This will be a brief update, because the order of business right now is letting you know my schedule at the upcoming San Diego Comic Con Wed. July 21 through Sunday July 25.

Here are my panels:

Friday July 23:

6:00 pm – 7:00 Lloyd Kaufman, Max Allan Collins, and Bill Plympton. We will be talking indie filmmaking, and Lloyd and I will be making a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT about several new Troma-released M.A.C. DVDs. Room 6CDEF

Saturday, July 24:

1:00-2:00 Witches, Vamps, and Robots, Oh My! Fiction and Facts of Fan Favorites. I’ll be sharing the panel with various other practitioners of the licensing “tie-in” art. Room 7B

2:00-3:30 Comics: The New Mainstream. This panel will explore the radical notion of non-superhero comics. Room 7A

Important note: right now there is a glitch in the Con scheduling: my official autographing time is DURING the “New Mainstream” panel. I have asked to be rescheduled, so check the daily con updates.

Also, I will be signing at both the IDW booth and the Troma booth, but I don’t have the times yet, so check in at those booths; it’s possible a DC booth signing will be added, too. Additionally, my son Nate and I will be around the dealer’s room and various panels throughout the con. Don’t be shy about stopping me to sign something.

More news after the con, but available RIGHT NOW are the following new items: THE LONDON BLITZ MURDERS; BOMBSHELL; ON THE ROAD TO PERDITION: DETOUR; and the final issue of the CSI comic book mini-series, DEMON HOUSE.

Hope to see you at the con. Check back for the post-convention update, and watch this site for news about the ROAD TO PURGATORY tour.

M.A.C.

My apologies for not updating the site sooner and more often.  Nate’s been doing much better than his old man, putting covers up regularly.  But I have been swamped….

Right now I am writing ROAD TO PURGATORY, the first of two prose sequels I’m doing for Harper Collins.   Already out (the cover elsewhere on the site) is ON THE ROAD TO PERDITION: OASIS, the first of three graphic novellas that DC is bringing out.  OASIS is available now, and the next one is well under way, the script completed and brilliant artist Steve Leiber (WHITEOUT) is doing a job worthy of Richard Piers Rayner himself.

A new pin-up book, CALENDAR GIRLS, is out under my byline, although frankly I mostly just did the intro.  George Hagenauer and I have completed similar introductory material for a new book from Taschen about the men’s “sweat” (i.e., adventure) mags.  Not sure when that’ll be out.

I have completed THE LONDON BLITZ MURDERS, but it won’t be out until September 2004 from Berkley Prime Crime.  In it, Agatha Christie meets a real-life Jack the Ripper — the Blackout Ripper.  The current LUSITANIA MURDERS has been nominated for a Shamus by the Private Eye Writers of America.

Lots of CSI stuff — I’ve been a second comic book mini-series for IDW; the first of two CSI: MIAMI novels is on the stands (FLORIDA GETAWAY) and the next CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIATION novel, BODY OF EVIDENCE, will be out in November ’03.&nbsp Matt Clemens continues to co-plot and do the forensics.  Also, I’ve written the dialogue for the UBI Soft CSI video game (available now) and am co-plotting and writing the dialogue for a second one, now.

BOMBSHELL, the Marilyn Monroe/Nikita Khruschev thriller by Barb and me, has been accepted by FiveStar, who are bringing out a Quarry collection, QUARRY’S GREATEST HITS, in September ’03.  Not sure when BOMBSHELL will be out, but there’s some nice enthusiasm about it from the publisher.

Indie movie projects include an anthology of short films called SHADES OF NOIR, including my short ELIOT NESS: AN UNTOUCHABLE LIFE (a prototype for a longer film), director Jeffrey Goodman’s Quarry short A MATTER OF PRINICIPAL (my script and I exec-produced); and THREE WOMEN which I wrote and directed from bride Barbara Collins’s short story, “World’s Greatest Mother.”  A MATTER OF PRINCIPAL has already won several festivals.  Both NESS and THREE WOMEN star Michael Cornelison, star of both MOMMYs and REAL TIME.  Assembled with my longtime collaborator Phil Dingeldein, SHADES OF NOIR will go to strictly midwestern festivals, and I hope to expand it by adding my documentary MIKE HAMMER’S MICKEY SPILLANE, which would bring it to DVD-friendly feature length.

We’re in post-production on my second documentary, CAVEMAN: V.T. HAMLIN AND ALLEY OOP, about the famous Iowa cartoonist whose innovative caveman strip inspired the Flintstones, among other things.  MOMMY/MOMMY’S DAY/REAL TIME collaborator, Steve Henke, is editing right now at the University of Iowa.   We’ll have it done by the end of the year.

Another indie project, PRODIGAL ROAD, a modernday retelling of the Prodigal Son tale (the screenplay is written) which I would direct keeps threatening to happen….Could go into production early next year.

Thanks for your interest and support!

M.A.C.

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I hope you’ve all had a chance to see ROAD TO PERDITION, the incredible film Sam Mendes has fashioned from my graphic novel. A few fans have complained about changes Mendes and screenwriter David Self have made, but I am entirely comfortable with what I think are intelligent and in some cases necessary modifications.

The graphic novel was originally structured to appear in three manga-style issues; it never did appear in that form, but it bears that structure. For that reason, the graphic novel has many more action set pieces than the film; and the numerous hit men pursuing O’Sullivan and son were rolled up into one character, Maguire, the evil Weegee-like photographer…a great creation of David Self’s. This provides the screenplay with a secondary villain and suits the structural spine of the film. I approve and applaud it.

The emphasis on the father and son relationship between Rooney and Sullivan (Looney and O’Sullivan in my book) is an apt one — very effective, deepening the piece. That Looney and O’Sullivan had a father-and-son relationship is implied in the book; but Self and Mendes rightly hit it on the nose, using the wake sequence to cinematically express some rather straightforward exposition from the graphic novel.

The toning down of the violence also was a good idea, particularly in light of the somber approach that Mendes and his brilliant cinematographer, Conrad Hall, took. Nonetheless, the violence is stark and disturbing — not unlike what I’ve done in my Nate Heller and Quarry novels — and appropriate to the tone. I ask my fans this — would you rather have had a movie with all my action set pieces, but starring, say, Jean Claude Van Damme or maybe Jeff Speakman? I don’t think so.

In fact, the film seems to me to encapsulate everything I’ve done in mystery fiction for going on thirty years — Dick Tracy and Junior are reflected in the two Michaels; then there’s the father-and-son relationship between Nolan and Jon, as well as the bank robbery aspect; the historical approach of Nate Heller (Stanley Tucci IS my Frank Nitti!); the honorable hitman of Quarry; the revenge motif of Ms. Tree; the child and murderous parent theme of MOMMY. It’s all there.

As for the changed ending…I will tell you this: at the after-premiere party in New York, the first thing Steven Spielberg said to me was: “The only thing I don’t like about Sam’s movie is that he didn’t use your ending.” Obviously, I would tend to agree…and my ending was part of Self’s screenplay. But the ending of the film does work, and — since my ending is not played out — Michael and his father MUST exchange roles in that climatic scene, just as Mendes shot it.

There’s been an incredible (and surprising) amount of attention paid to me and the graphic novel, and you may have seen the ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY profile or perhaps the USA Today or Associated Press pieces. Many mentions in reviews, too — some preferring the graphic novel to the movie, and talking about the book in depth. Most reviews have been great, and speak of Oscars at year’s end.

So go see the movie while it’s still in theaters — the visuals (and the wonderful music) deserve the big screen, big sound system treatment.

In the meantime, the news is this: I’ve signed to do two ROAD TO PERDITION sequels for William Morrow (publisher of WINDTALKERS). They will be novels, not graphic novels, though the latter may eventually follow as well. I’m discussing a separate graphic novel — an episodic look at the father and son’s time on the road together — with Marvel; the hope is that Richard Piers Rayner can be involved.

Other news: I’ve just signed to do two more CSI novels (the second will be out in October: SIN CITY) (not my title — mine was the wonderful but politically incorrect DEAD NUDE GIRLS). I’ve delivered the I SPY novel, and am working on the second DARK ANGEL (SKIN GAME) with the first due around October, also (BEFORE THE DAWN). Matthew V. Clemens continues to work with me on the CSI and DARK ANGEL books as researcher and co-plotter.

Watch also for THE LUSITANIA MURDERS around the same time.

Some comics work in the pipeline: I’m halfway through a massive BATMAN graphic novel, CHILD OF DREAMS, drawn and co-plotted by SILENT MOBIEUS creator, Kia Asamiya — the first BATMANGA. I may also be doing a CSI comic book mini-series, and the serialized JOHNNY DYNAMITE mini-series, UNDERWORLD, is probably going to be pubbed as a graphic novel.

Speaking of which, the Pocket Books reprint of the original ROAD TO PERDITION graphic novel has hit the New York Times bestseller list!

Thanks for your interest and support. Nate and I will try to update this site more frequently. In the meantime, enjoy the PERDITION wallpaper!

M.A.C.

My son Nate and I need to apologize for the long delay between updates…more my fault than his, though he’s now busy at the University of Iowa, studying computer science.  He’s in Iowa City, just forty miles from Barb and me, so Nate…and his laundry…remain close to home.

As you can see, the big news is that the DreamWorks movie version of my graphic novel, ROAD TO PERDITION, opens on July 12; it stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Stanley Tucci.  Sam Mendes (AMERICAN BEAUTY) directed.  I’ve done a novelization (of the script) which will be published by NAL as a paperback original.  And the graphic novel itself…with a new intro by me…will be published by Pocket Books (using the movie poster) and with Richard Piers Rayner’s wonderful original cover on a simultaneous edition from DC Comics (sold in comic book shops).

As Nate (Collins) says: COLLECT THEM ALL!

The novelization will fill in character gaps and provide historical background.  Unfortunately, I was not allowed to expand the book much beyond the script — where plot and dialogue are concerned, anyway — but it nonetheless came off very well, and you should enjoy it.

Other big news: my coffee-table book, THE HISTORY OF MYSTERY, has been nominated for an Edgar award from the Mystery Writers of America and for an Agatha by the fans at Malice Domestic.  Lots of nice comments about this book (except from a guy named Ty Burr at Entertainment Weekly — I guess Miss Isipi, Ema Zonn, Jor Dann and Dee Nile weren’t available); great pics and super production from the folks at Collector’s Press…who are also publishing another batch of my pin-up trade paperbacks, in their Artist’s Archives series.

As I write this, THE SCORPION KING is the #1 movie at the box office, and my Berkley movie tie-in novel will answer all those many questions I’m sure you have about the interior motivations of the characters.  (Hey, it’s a good read; trust me.)

REAL TIME: SIEGE AT LUCAS STREET MARKET, my $20,000 crime movie shot mostly on real security cameras, is the first multi-angle DVD.  You can order it through a link on this site, or go to Troma’s website, among others.  It’s pretty easy to find for the non-web shopper, too: Tower, Border’s and Virgin have it; Best Buy sometimes has it (and it’s on their web site).

The second FLESH & BLOOD collection is out in trade paper from Mysterious Press; Jeff Gelb (of HOT BLOOD fame) and I have rounded up another batch of sexy, violent tales that would make James M. Cain blush.  And Cain is just one of the writers in the NAL anthology, A CENTURY OF NOIR, co-edited by Mickey Spillane (I can’t get this guy off my coattails).  It’s a terrific collection, largely due to great help from Marty Greenberg and John Helfers at Tekno Books.

Coming very soon (June) is CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL (NAL hardcover), in which Nate Heller returns to his home turf in a wild, sexy yarn (do I put him in any other kind?) set in 1950 shytown.  Sinatra’s in it as are assorted famous gangsters and a notoriously top-heavy starlet; the story focuses on the Kefauver Committee hearings, in which the term “Mafia” first became widely known to the public.

ANGEL IN BLACK is also out there right now, in a handsome paperback.

The first CSI novel, DOUBLE DEALER, continues to sell very well.  My frequent short story collaborator, Matt Clemens (also a researcher on HISTORY OF MYSTERY, along with George Hagenauer), helped me with the forensics and plotting, and did a great job…and now we’ve delivered the second CSI to Pocket Books…my title is DEAD NUDE GIRLS.  We’ll see if it stands.

Matt — who watches entirely too much TV — is also assisting me on a trio of DARK ANGEL novels, the first of which…BEFORE THE DAWN…I just shipped off to DAW Books a couple days ago.  Ironically, my original title for ANGEL IN BLACK was DARK ANGEL…and I had to change it when Jim Cameron announced his TV series of the same name. Cameron has taken an active interest in these novels, and the first one is a real barn-burner.

The WINDTALKERS movie should be out fairly soon, and that movie tie-in novel is still around — very proud of it.  Now, let’s get John Woo to direct something of mine!

Before the end of the year, you’ll see THE LUSITANIA MURDERS, the latest in the Berkley Prime Crime “disaster series,” this time starring snooty detective S.S. Van Dine, creator of Philo Vance.  You will also meet an early 20th century variation on Ms. Tree in this novel…a character I like so much, who knows?  Maybe I’ll spin her off some day….

Barb has sold a couple of great new short stories, and she and I have finished, and delivered to St. Martin’s Press, BOMBSHELL — our Marilyn Monroe Meets Khruschev thriller.  Barb did an incredible job on this, and I’m proud to be part of it — we’ll post pub date when we have it.

Other upcoming projects include the movie tie-in of I, SPY; two more DARK ANGELs; and…a trilogy based on the great PRISONER TV show!  Also, at least two more “disaster” mysteries…the wonderful ideas for which I’m not posting!

And, believe it or not, I’m back in comics: I’ve done a CAPTAIN AMERICA story (my first Marvel gig and a return to comics after a long lay-off) and I’m writing BATMAN: CHILD OF DREAMS for DC, providing the script for a terrific manga (Japanese comic) by the creator of SILENT MOEBIUS, Kia Asamiya.

Indie movie projects have been on hold during this busy year — lots of writing assignments, as you can see, but also various ROAD TO PERDITION matters; but three projects are in the works…Phil Dingeldein, Mike Cornelison and I just shot a four-minute promo piece for one of them…on 24 fps HD!  Alas, the REAL TIME follow-up — scripted already — is on the shelf, for now at least…we’ve had great response to the DVD but not enough sales to justify that effort…yet, anyway.

But my script for JOHNNY DYNAMITE (based on the Collins/Terry Beatty Dark Horse graphic novel of a few years back) has just been optioned!

And watch for a Mother’s Day re-release of MOMMY and MOMMY’S DAY on DVD.

I am also planning two sequels to ROAD TO PERDITION, to be done as novels, not in comics format. And you have not heard the last of Nate Heller, either.

Now do you see why Nate and I haven’t updated, lately?

Thank you for your interest and support — and stay on the road!

M.A.C.