First, I neglected to mention yesterday that I attended the presentation of the “Young Justice” animated series. The audience reaction seems overwhelmingly positive, and I’m glad to hear it, because (and I am now free to mention it) I’m going to be writing several episodes for the series. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to reconnect with the characters, even if there are some differences between the guys I wrote and the new incarnation. I would love to tell you all about my first episode, but I’m afraid that it’s…oh, what’s the word…Secret.
Anyway, today is my roughest day in terms of commitments.
The day starts with the third and last signing with Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria, and rolls right into a signing at the Marvel booth. From there I have to high tail it to the Quick Draw panel. Every year Mark Evanier has both Len Wein and myself participate in “Hidden Words,” in which three words are put up on the screen, revealed to everyone in the place except the challenged individual, and then three artists attempt to convey–via drawing projected on large screens–what the words are. This year Mark has opted for what he calls a “steel cage death match,” with Len and I going head to head. The winner would be decided by audience applause, be declared the “King of Hidden Word,” and move on to the challenge round.
We are given a choice of four envelopes, some of which have easier words than others. Len chooses envelope #2, and I select #1. The good news is, envelope #1 has easier words than #2. The bad news is, whoever is in charge of the envelopes screws up and gives Len the words from #1. They’re challenging, but not overly so.
Mine are murderous. Eventually I get all three, but it’s a struggle. Furthermore, my heart isn’t really in it; I want the crowd to choose Len.
They cross me up and vote for me anyway. I don’t know whether it’s because they liked my efforts more, or are just anxious to see me suffer.
So we go to the bonus round. Some bonus. And then all three artists draw the first word, and it’s identical: A head shot of a cat. I almost fall over laughing. “Cat,” I say. Huzzah. Mark tells the artists to start on the next and before any of them draw a line, I say, “Dog.” Yup. So I figure Evanier would make the third one easy as well.
It was “Miscellaneous.”
Bastard.
I move on to an IDW panel that’s somewhat less exhausting: Transforming Words to Pictures. The panel focuses on the differences between writing comics and novels. One panelist proudly says that she can write an entire novel in a mere four months. This draws oohs and ahhs from the audience. I figure this is not the time to mention I can write a novel in six to eight weeks typically, and I turned out my DS9 novel in fourteen days.
After that is the Disney Epic Mickey panel. It goes fairly well, I think, as Warren Spector runs footage and gameplay from the hotly anticipated game, while I discuss the Digicomics and adaptation of the game itself that I’ve written (accompanied by sample art on the screen.) One guy in the audience is dressed like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, so that’s a good sign.
I attend the party for the Animators Guild, which my work on “Ben 10″ qualifies me for. After that I catch the tail end of the Stan Lee documentary, “With Great Power.”
Then I come back to my room and collapse.
PAD
I think you are a Bad Man.
Secret? As in “Greta Hayes” type Secret. I know. I know. He was just telling us that he can’t tell us. I can dream, though.
I’m not sure about this YJ show. Then again, one of this first things mentioned in the promo was that someone dies. That really turns me off. It just makes it sound depressing from the get-go. I will soldier on and give the show a try, though.
None of my business, but I’ll admit I’m curious…
I thought your Marvel deal allowed you to write for anyone except DC. Or is the loophole that you can’t write comics for DC, but animation is fine?
I’m glad you’ll have the opportunity.
–Ed
I’m not working for DC, nor am I writing comics for them. I’m working for Cartoon Network and writing animation.
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PAD
I really ought read the whole column before i make a comment.
Mike Resnick and a friend wrote a collaborative sex novel (back in the days when SF authors wrote the things under pseudonyms to support their families) in a single afternoon. The friend lived cross-town; they wrote alternate chapters.
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Wouldn’t be hard these days – e-mail.
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But this was about 1975.
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Resnick and his collaborator used bicycle messengers to exchange manuscript pages – their teenaged daughters.
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(BTW: i know you’re the big-time pro writer and all, but shouldn’t htat sentence up there read ” … with Len and me going head to head …”?)
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{And shouldn’t i try not to make typos in comments like that?
{Left it in even though i spotted it prior to hitting “Send” to remind me that i am somewhat more mortal than Caesar.}
Wait wait wait.
So Mike Resnick and a friend had their teenage daughters pedaling sex?
I’m pretty sure Mike made that joke when he told the story.
“Miscellaneous?”
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“Bastard” doesn’t even BEGIN to cover it.
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J.
Did you get a chance to ask Alex Irvine if he really wrote Iron Man 2 sitting in the Marvel offices?
I just noticed the female writer you mention is Nancy Collins (who was involved in the accusations against Ed Kramer). That must have been somewhat of an uncomfortable panel.
Has Nancy published anything in the last few years?
Ah. I should have looked at Amazon before i asked that.
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Not that i’d ever have read any of those, even if i’d known they existed.
I never saw him. He never responded to my queries. Nor have the editors ever done me the courtesy of responding. Interestingly, they did send me twenty copies of Alex’s novelization, because they’re idiots. I paid to ship it back because I’m a nice guy. They owe me $8.41.
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PAD
Oh, they had him listed as being on that Words to Pictures panel. Maybe he doesn’t exist! Maybe he’s just the name execs use when they write novels themselves, sort of like “Krusty Bunkers” or “Alan Smithee”.
Re; “Miscellaneous”
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Back at Cornell, there was (and maybe still is) a student improv group called the Whistling Shrimp. One of the many games they did was a riff on the 25,000 Pyramid: the clue-giver and clue-receiver were sent out of the room, and the audience gave six categories.
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One time, a friend of mine suggested as a category “Unrelated Things.” The response was, “You are EVIL. Sounds good.”
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Both the giver’s eyes and the receiver’s eyes did a serious bug-out over the course of the game. It was great.
PAD,
With you writing some of the episodes, I’ll be sure to tune in.
But damn I wish they were adapting what you wrote already instead of changing stuff around.
Doesn’t mean PAD can’t adapt some of his old stuff himself.
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There’s even precedent – back when the Star Trek animated series was running, famed SF writer Larry Niven was hired to do one episode. Problem was, while his story was apparently true to Star Trek as a concept, it involved stuff that the NBC execs didn’t think children should be exposed to on a Saturday-morning cartoon (probably some sort of ethical question – can’t have the little darlings question the official line, can we?). Niven, facing a deadline, pulled out one of his lesser-known stories, the Known Space tale “The Soft Weapon”, and adapted it into a ST:TAS script. Sadly, he didn’t really have the time to rewrite the villains to be Klingons or Romulans, so he was forced to introduce the Kzinti to the Star Trek universe.
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(Playing “Star Fleet Battles”, I proved to my satisfaction that a kzin ship using normal kzinti tactics would be swiftly wiped out by any other side in the game. The only reason the humans won every war with the kzinti after the first, after all, was because the kzinti would always attack at the very first opportunity, whether they were ready or not…)
[...] Justice comic book, will be writing several episodes for the new animated series of the same name he announced on his blog. First, I neglected to mention yesterday that I attended the presentation of the “Young [...]
[...] on Cartoon Network this fall and along with other animation news coming out of SDCC we learned that Peter David will be writing some of the upcoming episodes of the [...]
Do you by any chance have an idea why they’re using Dick Grayson for Robin and Wally West for Kid Flash? (That last one is especially ridiculous…)
I hope the answer wasn’t “name recognition”. Before Batman Begins you’d be hard-pressed to find people who knew who BATMAN was under the cowl.
Actually after hearing that I bailed on checking Young Justice out. Then I find out this morning you’ll be writing a couple episodes for it…and I’m back in. *sighs*
Because it’s not really a Young Justice series, it’s more like a Teen Titans series that combines the old with the new. I really don’t see why it matters if it’s Dick or Tim, or Wally or Bart.
Because Bart is a more interesting character and can be used to set up a wider range of oddball situations without being out of character.
Before Batman Begins you’d be hard-pressed to find people who knew who BATMAN was under the cowl.
And before Superman Returns no man-on-the-street would recognize the name “Clark Kent.”
Seriously?
Depends on who you talk to. Comic fans sometimes overestimate the popularity of even the big guys.
People recognize the characters, but the secret IDs? Not so much, sometimes.
Yeah, fair enough. I’d agree that most secret IDs would escape the population at large, even for well known heroes.
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Diana Prince? Steve Rogers? Logan?
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But Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne have been prominent in the larger non-comic geek culture that it would surprise me if the majority of “regular” folks didn’t know who they were even before the recent movies.
Back in the early 2000s, around the time I gave two of my young cousins some Bill Cosby comedy albums on CD, I quoted from the opening of his “Superman” routine. “We find Clark Kent…”
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“Who’s Clark Kent?” they asked.
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They had no clue. If I remember correctly, they had heard of Superman, but the name “Clark Kent” drew a blank (obviously, they weren’t watching Smallville.
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Now these girls were only two of the cousins. I didn’t take a poll of everyone of that generation, asking if they knew the name. Who knows, maybe they would’ve been in the minority.
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It’s still a bit hard to believe that some people haven’t heard of Clark Kent (or, apparently, Bruce Wayne), given how they’ve been such a part of popular culture; but at least when it came to two of my young relatives, it was true.
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Actually, if we’re talking about non-comics reading public not knowing the secret ID of a major superhero, you’d think they’d be more likely to know “Bruce Wayne” than “Clark Kent”, because the Christopher Reeve Superman movies ended in the late 80s; while the Batman film franchise of 1989-1997 would have been in more recent memory.
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(Though there are things about Batman and Robin that I try to forget. Where’s the Psi Corp and mindwiping when you need them?
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Rick
How great that you are doing YJ episodes. Always nice to see a writer who did a great job with characters in one media being given a chance with the same characters in another, especially when it is you. This makes me think much more highly of this now eagerly anticipated series.
Because Dick is not Tim and Wally is not Bart. Its about a dynamic. If they’d just gone with a collection of random teen superheroes and called it Young Justice, I honestly would’ve been happier.
I was already excited about this, being a big fan of Greg Weisman from his Gargoyles days (and also his Captain Atom days). But now I am completely in.
In all honesty, it doesn’t matter which characters are being used. Kids have never heard of Young Justice or many of it’s characters, so there’s not much of a financial incentive to make it an exact translation.
I mean, is anyone really crying about them using Aqualad over Lagoon Boy?
Either way, I look forward to PAD workin’ his magic on YJ again! XD
[...] Justice comic book, will be writing several episodes for the new animated series of the same name he announced on his blog. First, I neglected to mention yesterday that I attended the presentation of the “Young [...]
On other convention news, I hope you’re not too disappointed that Chuck Bartowski’s mom won’t be played by Kate Jackson (which, I agree with you, would have been an inspired choice), but you certainly must admit that the final casting decision, being one of the two biggest sci-fi action heroines ever (Sigourney Weaver being the other) has substantial qualifications herself.
**SPOILER ALERT**
The show “Chuck” has cast Linda Hamilton of “Terminator” fame to play Chuck’s mom.
Alittle question about Young Justice: in Wikipedia, one of the characters is named Artemis. Don’t they mean Arrowette? Or have the Powers That Be changed her name?
It’s Artemis. It’s a different character.
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PAD
That is the most exciting news in a while. I am so glad that you are writing some, I would have been saddened if they didn’t.
Yes, Peter actually managed to say the word “dog” *before* Sergio could draw something. I felt like the time-space continuum was under stress.
And, for what it’s worth, the best art towards denoting “miscellaneous” was William Stout drawing a missle, a plus sign, and an anus.
Yeah, and I’m standing there saying, “Rocket asshole? What–?”
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PAD
And Scott Shaw had a rebus of Mistletoe, minus a Toe, plus another Anus. High-larious (for those of us who got to watch, rather than being the man on the spot on the floor).
I can’t speak for why others voted for you, but I did because of your (successful) perseverance in the face of the godawful words you had in your envelope — AWESOME, TROUBLE, MIST — especially since Scott thought you’d gotten TROUBLE early on and started drawing MIST clues.
You know what gave me “awesome?” That drawing of the guy standing and staring at the Grand Canyon. A context in which “awesome” is actually suitable.
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PAD
William Stout was slower than Scott or Sergio, but very precise and, in examples like that, very, very evocative.
The two Miscellaneous rebuses:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-consortium/4838978711/in/set-72157624605457846/
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-consortium/4838978897/in/set-72157624605457846/
It’s looking like the YJ cartoon is really going to be more its own thing than an adaptation of the comic. In fact, it actually looks more like a combination of Teen Titans, Young Justice and Justice League: Task Force.
Oh well, aside from PAD who’s writing a couple episodes, the people making the show probably wouldn’t have been able to simulate the awesomeness of the comic anyway.
Before Batman Begins you’d be hard-pressed to find people who knew who BATMAN was under the cowl.
And before Superman Returns no man-on-the-street would recognize the name “Clark Kent.”
Seriously?
———————-
My Grandmother told me the secret identity of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and Flash when I started reading comics at age 7.
Lots more people know Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne than you think. My wife never read the stuff (and still dont) when I met her, but she knew the names and who they were..
[...] man who created the original comic series, will be writing several episodes of the cartoon. On his blog he wrote, “I would love to tell you all about my first episode, but I’m afraid that it’s … oh, [...]
Pleasure to meet you in person that day, Mr. PAD. I wrote about it, digressively, here:
http://chris-walsh.livejournal.com/1265355.html
(I really did think for years that you had a deep voice. I’m still adjusting to it!)
P.S. So you write so fast to keep up with how fast you speak?
However you do it, keep doing it! Signed, a fan since 1991
The new Young Justice cartoon looks pretty cool. I do have some suggestions for the team’s line-up…
Young Justice: Robin (Tim Drake), Superboy, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Aquagirl (Lorena Marquez), Speedy (Mia Dearden), Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders), Teen Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Zatara, Elasti-Girl (Susie Dibney, Elongated Man’s daughter), Molecule, Miss Martian, Dark Lark (Stephanie Brown), Cyclone, and Inferno (Jason Rusch).
Future members of Young Justice could include Red Devil, Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), Goldstar, Bombshell, Static, Element Girl, Terra, Zan, Jayna, Halo, Vibe, Gypsy, and Mary Marvel.
The Justice League could be: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Hawkwoman (Shiera Saunders Hall), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Zatanna, Elongated Man, Atom, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, Red Tornado, and Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond).
Future members of the Justice League could include Blue Devil, Silver Scarab (Ted Kord — not Hector Hall), Booster Gold, Emerald Warrior (Guy Gardner), Fire, Ice, Captain Atom, Vixen, Black Lightning, Metamorpho, Geo-Force, Katana, and Looker.
There could also be a Justice Society in this reality. They are Hawkman, Johnny Quick (John “Jay” Garrick), Aladdin (Alan Ladd Scott), Atom Smasher (Al Pratt), Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson), Dr. Mid-Nite, Mr. Terrific (Terry Sloane), Wildcat, Spectre, Johnny Thunder, Sandman (Wesley Dodds), Hourman (Rex Tyler), Starman (Ted Knight), Power Girl, and Huntress (Helena Wayne, Batman’s cousin).
Future members of the Justice Society could include Captain Marvel, Jonni Thunder (Johnny’s sister), Judomaster (Hadley Jagger), Commander Steel, Plastic Man, Shining Knight, Mr. America (Jeffrey Graves), Amazing Man (Will Everett), Captain Triumph (Lance Gallant), Mr. Miracle (Scott Free), Big Barda, Dr. Light, and King Standish.
The sidekicks of the Justice Society could be the Young All-Stars: Hawkboy (Northwind), Jesse Quick, Genie (Jennifer-Lynn Scott), Nuklon, Fortune (Anna Fortune), Nite-Nurse (Beth Chapel), Teen Terrific (Michael Holt), Tomcat (Tom Bronson), Teen Spirit (Secret), Jakeem Thunder (with his own personal “genie”), Sand (Sanderson Hawkins), Hourman Jr., Stargirl, Supergirl, and Batgirl (Cassandra Wayne, Helena’s sister).
Future members of the Young All-Stars could include Captain Marvel Jr., Jenni Lightning, Mouko (“Fierce Tiger” — Sonia Sato), Citizen Steel, Offspring, Shining Squire (Ystina), All-American Kid (Billy Armstrong — not Jeremy Karne), Amazing Boy (Markus Clay), Lance (not Magog — David Reid), Miracle Kid (Shilo Norman), Little Barda, Obsidian, and King Chimera.
The Titans could also exist in this reality. They could be Nightwing, Impulse (Wally West), Tempest, Troia, Red Arrow, Omen, Hawk, Dove, Gnaark, Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, Flamebird, and Golden Eagle.
Future members of The Titans could include Herald (Vox), Bumblebee, Aqualass (Tula), Harlequin, Kole, Jericho, Red Star, Pantha, (Baby) Wildebeest, Mirage (Miriam Delgado), Redwing, Nightrider, and Killowat. Barbara Gordon and Danny Chase could be The Titans’ communications/ tech support.
This reality’s Teen Titans could be Red Robin (Jason Todd), Talon (Damian Wayne), Damage (Grant Emerson), Ravager (Rose Wilson), Minion (Jarras Minion), Argent (Toni Monetti), Risk (Cody Driscoll), Hotspot (Isaiah Crockett), Prysm (Audrey Spears), Fringe, Hawkette (Holly Granger), Dovette (Dawn Granger), Aqualad (Lagoon Boy), Hero Cruz, and Bushido (Ryuko Orsono).
Future members of the Teen Titans could include Power Boy (Donald Kent), Enigma, Mas y Menos, Young Frankenstein, Osiris (Amon Tomaz), Kid Eternity (Christopher Freeman), Anima (Courtney Mason), Son of Vulcan (Miguel Devante), Houston, Omni, Blindside, Allure, and Temper. Marvin White and Wendy Harris could be The Teen Titans’ communications/ tech support.
Peter, so far you’re the only person to post a review (of sorts) of our annual QUICK DRAW! presentation, but I’m utterly astounded that you can write about it in such detail without mentioning a single cartoonist — especially not Sergio Aragonés, who is unquestionably the star of our little show — who, without, there would be no visual clues for you to figure out the secret words! I think you’re a great guy and a great writer, Peter (and thanks again for the Galactus helmet!) but please, by your account, you’d think that Sergio, William Stout, Sam Viviano, Tom Richmond and Katy Cook weren’t even in the huge, SRO room! C’mon, pal, it won’t kill you to mention cartoonists once in a while!
Oh, and if you were just thinking of writers, Sergio, Bil and I are all often paid for our writing…
I really enjoyed “Quick Draw” at the convention…. Fun to relive it in reading your account. But why do you refer to the fantastic artists Bill Stout, Scott Shaw, and Sergio Aragones in your blog as “the artists”? Without “the artists” you wouldn’t have HAD a Quick Draw panel at all. Perhaps you should clarify this for your readers…