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View Full Version : Peter David - Marvel's Fix-It Man?


90'sCartoonMan
08-12-2006, 08:23 PM
Okay, maybe I wouldn't call him a "fix-it man" (couldn't think of anything better), but I noticed that a lot of the time, Peter David picks up story elements that would've normally been dropped or ignored. I heard he doesn't like having to deal with big events, but I think it's admirable that he takes the time to address what readers want to see addressed. For example...

Hulk was one of the few books that picked up where House of M left off. Sure, Spider-Man and Fantastic Four had minis, but none of the books that directly crossed over, like Captain America, used House of M at all. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but I like how Hulk dealt with it.

X-Factor is making great use of Layla Miller, a character who would've just been a deus ex machina for House of M. Peter David's giving her purpose. He's also showing that House of M has an impact on other heroes and following through with that, whereas Marvel's other books seem to go from event to event without showing some of the smaller effects. He also took the time to show how Siryn and the rest of the team reacted to Banshee's death. I've seen a lot of people upset that Wolverine and Jubilee haven't had any interaction since she lost her powers.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man shows a wider use of Spider-Man's environment than Amazing does. After "The Other", ASM was all about Peter's relationship with Tony Stark and gearing up for Civil War. FNSM not only showed the New Avengers aspect of Spider-Man's life, but it also brought back a couple old villains, showed Peter Parker's supporting cast at school, and had an enjoyable one shot story (because everything shouldn't be all-event all the time). Plus it's continuing that whole Mysterio thing.

I may be generalizing other books here, and I don't mean to, but I feel that Peter David takes more care in examining all aspects of a story or huge event and uses them to their fullest. He's also got a lot of respect for older continuity. That's not something many Marvel writers do these days (Dan Slott does, but She-Hulk is the only on-going he's writing now). What does everyone else think?

Sean Whitmore
08-12-2006, 08:43 PM
Yeah, PAD's work shows he is a big believer in using the shared universe concept for all its worth.

And thank goodness. If you're not gonna do it well, it's worse than not doing it at all, because it just makes the stories suffer.

*Cough*CivilWartieins*Cough*


SEAN

KittyPryde
08-12-2006, 10:00 PM
Well summarized.

For the reasons that you outline, he's one of my two favorite current writers (Brubaker being the other...don't make me pick...their styles are quite different, but I like them both quite much).

I hated Layla "MacGuffin" Miller in HoM...but LOVE her in X-Factor. If not for PAD, she would've been just the MacGuffin lame HoM plot device and probably never heard from ever again (probably blinked out of existance in the final Wanda reversion or some other blow-off fate).

After being greatly disappointed in the 2nd 1602 series, I was all ready to skip the upcoming installment #3 (Fantastic Four) until I saw that PAD was writing it...so on to the order list it goes!

It is exactly that well-thought attention to detail that makes me appreciate his writing (that and the dry witty humor). He's all about the characters, their nuances, motivations, relationships, and making them come across as people.

He's not all about saving the world for the umpteenth time in some climactic over-the-top battle (which tend to read repetitively after awhile).

I buy comics because I like the characters. That's what draws me into the story and keeps me coming back. He makes those characters come alive as much as possible. His characterization and thoughtfullness with details and way-above-average attention to the minutia make for great stories.

Take the aforementioned reaction to the news of Banshee's fate. PAD didn't even know in advance that Banshee would have that happen to him (you would think that X-Editors would try to coordinate this stuff a bit better). But as soon as he heard about it, into the next issue still to be written it went (and quite well done too). He wasn't asked to do it...he just did it. He reacted and changed his own story's plans on a dime simply because of events elsewhere to which he was paying attention (thank goodness), and we're all the better for it.

So here's hoping that he sticks around Marvel for a LONG time...

Dhaman
08-12-2006, 10:19 PM
Yep you could just call him Mr. Fix-It. Sorry bad pun

But seriously I think he is a great writer that can make pretty much any character intresting.

Mjolnir
08-13-2006, 05:30 AM
Yeah it's only fitting he has a book out on how to write superhero comics.
the man is a god

i love him for making a title actually care about HoM - X-Factor.
Shit, Spidey lost his wife and child, yet the only time it's been mentioned is on two pages of a Quicksilver title - 3 Spider-man titles and not one mentioned it (not included PAD's spidey title, i love that he keeps it as seperate as possible)

Mister Mets
08-13-2006, 07:33 AM
PAD's a professional, a team-player, and one of the best writers in the business.

But I want his second run of Spider-Man to be as good as his first.:evilsmile

Soundrave
08-13-2006, 07:47 AM
PAD's great, but I think Fab Nic and Dan Slott may give him a run for the title of "Mr. Fix-It."

Check out Dan Slott's interview at Aint It Cool News (http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=24120). I'm already a fan of the guy's writing, but this interview made me realize that he feels the same way that I do about the Marvel Universe.

And Fab Nic always goes out of his way to fix other people's mistakes. For example, look at the way he handled Mark Millar's Baron Strucker mischaracterization from "Wolverine: Enemy of the State" in the pages of New Thunderbolts.