Tom Peyer: Time Is On His Side

By Park Cooper

Tom Peyer is a man with a fondness of for the offbeat. His work, in a syncopated style, usually occupies the fringes of the DC Universe, occasionally flowing over into the mainstream franchises like the drum rhythms of a jazz percussionist. He has a flair for dialogue that put other writers to shame. He puts the snap into Snapper Carr…

Park Cooper: You just did the Silver Age: Doom Patrol. Tell me about you and the Doom Patrol. How did you get involved in this one? Can you talk about your involvement with the earlier Doom Patrol?

Tom Peyer: Years ago, I lucked into the job of editing the last year or so of Grant Morrison and Richard Case's classic run on Doom Patrol. It was my favorite comic at the time, so it was a thrill. After Grant and Richard left, I got to work with Rachel Pollack and Linda Medley. That's another very pleasant memory, particularly since this was the brilliant Rachel's first comics work.

But Doom Patrol was always a great comic; as a kid, I loved Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani's version, and I still like to go back and read it. It was soaked in this awful feeling that the heroes were sickened or damaged by their powers. The unglamorous art really put that across, and the dialog was so funny you liked the characters anyway.

It came out around the same time as X-Men, and both books had a lot of similarities, I think because they were the first two comics to imitate the Fantastic Four. But I thought then, and think now, that Doom Patrol captured and enhanced the magical Fantastic Four essence a lot better than X-Men did... which was an amazing feat, considering that X-Men was by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the two very geniuses who created Fantastic Four in the first place.

If we lived in a just universe, Doom Patrol would be a major motion picture and X-Men would be trotted out of obscurity for Silver Age Month. And Arnold Drake would get some of the worship we've all recently--and rightly--heaped on the late, great John Broome.

Anyway, I guess they hired me to write the Silver Age Doom Patrol because I can talk about them all day and they probably wanted me to shut up.

PC: What is it about the Silver Age as concept that is making it such a big deal right now? It is a need for those sort of heroes? Is it nostalgia? Is it that this era seems like less fun by comparison?

TP: The Silver Age generated a million ideas we're still riffing on, from the Fortress of Solitude to the X-Men. Its importance can't be overestimated. I think it probably was such a wellspring of ideas because the censorship was so insanely heavy; they couldn't fall back on any sexy or violent stuff at all, so if they wanted a scene with impact, they had to make things up. I'm a dedicated free-speecher in everyday life, but I wonder if we lost some precious opprtunitues when comics loosened up.

PC: Would you care to discuss Totems? And/or the reader responses to it?

TP: I felt lucky I got to do Totems. I love the VERTIGO characters of the early 90s, and I was proud of the central character, paranormal enthusiast Bernie Madden. I didn't see too much in the way of reader response. I know some people on Usenet didn't like it, but that's hardly surprising. They're absolutely entitled to express their opinions; of course, but... it's hardly surprising.

PC: Any chance of a L.E.G.I.O.N. return anytime soon? Or ever?

TP: I snuck Vril Dox into an upcoming page or two of Hourman. I miss him.

Maybe

I'll think of something to do with him at some point... or maybe someone else will. I'd be just as happy to read him as write him. I think of him as Alan Grant and Keith Giffen's character, anyway. They did such brilliant work on L.E.G.I.O.N.

PC: Let's talk about Hourman itself.

First, a few questions for those who might not have read all of the series …

Why did Tyler Chemorobotics create Hourman?

TP: That's a good question. I think he should ask them.

PC: What does "Diamond-Generation" machine colony mean?

TP: Well, Grant may have meant something special by it when he coined the term, but to me it's just a name that differentiates his generation of androids from the others. It sure sounds impressive. He must be well-built.

PC: So he's a robot. What's the source of his power? The Worlogog?

TP: No. When he depowered himself in #1, he kept a small fragment of the Worlogog in the form of the tachyon sands that flow in his hourglass, and that gives him Time Vision. But his powers of flight and super-strength come from his Tyler Miraclo Geneware.

PC: Why is it so important to Hourman to become more human?

TP: Beause it's part of his heritage. His geneware is patterned after Rex Tyler's Miraclo-enhanced DNA, so in a way he's half human. I should have explained it better early on, but the central struggle of Hourman is not to be human, but to be himself. Humanity is half of that equation.

PC: Was it hard to make the pitch for the Hourman title and get it accepted?

TP: Not at all. Group Editor Dan Raspler wanted a regular series to come out of DC ONE MILLION; Grant wanted to do an HOURMAN series but lacked the time; and there I was, looking so pitiful that they had to give it to me.

PC: Tell me about Snapper. What is it that makes Snapper unique? I understand where he gets his paitience from, but what is it that makes him so wise? What gives him his emotional intelligence?

TP: Snapper is wise for the same reason anyone is wise: because he has endured terrible hurts and disappointments. His life--as it is now--began when his privileged berth as the Justice League sidekick collapsed. It gave him his greatest gift: an understanding of, and special regard for, human frailty. It taught him that even if his worst fear comes to pass he'll probably keep on living, so there's no need to be afraid anymore.

PC: Any thoughts about JLA: Year One? I recently re-read it... what did you
think of Snapper's portrayal there? Of his techno-savantness?

TP: It's not at the center of my portrayal of Snapper, but I can very easily live with it. It certainly makes sense. And it gives me ideas for background business, like his "job" as an auto mechanic, working on engines in his yard.

PC: Now, tell me about Bethany. What makes her tick?

TP: New things. New ideas. Surprises. She wants life to entertain and amaze her, and she's shrewd enough to understand that life is up to the task.

PC: How are sales? It feels like maybe Hourman's made it past an important point.

TP: I honestly don't see sales figures. I honestly don't want to (But wait 'til I write a huge smash hit... I'll be pestering those poor accountants every two hours for updates). I'm glad and grateful that DC has stuck with us this long, but I would never expect, ask or want them to lose money on it. I love HOURMAN, but if the awful time comes, I'll just get on my horse, ride into the next comic book and feel lucky. And I'll do everything I can to work with Rags, Tony, Dave, John and Kurt again.

PC: What's with Matthew and the JLA toys in issue #14? Is he working out personal psychodramas? I'm sure you'll own the Hourman Action Figure that's coming... but will you play with it?

TP: You bet I'll play with it.

Matthew had JLA toys because Snapper gave him money to go get a couple of kiddie meals at the fast food place and the toys came with 'em. When Snapper saw what the toys were, he didn't want them, so I'd say he's the one with the issues.

PC: So how do you feel about Zero Hour and the 10-year rule etc.? I would think that it would make your job a little more difficult than it would make it easier...

TP: It doesn't make it easier or harder, it's just a convention of the genre--and it almost always has been. Even when I was a kid, I noticed that the characters weren't aging in real time, and you had to warp the calendar in your head to make sense of it. Superman's friendship with President Kennedy falls away, to be replaced--sooner than you think--by Superman's friendship with President Gore or Bush.

We recently retold the saga of Snapper's falling out with the Justice League, originally published in the '60s. I could have skirted the whole issue, but I inserted a Seinfeld reference. The Joker was working some mischief, and suddenly he got bowled over. He looked up to see The Flash standing over him, and he sneered, "Hello, Newman." A lot of people thought it was an anachronism, but it wasn't; I wanted to show that this story took place nine years ago. Otherwise, Snapper would be 50.

PC: How do you feel about D.C.1,000,000 as concept?

TP: Revolutionary. It was the first crossover to require every participating writer to invent new things. Let's do one of those again.

PC: Name your all-time favorite use of time travel in a story pre-D.C. 1,000,000.

TP: That's easy. It was when Superboy went back in time to prevent the assassination of President Lincoln, only to encounter an adult Lex Luthor. Read this if you haven't. It's in the recent SUPERMAN IN THE SIXTIES collection.

PC: How did Cruel and Unusual for Vertigo do? Decent sales? Any interesting feedback?

TP: I don't think the sales made anybody give their butler a raise, but Jamie Delano and I had a great time writing it, and we're planning to work together again. As for feedback, I wish I could report a wave of outrage against privatized prisons (the series' subject), or against our bad taste in writing some of the randier scenes. But I can't.

PC: Are you as excited as my wife and I about Delano's Hellblazer: Bad Blood mini-series?

TP: I look forward to every word Jamie writes. He's one of the few real writers in comics, meaning he would excel at any medium he attempts. He's not at all grounded in the details of comics history, but he makes that work in his favor; that "ignorance" led him to him write the most powerful NEW GODS story
since Kirby, in two recent issues of LEGENDS OF THE DCU UNIVERSE, and many have tried , me included. And I think it was Warren Ellis who recently--and rightly--pointed out that Jamie is the best prose stylist in comics. We're lucky to have him. I just wish he'd update his flippin' website, already... it's been, like, eight months!

PC: Will you be able to make it to San Diego Con this year? I didn't see you on the guest list so far...

TP: Sorry... I haven't made the trip since I was on staff at DC and they picked up the tab. I did enjoy it, and I'll show up on my own dime some day, but not this year.

PC: Finally, can you give us more exciting hints about the next issue of Hourman? I know we're buying it in MY household...

TP: I'll do more than that. Over the next several months, we'll check in on Dr. Togg's progress as he labors to find a cure for the disease that's killing Rick Tyler. Expect Togg and Rick's mother Wendi to take a disliking to each other... after all, she was married to the original Hourman, Togg's arch-enemy.

We'll learn about the man with the valentine badge who's been stalking the denizens of the Mad Yak.

We'll find out why -- or if -- Future-Hourman has been making Hourman miserable.

We'll sit in on a potluck dinner at Justice Society headquarters. In fact, we'll see more of the JSA in general.

We'll see some terrible, terrible things happen to Snapper... physically, I mean.

We'll see Hourman take most of the supporting cast on a road trip through time.

We'll answer the question: Snapper is to Hourman as Hourman is to whom?

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