The Best Day of my Life?

Posted by Bob Greenberger on May 31, 2009

Christine Lavin is singing a song about a 3 year old named Katie who says today is the best day of her life.

I paused in my proofreading to wonder what was the best day of my life?

I’ve had many great days, some ideal, but the single best day of my life? That’s a tough one. Obviously the list will include our wedding day and the days Kate and Robbie were born but the moments were great, the entire days, maybe not so much. After all, wedding jitters, rain, the entire delivery process…these are not what most people would think of as great ways to spend the hours. Sharing in the their triumphs, from plays to graduation ceremonies have also been highlights.

A great day, to me, would be one that from beginning to end was filled with moments that brought pleasure and joy, where everything went as planned or if they were spontaneous, arrived in good ways. There was one day during the Christmas season about a decade back that I thought was the perfect holiday day and intended to jot down the events as a record of the day, but time passed, I never got to it and now I cannot recall what made the day ideal just that it happened.

Great days have been doing things with the kids, such as the first day on one of our last family vacations, when these teenagers asked to go the Bronx Zoo then insisted on including a visit to the Children’s Zoo. There have been great days when it has just been me and Deb such as the time we took a day off mid-week and just drove north, meandering through small towns in Connecticut and Massachusetts just to see what we could find.

During my professional career there have no doubt been really good days that were just mine. A surprise birthday party in my office, thrown by friends outside of DC, is certainly part of that list. Being able to sit and interview legends like Chuck Yeager or cute actresses certainly make for happy memories.

But a single greatest day of my life? Boy, that’s a tough one. What about you?

Score One for State Government

Posted by Bob Greenberger on May 29, 2009

As regulars here know, I visited Hartford earlier this year to speak on behalf of a bill that would have helped people help Robbie last year. Yesterday, one of Fairfield’s state reps, Kim Fawcett, posted frequent updates to her Facebook page, as various bills got passed. At one point, she wrote:

“Today the House passed legislation that would require health insurance companies to pay for the cost of bone marrow screening tests. This was a Bill introduced by Rep. Tom Drew on behalf of Robbie Greenberger who passed away from leukemia last year. Robbie’s Bill will help expand the bone marrow registry and hopefully help many other cancer patients have a fighting chance at finding a bone marrow donor.”

Credit where credit is due goes to Tom Drew, my local rep, who has pushed this bill for three years now. He did this in concert with Danny Lemos, who has survived leukemia and champion the bill with Tom. From the State Senate side, having Senate Minority leader John McKinney, also from Fairfield, sponsor the bill gave it great weight.

It’s nice to see this and other public health bills pass that will improve the quality of life for the state residents. Clearly these are bipartisan issues and it’s great seeing everyone play nice for a good cause.

Off Balance

Posted by Bob Greenberger on May 25, 2009

One of the things I have prided myself on is my professional work ethic. While I may not be an award-winning writer, I can be counted on for a clean, professional copy that meets the editor’s expectations and deadline. If the deadline cannot be met, it means there’s a true reason for the delay and my word has become my bond.

While this has stood me in good stead through the years, of late, it has also become an anchor. Having accepted The Essential Superman Encyclopedia assignment with an April 30 deadline, I have been working daily to complete the assignment. Now, the deadline was unrealistic and we’ve all acknowledged this and Chris Cerasi is being great about giving me the time to finish the assignment.

On the other hand, having agreed to April 30, I have also taken on other assignments figuring I would be free in May which has proven not to be the case. All the editors involved have been great and not a single one has put any pressure on me.

I, though, have been merciless to myself.

Rather than take advantage of the three day weekend, I have pretty much put the nose to the grindstone, as they say, and worked through the holiday. Now, the good news is that I have drafted T and am that much closer to being finished. On the other hand, I have turned down invitations to join friends for today’s Memorial Day parade or time with others post-parade.

My ability to balance work and play, time on and time off, seems to have been shattered and unwinding has become an alien concept. I tell people that once Superman is delivered, I will take a day and do nothing. I doubt I’ll know what to do with myself or feel like I can unwind. There’s always the next thing to write or read or edit and if I don’t find that elusive equilibrium, I am going to fry myself which will help no one.

Fortunately, T is completed hours ahead of schedule and I am finishing this and then walking away from the computer, determined to finish a book and watch TV during daylight, true decadence.

Week in Review

Posted by Bob Greenberger on May 22, 2009

So, what sort of a week has it been?

Productive, to sum it up in a word.

The Essential Superman Encyclopedia has been the predominant thing that has filled my waking hours. Today, I have submitted S (except Superman, being saved for last) and will begin researching T this afternoon. So, we’re closing in on finishing this which is good because there are other assignments waiting their turn.

Among them, I have to begin a series of lengthy interviews with a subject for a forthcoming not-yet-announced book project along with writing the Green Hornet short story for Moonstone. There’s an essay for a not-yet-announced book that also needs attention.

The big project for the remainder of the year also has to be underway in June and we’ll talk about that when the publisher says I can, which is likely to be in late July or August.

I also was offered a comic book one-shot. Yes, after more than 20 years, I will write a comic book and I have to say, I’m a little trepidatious since I am more comfortable editing comic stories than crafting one. I’ve begun a little research and await that lightning bolt of inspiration. It’s a media tie-in assignment and one I’m more than a little familiar with.

I’ve been watching videos and writing up reviews which will begin hitting ComicMix in the next few days and have several more that have arrived and demand my attention so it’s a good thing we’re fairly caught up on our television watching so we can see the movies.

The week began with the Standing Committee meeting, meaning its back into the RTM cycle of life with the full meeting on Tuesday (given the holiday). Last night, though, was a welcome change of pace as I attended a charity fundraiser, roasting our town’s First Selectman, Ken Flatto. I certainly enjoyed the humor and was surprised at several ripe subjects that didn’t come up. I was also keeping a sharp eye on the roast master since I will be fulfilling that very function in July. The food was somewhat above average and the company was terrific.

Reviewing the Finales

Posted by Bob Greenberger on May 18, 2009

This is the much-anticipated week when the five networks announce their fall schedules and we lament the cancelled (Sarah Connor) and mourn the lack of clever, fresh, and original ideas. After the quirky and original Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies and Kings all crashed and burned this season, the networks seem poised to retrench.

But, several returning series have also offered up some rather fun season finales and we’ve been catching up the last week or so. As a result, let’s review…

Grey’s Anatomy

While the whole Denny thing dragged out before it was clear she was ill, her work with the interns to determine what was the actual diagnosis was very nicely handled. The finale, wrapping up numerous plot lines, was two-hours reminding me that this series remains one of the best constructed series on prime time. Derek and Meredith sort of got married, moving their relationship to the next level. Alex and Izzy fought over treatment options as husband and wife, not doctors, while everyone planned George’s intervention. Throughout, most of the doctors worked on a John Doe patient until the final minutes when we watched them learn it was actually George. And as the screen went to black, Izzy and George were both coding and we’re left hanging – in a good way. We’ve remained emotionally invested in the characters and will fret over their fates until September.

Chuck

I was not thrilled with the revelation that Chuck’s dad invented the Intersect but it actually dovetailed nicely with information Bruce shared with Chuck in the finale.  Chevy Chase fit in well as the bad guy, with just enough menace to be taken seriously but light enough to fit in with the show’s tone. Everyone had a moment and the core of family remained front and center. Chuck taking his money to pay for a replacement wedding was perfect, along with the hilarious Adam Baldwin directing the SEALS in decorating. That Chuck willingly absorbed the new Intersect was obvious and I sort of saw the next generation upgrades coming but it certainly is the right kind of game-changer. With its third season now assured (even with just a 13 episode order), I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Heroes

I contributed some thoughts to Sci-Fi Wire prior to the season finale airing, and was right. There are too many threads to tie up and the finale tied up only some of them. Characters acted in the service of the plot rather than their characters and watching everyone drift away from the bonfire without another word made little sense. Suresh should have been looking into Hiro’s newfound health issues. The whole Sylar is now Nathan thread is clever but tough to buy. Sylar should die and new threats should be introduced but they love him too much (no offense to Zachary Quinto who made the character so popular). Already they’re showing that Sylar will influence Nathan’s action while HRG running the Company feels like a reset. Perhaps the fifth volume will be stronger with Bryan Fuller involved from the beginning.

Lost

We watched the final hour before the two-hour finale back-to-back which I think helped a lot. All the time traveling and potential time loops are nicely addressed. The seeding of Jacob throughout the castaways’ lives tells us some more about what the Island wants and his relation to the island. Deb wisely called Jacob’s murderous companion Esau and then suspected he was the living Locke. The ever-changing alliances between Jack, Sawyer, Juliet and Kate were somewhat bewildering but nicely performed. Watching Juliet fall was surprising and nicely elongated to milk the moment. Ending the season with a literal bang has us already checking the calendar for 2010 and the final 16 episodes. Knowing there’s an end date helps tremendously and they have 16 hours to tie it all up. My big question has to be, “What is the Smoke Monster?”

Fringe

On the one hand, Olivia began finding the links between all the cases throughout the season and on the other, after visiting a parallel world in the penultimate episode, she was awfully thick in the finale. In fact, there was nothing in the finale to refer to that episode which is a damn shame. The finale, though, brought everything together very well and confirmed the existence of parallel universes (well, duh) but the threat that required the building of an army of super-powered adults remains unrevealed. Also, Olivia entered a hotel, took the elevator and then wound up in the parallel universe. Fine. But how on Earth did she shift from the hotel to the World Trade Center? Also, ending the season with Bell introducing himself felt anticlimactic. We knew we’d see him, we knew it was Nimoy so there should have been something more. Apparently John Wells called Peter Bishop being the Earth-2 vision some time earlier, but Deb called it last night before the reveal so kudos to them.

Dollhouse

After spending all season seeking the Dollhouse, Paul finds it, helps them confront Alpha, and then he just willingly signs on as a “consultant”? Uh huh. The entire thread of people working within the Dollhouse to help Paul also vanished without resolution. Caroline/Echo’s returning memories also seems to have gone unnoticed by the staff that seems to notice everything else. The show really never gelled while many of the actual assignments were interesting. The surprising second season renewal also comes with the promise of a revised status quo which I hope is better thought-through and more sustainable than what we have so far. We’ll stick with it, given the cast and crew, but it really needs to get stronger.

I haven’t seen Smallville’s season ended yet, but from what I gather, the sprawling cast has been trimmed a bit, which was long overdue and maybe the next season will build on this stronger eighth season (compared with the clueless seventh).

Thoughts?

Honoring the Past

Posted by Bob Greenberger on May 17, 2009

Yesterday, I was visiting with art dealer and pal Spencer Beck. As it happened, he had just gotten several boxes of materials from Marie Severin to catalogue and prepare to sell. Marie, for those not in the know, is a terrific artist and colorist, whose career dates back to the days of EC Comics and was one of the mainstays at Marvel during the 1960s and 1970s.  Her versatility was seen in things like the Hulk and King Kull stories, but she was also a wonderful cartoonist with a wicked sense of humor.

The boxes were an amazing trip down memory lane and any of us who appreciate the history of the field would have been amazed. It seems she kept everything, from a birthday telegram from EC to memos written in the 1970s. Not only was there a ton of materials from her work, she kept photocopies and Photostats of work done by other artists. There were original sketches by Al Williamson and cover paintings by Earl Norem; photos from the Marvel Bullpen, and other ephemera.

It got me to thinking about the field’s history and how its being well-mined by TwoMorrows’ Alter Ego and Back Issue! But they seem to be read mainly by those who lived through those eras. My guess would be that many of the people who have begun working in the comics field over the last decade barely know who the field came to be or who the players were through the eras.  Is it essential? Somewhat.  While it won’t necessarily make them better writers or artists, it might make them better professionals, understanding how the field evolved, how the efforts of certain individuals made their income possible. As the larger cons celebrate the past and bring out those still with us, the current working pros should know who these people are and why they’re being celebrated.

It’s not just the comics field that should do a better job of educating their current practitioners. Major League Baseball and some of its teams cover the history but not all the professional sports do this. And they should.

If you represent a team (or publisher), you should know something about them, be conversant with the veterans and the fans from different generations.  Too often I see athletes unaware of the players they are being compared with and they should have some appreciation of who these people were and how much of a compliment this is.

Without honoring the history, the field is the poorer for it.  San Diego Comic-con will celebrate its 40th anniversary this summer while Marvel is celebrating its 70th all year long followed by DC’s 75th. Pay attention and learn something, the stories can be utterly fascinating.

Book Release Updates

Posted by Bob Greenberger on May 13, 2009

Someone asked me on Facebook how the Iron Man book was coming. Since I had reviewed the copy edited manuscript in April, I expected to see the galleys by now. I did a quick check at the DelRey website and saw it listed as a September release.

Well, that was a surprise. Last I was told, it was coming out June 23 and I was looking forward to signing copies at Shore Leave and the San Diego Comic-Con. Two great missed opportunities.

I checked to see what Amazon had to say about this book and my other upcoming releases.

Iron Man: Femme Fatales will be out September 29.

The Batman Vault, which I cowrote with Matthew K. Manning, has been moved from November release to October 5.

Coming August 11 will be How to Lose a War: More Foolish Plans and Great Military Blunders, where I have several essays.

The first of my two Stone Arch books, Batman: Arctic Attack, is now scheduled for August 15 (a Sunday, which I find odd).

So, as I continue to toil on The Essential Superman Encyclopedia, I can look forward to several releases during the second half of the year.

My Thoughts on Star Trek

Posted by Bob Greenberger on May 10, 2009

A few years back I sat on a panel and we were asked to discuss what we’d do if we could revitalize Star Trek. My answer was to do what Gene Roddenberry did. Go to the leading futurists and figure out where we were headed technologically and then extrapolate from there and build a new 23rd century. Keep Roddenberry’s optimism about mankind and life among the stars and tell stories ripped from today’s headlines along with rollicking good action.

Director J.J. Abrams and his team might have been taking notes in the audience since their vision of the 23rd century looks like it has a straight line from today, not 1966. The reinvention of Star Trek comes at a time when aging franchises from James Bond to Sherlock Holmes have been dusted off, reconsidered, recast and released to great acclaim. Because this has never been done before, Star Trek devotees were concerned how this would spoil the memories they grew up making, of seeing those first episodes and the then the movies. Captain Kirk and Spock were indelibly William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Well, there are some who never got over Sean Connery so yeah, it’s an adjustment but if done right, you get past it pretty quickly.

The well cast, well directed Star Trek movie moves at warp speed and you sign right on, enjoying the shiny future that might await us. I found myself smiling all the way through, loving the film going experience. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

A Weary Week

Posted by Bob Greenberger on May 9, 2009

It’s been a long, wearying but full week.

On Monday, the RTM had its annual budget meeting. The betting was on a 2-3 hour meeting, which certainly would have been welcome after the previous week’s nearly 6 hour marathon. We wrapped in just under 2 hours and passed a budget. There was lots of talk about one action, which was basically a bookkeeping move, which opened up a can of worms regarding the assumptions that go into the budget process.  Every year, we’re obligated to enact a budget in May even through the state of Connecticut does not pass its budget until late June. As a result, over $7 million of each year’s budget is based on a series of assumptions. However, this year we decided to spend most of the meeting discussing a $500,000 assumption.

We wrapped the budget with no one proposing any real cuts to the budget which left us with a 1.7% which most towns would have welcomed…any other year. There was a very vocal contingent of the public that insisted on a 0% increase but none of us saw how that was possible given the timing of our final increase to the debt service in addition to contractually obligated pay raised plus our first pension payment in over a decade thanks to the economy (the Madoff mess touched us just a wee bit this year). As a result, there may well be a referendum, the first in over 15 years. I’ll be curious to see how this plays out.

I worked on the Superman Encyclopedia, my Green Hornet story outline, and my consulting stuff all week but there were other highlights. Wednesday, I spent much of the day in the city which was a welcome change of pace.  I had lunch with a group of friends I used to see weekly and since I no longer commute to work, I rarely see them now. Joining us in an even rarer visit was Tom Galloway. He invited me to participate in the Fans vs. Pros trivia contest at San Diego, an event I haven’t been a part of in over a decade so I eagerly said yes, already dreading the questions my pal John Wells will help write.  I spent the afternoon at an office then attended the IMAX press screening of Star Trek. Many have asked for my thoughts and they will be posted tomorrow after a second viewing tonight, this time with Deb and Kate. At the screening, I got to catch up with Fangoria’s Tony Timpone and my old colleague Dan Scapperotti.

Being out late Monday and Wednesday left me very worn on Thursday and I feel it again today.  I’ll get more done on the Encyclopedia (starting with Silver Banshee for those keeping score) then spend a quiet afternoon with Deb and Kate.

On the work side of life, I had one publisher turn down a book project and a proposal I did for a company was turned down by one of their partners but at least they’re shopping it elsewhere. You win some, you lose some.

Thoughts on X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Posted by Bob Greenberger on May 3, 2009

Since his introduction in 1974 through 2000, people were fascinated by Wolverine. He was a feral, edgy character at a time few other costumed crime fighters were. There was a tragic element to him since he could not recall his past. Through the years, writers teased us with bits and pieces about him, letting us know he was long-lived and had gotten around. But, just where did this Canadian come from?

After the success of X-Men in 2000, it became apparent there would be other mutant movies and the issue of Logan’s origin was no doubt going to be addressed. In 2001, Bill Jemas said the time had come to tell the origin. Better Marvel control the origin elements rather than some unfamiliar screenwriter so in many ways, his miniseries, Origin, was a pre-emptive strike. And maybe it was just time.

The Paul Jenkins version beat out several others and became the one Andy Kubert drew in his gorgeous style. This is now the origin, like it or not, that every licensee is obligated to follow. All of this sets the stage for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a solo project that invited movie audiences to see where Logan came from and how he had his skeleton covered in adamantium.

Good thing there was a roadmap to follow because the changes from the comic showed that in other hands, telling his origin could be disastrous. Far too little is spent setting up James Howlett’s life in Canada before his claws first popped out. The family dynamic is given such short shrift that it felt sketched rather than written. I was particularly bothered by the decision to make Howlett and Victor Creed brothers, an unnecessary and overused Hollywood trope.  Yes, Sabretooth is Wolverine’s great comic book nemesis but he had nothing to do with the origins and shoe-horning him here doesn’t fit.

We know they’re both mutants, both feral in nature, something not well explored by the script. The title sequence successfully shows us how they stayed together, reached adulthood and seemingly stopped aging, but continued to sate their natures by going from war to war. Why they left Canada for America is unexplained nor are we properly shown how they began drifting apart and why Victor relished fighting while James had more of a conscience. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »