Interviews
Exclusive Interview with Jack Briglio
[Date: May 2008]By Adam Dechanel.
Jack Briglio is a writer who has written various issues of "Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century" and "Scooby Doo" for DC Comics.
Superman Homepage writer Adam Dechanel interviewed Jack about his career, his work on the LSH comic book, and more.
The Superman Homepage would like to thank Jack for agreeing to do this interview, and for fitting it into his busy schedule.
Q: So give us a quick biog?A: I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with my wife Giulia and my son Lucas. By day, I work as an user interface design & development manager for Canada Post Online's web team, after nearly a decade of strictly freelance writing. By night, I write, write and write, currently scripting issues of Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century and Scooby Doo for DC Comics. A few years back, I wrote Growing Up Enchanted for Too Hip Gotta Go Graphics, a title I co-created with artist Alex Serra, a former Russ Manning nominee. In 2003, Growing Up Enchanted received an Eisner nomination for "Best Title Aimed for a Younger Audience".
Q: Can you reveal anything about hints of Luthor in the 31st Century?
A: You're talking about that business card Xavier Ro dropped in the latest issue, right? Well, we know that a Luthor exists in the 31st century from an episode of the cartoon's first season. It hadn't been touched upon since that episode, really, so I thought I'd introduce some teasing backstory in this issue that I hope to follow up on in a later issue. Element Lad deserves a spotlight issue and as for Luthor - where there's Superman, can Luthor ever be that far behind? We'll see...
Q: Why did you choose Phantom Girl as the lead?
A: She's a great character that I didn't think had received a lot of "screen time" yet in either the cartoon or the comic book series. Her relationship with her mom was introduced in a first season episode and I saw an opportunity to expand on that and continue where that episode left off. "See Me" - isn't that something every kid asks of their parents at one time or another? I definitely saw some of that in their relationship and decided to explore it further.
Q: There were hints of traditional Legion history, do you know a lot about the Legion and Superman and are you planning to do more of that?
A: I've read every single story of the Legion of Super-Heroes - and that includes guest appearances in other books, etc. - since its inception. 50 years worth of stories... so I guess I do know a lot! Can't say the same about reading every Superman story, but yeah, I think I know Superman pretty well too. While I first try to tell a story that readers of all ages can enjoy, whether they are Legion fans/historians or not, I also try to include little nuggets of Legion lore that old-time fans will get a kick out of, as long as it works and makes sense. Issue 8 dealt with introducing a traditional Legion romance - Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl's first date. Having Starfinger as the villain was my little "shout-out" to a classic Legion story where Starfinger tried to ruin their wedding day. A neat nugget for Legion fans, but I don't think you needed to know that to enjoy the issue. This issue had Element Lad's backstory and that mysterious business card. My next script touches upon both Legion and Superman lore, as does many of my pitches.
Q: Do you get a say in the visuals accompanying your work?
A: I do in that I write full script, so I break down the story page by page and panel by panel. I try to be as descriptive as possible, but I also don't go overboard to allow artists some creative freedom to build off the script. Comics aren't a one-man show.
Q: How did this differ from your first Legion issue?
A: My first story, issue 8, was much lighter in tone. This one wasn't as humourous since it dealt with ghosts and death, a lot of death. And, it was a mystery with a couple of twists and turns that I hope readers didn't see coming.
Q: Do you watch the show and how do you feel about its demise?
A: I did watch the show and I feel horrible that it's over so soon. Two seasons - 26 episodes only - they barely scratched the surface.
Q: What future projects do you have in the pipeline?
A: Well, my first Scooby Doo story came out a couple of weeks back - issue 131. I also have another Scooby Doo script slated for June release - number 133. I've written another script for the Legion book, which stars a Superman villain. The schedule hasn't been set yet for when that will appear. Other than that, hopefully more Legion stories as well as a couple of proposals that I'm working on that's too early to talk about in detail yet.
This interview is Copyright © 2008 by Steven Younis. It is not to be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
Interviews
Introduction
The Superman Homepage has had the pleasure of interviewing various Superman Comic Book creative people about their work.
Question and Answer Interviews:
- Interview with writer Marv Wolfman about Man and Superman: The Deluxe Edition (November 2019)
- Interview with artist Claudio Castellini about Man and Superman: The Deluxe Edition (November 2019)
- Interview with artist Joe Staton about working on Superman properties over the years (November 2019)
- Interview with Christopher Priest about the Superman vs. Deathstroke story in Deathstroke #8 (November 2016)
- Interview with Sterling Gates about the 'Adventures of Supergirl' digital-first comic book series (January 2016)
- Interview with J. Michael Straczynski about “Superman: Earth One - Vol. 3” - Writer J. Michael Straczynski talks to us about the third volume in the “Superman: Earth One” graphic novel series (February 2015)
- Interview with Jim Krueger - Writer Jim Krueger talks to us about his “The Dark Lantern” story in the “Adventures of Superman” comic book title (November 2013)
- “Smallville: Season 11” Interview with Bryan Q. Miller - Writer Bryan Q. Miller talks to us about his work on the “Smallville: Season 11” comic book title (October 2012)
- “Supergirl” Interview with Mahmud Asrar - Artist Mahmud Asrar talks to us about his work on the monthly “Supergirl” comic book title (July 2012)
- “Superman/Batman” Interview with Joshua Hale Fialkov - Joshua Hale Fialkov answers our questions about “The Secret” 3-part story in “Superman/Batman” #85-87 (July 2011)
- “Supergirl” Interview with Sterling Gates - Sterling Gates answers our questions about where Supergirl is headed post “War of the Supermen” (June 2010)
- “Supergirl” Interview with Sterling Gates & Jamal Igle - Adam Dechanel chats with the “Supergirl” comic book team about the Maid of Might (March 2010)
- Behind the Scenes of the Super Friends - Four part indepth look at the “Super Friends” comic book title with artists J. Bone and Stewart McKenny (February 2010)
- Interview with Landry Q Walker and Eric Jones - The writer and artist discuss Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade (May 2009)
- Interview with Elliot S! Maggin - Legendary Superman writer and novelist discusses his career (January 2009)
- Interview with J. Bone - Artist discusses Super Friends comic book (November 2008)
- Interview with Mark Bagley (September 2008)
- Interview with J. Torres - Writer discusses Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #18 (September 2008)
- Interview with Jake Black (May 2008)
- Interview with Cary Bates (June 2008)
- Interview with Jack Briglio - Writer discusses Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #14 (May 2008)
- Interview with Ken Pontac - Writer discusses Justice League Unlimited #44 (May 2008)
- Interview with Karl Kerschl (April 2008)
- Interview with J. Torres - Writer discusses Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #13 (April 2008)
- Interview with J. Torres - Writer discusses Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #11 (February 2008)
- Interview with Fabian Nicieza - Writer on Superman comic books (June 2007)
- Interview with Danny Fingeroth - Writer of the book Superman on the Couch (May 2007)
- Interview with Jesse McCann - Writer on the Krypto The Superdog comic books (December 2006)
- Interview with Matt Haley - Artist on the Superman Returns comic book movie adaptation (November 2006)
- Interview with Ethan Van Sciver - Artist on Superman/Batman (September 2006)
- Interview with Mark Verheiden on taking over the writing duties on Superman/Batman (April 2006)
- Interview with Matt Idelson on taking over as Superman group editor (March 2006)
- Interview with Jeph Loeb on Sam and “Superman/Batman #26” (February 2006)
- Interview with Roger Stern (December 2005)
- Interview with Marv Wolfman (November 2005)
- Interview with Gail Simone (May 2005)
- Interview with Greg Rucka (April 2005)
- Interview with Brad Meltzer [Identity Crisis] (January 2005)
- Interview with Glenn Whitmore (November 2004)
- Interview with Jeph Loeb (September 2004)
- Interview with Karl Kerschl (September 2004)
- Interview with Ron Garney (September 2004)
- Interview with Greg Rucka and Matthew Clark (May 2004)
- Interview with Ed McGuinness (March 2004)
- Interview with Brad Meltzer [Identity Crisis] (March 2004)
- Interview with Mark Millar [Superman: Red Son] (March 2003)
- Interview with Min S. Ku (September 2001)
- Interview with Jeph Loeb (May 2001)
- Interview with Joe Casey (April 2001)
- Interview with Mike S. Miller (September 2000)
- Interview with Denis Rodier (August 2000)
- Interview with Grant Morrison (December 1999)
- Interview with Mark Millar [Part 2] (November 1999)
- Interview with Mark Millar [Part 1] (April 1999)
Interviews/Articles:
- “Superman vs. Terminator” - A Chat with Fight Promoter Alan Grant. (January 2000)
- Superman: The Dailies (1939-1940) Graphic Novel Review.
- The Rebirth of Superman (Part 1) - Superman is reborn... again.
- The Rebirth of Superman (Part 2) - Eddie Barganza on taking the character in a new direction.
- The Rebirth of Superman (Part 3) - Jeph Loeb discusses writing the Man of Steel.
- Lex Luthor For President - Forget Superman. An updated Luthor's new enemies are Gore and Bush.
- Superman: Last Son of Earth - Steve Gerbern Interview - The writer discusses flip-flopping the Man of Steel's origin. (August 2000)
Krypton Club Interviews:
When “Lois & Clark” started production in 1993, there was an obvious relationship between the comic book people and the Hollywood people.
A trade paperback “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”, was published, with Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher on the cover. It included reprints of comic book stories that were the inspiration for “Lois & Clark”, helping to define the characters. Comic's included are: The Story of the Century (Man of Steel miniseries #2), Tears for Titano (Superman Annual #1), Metropolis - 900 mi (in SUP #9), The Name Game (SUP #11), Lois Lane (in ACT #600), Headhunter (AOS #445), Homeless for the Holidays (AOS #462), The Limits of Power (AOS #466), and Survival (ACT #665).
A number of comic book writers and artists had roles as extras in the episode “I'm Looking Through You” (Season one, episode 4). Their presence was immortilized in the Sky Trading Card #34.
Craig Byrne, president of the online “Lois & Clark” fanclub The Krypton Club, carried out a series of interviews with comic book writers. The interviews are reprinted with permission of the Krypton Club.
- Interview with Roger Stern (June 1995)
- Interview with John Byrne (June 1995)
- Interview with Mike Carlin (July 1995)