What a month I'm having! This has been the busiest, and most fun, Autumn Season I've had in years. In fact, I'm still swamped like crazy, but I've shamefully neglected my blog for far too long. So, without any further excuses, I'll try to bring us up to date.
First up was the fabulous FallCon 2009, on October 10 & 11. Here I am after Lisa helped set up my table. (Click for much bigger images.)
As you can see, I had twice as many books to offer this time and, very happily, this was by far my most successful convention appearance ever. I was stunned. Everyone's tables were crowded and busy. The Recession apparently didn't exist in the minds and wallets of the multitude of fans who excitedly purchased their favorite books with a seemingly endless supply of twenty dollar bills. It was amazing.
FallCon was, once again, held at the Grandstand of the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and was more colossal than ever. Over 200 professional guest creators were there! There were many times, in years long past, when I'd been in attendance at a comic book convention where hardly that many fans even showed up. What's that? You say you heard that the comic book industry is dying? Nonsense. Don't believe it for a moment. Come to Minnesota and we'll prove that claim is dead in the water.
Special thanks and appreciation for Nick, Mike, Sarah, and all the other great FallCon folks for making this possible!
One of my very favorite moments was when I was asked, for the very first time, to sign the Superman & Batman caps for a charity auction. Every year these autographed caps make the rounds to creators who've worked on books featuring the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight, and it was a genuine emotional experience for me to lend a hand.
Near the end of that Saturday I was invited to participate in a discussion panel on the modern resurgence of the Pulps, accompanied by Moonstone Publisher Joe Gentile, Tom Floyd, and Christopher Jones. Among the things we talked about was how the hero pulps of the 1930s & 40s, like Doc Savage and The Shadow, had influenced our own work and careers. Loads of fun.
Plus, Joe revealed that Moonstone will be reviving the classic Air Fighters characters in an on-going comic book anthology series. Artist Ver Curtiss and I are continuing to have a grand time with our new WW2 adventures featuring the return of Black Angel. The premiere issue will be in comic shops January 2010.
Joe was still full of surprises when he offered me the position as the writer on Moonstone's The Spider pulp series. I'd written two new stories featuring The Spider a couple years ago, both comics and a prose short story. Also, I composed the box text for ReelArt's Spider statue. I love this character and Joe knows that. I'm thrilled to now be the official pulp scribe for the Master of Men.
If that wasn't enough, Joe contacted me again, just a few days later, and accepted the proposal my pal Tom Floyd and I pitched to him for Ki-Gor! We'll be producing both comics and pulp prose adventures for the Jungle Lord. Very exciting stuff--and Tom and I are feeling like teenagers again.
No wonder this is my favorite time of the year.
Stay tuned for more news soon!
Congrats!!! What a fabulous post. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to hearing more. Cheers~
ReplyDeleteMartin, thanks a lot for sharing your photos and insights into the Fallcon. I was hoping somewhere on the net someone would recount what all took place there. It sounds like you had a smashing good time, and commercial success as well, selling book, and picking up more work. I'm glad to hear that the comic book industry is vital and there are still huge fans!
ReplyDeleteI'm also glad to know that some of these classic old characters from the pulps and older comics like Airboy, Black Angel et al. are still interesting to fans and industry alike. Sounds like everyone had a lot of fun, and signing the cape was a highlight.