Soon after I edited and designed my first major book for Comic-Con, the 2007 Souvenir Book (click here for details), I was contacted by Andrea Fernandes, the business development sales manager of Chronicle Books’ Custom Division. a San Francisco-based publisher that specialized in pop culture and well, just plain ol’ culture-in-general books. “We want to... Continue Reading →
I spent an enjoyable couple of hours yesterday (Saturday, August 13th) on Zoom, one of those technological “marvels”—along with Slack—that helped convince me to retire. While I vowed to never go on Zoom again for any kind of work-related reason, I was very happy to join my fellow Pittsburgh Comix Club members to reminisce about... Continue Reading →
When I started my new position of Director of Print and Publications at San Diego Comic-Con in 2007, one of the things that fell into my lap was the event’s annual Souvenir Book. I had been a fan of the book for many years, and at one of my very last visits to Comic-Con as... Continue Reading →
Just a few books this month as—even as “just” an attendee—Comic-Con took up an inordinate amount of my time and mental energy, along with reading a dense but fascinating history of underground comix. Appropriately enough for the month of Comic-Con, all my reading was comics-oriented. Dirty Pictures: How an Underground Network of Nerds, Feminists, Misfits,... Continue Reading →
In the winter of 2005, my boss (Fae Desmond, the executive director of Comic-Con) and I went to San Francisco for a site check for Comic-Con’s sister shows, WonderCon and APE, the Alternative Press Expo. We were looking at various hotels, in addition to stopping in at Moscone Center for a pre-WonderCon meeting. When not... Continue Reading →
You probably won’t find them on Amazon or in your local indie bookstore or comic book shop, but the entire Innocent Bystander oeuvre is still available … only from me! For complete information, just click on the BUY MY BOOKS! link in the menu on the black bar at the top of this page! There's... Continue Reading →
COMIC-CON RESOURCES I’ve written a lot about my career at Comic-Con (and the event itself) on this here blog, so for those of you who know nothing about it, here’s a list of resources, all of which were created by me during my time overseeing Comic-Con’s publications and website. The 2019 Souvenir Book celebrated the... Continue Reading →
A short month this time, at least reading-wise … June flew by much quicker than I could imagine. Here’s what I read. The New York Times Book Review: 125 Years of Literary History I will confess that I didn't read all of this fascinating history of the storied (pun definitely intended) New York Times Book... Continue Reading →
I had survived my first year as director of programming at Comic-Con, coming through it largely undamaged. It was a strange experience. As I recounted last time (click here to read it), my bosses had left me pretty much alone. However in my second year as head of programming, they paid a lot more attention... Continue Reading →
A bit of a short month, with a 30th anniversary salute to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, two new YA graphic novels, and a triple threat of nostalgic comics reading. The Black Echo by Michael Connelly This is the first of Michael Connelly’s books about LAPD detective Harry Bosch (actually, Connelly’s first novel ever), and 2022... Continue Reading →
I had a great time last night talking with Kerry and James from the SDCC Unofficial Blog about my 20+ year history with Comic-Con International: San Diego. You can watch or listen to our 45-minute conversation on YouTube (with video of me in my natural habitat … see the link below) or as an audio... Continue Reading →
(Up top: Yours truly breathlessly introducing Jeff Smith as the keynote speaker at Comic Book Expo 2000, alongside that year’s Comic-Con Events Guide, which featured my first-ever program schedule; I also designed the cover, one of my first for Comic-Con). As 1999 began, I was jobless and—after almost two decades in Pittsburgh—I was now living... Continue Reading →
Join me this coming Tuesday on the Unofficial SDCC Blog’s LIVE broadcast as I talk about my 20+ year career with Comic-Con International. Not just a podcast, you’ll be able to hear and SEE me in all my ancient glory (there's a reason why one Hollywood publicist once called me “The Yoda of Comic-Con)! I’ll... Continue Reading →
As I delve into my 20+ years at Comic-Con in my series "My Life in Comics," our new banner image for the blog for the next few months features "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine," the Fantastic Four. This comic book series by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had a profound and lasting effect on my... Continue Reading →
(Up top: The Comic-Con Exhibit Hall from up above in 1997. Photo © SDCC) While my comics career was waxing and waning with Innocent Bystander, my con-going took a decided upturn when I started attending San Diego Comic-Con in 1992. My first comic convention was Phil Seuling’s New York Comic Art Convention in 1971 (read... Continue Reading →
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