PeterDavid.net

Jae Lee will be the penciller for HULK #82, a moody, self-contained tragic love story entitled “Dear Tricia.”

PAD

Word is that there will be a fatality on tonight’s “Desperate Housewives.” Last time I tried to figure out who was going to croak on a show, it was the series ender of “Angel” and Wesley was the guy I considered most likely to survive. So with that brilliant track record, let’s see:

EDIE: (One to one odds) The heavy favorite. Last seen having drinks with Richard Roundtree who may or may not have had instructions to kill her. Plus the finger could then be pointed at the long-suffering Susan since her next door neighbor knows about their competition over the plumber.

GABRIELLE: (Five to one odds) First runner up. If her husband finds out about her affair, and puts any of the responsibility for his mother’s accident on Gabrielle, she’s in serious trouble.

As for the rest, frankly, I don’t think any of them at risk because they all have kids and I don’t think the producers want any more motherless children on the show: One’s enough since Mary Alice died in the pilot. Nevertheless…

SUSAN: (Twenty to one) The perpetual hard luck case of the Housewives. I could see her accidentally taking a bullet meant for someone else.

BREE: (Fifty to one) If Carlos discovers her son was responsible for the car accident with his mother, a brawl could ensue in which she accidentally is killed. But I think it’s unlikely.

LYNETTE: (One hundred to one) I don’t know: Can you fatally overdose on that medicine for ADD?

PAD

I have the DVD for Spidey 2 (don’t ask how) and found some fun Easter Eggs. They may already well have been posted elsewhere, but if not, here they are. Both that I’ve found are on Disk 2:

Click on the “Gallery section. Once you get to the screen that talks about Alex Ross being commissioned, click “Up” until the little spider-sense lines emerge from Spidey’s head on the left. Hit “enter” and it takes you to an out take of Alfred Molina, in full Ock gear, singing the first verse of “Rich Man” while the tentacles move in synch.

Click on the “Making the Amazing” section. When you’re in the menu, click “Up” and it causes Doc’s right arm (his right, left on the screen) to light up green. Hit “enter” and it takes you to a behind-the-scenes rehearsal sequence with Sam Raimi and Molina that’s so funny, I don’t want to spoil it.

PAD

So I had eight out of ten in the top ten, had Columbo in the right rank, had the Fonz and Homer in the right order, and had the top three but in the wrong order.

I can see the argument for putting Archie first, because the show was so groundbreaking. On the other hand, considering “I Love Lucy” essentially invented the format now used for filming sitcoms, had Lucy married to her real life husband over the strenuous objections of the network executives (who wanted a different actor), and featured the first pregnancy and delivery on sitcoms, I think we’ve come to take for granted just how groundbreaking “I Love Lucy” was. And the Honeymooners was…what? Forty nine episodes? It’s a sprinter versus a marathon runner. So I still think my top three was better.

However, let us consider something…

Greatest character of all time was an unrelenting bigot. Greatest character number two was a perpetual loser who constantly threatened to beat his wife. Number three had no job and lived only to try and horn in on her husband’s career.

If you tried to bring any of these characters to life now? Wouldn’t even get a pick up for a script. The fact that the characters had immense shadings and were lovable at the core wouldn’t enter into it. Especially Archie. An unrelenting bigot on a comedy using the language he does? On a drama, yes (see: Sipowitz). But a sitcom? uh uh.

PAD

I don’t know if anyone else out there is watching this thing on Bravo about the Top 100 Best TV characters of all time, which has been airing each installment at 9 PM EST. I haven’t the faintest idea who actually came up with this list, but it’s been a lot of fun to watch. Tomorrow they’ll be having the top 20. Here’s my top 10:

1) Lucy Ricardo
2) Archie Bunker
3) Ralph Kramden
4) Captain James T. Kirk
5) Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli
6) Homer Simpson
7) Lieutenant Columbo
Cosmo Kramer
9) J.R. Ewing
10) Captain Frank Furillo

I’ve just finished the first book in “The Hidden Earth” series for Tor. It’s entitled “Darkness of the Light.” My guess is that it’ll be out sometime in 2006.

More on details when I feel like it.

PAD

In the brilliant “Adventures of Baron Munchausen,” the Prefect (Jonathan Pryce) of a city under siege by the Turks has brought before him a valiant, heroic soldier (Sting) who singlehandedly took out several Turkish cannons. The Prefect promptly has the stunned soldier executed, contending that his heroism served as a bad example for lesser soldiers who would be incapable of duplicating his feats.

And you laugh at the satirical content of the notion…until you read the following from the preferred news publication of peterdavid.net, “The Week”:

“A California sixth grader was suspended from school for performing cartwheels and handstands in the schoolyard. Eleven-year-old Deirdre Faegre ‘created an unsafe situation for herself and others,’ said principal Denise Patton. She explained that other, less skilled kids might try to imitate Faegre and get hurt. In that case, Faegre said, the school should also ban basketball.”

Suddenly it’s not as funny anymore.

PAD

So I’ve looked at photographs of this grilled cheese sandwich that sold for $22,000 because it’s alleged to have an image of the Virgin Mary in it.

There’s an image there, to be sure. But since no one knows what the Virgin Mary looks like, why is there an automatic assumption it’s her?

Personally, I think it looks like Greta Garbo. Anyone else have an opinion on who she looks like?

PAD

February 14, 1992

(more…)

February 7, 1992

(more…)

Third of the five issue limited series as Jamie pursues one case in Chicago while his dupe, along with Wolfsbane and Strong Guy, try to keep the lid on cases in Mutant Town. Whad’ja think?

PAD

April 12, 1996

And now, due to popular demand (well, a couple of people have asked) here’s an installment of a brand new features which I call:

WEIRD TWISTED REASONABLY TRUE COMIC BOOK STORIES

Yes, what WTRTCBS represents are weird stories of stuff I’ve done in comic books, “reasonably true” because they’re being reported to the best of my recollection.

And what’s the subject of this installment? Well, as it so happens I’ve gotten several inquiries recently, both postal and electronic, about my unexpected involvement with what was–at the time–one of the most successful mysteries Marvel had going. It was in the Spider-Man titles, back when the words, “Who do you think he really is?” applied to someone other than the title character.

In this instance, the question referred to a Spidey villain whose true identity had fired the imaginations of Marvel readers (this was back when Marvel fired something other than editorial personnel.) And that villain was:

THE HOBGOBLIN

Yes, the Hobgoblin…a villain whose identity was revealed to fans in one of the most bizarre twists that Marvel ever embarked upon. Stunned fans demanded, “Why the hell did you do it this way?” And I shall now answer that.

(more…)

According to Bob Greenberger’s website (which you can go read for yourself by pressing on the link over on the right), DC is going back to press on the first “Fallen Angel” trade paperback. There’s no more sure indicator of rising interest than that. Now we can only hope it presages a second collection of the obscenely difficult-to-find issues 7-12.

Keep the word getting out there, folks. Issues 19 and 20 are the make-or-break, and we need to take the two month delay and turn it to our advantage. Remember, if every retailer out there orders exactly one copy more than he’s carrying now (and for a goodly number that would mean basically ordering a single shelf copy since many are only ordering sub copies) that alone will get the job done.

PAD

I have signed with IDT Entertainment to write the screenplay for a new GR theatrical project, “Gene Roddenberry’s ‘Starpoint Academy.’” An original Gene Roddenberry concept in conjunction with Majel Roddenberry, “Starpoint Academy” is intended as a full length animated CGI film. IDT exec and Silver Bullet contributor Clifford Meth will be acting as story editor on the project, which is also being seen as a potential springboard for graphic novels and other venues.

I’ll be making more story details and other information public as the script moves further along.

PAD

January 31, 1992

(more…)

In a shocking historical moment, one of the two Thanksgiving turkeys pardoned by President George W. Bush has turned in his resignation, preferring to die rather than be pardoned by someone who refused to pardon human beings in Texas. The turkey, “Biscuits,” was promptly drafted and is being shipped to Iraq.

The other turkey, “Gravy,” pledged eternal fealty to Bush and is considered front runner to the first available seat on the Supreme Court.

We’ll be stuffing more into this story as it develops.

PAD

Sears and K-Mart are going to be merging. The only reasonable thing to call the combined entity? Has to be “S-Mart.”

Shop Smart. Shop S-Mart.

I wonder if Bruce Campbell has gotten the call to be the new spokesman.

PAD

January 24, 1992

(more…)

That Dave Lopez and Fernando Blanco, thinking that “Fallen Angel” wasn’t going past #18, picked up some work that, it turned out, they then had to swing into before they could get to the new issues of “Fallen Angel.” So several weeks ago it was decided that #19 would ship in March, not February…and no one mentioned it to me.

So out come the February solicits and guess who’s left going, “What the #*@%?!”

Oh well. I suppose the upside of this is two-fold. First off, you come out with a book on time, month in, month out, and fans take you for granted. Get delayed and suddenly everyone’s talking about you. And second, it gives us that much more time to get the word out about “Sachs and Violens” showing up for a two-issue guest stint. When I get some pages in of Dave and Fernando’s rendition, I’ll post them here.

PAD

January 17, 1992

(more…)