Newsarama.com has been one of the first sites to catch up with Marvel Entertainment’s new “Head of Television,” Jeph Loeb, and in a fantastic interview, Loeb tells them a bit about what his new position will bring in the ongoing relationship between Marvel, its owners in Disney, and their many networks, including ABC, ABC Family, Disney XD, and such.

The exciting part to us, of course, are the bits about television. Here’s some of what Loeb had to say:

“Dan Buckley (President and Publisher at Marvel) had to been talking to me about television in general, because of my past experience working on shows like Buffy Animated, Smallville, Lost and Heroes. It really became a matter of timing. Marvel has done such an amazing job in the feature division with its movies, that when it came time to explore television, they wanted to do it carefully and selectively. They offered me this amazing opportunity with this new division to work with the Disney networks to bring the Marvel catalog to the television screen.”

Specifically he discussed Marvel’s new television division:

“And then there’s a brand new division that we’ll do with live action, where we’re working in partnership with ABC and ABC Family to find the right properties, the right characters and develop them. To start, we will be exploring the one-hour drama field similar to the shows that I mentioned that I’ve worked on, like Smallvillle and Lost.”

Continuing on that note, Loeb said this:

“Television is primarily a writer’s medium, and the shows that really stick in our minds — particularly genre shows — the best ones are particularly driven by someone who has a very clear vision. Damon Lindelof on Lost, Al Gough and Miles Millar on Smallville, Joss Whedon on Buffy and Angel. These are the kinds of people and relationships that we want to look to as we develop our properties, so that the shows themselves have a very unique and distinct flavor and at the same time remain true the characters that Marvel fans love and still find a worldwide audience.”

Finally, on the legacy of TV heroes: “I think we should all be so lucky as to have a show that’s as successful as Smallville, as it now goes into its tenth season. To be able to have a show that has worldwide impact of something like Lost. And personally as a fan of animation, Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond are amazing examples of what can be done in this genre and to look towards.”

You can read the entire interview, where Loeb talks much more about Marvel’s TV plans, at Newsarama. Here at Avengersite, you’ll see our Marvel wishlist posted within the next day or two, so please, come back!

Jeph Loeb, who was an executive producer during the early (good) seasons of Heroes as well as a major part of Smallville’s second and third episodes, writing such fan favorites as “Red” and “Insurgence,” has gotten a promotion from Marvel Entertainment, giving him the title of “Head of Television.”

Could this mean a Marvel Comics-based television series could be on the way? Hopefully. As cool as, say, the first season of Heroes was… one must admit, seeing actual Marvel heroes on the television screen, treated as well as Iron Man has been in the theater, could be very cool indeed.

Here’s the press release from Marvel:

Marvel Entertainment, LLC announced today that it has appointed Jeph Loeb as Executive Vice President, Head of Television, a newly created division of Marvel Entertainment. In this new role, Mr. Loeb will work alongside Dan Buckley, Publisher & President of the Print, Animation & Digital Divisions, Marvel Worldwide, Inc., to translate Marvel’s popular characters and stories to the television medium, in both live-action and animation formats. In addition to these responsibilities, Mr. Loeb will oversee the development and distribution of live-action, animated and direct-to-DVD series. Mr. Loeb was previously a Marvel-exclusive Eisner-Award-winning comic book writer and an Emmy-nominated writer for his work on NBC’s Heroes. The announcement was made today by Alan Fine, Executive Vice President, Office of the President and Chairman of Marvel Studios’ Creative Committee, and by Mr. Buckley, to whom Mr. Loeb will report.

Mr. Fine stated, “It’s with tremendous pride that I announce the creation of our Marvel Television division and the appointment of Jeph Loeb as Executive Vice President. His work in the comic book field is in a class of its own, showing his passion and talent for bringing Marvel’s finest characters to life in an innovative manner. Jeph’s work on multiple award-winning television series and popular films has shown fans worldwide his ability to deliver thrilling entertainment in a number of media. With Jeph as our EVP, fans will experience the highest quality and most exciting television projects featuring their favorite Marvel characters.”

“I couldn’t be happier to accept this new position at Marvel Entertainment, working with both Dan and Alan to deliver exciting, cutting edge television projects,” said Mr. Loeb. “Marvel continues to break new ground in storytelling in both their comic book and film ventures, so, along with everyone here, I’m excited to bring the same brand of excitement into homes across the globe.”

Mr. Loeb has written acclaimed stories featuring every major super hero in comics, including Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Daredevil, Spider-Man, the X-Men and more. Multiple-time winner of the prestigious Eisner Award for his writing, Mr. Loeb quickly established himself as one of the most sought after writers in the comic industry. Mr. Loeb also served as writer/producer on television series Smallville and Lost; writer/co-executive producer on Heroes; and writer of hit films Commando and Teen Wolf.

About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 5,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com.