[Greg was busy at this time in 2015, so he posted two quick columns, both with many links. The first went up on 27 May, while the second went up on 31 May. Don McGregor leaves a comment on the second post! The first short link is the first paragraph here, while the longer post is below the asterisks. As always, the links might be a bit dicey, but we’re committed to reposting these, so here you go. Enjoy!]
[Edit: Sadly, this first link doesn’t exist anymore, as the site doesn’t exist anymore. Sorry!]
Chances are, with the end of the school year AND the Olympia Comics Festival class trip both hurtling towards me like a runaway train, the column’s going to be a little late posting this week … so here’s an article I wrote about bookscouting. It’s something I’ve been promising my friend Jim forever; he runs a site about having fun on the cheap called Blue Collar Black Tie and since that’s pretty much how Julie and I have lived for our whole lives, he recruited us as contributors. We finally made it. Check out the rest of the site while you’re there.
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Here’s the thing … much as I’d love to be presenting you with the tale of our Memorial Day bookscouting adventures along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, various Life Events have intervened. So instead, here’s another short piece with some interesting links and things while I try and get caught up on various commitments, including getting the Cartooning and Young Authors class anthologies ready to roll out at the Olympia Comics Festival six days from now … and getting the damn car fixed so we can transport them there.
I hope you’ll come and see us at the Olympia show if you can. The Young Authors, in particular, have really outdone themselves this year. We’ll have copies of both the first and second semester anthologies available for a mere $5 and I think you’ll find it’s money well spent.
And of course the rest of the festival is a treat as well. We’re very excited to get to see Eric Shanower in particular, as well as check in with our small-press friends from around the Northwest.
Here’s the full exhibitor list. [Edit: Obviously, that link is no longer valid.]
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This year’s Bill Finger Awards have been announced. From the official press release:
Don McGregor and John Stanley have been selected to receive the 2015 Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. The selection, made by a blue-ribbon committee chaired by writer-historian Mark Evanier, was unanimous.
“I asked on my blog for suggestions of worthy recipients,” Evanier explains. “I received dozens of worthy names, but the frequency and passion with which these two gentlemen were suggested led us to an easy decision.”
The Bill Finger Award was created in 2005 at the instigation of comic book legend Jerry Robinson. “The premise of this award is to recognize writers for a body of work that has not received its rightful reward and/or recognition,” Evanier explains. “That was what Jerry Robinson intended as his way of remembering his friend, Bill Finger. Bill is still kind of the industry poster boy for writers not receiving proper reward or recognition.” Evanier will present the awards on July 10 during the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony at Comic-Con International 2015.
I am especially glad to see Don McGregor getting his due, since as it happens I have been looking at some of his work from way back and finding a new appreciation for it. It’s nice to see that appreciation is shared.
Detectives, Inc. in particular has grown on me over the years. Apparently McGregor is working on a third installment, which makes me very happy. This cover art is by David Cuccia.
When I asked Mr. McGregor if it was okay to share these images he said, “Please do, Greg. I may check into seeing if there is a possibility of bringing some copies of these script pages to San Diego, if it can be done in time, and if people are interested. And it may help getting people to know it exists! Thanks, Don.”
So hear this, publishers! The book exists and I sure hope it gets picked up.
Meanwhile, for those who came in late, a couple of years ago IDW put out both of the previous Detectives Inc. stories in a nice little omnibus that can be had for relatively cheap.
It occurs to me that while awards are very nice and all, it’d be nicer to to be able to support actual NEW WORK from under-appreciated writers. I’d love to see more Detectives Inc. and if you know the books, you probably would too.
Now if only someone would re-issue the two Nathaniel Dusk mini-series …
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Not comics-related but probably of interest to some of you — the latest Star Trek Continues episode rolled out a couple of days ago at Phoenix Comicon, and is now up at YouTube.
It’s called “The White Iris” and we liked it a lot. I still think “Fairest of Them All” is the best so far, but this was a very close second.
I should also add that the ending of “White Iris” reduced my wife Julie to a complete puddle. Fortunately, the episode’s gag reel cheered her right up. [Edit: Greg’s link is dead, so I hope this is the video he was linking to!]
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And finally, I thought I’d insert one of those crass commercial reminders that there are books out there with stories of mine in them. Here’s the Amazon link for either hard copies or Kindle.
If you should happen by our table this coming Saturday in Olympia, I’ll have a couple for sale at a considerable discount, and will even deface them with a signature and a doodle if you like.
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So I hope all that will keep you amused for a while. See you next week — either at Olympia, or failing that, right here in this space.
Doctor Who on a Start Trek fan video instead of a Doctor Who fan production. It’s a weird universe!
I stand by my previous comments. I always enjoyed Greg’s bookscouting columns, as an ex-bookseller (of 20 years) and lifelong haunter of new and used bookstores. Also, his columns about the young author and cartoonist classes and their annual publications. Both my parents were teachers and I considered doing that work, when I left the military; but the bureaucracy and low pay and just a general malaise to sitting in classrooms to earn the credentials to teach just put an end to it. Greg’s enthusiasm and pride in his students always came through and the work he shared was always amazing. Greg always seemed like the teacher you wanted, in school, and never forgot, when it was done. Those are pretty rare and getting even rarer, under the current political mess.
I also stand by my comment that Don McGregor is still sadly under-appreciated. I get tired of reading comments that he was too wordy or self-indulgent. His writing, no matter what, was always worth reading in his comics and I have heard his name spoken with respect by best-selling prose authors, like Tamora Pierce. McGregor was writing mature works long before his contemporaries and his writing had style to it, far beyond the usual cliched dialogue and punch-ups. McGregor expressed ideas, developed characters and created lived-in worlds. Just look at Killraven or “Panther’s Rage”, in Jungle Action, and tell me he wasn’t head and shoulders above the bulk of his contemporaries. He was at home in the world of real characters, not just adolescent power fantasy characters.
I also second that I still miss Eclipse Comics. And First, and Comico….Renegade……Pacific….Apple……Caliber….Innovation….parts of Malibu and Now…………….just add you favorite mid80s to early 90s independent.
I’m saving the more personal columns for last, so his bookscouting stuff and class stuff will come all in a row. Those should be fun!
Loved McGregor’s Panther work. Didn’t like his hardboiled stuff so much but perhaps I should go back and reread what little I have.
I miss the old indies too.
Just for the record, this – or rather the second installment – was definitely one of those ‘Hatcher Effect’ columns, as I purchased that very Detectives, Inc. omnibus not long afterward (can’t remember from where, but I do recall that it was very inexpensive). And then I only got around to reading it last summer. I quite liked it, though.
Otherwise, we’re still waiting for a Nathaniel Dusk reprint collection…
p.s. love the plugs for ST Continues. I really need to rewatch those…
Yeah, I would certainly dig a Nathaniel Dusk collection!