PeterDavid.net

Check it out, kiddies: Costume pic, presumably of Halle Barrie. I don’t have any verification that this is the actual ensemble, but it’s interesting to look at:

http://superherohype.com/nextraimages/hallecat.jpg

On the one hand it doesn’t look like any Catwoman ensemble I’ve ever seen. On the other hand, I can think of any number of artists who, if given a free hand, might indeed design something like that for Selina. What artist’s style does it remind YOU of?

PAD

At the moment I’m hard at work on the novelization for Spider-Man 2. The deadline on this one is insanely tight; I’m trying to get through ten script pages a day, which would give me a rough draft of the script/book itself in two weeks. Then, of course, comes all the fun of developing new scenes to flesh it out to manuscript length.

PAD

A contributor to a weblist I’m on brought up the following new spam making the rounds:

We have just charged your credit card for money laundry service in amount

>of $234.65 (because you are either child pornography webmaster or deal

>with dirty money, which require us to laundry them and then send to your

>checking account). If you feel this transaction was made by our mistake,

>please press “No”. If you confirm this transaction, please press “Yes”

>and fill in the form below.

>

>

>

> ENTER YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER HERE:

>

>

> ENTER YOUR CREDIT CARD EXPIRATION

It was opined that anyone who falls for this one deserves what they get. I tend to agree.

PAD

“I finally figured out why the theme to Teen Titans sounds familiar. It’s an anime version of Secret Agent Man.” She’s right.

This has been pointed out in other on-line sources such as “All the Rage,” so it’s not like I’m singling out John Byrne on this one. I just find it too hilarious not to comment on.

John has declared that the great scourge of the internet is mind-reading: i.e., people who write posts in which they opine as to what was going through someone’s mind when they said or did something. And he is exhorting anyone on his board to try and stomp this practice out whenever possible.

See, I would have thought the great scourge of the internet was spam. But apparently this is right up there.

The reason I find it so funny is that John, on any number of occasions, has ascribed the most mean-spirited, nasty motivations to things I’ve said and done. I wrote something praiseworthy of his work? According to John, I did so not because I genuinely enjoyed the work, but because I was fishing for compliments from him. And so on.

I wonder if his supporters will, in the future, scrupulously hold him to the standard of conduct which he has now set.

PAD

Just came back from seeing “Underworld,” a film that could well have (indeed, perhaps should have) been filmed in black and white. It was like watching the world’s longest “Obession by Calvin Klein” ad.

The film is a curious paradox of moving along both briskly and slowly. The story pacing is quick enough, but the problem is that the audience forms no emotional connection with the protagonists. Selene, the vampire (Kate Beckinsale) is written, directed, filmed and edited to be remote, so it’s hard to care about what happens to her. The way into the film could have been through Michael (Scott Speedman), the human who attracts Selene’s attention because he in turn is being sought by werewolves (or “Lycans”). But the movie’s told from her POV, not his, and beyond the fact that he’s an intern, we don’t know anything about him…or, at the very least, enough to make us care if he’s bitten by werewolves or vampires or the acting bug.

The way to make the film work would have been to tell the entire story from Michael’s point of view and learn about the warfare between vamps and werewolves through him. Or, if it’s to be Selene’s story, intercut between modern day and her origins, like “Highlander,” which took this basic “mysterious group of people trying to kill each other” bit and did it far better. As it is, we’re hit with a bunch of emotional reveals in the last fifteen minutes of the movie that are designed to throw our perceptions of the characters on our ears. But instead of being emotionally shocking, as the filmmakers presumably hoped, you just go, “Oh. Okay. That’s interesting.”

A sequel is built into the conclusion. Joy.

PAD

Quite a few people are asking me the order in which the latest “New Frontier” novels (which should be on the stands just about any time) should be read. They are as follows:

“Gods Above,” which is the long-awaited conclusion to “Being Human.” The bad news is, it ends on a cliffhanger. The good news is, you don’t have to wait two years for the conclusion because the continuation, “Stone And Anvil,” should be out by the time you finish reading “Being Human.”

The short story collection, “No Limits,” can be read at any time because most of the stories are set before the crew of the Excalibur came together. The one exception to that is the story I wrote which is set immediately after “Restoration.” But it’s been a couple of years, so I’m hoping you’ve gotten around to reading that one by now. Thus it isn’t a problem.

PAD

Word is that the BBC is going to be returning Doctor Who to the small screen after a ten year sabbatical. No details of the show are available.

The natural question, of course, is…who do you cast? I personally would have been happy with several of the Doctors we saw in “Curse of the Fatal Death,” including Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant. Doubtful, however, that either would commit.

So who would I want to see in the role? Y’ask me, only one guy for the job:

Anthony Stewart Head.

He can handle everything from comedy to action to involved exposition. It’s as if Giles has been a seven year warm-up for the role.

Bring in Julia Sawalha, who played the companion in “Fatal Death,” and you’re good to go.

Runner up to Tony Head would be Chris Barrie. But ASH is definitely the way to go.

PAD

Well, we saw the debut of the first Aaron Sorkin-less “West Wing” last night.

Although the show no longer feels like a rat-a-tat-tat dialogue 1930’s-esque film, it’s still a good drama. The continuation of the search for the President’s daughter, the growing strain on the President’s family (including the arrival of one of his never-before-seen elder daughters), and the grudging acknowledgment amongst the staff that fill-in president Walken came across in his first news conference as “presidential” (and the devastating observation that Sheen’s Bartlett seemed “so small”) made for compelling viewing.

I’ve never understood, though, the criticism over the show being “too liberal.” The series was obviously Sorkin’s idealized Democratic White House. Yes, it didn’t bear resemblance to reality. So what? “Marcus Welby” and many other medical series portrayed idealized versions of doctors that bore no resemblance to typical overworked doctors normally encountered in our day to day lives. John McClane of the “Die Hard” films is a super-cop. Rambo is a super-soldier. But, what? We draw the line at presenting a “super-Democrat commander-in-chief”–tough minded, literate, knowledgable, confident, eloquent. That’s just too over the top for people to accept, and Sorkin is lambasted for it? Sorry. Just not seeing it.

PAD

Caroline is presently in what I call the Wile E Coyote stage of child development.

You know how the coyote can run past the edge of a cliff and keep going, but doesn’t fall until he notices he’s standing in mid-air, at which point gravity takes hold?

Well, Caroline is at the same point when it comes to standing. She’ll be standing in her playpen by means of holding onto the edge and get interested in some toy. She’ll reach down and pick it up. Now she’s gripping the playpen with one hand and examining the toy in the other. At some point invariably she’ll release her grip and start playing with the toy with two hands, oblivious to the fact that she’s standing. And suddenly she’ll blink and look down, realize what she’s doing…and promptly fall.

My guess is she’ll be walking within a month, at which point–with all the books on the shelves–we’re well and truly screwed.

PAD

This from Gwen:

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

The interrupting dyslexic Jew.

The interrupting dyslex–?

Yo.

Well, THAT was exciting.

(more…)

I’ll be at New York is Book Country tomorrow, signing from 2-3 PM at the booth being sponsored by Midtown Comics and Marvel Comics. It’s at 49th and 5th.

And in the morning, I’ll be checking out (and I suggest you do so if you can) the Broadway Flea Market over in Shubert Alley. Every year many shows and cast members turn out to sell all manner of wares in order to raise money for AIDS research. It’s from 10AM to 7 PM.

PAD

Today be “Talk Like a Pirate Day,” matey. In honor of that, we actually watched “Survivor: Pearl Island,” ye scaborous dogs. We be liking Rupert, because he’s big and bearded and named “Rupert” and he’s piratical by nature, ye bilge rats.

Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!

PAD

Here on Long Island, Tropical Storm (nee Hurricane) Isabel has been causing some fairly high winds to blow, but otherwise the weather doesn’t suck too badly. Actually, I kind of liked Jon Stewart’s
COMMENT: “A hurricane. After everything we’ve been through in the past two years, we say: Bring it on, bitch. We’re looking forward to it. It’ll wash the anthrax off everything. New York: Come for the anthrax, stay for the hurricane.”

Why? What did *you* think the subject header was about?

PAD

Captain Marvel #14 is out today. Here’s your chance to contribute to the new lettercol. I’ve already turned in the one slated for issue #15 and am working on #16.

PAD

General Wesley Clark is supposedly about to declare candidacy for president.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you could clock with an egg timer how long before he starts getting asked about “Don’t ask, don’t tell” and the entire subject of gays in the military.

PAD

I will be appearing at New York is Book Country, an annual celebration of the publishing industry, this Sunday, September 21. Every year, 5th Avenue is shut down between 45th and 54th Street and is transformed into a street fair where every major publisher (and many of the minor ones, plus a number of retailers) show up to publicize their line. Many celebrities appear to promote their work (this year you’ll be able to get books autographed by such folks as Joel Grey and John Lithgow). And this year it’s an absolute haven for comic book fans. Appearing at various booths will be Neil Gaiman, Kyle Baker, Doug Moench, Ted Rall, Jim Lee, and many others.

I’ll be at the Midtown Comics booth at 49th and 5th from 2 to 3 PM. Stop by, buy stuff, get things signed.

PAD

“Jeff” writing as “Gummo12″ wrote to inform me that Berke Breathed’s “Opus” will be returning to comics pages in November. More can be found at his website at http://www.berkebreathed.com.

I can’t say I’m surprised. This is a tough time for a cartoonist with political interests to remain silent.

PAD

Every time I see ads for “Underworld,” I keep thinking it’s for “Birds of Prey.” Am I the only one?

PAD