The aftermath of the “Secret Invasion” crossovers, Darwin in more trouble, and my latest YA novel. Whad’ja think?
UPDATED: I didn’t realize “Fallen Angel” was out this week, so I’ve added it to the list.
PAD
The aftermath of the “Secret Invasion” crossovers, Darwin in more trouble, and my latest YA novel. Whad’ja think?
UPDATED: I didn’t realize “Fallen Angel” was out this week, so I’ve added it to the list.
PAD
• 
Don’t know about any of them, but I will say that this week’s “Fallen Angel” ROCKED! I can’t wait to see how this whole thing plays out.
Though I don’t know why, but I’m getting a feeling that with this current storyline’s conclusion “FA” will cease to be. Is that going to be the case, PAD?
No, “Fallen Angel” will continue. But there will be long-term impact as a result of the war. It would be dishonest to have the status quo go right back to normal.
PAD
Could you please explain to me why it’s unlikely that this Longshot is a Skrull? I think he’s a Skrull like the other one.
(Nah, just kidding.)
X-Factor was pretty dámņ good, as usual. I know that people haven’t had very nice things to say about Larry Stroman’s art, including myself sometimes, but with this latest issue the art has either gotten better or it’s growing on me. So no complaints there.
Longshot acted just right IMO. Nice balance between brains (like him being able to explain why it was unlikely he was a Skrull) and ignorance (like him not knowing what a “šlûŧ” was. I thought the exchange with Guido about asking She-Hulk was one of the issue’s funniest moments). At the end there I wondered whether he might’ve been a little bit too merciless, but I can certainly understand why he’d be tempted to let Darwin’s pop get suffocated by the dupe. Longshot’s been a nice guy in most of the stories I’ve read, but even he’ll get pìššëd øff after seeing certain things.
I wasn’t aware of Longshot’s powers causing people to lust after him all the time (in retrospect, it’s kind of surprising that Dazzler and Rogue were the only ones fighting over him back in the day) or of him being able to “read” objects. If he uses those two more often than he has in other books, it’ll make him more useful and make things in general more interesting.
(One of Jamie’s dupes ought to fall in love with him sooner or later.)
One thing I was unclear on: Longshot obviously has gaps in his memory, but he seemed to recognize some or most of the X-Factor members. I wondered when he re-learned about them.
In She-Hulk, good fight between Kl’rt and Jen first of all. Kl’rt doesn’t always get much respect, since he’s screwed up so often in the past, so it made sense for Jen to taunt him about being unable to effectively use any of his powers to dodge that boulder. Then, of course, he went invisible and pretty much handed Jen her ášš, which I also liked because one-sided fights are boring.
It was good to finally find out what the deal was with Jazinda, too, and seeing that whatever else Kl’rt may be, he is not the sort of guy who will let his child be executed. Not even by the Talisman. If only he were willing to reconcile with her.
Here’s the part that amazed me, though. Jaz and Nogor are underwater. Jaz turns into a fish. Nogor turns into a shark…and tries to EAT her! WTF?! Isn’t that cannibalism and therefore kind of, y’know, sick? Even by Skrull standards (I’m only assuming here, since I’m no expert on Skrulls)? I mean, the Skrull Kill Krew eating Skrull meat was pretty disgusting but at least they did it by accident.
This last question is unrelated to the SI tie-in, but it’s something I’ve been wondering for a while. When is that Behemoth guy (formerly known as Man-Elephant) going to show up?
Didn’t read any of these, but I DID just finish “Election Day”. One of the best superhero novels I’ve ever read, and I don’t even LIKE Wolverine! You really kept me guessing the entire time. Bravo. Sequel please.
Peter,
I’ve read our books faithfully for years, but for the first time, I’m considering dropping one, namely X-Factor. The art is just so bad, it pulls me out of your stories. Larry Stroman has the uncanny ability to make every character look retarded! This is especially significant, considering the previous artist was SO GOOD! Here’s hoping your editor gives you a decent artist soon. Man, it’s bad!
Peter,
The current Previews says that FA is temporarily ending with the December issue (33, I think). I would hope they’d have that information correct, but can you comment on it?
TWL
I wasn’t aware of Longshot’s powers causing people to lust after him all the time
It’s always been there, but from what I can remember of the character (and it’s a large gap with Longshot, to be honest), PAD seems to have turned it up a notch.
Re: Fallen Angel.
That’s good to hear. Unfortunately, despite all my recommendations and shout outs, I’m the only one at my LCS that gets “FA”. But I am glad that there is still no end to the title in sight. Its one of the few that I have consistently enjoyed month after month.
Hopefully, I’ll get to read Mascot to the Rescue during the Christmas holiday.
I’m apparently not the first to say this, But I have really big issues with Larry Stroman’s art.
As much as I am currently enjoying the story in X-Factor, I almost dropped the book recently because it just bothers my eyes too much (Much in the same way Humberto Ramos was the cause for me dropping a Spider-Man title for the first time in 20 years, a few years back)
Its something about the way he draws faces…The eyes are just so far apart, and something with the angle of them that really gets to me; Makes everyone seem like an alien.
Hi, FALLEN ANGEL fans. Andy Schmidt here, editor on FALLEN ANGEL at IDW. Just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that the word “temporarily” means exactly that.
We’ve got some big plans coming up for FALLEN ANGEL, and the reason there has not been an announcement with details is because, we’re working away to get all the “i”s dotted and “t”s crossed.
Once we can announce the big plan, we will! And I think you’ll be happy! Sorry for any confusion and for being vague.
Andy
Sounds great, Andy, and very reassuring. Many thanks!
Hmm. PAD has already announced a Fallen Angel crossover with Joss Whedon’s Illyria was in the works, tentatively scheduled for #34-36:
http://whedonesque.com/comments/17516
Corey
So, one of Longshot’s powers/side effects is to make people lust after him? Does anyone else see a pørņø in this? (“Now let me show you why they call me LONGshot!”) Now I have something else to discuss in my “Super(hero) S&M” lecture at I-CON in a few months…
The opening words of X-Factor are rather depressing. “There are no such things as happy endings. Never.”
PAD, I get that just because you have a character say it, it doesn’t necessarily mean it reflects your view of life. But honestly, when I read it, I had to stop and wonder how much it reflects your view of life right now. I hope I am wrong. That would be a pretty depressing way to look at life.
The issue was good but obvious. I don’t know why, but I knew last issue that the dad was up to something and guessed the betrayal that was coming.
I do like the addition of Longshot and Darwin. They open up some interesting avenues.
The Lost joke about “Karma Project” was hilarious.
While I strongly dislike the art, I guess I am getting used to it. I read it for the story anyways.
She Hulk was an interesting character study (and unlike the start of X-Factor, offered at least a ray of hope). I picked it up with the X-Factor crossover and so far have liked it enough to keep getting it. But my interest is waning. I just don’t find She Hulk as interesting in general. It is a credit to PAD that I have kept getting it so far. But this was most likely the last issue.
Iowa Jim
The part about “happy endings” makes sense, from a certain (realistic) outlook.
For example, when two people marry, they wed “’til death do us part.” Well, think it through; there are three possibilities (for all but the most contrived of examples): one of the two of you is going to die first, abandoning the other; or you’re both going to die together (say, as you drive off a cliff).
Well, the prospect of dying first doesn’t sound great, and the prospect of having to kick around this mortal coil for however many years I have left without my spouse doesn’t sound great, and the thought of us driving off a cliff doesn’t sound great.
Yep . . . none of those are a “happy ending.”
Now, there are degrees of “unhappiness”; for example, if I die at 91 and my wife dies a year later, it’s not like we didn’t have full lives and lots of time together. But one of the things that makes life livable is knowing that, in the long run, we all die. We die suddenly, or our bodies deteriorate as we slip into old age, or we’re hit by a car and crippled for life, or a million other permutations with the same conclusion: death.
And knowing we die makes us (well, me, at any rate) strive for the best now. I need to spend time with my wife and son when I can, because our time together is finite. I need to tell the people I care about that I care, because my window is finite.
It can be seen as a nihilistic way of looking at things, sure, but no more so than saying, “Any wonderful meal ends eventually, and then it turns to pooh.” Them’s facts.
Of course, “There’s no happy ending” is a fact, but how it plays out can be positive or negative. “There’s no happy ending so I need to make the most of the time I have” is as valid an outlook as “There’s no happy ending so I’m going to sulk in my room and wait to die.” But the latter is a smidge less positive.
I certainly enjoyed X-Factor, despite the art. The sequence of “Longshot’s fan club” was funny after I got over the squick factor, for example, and I enjoyed seeing Siryn be clever again. (Speaking of which, how is she dealing with the loss of her father these days? Has she yet accepted that he’s really gone?) I was especially impressed by the ending twist–it’s sad, it’s dysfunctional, and it’s very well-executed. That poor kid Darwin just can’t get a break. That explains why the reunion was limited to exposition.
two comments:
1) re: “Happily ever after”: I forget which Greek Myth it was, but I recall one couple that was blessed by the gods and their reward was that they would live to a ripe old age and die together — they did live and long time and then “died” in each others arms when they were turned into a tree.
2) Longshot’s good Luck Powers, In the original appearances of Longhsot, his powers were karma based. He uses good luck now, he gets hit by an equal amount of bad luck later. the whole karmic burn angle seems to have been ignored by most writers,
Of course, “There’s no happy ending” is a fact, but how it plays out can be positive or negative. “There’s no happy ending so I need to make the most of the time I have” is as valid an outlook as “There’s no happy ending so I’m going to sulk in my room and wait to die.” But the latter is a smidge less positive.
Interesting points. However, there is an alternate worldview you don’t mention. In a Christian worldview, there can be a true “happily ever after” that is worth living for.
In the Marvel world, I don’t think a Christian worldview really can exist in any coherent fashion. There are well established beings whose existence would make the Christian worldview, at least if taken literally, as untrue or at best a myth. So in that setting, PAD’s comment does make sense.
Iowa Jim
I’m loving She-Hulk! It’s nice to see PAD putting her up against major league bad-guys and not a bunch of second-raters. I also agree with others’ comments that these arcs have been interesting studies of the character. Jen is searching for herself and through her eyes we, the reader, are finding her.
Very well written, Peter. I’m on this one for the long haul.
Peter, is there any chance of IDW ever putting out posters of some of the wonderful covers? (I’d instantly buy a posters of the covers for either IDW trade!)
Peter, I’m only up to Page 64 of Election Day and I’m loving it so far, and wondering why someone hadn’t thought to write a story based on this concept up until now, but I have a question:
Is Kaz based on a combination of John F. Condon and Duane “Dog” Chapman? When he first showed up at the Hayes house, I immediately thought of Condon, since I had read about him in John Douglas and Mark Olshaker’s book The Cases that Haunt Us, and knew you had read about the Lindbergh case. But then you described him with the blonde hair and bandana. So is Kaz a combination of Condon and Chapman, or am I way off here?
I’m a little late in getting to this thread, but I am here because of another Peter David story.
Colors Seen By Candlelight
A Zorro short story by Peter David.
Published by Moonstone.
The book is
Tales of Zorro.
Edited by Richard Dean Starr.
$18.95.
A great story, Peter. I liked the story of Ba. A high point was the denouement of the antagonist. And the last page was an extra special touch…never saw it coming, but logically hinted at in the story.
There are no happy endings. In the end, we all die and become worm food.
“There are no happy endings. In the end, we all die and become worm food.”
Is that not a happy ending?
It is for the worms.
Alan Coil: There are no happy endings. In the end, we all die and become worm food.
That’s kind of how I saw it. If you live in the real world (as we do and as people like Madrox and Darwin believe they do), then the reason there’s never a happy ending is because there’s never an *ending*. There are happy moments, but life keeps going on afterwards, and eventually there will be an unhappy moment that cancels out the happy one. I don’t think anybody really lives “happily ever after” after a certain point without having a single lousy day.
Peter,
I just finished reading “Before Dishonor” and I have to say I was a little stunned. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone, so I’ll be vague: Whose idea was it for the change regarding the major character at the end? You? Or was it a Paramount/editorial decision? Just curious.
I really liked She-Hulk #33. There was a lot of great character stuff with both Jennifer and Jazinda and I had been looking forward to the Jaz background for a while.
The one thing that confused me about this issue was how you ended the arc. After learning of and tracking down the Talisman, Jen was hëll bent on doing her part to help stop the invasion but there was no resolution to that. Kl’rt leaves, the Talisman is gone and the story ends. So what was Jen’s next move? What does she do to help with the invasion?
To all Fallen Angel fans out there, do you know if there’s a lj community or something similar that we can go and talk?
I received a copy of Fallen Angel after running into my editor at a convention, #22. I’ll admit that it sat on my shelf, unread, for quite some time even though I’ve been a long time Peter David fan. For whatever reason I picked it up a few weeks ago and read through it. It really impressed me. The depth of the storytelling and the mythological foundation are seldom seen in comics – not since Sandman have I enjoyed a comic book on this level. I’ve since gone back and hunted down all of the backissues. This latest plotline, the war for Bete Noir, has me on the edge of my seat. Of course, I was partially spoiled, since I more or less inhaled 50 issues over a very small period and now have to wait.
I wonder, is it worth me tracking down the Sachs & Violens miniseries? Will that add much to my understanding of the story? Or am I just grasping at straws to fill the long gap between now and #31?
Jim Sorenson
I read “Mascot to the Rescue!” months ago as a galley, and loved the story!
Yes, it’s for young readers. Yes, there are no big slobberknocker slugfests. Yes, there should be more pictures from the talented Coleen Doran. And YES, if you like Mr. David’s writing, you will enjoy this, ESPECIALLY if you were a young teenage comics fan. (Free preview available at BN.com!)
(There… That should compensate for the free book I recieved.)
OK, so I know you haven’t even asked for opinions yet on X-F #36, but I picked it up this week, and … everything was great as usual … except … THE COVER. Peter, I KNOW this is out of your jurisdiction, and I know Marvel seems to think it has to have a painted cover on every one of its books, but this last one (“Big Bang!”) was just terrible. Why isn’t Larry Stroman allowed to do his own covers? He did some great, dynamic covers for X-F back in the ’90s on your first run together. I just … wish … arrgghh … blugh.