Summer's Here!

Summer's here! For me, summer begins when I give my last final and post all the grades. It feels like freedom that will last until late August. Last time I mentioned about the convention season and discussed the potential for C2E2. I seem to be in agreement with most people that the show was a bit disappointing and as with most of those same people, that was probably due to unrealistic expectations. Don’t get me wrong, it was a really good show. Some people had some set up problems but I wasn’t aware of any of that at the time. The venue was great, the attendance actually was pretty good (the reported number is around 27,000) and the vibe of the show was centered around comics. There’s advantages and disadvantages for being at the McCormick Center as opposed to the Rosemont and all in all, I guess they end up as a push. The expectations were high, since the NY show was such a phenomenal success and I plead guilty expecting something similar possibly happening in Chicago. It didn’t. But if you were to look at the show itself without doing any comparison with the NY show, it was a really good show. I think most attendees (fans, guests, dealers, etc) would at a minimum, compare it favorably to the competing Wizard show although most I talked to would place it above Wizard. One of the main reasons is that Wizard is much more of a media convention rather than a comic show. There were some complaints that being “downtown” limited the get togethers of the attendees---it seemed as if the Hyatt was the happening place, although I just stopped in one time. I spent both nights I was there with Rafael and Amy Nieves as my dinner companions and that was preferable to hanging out at bars. I guess I didn’t realize just how many conventions there are out there. Right now, I have offers to attend 5 shows as a guest and of course, that doesn’t include any of the bigger shows where I would have to buy an artist alley table or a booth if I went as Transfuzion Publishing. There’s a lot of creators who travel the convention circuit and hit many of the shows and when I had Caliber (and my stores), I also did a lot of conventions. But I actually don’t like doing conventions that much. I usually dread going but that’s balanced out by enjoying myself once I get there but overall, I still prefer not to do them. It seems I am always short on time and conventions really take a lot of time away from doing other things. I usually anticipate having lots of free time since I take time off of teaching in the summer but have found I never have as much time as I thought I was going to have. I look at my hopeful schedule and I already feel the weight of deadlines pressing against my brain, so not likely to do too many conventions. I know I’m not a big name and certainly not going to be a big draw for conventioneers so when I do get an invite and offered accommodations, I almost feel like I have an obligation to go since they extended the invite. Perhaps it’s the ego stroke, I don’t know. But I have to limit my convention excursions even though I really appreciate the gesture. One thing that will take up some time this summer is a trip that I’m taking to California in the next couple of weeks and since I’m driving, that will take awhile. From Michigan to California is something like 35 hours drive time and I’m one of those drivers that can only do about 8 hours a day so I’m looking at 4+ days of driving. Later in the summer, the wife and I have a similar trip planned to Texas so I will be doing some traveling. I’m going to California as I’ve lost another daughter to the Golden State. Now I have one in San Diego and one in San Francisco. The clan is typical of what’s happening in Michigan it seems. With both of my parents passing in the last few years and most of my brothers moving out of state, the family get togethers are getting quite small. I have one brother that moved to Florida, another to Las Vegas, one to Texas, and then another one that sort of roams around the country and last I heard, he was in Colorado. My last brother here is planning to move to either Texas or Florida. I’ve got two of my daughters in California now, another one that is planning on going there and then one that has taken a shine to New York instead. Pretty soon, there isn’t going to be any family here but me and my wife. So, we’re actually considering a move. We both like Colorado and North Carolina but we’re planning to explore other areas. Just coming out from Transfuzion Publishing is SIN ETERNAL: RETURN TO DANTE’S INFERNO which is the collection of the Sinergy series from Caliber but there have been some changes in the different levels of Hell. This was a really fun project to do all those years ago and it was great to have all the different artists each drawing a different level of Hell. Coming in about a month or so are some stories in the SHERLOCK HOLMES READER including the title story, MURDER AT MOULIN ROUGE, illustrated by Michael Zigerlig. He really crafted a unique style to the story and the always dependable Wayne Reid illustrated another all new tale that deals with Sherlock Holmes in retirement and how he spends his time. No, it’s not bee-keeping but rather with dead bodies… Even though I’m not officially a creator on the early issues, IDW will be releasing the first volume of DEADWORLD CLASSICS in July in association with Desperado Publishing. This is all Vince Locke artwork and it’s amazing to watch a teenager ply his craft. Of course, Vince went on to many bigger things (Sandman, for example) but it was Deadworld where he learned on the job.

Read more »

Conventions aren't all the same

If you notice all the coverage and announcements, you can tell what time of the year it is---no, not baseball season but rather convention season. It seems every week there is another convention to announce exclusive news from the various sites. If you’re a creator who attends a lot of conventions, the gauntlet has already started. Coming up next week is the new kid on the block, C2E2. For years, Chicago was the con, second only to San Diego in attendance but for many, had more alluring aspects. San Diego had the city and the trade show associated with it, but Chicago was the con that professionals loved to attend. Of course, then the con moved and soon after was taken over by Wizard and well, things have never been the same since. The organizers of C2E2 have picked up on this. They aren’t really promising much for this con but instead, hint more that the convention will be like the “old days” when Chicago was one of the Big Two. I really don’t know if moving the convention into the city itself is going to aid the convention. A lot of people going to the con may not want to deal with the headaches any downtown has plus for attendees and exhibitors, there’s a lot of extra expenses and hassles. Rosemont may not have had the flavor of a big city but it was a nice isolated little pocked with inexpensive rooms within walking distance of the con and you had the Hyatt bar which was sort of the con hangout. Not sure what’s going to develop at C2E2. It should be interesting to see how the aura develops for the con. However, I do think that this convention is going to be big. The people running everything seem to know what they’re doing and so whatever doesn’t work out this time, you can bet that they’ll fix it for next time. I believe that C2E2 will be one of the top 3 conventions and maybe after this inaugural event. One of the things I like is that they’re directing most of the attention to the comic aspect of the convention. Comic cons are beginning to delineate into different patterns. You have the “small” shows which focus on the independent publishers, self publishers, independent creators, and for lack of a better term, the “web” guys. But it’s all comics. Maybe the dedicated Marvel or DC fans may not enjoy them but it’s still comics. Although these small shows may feel like a niche market, they seem to do very well. The fans and exhibitors all have a good time. Then you have the media shows which have some comic guests but are structured around old TV celebrities, walk on cast members for big event movies, wrestlers, old playmates, and a celebrity or two who has ventured into the comic world with a title named after them but has no other connection. Many of the Wizard cons are like this judging from what I hear. I can only go by the one in Chicago and it definitely had that feel. Of course, you also have the conventions which cater primarily to the comic audience but are big enough in those areas to branch out to the media aspects without sacrificing the integrity of the comics portion. Shows like Heroes Con, Wonder Con and others. This is what C2E2 is shaping up to be as well judging from the guest lists and panels. Personally, I hate the media shows. If you’re involved in comics, I think that they actually hurt the comic aspect. Because of the media guests, the prices for attendance is usually pretty high and a lot of comic fans shy away from that cost. I find at Motor City for example (a media show) that most people wander over to the comic section simply because they paid their $20-$25 to get in, got the celeb to sign a picture of themselves from 40 years ago, and now the fan doesn’t have anything else to do. They want to find some way to use up their time since they paid all that money. They flip through the books on the tables, often dog-earring them, and often engage in what they will hope is a conversation about the merits of the original Battlestar Galactica versus the remake…or maybe this year, it will be V instead. The number of people attending the convention is irrelevant. I did a small show in upper Michigan (Cherry Capital Con) and it had maybe 10% of the people that Motor City Convention yet it was far more enjoyable and engaging. Again, it’s not the number of people that come through the door but what their interests are. I’m not trying to blast Motor City Con or even Wizard Conventions for that matter. It’s fairly obvious by their attendance that more people prefer their approach since the number of tickets sold is much higher than most of the “comics only” smaller shows. It’s just not for me. After running conventions in the past, I know you gotta do what pays the bills...I can certainly understand that. And many of them are not devoid of comic talent, obviously. A lot of shows that get blasted for being media cons have been running a lot of years so they’re appealing to somebody…just not me. I’m actually looking forward to C2E2 which is unusual as I look at most conventions with dread. It’s not that I don’t enjoy them once I get there but the time factor involved is always something that seems impossible to juggle. But once I get to the con, I find myself having a good time whether on the floor or after hours. I’m setting up in Artist Alley under my own name rather than for Transfuzion. I had planned on getting Transfuzion as part of the Indy Island but because of a miscommunication, that didn’t work out. But the folks at Haven Distributors will be on hand there and they will have all the Transfuzion books. I’ll be at Table E-8 right next to my Transfuzion co-hort, Rafael Nieves. So, in all but display, Transfuzion will be there. I plan to have most of stuff there and surprisingly, I think I’m up to about 22 books currently. I’ll be debuting the SIN ETERNAL trade which collects the Caliber series and I also have copies of the DEADWORLD: SLAUGHTERHOUSE graphic novel. I have a few hundred copies of the Image run of Deadworld that I’ll be giving away at the table for anyone that stops by and for anyone that buys anything at my table, they will receive a FREE copy of my young adult novel, SPIRIT OF THE SAMURAI, that is superbly illustrated by Rick Hoberg (of Star Wars and Spider-Man fame). I’ll also be signing at the Comic Related booth on Friday and Saturday and working with them to provide FREE copies of titles such as SAINT GERMAINE. Looks like it will be a busy show.

Read more »

Working Through Life

A lot of people talk about what a bad year 2009 was. For me, it wasn't a bad year...not a good year...it just was. I've certainly had worst and of course, better. But one thing that becomes apparent as you get older is how much everything blends in together. When I look back at my "career", I can't really look at it in terms of years but rather periods. And the reason I put career in quotation marks is because the term career just doesn't seem to fit. I guess I never figured what I was doing at the time was going to grow into a career.

The idea of working has been with me as long as I can remember. Even as a little kid, my dad worked odd jobs and he would bring me and my brothers along to clean up. We even got paid. I remember in the 7th grade, I walked to businesses and asked if I could sweep floors or something after school. So, my first real job was sweeper at Fresh's Auto Parts. Of course as kids, my brothers and I would cut lawns during the summer, rake leaves in the fall, and shovel snow in the winter. Allowances were something we didn't get from my parents so if we wanted money, we had to get our own. The bonanza came when my dad landed a midnight job remodeling a supermarket chain around the Detroit area. My brothers and I took turns working and we'd go in at 10:00 at night and work until 6:00 in the morning and then head off to school. It made for some tough days at school but we didn't care. The money was good. That lasted most of my junior high and high school years. As I said, we didn't care too much about school as about half the people didn't graduate anyway. There were too many jobs in factories that would pay big money (this was Detroit's auto factories still running strong). Most of us were applying for jobs while still in high school. If no openings, well, then you remained in school and waited. I remember standing in long lines to get the premiere jobs at the factories but luckily, I never got hired.

So, I was one of the those who finished high school---of the five brothers , only two of us did. The idea of college was never really considered until the 12th grade. College seemed like such an odd idea but obviously, it had some appeal. I remember enrolling at a community college, and to me, that was college- the big time. I was put on probation. Looking back now, I wonder who gets put on probation at a community college? It was an intimidating experience at first as I expected everyone at college to be incredibly intelligent, worldly about all affairs, and have this sense of elitism. Of course, I found out college is just an avenue of opportunities, it doesn't magically transform people into cultured sophisticates.

Going to school, I worked a number of jobs. Landscaper, bank teller, vacuum cleaner salesmen, drapery hanger, carpet installer, alarm systems, tearing down houses, just about anything. I got married right when I turned 21, which turned out to be the best thing I ever did, and the two of us struggled to get through school. My wife was a good student in high school and had always planned to go to college which was something different as virtually all of her friends hadn't even graduated high school much less contemplated college. She got into University of Michigan (she was a smart kid) and so we moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor. That was quite a culture shock. I worked during the day at various jobs and went to school at night while she was a full time student and she would fit in teaching piano to earn money. It was during this time that I made a decision which seemed very small at the time, yet would take me into a completely new direction.

I opened a used book store. It was never a dream of mine or anything but I was always an avid reader....most of my family was. The library was a constant hangout for me. In Ann Arbor, I discovered so many used book shops and I thought they were the coolest places. With a little research, I found avenues where you could buy books in bulk and I figured that it wouldn't take much to operate a store. I opened it in a suburb of Detroit and when kids came in asking for comics, I decided to add comics and that brought me into a whole new world.

While still a student and earning my Master's Degree in Biology, I ended up opening a total of four stores and they'd all eventually become comic shops rather than bookstores. That was sort of my first career, that of a book store owner. Then I got involved in publishing and started up Caliber and that would become my second career. I never looked at either as a "forever" path, it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. The only "real" job I had during all this time is when I helped start Todd McFarlane's toy company as I, through a partner I teamed up with, was tied in with Todd as the toy company launched. I became the Executive Vice President and I handled the national TV advertising, hiring many of the employees for staffing, other promotional aspects, etc. It was a three year period where I had regular hours that I was expected to adhere to. I still had my stores and I still had Caliber so it was a hectic three years.

I sold off the stores and then years later, I closed off Caliber. At that time, I started evaluating what the future was in that direction. The comics field, which had looked so promising, now looked like a continuous cycle of superhero exploits. The expansion of hopeful directions on the heels of Watchmen, Maus, From Hell, Sandmen, etc. faded quickly. The "business" side seemed to swallow up the experimental side. Printers had knocked Caliber down with their mistakes which were a financial burden I still feel the ramifications from and even winning lawsuits didn't help. I decided to try teaching biology. I had my degree and the opportunity came.

So, that started my “third career”, that of being a teacher. I am an instructor at community colleges teaching courses in General Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Evolution, and others. I enjoy it immensely and it has given me a sense of normalcy as far as hours and schedules go. But with each step into a different direction, it doesn’t mean that the rest goes away. I still am a publisher although Transfuzion is on a much smaller scale than Caliber was. I continue to write, something I started at Caliber, and have written for Desperado, Penguin, Image, and other areas including a video game scenario, role playing games, and more.

Right now, I am transitioning into other avenues of writing. That doesn’t mean that I’m moving out of comics, whether as a writer or publisher, and I certainly am not going to get away from teaching. I currently am immersed in two novels that I’m writing plus a number of books dealing with biology. Whether it all actually leads into a “fourth career”, I have no idea but again, it just seems like the path to follow.

The beauty of today’s world is there are so many opportunities to express oneself creatively. The digital explosion, which may not have actually exploded yet, and the idea of print on demand and the avenues available there (such as Amazon) allow excursions into a lot of areas that were closed off to most people just a decade ago. That doesn’t mean, however, that everyone can make money off of it. That’s the hard part.

Yes, 2009 was a bad year for a lot of people but people in “our” business of creating ideas have a lot of avenues to explore. The growth there was a positive area. Whether it is a creative outlet that pays the bills is still open to question but at least the creative side can be sated. I’m noticing for a lot of people in the world of comics, that seems to be enough.

The days of running a comic shop seem so long ago, as does the time of Caliber. The Caliber days, though, have constant reminders because of all the people I worked with that I stay in touch with and the re-visitation of the comics created, whether it’s for reprint books, Hollywood activity, or preparing them for digital exploitation.

I’m not sure what the point of me going through all the above was exactly…I guess that one should constantly be looking for ways of expression…of creativity, and sometimes that has a merit all its own. The rest, if it comes, is extra.

Read more »