(My) Kids in the News

Last Friday, Ashley Rhodebeck came over from the Beloit Daily News to interview my family. She’d been assigned to update the local readers about our quadruplets and how they’re doing. The article appears in today’s paper, and you can read all about us online too.

The kids had a ball talking with Ashley. When her car pulled into the driveway, they raced out to greet her and walk her into the house. They barely stopped talking (sometimes all at once) the entire time she was here. I can’t wait to show them the paper tonight.

Happy Birthday, Marty

Ten years ago today, I became a father. My son Marty was born down in Radford, Virginia, while I was helping run Pinnacle Entertainment Group as its president. Even before he was born, we knew we wanted to move back to Wisconsin to be closer to family–something I couldn’t have imagined when I was in high school–and within six months we had.

It’s hard to believe Marty’s already 10. This means he’s already more than halfway through the time we can expect him to live with us before he heads off on his own, to college or wherever. He’s developed into such a wonderful boy, and I cannot wait to see what kind of a young man he becomes. At the same time, I want to make sure to savor every moment we have before then.

Today, we took Marty to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and then to the Rainforest Cafe in Schaumburg. He had a ball, and the rest of us did too. Next weekend, we’ll have a laser tag party with his friends and celebrate all over again.

It’s good to be a dad–especially Marty’s dad. He’s a sweet, smart, clever kid with a sharp sense of humor, and I could not be prouder of him.

Happy birthday, Marty! Here’s to many, many more together.

The Cost of Making Comics

Publishers Weekly just posted an excellent article about what it takes to make money at producing comics. It’s framed in terms of this summer’s notorious debate between Robert Kirkman and Brian Michael Bendis, but feel free to ignore that and just look at the numbers. Making money in comics is far from easy, and this shows you exactly why.

Put this next to John Rogers’s recent comments on the canceling of Blue Beetle from DC Comics, and its clear why even the larger publishers struggle with making money on some of their titles. There are only so many comic-book readers out there, and with prices nearing $4 per book, they can’t buy enough titles to keep every one of them afloat.

I recently signed up for Marvel’s digital comics service. It’s actually pretty snazzy, and it only runs $60 per year. Considering that’s less than the cost of two comics a month, it’s a fantastic deal. Also, since I’m a reader rather than a collector, it’s a great fit for me. I get to read the books but then not bother with all that bagging, boarding, and boxing of them and then trying to figure out where to store them.

And I don’t have to remember to drive down the comic store every week to get my fix. I usually wind up cursing my luck for missing a key issue if I can’t manage it to make it on any given week. You add up too many of those, and I just give up on a title. There are too many holes in the story to make it worthwhile for me to try to follow it.

My only real complaint is that Marvel doesn’t usually post new issues until they’re several months–or even years–old. They hope to preserve their comic-shop sales this way, I know, but I’ve been broken of that habit, and I don’t see myself going back any time soon. In the meantime, make mine digital.

More Forbidden Knowledge Out Now!

MFK.jpegMy latest book apparently hit shelves before I knew it. More Forbidden Knowledge: 101 New Things Not Everyone Should Know How to Do is now available at bookstores around the US (at least). Amazon still lists it under the name of Michael Powell, the original book‘s author. However, Urban Outfitters (of all places) not only has it under my name but also features the cover and some interior pages to glance through too.

This is the third book I wrote for a nonfiction book packager, but due to the vagaries of publishing it’s the first one released. I’m told the others–Egyptians: Lost Worlds and Orcs–should come out in 2009.

The book sounds edgy, but it should be filed under “Humor” rather than “Reference.” It covers everything from breathing fire to how to disarm a nuclear bomb, but with only 300 or so words devoted to each topic, each entry just features a tongue-in-cheek overview. The Anarchist’s Cookbook it is not.

If you’re looking for a fun, light read, check it out. As I wrote it, it struck me that someone could easily add a d20/4E set of rules to it to create Jackass: The Roleplaying Game. Think of it as all the fun without any of the stitches.

Lester’s Shadows

My fellow Alliterate and good pal Lester Smith just launched WhenShadowsRise.com, a new website dedicated to the development of a new horror roleplaying game. Among many other gaming gems, Les designed the excellent Dark Conspiracy RPG way back in 1991.

Les has been working on this game in his limited spare time for a long time. I’ve heard about it in bits and pieces from him over the years, and I can’t wait to read the actual thing.

No ChiTAG for Me

Unfortunately, I will not be able to make it to the TAGIE Awards tonight or to ChiTAG tomorrow. My wife has come down with the flu, and while my mother will come over to watch most of the kids tonight, my son Marty needs a parent to join him at the opening night of his play (KFAD‘s production of A Christmas Carol) tonight.

Kids come before work, so I’ll be there instead of in Chicago tonight. If you were planning to see me there, please accept my apologies and my hopes that we get another chance some other time soon.

Good Times Too

I’ve posted a lot of gloomy things here lately, so I thought I should give some attention to some of the good ones too. Three new babies have come into the world recently and that’s something to wear a goofy grin about.

First, my cousin Michelle Norville gave birth to her fourth child, Lucy Ann. Michelle and her husband Marcus are wonderful parents already, and Lucy comes into a home filled with a lot of love from arms both big and small.

Second, Judith Heise–the wife of my good friend John Kovalic of Dork Tower fame–gave birth to their first child, Louisa Claudette-Marie. This is especially poignant because John and Judith had tried for so many years and had a foreign adoption fall apart not so long ago. Ann and I struggled with our own infertility issues for many years, too–before we corrected them with a big (baby) boom, so we’re just thrilled for the newly formed Kovalic Trio.

Third, Rachel Butterworth-Tice–the wife of another good friend (and former employee at Pinnacle), Matt Tice–just gave birth to their first child too: Gregory David. I’ve known the proud parents for over a dozen years, and Gregory is one lucky kid.

To top this all off, my cousin Kate Williams and her husband Trevor are just about to have their first baby. They had some scares early in the pregnancy that sent Kate on bed rest, something my wife Ann knows only too much about from her time carrying the quads. We are ecstatic that the baby is now near enough to full term that she would no longer be considered a preemie if born even today, and we cannot wait to hear of her birth soon.

So, congratulations to all those very happy parents, and welcome all you lucky kids! We’re hoping to have you all around for a very long time to come.

Sad Day in Wisconsin

While I was at my step-uncle Richard Lacy’s funeral on Wednesday, I learned of a horrible tragedy that had happened in Madison the day before. Ryan Dutter, formerly of Beloit, shot his disabled 12-year-old son and then killed himself.

I didn’t know Ryan personally. I went to school for many years with his older brother Pat, and Ryan was in my step-brother Dan Schooff’s grade. I often saw their mother Rosemary running around town, especially last year when we were looking for a bigger house.

It’s hard to imagine what could drive Ryan to such an act. I always respected his family and enjoyed their company, and it’s awful to contemplate what a horror this must be for them all.

D&D on BBC

The BBC has an excellent piece on the new eTools for use with Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition. The video features short appearances by my friend (and former editor) Rich Baker, and the article has quotes from my pal Charles Ryan.

I’m excited to see that the beta for the online character builder is finally up. While 4E is a fine game, its real promise for being something truly innovative comes with the electronic tools Wizards has promised for it. They’ve been in limbo for months now since the game’s release in the spring, and I’m looking forward to being able to use them all sometime (hopefully) soon.

TAGIE and ChiTAG and Dickens This Weekend

As a reminder, tomorrow night I’ll be at the TAGIE Awards dinner. On Saturday, I’ll be at ChiTAG, helping out with the Ask an Expert sessions. If you’ll be there, be sure to stop by and say hi.

The rest of the weekend, I’ll be watching my son Marty perform in A Christmas Carol. This is the Kids Fun and Drama production of the musical based on the classic holiday story by Charles Dickens. If you happen to be in the Beloit area, you are more than welcome to join us at the play.