In the early 1990's, a gentleman named Kurt Busiek, who is now a Big Deal in the comics world, went from writing for comics to being a literary agent and then back into comics. During his brief sojourn as an agent, he represented me.
When he returned to comics, he went to Marvel, and took with him a cool concept: a Science Fiction comic book, with two major differences to keep it from being pulpy: 1) real SF writers would write the stories, and 2) everything would take place in the same universe, with each issue set seven years after the one before it. And so was born the comic book Open Space.
Because in my novels I had proven to be adept at writing near futures, he drafted me to write the kickoff story in issue #1, which set the stage for the series. I then did a piece for issue #4, was contracted to do a piece for #6, and to write a book-length story for phase two of OS.
I knew what I wanted to do for #6. The first issue depicted an exodus from Earth following the discovery of a Faster Than Light type of drive that could be built in any garage, a la Popular Mechanics. Since that issue, the series had explored the reaches of space. I wanted to do a story that went back to see how Earth had changed in the 35 years that had elapsed since then.
So I banged out a script. And Kurt Busiek loved it. He didn't change a word, and he decreed that it would be the closing story of issue #6, a fitting close for phase one of Open Space. It would have been a cool thing - it would have meant that my scripts bookended the entire first phase of the series.
Unfortunately, Marvel cancelled OS after issue #4. So poor Pete languished in obscurity until a couple of years later, when I found out that Difficult Choices had actually been drawn. An anonymous Marvel lackey sent me a copy of the art, along with a case (!) of copies of issue #4.
So here's Difficult Choices. I wish it had been published because I loved writing comics and wanted to stay on the ride - but the best laid plans often go astray. Meantime, I guess I can always start writing that superhero novel of mine.
Enjoy!
