CB CEBULKI TALKS MARVEL's LONERS

**MattBrady** · 09-11-2006, 05:43 PM

by Vaneta Rogers

Right behind the news that Runaways is getting a new creative team comes word from Marvel that fans of the series are also getting a new spin-off series beginning in January.

Loners, written by C.B. Cebulski with art by Karl Moline, will pick up the story of "Excelsior," the support group for former teen superheroes that debuted in the "True Believers" story arc in Issues #1-6 of the current Runaways volume.

Holding meetings in a church basement, the Excelsior support group attempted to help former child heroes adjust to their new lives as normal teens. The group included Turbo of the New Warriors, former Green Goblin Phil Urich, Darkhawk, Ricochet of the Slingers, and Julie Power, also known as Lightspeed.

While the humor of self-help group members reminiscing about their past heroic adventures caught the attention of long-time fans, things really got exciting when the group was encouraged by a secret benefactor to take their mission a step further and forcibly convince other child heroes to stop as well -- including the young Runaways.

Although they didn't succeed in stopping the Runaways, the group took on some high-powered Marvel villains and found out that their secret benefactor was none other than Rick Jones, a former teen hero himself, who stood ready to continue supporting their mission. All the right elements seemed to be in place for more adventures with the teens under the leadership of Jones, but the "Excelsior" members haven't been revisited since.

But now, Marvel has obviously decided it's time for the group to continue their mission. As Cebulski visited the Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend, he took a few moments to chat with Newsarama about the new spin-off series and what fans can expect from the group of wayward superpowered teens as they begin anew in their own series.

Newsarama: They say that everything old is new again, and your name on a Runaways-associated title seems that way. Haven't you been involved with Runaways before?

C.B. Cebulski: Yep. I was the original editor on the book. I launched it with [writer Brian K.] Vaughn and have been supportive of them and everything they do. It's probably my favorite Marvel book right now. I'm a huge fan of Runaways.

NRAMA: So does that mean you pitched this story?

CBC: I pitched it originally. It was too fertile a ground to leave fallow. I thought there was something there. I just really wanted to take the characters and build on them, and Marvel agreed.

NRAMA: Are we talking about a mini-series or an ongoing?

CBC: We're doing six issues now, but if it's embraced by the fans, we're going to keep going.

NRAMA: Last time we saw the team, there were five members. Is that still the line-up for the new title?

CBC: It's the five members we saw at the end of issue #6, which are Julie Power/Lightspeed, Ricochet, Turbo, Darkhawk and Phil Urich/the ex-Green Goblin.

NRAMA: Runaways readers may also remember that Chamber was part of the group for awhile, but we found out he was actually a Runaways villain in disguise. Will his spot be taken by someone else?

CBC: He was revealed as not the real Chamber, and he's been dealt with elsewhere in the Marvel Universe now, so along the way, we're going to be introducing some new characters. But by "new characters," I mean reccurring faces from the Marvel Universe from the past -- other teen heroes that we've seen in the Marvel Universe history.

NRAMA: Will we see more of Rick Jones?

CBC: Yep. There will be some mention of Rick Jones, but as for his actual appearance, that's something I don't want to talk about just yet.

NRAMA: In their Runaways debut, the group came across as a real ragtag conglomeration of heroes who didn't really want to work with each other. Will the team still feel that way?

CBC: The way I'm looking at it as not so much a team book as an ensemble cast book. And the big influences in my life were Some Kind of Wonderful and Breakfast Club and things like that. So I'm looking at this as kind of the superhero Breakfast Club in a way.

NRAMA: Really different types of teenagers stuck together?

CBC: Yeah. You're going to have Julie Powers as the princess, Phil Urich as the geek, and Darkhawk is kind of Bender the ruffian -- you know.

NRAMA: Will they still be functioning as a support group?

CBC: It is still a superhero self-help group. Vaughn put them back in the costumes, and they were mentioned in Runaways and a few other books in the aftermath of the defeat of The Pride. However, what we're doing is putting them back in the superhero self-help group, and part of that has to do with some things that are happening in Civil War. When you open with issue #1, they're going to be back in the church basement, back in the support group, trying to deal with not getting into costume and not using their powers.

NRAMA: Not using powers? That doesn't sound like it's going to be much of a superhero book, C.B. There's going to be some action, right?

CBC: [laughs] There is plenty that goes on. Because, you know, just like an alcoholic always gets tempted by a drink, the lure of superhero powers is almost an addiction. So they're going to fight this the best they can and try not get into costume, but without giving too much away, they will surely be returning to some superhero roots. And there will be plenty of superhero action in the book. You can trust me on that.

NRAMA: Are they going to get new costumes?

CBC: The costume stuff is something I don't want to reveal too much about just yet. You will be seeing some costumes in their new roles, but I don't want to say what yet.

NRAMA: OK, let's go back to something you said earlier. This group is influenced by the events in Civil War? Is that because of the registration act or something to do with the war between heroes?

CBC: The Civil War angle gets addressed later in the series. But you know, when we open up they are back trying to stay out of costume. There are some implications from Civil War as to why they do that, but it's kind of a growing mystery that we're going to develop through the course of the series.

NRAMA: Let's talk about the group's name change. It's pretty well known that Stan Lee coined the term "Excelsior," and one can only imagine what problems might arise if Marvel used his catchphrase as the title of a comic book series. Although you've said you can't really address the old name, tell us about the new name. Why pick "Loners?"

CBC: Each of the characters is kind of a solo character. They were each on a team. Julie power left Power Pack. Ricochet left Slingers. Turbo left New Warriors. You know, they've all left their teams, so they were solo heroes and were loners. So it's kind of like these lone characters getting back together. The Loners.

NRAMA: Part of the charm of their original appearance in Runaways was the whole support group format, hearing their complaints and memories about their former lives as child superheroes. Will Marvel fans get more of that?

CBC: Sure. It's going to be a lot of fun. Especially that we're using those characters that everyone's familiar with. It's going to have a lot of appeal for long-time fans, and we're definitely trying to make it new-reader friendly too.

NRAMA: Is the appeal to new readers important?

CBC: A lot of the fans have been reading Runaways through the digests, and they don't really know a lot about the Marvel Universe. Brian and I tried to keep it contained within the Marvel Universe while sometimes tipping our hat to the long-time Marvel readers, and we're going to try to do the same thing with the Loners.

NRAMA: You mention Brian Vaughn a lot when talking about this comic.

CBC: Coming up with the concept, Brian helped me out with it. His take on the characters has been invaluable.

NRAMA: And you're working with artist Karl Moline on the series. How has that been?

CBC: I've been a fan of Karl Moline for a long time. I've always wanted to work with him. He does a really great job of capturing the essence of the teen characters. Not just in the physical look, but in their expressions and the way they move and the attitudes and clothing and stuff. So when potential artists for the book came up, he was definitely at the top of the list. And when he became available and his schedule worked out, we were just thrilled to have him.

NRAMA: How far along are you with the series so far?

CBC: We're well into it. Karl's into drawing it. We're ahead of the ball on this one. It's a lot of fun. The stuff really looks great so far.

NRAMA: Any final words about the series that you want to share with fans?

CBC: I'm just really happy that Marvel approved it. It was a surprise. And the fact that Runaways is having a spin-off book speaks volumes about the popularity of that title. The little title that could. The 2006 Harvey Award winner for Best Continuing Series from Saturday night, actually. And the Runaways fan base continues to build, and the fact that we're spinning off a series from that -- it's just a thrill for me as the original Runaways editor, and I'm just pleased to get the writing gig.

Now I just hope the fans will pick it up.

See these related stories:

Joss Whedon Talks Runaways

J. Michael Straczynski Talks Thor

Dabel Brothers Makes Theirs Marvel!

Sean McKeever Talks Spider-Man Family

Dan Abnett Talks Nova Ongoing Series

Joe Monday: Part Two

skinnyboy23 · 09-11-2006, 10:16 PM

looks fan-effing-tastic.

also, seeing moline on interiors is great. his fray and route 666 work is fantastic!!

Nick MB · 09-11-2006, 10:19 PM

I guess Joss Whedon taking on Runaways makes it the perfect time to have a spin-off from it, but this could actually be really good. It always seemed weird that Vaughan introduced this cool concept, dripping potential, then didn't follow it up. I'm all over this.

ghostly1 · 09-11-2006, 10:23 PM

Let me just vocally hope that Cebulski's characterization of Julie Power as 'the princess' is at the very least incomplete - Julie Power is an established nerd (with a love for fantasy), and fairly level headed. She might have some Princess qualities, certainly, but I'd hate for her to be marginalized into a stock role.

motteditor · 09-11-2006, 10:24 PM

Well, I'll be picking it up -- if only to see if Julie can put on her lipstick without using her hands.

"Two hits. Me hitting you, you hitting the floor."

Joe Henderson · 09-11-2006, 10:26 PM

I'm in. Can't wait for this book!

PoisonElf · 09-11-2006, 10:47 PM

Hell yes!
Karl Moline!

Awesome.

MabusRex · 09-11-2006, 10:54 PM

More Rico'? I'm there!

TheFoo · 09-11-2006, 11:06 PM

Any chance any of the other Slinges will *happen* to make ana apperance?

samnoir · 09-11-2006, 11:12 PM

Interesting! Karl Moline is Joss Whedon's former collaborator on Fray, the future succesor of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

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notmertz · 09-12-2006, 12:13 AM

Yay, Karl Moline! I've been missing him since the premature ending of Route 666.

BillReed · 09-12-2006, 12:21 AM

Will Rick Sheridan be in it!?!?!

KyleCowstar · 09-12-2006, 12:22 AM

I'm ready for this. Me want, me want, me want!!!!!!

Comic_Doctor · 09-12-2006, 12:24 AM

This looks interesting. I'll be picking it up when it comes out.

Another great article Vaneta!

Kolimar · 09-12-2006, 12:28 AM

Yesss...

cindercatz · 09-12-2006, 01:00 AM

Thrilled about this one. Very cooool.

protege · 09-12-2006, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillReed

Will Rick Sheridan be in it!?!?!

I'm up for a darkhawk/Sleepwalker reunion...

Julio Diaz · 09-12-2006, 01:06 AM

This is the second best news of the day, right behind Joss taking over Runaways. It's so great to see Karl Moline - one of the nicest and most talented guys in comics - getting some much-deserved work, and I know he's going to shine on this book! And I love CB's concept, too. I can't wait to read this!

scorpion mk · 09-12-2006, 01:14 AM

as long as they don't screw with ricochet's look i am putting right at the top of future books to buy

J.L. · 09-12-2006, 01:16 AM

I love Darkhawk. But I don't want to see a whimpy Darkhawk. I want to read about the Powell that was refered to in the original series. The Hero that made people and villians tremble when they heard his name.

I want to read about Darkhawks journey to becoming th most bad ass hero in the Marvel Universe, not how he's joined a self help group to stop useing his powers.

A new Darkhawk series should be handled the same way Moon Knight was.

Writer: Michael Crichton
Artisit: Angel Medina w/ Matt "Batt" Banning or Jae Lee
Colours: Chris Lichtner (No matter how many knock offs, there are no one will ever be able to compare to what Chis Lichtner and Aron Lusen have done as LiQuid!)

There should be a begining and an end to the Series. 100 issues would suit me fine. Just make Darkhawk cool again. At the beginning a guy who goes to self help groups. By the end a Hero who would pound the ____ out of the Silver Surfer or even Superman if he go in DH's way.

The Hawk Rocks!

The Jess-Man