Everyone knows that Paul Levitz is returning to The Legion of Super-Heroes and that his run kicks off with Legion of Super-Heroes #1 next week.  Newsarama.com sat down with Mr. Levitz to discuss the new book along with a run on Superman/Batman coming up for him.

Newsarama: Paul, I think what makes the Legion so fun for me as a reader is the combination of dramatic relationships and the futuristic sci-fi stuff. As you look at the series, what elements stand out to you as a writer, and are you going to play up any of those in particular as you begin the series?

Paul Levitz: Well, the thing that the science fiction offers you is to tell your story against a broader canvas. There was a Roger Zelazny character in one of his famous novels, Creatures of Light and Darkness, named the Prince Who Was a Thousand, who was a teleporter who could go to any world he could imagine. And at one point during the book, he muses about whether he really was a teleporter, or whether he was actually creating these worlds as he went there. Because if he could imagine it, he could get there. Had it never existed before?

Science fiction gives you that same kind of opportunity. You can imagine anything remotely plausible and place stories there.

But the harder story is about humanity and about the characters. The first issue of the book involves…

- Destruction of the homeworld of one of the characters;

- The Legionnaires getting forced to accept among them a member that they hate, and who they think hates them and hates much of what they stand for;

- Kidnapping of a loved one;

- Revelations of a relationship that’s broken up;

- Interesting characters planted (hopefully) who will grow into being important parts of the Legion mythology, in one case literally growing into himself…

All those things are character-based. And you’re really putting through their emotional paces.

You can click the link above to read the entire interview.

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