Saturday, March 17, 2018

Requiem for a Comic Book Writer




I recently learned that longtime Jonah Hex writer Michael L. Fleisher passed away on February 2nd.  Word is still getting around the comics community: Mark Evanier posted the first words about it a few days ago, with Newsarama, CBR, and Bleeding Cool picking up on it not long after (there’s also a memorial page put up by the funeral home in Oregon that performed the services).  I find it strange that Fleisher’s death slipped under everyone’s radar for a month-and-a-half, but then again, he hadn’t written a comic book since 1995 and -- so far as I’m aware -- he wasn’t active on the con circuit at all.  Fleisher just faded away from the comics scene and seemed content with that, though he was fine with giving interviews when asked (this wasn’t a Steve Ditko situation).  On that note, I highly recommend looking up the interviews conducted over the years by my fellow Hex-chroniclers Darren Schroeder, Dwayne Hendrickson, and Michael Browning, not to mention the vintage piece printed in The Comics Journal way back in 1979, as they’ve all been invaluable to me during my work on "An Illustrated History of Jonah Hex".

I am hoping that, as more people find out about Fleisher’s passing, those in the industry who knew him will speak up about his work (even a simple “in memoriam” page from DC or Marvel would be nice).  I’m not just referring to the 126 Jonah Hex stories he did, mind you, but also to Scalphunter, The Spectre, Spider-Woman, Ghost Rider, and all the other characters he wrote over the years.  If you look him up on comicbookdb.com, you’ll find his massive list of credits, which doesn’t even include his work on the three-volume Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes (covering Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman).  Then there’s his novels Chasing Hairy and Shambler, plus the non-fiction book Kuria Cattle Raiders from University of Michigan Press, which was based on the field work he did for his Doctorate in Anthropology from the school.  And not to speak ill of the dead, but as many of the articles about him so far have mentioned, Fleisher once sued Harlan Ellison and The Comics Journal for libel.  I’m curious to see if either of those parties offer up any sort of words about him in the coming days.

Despite all the stuff I’ve written in regards to Jonah Hex over the past dozen years -- and all the folks I’ve made connections with due to that -- I never talked with Michael Fleisher in any capacity.  Frankly, I felt the aforementioned interviews with him were so well-done and covered so much ground that anything I came up with, question-wise, would be redundant, and decided to just let Fleisher enjoy his semi-retirement in peace.  When a distant relative of Russell Carley -- Fleisher’s friend who was responsible for “script continuity” on his early Hex stories -- contacted me looking for help on a genealogy project, I passed her information on to those who knew Fleisher personally as opposed to contacting him myself, so as to respect the man’s privacy (I don’t know if Fleisher was able to help her, but since he and Carley had been such close friends, he seemed the best person to ask in this regard).

It could be said, however, that in knowing so much about Jonah Hex, I know Michael Fleisher pretty well.  The writer embraced Jonah as if he was his own creation, giving this fictional person a depth and breadth that helped him live on long past the Western heyday that birthed him.  Nearly every facet of Jonah’s backstory was crafted by Fleisher, building upon the scant amount of information left behind by John Albano & Tony DeZuniga (if it can be said that they’re Jonah’s “fathers”, then it can be equally said that Fleisher raised him).  Thanks to Fleisher, we know about Jonah’s time with both the Apache and the Confederate cavalry, his parents, his marriage, his son, the countless enemies he made over the course of his life, and even his final days.  “I got very choked up writing that story,” he once said in regards to the bounty hunter’s demise in the Jonah Hex Spectacular, “because it was the death of a character that I really loved -- not only loved, but I feel is really me.”  That sentiment is probably what led Fleisher to impart some of himself into Hex lore, first by sharing his birthday with Jonah (November 1st), then by bestowing his middle name of Lawrence upon a character in Secret Origins #21 who not only resembled Fleisher, but in a case of art imitating life, was also said to have written “the definitive book” on the bounty hunter.

Though he may be gone now, Michael Fleisher will never be forgotten in the hearts and minds of Jonah Hex fans.  The two names are inseparable, and I have a feeling he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Monday, March 12, 2018

April Showers Bring Con Appearances


Convention season is upon us again!  My husband and I have already attended two as fans (gotta squeeze in some fun here and there, y’know), and my first appearances as a vendor for this year are rapidly approaching.  Here’s my schedule for April 2018:


April 14th, 10am-6pm: Bluewater International Comic-Con (http://www.fantasticon.net/?page_id=4918) - Port Huron’s Bluewater Convention Center sits right on the U.S./Canada border, so even though this is a Michigan show, it’s a perfect opportunity for you folks over in Ontario to come see me in person!  Tickets for this one-day event are $5 in advance or $10 at the door...or I could simply give you the pair I have in my hot little hand!  That’s right, I have TWO FREE TICKETS I’m giving away, which were generously donated to me by some fellow vendors.  All you have to do is go to the Swords & Sixguns Facebook page, click on the Bluewater pic (as seen above), and tag a friend in the comments along with the word “DIBS!”  The first person to do this will get the tickets.  Now keep in mind, I ONLY have one pair to give away, so if there’s multiple people calling dibs, I’ll be checking the time-stamps to see who said it first -- once the tickets are gone, that’s it, no parting gifts for the other contestants.  Also, this giveaway ONLY covers the tickets: you’ll still have to foot the bill for travel expenses and such, so I hope you can arrange transportation to Port Huron.  No purchase necessary, void where prohibited, blah blah blah.


April 21st, 10am-4pm: Ypsilanti Comic Con (http://www.yourcomiccon.com/ypsilanti-comic-con.html) - Another one-day event, this time taking place inside St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Ypsilanti.  Tickets are only $3, meaning you’ll have more money to spend on cool stuff...like my book!

And for those of you who missed me at Motor City Nightmares last year, I won’t have a table of my own for this year’s show (April 27-29), but Davey Taylor of Weirdsville Records will have autographed copies of Swords & Sixguns: An Outlaw’s Tale available for sale at his table, because he is awesome.

I do have a few other appearances scheduled for this year as well (details pending), so keep an eye here and on my Facebook page for those announcements.  Hope to see ya at the show!