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 Jeph
Loeb Answers Smallville Questions For KryptonSite
As
announced yesterday, Superman comics writer Jeph Loeb
will be a consulting producer and writer for Smallville for
the second season. Mr. Loeb was kind enough to answer some questions
for KryptonSite. His answers are below:
KRYPTONSITE:
How did you get involved with the project?
JEPH
LOEB: I've been a fan of the show since Day 1. Actually before
Day 1 because I saw a very early cut of the show and really fell
in love with the characters. Then, as the show progressed, there
were little winks here and there from the comics and from SUPERMAN
FOR ALL SEASONS. The most flattering was/is that the bridge
that Luthor drives off of in the pilot and hits Clark? It's called
The Loeb Bridge. How could you NOT love a show with a bridge named
after someone who has the same name as me! Recently, the guys (Al
Gough and Miles Millar, the show's creators and exectutive producers)
wanted to meet me to talk about general stuff -- the characters,
how I saw the show, things like that. By the time the meeting was
over, I told them that either I had to come work for them or I had
to stop watching the show since I couldn't keep my brain thinking
of new episodes and character bits. I think it was more of a mercy
hiring than anything else. Al and Miles just couldn't see me in
a mental institution or they didn't want to lose a viewer, I'm not
sure which. In any event, it had a happy ending.
 KS:
How would you compare writing the TV Clark Kent to the one that
you've written in the past for the comics?
JL: Well,
they're very different and at the same time, the same. I know that
sounds odd, but for the most part, I've written Clark as an adult,
and married to Lois Lane. I suppose the closest thing to the show
is in SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS -- but even then, that is my interpretation
and not Al and Miles'. So, while I bring with me a fountain of knowledge
about the character, who I love and admire, the joy of writing and
thinking about SMALLVILLE is that Clark is a young man who is learning
what the road is like to becoming the world's greatest hero. The
best part is being able to play in this incredibly fertile ground
of the Clark Kent/Lex Luthor dynamic when they are young men that
doesn't exist in the present day comics. That's a pure creation
of the show and the guys. It has wonderful dramatic irony whenever
Clark and Lex get together. My favorite moment comes at the end
of the episode called "Hug" when Luthor comments that
their friendship will be the stuff of legends. Amazing.
KS: Would
there ever be a possibility of seeing characters that originated
on the show, such as Chloe Sullivan or Whitney, seen or referred
to in the comic?
JL: That's
more of a question for DC or for Superman Group Editor Eddie Berganza.
I know that they have a Smallville Special planned and I
assume that Chloe will appear there since it runs true with the
show. I hope that DC puts out more Smallville comics -- it's
a sure fire hit!
Thanks to Mr.
Loeb for taking the time to answer questions for KryptonSite. Smallville
Season 2 will likely premiere in October.
Jeph Loeb image
courtesy of Wizard Magazine
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