@’s by Writer Jeff Lemire
of ANIMAL MAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, LOST DOGS & SWEET TOOTH!!!
DEAN: Jeff, I want to start out by congratulating you on getting ANIMAL MAN a T-Shirt! I think this is his first t-shirt, right?JEFF LEMIRE (JL): Umm, I don’t know. I don’t think they ever gave him one back in the day, so I guess it must be. Yeah I know, it all kind of works well with sort of the metafictional aspect of the book, so it’s kind of cool. (laughs)
DEAN: Definitely, it's a big deal! Also big news on that front, I know Steve Pugh is going to be joining you on Animal Man coming up soon, and he also has some history drawing for Jamie Delano, who was another big Constantine/HELLBLAZER, and ANIMAL MAN writer. Does your approach change at all when you get a different artist coming on to a title like ANIMAL MAN, when you have Steve Pugh now instead of Travel Foreman?
JL: No, not really because Steve sort of was coming in and picking up slack for Travel, he started off just doing a couple pages in one issue and then doing a bit more, so it wasn’t like…the scripts were already written for a lot of those issues, and if anything I think Steve adapted his work to kind of do what Travel was doing , and then by the time Steve officially came on we’d already been rolling so it was a very gradual thing, so it wasn’t like one day we get a different artist and have to shift ideas or whatever.
DEAN: And then mentioning Steve’s work with Jamie Delano on HELLBLAZER, I know Constantine is a character you’ve been a big fan of, is there any particular run that really inspired your love of the character? Was it Alan Moore, was it Delano…JL: You know I think my favorite run on HELLBLAZER was probably Jamie Delano’s, and Garth Ennis’ would be a close second. Those two are the two, at least in my mind, the two classic runs on the title. I mean there’s been a lot of really great stuff, but those are the ones I always go back to, but Delano’s in particular seems to sort of strike a chord with me now. So yeah Jamie Delano in my mind is probably one of the more underrated writers of this generation because I think, you know, Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, and Pete Milligan, and Alan Moore, and all those guys all kind of came around the same time he did, but for whatever reason they’re all more I think still in the public conscious a lot more than Jamie’s stuff is, but he did some really neat stuff on ANIMAL MAN and HELLBLAZER. ANIMAL MAN in particular is really strong and it’s not currently collected, but I hope news keeps coming on in the new popularity of the character and that soon we’ll see it collected, because it’s really great stuff.
DEAN: Absolutely, and then same with Constantine, taking something Moore creates in SWAMP THING and then really growing that world as much as Delano did he deserves a lot of credit for that.
JL: Definitely, and then you know a lot of the stuff people are enjoying about my run on ANIMAL MAN, a lot of that grew out of ideas and things he hinted at, and I just kind of picked them up and expanded on them more and presented in a new way or something. But people mostly think Grant Morrison with ANIMAL MAN, and rightly so, but for me and my run, Delano’s a big influence. Then going back to Steve I think when you’re looking for someone to come and help Travel, he was the first person I asked about, not even knowing if he was interested anymore, but it was really cool for me to get to work with one of my heroes. He was a really a big influence on me when I was developing the series and fixing it and stuff, so it’s kind of ironic this sort of full circle thing that happened. But yeah, I’m pretty excited that Steve’s joining.DEAN: And then with your taking over JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, was this something that came up by surprise, was it something you had been looking for?
JL: No I was kind of surprised, I had been enjoying the title with Pete Milligan, again Pete was another big influence on me and I enjoy all those characters. So I had been just enjoying the book as a fan, you know, and I just got the call one day with the offer out of nowhere, and yeah it caught me by surprise and I was obviously really excited because aside from ANIMAL MAN and SWAMP THING I think those characters are probably the ones I was most anxious to try my hand at, especially Constantine. It’s so bizarre to be writing all these characters that were always my favorite books, my favorite characters growing up and influenced my so much and now I’m getting a chance to put my own stamp on ‘em , it’s like a dream come true and somewhat surreal at the same time.
DEAN: And with this being more of a team book, is it going to be more like “John Constantine and Friends” or will you be trying to give everyone their share of the light? JL: I don’t think John Constantine has any friends, to tell you the truth (both laugh), but at least “John Constantine and Company” for sure, it’s his team. But you know, with how I’m approaching it – definitely Constantine’s the man in charge, or at least the man leading and everyone else is following. Yeah, it’s Constantine’s team, or Constantine’s world and they all just live there (laughs).
DEAN: (laughs) yeah, that sounds about right. And then while we’re talking approach, going back to ANIMAL MAN for a bit, how does your preparation or writing differ when you’re collaborating, and setting up a crossover with another writer on another series? Is it just some fulcrum you and Scott Snyder set, write around, and then deal with it when it’s time to fully cross? Or is it more involved, to the point where you’re running each other’s scripts and ideas by each other every month?
JL: Ummm, a little bit of both. I mean, we have kind of an official thing starting in issue 12 where the two characters meet, and that’s where our storylines will officially merge for, well, however many issues that’ll last. But anyway, so leading up to that we kind of know where we’re both headed, and thematically we both know what we’re doing and stuff, so it’s more of us just reading each other’s scripts for enjoyment more than anything, or just making sure everything is consistent. But we are working toward issue 12 where at that point we’ll be a lot more active in each other’s scripts and suggesting things, and stuff like that.
DEAN: And then that’s one of the things I loved about issue 6. For me, it suggested there can be a life for the series after the Rot for the Bakers. There are plenty of interesting family dynamics there to get into and explore in the series, so is there a definitive end you have planned for your run on ANIMAL MAN, or are you just sort of enjoying your time on the series and taking it as it comes to you for now? JL: Yeah, I know what the last scene of the book will be, or my last scene of the book will be, you know. But it’s just a matter of what happens before that, it’s really open to kind of change and grow as they get into different things. But you mentioned life after the Rot, and it seems kind of funny because it’s this big epic story we’ve been building to from the beginning, and if I didn’t have sort of a plan for what’s happening after that I’d be nervous, but I do have ideas and stories in mind for what can come next, and that’s exciting too in sort of showing the next evolution of the family and how this all should come afterward and all this stuff, it will be really interesting.
DEAN: Sure, and then same thing with JUSTICE LEAGE DARK, it’s a recent announcement to us, but is there something big you already have planned as far as first arc’s or some of the villains they’ll be facing?
JL: Oh yeah! I’ve written the first few scripts and plotted out the first ….of the book, so things are pretty much set in motion now. And again with that book I have a pretty big plan going into, well, I can’t really hint at that yet. But you know I’m really approaching issue 9 as if it were a first issue for the series, I want to make it really accessible to people who haven’t been reading the series, so they’ll be able to pick it up and completely be able to jump on board and not feel left behind or anything. It’s almost like a new start to the book, and in more ways than one - It’s a new team: three or four of the members will be staying, a couple will be leaving, and I’m bringing in a couple new characters in there that I really wanted to work with. There’s going to be a new villain in the first issue, it’s going to be an old Justice League villain who will be the new JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK villain. In some ways I’m approaching it more like a traditional superhero team book, than like an ANIMAL MAN or SWAMP THING kind of horror book. I think it’s going to be a bit more upbeat than Pete’s run, a bit more team oriented, and a bit more inclusive of the rest of the DC Universe, too. I think the fun part is having these kind of really rough characters and seeing how they react to the rest of the DC Universe and stuff. So yeah, it’s really been so far so good, the first two scripts are probably the most fun I’ve ever had writing anything at DC, so hopefully that shows when it comes out (laughs)DEAN: That’s exciting to hear, that was one of the cooler things about this New 52, being able to remove that Vertigo wall from some of these characters. So it’ll fun to see, basically, what’s the need for this JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, how do they interact or differ with the Justice League?
JL: Yeah, that was the first question I had when I heard about the book, why is “Justice League” in the title,” you know? And then this is not a criticism, because I really enjoyed Pete’s run, but I don’t know that he really answered that question, you know? So my first issue answers that question immediately – why is the title of the book a JUSTICE LEAGUE title, what the hell do these characters, or what could they possibly have to do with Geoff Johns’ JUSTICE LEAGUE, and how do they relate to that? I think I’ve found a really fun, clever way to deal with that, and I think it’s something people are going to really like. When I got the gig Geoff Johns and I started talking a lot about the different JUSTICE LEAGUE franchises right now, and how they can become more in demand and how we can build toward something a bit bigger, so all of that sort of went into my planning as well.DEAN: Yeah, I remember with the start of Milligan’s run he setup like he was going to go into that in the very beginning. Superman shows up outside of the barn where Enchantress was, but he gets swarmed by teeth, and is just sort of like, “okay this is freaky, I’m outta here.” So I’d love to see more of that explored, that should be really cool. And I know we have to start wrapping up, but I’m curious - what all are you reading out there right now, comics or otherwise, when you’re not writing your own stuff?
JL: Yeah, you know it’s funny, I’m in a weird stage now where I’m sort of starting to think of new projects for next year, and then the year after, so I’m really trying to just push myself into reading new types of things, and stuff that’s a little out of my comfort zone to get some fresh ideas rolling around in my head. The stuff I’m really into lately are these novels by this Canadian author named Joseph Boyden. His first book was called Three Day Road, and then the second one was called Through the Black Spruce, and they kind of follow this one First Nation family from Northern Ontario kind of over the different generations. They’re just really incredible books, and I don’t know, they’ve really been powerful and influencing things I want to explore. But that’s really what I’ve been into, and comics-wise, I feel like I spend all day thinking about comics (laughs), so yeah I’m just reading lots of comics right now.DEAN: I hear you, it can get overwhelming and you lose track easily. Last question for you though, you’ve got LOST DOGS getting reprinted again and shipping soon, but I wound up getting myself the digital version of that which is out now – as an artist and a writer, has anything changed for you with the growth of digital since then? Or more specifically, is there a part of the writing/drawing process you do differently when you know a lot of your stuff is going to be read panel by panel, in a more cinematic way?
JL: It hasn’t yet, and that’s something I’m really concerned with creatively on a personal level, especially with the stuff I’m drawing myself. It’s something that I haven’t thought too much about, but now I’m realizing that I need to start addressing that with my work. I think SWEET TOOTH, the book I’m doing now, sort of has an established narrative style and a look and everything, so I’m not going to drastically change how I approach that book halfway through the series. But I think what’ll happen is the next sort of creator owned book I do after SWEET TOOTH - a new series, or graphic novel, or whatever – that’s when I’ll start to really start thinking about that and exploring it visually. But yeah, that can be really interesting I think.DEAN: Well that about wraps us up, but thanks so much for taking the time to answer some questions for me today, Jeff.
JL: Hey, it’s my pleasure.
DEAN: Be sure to check out Jeff’s monthly titles, ANIMAL MAN, SWEET TOOTH, and FRANKENSTEIN, along with JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK in preparation for his May 23rd start on the series! For more info check out Jeff’s blog here! And don’t forget to preorder the rerelease of LOST DOGS from Top Shelf Productions, available May 8th!
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
