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This is part one of an interview with comics writer Peter David. If all goes according to plan, part two will be interspersed with the questions of part one, to give it a back-and-forth feel. Much love to Peter for this interview. << Q: You seem to keep real busy, writing three or four books a month, and a lot of your work takes on a real personal nature. How do you balance your work with your family and the rest of your life?>>
Peter David: By working hard to make time for both...and not sleeping a great deal.
Q:Young Justice struck me as an odd idea for a mainstream book the first time I saw it. What is the appeal that Young Justice has for you?
Peter: I like writing a book aimed at younger readers. There's so few of those around these days, it seems.
Q:You've said that your Supergirl storylines were a chance to explore theology and the human spirit. That's an unusual goal in comics, but I think it's a very good one. Are there any comics that you see as traveling the same path, in terms of the story's theme?
Peter: Sure. Sandman did; so does Hellblazer. Preacher. Other titles. 
Q:I'm amazed by the length of your run on Incredible Hulk, which seems unusual for a character that's interesting, but doesn't sell as much as Spider-man or the X-men. Dave Sim was talking about long projects, particularly with the same creative team, and he and Marv Wolfman agreed that "you really get to know the characters and the story sort of writes itself." Do you find that those kind of amazing things happen?
Peter: Sometimes story possibilities suggest themselves because you become so conversent with the characters, yes, absolutely.
Q:In What I've read of your Hulk work, I was impressed with how you were concerned that people should know what's going on in the world. Some people might call it political, but that doesn't detract from its strength as a
superhero story. How did these kind of stories develop?
Peter: Just from continued efforts to give the stories a real-world feel, so they don't appear to be occurring in a vacuum.
Q:Your work often has an undercurrent of humor, but that's often used to set up serious issues. Which of your books use this effect to the fullest?
Peter: Probably "Supergirl," although my most serious book at this point would be
"The Haunted."
Q: Your Spyboy book is about a character whose secret identity is (for a while, at least) kept secret even from himself. When he's in Spyboy mode, the Alex Fleming personality shows up as a little head, like the angels and
devils that show up on cartoon character's shoulders. Captain Marvel does a similar thing with Rick Jones, Supergirl got implanted with another personality, then bonded with an even stranger one, and the Hulk is the
ultimate split personality case! IS there a pattern here? 
Notice the semideformed, aka chibi figure, saying sayonara in the last panel of this page. Peter: The Spyboy thing kind of developed that way because the little semi-deformeds that Pop kept putting in were so popular, I decided to incorporate it. Captain Marvel and the Hulk both had set-ups that pre-dated my getting involved with the titles. As for Supergirl, it came out of a desire to root her to humanity, but it's not as if Supergirl and Linda would have lengthy discussions with one another.
Q:What were your goals (short term and long term) when you entered the comics industry?
Peter: To write good comics. 
Q:How did you get involved In Star Trek?
Peter: Bob Greenberger asked me.
Q:I know that it's drawn by Amanda (Gatecrasher) Conner, but that's about all I know about Soulsearcher and Company. What's the skinny on this title?
Peter: It's a series I've been doing with Richard Howell for Claypool comics for about ten years now, focusing on a bizarre paranormal investigation agency in the odd town of Mystic Grove, CT.
Many thanks to Peter David for answering my questions. Now go read his stuff! |
