As part of our ongoing endeavor to make this website more interesting for Gwen to read, here’s a Gwen update: She had the job interview at New England Comics, which she thinks went well. They asked if she reads my books, which of course she doesn’t. That shouldn’t be surprising. Putting aside the axiom that no man is a hero in his own home (except, I think, major league baseball players; I mean, how could they NOT be), I think it’s tough for the children of a writer to suspend disbelief long enough and buy into characters when they’re used to seeing their father sitting there creating the characters on his computer. Shana, my eldest, *did* read “Sir Apropos of Nothing,” but was totally skeeved by the sex because her father isn’t supposed to know about such things. I advised her to steer clear of “The Woad to Wuin” on that basis, since it’s raunchier than the first book.
I remember going to a Cherry Poppin’ Daddies concert some time ago. Girls were screaming as the lead singer bounced up and down while singing “Zoot Suit Riot.” But I could see the guy was about my age, and all I could imagine was him having a teenage daughter in the audience being utterly mortified, because that’s what teenage daughters do best: Be embarrassed about their parents. “What does your father do for a living?” Do you really think she’d say, “He’s a Cherry Poppin’ Daddy?” Hëll no. She’d probably say, “He sells insurance.” Which is what my kids used to say about me, particularly when meeting boys, so they wouldn’t have to worry that the boys weren’t interested in them just to get some free comic books.
At any rate, if Gwen does get a parttime gig at NEC, I’ll let you know. Because it is, after all, a Gwen world, and we’re all just living in it.
PAD
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Heh-heh… I don’t have offspring myself (I tell myself that at 27 I’m FAR too young) but I often spot my guitarist’s kids in the audience at my band’s gigs looking as if they’ve died and gone to parental embarassment Hëll… Ah…
I have a mental image now of Gwen taking a ride inside her own head, a la “Being John Malkovich,” with similarly surreal results…
Best of luck to Gwen.
I’m hoping that my little endeavor (Super Hero Happy Hour – sorry for the plug) does well enough that any of my impending offspring will be proud to admit that their old man writes comics. Beats what I had to tell my friends what my dad did… “You see, he’s a manager in charge of parts control and pre-production for a major aerospace manufacturer.” Yawn.
Peace…
Dan
I’m running into the “my parents embarrass me” bit more and more these days. My daughter is ten, going on thirty, and we must be the most ášš-backward, came-off-the-boat-yesterday parents in the universe.
Last week my kid was part of a committee to run a canned food drive, and they did very well. I was justifiably proud of her hard work, so I called the school and asked them to give an award to my daughter and the other committee members from me (the school calls these “On Eagles Wings”, and anyone can give one to another person for good deeds, etc.). I asked her if she’d gotten it, she said no. FOUR DAYS LATER I find it sitting on the dining table and asked her about it. She shrugged and was extremely nonchalant about it. I suspect she got a great deal of teasing from her classmates over it…
…sigh. Peter, to think you’ve gone through this twice already and a third time on the way…
JSM
Man, dating PAD’s daughter just to get free comic books? Consider comic books run $2-3 a pop, and considering PAD only writes a handful of books each month, those must be some cheap dates to make it economically worth while.
Um, Peter’s got three daughters, with a fourth kid (btw, is it still dodging the sonograms such that y’all don’t know the gender?) on the way.
As for the free comics, well, I believe most of the major comics companies have comp lists for their creators where once a month they send ’em a package with pretty much the complete line, save for the trade pbs and hardcovers. Getting the leftovers could significantly cut one’s comics budget.
Liv Tyler was once asked how she liked watching her father perform. She replied something along the lines of “He shouldn’t be doing that. He’s 54 years old.” Ever since then, I have never been able to watch Aerosmith without at least once thinking of her on the side of the stage going “Daddy! You’re embarassing me!”
The real hazard of dating Peter David’s daughter is the risk that he may commit character assassination — for example, make you the bug-eating gibbering cretin who assists the major villain but gets killed in an messy and undignified manner for the sake of an easy gag.
And now that I’ve been able to find a spot on this bum’s blog where I can talk about one of this week’s comics purchases…
*LOVED* Capt. Marvel Mk II #2. Sorry to bring in another positive Starlin comparison, but you’ve not only maintained the “chill factor” that made the first Thanos saga, but also the humane edge that informed the early Dreadstars. Uniquely PAD is the no-word-misspent dialogue.
Keep it up. You’re making the kid who calls down lightning and kibitzes with a talking tiger seem dámņ dull.
In answer to Tom, nope. We haven’t a clue other than it’s a boy or a girl. It had its knees tightly together for the last sonogram (at 20 weeks).
31 weeks now and the baby is very active these days. The cats have enjoyed the “Alien” show quite a bit. They follow the undulations of my stomach with great interest. They have been warned that there will be a serious game of catapult if they pounce.
Kath
Tom–I was referring to the fact that Shana and Gwen have already put Peter through this, and Ariel is probably just starting to feel her oats.
Brave man. Very brave man.
JSM
I walked into New England Comics for the first time (it’s near my school) and asked when they were having the Peter David signing. They explained how it wasn’t a fact yet, but that Gwen seemed very qualified and knew a lot about comics. I think she’ll get the job…
And my regular comic shop seemed disappointed she didn’t apply there. Prety cool…
Writing from first hand experience, the “Don’t embrass me” syndrome is not limited to parents vs. children, but uncles (and aunts) concerning their nieces and nephews as well. We’re nice to have around when they want something, otherwise…
CM #2 was so the best book I’ve read in years!!!!
The plot was captivating. I love the cosmic tied to the nitty gritty reality. Some of Punisher’s lines were so funny! Come to think of it, I haven’t read anything with Punisher in it for years.
Can’t wait to see how and what Rick survives next! When will the cosmos “vote him out”?!?
thanks Peter!
Eep, I forgot!
GOOD LUCK GWEN!
Shawn
Note on the Punisher…
I’m an old fart of 36, who remembers when the Punisher first appeared, as part of the (first) Jackal story in Spider-Man and later in Giant-Size Spider-Man, working with Spidey versus Moses Magnum. (And why can’t I recall technical papers I read an hour ago, I ask you? Sigh.)
At the time, the Punisher was actually _refreshing_. He was used sparingly, and portrayed as a ruthless but disciplined military man, someone perhaps a bit _too_ sane and rational.
PAD’s handling of the Punisher was actually more consistent with those early appearances than with the Judge Dredd pastiche the Punisher became after overuse set in.
Hmn…maybe PAD ought to put in a proposal to write a Punisher series. He could even use Gwen as a hook: “My daughter is being pursued by a lot of low-lifes who just want her for free comics and maybe a chance to get a character submission on my desk. I’m very motivated to use them as characters who die in violent ways.”
It could happen.
Ah,kids !
They are the light of our life. I can
I wonder if the young Ms. David is creeped out by all this attention from people she doesn’t know.
Matthew:
Creeping Gwen out?
It’s good point, and one that PAD would of course be aware of when he posted the “Gwen! David” link on the front page of this blog.
I like PAD. He’s a mean man.
Let’s all visit his daughter’s page and email her with kind words about him.
That’s an adorable story, PAD. Daddy’s little girl stuff.
Incidentally, Dave Barry mentions the parental embarrasment syndrome with a great deal of relish (or he did when his son was in Junior High, and I’m sure he will again when his daughter is in the same) — I recall a column (quite fondly) wherein he mentions a fluff story in the papers he read about a little girl who was walking in New York with her father when he began to sing.
“Please daddy, don’t sing!” she pleaded with him.
Here’s the kicker — “daddy” was none other than Billy Joel. A guy who millions of people would pay to hear sing, is being begged by the fruit of his loins to STOP.
This story prompted Dave to pick his son up from Junior High one day in a rented (in his words, I am not making this up) Oscar Meyer Weinermobile. The shade of red achieved when over the Wienermobile’s loudspeaker was heard, “Will Robert Barry please report to the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile” was allegedly the stuff of comedy gold.
My heart goes out to Gwen. I mean, having boys use you is bad, but having boys use you to get FREE COMIC BOOKS is positively devastating.
Oh, and the main reason I’m posting: Finally finished THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSUEDO-SCIENCE, am now up to Chapter Eight of SIR APROPOPOS OF NOTHING, and am enjoying it very much. In fact, it’s the first sf/fantasy book written since the mid-70’s that wasn’t by Harlan Ellison that I’ve really liked in years. So either Mister David is really good or I need to have my Zoloft dosage checked. Let’s go with the former.