This weekend in Iowa City, I’ll be a guest at the Iowa City Book Festival.
My programs are:
Adaptation – Books Into Film panel, Sat, July 17 at noon in the Bijou Theater, Iowa Memorial Union. The Bijou is located on the first floor of the IMU. I’ll be appearing with Phil Robinson (Field of Dreams) and Nicholas Meyer (Wrath of Khan).
The Last Lullaby screening, Sun, July 18 at 3 p.m. in the Bijou Theater, Iowa Memorial Union. After the screening I’ll conduct a brief question and answer session with attendees.
You can read more about it here.
Right now I only have two panels set for the San Diego Comic Con (coming up July 21 – 25). And, of course, they are simultaneous.
Yet somehow I will be on both. I’m just that dedicated. Here’s the line-up:
Friday, July 23:
5:00-6:30 Scribe Awards/Media Tie-in Writers Panel— Presenting the fourth annual International Association of Media-Tie-in Writers (IAMTW) “Scribe” awards, honoring such notable franchises as CSI, Criminal Minds, The X-Files, Star Trek, Stargate, Star Wars, and Dr. Who. Nominees on hand include Alina Adams (As the World Turns), Max Allan Collins (G.I. Joe), Keith R. A. DeCandido (Star Trek), Stacia Deutsch (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), Jeff Mariotte (CSI), Nathan Long (Warhammer), and Dayton Ward (Star Trek). With moderator Collins and awards presenter Lee Goldberg (Monk). Room 4
5:30-6:30Vertigo: On the Edge— Find out what compelling tales comics’ edgiest imprint has in store for you in the months to come! Led by senior VP/executive editor Karen Berger, the all-star lineup of talent includes Rafael Albuquerque (American Vampire), Gabriel Bá (Daytripper), Cliff Chiang (Neil Young’s Greendale), Max Allan Collins (Road to Perdition), Joshua Dysart (Neil Young’s Greendale, Unknown Soldier), Peter Gross (The Unwritten), Matt Kindt (Revolver), Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth), Peter Milligan (Greek Street, Hellblazer), Fabio Moon (Daytripper), Chris Roberson (iZombie), Scott Snyder (American Vampire), Matthew Sturges (Jack of Fables), Jill Thompson (Little Endless), Bill Willingham (Fables) and others. Room 6DE
How will I be on both panels? Well, I’ll be moderating the tie-in panel from 5 to 6, then slipping out during the Scribe Awards and joining the Vertigo panel for its last half hour. See you there – somewhere!
The Daybreakers reunion (on July 10 for the Class of 1970 at the Hotel Muscatine Ballroom) was a big success. Frankly, we killed. We had a very modest rehearsal time to prepare over 30 songs – just one morning and afternoon, plus a sound check the next day – but the crowd was supportive and danced and clapped all night long. We wound up doing three encores, which was tricky since we’d already done the 32 songs we’d learned for the gig. We pulled “You Really Got Me” and “Money” out of our nether storage compartments, and then repeated “Mony Mony.”
Great, great fun playing with these guys again. Chuck Bunn and I still play regularly together in Crusin’, but having drummer Buddy Busch and guitarists Dennis Maxwell and Mike Bridges up on stage with me again was memorable and even moving. Buddy, Denny and Mike were all Class of 1970 grads, and three of our late bandmates – Paul Thomas, Bruce Peters and Terry Beckey – were also in that class. So this was an ideal audience for us, plus Charlie Koenigsacker and a few other hardcore Daybreakers fans showed up, too. Wonderful night. As Paul would have said, “Rock ‘n’ roll happened.”
Check us out with another You Tube clip from our Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame concert appearance in 2008. We’re doing a song by our late bandmate Bruce Peters, “I Need Somebody.”
M.A.C.
A blast from the past –