Marc Tyler Nobleman's Blog, page 115
January 29, 2013
Trivia countdown: a school needs your help
On 2/8/13, I am scheduled to speak at Sunrise Elementary School in Aurora, CO.
Sweetly, in this month leading up to it, they have been building excitement for the visit with a daily trivia countdown…and they’ve asked me to ask my blog readers to provide the last three tidbits.
The countdown so far:
31 days out: He’s the author of more than 70 books.
30 days out: Bill the Boy Wonder was named to the “100 Magnificent Children’s Books of 2012” list on School Library Journal’s Fuse #8.
29 days out: He says he owes his writing career to Michael Jackson…tune in tomorrow to find out why.
28 days out: When he was 16 he wrote a spoof of Michael Jackson’s song “Bad.” It was so popular that he was asked to perform it at every sweet sixteen party he went to that year.
Weekend
25 days out: He is also a cartoonist. When he was 7 years old he drew pictures of Scooby-Doo nonstop.
24 days out: When he was in fourth and fifth grade, his favorite novels were The Mouse and the Motorcycle and The Cricket in Times Square.
23 days out: He did not like math in school. When he got to middle school and got his first schedule he was so excited that math wasn’t on it. Then one of his friends said, “Marc, algebra is math.”
22 days out: He loved school. It’s where he learned everything he needed to be a professional writer—writing, public speaking, and typing.
21 days out: The number one thing that has helped him overcome hardships in his life is the desire to succeed. If you want something badly enough, and work hard enough at it, you can succeed at anything.
Weekend
17 days out: If he could have any pet, he would choose a gorilla…but only until it grows up.
16 days out: If he could have any superpower, he would choose flight…because airfare is so expensive.
15 days out: He had lots of fun in college. Some of the things he did were join a comedy troupe, write and direct a play, and report for his campus news show.
14 days out: He tried for 12 months to write for Nickelodeon magazine before they finally gave him a chance. After selling his first pieces, he wrote for them for 7 years.
Weekend
11 days out: He loved the Hardy Boys books when he was a kid. He remembers taking them to his grandmother’s house to stay up late reading them…but in reality he probably stayed up only until 9 p.m.
10 days out: His first struggle in school was in kindergarten…using scissors. As a matter of fact, he had such a hard time using scissors, his teacher even wrote about it on his report card.
9 days out: He recently wrote a spoof of the popular song “Call Me Maybe” called “Call Bill Finger,” after the secret co-creator of Batman in his book Bill the Boy Wonder.
8 days out: He has been told he looks like people including Ferris Bueller, Seth Meyers, Steve Nash, and High Jackman as Wolverine.
7 days out: He rounded up a series of pictures of authors as kids dressed as superheroes. He even has a picture of one of the authors who visited Sunrise—Bruce Hale—as Tarzan.
4 days out: He wrote his first play when he was in college. It was based on the novel and classic film about the Frankenstein monster. He called it Frankenstory .
Now it is your turn.
In the comments section, can you please provide a piece of trivia that hasn’t been covered?
3 days out...
2 days out...
1 day out...
Sweetly, in this month leading up to it, they have been building excitement for the visit with a daily trivia countdown…and they’ve asked me to ask my blog readers to provide the last three tidbits.
The countdown so far:
31 days out: He’s the author of more than 70 books.
30 days out: Bill the Boy Wonder was named to the “100 Magnificent Children’s Books of 2012” list on School Library Journal’s Fuse #8.
29 days out: He says he owes his writing career to Michael Jackson…tune in tomorrow to find out why.
28 days out: When he was 16 he wrote a spoof of Michael Jackson’s song “Bad.” It was so popular that he was asked to perform it at every sweet sixteen party he went to that year.
Weekend
25 days out: He is also a cartoonist. When he was 7 years old he drew pictures of Scooby-Doo nonstop.
24 days out: When he was in fourth and fifth grade, his favorite novels were The Mouse and the Motorcycle and The Cricket in Times Square.
23 days out: He did not like math in school. When he got to middle school and got his first schedule he was so excited that math wasn’t on it. Then one of his friends said, “Marc, algebra is math.”
22 days out: He loved school. It’s where he learned everything he needed to be a professional writer—writing, public speaking, and typing.
21 days out: The number one thing that has helped him overcome hardships in his life is the desire to succeed. If you want something badly enough, and work hard enough at it, you can succeed at anything.
Weekend
17 days out: If he could have any pet, he would choose a gorilla…but only until it grows up.
16 days out: If he could have any superpower, he would choose flight…because airfare is so expensive.
15 days out: He had lots of fun in college. Some of the things he did were join a comedy troupe, write and direct a play, and report for his campus news show.
14 days out: He tried for 12 months to write for Nickelodeon magazine before they finally gave him a chance. After selling his first pieces, he wrote for them for 7 years.
Weekend
11 days out: He loved the Hardy Boys books when he was a kid. He remembers taking them to his grandmother’s house to stay up late reading them…but in reality he probably stayed up only until 9 p.m.
10 days out: His first struggle in school was in kindergarten…using scissors. As a matter of fact, he had such a hard time using scissors, his teacher even wrote about it on his report card.
9 days out: He recently wrote a spoof of the popular song “Call Me Maybe” called “Call Bill Finger,” after the secret co-creator of Batman in his book Bill the Boy Wonder.
8 days out: He has been told he looks like people including Ferris Bueller, Seth Meyers, Steve Nash, and High Jackman as Wolverine.
7 days out: He rounded up a series of pictures of authors as kids dressed as superheroes. He even has a picture of one of the authors who visited Sunrise—Bruce Hale—as Tarzan.
4 days out: He wrote his first play when he was in college. It was based on the novel and classic film about the Frankenstein monster. He called it Frankenstory .
Now it is your turn.
In the comments section, can you please provide a piece of trivia that hasn’t been covered?
3 days out...
2 days out...
1 day out...
January 28, 2013
January 26, 2013
"Intriguing...inspiring" - International Reading Association on "Bill the Boy Wonder"
The International Reading Association kindly reviewed Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman.
An excerpt:
An excerpt:
Tantalizingly, there is a story behind the story of the birth of Batman that is every bit as intriguing as the caped wonder. … Not only is this thoroughly researched story of artistic injustice intriguing and almost worthy of a comic itself, but the description of how hard the author worked to uncover details about what happened decades ago is inspiring. He even managed to locate Finger’s granddaughter by following every possible trail, even the most unlikely ones.
January 23, 2013
Saved some controversy for my blog
Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman contains several revelations, one of which particularly stunned comics fans—and even some regular people.
But the full story is not confined to the book. In our post-paper era, I left out some choice discoveries, with the intention of posting them here.
Two of the most compelling: the almost-successful campaign by Bill’s second wife to get his name into the credits of Batman (1989) and the evidence that Bill—at least once—stood up to Bob.
Some notable outfits picked up on these controversial topics:
The Beat (formerly part of Publishers Weekly; The Beat also addresses a third Big Issue I blogged about: are Batman and Robin gay?)
Blastr (part of SyFy, formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel)
Bleeding Cool
Comic Book Resources
Earlier post with similar bent.
But the full story is not confined to the book. In our post-paper era, I left out some choice discoveries, with the intention of posting them here.
Two of the most compelling: the almost-successful campaign by Bill’s second wife to get his name into the credits of Batman (1989) and the evidence that Bill—at least once—stood up to Bob.
Some notable outfits picked up on these controversial topics:
The Beat (formerly part of Publishers Weekly; The Beat also addresses a third Big Issue I blogged about: are Batman and Robin gay?)
Blastr (part of SyFy, formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel)
Bleeding Cool
Comic Book Resources
Earlier post with similar bent.
January 20, 2013
“Defies the odds…stellar, surprising” – Children’s Literature Network on “Bill the Boy Wonder”
In July, September, and November 2012, the Children’s Literature Network covered Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman in varying ways. Working backwards:
The November piece was a review; a flattering excerpt from a humbling assessment:
Defies the odds…stellar, surprising…Nobleman distinguishes himself as a four-leveled talent…he sparkles as an author. … Be sure to read to the last page. The revelation is a true-to-life happy ending that would make even the Caped Crusader smile.
The September piece was more of an essay on the reason behind and the themes of the book. Excerpts:
Beside the fact that this book is about Batman…this book is about copyright and attribution and acknowledgement, something we all try to teach in our classrooms. While the Internet makes it so easy to pilfer someone else’s work and not give [him/her] credit, BILL the Boy Wonder delves into the effects that has on one man’s life. It’s easy to extrapolate how it might affect others. An extensive bibliography and author’s notes are just as interesting to read as the narrative. Nobleman describes his research, showing that he’s just as much a detective as Bruce Wayne.
High school and middle grade classrooms will value this book for its readability and its discussion-generating possibilities.
The July piece was a short interview—only two questions—with me.
Thank you to the CLN for so much real estate and for the thoughtful analysis of my work.
January 19, 2013
NPR cutting room floor
After I was interviewed on NPR, Seth Kessler, my longtime friend (and Easter Island traveling companion), somehow got a hold of part of the segment that did not make it on air. He is resourceful that way.
Here is the transcript:
NPR: Wonder Woman? The Lone Ranger? Pokemon?
MTN: Yes, Bill Finger created all of them.NPR: Cucumbers?MTN: Yes, Bill Finger should get most of the credit for that vegetable.NPR: That crumb on your face?MTN: Yes, it was Bill Finger’s idea to put it there on my face.
And you thought you knew the full extent of Bill’s cultural impact.
Here is the transcript:
NPR: Wonder Woman? The Lone Ranger? Pokemon?
MTN: Yes, Bill Finger created all of them.NPR: Cucumbers?MTN: Yes, Bill Finger should get most of the credit for that vegetable.NPR: That crumb on your face?MTN: Yes, it was Bill Finger’s idea to put it there on my face.
And you thought you knew the full extent of Bill’s cultural impact.
January 18, 2013
Bill Finger died 39 years ago today
A few tributes:
Entertainment Weekly held a superhero showdown. In the end, unsurprisingly, it came down to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (Superman) vs. Bill Finger (Batman). Jerry and Joe may have “won” in life (i.e. they got credit and money before they died) but here, Bill won in legacy:
The title bout:
Bill won in this way, too.
Meanwhile, I asked Siri who created Batman. Look whose name came up first.
Yes, probably only because it’s alphabetical, but let’s pretend it’s because it is a smartphone.
Finally, a comic book from my youth whose cover is a vivid memory is The Brave and the Bold #177.
Revisiting it recently, I saw something I had forgotten about. I was heartened how writer Mike W. Barr (a Finger proponent elsewhere as well) closed his tale:
Entertainment Weekly held a superhero showdown. In the end, unsurprisingly, it came down to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (Superman) vs. Bill Finger (Batman). Jerry and Joe may have “won” in life (i.e. they got credit and money before they died) but here, Bill won in legacy:
The title bout:
Bill won in this way, too.
Meanwhile, I asked Siri who created Batman. Look whose name came up first.
Yes, probably only because it’s alphabetical, but let’s pretend it’s because it is a smartphone.
Finally, a comic book from my youth whose cover is a vivid memory is The Brave and the Bold #177.
Revisiting it recently, I saw something I had forgotten about. I was heartened how writer Mike W. Barr (a Finger proponent elsewhere as well) closed his tale:
January 17, 2013
Betsy Birds of a feather
Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman made a list entitled “100 Magnificent Children’s Books of 2012,” compiled for the School Library Journal blog Fuse #8 by Betsy Bird.
It is only appropriate. Two of her kind (Robin and Penguin) are in my book.
The Betsy nod is honor enough, yet enhancing that is the company including Don Tate, Gary Golio, Peter Brown, Raina Telgemeier, Mike Rex, Name Dropper, Michelle Markel, and Lemony Snicket. The list also unknowingly contains a hint about an upcoming book of mine. Think Tink.
Thank you Betsy.
It is only appropriate. Two of her kind (Robin and Penguin) are in my book.
The Betsy nod is honor enough, yet enhancing that is the company including Don Tate, Gary Golio, Peter Brown, Raina Telgemeier, Mike Rex, Name Dropper, Michelle Markel, and Lemony Snicket. The list also unknowingly contains a hint about an upcoming book of mine. Think Tink.
Thank you Betsy.
January 16, 2013
Small comment, big effect
The book:
The comment (on Good Reads):
“I just HAD to read this book. It had a GNOME on the cover!”
Gnomes are small.
Every book cover could fit one.
The comment (on Good Reads):
“I just HAD to read this book. It had a GNOME on the cover!”
Gnomes are small.
Every book cover could fit one.
January 15, 2013
I Want My Cat in the Hat Back
With appreciation (and, if applicable, apologies) to Sirs Seuss and Klassen.
