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|  | Steve Lieber (comics)
« Thread Started on Oct 31, 2005, 3:28am » | |
Legions Of Gotham recently sat down with artist Steve Lieber to pick his brain about comics, Batman and Grendel.
His work has been seen in Detective ComicsGotham Central, Batman: turning points and Grendel Tales: Devil's Apprentice
Here's an example of his work:
![[image]](http://www.unrewarding.com/steve/viewer.jpg "[image]")
Steve's art is also featured in:
![[image]](http://images.tfaw.com/coverst/400/g/gotham_central_32.jpg "[image]")
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LoG: How familiar were you with the Batman universe prior to working on titles, such as Detective Comics and Gotham Central?
Steve Lieber: I wasn't up to date on the latest developments in the
continuity. But I'd read tons of Batman comics as a
kid.
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LoG: What would be your dream bat-story to illustrate? What characters, villains, plots etc? Could be a past one or your own interests.
Steve Lieber: Jeff Parker (creator of The INTERMAN and writer of
Marvel Adventures:Fantastic Four) has a great Batman
story in his files that I don't want to give details
about, but if DC can lure him away from Marvel, I'd
love to draw it.
More generally, I'm partial to Batman stories that are
rooted in the crime or horror genres over ones that
just treat him like a superhero.
********************
LoG: How did you become involved in working on the various Bat-titles?
Steve Lieber: I wish I had any good stories for this, but the truth
is that every time it's the same. The Bat-office calls
and asks if I'm available. When I am, I say "sure."
********************
LoG: Did you see Batman Begins? If so, what were your thoughts on the film?
Steve Lieber: I liked it a lot. Christian Bale was really impresssive in the role. The only thing that didn't work for me was the cowl.
********************
LoG: You did work on Grendel Tales: Devil's Apprentice. How familiar were you with Grendel prior to working on that series? How does it feel to be a part of such an in-depth and moving series?
Steve Lieber: I'd read some, but not all of the Grendel stories, and it was a lot of fun. The writer, Jeff Lang, is a very talented storyteller with whom I always enjoy working. He really pulled out all the stops on that one.
********************
LoG: Did you receive any direction or advice from Matt Wagner when working on Grendel Tales?
Steve Lieber: As best I can recall, the only note was to work more Grendel iconography into the designs. Matt's approach is always to find good people and let them do their thing.
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.....and now a few fan questions submitted on our forum
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The Techno Bat: Mr. Lieber what inspired you to become an artist? Who where some of your favorites, and who did you look up to growing up?
Steve Lieber: Inspired: My desperate, undying love of comics and
cartooning. I had a fairly crappy childhood. Comics
gave me worlds to escape into, perspective on my own
situation, and a sense that I could transcend whatever
awfulness was going on in the next room.
Favorites as a kid: I'd read and reread ANYTHING that
looked like a comic, but some things that stand out
for me include Peanuts by Charles Schulz, Fantastic
Four by Lee and Kirby, Superman as illustrated by Curt
Swan, Batman reprints in the DC 100-page giants of the
mid 70's. Mad Magazine, especially the stuff by Don
Martin, Antonio Prohias and Sergio Aragones. The scary
Dick Tracy paperbacks I had that reprinted Chester
Gould's early ultra-violent stories. Herge's Tintin as
reprinted in Children's Digest. The EC stories
reprinted in an enormous full-color volume my library
kept in its non-circulating collection.
In my early teens, I remember really liking Mike Grell
and John Byrne.
As I got older, the usual list of '80s greats- Alan
Moore, Dave Sim, Jaime and Beto Hernandez, Frank
Miller, Howard Chaykin, R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman,
Peter Bagge and a number of others- made it clear to
me that telling stories with comics was what I wanted
to do with my life.
Looking up: I honestly don't remember looking up to
anyone as a kid. Maybe baseball players like Willie
Stargell. Whatever hero-worship I had going was
reserved for powerful but "real" characters like
Batman or Doc Savage. I was getting my butt kicked on a
fairly regular basis, so I liked reading about bad-ass
masters of obscure fighting techniques, with secret
lairs full of cool weapons.
********************
arkhaminmate: Your work is amazing & u have
your own style that sticks out in my mind. Your
Batman is awesome. What are your thoughts about, The
current & classic Bat-films. & where do u think the
comics r going?
Steve Lieber: I don't think about the Bat-films much at all, really.
The only ones that I've really liked are the Adam West
one, which was hilarious and bizarre, and the most
recent one, which was a much more unified piece of
work than one can usually expect from a big movie, and
had some fine acting and design. The Burton ones were
okay in places, but didn't really work as stories, and
the others I haven't even been able to get through.
As for where I think the comics are going, I'm not
sure if you mean Batman comics or comics in general.
Batman's going in a lot of different directions, the
way he always does. Cartoons, movies, comics targeted
at lots of different ages.
Comics as a whole is also going in a lot of wildly
different directions, too. There are comics lines for
kids coming from companies like Scholastic and Lerner,
and Original English Language manga, and adventure
stories for all ages, and funny web comics, and book
publishers putting out literary comics for adults, and
ambitious reprints of classic newspaper strips, and
tiny small-batch mini comics from new artists, and
translations of the best comics from other countries,
and wonderful licensed comics from companies as
diverse as Bongo and Dark Horse. There's never been a
better time to be a comics reader.
********************
Thanks to Steve for taking the time to chat with the fans!
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jasontodd2
Guest
| | Re: Steve Lieber (comics)
« Reply #1 on Nov 8, 2005, 7:02pm » | |
AWESOME interview /\/\att. Thank you for all that you do for us and L.O.G.
Did Steve tell you anything else on what really bothered him about Christian Bale in the cowl?
Thanks again
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/\/\att
LoG Admin, Editor, Webmaster & Owner
member is offline
Over 5 years of serving the Bat-Fan Community!
Joined: Sept 2003
Gender: Male
Posts: 13,192
Location: Omaha, NE
| | Re: Steve Lieber (comics)
« Reply #2 on Nov 8, 2005, 10:45pm » | |
Nope, I printed the full interview this time around.
I'd be happy to drop him a line to see if he wants to elaborate, though.
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jasontodd2
Guest
| | Re: Steve Lieber (comics)
« Reply #3 on Nov 9, 2005, 1:27pm » | |
okay that would be super /\/\att, thank you...
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/\/\att
LoG Admin, Editor, Webmaster & Owner
member is offline
Over 5 years of serving the Bat-Fan Community!
Joined: Sept 2003
Gender: Male
Posts: 13,192
Location: Omaha, NE
| | Re: Steve Lieber (comics)
« Reply #4 on Nov 15, 2005, 12:06am » | |
Here's Steve's reply Techno.
Quote:Hi Matt:
I just thought it was a poor design. It puffed out
around the ears in a way that made his head look round
and kind of childish.
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