Marc Tyler Nobleman's Blog, page 83
April 18, 2014
Interview with Ross MacDonald, illustrator of "Boys of Steel"
I consider myself lucky that Ross MacDonald illustrated Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman.
He was exceptional to work with and is now a friend.
But the book came out in 2008. Why interview him now?
Because I should have done it then. With respect to Bill Finger, I often say “Justice has no expiration date.” Same is true with good content.
Besides, the book is still a book...
What attracted you to illustrating Boys of Steel?
It’s a great story about the guys—boys, really—who [created] arguably the first, and certainly the most iconic, superhero.
I had grown up reading the Superman comics of the ‘60s. They were fun when I was young. The art in those was clean and accomplished, but a little bland. [But] the stories had devolved (degenerated?) into these convoluted yet simplistic plots involving time travel, Superman trying to keep Lois from finding out his secret identity, Mr. Mxyzptlk, and an ever-expanding rainbow of Kryptonites.
As an adult, I came to really appreciate the artwork and storylines of the early, dark comic books and Sunday comics of the ‘40s. Joe Shuster’s art and the dark gripping plots of the early Superman comics came as a huge revelation.
You used brown for Jerry Siegel’s clothes and green for Joe Shuster’s. Did you incorporate any other recurring visual motifs?
Jerry is kinda tubby and Joe was rail thin. But they almost looked like brothers in many ways. Both had similar glasses and hair, and like every single male American of the time, they wore suits. All the time. They even have the same initials, so keeping their names straight is difficult, too.
They looked similar enough that just making one heavy and one skinny wasn’t quite enough to tell them apart. So I gave them each their own color scheme. That was something you saw in the old comics—the characters often only had one suit (I guess that was probably true in real life at the time, too), and it helped make the comic panels a quicker read. Villains often had purple or orange suits, and Clark Kent’s was always true blue.
Another thing I tried to do was to make the illustrations that showed Joe and Jerry’s real life have a nice muted color scheme but the scenes they imagine are bright, pulpy, comic colors.
What is your favorite piece of art from Boys of Steel?
Much as I liked drawing Superman, my favorite piece is Joe sketching on the back of wallpaper scraps in the unheated kitchen of his mother’s apartment while she washes dishes in the background.
What piece of Boys of Steel art was the most challenging to create?
Another fave—Jerry sitting at his typewriter in front of his bedroom window while the neighborhood kids play outside.
What was the most annoying request I made?
All of them—just kidding. I don’t remember any requests, frankly. Maybe they were so annoying I blanked them out!
Do you have any unused art you can share, especially cover sketches?
Like most of the book, the cover was a one-sketch kinda deal. There are a couple of alternate versions of the title page, though.
Any particularly memorable feedback you’ve gotten for your work on the book?
Charlie Kochman, formerly an editor at DC Comics, now at Abrams Image, really loved the book. It felt good getting praise from someone who worked at the house that published Superman comics from the very beginning.
Anything else about the experience you’d like to add?
Great working with you on this, and it was fun helping to tell the interesting creation story of one of my childhood heroes.
He was exceptional to work with and is now a friend.
But the book came out in 2008. Why interview him now?
Because I should have done it then. With respect to Bill Finger, I often say “Justice has no expiration date.” Same is true with good content.
Besides, the book is still a book...
What attracted you to illustrating Boys of Steel?
It’s a great story about the guys—boys, really—who [created] arguably the first, and certainly the most iconic, superhero.
I had grown up reading the Superman comics of the ‘60s. They were fun when I was young. The art in those was clean and accomplished, but a little bland. [But] the stories had devolved (degenerated?) into these convoluted yet simplistic plots involving time travel, Superman trying to keep Lois from finding out his secret identity, Mr. Mxyzptlk, and an ever-expanding rainbow of Kryptonites.
As an adult, I came to really appreciate the artwork and storylines of the early, dark comic books and Sunday comics of the ‘40s. Joe Shuster’s art and the dark gripping plots of the early Superman comics came as a huge revelation.
You used brown for Jerry Siegel’s clothes and green for Joe Shuster’s. Did you incorporate any other recurring visual motifs?
Jerry is kinda tubby and Joe was rail thin. But they almost looked like brothers in many ways. Both had similar glasses and hair, and like every single male American of the time, they wore suits. All the time. They even have the same initials, so keeping their names straight is difficult, too.
They looked similar enough that just making one heavy and one skinny wasn’t quite enough to tell them apart. So I gave them each their own color scheme. That was something you saw in the old comics—the characters often only had one suit (I guess that was probably true in real life at the time, too), and it helped make the comic panels a quicker read. Villains often had purple or orange suits, and Clark Kent’s was always true blue.
Another thing I tried to do was to make the illustrations that showed Joe and Jerry’s real life have a nice muted color scheme but the scenes they imagine are bright, pulpy, comic colors.
What is your favorite piece of art from Boys of Steel?
Much as I liked drawing Superman, my favorite piece is Joe sketching on the back of wallpaper scraps in the unheated kitchen of his mother’s apartment while she washes dishes in the background.
What piece of Boys of Steel art was the most challenging to create?
Another fave—Jerry sitting at his typewriter in front of his bedroom window while the neighborhood kids play outside.
What was the most annoying request I made?
All of them—just kidding. I don’t remember any requests, frankly. Maybe they were so annoying I blanked them out!
Do you have any unused art you can share, especially cover sketches?
Like most of the book, the cover was a one-sketch kinda deal. There are a couple of alternate versions of the title page, though.
Any particularly memorable feedback you’ve gotten for your work on the book?
Charlie Kochman, formerly an editor at DC Comics, now at Abrams Image, really loved the book. It felt good getting praise from someone who worked at the house that published Superman comics from the very beginning.
Anything else about the experience you’d like to add?
Great working with you on this, and it was fun helping to tell the interesting creation story of one of my childhood heroes.
April 17, 2014
Naming your kids after Superman
My daughter’s name is Lara. It was one of the few female names my wife and I agreed on. I don’t remember who proposed it, but I know it was on the list I started in my early twenties. (Yes, I am that guy.) And I know my wife latched onto it after being swept up by Doctor Zhivago (which I still have not seen).
Though my wife might never believe me, and I can barely believe this myself, in deciding on the name for our baby girl, I did not remember that the name of Superman’s biological mother is Lara. In other words, I didn’t secretly propose/go along with the name because of my fondness for the Man of Steel.
My son’s name is Rafael. It was, I believe, the only male name my wife and I agreed on. (One of my first choices—Clark—was nixed even faster than I nixed one of her first choices…Fritz. Cut some slack. She’s German.)
I’m Jewish and because my wife is not, she gave her blessing for our son’s Hebrew name to be “Kal-El”—which is Superman’s Kryptonian name. Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman was not yet out so my life was not yet so linked to Superman, but even then I felt going this route would be too fannish. I did not want our son—who may not care a whit about Superman—to be saddled with a Hebrew name he would not be able to say without a sigh.
So instead, we chose “Emet”—“truth” in Hebrew. (This was inspired by the motto of my alma mater, Brandeis University: “Truth even unto its innermost parts.”)
And just like I had a revelation only after naming our daughter, I had one with our son as well. I recently realized that, perhaps subconsciously, I did saddle him with a Superman name after all:
Rafa-El.
Though my wife might never believe me, and I can barely believe this myself, in deciding on the name for our baby girl, I did not remember that the name of Superman’s biological mother is Lara. In other words, I didn’t secretly propose/go along with the name because of my fondness for the Man of Steel.
My son’s name is Rafael. It was, I believe, the only male name my wife and I agreed on. (One of my first choices—Clark—was nixed even faster than I nixed one of her first choices…Fritz. Cut some slack. She’s German.)
I’m Jewish and because my wife is not, she gave her blessing for our son’s Hebrew name to be “Kal-El”—which is Superman’s Kryptonian name. Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman was not yet out so my life was not yet so linked to Superman, but even then I felt going this route would be too fannish. I did not want our son—who may not care a whit about Superman—to be saddled with a Hebrew name he would not be able to say without a sigh.
So instead, we chose “Emet”—“truth” in Hebrew. (This was inspired by the motto of my alma mater, Brandeis University: “Truth even unto its innermost parts.”)
And just like I had a revelation only after naming our daughter, I had one with our son as well. I recently realized that, perhaps subconsciously, I did saddle him with a Superman name after all:
Rafa-El.
April 13, 2014
Publishing worlds collide and create "Iggy Loomis"
In 2010, my book Vocabulary Cartoon of the Day (grades 2-3), illustrated by Mike Moran (whom I have still not met), came out.
In 2012, my author friend Jennifer Allison (whose son portrayed Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel for a school project) asked for recommendations for good cartoonists.
I suggested Mike.
And he was the one hired to illustrate Jennifer’s 2013 book Iggy Loomis, Superkid in Training.
I love when this happens!
(It’s the first time this has happened.)
(For me, anyway.)
Good luck with Iggy, Jennifer and Mike!
In 2012, my author friend Jennifer Allison (whose son portrayed Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel for a school project) asked for recommendations for good cartoonists.
I suggested Mike.
And he was the one hired to illustrate Jennifer’s 2013 book Iggy Loomis, Superkid in Training.
I love when this happens!
(It’s the first time this has happened.)
(For me, anyway.)
Good luck with Iggy, Jennifer and Mike!
April 10, 2014
Those who work, those who take credit
On the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda, MD is a quotation that could have been the subtitle for Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman. (What? The one I ended up using is long, too.)
April 9, 2014
"Boys of Steel" signed by Siegels and Shusters
My friend Jamie Reigle is one of the world’s foremost collectors and purveyors of Superman memorabilia. I’ve mentioned him here before, and not only because he so kindly distributed hundreds (of the tens of thousands) of Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman postcards over the years.
There were a lot:
In the summer of 2013, among the tributes acknowledging the 75th anniversary of Superman, the Cleveland Jewish News produced a special commemorative section; Jamie was profiled.
Mentioned and pictured: the page proofs of Boys of Steel signed by as many members of the Siegel and Shuster families as Jamie could round up.
His sons are named Kalel and Lex. I trust Jamie has a plan to prevent young Lex from using his genius for evil…and I know I’m not the first to make that joke.
There were a lot:
In the summer of 2013, among the tributes acknowledging the 75th anniversary of Superman, the Cleveland Jewish News produced a special commemorative section; Jamie was profiled.
Mentioned and pictured: the page proofs of Boys of Steel signed by as many members of the Siegel and Shuster families as Jamie could round up.
His sons are named Kalel and Lex. I trust Jamie has a plan to prevent young Lex from using his genius for evil…and I know I’m not the first to make that joke.
April 7, 2014
Granddaughter of Wonder Woman's creator - her first interview
After a talk I gave at a Virginia elementary school in 11/13, one of the teachers, Nancy Wykoff, introduced herself...as the granddaughter of William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman.
Naturally I asked to interview her. Luckily she said yes. (Photos may be forthcoming.)
Your grandfather died in 1947 so I presume you never met him?
No, I never met my grandfather.
According to family who knew him, what kind of person was he?
My grandfather was a kind man. He was brilliant. Very bright. He not only created Wonder Woman, but he created the first lie detector. He loved his children and he loved women!
Any funny stories about him? In particular any funny Wonder Woman-related stories?
He died when my dad was 13 so most of the stories came from my grandmother. Stories say that he modeled Wonder Woman after Elizabeth Marston but my grandmother, Olive Richard, claims that Wonder Woman was designed after her. If you ever see a picture of the two ladies, you would see that indeed Wonder Woman was designed after my grandmother.
Bill Marston had four children with two different women. All the children, three boys and one girl, have Marston as their last name. My grandmother Olive met Bill when she was 19. Bill came home to his wife, Elizabeth Marston, and asked if Olive could come live with them. Elizabeth agreed. Olive was the homemaker and Elizabeth was an attorney for Met Life.
After Bill died, the women raised the kids together and continued to live together until their death. The children were well educated, Andover Prep School and Harvard. My dad was an attorney and Byrne was a doctor. The two children from Elizabeth, Pete and Olive Ann, I am not as close to. Pete and O.A. are still living and live in Connecticut. I am very close to my Uncle Byrne. We see him and his family quite often. He lives in Florida. My dad [came] to Washington D.C. to attend law school, moved to Arlington, Virginia, and I am still here!
Do you know what inspired him to create Wonder Woman?
Bill Marston said that he wanted a superhero that females could identify with. The few that were around then were characters that boys idolized or wanted to be, so he wanted to have a woman superhero. As you can tell, Bill loved women! He certainly created a well-shaped female!
Do you know about any controversy he had to deal with surrounding Wonder Woman?
I don't know if there was any controversy...
Do you what his opinion of Wonder Woman was?
I think he wanted WW to be a female who was strong, self-sufficient, and could help solve the world's problems. She used her lasso to get people to tell the truth (hence the lie detector connection), flew around in her invisible plane, and helped fight crime. What is not to love about that? She came from Amazonia, a land of strong women, goddesses... Remember Bill loved women. Fantasy, strong women, shapely...Wonder Woman.
Is Wonder Woman mentioned on his gravestone?
I am not sure. My dad spent many years of his life being angry at his father. Since there were two women living in his house, neighbors and peers often teased him about being a "bastard child" of Bill Marston. My dad was really confused and pissed off. I have never been to my grandfather’s grave. To be honest, I am not sure where he was buried. I think New York. That is where they were living when Bill died. I will have to find that out for you.
What is the oldest piece of Wonder Woman memorabilia you own?
We own a few of the first sketches for the first comic Wonder Woman. We have the original script for the first comic and we have the first comic book published. We even have the first lie detector! I know, it should be in the Smithsonian or someplace like that!
I understand that your family still owns Wonder Woman. Does that mean that DC Comics needs the family's approval for all Wonder Woman stories and products?
Yes, they need family approval before any decisions are made.
Have you been interviewed before about this?
Never!
Do you pay attention to the narrative changes DC has made to the character?
We wish they would go back to the kinder, gentler WW. I am not thrilled with the new look.
Who would you like to see play Wonder Woman in a movie? [NOTE: Question asked before Gal Godot was cast for the 2016 Superman/Batman movie...but no matter, she will not be the last actress to portray Wonder Woman.]
I liked Jessica Biel. They also had another choice, a woman from Mexico, I think. She was a good choice. I think he character needs to be young to attract the young girl audience. Too old and you lose that. I can't tell you how many kids at my school have WW stuff. The girls love her!
Were you ever Wonder Woman for Halloween?
Yes! So was my daughter!
What do the kids in the family think of the family's connection to Wonder Woman?
They think it is awesome! They so want a movie to be made. They think it isn't fair that Batman and Superman have had so many movies already. When they tell friends that their great grandfather created WW, most friends don't believe them!
On a side note, my great grandmother is Margaret Sanger. When the kids mention her, then there is total doubt! That is what used to happen to me when I was younger. My friends would say, “There is no way your dad's dad created WW and your great-grandmother started Planned Parenthood!” It is true!
My son's middle name is Marston and my daughter's middle name is Sanger…so it continues... :)
A stage play about Marston.
Naturally I asked to interview her. Luckily she said yes. (Photos may be forthcoming.)
Your grandfather died in 1947 so I presume you never met him?
No, I never met my grandfather.
According to family who knew him, what kind of person was he?
My grandfather was a kind man. He was brilliant. Very bright. He not only created Wonder Woman, but he created the first lie detector. He loved his children and he loved women!
Any funny stories about him? In particular any funny Wonder Woman-related stories?
He died when my dad was 13 so most of the stories came from my grandmother. Stories say that he modeled Wonder Woman after Elizabeth Marston but my grandmother, Olive Richard, claims that Wonder Woman was designed after her. If you ever see a picture of the two ladies, you would see that indeed Wonder Woman was designed after my grandmother.
Bill Marston had four children with two different women. All the children, three boys and one girl, have Marston as their last name. My grandmother Olive met Bill when she was 19. Bill came home to his wife, Elizabeth Marston, and asked if Olive could come live with them. Elizabeth agreed. Olive was the homemaker and Elizabeth was an attorney for Met Life.
After Bill died, the women raised the kids together and continued to live together until their death. The children were well educated, Andover Prep School and Harvard. My dad was an attorney and Byrne was a doctor. The two children from Elizabeth, Pete and Olive Ann, I am not as close to. Pete and O.A. are still living and live in Connecticut. I am very close to my Uncle Byrne. We see him and his family quite often. He lives in Florida. My dad [came] to Washington D.C. to attend law school, moved to Arlington, Virginia, and I am still here!
Do you know what inspired him to create Wonder Woman?
Bill Marston said that he wanted a superhero that females could identify with. The few that were around then were characters that boys idolized or wanted to be, so he wanted to have a woman superhero. As you can tell, Bill loved women! He certainly created a well-shaped female!
Do you know about any controversy he had to deal with surrounding Wonder Woman?
I don't know if there was any controversy...
Do you what his opinion of Wonder Woman was?
I think he wanted WW to be a female who was strong, self-sufficient, and could help solve the world's problems. She used her lasso to get people to tell the truth (hence the lie detector connection), flew around in her invisible plane, and helped fight crime. What is not to love about that? She came from Amazonia, a land of strong women, goddesses... Remember Bill loved women. Fantasy, strong women, shapely...Wonder Woman.
Is Wonder Woman mentioned on his gravestone?
I am not sure. My dad spent many years of his life being angry at his father. Since there were two women living in his house, neighbors and peers often teased him about being a "bastard child" of Bill Marston. My dad was really confused and pissed off. I have never been to my grandfather’s grave. To be honest, I am not sure where he was buried. I think New York. That is where they were living when Bill died. I will have to find that out for you.
What is the oldest piece of Wonder Woman memorabilia you own?
We own a few of the first sketches for the first comic Wonder Woman. We have the original script for the first comic and we have the first comic book published. We even have the first lie detector! I know, it should be in the Smithsonian or someplace like that!
I understand that your family still owns Wonder Woman. Does that mean that DC Comics needs the family's approval for all Wonder Woman stories and products?
Yes, they need family approval before any decisions are made.
Have you been interviewed before about this?
Never!
Do you pay attention to the narrative changes DC has made to the character?
We wish they would go back to the kinder, gentler WW. I am not thrilled with the new look.
Who would you like to see play Wonder Woman in a movie? [NOTE: Question asked before Gal Godot was cast for the 2016 Superman/Batman movie...but no matter, she will not be the last actress to portray Wonder Woman.]
I liked Jessica Biel. They also had another choice, a woman from Mexico, I think. She was a good choice. I think he character needs to be young to attract the young girl audience. Too old and you lose that. I can't tell you how many kids at my school have WW stuff. The girls love her!
Were you ever Wonder Woman for Halloween?
Yes! So was my daughter!
What do the kids in the family think of the family's connection to Wonder Woman?
They think it is awesome! They so want a movie to be made. They think it isn't fair that Batman and Superman have had so many movies already. When they tell friends that their great grandfather created WW, most friends don't believe them!
On a side note, my great grandmother is Margaret Sanger. When the kids mention her, then there is total doubt! That is what used to happen to me when I was younger. My friends would say, “There is no way your dad's dad created WW and your great-grandmother started Planned Parenthood!” It is true!
My son's middle name is Marston and my daughter's middle name is Sanger…so it continues... :)
A stage play about Marston.
April 5, 2014
Who goes by their initials
A review recently in for Bill the Boy Wonder: The Creator of Batman contains some choice comments:
By the way, I had to look up those initials.
Robert Downey, Jr.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Have No Idea.
MTN (all the cool people go by their initials, RDJ, JGL, JCP) writes the book in a large picture book format seemingly gearing it towards younger children yet it’s mood, story and historical content will appeal to much older readers.
[Nobleman] and Templeton (or TT)…are simply trying to right a wrong done to a humble, creative genius of a storyteller. There is hope in this tale. Perhaps by aiming to a young audience and appealing to the adult fans, the story of unsung heroes like Finger will inspire others to stand up for the silent ones.
I was surprisingly moved despite the children’s book style and format. You may have passed on it because of that but you should really check it out. Nobleman is very passionate about this and it comes through in his story. Templeton is an inspired choice as illustrator. I’m recommending this as a buy. Not just a buy but also a give. Yes, give this book to a casual fan.
By the way, I had to look up those initials.
Robert Downey, Jr.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Have No Idea.
April 4, 2014
Meet Athena Finger, grandaughter of Bill
Today, Bill Finger’s lone grandchild, Athena Finger, makes her first appearance at a comic convention, in St. Louis. In Bill’s entire career, he appeared for certain at one con and possibly one more. Athena will overtake him before the year is out.
Here is the bio I helped her whip up for her primetime debut:
Here is the bio I helped her whip up for her primetime debut:
Athena Finger knew all along that she was the lone grandchild of Bill Finger, co-creator and original writer of Batman…it was Batman fans who didn’t know. Born two years after Bill died, Athena never met her grandfather, but heard about him from her father Fred. When Athena got married, she kept her maiden name out of respect for the man who gave life not only to her (indirectly) but also to the world’s most popular superhero. Since Marc Tyler Nobleman, author of Bill the Boy Wonder, found out about Athena in 2007, she has slowly made her presence known to comicdom. She lives in Florida with her son Ben and teaches math at Broward College.
April 2, 2014
Bill Finger app
Friends and I got to talking and I mentioned I plan to develop apps based on a few of my books. One friend, Sara, said, “Bill Finger?”
We then collaborated on the idea for such an app: open the app and walk by any comic containing any Batman story and it will tell you if that Batman story was written by Bill Finger.
We then collaborated on the idea for such an app: open the app and walk by any comic containing any Batman story and it will tell you if that Batman story was written by Bill Finger.
March 31, 2014
The Big Bang Query
In March 2013, during the Q&A after an educators conference in Georgia, a huge fan of The Big Bang Theory suggested I send a copy of each book to the show.
Though I don’t watch it (heresy!), I know it regularly references superheroes. I didn’t see what the producers might do with my books...yet this audience member kept kindly suggesting (almost insisting), and eventually I was convinced.
What did I want from this? Well, this woman seemed to think the true stories in these books could inspire a storyline on the show. I felt that is probably unlikely, but I am a never-hurts-to-try guy. In any case, I’d be thrilled if either or both could be added to the set, even if for just a scene. I believe they are the kinds of books the characters would own...
On Facebook, I asked if anyone in my network has a connection to anyone connected to the show, and within minutes, I heard from a friend who is friends with Kaley Cuoco’s makeup artist. She happened to be supremely nice, and offered to pass along my books, so I sent them to her. Every time I followed up, she was equally nice and complimentary.
As of now, nothing has come of it. But you can’t predict a big bang…
Though I don’t watch it (heresy!), I know it regularly references superheroes. I didn’t see what the producers might do with my books...yet this audience member kept kindly suggesting (almost insisting), and eventually I was convinced.
What did I want from this? Well, this woman seemed to think the true stories in these books could inspire a storyline on the show. I felt that is probably unlikely, but I am a never-hurts-to-try guy. In any case, I’d be thrilled if either or both could be added to the set, even if for just a scene. I believe they are the kinds of books the characters would own...
On Facebook, I asked if anyone in my network has a connection to anyone connected to the show, and within minutes, I heard from a friend who is friends with Kaley Cuoco’s makeup artist. She happened to be supremely nice, and offered to pass along my books, so I sent them to her. Every time I followed up, she was equally nice and complimentary.
As of now, nothing has come of it. But you can’t predict a big bang…
