Month: October 2015

So on WFAN radio this morning they were busily discussing everything the Mets now have to worry about vis a vis the World Series. What’s up with Cespedes’ arm, who’s going to pitch, etc. And then they turned to another reporter to discuss the Nets.

And the Nets guy said, “Before we do that, can we talk about the Mets a moment?” They said sure. And he said, “Could you guys be happy? I mean, all you’re doing is focusing on all the problems they have to deal with. You just won the National League championship. Could you focus on that for 24 hours instead of just worrying and complaining?” And they took that in and said, “Okay,” and spent the next minute being happy.

Yay!

Seriously?

When the first “Star Wars” film came out in 1977, it was criticized for the overall whiteness of it. The one major black actor, James Earl Jones, wasn’t even given voice credit (his choice). This was answered with the introduction of Lando in the very next film, but still, mostly white.

So now the new film prominently features a black hero and there are actually idiots who are declaring it should be boycotted because of that? I mean, I knew there are people for whom Obama can do no right because of his skin color, but this is quite simply insane.

Thank God that there’s zero evidence the boycott will have any impact. Any film that crashes the internet when tickets go on sale, as happened last night, needn’t worry. Still, every time you find yourself wondering how stupid people are, they always seem willing to answer with more evidence.

PAD

I was obviously thrilled to see the Mets win game five last night, and my biggest relief was that Chase Utley flew out rather than tie up the game. So now it’s Mets vs. Cubs, and although naturally I’m rooting for the Mets, seeing the Cubs in the World Series with a chance to make “Back to the Future II'” prediction come true is an entertaining notion.

And I’d like to share with you the best written article opening about yesterday’s game from the Mets website:

By Matt Monagan

Facing off against Zack Greinke — half-man/half-pitching robot sent here to destroy all batters who dare to face him — the Mets needed a few players to step up in a big way. They needed to string together a few hits here and there in hopes of scoring a run or two for starter Jacob deGrom. It would need to be a team effort.

Or, you know, Daniel Murphy could just do everything.

PAD

For some reason this has become a hot topic of discussion lately. As movie and TV stars and B- and C-listers prices for autographs skyrocket at conventions, comic book writers and artists have been discussing whether or not they charge for scribbling their names on their work. So I thought I would make my own position clear.

I’ve been signing my name on books and comics for longer than a considerable portion of you have been alive. Do I charge for my autographs? No.

For decades this was never an issue. But as the actors crank up their rates, more and more fans have been coming to conventions unaware of the fact that most writers don’t charge. And so nowadays many fans have been asking “How much?” when they’ve had me sign stuff. And I’d say there was no charge. Many seemed confused. Some even tried to hand me money anyway.

So some months back I figured, “The hëll with it,” and added a tip jar to my desk. I’m told some other creators also have tip jars and they seem to take great pains to explain that it’s for charity, because…I dunno. It keeps their conscience clear, I guess. That’s fine. In my case, let me make it clear: it’s for me. It helps to cover convention expenses because many conventions don’t provide per diems. I rarely draw attention to it, unless someone brings me something like 50 comics to sign.

So now when fans ask if there’s a charge, I say no, but if they want to throw money in my tip jar then I won’t toss it back at them. The results are varied. Some fans bring me thirty books to sign and put in nothing. Others have me sign one comic and drop in ten bucks. So I guess it all evens out.

Anyway, that’s my policy.

PAD