Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis are back together at DC — this time on Larfleeze, a new ongoing series set in deep space that launches in June. Newsarama had a chat with the writers, and I’ve provided some quotes below including the cover to Larfleeze #1 by Howard Porter.

 

Nrama: Keith, you’re taking a little different approach to the book than you are Threshold. How would you describe the way you guys are writing it?

 

Giffen: I’m doing something I haven’t done in awhile. I’m going to plot and break it down like it did 52. So I’ll be working with Scott Kolins on that end, and then on the other side of creating the comics, I’ll be working with J.M. DeMatteis on dialogue again. Larfleeze has that weird kind of sense of humor. And really, DeMatteis is the only guy I would trust with that.

Giffen and DeMatteis on “Larfleeze” being humorous:

 

Nrama: When Keith asked you to help out with the comic, what attracted you to the project?

 

DeMatteis: Two things: the chance to work with Keith again and the chance to tell stories of massive, cosmic scope. Keith and I have been talking for years about wanting to do a cosmic adventure project. We both love classic, mind-bending Kirbyesque adventure — and this is our chance to indulge that love. Done in patented Giffen-DeMatteis style, of course.

 

Nrama: Does that mean it’s a humorous book?

 

Giffen: I wouldn’t put that label on it. But the book, because of Larfleeze’s M.O. and who he is, has an odd sense of humor about it. He’s the living embodiment of greed and avarice. And as we know from Uncle Scrooge, greed can be kind of funny. But it’s going to have a serious side to it. What he does is going to have consequence. His encounters with these villains and what they stand for will have consequences. If they accomplish their goals, it’s not going to be vaudeville and bwa-ha-ha. But it will have a sense of humor.

 

DeMatteis: Larfleeze isn’t a comedy book: it’s a cosmic adventure with ample helpings of humor.

 

J.M. on Larfleeze the character:

DeMatteis: I’m just beginning to immerse myself in All Things Larfleeze…but he strikes me as being a distant — and extremely twisted — relative of our old JLI character G’nort. Part of the Green Lantern universe, for sure, but weirdly unique. Extremely idiosyncratic. A character we can milk for humor in our patented obnoxious style…but also for Big Cosmic Drama, as well.

 

Giffen on the fate of the Larfleeze starring backups in Threshold:

Nrama: Keith, what happens with the back-ups in Threshold? Is Larfleeze no longer starring in those?

 

Giffen: His back-up story will end issue #5. And we’ll go into his monthly book directly from there.

That doesn’t mean you have to read Threshold to read Larfleeze. The first issue of Larfleeze will start like a #1 should. You don’t have to have any prior knowledge of the character to get hooked.

On any connection to the other Lantern books or Threshold:

 

No, we’re not even going to try, at least not for awhile. I want the character to stand on his own. So in this story, it’s Larfleeze out in a new section of the galaxy. That said, he is the Orange Lantern, and so there’s history, there’s a connection. It’s nice to have a fully integrated universe where Batman can meet Superman, and Blue Beetle can wind up in Threshold. So maybe somewhere down the line, maybe after the first year, or whenever DC decides, another DC character will show up.

 

Until then, we’ll be trying to tell an interesting enough story with an interesting enough character that it doesn’t have to be propped up with another character. The Green Lanterns have their own books. And they’re good books. So if you want to read about them, go read those books. But if you want to read about Larfleeze, then we’re over here.

 

…It’s just Larfleeze, his butler, and a lot of new stuff. We’ll be introducing a supporting cast of new characters and new villains and new concepts. Look, I’m going to move him so far from anything — the literal edge of the known universe — and start the adventure there. That way, we’ve got to world build. We have to fill in the gaps as we go along. But that also gives us the freedom to tell an interesting story that doesn’t get bogged down in everything else going on in the DCU.

What to expect from Larfleeze:

ou’ll see the same kind of humor you’re seeing in the back-up special of Threshold, but these stories will be told on a much bigger canvas. It’s going to be somewhat like Threshold, but with Larfleeze, I want to go much bigger, much more cosmic. I want a much bigger canvas and massive, major threats and villains. And our goal, like I said, is to make a comic book where you put down the comic and say, “That was a fun book!” One that you can recommend to your friends. That’s what we want Larfleeze to be.