Battle of Destiny now Available for Order

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 28, 2011

It’s been a while since I talked about Avalanche Comics Entertainment, but longtime readers here may recall that it’s a content creation/management outfit created by former DC editor Jordan B. Gorfinkel. In 2008, Jordan brought me on board to help him manage a number of projects, most prominently a 26 week daily comic strip for Microsoft’s IT developers.

I spent most of that year also working on Battle of Destiny, a 96-page graphic novel retelling the story of King Saul and David. We were hired to package the book by Crystal Cities Entertainment, the production company that released the remarkable documentary Paperclips. They were very interested in having this story told as the first step in bringing it to the big screen.

Chuck Dixon was already contracted to write the story and a newcomer named Aaron Minier was suggested to us for the artwork. These days, people may be familiar with Aaron’s work at WildStorm but in 2008, he was just getting established. Chuck carefully researched not only the Biblical retelling of Saul and David but the history of the region, bringing an authenticity to the story that it had not previously enjoyed.

As the work was underway, NBC bought a pilot called Kings from Michael Green and we were concerned when we heard it was also retelling the Saul/David story but since it was a modern day alternative reality, we had nothing to fear (and the series, while flawed, was terrific television).

The characters designs from Aaron were strong and he took direction well from Gorf, me, and our client. Then the pages started to arrive and we were more than pleased. UDON Studios, who was coloring the Microsoft work for us, referred us to Robert Roffolo to color the series and he did some fine work. When we hit scheduling issues with him, Studio Ikari stepped in the complete the project.

Meantime, Gorf and I began working the phones, trying to interest a publisher in taking this on, for the direct sales shops and also the mainstream distribution channels. Being a biblical tale, we wanted someone who can also get this into religious bookstores. We had some mild interest from major publishers, and some greater interest from many of the next tier. Unfortunately, as we began negotiating with one company, they underwent some devastating changes and we were back to square one.

2009 became 2010 and we continued to push this here and there without anyone really jumping up and down. In October 2010, at the NY Comic-Con, I met with Brent Erwin, the main man behind APE Entertainment. He doesn’t jump often, but he wanted the book.

In the Previews catalog arriving at shops on Wednesday, and already at some online shops such as Westfield Comics, Battle of Destiny is available for ordering, arriving in shops in April. I’m quite proud of the way this tale came together and look forward to having a copy in my hand.

If you find the subject matter at all interesting, please consider order a copy.

Farewell, Wizard

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 24, 2011

In the late 1970s, it was kind of fun being a comic book fan in the pre-Internet age because we had monthly installments of various magazine-style fanzines to keep us company. While the granddaddy of news, The Comic Reader, had ceased publishing, it was replaced in prominence by The Comics Journal with its insightful interviews and thoughtful critical commentary. Hal Shuster jumped on the bandwagon with Comics Feature as part of his New Media Publishing concern. Edited by Carol Kalish and Richard Howell, it was a treasure trove of history and interviews, a great companion read to TCJ.

These inspired me to create Comics Scene in 1981 while working at Starlog Press. I wanted something more professional in appearance, with color, and a shot at newsstand distribution. At the time, comics were enjoying a bit of a renaissance as the maturing direct-sales market allowed people to form their own companies so DC and Marvel were joined by Eclipse, Pacific and First in rapid succession. The time felt right.

Kerry O’Quinn and Norman Jacobs agreed, sensing there might be some mainstream interest since Warner Bros. had been developing a Batman feature since 1980 and Conan was about to be filmed while Saturday morning television was showing signs of creativity. I could have a bi-monthly as long as some live-action, recognizable feature was on the cover.

I did what I could and we got through eleven issues before cancellation. At the time I was told we were ending the run, I checked with our newsstand director, Ðìçk Browne, who was baffled since sales had not only stabilized but were showing signs of improvement.

After leaving the newsstands, there was a void which was somewhat filled by TCJ’s spinoff, Amazing Heroes, David Anthony Kraft’s delightful Comics Interview and the short-lived Comics Week. While they all had their audiences, they remained small run publications without national exposure. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Thoughts on the Comics Code

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 21, 2011

The Comics Code arrived during a dark time for the comic book field. It was a necessary evil to save the industry, the publishers concluded, after being savaged during the Senate hearings into juvenile delinquency. For the full story, check out David Hadju’s informative The Ten Cent Plague.

At first, the Code took its job quite seriously and you needed a college degree to work there. While not the most glamorous of jobs, it was still a good use of English skills and it helped restore the medium’s reputation.

It took Stan Lee to oppose the Code and release three issue of Amazing Spider-Man, sans seal, to force the Code to recognize the 1950s were dead and gone. The subsequently revised Code allowed not only the important Green Lantern/Green Arrow drug issues, but gave rise to a new cycle of  horror comics that led to new, lasting characters and showcased a new generation of talents.

The Code stopped being relevant as mainstream publishers stopped operating in the 1970s and 1980s as a new direct-sales channel opened up, letting newer publishers provide non-Code content for these shops.

By the time I was editing comics in the 1980s, Leonard Darvin was readying to retire from the Code and the dwindling membership meant oversight was being handled by an entity that ran multiple small agencies. There was one time I literally had to walk down to their offices to discuss a page of the Total Recall adaptation and get him to sign off. Later, he was replaced by Holly Munter. She and I had several years of great debates and invariably, I’d call to object to her objection, citing something more gruesome that had already seen print from a competitor. She was dedicated but clearly, her heart wasn’t in it by the time she left and I think it showed.

I find it interesting that DC Comics has finally chosen to stop using the archaic Comics Code seal of approval. On the one hand, they save some money on not submitting comics for review, but the release does not address the company’s role within the Comics Magazine Association of America. The CMAA not only managed the Code, but they worked with distributors on racking programs and other initiatives to ensure the comics released by its members got the widest possible distribution.

Back in 1981 or so, I got in a major argument with Eclipse Comics’ Dean Mullaney in the halls of Starlog Press. My position then, as it remains now, is that the CMAA should have been supported by all the independent companies that sprouted up in the early 1980s. Whether they used the Code or not, a trade organization made sense and could have grown and evolved into a useful tool that might actually have helped some of the guys stay in business or avoid the pitfalls such as Black September.

When Marvel Comics decided to withdraw from the CMAA and drop the code in 2001, President Bill Jemas insisted on having all us ex-DCers sit in the meeting as he and Joe Quesada announced to the other members (DC and Archie) that they were leaving. For Bill it was all theater and for Axel Alonso, Stuart Moore, me and a few others, it was beyond awkward. None of us really needed to be there and the other companies had every right to be miffed.

Some sort of labeling/rating continues to make sense and matching the video game labels is as good a set of symbols as any other. It certainly clarifies things for parents who still pay attention to what their children buy and read. It also helps protect the companies from self-appointed watchdog groups that would only take a single misstep and turn it into a public relations nightmare for the company.

Of course, the graphic novels collecting these stories aren’t labeled and arrive in bookstores for the unsuspecting family friend or relative to buy a book totally inappropriate for the recipient. Perhaps, as the home video releases carry the MPAA ratings, the graphic novels should as well.

Two Quick Items

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 20, 2011

Now that they’re live, I can mention that I spent a chunk of December interviewing talent associated with several of Dynamite Entertainment’s forthcoming releases. The first such piece, a chat with an old pal, Keith Champagne, just went live the other day.

Late in December, NBC ran a “sneak peek” episode of the new series Perfect Couples. The show arrives tonight as part of their Thursday night comedy block. I could not believe how poorly constructed the characters were, how unfunny the writing was and how dated every single element of the show felt. The premise follows three couples at different stages of their relationship and shows how they cope day-to-day.

Much has been made that geek babe Olivia Munn has her first series role and frankly, in a show that generally sucks, she is the flattest and least interesting of the sextet. Personally, I was more interested in Christine Woods, whose Janice Hawk was one of the best things about FlashForward last season. Her Julia is considered normal which gives her nothing to work with.

Characters are treated as two-dimensional clichés who apparently can’t add two and two to achieve four, recognizing they’ve been set up. The sneak episode is not the one being shown tonight at 8:30 but do yourself a favor, skip this travesty.

Intern Updating

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 18, 2011

Lots of folk have been asking me about how interning and grad school has been going and I wish I had more complete answers.

Thanks to two snow days and MLK Day, I have been at the school four days. Having said that, I can tell you that I will be spoiled by the facility and the students. I’ve been given a desk in the English department, allowing me to chat with the faculty and letting me eavesdrop on conversations pertaining to teaching.

When I was in high school, the faculty rooms were off-limits except in the direst of circumstances but here, students stroll in to meet with teachers, fostering a better one-on-one experience. Additionally, adjacent to the office is a learning center with work stations and small tables allowing students to study together or meet with teachers. It’s always been busy which speaks well for the industriousness of the students.

They’re also really polite. They actually say thank you as they leave the classroom. Sure, there are slackers and those doing the minimum required, but overall, they seem determined to do well.

The faculty has been most welcoming and inviting me to shadow their classes, which is great. As I arrived, the second semester was winding down so the classes I’ve sat in on to date were all geared towards prep for the mid-terms. Now, the testing period should have begun earlier but snow has wreaked havoc with the schedule. The first day of testing was last Friday and should end this Friday, but today’s snow day may throw that into disarray. I eagerly await the testing to end and the classes to begin anew so I can see some real teaching and learning going on.

The building is only six years old and its layout and design shows modern thinking compared with the designs of earlier decades. In a semi-circle, the disciplines are clustered together in wings with clear signage. The schedule is interesting in that it’s an eight day rotation, staggering the classes and dropping one each day. The fifth period of the day is an extended one, allowing for more in-depth teaching, but also providing for breaks so the four lunch periods can occur.

So far, I’ve subbed for Spanish and in the special needs area and I was never tested much as I was by the Fairfield students. It was a different experience and one I could get used to. When not in class, I’ve sat in on 9th grade English, a senior social studies seminar, modern poetry and so on. When not in a classroom, I’ve sat at my desk reading up on the official high school English curriculum and starting in on the books I am likely to find myself teaching in the near future.

Grad school begins later today with two classes today and two more tomorrow so we’ll see what happens. But, so far, so good.

The Cape Doesn’t Work…at All

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 12, 2011

The Cape sucked and here’s why:

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the basic premise. A good cop is framed for corruption and murder and disguises himself as his son’s favorite comic book character in order to clear his name and remain a positive role model for the disillusioned boy.

The show, which debuted this week to reasonable ratings and almost uniformly negative reviews, suffers from tunnel-visioned writing. In order to tell their stories, they ignore all the elements that really would be happening and derailing the story. So we the viewer are left wondering about these missing elements, taking us out of the story actually being told.

For example, Vince (David Lyons) is a good cop, who seemingly dies after trying to prevent the newly named chief of police from dying inside a locked SUV. He’s manipulated by his partner and best friend to meet the real mastermind, Chess (James Frain), who is also the CEO of Ark, a conglomerate that has just been hired to provide Palm City with privatized police protection.

While Vince seemingly dies during a police manhunt, we make these odd time jumps. Apparently, either his widow Dana (Jennifer Ferrin) took her sweet time about arranging his funeral or Vince trained and mastered various forms of stage illusion in days. You see, he escaped underground and came into contact with the Circus of Crime, whose leader Max (Keith David) agrees to train him in exchange for access to Ark’s security. So, apparently within hours of the police chief’s death, Ark signed a deal with the city and then managed to outfit every bank in town with Ark-specific security systems allowing Vince’s Ark card to give the criminals access. And during their crime spree, Ark doesn’t have the wherewithal to change the code settings or figure out the swipe card use d to access the vaults is the one assigned to Vince.

And, if Vince is believed to be the villainous Chess, why weren’t federal and state agents arriving on Dana’s doorstep with warrants, ransacking the house in search of evidence to expose the depth of Chess’ crimes?

Where are the media investigating Ark, the chief’s death, Vince’s previously sterling record?

Frain’s CEO is clearly insane so one wonders how he managed to stay in control of such a large company, which seems to allow him time to dabble with exotic criminals such as Scales (who shows what Killer Croc might actually look like on film). I do like Chess’ unqiue contact lenses, which does help make him visually fun.

Meantime, by the second hour, the Circus of Crime has turned into Vince’s new family and has stopped committing crimes. Instead, they’re on hand to support Vince in his fight. Max was more interesting in the first hour when he was a criminal willing to deal so both sides get something.  Suddenly he goes to father figure and is boring. Although, Lyons’ performance is so flat and his character so one-dimensional that you don’t notice at first.

Also coming to Vince’s aid is Oracle, I mean Orwell, in the form of Summer Glau. She should be the one using the cape and kicking ášš since she has the training to make it look good. Sticking her behind CGI-generated computers and making her seem driven to the point of uninteresting is just a waste of a popular actress.

About the most successful sub-plot is the strained relationship between Dana and her son Trip (Ryan Winnot). He believes the Cape is real since he was visited by him and was told Vince was framed. Dana now has to find a job and deal with the stigma attached to her name (the writers should take notes from the far superior and better written The Good Wife). But they need to make a new life together and this may be the most unique aspect of the series.

I’ve seen the first two-hours and there was nothing present to compel me to watch any more. It pales in comparison to ABC’s more successfully written and cast No Ordinary Family. There, we’re watching people cope with gaining their powers and understanding the consequences of their actions. Clearly, Marc Guggenheim has a much firmer grasp on the super-heroic tropes than does The Cape’s creator, Tom Wheeler.

If it gets better and is worth a second shot, someone let me know. Thanks.

Day One

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 10, 2011

Getting up at 6 a.m. and having to drive to work are new experiences. I haven’t gotten up this early since 2007 and the Weekly World News. And in 30+ years of professional life, I have never needed to drive to work before. Given the volume on I-95, it was recommended to be on the road no later than 6:30 and the volume confirmed that. In future days, I won’t need to be here until later although it seems I may need to maintain this routine to ensure on time arrival.

The various administrators made me feel immediately welcome and as they got settled, I was presented with well-prepared documentation. Darien has an eight day rotating schedule that has one elongated class per day and drops one class per day. So, even though today is Monday, it is a D-day schedule, beginning at 7:40 and ending at 2:17.

They were fretting over the lack of half & half so I volunteered to run out for it, immediately ingratiating myself to the staff. Upon my return, the school was bustling with students filling the halls. This is a relatively new building and has a spacious feel, and the principal brought up to the English department offices where a desk had been set aside for to use as a base. I immediately met faculty including the former editor of the Fairfield Minuteman who I recognized (and who recognized me from parties at a mutual friends’) and someone who graduated Fairfield High with Katie.

As I settled in, I toured the bookroom and was pleased with the variety of titles and how contemporary some were, including at least one graphic novel (Persepolis 2 for those keeping score at home). And even though I have been reading all my life, I felt under-prepared as I saw classics I never read or contemporary fiction by authors whose names I did not recognize. I see I will need to revise my To Read list, especially for the summer.

The building is sprawling, organized into wings by subject area so near the English/Social Studies faculty hub are corridors filled with appropriate class spaces. Only at the end of one section did I find a cluster of lockers, a real sign of school. I noted in many classes, backpacks are neatly aligned against one wall. The students appeared attentive, not bored and the faculty engaged. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

I’ve Been Oriented

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 7, 2011

Since Tuesday, I have spent the majority of the day at the University of Bridgeport campus undergoing the state mandated orientation. Normally, it runs through Saturday but with the snow coming down, they cut today short and canceled tomorrow, although that needs to be made up sometime in March. Across the days we’ve had seminars in classroom management, technology, how to be a substitute and so on. The one I looked forward to, Teachers and the Law, was also abbreviated because the lawyer had to be in court. As part of the sessions, we’ll be required to write reflective essays which have to be submitted to the state.

The thing I had been waiting most eagerly for was actually registering for classes so I could build a schedule and figure out where I needed to be and when. As it turns out, I have loaded up on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with two one-credit electives that will occur mostly on Saturdays. I was appalled at the notion that a required course was only given in the spring and only on the Waterbury campus. I noted I enrolled at the University of Bridgeport not the University of Waterbury but was told I could take it as an independent study in the fall so that works.

The teachers apparently have not filled their textbook requests so the bookstore was not ready for us this week and we were advised not to worry about books until the first day of classes. Hope the teachers agree.

The 66 of us are split between interns and traditional students, fresh from college and career changers, elementary and secondary. Interestingly, the one student I’ve seriously befriended is a fascinating career changer closer to my age and we’ve spent hours talking this week.

I have received some details about my internship at the Darien High School so they’re ready for me and I’m eager to get started and figure out what this will really be like.

It won’t be until classes get underway in the second half of the month before I have any real sense how much time I will need for reading and writing which will then let me know how much time I will have for freelance assignments.

The second chapter of my career is about to get underway and I have to admit, I am looking forward to this.

$9.09

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 3, 2011

The vast majority of my Star Trek fiction is out of print. That is, no longer available from Pocket Books as paper books. Instead, it’s all available as eBooks and the last few cycles, my Pocket Books royalties have consisted of eBook sales.

Interestingly, in the last year, everyone has been talking about making money incrementally from eBooks. Throw your old stuff up online for pennies and you can make some side cash through volume. Others are gearing up to produce entirely new works for eBook-only readers.

Today, I received my royalty statement from Pocket and five books sold well enough to earn me royalties. They were all eBook editions, mostly the Starfleet Corps of Engineers compilations, but the whopping total of $9.09 does not get my heart excited at the prospect that eBooks will be the savior we’re hoping for.