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SDCC ’23: GEORGE CLAYTON JOHNSON and George’s Run: A Writer’s Journey Through The Twilight Zone

George Clayton Johnson: Master Storyteller SDCC panel, 23 July 2023.

In 2012, I had the honor of being in the audience for a memorial tribute to one of Comic-Con’s founders, Richard Alf. And when I heard the introduction for one of the speakers, it immediately got my attention. The next person up to the lectern was this older elfin man with long gray hair and a full length beard. He had on a vest and Panama hat and, when he spoke, he seemed more wizard than elf. He had just been introduced with the longest list of credits I’d ever heard at Comic-Con. George Clayton Johnson had written for many of the leading television shows of the 1950s into the 1970s, including the biggest of pop culture icons, The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. George began his career by co-writing the story that was the basis of the Rat Pack classic, Ocean’s Eleven. And here he was, essentially the last man standing of a certain group of writers who would launch into the world the modern horror and dark fantasy genres we take for granted today. Fast forward a few more years, and here I am at Comic-Con leading a panel discussion of my graphic novel, George’s Run and honoring the man I was so fortunate to get to know and build a book around.

The gang’s all here: David Weiner, Wendy All, Mark Habegger, Henry Chamberlain, Phil Yeh, Martin Olson, and Marc Zicree.

The panelists all came through with flying colors. It felt like the gang was all here. That’s because they were, coming from various locales, all assembled to speak about George and basically help me launch my book.

This is the book for any fan of comics, pop culture, and great stories!

Heck, it’s a little awkward, I suppose, being my own marketing person but I sincerely believe there is nothing quite like this book outside of, say, Tim Scioli’s own unique graphic novel tribute to another legend, Jack Kirby: King of Comics. I’m very pleased with the journey I’m on as I go about promoting the book. It is a labor of love I would have created one way or another, which I did. It was first self-published and then it got published by Rutgers University Press. It’s a process that requires grit and dedication. That’s exactly the fighting spirit that kept George going.

Me and Marc Zicree, the man who gave us The Twilight Zone Companion.

Persistence, my friends, pays off. So, when your time comes, and you’ve put in the work, you’ll be ready. For anyone out there who enjoys a good story, would like to learn from George Clayton Johnson, a true master storyteller, then read on. This is Comic-Con history! This is storytelling history! Here is the transcript to the panel as well as the video at the end.

This panel took place at San Diego Comic-Con, in Room 29CD, 12:30-1:30 pm, on Sunday, 23 July 2023. It was a pleasure to organize and I look forward to the chance to organize more panels in the future. George’s Run: A Writer’s Journey Through The Twilight Zone is published by Rutgers University Press. I am very grateful to Rutgers and to Comic-Con for supporting my vision and helping me spread the word about my book. The panel begins with an introduction where I present some context and images from the book. I then pass it on to our moderator, David Weiner.

Henry Chamberlain: This is a story about ideas and about storytelling. George and I went on an adventure together where he shared with me his secrets to great writing and the meaning of life. I got to know George pretty well and finally worked up the courage to ask for his blessing on a graphic novel about him and the unique group of writers he worked with. George approved and wished me well, encouraged my creative license. Who was George? Well, many of you pop culture fans will instantly recognize some of his best known work, like the iconic episode, “Kick the Can,” from the original Twilight Zone. George was blessed to work with some of the greatest writers of the era who essentially invented the modern horror and dark fantasy genres we take for granted today. Richard Matheson single-handedly invented the zombie genre with his novel, I Am Legend. Robert Bloch set the tone for many a personal horror novel with Psycho. George was drawn to this dark fantasy world and gave it his own more whimsical twist. In public, he always talked about his love for Ray Bradbury–which is true. I private, he also talked about something with a darker tinge. At the end of the day, George held Theodore Sturgeon in the highest esteem. I will stop there and hand over the ceremonies to our moderator, David Weiner.

At the end of the day, George held Theodore Sturgeon in the highest esteem.

“A Penny For Your Thoughts,” one of George’s landmark works, is explored in GEORGE’S RUN.

David Weiner: That was Henry Chamberlain, the author and artist of George’s Run, this delightful book we’re going to discuss along with speaking about George. I’m David Weiner, former executive editor of Famous Monsters and director of the In Search of Darkness documentaries. Let’s go down the row here and have everyone introduce themselves and how you are connected to George Clayton Johnson.

Wendy All: Hi, I’m Wendy All. I’m an artist. I first met George around 1975. It was for a meeting, at the home of magician Patrick Culliton, to discuss the direction that Comic-Con was heading in. This was still in the very early days of Comic-Con. I didn’t know George. I saw a man with long hair wearing a bright orange vest. George was sitting playing the second movement of Rachmaninoff’s piano concerto on his harmonica. That fascinated me.

Later, at the El Cortez, a bunch of us were going to lunch, and I remember that George stopped to pick up a penny he spotted on the sidewalk. He was jingling it in his pocket. This is something he would do, all the way to the very end. I recall meeting him one last time, before his death, and he was still jingling those pennies in his pocket. It was his way of recalling that very famous episode he wrote for The Twilight Zone, “A Penny For Your Thoughts.”

Marc Zicree: Hi, I’m Marc Zicree, the author of The Twilight Zone Companion, among other things. I met George when I was 16-years-0ld, around 1971-72 at a convention. This was before he had a beard, but he already had long hair. There was a wall-sized poster for the novel for Logan’s Run with his name in big letters. I had written my first book, while in college, Three Interviews on Media and Society, which featured Ron Cobb, Ted Sturgeon, and George Clayton Johnson. George was the impetus for The Twilight Zone Companion. I think back to how we have a changing of the guard. But it seems to me that the older generation is more interesting. I think of Ray Bradbury, and George, and we won’t see their like again.

Original page from George’s Run.

Martin Olson: Hi, I’m Martin Olson. I’m a comedy writer and author. I met Henry going back to an interview he did with me. Later on, we met in person and he had just come from talking with George. When Henry told me that, I nearly fell over. George was an idol of mine. Going back to as a child, I’ve always diligently looked at the credits after a show. George Clayton Johnson had written some of my favorites ever. I was so intrigued by him and read up on him. After Henry told me about George, we never got around to talking about my shows as I was so thrilled to just chat about George, as we’re doing today.

Phil Yeh: Hi, I’m Phil Yeh. I created a magazine, with Mark Eliot, called Uncle Jam, and we have the issue available today which features an interview with did George for anyone who is interested. I was at the first Comic-Con and somewhere along the way, maybe at the El Cortez hotel, I became friends with George. He would speak to anyone. And, when you’re young, it’s nice to have someone older who will listen to you. George told me about a convention he wanted to do featuring him, called Clayton-Con, and I did the graphics for it. Over the years, George would come to our booth. And I always loved his enthusiasm.

Mark Habegger: Hi, I’m Mark Habegger, a writer and filmmaker. I probably have the shortest association with George. I became involved with Comics Fest, beginning with the first one in 2012, which was Mike Towry’s brainchild, a way to bring back the original Comic-Con vibe. George was part of that. Wendy did a recreation of George’s Cafe Frankenstein. The following year, I interviewed George for about an hour in order to help archive memories of the history of Comic-Con. It was just me and George in a white room. Once we started, he completely lit up. He was a storyteller who needed an audience. It didn’t matter if it was an audience of one or a thousand, he was going to tell his stories. You can find my interview at Comic-Con Kids.

David Weiner: Henry, you wrote George’s Run because George had a profound impact upon you. Please speak to the origins of your project and why it is so personal for you.

Henry Chamberlain: I’m a cartoonist and I’m always looking for a project to sink my teeth into, preferably a full-length graphic novel. I used to do comic strips, going back to working on my college paper, but I always wanted to take things further. I had done some graphic novel work in the past. When I went to a memorial tribute to one of Comic-Con’s founders, Richard Alf, in 2012, I was so impressed with the introduction given to this one speaker, George Clayton Johnson. He’d written for all the leading television shows of the era: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Honey West, and then the biggest ones, The Twilight Zone, and Star Trek. He began by writing the story that was the basis for the Rat Pack classic, Ocean’s Eleven; and he capped his career as the co-author of the cult classic novel, Logan’s Run. I instantly imagined this being a graphic novel if handled in just the right way, paying attention to various connections.

I approached George that night and we instantly got to talking. We ended up doing some podcast interviews, chatted on the phone, and got to spend some time at his home. I imagine you could say that I had around 20 interactions with him, some long, some short. Spending time with George in his own home was very much a Forry Ackerman (founder of Famous Monsters) thing to do, inviting people into your home.

I think about George all the time, during the week, perhaps not every day, but he’s a guiding light. I want to honor him. I feel his presence here.

David Weiner: How is a graphic novel the ultimate platform for all the stories you’re telling here?

Henry Chamberlain: I hope that folks will pick up on what I’m doing. It’s like the world you create in a prose novel or a painting. I got into a zone and dug deep and, I believe the reader will sense the dedication. Even my harshest critic can’t say that my work seems to have been rushed. I put a lot of work into it, connecting the dots. The whole experience is at a reader’s pace, the sort of cerebral vibe you can get in a daydream. Which seems fitting considering that George loved calling himself a “professional daydreamer.”

David Weiner: The initial motivation for George’s work as a writer, and he struggled a bit, was to talk a big name. George was with a group of writers who ultimately dubbed themselves, “The Group,” who were spectacular names, on the page and screen. Henry, and we can open this up to the rest of the panel, talk a bit about The Group and their influence on writer’s today.

Henry Chamberlain: George held his own with the other writers because he was a voracious reader. It may be lost to history but I don’t believe that George ever wrote for the pulps while all the other writers in The Group had cut their teeth on pulp fiction. George had to prove himself and he relished that. He’d talk about how everyone in The Group would regularly lay it all out, size each other up, and spill their guts out to each other. I’m not sure about every detail but I do know that, from the start, George was fortunate to become friends with Charles Beaumont since Beaumont was the key to gain entry into the rest of The Group, as well as the smaller core group.

The Core of The Group!

Wendy All: I can share about George and The Group. George hitchhiked across the country and he knew he wanted to end up in L.A. and he knew he wanted to end up with Ray Bradbury. So, he got into that group of writers, centered around Ray Bradbury, which included Charles Beaumont, who happened to live upstairs from the apartment my husband was renting in North Hollywood. Playboy magazine was paying $200 per story and, in those days, that was a lot of money. Bradbury had figured out a formula to sell stories. So, yeah, the writers would gather and critique each others’ work.

Marc Zicree: I just want to jump in and say that science fiction is unique, in a certain way. The fans who go on to become professionals don’t shut the door on the fans attempting to move up. If you want to meet someone in the science fiction and fantasy genres, whether an actor or a writer, they are there for the fans.

Ray Bradbury grew up as a fan of Ray Harryhausen and Forry Ackerman. Later, Bradbury became a mentor to Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, and George Clayton Johnson, core writers, under Rod Serling, on The Twilight Zone. So, to have George in that circle, he was in the perfect fertile field for a writing career.

What I learned from George is that you can write one story on one show that is so well-written that it can have an impact on someone’s life that can last forever.

David Weiner: There’s that elusive ingredient you talk about in your book, Henry, that this group of writers strove for, that “touch of strange.” Can you tell us about it?

Henry Chamberlain: Rod Serling, under contract, wrote the majority of the episodes of The Twilight Zone, 80 percent for the first season alone; and  around 70 percent of the episodes for the whole run of the series, which made sense considering his caliber of writing. And then there was that 30 percent to which Serling granted access to this select group of writers. Here’s the rub, it wasn’t easy to describe what exactly these writers were pursuing. It wasn’t just science fiction, or horror, or social commentary. When asked, George would describe it as writing with “a touch of strange.”

Now, I like to read and I discovered the origin of this term. This is, if I do say so myself, my original discovery. The term goes back to 1898 and the short story, The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James. You’ll find it there and it basically refers to something not quite right, unnerving and unsettling. And then I come to find that Theodore Sturgeon made note of this term and named one of his own short stories after it. So, this is a very literary thing going on and it takes time to process such things. It seems as if we’ve lost the art of doing this. Of course, we haven’t exactly. It goes on–and it must. We need to celebrate this kind of thinking, and writing, every time we come across it.

David Weiner: We’re going through something that is very profound, the advent of A.I. and how that could affect writers. The nightmare scenario is that clients, who might prefer to not pay writers, could turn to A.I. Let’s talk about the writing process and the human touch. What was it about The Group, working as a group of writers versus writing alone?

Mark Habegger: I think that George was the kind of writer who saw something magical in the audience interaction with the storyteller. He saw himself as a shaman-storyteller. I think that The Group that we’re talking about, and other writing groups, like the writers he went down to Mexico with, even Cafe Frankenstein, were all opportunities to “gather around a campfire” and have an immediate interaction. I think he was a futurist-humanist. He wanted to take his forward-thinking sci-fi ideas and see how we would be affected by them, see how people would rise above it. It’s all a very human story. And I think he would have seen A.I. as a threat to all that. Not that he wouldn’t have embraced new ideas but he would have found very human ways to respond to them. None of us want to see the end of human creativity. It’s those human imperfections that inform the best art.

Wendy All: I have an example of how George would have agreed with the human factor. I asked him once how he came up with the idea for Ocean’s Eleven. He said that they (George and Jack Golden Russell) were sitting watching a grocery store being closed up. And it occurred to them how easy it would be to rob the grocery store safe. And then, George thought, may as well go where the big money is . . . go to Las Vegas. The details that George came up with were enough for the Nevada Gaming Commission to change some of its procedures. So, if you fed an A.I. computer footage of a grocery store, I don’t think it would come up with a heist movie.

Marc Zicree: Getting back to the idea of a circle of writers. I think of the energy that comes from being around other writers, great writers. I would seek out such writers, like J Michael Straczynski, James Michael Reaves, and many others–and I would then pace myself to them. It made me have to strive to do my best and really get proficient. That’s the same thing that happened with George. He came from a very impoverished background, his mother was an alcoholic. He had a very hard scrabble childhood. And he was now with all these big writers for television. A TV show on one of the Big Three networks, per episode on average, would have from 30 to 40 million viewers. Not like today at all. Charles Beaumont was at the core of all that with all of his astonishing energy. Ray Bradbury was on high as the patron saint.

When Beaumont died, at only 38, that whole circle of writers went spinning off into space. George and Bill Nolan were very good friends and went on to write together the novel, Logan’s Run. But when they go together to write a sequel, what had happened in the interim was . . . well, George was a chain smoker, of tobacco; but when the Surgeon General’s report came out, George made the switch from tobacco to weed. So, that brought on a change. George grew his hair long and became a hippie and all that. When they tried getting back to work, George had a fistful of joints that he placed in an ash tray. Bill Nolan took one look, and being so strait-laced, he shook his head and said he couldn’t work with George. That was the breakup of their collaboration with both agreeing to write their own sequels as they shared the property.

This is a case of who you are as a writer, the identity of being George Clayton Johnson, or Ray Bradbury, versus the reality of sitting down and doing the hard work of writing, having that discipline, that clarity of mind. Sometimes, when you lose that circle of colleagues, you lose something. George was extremely good at being George Clayton Johnson but, in terms of the ongoing discipline of writing, well, years ago, I read the outline to his sequel for Logan’s Run but, as far as I know, that never reached fruition. So, I think, there’s always that challenge.

David Weiner: Let’s go down the line and have panelists share with us their favorite moment or story by George Clayton Johnson, one of the great writers of that era.

Martin Olson: Well, everything that Marc, and Henry, have said about The Twilight Zone, and what I’ve come across myself is so interesting and then you add this: George wrote the very first episode of Star Trek! Are you kidding me? Then, when Steven Spielberg, of all people, decided to do a movie of The Twilight Zone, he arranged for different directors to do various classic episodes and, for his episode, Spielberg chose none other than George Clayton Johnson’s “Kick the Can.” That story was about a group of old people who, through fearing death, they discovered the secret to eternal youth. “Immortality is accessible to all of us,” that was what he was saying. “It exists forever in our memories, in our hearts, and in our minds.” That’s the strength of George’s writing.

Marc Zicree: I want to say something about “Kick the Can” in connection to The Twilight Zone movie. I was a consultant on the film. I believe it was Kathleen Kennedy I was talking with and I asked about what episode Spielberg was going to do and she said he was leaning towards doing “The Trade-ins,” about old people trading in their bodies for new ones. He wanted to do something with old people. So, I asked if he’d seen “Kick the Can.” She said she thought he had. And then I asked if he’d seen in recently. When I got a no, I immediately went to get my own copy of the episode to show it to him. It was a VHS that I taped off my TV. And he then chose to direct “Kick the Can.” What’s cool is that the payment George got for using the episode allowed him to make the last payment on his home.

A celebration of individualism!

Mark Habegger: My personal connection with George was through Comic Fest. My favorite part of my interview with George was at the very end. He was telling his stories and his son, Paul, was in the room. There’s a point when Paul ends up sitting in George’s chair, a sort of passing of the baton. Paul was chomping at the bit to get the details right on something. George gives Paul the mic and Paul goes on to talk about the artist group that George traveled with to Mexico. It was a very fortuitous way to end the interview. I think this idea of gathering around like a tribe, being around the kids at Comic-Con, was something that George loved.

George Clayton Johnson

Phil Yeh: When George would come by our booth at Comic-Con, most of time people had no idea who George was. But he would talk, and all these ideas would come out of him. He was very animated. One time, I recall, one of my son’s friends was listening to George, then he went over to buy a book by George, this was like an hour later, and when he came back, George was still talking, still very lively. George was, more than anything, great about encouraging younger generations about the world of ideas.

Henry Chamberlain: I wanted to point out a few things before we wrap up. There’s a collection of the work by George Clayton Johnson, All of Us Are Dying, and it’s the size of an old classic thick phone book so he did do quite a lot of things beyond the well-known work. He was always looking for original ideas. He liked to say that, as human beings, we’re free agents, we could rob a bank if we chose to. He was constantly thinking up plots and scenarios. He was an idea machine. He wrote a story that was the basis for Charlie’s Angels. There’s a musical he wrote about Emile Zola. There’s a satirical play he wrote about Christopher Columbus.

Henry’s book, George’s Run, is a must-read for fans of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, and Star Trek. George was in the thick of all of that. George was such an unusual character. This book is about storytelling and humanism. So, for those of you who appreciate these things, get this book, George’s Run, because it goes to the core of what happened within The Group, this celebrated writing group. It’s just a beautiful surreal brilliant graphic novel.

— Martin Olson

Marc Zicree: Well, George talked to me about his famous episode, “A Penny For Your Thoughts,” starring Dick York, about a bank teller who flips a coin and it lands on its edge. As long as that coin stays on its edge, the character has telepathic powers. He comes to listen in on the thoughts of people and finds they don’t always do what they think or vice versa. So, George actually wanted to turn that episode into a full-fledged series. Each week would follow a new person on a coin adventure. Finally, there’s one episode that features a high stakes poker game and the main character with telepatyhic powers thinks he’s going to win big. Except, in turns out, the greatest poker player in the world is Chinese, thinks in Chinese, and our hero can’t understand a word!

George was great about paying it forward. As Bradbury did. Beaumont did.  And as Matheson did. As I do. The Twilight Zone Companion was my first book out of college. It was what led to my writing for television. I was 21 when I first got the idea to write the book and George encouraged me to pursue it. He introduced me to everyone he could involved with the show. Finally, I approached Rod’s widow, Carol Serling, who had turned down many professional journalists. This was only two years after Rod’s death. The book went on to great success. Years later, we were at a American Cinematheque tribute for The Twilight Zone, and I asked George why he was willing to take a chance on me, some 22-year-old kid. And he said that I seemed very intelligent and that I looked like I could pull it. If it hadn’t been for George, I wouldn’t have had a career.

George Clayton Johnson’s Cafe Frankenstein

Wendy All: I was so grateful to get a chance to honor George in 2012 at Comic Fest with my recreating George’s Cafe Frankenstein. Among George’s work, I loved “All of Us Are Dying” or “The Four of Us Are Dying.” I loved the idea of transformation. All the character had to do was concentrate and he’d change into someone else. It was interesting to read it and then seeing it on the screen.

Marc Zicree: The idea that someone could change their face, to be a shapeshifter, you see that go from “The Four of Us Are Dying” in The Twilight Zone to George’s “The Man Trap” in Star Trek. Interesting to see the shapeshifter motif cross over like that.

Martin Olson: In fact, the Star Trek story, “The Man,” was the first transgender alien story. And the whole idea of that salt vampire is a great example of George’s wild imagination.

George keeps on running!

Martin Olson: Marc, I want to say something to you. I didn’t know about the origin of your book, The Twilight Zone Companion, with George standing up for you. As a comedy writer, going back to 1980, I can tell you that every writer in a writer’s room had your book. We would read your book because it was a catalyst for great stories.

Marc Zicree: My big interest in writing The Twilight Zone Companion was the writers: how they did what they did. At the time, Bantam, my publisher wanted me to take out all the information on the writers. I told them that they could do whatever they wanted with the photographs, and I had all of them, but they’d have to leave the content on the writers alone.

Henry Chamberlain: Speaking about paying it forward, I want to thank Rutgers University Press for believing in me and my vision and publishing George’s Run. I am forever grateful to them.

Martin Olson: Henry, I want to say something about your book. I imagine that the first comic strip cartoonists were influenced by maybe three or four things, like motion pictures. Then you think about, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, and Star Trek make up the major influences on cartoonists of more recent generations. You know, without George Clayton Johnson, and people like him, there would be no Comic-Con.

Henry’s book, George’s Run, is a must-read for fans of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, and Star Trek. George was in the thick of all of that. George was such an unusual character. This book is about storytelling and humanism. So, for those of you who appreciate these things, get this book, George’s Run, because it goes to the core of what happened within The Group, this celebrated writing group. It’s just a beautiful surreal brilliant graphic novel.

Ray Bradbury lit the fuse and a smaller core group, led by Charles Beaumont, took hold.

David Weiner: As we close out, Henry, give us some final thoughts on what George Clayton Johnson’s impact on pop culture is today. George was part of the foundation of so much of the pop culture that we love today.

Henry Chamberlain: I was asked on a radio show what I thought were the hot new science fiction writers today and I sort of drew a blank for a moment since it was such a big question. I keep coming back to the concept of “a touch of strange” and some writers have picked up on that. I think of Charles Yu, as just one example. It’s not hard science fiction we’re talking about. It’s more literary. That’s a big influence. And then there’s the love of storytelling in general. And love for the written word. The Twilight Zone was syndicated beyond belief. The local affiliate in L.A. broadcast it twice a day, at noon and at midnight. So, yeah, it ran, and still runs, very deep for people on many levels.

David Weiner: Thank you, Henry.

Henry Chamberlain: Thank you, David.

The Core of The Group!

 

 

And here is the video . . .

George’s Run: A Writer’s Journey Through The Twilight Zone is published by Rutgers University Press.

Long Live Comic-Con!

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Filed under Comic-Con, Comic-Con International: San Diego, Comics, George Clayton Johnson, The Twilight Zone

SDCC ’23: Comic-Con is Alive and Well

San Diego Comic-Con is alive and well as this year’s gathering of hundreds of thousands of fans can attest. It did not fall short because of the writer/actor strikes. I’ve enjoyed Comic-Con over years as much for the core reasons as for the Hollywood component. Ideally, everyone, from the casual observers to the various insiders and power brokers, gain something from the experience. You can pontificate over the decline of civilization all you want but, at the end of the day, the people, actual flesh-and-blood real people, not abstractions, have spoken and voted with their time and pocketbook.

Some folks are at the con just to buy that prized rarity they’ve been eyeing for years at previous cons. Some folks are more like innocent bystanders who have simply come along for the ride. Not everyone is a regular reader or a fan of anything in particular. But, then again, there are more people and stories packed within the convention floor than any intrepid reporter will ever know. Most, it seems, can’t see the forest for the trees. The best one can hope for is that San Diego Comic-Con continues to do the good work it is doing–and that you can count on. You may not be aware of this but San Diego Comic-Con is a nonprofit with a long history of its own with impeccable standards and codes of ethics. The notion that “Hollywood” can make or break it is, well, a bit of a distraction.

Arsenic Lullaby at San Diego Comic-Con 2023.

Lego Brickbuster Video display.

Marvel Comics at SDCC 2023.

Viz Manga at SDCC 2023.

Really, at the end of it all, the fact remains that some folks are at the con to buy something they’ve been coveting; while other folks, maybe the vast majority, simply thought it would be fun to go, whether they got to see a celebrity or not. If you stop and think about it, there’s so much more going on. I let the whole thing wash over me, the free-spirited interactions, the genuine acts of goodwill, the whole Gaslamp Quarter party. There’s something primal and transcendent happening. It’s not just about comics, and that’s totally fine. People are in costume for more reasons than you’ll ever know. It’s a carnival, and I love it.

George Clayton Johnson: Master Storyteller SDCC panel, 23 July 2023.

Well, of course, so much more can be said on the specific subject of San Diego Comic-Con, along with other topics closely linked to it. A pretty tall pile of books have been written on it, whole careers have been cultivated in the name of “comics journalism” and the like. From my experience, you have to choose your own battles, decide what’s worth concentrating on, what’s worth fight for. Specifically, for me, it came down to carving my way out of doing just one thing, which I’ve always done anyway. I’ve always respected me! I made the time for my own art, my own comics. And that ultimately led to my graphic novel, George’s Run, published by Rutgers University Press. And my having a panel at SDCC. Yes, panels are alive and well. For journalists, as well as anyone, panels are part of the core of Comic-Con and a place to learn about what makes it tick. I’m sorry if you missed my panel because it was great. I’ll feature it in an upcoming post. I will be forever grateful to those who pay it forward, who share the vision and goodwill, like Rutgers and Comic-Con.

Jennifer Daydreamer in the heart of retail happiness at SDCC.

You can’t control people, even if some marketing firms would beg to differ. What you can do is try to inspire people: entertain them; guide them and educate them. But, first, you need to get their attention. And here’s the thing, the real kick-in-the-pants epiphany: you really can’t pontificate and ultimately it does come down to the grass-roots approach: speaking to people one-on-one, in-person, the real deal. And that is what you’ll see on the ground floor, the convention floor. That is what is ultimately real and that’s never going to go away.

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Filed under Comic-Con, Comics

SDCC 2023: Karl Stevens interview on MOTHER NATURE

Jamie Lee Curtis, Academy Award winner and all-time “scream queen” befriended New Yorker cartoonist Karl Stevens. This led to a wonderful collaboration with Stevens creating a graphic novel adaptation of MOTHER NATURE, the eco-horror screenplay by Curtis and Russell Goldman. Fast forward to the present and now a new graphic novel is born. MOTHER NATURE is available as of August 8, 2023. In this interview, Henry Chamberlain chats with Karl Stevens, as Stevens embarks on a trip to San Diego Comic-Con in support of his book. If you are at San Diego Comic-Con, be sure to catch up with Karl as he will be busy on Friday as part of a Mother Nature press conference, a panel and a signing.

Mother Earth by Jamie Lee Curtis, Russell Goldman. Art by Karl Stevens.

For those of you going to San Diego Comic-Con, Jamie Lee Curtis will be attending Comic-Con for a special panel dedicated to the new graphic novel this Friday:

PANEL: JAMIE LEE CURTIS’S MOTHER NATURE: A CANDID DISCUSSION OF HER ALL-NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL/MOVIE
Friday, July 21; 1PM – 2PM; Room 6A
Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis makes a special appearance at Comic-Con to launch her new graphic novel, Mother Nature, which debuts exclusively at SDCC. This exciting eco-horror graphic novel is adapted from her script for the Comet Pictures/Blumhouse film. Co-writer Russell Goldman and artist Karl Stevens will be on stage with Jamie and Forbidden Planet TV’s Andrew Sumner to go behind the scenes of this unique project, ahead of the Mother Nature major motion picture (coming soon).

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SDCC 2023: A Refocus for Comic-Con Amid Writer/Actor Strikes

So, what happens when Comic-Con is not Comic-Con, at least not what many people might expect? The famous Hollywood celeb-fest at Hall H is not happening this year due to participants pulling out of all the big ticket panels amid the writer and actor strikes. It’s not a pretty picture and some cry foul but the show must go on and, in many ways, there is a light at the end of this tunnel in terms of a refocus to the roots of Comic-Con: comic books! With the spotlight off of Hollywood blockbusters and related projects, Comic-Con will, in fact, be returning in a big way to how it all began, as a gathering place for comic book enthusiasts. And that’s got to be a good thing.

It’s all about writers working with, and supporting, writers.

My panel at this year’s Comic-Con, along with the smaller scale, down-to-earth panels, is still on. And it happens to be all about writers and the creative process. George Clayton Johnson: Master Storyteller is about my new book, George’s Run. It features George Clayton Johnson and his meteoric rise as a writer. And it is through his journey that you learn about the group of writers responsible for what we take for granted today as dark fantasy, as well as a more nuanced and personal science fiction and horror. The point is that the creative process is at the core of what we’re talking about. I invite you to go to my panel which celebrates the very essence of Comic-Con. In fact, George was a great supporter of Comic-Con right from the start. He loved the sense of community of people joined together by the magic of comic books.

Here is a report from CBS 8 San Diego (archived on YouTube):

As Hollywood continues to grapple with the impact of the writer’s strike and the all-but-certain actor’s strike, the standoff is creating new problems for San Diego Comic-Con. Several of Hollywood’s biggest companies have now decided to skip panels in Hall H, which is typically the biggest attraction and the longest wait time of the convention. In years past, Hall H panelists would discuss current and upcoming projects as well as promote future ones. This year is a little different. Disney, Marvel, Lucas Films, HBO, Sony, Netflix, DC Studios, and Universal have announced they will be pulling out from Hall H presentations, the Hollywood Reporter said on July 8. In a statement to CBS 8, a spokesperson for Comic-Con says in part, “With regard to the strike and its possible effects on Comic-Con, we tend to refrain from speculation or forecasting. Our hope is for a speedy resolution.” While the status of some things at Comic-Con are still up in the air, there is still plenty to be excited about at the Comic-Con and the Comic-Con museum.

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2021 Eisner Awards: The Nominees and the Winners

SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN (DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults, paper, $16.99)

The big news for the 2021 Eisner Awards at Comic-Con in San Diego is that cartoonist Gene Luen Yang was the big winner of the evening, taking home three Eisner Awards, including two for Superman Smashes the Klan (Best Publication for Kids, and Best Adaptation from Another Medium) and one for Dragon Hoops (Best Publication for Teens). That’s the big takeaway and quite a worthy one at that. Also, just as important is the news of Junji Ito‘s Remina (translated by Jocelyne Allen) manga winning this year’s Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia award. Junji Ito also won the Best Writer/Artist award for his Remina and Venus In The Blind Spot manga.

Panel excerpt from DRAGON HOOPS

While we inevitably focus on the winners–let’s also pay attention to the nominees. And then there are all the others who did not make it that far. I’ll tell you right now that these award lists are not the final word, but a great guide nonetheless. In a perfect world, for instance, Welcome to the New World, a graphic novel by Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan, would have been nominated for the 2020 book published by Henry Holt. It was nominated for an Eisner as a webcomic in 2018, so that’s a good thing. Among this year’s winners, I do think the Eisners got it spot on for Best Reality-Based book going to Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, by Derf Backderf. And it was great to give a shoutout to Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams byway of an award for Best Penciller/Inker to Michael Allred.

Anyway, I think it helps to make you dig around a little to see who won…you’ll see what I mean….

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Comics Interview | Kibla Ahmed | The World of Comics

Kibla Ahmed at work.

It’s always a pleasure to get to do some shop talk with a fellow creative. Here is an interview with Kibla Ahmed, a comic artist, collector, and pop culture reviewer. I happen to have stumbled upon an online workshop that Kibla did recently from his London studio. It seemed to me a great opportunity to support a promising emerging artist. Perhaps the fact that this workshop was going on in London sealed the deal for me. For regular followers of my blog, you know how much fun Jennifer and I had on our visit to London in 2019. One of our favorite spots in London was Orbital Comics!

Illustration by Kibla Ahmet

I did my best to contact as many creative folks as possible and I did get to set up and follow through on some great interviews while I was in Europe. Well, since returning to Seattle, that trip left me wanting to seek out any opportunity to do more interviews across the pond. I did one recently with Sayra Begum. And now I present to you another UK talent, Kibla Ahmed.

The artist takes a coffee break.

It turns out that Kibla and I share quite a lot of common ground. We love comics, that’s a given. And we’re both determined to follow our own creative path. Plus we definitley have a similar interest in time travel. We both have our own ideas on how to pursue that theme in our creative work. Iconic time travel movies like Intersellar and Back to the Future, of course, resonate with us on a deep level. But, I have to say, Kibla has got me beat since his marriage ceremony included a bonafide DeLorean! Now, that’s dedication. I hope you enjoy our shop talk. We cover a little of everything and Kibla has lots to share about the creative process.

Be sure to visit Kibla Ahmed at his art site right here.

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Use My Voice | The Revolution of Cassandra | Eric D. Howell

Cassandra is on the rise. Viva la Revolution!

The Revolution of Cassandra

Go check out The Revolution of Cassandra for an unusual new work in comics. Here is a quirky story covering some serious subject matter. It reminds you of the fundamental need of making your voice heard. We can take that too much for granted in the United States. Just imagine what it’s like in parts of the world where the government is actively involved in keeping its citizens docile. Filmmaker Eric D. Howell is a fascinating storyteller dude–just the sort of creative person to lead the way with this audacious graphic novel, with Hollywood flair. Howell got into the entertainment business as a stuntman and, through determination, has risen up the ranks to movie director. You may know him from the 2017 Emilia Clarke movie, Voice from the Stone. By any measure, Howell’s career path is an impressive one.

USE MY VOICE by Amy Lee of Evanescence

Enter The Revolution of Cassandra, Howell’s new tale of adventure and idealism about two very different sisters, Moira and Cassie, and how they stumble into a civil war and perhaps lead a revolution. As I say, Howell’s new graphic novel has a very cool Hollywood connection. For starters, Howell is a well-liked and well-connected person. One of his friends is a very cool musician you may know. The Revolution of Cassandra served as an inspiration for Howell’s friend and Grammy Award-winning musician, Amy Lee of Evanescence, as she was writing her band’s new song, “Use My Voice.” The song’s video, directed by Howell, has been viewed more than two million times on YouTube since its premiere in late August.

Cassandra’s toes know the earth.

A few more words about this graphic novel. If you’re looking for an immersive work with a true cinematic look and feel, then The Revolution of Cassandra is for you. It is a mature work in the sense that adults will enjoy it for its more adult and sophisticated sensibility. It’s not for kids, per se. Let’s go with teens and up. This is set, after all, in a very gritty backdrop. There are rough men wandering about who are prone to pushing around women, if they can. That is, unless they’re confronting Moira and Cassie. Overall, there’s an earthy and authentic vibe running through. Moira is more reckless. Cassie is more the Earth Mother with her bare feet, or in Birkenstocks, solemnly gauging the environment.

The Revolution of Cassandra

Now, imagine attempting to stand out at a truly significant comics convention, like Comic Con in San Diego. Well, this is where brand sharing helps. Howell has partnered with Republic Restoratives Distillery and Craft Cocktail Bar in Washington, D.C. to introduce Purpose Rye. Purpose is the first single barrel expression from Republic Restoratives Distillery and is a limited run of only 100 barrels. This 95% rye mash bill has been aged in American oak for nearly five years, imparting rich notes of caramel, spice, hints of smoke and cocoa nibs. Every bottle of Purpose Rye sends a donation directly to Fair Fight Action which protects free and fair elections around the country. Purpose Rye is available for order online via Schneider’s of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Twin Cities bartenders will be mixing Cassandra inspired cocktails this month to inspire customers to use their voice” to support the social causes that matter to them. For Cassandra cocktail recipes, follow @revolutionofcassandra on Instagram.

Under the right circumstances, and responsibly, alcohol and comics do mix.

It was a lot of fun chatting with Howell and you can check out our conversation by clicking below:

The first chapter of The Revolution of Cassandra is available now for you to view for free.

Eric D. Howell, storyteller

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Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, March 12-15, 2020

Image Comics/Skybound Entertainment at Emerald City Comic Con

Emerald City Comic Con is the premier comic book and pop culture convention in the Pacific Northwest. ECCC is the place to be in Seattle, held at the Washington State Convention Center, March 12-15, 2020. Tickets are available here. ECCC presents a top ten list highlighting reasons to attend:

ECCC tickets are available here.

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Book Review: SENSE OF WONDER: MY LIFE IN COMIC FANDOM – THE WHOLE STORY by Bill Schelly

Sense of Wonder by Bill Schelly

What has a superhero ever really done for you? That’s a tricky question. It depends upon who you ask. First, superheroes aren’t real and are owned by corporations, at least all of the household names. It’s a cold-blooded business when you look at it from the perspective of co-creators who were not given credit or a fair share of the profits, like Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko or Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster. Comic books are a mass entertainment focused on profit, right? And then there’s the perspective of thoughtful and dedicated fans, the ones who take it to heart, who even write and draw in tribute to beloved characters. Bill Schelly is among that group of fans who know, despite any ugly realities, how to harness the super powers of the likes of Superman and Spider-Man. If you believe enough, especially in yourself, all sorts of dreams can come true. Bill Schelly set out to be an author, a “writer of books,” and buoyed up by the power of fandom, achieved his wildest dreams, including a respectable fanzine while still a youth, A Sense of Wonder, all the way to a memoir of the same name that has recently been expanded, A Sense of Wonder: My Life in Comic Fandom – The Whole Story, published by North Atlantic Books. It is like the most compelling of pop culture scrapbooks come to life.

Do people still even keep scrapbooks? Thankfully, some do. Yes, even digital files count. There will always be those who are compelled to document, dig deeper, and pay it forward. In the case of Bill Schelly, it all began with a fateful train ride. The Schelly family was on a trip to visit relatives back in 1960. To help keep nine-year-old Bill preoccupied on the long ride ahead, his father bought him a comic book. But it wasn’t just any comic book. His two brothers chose regular issues of ten cents each. Bill was excited about a special issue, Giant Superman Annual #1 with its enticing cover promising numerous thrills. It cost a whole quarter. At first, his father balked but ultimately relented. Schelly’s recollection of this scene is quite moving. He goes on to describe a boy besotted by all the larger-than-life stories found in the brightly colored pages. This is the pivotal moment that set young Bill on a lifelong journey. He already knew that he wanted to be a “writer of books” and, only a few years later, he would discover his ability to draw. What really set Schelly apart was a specific interest to better understand the underpinnings of comics. As much as Schelly wanted to become just like the comic book creators he so admired, he was driven by an intellectual need to know and a compelling desire to share his findings with other enthusiasts. This led to a number of boyhood fanzines, home-made magazines with a focus on a fan’s passion. And the best iteration of this process was a fanzine he called, Sense of Wonder. He became a teenage editor and publisher with subscribers all across the country. Young Bill confidently knew that he had set the stage for big things ahead but had no clue as to what exactly he would achieve or how he would get there.

Giant Superman Annual #1

Over the years, Schelly pushed himself to evolve as a writer and, in turn, as a person. As he had done with his boyhood fanzines, he learned from his mistakes and was driven to improve. While he honored the egalitarian spirit of fandom where every fan was an equal, he also wanted to lead the way and make his distinctive mark. As he had discovered early on in life, fandom is a close-knit network of like-minded souls and, in general, fans support fans. You never knew which friend you made today might lend a hand in some unexpected way in the future. It was through the world of fandom that Schelly found his way. And it is around the age of 21 that the first version of Schelly’s book, A Sense of Wonder, ends. This new version picks up from there and unveils what lay ahead. For one thing, the reader learns how the Sense of Wonder book evolved and how it was a building block towards other books. It’s surprising, with hindsight, to discover that Schelly did not reveal being gay in the first version of his coming-of-age book. In fact, he had given Howard Cruse, one of the most notable gay cartoonists, an advance copy in hopes of getting a back cover blurb. Cruse expressed regret that Schelly wasn’t ready to come out but was more than happy to provide a blurb. It was in a later version of Sense of Wonder, when Schelly was ready, that he added some of his best writing on growing up gay. And it is this latest version that beautifully brings it all together: Schelly’s dreams, his passions, the arc of a life. In the book, the reader follows Schelly as he relentlessly strives to create his magnum opus. As a young man, he hitches his wagon to the star of silent movie comedian Harry Langdon and creates his first attempt at a biography. Later on, he tackles the life of legendary cartoonist Joe Kubert. Finally, he achieves mainstream success with quite a substantial biography of another pop culture legend, Harvey Kurtzman. But, when it is all said and done and there’s finally time to take a breath and look back, Bill Schelly’s memoir is what rises to the top, a book that shares the trials and tribulations of a man who just wanted to dream and be a “writer of books.”

Bill Schelly (1951-2019)

Sense of Wonder: My Life in Comic Fandom – The Whole Story is a 392-page trade paperback published by North Atlantic Books.

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Review: MISTER MIRACLE (2017) #2

MISTER MIRACLE, script by Tom King; art by Mitch Gerads

I have not been following a Batman title, or any mainstream superhero tile, for quite a while. But all that has changed with just one name: Tom King. As many of you already know, King is the man on Batman. He’s a writer who knows when and how to expand on a moment as he recently did with a whole issue devoted to a certain gathering for dinner (see Batman #29). And then there’s his work on Mister Miracle. King has brought back the character first created by Jack Kirby in 1971. For this latest 12-issue run, Tom King’s script is decidedly existential. Our hero, Scott Free, happens to be one of the fabulous New Gods. His backstory is a little complicated. Think Wonder Woman. To add to the complexity, Scott hides his secret identity as a world-renown escape artist. And, lately, he’s been struggling with his greatest challenge of all: Scott wants to escape death.

So far so good. Any story with a guy dancing with the Grim Reaper gets my attention. What wins me over is the everyday moments between Scott and Barda. They’re, in many respects, just a typical young married couple. Maybe they take each other for granted sometimes. Maybe they push each other’s buttons at other times. That sort of thing. But they’re also awesome superheroes, right? King and artist Mitch Gerads (The Punisher) keep that balance working very nicely. Frankly, any talk, at least at first, of New Genesis and Darkseid and my eyes will fully glaze over. Maybe I’d get into it after a while. I just need a hook. Honestly, all of us readers need something to hook into and the truth is that few of us are going to care as much about the superhero stuff without first investing in the characters. That said, this creative team understands that very well.

Barda and Scott

Okay, so now for the finer points. The comic pretty much sticks to a grid of nine panels per page. It’s a great look and King and Gerads can get really creative with this more arty approach. Well, I say “arty” as I think of that nine panel grid as definitely calling attention to itself. It has a great deal of potential as seen in other titles such as Hawkeye from Marvel Comics. King and Gerads have made good use of this structure for both dramatic and comedic affect. There’s a moment where Scott and Barda must go through the ritual of kneeling before their leader, the Highfather. It’s an extended moment that allows for all the necessary timing. But you’d expect that sort of thing from King, king of the pregnant pauses. It’s totally funny. Now, I’m just wondering if we’re simply going to see more and more of the nine panel grid as it works so well on mobile devices. Hopefully, we’ll always have the Kings of comics overseeing quality control with excellent content.

MISTER MIRACLE #2 is available as of September 13, 2017. For more details, visit DC Comics right here.

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