So…what do ya wanna know?

It’s been a while since I’ve done an open Q&A. Actually, not since my back surgery. So…throwing it open to questions. Anything you guys want to ask about whatever?

A couple of stipulations:

1) One question per person.

2) Please don’t bother asking about the wing speed of an unladen swallow, the answer to life, the universe and everything, or similar questions. It was funny the first time. And second. By the tenth time, the charm has worn off.

3) I reserve the right not to answer.

PAD

448 comments on “So…what do ya wanna know?

  1. What was it like being asked to write a new Justice story for the Untold Tales of the New Universe event so many years after being on the title?

  2. I remember in an interview you mentioned how you planned to have Shatterstar appear in the one story arc for just those few issues. As a fan of what you’ve done with the character in the past year, I’m very happy that you’ve kept him as a team member. He seems to really fit with X-Factor and he contributes to some of the funniest and most action-packed moments in the book (seeing him use simple momentum to outdo the Thing is one of my favorite scenes). Has the character surprised you in the course of writing him over the past year?

    1. Very much so. I love the reactions he engenders from the various cast members. And I love the nobility of his outlook, his proud warrior mentality.
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      PAD

  3. When you write novelizations of movies, and at times find and rectify obvious flaws in the film script (cough, Hulk, cough) do the film makers ever make use of your input?

      1. By the way Peter, I’m not sure if you ever discussed that other novelization that you will be doing, the one you talked about at Dragoncon.

  4. Thanks, PAD–
    .
    Have you had an opportunity to read (or even skim) “The Art of Jim Starlin: A Life in Words and Pictures”? He throws some kudos your way.

      1. You’ve probably looked it up by now but I received mine from The Book Depository just before Christmas. Amazon has it now and it’s as gorgeous as you can imagine. I recall CBR gave it a five-star review. Enjoy!

  5. Hmmm. As a writer (and I am a writer. I have even been published. Just none of my fiction has been.) I’ve asked you about dialogue in Dallas.
    .
    I’ve read your books on comics. (I have zero interest in writing comics. I’m interested in writing. Period.)
    .
    So. Something I ask writers periodically: Pen and Paper or Computer?
    .
    TAC
    (I guess you could still use a typewriter, so throw that into it)

    1. Depends. If I’m writing a manuscript, computer. But if I’m working out a story outline, be it comics or novels, for some reason I’m more comfortable doing that longhand.
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      PAD

  6. Another of my favorite authors once referred to SDCC as work, while Dragon*Con was play.
    .
    So which annual convention, comic book or otherwise, is your favorite?

    1. Shore Leave in Maryland. A real family convention, plus Bob Greenberger, Mike Friedman and I get to play together doing “Mystery Trekkie Theater 3000.”
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      PAD

  7. You’re moderating a panel at a convention. You have to invite 5 fictional characters, from any print medium, to discuss how they feel about how they’ve been portrayed on screen (movies and/or TV.) Who do you invite?

      1. .
        I know about the prior ones, Mike, but they were more along the lines of characters sort of being in character and complaining about treatment then VS now. The Disney panel BID seemed more focused on the changes in the way the females were depicted in Disney films.
        .
        When Mary threw that idea out there… I just suddenly got an image in my head of various classical literature characters and a few comic characters complaining bitterly about who got the rawest end of the deal when translated for the screen.
        .
        And the entire time you have Captain America in the corner whimpering and quietly repeating the two words over and over again.
        .
        “Rubber ears.”

    1. Sherlock Holmes. Tarzan. Frankenstein’s Monster. King Arthur. And Dracula. (My favorite dialogue exchange of all time was in the fifth issue of “Spike Vs. Dracula” in which Harmony is hitting on Dracula and she says, “I just wanted to say, I thought that movie, Van Helsing, totally sucked.” And Dracula says, “So did I.” Because I loved the mental image of Dracula sitting at a Multiplex, watching Van Helsing and thinking, “Well, THIS is two hours of my unlife I’m never getting back.”)
      .
      Jerry’s right, that would be a great BID column.
      .
      PAD

      1. (insert Twilight Zone music)

        When I thought of the question I naturally asked myself who I would choose. I chose Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Dracula, Dr. Frankenstein (rather than the monster), and Elizabeth Bennett.

        Arthur’s a good choice but is he really fictional?

        And I think you should write the column.

  8. Hey there, PAD!

    Have you ever thought about, been asked or would want to be a part of a USO tour?

    1. Good lord, what would I do on a USO tour? Ninety nine percent of the soldiers would be wondering, “What the hëll? We asked for Eva Langoria, and we got this guy?”
      .
      I mean, would I do it? Sure. In a heartbeat. But I very much doubt the USO would be remotely interested in me.
      .
      PAD

      1. Lots that you could do on a USO tour.

        You could perform a spoken word tour relating all your wonderful witty anecdotes of cons you have attended, back stage antics of the TV shows you have been privy to, do a show tune routine or just do a handshake tour.

        As for you being unknown to the folks in the military, hardly. A majority of the military reads comics, novels of all kinds, watches TV and spends time at conventions stateside when they get the chance.
        Sure, most will not know who you are at first, but they will remember you and the time you spent with them.

        The National Cartoonists Society is currently touring this year. If Garry Trudeau can get out there and mix it up, imagine what you could do.

        Besides, you never know until you or your manager try.

        Geez, I sound like a recruiter.

    1. Knew about it? I was backstage at the New York Comicon right before Stan the Man and Neal Adams were about to go on a panel to discuss it. I was the first one to get the teaser poster for it, autographed by Stan and Neal.
      .
      If it gets comics fans interested in hockey, great. If it gets hockey fans interested in comics, great. In the meantime, according to the article (which features, I think quite possibly the worst picture of Stan I have EVER seen) hockey fans are bìŧçhìņg about it. Nice to know that the default reaction of hockey fans appears to be the same as comics fans: It’s gonna suuuuuuck!.
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      PAD

      1. Ahh, well, I hate to say it, but as a hockey and comic fan…
        .
        My wife compares it to Disney buying Marvel. As a huge Disney fan, she doesn’t want to see the two mixed, which seems inevitable.
        .
        And we both agree that this mash-up of NHL and superheroes not only doesn’t feel right, but everything we’ve seen/heard about it makes us cringe.

      2. My take on one of the images released so far, for the LA hockey team; “If Stan Lee’s going to design a superhero named The King, it should look a *lot* more like Jack Kirby”.

    2. Well, Marvel already did this with NBA stars in the October 2010 ESPN Magazine. If people liked it, then it stands to reason that they’ll keep doing it with other sports organizations, especially if they’re ones that Disney has an interest in (they own ESPN Magazine).

      1. Yeah, that was I think the last issue of ESPN The Magazine I received before my subscription lapsed. But, that was a one-off, not a concerted effort like the NHL Guardian Project.
        .
        I’m not sure if people liked it or not. I know that it generated controversy in some places, particularly Cleveland.

  9. If a “harry potter” comic does become a reality, given your reputation for adapting from other mediums, would you be interested if someone called you and asked you to write it?

      1. .
        You know, if a comic book company (or even a book publisher) were to try and pitch something to J.K. like that they really should make a pitch for new materials to be produced in the Harry Potter world; but not new material using the established Harry Potter characters.
        .
        Sometime around the third book I really started wondering about the other schools out there. We briefly saw some later in the series, but we really didn’t see anything in any great detail. We saw that some of the magics are slightly different, but exploring that wasn’t the point. Plus J.K. was still writing stuff based on English myths and legends.
        .
        What about the other schools based on other cultures? I would honestly love to see a few (for lack of a better term” Harry Potter’s World type books done by solid writers where the schools are in other countries and the general vibe of the magic and atmosphere of the story are pulled from other region’s myths and legends.
        .
        Might be cool as hëll. Might flop like hëll for being too different. Still think it could create some fun reads.

      2. Peter was asked this in an early Q&A thread (though for some reason I can’t find it when searching through the previous six) that he would do a Hermione story for Ariel.
        .
        I also think I recall Rowling stating somewhere that she wouldn’t want it adapted to the comics medium.

      3. J.K. was still writing stuff based on English myths and legends.
        Luigi Novi: The Phoenix figures prominently in the series, and that’s not British.

  10. About the news that Anne Hattaway has been chosen to play Catwoman, do you think she’ll be a Michelle Pfeiffer (my hope) or a Halle Berry (my fear)? (and yes, Julie Newmar was great, but here, I’m talking about movie Catwomen).

    1. I think what she’ll be depends on the script. I don’t think Halle Berry was bad as Catwoman. I think the film was bad as a Catwoman film. Badly written, badly directed, badly edited. To me, Halle Berry herself was pretty much the only bright spot.
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      PAD

  11. Given the large number of superhero pørņøš that have been made (two Batman ones, one Wonder Woman) and that are being made (Superman this month, upcoming Justice League and Spider-Man), are there any characters/teams that would be terrific/awful subjects for the adults-only treatment?

    (And I’ve asked before, but as a semi-follow up: How come D.C. and Marvel are letting their characters get the pørņø treatment? I thought they used to protect their copywritten characters carefully, but these movies have the D.C. (and soon Marvel) characters with near-identical costumes as the originals, and sometimes the same names.)

    1. As to why the lawyers haven’t gone after them, I honestly have to think that they don’t think they have a case. It’s the only reason I can see.
      .
      Terrific subject? The Punisher. I mean, come on. That would be an S&M triumph. I should know; I did a soft core version of that concept in the Marvel Manga one-shots.
      .
      Awful subject for an adults-only pørņ treatment? That’s easy: Power Pack.
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      PAD

      1. I seem to remember DC going after one of the pørņ producers and lost because it was considered a form of parody which is protected under the law (constitutionally – freedom of speech?).

      2. PAD: Awful subject for an adults-only pørņ treatment? That’s easy: Power Pack.
        .
        Well, that hardly counts. That wouldn’t even be legal. I think it’s more fun to think about what characters would just make awful pørņ.

        Like Wolverine.

        Logan: Yeah, that’s it. I’m the best at what I-

        [accidental SNIKT]

        Woman: AAAAHHHHHH!!!

        Logan: Oops.

      3. I wonder what’s changed though–DC won against both THE WILD WILD WORLD OF BATWOMAN and SUPERWOMAN (which became MS MAGNIFICENT after they erased all references to her name and scratched the emulsion to hide the S symbol on her chest.)
        .
        It’s as though the more obvious it is that these are parodies the less case they have–so the best thing to do is to slavishly copy every detail.

      4. A hundred questions and which one generates the longest thread response? The one about pørņ. Who didn’t see THAT coming?
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        PAD

    2. I suddenly have a strange desire to see Bizarro pørņ written by Alan Moore. I don’t know what S & M would look like on Bizarro world, but I’m sure Alan Moore would come up with something.

      1. Since the Bizarro world is supposedly the opposite of our world, Bizarro S&M would probably be kind treatment and complete lack of restraint. Then again, Bizarro is supposed to be the opposite of Superman and yet has all his powers…

        For the best potential franchises for superhero pørņ, I’d vote for (keeping in mind that Batman was done and the Justice League is coming out):

        X-MEN: It’s popular in the mainstream, it’s one of the relatively few groups where the female-male ratio was close to even (or the women outnumbered the men), and it’s got some truly hot female characters (Storm, Mystique, even the Scarlet Witch). And yes, I’m sure there are folks who’d love to see Wolverine gettin’ it on: “I’m the best at what I do… and *who* I do…”

        TEEN TITANS (George Perez version): Apart from a market for “teen” in adult entertainment, you have the combo of hot bodypaint (Starfire), goth chick (Raven), and even semi-Wonder Woman (Wonder Girl). Plus Cyborg and his appliances…

        FANTASTIC FOUR: Possibly, if you combine the Invisible Woman, Medusa, She-Hulk, and maybe some Skrulls. Okay, and Mr. Fantastic demonstrating how he got his name.

        And the worst…

        POWER PACK: As the pørņ producer said on the show SKIN, “We don’t do anything with children! There’s a reason it’s called ADULT entertainment!”

        THE LEGION OF SUBSTITUTE SUPER-HEROES: Whose ultimate fantasy is the group that didn’t make the cut?

        DAREDEVIL: This actually was the #1 pick for a wanted geek franchise getting the pørņ treatment, but it’d be hard for many to get over the Ben Affleck film (which I liked, BTW). Plus Karen Page was already a pørņ star, so there’s redundancy there.

      2. Way back in the 80s, I recall that an Amazing Heroes Preview issue did have quotes from Alan Moore about writing either a Bizarro special or mini-series. Concepts I recall were that Bizarro-Kandor would be around 3x the size of Htrae, he’d cover what life was like at the edges of Htrae’s cube, and every so often Bizarro #1 would go to the Solid Zone, a giant piece of concrete or similar substance, knock on it and ask “Am you OK in there Solid Zone criminals?” to which they would reply “We am fine Bizarro #1”.

  12. Having enjoyed the stories you wrote for Wolverine: First Class, especially the relationship between Logan and Kitty Pryde, what would you do if Marvel assigned you to write a series about the ongoing adventures of Kitty?

    1. Depends on when the series is supposed to be set. I would have loved to keep writing Logan and Kitty stories. I could have done that for years.
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      PAD

  13. What are your favorite current Broadway shows? I’m going to New York in a couple months and could use some recommendations (I’ve only seen Wicked and Mamma Mia!, though I have tickets for the touring shows of Avenue Q and Rock of Ages).

    1. We enjoyed “The Addams Family,” although be aware that Nathan Lane is leaving March 23. He’s being replaced by Roger Rees, so I’m not sure how it’s going to be. I saw “Elling” and “A Little Night Music” and liked both of those, but they’ve closed. Definitely check out “Spider-Man.” With any luck they’ll have fixed the second act by then. I haven’t seen “La Bete,” but it’s David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley, so how can you go wrong?
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      PAD

      1. It looks like La Bete has closed.
        .
        Nathan Lane kind of annoys me, anyway. And I’d probably just be mentally comparing the actors to John Astin and Carolyn Jones the whole time. I know that’s completely unfair, but I adored both of them so much that even Raul Julia and Angelica Huston, despite their talent, just seemed like pale imitations to me (ironically, though, I always hated Astin as the Riddler, and felt he was a pale imitation of Frank Gorshin).
        .
        I’d like to see Spider-Man, but my mom is traveling with me, and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t be interested in it (and I already told her I’m seeing American Idiot without her… seeing two shows without her might be pushing it).

  14. On a non-writerly note:
    .
    Given that your youngest daughter is still elementary-school age while your oldest ones are adults … have you seen any change as a parent in societal influences/pressures on girls during the intervening time? I’m particularly wondering about how the changes in technology might have affected things; your oldest ones all went through most of their schooling pre-Web, whereas Caroline probably knows how to do various things with computers you didn’t even know about. (That’s not a dig, by the way; I’m pretty sure my 6-year-old can do the same with respect to me…)

    1. I haven’t, no. I mean, sometimes it’s annoying if kids just want to stay up in their rooms all day and talk on computers or text their friends, but thirty years ago kids just wanted to stay up in their rooms all day and talk on the telephone to their friends. The means of distraction may change, but kids are basically the same.
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      PAD

  15. In an interview in the back of the Spidey: One More Day hardcover, JMS mentions being disappointed with Spidey: The Other both in how it was coordinated and the final product. Mentioning that there were certain ‘elements being put in by one writer that the other writer didn’t know about’.
    .
    What elements are we talking about here, and how was your overall experience writing The Other?

    1. I don’t know for sure since this is the first I’ve heard that Joe wasn’t satisfied. Maybe I should have read the interview.
      .
      I came into the plotting of “The Other” fairly late in the game, because originally Mark Waid was supposed to be writing FNSM, and then decided at the last minute to pull out. When I was brought on board, basically the plot was locked.
      .
      Where I had a major problem was that the last three issues of the storyline, the part after Spidey returned from the dead, was very nebulous. Basically it was, “Spidey feels happy about being alive and celebrates his rebirth.” And I said to the editors, “He’s doing the happy dance for three issues? We’re going to have sixty six pages of, ‘I’m happy to be alive?’ That doesn’t sound especially compelling.”
      .
      I also thought about the notion that maybe it might be interesting if dying and then coming back was viewed by nature as an abomination–dead is dead–and if, for once, there was some actual negative blowback from a character coming back to life. With the exception of one incident two thousand years ago, generally speaking, resurrection is considered horror film territory. When you have someone return from the grave, people usually run screaming.
      .
      I was also confused about the title. I asked who or what “The Other” was actually supposed to be, and I couldn’t get a really clear answer. Plus fans were always claiming that these mega-crossovers didn’t have any long-term ramifications, and I thought that was a point well taken.
      .
      So then I thought about the concept of other as viewed by Simone de Beauvoir in terms of male/female relationships, and all of those thoughts eventually lead to my creating Ero, who later being a running antagonist during the course of FNSM.
      .
      And when I outlined to the editors the concept of Ero’s creation and how it would integrate into the story, they absolutely loved it.
      .
      Now if that’s the element that Joe was referring to, I guess I figure…oh well. That’s the way that goes. I mean, it’s not like I sprung it on anybody. There was an extensive and constant email chain going on, and I’m pretty sure everyone was in the loop. So I don’t know why Joe wouldn’t have known about it: either he should have received cc’s or else the editors would have, I should think, told him.
      .
      I wish I could have been involved when “The Other” was in the early plotting stages, but hey, you play the hand you’re dealt. And if we didn’t wind up with four aces, well, I think at the very least we had a full house.
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      PAD

      1. I was very happy that “The Other” storyline was continued/completed in FNSM because I was scratching my when suddenly there was nothing. All that build up and then nothing, oh yeah Civil War happened and a new suit…Without FNSM that storyline felt like a filler gimmick waiting for the next cross-over event.

  16. Hey David,

    Are there any characters you would love to add to the X-Factor team or are you happy with the current dynamic?

  17. Peter:
    What do you think of today’s (Jan. 20th) announcement that DC is dropping the Comics Code/CCA Seal from ALL their books in favor of an in-house ratings system akin to what the video game industry is using? (E, T, T+, and M)

    1. Hadn’t heard that, but if it’s true, it’s about bloody time. I remember an issue I wrote of “Justice League Taskforce” where I had J’onn J’onzz, disguised as a woman, getting married to a sort of green skinned Amazonian-type woman (it was a whole H. Rider Haggard riff) and the two of them kissed. The CCA wouldn’t allow it. They said, “No homosexual kiss can be displayed on panel.” The fact that one of them was, in fact, a disguised male, couldn’t penetrate their noggins. We weren’t allowed to show the kiss; it was cropped at the shoulders.
      .
      Ðûmbáššëš. Good riddance.
      .
      PAD

      1. Peter:
        You can see the announcement on either Comic Book Resources or DC’s own website.
        And I remember that story arc. Some really great art, but your ending did throw me for a bit of a loop, especially since it appeared long before “The Crying Game”.

      2. Archie just announced they’re dropping the Code as well. I think that just leaves Bongo, in which case it’s hard to imagine that the Comics Code Authority will survive even the first 1/4 of the year.

      3. Well, in a classic Jimmy Olsen story, a mobster wanted to kiss a disguised as a girl Jimmy. Instead, Jimmy insisted on kissing in the dark, and held up “her” roommate’s pet chimp who the mobster kissed instead. Proclaiming how great the kisses were to boot, which I’d assume means tongues were involved.

        Which to me always implied that the Comics Code preferred bëšŧìálìŧÿ over homosexuality.

      4. Actually, according to whatsisname at Bleeding Kewl, Bongo apparently stopped using the Code over a year ago, and nobody noticed.

      5. Andy, Bongo dropped the Code a year ago. Their last book to carry it was Simpsons Comics #163. Since April 2010 they’ve carried a simple “All Ages” label.
        .
        Good riddance, indeed.

  18. Hello Mr. David,
    I’m 12 years old and I love comics, and most of all I love your work. I’ve noticed recently that no kids my age read comics! Is there any hope to get kids into comics?
    -A.M.M.
    P.S. Before you ask my parents don’t read comics.

    1. Hey, there, A.M.M. I seem to have somehow jumped right over your question. Sorry about that. Maybe it got hung up in the approvals queue or something.
      .
      In any event: getting kids into comics is one of the toughest challenges publishers have to face. Fewer and fewer traditional newsstands or 7-11s want to carry them, for a variety of reasons. And you can’t count on kids to come wandering into comics specialty stores on their own if they haven’t been exposed to comics at a younger age.
      .
      It’s one of the reasons Marvel has put out books such as the Marvel Adventures line and other all-ages titles. Not just to put the comic books into comics stores, but also to collect the material into digest-sized trades which they can then get into places such as supermarkets and have them racked in what’s called “point of purchase” displays. Meaning, of course, cash registers. So the notion is that Mom is busy trying to load her purchases onto the conveyor belt, and little Timmy is sitting in the cart and he’s bored and wants attention, and sees the colorful comic book right there in front of him. “Mommy, can I have that!” he says, pointing at it. And Mommy hands it to him so she can go back to concentrating on buying the groceries. By the time she’s done with the other stuff, Timmy has bent up the comic, so she buys that, too.
      .
      You would be AMAZED how often that happens. And it’s a way of getting comics in front of younger readers.
      .
      The other way we hope to do it? Word of mouth, plain and simple. Fans like you, who like comics so much that they tell their friends about it and try and get them interested. Kids listen to other kids way before they’ll listen to us. And in this day and age where fewer and fewer people are reading, kids like you who DO read are probably our best hope.
      .
      Thanks for asking.
      .
      PAD

      1. This is a topic of interest to me as a Canadian high school English teacher. One of the ways in which I try to engage male readers of an “applied” level, as opposed to an “academic” level, is to offer units of study on graphic novels. Because of this and an after school Manga Club that continues to grow in number, our school library now offers an extremely large variety and quantity of comics and graphic novels.

        So, there is definitely “hope” for an expansion of interest in the biz.

        Also, and although I know the answer to the question in my head, “is it out yet? Is it out yet? Is it out yet?” etc., I anxiously await your sequel to “Darkness of the Light”.

      2. The sequel to “Darkness of the Light,” “Highness of the Low,” will be published as an electronic book through Crazy 8 Press. We’re hoping also to have print on demand for those who prefer books in their hands.
        .
        PAD

  19. As an avid videogame player, what do you think of the new wave of gaming technology (i.e., Kinect, Move, 3DS)?

  20. (This starts out a little gushy, and for that I apologize, but it’s going somewhere, promise.) For my money you write some of the best characters in comics because each person has a distinct voice and personality complete with quirks, and that makes me wonder which kinds of characters are the easiest and hardest for you to write?

    1. People who see the world through a skewed point of view are generally the easiest. When there are characters with whom I don’t feel a connection at all, I generally latch onto those and see if I can find a way in. For instance, I had a rough time writing Lobo when he guest starred in “Aquaman.” Deciding that that was a weakness as a writer, I later introduced Li’l Lobo into “Young Justice.” It enabled me to treat him as what he is–a juvenile–but at an acceptable age for such a mindset. Now I think that if I were writing him as an adult, I wouldn’t have a problem.
      .
      PAD

    1. I’d be happy to do either. Pocket won’t revert the rights on “Apropos” because they’re still selling copies of the novel, but won’t purchase new books. As for seeing more comics, go tell IDW you want to see it.
      .
      PAD

  21. I wanted get some books signed by you at NYCC (I was close enough to spit on you but, ya know… didn’t). You’re line was always SO LONG and I just never found the time. Had I gotten up to you, though, I would have gushed on muh X-Factor love. I always feel like it’s too short- so, in with that in mind, my question is:

    With so many character in “X-Factor” (I mean, how many mutants are even ON the team at this point… it’s a bunch) do you feel like anyone ever gets left out? Or will the characters just shine when they get their moment?

    1. I try to make sure that everyone has their time to shine. That’s why I’ve been writing the book the way I have: Doing multi-part team stories and then having several stand alones that focus on individuals. #214 focuses exclusively on Darwin, while #215 is a Madrox/Layla story.
      .
      Sorry I wasn’t able to sign your books, although I suspect you never came by Artist’s Alley. I was set up there and there there were a number of occasions when it was pretty quiet.
      .
      PAD

  22. It looks like titles like X-Men Forever and X-Factor Forever are finding a nice little niche for themselves. (I’m guessing. They’re still being offered, but I have no idea what sales are like.) If offered to you, would you be interested in doing Hulk Forever and going back and telling the stories you never got to tell?

      1. Is there anybody at Marvel specifically to whom we could write to ask for such a title? I’d love to read a HULK comic again…

      2. I dunno. The usual suspects, I guess. It’s not as if guys like Joe Q. or Axel (the new EIC) or Tom Brevoort make themselves inaccessible to the public.
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        PAD

  23. Going a few years back, but I loved your run on Captain Marvel (maybe as much as your long Hulk’s run), and I was wondering if you planned from the beginning that Genis would go crazy, or if it was because of some differences with your editor ?

    1. From the beginning? No. But it was a story concept that I developed as I was thinking about where to take the character. It had nothing to do with any editorial differences; my editor on the series and I got on fine.
      .
      PAD

      1. Thanks for the reply.
        The french translation was published in some kind of trade paperbacks, and when it changed from the v3 to the v4, there were some comment from the french editor (Marvel France at the time) explaining you had a divergence of point ov view with Joe Q.

        I quote : “Un heros fou furieux, des dialogues bien sentis, des themes plus adultes … Rien a voir avec les 35 episodes precedents. C’est la consequence directe du Diktat qu’a adresse Joe Quesada au scenariste Peter David. En effet le redacteur en chef lui a demande que les histoires fassent moins reference au passe et soient plus accessibles aux nouveaux lecteurs. Au depart David a assez mal pris cette mise en demeure, et c’est carrement emporte, lorsqu’il a apris qu’on allait augmenter le prix de couverture, …”

        If i (try to) translate in english it’d be something like that : “A berserk hero, well inspired dialogues, more adult topics… Nothing to do with the 35 previous episodes. It’s the result of the dictum imposed by Joe Quesada to the writer Peter David. Indeed the Editor in Chief asked him that the stories refer less to the past and be more open to new readers. At first David didn’t take so well that formal notice, and even got upset when he learned that the cover price would increase, …”

        It goes on like that, explaining that titles like Captain Marvel are unfortunately hidden in the shadows of Spider-Man and other X=men. I think they’re even talking about that again in the next issue.

      2. Wow.
        .
        That is wrong. Totally, completely, top to bottom wrong.
        .
        The ONLY thing that’s correct in there is that I was upset about an announced price hike. But no, the storyline was something I developed, entirely on my own, with no dictates or suggestions from Joe at all. What that introduction is is a mangling of things that Joe said during a subsequent, and very public, back and forth about the series’ sales, which eventually led to a rather inane contest called “U-Decide!” the less said about which the better.
        .
        But whoever wrote the introduction completely mangled it.
        .
        PAD

  24. When another writer takes your insights on a character and runs with them… for example, Christos Gage writing Quicksilver as a man whose world is full of people who can’t use ATMs… are you flattered? Or does it not mean much to you?

    1. Definitely flattered. It sure beats having writers saying, “That’s stupid” and tossing it aside when given the chance.
      .
      PAD

  25. Hello PAD,

    One of my best friends in highschool is Tony Burns. You may remember him as the kid who pestered Marvel for a Rick Jones trading card in the Hulk letter page while you were writing it.

    There ended up being an in comic book joke about it. How did that come to happen and was Tony ever really close to getting his Rick Jones card?

    1. I put it into the comic because I thought his determination was amusing, and because I wouldn’t have minded seeing it happen myself. But there wasn’t really much of a chance.
      .
      PAD

      1. As a senior project for English class he ended up writing a paper on Rick Jones. (We were required to write a paper on a known person or character and their contribution to literature). The teacher didn’t think he would have enough material to present for 10 minutes. He ended up talking for 40-60minutes. The nod in the comic definitely made an impression as well as the depth you gave to the character. We’re in our thirties now — but we still talk about it and the writing of your run on Hulk. Good stuff.

      1. Along those same lines, is there any chance of your writing a ST novel set in the “Titan” series? I always thought you wrote the best Riker/Troi stories, and I’d love to see your take on their current status quo (besides, the “Dr. Ree” character in that series sounds like a character you could have a lot of fun with).

      2. No plans to do so, but it’d be nice to play with Riker and Troi again. Man, I remember when I had to rewrite the ending to “Triangle” because I originally had it that they got engaged, and Paramount killed that with the assertion that Riker and Troi would never, ever get married.
        .
        Between that and being told the Hulk would never have a son, much less twin sons, sometimes I’m just left banging my head against a wall.
        .
        PAD

  26. Do you plan on continuing the Apropos Series?
    I thought it was one of the better series I’ve read in a while and tho I’m only 17 I have read literally hundreds upon hundreds of books

    yeah yeah to much time on my hands heard it all before

  27. Peter, it seemed to me upon the introduction of Wildman in Hulk around issues 445-450 that you had more plans for the character (I believe he’s mentioned in Future Imperfect)but with Heroes Return right around that time, he just seemed to disappear. Was this a case of a character you thought you had more ideas for and he just ran out of gas or did he serve the storyline as you’d planned or something else I’m not covering?

    1. I was actually never going to introduce him. He was just going to be this sort of ultimate hero who everyone talked about, but you never saw him.
      .
      And then I decided to actually do him because so many fans were asking about him. Which was a mistake. Once I did it, I discovered I couldn’t match the build-up, even in my own head. It was like Niles Crane’s wife, Maris: the more said and the less seen, the better.
      .
      So I didn’t go back to him.
      .
      PAD

      1. I never read the set-up to 450, I always thought after reading him in 450, then seeing the reference in Future Imperfect you had always intended for Wildman to end up coming across as he did.

  28. Peter, is it true that the surname of Myra, your first wife, is Kasman? And what’s your Mom’s name, if you don’t mind my asking? Did she have any influence on your career? I’d like to add that info the biographical portions of your Wikipedia (which already mentions your Dad and Kathleen), but couldn’t find sources that are allowable by the site’s Reliability policies. (I got “Kasman” from IMDB, but I can’t cite IMDB, because its content is user-generated, kinda like a wiki.)

    1. Yes, her surname was Kasman. My mother’s name is Dalia. She’s where I got my sense of humor from. My mother and I would crack other up while my poor father sat there like Margaret Dumont in a Marx Brothers film just not getting any of it. The worst was during Passover sedars. Every year it was the exact same thing: My father would be conducting the service, be very serious, and somewhere along the way, I would make some sort of joke, and my father would say, “Don’t set your mother off,” or she would make some sort of joke, and my father would say, “Dalia, set an example!” and invariably within twenty minutes my mother and I would be laughing so hard we’d be sliding under the table and my poor dad would be throwing down the haggadah, declaring that we were never going to do another sedar again, ever, and storm out. And we’d spend the rest of the evening apologizing to him while trying to keep a straight face.
      .
      Good times.
      .
      PAD

      1. That’s a wonderful story, Peter. Thanks for telling it. I know you were influenced to be a journalist and writer by your father, but I’ve never read any mention of your mother, nor how your humor came from her. 🙂

  29. “Which single issue of a comic currently on the stands would you recommend to someone new to comics?”

    So at the comic shop I work at (SpaceCat in San Jose) there is a whiteboard which normally lists the single issue that will be the prize in that week’s gaming tournament as “Chosen by Peter.” But some wiseguy I work with decided to amend that to “Chosen by Peter David” and I figured, heck. Truth in Advertising is important.

    Whatever comic you chose will be purchased by me to be given as a prize to a random player in a Magic: the Gathering tournament. Hopefully hooking them on comics.

    1. Well, being totally selfish, I’d say X-Factor #215, which will be on the stands next month. It’s a one-off. It features vampires. It focuses heavily on two characters, Madrox and Layla, rather than introducing the whole team. And, one hopes, it introduces enough elements that the reader will be interested in learning more.
      .
      PAD

    1. My favorite of throughout my life? Because nowadays I rarely listen to albums or CDs. I have satellite radio and I just tune in to Cinemagic or the Broadway station and let it play.
      .
      If I had to think of what I listened to repeatedly at different portions of my life:
      .
      “Kung Fu.” They released an album of incidental music from the TV series, intercut with snippets of dialogue.
      .
      “Verities and Balderdash.” Probably my favorite Harry Chapin album.
      .
      “Terminator 2.” I always listen to this when I’m on long road trips. Best driving music, ever.
      .
      “Amadeus.” The movie soundtrack provides a wealth of Mozart’s best.
      .
      “The Transformed Man.” When I was a kid, I was a huge Shatner fan, and I had no idea that this spoken word album of his actually sucked. His overwrought rendition of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” is quite possibly one of the ghastliest things ever committed to record. (Actually, “committed” is the right word, since it’s associated with both crime and insanity.) Yet I thought it was great, and listened to it so many times I practically wore the grooves off. I will say, however, in my own defense, that his performance of “It was a Very Good Year” is actually kind of touching.
      .
      PAD

      1. Oooh, Chapin. I don’t know his stuff by album, but just looked up what’s on V&B. Good, GOOD selection. (If it also had “Corey’s Coming” it’d be dámņ near perfect.)

      2. “Verities & Balderdash” is a great album. I’d have probably gone with “Dance Band on the Titanic”.

        I’ll have to track down “Kung Fu”. I watched the show religiously in the 70s and forced my daughter to watch some when whe was 10 or 12 (fortunately she liked it). I’m sure I’d like the album.

      3. So… “Verities and Balderdash” is an album I give as a gift occasionally so I track deals on it and the price on Amazon just dropped to $8.48 (usually around $10.50) if anyone’s interested:

        http://amzn.to/fvhlNM

  30. Have you ever had an idea for a story arc, but when you sat down to write it felt that it wasn’t all that great an idea after all? If so, how do you handle it?
    .
    I write for the Fellowship of the White Star role playing game. And, sometimes I get the feeling that I’m trying too hard when I press on with an arc that I’ve become bored or disillusioned with but that the players are still having fun with. And, I always worry that my dissatisfaction will show.
    .
    Theno

    1. Well, if it was a manuscript I was working on, I just dump it and start over. If it’s a comic already in production, you just soldier on and do your best. For instance, back when I was doing “Young Justice,” I did a YJ/Supergirl crossover. And the story just wound up spiraling out of control. It became something of a train wreck, but you know what? Live and learn. And you never know, because every so often someone will come up to me with books for autograph and that storyline will pop up, and they’ll say, “That was my favorite!” And I just say, “Thank you.”
      .
      PAD

  31. If you had remained on X-Factor the first time around, how would things have panned out? I’m interested in general but am particularly curious about the Quicksilver-Crystal back-up storyline.

      1. Fair enough. Sometimes things seem like a shorter time ago than they really are. I just thought maybe you were going to reconcile the two of them. But if the answer to that question is lost to the ages, well, as Stan sometimes says, “So be it.”

  32. Hello,
    Are there any recent Marvel characters (let’s say created since the beginning of the century) you’d like to write?
    Thanks for your time.

    1. Skaar, the Hulk’s son.
      .
      It just fractures me that I wanted to do a story more than twenty years ago about the Hulk having twin sons. And I was forbidden to do so with the assertion that the Hulk would never, ever, have any sons in continuity. I wound up using the story concepts in “What Savage Beast.”
      .
      Boy, things change.
      .
      PAD

  33. I’m interested in the self-discipline writing for a living takes. What does your daily schedule look like?

  34. In terms of fan reaction, which of your stories had the the most unexpected result?
    .
    By this I mean. What scene or sequence either had fans surprising you with their venemous outrage or whole-hearted support. Or, conversely, a story you thought people would react strongly to, but instead, the fans collectively shrugged it off an ignored it.

    1. Venomous outrage? That’s easy. “Hulk #419.” The plot involved a disgraced Skrull who decided that he wanted to essentially commit suicide by Hulk. He came to Earth so that he could battle the Hulk and be killed, thus dying nobly. When the Hulk realizes what’s going on, he throws the battle and even begs for mercy so that the Skrull can look like a gutsy warrior to Skrulls who are observing the fight.
      .
      It seemed a reasonable tactic for the Hulk to take. He’s the Hulk: He didn’t feel like he had anything to prove. He didn’t want to kill the guy. It was, as far as he was concerned, the most expedient way of dealing with it.
      .
      And the fans were furious. As far as they were concerned, the Hulk never lost…period. Even if it was clear he wasn’t really losing. They all wanted him to have beaten the Skrull to a pulp and left him there.
      .
      It didn’t matter that this was the merged Hulk. It didn’t matter that the tactic made perfect sense and cost the Hulk nothing. Fans saw it as some sort of personal betrayal. It was easily the single most unpopular issue of my entire run.
      .
      PAD

      1. .
        Really? Wow… I thought that was a kinda cool twist on the usual cliche and thought it showed yet again that the new Hulk wasn’t a character you could pigeonhole and was not a character you could easily predict the actions of in a story by page 2.
        .
        And that’s what you got for that one? Wow…

      2. I thought it was a bit too exaggerated for him to be revealed to be such a good actor that he was capable of crying on cue, which put it a bit over the top. I would’ve gone for taking a dive or something. But as far as Peter’s intent, it was the type of thing I had come to expect from him. 🙂

      3. I do remember the scene seemed…off

        At least in the art. Conception-ally, it made sense to me.

      4. Well, I didn’t draw it, so…
        .
        As for being able to cry on cue, well…I don’t know anyone who can drop kick a tank, but I know plenty of people who can work up tears without much effort. So I don’t see why the Hulk being able to work up some fake tears is where the line of credibility has to be drawn, but whatever…
        .
        PAD

      5. That he has enormous physical strength and invulnerability is a given. They’re commonly-known traits of his. So is Banner’s scientific genius. Those are part of the terms of the character’s core premise.
        .
        That he is that good an actor as well seems like just giving him one more ability on top of that, and yeah, it does stretch credulity a bit. Just because these stories exist in a sci-fi/fantasy genre doesn’t meant that anything goes. Suspension of disbelief has its limits, even in superhero fantasy.
        .
        I would’ve preferred if Roger Cruz had reined it in a bit, that’s all.

      6. Luigi Novi said, of Banner/the merged Hulk, “That he is that good an actor as well [as well as having his strength and scientific genius] seems like just giving him one more ability on top of that, and yeah, it does stretch credulity a bit.”
        .
        I would argue that out of necessity Bruce Banner had to become a good actor. Especially during the years he essentially spent on the run. The merged Hulk would’ve retained whatever acting skills Banner was forced to develop as a survival mechanism. I’m sure some of the residual cunning from the grey Hulk would’ve been useful as well. Far from stretching credulity, the fact that the merged Hulk (who retained much of Banner’s personality and all of his knowledge and experience) was a good actor strikes me as perfectly credible.
        .
        On the other hand, the “Hulk smash!” green Hulk would’ve made a lousy actor. Unless, of course, he were a “Method” actor hired to play the Hulk.
        .
        “Hulk not understand. What Hulk’s motivation?”
        .
        “That’s just it, Hulk, baby. Do what the Hulk would do.”
        .
        “What Hulk would do? Hulk would smash!”
        .
        “Perfect, Hulk, baby. Smash away. And, action!”
        .
        Other than being himself, the green Hulk would be hopeless (The green Hulk as Hamlet: “To be or… Hulk Smash!” The green Hulk as Lincoln giving the Gettysburg Address: “Four score and… puny humans sit still during Hulk’s speech or Hulk smash!” And so on.). Banner or the merged Hulk? He’d have learned to act long ago.
        .
        Rick

  35. Your BEFORE DISHONOR (avoiding blatant spoilers here) featured the return of my favourite old series TREK plot device. yay.

    Only …

    So, was it your idea to finish things off that way, or was it the editors saying “OK, you can use it, but you’ll have to …” because major game changers are a no-no in the Trek universe?

    Sorry if this turns out to be a double post, but two hours later no sign of the original, so …

      1. Luigi – No. I w3as referring to something from the original series which PAD brought back but then … Pity. Not a lot of people are going to want to screw around with you if you’ve got that parked in orbit around your homeworld.

      2. Oh, the Planet Killer. But why would Peter’s use of it be a major game-changer? It’s not like it’s akin to killing off Picard or Spock, and I doubt there would be any future filmed Trek stories using it, since Nemesis was pretty much the nail in the coffin for the NextGen timeline.

      3. Uh, a weapon which is invulnerable to Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian, Dominion, etc weapons and which can take out a fleet all on its own? Yeah, that’s a game changer. What Kirk did to take it out? I’m thinking he got lucky. And I can think of at least a couple of ways that strategy can be nullified. It comes down to the same reason the story line came up with an excuse as to why the Pegasus cloak was not on every ship. A ridiculous reason, but they had to try to explain why this huge tactical edge was not being used when the federation kept being attacked.

    1. Just so he doesn’t try to explain Vulnavia. Her association with Phibes, or rather the reasons behind it are solidly in the realm of “it’s more fun not knowing”.

      1. I, conversely, would write it for free.
        .
        FOR. FREE.
        .
        You might get what you pay for but I would pretty much die a happy man if given the chance to work on a Phibes comic. That and harryhausen pretty much made me the gnre fan I am today.
        .
        (Starwolf, right on re Vulnavia (which I wanted to name one of my cats but everyone just stared at me). She was supposed to be one of his clockwork creations in the original and in the sequel…well, who knows? I think they may both be angels of death, maybe fallen angels but still.)

      2. .
        “I, conversely, would write it for free.
        .
        FOR. FREE.”

        .
        Hëll, I would happily write, rewrite and rewrite again for free and maybe even slip ’em a few bucks.

      3. well, if I ever got that gig, after doing The Dance of Happiness for an hour or so, my next step would be to get you, Bill, Sean and a few others on speakerphone and say something like “Nazis seeking to discover the River of Life to confer immortality upon their Fuhrer awaken Phibes. Hilarity and much death ensues. Discuss.”

      4. (Starwolf, right on re Vulnavia (which I wanted to name one of my cats but everyone just stared at me).
        .
        Yes, but you’re also the one who suggests to people that Mothra is a good name for a daughter. If they just stared at you, you probably got off lightly.

  36. Hey Peter,

    Has there ever been any talk about The New Frontier characters making the jump to the big screen or television? It is my favorite Star Trek series and has been since inception. I think it would make a great show.

    1. I recall, years ago on his old AOHell board, PAD mentioning that such an idea was a non-starter, since the Trek execs at Paramount wouldn’t get creator credit and royalties. (Similar to T’Pol being concieved as a younger T’Pau from “Amok Time”…the original character’s creator would receive royalties for every ep of Enterprise to feature the character.). Unless, that is, something’s changed with Berman and Braga out of the picture.
      .
      Given the success of the ’08 feature and it’s admitted alternate timeline, I’d wager, though, that even if the royalties issue is a non-issue now, Paramount’s currently focusing all filmed Trek (big and small screen) on that new timeline.
      .
      –Daryl

      1. Yeah, Peter told me at a Midtown Comics signing in 2001 (IIRC) that the royalties from one episode alone would put all three of his daughters through college.

  37. I recently broke my ankle and had to drop my bowling league. I miss it terribly, and I was wondering if after your back surgery you were back in the “swing” of things.

    1. Yes, definitely. It took me about six months for my body to adjust; I’m pretty sure that my spine is actually different from what it used to be, and that minuscule difference was enough to keep me unbalanced at the line until I retrained my muscles. But now I’m starting to bring my average up again, so that’s nice.
      .
      PAD

  38. At one point in Young Justice, a hint was dropped that Ollie Queen might have been Arrowette’s father. Was that just meant as a joke, or were you intending on following up on that at some point?

    1. Actually, what happened was that it had never occurred to me, but a fan put forward an extremely convincing case. So I tossed in a seed of a notion that I figured might lead somewhere if DC ever signed off on it. But it never did.
      .
      PAD

  39. I’ve missed the Caroline updates that were typically occurring on the first page of every X-Factor. Are there any plans for these to return?

      1. The last several issues have just had “the story so far…” updates. But I haven’t seen the most recent issue yet, so maybe there’s one there.

  40. I’m assuming you know who bites the dust in the Fantastic Four next week (I remember you saying you knew Captain America was due to be killed a few months before the event). So, given that assumption, is it the character you would have chosen to write off?
    .
    My money’s on Sue Richards, by the way – losing the cement of the team could spin some interesting stories for many years, including turning Reed Richards into one formidable Marvel Universe bad guy, worthy of Summer Event crossover status, in my opinion.
    .
    I guess you may not like to answer this one until Tues / Weds…!
    .
    Simon.

    1. @Simon:
      I seriously doubt it’s Mrs. Fantastic myself. A recent promotional ad for the post death title showed three hexagons to represent the surviving members, and one of them was clear.
      Interpret that as you will.

      1. I’m pretty sure the FF member who dies is going to Johnny Storm.

        It’s his turn, after all.

    2. Actually, I don’t know who dies. I try to keep my knowledge of stuff coming up limited to things directly relating to X-Factor. I like to be surprised as much as anyone else.
      .
      PAD

  41. Given how accessible you make yourself to your fans and how much you write/talk about breaking into comics, I imagine you get a lot of unsolicited story ideas. (And if you don’t, I’d be happy to help correct that situation.) Can you share any of them that were exceptional in one way or another?

    Thanks for all the answers, and for your consistently fascinating run on X-Factor – may it last another 214 issues! (Yes, I know.)

      1. Ah yes; I suppose that’s the only reasonable course of action.
        .
        (I feel a bit like Professor Chalker now. I guess it’s back to the lab to come up with a better question for next time.)
        .
        Thanks!

      2. >I don’t want to be accused of anything.
        .
        From reading this blog, I think you’re failing in that goal. Seems like you’re regularly accused of things which have no basis on what you did or did not do.

  42. Hi.

    In Supergirl #25, Wally the God kid, shows Linda’s mom a “magic trick” and he calls it a divine intervention and tells her that the last time he performed it was to an artist 30 years ago. You remember which artist do you have in mind?

    Thanks.

      1. I loved that issue.
        .
        I’m pretty sure the artist was Jack Kirby (Peter, correct me if I’m wrong). Wally strikes his baseball bat against the ground in an homage to Donald Blake’s walking-stick transformation, straight out of the pages of Thor, which was around thirty years old at the time Supergirl #25 was written.
        .
        Can’t remember what I ate yesterday, but I can remember that comic down to the panel layouts. Go figure.

      2. Ðámņ, of course. That’s it. Scott’s absolutely right. I basically gave Leonard Kirk license to rip off Kirby while acknowledging the source.
        .
        PAD

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