Sunday wound up being a day where I did my best to appear energetic but my pals all saw I was tired. Two late nights with poor sleep meant I was flagging and energy depleted.
Still, the annual Bob & Howie Show went well as we chatted about our careers, our experiences and then played some related NPR radio excerpts to entertain the crowd. I then had an hour to kill before my final panel.
Since the movie trailers are so popular, Farpoint scheduled a second hour this year and I was paired with my pal/colleague/webmaster Glenn Hauman. We were in a small room which we mostly filled and everyone enjoyed what we showed.
I was then asked to play fill-in emcee so I went down the hall and introduced the crowd to actress Mira Furlan. As she regaled the audiences with stories, Deb and I snuck out of the hotel for a quick lunch. We got back in time to greet Mira backstage, chat with her for a minute and then wished her a safe trip.
She was followed by Felicia Day and I realized she didn’t need a long intro. Instead, I admired her 1.7 million twitter followers (receiving a shocked look from her when she heard I had yet to break 400 followers) and introduced her as the $5000 Woman. She took the stage, laughing, and began with, “I don’t know if I want to be known as that.” Her first question was “How was lunch?” It turns out that the man who bid so much money for the privilege has actually worked on Felicia’s Guild series and they had never met.
I then wandered over to do my autographing stint where I signed two autographs, twice as many as Saturday. At least I got to chill next to Mike Friedman and was stationary so others could come and hang out with us. The show was winding down and things got more relaxed so the hotel atrium became a giant lounge as we hung out. By 4, though, most of our friends had left so we returned to the room to chill for a bit.
Our Valentine’s Day dinner was at a nearby Irish Pub which was packed and lively. The food was fine, if unexceptional, but quite filling. We returned to the room and watched the Olympics, unwinding before departing this morning.
The committee puts on a good, solid show. They make a strong effort for the fans and guests to be relaxed and unstressed. It is very hard to run a show, harder to run a good show and the current team makes us all feel wanted and welcome. It was quite the fun weekend but now, sadly, it’s time to go back to work.
In 2003, we were snowed in at Farpoint and the con effectively ran an extra day as we took turns for the hotel’s sole snow shovel. This year, the snows came early, and often, but nothing threatened to spoil the con.
Our drive down Friday was uneventful and the minute we pulled in, we began seeing friends. Now, Farpoint is a relaxed, friendly, fan-run con that pulls in about half the Shore Leave audience so things are scaled back. Not as many marquee guests, fewer people crowding the aisles, and so on. But after coming for so many years, most everyone is familiar.
I had no obligations on Friday so took time to catch up with whoever I ran into. David Mack, Keith DeCandido, his girl friend Wren, and Glenn Hauman joined us for dinner as we trekked over to Andy Nelson’s a fine local barbecue establishment. Back at the hotel, we took over a portion of the bar, as fellow authors began arriving.
Last year, I spent a day up at our state capitol, getting a taste of government in action as I testified before a joint House and Senate committee regarding bone marrow donations. The bill was passed with strong bi-partisan support but was part of an omnibus bill and Governor Jodi Rell vetoed the bill. Her explanation did not single out bone marrow testing but the bill did not make it to an override vote and died for the third year in a row.
Undefeated, HR 5009 was submitted with Senator John McKinney and Representative Tom Drew among the sponsors. It was scheduled for a hearing today so I was invited to come back and speak out once more.
HB 5009 includes the obligation for insurance to cover bone marrow testing so more people can join Be the Match Registry. As apart of an omnibus bill, it was lumped in with other worthy causes but we had by far the most proponents, most of whom are repeat testifiers.
First up was a high school teacher whose wife of less than one year was diagnosed with leukemia and required a transplant. A donor was matched and she successfully recovered. The survivor, also a high school teacher, spoke next, followed by a woman who lost her son ten years ago and continues to fight in his memory.
And then there was me. Going fourth, much of what I had to say had been said but some questions were asked and the others didn’t have the information. I had facts and figures, plucked from online this morning, so was able to point my comments at those issues in addition to telling Robbie’s story. Senator McKinney missed the meeting, which is a shame considering his power in the senate. Tom Drew also spoke for us.
The shame of it is, of the nineteen members of the committee, only ten were present for any portion of the hearing while the reality was between five and six were there at any one time. I’m told that this happens considering the number of committees people sit on and conflicting schedules or other commitments. But still, seeing all those empty seats, all those people our pleas missed…it’s just sad.
Now we have to wait and see if it passes again and then lobby like crazy to get the Governor to sign it at last.
It’s been a while since I threw open the floor to questions. So, what would you like to know? We can cover comics, writing, politics, life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness.
The 2010 convention season is about to begin for me. Most of the shows I appear at occur between now and July so the calendar fills in quickly.
Kicking things off, as usual, is Farpoint down in Timonium, MD. I’ll be there along with writing pals Peter David, David Mack, Mike Friedman, Keith DeCandido, Terri Osborne, Dave Galanter, Alan Chafin, Glenn Hauman and of course, Howard Weinstein.
Presuming the northeast is dug out of the weekly snow storm in time, we should be there having a ball.
For those, attending, here’s where you can find me:
Saturday
Bob Greenberger 10:00 AM
This is the usual hour long spotlight to kick off programming. I’ll talk about my projects and show movie trailers (courtesy of Glenn).
Writers Workshop 1:00 PM
This is Howie’s program and he’s invited me to come and talk about life as a freelancer. He’s very impressed by the breadth of work I do and thinks I have words of wisdom to share.
New V vs. Old V 4:00 PM
Having edited the comics’ adaptation of the Old V and having the hots for Elizabeth Mitchell in the new V, I guess I’m qualified to chat about this.
2009 Comics In Review Saturday 5:00 PM
I read lots and lots of comics so me and a few others will debate Blackest Night, Siege and other fun stuff.
I’ll be a Masquerade judge that evening as well.
Sunday
Bob & Howie Show 10:00 AM
As always, Howie and I will spend an hour talking about this and that, and will find the one network show we totally disagree on. What will it be this year?
Movie Previews with Bob & Glenn 12:00 PM
For those who missed out the day before, an hour of trailers, news, and comic relief.
As usual, I also want to commend your attention to the Boogie Knights’ show Saturday at 11. Kate may be out of town and miss the performance, but the other six will be there and it’s well worth your attention.
Through the years, I’ve been fairly critical about the state of customer service in the country, using personal examples as cases in point.
As a result, it’s only fair that when I get superior service, I should mention this as well.
Last week, I noticed a leak under our washing machine. The earliest the repairmen from C&E Appliance could come was yesterday and we were told to expect him between 3 and 6. At 5:50, he arrived and began disassembling the machine. After some poking and prodding, he found the leak. Unfortunately, it was a significant part that had failed, not the usual problem that he encounters 98% of the time. The good news was that the tubes and other parts all looked to be in better than expected shape. He was amazed at the good shape the rest of the machine was in. Hearing that, we decided to invest in repairs rather than investigate a replacement unit.
He called the office to confirm they had a part and said his supervisor would have to handle the repair. We got a call this morning that everything was in place and we’d be visited between 1 and 4.
Around 1:15 Mike arrived and couldn’t have been nicer. First of all, he remembered the house. Noticed the two dogs were not the same ones that were here when he was last in the house maybe a decade ago. As he took the machine apart, he asked about the kids, recalled Paz, our Spanish au pair and other details. Now, this is a guy who visited 60 houses a week for years and only stopped doing mainly residential customers five years ago. We were amazed.
I began wiping down the various pieces of the washer as he talked and then I left him to work. When he was done, he confirmed that the machine was in excellent shape and would last quite some time. He had taken the Fantastic and some rags and completed cleaning the interior and exterior of the machine so it looked great.
As he cleaned up and prepped the bill, he gave us some unsolicited tips on our other appliances and couldn’t have been nicer. If only all service calls went so pleasantly.
Yesterday, I spent the day in Spring Valley, New York, beginning with a wonderful brunch at my cousin Audrey’s. She’s the youngest cousin in the preceding generation and I continue to marvel at how my mother’s generation grew up so incredibly close and remain in touch with amazing regularity.
We then headed over to the small Holocaust Museum and Study Center to attend the opening of the exhibit American Cartoonists: Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. It’s a traveling exhibit assembled by Rabbi Isidoro Auzenberg, curator for special exhibits and scholar-in-residence at The Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives/Queensborough Community College.
The exhibit itself is modest, just over a dozen large images and placards with narrative. It attempts to trace how comic books and super-heroes dealt with the issue of the Nazis and the Holocaust from the early pastiches in Superman stories through Joe Kubert’s Yossel. It has some nice breadth but is missing depth along with a desperate need for a copy editor to correct art credits, issue titles and the like. It also posits that Siegel and Shuster created Superman as a response to the Nazi threat brewing during the 1930s, which of course it was not.
To kick off the exhibit, the Center invited Rabbi Simcha Weinstein to lecture on Jewish creators and super-heroes. The Rabbi is from England and was a film production person prior to devoting himself to the Torah and changing careers. He has since gone on to write extensively about popular culture, notably in his books Up, Up and Oy Vey! How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero and Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century.
He was very engaging and passionate about his subject, knowledgeable as only one who has read and absorbed the comics could be. The room was packed with the overflow crowd standing or sitting in the vestibule to hear him. We were among the youngest in the room, a fact not lost on the staff. The Center staff was grateful and overwhelmed while the Rabbi looked out among the faces and muttered, “And to think I only brought ten books to sell.”
Through humor and example, he discussed why Jews wound up in comics and how the super-heroes explored the issues of the day, including the Holocaust. Superman was heavily referenced given his Jewish roots and he concluded with the debates over whether or not the Man of Steel was Jewish. His final conclusion< “Of course, he’s not real.”
His questions were incredibly thoughtful and informed with people wondering if comics can help keep the lessons of the Holocaust alive and who was going to read these works. Afterwards, while he was signing, I ambled up to chat a bit and ask why he totally ignored mentioning Will Eisner’s work. He paused, nodded, and admitted he had no idea why he omitted Eisner. Then he explained he was late in discovering Eisner’s work and we rattle doff favorite titles, especially those pertaining to the lecture topic.
This was diverting, informative, entertaining day, one all too rarely enjoyed.
Back in August, I was very harsh on the first installment in Michael Uslan’s six-part “what if” story, which devoted three issues of Archie to watching Archie Andrews marry Veronica Lodge then three issues watching Archie marry Betty Cooper.
At the time, I was frustrated at the characters acting, well, out of character and the lazy thinking that went into this. Now that the final installment is out, I wanted to go back and see if things improved.
Not really.
The three-parter with Veronica never really explores anything as we rush headlong from event to event. The wedding prep and wedding are crammed into one issue so the real humor ripe with the bachelor and bachelorette parties is gone. We also see that Hiram Lodge has decided not to stick Archie in a dead-end job after all, but makes him a vital cog in the machine. For someone with a history degree and zero business experience, his thriving makes little sense. Of course, Uslan takes the chicken way out and provides them with twins, oddly naming both after themselves. While Veronica might be that self-absorbed Archie certainly isn’t.
The Betty three-parter is more engaging but equally devoid of exploring what it really means to be an adult and starting not only a career but a married life. First of all, Archie’s parents’ reaction to his choice of Betty rings true as does Archie’s difficulties finding work. After all, he has a history degree and what do you do with that, especially in a tiny town like Riverdale? The struggles of work and a married life also feel better but Betty refusing to stay in the city and pursue her career while Archie continued to look for work made no sense. Nor does them living with his parents – if they were that poor, then why on Earth give up her salary? Also, Archie could not possibly be given a teaching position given his lack of training and credentials. Maybe a long-term sub and maybe he considers teaching but needs to go back for his master’s. Also, music was always an aspect of Archie’s life — he didn’t even study it in college, so what on earth qualifies him to teach it? Nope, not touched on. Then there’s the pregnancy, avoiding a chance for them to discuss “planned” parenthood since this seems to be a total surprise. The best part is showing how the newlyweds are beginning to form a social life beyond their high school friends, a natural evolution.
Life at college is a time for finding one’s self, for taking those first steps towards independence and forging new bonds. That first job is a stepping stone to a career and you begin building new friendships and connections, while your contact with high school friends begins to dwindle. For the sake of the status quo, that was largely in both three-parters and therefore robs the entire event of a poignancy it should have had along with some wonderful humor.
Michael insists on parallels between the two including the headlong rush into marriage upon college graduation. Here he had a chance to impart some lessons to his readers, showing what rushing could do in one instance, and planning for the future in another. People aren’t marrying at 22 but later and this should have been acknowledged.
Overall, the idea of showing what life would be like for each woman is great but far too much of the humor was slapstick and not character-based. Too many winks and nods and trying to fit in everyone (the worst being Moose controlling his mood through yoga) with illogical career choices assigned to the characters. The best of those was the wink to the readers with Dilton’s discovery of parallel universes and promptly disappearing. Yeah, after this six month disappointment, I’d want to vanish, too.
Michael is an old pal and his enthusiasm and affection for the characters was clearly evident at San Diego over the summer. I really wish that all translated to the page instead of something that clearly needed rethinking and reworking for a better tale.
I mentioned a while back that I was continuing my public service by joining the Greater Bridgeport Regional Planning Agency as a Fairfield representative. And what is the GBRPA you wonder?
“The Greater Bridgeport Planning Region comprises six municipalities that are home to approximately 300,000 residents.
The three most urbanized communities (Bridgeport, Fairfield and Stratford) lie along the shores of Long Island Sound, whereas the inland communities to the north (Easton, Monroe and Trumbull) are more rural and residential. Covering 146 square miles, the Region is the most densely populated of Connecticut’s 15 planning areas.
The core of the planning region – the City of Bridgeport – is not only the largest city in the state, but also serves as the regional hub for services ranging from medical care to transportation, education, and banking. Bridgeport is also the judicial seat of Fairfield County, containing the Federal, State, and County Courthouses.”
Good and noble work.
On Tuesday night I attended my first meeting as one of the three Fairfield reps. Fortunately, nothing affecting my town was on the agenda so I could sit back and see what happens.
Essentially, we discuss any work being done that might affect surrounding towns and make recommendations on Planning and Zoning legislation for consideration by the specific town. There’s a full staff that does year-round work on things like traffic studies and an initiative to create more bike paths to encourage exercise and less reliance on cars.
Interestingly, we hit a procedural glitch that sent us scurrying for our copy of Robert’s Rules of Order. Someone wanted to rescind a motion after the vote, and while I was familiar with reconsideration, this was new even for me. Problem solved, we moved on.
Most of the other members have P&Z experience making me feel like not only the newcomer but the outsider so I’ll be brushing up before the next meeting.
As January winds down, I find that I am right on schedule with the paying work.
Who’s Who #2 was delivered to DC and I await feedback from the editors. Meantime, I completed a second pass of the ghostwriting project, which is due Monday. I sent the manuscript off to a pal today to get a fresh set of eyes on it and to make certain it doesn’t suck. I also e-mailed my partner with some questions and once I hear back, I can give it a third and final pass before delivering on Monday, which is the due date.
I was speaking with my publisher last Friday about this and he noted that my professionalism on an earlier project led to this assignment and he could not be more pleased with my attitude and “can do” attitude. I make his life easier and that means I remain in mind for future work. That’s a vital lesson all freelancers should take to heart.
On the other hand, I have been trying in vain to contact my editor on the media tie-in comic I scripted back in October. In theory the finished book is due out in June but he has been tough to pin down. I have no idea if the licensee has approved it or if the artist remains at work. Communication is a two-way street and this silence (unreturned e-mails and phone messages) is maddening.
I did receive edits to my Green Hornet story which shouldn’t take more than an hour or so to revise and then it should be good to go for the collection, due in June.
My goal of doing spec writing each morning has not quite worked out as planned. I did manage a graphic novel pitch and sent that off but of late, that precious first hour has gone towards reviews for ComicMix and some pro bono political work for a candidate. I still have a young adult fantasy project to polish, especially with at least one editor willing to look at it.
A different spec project, though, is slowly gaining momentum. It appears there’s a contract in the works for the project in one form and now a different company is interested in it in a different form. I’m working on this with others and will be the second person to do any writing when this goes live, which I expect to happen in February. I can’t wait for things to be signed and for us to formally announce it. There are some good stories to tell and lessons to learn.
All in all, this year is off to a pretty good start.
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