AG: So, how did you get started in this crazy business?
SL: I actually snuck in the side door by, as a college student working on a school paper in Poughkeepsie, New York, I interviewed Al Milgrom who was an editor at the time. Once there, I asked for a sample of a few plots (This was before the Marvel Tryout Book when there was no real way of knowing how it was done.) From there, I kept submitting submitting submitting plots and being rejected rejected rejected until SOLO AVENGERS started and I made my first sale. Even then, I had to scrape by as a stand-up comic/writer for a few years until I landed the X-MEN...then everything changed.
AG: What's the first comic book you remember reading? Do you still have time to read any now?
SL: The first comic I REMEMBER reading was GIANT SIZED DAREDEVIL #1...it was a reprint, but who knew?! I seldom have time to read other comics, and when I do they usually don't hold my attention all the way through.
AG: Who are some of your favorite writers/biggest influences?
SL: Stan Lee. The man was and is brilliant...how many other people have created an entire pantheon of characters that have endured so long? (Yes, he had help, but even with something like GENERATION X which has been trez collaborative between Chris and I--I don't think either one of us for a moment could discount the other. What I'm saying is, regardless of the Stan vs. Jack argument, it is crystal clear that the two of them together added up to excellence.)
AG: What was your first work for Marvel?
SL: Honestly? It was a POWER MAN/IRON FIST story in 1982 which was never drawn.
AG: Was that your first published story?
SL: To the best of my recollection, it was MCP #9, featuring EL AGUILA. But I also have this dim memory of two emergency three page stories in WHAT THE #3...Marvel Balls and The Last Charlie America story.
AG: What is your favorite work of your own so far?
SL: It changes all the time...as it should. Once it was UXM #297, the roller blading issue. Then it was the Illyana dying issue. Then it was the Thanksgiving day JEAN/SCOTT proposal, and recently it was the post-Onslaught breakfast issue. It SHOULD change--I'd hate for someday to say "My favorite story was one I wrote ten years ago...the rest has been crap!"
AG: It has been announced that you are going to be handling the regular writing chores on not only Uncanny X-Men and Generation X, but now also X-Men and Iron Man. How do you handle such a heavy workload, and are you ever afraid that your writing will suffer? How do you keep track of all those plots, sub-plots, and sub-sub-plots?
SL: I'll get back to you on this one in a few months. As of right now, I don't find it too be TOO much work.
AG: All four of the titles you write for (currently :-) ) have regular artists with four very different styles. Do you approach the plotting differently with each book because the artists are so different?
SL: Yes. Someone like JOE can add and add and add nuance after nuance after nuance...so I can pretty much ask him for anything and be sure it will be there. Chris usually takes the center of the idea and proceeds to do whatever the hell he wants--but he's a genius so that's great. Andy sometimes needs things more clearly defined. (An example: I'll write "SCOTT SUMMERS opens the front door of the mansion" and he'll draw CYCLOPS in full costume opening the front the door. Too subtle a distinction? Hmmm?) Finally, Whilce is going to draw the minimum, so I try to keep the story to a minimum (that's not a criticism, it is a function of his style--which is pretty damned dynamic.)
AG: To what extent is the new Iron Man going to be your ideas and how much will be Jim Lee's?
SL: Jim and I had a twenty minute discussion on the direction of the book
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AG: Are there any creative types you haven't worked with that you'd like to?
SL: Sal Buscema.
AG: Is there any one character or team you haven't had a chance to write for yet that you would really like to?
SL: About a billion. I've only ever really been a team book writer, (EXCALIBUR, ALPHA FLIGHT, UNCANNY...) and would love to some day sink my teeth into A character. Having said all that, I'd love the chance to write a BIG THREE AVENGERS series, or the ORIGINAL TEEN TITANS. Hell, I'd love to write the LEGIONNAIRES circa when they great.
AG: All of the titles you have become known for are "team" books. Do you enjoy writing those more than a title that highlights an individual character?
SL: See previous answer--but keep in mind it is just a theory that I'd like to write a single character book. Though IRON MAN is pretty close to that--even if he shares the book, for the most part, with THE HULK
.
AG: Which one of the X-Men characters do you have the most fun writing, and why? If you could be any comics character, who would it be?
SL: The answer to both questions is NIGHTCRAWLER. To me he is the heart and soul of the X-MEN...and his look and powers are SO cool! (Having said this, I liked him much better as a swashbuckler than as tortured team leader...but that's me.)
AG: How much freedom do you have on what you do with the X-Men? I presume it's not like other books, where you can create and kill characters at will?
SL: "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"
--Kris Kristoferson
AG: Is there a particular key-word that represents what you hope to do with the X-Men and GenX over the next year or so? (Can you give us just a *little* hint of what's to come?)
SL: No hints, but look for more character development.
AG: It has been widely reported that there was a conflict between you and Mark Waid that led to his leaving the writing slot on X-Men. Do you think that those reports are a fair assessment, or do you think it has been misrepresented/blown out of proportion?
SL: I think it was easier for everyone involved to blame me.
AG: What would you be doing if not writing comics?
SL: Stand-up.
AG: After your contract with Marvel runs out, do you plan on hanging around a little while longer or do you wanna get outta there as fast as you can? (Don't worry, no one from Marvel reads this...:) )
SL: I'm not staying at Marvel because I have a contract...I'm staying because I have the best job in the world.
AG: You obviously spend a lot of time writing. But what else does Scott Lobdell do when he's not writing?
SL: Good question.
AG: In every picture we have seen of you, you seem to be wearing one of those Hawaiian type shirts. What is it with those shirts anyway? :)
SL: They make me laugh.
AG: When you're walking down the street, do any crazed fans come up to you asking you a lot of questions. Or do you get a lot of that over the Internet? Cause I hate those people who ask stupid questions...oh...damn...
SL: There's no such thing as a dumb question. I guess.
AG: Finally - What's with Chris Bachalo's hair?
SL: Only his hairdresser knows for sure.