Q&A

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

Been a while since I’ve done a straightforward Q&A. So post your questions here about my work or my thoughts on stuff or wha tever and I’ll do my best to answer them. Please, for God’s sake, one question each.

PAD

193 comments on “Q&A”

  1. PAD:

    Given that Spider-Man 2099 is part of the Exiles now, My question is rather simple, if given the chance, would you write a new Spider-Man 2099 Mini Series?

    SURE.

    Thanks!

  3. The reason I read SiB in one day was that I was stuck in bed with a nasty head cold. A head stuffed with who-knows-what and medicines adding to make it all feel kinda loopy may not the best combination for asking reasonable (or polite) questions.

    Mea culpa on the nits, PAD. I really did enjoy the book and am looking forward to your next.

    – Sean M.

  4. PAD,

    When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer and when did you realize that, hey, you actually were a writer?

    WHEN I WAS A KID, MY FATHER WAS A REPORTER FOR THE NEWARK EVENING NEWS. AND SOMETIMES, PURELY AS A SIDE THING, HE’D BE SENT TO REVIEW FILMS. IF IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS AGE APPROPRIATE, HE’D BRING ME ALONG. AND THEN WE’D GO BACK TO THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE, AND HE WOULD WRITE HIS REVIEW, AND I’D WRITE MINE. AND ON OCCASION HE’D CRIB STUFF FROM MY REVIEW AND USE IT IN HIS OWN.

    THAT’S THE ANSWER TO THE FORMER. TO THE LATTER, PROBABLY AFTER THE FIRST YEAR OF MY BEING A FULL TIME FREELANCER.

  5. Another question: What do you think of the recent (as in a couple of years ago now) revelation that Lorna Dane is really Magneto’s daugter (making her the younger half-sister to Pietro and Wanda)? Do you feel that was a good direction to take the character? (Personally, I would have preferred to have made them (great)uncle and (grand)niece, or some varity of cousins once removed or something like that, to fit it better into their respective backstories. Less upheavel that way.)

    WELL, AS I RECALL, THE CONCEPT WHEN SHE WAS INTRODUCED WAS THAT SHE WAS MAGNETO’S DAUGHTER, SO I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH GOING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT.

    Chris

  6. Please tell me where to find “Cutting Ties” discussed in the following post. I was unable to find mention of it on Amazon. *Thanks!*

    I recently finished “Cutting Ties,” which is an excellent and solid addition to the NF series and beautifully written. I found that the fate of the Mirror Universe Elizabeth evoked pathos, and I loved how this impacts Muck’s journey. It was also nice to see McHenry in a NF story again.

    I was wondering if you have plans to or would consider telling more NF stories in the Mirror Universe or with the Mirror Universe NF characters.

    Thank you!

    I’M KICKING AROUND THE POSSIBILITY IN MY HEAD, YEAH.

  9. I miss thought balloons in comics. Why are they so passe now?

    THEY’RE NOT ENTIRELY PASSE. IT’S JUST THAT FOR THE MOST PART THEY’VE BEEN REPLACED BY NARRATIVE CAPTIONS. IT’S JUST PART OF THE ONGOING PROCESS OF COMICS BEING WRITTEN AS IF THEY WERE MOVIES.

    Also, Are there any characters/comics out there that you don’t want to write, not because you don’t like the character/comic, but because you do enjoy them so much that you would rather just sit back and read and enjoy them as opposed to having to be responsible for their every thought and action?

    NOT REALLY. I’M GAME FOR ANYTHING.

  10. PAD,

    Sorry to come so late to the table. I was initially going to skip this round of Q & A, having already had my questions answered on past occasions.

    Then a thought about the fact that you have this forum in the first place. The blog in general, that is, not just the Q & A thread. I imagine when you began this blog you approached it with a “wait and see” attitude. After all, it was something you were doing in addition to your regular writing, not your primary source of writing. Since you don’t get paid to host a blog, to some degree it takes away from your livelihood. True, the blog allows you a degree of self promotion that might not be possible in other venues, but does it balance out the time spent away from writing something for pay?

    That’s a rhetorical question. My actual question is this: Now that you’ve been writing this blog for several years, how would you assess its overall merits as a means of communicating your ideas to both new and existing readers? In other words, in the long run, has it been worth the hassles (such as trolls) that come with the territory to have remained in the blogging game?

    Rick

    I SUPPOSE IT HAS. THE THING IS, I’VE NO DOUBT THAT IT’S COST ME FANS. PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE BOUGHT MY WORK DECIDED THAT THEY DIDN’T LIKE MY POLITICAL LEANINGS AND THUS DECIDED TO STOP SUPPORTING ME…WHICH OF COURSE MAKES NO SENSE, BUT I’VE GOTTEN USED TO IT. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT’S PROBABLY PICKED ME UP READERS I WOULDN’T HAVE OTHERWISE GOTTEN, SO I SUPPOSE IT’S A WASH.

  11. dranj70: What was the inspiration for the current “Lin” storyline in Fallen Angel? Was it Linda fans clamoring for more? Was it your wanting to write Linda one more time? Or a little of both?

    Peter: Who said that was Linda? *I* never said that was Linda. Now if it *had* been Linda, it would been inspired by comments from DC Management that she was permanently gone from the DCU, consigned to oblivion. And I would have thought well, y’know, that being the case, why not provide a payoff to all those fans who waited to see a connection. But I’m not saying that’s the case.
    Luigi Novi: But what about the bloody glove? And your DNA at Nicole’s house? And the knife Mark Fuhrman found in your house? And cut on your middle finger?

    🙂

    COINCIDENCE.

  12. Any chance we will ever see the Panthenon again. If not can you reveal if you had any plans for them orginally and if so what they were.

    I DID EVERYTHING I INTENDED TO DO WITH THEM AT THE TIME. EVERY SO OFTEN ANDY SCHMIDT AND I KICK AROUND THE NOTION OF A PANTHEON LIMITED SERIES. I’M NOT CONVINCED AT THIS POINT THAT THERE’S ENOUGH OF A MARKET FOR IT.

  13. Any chance we will ever see the Panthenon again. If not can you reveal if you had any plans for them orginally and if so what they were.

    Heh. I’d considered asking if we’d ever see the Pantheon or the Troyjans again. I’m especially looking forward to this answer.

  15. Was that before PAD went exclusive? Now that he’s contracted with Marvel, that may no longer be the case.

    Heck, fugitive Peter would make a good recruit for the new Pantheon.

  16. PAD,

    If you come back and answer more questions, I have one if it is not too personal:

    A while back you shared about your wife’s miscarriage. Maybe you commented somewhere else, but I missed it. I was just wondering how you and she are doing.

    Iowa Jim

    DOING AS WELL AS CAN BE EXPECTED.

  17. I was able to interview Alan Davis, John Byrne, David Michelinie, Gerard Jones, Steve Englehart, Roger Stern, Kurt Busiek, even Jim Shooter for my Wonder Man fansite but repeated attempts to establish communication with you thru your e-mail and this blog have proved futile. I thought this questions and answers session might be my last resort but no dice. It might be that you have been extra busy the past few months or just a plain dislike for fansites, I don’t know. 🙁 I would just appreciate even a simple “NO” answer to my request, that way I will know at least not to ask again.

    ALAN DAVIS, JOHN BYRNE, DAVID MICHELINIE, GERARD JONES, STEVE ENGLEHART, ROGERT STERN, KURT BUSIEK AND JIM SHOOTER HAVEN’T BEEN FIELDING A DOZEN INTERVIEW REQUESTS A WEEK, AVERAGING TWENTY QUESTIONS EACH, EVER SINCE DARK TOWER HIT. SO MANY THAT AT THIS POINT I JUST SKIP OVER THEM IN MY E-MAIL BOX UNTIL I CAN GET AHEAD ON THE VARIOUS PROJECTS THAT I’M ALREADY COMMITTED TO.

  18. Hey Peter,

    I just read the first two trades of Friendly Neighborhood. Love them! One thing left me perplexed. It has been a while since I read the original issues of Spectacular, but I could have sworn the last we saw of Debra Whitman was it was revealed she was an alien and went back with her “people”. Is my recollection correct?

    Rob

    MY GOD, I HOPE NOT. THAT RINGS NO BELLS WITH ME, NO ONE ELSE ANYWHERE ELSE HAS MENTIONED IT, AND IF THEY DID DO THAT, IT’S A HORRIBLE IDEA.

  20. Hopefully I won’t upset anybody too much for slipping in another question before this thread completely peters out. (No pun intended)

    An odd question occured to me the other night, I don’t know why. If you could write any character’s final adventure, be they legendary, television, comics, or other, who would it be? And off the top of your head, if you have an idea, what do you think would be a fitting ending to their saga? Falling in a final heroic combat? Ambiguously riding/sailing off into the sunset? Passing the mantle to the next generation?

    Okay, so actually two questions… (And I know, you’ve already done it with King Arthur)

    -Rex Hondo-

    TARZAN. I’D PROBABLY HAVE HIM WIND UP BEING KILLED BY LA OF OPAR AND JANE AVENGES HIS DEATH WITH KORAK’S AID.

  21. (Atlantis Tales)
    I WAS PROMISED BY TOP DC BRASS THAT AC WOULD BE COLLECTED AS A TRADE. THAT WAS OVER TEN YEARS AGO. SO I’M NOT REALLY HOLDING MY BREATH.

    If it’s any consolation, it *has* been published as a trade, ten years ago or so…here in Italy. I really liked it…

  22. OK. You have mentioned wanting to do the Tarzan vs Phantom mini-series for years. A am patiently waiting. What’s the hold up?

    If that doesn’t work, here’s an Idea. Tarzan vs Tonto vs Frankenstein….(fond memories of Phil Hartman are running through my mind)

  23. Sean: Final nit: If Baltar was lying about the paste, what WAS Tyr doing in her bathroom?

    PAD: THAT’S IN THE NEXT BOOK…

    There’s a next book? Whoo hoo!

  24. As a Spider-writer, maybe you know the answer to this.

    Is Deb Whitman related to Dane Whitman (The Black Knight)?

    Matt

  25. Posted by Sean Ferguson at April 16, 2007 07:35 PM

    Which book are you the proudest of?

    COMIC BOOK? FALLEN ANGEL.

    I apologize for not being more clear. I was actually referring to your novels since I am a huge fan of them. I was curious as to which of your novels is your favorite. Thanks for responding though! I’ll have to check out Fallen Angel.

  26. > Posted by Raphael Sutton at April 14, 2007 09:39 PM
    > I’ve been getting the Babylon 5 scripts that JMS is publishing
    > (www.babylon5scripts.comif anyone is interested). Unfortunately JMS
    > said that, due to rights issues, he can only publish the scripts he
    > wrote. Is there any chance that your own B5 scripts, as well as the
    > Crusade one, will be published at some point? Maybe make a deal with
    > JMS to add them to one of the upcoming volumes? Thanks!

    > Raphy

    > THERE’S ALWAYS A CHANCE. I’VE NO INTEREST IN SELF-PUBLISHING MY
    > SCRIPTS, BUT IF JOE CAME TO ME AND WANTED TO WORK SOMETHING OUT, THEN
    > SURE.

    I sent the above to the B5 newsgroup that JMS posts to and here is his reply:

    Yes…at some point we plan to approach Peter and Larry DiTillio and
    others to make an arrangement that will give them a proper royalty for
    the publication. We just want to get the jms scripts done first.

    jms

  27. Peter David responded: “I DON’T BELIEVE IN ATHEISTS.”

    I posted that question forgetting something. Upon remembering, my response is a very tongue in cheek, guess that leaves Harlan Ellison non-existent. 🙂 (unless that bit of info is false, of course)

  28. I found this over on Newsarama:

    Q: Will Monet come and track down the Loners when she hears about Penance being back?

    C.B. Cebulski: Makes sense that she would, right? X-Factor is one of my favorite comics at the moment and if Monet wants to come and play with the Loners, she’s more than welcome. I’ll call Peter David and see what we can do!

    What do you think, PAD? 🙂

  29. > TARZAN. I’D PROBABLY HAVE HIM WIND UP BEING KILLED BY LA OF OPAR AND JANE AVENGES HIS DEATH WITH KORAK’S AID.

    I would pay to see that, too…

  30. “I HAVEN’T SEEN HIM AS BRUCE BANNER, SO THERE’S NOTHING FOR ME TO THINK. ALL THEY DID WAS ANNOUNCE THE CASTING.”

    Well, that feels like a dodge… But okay.

  31. 1

    Will you be focusing and expanding on Peter’s powers in FNSM, since it seems we have been left hanging for quite some time about it?

  33. Sasha: Was that before PAD went exclusive? Now that he’s contracted with Marvel, that may no longer be the case.
    Luigi Novi: He said during the second question-and-answer thread (“WHAT’CHA WANNA KNOW?”; October 21, 2003; http://peterdavid.malibulist.com/archives/000870.html ), which was more than two years before his exclusivity was announced. But what difference would this make? It’s not like anything was preventing him from writing more Pantheon stories before that.

    If you want me to email you the Peter David FAQ I’ve compiled from the five question-and-answer threads to date, Sasha, let me know. 🙂

  34. Having written so many characters for so many different companies, have you ever started writing a story (or even just began formulating a really cool character bit or plot twist in your mind)only to suddenly realize, “Oh, crap, I can’t have Snapper Carr hit on Mary Jane, they belong to two different universes!”?

  35. Having written so many characters for so many different companies, have you ever started writing a story (or even just began formulating a really cool character bit or plot twist in your mind)only to suddenly realize, “Oh, crap, I can’t have Snapper Carr hit on Mary Jane, they belong to two different universes!”?

  36. Having written so many characters for so many different companies, have you ever started writing a story (or even just began formulating a really cool character bit or plot twist in your mind)only to suddenly realize, “Oh, crap, I can’t have Snapper Carr hit on Mary Jane, they belong to two different universes!”?

  37. “Well, that feels like a dodge… But okay.”

    I don’t think he’s dodging so much as reserving judgement until we see him in action.

  39. Okay, I realize I’m probably far too late to get an answer, but I just stumbled upon this thread and thought I’d give it a shot.

    PAD, in your response earlier to the Kurt Vonnegut question, you don’t give any indication of whether you were actually a Vonnegut fan or not. And since I happen to enjoy your work immensely while also viewing Vonnegut as a literary god (his “Deadeye Ðìçk” is arguably my favorite novel of all time), this surprised me as the similiarities between the two of you seem rather dramatic. You’re both masters of taking an overwhelmingly sad scenario and punctuating it with an absurdly funny “punchline.” You’re also both lumped together as “science fiction writers,” at least as far as the general public is concerned.

    So, I guess I’m just wondering if Vonnegut was a significant influence on your own style and sensibilities and, if so, what some of your favorite works of his are. And if you don’t get around to answering, that’s okay, too. Since the way I figure it, in some alternate reality where Dresden was never bombed by the allies you did, in fact, respond.

    And so it goes.

  40. How many people do you know of who refer to a writer as “brilliant”, as Peter did, if they’re not a fan? 🙂

  41. How long is your exclusive contract with Marvel? I ask because I was curious to know if there would be any chance of you contributing an arc or two to Buffy: Season Eight over at Dark Horse …

  42. It’s a simple (I hope) question. What was the inspiration / start idea that helped you to develop the ST:NF character of Burgyone172. Is s/he based on a person in some form?

  43. I’m a little dismayed that we at Hidden Frontier didn’t give you a courtesy heads-up of our use of Mackenzie Calhoun. I cannot speak for the production as a whole in this, but I personally apologize for the oversight.

    John A. Whiting
    Head of Makeup
    “Dr. Henglaar”

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