From fanzines, actually. About 24 years ago, I was still living in Indiana, working at a radio station , and writing for fanzines (both comics and rock) on the side. As it turned out, many of us working on the comics fanzines (John Byrne, Bob Layton, and myself, among others) wound up working in the business within a few years. The fanzines were sort of our "screen tests" for getting into the business.
Had working in comics always been what you wanted to do for a career, or was it something that just fell in your lap?
Working in comics had been a happy daydream. I never really thought it would become a career. Truthfully, I expected to keep on working in broadcasting and maybe -- if I was lucky -- dabble in comics, perhaps getting a story or two published a year.
You have worked on a lot of the major characters in comics, but you seem to have worked the longest on Superman's various titles. Any particular reason for this?
That was just a happy accident. When Marvel decided that they no longer had much use for me, John Byrne suggested me to Mike Carlin as someone who could help out on an annual and a fill-in story or two. Apparently, enough people liked my stories, because I was kept around.
How did you get the job on Legionnaires?
Actually, the first time I worked on the Legion was over 20 years ago. At the time, Jim Shooter and I were the new kids at Marvel, and Jim had two last stories to finish for Murray Boltinoff, to complete his commitment to the Legion book. I helped hash out the plot over dinner, and even came up with the title of one of the stories -- "We Can't Escape the Trap in Time!"
The second time, my youthful protégé, Tom Peyer, was writing both Legion books and asked if I'd be interested in stepping in on one of them. At the time, two other DC projects I'd expected to work on had fallen apart, so I said sure. Tom suggested me to KC, who already knew my work from the Super-titles, and we went from there.
Was the Legion of Super Heroes something that you had always wanted to work with?
Not really. In fact, until the re-launch of the Legion titles with Zero Hour, the Legion hadn't interested me in decades. Thanks to Zero Hour, I found I could follow the series again.
So you wouldn't categorize yourself as a longtime Legion fan, then?
I'd say "older" Legion fan, rather than longtime. I read the Legion, back when the series appeared in Adventure Comics. I missed the first Legion story, but I distinctly remember buying and reading their second appearance (Adventure Comics #267, "Prisoner of the Super-Heroes). I followed the series pretty regularly during the Shooter-Swan period of the mid-to-late sixties, and picked up the revived series in Superboy during the early seventies. But I followed the Legion only sporadically afterwards. I read a few of Paul Levitz's stories into the late '70s, but nothing really after that.
What is your all-time favorite Legion story?
For the old Silver Age Legion, it would be a toss-up between the original Fatal Five/Suneater story (Adventures #352-353) and the original Mordru story.
For the new, post-Zero-Hour Legion, I'd give the nod to Tom Peyer's Brainiac 5 story from LSH #77.
Are there characters you feel more comfortable writing than others?
I like XS a lot. . .and Kinetix and Sensor.
Do the Legion creators have a summit, like the Superman team?
Not since I've been on the Legionnaires, no. . .though we keep talking about having one.
As the writer for Legionnaires, do you write out the script before the pencils are done, or afterwards?
Afterwards. I find that it gives me better control over the finished story.
Is there anything special you do to have the characters' dialogue read the same as teenagers talk?
Mainly, I try to keep in mind how my friends spoke when I was that age. . .and how my current friends of that age speak. Then I make up all the slang.
Did you have to do a lot of research on the characters before taking the scripting job on Legionnaires?
Not too much. I had been following the series since Zero Hour, and when I got the assignment, I re-read 'em all a couple of times.
What are some of the plotlines planned for the near future (or the far future, depending on how you look at it)?
That's secret stuff!
Are there plans to introduce any new characters or re-introduce any familiar faces soon?
I hope not. There are too many characters already. I'd like to get rid of some.
Since Apparition returned from the dead, is there any chance of Leviathan coming back?
Not the original Leviathan, no.
Will the Substitute Legion be making an appearance in any upcoming storyline? What about the Espionage Squad?
Eventually, I suppose. The Espionage Squad long before the Subs, I would think.
Are there any plans for Tenzil Kem or Chuck Taine to take up wearing costumes again?
You mean "uniforms?" None whatsoever. They're support staff, not Legionnaires.
Will any super-heroes be visiting the 30th century team?
Perhaps.
To a comic book fan who has never read a Legion book, why should they pick up an issue of Legionnaires? (And what would be a good one for jumping on?)
If you like lots of super-heroes, getting into unpredictable situations where anything could happen, this is the book for you. (And I try to structure my stories so that anyone can jump on at any given issue.)
Alternately, for all of those diehard, dispossessed Legion fans who could not stay with the books when the revamp started, why should these people come back to the Legion and give it another shot?
I'd say, "C'mon, you holdouts, it's a new series! If you'll just treat it that way, you'll be able to enjoy it with the rest of us!"
Of course, you don't just work on Legionnaires. You are part of the Superman writing staff, too. What's coming up in your next few issues of Superman: The Man of Tomorrow?
Well, because of schedule shifts and such, the next Man of Tomorrow -- issue #9 -- isn't due out until July. But that issue features a history of Superman, complete with ten or so of the various uniforms he's worn over the past decade. Man of Tomorrow #10 won't go on sale until year's end, and it's too early to talk about that.
Thanks for your time, Roger.