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But first, by popular demand, you can read a transcript of the debate here.

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Originally published November 12, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1043

Well, thank God that’s over.

Some random thoughts and recollections regarding “The Great Debate” that might bring some greater understanding of it all to those who were outside looking in:

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Anyone know any females in the DCU with the first name “Amber?”

I already know the Amber who is one of the personalities of Chain Lightning, although if she has a last name, that would be good to know.

PAD

For the past ten years, the TrekTrack at Dragon*Con has had, as its last panel, a solo hour with me. I was dubious about the proposition initially, but it’s become something of a tradition and I usually have a packed house. Apparently a number of people have gotten used to finishing out the convention with that hour. So imagine their surprise when the schedule was posted this year and it was gone.

Wasn’t my idea. Someone new was put in charge of the programming. I got the schedule a few weeks ago and fired off an email pointing out the omission. I never received a response. And now the schedule is up, and people are inquiring of both me and Kathleen what the hell happened.

Well, I’m the wrong person to ask. Apparently the person you should be asking is Dave Gordon. He wasn’t responsible for the omission, but he’s the person to address. Be nice; be polite; remember, it wasn’t his call. He can be reached at:

fantrackops@dragoncon.org

Meanwhile, what took the place of the hour with me? A generic hour in which fans are supposed to discuss what went right and wrong with Trek programming. Yeah; I wonder how that’s gonna go?

PAD

Originally published November 5, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1042

Art by George Pérez.  J.J. Sachs © 1993-2010 Second Age, Inc. and George Pérez.  Incredible Hulk © 1993-2010 Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc.  Spawn © 1993-2010 Todd McFarlane Productions Inc.

And this Democrat cleared the primaries and was the Senatorial candidate, I swear to God I’d vote Republican.

Originally published October 29, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1041

I am sitting on the stairs outside the room, rocking slightly, feeling the twisted knots in my stomach, and trying to decide once more whether I should go to the men’s room and throw up.

Me right before “The Great Debate?” Hardly. That wasn’t for two weeks yet.

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Actually, Bugs Bunny was being unfair. Albuquerque is a lovely place and that’s where I am for Bubonicon 42 where I am slated to be Guest of Honor. Tonight I’ll be taking in an Albuquerque Isotopes games (a baseball team named for the episode of “The Simpsons” where the Springfield Isotopes were relocating to New Mexico, thereby removing the state from consideration as one of the places where the Simpsons home town is.) And tomorrow I’ll be doing a store appearance at a comic book store, Astro-Zombies, from 1-3, before the convention actually gets started.

I brought a minimal amount of stuff to sell, but if anyone ever wanted to buy the script to my episode of “Ben 10: Alien Force,” you’ll have the chance.

PAD

Because of them, I found out about ABC’s special deal where the first 50,000 visitors to a specified site were able to watch the pilot of the new superhero themed show, “No Ordinary Family,” starring Michael Chiklis (last seen playing a not-dissimilar role as a big strong guy in “The Fantastic Four“) and Julie Benz (last seen playing a somewhat dissimilar role as a lesbian stripper who wants to start a better career in “Desperate Housewives.” Because when you want to introduce a character who is going to cut across all interest groups, you really can’t go wrong with a petite blonde lesbian stripper who wants to start a better career.)

The premise is simple to anyone who’s familiar with either the FF or for that matter, “The Incredibles.” A dysfunctional family goes on a trip that ends badly with a plane crash into a particularly unusual section of the Amazon (the river, not the book dealer) and as a result acquire superpowers that Just So Happen to be tailored to their respective personalities.

It would be rude to dwell on spoilers for a show that won’t air for over a month, so just speaking in broad strokes, it’s a fun, well-acted, family-friendly show that doesn’t take itself too seriously and gives hints of a broader universe within that I would think will be followed up in subsequent episodes. We’ll definitely be watching.

PAD

Originally published October 22, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1040

Both Rob Liefeld and the fans have had an opportunity to respond to my column on giving credit where credit is due. Let’s see where we stand.

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In the DC Universe, are there any established police officers or police detectives who are (a) not secretly superheroes and (b) operate out of New York City? Not Metropolis or Gotham, but New York City.

PAD

Jim Valentino’s “Fractured Fables” project, which should be instantly understandable to anyone who has fond memories of the old “Fractured Fairy Tales” cartoons, got an excellent write up in “Ain’t It Cool News.” Since this happens to be my website, I’ll single out what they said about my contribution:

The Little Mermaid: I did this list chronologically how they appear in the book, but if I had to pick a “best-of-the-best” this would be it. Art and story combine fantastically to reinvent the babe aquatic’s tale. While the “be careful what you wish for” message is still firmly intact, Peter David’s traditional humor and wit shines through in every panel. Juan Ferreyra paints some damn pretty seascapes and has a great time on dry land as well making all of our favorite Mermaid’s wishes and horrors come to life.

And the Washington Times also had many positive comments about the book. Once again, being an egomaniac, I’ll single out what they said about my story:

The adventure of “The Little Mermaid” turns much more ominous in the hands of comics scribe extraordinaire Peter David as her quest to live happily ever after with a human prince becomes a puzzling problem in podiatry. Artist Ron Ferrara (sic) offers ample arch support for the mermaid’s issues.

The reviewers had nice things to say about many of the other stories as well. Check out the book when you have a chance.

PAD

Originally published September 3, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1033

“If it’s something that I’m a stickler for, it’s credit. Give it when it’s due.” –Rob Liefeld

“Be careful of what you wish for. You may get it.” –Old Chinese Proverb

“Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.“ –Bill Bixby as Dr. Banner

So Rob Liefeld wants credit.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen… lend me your ears. To paraphrase Shakespeare, I come not to bury Rob… but to praise him.

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One American in five now believes that President Obama is a Muslim. This is apparently regarded as a big story and some sort of commentary on Obama.

It’s worth noting that in a survey a couple of years ago, thirty-two percent of respondents believed that Vin Diesel was the inventor of the diesel engine.

To me, the real story is that a disturbingly large percentage of Americans are stupid. Then again…not exactly news.

PAD

American Airlines spokesman Virasb Vahidi (official title: Chief commercial officer). It’s his job to try and make palatable Ameican Airlines finding yet another way to charge people for something they were getting for free before.

American has decided to charge customers anywhere from $19 to $39 for seats in the first few rows of coach. They’re no wider, they don’t have any more leg room. Yet they’ve decided to dub them “Express seats,” because apparently if the airline is running late (and American has one of THE worst on-time records in the industry) they decided that travelers with tight connections should have to pay extra if they want to be able to sit far enough forward to compensate for American’s timely ineptitude.

So how does Mr. Vahidi put a positive spin on this? “Express Seats highlights American’s focus on offering customers what they value most. This is another great product under the Your Choice program that puts more travel choices in the customer’s hands.”

No, it doesn’t. It takes OUT of the customer’s hands the option of being able to sit forward in the plane without having to pay through the nose for it. It’s not as if they’re giving you a huge discount if you opt to sit in the back. They’re just trying to put a shining veneer on a steaming pile of crap.

PAD

Coming out in October: “The Balverine Order,” an original novel that ties into the “Fable” video game. It’s set between the events in Fable II and the forthcoming Fable III. Quoting from the Amazon description: The days of magic and adventure are fading away, giving way to the age of industry and science. As the aged last Hero sits upon the throne of Albion, two friends-the privileged Thomas and his loyal servant, James- set out for the East in search of a legendary beast: the vicious, rarely-seen balverine. But their desire for adventure may be their ultimate undoing-because their quarry has just found them…

I also wrote a 64-page adaptation of the original “Tron” film for Marvel which will be coming out in November.

PAD

Bravo routinely airs two episodes of “The West Wing” back to back every morning. Curiously, with no explanation, they jumped over an episode this morning. They skipped the one entitled “Faith Based Initiative.” I wonder why. Well, let’s check the episode description:

On the same day that an anti-gay-marriage amendment is attached to the federal budget, an Internet rumor surfaces that C.J. is a lesbian. Josh and Toby attempt to kill the amendment without forcing the President to publicly take a position on this unwinnable issue.

Okay. I find that…interesting.

PAD

I loved “Scott Pilgrim.” I really did. I also find myself wondering if the director was a fan of “Speed Racer” since much of the storytelling and editing was evocative of that film. I predicted after seeing “Speed Racer” that you were going to see a lot of its techniques showing up in future movies, and this might be the first of them.

It’s hard to believe that a film with as much energy, great acting and storytelling is struggling at the box office, but that’s where we are with “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” SP received major push at the San Diego Con, making one wonder just how much post-con lift to films a convention presence really translates into. Thus far its major accomplishment is to make “Kick-Ass,” generally considered a disappointment, look like a triumph.

Naturally this will be scrutinized as an indicator of how “comic book” movies do when they don’t feature non-mainstream superheroes. Which is, of course, ridiculous. “Road to Perdition” and “Men in Black” were both “comic book movies.” Audiences just didn’t think of them as such.

Ariel told me something kind of chilling. “Scott Pilgrim’s” target audience is, basically, her peer group, and she said she tried to get up a group to go see it. But she was rebuffed, told by her friends that they didn’t have the money to go to the movies but hey, no problem, they had access to sites on line where they could just watch it for free.

If this is really a prevalent attitude toward movies aimed at that age group, it means that films like “The Expendables” and “Toy Story 3″ which skew older (yes, the latter skews older because parents are paying to bring their kids) can still make a mark at the box office but teen movies may be opening with two strikes against them.

In the meantime, let’s hope that “Scott Pilgrim” benefits from the terrific word of mouth it so richly deserves.

PAD

Originally published August 27, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1032

A couple of things in today’s symposium:

For the first time in three years of my taking jabs at Marvel in this column, I’ve actually hit a topic that prompted Marvel reps to say, in essence, “Hey, we’d like to be heard on this.” Seems perfectly fair to me.

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Sarah Palin is demanding more answers from Obama regarding the proposed mosque/recreation facility/laser tag center proposed to be built within a few blocks of Ground Zero. Apparently the new angle for criticism is that the hidden agenda reason why Muslims want to build it there is that it’s a historically-dictated victory monument. As opposed to, say, an endeavor to memorialize the innocent Muslims who also died in the attack, or perhaps an attempt to try and convince a skeptical percentage of Americans that terrorists don’t represent Muslims any more than the KKK represents Christians, both of which make far more sense considering the moderate people who are endeavoring to build it. Or maybe…here’s a nutty notion…there’s Muslims living in the area already and they’d like a convenient place to worship.

With any luck, Obama won’t get into a back and forth with her. But I got nothin’ better to do at the moment, so I’ll take a whack at it:

She demands to know why Obama wasn’t encouraging them to accept Governor Paterson’s offer to “look into trying to provide them with the state property they would need” which would be “at a distance,” according to Paterson.

Well, three reasons. First, Paterson promised them nothing except to “look into” “trying” to provide it. Why trade off a property where they’ve got everything locked up and ready to go for a vague promise from a lame duck and unpopular governor? Second, as was well documented on “The Daily Show,” everywhere from Wisconsin to California, attempts by Muslims to build houses of worship is being met with resistance and protests. It’s no longer about geography; it’s about religious tolerance. And third, Obama’s job is to uphold the Constitution. The Constitution says these people have the right to build a house of worship. Therefore Obama upholds that right. Not only does Obama’s obligation end there, but as has been demonstrated, there’s nowhere else he could suggest they DO build it that wouldn’t garner protests from the locals.

Palin also asked Obama, “Why are they apparently so set on building a mosque steps from what you have described, in agreement with me, as ‘hallowed ground’? I believe these are legitimate questions to ask.”

The answer is: You believe wrong. Those are not legitimate questions for Obama to ask. Government has no business asking them. A president has no business asking them. Palin can ask them if she wants because she is a private citizen, and the same First Amendment that protects a Muslim’s right to worship protects Palin’s right to ask about it. But the foremost upholder of the Constitutionally-dictated hands-off of religion doesn’t get to, and it would be inappropriate if he did. The fact that she is unable to reach this conclusion on her own simply shows, yet again, that she is woefully unqualified for the job she sought in 2008, and if she had taken the oath of office, she would have either been lying or intellectually unequipped to understand what she was promising.

Furthermore, if Sarah Palin were really interested in why they want to build their mosque/community center/dojo in that location, why doesn’t she ask for a sit-down with them? I bet they’d be glad to accommodate her.

So I throw it back to you, ex-governor. Instead of asking Obama these questions, when his only stake in the matter is to do what he promised to do when he took the office, why don’t YOU go ask them face to face? I’ve read a lot of articles in which she’s voiced opposition, but haven’t found any where she’s gone to the source. Doesn’t that seem the simplest solution?

Why don’t you ask them yourself, Sarah?

PAD

Well, at least no one’s talking about amending the Constitution again. In this particular instance, that annoying First Amendment which mentions freedom of religion.

The guy who we watched take an oath to defend it a couple years ago commented on the move to build a mosque in lower Manhattan within distance of Ground Zero. To be specific, President Obama said: “As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances.”

That doesn’t even begin to take into account that the guy spearheading the drive is the exact sort of moderate Muslim who is as disgusted by the actions of terrorists as, well, any moderate Christian would be by the activities of the KKK.

Yet Republican Peter King declared that Obama “is wrong.” I’m fascinated by the notion. What part, exactly, was he wrong about? That he’s a citizen? (Not that again.) That he’s the president? (Well, if he’s not a citizen, then…) Or is King suggesting that Muslims don’t have the right to build a place of worship in accordance with local laws and ordinances?

I mean, if you’re going to object, then be willing to take it all the way. Muslims should be able to block the building of churches in their neighborhoods because they’re still steamed about the Crusades. And Christians should make sure to prevent synagogues going up because, despite Vatican II, they’re still blaming the Jews for the Crucifixion.

This country was founded on a foundation of religious tolerance…or, more correctly, escaping religious intolerance. Do I see the symbolism that some people find upsetting with the idea of a mosque within a few blocks of Ground Zero? Of course. I’m not stupid; I get it. But it’s always easy to support the First Amendment when people aren’t saying or doing something you find upsetting.

If we truly want the U.S. to be a beacon of hope, we can’t snuff out the torch when we find it too hard to keep it lit.

PAD