Interview w/ Scott Lobdell: "Nothing is ever what it seems" in Teen Titans

So what's going on with Artemis? [Teen Titans artist] Brett [Booth] told me that she may or may not be dead. Can I get a little more of an explanation of this? 


Nope. 

Well that kinda sucks.

But seriously, what if Chris Claremont had given an interview after Uncanny X-Men 100 and said "Don't worry, Jean isn't dead she's actually going to become the Phoenix and then she's going to be seduced by Mastermind (in disguise!) and then become Dark Phoenix and kill billions and finally have to kill herself in about thirty issues!"?  Wouldn't THAT suck?

Sit back, enjoy the ride!

Fair enough. How about how the team's roster came about? Did you pretty much have every character you wanted in mind going in, or did you and the editorial staff at DC have discussions about the characters?

Well it is hard because we were told to use the Core Four, but as they were all white people and I really wanted to use people of color it meant that I had to edit myself a lot.  I would have loved to have used Offspring or Miss Martian and Beast Boy (but I don't feel green counts as a person of color) and so, like I say, there was a lot of self editing going on.

And while there might have been other characters (heck, there are LOTS of teen characters) I also felt that there was a tradition that Marv and George started where the non-Core members should be fresh new characters (Raven, Starfire and Cyborg) -- and so I felt strongly that the other three spots should be taken up by newbies (or mostly newbies as in the case of Solstice).

Will we ever see characters guest-star for periods of time? Since we already saw Static in #6, I figure we could see any number of characters appear, like Miss Martian?

Certainly the world is our oyster. And while there are no PLANS for anyone else to show up soon, all things are possible.

Which one of the characters is your favorite to write? Red Robin seems to be the main character thusfar, but are we going to see any more of the group kind of take the narrator-ship away from him sometimes?

Hmm... I don't know if that is true, as Kid Flash opened the series, issue two and issue three.   

Can you give us some hints for the stories that we might see coming up soon? Like, hopefully, Artemis: Rebirth! Haha.

Well certainly Wonder Girl is going to be moving front row and center as Red Robin and Superboy help her get to the bottom of the same armor that gives her her powers might actually be killing her.   (No wonder she doesn't like the notion of being Wonder Girl.)

So I kind of want to know what is going on with Kid Flash's origin. Pre-New 52, he was from the Legion's time, is it something similar? If you can't tell me, are we going to find out some time in the near future?

Yes and yes.

What about Solstice? Where did her character come in? Is she still the Solstice that we saw Pre-New 52, just with the charcoal-colored skin or is she a new character entirely? 

Well technically she is the same character... but as much of her pre-52 story is no longer available to us she is tweaked:  Rather than meet the Titans, she was kidnapped by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. about a year prior to Teen Titans #1 (I'm guessing as I wasn't there.) and their experiments (we assume) are what lead her to her current state.  But as far as I am concerned, this is the same character that was created brilliantly by JT Krul and Nicola Scott!  

If a new fan was standing in the comic store deciding whether or not to buy Teen Titans, what would you say to him/her to make them definitely want to?

"I will give you five dollars if you buy this book."

And for my last question, I asked Brett [Booth] this as well when I last talked to him earlier today:  Can sum up some hints of things to come in Teen Titans in 5 or 6 words??

Nothing Is Ever What It Seems.

Thanks for the interview! Issue #9 of Superboy (part 2) and Legion Lost (part 3) of the Culling storyline, which Scott is co-writing with Tom DeFalco. Part 4 comes out in Teen Titans #9 later this month. Check in later this week for my own personal reviews of Superboy #9 and then Legion Lost #9. Thanks!