Marc Tyler Nobleman's Blog, page 130

"Bill the Boy Wonder" - the book trailer

AUTHORNOMICS interview

Andrea Hurst and Katie Flanagan of Andrea Hurst & Associates Literary Management interviewed me for their AUTHORNOMICS series.
A few excerpts:

on cartooning: 

We all start off as cartoonists because we all have access to the simple tools needed for it—pencil (or crayon), paper (or wall), and imagination.

on Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman: 

Oh, man, it was a long, often bleak, always unmarked route! I conceived, researched, and wrote it after I sold Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman (2005) but before it came out (2008). My Boys of Steel editor turned it down—three times starting in 2007. She didn’t feel it had the same fuzziness as the Superman story—and she was exactly right. However, the Superman story is actually dark, believe it or not, and the Batman one—perhaps appropriately—is even darker.

advice to aspiring writers: 

...read picture books constantly, read books on the craft of writing, strive to tell stories with vibrant and well-drawn characters, and revise till your fingertips chafe. Do homework before submitting and devote as much energy and cleverness to your queries as to the works themselves.

Funniest letters to Batman

This is a real thing (from 1966):

Some interiors.

My first time meeting a friend I already had (WARNING: emotion ahead)

Over the last 15 years, I’ve written about quite a few real people, but most of them (from Ponce de León to Bill Finger) were gone before I’d done so. It wasn’t until 5/1/12 that I had an in-person meeting with someone I had written about.

Technically we were strangers, but I’ve felt she was my friend since I wrote about her in January 2009; hers is one of the seven stories in Vanished: True Stories of the Missing.

Her name is Hannah Klamecki, and she is 10 years old.

When she got stranded by herself in the woods, she was only five. Writers can get emotionally attached to people they profile, and for me, Hannah was an acute case. The thought of someone so young being so alone in such a potentially dangerous place is paralyzing, perhaps even more so since my own daughter was five when I was writing Vanished.

In writing about Hannah, I felt at once protective of her and guilty. (Because I didn’t reveal any details about Hannah and her family that hadn’t already been published, I have been able to talk myself out of some of the guilt.)

That said, I was still worried that her inclusion in the book could upset Hannah’s family. Of course I’m sure they don’t want to be reminded of their ordeal, especially by someone they don’t know well. Yet they have been the picture of loveliness about this. In fact, it was thanks to Hannah’s parents Mike and Carol (and two proactive Illinois elementary schools, North in Villa Park and Schafer in Lombard) that I had the honor of being a guest author at Hannah’s school.

Before the presentation, Mike and Carol introduced Hannah and me. Upon first seeing her, I wanted to hug her, but held off so as not to overwhelm her. First she lost her grandfather in an accident, then got lost in the woods, then a writer she didn’t know included her story in a book without talking with her first, and now the same writer has come to speak at her school—and bring up the traumatic incident in front of her entire grade (with the advanced permission of both Hannah’s parents and a very poised Hannah herself). Any one of those situations requires deep strength, and Hannah has handled them all with grace.

Her friends were great emotional bodyguards for her. I met one girl who had learned of Hannah from the news before they’d met in school, and I’m told this little firecracker said “I will be friends with her.” They did become friends, and five years later, they still are. Some of her classmates did not know her Vanished story before I mentioned it. I didn’t go into detail with the group. That would be up to Hannah, and when I heard kids asking her about it afterward, she was understandably quiet. But many of her peers now intend to read the book. I’m sure they will find it scary to a degree, but the lingering feelings (I hope, I think) will be awe and empowerment.

The morning after the presentation, her dad reported with a smiley “Looks like Hannah will be sharing her story with her 5th grade this Friday. All the requests won her over, I think.”

Me, meanwhile…well, let’s just say that after the presentation, some of the teachers were touched to see that I got nervous when I was talking about Hannah.

At Hannah’s school, I told the kids that some of the heroes I’ve written about wear capes, but that we were all in the presence of a real-life hero. The kids applauded heartily. It’s funny that, prior to my visit, Hannah thought I was the famous one. Hannah is not “famous” for being a victim. She is famous for being a survivor. She will always inspire people, including me.

After school, I had the additional privilege of going to the Klamecki home and then going for ice cream with the whole family. I chose a flavor I’d never seen before but which kept with a theme of the day:


Hannah posed with my cup of it—two sweet little things the color of bravery:

Easter Island in my mind

In March 2012, I went to Easter Island, fulfilling a longtime dream.
Several weeks afterward, I was reminded of something I wrote for a Scholastic writing prompts book that was published in 2003:





It’s no surprise that I had Easter Island on the mind nearly ten years before I made it there; as I said, it had been a longtime dream.

But I always marvel when I realize what I have forgotten about what I’ve done, especially when it relates to something I love.

No Pinta, no Santa Maria…only Neenah

...as in Neenah, WI, where I spoke at Horace Mann Middle School and Neenah High School on 4/30/12.


Several weeks earlier, I was warned that the Horace Mann gym has many skylights, making it difficult to make it dim enough for PowerPoint. But the school offered a generous solution—cover some of the skylights from above.

It worked fine. And the large audience was attentive and participatory.

At the high school, it was a treat to see several original newspaper front pages about the moon landing framed and on display. Here is one: 
 
The auditorium in which I presented:

Neenah was a most charming experience—my host was one of the sweetest I’ve ever worked with, and the community worked hard to make the visit possible. Thank you all.

Bill Finger the "Playboy" wonder!

In "The Super Psyche," the April 2012 Playboy article by Gavin Edwards about Grant Morrison, the legendary comics writer weighs in on certain characters he has written.
Though Morrison's interpretations of superheroes are almost always absurdly inventive and often polarizing, it was something else in this piece that earns the title of Most Provocative. 
On the Joker:

"Created by: Bill Finger, art by Bob Kane, concept possibly provided by Jerry Robinson."
On Batman:
"Created by: Bill Finger, art by Bob Kane (disputed)."
Make no mistake. Those are rallying cries. Not only are they boldly giving Bill lead credit, they are, for all intents, giving him sole credit.
It's not clear if Edwards or Morrison provided those credits, though I'm assuming Morrison. In either case, it was some of the best reading I've done in a while. And yes, I'm talking only about those two credit lines.

Bill Finger added to list of Notable Bronxites

On 4/12/12, the Bronx Historical Society added Bill Finger to their list of Notable Bronxites. I had the honor of drafting the mini-bio (which was not mini enough and so was whittled down a bit). An excerpt (though can you give an excerpt of something so short to begin with?):

During his Bronx years, Finger designed Batman’s now-iconic costume, wrote the first and many of the now-classic Batman stories, and created or co-created characters including Robin, Joker, Catwoman, and Penguin—characters so prevalent in pop culture that even people who have never read a comic book can identify them.

More Bill-Bronx brouhaha to come.

The first “outsider” take on “Bill the Boy Wonder” is…

…courtesy of Kim Krug and Kathleen Skoog, owners of Monkey See, Monkey Do…Children’s Bookstore in Clarence, NY.
 
By “outsider,” I simply mean person who is not my wife, parent, best friend, or editor. When it comes to kidlit, Kim and Kathleen are very much insiders…which is why this feedback about Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman is especially heartening:

This book is a fantastic read for young readers and adults! I loved the graphics! The illustrations are lively, bright, and bold…! Amazingly, I learned the history and little-known secret of the TRUE inspiration and creator of BATMAN! This summer we are featuring a Superheroes and Villains camp at our bookstore and this will be our featured book!

Thank you, K & K! Let’s do some Monkey business!

Superman = Springsteen, Batman = Bon Jovi?

Bruce Springsteen’s kids went there. Bon Jovi’s kids, too.
And now that I've spoken at Rumson Country Day School in Rumson, NJ, the students there have been exposed to two other pop culture legends (albeit from a different field): the creators of Superman and Batman.

In a way, Superman = Springsteen and Batman = Bon Jovi. And I’m not just talking about the first letters. Springsteen is the square-jawed, broad-chested champion of the everyday person. Bon Jovi is a bit “edgier”—or he was in the 1980s, at least in comparison to Springsteen.
Even though the lyrics are darker than many realize, the title of “Born in the U.S.A.” feels more Superman. (Even though he was born on Krypton, he seems more American than Batman.) And it seems that you’d sooner catch Batman singing “Bad Medicine” or “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

Then again, Springsteen seems more taciturn, more mysterious—that’s Batman. And the Bon Jovi of today is more smiley—that’s Superman.
While we're on the subject, some postulate that Batman's Gotham City is in New Jersey...

Okay, back to Rumson!

They welcomed me with a dynamic display and one unlike any other I’ve seen: Superman smashing through a wall made of student-decorated Superman bookmarks.


It seemed like half the books I signed were to a "Caroline" or "Jack":

RCDS is an example of how referrals are worthwhile. In January, I spoke at Stonehouse Elementary in Williamsburg, VA.

The librarian formerly worked at RCDS and said they bring in authors, which prompted me to contact RCDS, and one kind word led to another, and a booking. Thank you all!
After, to complete the comic-book-themed day, I went to what might be one of the most famous comic book shops in America, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, owned by maverick filmmaker and comic book writer Kevin Smith:
 
Student question of the visit: “Did any of your childhood friends also become authors?”