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Radiation Interrogation: Rob Liefeld & Jeph Loeb
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Location: Blogs Atomic FalloutRadiation Interrogation |
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| Posted by: Jake Bell |
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 10:45 AM |
 Why bring back Onslaught and revisit the Heroes Reborn stories? Of all the stories you could have done, what was it about this one that grabbed you?
Loeb: Onslaught was the great unstoppable force in the Marvel U who dominated a year's worth of comics (no lie, try finding them without spending fortune), who hadn't be used since the time of Heroes Reborn. The fit seemed right and the story flowed from that.
The notion that it was Frankin Richards, the son of a very caring father and mother, who beat this guy and that very fact would put the child in jeopardy was something that rang true to me. I've always been attached to strong father/son stories, but never more than since losing my own son, Sam to cancer in June of 2005.
Liefeld: Well, Heroes Reborn was a great experience for me, it was an absolute blast. It was explosive from the word go and the Marvel NYC offices were filled with people stabbing the project in the heart from the time we signed the deal, so it wasn't like we didn't know what we were up against and to be frank, I was surprised it lasted for me as long as it did. I just loved doing Captain America with Jeph Loeb. I always wanted to draw an updated Captain America origin and when Jeph came on board it just made it so much more fun. We had a blast.
So, I loved the whole Heroes Reborn experience and had there been peace at Marvel about this and had the editorial staff in 1996 believed that HR wasn't about outsourcing the entire Marvel line of comics, the line would have expanded and grown and been more successful.
I mean, as it stands, it became the Ultimate line of comics three years later, so the idea was right, the timing was off. Our sales were three times the Ultimate launch, but when you sell something to the public and then shut it down with an "oops, just kidding" attitude, fans leave. Each successive re-launch was less successful. Heroes Reborn worked on every level when it launched. Re-visiting it seems like a no-brainer. I believe it will do very well.
What did Heroes Reborn mean to you ten years ago?
Liefeld: It meant we, Jeph and I, were going to have more fun! I'm tellin' you this is a blast and Jeph is writing some big fun, big style, big action stories.
Loeb: Well, believe it not, I wasn't always the charming roguish bandit you know me to be now. I used to be fairly unknown when an extremely cool and generous lad by the name of Rob Liefeld plucked me from tending the gardens of his creations (Cable and X-Force) and put me in the middle of the biggest thing to hit comics in ten years -- Heroes Reborn. My career would have been very different without this chance and this is a big thank you to those readers and to Rob. Since the two of you met largely due to Jeph writing Cable, the character Rob created, is there any desire to revisit Cable and Deadpool together?
Liefeld: I'd love that. Maybe in the near future.
Loeb I never say never. They might even show up in Onslaught Reborn!
As Rob mentioned Heroes Reborn was "retooled" before the series concluded. Has this series given you a chance to revisit some of the stories you originally had in mind?
Liefeld: Definitely yes. We're tying up some loose ends.
Loeb: Some little things. But this is a stand alone, new story. It happens to pick up right where we left, however, and doesn't take into consideration what happened afterwards -- since the characters don't know what happened after that!
Rob, you told us about drawing some pages that hadn't been scripted after discussing them over the phone. How different was it to work telephonically instead of writing everything out ahead of time?
Liefeld: It's pretty simple when the ideas for the page are clearly expressed, visually articulated. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby produced tons of issues talking the story out, as did Marv Wolfman and George Perez on the Titans.
I have an audio tape of Alan Moore describing the first issue of Warchild to me in tremendous detail, it goes on for two hours, it's absolutely amazing. You could easily draw from his telling the story. The end result might be different than a scripted version, but not necessarily better.
Jeph, how tough is it to balance your television work on "Heroes" with your comic book writing?
Loeb: Uh... very. And be a dad. And have a life. But, waugh, waugh, waugh, poor me! I only get to do what I love with great very talented people who respect their craft. I'm very lucky.
You are in a position to hand pick the artists you work with on each project. Who is your favorite to work with and why? How do you decide which artists you want? Do you tailor projects for artists or select artists based on projects or both?
Loeb: The story dictates everything. If I have a great Wolverine story, it needs the right artist. I sat it out and then Joe Quesada -- who really has a very good sense of this stuff -- asked if I wanted to do it with Simone Bianchi. It starts in January! See how tough that was? Now, I've been asked "Would you like to write Iron Man?" And my answer is -- I don't have an Iron Man story. So even if you dragged out Jim Lee, that's not going to happen.
Rob, who are some of your favorite artists working today?
Liefeld: I still like all the Image guys. Jim Lee, Marc, Mike Turner, Joe Benietez, I love their stuff. I enjoy Tim Sale, Frank Quitely, Steve McNiven. I'm really looking forward to Simone Bianchi's Wolverine arc with Jeph, that is going to be crazy.
You are a lightning rod for criticism in this industry. Why do you think you are vilified the way you are?
Liefeld: I've heard hundreds of opinions on this subject and I believe they all, in their own way, hold the answers and have varying degrees of validity.
I listen and accept and try to learn as much as I possibly can from all of it. I'm a sport's nut, and I'm very passionate about my teams and I've been extremely vocal, especially at games I've attended in expressing my opinions about all sorts of athletes. Comic fans are just as passionate and have every right to express their thoughts and opinions.
I just reserve the right to yell back, just like Barry Bonds and Chris Webber have done to me.
Robert Kirkman responded to those critics in a column comparing you to Jack Kirby. As a fan of the King, what do you think of that comparison?
Liefeld: Well, I'm always flattered but I also am quick to recognize that no one, least of all me, can hold a candle to Jack Kirby. I think that guys like Robert Kirkman respond to the energy and boldness in my work, and I try to inject my work with Kirbyesque pop, from the layouts, the angles, the bold figures, it's very deliberate on my part. Jack was as close to perfect as this industry has ever seen, the rest of us fall way short. Jack was a lightning rod at several points in his career as well, further drawing comparisons.
What changes have you see in the industry as a result your leaving Marvel with Jim Lee, Mark Silvestri, Erik Larsen, and the others and forming Image? In hindsight, what are some of the pros and cons you've experienced in the last fifteen years as a result?
Liefeld: Well, the industry has moved forward in some ways, but backwards in others. Comic books are currently the best quality, production wise, they've ever been. That is a direct result of our forming Image comics. Look back and you'll see that the first 2 years after we formed Image, Marvel, DC even Valiant held fast on their production values, believing we'd fade away. Only after we proved our staying power at Image did they start making the change to computer rendered color, better paper stock, etc. The end result is what we have today. The writing and drawing is very strong at the moment, but we still aren't actively courting the next generation of comics readers and we need to start soon.
Which of Arnold's one-liners after he kills someone in Commando is your favorite?
Liefeld: "Let off some steam, Bennet." That's tied with "I let him go."
Loeb: "Remember, Malve, when I promised I'd kill you last? I lied!" |
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