While I am a social creature who thrives in the atmosphere at Comic-Con International, I needed to be practical and chose not to attend this year.

Last year was the first time since 2001, and since I was fulltime freelance, it made sense to see if I could be out there and generate some work.  I had a wonderful time and did follow-up in person on numerous existing assignments, but I did not come home with new assignments.

On a cost-effective basis, the con was a bust and certainly helped convince me not to go back this year.

Last year, I would return to the hotel room and surf the net, learning of all the news and announcements that I missed since I was not at the panels and certainly couldn’t dream of getting into Hall H where all the media madness was located.

This year, I scanned the websites at the beginning and close of business each day and it frankly felt the exact same way. The instantaneous coverage actually allowed me to keep tabs on more programming than I would have been able to attend had I arrived as a mere fan.

Several sites have begun their wrap-up coverage and in reviewing what was announced and not announced, it most definitely appears this was the year Hollywood eclipsed the comic book publishers. Most of the biggest headlines were generated by movies based on comics but the big two, DC Entertainment and Marvel Comics, wisely chose to avoid the media scrum and this year doled out most of their significant news in the days leading up to the con. Review the lists and you will see the news was spread from print to digital to games to media when in the past we cared about new titles or exclusive creators or big events.

Take a look at the summary from Newsarama and you will realize most of this was either leaked at Bleeding Cool or formally announced. What was fresh news from the publishers was of far less importance. And the biggest DC news was never announced – although the Los Angeles Times coverage hinted that the decision to relocate all or some of the New York operation was a done deal so the staff just needs to be informed.

We used to call it the San Diego Comic-Con then Comic-Con International and while comics remains in the title, their value has been diminished. Yes, we wouldn’t have half the media programming if there were no movies based on the comic book characters or the geeks who read them but the comic books, of all genres and from all publishers, have been overshadowed.

For those exhibiting at the show, it seems to have become more and more of an onerous chore, trying to get noticed given the constantly raised bar. More creators mean more demands on publishers’ time, now that they have to split their focus between producers, media contacts, and the people who actual create the comics. The Preview Night has extended the marathon to a fifth day, sucking even more of the potential fun out of being there.

In addition to gaining attention for their projects, everyone now feels compelled to offer convention exclusive covers or promo items or limited edition variants of merchandise. This ratchets up the stress among fans who now feel they have to find the booths with the coolest, most in demand, items and get them before they sellout. No sooner do they accomplish their shopping than they disappear on to an hours-long line for someone’s autograph or a chance to attend one of the major programming events.

There’s stress all around, the convention has grown too big to truly enjoy. This is certainly not lost on Reed Exhibitions who is growing the New York Comic-Con into the east coast equivalent of San Diego. They need to maximize the sizzle without diminishing the fun and it’ll be tricky.

As a result, the smaller regional shows such as Emerald City Con are now the places pros most want to be. They can exhale a bit, actually chat with the fans, and not be crushed in the process.

Of course, what will happen when Emerald City or Baltimore or Heroes Con gets too big? Where can a fan or a pro go for some old fashioned fun, talking comics and interacting with one another?

My brother called yesterday, asking me about the ending to Inception. He felt cheated, desiring a real ending, not something ambiguous. To me, the ending perfectly fit in with the theme and tone of the movie and I was more delighted than bothered by it.

That got me to thinking about endings, especially when they are a long time coming. Lost ended in May with bringing things full circle as Jack closed his eyes and the story ended. As documented elsewhere, the six seasons clearly made things up as they went along, and couldn’t possibly tidy everything up by the final episode. Instead, they addressed many of the largest issues and provided us with a focus on the core characters and their relationships, making the ending pretty close to satisfying.

On the other hand, the final season of the superb Sopranos built up to a climax that never came. From a creative standpoint, David Chase had every right to conclude the series as he imagined it, but the viewers wanted closure. We were robbed of knowing of Tony was going to finish his meal in peace or be gunned down in front of his family. Given how the diner was stocked with shooters from earlier episodes, we were led to believe the latter would occur but we’ll never know.

It was pretty clear that the ratings would prevent ABC from renewing FlashForward for a second season and the producers could have easily wrapped things up. Instead, we were left with a cliffhanger that would never be resolved. Its dwindling fanbase were left frustrated.

How a series goes dark can be memorable (the final episode of Newhart), wistful (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Wonder Years), or satisfying (the original Fugitive). Many dramatic series and comedies wrap things up with a tidy bow, others flash forward to give you a sense of where the characters go next. In the SF genre, one of the best conclusions was Star Trek: The Next Generation as Picard finally allows himself to accept his crew as friends and family, sitting in for a game of poker.

The closure we often don’t get in life is all the more necessary in our entertainment, making us feel the investment in time or money spent was well used. Inception’s ambiguity, though, doesn’t close the story but continues to let us ponder its themes as we leave the theater, a rare bonus.

In thinking about turning 52 yesterday, I began the day concluding that I am most definitely now into the second half of my life. How far into the second half remains to be seen but it’s one of the few times I have thought of my own mortality.

The heat and humidity of the day sapped whatever energy there was to celebrate but it was not a bad day.

Things began well when I walked into Democratic Headquarters, to be serenaded by a dozen colleagues. The HQ is air conditioned, the coffee was hot and the munchkins were tasty so the kick off event – featuring Congressman Jim Himes – went well.

Deb insisted I show up at her drop-in knitting group because people wanted to see me so I showed up. Dominic, the group’s ring leader, presented me with a couple of bottles of Manhattan Special soda, which will go down well with vanilla ice cream.

I returned home to a deluge of greetings from Facebook. My morning routine includes wishing others on my friends list a Happy Birthday and yesterday was my turn with easily 10% of the list sending notes throughout the day. All my worlds collided as family, friends, colleagues, fans, and the like all chimed in and I was deeply touched.

Deb and Kate spent part of the day prepping parts of the birthday feast but the heat slowed everything down. At one point, I ran out for an errand and used my coupon from Dunkin’ Donuts for a Coolatta which helped. Being Kate’s final day with us, I knew she wanted to rewatch Horesefeathers, so we settled on the couch and did just that. Soon after, Deb appeared, announcing she was melting and suggested we go to Starbucks with knitting and reading. That proved a wonderful respite but it also meant coming home after 7 to complete the meal. This also allowed us to watch the final innings of the Mets extra-inning loss to the Dodgers.

The ribs had been baked and marinated, the cake was baked and needed to be assembled and preparations were moving along nicely. As the corns went on the grill, it became apparent that we had just run out of propane. I ran out to Home Depot but they had just closed to had to get a new tank from Stop & Shop but we struggled to get the fitting right. By then it was after 8, we were exhausted, hungry, and not up for delays. Instead, we tossed the ribs in the broiler, microwaved the corn and beans and shortly thereafter finally sat down to our meal. Which was wonderful.

I then opened presents and cards followed by a freshly made Black Forest Cake.

All in all, not the single best birthday I’ve ever had, but certainly a very good one, surrounded by family. Onward to the 53rd year.

As of today, interested readers can discover the joys of media tie-in writing and its rich history in TIED IN: The Business, History and Craft of Media Tie-In Writing.

The book was a lively collaboration among members of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. We strongly believe in our organization and having our stock-in-trade treated with the same respect as other genre writers. Everyone volunteered for a chapter and I wound up writing one of the shorter pieces, a look at the media properties adapted by the pulp magazines. While the pulps gave us so many lively characters such as The Shadow and Doc Savage, they were stingy when it came to adapting figures from other media.

The book is live on Amazon and on Smashwords to be followed in a few weeks at the iBookstore and Barnes & Noble. The trade paperback edition, published through Amazon CreateSpace (and linked to our Kindle edition on the Amazon site), will be available in a couple of weeks.

This was a labor of love for those of who wrote chapters and for those who proofread, designed, and formatted the book.  Any money earned by the book will go towards furthering the organization’s efforts. Speaking of which, the annual Scribe Awards will be handed out late Friday afternoon at Comic-Con International so you should go check it out.

I recently hosted an event at my home and was asked to provide 25 people. It was suggested that to achieve that number, I had to invite twice as many so invited somewhere on the order of 52 people.

As the event date drew closer, a significant portion of those who received e-mail and/or phone call invitations had yet to respond. I made a second round of inquiries and a few people finally weighed in.

Just 48 hours before the event, a third and final round of contacts went out and still more finally got around to responding.  After all, I needed to supply food and drink and needed something close to an accurate headcount. My fear was too many who had failed to reply would arrive and I’d be caught short.

By the time the event started, an even dozen had yet to reply to my calls or e-mails. That, coupled with a few last minute cancellations and no shows, meant I had fewer than 20 people there and I felt like a failure.

At the same time, I’m planning a more family-centric gathering and we mailed out invitations. A smaller percentage has yet to reply but the silence after several weeks is disturbing.

What troubles me even more is that when I mentioned the above incidents to others, they all nodded and told me their own horror stories. That gets me to wondering what is so difficult about a simply acknowledgement of the invitation with a yes or a no? Sure, things happen and people suddenly become available or needed elsewhere – I get that. But the utter silence or lack of comprehension that an RSVP helps the host plan a successful gathering amazes me.

Are phone calls or written invitations not good enough? Must we resort to more electronic methods such as Evite? In our household we’re divided over that as a proper tool for parties so choose not to use it. Even there, I noticed, people can’t be bothered for a simple click.

Just what will it take to get a proper, timely response?

“I can’t believe it’s over already,” Lyssa said as I came off the stage at the conclusion of Mystery Trekkie Theater and she was right. The three day weekend zipped right by and in the morning we head for home.

I have been attending Shore Leave for decades, starting with #3 and this was my 28th appearance, which is pretty amazing.

The weekend began with an early arrival Friday morning so Deb could get work done and I could get us settled in.  The real work for me began with the technical rehearsal for the Celebrity Charity Roast and then we ran out for a quick dinner, joined at long last, by Kate. She was all shiny from a spa day and is ready for two weeks off.

The Roast was rude and crude, a little too raw and nasty at times, but Mike Friedman took it like a man. I was delighted by Marco Palmieri’s clever bit (aided by Kirsten Beyer) along with the whimsy contained within Kevin Dilmore & Dayton Ward’s bit (Dayton’s dry delivery was note perfect). The audience adored it and we raised some money for the American Red Cross. Freightingly, no sooner did this roast end than they began talking next year, targeting me as the honoree (gulp).

Once it ended, I began my emcee duties, introducing Catherine Hicks. I then set up my books and was a part of Meet the Authors. A light attendance compared with previous years but everyone seemed in good spirits. Once midnight arrived we packed up and headed for the bar. I lasted about an hour and crashed.

Saturday was up and going at top speed. I kicked off the day with my one hour presentation, followed by Kate and the Boogie Knights. They were loose and giggly, but overall entertaining. I then began introducing the headliners one by one, on the hour. I also had a panel on comics turned into movies which was engaging and thoughtful, with the five other panelists debating the topic.

I had to skip participating in much of the writers’ workshop to do a run-through for Mystery Trekkie Theater to accommodate my colleagues. I did manage to make it to the final 30 minutes of the workshop where I was surprised with the arrival of Cindy Starr and Andrew Scholnick, two Long Island friends I have not seen since high school. I had to find time to play catch up with them so after I introduced my last guest I spent about an hour with them then participated in a panel examining the end of Lost.

After a wonderful dinner, I was one of the Masquerade judges (as usual) and we were treated to an above-average assortment of contestants. The number one outfit was a Silverwolf, a World Con-class outfit that had to be seen to be believed. The woman within the outfit spent two years on just the stilt armatures. Once that ended, I actually spent an hour in the room to decompress after a very long, hard day. Then I visited pals in the bar for an hour before it was time to crash.

Sunday began with an authors breakfast, allowing us to catch up with one another away from the bar. I then participated in the annual Bob & Howie Show which spent a lot of time examining our differing approaches to the digital age as he claws on to his aging VHS tapes and I was extolling the virtues of the DVR and Hi-Def televisions. Howie, Mike and I hung for a bit before I did a movies into comics panel, which was as engaging as yesterday’s mirror panel.

I then decamped at a table with my books and became a magnet for friends I had yet to spend time with. Lance Woods made a special trip to see me and we hung out for the afternoon while others came and went. I also managed to sell a few more books so the experiment was a success.

The various celebrities asked for schedule changes to accommodate the World Cup final or early air departures so I wound up filling a 40 minute gap with movie trailers until it was time for Mystery Trekkie Theater. Peter, Mike, and I amused one and all with our skit then skewered “Unexpected”, an early Enterprise episode. We blew some cues and some of the things that really amused us fell flat with the crowd, but overall it was a solid performance. And suddenly, we’re looking at next year being the 20th anniversary edition so we have begun discussing how to acknowledge the event.

And just like that, it was 6:15 and the con was over. The Davids and Greenbergers had a lovely dinner and we all paid our thanks to the staff at the Dead Dog Party. Now we’re packing and readying to head home first thing in the morning.

I wish all cons were as much fun and as well run as Shore Leave.

If it’s July, then it’s time for Shore Leave. The con is once more at the Hunt Valley Inn and for what feels like the 100th time, I’ll be in attendance. Actually, I have missed four of the previous 31 shows so I guess I’m a regular.

The highlight of the weekend, for me anyway, is seeing Kate in person after her six month stint in Iraq. We get to bring her home for two weeks thereafter, which we’re looking forward to.

In addition to emcee duties, I’ll be found at the following activities:

Friday, July 9

7 pm–9 pm — The 2nd Annual Shore Leave Comedy Roast: Funeral for the Career of Michael Jan Friedman (VALLEY ROOM)
Featuring David Mack, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Ilsa J. Bick, Marco Palmieri, Dayton Ward, Kevin Dilmore, special guest Peter David, and cameo appearances by several notable Star Trek writers, and pre-recorded celebrity video clips by actress Felicia Day and lead vocalist Eric Bloom of Blue Öyster Cult.

10 pm–Midnight — Meet the Authors (HUNT-VALLEY FOYER)

Come and meet the convention’s author guests, buy the latest releases, and get them autographed! For the first time, I will be bringing out-of-print books to sell during the Meet the Authors event and maybe at other times during Sunday. Bring cash and I’ll happily autograph anything.

Saturday, July 10

10 am —Spotlight (VALLEY ROOM)
As usual, I’ll open the programming day with chit chat about what’s going on with my various projects then we’ll dim the lights and show movie trailers. A great way to start your day.

1 pm  — Superheroes From Comics to Film and TV (SALON A)
We’ll see if I get to say something considering I share the dais with Greg Cox, Kevin Dilmore, Dave Galanter, David Mack, Glenn Hauman, Alan Kistler, Mike W. Barr.

2 pm —Writers Workshop (CONCIERGE)
Howard Weinstein masterminds this event but of late, he’s asked me to come and talk a bit about the business aspects of writing since he foolishly thinks I have a successful freelance career after three years.

5 pm — LOST: The Authors’ Forum (HUNT)
Hear what a bunch of writers who never worked on the show think of it and its finale. Featuring Marco Palmieri, David Mack, Howard Weinstein, Ann Crispin, and Keith R.A. DeCandido

Sunday, July 11

10am — Bob & Howie Show (VALLEY)
The cons knows your tired from last night’s Ten Forward dance or 2nd Annual Robbie Greenberger Memorial Poker Tournament, so they have me and Howie get up and kill an hour. It’s become a bit of an institution so we must be doing something right.

Noon — You’ve Seen the Show, Now Read the Comic (SALON E)
Glenn Hauman, David Mack, Dave Galanter, Keith R. A. DeCandido, David Mack, Alan Kistler, Mike W. Barr

5 pm — Mystery Trekkie Theater (VALLEY/HUNT)
Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, and I once more skewer an episode of a Star Trek series. A fine way to close out what looks to be a terrific con.

* * *

I heartily recommend the Saturday at 11am performance by the Boogie Knights.

If you’re attending Shore Leave, I look forward to seeing you there!

I was once again reminded that writers write, hoping to profit from the experience but not expecting it. The daily mail brought with it my semi-annual royalty statement from Pocket Books for all my Star Trek fiction dating back to 1990. Five different titles earned me a whopping $7.43. Considering most of the books are currently out of print, any royalty is a good thing and speaks to the power of eBooks.

I was similarly heartened to hear that DC Comics has formalized a royalty plan the same week they launched their overdue digital initiative. This means that next month’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold, if its digital, will earn me addition income. And whenever Who’s Who launches (I’ll know more soon I’m told), that too I suspect would be a digital project.

And while I wait for that latter project to get back on line, I’ve been steadily working away. Just this morning I completed a final draft of a non-fiction book pitch that I subsequently sent to an agent I met two years ago. We’ll see if she agrees it’s a commercial opportunity.

With ReDeus having failed to gain backing via Kickstarter, Aaron Rosenberg, Steve Savile and I are discussing what the next, best step should be. We still like the concept and intend to do something with it either in print or online.

Meantime, to summarize, I have a young adult series being looked at by an editor, collaboration with Aaron being looked at by another publisher, ReDeus, and now the non-fiction project. There’s also an anthology idea I’d like to package being considered by still yet another publisher.

Of the three graphic novels being pitched, this morning’s e-mail brought the first two sample pages of tight pencils for Project A and I await an update on Project B. (The same artist is doing both A and C so patience is required, especially since C was his idea.) With luck, finished art will follow and we can begin circulating these to publishers.

It’s been enormously gratifying being able to have time to generate all these ideas, but after several months, I’m itching to actually write something longer than my Westfield and Fairfield Patch columns.

Today’s New York Times’ business section has a piece on Hollywood courting fans at Comic-Con International; examine the buzz generated and whether or not it translates to actual box office success. It certainly did for District 9; it certainly did not for The Watchmen.

It got me to thinking about the con and its reputation as the Mecca of all things cool and the seal of geek cred being sought by an increasing number of sources.

On the one hand, you have a captive audience of people who want to be in the know, want to see what’s cool and like being considered a taste maker. On the other, you have rabid clusters of fans devoted to maybe only one property, taking up valuable space and memberships from people who want the full experience. Perhaps separate pricing and admission policies should reflect the Hollywood-only attendees.

Additionally, the numbers have skewed out of proportion. It used to be, a few thousand people would see a presentation out of a total registration of maybe 50,000, meaning some 10 percent or more was generating the noise. With 150,000 people streaming through the con and the largest hall accommodating only 6000 people, the buzz is ascribed to a mere 4 percent of the attendees. Everyone else is shut out of the presentation, which tends not to be simulcast to other rooms. We have to wait for footage to hit the Internet.

For those 6000 people, they line up hours in advance for that special event, losing out on actually seeing the rest of the show. The Twilight crowd apparently camped out overnight last year, which shows how extreme things can get.

The article also avoided any mention of the growing number of television series that are courting the same buzz. New series, such as CBS’ revival of Hawaii Five-O, and already hot shows, such as Fox’s Glee, will be on hand. Which raises an entirely different question: why are they there? Shows that need their diehard fans to remain on the air (yes, I’m talking to you, Chuck) make sense but most others don’t.

Comic-con used to be a celebration of comic books and comics strips, some animation, and the adaptations of these properties into movies and television series. The parameters have increasingly expanded as Hollywood studios now use the convention as their personal playhouse, showing off their newest and shiniest objects regardless of their appropriateness to the core of the show.

Certainly, movies based on comics, such as next year’s Green Lantern, should be showcased. But studios and networks should be concentrating on finding acceptance or rejection of their other genre offerings. After Disney showed off some test footage for Tron: Legacy, the reaction was positive enough to help the studio decide to green light the film and a year later, they returned to show the progress, continuing a relationship. That is a connection all too rarely being made today. We want to be surprised and we want to root for the underdog concepts, and that’s happening with far less frequency.

The first film to get promoted at San Diego was something no one had heard of and needed some promotion, despite it not opening for another ten months. It had a retail poster sell out its 1000 copy run and the comics professionals adapting it were the featured speakers. Star Wars set the stage for what has evolved into a Las Vegas-sized megaevent but along the way, we lost much of the cool factor, that sense of discovering something worth waiting for ahead of the mass audience.

The con organizers probably has little control over which films and shows get promoted in Hall H, and it’s a shame, since comics and all their wonders have been totally eclipsed. The publishers, the talent, and the characters are no longer the draw as fleeting glimpses of actors and teaser footage has replaced them.

There’s been a bit of activity involving several of my projects so let me fill you in.

As I was delivering the proofread pages to the front and back matter for The Essential Superman Encyclopedia, my wonderful editor, Chris Cerasi, informed me that DelRey had moved the publication date from August to October. I’m not entirely sure when this was decided or what led to the decision but if it allowed us to update the information to be current with the end of the current era of stories, then I’m cool with that. Additionally, it means DelRey intends to push the project somewhat aggressively at the New York Comic-Con in October and I’m very excited at the possibilities. For those eagerly awaiting it, the two month delay will be aggravating but trust me, well worth it.

Yesterday, I received the galleys to my short story, “Go Go Gone” for the Green Hornet Chronicles, due out this month from Moonstone. As you might imagine, that pretty much means the book won’t be out this month but is imminent. Ruben Procopio provided a nice spot illustration for the story so it’ll look good.

Earlier this week I received my contributor copies to Moonstone’s Captain Midnight Chronicles and it was lovely to see this in print at long last, considering I wrote the story in June 2007. Go order it and see for yourself.

And then there was the recent bad news…

My Star Trek one-shot, featuring Captain Rachel Garrett, will not be seeing print. Scott Dunbier, my editor at IDW, was extremely apologetic but a number of business factors – not creative issues – led to the project being cut from the 2010 schedule. I was really looking forward to this one since it shone a fresh light on the Nausicaans and was hoping to see exciting artwork from George Freeman. Maybe some other lifetime.

Next up may well be ReDeus if enough people help us over at Kickstarter. See the countdown clock on the right? We have until June 30….