Joseph "Jeph"Loeb III (/loʊb/) is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV seriesSmallville andLost, writer for the filmsCommando andTeen Wolf, and a writer and co-executive producer on theNBC TV showHeroes from its premiere in 2006 to November 2008.[4] From 2010 to 2019, Loeb was the Head of and Executive Vice President ofMarvel Television.[5][6]
Loeb's debut in filmmaking was his collaboration with Matthew Weisman in authoring the script ofTeen Wolf. The film was released on August 23, 1985, and was a notable starring role forMichael J. Fox. Loeb and Weisman then collaborated in writing the script ofCommando. The film was released on October 4, 1985, and starredArnold Schwarzenegger.[17] His next screen credit was the filmBurglar, released on March 20, 1987. The plot was based on the novels ofLawrence Block about fictionalburglarBernie Rhodenbarr. His collaborators were Weisman andHugh Wilson.
The film was atypical for the time, featuring a femalecomedic role for starring actressWhoopi Goldberg.[18] His second film that year wasTeen Wolf Too, a sequel ofTeen Wolf, which was co-written by Weisman andTim Kring. The film was released on November 20, 1987. The film featuredteen idolJason Bateman and veteran actorJohn Astin. Loeb would re-team with Kring almost two decades later for the TV seriesHeroes. Four years later, Loeb was working on a script forThe Flash as a feature withWarner Bros. While the script deal fell through, Loeb met then publisherJenette Kahn who asked Loeb to write a comic book forDC Comics.
In 2002, Loeb wrote the script for the episode ofSmallville, entitled "Red", which introduced redkryptonite into the series. He became a supervising producer and has written many episodes since then. He signed a three-year contract, and although producers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough offered to keep him on for future seasons, Loeb left to care for his son, who had cancer.[19]
Loeb later became a writer/producer on theABC TV seriesLost during that show's second season. LeavingLost, Loeb went on to become Co-Executive Producer and writer on the NBC dramaHeroes, which his colleague Tim Kring had created. Loeb wrote the teleplay for the first-season episodes "One Giant Leap" and "Unexpected". The show prominently features the artwork of Tim Sale, Loeb's longtime comics collaborator.[20]
The series was nominated for the 2007Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, and aWriters Guild of America award for Best New Series. It won thePeople's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama, as well theSaturn Award for Best Network Television Series. It was also nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Television Series.[21]
Loeb and Tim Kring were presented with theJules Verne Award for Artistic Achievement at theJules Verne Festival inParis, France, on April 22, 2007, for their work onHeroes.[22] Loeb was also presented with a belated 2005 Jules Verne Award for Best Writing for his work onSmallville, which he had not previously been given because his trip to the Festival that year had been cancelled due to his son's ill health.[23]
On November 2, 2008,Daily Variety reported that Loeb and fellowHeroes co-executive producer,Jesse Alexander, were no longer employed on the series. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Loeb stated, "As of today, Jesse Alexander and I have leftHeroes. I'm incredibly proud to have been a big part of the success a show with eight Emmy nods and a win this year for NBC.com. I will miss the superb cast and writing staff and wish everyone the best." At the time, Loeb had completed writing and producing the third-season episode, "Dual".[4][24]
On June 28, 2010, Marvel Entertainment, as part of its expansion into television, appointed Loeb to the position of Executive Vice President, Head of Television of the newly createdMarvel Television, in which Loeb would work with publisher Dan Buckley, to create both live-action and animated shows based on Marvel's catalog of characters.[5][6] During his time as the head of Marvel Television, he executive produced live-action shows within the Marvel Cinematic Universe such asAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,Agent Carter, andInhumans, shows onNetflix such asDaredevil,Jessica Jones,Iron Fist,The Punisher,Luke Cage, and the miniseriesThe Defenders, along with younger adult shows likeRunaways andCloak & Dagger, and other live action or animated shows based on Marvel characters likeM.O.D.O.K.,The Gifted,Legion, andHelstrom.
In October 2019,Marvel Studios PresidentKevin Feige was promoted to Chief Creative Officer ofMarvel Entertainment, which includes Marvel Television, prompting Loeb to leave the company after nearly a decade. Loeb had been planning his departure prior to Feige's promotion.[25][26]
Comics career
Loeb is known for his extensive use of narration boxes as monologues to reveal the inner thoughts of characters, though the character interactions he writes are sparse in terms of dialogue.[16]
Loeb became the writer ofSuperman with issue #151 (Dec. 1999). His tenure on the title, largely drawn byEd McGuinness, included the "Emperor Joker"[40] and "Our Worlds at War"[41] crossovers. He leftSuperman with issue #183 (August 2002). At the end of 2002, Loeb teamed with artistJim Lee to create the year-long story arc "Batman: Hush",[42] which spawned three lines of toys, posters and calendars, and sat at the #1 spot for eleven of the twelve months it was in publication. The following year, Loeb and McGuinness launchedSuperman/Batman.[43] Loeb's run on the title spawned a new ongoingSupergirl series,[44] and ananimated film adapted from Loeb's "Public Enemies" story arc.[45]
After signing an exclusive contract with Marvel in September 2005, Loeb launchedHulk with artist Ed McGuinness, in which he introduced theRed Hulk.[46]
In 2006, Loeb chose his hometown ofStamford, Connecticut, to be devastated byNitro in the first issue of the 2006–2007 Marvel miniseriesCivil War, the central title of thecrossover storyline of the same name.[47][1] That same year, Marvel announced an untitledSpider-Man series by Loeb andJ. Scott Campbell, to be released "sometime in 2007".[48] The series was subsequently cancelled and then brought back on the schedule in 2010, with a 2011 article mentioning it was "still being worked on".[49] In 2021, Campbell confirmed that the project has been cancelled despite having two fully pencilled issues.[50]
Loeb wrote two miniseries for theUltimate Marvel Universe. His work onThe Ultimates 3 in 2007, with artist Joe Madureira, was panned by critics for its use of transgressive sexual and violent content for shock value "without the political relevance or epic pacing of the first two volumes." In 2008, Loeb returned to the Ultimate Universe with artist David Finch for the critically reviled five-issue miniseriesUltimatum. Described in a 2015Vulture retrospective as "one of the biggest creative disasters in comics history",Ultimatum's gratuitous murder scenes permanently damaged sales across the entire Ultimate Universe and in the long run brought about its cancellation. "Over the course of just five issues, 34 different heroes and villains were murdered, often by gruesome means:Doctor Strange was squeezed until his head exploded;Magneto was decapitated; theBlob ate theWasp and, while holding her half-devoured corpse, belched out, 'Tastes like chicken'; and so on." The review site Let's Be Friends Again describedUltimatum as "a base and insulting comic book." Critic Jason Kerouac wrote, "Ultimatum #5 could quite possibly be the single worst piece of writing in recorded history."[54]
ACaptain America: White limited series was announced in 2008 but only a #0 issue was published. The long-delayed project was scheduled to finally see print in September 2015.[55]
Loeb's son, Sam, died on June 17, 2005, at the age of 17, after a three-year battle withbone cancer. In June 2006, Sam had a story published inSuperman/Batman #26, which was nearly completed before his death. His father finished the work with the help of 25 other writers and artists, all of whom were friends of Sam, includingGeoff Johns,John Cassaday,Ed McGuinness,Joe Madureira,Rob Liefeld, andJoss Whedon. The issue also featured a tale titled "Sam's Story", dedicated to Sam, in which a boy named Sam serves as the inspiration for Clark Kent to later become Superman.[58]
During the #SaveDaredevilCon panel for Comic-Con@Home in July 2020,Peter Shinkoda, a Canadian actor ofJapanese descent who played recurring villainNobu Yoshioka onDaredevil, suggested that Loeb forced the show's writers to drop proposed storylines fleshing out Nobu and fellow recurring villainMadame Gao. Shinkoda accused Loeb of explaining to writers that "there were three previous Marvel movies, a trilogy calledBlade that was made whereWesley Snipes killed 200 Asians each movie. Nobody gives a shit so don't write about Nobu and Gao."[65][66][67] Shinkoda also claimed that he and Gao's actressWai Ching Ho were not invited to theseason 2 premiere ofDaredevil and received less payment than the extras. Co-star Tommy Walker said thatDaredevil andDefenders showrunnerDoug Petrie had previously pitched amultiracial Asian American version ofIron Fist to Marvel Television in early development, but was rejected by Loeb.[68][69]
Reception
Awards and nominations
Eisner Awards
1998 Best Limited Series forBatman: The Long Halloween[70]
1999 Best Reprint Graphic Album forBatman: The Long Halloween[71]
2002 Best Reprint Graphic Album forBatman: Dark Victory[72]
2007 Best Single Issue or One-Shot forBatman/The Spirit #1[73]
Eisner Nominations
1999 Best Writer forSuperman For All Seasons
1999 Best Limited Series forSuperman For All Seasons[71]
Wizard Fan Awards
1997 Favorite One Shot or Mini-Series forBatman: The Long Halloween
1998 Favorite One Shot or Mini-Series forSuperman For All Seasons
2003 Favorite Ongoing Series forBatman
2003 Comics' Greatest Moment of the Year forClayface returning asJason Todd inBatman #617
2003 Favorite Supporting Character 2003 for Catwoman (inBatman)[74]
Critical reaction
Many of Loeb's books, such asBatman: The Long Halloween,Superman For All Seasons, and the Marvel "color" books (Daredevil: Yellow,Spider-Man: Blue,Hulk: Gray) have garnered critical praise,[75] and have been adapted into other media.[31][45]
The first issue of Loeb'sThe Ultimates 3 continued the series' history of ranking at No. 1 in sales,[85] though the series was much less well-received critically than its predecessors.[86][87][88][89][90]
The first issue ofUltimatum ranked No. 1 in sales for November 2008.[91] AtWeekly Comic Book Review, Andrew C. Murphy gave it aB+, praising David Finch's art, while Ben Berger gave it a C, opining that there was too muchexposition, but praising Finch's art.[87] The rest of the series, however, received more negative reviews.[92]IGN's Jesse Schedeen gave the series' final issue a scathing review, saying, "Ultimatum is one of the worst comics I have ever read," and called it "the ultimate nightmare."[93] Points of criticism among these reviews included the level of graphic violence, which includedcannibalism, and the notion that the series was sold on the basis of its shock value,[94] with some reviewers singling out Loeb's dialogue, characterization and storytelling,[75][95] others asserting the story's lack of originality,[96][97] or opining that the series would've been better suited to someone who had previously been more involved with the Ultimate line, such asBrian Michael Bendis orMark Millar.[98]
In 2009Ultimates 3 andUltimatum were included onComicsAlliance's list of The 15 Worst Comics of the Decade.[99]
Loeb and Sale produced an epilogue, intended for publication in theJustice League Quarterly series, but that title was cancelled before the story saw print.[100]
Loeb-written, Sale-drawn profile pages have appeared inWho's Who #1 (Challengers of the Unknown, 1990) and #16 (The New Challengers of the Unknown, 1992)
Collected (along with the epilogue) asChallengers of the Unknown Must Die! (tpb, 224 pages, 2004,ISBN1-4012-0374-4; hc, 248 pages, 2018,ISBN1-4012-7885-X)
A four-page sequence cut from the original limited series was drawn for and published inBatman: The Long Halloween Absolute Edition (hc, 400 pages, 2007,ISBN1-4012-1282-4)
A black-and-white version of the original limited series with the new sequence was published asBatman Noir: The Long Halloween (hc, 384 pages, 2014,ISBN1-4012-4883-7)
Two new pages of story (one in #6 and 7 each) were created for and published inBatman: Dark Victory Absolute Edition (hc, 408 pages, 2012,ISBN1-4012-3510-7)
A black-and-white version of the original limited series with the new pages was published asBatman Noir: Dark Victory (hc, 400 pages, 2017,ISBN1-4012-7106-5)
A two-page origin story (originally published atdccomics.com) was first printed inBatman: Hush Absolute Edition (hc, 372 pages, 2005,ISBN1-4012-0426-0)
The entire 12-issue run along with the origin story and interlude in pencil form was published asBatman: Hush Unwrapped (hc, 320 pages, 2011,ISBN1-4012-2992-1)
A black-and-white version of the entire 12-issue run along with the origin story and interlude was published asBatman Noir: Hush (hc, 304 pages, 2015,ISBN1-4012-5803-4)
A five-page coda by Loeb and Lee, titled "Prologue: The Aftermath", was first published inBatman: Hush 20th Anniversary Edition (hc, 376 pages, 2022,ISBN1-77951-719-X)
Batman: Dark Victory #13 is collected with all reprint editions of this limited series, includingBatman: Haunted Knight Absolute Edition (hc, 336 pages, 2014,ISBN1-4012-5122-6)
Haunted Knight,The Long Halloween,Dark Victory andWhen in Rome are collected asBatman by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale Omnibus (hc, 1,176 pages, 2018,ISBN1-4012-8426-4)
An interview with Loeb and Bachalo, conducted byShelly Roeberg, — "The Witching Hour Exposed" — was published inVertigo: Winter's Edge #3 (anthology, 2000)
Orion #8: "Tales of the New Gods: Deadend" (withRob Liefeld, co-feature, 2001) collected inTales of the New Gods (tpb, 168 pages, 2008,ISBN1-4012-1637-4)
Cable (with David Brewer,Steve Skroce, Ian Churchill, Arnie Jorgensen (#21),Salvador Larroca (#24), Randy Green + Rob Haynes (#26), Wilfred Santiago (#28) andBernard Chang (#36), 1994–1997) collected as:
"And Nothing Will Ever be the Same" (with Tim Sale, co-feature inAnnual #18, 1994) collected inX-Men: The Wedding of Cyclops and Phoenix (tpb, 408 pages, 2012,ISBN0-7851-6290-9)
"Warriors of the Ebon Night" (co-written by Loeb and Scott Lobdell, art byJoe Madureira, in #329–330, 1996) collected inX-Men: The Road to Onslaught Volume 3 (tpb, 448 pages, 2015,ISBN0-7851-9005-8)
The Savage Hulk: "Dinner" (with Tim Sale, anthology one-shot, 1995) collected inThe Incredible Hulk: Ghost of the Past (tpb, 480 pages, 2015,ISBN0-7851-9299-9)
Hulk (with Ed McGuinness,Frank Cho (co-feature in #7–9), Art Adams (co-feature in #7–9), Ian Churchill (#14–17) andWhilce Portacio (#18), 2008–2010) collected as:
Hulk by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness Omnibus (collects #1–24,The Incredible Hulk #600,King-Size Hulk,Fall of the Hulks: Gamma andWolverine vol. 3 #50, hc, 912 pages, 2019,ISBN1-302-91805-2)
Stan Lee Meets Doctor Doom: "The Rest of the Story" (with Ed McGuinness, co-feature in one-shot, 2006) collected inStan Lee Meets... (hc, 240 pages, 2007,ISBN0-7851-2272-9)
Heroes Reborn: Captain America (tpb, 352 pages, 2006,ISBN0-7851-2339-3) includes:
Heroes Reborn #½: "Faith" (scripted by Loeb from a plot by Rob Liefeld, art byDan Fraga, 1996)
"Courage" (scripted by Loeb from a plot by Rob Liefeld (withChuck Dixon credited for "assistance" in #1),[103] art by Liefeld, in #1–6, 1996–1997)
"Let It be" (with Joe Bennett andEd Benes, in #12, 1997)
The Avengers vol. 2 #4–7[104] (scripted by Loeb from plots by Rob Liefeld, art by Chap Yaep and Ian Churchill, 1996–1997) collected inHeroes Reborn: The Avengers (tpb, 328 pages, 2006,ISBN0-7851-2337-7)
Iron Man vol. 2 #7–12 (with Whilce Portacio, Ryan Benjamin and Terry Shoemaker; issue #12 is scripted by Loeb from a plot by Jim Lee, 1997) collected inHeroes Reborn: Iron Man (tpb, 344 pages, 2006,ISBN0-7851-2338-5)
Ultimate Wolverine (with Michael Turner, unproduced limited series — initially announced for 2007,[105][106] the project was soon scrapped in favor of another, unspecified Loeb/Turner collaboration)[107]
The Ultimates 3 #1–5: "Sex, Lies, and DVD" (with Joe Madureira, 2008) collected asThe Ultimates 3: Who Killed the Scarlet Witch? (hc, 128 pages, 2009,ISBN0-7851-3037-3; tpb, 2009,ISBN0-7851-2269-9)
In 2006, Marvel announcedThe Ultimates 4 by Loeb and Ed McGuinness.[108] It is unknown at which stage of completion the project was abandoned; a few sketches were published inWizard.[109][110]
This 8-page short story, originally published in black-and-white, was colorized and reprinted as a feature inElephantmen: The Pilot (one-shot,Image, 2007)
The colorized version was subsequently collected inElephantmen: Fatal Diseases (hc, 312 pages, 2009,ISBN1-60706-088-4; tpb, 2010,ISBN1-60706-177-5)
^Taylor, Robert (October 25, 2006)."Reflections: Talking With Jeph Loeb".Comic Book Resources.Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. RetrievedJune 13, 2020.The first comic that made me want to collect comics was in the summer of 1970. I've told this story so many times and every time I've said it wasSub Mariner #29 and I recently moved and found a copy of the comic, and it's actuallySub Mariner #30. It has Captain Marvel standing knee-high in water and yelling at the Sub Mariner on the beach and it almost looks like aTrue Romance comic.
^Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1990s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.).DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 261.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.Editor Archie Goodwin was on to something when he paired Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale on the first holiday special of the popularBatman: Legends of the Dark Knight series.
^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 275: "The acclaimed team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale reunited to chronicle a dark year of the Dark Knight's past withBatman: The Long Halloween, a thirteen-part limited series."
^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 289: "The superstar team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale was back, and just as dark as ever. In this thirteen-issue [sic] sequel to the pair's acclaimedBatman: The Long Halloween maxiseries, the creative team picked up right where they left off during Batman's early years."
^abThis is mentioned inside the front cover of theBatman Begins minidigest comic book that reprints portions of these three stories that comes with the DVD.
^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 284: "This four-issue prestige-format series was a bright counterpoint to Loeb and Sale's noir Batman collaborations."
^Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 315: "Writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale returned to the Batman universe for a six-issue murder mystery starring Catwoman."
^Manning, Matthew K. (2008). "1990s". In Gilbert, Laura (ed.).Marvel Chronicle: A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 272.ISBN978-0-7566-4123-8.Creatives working on this storyline included Warren Ellis, Jeph Loeb, Mark Waid, Joe Madureira, Chris Bachalo, and Andy and Adam Kubert.
^Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 273: "Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Steve Skroce, X-Man was perhaps the most popular character to emerge out of the 'Age of Apocalypse' event."
^Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 280: "Steve Rogers earned a fresh start in the Heroes Reborn universe by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Rob Liefeld."
^Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 306: "The creative team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale...examined the early life of some of Marvel's iconic characters. First they tackled Daredevil in this six-issue miniseries."
^Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 312: "Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale reunited for their second examination of the origins of Marvel's icons with this six-issue miniseries."
^Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 317: "The team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale united once again for this six-issue miniseries retelling the Hulk's origin."
^Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 296: "A nine-part saga that stretched over all the Superman titles, starting inSuperman #160 with script by Jeph Loeb and art by Ed McGuinness."
^Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 300: "The multipart story 'Our Worlds at War' dominated the Superman books for the August and September [2001] cover dates...The opening chapter, written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Ed McGuinness, began with Superman investigating the missing Pluto."
^Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 307: "The 'Hush' story arc [begun] inBatman #608 was artist Jim Lee's first major work since he joined DC...Written by Jeph Loeb, 'Hush' brought profound changes to the life of the Dark Knight."
^Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 311: "Writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness created a tale befitting such A-list characters in 'Public Enemies', the six-part story that launched the new series."
^Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 321: "Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El received her own title. Written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Ian Churchill, the fourth [ongoing] series featured a Supergirl still getting accustomed to her life on Earth."
^Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 336: Written by Jeph Loeb with art by Leinil Yu, Ed McGuinness, John Romita, Jr., David Finch, and John Cassady, the specials dealt with the five stages of grieving.
^Ching, Albert (June 12, 2015)."Loeb & Sale's Long-DelayedCaptain America: White Scheduled for September".Comic Book Resources.Archived from the original on July 25, 2015.Originally announced in 2008,Captain America: White is now officially on its way to readers. Marvel.com announced Friday that issues #1 and #2 of the long-awaited Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale collaboration are scheduled for release this September...A #0 issue came out later in 2008 and will be reprinted inside of September's issue #1, but the rest of the series had yet to be released.
^Schedeen, Jesse (May 25, 2008)."Hulk #4 Review".IGN.Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. RetrievedAugust 28, 2008.Each issue provides about 30 seconds of plot development, which usually centers around heaping more layers of mystery atop the Red Hulk's identity. The rest involves smashing, being smashed, or a bit of both.
^Schedeen, Jesse (August 6, 2008)."Hulk #5 Review".IGN.Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. RetrievedJune 13, 2020.
