Writer, professor, husband, father, Christian...not in that order.
I like comics!

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I’ve become a big fan of digital photography, both still and moving. I was never a big picture taker—oh, I’ve got nothing against it and I’m certainly not one of those who annoyingly always try to hide whenever a camera comes out, but most of the times I just don’t think about taking pictures. I’ve tried to get better about that, and with digital possibilities, I’ve improved some.

Some.

I’d been aware of the power of digital for a while. I’ve used digital files generated by others in my publishing ventures for many years, but it wasn’t until I was editor at The Piggott Times and was required to take a bunch of pictures too that I actually had to use a digital camera. I definitely don’t think of myself as a photographer, but it came with the job so what’r'ya’gonna do? Using one, I think, is what changed my whole thinking about them.

One of the things I really like about digital is the ability to take tons of pictures searching for the “good” one without having the expense (and time issues) of all that film. I can’t tell you the amount of film we’ve saved since we went digital! But the downside is that we have a tendency to NOT delete all those pictures—y’know, even the bad ones. We pick out the ones we like, email them to family, stick them on Facebook, and then save all of them to disk. But why?

Maybe it is this ready availability of digital photography and ease of downloading it to the internet that has caused it so that we get to see all 100 of the bad peace signs and puckered lips (double bad when coupled together)…when just one would be enough. For instance, Brittany took 500 pictures at a recent Camp Electric during the summer. She would have put all 500 of them on there if I would have let her. Multiple images—some of them blurry—of the exact same musician on stage doing the exact same thing. As it is, she still ended up with about 60 and even then I thought some of them were just too similar.

But it’s the same thing sometimes when I’m looking at pictures online of friends and such, people who are not my daughter—there are just so many multiples of bad pictures. I guess the flipside is that at least we get to see SOME of the pictures. This is particularly important when it’s family. Of that we should be thankful.

But what’s the deal with all the pictures of food?

So I’m writing this particular entry because of this blog post. Not necessarily the post itself, which is just a review of an independent book, but the author’s response to that review. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s gone viral (there’s a blog all in itself, huh?), but it’s certainly making the rounds with small press and indy writers.

Before I get off on that, though, I want to give a head’s up and a brief report. This week I’ll be leading the first ever SPRING edition of the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Writers Retreat to be held at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Education Center (HPMEC). It’s not the first HPMEC Writers Retreat, but the first one in Spring. Why, you ask? Tis simple: the demand for such an awesome environment to escape from the rigors (and hassles) of everyday life and focus on writing is growing and growing. This is, of course, in tribute to the fantastic staff who host it and take such good care of the writers (and their mentor!). The schedule for this version is both condensed and expanded: meaning the days are longer but there are fewer days.

My sessions at the Nashville Public Library system branches at Goodlettsville and Madison this past week seemed to go well. The librarians seemed happy when it was all said and done, and that’s important. Sara at the Madison branch suggested that the event was one of the better attended. The photos here are courtesy of her! I met some cool folks and talked about graphic novels/comic books. Hard to beat that!

Okay, so back to the title topic. For those who didn’t go view the blog, I’ll recap. The site, Big Al’s Books and Pals, is a book review blog. Big Al accepts independently (self-published and small press publishers alike) published books to read and review. As with all reviews, authors aren’t guaranteed a “good” review. I’d love to submit my own book for more reviews, but the few I’ve tried I haven’t had much luck (though I’m hoping to get some reviews over at Goodreads—yes, I’ll keep you posted).

So Big Al posts a review of this book (not gonna mention the book as I don’t want to drive hits to her!—you’ll see why). Says the story was compelling, but that the book was full of typos and the like and thus would make it hard for casual readers (ie, NON-reviewers) to actually finish the book. Wasn’t a glowing review and wasn’t a horrible condemnation. However, the author immediatelybegins to defend herself telling Big Al he read the wrong version (if I read it correctly, the version was SUPPLIED by the author!). She argues with others leaving comments, even swearing at them at one point. Many, many followed that up with an “I’ll never read your book no matter how good it is because you’re a jerk” kind of statement.

Thing is, though, authors must know that the very nature of their work lends itself to criticism (“criticism,” as a reminder, is not inherently a negative word). It’s something they should prepare for. It’s something I even talk about sometimes in workshops or retreats—obviously partly because my job is often to extend criticism throughout. In a nutshell, I always say (and try to practice what I preach, as well) listen to all criticism—the good and the bad—and place it all into a big pot. Stir it up and learn from it. Some of the criticism an author receives will be well informed and on target. Some of the criticism an author receives will just be hot air. Regardless, it is someone’s opinion—and obviously someone who TOOK THE TIME to read that author’s work. So give them the courtesy of their opinion, thank them, and then ignore it if you wish.

It really isn’t that hard to do.

My latest read is a book titled Shawn Hawk by author Roger Elwood. While I can’t say it’s the best book in the world, I enjoyed it more than Warren’sWilderness…but not as much as Faulkner’s Unvanquished. The thing I will say is that it is a very fast read. I had the thing finished (about a hundred and twenty-five pages) in about two and a half hours. Generally, I don’t read books quite that fast, but I did this one.

If you look too long at the cover, it’s difficult to tell what the title is. The book is titled after the name of the main character and it is inscribed on the cover in exactly the same font as the author’s name. A little confusing and poor design by the publisher.

Maybe the reason I finished it so quickly was the simplicity of the work. After the opening 20 pages or so, Shawn is the only character on an alien planet. **I think I’m supposed to put “Spoiler Warning” here** I don’t worry too much about spoiling it as it’s not a new book. In fact, the publisher’s date on it is 1995.Anyway, in this story of the future, the earth is in such a bad shape that people are leaving it in droves. Technology has advanced to the point that individual families can now take a spaceship and head out to one of the multitude of colonies and/or worlds ripe for colonization. In the early pages, Shawn has left earth with only his mother and father on the ship with him.

Wouldn’t you know it, the ship crashes and Shawn becomes the only human on an alien world. Monkey Planet (Planet of the Apes) worked because the monkeys also talked and you could get their perspective and all that. The problem on this planet is that none of them can actually do much talking to him. They do find ways to communicate, especially a small tribe of monkey-like things, the entire tribe of which Shawn kills off by disease. Much like Americans did to the Indians when colonizing North America.

Elwood finds a nice way to work in belief in God, the one true God of Jesus Christ and not some “made-up” God that sounds an awful lot like ours. That was a nice touch and very refreshing to see in a science-fiction book.

There’s no indication that this book was intended for a younger audience, but I’d highly recommend it for a 12-15-ish age group. It moves along at a nice clip, is science fiction, and has Christianity firmly presented.

I found this book like I find a lot of the books I buy-on sale at the local Christian book store. I’m not certain I would have paid a “new” price for it, but if you can find it for $4 or less, buy it, read it, give it to an young teen.

I’ve been on a “superhero” book kick lately. I posted recently about the book Who Needs a Superhero?, and the book I just finished was of like sort: The Gospel According To The World’s Greatest Superhero, by Stephen Skelton. To Skelton, the “world’s greatest,” is obviously Superman.

I always had problems really “liking” Superman. Not that I thought he was bad or anything, but I found it hard to be interested in a guy who do anything and couldn’t be hurt. Where was the suspense or drama in that?

I eventually learned that Superman wasn’t always like he is today, and in fact, Superman couldn’t always fly. Right now, you’re probably having one of those “duh” moments like I did when I realized it. Remember: “Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound”?

My son Brett loves Superman. I’ve said it before (yeah—I’ll likely say it again), comics of today are much different than when I was a kid. I won’t let my kids look at most of what is produced today. I can’t even let them read much of what I wrote a few years back…but that’s another story for another day.

Skelton’s book, though, makes me reconsider some of the Superman thoughts I’ve had.

Skelton reminds us that scripture says God reveals Himself to man in nature itself. Truth doesn’t have to come purely from the prophets. It can also come from worldly wisdom: wise men, scholars, and philosophers. If this is true, then when can’t God reveal Himself to us through fictional characters? Skelton’s argument, of course, is that He can.

I remember when I “got” it about God revealing Himself to us through nature. As a kid I did a lot of camping out with my friends—even sleeping on top of a 75 foot high water tower (another story for another day). At 2 a.m. in Mississippi during the “camping” months, the stars are usually visible for all to see. I can remember many nights just looking at the multitude of stars and talking about the vastness with my friends, particularly Wynndel and Mike. I remember being blown away by how big the universe is. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was just God revealing Himself to me through His creation.

Skelton goes on to say that “If Superman fights for truth and Christ is truth, then Superman fights for Christ.” (Emphasis mine)

Skelton falsely credits Superman for a few firsts, but we can’t blame him for that—many do the same. The Superman concept was actually originally presented in The Gladiator, a novel written by Philip Wylie and published in 1929, about ten years before Superman. Again, most folks don’t know this and Wylie’s novel is out of print and very difficult to find.

Skelton also says it is the Christian duty to bring spiritual revelation out of entertainment, something I find very cool. Generally, he means that Christians should take entertainment and cull spiritual truth out of it so that we can discuss those truths with non-Christians. I belong to an internet “group” of Christian comic creators and this topic is frequently debated, albeit from the creator side. What I find particularly enticing is that Skelton points out Jesus told the crowds parables…but explained it later to the disciples when they were away from the crowds and alone.

Cool.

I’d recommend this book to any Christian “artist” (spoken, written, sung, whatever) to help give encouragement for what you do. Also, any true fans of Superman would be interested in this. The parallels Skelton finds of Superman to Christ are both fascinating and interesting.

She didn't inherit her singing ability from me, but my daughter can sure sing...and her voice is getting stronger by the day!

On Sunday, she sang the below after practicing for only a day!
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF1mSEvEkgA]

Okay...look to the left to see the YOUTUBE embedded video...I think.

My daughter is very interested in becoming an actress. Only 12, Brittany still has a ton of passion for the things she wants to do. So we signed her up to participate in the local theater. When the man at the door said adults were desperately needed, I said I'd be willing to help. I figured I'd get a mailman spot or some one-line spot. Really, I was only doing it because of Brittany.

Brittany got one of the lead roles, that of the daughter of the family. As it turns out, I got the "dad" role.

The play is "Best Christmas Pageant Ever." I'd never heard of it. Honestly. No, I really mean it. Brittany had read the book, so she knew more about it than I did.

Well, tonight was opening night and let me tell you what a hoot it was. Brittany did fantastic, but I will admit that I had a lot of fun. To make it even better, Brett, my 7 year old son got a role...and my 66 year old mother got a role as one of the gossipy church ladies.

It was nice to see a community organization not affiliated with any church put on a play with such a nice message.

If I thought anyone reading this was close to Kennett, MO, I'd invite you to come see it! :)

After my last post I did some thinking...dangerous, yes, I know.

I recall having discussions with my good artist pal Steven Butler before about the decline of quality in comics. Any of us could go on for great lengths about how The Dark Knight changed comics.

While I will be one of the first to agree that TDK was a very well-done and very good work, it was the turning point that sent comics on a dark spin. So many comics are "dark" now.

What Steven and I used to talk about (and I'm not trying to put words in his mouth--the words are all mine, but I have great respect for the guy!) is how in the "old" comics there was always a clear "good" and "bad." No, the good guys didn't always win, but it was always clear who was good and who was bad. PLUS, there were always repercussions to decisions made--bad decisions usually brought about negative repercussions.

Our conversations almost always went back to Stan and Jack. I've always wondered about the religious background or moral beliefs of Stan. I don't know what they are, but you have to assume he's got some strong religious foundations because of the positives of all the characters he created, co-created, and/or wrote.

Reading Michael Brewer's book reminded me of all those things.

I've just finished reading Who Needs A Superhero? written by H. Michael Brewer.

While I suspect that there are some here who've read this, let me just say that I think everyone in this group should read this book. In a nutshell, Brewer takes some of the all-time favorites and "finds virtue, vice and holiness" in them.

Without giving anything away, he tackles various heros and heroines and then shows us how the communicate Biblical truths. Characters included are: Superman, Batman, Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron man, Wonder Woman, Thor, Daredevil, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Punisher, Green Arrow, Captain America, and The Spirit.

For those of us who've read and loved this things for years, Brewer doesn't really tell us anything about the characters we don't know--however, he does put them in a Biblical light, something we probably haven't done. I know that I hadn't, not for the overwhelming majority of them anyway.

The cool thing is that Brewer really knows his stuff: comics AND Bible. I enjoyed the way he summarized what we know about the hero...and then brought in Biblical truths revealed by the character and their story.

I can't say it enough--everyone on this list should read this book. Most of us are here for two reasons: 1)our love for Christ; 2)our love for comics. Brewer ties them together very nicely.

Go read this book!

I've been thinking of blogging...

Part of what has given me pause are all the blogging sites--just where the heck should I go to blog? I belong to handful of different groups, like this one, which have blog areas. My problem is that I don't want to have to blog for 10 different sites.

Is it possible to blog one place and "share" that blog with all the other areas?

I'm hoping you more experienced bloggers can help me out, here.