Newsarama: Scott, what attracted you to writing this trio?
Scott Lobdell: I am a big fan of redemption stories — and, above all else (the action, the drama, the splashes of humor) Red Hood and the Outlaws is the story of the redemptive power of friendship. Aside from a clearly dysfunctional relationship with Scarlet, Jason hasn't spent a panel since his return as Red Hood interacting with anyone that didn't fuel his overwhelming obsession to punish Batman or Joker or both or sometimes neither. That can't be healthy for the guy.
By putting him in the same orbit as Roy and Kori, two people who also have their own issues they've had trouble putting to bed, Jason immediately becomes a character who can move beyond being Formerly Known As Robin. He would never admit to having actual friends, no, but it is clear he sees a lot of himself in Roy and is in awe at Kori's ability to have escaped the shackles of her past in a way he never has... in ways he may never be able.
Honestly, who wouldn't want to write the next chapter in the life Jason Todd?
Nrama: What's the overall tone of this comic? Is it as dark as it sounds with the "outlaws" title and the presence of the Red Hood? Or is it more action or adventure oriented?
Lobdell: I don't really think of it as dark... but when you have a once dead guy relying on guns, a former addict guy on arrows and a one-time prisoner of war woman who is essentially a nuclear reactor with pretty much one power setting... certainly a lot of violence will ensue.
Since he crawled out of that grave, however, Jason hasn't done much mentally get out of that pine box: he hasn't left that "dark place." I'm looking forward to seeing him interact with other people that have nothing to do with his quest for vengeance or trying to kill his way through the Gotham City Yellow Pages of Crime.
While Roy has had his issues with drug abuse in the past, he's at a place now where — for better or for worse — his "off switch" is off. He'll tell you what he's thinking with the same aim for the heart he uses for his arrows.
And Kori...? She survived intergalactic death camps and now lives on a world trying to help aliens who — as a race — often confuse and confound her. Certainly, if the situation was reversed, and I was living on Tamara, I don't think I'd ever really feel at home.
So yeah, there are dark elements to the story, but if Jason and Roy and Kori aren't moving ahead, aren't slogging through the crappy hands they've been dealt, aren't trying to forge a future for themselves, then that is what I would consider "a dark book." But that's not what's happening here.