WHAT’CHA WANNA KNOW?

I’m going to start up another open thread for questions. Way it works is, you put your questions to me and then, using the edit function, I’ll be responding to them directly in the thread. Anything you’re interested in regarding my past, present or future projects, general thoughts about industry-related stuff, etc. And please, guys: We’ve already done the oh-so-witty “What’s the average wing speed of an unladen swallow?” or “Who wrote the book of love?” or abstract scientific theory questions. Just, y’know, save us the cleverness this go-around, ‘kay?

PAD

Okay, that’s enough of that. It’ll take a while to hack through these, so there’ll be less blog activity from me. And guys, next time…one question each, okay?

UPDATE 10/25–Okay, THAT’S done. Geez.

124 comments on “WHAT’CHA WANNA KNOW?

  1. Thanks for the opportunity, Peter. Just a simple one, really:

    Do you have any ‘crutches’ or ‘peeves’ when it comes to writing that help the daily X number of pages to flow easier? (Not meaning drugs/vitamins; I have a hard time writing without music in the background and a bottle of Dew in easy reach, f’r instance.)

    No, not really.

    And for that matter, do you set a particular page goal for yourself per day, or just sort of take it as it comes?

    Try to take it as it comes. I know some days it’ll flow easily and I’ll get a lot done; other times, much less so. But I know that it all evens out.

    Thanks again!

  2. What happened to the plan to archive BIDs here?

    Uhm…Glenn?

    How long has it been since a month passed during which neither DC nor Marvel published a book written by you?

    I really don’t know. I’m trying to think if there was a gap between when I stopped writing HULK and started writing SUPERGIRL. If not, then it’s the month before HULK #331 came out.

    Are there any current writers or pencillers with comparable durations of continuous publication?

    Don’t know. Probably.

  3. I’ve been a big fan of your star trek novels for over ten years now. If I were to send you a copy of one of them with a self-addressed stamped envelope, would you be so kind as to sign it for me? If so, thanks a billion, (and please let me know the details). If you’re too busy, I fully understand, and appreciate the years of entertainment and thought you’ve provided us all!

    Sure. Send it to PO Box 239, Bayport, NY 11705.

    Thanks,

    Michael

  4. 1. Does the number of questions in any way make you think this seemed like a much better idea at the time?

    God, yes.

    2. If no, would you like me to start polling people to come with with random extra questions?

    Please, don’t

    3. When visiting Jacksonville, have you ever been to Chamblin Bookmine, one of the single largest used bookstores I’ve ever seen? Admittedly, I’m from the south; they may outdo it up north.

    Don’t think I’ve been to Jacksonville, but I will be next year, so maybe I will then.

  5. Out of curiosity, when you were writing The Hulk were you at all influenced by the Bill Bixby TV series? I ask because I was recently watching the DVD of the series pilot, which also included an episode called “Married.” Married included scenes where Banner–under hypnosis–interacts with the Hulk. This reminded me somewhat of your run on the book & made me wonder if the series was an influence on your Hulk.

    No, not really. If I’d been really influenced by the Bixby series, the book would have pretty much read the way it does now. Which it didn’t.

  6. HA! Made it before the cutoff. Two real quick, simple q’s.

    First, when re-reading Being Human, Burgy is asked the number of Jeffries Tubes on the ship. His response was 42. As a result, I wish to ask: concious Douglas Adams reference or not?

    Conscious.

    Two: Did you ever read the book, “The Silent Gondoliers?” It’s a 100-pg book by S. Morganstern (aka William Goldman, in his pen name under which he wrote “The Princess Bride”). If so, any thought?

    I read it years ago and liked it at the time. I don’t remember much about the details.

    Thanks for this opportunity,

    CHris

  7. 1. Was the death of Betty Banner your idea, or one of the things which led you to quit writing The Incredible Hulk? (And was returning to the Hulk ever an option, since the “return to savage Hulk” idea was relatively quickly cast aside?) And what was the cause of that death, as far as you were concerned?

    It was Bobbie Chase’s suggestion which I took and ran with. But after I wrote the script in which she died, I was told that I was to take the opportunity to have the Hulk go completely berserk and spend issue after issue smashing stuff for 22 pages…which seemed wrong and pointless and trivialized the whole thing. And when I wouldn’t write it that way, they told me I had #467 to wrap my run, and don’t let the door hit me on the way out. Cause of death? The Abomination poisoned her while she was in New York.

    2.To pick up on a question someone else asked – was that white cat just Adam Kubert’s little signature, or – did it eat the mouse which was hosting the Leader’s consciousness (except when he briefly seemed to possess Omnibus)? And then the Leader possessed the cat? (And eventually the Leader would’ve possessed a cow, and looked for an old lady to swollow the cow?)

    Adam’s signature, which I then started working into the story in minor ways just for laughs.

    3.Do you have a favorite incarnation of the Hulk from your time on the series?

    Still fond of Mr. Fixit, even though the readers hated it at the time (and now tons of people tell me that was their favorite Hulk incarnation. People always seemed to bìŧçh about what I was doing while I was doing it, and then embraced it years later.

    Thank you for your time (assuming you possibly could have time to answer all of these questions, in addition to everything else you have going on); it’s a generous offer to make.

  8. Had Supergirl been given a reprieve and was still ongoing, where would Linda Danvers be now?

    San Francisco.

    Anychance DC will let you write a story where Linda beats the snot out of Cir-El?

    Probably not.

    What was Eddie Berganza smoking when he approved the introduction of Cir-El?

    Cuban Cigars.

    Will he share or has he bogarted it?

    Don’t know.

  9. OK, here’s one that probably belongs on the continuuum with “where do you get your ideas from?”

    Deadlines.

    How do you find your drive?

    I think I need new shock absorbers. Car’s bouncing like a son of a gun.

    I ask because I’m still trying to find for myself that task, issue, calling, etc. where intellectual interest and emotional issues combine to produce jet fuel.

    Seriously, if what you’re talking about is being a writer and you have to search that hard, something’s wrong. You write not because you look around at various options and decide, Oh, this might be for me. You write because NOT writing simply isn’t an option. You are compelled to do so, get itchy when you’re not.

    What ignites a Peter David, a J.M. Straczynski, or a Harlan Ellison — and why do I (and others?) seem to be banging pieces of flint together without anything catching?

    Because you’re living on the world, not in it. If you are truly in the world, then it is impossible not to find something that ignites your passion. You have to read newspapers, watch TV news, interact with people, let it get under your skin, get worked up about something, and decide to do something about it. John Adams said there are only two kinds of people of worth in this world: Those with the commitment, and those who require the commitment of others. If you want to be of worth, decide which one you are, and take it from there. If you don’t, well…unfortunately, you’ll have plenty of company.

  10. 1. Ever thought about doing a project with my other favorite writer, Neil Gaiman?

    Sure.

    2. What do you think of David Mack’s work (Daredevil, Kabuki)? He’s from my area, just thought I’d might ask.

    Haven’t seen that much of it.

    3. What do you think of Stargate: SG1? It’s a long-running sci-fi show but it seems to be off in its own little corner, not getting much attention from everybody.

    Don’t watch it.

    4. What’s your favorite animated version of a comic book? (Justice League, Batman, Superman, Spiderman, whatever)

    Of all time? Batman: The Animated Series.

    Thanks very much 🙂

  11. Peter,

    I have been a big fan of yours for years, but I have two questions for you.

    1) There have been many common themes I’ve noticed in your works over the years, most notably in the Trek books. One of them is the continued presence of at least one strong female character-very cool. The other though is a loss that tends to be profound for the main character or characters of the piece. Two examples of this include Q as well as a number of other characters in “Q-Squared” and Picard in “Vendetta.” Do you feel that loss is the most vivid way to affect a change of character, and if not do you have a preferred method?

    I don’t think of loss as a “method” so much as that it’s something that happens to a character and they have to deal with it. What makes writing interesting is change, be it birth, death, change of focus or life direction, all of which I’ve explored.

    2) You get the call from Paramount. They’ve made a deal with any production company and/or studio, and have been given the option of bringing over one character or set of characters into a Trek novel. They want you to write it, and you get to choose the crossover. Is there any dream story/fanboy crossover sotry you’d love to write?

    I finally get to write that Star Trek/Peanuts crossover I’ve dreamt about.

    Thanks for this opportunity, and I await the next works eagerly.

  12. Any truth to the ad that you will be at the Motor City Comic Con in Novi, MI in May of next year?

    Thanks,

    Brian

    Yes. Boy, you’re the second person to ask. Does Motor City have a reputation for false advertising or something?

  13. response to Chris’…

    Two: Did you ever read the book, “The Silent Gondoliers?” It’s a 100-pg book by S. Morganstern (aka William Goldman, in his pen name under which he wrote “The Princess Bride”). If so, any thought?

    S. Morganstern actually wrote the original the princess bride and its sequal in floren and was later translated into english (among others). William Goldman rewrote it and the movie was made and he produced the novelised book of the movie. Goldman wanted to write the sequal but the morganstern estate didn’t like the idea and asked stephen king to. goldman was miffed and talked to king who told him to go to floren and see the place for himself and to write the first chapter – which is printed at the end of the anniversary printing of the princess bride retold by goldman. i have heard nothing as to what is happening to the remaining chapters but believe the book to be entitled – buttercup’s baby.

    all the above is stated in the anniversary printing of the princess bride retold by william goldman (along with his own comments amongst the story as asides and his introduction which covered his memories of his life and the movie – the princess bride)

    Uh, dude…you ARE aware that’s a total hose, right? That there is not, and never was, an S. Morgenstern? That the whole thing is an invention of William Goldman? If you didn’t know this, I’m really sorry to burst your bubble, but trust me on this: I had dinner with the guy, I know what I’m talking about. The whole Morgenstern thing was a device Goldman invented to tell the story. Goldman’s the author. Always was. If nothing else, the tip-off was when Vizzini said, “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The best known of course is, ‘Never get involved in a land war in Asia!’ which was intended as a Vietnam reference…which Morgernstern, obviously, wouldn’t have written.

  14. Peter,

    As someone who writes both science fiction and fantasy, what aspects of each do you think make them different from one another? Why are they lumped together?

    The difference is that science fiction is a logical extrapolation of current scientific thinking, whereas fantasy is pretty much anything goes (within reason.) People lump them together because both of them are set in worlds or environments that do not, and never have, existed.

    Janet

  15. I know I run the risk of being flamed, but in New Frontier, every time Morgan Primus shows up someplace new it seems like everyone recognizes her (Riker, Picard, Scotty). Who is she supposed to be, or who does she look like?

    The implication is that she looks like Majel Barrett…which would mean that Riker and Picard recognize her as Lwaxana Troi and Scotty knows her as Christine Chapel…or even as Number One. Plus she’d sound like the ship’s computer. However that’s never been officially copped to.

  16. Peter, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. I know your time is very valuable to you, and it means a lot, at least to me, that you are willing to answer our questions.

    There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask a frequently-published writer like yourself for several years now: from what little I understand about writing, you get paid primarily by the number of books you sell. I was wondering what your opinion is of libraries stocking newer pop culture, sci-fi, and fantasy books like the ones you write? By allowing potential buyers to simply borrow your books instead of buy them, do you think libraries cost you income?

    That’s not exactly right. I get paid what’s called an advance, and then a certain percentage of the cover price of each book is applied against that advance. Eventually, if I’m lucky, the book “earns out” and then I get more money on top of that. The books that libraries buy count toward those advances, plus they expose readers to my work who might not have seen it…and may then go out and start buying copies off the stands. So no, I don’t have a problem with it.

    Elie

  17. Well, besides heaping praise upon you(love your comics and novels), someone already asked the two questions I had in mind (will there be another BID collection, and what was the deal with Sweeney in Trek and Hulk, anyway? He was keen… did you have further plans?)- I came up with something on the fly…

    What’s the Pantheon up to, hmmm? I’d like to see ’em make a comeback of some kind. Especially Paris, Hector, Cassie and Ulysses.

    I doubt you’ll ever see them again.

    Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions!

    PS- My girlfriend and I were just going through some of our old back issues, and came across your great Peter Parker run. Good stuff.

  18. I know I run the risk of being flamed, but in New Frontier, every time Morgan Primus shows up someplace new it seems like everyone recognizes her (Riker, Picard, Scotty). Who is she supposed to be, or who does she look like?

    She is (apparently) Christine Chapel, from the original series, which is why Scotty recognizes her.

    Chapel was played by Majel Barrett, who also played Lwaxana Troi, which is why Picard and Riker recognize her.

    Majel also did the voices for all the Starfleet computers in the various series, so that connection has also been used.

  19. Any chance we could see Calhoun’s son Xyon show up again?

    Yes, Xyon shows up next year.

  20. With all the new pokes the institution seems to be raining down on the comic industry if you woke up tomorrow to find yourself an outlaw in an outlaw business would ya’ thumb your nose at BIG BROTHER and just keep writing comics and shipping them out to us via the underground?

    No.

  21. batmansero–

    You are correct in everything except in one detail (I actually have that exact edition of TPB). However, in the audio commentary of the special edition DVD of TPB, Goldman admits to creating the scene where Westley dies, and that he wrote the book. I’m sorry to say this, but there really is no S. Morganstern. Even the Library of Congress lists this as a pen name for Mr. Goldman. He’s just a front that Goldman hides behind. Besides, look at the passage you are citing: about Goldman visiting the country of Florin, which Morganstern claims to come from, but which never existed! Yet he claims in one of his many hillarious introductions that he visited all the places in Florin and Guilder where the various actions occurred. But the country doesn’t exist. As for Stephen King, he was interviewed and asked about those comment in the introduction to BB, and he claims that he and Goldman are friends, so Goldman threw him in there as a joke. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Goldman’s claims of abridgement are fake–he penned the whole thing. As are his statements about his family–he claims to have an obese son, but in reality he has two daughters. Coincidentally, he asked them what he should write his next book about. One said, “Princesses,” the other said “brides.” And thus TPB was born. So while Goldman is one of the best and most brilliant authors alive, and his stories pure genius, his claims about Mr. Morganstern are fictitious.

    Chris

    “We are both men of action; lies do not become us.”

  22. Back on topic, one other question: in “The Rift,” you play with the fact that the First Officer (played by Majel Roddenbury) was never given a name, just called “Number One.” When you wrote the story, were you forbidden from giving an arbitrary name, or is there an actual name that only the higher-ups at Paramount know?

    They didn’t have to forbid it. I just figured I didn’t have the authority to establish it and so didn’t even try.

    Just curious,

    Chris

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