X-POSITION: Peter David Preps "All-New X-Factor" Finale and "2099" Return

[Peter David]

While you like to address "the fans" in general, you specifically have not had a reputation of taking criticism in stride. However, I'm almost certain you've heard that before as well.

I have, and it never fails to break me up. As if the comments that fans make compare to, in any way, the comments I have to deal with consistently from the people I work for.

For instance: When I was writing "Space Cases" for Nickelodeon, there was one script which I got back from a Nick exec that said, "I gave the latest script to my seven year old to read. Her comments are attached. Please implement." Do you get that? I was taking script instructions from a seven year old. Do you seriously think that fan commentary even registers on me after crap like that?

My favorite was on Usenet when some guy posted a negative review of one of my Trek novels. I read it, shrugged, and went on with my life. A week later the same guy started a new thread: "Peter David doesn't care about the fans." Why? Because I DIDN'T respond to his negative review. If I defend myself, especially against opinions that put forward non existent facts ("This issue firmly establishes that Peter David hates Christians"), fans bitch. And if I ignore fans, they bitch. The consistency is not that I'm thin skinned; the consistency is that fans bitch.

PAD

[Peter David]

What I'd really like to get is your honest opinion on that retcon of Quicksilver's parentage. I know I probably won't get it, what with Marvel being your employer and all.

I think eventually it will be reverted back to what it was.

PAD

[remydat]

All in all I enjoyed X-factor particularly the dynamic between Gambit & QS and Danger who had a lot of funny moments. If there were two things I thought could have improved the book it was as follows.

1. All their battles were resolved anti-climatically. Danger was defeated with a kiss, Magus never wanted to fight, Mori was defeated by his ex wife, Gorgon was told to stand down by Crystal, Danger basically soloed the Sentinels, and Sunfire and Longshot had to be teleported away. In isolation having one or two of these battles end this way would have been fine as a change of pace but when virtually every major battle in the book ends this way then it just feels like the team isn't that formidable.

2. The dynamic and banter between the characters was great but none of them save Quicksilver had anything happen to them in the book that fans could say will have a lasting impact. 5 years from now a Quicksilver fan can still look fondly at this run for his admission of guilt and his reconnecting with his daughter and Polaris. I suppose Polaris fans can say she reconnected with her brother and even Wanda. But nothing that happened to the other characters was really memorable for them. Of course, that may have been covered if the book was not getting canceled but the book may have benefited if we got to character centric plots a bit sooner.

But again, all in all I enjoyed the run and will miss this particular team. Hopefully they get to go out with a bang.

[Dazzler]

I think eventually it will be reverted back to what it was.

PAD

One can only hope. Your handling of the Lorna/Pietro relationship has been great, and I especially loved the Lorna/Wanda dynamic in issue #14...shame to see it all have been for naught.

[Park Slope Pixie]

I thought Stroman's art was stylized and fun in his comeback. But once the story left M-Town, really once we had that Paula Poundstone issue, my interest was killed.

Paula Poundstone, lol.

[AZPolaris]

When is the last time a PAD book was given an A-list artist? Comic books are about the art. The trend lately has been writers. Writers that do not truly develop characters. I grew to love Carmine's art, but many people complained about it. I'm surprised Anka was kept on covers. Had he done interiors things may have been different. Maybe I'm wrong, but the fact is PAD has had some inconsistent art over the years. Maybe I'm just too old and comics aren't what I want them to be. Thanks for your candor and honesty PAD.

[Purplevit]

When is the last time a PAD book was given an A-list artist? Comic books are about the art. The trend lately has been writers. Writers that do not truly develop characters. I grew to love Carmine's art, but many people complained about it. I'm surprised Anka was kept on covers. Had he done interiors things may have been different. Maybe I'm wrong, but the fact is PAD has had some inconsistent art over the years. Maybe I'm just too old and comics aren't what I want them to be. Thanks for your candor and honesty PAD.

Carmine is awesome. Colorist is X-factor`s problem. That colorist have super power to turn beautiful art into all yellow art.

[Park Slope Pixie]

I think Larry Stroman should have the opportunity to provide his side of the story.

[sureshot]

While I'm looking forward to 2099. i'm also not as well. They tried it once before and it did not do well enough for them to keep it going. So trying it a second time maybe a waste of time imo.

[salarta]

One can only hope. Your handling of the Lorna/Pietro relationship has been great, and I especially loved the Lorna/Wanda dynamic in issue #14...shame to see it all have been for naught.

It wasn't for naught, though. 1) Even if we choose to accept everything about the recent retcon and assume it'll never be fixed, the issue is still meaningful as its own stand-alone piece. 2) When Wanda and Pietro are restored to being Magneto's kids again, issues like ANXF #14 will help immensely as a launchpad for moving forward and picking things up where they were left off. That's what happened for Lorna and her relationship to her dad through Genosha. 3) The fans have still shown they greatly enjoyed the issue, and have made fanart, fanfiction and even a fan comic as a result.

I'm getting a bit annoyed by the repeated implication by various people that what happened among the Magnus siblings in ANXF amounted to nothing. I understand why a lot of people are saying it, there's a lot of emotional investment in those relationships and it's frustrating and depressing that Marvel killed the momentum for something with major long-term potential in favor of instant gratification with much lesser short-term gains. Kinda like eating an apple seed instead of choosing to plant and nurture it into something that can offer many more seeds through many apples. Even so, what we got out of ANXF as a whole for Pietro and ANXF #14 for Lorna and Wanda is valuable, no matter how fleeting the moment was.

When is the last time a PAD book was given an A-list artist? Comic books are about the art. The trend lately has been writers. Writers that do not truly develop characters. I grew to love Carmine's art, but many people complained about it. I'm surprised Anka was kept on covers. Had he done interiors things may have been different. Maybe I'm wrong, but the fact is PAD has had some inconsistent art over the years. Maybe I'm just too old and comics aren't what I want them to be. Thanks for your candor and honesty PAD.

I'd say comic books are about both, not just one or the other.

If you have no story, then it's just a series of amazing drawings. If you have no art, then it's just a script with no flavor to draw out its evocative potential. I think people focus on writers because the writers provide a context for the art to have deeper meaning, but I also think it's very fair to say not enough credit is given to the role of artists in a visual-heavy medium. Artists can give subtle clues through art that if a writer tried to get across with text, it would look tacky without some very serious effort. Alan Moore once stated that graphic novels can do things films can't, e.g. you can flip back to something you saw on an older page more easily than if you had to rewind or skip back on a movie. It's also been shown with Watchmen that the art was set to be sort of mirrored from the midpoint outward, and you wouldn't catch that with film all too well.

[AZPolaris]

Was just too lazy to go into detail. Obviously writers are equally as important, but it is art that makes comic books anything different than any other text. There was a day, though, that an artist's name on a book sold it. All I'm saying is PAD's commercial success may be hindered by the lack of "bigger name artists". I personally loved Carmine's art and definitely agree the coloring blew it. Don't think it affected the general audiences opinion of the art. Olivier Coipel or Leinel Yu attached to ANXF would have started off a lot stronger.
And please continue to post when possible PAD. Speak your mind freely because there is not enough truth spoken these days.

[Quicksilverfan]

Was just too lazy to go into detail. Obviously writers are equally as important, but it is art that makes comic books anything different than any other text. There was a day, though, that an artist's name on a book sold it. All I'm saying is PAD's commercial success may be hindered by the lack of "bigger name artists". I personally loved Carmine's art and definitely agree the coloring blew it. Don't think it affected the general audiences opinion of the art. Olivier Coipel or Leinel Yu attached to ANXF would have started off a lot stronger.
And please continue to post when possible PAD. Speak your mind freely because there is not enough truth spoken these days.

I agree. Personally, I'll buy a book just because of the artist because that's the facet of comic-making that interests me most. Unfortunately for me, a lot of the artists I like are on books with Bendis whom I really hate as a writer. The repetition in his dialogue drives me bonkers. But that's for another discussion.

Having said that, I really like Carmine DiGiangomenico's consistent contribution to the book. As for the coloring which many people commented on, I didn't have any problems with it. The cover art was nice and visually very different form the other titles. Although to be honest, I don't like Anka's art all that much. He draws bodies fine, but his faces are way too "flat" for my taste (I don't know how else to describe it)

[Quicksilverfan]

I think eventually it will be reverted back to what it was.

PAD

I hope so....Maybe you'll be the one to revert it back.
This whole retcon bothers me on several levels, but the one thing that annoys me is that Pietro and Wanda already have a clusterfu&k of an origin story which includes a bodiless evil entity, an 200 year old recluse who makes animal hybrids, three pregnant ladies, two deadbeat dads, and a cow midwife. I really don't see how adding to this story is going to make anything better.

[anyajenkins]

I think Larry Stroman should have the opportunity to provide his side of the story.

Yes...and there should be a dance off involved. :P

[blanchett]

I loved the relationship between Quicksilver and Polaris. I wasn't sold on Scarlet Witch and Polaris. I thought Wanda came across a bit sheltered and I had definately seen her drinking before. I get why you went that route though and I could tell you did your research because a lot of gypsy women are not traditionally allowed drink but Wanda is not exactly a typical member of the roma.