PeterDavid.net

Originally published August 14, 1992, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #978

There are no comic-book conventions.

And we could really use one.

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UPDATED FEBRUARY 8th: Having taken the evening to reflect, plus after doing some research, I have decided that the best commercial of the evening was: The Dave Letterman Show ad. It was incredibly memorable. It was laugh-out-loud funny. And apparently they really were all together in the room. It was filmed at the Ed Sullivan studio and kept completely under wraps. The fact that they were able to pull that kind of national surprise in this day and age of spoilers and leaks gives it, as far as I’m concerned, the edge.

The place where I’ll be live blogging the commercials during the Super Bowl, the season’s final game of football.

Football, the one hour game that can run two, two and a half hours or more, making it the TARDIS of sports: You go into it thinking it’s one size but once you’re in it, it just seems to go on forever.

Football or, as fans of rugby refer to it, that game like rugby where the players are such pussies they have to put on helmets and padding. (Have you ever seen rugby? Seriously? All the brutality of football except they’re dressed in shorts and t-shirts. It’s literally like they just rolled out of bed and started careening into each other.)

As always, the focus of this blog will be on the most interesting part of the evening: The commercials. Comments will be below the cut. Plus I may decide to comment on the game here and there, using my copious expertise on the subject.

So get ready. The first inning will start at 6 PM, in just 25 minutes. Or, in football terms, in an hour and ten minutes.

PAD (more…)

There was a slim chance this year that I might give a damn about the outcome of the Super Bowl, and then the Jets lost and I’m back to not particularly caring. (Not that I’m especially a Jets fan, or even a football fan, but I have plenty of friends who are, and I wanted to see them happy.)

But, as always, I will be doing running commentary on the commercials, which are typically the most interesting part of the game.

Feel free to cook up some nachos and join me tomorrow.

PAD

If you’re going to Portsmouth, England, you might want to stick to walking or public transportation rather than flagging a taxi. NPR reports that would-be cab drivers are allowed to take the written test in Braille.

PAD

A lot of people are expressing outrage over the prospect of DC using other writers to utilize Alan Moore’s characters in order to produce sequels.

On the other hand, Alan Moore used characters created by Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson, H. Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, J.M. Barrie, L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll–not to mention thinly veiled proxies of the entire Charlton line–to produce his own various sequels which were highly praised and supported by those selfsame fans.

It should also be noted that there have been plenty of sequels to classic works of literature. If the sequel to “Gone With the Wind” was lousy, it didn’t diminish the value or worth of the original one iota.

Just sayin’.

PAD

Originally published August 7, 1992, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #977

And now, a column that has no particular value to it whatsoever, except perhaps to indicate that I have entirely too much time on my hands (which, considering my present workload, is laughable).

Many people go around with sketch books and collect sketches from artists.

Not me. That’s too simple. That’s too mundane.

I collect barf bag hand puppets.
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Because politicians are scared of their constituents, and they won’t want to risk the wrath of the very same homophobes who want to strike down gay marriage at every opportunity. Any Congressman who supports overturning “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is going to believe he’s risking his career on an issue that he probably doesn’t feel all that strongly about and that will gain him absolutely nothing by supporting.

That’s why.

PAD

People keep asking me about “Young Justice League,” a new animated series that Bleeding Cool News caught wind of that’s apparently evocative of “Young Justice.”

You know as much as I know about it. Some of you may know more. No, I’m not scheduled to write for it, no, I haven’t been approached, yes, if they did, I’d leap at it ’cause I loved working with those characters.

End of statement.

PAD

From their website:

Heroes 4 Haiti is a grassroots movement of artists seeking to raise money for organizations helping victims of the recent Haitian earthquake. Heroes 4 Haiti is not an organization, it’s a collective response to human tragedy. We’re asking everyone to donate a little bit of their talent, money or time towards helping those in need.

Find out more here.

Originally published July 31, 1992, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #976

The most common question I get at conventions, the most frequent type of letter written to me at Marvel or c/o this column, features a variation on the following.  (The exact wording is taken from the letter of one young man in Mansfield, Ohio. I’m not running his name because the letter wasn’t to the column, and I don’t want to violate confidentiality.  But it was one of the better written letters I’ve received on the subject.)  And it says:
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Sorry. Kind of a crazy week. Anyway, XF #201 came out this week, plus, as always, other books.

PAD

Why is it that “Barry Ween, Boy Genius” is not a series on “Adult Swim?” How is it remotely possible that no one at Cartoon Network has read Judd Winick’s masterwork about a foul mouthed kid genius and realized it would be the perfect complement to “The Venture Brothers” and “The Boondocks?” Get with the programming, Adult Swim.

PAD

Originally published July 24, 1992, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #975

Time to start assaulting the dreaded BID mail bag.
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They should get sponsors for the State of the Union to help pay down the deficit.

“The State of the Union…brought to you by Veridian Dynamics. We don’t care…so that you have to.”

PAD

Crap. Well, there goes the title of my autobiography.

PAD

Since Peter will be away from the keyboard until very late tonight, I will be doing the state of the union address this evening.

So join us here for commentary and commentating.

Kath the Wife

Short update: I have to pick Peter up from the train station so I will be AFTK for a short time. I ask that everyone behaves while I am gone. Y’all know the rules.

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Sean Chen and I will be signing at Jim Hanley’s Universe today at 4 West 33rd Street (just after 5th Avenue) from 5 to 7 pm.

Be there or be ….Ya know somewhere else that is less interesting.

PAD

Not only is she the first pro bowler to be featured in a Marvel Comic book, but she can add to her resume being the first woman to win a PBA title, having won the Tournament of Champions yesterday in Vegas. The result is a big honkin’ trophy, a two year exemption on the PBA tour meaning she’s back on the tour next year, and a $40,000 payday.

And all I could think was, Oy, she’s got $40,000 and she’s in Vegas. This could end badly.

Seriously, this happened in Vegas, but it’s not staying there. It’s a new world and she’s the first citizen in it. So for those of you whose first exposure to her was in the pages of “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,” see what can happen? (Actually, now that I think about it, Stephen Colbert showed up in FNSM before he turned up in any other Marvel Comic. I sure can pick ‘em.)

PAD

Originally published July 17, 1992, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #974

Well, it was better than Alien 3.

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That allegedly fans of Conan O’Brien, who was dubbed “Coco” by Tom Hanks, have been deluging NBC with boxes of Cocoa Puffs in protest.

PAD