this week. Wells talked with us about his Heroes gig, along with other titles with his work involving reptilian women, Daredevil’s dad, and a certain cult TV series.

NEWSARAMA: So what’s going on in your Heroes for Hire arc?

ZEB WELLS: Basically, the next two-issue arc after issue #8, which wraps up the previous team’s story, we send the Heroes for Hire to the Savage Land to go after Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy. And while they’re there – I don’t know, I think it’s a cool little story, because everybody’s relationships kind of shift over the two issues. So there’s some exciting things happening between Tarantula and Shang-Chi, and Colleen and Misty, there’s some exciting stuff there.

And with Humbug, you have a situation where his powers come in a lot more handy than they usually are. You know, they’re kind of cute when you talk to a cockroach or any other sort of insect, but he discovers these bugs are, in the Savage Land, kind of hyper-evolved, at the top of the food chain. So he gets to explore what an insect intelligence is like if it’s hyper-developed or the dominant life form.

NRAMA: Did you research any real prehistoric bugs for this story?

ZW: No, I – I actually for some reason had a book on my bookshelf of bugs that I read every once in a while, so I use that (a lot). But no, I didn’t do any research on prehistoric bugs because I guess I’m going from the angle that these bugs have just continued evolving, here in this world.

NRAMA: How did you get the Heroes for Hire gig?

ZW: I pitched it. The previous writers (Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti) signed an exclusive with DC, and I think they needed a new writer fairly quickly. I took a look at their scripts and came up with my take on the team and whatnot, and they seemed to respond to it.

NRAMA: What is your take on the team?

ZW: I think that when you have a concept like Heroes for Hire, you set up a lot of character conflicts. You have a bunch of people who are ostensibly heroes, but they’re also looking to get paid. I think that should be the conflict at the core of the book: How much of the hero aspect are we willing to sacrifice for the paycheck, and at what point do we have to compromise getting paid in order to maintain the integrity of being a hero? And I think that every character on the team should have a different take on that, they should all be in a differently place morally when it comes to that.

NRAMA: Going into the line-up in the book, who are the current team members?

ZW: There’s going to be some changes in issue #8, so I don’t know if I can reveal who’s on the team, exactly. But it doesn’t change that much – there’s Shang-Chi, and Tarantula and Humbug and Misty Knight and Colleen Wing.

NRAMA: A number of those characters, such as Shang-Chi and Misty and Colleen, have been around since the 1970s. Did you have to do some research regarding them?

ZW: Yeah, I honestly didn’t know who those characters were, or why they were important to the Marvel Universe. I knew who Shang-Chi was, because I had some Marvel Two-in-One issues with him in them, but I didn’t know who Colleen Wing was, or who Misty Knight was, so I had to do some research on them.

NRAMA: What’s your take on the characters?

ZW: My take on Colleen and Misty is that they’re kind of like sisters, and they have been around for a while. Misty has seen the previous incarnations of Heroes for Hire, and she is a little smarter about how to make the business model work. Colleen kind of looks up to Misty; Misty is her older sister in the relationship.

NRAMA: How many issues will you be on the book?

ZW: There’ll be another four-issue arc after the Savage Land arc, the big summer crossover with “World War Hulk.”

NRAMA: Any hints as to what we can expect from that one?


ZW: It’s a situation where Humbug, as a result of his Savage Land adventure, has gone through some changes. He’s a little less goofy, and a little more scary, and he comes back to New York with a little bit of insight as to what’s going on with World War Hulk. I mean, you’ve got to keep in mind that two of the members of the Hulk’s war party are like insects, Brood and Miek. So that’s a hint as to what’s going to happen.

NRAMA: So are you basically the ongoing writer at this point?

ZW: Yeah – it’s comics, so as long as the series goes on. For the time being, I’m the ongoing writer.

NRAMA: You’re still working on Snakewoman at Virgin. How’s that going? That’s a lot darker than what you usually do.

ZW: Yeah, it is. It’s been a real challenge to write. When I first started, I thought it’d be so exciting and fun to write dark, because I usually don’t, and then, you know, it’s hard to write dark! You have to think darkly, you have to kind of get into that mindset, which isn’t easy to do. I think I am getting better at it. I think we’re going to do another five-issue miniseries after the initial 10 issues wraps up. So yeah, it’s going well.

NRAMA: And you’re also doing some stuff on Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken.

ZW: Mmm-hmm. That’s through – I was a staff writer for five weeks, so I worked on five of the episodes for the upcoming season.

NRAMA: You know when that’s going to air?

ZW: No, I assume it’s going to air in September sometime.

NRAMA: What was the experience like?

ZW: It was good. You know, I hadn’t really worked in a writers’ room before, so it was an adjustment, but it was really, really fun. It went well, I think I learned a lot about how you need to be able to throw out as many ideas as you can and not be too married to anything, and use the process to get ideas that you can use for later.

NRAMA: Any hints as to what’ll be in your shows? Did you get anything on the air?

ZW: Yeah, well, I don’t really know, because stuff is constantly changing from production to airing. So they can be recording the dialogue, but if something doesn’t work, it gets cut. So I have no idea if my stuff’s getting through or not.

NRAMA: Any other projects coming up?

ZW: I’ve got a four-issue Battlin’ Jack miniseries; I don’t have much to tell you, but the artwork on that is awesome. It’s from a story that Carmine Di Giandomenico came up with, and I’m helping translate it and shape it a little more. So it’s collaboration between us.

NRAMA: Any plans for more short films?

ZW: Not at the moment – I’m planning on putting the one I did last year up on YouTube, but I’m not doing any right now, no.

NRAMA: What would you like to be doing in the long term, films or comics?

ZW: I really feel like I’m still learning from the comics, and I’m really enjoying that. I still don’t feel like I’m as good as I could be at writing comics – I’m always striving to do better, and I’m really enjoying that. I think it’s a really cool art form to be working in. I’m totally happy with it.

NRAMA: What characters would you like to work on in the future, or would you rather do your own creation at some point?

ZW: I’ve always kind of wanted to work on Punisher, and you know, I like Spider-Man a lot, and I really am fond of working on Heroes for Hire with characters that have a lot of room for interpretation, and you can get in there and discover what those characters are about.

NRAMA: And finally…what was your take on the New Warriors being used to kick off Civil War? I mean…they blew up your characters, dude!

ZW: Yeah! (laughs) They sure did! You know, it was kind of cool, in a way. In another way, it was hard to see Microbe fry so quickly. But that’s comics! That’s kind of cool that at least they made a mark, they weren’t just forgotten.

NRAMA: What did you think of the whole Speedball turning into Penance thing?

ZW: Um…I honestly don’t know much about that. What happened?

NRAMA: (Explains Penance’s origin, powers and costume)

ZW: Oh my GOD! (laughs) That is…that is hardcore. Like I said, that’s comics. I’m under no illusion that, you know, once you work on a character, it’s yours. I mean, writers need to be free to do what they need to do to tell the stories.

To check out some of Zeb’s award-winning short films, including “Real World: Metropolis” and “Hulk for Hire,” visit his page on YouTube.

[Justice]

I can't say he's the most convincing salesman of his work, but I'm still looking forward to seeing what he does with Heroes for Hire. I'll be sad if Black Cat's gone, given that she's got a lot of experience walking that fine line of getting paid and doing semi-heroic acts and would have a very specific take on the issue.

I saw Wells in an ad for Fox's upcoming "On the Lot" series, and I'm surprised he didn't mention that as an upcoming project. Maybe he couldn't talk about it.

[rabbi vic]

Loved Big in Japan and have enjoyed this book so far. Good luck to you on the title!

[Spade]

Zeb Wells has been behind some of Marvel’s most acclaimed miniseries of the last several years

Acclaimed?

[Ben543250]

Yay Zeb Wells! He's awesome!

[ANGELDOGGIE]

I think Zeb Wells will do this book good. I really miss Billy Tucci's art, and his covers with Mark Sparacio. Give them guys some stuff to do Marvel!!!!!

[Ben543250]

Originally Posted by Spade

Zeb Wells has been behind some of Marvel’s most acclaimed miniseries of the last several years

Acclaimed?

Go away.
..

[Bevbos]

Yup, Zeb Wells fan here. Keep up the good work!

[Angelophile]

I wish they'd make their minds up whether Nextwave is in continuity or not...

[nickmaynard]

Originally Posted by Ben543250

Go away.
..

seconded.

worst kind of post-er.

[smrtbob]

i guess moonboy didn't die off panel and devil dinosaur survived his fall from nextwave?

[mozzer]

I've really enjoyed H4H for the most part. It's a fun, light series. Hope it gets a good long run like BoP has over at DC

[RedRonin]

I like Zeb Wells' work for the most part. I'll be jumping back on H4H with him taking over the book.

But he better mention Devil Dinosaur's Nextwave apperance!

[Beetle Bomb]

*Tch...
Shang-Chi deserves a life better than this...
And although I'm not the biggest fan, so does the Black Cat...
No offense to any of the creators or artists or writers involved, but sometimes companies just plain make mistakes and "stinkers".

Taking a detective-y and martial arty concept and team like Heroes For Hire and putting it in the Savage Land? Co-starring Devil Dinosaur and freaking MOONBOY?!?

This whole thing is just a cash cow milking plot to use a name and little used characters. Just like that new stinky Sgt. Fury and His "Howling Commandos." *GROAN*

I'm all for new takes on characters. I can stand to see Spidey in that ghastly "Iron Spidey" outfit for awhile. I expect Thor to be changed a little every 5-8 years. No problem there. Put Hulk in a loincloth again, I'm with you. That's been done before a billion times, not counting old "What If?" concept stories. Make Captain America black. I'm still buying it. Try to make Ant Man funny. Hey, whatever works.

But to go against the grain to a certain point like this? This is like watching those Jerry Seinfeld teaming up with Superman commercials. This would be like putting me in a book with the Silver Surfer and calling it "Marvel Team-Up".

Please...

But if it floats your boat, hey, I'm not against you for liking it. What really amazes me is that books like this can get out on time and I gotta wait and beg for certain other titles that are clearly targeted to the majority of the reading audience.

[kcekada]

Originally Posted by Beetle Bomb

*Tch...
Shang-Chi deserves a life better than this...
And although I'm not the biggest fan, so does the Black Cat...
No offense to any of the creators or artists or writers involved, but sometimes companies just plain make mistakes and "stinkers".

Agreed.

I think Palmiotti and Gray were channeling "Charlies Angels" here instead of a "Mission Impossible" or a Bruce Lee flick. I like the Daughters of the Dragon, but Colleen and Misty are too over-the-top here. And both Shang-Chi and Black Cat are good enough to be in either their own mini or ongoing. Featurng them in HoH isn't doing either character any favors.

[GenisFan]

Wasn't Paladin on the roster at some point?? Or has he been just a guest star?

[DaVeO]

He betrayed the team in Misty's eyes by giving Iron Man their location when they were having a peaceful talk with Cap and Power Man in the first arc. He got 'da boot' in other words.

[BanMan]

Originally Posted by RedRonin

But he better mention Devil Dinosaur's Nextwave apperance!

I think DD should be the villian in the next big crossover.

[richstanz]

Originally Posted by DaVeO

He betrayed the team in Misty's eyes by giving Iron Man their location when they were having a peaceful talk with Cap and Power Man in the first arc. He got 'da boot' in other words.

But he's coming back in this Savage Land arc - they're forced to team with him.

I like that conflict, I hope he's a regular character. Having the work with the man that betrayed you - it sets up a great dynamic.

I don't know - I want to like this title. But I dropped it after issue 4, I just wasn't feeling it. For such a great, quirky premise, it read so generically.

And even though Shang-Chi and Black Cat may be popular enough to sustain their own books, I'm glad they were on the team - it set up new interesting stories for them.

I gather that Black Cat is leaving the book, which is a shame - Palmiotti and Gray did nothing with her, in the issues I read, and I would have liked to see someone actually try something with her before giving her the boot. But in the end, maybe slimming down the cast is for the best.

I love Zeb Wells' work, and I may pick this book back up. Although chances are if he didn't know what was going on in Civil War, he doesn't know what happened in Nextwave, so I don't expect the Devil Dinosaur thing to be explained at all.

[Don Mega]

Hmm...I really like Mr. Wells art absolutly.

but somehow I think he´s not very respected at the house of ideas. i mean, why do they make him the new artist at one of the next cancelations?

[tomburgos]

This book has truly become progressively worse and worse...

So many cool characters in a book that's starting to feel like refriedr Nextwave...

[theodoros2]

His videos are so hilarious that I almost cried laughing!!

[AlKennedy]

I had been reading this book solely out of the fact that I liked the characters - with #8. though, it suddenly became worth reading for the writing. Heck of a turnaround.

[Gokitalo]

Originally Posted by Spade

Zeb Wells has been behind some of Marvel’s most acclaimed miniseries of the last several years

Acclaimed?

Actually, I've read good reviews for all of the series mentioned in the article. Here's one on Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big in Japan from IGN:
http://comics.ign.com/articles/711/711872p1.html

And if you use the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, you can look up the reviews for the Doctor Octopus Year One and New Warriors miniseries from the Fourth Rail, which were mostly positive, as I recall.

http://www.archive.org/index.php

[Mundungus]

I love those Savage Land arc covers. Who does that?