There’s a Bozo going around on my alt.fan board (and using the popular sock puppet “a friend of mine was wondering this” tactic to bring it up on Newsarama as well) who was pondering why my
titles, such as “Supergirl” and “Young Justice” get cancelled, and “Captain
Marvel” struggles. And when he posted it on my alt.fan board, he made sure to include the usual Usenet “bet you don’t have the balls to respond” nonsense, because, y’know, these guys always have to have a “muy macho” thing going. Because I take on Marvel execs to the point of probably being fired, but I’m going to be afraid of some Usenet numbnut.
Since this website represents my central response point, I’m posting my reply to the Bozo here as well as over on the alt.fan board. Two responses, actually: A short and a long.
Short answer:
Because, y’know, “Supergirl” never had a title canceled before I wrote her. Because, y’know, “Captain Marvel” has a long and proud history of sales success, as do all cosmically-related Marvel titles. Because, y’know, two of the three “Young Justice” mainstays, Impulse and Superboy, never had a title
canceled. When other books are canceled, oh well. When mine are canceled, something’s wrong somewhere. Bozo.
Long answer:
As all Gaul was divided into three, all comics are divided into three: Those that are halted by the creators, those that have already been canceled, and those that haven’t been canceled yet. The middle category is by far the largest. A look at the top 100 shows that, except for evergreens such as UXM,’Tec, and Action, no book is numbered over issue #100…which is 180 degrees from the market less than twenty years ago.
Readers don’t stay. Consequently, neither do creators. There’s no point in sticking with a title five, six, twelve years, because sooner or later, the audience will turn on you. Always. Without exception, and often without relation to the quality of the material being produced. That which they liked several years earlier, they now despise. Familiarity breeds contempt.
Always.
Creators are faced with two choices: Stay until that occurs, or leave.
So fans bìŧçh about creators who are transient in their loyalties, while at the same time take for granted, or even come to despise, those creators who stay.
Why are “my” books canceled? Putting aside that YJ was dumped to make way for a new cartoon series. Putting aside that if retailers had actually ordered sufficient copies of “Supergirl” to keep up with fan interest and demand, the series would have continued. Putting aside that many people *still* refuse to even sample “Captain Marvel” simply because they don’t like the character. Putting all that aside…
Why? Because I cared enough about the characters and readers to stick with series, year in, year out, getting the books out on time rather than months late.
Because I stayed.
Bozo.
PAD
• 
Well put. I might also mention that your version of Supergirl was the longest running series of comics with Supergirl as the headliner (i.e., not counting her backups in Action, or the shared space in Superman Family). She’s not the Earth-1 Supergirl who will always be “real” to me, but the stories were darn good.
Thanks for sticking around. And thanks for staying with Soulsearchers and Company also.
And I for one am very glad you have stuck around, not just on your books, but also in the industry. I’ve liked your stuff since “The Death of Jean DeWolff,” and, while I haven’t always agreed with or loved individual storylines, I’ve always respected your commitment and talent.
The funny thing is, I remember Walt and Louise Simonson telling me that DC’s post-CRISIS strategy of lining up hot creators for a few issues would never win in the long run because readers like consistency. At the time that certainly seemed true…
We still love ya, Peter. Whatever books you end up writing next, there’s a whole lot of us who are gonna be there with you, for as long as you’re there.
And speaking of next…new Spyboy? Anyone? Anyone? New Spyboy?
I’ll give you that, Mr. David. You do keep with your work. There’s nothing worse in comics than a creator starting a book, releasing two (or less) books a year, and then dropping off the face of the earth.
>new Spyboy? Anyone? Anyone? New >Spyboy
There was a SpyBoy story in Dark Horse’s REVEAL anthology, and in that book it mentions another SpyBoy miniseries for Summer 2003, THE M.A.N.G.A. MISSION.
Corey
Peter – I was going to take issue with your “familiarity breeds contempt” theory and then I thought about it a bit. I used to love a comic writer whose name rhymes with “sclaremont”, but I can’t stand him now (for a while, really), because every thing he writes reads the same. I have faith that won’t happen to you, but if it does…well, I guess I’ll be going on message boards, saying what a big fan I used to be of a writer whose name rhymes with “ravid”. 🙂
Hope you enjoyed your trip.
Unfortunately I have to agree with what PAD wrote about how fans react. Personally, I was a fan of PAD before I even knew who he was. I’ve never been one to look at who the creative team is behind a comic. I’ve always been about the characters. The Hulk was a favorite during my childhood. And I have all of PAD’s run. But until around the time of the Panthoen I never even looked to see who was writing it. After that I started to pay attention to PAD’s work and looked to see what else of mine he may have written.
Because of him I gave Aquaman a try. Before PAD I never cared. After PAD he is my favorite DC character. I also decided to give Capt. Marvel a try even though I hated that character. Through out the first book I never grew to like C.M., but I loved the stories and I loved all the other characters. During this new angle I still don’t like C.M. but the whole story has been fascinating to me (However I do mis the humor from the first book).
PAD got me to fall in love with YJ. Again I don’t like all the characters (Hate Supes and Impulse) but I loved the stories.
Basically, I think it’s a shame that fans are so fickle. Even if a new direction is taken the ride can be so much fun. But if you get out, you’ll never know how much fun you could have had.
You know I’ve thought of all the major creators who stay on books a long as you have, and push out real good stories month in and month out.
Your definately up there with the greats such as Brian Michael Bendis, Geoff Johns, Chuck Dixion, Chris Claremont, Priest, Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Jeph Loeb, James Robinson, David Goyar, Dan Jurgans, Bruce Jones, JMS, Paul Jenkins, Grant Morrison, Water Simions,
And that guy named, what do you call him – oh yeah – Stan Lee!!!
All of those writers have stayed with books for quite some time. (At least from what I can see) And those are some of my favorite writers in the industry.
So rest assured you’ve certinly got a place in fan’s hearts for those creators who actually try and stay with a book more than *Cough* Kevin Smith *Cough* 8 issues
Shame that PAD hasn’t had a single ongoing series that wasn’t cancelled this year. (Although Captain Marvel goes on, it’s a different series now…)
Maybe he should have tried attacking DC execs 😉
Surges: So rest assured you’ve certinly got a place in fan’s hearts for those creators who actually try and stay with a book more than *Cough* Kevin Smith *Cough* 8 issues
First of all, Kevin Smith is a busy guy, given that he always has a movie project going on at the same time he writes comics, and I, for one, am glad he is able to write the ones he does. Either he generally makes it clear when his run on a given title will be finite (Daredevil, Green Arrow), which is something we can figure out anyway, or we know when a title is obviously a miniseries (Spider-man and the Black Cat) or one-shot.
Second, I would point out that his run on Green Arrow, for example, was 15 issues.
Luigi Novi, about Kevin Smith. I really like his work, and his Green Arrow run was an amazing idea of how to revive Green Arrow. I loved those stories – they where chock full of so many good continuuity points, and it was extremely exciting, entertaining, and funny. The last issue, #15, was actually one of the ugliest fight scenes I’d ever seen, and it was majorly intense. It was great – EXCEPT for this one point: It was sooooo late! And now with Black Cat, which makes Daredevil Yellow look like it came out at record pace, can’t even get past 3 issues before the year ended.
And don’t get me started on “Daredevil Target” They don’t even have a 2ed issue even listed 3 months later! His name means good stories, yet sadly the companies look like their trying to squeeze a quick buck out of him.
He’s just getting to be too slow a writer to count as one of the long staying mainstays like Peter David.
And really, 15 issues isn’t that long of a run, compared to any of the writers I mentioned.
But it’s only my opinion. I just wanted to give Mr. David a compliment for his dedicated service.
Thanks, bye
All of the writers you mention have shorter runs as well as the longer ones, and most of them were primarily doing comics at the time. All of Kevin’s work to date has been announced as limited runs, and in the two cases where they were runs within an ongoing series, he extended the run beyond what was originally announced.
I don’t think it’s his goal at this point to pick one book and stay on it forever. If you like his work when you read it, great! But just as the value of Jersey Girl won’t be dependent on whether there is a Jersey Girl 2: Jersey Woman, so is the value of issues 1-15 of Green Arrow not dependent on whether Kevin does 16-72.
A few thoughts…
1. I stopped worrying about late comics when I changed my reading habits. Rather than worrying about whether an issue was available this week or next, I now buy the issue and wait until all the “parts” of the story are out. Maybe I read it as it comes out, maybe I don’t. It makes situations like the Kevin Smith thing better.
2. This second comment is for Peter. I’m a big fan of your work- I’ve got two long boxes at home filled with Hulks, Supergirls, and other books of yours. I bought one of your novels with my birthday money (having birthday money at 32 makes turning 32 that much easier).
But PAD, I gotta ask you- after this year, is it still worth it to write comics for DC and Marvel?
Granted, at least DC’s cancellations made some sense- one book wasn’t selling (Supergirl), and another book is being revamped to tie in with a new cartoon show (Young Justice). DC thanks you for your work, gives you a new project (Fallen Angel), and life goes on. Sure, you’re out two paychecks, but in their eyes, all is well.
But Marvel’s been, well, openly antagonistic to your work. The whole U-Decide mess, the Christmas song, the online spectacle. It’s ugly to watch, and it’s sad to see a company openly treat a respected “name” talent this way. You put out your work on time, you work to promote your sales, you generally tell good stories that should appeal to a large number of comic book buyers (sure, you’ll throw a clunker like the 2099 storyline, but even Tiger Woods shoots over par on occasion), and there’s a large group of comic buyers who will say, “Peter David wrote this? I’ll buy it.”
And instead of working with this, accepting the value that you have to the company, they attack the things you don’t do- you can’t get free publicity in the NY Post, you can’t ignore decades of Marvel continuity (and I accept some of that approach for some projects- New X-Men, the Ultimate books, Cage- but I also like projects such as Thunderbolts and Captain Marvel that reward me for buying waaaay too many Marvel comics over the years), you’re never written for Vertigo, and…well, your Hulk book actually starred *the Hulk*, and you know we can’t have that.
At some point, while I’m glad you’ve stuck around and entertained me month after month, I’ve also watched you take more than your share of insults and insinuations this year. And it makes me sad. If it were me- and I love comics, and I wish like hëll Marvel had bought my pitch this year, and I’d give my eye teeth to get some of the ideas out of my head and onto paper for everyone to see- I’d have quit by now.
I’m not telling you or asking you to quit writing comics, Peter. I’m glad you still write four-color funnies for me. But after all the crap you’ve taken this year, all of which you’ve taken with a ton of professionalism and humility, I wouldn’t blame you if you simply walked away and wrote your novels.
Then again, maybe I’m viewing it wrong. Maybe this *is* the life of a professional writer, and I need to realize that if I want to continue to give it a shot. (That, and learn how to do effective editing of my own work. But that’s another rant…)
Best wishes to you and yours in the new year. And thanks for the great stories.
Ray aka wishlish
Dear Peter,
I absolutely love it when writers stick with a book for a long time and you can see great character growth and change. Your Hulk was a great example. Look at the differences in character between those in Claremont’s X-Men #94 and the latest X-treme X-Men. Its awesome to read! I think there is great value when one writer sticks with it for the long haul. I just cannot understand the desire by many in the comic fandom community for “flavor of the month” writers and frequently rotating creative teams. Too be honest, it frustrates the hëll out of me. There is only so much a writer can do in 22 pages, and only so much a writer can do in 12 or 24 issues for that matter. Thanks for 80 great issues of Supergirl. I look forward to 80+ more of Captain Marvel.
Hmmm,maybe it’s just me but ever since I got past 25 I find I buy titles based on the writer. Not the artist, although a good artist always helps. As for Peter David’s books I think I’ve bought everything he has written since the Hulk, oh and if you can find it there was a brilliant issue of Starman (one before Jack Knight) that was the funniest comic I’d ever read. In the meantime I’m really disappointed at the loss of Young Justice and Supergirl, but at the same time looking forward to what comes next. Oh just to avoid this becoming a Peter David groupie thing, I would also recommend anything by Warren Ellis, James Robinson, Mark Millar, most of what Garth Ennis writes, Jeph Loeb and J M Straczynski.
Peter, My wife bought me the Captain Marvel GN for Christmas (I have a wife that does not understand comics, but knows a good hint when she hears it) and it made my holidays.
Great read. Thanks.
PAD, I agree with you for the most part about the comics industry. I have an “old school” mentality of following characters rather than creators and the few creators I do follow, I follow them almost anywhere.
There does appear to a short attention span mentality out there where people just keep moving on to the next hot thing. Maybe it has something to do with comics being too expensive and not being able to afford to get everything you want. I’m not sure.
I do think it is a shame that the “hot” creators seem to have poor work ethics or are constantly distracted by their day jobs so that most comics are late now. Creators who devote their time and energy to comics like PAD deserve to be treated better. Not all hot creators have bad work ethics of course, but there are certainly some and they are the ones who should get the shaft in my opinion. Bryan “Do you want it good, or by Tuesday?” Hitch tops my list. As a fan and retailer, I want it good by Tuesday. That’s how you should try to handle your JOB in my opinion. Most people don’t have the luxury of blowing off their work and still remain employed.
On a different note, I know that most retailers didn’t back you up on Supergirl, but I don’t think fans were telling their retailers they wanted it in advance. At any rate, I think that DC Comics also shares in the blame for Supergirl getting canceled. They only waited for the pre-orders for #76 to be placed. They didn’t bother to wait and see how the comic actually sold in stores! Supergirl is steadily rising up the rankings and yet it is canceled. That is DC’s fault and no one else’s. Last time I checked Supergirl had risen by 3,593 copies. I believe that’s over a 20% increase. That should have guaranteed its continuation especially since its doing better now than a large part of DC’s books.
Wow. Even your replies to the rude are well written. Impressive respond.
Well said. Even I enjoy it when many writers can be on a book for years to come, and Cary Bates and Eliot S! Maggin were on Superman and the Flash for many years too.
You know what I wish for? That you could become the EIC of either Marvel of DC. Especially Marvel. Quesada’s been pretty unfair to you, and he’s not what Marvel needs. You are what Marvel needs, not him.
But how could it be done? How could you, or even Tom Brevoort, another guy whom I’d like to appoint as EIC of Marvel, make it to that position? It’s no easy feat, to say the least.
If I could address one more thing:
(and I accept some of that approach for some projects- New X-Men, the Ultimate books, Cage- but I also like projects such as Thunderbolts and Captain Marvel that reward me for buying waaaay too many Marvel comics over the years)
Well Mr Cornwall, it’s a fair argument, but I tend to differ, mainly because under his writing, Grant Morrison desecrated the X-Men book and turned it into a repulsive little cesspool with no redeeming values. I don’t support the Ultimate books, certainly not Ultimate X-Men and the Ultimates, which aren’t even suitable for children, which makes Marvel look ridiculous, and the MAX books? Offensive on every level, and Marvel should’ve tried out romance books instead, considering that girls are still being all but ignored by the comics industry.
Peter,
I just wanted to chime in and tell you that I’m awed by your work ethic as well as how you handle yourself as a human person, specially in this medium which is over-flowing with people that are intent on acting as the biggest, most obnoxious fools you have ever come across.
It’s true what they say. If you met someone who acted like 90% of the internet posters do you’d have o have enormous self-restraint not to punch them in the face. On the other hand, if I met someone who acted like you do the one thing I’d really want to do is shake that person’s hand.
Thank you for all the great stories and for being one of the most level-headed guys in these here parts.
Guess I’m in a minority here, but I couldn’t give a rat’s patoot how long a writer stays on a book. I don’t follow books, and haven’t since I was in my younger teens–about when Steve Ditko left Spider-Man. I follow writers. I don’t like “Captain Marvel,” “Supergirl” or “Young Justice.” I like what Peter David does with Captain Marvel, Supergirl and Young Justice. One of the oddest things about comics is the notion that characters are the purpose of reading, rather than writers. Peter, keep up the good work. Wherever you land, I’ll be reading.
Ah, so THAT’S it. A friend really did tell me something a couple years back and people exploded when I tried to find out what was going on, even accusing me of making the whole thing up. Didn’t know it was a common dodge.
Anyway, sorry to hear about the two books getting cancelled. In the case of ‘Supergirl,’ it might sorta work out for PAD. When he first started this arc, I was genuinely worried when he ended it and, most likely, Kara went away again, the fans would go berzerk:
“HE KILLED KARA! HE BROUGHT HER BACK JUST TO KILL HER AGAIN! HE’S EVIL, EEEEEEVIIIIIL!” You know the drill. However, the fans who I worried would think this are now convinced PAD intended Kara to stay around and now believe DC’s to blame for her demise. No, please, don’t dissuade them.
As for the ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ theory, it’s certainly possible. It’s also arguable that some writers eventually just get burnt out on the books and go on autopilot sometimes, or get bored and try something new when they should just move on. Either way, I sometimes suspect some writers stick around because they’re terrifed a new writer will come in and screw up the characters. Comics writing often seems to demand a complete emotional detatchment from the characters one creates, which must be a problem.
Not referring to PAD in any of the above criticisms, I promise. Not trying to be cute or snarky. Hope it isn’t taken that way.
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