First Interview about my Bill Everett Book on Meltcast.com!

Last Saturday at the San Diego Comicon, I had the great fortune of being interviewed at the Fantagraphics Booth about my Bill Everett book by Meltdown Comics (biggest comic store in Los Angeles) Manager, Chris Rosa. Having Chris be a huge Sub-Mariner fan didn't hurt either.

Click HERE to access the podcast. The interview runs over 10 minutes and it most certainly covers the key themes in the book about why Bill Everett was such a special talent and so important a figure in the history of the medium. We're aiming to have me come to the West Coast once the book is out and Meltdown Comics will be my first stop in L.A.!

Audio for Bill Everett Panel at San Diego Comicon '10

The primary reason I attended this year's San Diego Comicon was not because my Bill Everett book was debuting at the show, but because it was a chance to finally meet Wendy Everett, Bill's daughter. I couldn't pass up that chance and to do a panel and book signing with her, and to be able to hand her a copy of my book on her Dad who passed away 37 years ago. (FYI: the book likely won't be in stores until first week of September - these were copies flown in from the printers across the ocean especially for this show at a very high cost to the publisher, Fantagraphics)

I was able to accomplish all of this, and now you can listen to the audio of the panel with me and Wendy talking about her Dad (clicking on the link will start a download of the mp3, which is 50 minutes long, and 45 MBs in size). The audio for the panel is provided by fellow Canadian Jamie Coville who is the Keeper of the Audio Flame, travelling to various conventions and keeps a fabulous archive of audio files at thecomicbooks.com website.

He has many other panels of interest at that link from this year's San Diego Comicon, including audio of the Eisner Awards (where Gene Colan won for Captain America #601), plus Moto Hagio and Peter Bagge who received their Inkpot Awards at the show, and my publisher Gary Groth appearing in two panels, "Comics Criticism" and "Comics Reprints". My panel with Wendy Everett was also videoed and we had a slide show, so we're looking to have it all rolled into one package in the near future for your viewing pleasure. Click HERE to view all the pics of me and Wendy at the show.

Bill Everett Book News Page, P1 of "DVDs That Will Be Mine!"

As we await audio of my Bill Everett and Howard Cruse panels from this year's San Diego Comicon (click here for Tom Spurgeon's The Comic Reporter site's "Collective Memory" entry that collects all the SD reports he's sent), I took the time to set up a Bill Everett News Page; a centralized place on this Blog that will house all upcoming information, reviews and appearances about my Bill Everett book (so far it includes the Amazon.com link to pre-order my book, and all my San Diego reports in one place). So bookmark this page and come back often!

In part one of an ongoing series entitled "DVDs That Will Be Mine!" (subtitled "And They Should Be Yours Too!"), we continue to explore what we discovered at the San Diego Comicon. I happened upon the Shout Factory! booth (the company that brought you the My So-Called Life and Freaks & Geeks on DVD) and discovered an upcoming gem - The Larry Sanders Show: The Complete Series. Yes, not just Season 1, which we've all had to date, but all the seasons. Their catalog said September 14, 2010, even though the Amazon.com list date is November 2.

The Larry Sanders Show, starring stand-up comedian Garry Shandling, began airing in 1992 on HBO and it set the standard for what the Cable TV world would offer over Network TV and the schism created never healed. As the Wiki entry says, "The show revolves around Larry Sanders, (Garry Shandling) host of the fictional late night talk show The Larry Sanders Show. It chronicles the daily life of Larry; the show's producer, Arthur "Artie" (Rip Torn); Larry's sidekick, Hank (Jeffrey Tambor); and the production staff, as they attempt to produce a successful talk show each night while dealing with celebrities, the network and everything in between." Tambor was a revelation and the writing was beyond whip-smart, better revealing the inside world of a talk show that any reality TV show could hope to produce.

Click HERE for host of YouTube videos that will give you a taste of the magic that was the six seasons of the show.  If I put together a list of my Top Ten Comedies ever, this would be in competition without a doubt. There are so many classic moments - the both-late-of-this-world John Ritter and Gene Siskel going at it over John's movie career; the Hankercizer 200 (who numbers a product with only 3 digits? Hank Kingsley, of course); the Penis/Vagina Hank's Thoughts newsletter entry - and one of my favourites has to be the diss by Larry of the also now-departed Ray Combs, then host of the Family Feud, when Combs invites Larry out to dinner. Shandling's delivery in the scene is classic. Buy the Complete Series and find it! No regrets, guaranteed!

Reporting from San Diego Comicon: Round-Up Misc.

Miscellaneous items and thoughts from this year's San Diego Comicon:

Gene Colan wins at the Eisner Awards for "Best Single Issue", sharing with writer Ed Brubaker for Captain America #601. No one more deserving than the brilliant artist now in his 60th year in the business!

I was delayed and showed up at the Eisners with four awards to go, and it was quite depressing (compared to my first in 2001). There were more professionals at the tables up front than were in the audience, and there weren't that many at those tables. And the after party was barely attended. I haven't been to the Eisners since 2003 and I hope this year was an aberration.

Delta trumps Continental because of its in flight Internet service (and cheaper baggage fees), but Continental gives complimentary meals instead of snacks, even on shorter flights.

Still waiting on audio from my Bill Everett panel (with daughter Wendy Everett), my Howard Cruse panel, and my interview with Chris Rosa of Meltdown Comics (for their Meltcast podcasts).

Stayed away from buying books that would interfere with my ability to get on a plane without checked baggage. The one exception was (and will always be) Seth's latest, Palookaville #20. Every issue of this good Canadian boy's output is a visual and physical delight, and this year tops every previous issue with its new format. The promo piece for this issue states "Palookaville #20 is the first volume of the seminal comic book series to be published in book form...Seth’s first autobiographical comics since Palookaville #2 and #3 will be featured in #20. Drawing in his loose sketchbook style, similar to his book Wimbledon Green, Seth details his trip to a book festival and his awkward struggle to overcome isolation and communicate with the people around him. Seth continues the serialization of his acclaimed Clyde Fans story line, about which The New York Times Book Review aptly noted, “Seth truly believes in his wares—the little meanings of regular lives.”

I had great fun at this year's show, owing mostly to the debut of my Bill Everett book, but I have to lament the lack of panels that interested me this year, especially compared to my first year at the show in 2001. This is especially true concerning Golden and Silver Age comic-book greats. I know this is, in part, a function of age, but the 2001 Con had everyone I ever wanted to see: Gene Colan, John Romita, John Buscema and it just went on and on. I think, however, it's also a function of the increased expense of attending a Con for an artist and the increasingly limited return on investment for anything comic-book related at the show. I hope this was just a bad year, but not many of my favourite current artists were in attendance, and some had reason to be there. But an artist's presence has to increase sales a great deal (as opposed to how many would sell anyway if they didn't attend) to justify the expense to the artist, so I understand it, but that doesn't make coming to San Diego any less of a value proposition for a consumer hoping to have an experience superior to walking into their local comic store.

I made a conscious choice at the end of the 1990s to steer away from original art so that I could buy 1950s Ditko and Timely/Atlas books, but I'm getting the itch again. Other than a few sketches, I only own a few Sam Glanzman pieces, but couldn't resist adding the piece to your right.

I loved Jill Thompson's take on Black Orchid in the 1990s and was able to tell her so at my first San Diego Comicon in 2001 (the year she won a fist full of Eisners). This year, I passed her booth and she was selling pages for only $60 (Nice!) Granted, almost all didn't have the Orchid in them, but this was the best by far of the bunch. Love the blacks in the first row of panels and the characters in the second row are large enough to make this a welcome addition for the price. Off to pursue a Hernandez and Seth piece now.

Did you know that Sparkplug Comics not only publishes Reich by Elijah Brubaker and Report by Dylan Williams (with a nice Mr. A nod on the inside cover of #6), but that, every year at the San Diego Comicon, they bring the latest self-published Steve Ditko material (Ditko is up to, what, eight new 32-page comic books since 2008)? Well, you do now.

Lastly, I'm glad I didn't attend Sunday (and not just because all three of my books had sold out by Saturday). It's kind of a sad day, saying goodbye to people you may not see again for one or two years, and I think general "Con fatigue" sets in. "Leave wanting more" than the opposite is a good way to look at it. Next year, I'll enhance the experience by bringing my (then) 11-year old son, Luke, and we'll do a whole week in San Diego, so that it's not just about the Con (looking forward to the Zoo, a ball game, and a beach - how novel to be out on the town during the day, instead of inside the Con walls 24/7).

Reporting from San Diego Comicon: Day 4 - More Art! More Everett!

Saturday was my final day at the San Diego Comicon, but we went out with a BANG! With my Bill Everett book having already sold out, my signing at 11am was a little quieter than normal, but the good news is that people were still buying my two Ditko books and graciously flattering me with their appreciation for my work. Thank you to everyone who came out to see me. As is doing comics, writing is a solitary profession, so connecting with my audience is always a joy. I started writing for a few reasons, but mainly because there was a vacuum out there for this material, and I know how appreciative I was (and am) whenever able to purchase a quality book on a subject that's near and dear to me.

Speaking of enjoyable encounters, the entire Fantagraphics contingent was very accommodating throughout the show, and are a pleasure to associate with. It was great seeing Eric Reynolds, Mike Baehr and Janice Headley again, and I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the rest of the crew, including my first in-person meeting with Adam Grano who’s designed all three of my books with Fantagraphics and it was nice to hear him receive the praise he deserves. And he’s only 27 years old! I look forward to more collaborations with him. As always, time spent with the co-publisher Gary Groth (and his onto-university son, Conrad) is extremely enjoyable. We share a similar sense of humour, and a similar desire to put out the best quality product we can. From Day One of our association, he’s been nothing but accommodating, flexible, extremely easy to work with, and has always maintained a respectful manner when presenting the boundaries that publishers must operate within, and “the whys” behind this.

What also made the signing a joy was being interviewed for 10 minutes by the owner of Meltdown Comics (a super comic store in the Los Angeles area) Chris Roa for their “Meltcast” podcast (to be posted soon!) about my Bill Everett book. Chris is a huge Namor fan and it was great fun doing the first interview for the book. Expect a lot more press for this book in the months to come, and this will be the place to follow along.

Once I was able to break away from the signing, I made one last swoop of the floor, and had a few interesting encounters before preparing for my Bill Everett panel with his daughter Wendy at 5:30pm (I’ll post more tomorrow about the Everett panel, including a link to the audio!).

Click HERE to view the pictures I took on Saturday (new pics start on page two, third row) of the floor including multiples from the booth of original comic-book art dealer, Scott Eder (http://www.scotteder.com/) who also owns a gallery in Brooklyn, New York. His table was a stunning visual display of original art from my favourite artists of the past 10-20 years, including Dan Clowes, Chris Ware, Seth, Gilbert Hernandez, Chester Brown, and many more. Of course, my favourite comic store in the world, The Beguiling in Toronto, and Peter Berkimoe (owner) and Chris Butcher (manager) had great original artwork with them too, including three beautiful pieces from Seth's seminal graphic novel, It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken.

Celebrity sightings on Saturday included standing beside Thomas Jane (Hung, Punisher) at Michael Zulli’s booth; watching Ray Bradbury pass right by me; shaking hands with Jerry Robinson (creator of The Joker); eyeing Dirk Benedict (original Starbuck of Battlestar Galactica and “Face” from the A-Team); brushing right by Zachary Levi (the lead in the TV show “Chuck”), and shaking hands with Sterling Beaumon (the young Ben Linus, a wee bit older now and with no glasses) and Noor Abed Jazeem (Nadia, Sayid’s soulmate) from one of my favourite shows, Lost. Ironically, the Lost panel that she was on was playing next door to my Bill Everett panel a half-hour later. I joked with a friend that they were going to have to take over because I’d leave my panel halfway through to see the Lost panel. Sensibly, I didn’t leave Wendy Everett hanging.

Another nice moment was getting a picture of Bern Nadette Stanis, who played Thelma on the 1970s show "Good Times" (also featuring Jimmy "Dynomite!" Walker). She’s still lookin’ hot and was very sweet, telling me that, indeed, lots of white guys have told her that they ended up with black women because of watching her on the show at a tender age (can’t argue it!).
Night time was spent having dinner with the preeminent Timely-Atlas historian (and Joe Maneely expert) Dr. Michael J. Vassallo and his family, then it was gelato til midnight with Gary Groth, Jaime Hernandez and the FBI crew.

On the way home to Toronto now (waiting in Houston for my connecting flight) but check back tomorrow for audio of my Everett panel and my interview with Chris Rosa of Meltdown, and maybe Prism Comics will have my “Spotlight on Howard Cruse” panel posted on YouTube by then!

Reporting from San Diego Comicon: Day 3 - Wendy Everett and Me

On Friday at the San Diego Comicon, the moment I've waited for, two years in the making, was having Wendy Everett (Bill's daughter) arrive at the Con. The picture to your right is me handing her my book on her Dad, her first time holding and seeing it. Thankfully, she was extremely pleased with how it turned out. We spend a great day together at the Con, visiting the various publishers and original art dealers, looking at her Dad's original art that was on sale and hearing everyone gush about their love for her Dad's talents. I can't imagine being in her shoes, her father passing away 37 years ago, and here is all this attention pouring down on him and on Wendy.

Click HERE to view all the pictures from the day, one of my favourites being of Wendy holding a slabbed copy of her Dad's first cover (Amazing Mystery Funnies #1 from 1938). To make the day even more special, my good friend (and Timely-Atlas expert) Dr. Michael J. Vassallo brought Nancy Maneely to our signing at the Fantagraphics booth. Nancy is the daughter of Joe Maneely, the Jack Kirby of the 1950s at Marvel who passed away suddenly just before the end of that decade. He was Stan's right-hand man in those days, but Nancy was only two when he died. It was great to listen to Wendy tell Nancy that she knew her Dad (Wendy would have been around 13 when Joe passed) because Bill and Joe worked together from about 1955 to 1957 in the Marvel Bullpen.

I also met up with UK superstar television personality Jonathan Ross (the picture has me holding a piece of Bill Everett's work that's in my book). Jonathan is a huge Ditko and Everett enthusiast and it was great to finally shake hands after quite a while of phone and email correspondence. Jonathan is famous in the comic industry for his BBC documentary "In Search Of Steve Ditko".

I did by accident happen to run into my name sake, actress Lake Bell on the 5th Avenue after dinner with Wendy, and Jonathan wasn't the only celeb to buy my Everett and Ditko books. Who knew that Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons loved Ditko and Everett so much?

Take a stroll through the above pictures if you are a lover of comic-book original artwork. I'm off to a 11am signing at the Fantagraphics booth, then an interview at the hotel across the street (press on the Everett book begins now!), and then join Wendy Everett and me in Room 9 at 5:30pm for our panel on her Dad.

Reporting from San Diego Comicon: Day 2 - My Bill Everett book sells out!

What's more exciting than Wednesday at the San Diego Comicon? Thursday at the San Diego Comicon, but of course. Today (Friday) will be even more special because Wendy Everett, the daugther of the late Bill Everett, will be attending the show and doing a signing at the Fantagraphics booth (#1718) with me before our panel together tomorrow (Saturday) at 5:30pm (Room 9). Her father was an enormous talent, having created the Sub-Mariner for the very first issue of Marvel Comics (back in 1939) as well as having co-created Daredevil with Stan Lee for Marvel in 1964. He passed away far too soon at the age of 55 and, now, 37 years later, I get the chance to present Wendy with a copy of the book that we both put so much time and effort into this past year.

It was wild yesterday to see my Everett book sell out before my very eyes. And the attendance only grows over the next 3 days, so who knows what it would have sold if there were copies available, but these ones were flown in from overseas to debut at the show, so we're lucky they're here at all. The publisher is bringing down 10 more today. Should be available no later than noon. I think my "Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko" book also sold out yesterday too.

In the morning, I had finished up my comic purchases and had a great time finally meeting Howard Cruse whose husband I had profiled in my "I Have To Live With This Guy!" book from 2002. I moderated the "Spotlight On Howard Cruse" panel and we needed another 30 minutes at least to cover all the aspects of Howard's long career. Vertigo has just released a 15th anniversary version of Howard's seminal "Stuck Rubber Baby" graphic novel and it appears that history is finally catching up to Howard, the book still representative of the best in graphic storytelling.

Click here to view all my Con pictures, including Thursdays. They include a shot of me and Howard, and a picture of me and Maggie Thompson who I lucked into having lunch with. Maggie's been with the Comic Buyers Guide forever and she too was ahead of her time, ushering in the fanzine movement in the early 1960s with her late husband Don. Maggie gave me more details on two drawings that she has framed at home, originals done just for her and Don by none other than Steve Ditko. One's of Spider-Man (with at least Doc Ock in the picture, amongst other villains) and the other of Dr. Strange, done around the time of Amazing Spider-Man #7. She's never let them see print, but next time I'm in Wisconsin, I know my first stop!

I got to remake acquaintances with some of my favourite people in the business. Batton Lash, fellow Ditko enthusiast and creator of the Supernatural Law comic, and me could be found discussing Everett and Ditko at his booth, and we were joined by Russ Maheras, artist and fanzine/small press pioneer (and fellow Ditko enthusiast). Also at Batt's booth was artist Melissa Uran. Check out her print of Bill Everett's 1939 Sub-Mariner. It's dynamite, as are her prints of Dr. Strange, Dr. Doom and Iron Man. Track her down at Batt's booth and buy all four in a package. The original art for them looks great too. I also had the pleasure of meeting Robert Wiener of Grant Books for the first time. His contributions of Funnies Inc material for my Bill Everett book was absolutely invaluable. So much stuff that has never seen the light of day until this book. Thanks Robert!

At my 5pm signing yesterday, had a chance to meet Gilbert Hernandez (Love & Rockets) again who cursed me out for not including a Man-Bat image in my first Ditko book! Thank God Fantagraphics put out those almost-pocket sized version of Love & Rockets editions because that's what got me hooked on his material, and he's one of the few artists who I'll be anything by these days.

The craziest moment of the signing is represented in the picture above. Actress "Lake Bell" (of "It's Complicated", which also starred Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, plus a run on "Boston Legal" and many other endeavours) stopped by the booth, bought my first Ditko book and we couldn't get over how we were one letter away from having the same name. You can't spell "Blake Bell" without "Lake Bell". And I forgot to mention that she's only one letter different from my son "Luke Bell"!

After the show was over, walked back to the Marriott with Neal Adams and, in the elevator, a man started quizzing me about my next Ditko book, saying how much he liked my first two. I didn't realize who it was until he exited and someone said, "That's Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants." Even SpongeBob loves Ditko!

Heading out to the show now to tour the Convention Centre with Wendy Everett, then it's our signing at 6pm at the Fantagraphics Booth. See you there!

Reporting from San Diego Comicon: Day 1 - My Bill Everett book debuts!

Preview Night at the San Diego Comicon ended only 10 hours ago (I forgot that sleep here when you have a book debuting is not a necessity) and, while not surprising, 3 hours is barely enough to take in but a few square feet of the show and the experience. I didn't even try. I had two goals: plug some Ditko holes for the next couple volumes of The Steve Ditko Archives (not v2 - that's "in the can" already), and circle the Fantagraphics Booth until I was ready to see my Bill Everett book in the flesh for the first time ever.

I was successful - extremely successful - on the Ditko goal (surprised at the quality of the comics this year - as comic dealers fade away or reduce their booth size - I thought I'd have challenges) and I'm posting some pictures here (link below) that reflect how little geographical space I actually covered last night. I arrived in town at 4:30pm, a fairly uneventful flight, and whizzed through the registration process well enough. This year, as I did in 2002, I'm rooming with long-time (super long-time) comic-book retailer and pre-Golden Age comic-book historian Robert Beerbohm at the Marriot attached to the Convention Centre, so that's extremely convenient.

I started at his table, knowing the Fantagraphics booth was lurking out there somewhere (Booth #1718), but then executed my plan of roaming the comic dealers methodically, starting on the north wall, heading west, then back in a row, but I ended up with so many books that I barely made it inwards by one row, stopping at Terry's Comics (who has a Fantastic Fears #5, CGCed at 3.5, for around $500 - this being Steve Ditko's first drawn story; not first published, mind you) before I realized time was getting away from me and I better head over to the Fanta booth.

As you can see in the photos, they had my Everett book stacked high at the corner of the booth, facing the main aisle, racked with my other two (Ditko) books. The cover of the Everett book really "pops" from a fair distance. An interesting feeling, having conceived of this project two years at the '08 San Diego Comicon, and having spent almost every waking minute since mid-December bringing it to fruition, to finally hold the book in my hands last night. Via text from Toronto, my best friend, Len Lumbers (and Ditko/Everett fan himself) and I were reminiscing about being in the Upper Canada College library back in 1983, when we were 12 years old and discovering Everett in the couple of comic-book related history books they had. That launched our fascination with Everett, and here we are in 2010, with both my Ditko and Everett books having seen the light of day.

Given all the activity swirling around the booth, I didn't actually have a great deal of time to leaf through the book, but I really wanted to see how the first two chapters (the pre-Marvel Comics #1 chapters) came out because they had so much unpublished artwork, including a 1937 sketchbook by Bill that's phenomenal and, blown up to full 9x12 pages, it looks stunning. Long-time retailer Bud Plant was very impressed with the book and that's saying something.

What will be truly special is the arrival of Wendy Everett tomorrow and being able to hand her a copy of the book about her Dad. Bill passed away suddenly in his 50s back in 1973 and 37 years later, interest in her father's work has never been higher. We're doing a Friday 6pm signing at the Fantagraphics booth and then a Saturday 5:30pm panel together. It's a unique opportunity so I hope everyone will come out.

I suspect that, after today, I'll be able to offer up more on the actual show itself. When I came for the release of my Ditko book back in 2008, I hadn't been to the show since 2003 and, again not too surprisingly, I lamented the reduction in comic-book dealers, in Golden and Silver Age artists attending (compared to my first show in 2001), but was sad to see that comics (which used to be grouped together) had literally been separated and pushed out to the four corners of the show. When I was walking around on Sunday in one of those corners, I came across a whole bunch of "hidden" dealers that I hadn't found in the previous days of the show, and it'll be interesting to walk the whole show today and tomorrow and get an environmental scan of the show in 2010. I did get a chance to re-make acquaintances with my first publisher, John Morrow, of TwoMorrows, and shook hands again with Eisner Award-nominated blogger, Tom Spurgeon, he of the site The Comics Reporter.

Off today to do a 5pm signing at the booth and a 3:30pm panel that I'm moderating: "Spotlight On Howard Cruse". I've posted Wednesday's photos here on my Bill Everett Facebook page, but have made them public for all to see. I suspect a Flicker account or something like that is in my future. The Flog! Blog on the Fantagraphics site also has pics. More on today tonight!

Blogging at 37,000 feet! Come see me at "Spotlight on Howard Cruse" in San Diego on Thursday!

"'Delta - We love to fly and it shows'...I hate those airlines that are just in it for the money!" (from my YouTube video of David Letterman's last appearance on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, May 15 '92).

So what should I be doing hooked up to Delta Airlines' Inflight Internet Service at 37,000 feet? I should be finishing my research on the "Spotlight on Howard Cruse" panel that I'll be moderating on Thursday at the San Diego Comicon (first got to know Howard through my 2002 book "I Have To Live With This Guy!" when I spotlighted him and husband Eddie) at 3:30pm in Room 8. Not a bad deal here on Delta for their Internet - $9.95 per flight. It's been fun to review Howard's amazing range of work, and how can anyone resist the new edition of his "Stuck Rubber Baby" graphic novel? In 1995, back before graphic novels were cool, Howard released his masterpiece, far exceeding anything he had done before. It's an absolute realization of what can be done with the form. Come see us at his Spotlight and grab a copy of his opus plus all his other books that can be found at www.HowardCruse.com.

Blake Bell in San Diego! Bill Everett book debuts!

My Bill Everett book will be available for sale at 6pm Wednesday when Preview Night opens. Here's a list of where I'll be and when...

Signings (Fantagraphics Booth #1718):
Thursday - 5 to 6pm
Friday - 6 to 7pm, signing with Wendy Everett (Bill's daughter)
Saturday - 11am to 12pm

Bill Everett Panel:
Saturday - 5:30 to 6:30pm (Room 9) "Bill Everett: From Sub-Mariner to Daredevil, with Blake Bell and Wendy Everett" (an hour of Wendy and I talking about her father, the book, and opening the floor to questions)

Misc:
Thursday - 3:30 to 4:30pm (Room 8) "Spotlight on Howard Cruse - Comic-Con special guest Howard Cruse, author of the newly reissued 'Stuck Rubber Baby', the creator of Barefootz and Wendel, and the founding editor of Gay Comix, is interviewed by author Blake Bell, who profiled Howard's husband Ed Sedarbaum for Bell's 2002 book 'I Have to Live with This Guy!' Questions from audience members will be welcome."

Blake Bell News will be the centerpiece for news about all activity around my books, as well as my observations about pop culture in the areas of comics, movies, television, music and sports.