PeterDavid.net

Dance puppets! Woo!

I rather like the "new" costume, not that I had any problems with the previous one, mind you.

Looking forward to the Lopresti run.. hope you've written in some gorgeous women for him to draw, Peter. :)

So your only previous collaboration with Aaron was on that Impossible Man one-shot, right? How'd that go? I know you said you like to wrtite to your artist's strengths, so have you made adjustments since you found out Aaron was coming on?

Congratulations, PAD! That's great news indeed. Aaron Lopestri is a great artist indeed.

Hi, Peter. I don't read CAPTAIN MARVEL, but I do read your NEW FRONTIER novels (and FALLEN ANGEL too. #3 - 4 have been amazing.) I have a New Frontier question...

How come, in "Gods Above", when Spock is running through a list of all the available people qualified as experts when it comes to dealing with godlike beings, Spock neglects to refer to James T. Kirk? I mean, you had Spock mentioning his debates with Q, and the SPOCK VS. Q material can't even fit into continuity. How come Kirk's post-Veridian adventures and the fact that he is available for Starfleet to consult regarding godlike beings don't get a mention from Spock?

Are writers of STAR TREK novels barred from referencing the Shatner/Reeves-Stevenses work?

Oh, I think it is a very funny joke that Morgan is now the Excalibur computer system. Has Morgan now been linked to every role Majel Barrett has ever played in the STAR TREK universe?

hmm... have I missed a Laxana Troi link somewhere?

Ra!

Actually i hope he keeps the new costume, i love it.

I feel must the same thing about the new attitude also.

Except whats with the gun? he clearly doesnt need to use a weapon, so why bother?

To boost his self-esteem? i dont think so, actually it reminds of homer simpsons: "I felt this surge of power, like when God holds a gun"

Lopresti's art looks great and I'm very excited we get a regular artist again!

I like the green and white costume too, although maybe the helmet needs some adjustment so we can see more face. I've been a Captain Marvel fan since his first appearance in Marvel Super-Heroes, and I always liked that original costume, so the one Genis is wearing now is a great tie-in to that.

--your pal, Hoy

Thank God that image isn't accurate! I would have hated such an unpredicatable and twisted series having its next step just given away by some preview art. Hopefully that's just some practice sketches that got posted.

Gotsa question. If someone had a really cool comic book idea...how would he/she go about selling or submitting that idea to someone who can draw or write it? Just to see that idea in print.

Morgan writes a letter to Momma Troi (I know I can't spell it, I ain't even gonna try) in an earlier book.

Yeah, I hope he keeps the new costume. But he can pop in and out of the old one too...I mean he's so crazy, he just might want to change clothes once in awhile!

;)

Shawn

Trekchick...before you do anything... type up as detailed an outline as you can.

Then mail it to yourself in a sealed envelope which, when you receive it again, you pack away. This is for everyones protection...

Then as far as getting someone as big as PAD to look at it; forget it, too many legal implications exist. You will be better going through some of the MUCH smaller printers (if they accept transcripts) or, as i am, save up enough money to publish your own...artists are easy to find, most local comic book shops know a few amateurs looking to get any work, even if there is little or no pay (right now).

if you are going to self-publish... "How to self-publish your own comic book" by Tony C. Caputo is an excellent start.

btw if mentioning that book or author on this website is somehow illegal or immoral i apologize ahead of time.

Always enjoyed Aaron Lopresti's work since his time on What The?!

Am looking forward to seeing his art in Captain Marvel

luke wrote:

Then mail it to yourself in a sealed envelope which, when you receive it again, you pack away. This is for everyones protection...

Take an empty envelope. Seal it with a touch of the flap's glue—just enough for the flap to stay down. Address it to yourself, stamp it, and mail it. When you get it back, steam it open. Now insert anything you want and reseal it.

See the problem?

Carl Henderson

I like the green/white combo. Helmet and all.

This new artist seems good. I hope he sticks around a bit so the book can have a creative team for a while.

This book,Fallen Angel and (with due respect to PAD),Wolverine are all just getting better and better. Makes me feel like I'm not being cheated when I plunk down my comic book money. And trust me, that feeling happens quite often with some other books.

...artwork that has every single fan saying, "Yea! Captain Marvel is back in his old costume!"

What's great is: Every fan who says that is wrong.

Don't give the fans what they clearly want, eh? I'm thinking that if you ever want to move to CT, the WWE has a job for you on their writing staff. =)

I cheered when I saw the news of Aaron doing some Captain Marvel issues. I've been a fan of his since his What The?! days as well, and got the chance to meet him in Chicago. A very nice, very funny, easygoing guy, and glad to see he's still got work lined up.

And did I read correctly, that he'll be starting with issue 19? Didn't the newest issue's letters page say Marlo would be back in 19?

If so, colour me a happy firebird.

J

awesome news. congrats. Hope it worksout!

DAVE Stewart?

The genius who colours CAPTAIN AMERICA? Well, not the Jae Lee issues, but still. Is that you, Dave?

I loved your colours on HELLBOY too...

@ Ibrahim

Concerning your NF remarks, I laughed when Spock mentioned the "Kirk maneuver". That was really funny! But I am grateful that there were not more remarks mentioning Kirk. I really didn`t need to read again what a great guy Kirk was and what X, Y or Z can learn from him.

Not being a Kirk and definitely not a Shatnerverse fan, I am also grateful that the Shatnerverse is being treated as a parallel universe. Leave Kirk in his own time. I also don`t need Archer jumping into the future and meddle with what is going on in the future.

Hey, love the site but don't usually comment, I just wanted to say I'm glad CM's keeping the current outfit. I hated it at first but the sheer absurdity of it (the gun, for example) has grown on me and putting him back in his old costume will just be a step backward.

The new artist looks great. And I'd also like to put in a vote for the new costume. As for another Lwaxanna/Morgan link, I seem to remember some point where Lefler comments "Mom always wanted to have a ship counseler for a daughter".

Hello, Baerbel. I enjoyed your review of the third Apropos book. (And I'm surprised no one has commented on the rather sloppy cover considering all the mayhem over the preview of that horrible Calhoun cover... )

Yeah, I get that it wasn't exactly integral to the scene; Kirk doesn't appear in the story. However, SPOCK VS. Q got a mention despite being more an 'alternate universe' than anything Shatner and Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens have written. They were running through a list of experts on godlike beings, and while I'm not entirely sure at what point in TREK the NEW FRONTIER books are currently at, it is after the Dominion War and Kirk was alive and well during and after that period.

I'm not sure how you could like Calhoun and dislike Kirk...

@ Ibrahim

Hm, I think a new column where NF fans can talk about the new books here would be a good idea... :)

There was one about "Gods Above" quite a while ago but unfortunately living in Britain I don`t get the books that quickly. I am still waiting for "No Limits" and "Stone and Anvil".

I am not sure what sloppy cover you mean. I like the covers of the paperback and hardcover. Maybe I might like it better when I actually have the book but so far I am not a fan of the "No Limits" cover. A friend already told me that the scar is indeed wrong. I am pretty sure, this Calhoun hasn`t got his purple eyes either. And although I know by now that this is the same model as for all the other books, the guy looks much too bland and polished on the cover for being a believable Calhoun.

I don`t know Spock vs. Q but maybe this is indeed part of the same book universe as NF contrary to the Shatnerverse. I don`t know.

Calhoun and Kirk have a lot in common. But also PAD himself was analysing in the past that there are nevertheless also differences. To me, Calhoun is a more refined version of Kirk.

By the way, I am glad you liked my Apropos review. Although I prefer the less dark first novel to the second and definitely the third, I nevertheless hope the series will continue because Apropos is a very interesting character.

The Calhoun cover you describe is the cover I referred to.

I think Apropos looks stupid on the cover of TONG LASHINGS.

I don't think Calhoun is refined at all. "Oh, I'm an officer. I'm just not a gentleman." He's reminds me a bit of Conan. Where Kirk is smooth, Calhoun is rough, but Kirk knows how to relax while Calhoun is always a bundle of pent up energy and identity crisis, sometimes a warlord and sometimes a Starfleet officer. Kirk is more at peace with himself, I've always thought, but then again, marriage, a son, going back to his farmboy roots, and other things have reduced his edginess over the years. Kirk, not Calhoun.

Also, Calhoun frequently comes off as Peter David's own personal Wesley Crusher, but that really is another topic.

in response to carl henderson:

Fortunately life isnt as simple as episode of Alias and it is nearly impossible to open and reseal an envelope (without people being able to detect that) using steam on the glue, therefore in a court of love, sealed envelopes are considered admissable.

If however you still feel worried, simply send it registered mail, this requires not only documentation but an un-reproducable seal over the back.

Off subject a bit but I just got back from the Motor City Comic Con in Novi, MI and I see PAD is going to be there in May.

Is there any truth to this or have I been misled.

Hopefully this is true!

Brian

Does the costume change back to the previous one signify a change in Cap's sanity? I dropped the title when he went bonkers and began killing people left and right.

Let's just cut to the chase; a sealed envelope riff will get you laughed out of court. Registering something with the US Copyright Office won't (last I looked, around $20). On the other hand, whoever stole your work will probably have sufficient resources, legal and financial, compared with yours that you'll be toast anyway.

Seriously, being overly paranoid about someone stealing your idea is a sign of an amateur. There are reasons and times when you should be such, but at this point you'd be lucky to get someone in position to do anything with it to look at it, much less swipe it.

"... therefore in a court of love, sealed envelopes are considered admissible."

Dang. If only Spike had known this a few weeks ago, maybe he could have been mailed there and found out once and for all how Buffy really feels about him.;)

*sigh*

Sealed envelopes do nothing other than indicate the envelope was mailed the day it says. It says nothing concerning contents or anything else. It provides no form of legal protection or evidence at all.

Moreover, copyright laws protect finished works...not outlines. you can have a conversation with someone detailing a story you want to right, and they can write the story and have a copyright in it. Because they 'created' it first. It doesn't matter if you jotted down your idea on a piece of paper and mailed it, videotaped yourself reciting it, or in any other way memorialized the creation of your idea.

Ideas are not copyrightable. Finished creations are.

'bout time. haven't seen much of this guy's work but i can tell you i was tired of second rate, revolving talent hooked up with a first rate writer. it's nice to have solid artwork and consistency when reading a title. that's one thing i appreciate about PAD's work is that he generally stays committed to a title while so many writers seem to fizzle out on a character or theme. peter can still keep it fresh after years of plotting. it's nice to know we can see this guy around for at least six bloody issues (which is a helluva lot better'n the fill-ins we've been fed lately). i whine about this all the time. it was great having morrison on new x-men for as long as he was but for whatever reason they couln't keep a monthly artist. (still bummed about morrison's leaving that title). o yeah, when's issue #5 of TMNT coming out? i'm looking forward to original stories. i figure that's when the twisted tales can really ensue.

Don't give the fans what they clearly want, eh?

Not all fans dislike the "new" costume. In fact, I like it better than the "old" one. It just goes back to the old adage that you can't please all the people all the time. But I think there's more to this costume than just a new look. I think Genis wants to look different than his dad, especially now that he's trying to distance himself from his dad in every other aspect of his personality. Of course, his new costume is reminiscent of his dad's original costume, but that only serves to point out that we can never totally divorce ourselves form our parents. As long as Genis never reverts back to his own first costume, then I can rest easy in the knowledge that he's not yet totally insane;-).

dAN

I can't believe i'm saying this because i'm such a fan of the classic Captain Marvel costume but i really would miss the Alex Ross designed costume if they ever changed it . It's really grown of me alot since the new series started. Especially Ivan's Reis's rendition of it where the spacey part is more white looking in parts where it's unshadowed. I think it would look great if he kept the kree costume and just lost the helmet and the overuse of the gun. I think the alex ross costume is alot more distinctive than the pacheco redesign and makes Genis stand out more from other superheroes. My only complaint with the pacheco redesigned version of Mar-vells costume is the pants...i hate the pants. He should just wear Mar-vells version of the costume.....Ok,.....nevermind. I gotta go . I think i'm going to go start a superhero fashion web site or something...I feel so.... gay.......Must........get...........away .....from....here

Peter,

I don't really care which costume Genis wears as long as you talk Marvel into stopping the current coloring method. I don't know if they are doing colors directly over pencils, or what, but that faux painted look has to go. More often then not things look muddy and indistinct. Maybe it's just me but I hope not.

Doug Hancock

One other thing. The Newsarama article specifically states that Aaron will be the penciller for a six-issue arc. Will Aaron be staying on as the regular penciller after that?

Doug Hancock

Cincinnati, OH

"So your only previous collaboration with Aaron was on that Impossible Man one-shot, right? How'd that go?"

PAD and Lopresti both had work in that Impossible Man special, but it was on different stories. I don't think they've "collaborated" before. The artist on PAD's Imp Man story was Luke McDonnell.

Corey

Also, Calhoun frequently comes off as Peter David's own personal Wesley Crusher, but that really is another topic.

I have zero idea what that means.

PAD

It means that like Gene Roddenberry's Wesley, Mackenzie Calhoun is possibly Peter David's Mary Sue. (Again, this is merely a suspicion and how the character comes off; I don't know for sure and it's not really any of my business.) Calhoun comes off as Peter's own wish-fulfillment fantasy for what things would be like if he was a character in the STAR TREK universe. Calhoun completely fits the profile of a Mary Sue. He's arrogant, he steps in and shows everyone how his way is better, women dig him, he frequently comes off as invincible, he's a complete badass, Picard and various other STAR TREK heroes think he's cool, and he's got an unusually striking eye-colour and also a facial scar as a memorable physical characteristic.

Mary Sues can be done very horribly... like with Wesley. Mary Sues can also be done very well; Calhoun is driven but conflicted, he's full of contradictions, he rubs people the wrong way despite having a tendency to be right, and he's possibly insane. I mean, encouraging the captors to kill their captives in hostage negotiation. That's nuts. And it worked. It doesn't really matter if Calhoun acts out Peter's personal fantasies; what matters is whether or not Calhoun is an interesting character, and he is tremendously interesting.

A lot of my favourite writing uses Mary Sues (done well, of course). I sort of suspect that Steve Rogers is John Ney Rieber's, that the Black Panther is Christopher Priest's, and what is Angel in his first season but a depiction of a man with no interpersonal skills, no need for them because he gets away with being taciturn and emotionally distant, and thus has little ambition to acquire them, and in the end, an introvert who still comes off as extremely cool and is surrounded by people trying to be his friends, which may or may not be the wet dream of ANGEL's entire writing staff.

Again -- I don't know. I just sometimes vaguely get that impression. I'd like to be Calhoun -- or maybe Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor. I tend to come off as James from SPIN CITY. Damn it.

**DAVE Stewart?

The genius who colours CAPTAIN AMERICA? Well, not the Jae Lee issues, but still. Is that you, Dave? **

Or is it the Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics?

:)

Travis

Again -- I don't know. I just sometimes vaguely get that impression. I'd like to be Calhoun -- or maybe Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor. I tend to come off as James from SPIN CITY. Damn it.

Could be worse... could be Urkel.

Personally I see Calhoun as PAD's "The Way Things Ought To Be" in the ST universe, to blatantly steal from a certain blowhard.

Calhoun is the perfect mixture of Kirk and Picard. At least that's my theory.

Travis

Calhoun completely fits the profile of a Mary Sue. He's arrogant, he steps in and shows everyone how his way is better, women dig him, he frequently comes off as invincible, he's a complete badass, Picard and various other STAR TREK heroes think he's cool, and he's got an unusually striking eye-colour and also a facial scar as a memorable physical characteristic.

He's arrogant? His way is better? Chicks dig him? Pretty much invincible? As my daughters say, Smooth move, Ex-Lax: Aside from eye color and scar, you've just described James T. Kirk...which proves that you actually have zero clue as to what constitutes a Mary Sue character.

A Mary Sue is a character introduced into an already existing Trek universe who serves as a wish fulfillment for--usually--the teenaged writer of the story. First of all, she's usually no higher than "Lieutenant," frequently Ensign. She's smarter than anyone else on the ship, including the captain, she saves the day, and all the existing characters fall in love with her...including Spock...and they spend most of the story speaking in wonderment over how terrific Mary Sue is. In short, she throws the dynamics of a standard Trek story completely off.

Say that Calhoun is a Trek captain in the hero mold of Kirk and I'd agree with you. Say that he's inspired by William Wallace and I'd cop to it. But you can't single him out to be me any more than you can single out any other reasonably capable hero I've created, from Sir Apropos of Nothing to the Fallen Angel.

PAD

You're calling me names over how to define Mary Sue? I've never called you names, and you got an entire room at the Toronto convention to laugh at me once, traumatizing for a fourteen year-old. Have a sense of proportion!

(This is the part where Peter sets the Total Perspective Vortex on me.)

It seems you're more focused on how Mary Sue throws off the balance of a pre-established set of characters and universe, while I use Mary Sue as perhaps a broad term for characters who are the embodiment of their chronicler's personal desires and fantasies, acting them out to universal adoration. Well, in the end, you tend to write heroic fiction, and heroic fiction can often boil down male empowerment fantasy... I think Calhoun frequently appears to fit the profile without having the negative impact of a Mary Sue.

It occurs to me that if I hadn't used the words Mary and Sue, this might have been a friendlier exchange. Sorry. I was trying to say that Calhoun often seems like the sum of one person's desire to be courageous, revered for being such an outrageously unconventional yet ridiculously effective hero, with striking physical characteristics, but Calhoun never upsets the balance because he's shown as such a dark soul with personal demons and so many levels of tragedy and sadness. There are so many ways in which Calhoun is unbelievably cool, but the source of those elements of his character is frequently something sad and unfortunate -- and that I really appreciate. He's everything a lot of people would like to be, but he's all of that for a price harsher and deeper than most would be willing to pay.

Oh, ah, I don't like Picard. He's a tree hugger. And I think Calhoun is almost cooler than Kirk. Calhoun only falls behind in one area; Kirk was a woman at one point... I don't think Calhoun has had that experience yet.

Has he?