Another Farpoint is Done

Posted by Bob Greenberger on February 16, 2009

The hotel’s internet connection was down all Sunday so I’ve been playing catch up in a rush and wanted to post this before hitting the road for home.

We got through Saturday fairly well but of course, Sunday had people continue to walk up and hugs us, offering additional comments.

The con itself adapted wonderfully to its new space. Everything was compact, allowing for people to get from point A to point B in quick time. The main ballroom was smaller than we were used to but everyone fit in snuggly.

The comics track panels I participated in were sparsely attended, okay one woman showed up as the only attendee for two of them (stragglers followed eventually). Still, she came so we spoke.

My other obligations went off smoothly. Our masquerade was a nice event with just 20 entrees but some very fine ones from newcomers made us vets appreciate them all the more. The Boogie Knights had a great performance, as usual, debuting two new songs.

As usual, my real complaint had to do with the deejay for Ten Forward, the Saturday night dance. She regularly chased people off the dance floor with a poor mix of tunes and then didn’t adjust to get them back. It also seemed to get louder with every passing hour.

It was great to actually spend time with pals like the Davids, Mike Friedman, Howard Weinstein, Allyn Gibson and Alan Chafin – guys I don’t see often enough. Dave Galanter, a fellow novelist, relocated to the area and was a guest but I barely saw him to chat which was a shame.

Of course, time with Kate was an extra treat and once the con wound down yesterday afternoon, we had some time to hang with other friends and then dinner together before collapsing in the room.

Overall, it was a fine, smooth weekend. Emotionally, better than we expected, and it was great to be back at a con with friends.

Six Months

Posted by Bob Greenberger on February 14, 2009

Farpoint is a smaller version of Shore Leave and through the years, as Robbie grew, he seemed to loom large over the con. He was the teen ringleader in the corridors, a constant presence during the masquerade, and a lively spirit.
His absence looms large this year, especially, today, as we mark the sixth month anniversary of his passing.
In the run up to the con, we were feeling somewhat anxious about being there, about being there as part of both Valentine’s Day and the anniversary. Being here, though, we’ve been showered with hugs and affectionate comments about him and his presence in their lives.
The con did a lovely job honoring him, starting with Ariel David’s loving tribute in the program book. Last night during their banquet, the committee spoke lovingly about him and announced that the Most Original masquerade prize was being named after him. We were given a replica of this year’s trophy as a memento.
Throughout today, his presence was keenly felt. At 4 there was a memorial for him in one of the larger programming rooms. About three dozen people attended and for an hour we told Robbie stories. Some we heard, some we were new to us which was lovely. There was laughter and tears but it was clear all over again just how many lives he touched in positive ways. It was a wonderful tribute to his spirit.
Truth to tell, there remain days where his death still feels unreal. I still think he’s at school or still at 7-West but then I see some tangible sign of his absence and a fresh wave of grief washes over me.

Pitchers and Catchers

Posted by Bob Greenberger on February 13, 2009

Today is the kick off for Farpoint, which I am very much looking forward to.
But, more significantly, today marks a true sign that winter is not for long.
Pitchers and catchers report today.
Down at Port St. Lucie, my beloved New York Mets already have several hurlers tossing off the mound. With GM Omar Minaya remaking the bullpen over the winter, I am pleased the 2009 team will be far stronger than the 2008 edition.
From an offensive standpoint, I worry that they lack young pop other than David Wright and Daniel Murphy. After all, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran are entering the twilight of their careers and can’t be expected to maintain their prodigious output. An upgrade at second or catcher would have been nice but overall, I think they’re balanced and poised for a superior season.
But, looking at all 30 teams, I smile and delight in knowing that spring training games are just two weeks away.

Work this Week

Posted by Bob Greenberger on February 12, 2009

So, what’s been happening in the world of work? Yes, I’ve been chasing the next big project but I have plenty of little things to fill out the month as I wait and see if my con efforts bear fruit.
First, just out is the current issue of Star Trek Magazine which contains an article by yours truly about Voyager. Now out eight times a year, the magazine has been lots of fun to write for. The following issue will contain a Majel Barrett tribute I wrote and I’m at work on some small pieces for the three issues that follow.
Editor Paul Simpson notes, “This…has an introduction to the new Voyager novels by Kirsten Beyer, with an extract from Full Circle. Kirsten’s article addresses some of the frequently-asked questions about what’s been happening with, and what’s going to happen to Voyager books. We’ve also got a number of TrekLit contributors: Bob Greenberger, David Mack, Robert Jeschonek, Christopher L. Bennett, Michael A. Martin and David McIntee have all penned analytical pieces; Dayton Ward and Trek Life’s David Reddick have teamed up on a very special Captain Proton feature; Terri Osborne interviews Bob Picardo, with a contribution from Ted Kopulos; Jill Sherwin interviews Bryan Fuller in an eye-opening feature about Voyager’s production; Mike Friedman writes about contributing to screen Voyager; and there’s also an intriguing interview with Jeri Ryan which gives her take on Seven’s relationships. Add in a new interview with Bruce Greenwood about playing Christopher Pike and reviews of A Singular Destiny, Shards & Shadows and Errand of Fury and it’s an interesting package.”
I also completed one of my contributions to Marvel Spotlight‘s 70th Anniversary of Marvel issue. It’s an oversized square-bound book due out in May and I got to write about the birth of the Marvel Age. It meant talking to Fabulous Flo Steinberg, Rascally Roy Thomas and Stan the Man himself. While I had Stan on the phone, I poked his memory to chat about the earlier years for a second piece I’ll be doing for the magazine.
In addition to Star Trek and Marvel Spotlight, I’m also doing research for a friend, helping him on a book project. This week I’ve also written a sample for a new book project and written up a proposal for something that could be both long-term and cool.
My original notions continue to wait their turn but at least I’m making some cash and keeping my hand in a variety of places.

The Con Report

Posted by Bob Greenberger on February 10, 2009

Sorry I haven’t been better at posting but the last week has been a whirlwind of con prep, work, the con, con aftermath and more work.
The convention was a huge success for Reed Exhibitions, but even better, for me. I had eight meetings plus four panels to manage and everything went off just fine. It was a three day marathon of seeing old friends, old colleagues, old acquaintances and meeting new folk. Some I saw too briefly to be satisfying, others were just right.
My meetings were all in the hopes of generating work for myself or for ACE, the outfit I am part of with Jordan Gorfinkel. While none ended with a direct offer of work, I did all the necessary follow-up e-mails yesterday so we’ll see what happens next. I found myself being introduced to people I didn’t anticipate meeting which may also lead to stuff and I had a conversation with one person which is definitely leading to work once we have lunch next week to further the planning.
The panels were all a treat. First up we celebrated the 75th anniversary of four comic strip icons. Rick Norwood and Ron Goulart are two historians of the form and are senior members of our community so watching them disagree was sort of fun. It also gave me an excuse to reunite with Dean Mullaney, formerly of Eclipse Comics, and now with IDW’s lovely comic strip reprint library. He looks utterly unchanged.
The second panel was about prose works featuring comic book figures. Paul Kupperberg, who writes about this very topic at Bookgasm, moderated the panel which went fairly well.
On Sunday, I moderated a discussion about Star Trek in books and comics which gave me an excuse to spend time with David Mack and Peter David, always a good thing. Half an hour later, though, I was stunned.
While walking to the panel, I saw a very long line and asked what they were waiting for. “The Green Lantern at 50 panel,” I was informed. Yikes! Yes, we had more people on line than could fit in the room and the con tried to find us a different place. No space was available so they kindly packed everyone in, keeping a very tiny exit row just in case. Fortunately, everyone played nice and allowed themselves to be packed like sardines. Yes, Green Lantern is more popular today than ever before, but we were all stunned. Still, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Joe Staton, Geoff Johns and I held a pretty fun discussion about what we loved about Hal Jordan and why the Silver Age version of the character has thrived.
In a first, my Uncle Eric was at the show on Saturday as was my brother-in-law Jim, his wife Jennifer and Jim’s son Nicholas, who’s a major fan. I got to spend just a wee bit of time with them all but it was certainly different having family around.
There were some truly bizarre moments. While waiting for an appointment to arrive, two guys were walking by and one mentioned my name. I spoke up and they were shocked to see me in the flesh. Turns out one is an Associate Editor at Connecticut Magazine and was wondering if he’d see me. Another was a guy walking up to me and saying his wife went to college with me and wanted him to say hi. The problem, when I checked for her in the college yearbook, she wasn’t there so now I’m stumped. Then was Tony Merino, a friend I’ve made through my other friends Judy and Matt. Turns out Tony used to work with my former DC boss, Terri Cunningham’s mother, so they delighted in meeting at the show. Small world, ain’t it?
My oldest friend, Jeff Stell, and his delightful wife Debbie, showed up all three days and it was great walking the aisles with them, noting just how much things have changed since we first started attending cons in 1970.
I picked up some books, admired many more and wound up getting a “Mark Waid is Evil” t-shirt which I shall wear proudly.
While there was a lot of programming I would have liked to have seen, there just wasn’t time. Overall, though, it appeared that all 77,000 people who attended had a great time. I heard mixed things from retailers about sales but no one was complaining too loudly and given these economic times, that may be enough.

Mr. Greenberger goes to Hartford

Posted by Bob Greenberger on February 3, 2009

While I have served as an elected official in Fairfield, I’ve never had cause to go to the state capitol in Hartford for business.
Until today.
On Saturday, my State Rep, the honorable Tom Drew, called and said that a bill requiring insurance companies to pay for bone marrow testing was being heard in committee and Tuesday. As the bill’s author, he was going to speak on it, but he wanted them to hear from people who have dealt with the issue, and invited me along for the ride.
He collected me this morning around 10:30 and we zipped up to the capitol an hour away. Our reps tend to serve on either MWF or TTh committees then all five days while the full body hears and votes on bills and the budget. Tom, like his colleagues, uses the long drive each way to speak to constituents or do their other job, in his case that of lawyer.
Once we arrived, we collected lunch in the cafeteria and then headed up to his office so I could check things out for myself. The legislative building was built about 20 years ago and is an efficient design for government and well maintained so it has the proper amount of presence when you walk its corridors. And yes, what you see in movies and television is true: you really do a lot of your business in hallways and elevators. Heck, I even got to lobby someone from the DPUC on a cable issue before I got into the building.
He took me to the committee room just before the hearing began and explained that they allow the public to speak on bills prior to the legislators and speakers went based on when they signed up. The 19 committee members, from the State and the House, would be hearing 15 different bills over the next few hours. Over the course of the hearing, members drifted in and out and at its peak, only 13 of them were even present.
Tom had presented this bill before and it died last session but got a sense from his colleagues that this year might be different. He had also brought along Danny Lamos, who is fighting lymphoma and underwent a bone marrow transplant and is currently in remission but strongly believed in the bill. As it happened, the Senate had a mirror bill on the docket, and Danny had signed to speak for that one.
When he spoke, he read from a prepared speech, as did every other speaker before the panel. Me, I had bullet points only based on Tom’s direction so it’s a good thing I’m used to speaking in public.
Around 2, shortly after Danny spoke and while the committee heard testimony on a different bill, the Senate bill’s author, minority leader John McKinney (R-Fairfield), arrived. The committee chair broke precedent to allow John to testify and he brought along Tom so they spoke together. Then, continuing to take things out of order, it was my turn.
I sat the table, facing the committee members, who had now heard some of these facts twice in the space of 30 minutes. So instead, I talked about Robbie and his fight. More importantly, I spoke about his friends. College kids who are on tight budgets and could not have afforded the $50-75 per test and how several organized drives that found grant funding. I spoke about how the cost meant the difference between the global registry being 13 million today and many times that tomorrow.
Half way through the chairman interrupted me. He asked that I turn on the microphone which John had turned off out of habit. Fortunately, I was projecting and they had heard me well enough.
Afterwards, I was told I did well. As I left the room, a woman stopped and introduced herself. She had been with the group that funded the Fairfield U. drive this past summer and how pleased she was to meet me. She recalled the incredible work Denise Honeycutt, mother of organizer Marianne, did that day and all the wonderful things she heard about Robbie.
I continue to honor his memory and am more than happy to credit his friends for pulling together when needed.
With luck, this bill we be passed and signed by June.

Thinking About the Boss

Posted by Bob Greenberger on February 2, 2009

I’ve been a Bruce Springsteen fan dating back to 1975, just prior to the release of Born to Run. The live broadcast of his concert from The Bottom Line probably sealed the deal for me, but when I saw him at C.W. Post, I was hooked. Rarely have I seen rock and roll played with such gusto. At the time, the rock concerts were getting bigger with elaborate stage design, pyrotechnics and special effects were increasingly in vogue. Some, like the Blue Oyster Cult, integrated them well, others began to slip into Las Vegas mode (see the Rolling Stones’ tour of that era).
Springsteen and the E Street Band were true showman, rocking the house with their music, their instruments and their interplay. Sure, a lot of it was choreographed; by they were loose enough to improvise on the fly which made for terrific memories.
Having seen him steadily ever since, I’ve built up an understanding of his music and his performances. Long ago I concluded that television was not the best medium with which to see him. The concert clips give you some idea of what’s going on and even things like his Today Show appearances have been okay but they still lack the immediacy of seeing him live.
As a result, watching him last night at the Super Bowl, I knew how to process the information. Deb said he appeared flat and the idiot at The New York Times panned the 12 minute set. Instead, I knew it was flat because television sound doesn’t transport you the way an arena’s sound system can. The camera cuts here and there, depriving of you the sense of wonder as the band interacts with one another while the Boss is doing his thing.
I thought he did a great job squeezing four songs into 12 minutes. Adding the extra horns was a nice touch although I could have done without the choir. He was pumped up, excited, energetic and conveyed that to the crowd on the field and to us at home. This was the finest halftime show in years.
Fortunately, today, tickets went on sale for the new tour in support of his latest release. Deb and I furiously clicked through to Ticketmaster and I beat her by a Pico second. My seat offer was far better than hers but hey, we scored tickets for Hartford. And it’ll be a generational party since we grabbed one for Kate who will join us as a belated birthday gift.
Now how cool is that?

My Lunch with Jim Warren

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 30, 2009

I’ve been in this racket since 1980 and even dating back to junior high school, I’ve been exposed to celebrities, politicians, actors, directors, producers, etc. My first interview was with Harry Chapin when he played a benefit at the high school and since then, there have been some really cool moments and opportunities. Getting to interview Chuck Yeager, the man who broke the sound barrier, was an incredible highlight.
In my field, we fortunately respect and revere the pioneers, the first generation who helped invent the comic book. I was thrilled when I got to know Shelly Mayer, who felt there had to be some connection between us since there are Greenbergers in his family tree. Maybe, we never figured it out.
As a result, there are very few pioneers I’ve never had the pleasure to meet and among them has been Jim Warren. For those unfamiliar, Jim was the enterprising publisher who launched Famous Monsters of Filmland and parleyed that success into a mini-empire with the introduction of Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella. I’d heard him speak at conventions, we even attend some of the same memorials but had never had the chance to say hello.
Last spring, an FM project came up that led me to go seeking Jim. It took a few weeks, but I got in touch with him and since May, we have spoken by phone every few weeks. I’m pleased to have been the one to arrange for Comic-Con International to invite Jim back so he and Forry Ackerman could be on stage together one final time, celebrating the 50th anniversary of FM.
One does not have a brief conversation with Jim. Our conversations last close to two hours and it covers a lot of stuff. Still, we had yet to be face-to-face, something he wanted to rectify. While in New York for business this week, he invited me to lunch.
I’ve been to lunch meetings since my Starlog days and in an hour or two you get to know one another a bit and discuss your business over the meal. Jim does it in a style I’d only read about. We met at a mid-town steak house and he was ensconced in a corner, at a large round table that normally sat four or more. Like a concerned parent, he warned me not to arrive in jeans and he approved of my attire when I arrived.
He warned the waiter that he liked to take his time and they were most accommodating since he seemed to be a semi-regular. I arrived at noon and we didn’t order until after 1 and we didn’t start talking business until 3 and by 4:40 I had to excuse myself to catch a train.
We discussed books, movies, politics, current events, people we knew. We shared an affection for Robert B. Parker’s works. He probed about my background and had asked to see writing samples. His probing mind asked about some of the stuff on my bibliography and was rather impressed by the titles I had done for Rosen Books. By the time we got to the business at hand, he seemed fairly comfortable with me. Along the way, I got some stories out of him that I hadn’t heard previously so we both gained something from the exchange.
Will this lead to anything? Who knows. That he’s still interested in doing new things these days rather than rest on his laurels is also impressive. But doing thing Jim’s way was a glimpse into the publishing world of the past and it made for a delightful way to break up the at-home routine.

Catching Up

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 25, 2009

So, what’s been going on with work and home?
The work remains exceedingly slow. January is coming to a close and the proposals that sat on editors’ desks in December remain firmly in place.
Of the work I do have, the second Batman book for Stone Arch has been first drafted and will be polished and delivered this week.
I have begun conducting interviews for the Marvel Spotlight article assignment.
The amiable Bill Fawcett has invited me to write 4-5 essays for another one of his collections, and once we determine the topics I can begin writing and researching about errors made during World War II.
Of course there remains the third pass on Batman Vault, copyedits on Iron Man (which now has a pub date of June 23 for those keeping score at home), and anything Stone Arch wants to show me on the first Batman book.
New York Comic-Con is rapidly approaching and my consulting with them has resulted in my wrangling four panels for them, three I will be moderating, so that should be fun. It also means I’ll be there all three days and networking like a maniac.
After that, everything else is spec work. I have a solo project getting dusted off along plus four different collaborations in the works which should mean the law of averages says something should come from these.
I’m also putting together my very first PowerPoint presentation; illustrations to accompany a talk I will be giving at the Fairfield Public Library on March 3 entitled “A Picturesque History of the Graphic Novel”. Deb is showing me how it’s done since she is rather practiced and good at it.
Here at home, the two dogs are getting along just swell now that they’ve gotten used to one another. Ginger’s real personality is starting to show and Deb is convinced we’ve adopted a mischievous jackrabbit disguised as a small dog.

Batman Vault

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 22, 2009

I’ve been hinting around that I had worked on two projects over the last year but haven’t announced them, at the request of the license holder. The other day, I finally talked about the Stone Arch Batman book I wrote in August. Now, I can talk about the one I wrote before that…
Running Press will release Batman Vault, which according to Amazon&tag=comicmixbgb-20, has a pub date of November 14. Similar to the DC Vault, written by my pal Martin Pasko, this will give readers a look at the world of Batman and his cultural impact since 1939.
I was first approached about writing this at last April’s New York Comic-Con and quickly whipped out an outline for how I saw doing the book. I was informed that Marty did such a superlative job on the basic history, I needed to avoid the lesson and go for a broader look at the character. My first outline didn’t quite do it for DC; so I quickly did a second outline which they and the publisher liked.
My deadline was mid-August and I wrote through the summer. The fun part was, after picking the brains of some colleagues at the outset, I managed a first draft almost entirely from memory. I then went back, looked up some stuff, and fleshed out a second draft. Once it was polished up, it went off to DC. My editor at the time, Chris Cerasi, told me how much he loved it and how I hit the tone spot on.
Unfortunately, at the time the publisher asked for some changes, Robbie’s health was deteriorating and DC kindly chose not to bother me. Instead, they turned to Matthew K. Manning, no slouch in the research and writing department, to come in and give the manuscript a once over to address the concerns. We now share the by-line and have gotten both our perspectives in place.
The final manuscript was then vetted by the able John Wells and some guy named Waid and was sent off. Meantime, DC began combing its archives for nifty visuals including the items that would be the facsimiles for the “museum-in-a-book” conceit. One of those items is something I only heard about and had never seen before and will be a treat. Also, an editorial shuffle saw the capable Ben Harper step in to ride herd over the book.
In November, I saw a first pass of the designed pages, adding in captions and making suggestions. Over Christmas, I received a set of second pass pages which were even stronger looking. There will be about 35,000 words spread over 192 colorful pages.
I’m told a third pass is forthcoming and then I believe we can lock everything into place and they can begin actually manufacturing the book.
I’m proud of the project despite the complications that arose during the final writing and editing. I do appreciate the sensitivity shown by my friends at DC and the professionalism Matt lent the project.
And remember, it’s never too early to start your Christmas list.