Salutations! Judd here, and as always, I'm ready, willin' and able to read and answer your letters. So send in your questions, comments and opinions through the form and I promise ya I'll get crackin' at answering them. Given that Seng actually forwards mail to me (I gotta keep my location secret ya know) and I reply and send them back to him, give me a day or two to get back to ya. I won't be able to send personal replies, but they'll be posted here. So don't be shy, eh? Write away!  

 
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Judd Replies: 
From: Ivan (ivan.girona@navegalia.com)
Dear Judd,
I am a truthly fan of you. I am from Spain, and here we know nothing about you since long, long time ago. Could you bring light about your present and future in the Comics´world. We need you again!

Greetings from Canada, Ivan! I'd almost given up on this site, what with Seng closing down Net Alpha and Alpha Flight being consigned to limbo in the Marvel Universe. Then, I get this e-mail from you, and I hear that Alpha Flight is gonna make an appearance in an upcoming issue of Wolverine! Will wonders never cease, eh?
As I mentioned before, Alpha Flight's been out of commission as a Marvel Comic for years, but the team's still active in the Great White North. Just recently, we were involved in a hell of a fight against a group of superhuman terrorists who called themselves "Hell Force" (where these kooks get these names from, I'll never know). Yours truly almost got toasted in that fight (I was tussling with a flame-spewing she-bat-demoness by the name of Firefox), but, as always, we came through (though not without a few injuries and injured egos, eh?). It was a rousing adventure but it looks like Marvel didn't see fit to make it a comic. As for my future in the Comics World - who can say? I hope I make an appearance in that issue of Wolvering I mentioned earlier. Maybe something good will come of it - like a new Alpha Flight series?
Thanks for writing, Ivan, and keep the flame burning.

From:SwiftFox (swiftfox@iname.com)
Hey Puck,
Sorry it's been a while since I wrote man, but you know that Speedball crack last time really hurt!: ) But I'm over the pain now. Heard about your date with Heather, actually I was hanging in the back of the restaurant (okay okay it's practially stalking but I just HAD to see how it went!). You are pretty smooth, had her eating outta yer hands pal, congrats you two look great together. BTW you got any idea if Northstar is free??? : )
Swifty

You were stalking me? Get some help, kid!! :-)
The date went okay, but it showed the both of us that it just wasn't going to work out - romantically. I think it's because we were very close as friends that it was hard to imagine moving beyond that stage into something more intimate. I'm fine with that, as if Heather, so we've moved on. I might take that Dr. Haddock up on her offer if she could pull herself away from the Prometheus Division for one night of fine winin' and dinin'. Northstar? I don't know about his personal life. Why not write to him at northstar_af@departmenth.mod.gov.ca? Mind you, it's a secure line so your e-mail might be blocked.


From: Steven Hilliard (the_hillman_@hotmail.com)
Your one of the best heros the marvel universe has to offer!!
Thanks bud! Good to know there's still fans rallying for me out there!


From: Alex Tart (alextart62@hotmail.com)
Greetings Puck. You are a very unusual, but cool character.Some people don't know that your name comes from a fairy in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Thanks for your support, Alex! Yes, you could say that my code-name came from the prankster in A Midsummer Night's Dream, but it's also derived from the good old Canadian hockey puck. Y'see - I use my body as a 'puck' to knock bad guys over. Well, that's the theory anyway


From: Jeff Bara (jebtoday98@aol.com)
Puck,
Hello. Which member of Alpha Flight did you most get along with? And what does Sasquatch smell like?
Rock on lil' man,
Jeff

Jeff, I'd like to think that I get along with most of my team mates in Alpha, eh? But to answer your question, I'm good friends with Heather (still friends even if our attempts at getting romantic went bust), Walt, Michael, the real Mac, and I have a warm spot in my heart for young Flex - the lad tries hard. Oh, and Sasquatch smells like a big wet dog (very big wet dog).


From: CG Dupree (cgdupree@hotmail.com)
Hi Puck. I think you are one of the lamest comic book characters around. I mean, after all, your power is that you have really dense skin. Bummer. While respectable heroes were given respectable powers, you were given thick skin and an exorbinant amount of body hair. I mean, who can you really beat up? I've read about guys like the X-Men fighting Magneto. Magneto would wipe the floor with your puny ass. Doctor Doom would probably put you in a cage and charge admission to the people of Latveria to see you. Your whole entire team, Alpha Flight is lame too. Sasquatch? Diamond Lil? And, worst of all.... BOX? Your comic company was so down on your book's poor sales that they even made Northstar homosexual. What a shame that rubber skin can't sell books these days.
CG, you're entitled to your opinion. And I happen to think that an exorbitant amount of body hair is a pretty nifty super power, eh?




From: Barnacle (busht@alliedsignal.com)
Puck,
What do you think of the new recruits in 2nd Flight? How does it feel to be leading them? How do you like working for your wife? And, is this just another attempt of Tom's to plug the 2nd Flight web site?
Thanks,
Barny
Barny, I've read about my exploits in the MC2 universe on the 2nd Flight site and I gotta say that all your writers and artists have done a magnificent job with the stories! It's all what if though, but if the future's this bright, then I don't mind it bein' true!


From: Marty Miglionico (marty_miglionico@hotmail.com)

 Is there or has there been a Puck mini-series written like they did for Northstar?  
They never did a Puck mini-series. I heard that Bill Mantlo had planned one back in the 1980s but it didn't happen, and given what Mantlo did to me, I'm rather glad, eh? What would you fans like to see in a Puck mini-series? Maybe I can muscle in on Marvel and convince them to do one!


From: MrPucky@aol.com

 I'd just like to say for the past decade of my life..I have been referred to as Puck. After showing my dad a picture of what you look like, he didn't hesitate to refer to me by a nickname that has stuck with me for the past 10 years, and which I had eventually grew into. Thanks fellow Puck, I have been a dedicated fan of yours for quite sometime. If you know of any merchandise of you which I could purchase, PLEASE TELL ME! Once again thank you for reading this.  
Thank your dad for me, eh? It's nice to know that I gotta namesake out there. I don't know much about how H or Marvel may have marketed me, but I know there's a flippin', somersaultin' Puck action figure out there, and there's a Puck sew-on-patch if you can find it.


From: Gigablatt (awetzser@eaglecross.com)

 Hey Puck! Your the greatest, man. I just want to let you know that. It's real crummy what they did to Alpha Flight. That cancellation has got to hurt! Anyway, I'm barracking for yas so ya know you have a fan out here. 
Giga, it warms my old heart to read your words of praise and encouragement, eh. Thanks for your support. Yeah, the cancellation hurt, but at least Alpha is still out and about. Check out Wolverine #142 and #143 for more of our adventures! 


From: Agnetha Abbastorm

 Now that you have managed to get a date with Heather, will you be looking to go all the way on the first date, or do you expect a major fight before you get in her knickers. I only ask cos going on her past record she probably won't be wearing any on your date, she is not known for being coy, Ask Guardian 1 & 2, also Maddy and Wildchild. 
Hey, Seng! How come you get all these loonies visiting my site, eh? Anyway, I won't get into the X-rated stuff here. Suffice it to say that I respect Heather too much to want to force anything on her. She's a friend and I won't have anything bad said about her, eh? And who said anything about Heather being with Wildchild??? You know something I don't?? 


From: Todd (Devilini@gte.net)

 So, what do you think about finally being made into a superhero figure, but you are the only one of the bunch thats a one pieced figure. Not poseable at all. (I for one am very dissipointed) You deserve better my friend. BTW I'm a performer who does fire eating in one of his shows. If you ever want to learn, llook me up. http://home1.gte.net/devilini/index.htm go give the site a look. It's still being worked on, but the basic text and pics are there. 
Fire-eating, eh? I'll be sure to look you up when I'm in the area and hankerin' to try some fire-eating. About the Puck 'action figure', I'm of the same sentiment, eh? When the Toy Biz people first approached me (and the rest of Alpha) with their proposition, they claimed that I'd be 'fully poseable' as an 'action figure'. Rest assured, I'll be having some big words with the bosses there. I may be short but I ger heard when I speak! Also: from one one-time performer to anothr - great site! 


From: Martin (mar@cmq.qc.ca)

 Dear Judd, please excuse the barrage of questions but I don't have a regular access to the Web and I couldn't miss the opportunity to banter with my preferred canadian brawler... BTW, A tip of the hat to your friend Seng Mah: this fan really know how to "handle you" (whatever that can mean) and he makes talking with you and reading your answers a real pleasure! This is the kind of people you would want Marvel to give a job to! 
First of all, I would like to know about your motivations for all the pre-Alpha flight adventuring (the bull-fighting in Spain, tiger-hunting in Nepal, the "action" in Maracaïbo, your adventures with oriental mystics, etc...) Given your actual good manners and behavior, I can't believe you played the soldier of fortune just for the profit... BTW, in Spain, your were in the losing side (no big profits), against Franco, no? Did you ever met there this other great canadian hero, Norman Bethune? 

Hey there Martin! Hope you don't mind if I broke up your long letter and addressed each question as it comes. Firstly, good to hear from you - always great to get mail from my fans, and I got to say that you're the first to write to me in a long time, eh. Even Seng was bowled over when he received your letters and he got on the phone quick to tell me there was an obsessed fan on the other line! Heh. 
To your first question. If you've lived as long a life as I have, then the one thing you learn is life is change. Let me quote the Bard for a moment, eh: "Doth not the appetite alter? A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age." Guess the same goes for me. My past's always been pretty... checkered. I did many things I'm now not proud ot and, much as it shames me to admit, I did things because there was money to be made in it (and because no one else seemed to want to do it), but I did things for the sheer heck of it too (don't know if Seng will allow me to swear on this site - the Comics Authority might be looking!). But whatever I did, there was always this line I wouldn't cross. Call it a sense of honour, or compasssion if you will. I guess as you get older, your perspective changes, eh? When I got parolled out of prison to join Dept. H, I promised Mac (the first one) that my killing days were over. I hung up my spur and settled with a cosy job as bouncer down at my old stomping ground in Toronto. The pay wasn't good but it was a job and I was with good people. 
As for Spain: that's a different story. I was there with Papa Hemingway and, yes, I was with the losing side, but it seemed to make sense then (that sense of honour or compassion I was telling you about earlier?). And Bethune? Never met him but I had seen his handiwork about. And heard of him.

I looked up to you for inspiration as a person who lived an unusual life with style and a communicative sense of fun. I already began physical training, learning some oriental techniques for concentration and inner strengh, studying foreign languages (spanish and japanese... I already speak french and english). What would be your three best advices for a wanna-be world traveller? 

  1. Stay fit 
  2. Stay wary 
  3. Pack lots of clean underwear 
Depends on your definition of world-traveller, Martin. And your reasons for travelling. Me? I kind of just got into the swing of things and before I knew it, I was moving about the place. Working, mostly and coming to grips with life. It could be different for you.

You killed before... as a secret operative, as a soldier of fortune. You even faced charges of murder here in Canada. Not someone to live with safely. Yet you seem particulary at ease training kids (Talisman, Flex) and generally appreciating life and having a good time. Why the change of heart? Was it sudden or did it came gradually? 

As I said earlier, I've done a lot of things in the past that I'm not proud of. Killing's never something that comes easily and certainly something that isn't to be taken lightly. Given the chance, I'd go back and wipe clean my slate, but you can't do that can you? I guess you could say I reformed after Mac got me out of prison. It didn't come quickly, mind you. Took a good deal of soul-searching to realise that for the things I'd done in the past, all the places I'd been, I never had close friends, never had a family. Guess I got it with Alpha. So that fulfilled a gap in my life. And young 'uns like Elizabeth and Adrian? They're young and their views of the world are refreshing, and they got guts, even Adrian (though he hides it). I guess I see a little of my younger days in them.

How can a Saskatshewanese... (sorry, I'm a French Canadian and never learned to spell that correctly... but I agree with Northstar about you-know-what) ...like you, having prowled the forests of the world, talked with mystics, and generally having tasted beer with friends from all countries, DO IN MIDDLE-TOWN TORONTO? I would picture you in more exotic a locale. Taste of the urban jungle maybe? Or is it easier to keep in touch with your international contacts there? 

None of the above. I was out of prison. Alpha had shut down. I didn't have much money to my name, eh? The only work I could find was bouncing at Corky's Tavern (bouncing... Puck... get it??), so it was a pragmatic reason that found me living in Toronto in my early days with the team.

I am with the ones who doesn't believe this "origin" story Bill Mantlo wrote about you being reduced from "Giant Judd" to a 3' dwarf. Byrne clearly inferred you were a dwarf (I think he wrote "little man") when you were bull-fighting along Hemingway in Spain. Those other super-hero chroniclers just can't accept you did all what you did while being a dwarf, just by force of will and training, so they had to wrote an adaptation. Since then, trying to be coherent with the Mantlo story, they adjusted your height high and low like a yo-yo. I believe however you gained some mystical advantage from your adventure with the "Black Blade of Bagdad" (hey, you're 84 years old and still looking middle-aged!). Will you one day disclose the full story, maybe by the way of fan-fiction litterature? 

Friend, all I can say is don't believe all you read about me. I'm a dwarf (3' 6" for the record) and been one since the day I was born. No Giant Judd in my past. That guy Byrne got it right. He did his research, he even came and talked to me for a while. Nice guy; good artist. Wonder what he's doing these days? The Black Blade of Baghdad did happen, though, but I think I'll wait for a suitable chronicleer to tell the story as it happened. I was hoping that this Steve Seagle writer would do it but I heard tell that they're gonna cancel Alpha Flight the comic with #20 so I guess we will never know, eh? 

I am currently setting up an Aïkido dojo here in Quebec city, province of Quebec, Canada. A couple of friends and I have begun to learn some concentration and healing techniques beside the martial art fighting. We plan to go study a bit in Winnipeg, Vancouver and Seattle. Would you make us the honor of paying us a visit as guest teacher? We'll keep the beer cold and will receive you with the best smoked meat that can be found in Quebec! 
It's all for now, you may take your time to answer my questions, I'm sure you and Seng are pretty busy people (so am I) but I couln'd resist for the sake of the fun I had remembering your chronicled adventures. 

I'd be honoured to drop in on ya when I'm next in your part of the world, maybe show you a few moves. Beer and smoked meat? To quote another great man: "Mmmmm... beer...". 
Thanks for writing, Martin. Always a pleasure to hear from fans of the old Puckster!

From: peter landau (ptl9538@esu.edu)

 Dear Mr. Judd:I have admired your courage and fighting spirit for a long time now, and wish that you would take center stage(or should I say center ice), not only in Alpha adventures, but in your own as well. I would also like you to know that if you're ever in my area I'll buy you a Molson. Then we can go out and paint the town. 
Well, Peter, I came real close to getting a mini-series of my own back in the late 1980s. But it got canned even before it got off the drawing board. Bill Mantlo was gonna be writing it and supposedly, it was gonna be about my adventures in Tibet. Them's the breaks, eh? Oh, and if I'm ever in your area (wherever that might be), I'll hold you up to your offer. As for painting the town, I'm sure I can show you a thing or two about living it up, eh? 


From: Edward Knox II (knoxelii@hotmail.com)

 What do U think of the merc with a mouth, Deadpool. 
Haven't met with the man mano a mano myself, Edward, but I've heard enough of Deadpool to know I don't want to mess with around with a man like him, eh? I've met my fair share of mercenaries in my long and checkered past and all I can say is that they're dangerous folk. I know. I was one. 


From: Mandy (Daizesk8er@aol.com) - Wed 5/8

 puck....i have two questions,
1. Are you single?
2. do you like blondes? 
so,puck, i really think that you are a pretty cool guy in fact, i think your really hot and i like your personalitiy cause your differnet and you look like you'd be alot of fun to chill with i really want to hear from you cause your the man and i love you!!!! 
Mandy, you're a fan after my own heart, eh? I am single and I like red-heads (one red-head in particular) and much as I love the attention I'm getting from all my female fans, I gotta be honest and say that my heart's already taken by one Heather McNeil Hudson. Still, that don't mean that we can't be friends, eh? Why not drop in on Dept. H and we can 'chill' together? 


From: Quamp (quamp38@hotmail.com) - Fri 18/7

 Puckmeister-
Just out of curiousity, what were you doing in Rio when Domino found you in Domino #1? 
C'mon now Quamp -- If I told ya, then I'd have ta kill ya! Officially, I was working undercover. Unofficially, I was having a great time at the Carnaval. Oh, and Dom didn't find me. I found her, eh? 


From: Adam (dsfuller@erols.com)

 i was wondering if Puck does or will get his own comic book i've seen the rest of Alpha flight and i don't like them a whole lot(sorry guys) but Puck is a different storry he's this little guy and he weighs 300lbs(or somthing like that it was on another page) and he can still do flying sommersaughts and other cool stuff 
Adam, I'm not getting my own comic book in the near future, but anything's possible, eh? I'm sorry you don't much like the Flight. They're like family to me and I care for them a great deal. But thanks for writing those kind words about the Puckster, eh? Maybe you should continue picking up the Flight just for my appearance. For the record, I weigh at about 225 lbs (or about 103 kgs here in Canada) which is pretty sturdy for someone my size. And it's precisely my physique that allows me to do the acrobatics that you describe -- you need really strong muscles to be able to throw your own weight (literally) at someone else. 


From: Celendra (greeneyedgypsy@usa.net)

 Puck, 
Just a few quick question from a curious quotienating quill head.
1. Do you agree with your portrayal in most fanfiction or do you even read it?
2. How exactly does one suspend belief enough to allow that a person has come back from the dead three times and still isn't completely kosher? 
3. What exactly did you do during the AF hiatus from '94-'97?
4. Ever puruse a gentleman by the name of Thoreau? I was wondering if you went much into earlier American work.
5. And, of course, the one that I simply have to ask. You and Logan - drinking contest - who'd be left slumped under the table? 
Pardon my insufferable questioning, as I'm rather Alpha-overloaded at the moment. 

The irrepressable green-eyed wench,
Celendra

'Green-Eyed-Gypsy", eh? Well, I'll always have time for green-eyed chickies (please excuse the chauvinism, eh? It's not intended. Some habits are hard to break). Anyway, on to your questions:
1. I haven't read all the fan fiction, but they generally do a good job in portraying the old Puck. Fan fic writers out there seem to know my mind, much more than have some of the people who have written Alpha in the past. One thing though I've noticed that many of the fan fic tend to focus on my 'relationship' with Heather, and taking this 'relationship' to the next point. Not that I'm complaining, eh? but you gotta understand that with Heather and me, well it's a bit more complicated than that.
2. Hey, it's comics. Suspension of disbelief comes naturally, eh? After all, if you believe a man can fly and bend steel bars... 
3. During the hiatus of Alpha from '94 to '97, I basically went around, bummed around, helped out a few old friends like Logan and Domino. Eventually, I guess civilian life got the better of me and I settled down a bit -- got me a serviceable apartment, got drunk and all that. I was a pretty sad case, eh? At least I'm back with Alpha now and feel like my life's got some purpose ('specially after what we discovered about Clarke's machinations).
4. I read pretty much anything I can get my hands on, from Shakespeare to Faulkner. Thoreau's one of the good guys, 'sfar as I'm concerned.
5. Logan's got one thing on me: a healing factor that's gonna be able to deal with alcohol intake more efficiently than my old system. So I'd have to say that Logan'd probably win. 
By the way: I loved what ya wrote in that 'Birth of a New Dream' chapter. If only fiction mirrored real life, eh? I'd be a happy man. 


From: Bambi (Bambi@giggle.com)

 Hee Hee Hee,
Hi Juddsie Wuddsie. I'd just love to come over there and stroke your beautiful bald head. You are the hottest guy on the whole team, you just turn me on so much. Call me sweetie, anytime. 
Bambi
Hiya Bambi. What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this, eh? Much as I'd like ta take ya up on the offer (the old noggin could do with a good stroke, eh?), I'm afraid that I'm due for a mission to Newfoundland real soon. Can I take a raincheck? We'll have ta catch up when I get back. And I'd better leave it at that before the CAA (Comics Code Authority) get on my back for turning a PG site into an R-rated one. 


From: Waster

 Hey Puck! You ought to think about wearing a jock when you get into combat. They protect your family jewels much better than conventional underwear.
Hey Waster, thanks for your concern about my family jewels, but they're none of your business, eh? Anyway, any good super-fella knows that he's got to keep himself safe when he's in the thick of a fight, so a jock's not out of the question. Geez, the sort o' letters ya get on a site like this.... 


From: Dave (dmhewens@home.com)

 Hey Puck!
Are we ever going to hear the details of the Brass Bishop?
Hey Dave, not only are you going to hear details of the Brass Bishop, you're going to learn more about the REAL Brass Bishop on #14, eh? 


From: Swift Fox (toweltz@learn.senecac.on.ca)

 Hiya Puck, I was wondering if you'd be able to get me a job with the Flight. While I don't have any powers per se, I am incredibly agile and good at making smart ass comments. Since people like this find places with other teams, I was wondering if you could talk to some people and get me a spot on the active roster?
What? And usurp Radius' place in the team? No way, eh? Maybe you should look towards the New Warriors... I hear Speedball needs a new friend! 


From: Skyrocket

 Hey Puck,
Alpha Flight has had it's shares of ups and downs over the years. Have you ever considered joining another hero team like the Avengers?
Sure, Alpha's had it's ups and downs over the years I've been with it, but for all the bad that's come with the good, it's still family to me, eh? I'm with Alpha as long as I'm still alive and kickin' and so long as there's still an Alpha for me. And there's another reason why I stick it out with Alpha, and her name's Heather McNeil Hudson. 'Nuff said? As for joinin' another team: I'm amenable if they'll have me, but I'd like a team that I'd fit in much as I do in Alpha. The Avengers is a bit big league for me. 


From: Waster

 What kind of undies do you wear, Puck? I mean, do you wear any under your costume??????
You sure get all sorts on this 'Banter' page, eh? Of course I wear something under my costume! What d'ya think, eh? And there's only one kind o' undies for me: the sort that keeps everything nice and tightly packed. Ahem. Can't risk injurin' myself when I'm charging into battle, eh? 


From:Earnest Stoatgobbler

 Is there any truth in the rumour that bald men are more virile, as you are never seen with a girlfriend. Is this because your feelings for Heather run so deep or is there some other underlying reason we have yet to discover?
Hey, Ernest, I may be bald but I got hair growing all over the OTHER places, eh? And I reckon the bald look just turns the gals on, don't ya? I mean, look at Myra Haddock of Prometheus Division? She's asked me out for a date! As for my not having a girlfriend: let's just say that I'm a bit too old and a bit too world-weary to settle for the occassional fling. And yeah, I care a lot for Heather. Am I saving myself for her? Don't know. I'm a realistic fella, but right now, I got other things to deal with. Oh, and your comment about 'other underlying reasons we have yet to discover?' Let's just say that this old dog's not down for the count yet, eh? 

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