By Ryan Penagos
There's something magical about certain writer/artist teams. All the disparate facets of the comic-creating process come together to elevate the duo's efforts to greater heights than either usually achieve separately. Such is the case with Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, the tandem best known for DAREDEVIL: YELLOW, SPIDER-MAN: BLUE and HULK: GRAY.
And come late 2008, the team reunite at Marvel for CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE.
How does current HULK and ULTIMATES 3 architect Loeb feel about teaming back up with Sale for the first time at Marvel since 2004's GRAY?
"I'm wetting myself," jokes the writer. "So far the dry cleaning bills alone have made it impossible to make any money on these books...Honestly? People say the best work I do is with Tim and [I] tend to agree. Everybody else is amazingly talented [by the way]."
It's hard to disagree with the scribe, given that three of their previous collaborations—SPIDER-MAN: BLUE, DARDEVIL: YELLOW and HULK: GRAY—have been highly-praised nostalgic stories of loss and love. Can we expect the same type of treatment for Cap with WHITE seemingly following the color-themed motif?
"You'll have to read the story," says Loeb. "Suffice to say it doesn't have to do with Cap being a white man! But just as YELLOW meant the costume and the cowardice, BLUE was the costume and the feeling of loss and GRAY was his skin tone and in-between a world of black and white there is always gray, WHITE will have a double meaning as well."
Though Loeb's well-versed in Cap lore as the man behind FALLEN SON: THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA and the "Heroes Reborn" volume of CAPTAIN AMERICA, Sale hasn't had his crack at the Star-Spangled Avenger yet.
"This is the first time I have drawn Cap outside of convention sketches and commissions," notes the veteran artist. "And frankly I'm glad for the time to live with the character, get a better sense of what my take is on him and distill the various influences I have a bit more. I'm thinking a mix of Jack Kirby, Jack Davis and Bill Mauldin; how's that for a crew?
"As for how it stacks up against [SPIDER-MAN: BLUE], [DAREDEVIL: YELLOW] and [HULK: GRAY], all I know is that I am overjoyed to just be working with Jeph again, and time and others will decide how the work stacks up."
While where it stands in the pantheon of Loeb/Sale team-ups remains to be seen, Loeb lays down the skinny on where WHITE fits into the Cap mythos:
"It's no secret that the story plays in 1941," says Loeb. "It's Cap and Bucky and a lot of
Nazi bastards and Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos—all of 'em!" How about villains? "I don't think Zemo, [but] at some point there may be the Red Skunk [
Editor's note: Clearly Loeb doesn't like the Red Skull, folks!] because Tim draws an über-cool version."
CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE may still be a few months away, but in reality, Loeb and Sale have had this story on deck for years. "[It] always was there," says Loeb. "It's better now because I think
we're better. At least, that's the plan!"
For all the Marvel news spinning out of Wizard World L.A., visit our news hub. And for a great way to kill time in between announcements, check out Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited!
)
)
)
)
