This time we got down to business and talked ZOMTROPOLIS: A RECORD OF LIFE IN A DEAD CITY. I was told the interview will air sometime this weekend so watch this space for a posting when it does.
I’ve done a ton of interviews over the years, everything from a fellow creator’s blog straight through to radio and TV. I’m always open to doing more so if you’re interested in having me on your program or website, please let me know. We can talk books, comics, writing and drawing processes, recent releases, superheroes, monsters, and more!
Interview with Travis Bruce’s Horror-Realm YouTube Channel
On Saturday night, Travis Bruce interviewed me for his YouTube channel in which he does indie creator spotlights. And he’s done a lot of them. It was a lot of fun being on the show and we talked superheroes and monsters and posed questions to each other about various superhero vs monster scenarios. We also talked GIGANTI-GATOR DEATH MACHINE, the METAHUMANS vs monsters series, and some AXIOM-MAN stuff.
Video below. Tune in. Lots of laughs and pop culture talk, too.
Project Rebirth: Final Update and Announcement given this sixth day of the twelfth month in the year 2019 AD.
It’s been a long, busy journey, but Project Rebirth is complete up to the point where I can transfer out parts of the project into the “things I need to finish” category, in other words, what’s left to do is the “more” part that I’ve mentioned in previous updates.
So, as always, a recap of what’s complete and what that strange “more” is all about.
The following list is taken from the last update on Project Rebirth.
Resumption of my newsletter, The Canister X Transmission: Goes out every Saturday and has been for a while now. Please subscribe here and get yourself a free thriller e-novelette as a thank you for joining me.
A Patreon account with special content just for patrons: All systems have been in go mode for a while now, too. By becoming a patron, you get access to an ongoing serial novel, essays on the creative life, a look behind-the-scenes, and other fun stuff. Joining the journey supports what I do and keeps the projects alive. Please join my patrons and I on my Patreon journey here.
Order fulfillment of the Axiom-man/Auroraman: Frozen Storm Kickstarter: All the books are printed up. Special piece of exclusive art to the Frozen Storm lettered edition needs a final touch, printing, then into the books.
Publication of projects that were temporarily put on hold: See the “more” section below.
Bigtime expansion and growth of The Axiom-man Saga and associated products: Transferring this portion of the project into the “things I need to finish” category. Keep an eye on this blog for news and updates as we bring the Cobalt Crusader into 2020. I really want to get that long-awaited Battle of Power Trilogy storyline done and published.
Revving up public appearances and media again: Best place to keep up to date with these is via the Convention and Book Signing Schedule page on this site. Please go there to check out what’s booked so far. Regarding interviews and whatnot, those will be announced on the blog when they happen and will also be listed under the Interviews section of this site.
New YouTube channel: Been running for a short while now. New videos uploaded regularly. Please subscribe here so you don’t miss the latest video.
More . . . : A Web presence redesign along with a retooling of the social media pages was part of this and is complete. There is more SEO stuff to do to properly bring the blog into the New Year, but that is a pick-at project for when I have the time and there’s no real deadline other than, say, by spring or something.
The big part of “more” is this: Book redesigns!
A good chunk of my book covers are dated and need an upgrade so many are getting one. I also need to adjust the distribution system for a pile of titles to keep them available and searchable at various retailers. Presently, all first editions are still available so if you’re a first-edition collector, please head over to my Book and Comic Shop and stock up. If you’d like a signed copy, please email me directly and we’ll make arrangements.
As the titles begin to transfer over to their new form, I will post notices here as to which books are being redone and when so you can keep current with what’s what. This book redesigning effort is a large project and is going to take time because there are so many titles. My aim is to do them in chunks. At the time of this writing, my plan is to update my backlist before releasing anything new (despite new titles already being complete behind the scenes). It’s better for my books’ overall quality that I stay in one kind of headspace (re-releasing the backlist) before switching into another (releasing new titles).
But have no fear for new comic book releases are scheduled! I will announce these in a separate blog post when the time comes.
So there you have it. This is my winter and what’s coming down the pike. I’m not joking when I say I’m busy.
Thank you for your patience as I got the media machine up and running again. Thank you for your support reading this blog and watching my videos. Thank you for grabbing the first editions of my monster and superhero books.
Awhile back I decided that November 1, 2019, would mark the day I officially went into winter hibernation mode aka Heavy Broadcast Mode. My work plate is mighty heavy and I need to keep my head low and just get things done. That said, I will be off the social feeds until spring. However, that doesn’t mean my feeds will be an empty desert. I’ll be broadcasting social content to you from here at the Central, but if you need to interact, please send me an email as I won’t be checking PMs.
One of the major tasks I need to do this winter is overhaul the website. The content will remain but the programming language is dated and I need to bring things up to speed if I’m to stay relevant as we progress down the Timeline of All Things. The aim is to do that this weekend, so if you come by the site between now and next week, don’t fret if things look in disarray. I’m hoping for a smooth transition and nobody is none the wiser, but I’ve also been around Web stuff long enough to know glitches happen when all you want to do is execute what is supposed to be a simple procedure(s).
Today also marks the beginning of a new month, which means a new month starts up on my Patreon page, in turn opening the gates for new chapters in my ongoing serial novel, Gigantigator Death Machine, essays, behind-the-scenes stuff, and more. Please join me and my other patrons as we embark on November’s journey by going here.
What is all this winter stuff I keep talking about? I don’t want to give away all the surprises, so I’ll give you a vague summary instead:
The Life and Death of Hertzan Chimera by Mike Philbin 3 out of 5
For over a decade Hertzan Chimera terrorized the online writing world both with his brutal brand of fiction and his brutal personality. That was until August 2004, when Mike Philbin, Chimera’s secret identity, killed off the fictional writer and decided to write under his real name. Which leads us to The Life and Death of Hertzan Chimera, Philbin’s much-delayed autobiography on his literary creation.
In short, The Life and Death of Hertzan Chimera is basically divided up into two halves, the first being a history on Chimera and how he came to be, the last being a series of interviews where Chimera acts as both interviewer and interviewee.
The reason this reviewer picked up the book was more so not because I was a fan of Chimera’s work—I had only read a handful of short stories; I will state that based on what I read, I enjoyed Chimera’s writing and was more than impressed with his insane amount of creativity—but because I was interested in getting a behind-the-scenes look at what most would consider a demented psyche. But I was only partially satisfied in my quest. The first half of the book gave insight into Chimera’s childhood, who he was and how he came to be, which was interesting but wasn’t really explored in the detail I had hoped. After each section I was left wanting a little bit more. But this is also coming from a guy who enjoys long-winded fiction and detailed explanations so it could be just me.
The latter half, the interviews, left me cold, I’m afraid. The ones where Chimera himself was being interviewed were fine and had a place in the book, but the ones where he was interviewer read more like filler than needed information. As I read the interviews, one of the biggest things I kept waiting/hoping for was an explanation for Chimera’s distaste with the current state of horror and, more importantly, his hatred for the mass market press. Though these were explained, they were explained briefly and I was hoping for something more in depth, a more thorough argument about horror being a lost art and all that’s left is cookie cutter fiction.
On the whole, I would recommend this book to those looking for a glimpse into the mind of Chimera and what made him tick. What I am looking forward to, however, is where Mike Philbin is headed now that he’s free of Chimera and is able to just be himself without always putting on a show. That, of course, is the secret to any great writing: honesty.
