Over the last few months, Mike Leib's name has started showing up in more and more comic credits. In addition to his work at Marvel and Tokyopop, Leib's been racking up credits at Boom!. After collaborating with Keith Giffen on WHAT WERE THEY THINKING, JEREMIAH HARM, and TAG, Leib's taking over the scripting duties on the TAG sequel, CURSED, due this January from Boom!.
KEITH GIFFEN'S TAG: CURSED, with art by Chee, follows the story of TAG's protagonist Ed, years after the first series. Mike takes a moment to talk about working with Keith Giffen, writing zombies, and he tries to explain what he was thinking.
Q: TAG started innocuously enough, but then it really took off when it went to Hollywood and now it's--though a second mini-series might be too early to use the word--now it's a franchise. While you weren't there right when it started, you were there pretty close (co-writing issue 2 of the first series). Is it different working on it now than it was then?
A: Well its no surprise that TAG went Hollywood so fast. Keith came up with a story that was destined to be made into a movie from the get go. The interesting thing is that issue #2 which was where I became involved with the property, introduced readers to Ed, who is the lead in the second mini-series. Since TAG went Hollywood almost immediately after the first issue came out, I've pretty much always been aware that there were big plans for the property. Keith and Ross Richie over at Boom invited me to jump in on the first mini and then write the follow up and its been lots of fun.
As I'm working on the new series, there's definitely something in the back of my mind that says "this could be a movie too one day." I could also see it become a a TV series since through Ed and his quest we look back at the curse, how long it's been around and get to know the different people it's touched along the way. Lots of stories to tell there.
Q: You've worked on TAG and on ZOMBIE TALES. Both of these books are about zombies, but they're very different. Can you talk a little about those differences (or similarities, if I'm totally wrong)?
A: Zombie tales is more the traditional "we need brains" sort of thing. It's direct, to the point and you get what you expect. Which is always good fun. TAG is certainly about people who are like zombies in terms of the decomposing and all that fun stuff, but there's a completely different sort of story being told. I've always seen the TAG concept as a study of human nature. How far would you go to get rid of it, would you pass it along to anyone? What awful thing did you do to deserve it? The effects are really just the window dressing to a much bigger and darker story. This new mini really continues that idea and explores the story behind the curse itself.
Q: Neither TAG nor ZOMBIE TALES are really straight horror books, in that creepy, scary fashion. Do you have any desire to write one of those stories?
A: Sure. It's definitely on my list of things I'd like to write. Every particular genre has its own qualities that make it fun to write whether it be horror, humor, sci-fi, action-adventure or super heroes. It's all about telling the story.
Q: Reading the description of TAG: CURSED, which picks up years after the first series, it sounds like a very dark character drama. Are there still zombies? Can you say?
A: TAG: CURSED is very much that dark drama. This time around, it's really one man's journey through darkness. Can't say too much since the last issue of the first series isn't out yet...but Ed's story is one of those things you just don't want to read late at night. Through Ed we're going to meet some other folks who have been cursed or "Tagged" and see what they were willing to do to wash their hands of it. It's going to be a journey that will hopefully explore the best and worst that human nature has to offer.
Q: While, as you said, you can't talk about what happens to Ed in TAG, the second issue does seem to give away some possibilties and they aren't pleasant. Do you worry about connecting to readers--who are probably looking escapism--with depressing stories?
A: Naturally from first glance TAG is a book with a very dark tone and message. By the same token, its also a book about human nature. We're getting inside the heads of average people who have been really dealt a bad hand. We can all relate to that from time to time. Naturally every form of media whether it be TV, video games, books,film or comics has to be aware of the fact that people are looking for both entertainment and somewhat of an escape. All we as storytellers can do is tell the most powerful stories we can with some sort of meaning to them. Not every story is going to have a happy ending...but it should have a point to it.
Q: Lapses in time are incredibly popular right now. DC Comics did it, "Battlestar Galactica" did it. Why the break in story-time between the two series?
A: I think the "time jump" trick is one of the best things to do to an ongoing continuity to really make it interesting for the reader, especially when its done with little warning to make everyone's jaws drop. You never want your audience to be too comfortable with the status quo. Galactica pulled it off brilliantly. You want people to know that no character is safe and anything can happen.
TAG: CURSED is not so much as a time jump as it is a different take on the mythology. Ed's story is something we touch on in the first series to fill in some of the backstory of the curse. The second series really heads in a different direction following Ed's quest. Both TAG series are connected by way of the TAG. CURSED looks at the bigger picture, the curse as a whole rather than just a single instance.
Q: How much do you collaborate with Keith Giffen on the history of the Tag curse? Do you come up with the specific people who've suffered from it or do you work it out together?
A: Keith is the architect behind the TAG curse. He pretty much set the rules of the game, so to speak and what great rules they are. Working within those rules, I tried to fill the new book with great characters that would really give the reader some perspective on how far reaching the tag curse is both geographically and historically. Of course in the process of writing, when something comes up that would have an effect on the overall TAG mythos and rules, I'll usually call Keith up and we'll discuss if it makes sense.
Q: You been working with Keith Giffen for a while. What the difference between an issue of TAG and one of the comedic, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING books.
A: I can sum it up this way, its like watching Blazing Saddles one minute and then The Shining the next. WWTT is over the top, as insane as we can possibly be humor wise to the point where we even step back and go "we're out of our minds" and TAG is the real creepy, dark serious stuff that makes you not want to be alone in the house at night. Its a great exercise to be writing things that are so fundamentally different in tone.
Q: What is the process behind writing a WWTT remix?
A: There's a process? Now they tell me!
Seriously, a project like WWTT at times is like a jigsaw puzzle. You know what the picture's supposed to look like, but when you look at the pieces its not quite that obvious. With each story, we get the art with the words blanked out, so its just visuals. I pretty much sit there for a while and just look at the pages, trying to figure out some angle, some hook that will work. Keep in mind that whatever you come up with has to be both funny and fit the visuals, not an easy task. For each WWTT story I've done solo or worked with Keith on there's always a couple of drafts or takes on each one before finding something that really works. When you get to that point its a blast to write. Getting there though....that's the tricky part.
Q: Does the "they" in the title refer to you and Keith Giffen, by the way? Originally, I mean (since there are more writers contributing now).
A: I was always more concerned with the "What?" part of that title! Especially when we would read what we wrote!
Q: The critical response to your comics has been really positive--and this work is your first comics work, right? Do you read your reviews?
A: It's been a lot of fun this past year working on a lot of the BOOM stuff ranging from the WWTT one-shots, lending a hand on Jeremiah Harm and Zombie Tales, working on the TAG books and some other stuff over at Marvel and Tokyopop. Ironically, my first go round in comics was years ago as an Associate Editor at DC Comics where I helped set up their online presence, so its fun to be on this side of the business now as a writer. For me its all about telling really good stories and creating memorable characters. That being said I enjoy reading the reviews. It's the best way to get a sense of what people react to, what they like and what they want more of.