PeterDavid.net

Dear Mr. David,
Haven't read them yet. But this might be a good point to say that last issue of FN Spidey-man was fantastic. You really blew me away with that one.

I am wondering if you read or did not read the originial Wonder Man series before writing this. It just did not seem to match the tone of Wonder Man, but then a lot has happened to him since that series.

Admit it! This entire arch of X-Factor was designed just so you could finally use the word "Defenestrated" in a conversation!

Not many opportunities to use it in conversation...unless you're a super hero/villain. Now that I think about it, how come we don't see that word in comics more often?

Wonder Man was just terribly unfunny.

X-Factor was okay, but this book seroiusly needs some direction. Every issue feels like it's making it up as it goes.

Foley - While there may have been some amusing situations involving the character (such as the unwanted 'sidekick' in the short run WM series), WONDER MAN himself was never meant to be funny. Died, reborn, died, reborn (sort of) and so on. You want to talk Post Traumatic Stress? I haven't read PAD's take on him yet, but it may just be a continuation of that version.

Besides, not everything with the name Peter David on it needs to be fall-down funny. VENDETTA might have had only one mildly amusing moment in it, but it still remains my favourite TREK novel.

PAD,

You say Fallen Angel #12 in the title and text of your post, but my comic shop's e-mail says #11 for this week. I haven't been this week to pick them up and see for myself. I may call later to ask. Is it a typo and who gets the credit?

cal

"Wonder Man was just terribly unfunny."

Since I wasn't striving for humor, I'm not sure what the problem was.

Granted, the artwork angles toward cartoony, but that's nothing I have control over.

PAD

"You say Fallen Angel #12 in the title and text of your post, but my comic shop's e-mail says #11 for this week. I haven't been this week to pick them up and see for myself. I may call later to ask. Is it a typo and who gets the credit"

I'd already noticed and corrected my error by the time you posted.

PAD

PAD,

X-Factor is the flavour of awesome. I know a bunch of people who are buying this issue because of our preview on livejournal of the Rictor/Jamie conversation. Your characterizations of everyone there are absolutely brilliant. And hilarious.

Right now, DC is doing their best to get rid of all the funny characters (ie. anyone ever involved with the Justice League International era), and I know other people who enjoyed that sort of work are loving X-Factor too, and beginning to pick it up.

I hope the monthly sales reflect that.

X-Factor is the bomb! It's best current comic out there.

Wonder Man is great too. I'd love to see this end up a monthly title, albeit with different art.

I'm still hanging in there with Fallen Angel, although its far from my favorite. I still enjoy it however, even if it is a little confusing at times. Your Linda Danvers tease has certainly piqued my interest however.

Even if it did take me forever to find it at the local comic shop under the DC Vertigo section.

I did not pick up Wonder Man, even though I was looking forward to it. I couldn't stand the art! Writing will usually trump mediocre art for me, but this stuff is more suited to Spider-Ham. Simon looked as if his head were an eggplant, or like someone who should have been delivered by c-section!

X-Factor, on the other hand, was great. As usual, the characters make story. I want to know these guys !

Well, maybe not so much... :)

I didn't realize Falling Angel was out today and it was mysteriously absent from my "pull". So, I guess I'm one of the people you wanted to know about. ...Back to the store in hopes that they've got a copy on the shelf.

No Fallen Angel here, despite pre-ordering.

Here's a paste of my reviews of the other two:

Wonder Man #1 (of 5): Marvel - "My Fair Super Hero" is the title on the cover, ironic in light of one of the arguments inside the actual story. Peter David is in fine form here, restrained just enough that his humor doesn't go into unfunny territory. Andrew Currie's art is...distinctive. Reminds me in some ways of Richard Corben. It's ugly in bad ways sometimes, but in good ways other times. Storywise, I have to wonder if PAD's returning
to some of the ideas he had with Crazy Eight back in Hulk. In any case, the underlying theme is that of destiny...whether people can change. Definitely familiar ground for Mr. David. Recommended. $2.99/$3.75Cn

X-Factor v2 #14: Marvel - Another "quiet" issue for the most part, dealing with fallout and so forth. And it's a great one in that role. Also, be sure to read the "what has gone before" page at the start. Strongly recommended. $2.99/$3.75Cn

I will note that whenever PAD tries to be serious, he's often at his funniest. Going back to the Strike Force novel. :)

I loved X-factor, i read it the second I got it and was laughing all over the place. I really liked the contrast of what jamie was going through as compared to what guido was going through. it really helped put things into perspective.

Wonderman was great too. I love the premise and thought it was clever and witty. It's too early to really flesh out an opinion but i like where it's going. Am I the only one who loved the art and thought it fit simon pretty well? considering his personality i always expected his older solo series to be more like this when it wasn't.

Fallen angel is getting pretty interesting, i like that sachs and violens are staying around, can we expect them to actually become full on supporting characters?

just sitting down to read it now...
(so looking forward to it!)

Will Pablo Raimondi be the penciler for the foreseeable future?

I would very much like to know the store names and locations of the places that don't carry Fallen Angel despite the fact that they're on pull lists. These "mysteriously absent" things are the kind of thing that can slowly kill you, especially when one considers that these are only the ones I know about. If one complaint I know about represents a hundred that I don't, you see how this can mount up pretty quickly. I need to know if retailers are really ordering the book and there's some sort of logjam at Diamond, or if they're just not bothering to put in the order and are shruggingly claiming that it's just a mystery.

PAD

Feel free to e-mail me the information.

As to Pablo, the way things have been going for me, I consider the "foreseeable future" to be a one-issue-at-a-time sort of deal. Every time I look further down the road than that, I get screwed. So all I can tell you is yes, but purely on that basis.

PAD

Hey Peter, I haven't read X-Factor yet, but dig it more with every single issue.

I know you are curious about stores who are neglectful of their customers' concerns with FA, but I just wanted to name drop Comics on the Green in Scranton, PA as being a polar opposite of that type of retailer. Dave is not only the finest retailer that I've had the pleasure of meeting, but regularly encourages and promotes more distinctive titles and publishers. He is very vocal in praising your work on Fallen Angel, regularly gets a pile when a new issue comes out and is definitely a friend to this book. I have no idea if you approach retailers individually, but Dave is one of the good guys and I remain hopeful of the comics industry due, in large part, to his words, actions, genuine enjoyment of the medium and professionalism. His e-mail is cotgreen@aol.com

Fred

I'll be getting my comics a little later than usual this month but looking forward to X-factor 14. Debate has been heated over whether rictor came out as being bi and i'd love to get a straight answer (pun intended) from the writer's perspective as to whether he is or isn't. If kept deliberately vague will the subject be revisited with a more final answer to the question and a reaction from Rahne if the news reaches her?

A more general question regarding comics, do writers have a say in who does the artwork on their stories or is this purely an editorial decision?

Keep up the good work, X-factor has been one of my favorite comics of late.

Loved it.

The psychologist of H.M. (the epileptic patient who, as a course of treatment, had his hippocampus and amydala sucked out, preventing him from transferring short term to long term memory) used to give H.M. a joke book to read in the waiting room. He'd read and laugh with the book, only to have the psychologist take it away and the return it 15 minutes later. H.M would crack up with delight all over again, no idea he'd just read the very same jokes. If I had been H.M., I would want copies of X-Factor. (actually I'm going to go re-read it now)

What always amazes me about X-Factor is that each issue "feels" rather decompressed and yet is so dense with plot development and intrigue.

"Granted, the artwork angles toward cartoony, but that's nothing I have control over."

And that's unfortunate, because the artwork really gets in the way of what seems like an interesting, faithful take on my favorite comic book character. I'll keep reading, but the art is both an eyesore and not tonally appropriate for what you seem to be doing.

Has Neal the agent appeared since Simon's solo series ended? Or was this complete change of profession and personality something you decided on your own?

About the Wonder Man art--I have to admit, despite being one of my favorite heroes, I couldn't get pass the art and put it back on the stand. One of the workers at the store basically made the same comment.

Sorry.

Patch & Crow's Nest in Manhattan KS. We routinely get hosed on IDW titles (Fallen Angel and various Transformers stuff for me), among others. Fallen Angel #6 was late, and I can't find a review of #8 on my archive or on Google...so either it was so late I didn't bother reviewing it, or I never saw it.

IDW chief Chris Ryall posted this on the thread below, but since the matter is being brought up here, I'm tossing it in here as well so no one will miss it:

Regarding the status of FALLEN ANGEL issues 11 and 12, 11 IS indeed out now--came out yesterday (along with Wonder Man and X-Factor, which made for a nice PAD trifecta). Issue 12 will be in stores on January 24.

I'm not sure why comics shops say they can't easily get FA. It's as readily available to Diamond as any issue of Spider-Man or 52. We overprint every issue, so Diamond certainly has enough copies to distribute.

We also sell the issues through our site (http://store.idwpublishing.com/) but don't usually have the latest issue up there until a week or so after retailers get it (we want them to have first shot at selling it). If anyone is having big problems getting any issues of the book, please drop me a line.

Chris
Editor-in-Chief/Publisher
IDW Publishing

I'm not sure why shops would have trouble getting FA either. It's always at the shops here in Vancouver (Canada) on the day it's supposed to be (just grabbed my copy at lunch). If it can get through Customs on time during the Christmas rush...

In my case, it's not that Diamond doesn't HAVE the issues (at least, for IDW and Antarctic stuff), it's that they can't be bothered to ship everything that the store orders. I have a revolving reorder list right now that's about as big as an average week's pull. Stuff that my store has had to reorder, despite having ordered it initially.

Yay de facto monopolies.

I enjoyed both your Marvel titles this week, PAD. Been enjoying X for a while, but I had no idea Wonder Man was coming out. (Why not post a few days before, so we know to look for it? I almost did not buy it, then noticed your name, so I grabbed it.) The Wonder Man series was very good, IMO, and I think you captured a lot of the feeling of it. While the gist of the story set in "normal time" was good, I was actually MORE interested in the future stuff at the beginning. I hope you go back to that, although I have a sinking feeling that you only used that as a set-up. But personally, I like the idea of a "Man of Yesterday" in the future, in which all his old pals are long dead, and he once again has to find his place. Does he make new friends, knowing they will all die long before he will? Can he form life-long friendships, being a being of pure energy? All concepts worth exploring, and to me, are more interesting than the current story-line. But that's just me, and while those themes have been explored often, I would love to read your take on them.

Anyway, i will stick around for WM, and would love to see it continue. Did not really like the art at first, but it grew on me. As far as Hank and Carol, that was somewhat a groaner for me. Does Simon ALWAYS have to share the spotlight with them? Yawn...

PAD, you've made me intensely happy with X-Factor #14. The exchange between Rictor and Jamie made me look like a loony ass on the bus, I laughed out loud... by myself. I'm so glad you didn't forget about Shatterstar, I mean, there was obviously something there between Ric and 'Star.

Any hope of 'Star making an appearance?

Peter,

Is there any reason you can’t just put a direct link to the IDW site up in the sidebar? At the very least those people not getting it through there local shops would have a way to easily order it. I know you want to correct distribution problems if encountered but at the same time I would imagine you still want to move as many units as possible.

Loved X-Factor this month. The bar scene in particular was hilarious; not a lot of comics I read can ever have natural-sounding "guy talk" like that. And it's so nice to see Raimondi doing Madrox again.

I just hope that examining Jamie's women troubles don't fall by the wayside. I think it's a fascinating topic: whether Jamie, with his fractured memories and personalities, can ever really love someone, when he's literally of two minds about pretty much everything. Does Jamie just take a majority vote when his dupes give him conflicting opinions and memories? Who even gets a vote? When he gets these dupes who strike out and find women (and to my knowledge it's always a dupe who's done it so far, not Jamie Prime), where does their love go after absorption? Is Jamie the sum of his parts or the watching shepherd of his wayward mental (anthropomorphic) sheep?

Of course, my desire for continued relationship scrutiny may be influenced by Terry being a red-hot redhead...

Also wondering: When does the investigative agency start investigating again?

1
PAD,
I've got to say I loved, loved, loved, the the new X-Factor. From Guido's admission of guilt (and the incredibly surprising reaction), to the M/Siryn exchange, as well as Jamie and Ric's chat, it was fantastic. I am curious as to whether or not we're going to see some balls to walls action soon.
I also picked up the first issue of the Wonder Man mini. On the strength of your writing, it was a good issue. However, the art turns me off immensely and I honestly don't know I'm going to return next month.
As for Fallen Angel, I'm starting to feel sorry for Lee's son. The city is clearly starting to get to him already.

Loved X-Factor 14. This is exactly the type of comic I could read all week and not get bored. I love the characterization. I really liked the pace of the plot, and seeing things develop naturally. Every character is getting a chance to shine. Bravo, a tip of the hat to you sir!

PAD - do you have any thoughts at the moment about how long you would like to stay on X-Factor? I hope you are having fun so you'll be around for a while.

The art in Wonder Man could be better, since some of the characters just looked ugly at times (even including the two hotties who wanted Simon's autograph), but I am liking the story. This is an interesting idea: "My Fair Lady" with a psychopathic would-be killer standing in for Eliza. I made the connection between what they're trying to do with this woman and Thunderbolts, as I'm sure many others did, but there's a significant difference here in that the goal here is to rehabilitate somebody who is violently opposed to it. The very first T-Bolts were villains who started out by trying to pull the wool over everybody's eyes, but most of whom got addicted to the adulation that went with being heroes and proceeded to rethink their lives. More recently, the Thunderbolts have become reluctant government operatives; they're doing the work of the pro-registration forces because the alternative is a prison sentence. If any current or past members of the T-Bolts have been in a similar situation to this "Ladykiller" (honestly, I'm not in love with the name, but I've seen much worse in the past) I'm unaware of it. I will be following this through to the end.

I gotta disagree with the poster who didn't think it was funny. That whole thing about whether superhero was one word, two words, hyphenated or not, whether being hyphenated makes it a single word, etc...that was GOLD, man! :-) Made me smack myself in the forehead, in a good way though. And it's ONE word, NON-hyphenated! Everybody with any brains knows that. Wars have been started over less, so contradict me at your peril, people... >_The art in Wonder Man could be better, since some of the characters just looked ugly at times (even including the two hotties who wanted Simon's autograph), but I am liking the story. This is an interesting idea: "My Fair Lady" with a psychopathic would-be killer standing in for Eliza. I made the connection between what they're trying to do with this woman and Thunderbolts, as I'm sure many others did, but there's a significant difference in that the goal here is to rehabilitate somebody who is violently opposed to it. The very first T-Bolts were villains who started out by trying to pull the wool over everybody's eyes, but most of whom got addicted to the adulation that went with being heroes and proceeded to rethink their lives. More recently the Thunderbolts have become reluctant, but willing, government operatives; they're doing the work of the pro-registration forces because the alternative is a prison sentence. If any current or past members of the T-Bolts have been in a similar situation to this "Ladykiller" (honestly, I'm not in love with the name, but I've seen much worse in the past) I'm unaware of it. I will be following this through to the end.

I gotta disagree with the poster who didn't think it was funny. That whole thing about whether superhero was one word, two words, hyphenated or not, whether being hyphenated makes it a single word, etc...that was GOLD, man! :-) Made me smack myself in the forehead, in a good way though. And it's ONE word, NON-hyphenated! Everybody with any brains knows that. Wars have been started over less, so contradict me at your peril, people... >_The art in Wonder Man could be better, since some of the characters just looked ugly at times (even including the two hotties who wanted Simon's autograph), but I am liking the story. This is an interesting idea: "My Fair Lady" with a psychopathic would-be killer standing in for Eliza. I made the connection between what they're trying to do with this woman and Thunderbolts, as I'm sure many others did, but there's a significant difference here in that the goal here is to rehabilitate somebody who is violently opposed to it. The very first T-Bolts were villains who started out by trying to pull the wool over everybody's eyes, but most of whom got addicted to the adulation that went with being heroes and proceeded to rethink their lives. More recently, the Thunderbolts have become reluctant government operatives; they're doing the work of the pro-registration forces because the alternative is a prison sentence. If any current or past members of the T-Bolts have been in a similar situation to this "Ladykiller" (honestly, I'm not in love with the name, but I've seen much worse in the past) I'm unaware of it. I will be following this through to the end.

I gotta disagree with the poster who didn't think it was funny. That whole thing about whether superhero was one word, two words, hyphenated or not, whether being hyphenated makes it a single word, etc...that was GOLD, man! :-) Made me smack myself in the forehead, in a good way though. And it's ONE word, NON-hyphenated! Everybody with any brains knows that. Wars have been started over less, so contradict me at your peril, people... >_The art in Wonder Man could be better, since some of the characters just looked ugly at times (even including the two hotties who wanted Simon's autograph), but I am liking the story. This is an interesting idea: "My Fair Lady" with a psychopathic would-be killer standing in for Eliza. I made the connection between what they're trying to do with this woman and Thunderbolts, as I'm sure many others did, but there's a significant difference in that the goal here is to rehabilitate somebody who is violently opposed to it. The very first T-Bolts were villains who started out by trying to pull the wool over everybody's eyes, but most of whom got addicted to the adulation that went with being heroes and proceeded to rethink their lives. More recently the Thunderbolts have become reluctant, but willing, government operatives; they're doing the work of the pro-registration forces because the alternative is a prison sentence. If any current or past members of the T-Bolts have been in a similar situation to this "Ladykiller" (honestly, I'm not in love with the name, but I've seen much worse in the past) I'm unaware of it. I will be following this through to the end.

I gotta disagree with the poster who didn't think it was funny. That whole thing about whether superhero was one word, two words, hyphenated or not, whether being hyphenated makes it a single word, etc...that was GOLD, man! :-) Made me smack myself in the forehead, in a good way though. And it's ONE word, NON-hyphenated! Everybody with any brains knows that. Wars have been started over less, so contradict me at your peril, people... >_

"M-me?!? Are...are you sure you don't mean her?" "Oh, NOT cool, Ken!" That was also good.

"Dirty" does not begin to describe the kind of fighter who slashes at a guy's crotch! I mean, I don't know what adjective to use here, but "dirty" seems inadequate. *shudder*

As for X-Factor, one of the best parts of that issue was the whole exchange between Jamie & Rictor featuring the first double spit-take I can recall seeing anywhere. Oh yeah, also the first page telling us what had happened previously. Per the writer's request, I intend to go out and "buy the things". Starting with books about the Big Bang...eventually on to the primordial ooze...sooner or later extensive research on chimps...I guess it's only a matter of time before I'll get around to previous issues of X-Factor and other mutie titles. Possibly before I'm an octogenarian, but I can't make any guarantees.

If anybody claims they saw that ending coming, they are a filthy liar.

I'm glad that Terry didn't get physical, disappointed that Monet still hasn't calmed down, and curious about what has Layla so upset all of a sudden.

Aw man, I have no idea how I ended up pasting the same paragraph in there so many times. Very sorry about that.

I liked all three.

X-FACTOR
This book was GREAT. The writing is running on all cylinders, and I'm loving what's going on with the characters. There's actually a sense of dread as to the future of the team, because Jamie's rundown of everyone's screwed up situation was so dead-on. The art was really good. I enjoyed the look of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building and other little things. I can't wait to see what happens next.

FALLEN ANGEL
I'm pleased to see that more is being done with Xia, though naturally, I'm curious as to what her motives are. The exchange between Jude and Jubal was priceless, of course.

Still, I wish J.K. Woodward would stick to the traditional pencil-ink illustration method, since he seems a lot more adept in making things look like what they should with that method. If the back-to-back landscape shots of the city on the top of Page 7 was meant to convey dusk and dawn, it didn't do a good job of it. For one thing, the sun doesn't look like a huge ball of white light when it begins to disappear or reappar beneath the horizon; the effect is more of a yellow-orange light permeating the atmosphere. The lighting and shadows of the city should be totally opposed in the two shots, but look identical, and besides, the sun shouldn't be visible in both panels; given where it is in the first, it should be over the reader's shoulder by the time of the second. Woodward did a much better job with the art in the origin arc from a few issues back. Experimentation is fine, but he shouldn't use the computer technqiue until he masters it.

WONDER MAN
I'm sorry, I didn't care for the art in Wonder Man, in particular the way Andrew Currie insisted on distorting Simon's facial/cranial proportions to the point of him looking like a bad caricature, which jumped out at me from the moment I saw the cover. I mean, what's with the ridiculously huge jowls/jawline/chin? Since when does Simon look like that? And in some panels he has an upper body reminiscent of the Hulk, which I don't recall him ever having.

I also thought the visual storytelling was way off, in particular the part from Neal giving the valet his keys to when the car crashed. I mean, in one panel, the car is coasting towards the curb, the valet just pulling up to park it, but in the very next panel, all of a sudden, it's in the middle of the street, with speedlines, tire screech marks and tail light blurs indicating that it's going at several tens of miles per hour. And the valet, in addition to not being adequately established visually when he first got the keys, wasn't dressed like a valet, making the initial reading of the sequence momentarily confusing. The shot of Simon catching Ladykiller's kama in between his two hands was also done at an less clear angle than it could've been.

Really liked the story, though. I've never been a monthly reader of any Avengers-family books, but you set up the theme of the story really nicely, Peter. Granted, Simon never said that every person was capable of change. And Neal seemed to misread Simon's statement that Wanda "went crazy" with "became evil". But hey, that's the normal inexactness in human converstation, so it felt authentic. :-)

Mr. David,

X-Factor #14 was great. I love the interaction and characterization going on each month. The two characters I initially cared the least about (Monet and Layla) have become the most interesting.

I pretty much learned to read thanks to your run on the first volume of X-Factor. My mom got me a copy of X-Factor #75 when I was about 7. Terms like "politically correct" and references to Senators from some strange place called Rome led to many an hour with my nose buried in an encyclopedia. I had given up on comics for a few years until I strolled into a shop on a whim and saw Madrox #1 staring back at me. Picked up every issue of that series, and now X-Factor, and I have yet to be disappointed. I don't know how closely you scrutinize each of these comments, but here's hoping you catch this one. Thanks plenty, and you and Mr. Raimondi keep up the excellent work.

Re: Fallen Angel #11

I manage an online comic shop in the UK, and my copies of Fallen Angel #11 were delivered from Diamond yesterday with no problems (have sold out though!) - hence, I doubt the problems are anything to do with Customs out of the US.

Simon.

PAD,

Fallen Angel was not in my pull bin on Wednesday (nor was it on the shelf), and until I saw this thread this morning, I had no idea it was supposed to be out this week. Unless I missed it, it also wasn't listed in the CBG website list of titles due in stores this week.

I called my store a few minutes ago, and talked to the owner. He promised to call Diamond about it. He sounded annoyed about the prospect. But whether that annoyance stems from having to deal with Diamond _at all_, having to track down information on a $3.00 comic, or because someone apparently wasted his staff's time on a trivial matter the other day (all three of which he mentioned), I don't know.

Here's what I do know. If Diamond is screwing things up and not sending my store _Fallen Angel_ (or any other book someone orders), he should read them the riot act. With a bullhorn. After all, not only is that a lost sale (unless the store can reorder the book in question); but if it becomes a pattern, the store could also lose customers.

On the other hand, if my store decided not to order it for some reason, I'd sure like to know why (as, I imagine, would PAD). First, since it's on my pull list, it's a guaranteed sale. Second, with one exception (see below), they've always had a copy of _Fallen Angel_ for me. Why would that now change? If there has been a change. But I don't think so. I think the problem's on Diamond's end, in this case.

Why? Because while my store has on more than one occasion failed to put a particular book in my bin, there have been copies on the shelf. As I said, this week there was no sign of _Fallen Angel_ at all.

My store also didn't get issue # 10 for me. Nor was it on the shelf. Unless it just happened to sell out before I got there. They subsequently back-ordered it, but it still wasn't there the week it came out.

In fact, if I remember correctly, I also learned that it had come out via a thread on this blog.

Rick

Everybody that knows me knows that I would buy a Wonder Man comic even if it was being drawn in crayons by 5 year olds but the fact that it was Peter David and that he came with such a smart premise for this series makes it gold. I like the art, its cartoony and exaggerated, it has a bit of a Disney quality to it, I won't say I'd be happier with someone like Kevin Maguire teaming up with PAD in this project but I can honestly say the art is growing on me. I love that PAD is addressing something everybody wanted to know about and critisized House of M for not showing, which is "Simon's feelings about Wanda's fall from grace". Bravo Mr. Davis, my only wish is that this was an ongoing instead of a 5 issue mini-series.

My comments on the issues are in the same vein as what has been said already, but I would like to point out that I enjoy Raimondi's art more than anything that has been on the title to date. His stuff is classy-looking, stylized, and realistic all at the same time, which is rare in comic art these days. I am also amazed at his depictions of the Central Park Zoo and the intersection of W.12th street in Manhattan that closes the issue (which I do not live very far from). He got all of the city shots SPOT ON. He does photo-referencing, right PAD? I mean, it looks photo-referenced, but I wanted to make sure. I was just at the Central Park Zoo this summer and I could have snapped those pics of the penguins and the polar bear in the issue myself!

You know, it is getting harder to separate my strong disagreements with PAD's politcal/personal views (such as his recent "impeach Bush" post) from my like for most of PAD's work. After this week, it gets even harder.

Hands down, X-Factor 14 is a great chapter in the book. It is better than last month, yet is just as dialogue driven. It continued to develop the characters, building on events that have happened before while giving clues of where things might be going.

While it does not surprise me (and I don't want to give anything away so I won't go into details), I appreciated how the scenario with Guido was handled. It portrayed how many Christian's have reacted in a similar situation. It also fit the characters involved, and was a very honest dealing with a difficult situation. It is easy in a comic book to forget how the actions might impact real people in real life. Seeing this played out was superbly done.

The dialogue with Rictor was a little too much, though I can't deny parts of it were funny (I could see the whole Shatterstar line coming). It did stand out to me how some comics really are for adults, not kids (especially under 13). [Note: Just an observation and opinion about the industry in general; I don't expect PAD to change this to a "kids" comic. There is a place for all levels.]

The fact that PAD could tell the entire history of the X-Men in about 10 or 12 sentences was hilarious (you have to read it for yourself to believe it). It is too bad that it ended with a crass plea to buy what came before in previous issues of X-Factor. I mean really, what is PAD thinking? Surely you are writing this just for fun and not to get paid!! :-)

Bottom line, I have a choice: Quit reading PAD's political posts or quit buying X-Factor (and his Spidey). Well, after reading his recent issues, that is an easy choice. I will treat his political posts as fantasy and read his comics and just enjoy the ride.

Iowa Jim

Quick question regarding Wonder Man (which I rather enjoyed, art and story alike)...

At one point, Wonder Man references fighting "berserker" types, specifically Hulk and Wolverine. Now I know he's fought the Hulk - I've got at least one of the issues where that occurs - but I wasn't sure about Wolverine. Was that reference just a sort of general "shared universe" one ("everyone fights Wolverine *some* time or another..."), or have the two really tangled in something published? And if so, what's the issue?

It was on one of the Infinity Wars issues. Here are some scans:

It was on one of the Infinity Wars issues. Here are some scans:
Wonder Man vs Wolverine

Ug, sorry. Right click on top of the white window when you get to the scans and select back to go back to Mr. David's blorg. Do NOT hit the big green back button at the top since it will not take you back to the blorg. I tried to add a target=blank to my post to avoid leaving the blorg but somehow it got changed??!!

I liked X-Factor a lot. Great comic.

Wonder Man, I'm not sure--it's too early in the story. The art, though, makes it very hard to enjoy. I know you're not the artist, though.

I saw a preview of the Wonder Man art a couple of months back -- and thought I'd have a problem with it.

I paged through it at the shop -- and I just couldn't stand to look at it. A major PAD fan in the shop commented that art isn't as important to him as writing, but I'm from the school if it doesn't look good -- I'm not reading it. Big pass.

Iowa Jim: Bottom line, I have a choice: Quit reading PAD's political posts or quit buying X-Factor (and his Spidey). Well, after reading his recent issues, that is an easy choice. I will treat his political posts as fantasy and read his comics and just enjoy the ride.

I'm sorry you feel that way, Jim.

I first discovered this site when I was reading about the history of the first Hobgoblin's identity and was directed here for PAD's post relating his conversation with Owsley and how they finally decided to make Ned Leeds the Hobgoblin. After that I read the other posts, and the first political one I saw concerned a Rolling Stone article which made a case why Bush might be the worst president ever. I was glad to see that one of the better writers out there saw things pretty much the same way I did.

Since I don't care much for Bush or most of his policies I usually enjoy it when somebody blasts him, particularly if that person makes a good case. I visit this site as much for the political commentary as for the comics related stuff.

But I have to admit, if my politics were the opposite of what they are right now I probably wouldn't be able to stand PAD. So I can guess how reading this stuff might make you feel.

Here's the thing, though: it's been five long years since 9/11 and the reshaping of America in Bush's image. For most of that time, those of us on the left have been frustrated beyond description.

I mean here's a guy who started a war as opposed to getting involved after somebody ELSE fired the first shots (which I believe is wrong), who imprisons people without giving them fair trials or lawyers (which I also believe is wrong), who probably has approved of having them tortured (which I believe is EXTREMELY wrong--it's one of the reasons people like Saddam Hussein were so reviled, because they tortured people), and who broke the law by wiretapping suspected associates of Al-Qaeda without a court order (and I believe breaking the law is wrong, particularly when you have a job in which you're sworn to uphold it).

This has been difficult for us to take. It has driven us crazy. The only thing we have been able to do is protest, complain, scream to the skies. So we do, because that's how we cope, and because maybe if we're loud enough and Bush can't turn on a tv or radio without hearing somebody telling him how wrong he is it'll make his life miserable.

I can only speak for myself, but I'm guessing lots of others feel the same way. I mean, let's say you're pro-life (which you very well may be if you're conservative), and you know all the gory details about how abortions are done. Wouldn't it just make you crazy that they go on all the time and there isn't a single thing you can do about it? Similarly, it makes me and other people on the left crazy that Bush is doing all the things I listed above and there isn't a single thing we can do about it, besides vote and hope for the best, and talk about what a dick he is.

The bottom line, I guess, is that I can see how things like the "freedom clock" might grate on your nerves. I hope you can also see how the current state of the U.S. and the world, courtesy of Mr. Bush, grates on ours.

kcekada: A major PAD fan in the shop commented that art isn't as important to him as writing, but I'm from the school if it doesn't look good -- I'm not reading it. Big pass.

I'm inclined to agree that art isn't as important as writing, but if the art is bad enough it might distract you from the quality of the writing. John Bogdanove is, IMHO, a good example of this; back in the early 90s when Louise Simonson was writing New Mutants and X-Factor, with Liefeld penciling NM and Bogdanove penciling X-Factor, I enjoyed reading New Mutants infinitely more.

Me, I was able to enjoy Wonder Man despite the art. Ideally, I'd enjoy it because of both the writing and art.

Did not get to read "X-Factor" or "Wonder Man" yet, but finally caught up with "Fallen Angel". Read isue #1 (at IDW) when it came out and finally read #2,4-9 and 11 tonight. Very impressive stuff!

PAD,
I will agree with Fred in saying that Dave Romeo from Comics on the Green in Scranton,PA has had every issue of "Fallen Angel" on the shelves in both it's DC and IDW incarnations. I belive he ordered a bit more when it was at DC because it sold a bit more. Either way, there were still enough ordered that I was able to get nearly the full IDW run on the shelf at once. When he saw my pile of "Fallen Angel"s, he said "That's been a great series." Again, his e-mail address is cotgreen@aol.com. Maybe you can ask what he's doing to promote the book, or even do a signing someday.

Love X-factor. Its the book I look forward to most each month.
I do enjoy your Spider-man but on the whole between the Other, Civil War, and any tie-ins to the new movie I'm a tad weary of Spider-man at the moment to fully get into the book. But I still can enjoy it each month as something creative instead of just another flashy crossover.

I have to comment on the latest issue of X-Factor. It was awesome! What a joy to read! My comic shop guy and I both agree that this is THE best book Marvel is publishing right now . . . why this isn't the best selling book at Marvel, I will never know. It is consistantly good, unlike other high Profile books *cough*Astonishing X-Men*cough*. PAD is a writer who "gets" people.

I would also say that PAD "gets" the concept of "Grace". That is what we see given to Guido from the wife of the man he killed. Under the law, Guido deserved punishment, or at least the wife's ire. But, instead, what he gets is forgiveness. I have no idea if PAD is a man of faith, but he nailed this essential tenet of faith. Bravo!

I thought X-Factor #14 was expertly handled, and as long as it doesn't later contradict Ric's established character, it's great. Having Shatterstar show up and maybe proposition Jaime Madrox (who might be more receptive) would be something to see after this scene, as would Ric and Shatty hashing out how Shatty sees Ric and people around them see the pair.

Anyway, X-Factor has been the best book on the market since the first issue, so congratulations. I've loved seeing a slew of my favorites in this title written so well, and you got me to like M a lot for the first time in a long time, and to really like Layla. Well done.

Rahne/Rictor, Rictor/M, and/or Rictor/Siryn developements (pretty please ;) ) I've liked his chemistry with all of them since the start of the book (and from way back with Rahne), and he really should feel the need to affirm his sexuality just now. All together = more chaos and more true to form characterization. (pretty please again?)

Anyway, gratitude for writing my favorite book, and please take good care of so many of my favorites.

I bought Wonder Man but haven't read it yet. I have been looking forward to this series, though.

-catz

Iowa Jim, I feel ya, man. I'm the same way, I just don't read most of Peter's political posts and it goes just fine. Thankfully PAD keeps most of his politics out of his writing and actually displays an unerring ability to give voice to both sides of issues when he does confront them in his writing as opposed to here. I don't think I could ever give up reading PAD but I know that the constant GOP haranguing gets on my nerves too, but this is after all his one public unfettered forum and if it's his wont to talk politics that's his deal, while I wouldn't use it in the same regards I can't fault him for it and just tend not to get involved.

I don't know enough about Rictor and Shatterstar's history for the revelation to have worked completely on me--but it WAS a great scene! But now, PAD, it's time for you to get some of those hot X-babes together...

Here's the history as related to me by another fan, shortdawg:

"In X-Force #43, Rictor and Shatterstar went to a club, Shatterstar freaked out when a girl started grinding on him, and Rictor said he'd help Shatterstar with girls. Nicieza has since stated that his intention was to write a straight Rictor attempting to teach a non-sexual being Shatterstar about women, but since that was his last (or 2nd to last) regular issue, he never followed up on it. It was left ambiguously enough for some think Shatterstar not liking women meant he liked men. I think Rictor offering to help started to get referenced for some reason once other "evidence" turned up. In X-Force #56, it was stated that Siryn missed Warpath and Shatterstar missed Rictor more than they were willing to admit. Notice it says nothing about Rictor's feelings. After being removed before finishing his story, Loeb stated that he did plan to reveal Shatterstar to be gay but didn't plan to do the same with Rictor. Again, some readers took what made print as Rictor and Shatterstar being a couple despite the fact that all it did was compare Shatterstar to someone who wouldn't admit she liked her best friend. Then, Rictor and Shatterstar went on a road trip together."

I really liked the characterizations this week in X-Factor #14. It was nice to see people behaving in understated and realistic ways rather than the exclusively over-the-top shouting matches usually found in comics (though the shouting on M's part was fun as well). Theresa's calm warning to Jamie and that wonderful scene with Guido and his victim's widow were particular high points.

I find myself hoping that Rictor doesn't get his powers back. Sometime the un-powered people that are still a part of the mutants' lives can provide a rich alternate viewpoint of the super heroic goings-on. Stevie Hunter, Tom Corsi, and Nurse Friedlander being cases in point.

Nice issue.

As always, a simple request: more Rahne!

Everybody's hung up on the Rictor/Jamie scene but I liked what was done with Guido and the wife of the man Singularity killed. That was cool. Nice to see an example of real heroism coming not from a powered superhero but just a plain person. The nature of the medium does make one wonder if this is truly the end of it though. And it was nice to see Rahne there making the case for her friend in need.

Wish I had some interest in SHIELD. Just seeing the acronym makes me narcoleptic.

Last issue Rahne looked awful in transitional form but Pablo's human version of Rahne is almost pretty enough to make up for it. After all these years it is still odd to see her showing so much skin. But if a changeling can't change, who can? :)

The bottom line, I guess, is that I can see how things like the "freedom clock" might grate on your nerves. I hope you can also see how the current state of the U.S. and the world, courtesy of Mr. Bush, grates on ours.

For the record (again), the existence Freedom clock does not get on my nerves. The fact that when I had dial-up it caused everything to stop for almost 60 seconds while the java (or whatever it is) loaded, was what I found annoying. Now that I have DSL, it is not as big of a deal.

I find it interesting that it is still there now that the Dems won both sides of Congress. But as PAD pointed out, Bush is still in office, so I understand his perspective.

this is after all his one public unfettered forum and if it's his wont to talk politics that's his deal, while I wouldn't use it in the same regards I can't fault him for it and just tend not to get involved.

Yes, I have avoided getting involved as well lately. I personally think his views are very prevalent in his work as underlying themes -- which is true of any good writer (the same could be said for Orson Scott Card, Stephen R. Donaldson, Terry Brooks, etc.). But his stories themselves are well written and explore the implications of his views, so they usually make for great reading even when I disagree. So I read X-Factor, but not Fallen Angel. I read his Star Trek novels, but not Sir Apropos. (I did read two issues of Fallen Angel and the first Sir Apropos, so my not reading them now comes with at least trying them out.)

Iowa Jim

For the record (again), the existence Freedom clock does not get on my nerves.

Oh, sorry. I just assumed it was one of the things.

I find it interesting that it is still there now that the Dems won both sides of Congress. But as PAD pointed out, Bush is still in office, so I understand his perspective.

Right, and there are ways for the President to get around Congress...recess appointments, for example.

As far as the war goes, if it is indeed unwinnable (and as The Daily Show showed us tonight, Bush has repeatedly stated "we are winning in Iraq" for the last 2 or 3 years, making you wonder just how long you have to be "winning" until you finally achieve victory), and Bush is nevertheless dead set on maintaining a troop presence in Iraq until everything is perfect...well, as I understand it the only thing Congress can do about it is to refuse to put any more money into the war effort, denying the military the money they need to equip and supply the troops and maintain their vehicles and such. You can imagine the backlash if they did that...and maybe I'm not giving Bush enough credit here but I think that even if Congress cut the purse strings he might still stay the course and say "it's THEIR fault that our troops are getting killed because THEY aren't giving us the money to do the job and protect them. It's not MY fault."

I'm sorry, I know you prefer not to talk about this. In any case, I have two guesses why the clock is still there. Either PAD just can't wait for Bush to be out of office (although there is no guarantee the next person will be any better) regardless of how much his power is reduced, or it's measuring the amount of time until we can hope to get out of Iraq. Cause as long as Bush has the final say over what's done with the military, I can't see it happening.

Reason why X-Factor was gold: not one, but two spit-takes. Awesome.

In reverse order WM #1 excellent can't wait to see more. FA #11 Ditto.... looks like mom and her little boy are headed for a head to head cofrontation. X-Factor #14 I can't remember the time when I enjoyed a book more. Funny, thought provoking, brilliant.... and my all time favorite word used in context, "Defenestrate"!!!

PAD you are the best period no questions end of story. As long as you write 'em I'll read 'em!

If anybody's wondering and still hasn't looked it up (as I just did), "defenestrate" means specifically "to throw out of a window." :D

While I've loved your writing on X-Factor, the art in the earlier issues was driving me crazy! (I still have problems reading your first run of X-Factor because of Larry Stroman.) However, tell your editor to keep Pablo Raimondi on the payroll. I liked him on Madrox and I like him now.

Also, put me down for a vote towards X-Factor being one of the World War Hulk crossover titles.

I finally read X-Factor #14 (I'm about three weeks behind in my comic reading, although the gap is gradually closing... I used to be five weeks behind), and I think it's my favorite issue so far. It's always been the character-driven stuff that interests me most about superhero comics (fight scenes tend to bore me), and this issue (and the last one) had great characterizations all around.

I especially loved the Madrox-Rictor scene. Forget Siryn and M, Jamie and Rictor clearly belong together. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part, but their conversation almost "sounded" the way people talk when they're interested in each other and are feeling each other out (especially on Rictor's end of the coversation... why else would he say, "But, hey, at least y'know Pietro and I aren't an item, so that's good, right?"). And that joke Jamie made last issue about not kicking Rictor out of his bed was rather telling. Madrox's sexuality has always been something of a subtle question mark. I always got kind of a gay vibe from him in Fallen Angels and the original X-Factor series, and Grant Morrison made jokes about him fooling around with himself (which, come on, you know he must do), which probably means that any homosexual tendencies he has are a product of narcissism. Heck, considering his very nature, he's probably equal parts pansexual and asexual (meaning, he could go any way, but chooses none of the above, just like with everything else in his life). But I'm getting needlesly Freudian here.

"X-Factor was okay, but this book seroiusly needs some direction. Every issue feels like it's making it up as it goes."

Funny, that's how I feel about most comics EXCEPT X-Factor. Peter writes comics the way I think they should be written, by letting the stories grow from the needs of the characters. There is very clearly a direction, more so than most superhero comics.

"If anybody's wondering and still hasn't looked it up (as I just did), "defenestrate" means specifically "to throw out of a window.""

Oddly, my dictionary lists "defenestration" as a word, but not "defenestrate."

It's a shame that the artwork in Wonder Man is that bad, that it's driving so many people away. Admittedly, I didn't buy it, either... not because of the artwork (haven't seen it, to be honest) but because I promised myself I would stick to my self-imposed comic book budget and not buy any more mini-series, unless they're directly related to an ongoing series I'm reading. And anyway, I've always hated Wonder Man.