If you love the abundance of comic book gags on Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel, thank Jeff Loveness. As one of the comedy show’s staff writers, Loveness is a chief ambassador between the world of superheroes and the rest of popular culture. And he’s funny one, too.
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It’s what made him the perfect scribe for Marvel’s biggest joker, Spider-Man, in the “Inhuman Error” storyline running through Amazing Spider-Man Special #1, Inhumans Special #1 (out today), and All-New Captain America Special #1. But beneath all those one-liners, Loveness has a deep understanding for what makes Peter Parker tick. In this week’s Public Menace, Loveness unpacks his love for Spider-Man, explains what makes him the ultimate New Yorker, and teases his ideas for a brand-new Spidey villain (hint: He’s from Hoboken).
Plus, Marvel Comics has provided Public Menace with an exclusive three-page preview of All-New Captain America Special #1. You can check it out in the gallery below.
How did you get in touch with Marvel, and how did the assignment come about?
I had written some short stories for Marvel: A+X #17, which teamed Iron Man up with Broo and a Cyclops short story in Death of Wolverine: Life After Logan. Nick Lowe was my editor on A+X and he was kind enough to bring me back for this one. He asked if I was interested in teaming up Spider-Man, the Inhumans, and the All-New Captain America. I thought it was a little tricky piecing those three corners of the Marvel Universe together, but it sounded like a fun challenge.
You’re writing Spider-Man from multiple perspectives: His own, the Inhumans’, and Captain America’s. When shifting gears between such contrasting viewpoints, what have you learned about the character? How do you present Spider-Man through the lens of Captain America, as opposed to Medusa?
I love playing with the idea that maybe the characters in the Marvel Universe don’t love Spider-Man as much as we, the readers, do. If there was this lanky guy in spandex constantly mocking everything in the middle of your colossal, life or death battle, wouldn’t you scream at him to shut up? Wouldn’t he be the most annoying person in the world?
Medusa has the sole burden of ruling the Inhuman kingdom. It’s a tremendous responsibility. And on top of all that, now that entire kingdom has relocated to New York and must now tend with being locals in the Marvel Universe. In this story, Spider-Man acts as something of the unofficial welcome wagon to New York. Spider-Man has always stood out as the New Yorker for me, so it was satisfying to write him awkwardly trying to introduce Medusa to things in the city he loves so much. Spidey and Medusa have been around for a while, but they haven’t had THAT many run-ins. I like playing with the awkward “Oh hey…” friend-of-a-friend aspect of their relationship. They’ve fought a few times…seen each other at the big crossover events, but they aren’t that well acquainted. And Pete would love to be acquainted with her.
In our story, Sam Wilson is still getting used to his role as Cap. He’s under a lot of pressure. And Spider-Man’s running commentary on everything doesn’t exactly relax his mood. But hopefully, through their shared adventure, Sam learns that Spidey’s in his corner. Jokes are just Pete’s way of coping with things. He’s the most human super-hero around. There’s a moment I really love in the story when Sam realizes just how much respect Pete has for the mantle of Captain America and, by extension, the man Steve chose to replace him. It’s a nice confidence booster for Sam and a nice bonding moment for these two veteran super heroes.
In your Spider-Man one-shot, a majority of Spider-Man’s jokes, and overall demeanor, stem from his status as a New Yorker. How important do you think Manhattan is in defining the character? Do you think Spider-Man could be the same person if he lived anywhere else in the world?
I grew up in a small town of about 200 people way up in Northern California. I didn’t visit New York until my junior year of college. But growing up, my entire perception of New York came through Spider-Man. I desperately love the energy of that city, and I tried imbibing Spider-Man with as much of it as I could. Like New Yorkers: he’s sarcastic. He’s a tad jaded. He’s full of energy. He’s a little full of himself. I really can’t disassociate Spider-Man from New York. He represents the best of that place.
The goodness and self-sacrificial nature of Peter Parker would be the same if he grew up somewhere else, but his humor and demeanor might be different. I’ve never lived in New York, so I’m not an expert, but it seems to me that city imprints itself upon you in a way that’s hard to shake.
I’d love to see a rural, small-town Spider-Man like me… always apologizing and getting lost on public transportation.
What’s your favorite part about Spider-Man? When you write him, what aspects of the character do you enjoy exploring the most?
Spider-Man makes it feel OK to fail.
I feel that’s the most crucial part of his character. He’s constantly failing. How many dates has Pete canceled because Spider-Man was needed? How many times did he throw away his own happiness to help others? I feel that will always be the core of Spider-Man, and it is the hardest, most important lesson in all of comic books: Helping others is more important than helping yourself–especially when it hurts. We all wish we could be that noble. Pete embodies that aspiration. That’s what makes him so human: he saves the world, but he grovels while he does it. That’s what I love exploring – I’m all about groveling.
Plus, he’s hilarious. Spider-Man comic books and cartoons were my introduction to humor as a child. It’s fair to say that most of my inspiration comes from Peter Parker’s running monologue.
Your other Marvel Comics work involves some Death of Wolverine tie-ins. What’s the biggest difference between tackling a darker corner of the Marvel Universe, like Wolverine’s, and a brighter one like Spider-Man’s? Do you feel more comfortable in one or the other?
Spider-Man and X-Men are my absolute favorite corners of the Marvel Universe, so being able to write for both of those has been unreal. I adore Cyclops. His overall demeanor of self-sabotage and depression speaks to me. But despite his hang-ups, Cyclops always rises to the challenge. I’d love to write an X-Men team book one day. I’d say that’s my loftiest Marvel goal.
I feel comfortable writing in both worlds. The X-Men world is more inherently serious, since it deals with oppression and bigotry on deeper levels. Spider-Man is more about personal darkness. It’s about your own failures, your social hang-ups and problems, and it’s about triumphing over those negative qualities and becoming the person you know you could be.
In your opinion, what makes Spider-Man such an enduring character? Why do you think he resonates with so many audiences across comics, film, TV, and video games to equal acclaim?
He’s everything we wish we were, and sadly everything we already are. If we were given amazing powers, we wish we’d have the moral strength to use them to help people. And at the same time, like us, he’s trapped in his own little social hang-ups.
I also think Spider-Man is so universal because of the mask. That mask means Spider-Man (or Gwen) can be any type of person. Under that mask, race, gender and background don’t really matter. As long as it’s a beset-upon person charged with responsibility, anyone can be Spider-Man. It’s a rather beautiful, unifying idea. Not everyone can be Batman. That kinda…takes specific skills…like having rich, dead parents and lots of time to learn karate. I don’t read Batman stories to read myself. But I definitely see myself whenever I read Spider-Man. I feel other people do as well.
If given the opportunity, which Spider-Man villain would you love to write a story about? How would they challenge Spider-Man in a way that you found appealing?
I’ve always had a soft spot for Rhino. He can really only do one thing, and he can’t even do it that well. I like the loser villains of Spider-Man a lot–people like Prowler, Razorback, and Swarm. Because in a way, they’re all like Spider-Man himself. They’re down on their luck losers trying to make it in New York. They’re just on the other side of responsibility. I’d love to write about a loser villain barely above henchmen level, struggling to make it in New York. He has to commute in from Hoboken to do his heists. There’s no way Razorback can afford to live in Manhattan.
As far as serious villains go. I’d love to create a Spider-Man villain who shares Peter’s upbringing, but not his philosophy. I want a working-class supervillain who’s tired of people like The Kingpin and Roxxon exploiting everyone. A villain against the villains of the status quo. I think that’s an interesting angle to explore down the road. But I probably shouldn’t be gushing everything onto the page right now. Nobody take that idea, OK? Hoboken-commuting supervillains are my thing!
Comics are a pretty big jump from your regular work on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. But, how has your experience scripting a live talk show helped or informed your comics writing? What are some of the biggest parallels between the two media?
I actually find big parallels between comedy performance and Spider-Man. Peter may be a nervous, unlucky guy struggling with himself, but he puts on that mask and gets to escape into his best persona. When he’s Spider-Man, he’s performing. Comedy is a lot like that. You can be a nervous, glob of a human, like me. But if you write a script or do a sketch or improvise a scene, you get to explore ideas bigger and bolder than yourself. It’s amazing.
If you were trapped in an elevator with a past or present Spider-Man writer, who would it be and why? What would you ask them?
In my ideal scenario, I’d love to be trapped under a bundle of rubble with Steve Ditko. We’d have to lift ourselves out of the wreckage using only our sheer force of will.
Elevator rubble aside, I’d also love to chat with Mark Waid. I love everything that man writes. He writes such personable, effective stories. I’d just ask him, “How does one write well?” and hopefully listen as he dispenses unending torrents of wisdom.
And I’m not sure who wrote the “Spider-Man grows extra arms and turns into an actual spider” storyline, but I’d probably ask them to walk me through their creative headspace at the time. I’d love to one day be confident enough to pitch that story. Whoever wrote that is my hero. [Editor’s note: It was Stan Lee]
Amazing Spider-Man Special #1 and Inhumans Special #1 are both on-sale now, and All-New Captain America Special hits shelves on May 6.
