2019 was a very busy year!

So, it occurs to me that not only have I not posted here in a bit, but that I've actually been quite busy over the past several months, and the probability exist that I have been remiss about informing all'y'all about what I've been up to during the past year or so.

So, to rectify, I’ve decided to take a few moments and bring all'y'all up to speed on what I’ve been doing.
I suppose that at the top of the list, I’ve been posting movie and comic reviews over at HubPages. You should head over there and sign up to subscribe and receive regular updates as to what I find cool enough to write about.

Some of the film reviews (those dealing with monsters and creatures of the night), tend to wind up over on the We Love Monsters Facebook page as well as in their print editions(s).

As far as comicbook writing goes, I want to start back in 2018 (actually) with the inclusion of my short story Birds of Prey in the Wunderfunders anthology Memorial, The Great War Centennial Anthology The book was published for the 100^th anniversary of the first World War (The war to end all wars).

My short story told the tale of an American who witnessed both the initial flights of Gustave Whitehead and the Wright Brothers, then went off to England to help in the war effort over there prior to the U.S. entering the war. His story (briefly) documents the use of airplanes in the war effort.

My story was penciled by Greg Kimmet, inked by Dustin Pageloff, colored by Melissa Compton, and lettered by Jason Sylvestree, with the splash page colored by Christopher Geary.

Memorial is a sequential art anthology to commemorate those who fought and fell in the course of the first world war, and to benefit the children of the world caught up in the wars still being fought. All proceeds from the book will be donated to Warchild UK.

Next up (in 20190), I was invited by Ramon Gil to participate in a Kickstarter anthology project of his, by writing a short science fiction story (which Ramon then illustrated) for this wonderful SciFies Anthology. My story had kind of a fun twist to it, one which I believe came out very well.

I had previously worked with Ramon on a one-page story for a Phrases to Pages story for Pronto Comics, as well as having contributed the introduction to his first SciFies collection.

Working with Ramon, is always a pleasure (He has also invited me to attend his FIT Diversity Con in NYC on two occasions.)

This was followed by a short Halloween story that I penned for InDELLible Comics’ Tales from the Tomb anthology (The Witch and the Wolf, illustrated by the ever amazing Carl Morgans). InDELLible is comprised of a consortium of writers and artist who have taken it upon themselves to revive the (now Public Domain) characters of the defunct publisher, Dell Comics.

InDELLible also publishes the Popular Comics anthology (which is now up to issue #3). Issue #4 (due out in 2020) will (hopefully) have short story by me included that stars The Golden Age Owl Girl. Other InDELLible comics include Cartoon Cuties by Rock Baker, The House of Spades (which will contain the third chapter of my Wülf Girlz series), and CrackerJack Funnies which carries a Chanukah story of mine (Home for the Holidays), illustrated by the wicked-talented Carl Morgans.

InDELLible also published (in 2019) an InDELLiprose edition that contained prose stories of these same Dell heroes. That initial edition contained a short story of min featuring the Golden Age Owl Girl entitled Byline. A follow-up prose story with both Owl Girl and The Owl (entitled Hate by any Other Name) will appear in the second edition, due out in 2020.

(As soon as these other stories are available, I’ll be posting links as to where folks can acquire them.) In the mean time, just to keep you interested and to whet your appetite, I'll tease you with just a taste of the amazing artwork by Carl.

While these are the most recent, works that I have penned, there is also a short prose story of mine in the Metahumans vs. the Ultimate Evil entitled Northern Lite from 2016. I do have a couple of other short stories that have been written and are slated for publication; more on those as they come to fruition.

In addition to these stories of mine, I have contributed to some other publications, including two articles in Munster Memories, then there is an old interview of mine that I conducted with Mike Grell that was added to the TwoMorrows book by Dewey Cassell — Mike Grell: Life is Drawing without an Eraser, and of course the two Stan Lee books about drawing superheroes, Stan Lee's How to Draw Superheroes and Stan Lee's Master Class in which I wrote four chapters each (allowing me to say, with no ego, and in my best Chevy Chase voice, “I'm Stan Lee and you're not.”)

Then, not only am I a fairly prolific writer, but I’m something of a one-man production company as well in that I have preform pre-press production and editorial tasks for several clients, including Main Enterprises, Stone Island Comics, Red Anvil/JGM, Glass House Graphics, Macrospasm Studios, Hippy Comix, Big Apple Convention, and others. Some of the many books and magazines on which I have worked appear in the image below.

More to follow as the year progresses...

Scifies the 2019 Anthology

Okay, I want to take a little bit of time to talk about one of my favorite collaborators, Ramon Gil. Ramon is one of those Jack-of-all-Trade Entrepreneurs, he has his fingers in a number of pies. he is a writer, artist, publisher, teacher, and more.

Back in 2015, a short time after I met him, I was invited to write an introduction to his collection of short illustrated stories, Scifies Greatest Hits. the book was a collection of a number of Ramon’s previously-published stories. Given that I was already a fan of Ramon’s work, I was honored to be asked, and so I happily agreed. At the time, I wrote:

“It is an honest pleasure to find not only a science fiction title out there, but one produced by a writer who seems to understand that drama doesn't have to be all dramatic, and humor doesn't have to be all belly-laughs.” 

In 2018 Ramon invited me to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology Diversity Con in NYC (I’ll be attending again this year) which is a comic con that he organized. So yeah, Ramon is a very busy guy, and I wish I had half his energy.

Still, what I want to talk about here is the 2019 Scifies anthology that he put
together. This time, instead of writing the whole book himself, he assembled a very impressive array of talent to contribute stories. This edition features work from several rising stars as well as a number of seasoned veterans of the comicbook industry, including Nicolò Arcuti, Chase Bluestone, Paul Bradford, Allen Byrns, Claire Connelly, Macareña Cortes, Daniel Franco, Rob Jones, Matt Kelly, Dick Malmgren, Micah Myers, Jan Marc Quisumbing, Peder Riis, Derwin Roberson, Tue Sorensen, Marta Tanrikulu and Lynne Yoshii, and yes, even your humble blogger.

The 10 stories include the following eight new stories:

Tomorrow: A nightmarish, militaristic future might be more than it seems. By Claire Connelly.

Ocean of Emptiness: a vampire, the last of his kind, tries to survive in a world that's hunting him. By Paul Bradford, Allen Byrnes and Micah Myers. 

Name Day: a fantastical shopping trip for a young girl with her father. By Marta Tanrikulu, Daniel Franco and Robin Jones.

Spacegirl Speeda in Lazerville: a cosmic superheroine in the future makes an unusual friend. By Tue Sorensen and Peder Riis.

Lt. Yorick: As if the presence of a silent astronaut wasn't strange enough for this suburban family, ten-year-old Jude's nightmares hint at a catastrophic end for them all, in this otherworldly coming of age tale. By Matt Kelly and Nicolo Arcuti.

The Last Survivor: the story a lone soldier trying to make her last stand against an alien creature leads to a shocking twist. By Lynne Yoshii.

The ninth story is something of a unique oddity. When one of the original contributors pulled out of the project due to a conflict, Ramon found an old Sci-fi story that existed in the public domain, then — in the tradition of Woody Allen’s What’s up, Tiger Lily? he re-wrote the dialogue adding, well, a heaping helping of trademark Ramon humor, making it one of my favorite tales in the collection.

Emergency Landing: visitors from a one-gendered planet encounters a human female who will not be denied. By Dick Malmgren and Ramon Gil.

The 10^th and final story is one written by, well, me, and then magnificently illustrated by Ramon.

The Long Event Horizon: a dangerous space expedition leads to an unforgettable conclusion! By Robert J. Sodaro and Ramon Gil.

All-in-all, this is a wonderful collection of sci-fi-themed stories rendered by an amazingly-talent crew to which I am grateful and honored to have been associated with for the project.

As I stated at the onset of this post, Ramon has the talent, ability and drive to assemble and produce some truly amazing projects, and I am always thrilled when he chooses to include me in whatever he is doing.

Yes, I'm still “nearly” famous!

So, if you are in the area of ‪‎St. Marks Comics‬ in NYC (http://www.stmarkscomics.com) on Monday, October 5th between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. you will be able to catch myself, and a host of other talented comicbook creators (including Mark Mazz, Ramon Gil, Tom DeFalco, Chris Torres, Michael Sarrao, and others autographing some of our works, including Ramon's most amazing 72 page Trade Paperback, Scifies, from Atlas Unleashed. 

The book includes a Foreword by Tom DeFalco and an intro by yours truly.

That's Monday night October 5th between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

You simply won't regret the experience.