 Report by Albert Ching
Marvel's final panel on Friday at Wizard World Los Angeles - Cup O' Jeph, with Jeph Loeb gamely stepping into the shoes of Joe Quesada's convention staple "Cup O' Joe" - started a few minutes past schedule late Friday afternoon.
Loeb starting by joking "I'm glad that I'm able to draw the kind of crowd that Joe Quesada draws."
Vamping while some technical issues were figured out, Loeb introduced his co-host, Marvel Marketing Manager Jim McCann.
Loeb began by saying that he'd read Secret Invasion #1 - due in about two weeks - and that it was "really good." Still vamping while techincal difficulties were being worked out, Loeb told the crowd that he's originally from Stamford, Connecticut, and that's why it was the site of Nitro's explosion in Civil War #1.
Technical issues ate up a few more minutes...
To fill time, Loeb took questions from the audience. The first was a venerable old chestnut - "How do you break into comics?" Loeb said that it's the same as anything, "practice, practice, practice." He talked about his first project - DC's Challengers of the Unknown, sarcastically stating that it was "the comic he was born to do" (he said he never even heard of it before he was offered the assignment).
The issues with the computer and projector apparently resolved, Loeb said "I can finish telling this boring story!" The first slide showcased Kick-Ass, with Loeb saying "John Romita Jr., and a quarter for every time somewhere swears, and you've got a great comic."
The next slide showed Loeb and Ed McGuinness's Hulk, with an image from #3 of Hulk and "A-Bomb" fighting.
Loeb then talked about King-Sized Hulk, coming out in May, with Arthur Adams art of Hulk fighting the Wendigo shown (below).
Loeb talked about issues #7, 8 and 9 of Hulk, which will feature two 11-page stories each, similar to the old Tales to Astonish format. Arthur Adams will draw the "front" story with the Hulk facing off against "Wendigos" (yes, plural), and Frank Cho illustrating the "back" story about She-Hulk getting revenge on the Red Hulk.
Loeb also said that artist Herb Trimpe, who worked on Hulk in the late '60s and '70s, will be contributing to King Sized Hulk.
Loeb then discussed his upcoming Ultimatum, and how it will follow from Ultimate Origins by Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice. "What we're trying to do is bring excitement into the Ultimate universe," Loeb said. "Make it a place where the unexpected happens."
Loeb then showed a teaser image from Ultimatum by David Finch (below), showing a giant hand and several Ultimate universe characters. "I know you've heard it all before, but 'Nothing will ever be the same,'" Lobe said of Ultimatum.
Loeb then opened the floor and took questions from the audience.
"How much involvement did you have in Civil War?" a fan asked. Loeb joked, "What were the parts you like? I did all of those." He then answered that he was at the Marvel retreat where the idea was originally conceived.
A question was asked about how many Skrulls will be revealed before Secret Invasion #1 comes out, and McCann said he believes two (more) will be revealed before the first issue hits.
A fan displeased with the recent actions of Tony Stark made the same accusation that many members of the New Avengers have made - that Tony Stark is a Skrull. Loeb said that he wouldn't be able to answer that, but that he likes that Stark has to "redeem himself," and that revealing him as a Skrull at that point might be a cheat.
A convention isn't a convention without someone asking if a new issue of Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk, by Lost writer Damon Lindelof is due out soon. Loeb said that Lindelof is busy with Lost, but that it's still in the works. Loeb also said, speaking from experience, that it's hard to be on a hit show and do comics at the same time. [Loeb is currently co-executive producer on NBC's Heroes]
Asked if there will be a new Silver Surfer series anytime soon, McCann said there's going to be a new Marvel Knights mini-series by Peter Milligan and Essad Ribic - before correcting himself (that's a Namor project, not Silver Surfer). McCann said Silver Surfer will continue to be part of the Marvel Universe, though.
A young girl in the audience asked Loeb when he's going to work with Tim Sale again. This led to a slide of a Tim Sale-drawn WWII-era Captain America and Bucky. Sale then joined the panel, with Loeb announcing that they're going to be doing Captain America: White. "It'll be the first of a number of things we'll be doing," said Loeb. "The rest, I can't talk about."
"Captain America: White takes place in 1941," said Loeb. "It's going to be one particular mission that defines who the characters were." Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos will also be featured in the series. We're going to deal with a lot of Steve's relationship with Nick, and it's going to echo a lot with what goes on in present day."
Loeb talked about the framing devices of Daredevil: Yellow, Hulk: Gray and Spider-Man: Blue, and how they're all characters in the present reflecting on the past. In Captain America: White, Loeb said that "it doesn't take place in 'our present,'" so not to contradict anything in the current Captain America, book, and "it's in a world where Bucky is dead."
Sale then talked about the art aspect of Captain America: White. "It's going to be done in ink wash," he said, like several of the previous Loeb/Sale collaborations. "It's going to be a combination of Jack Kirby and Jack Davis," Sale said, "The all-Jack crew."
McCann then took a call from Joe Quesada, putting him on speakerphone. "If you're doing this, Jeph, then the whole 'Cup O' brand is dead, doomed," Quesada joked. He then called Sale coming back to Marvel "the coolest thing ever."
Quesada, allegedly having some trouble hearing, though someone said 'Jim' instead of 'Tim,' leading him to quip "Jim? Jim Lee's coming to Marvel, too? The way things are going at DC it wouldn't surprise me." When some fans booed a bit at that remark, Quesada cracked "Come on, like you guys don't know."
A fan asked Quesada what the "newest, coolest thing" coming from Marvel will be, and Quesada pointed to Secret Invasion, but also that there is another project way too early to talk about involving Loeb, Brian Michael Bendis, and other creators.
Are there plans for Young Avengers? Quesada was asked. "Dead. All of them," joked Quesada.
A young boy asked for "something secret about something coming up" and Quesada, still joking (seemingly), that "In issue #4 of Secret Invasion, a Skrull will turn into...another Skrull."
Quesada wrapped the call by joking about Loeb's ability to fill-in on the "Cup O' Joe" panels. "We billed this as anything can happen," McCann said, "And a lot didn't happen."
A woman asked what other Loeb/Sale collaborations are coming up. Loeb hinted, kind of, at something in the future involving Heroes, where Sale provided the character Isaac Mendez's paintings.
"If you could bring any character from Heroes to the Marvel Universe, who would it be?" Loeb was asked. "I'm not an idiot," he answered, "It would be Ali Larter." Loeb then said that the Heroes characters have a lot in common with the Marvel Universe heroes, since they are all flawed and gaining their powers wasn't necessarily a good thing for them, personally.
McCann asked if anything from Marvel has influenced his work on Heroes, to which Loeb said "No, nothing in Marvel has ever been in Heroes. There's an NBC lawyer over there." He then said that several things, including comic books, have influenced Heroes.
What is the status of the Heroes spinoff, Heroes: Origins? Loeb said it was stymied by the writer's strike but that it might happen in the future.
A fan asked Sale what comics he liked growing up. Sale named Dr. Strange and Silver Surfer as two, but that even as a kid, he was always more interested in the artists rather than the characters or writers.
Loeb discussed the dynamics of Captain America and Bucky, and how it relates to Captain America: White. He said that their age difference wasn't as much as people often think, as Bucky was about 16 or 17 and Captain America was about 22 or 23, and thus Cap wasn't a "father figure," but maybe closer to a brother.
A fan asked, "Hypothetically, if the two of you were to work together on a Silver Surfer project, how would you portray 'his psychology'?" Loeb said he likes him as a secondary character. Sale agreed, saying "It's very limited, what stories you can do with him."
The same woman who asked about any future Loeb/Sale projects asked how many hours a week Loeb spends writing. He said he has a full-time job as a co-executive producer and writer on Heroes, which "starts at 9:30 a.m. and ends never." He says given that, he can really only write two comic books a month, and often gets up at 4 o'clock in the morning to write. Somehow talk of his schedule, which often includes writing on the weekends, digressed into Loeb doing a Mark Millar impression.
A fan familiar with the early part of Jeph Loeb's career playfully asked if Hulk was going to fight Teen Wolf (Loeb wrote the screenplay of Teen Wolf Too).
A young fan asked why it's Captain America: White instead of red or blue. Loeb said he can't say yet, as the previous colors all related to the theme, and it'll be clear within the story.
A fan asked why Loeb chose to work with Sale again. Loeb said there's a "certain magic" when he works with Sale that he can't really explain, and that many people think he does the best work with Sale.
Loeb wrapped the panel by talking about the dynamic between him and his studio-mates, Geoff Johns and Allan Heinberg.
Towards the end of the panel, Loeb gave the tease that "One of the characters I've discussed today is a Skrull."
A fan asked about whose hand it is in the Ultimatum teaser, and in a surprising bit of candor, Loeb revealed that it was Magneto's.
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