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2010 Comic Book News Archives

November 9, 2010: Exclusive "Superboy" Interview with Jeff Lemire

Superboy #1 Superman Homepage reviewer Adam Dechanel caught up with "Superboy" comic book writer Jeff Lemire to get the inside scoop on what's going on with Conner Kent in his new monthly title.

Q: For readers new to your work, can you tell us a little about yourself?

A: I'm a Canadian cartoonist who started out doing self-published indie comics. Then I hooked up with Top Shelf Comix and did a trilogy of Graphic Novels called Essex County that followed a fictional family in the small farming town where I grew up. After that I moved on to Vertigo doing a Graphic Novel called The Nobody and then my monthly series SWEET TOOTH which is still coming out.

Q: On your blog you admit to not having much experience writing mainstream superhero comics, how are you finding scripting the adventures of Superboy and Krypto compared to say Sweet Tooth or Essex County?

A: I may not have a lot of experience writing superheroes yet, but I grew up reading them. It is a different set of skills, the biggest difference is that I draw my own stuff with Sweet Tooth and The Nobody. So now, working with another artist on Superboy I had to figure out new ways of communicating my ideas and my intentions. But Pier Gallo and I have a really great relationship and we're learning how to work together effectively more and more with each issue.

Q: Who, that fans are familiar with, can we expect to see in the book? Any folk from Conner's Hawaiian days?

A: No characters from the Hawaiian days will be showing up anytime soon. The Titans, Ma Kent, Simon Valentine and Lori Luthor are the main returning cast members from Geoff John's run. And in addition to that I'm more interested in creating new characters for Conner, rather than going back to what's already been done.

Q: With the obvious hindrance of Conner living in a small town literally hundreds of miles away from Metropolis, Gotham, Star, Fawcett City etc how are you going to incorporate Superboy's roster of villains or guest stars?

A: I'm going to create new villains specific to Smallville and his life at the moment. Villains that reflect what he's going through now. I don't see much point in constantly having another DC bad guy popping up in Smallvile for a "fight of the month". The struggles and battles Conner will face will be much more rooted in his present circumstances.

Superboy #1 Q: Will fans be able to enjoy this book without Teen Titans or will they intertwine?

A: Absolutely. You don't need to read Teen Titans to know what's going on. My stories will be separate from JT Krul's. At the same time, major events in both Teen Titans and Superboy and mine will resonate across both books. So if you do read both books their will be a consistency of character, but still nothing will hinder you from enjoying either book on its own.

Q: With the Young Justice TV show imminent, how much of that relates to the book?

A: Not at all. I've never seen it, nor do I have any idea what the show will be like. It will be nice to have the character Superboy presented to a wider audience though.

Q: How much do you pay attention to fan feedback and reviews?

A: Not at all. You can't take all the good stuff without the bad. I don't like being influenced by what I read online. The majority of the vocal on-line fan-base tends to be very negative and it's not healthy to get too involved with that. I know what kind of stories I want to tell, and I need to stay true to that. Not everyone will like them, but at the end of the day I need to be true to what I believe is best for the character and the book.

Q: Recent trends seem to indicate that writers and artists work for six issues and move on to the next book, are you sticking around for the long term?

A: Yep! As long as DC doesn't fire me I plan on at least a two year run on Superboy. I have 8 issue written already and have the first 16 plotted.

Q: Can you elaborate a little on the Coming Soon page? Over at Superman Homepage Headquarters it's got us all excited!

A: Hmm... don't want to give too much away yet. Let's see... Superboy and Kid Flash will race in Issue 5. And as for the mysterious "New Titans" I won't tell you what their story is yet, but the characters are as follows: Hawklad, Negative Lad, Elongated-Lass and The Bat-Man. Oh and one of them is Tim Drake!


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