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Well, the Torture Chamber opens back up, and the rack is a
bit dusty, but fully functional. Our interviewee this time around is none
other than Peter David, who needs little introduction to anyone with
much of a background in reading science fiction or comicbooks, but
just in case, he's been writing comics for quite some time, with
lengthy runs on the Incredible Hulk, X-Factor, and Amazing Spider-Man,
and written some of the best-known Star Trek novels, including TNGs
"Imzadi", and his own series of Trek books, "New Frontier". With a number
of new projects in the works, it seemed like a good time to get Peter
down into our dungeon and rake him over the coals for a few
questions.
Jason:
Obligatory question time, what are some of your influences?
Peter David:
Harlan Ellison. Stan Lee. Stephen King. Arthur Conan Doyle. Edgar
Rice Burroughs.
Jason:
Who are some of your favorite collaborators, and whom would you love
to work with, that you have yet to have the opportunity to do so?
Peter David:
Be cool to work with Dave Gibbons on something. And Adam Hughes. And
Will Eisner, but that ship's sailed.
Jason:
Recently you've returned to the comicbook you're arguably best known
for, the Incredible Hulk. We all know the saying, you can't go home
again. How have you found the experience of returning to this
character you worked on for so long different from before, and how is
it the same?
Peter David:
It's been exciting because I'm a different person and different writer
than I was back in the day. I approach the Hulk in ways that wouldn't
have occurred to me before. I'm exploring territory that's relatively
untouched, such as his teen years. And, most of all, I'm trying to do
stories that have real world resonance without being
"issue-of-the-week" stories.
Jason:
You've actually made a number of returns to characters you're
well-known for writing: the Hulk, Madrox from X-Factor, and now
Spider-Man. What's brought you back around to these familiar grounds?
Peter David:
They offered me the gigs. I mean, I'd love to tell you it's some grand
plan or career track, but it's not.
Jason:
I've been enjoying your return to the Hulk, and in the most recent
issue (#80), you tossed a curveball at the readership with the
suggestion that the last 8 years or so never happened. This has
caused quite a stir amongst readers. How do you feel about the way
some people react to things like this? I can imagine there must be
some amusement, since the story isn't done yet, and we don't have the
big picture yet . . .
Peter David:
I can't go into too much detail because I don't want to blow the ending
of the story. But yes, I wrote the ending the way I did for maximum
reader reaction. Some readers are taking it as a given and voicing
outrage and hatred as if it's a done deal. Others are confidently
saying, "It's another fakeout." My favorites are the ones who think
it's a fakeout, but admit that they're saying, "Of course, maybe that's
what Peter WANTS us to think and it's actually legit." What breaks me
up are the people who are howling that I've designed the story as some
sort of direct shot at Bruce Jones, oblivious to the fact that--if I
really did reset the story back to issue #426--I also wiped out years
worth of my OWN continuity, including Betty's death.
Jason:
With so much output coming from you, do you ever get the feeling that
you've run out of stories to tell, and if so, how have you managed to
plough forward?
Peter David:
I always feel I've run out of stories to tell. Every day when I sit
down to write. I've felt that way ever since I became a full time
writer. And then the stories come. I hope that keeps happening.
Jason:
You seem to balance humor and darker tones very well in your comics,
using both to great effect. Do you find it difficult to go from one
to the other in the limited space oft-times afforded to a typical
comicbook?
Peter David:
No. I'm sorry, but it's just not that difficult, especially since
humor is a natural reaction to stress in real life. If I keep the
situations real, the humor flows naturally.
Jason:
With the recent announcement you're writing a new Spider-Man title
with Mike Weiringo on art is there anything you care to let slip about
the title? How will it differentiate itself amongst the other
Spider-Books on the market?
Peter David:
I want to focus on the downside of fame, fortune and success. I mean,
here it seems that Peter Parker's got it all, so what problems could he
possibly have, right? Well, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston had it all,
and look how that turned out. Instead of Spider-Man being the focus of
angry editorials, I think it'd be fun to see him the subject of gossipy
chat columns or Enquirer headlines. Have him deal with nosy
photographers who aren't his own ID, with groupies, with women throwing
themselves at him, with potential lawsuits. Furthermore, have Peter
start to convince himself that he doesn't deserve happiness, which is
certainly typical of successful people who are fundamentally insecure.
More than ever, he'll be looking for villains to match himself against
because when he's Peter Parker and thinking about problems, he's
miserable; but when someone's trying to kill him, he's relaxed and
joking.
Jason:
You've worked with Joe Straczynski before on Babylon 5, and he's
working on Amazing Spider-Man now. Are you collaborating at all with
him, and Reggie Hudlin on the Marvel Knights book?
Peter David:
There's going to be an overall arc to the Spidey books when i'm first
starting that will dovetail with Joe and Reggie's stuff, yes.
Jason:
A number of film adaptations have been written by you. Do you find it
any more difficult, or uniquely challenging to do something like this,
as opposed to an entirely original work? Do you ever feel tempted to
work out some plot holes you may see in the stories, or make other
changes not in the script you're adapting?
Peter David:
Oh, I always plug plot holes in scripts. You have to understand that
movies are told in a sort of visual shorthand. For instance, in SM II,
when Doc Ock suddenly shows up at the restaurant and kidnaps MJ, no one
in the theater said, "Wait, how did Ock know where they were?" In the
book, you explain that sort of thing. It's challenging not only to
find convincing ways to cover stuff like that, but also determining
where and how scripts can be expanded upon to meet the length
requirements of a novel.
Jason:
In the past, you've had issues with working on large crossovers in the
past, yet you're having several issues of Incredible Hulk tie in with
this summer's House of M crossover. What prompted you to jump into
another big crossover so soon upon returning to the title?
Peter David:
The problem I've had with crossovers is not the concept itself, but
rather that they always seem to come at inopportune times. Since House
of M surfaced and I'd just finished Tempest Fugit, I had no problem
seguing directly into it.
Jason:
Peter David:
--
Somewhere between black and white, is the Grey.
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