God, what a week. Launched the Blaq Books blog, scoped out the store and began work on the bookshop. As such there wasn't as much time left for reading, but I did get a few things in and finished. I know I'm early, but I'm off to see the movie Balibo this evening and we've a heavy weekend lined up, so I might not have the time to write this tomorrow.
What did I finish this week?
MAGAZINES:
Back Issue #35. Villains issue. Interesting, albeit too brief, Pro-To-Pro interview with Mike Zeck and J.M. DeMatties about Kravens Last Hunt. J.M. is a prince and I've yet to find anyone who doesn't like him. Other than that the usual BI contents, articles that I generally skim and a decent Mike Vosburg interview.
Alter Ego #88. Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson issue. Interesting stuff as Wheeler-Nicholson's family members are interviewed for their memories about the man who formed DC Comics. Such a shame to discover that DC has written Wheeler-Nicholson out of their official history, but then this is a company that keeps up the lie that Bob Kane created Batman on his own. A back-up interview with Win Mortimer's wife is also an interesting read.
Jack Kirby Collector #53. You know, for a publisher that'd like to see me hung in effigy on a daily basis, I do buy a lot of their product. No hard feelings on my end. This issue of the JKC focuses on the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby collaborations, much to the overall disgust of a lot of the members of the Jack Kirby Yahoo mailing list. Sadly a section that initially appears to be an interesting look at the many inkers of Kirby at Marvel is nothing more than an exercise in cut 'n paste from Wikipedia (oh, the IRONY of it all - those who know will understand). Highlights include an interview with Stan Lee in which Stan, delightfully, forgets vital information and a damned decent article by Ger Apeldorn. Nice, big pictures, but, and this might just be me, some of them look just too far down, generation wise, to have the same impact and power as the original comic books do. Oh well.
BOOKS:
Brian Cronin: Was Superman A Spy? Disclosure time: I've fed Brian a few stories over the years and I am mentioned in the 'Thanks' section of the book. Having said that I bought this book off eBay - no comp copy for me. Interesting book, focusing on some of my favourite things - stories behind the stories and gossip. Brian does a great job with his Urban Myths Revealed blog and this collection of the best of them should be on everyone's bookshelves. Oh, and Brian, I know what really happened with the missing Warlock...but I'm not allowed to tell.
Geoff Slattery: The Brownlow - A Tribute To The Greats Of Australian Football. A damned good collection of articles and interviews with Brownlow medal winners from 1924 through to 2002. Some good insights, especially with the view of the sale of the medal itself by some of the winners. Almost all the winners state that they'd rather a Premiership medal over the Brownlow, including the repeat winners. And frankly who wouldn't? Nathan Buckley might have gotten a Brownlow, Robert Harvey won two but I expect that they'd give them all up to be Mark Bickley, a dual premiership captain. That's the ultimate medal.
Mike Coleman & Ken Edwards: Eddie Gilbert. God love Eddie Gilbert, the best cricket player you've never heard of. Eddie was an insanely fast bowler - how fast? The first time Bradman faced him he near killed him and did three things to him in the space of four balls - the first being to put him on his arse, the second was to knock his bat out of his hands - the only time that ever happened - and the third was to dismiss the master for a duck. Bradman spent a lot of his career ducking Gilbert after that. Gilbert was so fast that the 1932-33 English touring team - the infamous Bodyline side - refused to play against him. Gilbert never played for Australia though, why? Because he was an Aboriginal. Gilbert played in a era of racism and ignorance but broke through those barriers by sheer force of will and talent. What happened to him though, and how he was treated, was shameful. This book should be read by all Australians.
ON THE READING LIST THIS WEEK
Still contains...
Lee Hale & Richard D Neely: Behind The Scenes Of The Dean Martin Show
Maxine Marx: Growing Up With Chico.
Bruce Beresford: Josh Hartnett Definitely Wants To Do This...
Kevin Brownlow: Behind The Mask Of Innocence - Sex, Violence, Prejudice, Crime: Films Of Social Conscience In The Silent Era
Paul Buhle & Dave Wagner: Hide In Plain Sight - The Hollywood Blacklistees In Film & Television 1950 - 2002
Friday, August 14, 2009
This Weeks' Reading List: 14th August
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Saturday, August 08, 2009
This Weeks' Reading List: 6th August
This week was spent writing a bit and working on a super secret project, which, amazingly enough, is coming to fruition. If it all continues to rum smoothly then expect to see a huge announcement. Well, huge for us anyway and it could very well benefit local authors, hell, ANY author who wants to see an outlet for their own publications. Watch this space for more details as they arise.
Reading wise I spent a bit of time finishing off half and 3/4 read books, just to get them out of the way. This involved a speed read of what came before to refresh my memory and then a normal (normal for me) read to the finish line.
What did I finish this week?
S.P. Mackenzie: The Colditz Myth. See last week's entry for the general thoughts. It seems life in WWII POW camps was less like Stalag 13 and more like Stalag 17 - and even that's downplaying it. The best bit, in my view, was learning that even while banged up the officers managed to send anti-Hitler propaganda into the neighbouring towns by tying messages onto wasps and bees and letting them loose. Brilliant! The whole 'Tally Ho!' myth of Allied soldiers in these camps is dismissed by this read. If you have an interest then seek it out. Be warned, it's not an easy book to read.
Peter Wilmoth: Glad All Over - The Countdown Years 1974-1987. Americans rave about American Bandstand and Soul Train. The English rave about Top of The Pops. The French, well;, who cares? What people aren't aware is that Australia had a TV music show that was easily the equal, if not superior to all of those shows (based upon the amount of the formers that I've seen) in Countdown. For easily a decade Countdown dominated the music industry in Australia and looking back it's easy to see the reasons why - it appealed to all people. Where a show like Sounds appealed to young adults, Music Express appealed to the kid and Rock Arena appealed to the alternate crowd, Countdown managed to get all of those crowds and keep them. Countdown showed Australia the glory of Skyhooks, the madness of Iggy Pop, the brutality of a pissed off Cold Chisel and much more. Despite some factual and name errors (Kiss didn't tour Australia in 1976, or 1981 - the author gets it wrong twice and some names are mis-spelt) this book is a stunning overview of an era in Australian music that will probably not be replicated. Molly Meldrum should be knighted for his services to the Australian music scene - imagine his speech! I'm sure he'd love to meet Prince Charles' mum.
Ross Coulthart & Duncan McNabb: Dead Man Running - An Insiders Story On One Of The World's Most Feared Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs...The Bandidos. What can you say? I take a lot of these books with a grain of the proverbial. I got through this in one two hour sitting, it's lightweight and as you'd expect the subject manages to maintain his innocence. The standard story, "I was in the gang but I got out and they did nasty stuff but I didn't inhale." Basically the subject of the story, one Steve Utah, arranged security for the gang and decided to get further involved and *shock and horror* discovered that the Bandidos like to have sex with young women (around 17-18 years old), take drugs and commit crime. And, even more amazing, once he turned against them and gave evidence to the police, they told him they'd kill him. Who'd have thunk it, other than Utah who seems genuinely surprised at the latter turn of events. A better read, for this stuff, is the brilliant Angels Of Death by William Marsden and Julian Sher. Find that, read it and prepare to be amazed.
Bill Graham & Robert Greenfield: Bill Graham Presents - My Life Inside Rock & Out. Stunningly good book. Through the use of first hand comments, vintage interviews and observations Greenfield creates a vivid picture of the life that was Bill Graham. Great sections on the legendary Led Zeppelin Oakland concert (you know the one), Live Aid, the Rolling Stones and more. He wasn't always happy, was our Bill, but he was fair. Sometimes.
Michael Streissguth: Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison - The Making Of A Masterpiece. A slim volume but packed the gills with great information. Streissguth has stripped away the fat to present the meat of events leading up to, during and after the concerts that resulted in the landmark album, Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison. The book manages to dispel a few myths along the way, but the even result is a picture that'll only increase anyone's admiration for Cash. I could care less if he didn't shoot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. When he sang it, you believed it. It was the singer, not the song...
ON THE READING LIST THIS WEEK
Lee Hale & Richard D Neely: Behind The Scenes Of The Dean Martin Show
Mike Coleman & Ken Edwards: Eddie Gilbert
Maxine Marx: Growing Up With Chico
Still contains...
Bruce Beresford: Josh Hartnett Definitely Wants To Do This...
Kevin Brownlow: Behind The Mask Of Innocence - Sex, Violence, Prejudice, Crime: Films Of Social Conscience In The Silent Era
Paul Buhle & Dave Wagner: Hide In Plain Sight - The Hollywood Blacklistees In Film & Television 1950 - 2002
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Saturday, August 01, 2009
This Weeks' Reading List: 1st August
It's been a very busy week. Fights with the workplace, some pressures, stresses and an on-going battle with depression has seen my reading limited but on the upside I have completely emptied the storage unit and thrown out reams of useless crap and, best of all, unpacked several hundred books and placed them upon the shelves. Excellent!
What did I finish this week?
King Of Comedy: The Life & Art Of Jerry Lewis by Shawn Levy. I like Levy's style of writing, his book on the Rat Pack is one of my all time favourites and this book is greatly assisted by the same informative, yet entertaining style of reporting. There's stuff in here that I never knew about Lewis, and to be honest, he's never been one of my favourite comedians (Marx Brothers boy that I always was) yet this has caused me to reconsider my appraisals of the man. Levy shows that Lewis, like most comedians, has a definite dark side, which erupted during the writing of the book, as the postscript shows, as Lewis began to attack Levy for slights that were, for the most part, totally imagined.
First Photographs by Gail Buckland. Pretty much what the title says the book delivers. Piles of early and interesting photographs of all kinds of topics. The photo of Ruth Synder's execution is still a chilling image, even after eighty years.
The World Of Mitchell by Phil Birnbaum. An overview of the career of editorial cartoonist Bill Mitchell. This book will mean absolutely nothing to:
1] anyone under the age of 40 and
2] anyone who's never lived in Australia. Thus this book has limited appeal. Like the bulk of such books, the editorial cartoons presented make no sense unless you're aware of the situation surrounding them, and some, in hindsight, appear to be either silly or mean spirited. Damned good artist though.
Rockwell On Rockwell: How I Make A Picture by Norman Rockwell. I got this book, and the next one listed, for peanuts from a local market. Colour me happy. Brilliant book by Rockwell showing the techniques that the artist used to create some of his most memorable images. I expect that artists of today could do worse than to try and track a copy of this sucker down.
Norman Rockwell & The Saturday Evening Post: The Early Years by Norman Rockwell. See the recurring pattern here? A beautifully presented book, large in format and as such able to showcase of the earlier Rockwell covers. I know a lot of art aficionados look down on Rockwell, but I like the stuff. Reading it I couldn't help but wonder if there's a book out there showcasing my other favourite painter: Norman Mingo...
The Draft by Emma Quayle. As mentioned last week, this was finished an hour after I finished my entry. See last week's entry for an more in-depth report.
READING AT THE MOMENT
S.P. Mackenzie: The Colditz Myth. Holy crap!! Not your usual WWII POW book, not that light and breezy, but it is showing, by use of detailed research, that a lot of what we've been lead to believe about WWII POW life might not be all that it appears. Not an easy book to read, but rich in detail and scope. Halfway through it, ETA of finishing is sometime Monday.
ON THE READING LIST THIS WEEK
Bruce Beresford: Josh Hartnett Definitely Wants To Do This...
Kevin Brownlow: Behind The Mask Of Innocence - Sex, Violence, Prejudice, Crime: Films Of Social Conscience In The Silent Era
Paul Buhle & Dave Wagner: Hide In Plain Sight - The Hollywood Blacklistees In Film & Television 1950 - 2002
I'm also doing some serious research into a potential new book that I want to write. This has also seen a lot of reading time taken up with other subjects. As such if I wasn't researching I'd have finished another two books or so, but if Project #5 (as I'm calling it) takes off it'll all be worth it. Watch this space.
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
Coming In September, 2009
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Saturday, April 04, 2009
Black Diamond: My Adventures In KISS-Land
This week an unexpected book arrived in the mail, I say unexpected not because I didn't think I'd get a comp copy, but unexpected because I didn't think that it'd ever happen - the 10th anniversary edition of Dale Sherman's excellent Kiss biography, Black Diamond.
Dale had contacted me mid last year to tell me that the publisher of the original two books wanted to re-issue the first volume in an expanded and re-written format. That sounded like a damn good idea to me and I replied to Dale that it's an authors dream to revisit work after an extended period of time with the view of fixing any errors and bringing it all up to date. This week I put aside a few hours and sat down and read the book. It's a cracking read and I recommend it to anyone who has a passing interest in Kiss as it sits there on the shelf as a companion to David Leaf's overview and the view of Kiss by Gene Simmons. Black Diamond isn't always complimentary towards the band, but a good biography will always be balanced and fair and showcase the bad with the good, and that's exactly what Dale does.
Five stars easily. Go and buy one now.
So what's my involvement? Why was I sent a comp copy? It wasn't for review purposes that's for sure - I was sent a copy because I had a hand in this book way back when and, until my depression caught me late last year, I was involved with this current edition. Dale is a man with honour, so he makes sure that all contributors get their copies, signed by him. Other publishers and authors should take note of that. I know of a few books and magazines running about the place that have been published that have contributions from myself (both with and without my permission) and I've never seen a complimentary copy, nor will I. But that might be why I'm more than slightly anti-publisher at the moment.
My involvement with Dale Sherman and the books that would become Black Diamond began over a decade ago. I spent part of two years writing and researching my own Kiss book, this one focusing on the 1980 Australian tour, complete with discographies, photos, anecdotes, interviews and much more. I spoke to a lot of people but when I approached a few publishers...well the ones who did speak to me merely chuckled. The rest just didn't bother. In 1989-1990 you couldn't give a book on Kiss away. One publisher told me, out of kindness he said, that the only way such a book could sell is if a $50 note was inserted into each copy, along with an apology. In 1980 Kiss were the biggest news story to hit this nation, a mere 10 years down the track they weren't even important enough to be a joke. Somewhere I may have the text of that book, but as it was mainly written on a typewriter (pre-computer days) I fear that it's all been binned now and the research only exists in my memory.
One magazine that I used to read back then with an almost religious fervour was Goldmine Magazine. I loved music, hell, I still do, and as anyone who knows me well know, I love the stories behind the stories more than the finished product at times. As my daughter says, I know more useless trivia than anyone she's ever seen, heard or met. I'm kinda proud of that. I'd read the magazine back to front and it was via the letters page in an issue in the early 1990s that I saw a letter by Dale asking for information on Kiss and listing the countries he wanted to know about: Australia was one of those listed. I dashed off a letter to Dale (these were those glorious pre-email days when one sat down, wrote a letter and *gasp* actually mailed it at a post office! And yes, I had a record player and vinyl records and a cassette player in my car!!) introducing myself and thus began a healthy correspondence that went on for the next seven or so years.
To begin with Dale sent down a series of questions and information that he needed. He understood I'd been writing my own book and didn't expect to share much, but if he didn't then he was in for a surprise - I sent over everything I had. He'd uncovered a few urban myths which I either confirmed or denied, and I managed to help him fill in some gaps about the 1980 tour that he'd not previously known, or that members of the Kiss organisation had forgotten or just weren't privy to. Dale had footage from the Sydney press conference, but didn't know what had gone on both before and after. Eventually I located a video of almost every television appearance both in the media and on news services, which I had a friend convert to NTSC (yes - video tapes!!) and sent that as well. I expect that, even though the quality was poor, Dale must have thought he'd hit the jackpot. I sent over clippings, ads and, well, everything Dale wanted. In return he sent over sample chapters and I helped polish them by suggesting what could be changed for accuracies sake.
Years passed and then the first book appeared - I was over the moon! In the meantime I'd gotten divorced, had a breakdown, and had published some of my own research via It Magazine (while seeing at least two other Australian 'writers' lift my own work, complete with spelling errors - and you know who you are you talentless hacks - and use them in magazines published both here and overseas, but by this stage, I was used to it). Dale sent over a copy, signed and we again went back and forth, this time via email, about the band, the book and life itself and the strange turns we'd taken.
Around this time Dale announced that his publisher had split his original book and now wanted two volumes. The first would be a straight biography, the second a reference guide, of sorts, with all kinds of interesting facts. Such guides are now the norm, but then they weren't, so off to work we went. Originally Dale had a fair bit of time to finish the second volume, but when sales came in the publisher decided to strike while the iron was hot and the deadline was moved up. Dale turned to the people who could assist and assist we all did. I can remember writing sections that Dale would later edit and use, all with my permission. One part amused us. Dale had a bootleg section ready to go, but was light on information. I asked to see the chapter so he sent it down, I printed it out and began to laugh. I emailed Dale back and mentioned that I could help fill the gaps on almost all of the bootleg CDs that he had no information on because I'd either compiled them or my best friend did. Thus the information was very close at hand. Between me and my friend we inserted the required information, sent over scans and copies and suddenly a chapter that had titles was complete.
My proudest moment came with the section on important television appearances. I don't fault Dale for this as it appears to be an American thing - if it didn't happen in America then it's not important, television wise. Dale's original section didn't include two of the most important appearances in Australia - the 1980 Countdown show (where a clearly stoned Ace Frehley was encouraged to act out by none other than Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley - indeed the latter appeared to be under his own influence) and the television documentary The Inner Sanctum. Dale replied that he was really under the pump so I sat down and wrote those two sections in a night and sent them over. With some slight editing and clean-ups both summaries appeared in the book proper - I think I'm more happy about that than most other contributions to various projects that I've been involved with. I read the book again the other week, for old times sake, and I can still see my developing writing style in parts. Damn!
The book appeared, my two copies arrived (one for me, one for my bootleg pal) along with a host of signed photos and the Cheap Trick box set, Sex, America and Cheap Trick! A pleasant surprise, but as I was in the fits of depression at the time I wasn't fully able to appreciate it. The book was better than I expected, considering that was almost thrown together at the eleventh hour, and my greatest joy came when I'd visit stores and record fairs and see dog-eared copies under and behind tables being used as a reference point. No-one believed me though when I'd tell them about my involvement, so I'd point out my name in the credits - that'd generally shut their yaps.
Suddenly Dale contacted about the idea of an expanded volume. He had some ideas of what he wanted to include, and one I went after - an interview with Steve Gerber. Sadly Steve passed away before it could happen, but at times life does get in the way. Other ideas included picking the brains of a lot of people to discover what gems had been uncovered in the ten or more years it'd been since we'd originally visited this world. Memories, both good and bad, flooded back, but I sent over my thoughts as best I could - I now wish I'd done more, but...these things happen. Dale's book is better for his writing and his technique of sharing information so openly, and being so receptive of other people's efforts. It also clearly benefits from that old gem, hindsight. Dale took the opportunity of being able to revise his text and update it and in doing so has made the original Black Diamond redundant. To that end I have nothing but admiration for the man for being so brave as to virtually invalidate his earlier work.
All three books are worth tracking down. I understand the original two volumes are now long out of print, but you can buy the just released edition of Black Diamond, so hop to it. You won't regret it.
I've always felt bad about not thanking Dale enough, both for his generous nature and for his friendship. I can at least correct that here - thanks Dale, and his lovely wife Jill. You two are two of the best there is. Now I have to ask him about a few things that are in the new edition that weren't in the previous one, especially about the proposed make-up 'reunion tour' that was slated for the early 1990s...I'm sure we talked about that at the time, but...
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Friday, August 01, 2008
Potted Review: The Flash Companion
THE FLASH COMPANION
224 page Trade Paperback - by Keith Dallas
Let me be upfront with this review - I bought my own copy. Even though I am listed in the credits, and Keith Dallas and Jason Sacks both asked me a lot of questions about Ross Andru and quoted from my Partners For Life volume, I have not and do not expect to, receive a free copy. So this isn't being paid for in any way, shape or form.
Now that's out in the open, God, what a book! Of late there's been a sheer glut of such 'companion' books coming out from various publishers, TwoMorrows appear to be leading the way with them. The quality of them vary somewhat, some are good, some are light on detail and some appear to be merely excuses to print decent scans of original art, not that there's anything wrong with that. This companion is everything that anyone could want in such a volume, it's informative, well written, entertaining, features high quality art and even better, leaves the reader wanting a second volume, if not more. Unlike some volumes that make me wonder why, and some that are now at Volume III or IV that, frankly, should have stopped at Volume I, this edition cries out for a sequel, if only to cover the other artists, writers and editors who worked on the character over the years. For example, I personally own over 100 pages of Norm Breyfogle's original art on Flash stories (including almost all of the three issue Elseworld Flashpoint mini-series), none of that is touched upon in this volume. I'd love to see originals of Javier Saltares Flash story that he drew which John Byrne wrote around the same time as the Flash television series, which is also covered in this volume (I've always loved Saltares and adore his Ghost Rider, even if the stories weren't much chop).
With the Flash Companion, Dallas and Sacks, along with a cast of others, have provided an almost complete history of the character, one of the most popular and enduring in comic books, as seen through the eyes of the people who were there. There's interviews, comments and quotes by the likes of Sheldon Mayer, Gardner Fox, Marv Wolfman, Mike Barr, Alex Saviuk, Bob Kanigher, Cary Bates, Mark Waid and many more, along with, of course, two of the guys who did more to relaunch the title and arguable the entire Silver Age of comic books, Julius Schwartz and Carmine Infantino. And do remember, when it came to revamping and relaunching superheroes, The Flash came first and set the template for many to follow. Indeed an argument can be made that without the Flash relaunch in Showcase comic books as we know it today just wouldn't exist. I doubt we'd have Marvel Comics without the Flash, let alone the bulk of DC and the companies that have followed.
For me one of the best sections was seeing the legendary Ross Andru double covers. Ross, as editor of the title, wasn't always aware of what he'd ordered and not only bought two different covers for the same Flash book in the early 1980s, he also drew two different covers for the same issue. Brilliant! Reporting fallacies such as that only serve to make the man more enduring. It's hard to find a fault with this book, but there is one - it's too short. That's why I'm going to pressure Keith and Jason for a follow-up, hopefully they'll be able to sell a publisher on the idea. When you consider the sheer amount of time, effort and genuine love for the medium and character and you can see why this is a book worth tracking down and buying.
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Thursday, August 16, 2007
Angus & Robertson: Boycott The Bastards & An Offer To Publishers
It's not often that I'll sit up and declare my intentions so publicly, but in this case I see no other option. For what it's worth I won't be buying another piece of product from the Angus & Robertson chain of bookstores. I'm well aware that by taking this stance I'll be punishing some small business owners (those who own and operate various franchises) but the recent decision of the company owners to send out letters of demand like the one opposite (you can read the text and the response here) makes my blood boil.
For those who aren't aware. The bean counters who run A&R have decided that small publishers will now have to pay for the privilege of having their books on sale in Angus & Robertson book stores. The profit that the stores and the chain make from those books aren't enough, they want more. What this does is squeeze a lot of independent publishers out of the market as some won't be able to afford to buy shelf space as opposed to promotional costs. It's pathetic. With more and more publishers than ever, thanks to the digital age, more and more product is out there to chose from. Shelf space is a premium, but let's be frank, how many times have you walked into a book store and found what you're after? It hardly ever happens to me, I order a good percentage of my books in (and anyone that knows me knows how much I read) and I can't help but wonder, will A&R decide to charge publishers for that as well?
I'll say right here, right now, that if A&R decide to keep this practice in place then they've lost me as a customer. They might not care all that much, in fact I doubt I'll even register on their collective radar as I'm just one person, however if more and more people take this stance then they may reconsider. Put yourself in the publishers place - if they have to pay to get their books stocked then they'll cut down on resources available. That means less and less books, less work for authors and as such more and more people will be out of a job. Domino effect baby. If you're a publisher, don't give in to this extortion, go elsewhere and get your product out into the market place.
I'll make this standing offer to any publisher that might read this - I'll happily give free space and advertising to any publisher that chooses not to stock Angus & Robertson. That's right - no payment here, I'll even buy the copies for review. You can get a book on this site whenever you want. The email link is there, so go for it. And Angus & Robertson, you can kiss my arse.
The ABC's Book Show recently had a great little segment on the whole debate, you can download and listen to it here.
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Monday, May 14, 2007
Gentleman Jim Mooney
FINALLY!! I'm more than happy to announce the following...
The upcoming book GENTLEMAN JIM MOONEY tells the story of the life and career of one of America’s most prolific comic book artists, Jim Mooney. Told in his own words through rare archival interviews and new, exclusive commentary, GENTLEMAN JIM MOONEY documents Mooney’s life from his early days as the son of a millionaire, through the lean years of the Great Depression, to his days in Hollywood as the brother of a starlet, and ultimately to his career as a comic book artist.
Jim Mooney drew his first pages in 1940, a mere 18 months after the first appearance of Superman, and he’s still going strong today, a career that spans seven decades. In that time, his art has graced virtually every major character in the comic book world, from Batman, Supergirl, the Legion of Superheroes, and Dial H For Hero at DC Comics to Spider-Man, Man Thing, Captain America, the Avengers, and more at Marvel Comics.
GENTLEMAN JIM MOONEY draws primarily on Mooney’s own recollections and benefits from contributions by STEVE GERBER, RICHARD HOWELL, MARK ELLIS, BILL SCHELLY, ROY THOMAS, AL BIGLEY, FRED HEMBECK, TONY ISABELLA, JOE SINNOTT, MARK EVANIER, and more with all new previously unseen art from AL BIGLEY, NORM BREYFOGLE, MARK McKENNA, JOE SINNOTT, BOB ALMOND, JIM TOURNAS, BOB McLEOD, and RICHARD HOWELL, as well as special contributions from music legend LIBBY TITUS FAGAN and an introduction by STAN ‘THE MAN’ LEE.
GENTLEMAN JIM MOONEY promises to be an essential part of your book collection. It will be published by VEI Press, and more information will soon be available at: http://www.VEIPress.cc.
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Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Summer Game, The Winter Book
I'm going through a phase right now - I'm about to dump almost my entire collection of Don Bradman books onto a certain bookstore in Adelaide. I've decided to keep the ones I want to keep along with my clippings - because nobody's getting those for a long, long while, but I just realised that I have not only doubles of some titles, but bloody triples and even quads!!! I have to say that a lot of them aren't that much chop as it is, they're light on both content and detail and as such I won't miss them at all. Since we moved here in 2004 they've been in a box within a box and when I pulled them out the dust was heavy.
When it comes to such books there's a limit that you want to stick with. In my own opinion you really only need the following:
The Bradman Albums
Farewell To Cricket
The Art Of Cricket (with CD Rom)
Bodyline Autopsy by David Frith
The Don by Roland Perry (updated and revised edition)
Bradman by Michael Page
Bradman's First Tour and
Bradman - Challenging The Myth and as far as I'm concerned you've got all you need. The rest are just eye candy and just show the same photos and reprint the same anecdotes as the ones I've listed.
Plus which there's a lot of other and at times more interesting cricket books out there. If you get the chance then get anything written by Gideon Haigh, a writer almost without peer. His books on Warwick Armstrong, World Series Cricket and his classic, The Summer Game, are essential on my reading list. Haigh has set a great benchmark not just for cricketing writers but for writers and biographers everywhere. I've given Haigh books to people who don't even like cricket, let alone watch it, and to a person they've come back asking can they keep the books (of course - books are for sharing) because they've enjoyed them so much. Haigh has turned more than one of my friends onto cricket. He writes in a style that reminds me of Jack Fingelton, only without some of the bitterness (Fingleton had, shall we say, 'issues' with some of his cricketing peers). Mind you Fingleton wrote some classic as well - his book Cricket Crisis remains the best I've seen about the Bodyline as written by a player who was not only there, but managed to make some runs against it. While you're at it pick up anything by David Frith, another writer and biographer who shows talents above and beyond. His Bodyline Autopsy should be the last word on that entire series and it's aftermath, unless someone can suddenly discover caches of notes and accounts not before seen. Read that book and that era, those games, will come to life from the pages. He also wrote one of the most interesting of all the cricketing books, By His Own Hand, which documented cricketing suicides, those players who've taken their own lives for various reasons. The underlying theme was one of depression and as a book it makes for fascinating reading.
Funny isn't it? You collect something for so long and suddenly wake up and ask yourself, "Why?" Or is it just me?
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Print On Demand
So I've decided to take the advice of Tony Isabella and actually put together some projects as POD. Tony suggested it to me in an email not so long ago and it did get me thinking, mainly, can it be done? Well anything can be done, as my dear ole ma used to say (and still does, only she doesn't clip me around the ears that much anymore) but here's the problem - what POD company offers the best deals? I'm expecting that I might end up going with someone like Lulu but bugger me it's not cheap is it? Is there a POD company set up in Australia?
More importantly...I'm an idiot when it comes to layout. I've asked many a person, many a time, is there a template, somewhere, that I can use (either Word, Page Maker - anything really) and adapt to suit what I want? The general thought is that I'm going to test the waters with a pet project that I've had sitting around since about 1997 - no clues as yet, but to say that it's music related and has a somewhat limited appeal. I'm sure I can shift the units, although I doubt I could get a publisher seriously interested. I've decided to pull it out and start working on it alongside other projects. I'm going to spend the next few days scanning and working on two books at once. Once we return from our trip (hopefully one book will be finished before we go) I'll knock the new project off and then see how I can format it. In the meantime if there's anyone out there who's more savvy about these kinds of things then by all means fire me down a message and let's start talking. I wanna get some more stuff out there and see where it all takes me. I also think that POD might be the way for the other half to finally get her stuff out in the open market - it'd sell more copies than any crap I produce. I'll still be working on my various projects though, so it's not like I'd be sitting there only writing for a POD audience.
Ideas??
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Labels: books, ideas, print on demand, templates, writing
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Groucho - En Marx Brother Bag Facaden
Yep, that title got me too.
I've got a mild case of writers block right now so I'm going to attempt to clear it by writing about some of my favourite things around the house. First up is a recent addition to my growing library on Groucho Marx and the Marx Brothers.
Roughly translated the title of the book you're seeing is along the lines of; "Groucho - A Marx Brother At The Back of something". I mean, I really don't know for sure because I don't speak, or read, Danish, or whatever language this book was printed in. I'm assuming Danish as it was published in Denmark in 1985.
I found this little gem in one of my favourite haunts, the Lions Club Bookmart at Glen Osmond. It's a rare time that I go there and not come out weighed down with several books, all at genuine early 1980s prices. How genuine? This sucker cost me a whopping $2.00. Not bad for a book I can't read. The pictures are good though and I love the cartoon on the front.
The back isn't that bad either. It has a three panel joke strip featuring one of Groucho's more memorable exchanges from the You Bet Your Life show. In case you're too lazy to click the link I'll share the rough translation with you. According to legend Groucho had a female contestant named Mrs. Story on the show one evening (well, that part is fact). During the course of the conversation Mrs Story mentioned she had nineteen children. Groucho asked, "Why so many children?" "Well, I just love my husband." Mrs Story replied. Groucho shot back, "And I like a good cigar, but I take it out of my mouth once in a while." Don't bother trying to find any video or audio of the joke because the legend says no copies ever survived, if indeed it did happen. It's become one of those urban myths that spring up and stay with us.
Did he say it or not? Ahhhh who cares. It's damn funny no matter who said it. In a perfect world he not only said it but he was also dressed like the cartoon when he said it and Mrs Story was a dead ringer for Margaret Dumont. The exchange ranks right up there, for me anyway, with anything he said, including my all time personal favourite from A Night At The Opera; Dumont: "Have you got everything?" Groucho: "I've had no complaints yet." Or something along those lines. "Bore a hole in yourself and let the sap run out," always cracked me up as well.
I might have to learn how to speak Danish so I can read the book. In the meantime it does have some great photos and if there's a great Dane out there who'd like to take the time out and translate the text for me, hey - it'd be greatly appreciated.
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