Al Ewing and Steve Lieber Talk Metamorpho: The Element Man #1

Al Ewing (Immortal Hulk) and Steve Lieber (Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen) are teaming up for a new Metamorpho series. In late December (on Christmas), Metamorpho: The Element Man #1 by Ewing, Lieber, Lee Loughridge, and Ferran Delgado from DC Comics arrives at comic book stores. We spoke with the two talented creators about tackling the book, honoring comic book greats, and what to expect from the much-anticipated series!

“To know him is to love him — that fab freak who can change himself into any element in the human body! He's the one and only Rex Mason, alias Metamorpho... but can even he win out against Cy.C.L.O.P.S., the hairy eyeball of crime that gazes from the top of the pop charts to the lowest depths of evil — and even into the far-off, far-out Ra-Realm? To find out, the Element Man must survive a hand-picked assassin who can match him change for change... and that's just the first issue! Join us for this covalent bond of friends and foes in the brand new ongoing series from superstar team Al Ewing and Steve Lieber!”

What makes Metamorpho such a great character, and what drew you to telling this story?

Al Ewing: Well, from my point of view, he's just one of the greats of the 60s. I’m a huge fan of Ramona Fradon and Bob Haney. I just really loved the idea of taking the opportunity to make a real love letter to that kind of 60s superheroic vibe. It’s a really fun time just to do something that was kind of harking back to that while at the same time sort of, I guess, updating internally for the modern day in a way, polishing off a couple of bits here and there, and kind of bearing in mind a lot of the continuity that Memorpho has been going through since, which we'll be touching on a little bit as we go.

We've not forgotten that.

Steve Lieber: Yeah, and aside from the obvious pleasures of Ramona's wonderful drawing and Haney’s absolutely demented storytelling, I really, even as a kid reading these things, I was fascinated by how much conflict was built into the cast. Usually, the central cast of a superhero comic is full of people who like each other and are a family. This wasn't like the Fantastic Four squabbling. There was actual conflict built into their relationships. They had this uneasy truce going between them that just fascinated me. I remember thinking that this is not like other comics, and it never occurred to me that 40 years later, I'd get to draw stories about these characters.

At the time, it was just, wow, this is really cool.

Al Ewing: At the same time, though, that supporting cast, they're just the perfect machine. They're just the perfect storytelling machine. They're like a perfect sitcom just pre-built in that very first Metamorpho issue.

So yeah, from that view, when you're taking Metamorpho, you're not just writing the one character; you're writing four or five different ones, all of whom interconnect so perfectly with each other. It's wonderful.

You mentioned the series is a love letter to Ramona and Bob. What was your first experience with their work, and what was it like to jump into this world and honor those same characteristics and storytelling elements they were famous for?

Al Ewing: I guess my first ever was coming across Haney’s version of Batman who is almost, as a kid, just the first understanding that you could have your own take on a character that was completely free of all other influences. So that was always very fun. And then, as I went, I learned about stuff like the Teen Titans, and the Super Sons, all of which read great even today.

And then Haney always had this habit of teaming up with these incredible artists, like not just Ramona Fradon, but Nick Cardy, and Jim Aparo... It was just amazing. Anytime you picked up a Bob Haney book, you're guaranteed a good time. In terms of how that relates to what we're doing now, I've always been a fan of the sort of 60s voice, whether it's Haney or whether it's his close stylistic cousin, Stan Lee.

I've always been a big fan of that slightly bombastic kind of thing, not just talking to the reader but almost jamming with the reader, almost like being a carnival bug for the reader. I always loved that particular kind of omniscient narration where you're just like presenting the show. So there's a lot of that in this, as you've seen.

Steve Lieber: Yeah, I think my first encounter with the character must have been in those DC Comics hundred page for 60 cents books they did in the seventies, where they would have the one new lead feature, then a whole bunch of reprints in the back. And it was those reprints that were my way in.

There’s so much great storytelling energy in those stories and so much visual innovation. It's all I can do to keep up with it. But I've got no urge to reinvent the wheel. I just want to do it, do it justice.

What are the biggest challenges in drawing a character as adaptable as Metamorpho? How fun was it to embrace the body horror elements? 

Steve Lieber: I've been joking that we're not doing body horror; we're doing body humor. The biggest challenge was that I'm a very academically trained artist. I always got some very academic teachers in the back of my brain. And, of course, I need to completely throw that aside to tell this story correctly. As a result, I’m just having the time of my life, mutating and distorting Metamorpho.

And I think Java gets slightly more apish with every panel I draw. And then I'll have to go back and compare the first to the last. When the book is wrapped, we’ll see how far I've taken them.

How much confidence do you have in Steve when handing him scripts that may feature more daunting transformations?

Al Ewing:  I mean, in terms of confidence, like 1000%, Steve's a joy to work with. Whenever I get a new page in the inbox, I'm always like, “Oh, this is wonderful.” It’s an absolute pleasure and an absolute joy.

I think it is true for most writers to keep a kind of visual idea ahead of roughly what we imagine the page will look like because otherwise, you're just lost in the weeds. I'm always wonderfully surprised by what comes back; it's always beautiful.

What can you say about Lee Loughridge’s color work on the book?

Al Ewing: I just love it. I don't know what more I can say. I see the color in the inbox, but I also see it as part of the final lettering check. And it always looks amazing. It's just perfect for the tone, the style, and the general ethos we're going for.

Steve Lieber: Yeah, it's an absolutely delightful match for what I'm doing in the line art. I know that notes are always welcome and will be taken. And my notes are always, “This is great. Keep going. No corrections, no changes I want to make. It's all there.” And it's their subtlety.

He knows how to support the gags and ensure that the eye is going where it needs to go first, second, and third so that the elements of the jokes will land in the right order—never upstaging at all. It's just a delight.

And while I'm talking about the art team, I should take a moment to shout out my assistant who does backgrounds on the book, who's kicking ass, just doing incredible work. Tom Rogers. Tom is an absolutely terrific artist on his own. And I'm super lucky to work with him as a background artist—a fantastic storyteller.

What can you say about the return of Element Girl?

Al Ewing: I just think she's neat. Metamorpho’s supporting cast is like a perfect machine. But also, I remember when Element Girl kind of turned up, that really kind of boosted things up a bit. And I always thought it was a shame that she sort of got killed. So we brought her back.

We are trying to have our cake and eat it a little bit continuity-wise. So, if you're looking at issue one and wondering why certain people are alive, an explanation is forthcoming. We'll get to it. We'll get there eventually. But for now, I just really wanted to write her as somebody who really enjoyed being an element person and kind of really lean into the secret agent thing that she had kind of during the sixties and also sort of lean a bit, a little bit into the kind of love triangle, the whole Archie, Betty, Veronica thing that she had going on with Rex and Sapphire. So we've got a lot of that.

There have been a lot of Element characters over the years. I've yet to figure out where the Element Dog will fit in, but we may have to do it at some point.

Steve Lieber: You'll have to give me the Element Dog.

Al Ewing: Okay, fine. Steve's getting the Element Dog. That's a promise you heard it here first [laughs].

How exciting is it to see books from the ‘60s and ‘70s return to DC in a big way, such as Challengers of the Unknown, New Gods, and Metamorpho?

Al Ewing: These are great characters. The ‘70s was a really fertile time for DC, as I remember. The DC explosion led to the DC implosion. I've actually got a book on that for my birthday that I'm still working my way through because it has gigantic, beautiful art pieces. But I will say I did get an opportunity to have a look at New Gods one, and that's really good. So if we can kind of, if we can land on that scale, I'll be very happy indeed. And I think we can do it. We're definitely doing it; I'm really excited for when issue one lands. Admittedly, it's Christmas day, and people will have priorities, but I think we will upstage Santa [laughs].

I'm really pleased to be part of this! It's really exciting stuff. And it's great that DC's in this place where they're just dipping into this wonderful toy box of amazing characters and having so much fun with it.

Steve Lieber: Yeah, there's a ton of energy going on across the line right now. For me, the most exciting thing about getting to work with these characters is that, as a kid, I only had small doses of any of them. I knew who they all were. I scrutinized the covers, but I probably only owned a hundred comic books as a preteen, and everything else was just me staring hard at the ads for things or a reproduction of a cover somewhere and wondering what this character could be like. What could this story be like? And now I'm blessed enough to have a job where that requires me to go back and find these things out and answer these burning questions that 10-year-old me suffered under.

So the first thing I did when I found out about this project was get the black and white showcase edition, reprint the whole run, and just read through them all, and what a delight. I felt like I was fulfilling a promise to 10-year-old me.

What’s it like to tackle Metamorpho as he’s about to come to the big screen in Superman: Legacy?

Al Ewing: I'm not that connected with the movies. The gag I make is that you've heard of Hollywood insiders; I'm the Hollywood outsider, and I have no idea what's happening. But I do know that Anthony Carrigan will play Metamorpho. I remember him from Barry as being just a top talent, and I cannot wait to see how he does the character, how he brings that to the big screen, how much of that bohemian energy he brings in, and whether he goes with some of the other takes of Metamorpho over the years. It's gonna be just fascinating to me. I will be right there in the first week, just in my local cinema with a big box of popcorn, watching this stuff.

Whether that will bleed into my take on Metamorpho, I couldn't say… probably not, if I'm honest, but you know, unless he does something really incredible, in which case I'll drop everything, and there'll be like a sudden left turn [laughs]. I am really looking forward to seeing it and seeing the whole film. It sounds like it's going to be great.

Steve Lieber: Agreed. He's one of the best deadpan comics out there, just screamingly funny. I have no idea what his actual voice sounds like. I've only heard him in Barry, and it's going to be interesting not to hear the no-ho Hank voice coming out of that face. But going to what Al said, one of the pleasures of working with DC right now is that we're not pressed to steer what we would naturally do to match what a film wants to do. They trust us to tell our story our way.

It doesn't feel like we're doing product; we're just telling a story.

This interview has been edited for clarity.