Articles: Interview: Jeph Loeb (9/26/2000)

S Kleefeld: I recently learned that you'll be doing scripting work on the Fantastic Four. I was hoping to take a few moments of your time to ask you some questions for readers of my 4 Freedoms Plaza web site.

Jeph Loeb: Great to hear from you! I'm learning very quickly about all these FF sites and fans (my mailbox was JAMMED today) -- but yours sounds like the place to be. What's the reaction been to Carlos so far? Lemme know -- and don't hesitate to contact me about stuff -- I'll help where I can!

SK: I'd like to start with a little history. I think some Fantastic Four fans may be unaware of what you have written, even if they have seen it. After having written popular movies like Teen Wolf and Commando in the 1980s, you willingly moved over to the comics medium in the early 1990s with a Challengers of the Unknown project with Tim Sale. What prompted the change of media? How do audience reactions compare between the two?

JL: Well, I think first and foremost I'm a comic book FAN. I've read comics, Marvels and DC since I was a kid and now that I get to actually write them -- it's just too good to be true. It's like playing sandlot ball and waking up one day and finding out you get to pitch for the Yankees.

The HOW of how I got in was through film. I was working on what was a proposed Flash movie for Warner Brothers and got to know Jenette Kahn (DC's President). She offered me the chance to write a comic book -- and some people say they don't believe in Santa Claus. That book turned out to be Challengers of The Unknown. I pretty much thought I would do that and then go back to movies and television.

But, folks seemed to like it, Archie Goodwin in particular, and he asked if Tim and I would do some Batman stuff and that led to Marvel asking me to do some X-Men stuff and pretty soon I had these two careers going at once. I must be the luckiest man alive.

The FF seemed to always escape me though. I got to write them a little bit during Heroes Reborn and that really wetted my appetite, but the book was never available. Until today!

SK: Many of the books you've worked on since then have involved some of the most "classic" characters in comicdom: Superman, Batman, the X-Men, etc. You've also expressed a great deal of excitement at the prospect of writing the Fantastic Four. I have to ask, then, what is it that draws you to these characters, seemingly moreso than contemporary ones?

JL: A lot of it comes from The FF being my favorite book as a kid -- along with Superman. But, Superman was a HERO, bigger than life. The FF had a sense of humor about itself -- they fought with each other, in fact, they didn't really like each other very much -- but they LOVED each other, very much like a real family. And The FF was constantly bringing in NEW amazing stuff. The Inhumans, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Black Panther, The Frightful Four, The Dragon Man, The Negative Zone, I mean the list goes on and on -- and we haven't even gotten to Doctor Doom! What makes the current experience so amazing is that Carlos LOVES all that stuff and yet, can give it a very contemporary spin. My job is then to script those stories with voices that have been in my head for years. I can't wait to type my first "It's CLOBBERIN' TIME!" It's like when I got to write "Up, Up and Away!" Chills!

SK: Before you were actually contacted about scripting the main FF book, you agreed to help work on Erik Larsen's FF project. Although Erik clearly has some ideas of his own for the book, how much input will you be adding? Is it scripting only or have you been able to talk with Erik about plot points?

JL: A point of clarity here. I begged Erik to be part of it. I offered him money, candy, a ride in my Dad's car, I was just SHAMELESS -- if for no other reason than I heard the crews he was putting together and I HAD to be part of it! But, this is Erik's book. He's creating something that will look and feel like Stan and Jack did the book circa FF #100. Erik LOVES that period and more power to him. So, I get to play with these great artists and script some stuff here and there.

SK: Do you know at this point which issue(s) you will be working on or who you artist(s) will be?

JL: I'm only a part of the first issue -- and I've asked if I can script over Bruce Timm (if he's not writing it himself!) and we'll see what part I get! I feel like I'm back in High School and I'm trying out for a part in the school play.

SK: Clearly the approach and tone of Erik's Fantastic Four will be different than Carlos'. How wouold you express the differences between the two? What are the types of things you'll be consciously doing differently in each version? Is there a distinct change in your mindset while looking at either project?

JL: As I understand them -- and I'm really new at this -- they are completely different. As I said, Erik is trying to recapture the Stan and Jack of it all -- from Captions to balloons and dialogue. It is almost a period piece that will be very, very cool.

Carlos is breaking new ground, charting the adventures of the World's Greatest Comic Magazine. The voices will be similar, but Erik's will be wordier -- 'cause that's how Stan The Man wrote, true believer! On Carlos' book, I imagine, I'll be the usual sparse, but hopefully emotional writing that I like to do. I haven't started yet, so I'm sure you guys will let me know how I'm doing!

SK: Some comic historians point to Jack Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown as a direct predecessor to the Fantastic Four. Some of the parallels are fairly obvious and some fairly superficial. Do you think your Challengers might be prophetic in any way of your FF?

JL: I'm sure that when I was writing the Challs, the F.F. was somewhere in my mind, but the Challs that Tim and I worked on were very different from the "classic" Challs. It was a different time. Animal Man was the rage and DC was looking for more mature, even darker themes than the Challs had ever done. So, in many ways, the Challs were NOTHING like The FF -- because I was doing something that was more of a reboot than a continuation of the great traditions.

SK: I expect at this point Carlos has a number of plans for the book already in place, both in regards to foreshadowed plot points in issues he's already completed and those he simply has in the back of his mind. How much influence will you exert over the book's direction? Will you be adding your two cents on plot elements or limiting yourself to dialogue only?

JL: Right now, my role is to script the book. I don't know if that's limiting myself given how much affection I have for the characters, but in terms of plotting, Carlos is very far along. I have a great relationship with him though and a very big mouth, so I'm sure I'll at least have some OPINIONS! But, it is totally up to Carlos as to how and what the book is doing. I'm very lucky, once again, to work with someone of this caliber. It's a once in a lifetime chance.

SK: Without giving too much away, what sort exciting things can readers expect in your Lee/Kirby-style FF and your contemporary version?

JL: See above!

SK: Thanks very much for your time. I am eagerly waiting to see what you can do with the "World's Greatest Comic Magazine."

JL: Me, too! Let me know how I do!