Catch up with me at Philcon!

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philcon2014_logoSo this will be my first time at America’s oldest SF convention, Philcon. I’m excited to be a part of it. Here’s my schedule, so, if you’re attending, please come say hi, and maybe pick up a copy of Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity, or check out the wonderful new Bob Keck cover for Peace Lord of the Red Planet.
Sat 3:00 PM in Plaza II (Two) (1 hour)
NEW LIFE AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS: EXPLORING STAR TREK COMICS [Panelists: Jim Beard (mod), Joseph Berenato, Rich Handley, Steve
Wilson]

Star Trek comics have spanned almost the entire length of the
franchise. Panelists, including the contributors of the latest
comic, will look at the rich history of Star Trek in the four-color
world

Sat 5:00 PM in Plaza IV (Four) (1 hour)
THE HEINLEIN BIOGRAPHY — OR IS IT HAGIOGRAPHY?

[Panelists: Michael Swanwick (mod), Jack Hillman, Tom Purdom, Steve
Wilson]

William Patterson’s two-volume authorized bio of Robert A. Heinlein
is surely one of the most important works of SF scholarship in
recent years. Our panelists will discuss its strengths and
limitations and what it tells us about one of the 20th century’s
great figures

Sat 6:00 PM in Plaza III (Three) (1 hour)
IS FANDOM STILL PRODUCING THE NEXT GENERATION OF WRITERS?

[Panelists: Elektra Hammond (mod), Anastasia Klimchynskaya, Victoria
Janssen, Steve Wilson]

There was a time when virtually all of the hot new writers (like
Asimov, Bradbury, Pohl and Kornbluth) came up through the ranks of
organized fandom.  This seems to be less true today. Is that the
case?  Would it be a bad thing or just a sign of the field
broadening its appeal

Sun 1:00 PM in Autograph Table (1 hour)
AUTOGRAPHS – KT PINTO, STEVE WILSON

15 of Marvel’s Greatest Comics… Steve’s Perspective

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So last week I took some well-deserved shots at Marvel’s self-serving list of their 75 greatest comics, comic storylines, and graphic novels, published in their 75th Anniversary Magazine. Supposedly, the list was voted on by fans. If that’s true, I’m very disappointed in what’s left of Marvel’s fans. Anyway, as promised, here’s my picks for 15 of Marvel’s greatest.

A few of these are just personal favorites. But largely, I feel they represent the building blocks of the Marvel Universe, the foundation of all that came later. The modern creators who dub themselves “architects” (when perhaps they should merely be called “remodelers”) stand on the shoulders of giants. Without these stories below, and many others like them, all the shocking character death, all the sudden moral reversals and changing of heroes to despicable villains, all the experimental water color art and all the boring nine-panel grids of the same two characters in the same positions with the same expressions, could never have seen the light of day. For their highly referential presence would refer back to nothing.

There is no order of importance here. They’re just chronological.

300px-X-Men_Vol_1_12X-Men 12-13 (7/65,9/65) “Who Can Stop the Juggernaut?” Okay, actually its first part was titled simply, “The Origin of Professor X.” Either way, it’s the scariest comic I’ve ever read. Cain Marko is not seen in his mutated form until the last few panels. Instead, like the Alien in Alien, he slowly stalks the mutants throughout the issue while Professor X explains his history and tells the teen heroes just how truly f____d they are. I kid you not, I had nightmares in fourth grade. Continue reading →

The 75 Greatest Marvel Comics of All Time… “All Time” being relative…

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300px-Marvel_75th_Anniversary_Magazine_Vol_1_1_TextlessRecently I happened to come across the Marvel 75th Anniversary Magazine. Reminiscent of “house” fanzines like FOOM or The Amazing World of DC Comics (but slicker and lacking their folksy charm), this all-color celebration of the company’s 75th birthday includes an interview with Marvel founder Stan Lee, a history of how a little company called Timely Comics ultimately became Disney’s Marvel Entertainment, and–disappointingly–a feature titled “The 75 Greatest Marvel Comics of All Time.” This includes cover shots representing, as promised, 75 individual issues, graphic novels or storylines from Marvel’s history. There’s an emblem on it, “Chosen by YOU!” Apparently, Marvel.com allowed its readers to vote.

Apparently, nearly all of Marvel.com’s readers began their comics-reading careers after 1990. The breakdown of time comics selected, by decade, goes like this:

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Keep the Change – Adaptability is your primary workplace survival skill

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I’ve been working full-time since July, 1987. I think it was July. That was the Summer I graduated from college. I’ve had no gaps in employment for the past 27 years.

I started out in the working world with a Journalism degree, an attitude, and one piece of good advice. My High School Art Teacher told me, “When you start working, always make friends with the secretary. First thing. They run the place, and you want them on your side.” Over the years, other wise elders added to the list of those to befriend: the custodian, the security guard and the guy who fixes the phones. Continue reading →

Flash Fiction Friday – “Call Me Sam”

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So I don’t really do flash fiction — stories less than 1000 words. I’ve never really understood the point of them. It’s just not enough room for an author to get a story out! But when my friend Phil Giunta decided to start Flash Fiction Fridays on his site, I decided, what the hell, I’ve been trying to learn to write short.

It’s not necessarily easy. It’s hard to find good models. The shortest fiction in the mainstream is that of Saki — H.H. Munro — and even his stuff is 30 – 50% too long.

But I did manage to come up with an idea. Last year, I wrote my third entry in the ReDeus series, published by Crazy 8 Press. Titled “Chinigchinix Nixes Pix,” it was dubbed by editor Bob Greenberger to be “The Weirdest Story We’ve Received So Far.” Gotta love earning a superlative, huh? “Nixes Pix,” as I affectionately call it (mostly because the name of the patron deity of the Tongvah people is really hard to pronounce!) was the story of a Hollywood screenwriter who must deal with meddling gods while trying to adapt a bestselling young adult novel called Call Me Sam. The idea of the novel was a throwaway gag. With all the supernatural stuff that’s thrown out (and possibly up) in the YA field, it seemed that the only thing left to commercialize was a kid who finds out he’s actually the angel of death.

But the idea grew on me immediately, and I realized that, someday, I’d like to write the story of the young man who becomes the collector of souls. I don’t have time to write another novel just now, but here’s the kernel of that story, “Call Me Sam.”

What is Death?

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Saturday, this was the thought of the day for me. I awoke to learn that a young man I knew, not a close friend but someone I liked very much, was dying. Indeed, he was dead before I finished my first cup of coffee. I’d known he was sick. I’d known he was in the hospital. I’d just thought, “This is a young, healthy guy, and he’s coming home.”

He didn’t come home. I was… angry. How stupid is that? It’s no one’s fault. Someone catches a rare infection. I assume doctors do everything they can, but, we’re not immortal. What’s the point of getting angry?

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Road Trip! (And a couple of short reviews)

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IMG_2599_800

Note: Photo may not reflect actual vehicle used on indicated trip.

Would you believe I have three blog posts written, and yet, here I sit on a Tuesday evening with not one post ready to go? I have roughed out three very different essays: a review, a rant and a business / leadership reflection. Having done so, I didn’t sweat last night. Normally, on Monday nights, I finish (or start and finish) my blog while Christian has his Taekwondo class. 2,000 words in an hour. Not hard. And I can spend 20 minutes editing on Tuesday. Last night I thought I was ahead of the game.

Tonight, I looked at my three “roughed out” blogs. Put the emphasis on “rough.” None of these were ready to edit! What was I thinking? Of course, I was thinking about twelve other things–work deadlines, the story I was editing, personal business that needed to be dealt with in the wake of a whirlwind trip to my family home in the mountains…

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(Blog) Hopping Down the Author Trail

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This week’s entry is Phil Giunta’s idea. Phil asked me to join in this Blog Hop, where I answer four questions and then nominate three other writers to do the same, and they’ll nominate three other writers, and so on, and so on…

I don’t normally do these “pyramid scheme” types of posts, as my friend Nobilis Reed calls them. But this is an opportunity to talk about my writing and to give some other authors some exposure. These are a few of my favorite things, so I’m in.

1. What am I working on?

Lots of things, always. I’m outlining a sixty-minute radio play for performance at Farpoint 2015. I’m kicking around ideas for a flash fiction piece (I don’t think I’ve ever written one, unless you count this. It’s 1470 words, so it’s probably too long.) I’m writing a 6,000-word short story, my third in as many months, and I’ve got a novel outline in development. I’ve also got a page of bullet points for potential projects, including some possible Appalachian romantic comedies and ghost stories. Science Fiction is starting to chafe. Continue reading →

I F___ing HATE Political Memes!

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I hate political memes. Hate them with a fiery passion. A person’s political philosophy is, or should be, too complex to fit into a few words crammed onto a photograph. If a person’s philosophy is not too complex to do so, then I would submit that they need to delay participating in civil society until they’ve learned a bit more about the world and how it works.

That said, I can think of two philosophies that fit in a meme that are valid: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” and “And ye harm none, do as ye will.”

I don’t see either of those being posted on Facebook, though.

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Please Re-cut This Film! An appeal for Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt? (Part Two)

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AtlasShruggedNote: If you haven’t seen the film, take my word for nothing in here. PLEASE see it and draw your own conclusions. It’s still running in 65 theaters around the country.

Continuing my review of Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt, I wish to pause for a disclaimer and a shout-out. First, the disclaimer: I am speaking frankly about this film because I believe in the project. I respect the passion of the creative team behind it. I understand the obstacles they had to overcome to bring an overwhelmingly popular book to film under the eye of a film industry that largely holds its audience in contempt, and believes that this book is only popular because most of the reading public is too stupid to know what’s good for them. I admire their effort, and I hope it will ultimately pay off.

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