Peter David, 1956 - 2025

Peter David, a prolific comics writer oft referenced as PAD among his many fans, died today at the age of 68.

It is a tragic passing in many ways, firstly because of his age, but also due to the heartbreaking health situation he had been in for many years now, and the fact that being an enormously successful comic writer for decades still somehow left him underinsured. His second wife had run multiple GoFundMe campaigns trying to keep up with expenses.

I first encountered PAD with borrowed works during university, and I can't recall which came first. A friend lent me the Star Trek TNG novel Vendetta, which pitted Picard and his crew against the Planet Killer from the original series, and the dazzling revelation that it was likely created as an anti Borg weapon. The cyborg assimilationists had only been spotlighted perhaps a year before, and David's novel showed not only a fantastic depth of knowledge of the original Trek canon, but he applied a willful and imaginative playfulness to it. Later on I went on to collect a lot of the Star Trek comics he did for DC, including The Modala Imperative and Who Killed Captain Kirk.

But when a friend loaned me issue 377 of The Incredible Hulk, which revelaed tormented Bruce Banner to actually be a victim of dissociative identity disorder (then referenced as multiple personality disorder). The idea that his alter ego Hulk was not just a Jekyll/Hyde phenomenon, a crude reflection of a timid scientist, but rather a manifestation of trauma wrought by an abusive father and seeing his mother killed in front of him. As a psychology major I found this all fascinating, as well as tragically compelling.

Guided for a time by superpowered psychotherapist Doc Samson, David took readers on a fascinating psychological journey that, in between building-shattering battles and villainous schemes, dealt with psyche, leadership, ego, love, death, responsibility and a host of other topics. He made perpetual teen sidekick Rick Jones (a cast member since page 3 of issue 1 and eventual partner to Captain America and Captain Marvel!) into a capable character in his own right, with an agency of his own to boot.

PAD wrote that book and that character for twelve amazing years, for even more issues than Stan Lee, the Hulk's creator did, putting an indelible mark on a legendary property while also showing how creatively established tropes can be repurposed. 

David's list of works is long and impressive, but he was also an impressive person. He had strong opinions about the rights of comic creators, gay rights and several liberal causes, and shared them widely and articulately. But he also apologized when he found himself in the wrong; something that feels increasingly rare. 

He wrote all his stories with an amazing blend of pathos, humanity, drama and especially humour. He also had an eye towards social justice, having been bullied as a child alongside his best friend, who was gay. Not many guys were writing about AIDS in the late 80s, but David was, eventually earning a GLAAD award for it. 

I think the most recent book of his I purchased (as opposed to the volumes I read and re-read on the Marvel Unlimited app; including a current re-read of his epic Hulk run) was the comic autobiography he helped Stan Lee to write a decade ago, Amazing Fantastic Incredible. It's a good read that at least tries to address some of the controversies over how this legendary writer and promoter treated some of his collaborators.

Peter David has left enough work out there that I can keep discovering it for years to come, but learning his unique voice has been silenced far, far too early has really cast a pall upon my spring.

RIP, PAD.

Satchel Pages: Con-Version VI

I was wondering what to blog about tonight as I haven't a lot of time, so weightier topics must be postponed in favour of sleep. I came across this picture of the satchel I often use for toting gaming manuals and rulebooks along.

There is a lot of nerdy and actual history contained in those pins and badges, from the silly (like the revolutionary graffiti badge from the Amiga game "Fernandez Must Die") to the tragic (the Challenger mission patch for STS-51L featuring an apple for teacher Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian to die in space) and a heap of pop culture for good measure. 

There are quite a few Games Workshop promos in there (including the brilliant new Ultramarine Chaplain pin Bryce got me at a store event recently) and more than a few comic-related ones that are kind of cryptic - like the old Kree military symbol and the badge for Thanagarian police like Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

What a similarly afflicted person might recognize or deduce, those with more mainstream interests might be able to look up, but this one could be tricky: 

The Roman numeral is tricky to make out (honestly thought it was a VII at first...), but Con-Version is pretty visible and there is a Wikipedia page for them.

This was a lapel pin I got at Con-Version VI, a sci-fi con in Calgary in 1989. Some of the lads and I attended a few times in the late 80s and early 90s, with Audrey even coming along to one in 1995 before we moved to Toronto for four years.

The rat on the pin is because the guest that year was Harry Harrison, author of the Stainless Steel Rat book series, featuring a charming confidence man and adventurer in an interplanetary future. I believe this was also the year our alien rock band *Unpronounceable In English made its debut at the costume contest, as we each got a set of the novels as a prize for Best Performance Under Fire.

I may have the program book around here someplavce but it is just as possible it was lost in the purge of our basement bookshelves last year. An archived Fancyclopedia article mentions how they held their final con in 2010, and I see someone trying to sell other lapel pins on eBay.

The pin is a neat bit of nerdy decor and also a useful tether to a time long past and a different person who is still, somehow, me. When I inevitably give away or misplace the pin, how long will the event linger in my memory? Will that person be gone with it?

For now. it is a helpful kind of nostalgia that takes little space and no effort to maintain, so it remains, as do I.

Docking With The 'Lander

Over a year ago, we decided it was time to move on from our beloved Ford Flex, the sturdy steed that has carried our family over a quarter-million kilometres (330K on the odometer) since 2012. Wanting something of a similar size for camping, towing a light trailer, but maybe getting better mileage, we settled on the Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid. It was too popular a vehicle to wait for a leaseback or rental to get on the lot, so breaking with tradition, we ordered one in 'Storm Cloud (Grey)' in January of 2024.

The 6-8 month timeline we were initially given got extended over the summer by a recall and stop-sell tied to a side-curtain airbag, and when I inquired in December, the backlog had been exacerbated by supply chain issues for some of the hybrid elements. 

After a literal year of waiting, I was torn between holding out for a vehicle whose reviews were consistently good or getting a different vehicle, even for a year or two, and then circling back to the Grand Highlander. 

But if you know me, you know I despise making large purchases - like, with a passion, which is why there is a good chance I will die in this house rather than move. Having already researched a quality vehicle that suited our needs, I was also unwilling to return to square one.

So when I texted my sales rep at the dealership in mid-April, I asked if they had actually had any of their orders delivered yet, and was relieved to hear that they had. In fact, Adeline had sold some her own self. She was very understanding and sympathetic about my uncertainty and impatience, and reassured me that I was, in fact making my way up the list. My Toyota was being built, and when it was up for delivery, I should have about 30 days notice.

So I was pretty surprised to get a call on the afternoon of Easter Sunday (Apr 20) telling me ourGrand Highland Hybrid had actually arrived.

It turns out I was not the only one having a crisis of faith, and someone ahead of me on the list had opted for a different vehicle in the interim. We popped into the dealership the next morning, arranged all the extras and extended warranty (hoping to drive this one at least as long as the Flex!), and picked it up on Thursday after work.

It's a dandy of a ride, let me tell you, and I am hoping the new cell phone arriving tomorrow lets me take full advantage of all the connectivity features it offers. But it has an immense display screen showing power going from the gasoline engine to the wheels and from the wheels to the electric batteries, and there are cameras all over it so it can simulate a 360 degree view from above or 3/4 perspective so you can make sure you are parked within the lines at the grocery store.

But there are shortcomings too - small ones, but still. For one thing, I have never owned such a covetable vehicle and have been advised that overnight parking on the street instead of inside a garage is a terrible idea due to its popularity among thieves. Since Toyota is a global brand with mechanics on every continent save Antarctica, extended street parking is apparently a great way to have your vehicle packed into a seacan and shipped overseas. 

So now, in addition to fearing a scratch on the immaculate paint (I honestly was dismayed today that I could perceive a layer of dust on my formerly pristine ride - I never, ever wanted to be this guy I SWEAR), I am now so terrified of the Fast & Furious crew boosting it while I am at the movies it takes a real effort not to check in on the phone app every 20 minutes.

In addition, the console itself is a new level of intimidation. I am the kind of guy who actually reads his owners manual when waiting for someone at the airport or whatever, but even the diagrams have me thinking there has been some sort of mistake and I am actually trying to qualify as co-pilot on a 707.

But it looks nice, rides nice and I am pretty sure six adults could ride in relative comfort with the third row seating deployed. And it doesn't just have a 12v lighter outlet in the back for the electric cooler, it has a straight up plug in -crazy! 

It is big enough to fit a16 cubic-foot car top carrier in the back even though we cdouldn't figure out how to fold the second row seats all the way down. More cargo space than the Flex, believe it or not...

The cruise control can tell when I am nearing the car ahead and will slow me down without switching off the cruise, and will even bring the car to a complete stop in my lane if I seize a piston or whatever and let go of the wheel. I mean, not a feature I ever hope to use but it does proivide a strange, if chilling, sense of serenity.

But most importantly, it holds all the groceries I got from Costco for the long weekend and the bumper sticker made it way easier to find in the crowded parking lot.

When I was showing Fenya all the features on it, she joked that, "you guys bought a spaceship,", and since we nicknamed it The 'Lander, the NASA theme certainly seemed appropriate.

No Stars, but 4 * - Thunderbolts*, Reviewed

I had a whole Thunderbolts* review written here, hit a key combo by accident and lost the entire thing.

So let me just say this:

• great film and a wonderful time
• best MCU flick since Endgame? Probably yes, but let's not dismiss the two excellent Spider-Man films in there too...
• stellar post-Avengers cast - Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan,Wyatt Russell, David Harbour and Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• dances with admirable skill and rhythm along a very thin line between dark, funny, and darkly funny
• ties in to established MCU lore without feeling like homework (a criticism Kevin Feige has made himself, actually)
• a team of anti-heroes brought together in a story tied inextricably to mental health? Bold!
• managed to stick the landing on both the team name* (and the asterisk)!
• best post- (really post) credit scene since Phase 3 (and it was only shot three weeks ago)

If you feel done with superhero flicks, this one might not change your mind, but if you enjoyed them at some point in the past, you should maybe oughta give Thunderbolts* a chance? It is not only distinct, but gives solid hope for future MCU films.

And I know all my fellow comic nerds have already seen it or have made plans, so we good.