As much of the country digs itself out of the storm, plans are being hastily rearranged from mundane household matters to major school decisions. We were closed Monday and Tuesday and are thankfully back in action today. We weathered the event just fine, thanks. As a result, I am mostly packed and ready to return […]
The best part of Baltimore Comic-Con is seeing old colleagues and friends, catching up, and trading stories (okay, gossip). I do my part by moderating panels and this year, I don’t have a particularly full schedule, although I will be panelist on two others, so it’s busy enough. If you happen to be at the […]
Farpoint celebrates its 32nd anniversary with a con running this weekend. It is once again at the DoubleTree Hotel in Pikesville, MD and, of course, I will be on hand. Given my high school commitments, I couldn’t be on Friday programming but will be there to help set up the Crazy 8 Press table. On […]
The world Peter David leaves behind is a webbed one. Like Spider-Man, whom he wrote for several years, Peter spun a web trapping unsuspecting people, until we all found how connected we were to one another. Social media is filled, since news broke of his dying in his sleep Saturday night, with stories and anecdotes, […]
I’m trying something new, an attempt at more regular blogging, forcing myself to get into the habit so I can communicate more regularly with friends and fans. This past week was interesting as we wrapped up at the academic year. Monday, of course, was Memorial Day, which saw me toiling away at the desk, but […]
I will be back at Trek Long Island this weekend, joining a coterie of fellow authors in addition to an impressive line-up of media guests, We open at 6 on Friday and traffic willing, I’ll be there. On Saturday, you can find me at my table, or on the following panels: 10:00-10:50 am, Pale B […]
After missing Shore Leave, my favorite con, last year, I am eager to check out their new location in Lancaster, PA. As usual, I will be emceeing on the main stage, sitting at the Crazy 8 Press table, and appear on quite a few panels over the three days. One of the fun things about […]
It’s been a very busy July and it’s hard to believe we’re already rushing towards it conclusion. The crush has been fun and educational and tiring. As regular readers know, I attended Shore Leave 45 mid-month. I had a wonderful time, as always. At Friday night’s Meet the Pros party, I actually sold more books […]
I love the Baltimore Comic-Con, a show that puts its love of all things comics ahead of all things media. It’s a great chance to catch up with peers and friends while keeping my eye out for the next great thing. As always, I will be a panel moderator while wandering the aisles and visiting […]
Around the beginning of 2024, Randy Tischler invited me to be a juror for the 2024 Ringo Awards, which will be presented on September 21 at the Baltimore Comic-Con. I was going to be part of a quintet scattered around America, and I would read submissions and make my choices. I read comics and graphic […]
Last year, all my buddies were having a ball at Trek Long Island, and it sounded like too much fun to pass up. I reached out to con organizer Stefanie Gangone, who was delighted to have me come for their second show. I can’t tell you how excited I am about a pure Star Trek […]
Here comes the first con of 2024! Farpoint marks the first regular con that I attend to start afresh. With the Hunt Valley Inn now a cherished memory, the show relocates to the DoubleTree by Hilton in Pikesville, MD. I’ll be hustling there right after school because I have my first programming item in the […]
In 1981, I was invited by my pal Howard Weinstein to join him at a Maryland-based show called Shore Leave. I drove down to the Hunt Valley Inn in Cockeysville, and it was so wonderful I have been coming back steadily ever since. Today, the hotel, part of the Marriott chain, closes. I have no […]
I dearly love attending the Baltimore Comic-Con, largely because it has been an annual reunion with former colleagues and old friends. With its attention squarely on comic books, it’s a chance to immerse myself in my first love, seeing what’s new and hearing the buzz. This year will be a little different as I will […]
I find it impressive that this will be Shore Leave 43, a con I have been attending with two breaks since SL 3. It’s my favorite con and that’s an opinion shared by many proferssionals, actors and authors alike, along with the fans who attend with gusto. For me, I love it as much for […]
Farpoint was once October Trek and ClipperCon in terms of those who founded and ran each iteration of the media convention that was either in October or February. This year, Farpoint celebrates its 30th and rather than being seen as the little sibling to Shore Leave, it has forged its own identity. Their guest line-up […]
Finally, I am getting to once again walk the halls of the Hunt Valley Inn as I attend Shore Leave 42. Accompanying me will be a legion of authors, many of whom I have not seen in years. Me and the Crazy 8 Press gang will have a table and I look forward to chatting […]
Deb and I haven’t managed to attend a WorldCon since Millennium PhilCon in 2000. We were, therefore, very excited to see Washington, D.C. win the 2021 bid to host. I was disappointed when Covid-19 forced DisCon III to relocate from August (right before school started), to this coming week, as the Winter Break beckons. We’ll […]
After way too long, I will be attending a live, in-person convention this weekend. I’ll be returning to the Biltmore Comic-Con and with a slightly stripped down schedule, I will be honored to moderate five panels across the three days. Since the first quarter ends Thursday, we have Friday as a break so I get […]
As the second half of 2001 opened, Marvel had severed ties with the Comics Code Authority and relocated to new quarters. The company was enjoying superlative reviews and sales from the one-two punch of the revitalized Amazing Spider-Man and New X-Men. President Bill Jemas was having a ball. His outsized persona seemed to enjoy tweaking […]
Regular readers know how much I love Shore Leave, the largest fan-run con, now up to 41.6. Yeah, they’d playing with the numbers since this year is a virtual con. The good news for those not in the Maryland area is that you can now attend and see what you’ve been missing. All the details […]
Surprisingly, the annual Farpoint convention sort of snuck up on me in the sense that I have been so focused on school work that with just days to go, I have had to shift my focus and prepare to be a writer/editor/bon vivant once more. The show is tremendous fun, with lovely fans, but even […]
As 2019 ends, and the final year of the decade begins (at least that’s how I count it), it’s time to take stock and judge the year as a whole. Deb and I had a relatively quiet, relatively good year. We saw plenty of television, a handful of plays and a bunch of movies, did […]
I had a wonderful time at New York Comic-Con last year, a whirlwind visit for one-day to hawk the just-released DC Comics Super-Heroines: 100 Greatest Moments. I delighted in meeting Leeann Moreau, the indefatigable editorial guru who made sure all the books in the series looked great while still coming out on time. We sold […]
Shore Leave 41 was a great experience but I was left withregrets which is not how things usually shake out. First of all, the con was fun and despite more than a few ofthe regulars being absent for one reason or another, it was good to be there. As I discussed last week, we moved […]
I first came up with the idea for what has become Thrilling Adventure Yarns in late 2017. It was generated in short order when there was concern among some of the Crazy 8 Press team that one of our other books might not make the schedule. While that crisis was averted, the notion of a […]
So, come Friday night at the Meet the Pros event, I will be representedin not just Crazy 8 Press’ Thrilling Adventure Yarns, more on thattomorrow, but three other releases. eSpec’s Mike and Danielle Ackley-McPhail had some personalissues that slowed down their momentum and growing line of titles, the perilsof self-publishing, but they have gotten back […]
My love for Shore Leave has no bounds as it enters its fifth decade of existence. It has grown and prospered, evolving to meet the ever-changing needs and desires of the fans. I love how it has earned and maintained a reputation for being a fun, fan-run show where the media guests are comfortable. This […]
Somehow we’re already one month into 2019 and just days away from the first convention. I, along with most of Crazy 8 Press, will be at Farpoint in lovely Hunt Valley, Maryland. The big thrill for me personally is having the chance tohear and hopefully meet Wallace Shawn. While beloved for his work in The […]
One reason I have come to love living in Maryland is because each year I get to attend the Baltimore Comic-Con, a large, wonderful show about comic books. I don’t book a table so I can wander freely and visit with old friends wherever they may scattered around the convention center.I’ve become a regular and my Westfield Comics […]
My school year was done at the beginning of June and the students report tomorrow morning for the first classes of the new school year. I’ve been back in the building since last Wednesday and will admit that I was lesson planning in bits and pieces throughout the summer.But it was also a time to […]
Shore Leave 40 has come and gone. So much has been happening that my normal after action report got waylaid.The show was tremendous fun with plenty of nice touches to make it memorable. The Friday night Meet the Pros party went better than usual and all weekend long I received nice compliments on the Oral […]
In 1981, I was working at Starlog Press and I received a call from my pal Howard Weinstein. He’d just been invited to be a guest at a new show called Shore Leave. It was their third outing and he thought I’d make a good (and cheap) guest, coming down to talk about SF movies […]
Hard to believe, but it’s already February which also means it’s time for Farpoint. It happens to be a little different this year, their 25th. First, they’ve relocated to the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn (no matter who owns it or what they call it, that’s how we all refer to the venue). Second, it’s a […]
I can’t believe so much time has passed since I last posted and for that I apologize, I’ll be talking about school next time, but right now I am excited to talk about this weekend’s Baltimore Comic-Con.I’ll be there all three days without a table to man, so will be wandering and catching up with […]
I was at the first few Terrificion’s when it was a newbie and my how it has grown. After hearing how cool last year’s show was, I angled to get invited to this year’s shindig. It’s this weekend at Mohegan Sun Casino in the wilds of Connecticut.What makes this year special is that it has […]
I’m tired, plain and simple.We were away in Italy for a pilgrimage, returning on July 4 and then on the 7th, it was the Shore Leave marathon. As a result, the late nights required by the con and a special event Sunday has left me worn out.But the con was good.Shore Leave remains a fun […]
It’s hard to believe it’s time for Shore Leave 39 already. I’ve been coming steadily since SL 3 back in the early 1980s and I delight at how it has grown but retained its intimate, fan-centric experience.I’ve got a rather packed schedule along with playing emcee most of the weekend. For those attending, here’s where […]
This coming weekend I will be at Awesome Con, a show I’ve come to enjoy. I had to skip last year due to my graduate classes but am back. I will have a table in Artists’ Alley, selling an assortment of books and chatting with whoever stops by.Additionally, I will be moderating three panels over […]
I’ve heard good things about the Great Philadelphia Comic-Con so when my pal Phil Guinta arranged for Crazy 8 Press to be invited as guests this year, I jumped at the chance.As it turns out, I will be joined this weekend by Peter David, Aaron, Rosenberg, and Russ Colchamiro instead of the full seven-member team. […]
Hard to believe it’s already mid-February and I’m off to Timonium for my annual visit to Farpoint. While smaller than Shore Leave it is no less fun with a more intimate environment. Fewer guests and fewer fans means more time for extended conversations.I’m really excited to see Nicholas Meyer there since the last time I […]