By now you know, unless you’re a fan who really reads nothing but comics and sees/hears nothing that’s not comics related: we had us a storm, we north easterners, and it was a humdinger. Lots of snow – lots! – before Halloween which royally screwed things up hereabouts and drove Mari and me onto the wet and gleaming roads looking for a motel with a vacancy because our house had neither heat nor light. Main problem seemed to be that the trees still bore leaves and their weight, added to the weight of the snow, caused the timber to fall, much of it across power lines. Cue music:
Away in a manger
No crib for a bed,
Poor little Denny
Lay down his bald head…
Okay, wrong holiday and we did a bit better than Joe the Carpenter and his family. We found a Holiday Inn near the Jersey border that had suffered a cancellation and so we didn’t have to spend the dark hours in a cold house, a car, or a manger.
And you know, I’m not complaining! I choose to live here, partly because I like the seasons and, as Diana Ross admonished, “take the bitter with the sweet.” Mari and I can consider the whole thing an unexpected little adventure, though if the power hadn’t returned this morning, I’d probably be calling it something else.
Of course, if I lived in Peter Parker’s New York I wouldn’t be bothered by meteorological matters. Same would be true if I lived in Metropolis, Star City, Gotham City…anywhere in comicbookland. There’s seldom snow there, or much rain, not a lot of wind or heat or humidity, and that’s a minor league shame. Not that I’d want Pete’s Spidey suit sticking to his armpits, or Batman have to put on galoshes over his boots. But in a story, weather can be a tool. It can add texture and realism to the fictional settings, complications to the hero’s various quests (and without complications, those quests aren’t terribly involving). It can even be a major plot point, one that drives the action of the narrative. Or a source of humor. Or a reflection of the protagonist’s psyche. It can establish mood and it can help to establish locale. It could give a city character, as fog does for London and San Francisco or rain does for Seattle.
What is the weather like in Star City? Does the local television weather guy begin every report with, “It looks like another bland day here in our area…”
The exception, as is so often the case, is Central City, the New York doppelganger where Will Eisner’s Spirit fought whatever Eisner thought up to give him problems. It rains there. And snows. And gets warm. And the stuff is a joy to read, and if you’re looking for some recommended reading, well…most, if not all, of the Spirit stories have been reprinted. What I’m saying is, no excuses.
But for now…Hey look! A tree has fallen across my front yard. That hasn’t happened since…the damn hurricane a few months ago.
You’d think that billionaire Bruce Wayne wouldn’t get along well with the Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York, and the Hathaway most associated with Wall Street is Berkshire. And yet, it looks like Batman could be there by the end of the month:
“The Dark Knight Rises,” Christopher Nolan’s third film in the Batman trilogy, has been shooting in Los Angeles in recent weeks. But the Christian Bale-led production is now set to make a trip to New York and could be heading to a fraught locale: the Occupy Wall Street protests.
Under its code name “Magnus Rex,” the Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures production will arrive in the nation’s biggest city for 14 days starting Oct. 29, according to a casting notice recently issued by producers. And, according to a person briefed on actors’ schedules who requested anonymity because production details were being kept confidential, cast members have been told the shoot could include scenes shot at the Occupy Wall Street protests.
The Dark Knight Rises just won Most Anticipated Movie of 2012 in the Scream Awards. The film will start Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Tom Hardy.
The Internet tells me that this weekend’s New York Comic-Con anticipates attendance of about 100,000. I’m not sure if that means 100,000 individuals over the three days (plus Thursday night) or 33,000 going each day, or something in-between.
In any case, it’s a lot of people.
San Diego Comic-Con gets around 125,000 people. That’s more. And it has more of an impact on the city, where 125,000 people dressed funny are noticeable. In New York, that’s pretty much one block of the Village Halloween parade, or Times Square on a Saturday.
NYCC is a relatively new show that grew very fast. I remember when we thought San Diego was a big show with 60,000 attendees. Of course, that was back in the 1990s, when San Diego was still mostly about comics.
The New York show is still mostly about comics. Yeah, there’s a bunch of TV and movie hype, but most of the programming and the celebrity guests are from comics. Since DC and Marvel are headquartered here (for the time being, at least), that’s easy and cost-efficient.
The San Diego convention center is much nicer than the Javits Center, and much closer to the amenities one expects of a major metropolitan area. It’s set up much better for mass transit, too, which is surprising, given the Big Apple’s reliance on MetroCards. On the other hand, New York in general is set up better for tourists, with better restaurants and better hotels (with more rooms available). Be warned, though – you get what you pay for, and in New York, you really have to pay. And if you want to look like a New Yorker, you’ll walk.
When the show is in New York, I get to sleep in my own bed, with my own husband. And when the show is in New York, I have to clean up my own mess and deal with my own life.
The timing of the show is wonky. True, autumn in New York is beautiful and the Broadway season is in full swing. On the other hand, it’s the same weekend as the New York State Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, and I hate to have to choose which geeky aspect of my personality to indulge.
This year is going to be a little bit different for me. I actually have a project to hype. Mary Wilshire and I are working on a graphic novel. I’ve been in the business long enough to know that one doesn’t actually pitch something at a show, because the editors working the booths are too frazzled by fans to focus on freelancers. Nor should they. The show is for the customers. Still, I hope to at least chat up an invitation to send in our pitch. Which means I’ll have to be nice to everyone, just like I was working a booth again.
Martha Thomases doesn’t know what she wants to buy more – original art or hand-spun yarn.
Maybe, just maybe Grell wouldn’t ask me. I mean he had yet to speak one single word to me in the two plus hours I was in his room.
No such luck. After Grell asked everyone in the room he turned to me.
“What did you think?”
All I had to do was lie. Why didn’t I? I didn’t because lying to me is never an option. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not because I think lying is such a terrible thing, it’s because I have a horrible short-term memory. I’ll never be able to support a lie once I’ve committed to it.
In other words, if I lie about something and the subject ever comes up again I won’t remember what I said originally.
“It’s not like me to sleep with a man on the first date,” said the very beautiful woman.
“It’s not a first date if I’ve known you forever.” I said with my best Billy Dee Williams voice.
“We just met yesterday.”
“But in my dreams I’m known and loved you forever.”
“You…you love me?”
“Yes.”
The next morning I said goodbye and said I would call later that day so we can have dinner and talk about our new life together.
Two weeks later…
“Why haven’t you called me??”
“Who is this?”
Now, here I was faced with lying to Mike Grell a man whose work I loved. I thought long and hard about simply saying I liked the movie. I mean what did I have to lose? I’d most likely never see him again. He was not nice to me at all when we first met and the show did suck.
Then I thought about what Denys Cowan told me about Grell when I told him I was invited to watch Sable in Grell’s room. “Mike Grell hunts.”
“Really? What does he hunt?” I asked wanting to know every thing about the idol I was about to meet.
“It’s not what he hunts.” Denys said. “It’s what he hunts with.”
“What’s that?”
“Grell hunts with a bow and arrow.”
Shit.
I didn’t (still don’t) know a lot about hunting but I instantly recognized just how bad ass you have to be to hunt with a bow and arrow.
So now I’m scared as shit to lie to Grell.
What would happen if I said I loved the show and then someone asked me the same question later and I told them the truth and Grell found out, hunted me down, choked the life out of me and then shot me with an arrow?
Hey, stranger things have happened to me.
I decided not to lie. He asked again, “What did you think?”
“I like the comic book better.”
Yeah, sometimes I’m a fucking genius.
“So do I.” Said the man who would soon become my close friend, he added, “Let’s get something to eat.”
So, there I was at dinner with Mike Grell (sitting right next to him) John Ostrander, Kim Yale, Denys (who finally showed up) and tons of other comic professionals that I was totally jazzed to meet.
I was in Heaven. During dinner, Mike and I talked and after finding out I was an artist he asked to see my portfolio.
The next day changed my professional life.
I showed Carol Kalish my portfolio and she gave me a cover assignment for Marvel’s Open Space anthology. I then met with Mike Grell and after showing him my work he made a call to Mark Nevelow. Mark was the brand new editor of Piranha Press, DC Comics new mature reader imprint.
I’ve always been smart when it comes to seeing and seizing opportunities. That doesn’t mean I have not blown some opportunities. Just because I have a knack for spotting them and acting does not exempt me from screwing something up. Been there done that…often. Not this time.
I was to spend another two weeks in Ohio hanging with Denys at a friend of his house. I cut my trip short so I could get back to New York to work on the Open Space cover and meet with Mark Nevelow. I met with Mark and was commissioned to do Piranha’s first project, ETC.
I mentioned in part one of this series that I was about to accept a position running the Art Department of a prestigious prep school. When Mark gave me ETC I changed my mind. It wasn’t just the project that changed my mind, it was the people I met at that Mid-Ohio Convention and my unchanged love of comics I’ve had since I was a kid. The people I met were so wonderful to me that I decided to take a leap towards the dream I was right about to simply let go.
Denys Cowan invited me to The Mid-Ohio con. I met Carol Kalish who gave me a cover assignment and became a great friend and adviser. I met John Ostrander who invited me to meet Mike Grell. Kim Yale kept me from fleeing Grell’s room. Mike Grell called Mark Nevelow on my behalf. Mark Nevelow gave me the ETC series.
I decided to stay in New York and work in comics.
The people above are whom you can blame for me working in comics.
I wrote this with young artists and writers in mind.
Most of you have no idea what I’ve done in comics because I don’t illustrate many comics. The fact is I’m known mostly as a deal maker in the industry. You may not know me but I’m quite sure you know some of the creators that have come out of my mentor program or some of the work I’ve done in TV or The Black Panel.
Or maybe not.
Here’s what you should know if you really want to have a career in comics.
Talent is great.
Desire is wonderful.
Having a dream and sticking to it, priceless.
But…
None of the above will matter if you don’t try and build relationships with good people. I’ve said it a zillion times, I know good people. I’ve pulled off some unbelievable shit in my career but without good people in my life it most likely would have still been shit but that’s about all.
Myr. Grell, Mr. Ostrander and Mr. Nevelow my sincere thanks to you kind sirs.
Ms. Yale and Ms. Kalish, you will never be forgotten and my thanks to you as well.
To every young creator, I leave you with this:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover”
[[[Glee]]] is an amazing phenomenon, arriving seemingly out of nowhere and immediately capturing the interest of tweens, teens, and adults. Fox had a juggernaut on its hands and rode the wave with tremendous success during its first season.
The second season, though, proved less thrilling, largely due to co-creator/co-producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk demonstrating an inability to plan character arcs far enough in advance for things to feel organic. The sophomore slump hit this show and like many other fads, appeared ready to burn out quickly. The third season has proven stronger at the start although the ratings have yet to match last year. Similarly, their live tour didn’t fare as well and the 3-d concert movie fizzled in August. (more…)
CEO Jeff Bewkes told staffers in an email that the company’s preparing to evaluate “our office footprint in the New York metropolitan area and develop a long-range plan to meet our future needs.” The team leading that process — to be run by Chief Financial and Administrative Officer John Martin and Global Real Estate SVP Tom Santiago — probably won’t make a decision until the end of 2012. Then it could take years to implement. The corporate ranks and cable channels including CNN probably will stay in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle; the company owns about 1 million square feet in the building. But Time Warner leases an additional 3 million or so additional square feet of office space in the New York area. The agreement for the publishing unit’s operations at the Time & Life building expires at the end of 2017, while the one for HBO’s home on 6th Ave runs out in 2018. There are plenty of options in Manhattan, including the new World Trade Center. But neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut probably will try to persuade Time Warner to move some of its operations, and jobs.
THE BOONDOCK SAINTS, VOL. 1 TP: “In Nomine Patris”Writers: Troy Duffy and J.B. Love Artist: Guus Floor 152 pages $19.99 THE SAINTS ARE COMING! Launching out of the wildly successful film franchise — THE BOONDOCK SAINTS and THE BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY — this inaugural comic book collection chronicles the first story to take place outside of the cult-hit films. Written by BOONDOCK SAINTS creator/writer/director TROY DUFFY and comic scribe J.B. LOVE, the “In Nomine Patris” saga is the perfect companion to the films. Discover the true story behind the original saint, Noah MacManus (IL DUCE), and his bloody war against New York’s 1960s Underground Crime world. And what of the beloved MacManus Brothers? For the first time ever, Troy Duffy reveals some of what happened between the films, as well as the brother’s journey to uncover the full extent of their family’s legacy of violence, leaving a path of vengeance in their wake! Including a foreword by Connor MacManus himself– actor SEAN PATRICK FLANERY– never-before-seen art, a cover gallery, all six comic issues, and more— this all new chapter in the Boondock Saints Saga is what the fans have been waiting for! Don’t miss it!
ICE #4 (of 4)Writer: Doug Wagner Artist: Jose Holder Cover Artist: Brian Stelfreeze Colors: Michael Wiggam * Bonus co-feature by Doug Wagner and Brian Stelfreeze 32 pages $3.99 The battle for simple justice has turned deeply personal for ICE agent Cole Matai, who has left his badge in the states and illegally crossed the border into Mexico, seeking only revenge after the shocking events of the last issue. With his goal being to finish off Luis Morales once and for all, Cole takes the battle straight to the most ruthless criminal he’s ever encountered. Two men, two knives, and a battle for the ages. It has all led to this….ICE #4 will not disappoint!
LOOSE ENDS #4 (of 4)Writer: Jason Latour Art and Cover: Chris Brunner Colors: Rico Renzi 24 pages $3.99 “With guns drawn, the deadly crime lord Batista charges toward the seedy Miami hotel room where Detective Rose’s plot is finally hatched. It seems that the only person standing between Sonny, Cheri, and this vicious gangster is the treacherous Detective Flynn and his facility for murder and violence. Or is he? Join us for all this and more, as we draw the blinds on our shocking conclusion.” LOOSE ENDS is a gritty, slow cooked, “southern crime romance”, that follows a winding trail down Tobacco Road, through the war torn streets of Baghdad, and into the bright lights and bloody gutters of South Florida…12-Gauge style.
COUNTRY ASS-WHUPPIN’: A Tornado Relief Anthology (One-Shot)Writers: Jason Aaron, Sean Patrick Flanery, Doug Wagner, Nathan Edmondson, and others Artists: Jason Pearson, Brian Stelfreeze, Jason Latour, Rebekah Isaacs, Tony Shasteen, and others Cover A: Cully Hamner Cover B: Kody Chamberlain 48 pages $5.99 On April 27, 2011 a string of deadly tornados ripped across the southeastern United States, with the brunt of the devastation focused on the state of Alabama. In an effort to help some of the victims who are still putting their lives back together, many of the finest comic creators working in the industry today, all with roots or ties to the south, have banded together and donated their time for a uniquely southern anthology: COUNTRY ASS-WHUPPIN’. The stories have one thing in common– they are all about people in the south kickin’ ass or getting their asses kicked. Enjoy both tall-tales and true stories, told by some of the best in the business; including Jason Aaron (X-MEN: SCHISM, WOLVERINE), Sean Patrick Flanery (BOONDOCK SAINTS), Cully Hamner (RED, BLUE BEETLE), Brian Stelfreeze (ICE, WEDNESDAY COMICS), Rebekah Isaacs (IRON AGE, ANGEL & FAITH), Jason Pearson (ASTONISHING X-MEN, DEADPOOL), Nathan Edmondson (WHO IS JAKE ELLIS?) and many more. Don’t miss this celebration of southern culture, while having fun and helping those in need. 100% of the proceeds from this book will go directly to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, so please ask your retailer to reserve your copy today!
Airship 27 Productions and Cornerstone Book Publishers are excited to announce the release of their third Jim Anthony Super Detective book, a full length novel, THE MARK OF TERROR.
From the early days of his crime fighting career, comes this brand new adventure of the man known as Jim Anthony; Super Detective. Half Irish, half Comanche and All American, Jim Anthony finds himself caught up in a world-wide conspiracy of murder and carnage as two ancient Greek cults square off against each other in modern times; each vying for world dominance over the other.
When several of New York’s leading business men suddenly go insane and begin committing suicide, the police are baffled and reluctantly look to the Super Detective for help. Soon, with the aid of a renowned archeological historian and a spunky, fearless female reporter, Jim Anthony is quickly caught up in a mystery like no other he has ever faced before. With danger from deadly masked assassins at every turn, the famous adventurer’s own life is soon hanging in the balance as he becomes the primary target of both warring cults.
Acclaimed New Pulp scribe, Joshua Reynolds delivers a fast paced, non-stop action thriller that is pure pulp gold. “This is Reynold’s second Jim Anthony story for us,” reported Airship 27 Productions’ Managing Editor Ron Fortier. “It’s very clear in how well he writes this classic hero that he has a genuine affection for the character and that comes across on every page.” Accompanied by nine illustrations from artist Isaac Nacilla and a stunning cover by painter Jeff Herndon, with designs by Rob Davis, JIM ANTHONY – SUPER DETECTIVE – THE MARK OF TERROR is the latest in an on-going series of brand new Jim Anthony adventures from…
AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – Pulp Fiction for a New Generation!
ISBN 1-613420-16-1 ISBN-13 978-1-613420-16-4 Produced by Airship 27 Published by Cornerstone Book Publishers Release date: 09/30/2011 Retail Price: $16.95 Digital Release: 09/16/2011 Digital Download $3 (http://homepage.mac.com/robmdavis/Airship27Hangar/index.html)
(Editor’s note: Obviously, this column was written before Hurricane Irene hit the Atlantic Northeast. This was very smart on the author’s part, as nobody knew if he’d have power to write and send it until it could have been too late. Thanks for the foresight, Denny!)
If superheroes existed, they’d be near Cape Hatteras, where Hurricane Irene is expected tomorrow, or maybe here, where big wind is expected Saturday or Sunday. Or they’d be monsters.
I lived through a hurricane in 1963, aboard the USS Lake Champlain – petite as aircraft carriers go, about the size of a small village, but huge among ordinary watercraft. We were in the Caribbean, reasonably safe because something as massive as a carrier probably won’t capsize, but making our way along decks that were constantly swaying. Once, I stuck my head outside a port and looked at the huge waves breaking over the flat bow of the ship and thought, wellif I wasn’t a believer before…
Our pilots spent the next few days flying rescue missions to and from Haiti and I got a story or two to tell.
And last May, in Missouri, we were close to a tornado that passed within a mile of our hotel. The next morning we drove through the area, where Marifran grew up, past the spot on the curb where we sat in my father’s station wagon after a movie and pizza, good Catholic kids doing nothing more than lingering. Mari’s childhood home was intact, but the garage in the back yard was flattened. That’s how it was in Ferguson, Missouri that May morning: normal plots of suburbia punctuated with devastation.
And what will happen to Nyack, New York tomorrow or the day after?
Superheroes, I think, come from the same place as deities and good luck charms, They represent something greater than our frail and frightened selves, something bigger and stronger and vastly benevolent that will shield us from the cruelties we thrust upon us by ill fate, cruelties that may be edging toward Nyack from the south and may soon ravage us. They don’t exist, these superheroes, but evolution has gifted and cursed us with imagination, and maybe we can be comforted by pretending that they do.
We’ve done some preparing, and may do more. But I remember those waves crashing onto the carrier deck and I doubt that our paltry efforts will be able to affect the results of the storm.
What I want is a superman to protect me, or at least a father’s hand to hold. But supermen aren’t real and my father has been dead for years.
Sean Ellis is the talented author of multiple novels, including Heaven’s Shroud and The Chessmen series. He is also the creator of his own New Pulp character, Dodge Dalton, which has currently two books out in his series. Dodge Dalton In The Shadow of Falcons Wings and Dodge Dalton and the Outpost of Fate are as high adventure as they sound and after talking to Sean, Dodge’s origins come Ellis’ own sense of adventure .
Sean admits, “When I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark as a kid, I fell in love with adventure stories, and I really became fascinated with the pre-World War II time period. It was a turning point for the way we saw the world in terms of exploration and technology. The world of the 1930’s was still pretty big and there were a lot of unexplored places. If you wanted to find a lost city or something like that, you couldn’t just jump on Google Earth and do satellite reconnaissance and then fly directly there in a helicopter.
That fascination for the time period, and the fact that I was making a serious bid to write for the (now mostly defunct) Indiana Jones novel series, led me to the pulps, and particularly Doc Savage. I had a passing familiarity with pulp fiction, but once I started doing some research, I realized that there was a lot of potential for a new pulp renaissance, not just in terms of content, but in the way books are published.
I had the idea to launch a series where several authors would be working simultaneously to produce titles for a single series—much like Charles Ardai did with the Gabriel Hunt series a few years later—and so I enlisted some friends to help me draw up the characters and brainstorm some plots. My original dream didn’t quite happen as planned, but the process got the ball rolling creatively.
The concept that came out of that mix was a passing of the torch story loosely based on Doc Savage. The pitch went something like this: An evil force is rising and the world needs its greatest hero…but he’s been missing for years. A young journalist tracks down the hero’s associates in an effort to find the missing hero, battling the villains every step of the way, and eventually becomes the world’s new champion.
As much as I was influenced by the Doc Savage concept, I didn’t want my hero to be larger-than-life. Instead of being a war-hero, surgeon, inventor, etc. with unlimited resources, he would be young and inexperienced, but intelligent and resourceful enough to outwit the villains and earn the respect of the old champion’s team of seasoned veteran adventurers.”
The desire to be an adventurer and a writer perhaps is the biggest connection between Ellis and Dalton.
“One of my favorite tropes has always been the writer as protagonist. I like the idea of the writer trying to imitate his literary creations, probably because my childhood dream was to be a writer/adventure hero.
In the story, Dodge is a sportswriter for a New York newspaper, who get tapped to ghostwrite stories about a war hero named Captain Falcon, as told by one of Falcon’s purported associates, “Hurricane” Hurley. Dodge thinks that stories are fiction, or at the very least exaggerated from a factual account, so he writes them that way, and they become a runaway success. The idea of becoming an adventurer is that last thing on Dodge’s mind…at least until the bad guys show up, demanding to square off with Captain Falcon.
I suppose in that respect, I’m quite a bit different than Dodge. One of my earliest sources of inspiration as a writer was Clive Cussler. I still remember reading the bio in one of his early novels; it talked about how he spent his free time searching for shipwrecks and lost mines, just like his hero Dirk Pitt. When I read that, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. And while I haven’t found any lost cities, I have managed to have a few adventures along the way, and I’d like to think some of that comes through in my novels.”
While Sean didn’t divulge any details of his own adventures, his experiences definitely help color his action scenes. “There are some scenes in the first Dodge Dalton novel where Dodge is underwater and trying to get back to the surface; when I write that, I try to tap in on my own memories of making some deep free dives and thinking: ‘Why is it taking so long to get to the surface? I really need to breathe…starting to panic a little.’ I like to get a little of that adrenaline rush onto the page. You don’t really get that from watching a movie, where the hero–Bond or Indy–can calmly react to whatever life-threatening situation comes along.” Both books are available on amazon.com.
By now you know, unless you’re a fan who really reads nothing but comics and sees/hears nothing that’s not comics related: we had us a storm, we north easterners, and it was a humdinger. Lots of snow – lots! – before Halloween which royally screwed things up hereabouts and drove Mari and me onto the wet and gleaming roads looking for a motel with a vacancy because our house had neither heat nor light. Main problem seemed to be that the trees still bore leaves and their weight, added to the weight of the snow, caused the timber to fall, much of it across power lines. Cue music:
