I’ll be heading over to the Writers Group from Hell holiday party later this afternoon, to which even former members like me are invited, and since it’s a potluck, that meant I spent the last two days baking.

After flipping through my cookbooks in search of something new—wouldn’t want to bore my friends, after all—I settled on one recipe each from Paul Fehribach’s The Big Jones Cookbook and Bryan Voltaggio’s Home.

I’d already made two previous Fehribach dishes—Chicken with Dumplings and a Jelly Roll Cake—and one from Voltaggio—Blueberry Cake with Peanut Streusel. This time I decided to attempt Cheese Straws by the former and Lemon Cookies by the latter.

On Friday, I started with the Cheese Straws, because Fehribach indicated they’d improve with age, so serving them 48 hours later would be no problem.

I began with 10 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese and two ounces of blue cheese along with 1-3/4 cups of flour, so these cheese straws were sure to be … cheesy!

One thing they didn’t turn out be, however … was straws. (more…)

I’ve shared a number of firsts about the Scarecrow since I started blogging, such as who the first artist was supposed to be, the first (and perhaps the last) Marvel subscription ad featuring the character’s never-published stand-alone book, and Don Perlin’s first page to what was supposed to be Scarecrow #2.

And as I skimmed further through that 1974 issue of The Comic Reader which I told you about last week, I came upon another first—the first time fans would have found out such a character even existed.

In the Marvel News section, which included a blurb that “a Spider-Man live action film and a new TV series are being planned” (for which we’d all have to wait, as that TV show wouldn’t air until 1978, while a film wouldn’t hit theaters for another 28 years), readers wound find this item.

I’ve no idea when the August issue of The Comic Reader would have gone to press, but as I started on staff at Marvel on June 24 of that year, I obviously wasn’t there that long before then-editor Len Wein leapt on my idea … even though my name is never mentioned in that announcement.

And as those familiar with the history of the Scarecrow already know, it never did appear in the pages of Monsters Unleashed, nor in its next announced location, as a backup in Giant-Size Werewolf by Night, but instead ended up debuting in Dead of Night #11.

That wasn’t the only fascinating thing I found in this issue of The Comic Reader. Check out this curious factoid about Marvel’s Planet of the Apes series.

And now we know why Don McGregor never got that assignment.

ba-dum ching!

(I kid, Don, I kid! You know I love you.)

Two important comics events occurred on June 24, 1974.

It was my first day on staff at Marvel.

And it was the day Seaboard Periodicals, run by Martin Goodman—Marvel Comics founder and former Magazine Management publisher—opened its office.

Seaboard launched Atlas Comics, which I told you about five years ago when I shared a snarky memo I wrote in 1975 to Marvel’s publisher because he was worried our company was being plagiarized.

(For those in a TL;DR mood—no, it wasn’t.)

Most fans first learned of Atlas/Seaboard from a blurb in The Comic Reader #109 (August 1974), which quoted an unnamed source as saying that the new company would “change the look of the industry.”

(For those still in a TL;DR mood—no, it didn’t.)

(more…)

It’s getting late in December for me to be looking back at November’s dreams, but hey, life sometimes works that way. Regardless of the delay, I still enjoy (and some of you seem to as well) seeing whether my surreal dreams as posted on Twitter make any more sense when gathered together on a monthly basis. So …

Last month, I dreamt of Will Smith, Peter Falk, Ron (not Ronald) Reagan, George Bush, Harlan Ellison … and perhaps some of you as well!

November 2015


Found a note I scribbled in the middle of the night describing a dream: CHINATOWN GANDALF. But too much time has passed. I remember nothing! Nov 30


I dreamt I was at a BBQ shack eating a rack of ribs which had been rolled in kernels of corn. And as I dug in, I thought: What a great idea! Nov 29


I dreamt @CraigEngler was in charge of making the next Muppets movie, and I was helping out by scripting the section that spoofed Star Wars. Nov 29


I dreamt my (late) father and I were in a hotel, and they sent a complimentary bottle of tequila to our room because it was his birthday.


I dreamt I forged documents for @EllenDatlow and @Cadigan — but now that I’m awake, I can’t remember what they were. Letters of transit? Nov 27


I dreamt I helped my (fictional) niece elope with her boyfriend, and when the rest of the family caught up with us, they were NOT happy. Nov 26


I dreamt I ran into my parents, young, in a Starbucks, and when I asked what they were doing there, Dad tried to answer, but instead cried. Nov 25


I dreamt I was Will Smith in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air universe, and Uncle Phil was trying to convince me to go out for Little League. Nov 25

I dreamt I was on a gameshow with Jaye P. Morgan and Peter Falk. She spotted a phone number on his collar, so we called it. It was a lawyer. Nov 25


I dreamt I spotted a small plane drifting along on a parachute and chased it through a city. Turned out it was a TV station’s weather drone. Nov 24 (more…)

A few days ago, I teased a new sale, but was unable tell you to which anthology I’d sold that short story until the editor went public with the news. Well, Michael Bailey’s done that now over on Facebook, so I’m free to share that next year, I’ll be in the anthology You, Human from Dark Regions Press, along with a few other writers whose names you might find familiar—

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—such as Stephen King, Mort Castle, and Darren Speegle.

Ours are the only four names announced and visible on the cover so far, because for his anthologies, Michael likes to spill a new name every few days so as to bring as much drama as possible to his table of contents reveal. He promises to reveal the names of two more writers over on his Facebook page Thursday.

As for the title of the 5,850-word tale—which happens to be my fourth short fiction sale of 2015 (yay, me!)—Michael is holding off on posting all of those until his full roster is complete, so I’ll keep it to myself, too. But I will say one thing about it—I like this title so much I’m considering it as the title story for a future collection.

I was interviewed last night by someone writing a book about the early days of comics fandom and how it led to the rise of the dedicated comic book shop. As part of that, one of the things I was asked to recount was how and where I used to buy my comics when I was growing up in Brooklyn.

I remembered Joe and Morty’s candy store on Aveue P, in which I was unable to decide whether to buy X-Men #1 or Avengers #1, as I only had 12 cents in my pocket and they’d both come out the same day. But I also remembered an article I wrote years later for my high school newspaper about My Friends bookstore, where I’d been induced by my parents to sell all my comics because they felt I owned too many of them.

In any case, because my interviewer wanted to see the piece, and I went to the trouble of scanning it for him, I figured I’d share it here as well. Basically, this is me looking back on around 1968 from the perspective of 1972.

I certainly hope I’ve become a better writer since then!

I don’t know whether you noticed what I just noticed. But I was wrong when I claimed there that selling 300 comic books for $5.00 netted me “exactly three-fifths of a cent per comic.” It was actually 1.667 cents per comic. And it took me more than forty years to notice. (more…)

If you attended Sasquan—the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention—in Spokane earlier this year, deciding how to best spend your time was probably tough, for inside the 148-page program book each attendee received were listed 241 panels alone, plus multiple readings, presentations, kaffeeklatsches, and more.

Things were quite different in 1974, however, the year 19-year-old me attended his first Worldcon—Discon II, the 32nd World Science Fiction Convention. (more…)

I’ve been lucky enough to get to Next—the Chicago restaurant which reinvents itself three times per year—for six of their menus—Sicily, Kyoto, The Hunt, Vegan (twice!), Bocuse d’Or and, most recently, Tapas.

With SFWA’s Nebula Awards weekend once more returning to Chicago, I’ve been looking forward to Next’s announcement of its 2016 plans. And now that, minutes ago, they’ve gone public with their three latest offerings, I know what I’ll be having for dinner with several of you.

So here’s what’s in store— (more…)

On February 10, 1974, I was wandering midtown Manhattan when I was approached by a guy who asked me if I’d like to take a free personality test.

I was 17. I hadn’t yet started working for Marvel Comics, hadn’t yet met my wife, hadn’t sold any fiction, or done any of the others things that make me me. And in that moment, I had no idea that this was a opening gambit to get me to agree to learn more about Scientology.

But I was intrigued, and had a few hours to spare, so I figured … what could it hurt?

So I followed the clipboard-carrying street hawker to an office, where I rated 200 statements, indicating whether I agreed, disagreed, or was neutral about them. If you want to know my answers, here they are. Check them out!

Doesn’t tell you much, does it? (more…)

While reading Salon’s recent post about the controversy over H. P. Lovecraft and the use of his face on the World Fantasy Award trophy, I was surprised to find that halfway down the piece was … me!

I’d tweeted last week about how once the board announced it was changing to a more inclusive symbol for the trophy, news broke that a different organization was embracing Lovecraft, one which didn’t find his racist views at all problematic …

… and my “Whoa!” was somehow deemed newsworthy.

I have no problem with that.

In fact, it isn’t even the first time a journalist picked up on one my tweets. Back in 2014, Good Morning America showed one of my tweets on screen during a story about Alinea chef Grant Achatz having to deal with a crying baby.

Which makes this a good time, I suppose, for me to publicly state my position on the matter of the news media sharing my tweets. To repeat:

I have no problem with that.

I consider whatever I say over on Twitter to have been said in a public forum, and that my words there are as ripe for quotation as any statement I might make from a stage in a public venue, as long as no editing’s done to change my meaning and there is proper attribution and linkage.

I know there are others who feel more protective of their tweets, which is their prerogative and something I hope journalists respect. But as for me, if I should accidentally happen to tweet anything which makes enough sense you feel it worth quoting—quote away!