T-minus 2 days

Only two days until my year-long examination of Watchmen starts at ReadingWatchmen.com.  Come join what I hope will be an informative and interesting ride.

chris

CGS Secret Santa - process part 3

So, here is the final piece I did for the CGS Secret Santa "event." I've gathered some comics to ship off with it and will drop it in the mail Monday. This is the second year I've participated, and it is a really great experience. I had a lot of fun.

Nostalgia - more G.I. Joe comic book ads

Like the title says. Here are some more of the commercials created for the 1980s G.I. Joe comic book from Marvel. No doubt, it helped to be partnered with Hasbro.

Enjoy,
chris


issue #25



issue #30



issue #37



issue #54

Apologies for this Political Interruption

Millionaire surtax: yea or nay? I am so tired of the useless political "debate" going on in our country, and become frustrated when common sense gets shouted down by baseless rhetoric. NPR had a story on whether millionaire small-business owners would stall hiring if the "millionaire surtax" proposed as way of payment for the middle class payroll tax rebate were to be ratified. What their unscientific but telling report showed is that, no, probably not.

The entire story, with a link to another story that addresses the GOP's main argument (but apparently is being ignored by them), is reprinted below. All emphases are mine. Please note that the Republican Senator the reporter talked to, John Thune of South Dakota, makes his point with supposition and intuition, based not at all on fact - or at least he presented no hard facts to back up his position.

We will return to our comic, cartoon, nostalgia filled posts shortly. Thank you for your indulgence.

EDITED to note that the reporter for this piece was Tamara Keith

chris

For the second week in a row, the Senate on Thursday voted down proposals to extend the payroll tax holiday through next year. In the case of the Democrats' proposal, Republicans objected to the "millionaires surtax" that would be used to pay for it.

Ever since the idea of the surtax was introduced weeks ago, Republicans in Congress have railed against it, arguing that it is a direct hit on small-business owners and other job creators.

INTERJECTION: Let’s disregard the bipartisan bill introduced this week that included this important point, as noted by one of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME): “Our bipartisan plan is fully paid for with a two percent surtax on those who earn $1 million or more a year, but - and this is critical - with a carve-out to protect small business owner/operators.”

The argument is that many small-business owners report company profits on their individual taxes because of the way their businesses are structured. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., says the surtax would hurt their ability to hire.

Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota says the "millionaires surtax" would hurt small-business owners' ability to hire new workers.

"It's just intuitive that, you know, if you're somebody who's in business and you get hit with a tax increase, it's going to be that much harder, I think, to make investments that are going to lead to job creation," says Thune.

We wanted to talk to business owners who would be affected. So, NPR requested help from numerous Republican congressional offices, including House and Senate leadership. They were unable to produce a single millionaire job creator for us to interview.

So we went to the business groups that have been lobbying against the surtax. Again, three days after putting in a request, none of them was able to find someone for us to talk to. A group called the Tax Relief Coalition said the problem was finding someone willing to talk about their personal taxes on national radio.

So next we put a query on Facebook. And several business owners who said they would be affected by the "millionaires surtax" responded.

"It's not in the top 20 things that we think about when we're making a business hire," said Ian Yankwitt, who owns Tortoise Investment Management.

Tortoise is a boutique investment firm in White Plains, N.Y. Yankwitt has 10 employees and in recent years has done a lot of hiring.

As a result, Yankwitt says he's had many conversations about hiring, "both with respect to specific people, with respect to whether we should hire one junior person or two, whether we should hire a senior person."

He says his ultimate marginal tax rate "didn't even make it on the agenda."

Yankwitt says deciding to bring on another employee is all about return on investment. Will adding another person to the payroll make his company more successful?

For Jason Burger, the motivation is similar.

"If my taxes go up, I have slightly less disposable income, yes," said Burger, co-owner of CSS International Holdings, a global infrastructure contractor. "But that has nothing to do with what my business does. What my business does is based on the contracts that it wins and the demand for its services."

Burger says his Michigan-based company is hiring like crazy, and he'd be perfectly willing to pay the surtax.

"It's only fair that I put back into the system that is the entire reason for my success," said Burger.

For the record, both Burger and Yankwitt have made campaign contributions to Democrats in the past, but they say their views on the surtax are about the economics of their businesses and not their politics.

And they're not alone.

"I, like any other American, especially a business owner, I want to make as much money as I can and I want to keep as much money in my pocket as I can, but I also believe in the greater good," says Deborah Schwarz, who owns LAC Group, an information management firm with offices nationwide and in London.

Surtax or no, Schwarz says she hopes to keep hiring.

"We're going to keep on writing proposals, going after contracts, hopefully winning them, and when we do we're going to continue to hire people," says Schwarz.

All of this contradicts the arguments about job creators being made by Republicans in Congress.

"Those I would say were exceptions to the rule," responds Thune. "I think most small-business owners who are out there right now would argue that raising their taxes has the opposite effect that we would want to have in a down economy."

But those small-business owners apparently don't want to talk.

Great memories - G.I. Joe comic ads

In response to my post on Pulped Faces in comics, good friend Gibran Graham reminded me of some of my fondest-remembered commercials when I was a kid. The ads for G.I. Joe comic books.

Here's one I found on youtube. I'll post more later, as I find time to search for them.

Enjoy.



chris

A.D. New Orleans by Josh Neufeld

A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld

I read this a few weeks back and wanted to write about it here. But life kept getting in the way, and then I had to return it to the library, and I figured – well, that was just a missed opportunity. But this is, in my opinion, such an important work that I need to at least put something down regarding it here.

I followed the news stories when Katrina hit back in 2005. I was as horrified as the next person by the facts that trickled out of New Orleans. I paid attention, as best I could, and read and watched as much as I could about this disaster. And maybe that’s why I held off on reading this for so long. I worried it might be too dry or might offer little that I didn’t already know. I’m not sure. But, I have to say, I am very glad I finally read A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge.

Josh Neufeld’s book recounting how six lives were directly affected by Hurricane Katrina is incredibly moving. He humanizes this tragedy in a way that only the best news stories were able to do. Thanks to the people spotlighted by Neufeld – from an Iranian-American store owner to a well-off, altruistic doctor – readers are afforded the opportunity to experience a variety of viewpoints within New Orleans leading up to, during, and after Katrina hits.

I was surprised how quick a read this was, which is not to slight it in the least. I think it’s a testament to Neufeld’s ability that this is such a complete story and includes so much detail of these victims’ lives. Neufeld boils things down to their basic components. His clean, detailed artwork combined with economical dialogue manages to convey all that is needed for his audience to be engaged by the narrative.

I wish I could speak more specifically to this book. But I apologize; I can’t.

But I can say that once I started reading, I didn’t want to stop. If I hadn’t needed to go to work the morning I opened it up, I probably would have finished it in one sitting. As it was, I finished it that night after I was done with work and dinner and putting out son to bed. A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge was a terribly affecting, well-written, beautifully drawn book. And it is one that any fan of the medium – or any “feeling” person – should make the time to read some day. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

chris

Writing Process - revising the first draft

I've finally gotten back into the swing of writing (though, admittedly, I was contributing quite a bit here at Warrior27 when I wasn't actually "writing" or working on my own fiction and such). I've sent off a short story to a few more publications (hoping to find that one editor who will "get" this story - not that the rejections thus far have been unexpected, nor do I feel I was slighted by not having this story accepted, but it can often come down to an editor understanding what the writer is going for and hopefully catching them on a good day, but I digress)

I also sent off a non-fiction manuscript (the first 30,000 words) to another publisher with fingers crossed.

And, I pulled out one of the many first drafts I've been sitting on, allowing them to percolate a bit before working to wrestle them into something resembling a good story. It took me twice as long to do the revision on this story than it took to initially write it, but that's because my first draft practice generally involves me metaphorically "vomiting" the entire story onto the page - or at least a vague outline/list of scenes, etc. - typing as fast as I can in order to keep up with the ideas coming into my head. Because of this pace, I very often am spelling out motivations and scenarios in far too much, and too dry, detail just because that's how it's coming to me and I don't want to lose my thoughts.

Of course, these less than poetic first drafts also come about because just as many days can be spent laboring over the words, being unable to find that one word I have skulking about the back of my mind, and I end up putting down some description of what I'm looking for rather than the actual scene. It can be equal "speed" and "labor" during this, but I always feel good after a day of writing (and can quickly become an ass when I go days without writing).

Anyway, as an example, here's a sample page from my revised first draft:



As Greg Rucka says (as I'm sure all, or most, writers believe), the real writing comes in the revising process. I'm in the process of applying my revisions to this draft and am anxious to see how many words I managed to lop off in the process. I know there were entire sections of this short that got the axe, so it should be - as is common, for me - quite a bit.

And then, I'm going to apply a new technique I learned from Joe Hill's blog and totally re-type this second draft into its third draft, "making every sentence and word earn its keep," to paraphrase Hill. After that, I hope to have something that will be worthwhile for the world (or at least some small publication of short fiction).

We'll see.

chris

Pulped faces in comics - Snake-Eyes and Flash

Like many my age, G.I. Joe from Marvel comics was my gateway into comic collecting. It was easily accessible (no extended continuity, as with the superhero universes), familiar (the cartoon and toys were already in full gear when I discovered comics at my local bookstore), and enthralling for a young boy (guns! tanks! masks! Cobraaaaaa! Yo Joe!!!!!).



And the lynchpin character was Snake-Eyes. What was not to like? He was mysterious, tragic, wore all black, and was a freakin' ninja. Hell, yeah! This was my guy. And I was lucky because three issues after I began with #23, readers got the secret origin of Snake-Eyes with issue 26 & 27. Phenomenal stuff. If there was any wavering on my part, with that two-parter Larry Hama solidified my status as a G.I. Joe fan, and I hung on until somewhere around the 140s - quite a run.



Throughout the series, Hama would often come back to Snake-Eyes origin, sprinkling in more details that would link him even more closely with other characters within this universe such as Storm Shadow, Scarlet, Duke, and Zartan (??).

If you're unaware of their connection and you've ever been a fan of these characters, you need to seek out these issues (I believe #84 recounts their connection)



Anyway. Eventually, we finally got to see Snake-Eyes's true face - the one that had threatened to make many a person in the comic ill just from the sight of it. Mark Bright was the current artist when Hama finally showed us readers this horrific visage in issue #93, and I admit to being a bit let down.



Returning to that issue now, a couple of decades later, I can see that Bright - with his highly skilled pencilling - did the best he could and managed to make Snake-Eyes rather gruesome, but it didn't work for my young mind. It is, no doubt, a result of one's imagination providing a far more vivid image than what any artist could contrive.



Though, the resultant mashing of Barry Allen's face by Big Sir, as portrayed by Carmine Infantino, certainly is a fine example of the image being more horrific than the imagined one.



chris

It's that time of year

Ian - getting some ideas for his list to Santa.

CGS Secret Santa time - Process part 2

Here's the inked version for my Secret Santa sketch.

CGS Secret Santa time - Process part 1

I'm a regular member of the Comic Geek Speak community, and every year they have a "Secret Santa" thread where members sign up and agree to send a comic-themed package to the member with whom they are paired up.

Included in the Secret Santa package is a sketch of a character chosen by the receiver and at least 3 comics from your collection that you no longer wish to keep. Last year was the first time I participated, and it was an incredibly fun experience. So, of course, I couldn't wait for this year's list, which got started a few weeks back.

The person for whom I am a "Secret Santa" wanted, for a sketch, either a comic character in an unusual costume/scenario OR any X-Men character of my choice. Not being overly artistic, I initially went with the latter - knowing I could find some good reference and, at the very least, do a pretty good copy of an image - but, as I thought about it, I came up with an image of a couple of X-Men - Wolverine & Nightcrawler - in an unusually festive scenario.

So, since I did this last year, here is my initial sketch for this year's Secret Santa thread @CGS.

ESSEX COUNTY volume 3

With the third volume of the Essex County Trilogy – all of which is collected in a single omnibus edition from Top Shelf, if you weren’t already aware of that – Jeff Lemire fulfills the creative promise exhibited in the first two volumes. Lemire’s storytelling is magnificent, the narrative touching, and he manages to pull everything together, despite the unorthodox manner in which he chose to tell this story. Lemire jumps back another two generations from the previous volume, showing us the roots of the LeBeuf family, which we discover is more closely tied to that of Anne Quenneville, the nurse who has taken care of Lou LeBeuf in his waning years.

There’s little more I can add that I haven’t already said about the first two volumes. This is a moving tale amplified by the evocative imagery provided by Lemire’s loose, yet consistent artwork. Essex County is one of the most moving comic stories I’ve read in a long time. I would challenge anyone to read this and not come away with the realization they had watched an amazing new talent emerge over the course of these three volumes.

Buy this book.

Read this book.

You will not be disappointed.

And then, once you’ve finally remedied that character flaw, check out the interview Comic Geek Speak did with him a couple years back. It’s really a great conversation, and will enhance your reading experience.

Enjoy,

chris

NEW TO ME: JLA Strength in Numbers

This fourth volume of the (then)-revitalized JLA was a near-complete blast. My journey back to the late 90s that I missed – at least as far as big, superhero comics of the time – has been interesting thus far. These collected volumes of JLA feel a bit like the Star Trek movie franchise (the best ones are the even numbered ones). But of all the collections to date, this one, by far, is my favorite of the bunch. With the end of each chapter, I eagerly wanted to read the next one, and often did – devouring a fair chunk of stories straight through on a Sunday morning, from the end of the Prometheus Unbound arc up through the four issues penned by Mark Waid. JLA: Strength in Numbers showcases the best about this iteration of everyone’s favorite DC team.

The first thing I discovered, when I opened the book, was that Yanick Paquette used to be a Mike Mignola clone (which puts him in good stead, as Ryan Sook is another Mignola clone who has gone on to become an amazing comic artist, in his own right). This first tale, written by Christopher Priest for the second JLA Secret Files, brings together a new league (consisting of many who were part of the league disbanded at the end of the previous collection). There’s a nice call-back to the Bwa-ha-ha league with Guy Gardner, in his Guy Gardner Warrior We don’t get a one punch moment like the one provided by DeMatteis, Giffen, & Maguire, back in 1987, but we do get Batman silently putting Guy in his place. guise, assuming the pose he did then, as he prepared to tell everyone he was going to lead.

But this story, though well done, is disappointing. Why did Morrison bother to have the league disband in the prior issue, if there was only going to be a relatively unchanged roster in the next one? Sure, there are some new recruits like Huntress and Zauriel and Steel, but these are all in addition to the Big Seven. The quick reversal on Superman’s part just rings hollow and makes the ending of the “Rock of Ages” story arc feel forced and contrived. But that’s a minor nitpick because the stories with this newer, bigger, stronger JLA are a whole lot of fun.

First, we get Grant Morrison writing a three-issue arc titled “Prometheus Unbound.” In this narrative, readers get to see a new villain who appears to have thought his take-down of the JLA through completely. Stealing himself aboard the satellite by taking the place of someone who’d won a contest to be a superhero for a day with the JLA (thanks to Morrison being way ahead of the curve with regards to reality television), Prometheus takes down the members of the JLA with impressive efficiency, dispatching Steel, J’onn J’onnz, and Batman with relative ease.

Prometheus puts the rest of the league on their heels, utilizing the fact that a hundred journalists had also been invited to see the JLA Watchtower as leverage against the heroes, but is defeated through the ingenuity of the newer members like Steel and Huntress, as well as the surprise appearance of Catwoman (who stole onto the Watchtower disguised as Cat Grant). The arrival of Catwoman comes out of left field and doesn’t feel fully earned on Morrison’s part, but the way the rest of the team members managed to come together to overcome Prometheus, along with his meltdown due to an overload of information, saves it for me.

This story arc is followed by two two-issue tales from guest writer Mark Waid. Despite this being known as Morrison’s JLA, these are the best stories of the bunch and some of the best from this entire run, to date. Waid offers a story of probability gone wrong followed by an adventure with Adam Strange on an enslaved Rann. Waid employs big ideas as well as Morrison does, but there’s a definite tonal shift. Waid’s stories feel more lively and fantastic with a less serious undercurrent than is found in Morrison’s JLA work. Waid, like Morrison, understands these characters intimately and, though I might question his portrayal of Orion, his offerings in this collection are reminiscent of silver age comics, with the wonder and fun often found in those old stories. And, with the climax of the Adam Strange two-parter, Waid injects some very real emotion through Adam Strange’s sacrifice that really elevates this tale.

After those four issues written by Waid, which also included Superman’s re-integration into his traditional form, Morrison returns to write the final two-part story of this collection, wherein Starro the Conqueror returns to plague the JLA. It’s another typically well-written tale, with big ideas and the heroes’ ability to think overriding their brawn in order to send Starro away. And, despite the tonal shift to a darker, more serious narrative style, the climax is rather humorous, as it basically involves the heroes playing a prank on Starro and its invading force.

I wish there were more superhero comics like this. And I don’t just mean the high level of writing on display, but I also wish there were more two-part stories rather than the often laborious six-part “epics” that fit snugly into a trade paperback. JLA Strength in Numbers includes a single-issue story, a three-part story, and three two-part tales. They race along at a nice clip and both Morrison and Waid, along with Christopher Priest, pack a lot of story – relative to what we’ve become accustomed to in this current comic market – into the pages provided. For my money, I felt like I got far more value from this book, which has five different adventures in it, than I did in the previous volume “Rock of Ages,” which was a single six-issue storyline.

Now, I can’t wait for the next trade.

chris

Reading Watchmen - coming 01/01/2012

Starting January, 2012 - a second blog dedicated to discussing, analyzing, and reading Alan Moore's & David Gibbons's masterpiece, Watchmen.

www.ReadingWatchmen.com

FYC Replay: Top Shelf Comix's Veeps with Bill Kelter

The final of my archived "For Your Consideration" columns. This was the only book profiled that was an actual "book" book, and we were able to get the piece up for election day of 2008, which was a nice bit of scheduling on Jen Contino's part. If you ever thought that a book on the Vice Presidents of the United States would be boring, you were completely wrong. Take a look, and read the book, if you get a chance. It's a fun and interesting read.

thanks,
chris

For Your Consideration: Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance

By Chris Beckett

FRONT PAGE: We’re all tired of the election cycle. But if you want something a bit lighter in tone, that will prove to be educational, and involve politics too, the newest book from Topshelf is for you. Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance from author Bill Kelter and artist Wayne Shellabarger is a showcase for all of those individuals that have been “honored” with the title Vice President of the United States, and the absurdity that has attended them.

The 411:

Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance

Written by Bill Kelter

Art by Wayne Shellabarger

296pp. non-fiction hardcover

$19.95

Topshelf Productions

What It Is (with apologies to Dave the Thune):

There are some people who would call this election year one of the more interesting in recent memory. Though with the internet and 24-hour news channels like CNN and Fox News reporting, analyzing, and dissecting every bit of minutiae, there may be many more who would term this election year overwhelming and tiring. And yet, for all the information disseminated to the public by the pundits, journalists, and talk show hosts, it’s not really known how either of these men will govern the country. Suppositions can be made, but until Senator Obama or Senator McCain accedes to the White House, it’s still a guessing game.

One of the most anticipated decisions for both of these candidates was their choice of running mate. Wading through the rhetoric and slogans is challenging, and with the damage that has been done to our political process by those officials willing to lie, steal, and subvert the system for their own personal gain, it is difficult to trust in what our candidates say. That’s why the choice of a Vice Presidential nominee is so important. It’s a decision with consequences – What will the public vetting by the press bring to light? How will the V.P. nominee handle the televised debate? What do they bring to the ticket? – sometimes devastating a candidacy as Tom Eagleton’s choice as running mate did to George McGovern’s 1972 Presidential bid or placing the right person in the right place at the right time as when FDR dropped Henry Wallace for Harry Truman leading into Roosevelt’s final days as President. Providing insights into how a candidate views the Presidency, it is one of the few aspects of the interminable election season that opens a window into the candidates’ governing style.

And yet, for as much importance attributed to the choice of a Vice Presidential nominee, the office itself really is little more than a glorified place holder. Illuminated by the public spotlight during the final weeks of an election cycle, the Vice President invariably recedes into the background and is rarely heard from again.

That is, until now.

Writer Bill Kelter and illustrator Wayne Shellabarger have created the new book, Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance, which could not come at a better time. Published by Topshelf – known more for graphic novels like From Hell, The Surrogates, and Blankets – this book of non-fiction prose elucidates for a contemporary audience the 46 personages that have warmed the seat in the Vice President’s office along with some notable also-rans.

Highlighting the ignominy of those who have held the office of Vice President, Kelter delves into the stories behind the choosing process while also excavating the pathetic and embarrassing moments that seem, almost without exception, to attend the Vice President. Did you know that our fourth V.P., George Clinton, served under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison from 1805-1812 despite removing himself from public life in 1795 due to “the declining condition of [his] health?” And was it taught in your school that GOP powerbrokers, angered at then-New York governor Teddy Roosevelt’s civil service reforms and corporate tax initiatives, decided to exile him to the one place where he would find it difficult to achieve any legislative reforms – the Vice Presidency. Six months into his term, TR ascended to the highest seat in the land as President William McKinley succumbed to a gunshot wound suffered at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. And we all know of J. Danforth Quayle's spelling miscue with potato(e), but that was only the tip of the iceberg. The number of quotable gaffes that can be attributed to the first President Bush’s running mate are multitude. As a teaser: when speaking about the National Aeronautic and Space Agency, Quayle said, “For NASA, space is still a very high priority” – a fine example of the piercing analytical mind of our 44^th Vice President.

Kelter peppers each Vice Presidential profile with anecdotes like these – some unbelievable, others pathetic, but all humorous. Giving over a few pages to each Vice President, it becomes clear early on that these men – at least many of them – are deserving of the black hole of history into which they have fallen. But even with the humorous aspects of this book, the subject matter is such that, in the hands of a different writer, the reading could become as stale as those history books everyone remembers from grade school. Thankfully, Kelter laces his prose with a subtle wit and a biting analysis that will bring a smile to the face of any reader. It’s this comfortable prose coupled with the absurdity of the facts that elevates this book and makes it a must-have for any political junkie.

Wayne Shellabarger ably assists Kelter in his undertaking by creating pen and ink portraits of each of the men who have called the Vice President’s office home. With a style reminiscent of classic comic illustrators, Shellabarger deftly brings these Veeps to life without losing any of his own style. One will easily recognize Teddy Roosevelt or his cousin FDR, and our most recent Vice President’s mug is as pugilistic as ever. But there’s also another side to Shellabarger as he includes smaller, more cartoonish re-creations of events within the lives of many of these Vice Presidents – sometimes literal, but more often symbolic. Whether it be John Tyler playing marbles as he learned he was the new President or the many incidents that accompanied Richard Nixon’s turn as Ike’s V.P. (if his life were fiction, some might call this heavy-handed foreshadowing), these fit nicely with the tone that Kelter is bringing to the prose and adds another dimension to an already enjoyable book.

Despite its 296 pages, Veeps is a very quick read. With engaging material and a wry sense of humor that I enjoy, I found this to be one of the best books I have read in some time, and as far as non-fiction goes, it is high on my personal list of favorites. This is also a book that one can enjoy in small chunks, making it a perfect book to have on one’s nightstand. Retiring early, one could pore through a few decades worth of Veeps, or – if one were settling into bed at the very end of the day – one could still have enough time to read about one or two of these historical “giants.” Regardless, Veeps is a book well worth checking out whether one is a history buff or not.

An Interview with Bill Kelter:

I imagine the creation of Veeps was a long process. What was the inspiration for this book, and what was it about the project that kept you motivated through its creation?

Kelter: As for the motivation, writing it was just plain fun. Granted, it got a little less fun when my marriage started collapsing, but before that, there was a two-month period when my business was plummeting and it became clear that a career change was in the offing. In the meantime, while my wife was at work, I’d transition from my business at about 4:00 PM, pick up a few tall beers from the store, and spend the next several hours researching and writing the book. I was clearing about a chapter a day, four or five days a week.

I finished a huge amount of the book by the spring of 2007, which was good, because living through an imploding marriage is a full-time job, and takes a lot of bounce out of your step. For about eight months, the last thing I felt like doing at the end of every day was sitting down and trying to be eloquent and entertaining.

Wayne was still reeling from his own divorce, so most of our conversations through the end of 2007 tended to tilt heavily towards supporting each other and how to successfully endure the chainsaw-through-the-chest-plate that is marital dissolution. But through it all, we knew we had a book waiting for us when the sun finally came out again. Veeps was our touchstone, and the big steak and a milkshake that was going to wait for us after time did its work and we got through the emotional mop-up.

With so much research to wade through, how did you keep your focus and make decisions on what to include and what to leave out?

Kelter: I’ve had to try, often without success, to adhere to the “less is more” maxim over the years, but writing Veeps I got a little better at using the hatchet where necessary. If something was tangentially funny but not on-point as far as the Vice Presidency was concerned, it wound up on the floor with the peanut shells and cigarette butts. Sometimes I needed some prodding. We had two great passages—one about Teddy Roosevelt’s amazing daughter, Alice, who was probably the most colorful and outspoken woman that Washington has ever seen; and the 1944 Democratic party roll call that was orchestrated by FDR’s adherents within the party and executed by a phantom chant started from the bowels of the convention hall by the Chicago Superintendent of Sewers that helped seal FDR’s fourth nomination. I wanted to keep both but our editor, Robert Venditti, laid down a little tough love and said, “Funny, but off the reservation. Drop ‘em.”

But the blog makes a nice remainders section for things like that.

The subtitle of the book is “Profiles in Insignificance.” Was the book tagged this way from the beginning or a description that became apparent as the research piled up?

Kelter: We started without a subtitle. We didn’t even have the title Veeps at first. But by the time we were about 70% done with the book, “insignificance” seemed to be a relentless, recurring theme throughout the stories of these dozens of pallid men who had held the office. In the back and forth between Wayne and I, and the frequent email and telephone debriefings we held together as the book was starting to grow its fingers and toes, we locked onto “Profiles in Insignificance,” not just as a subtitle, but as a theme that would pervade the book, the site, the blog, and, ultimately, the movie.

How did you and Mr. Shellabarger come together on this project, and what was it about his work that made him the right choice for this book?

Kelter: Wayne and I have been friends since the waning days of the Reagan years. We went to the same high school together (though we missed each other by a year). We met finally at U of O in 1987. We had great creative chemistry from the word go and our senses of humor ran several shades darker than what most people in polite society could generally appreciate (our first project together was a parody of the Peanuts characters as Manson Family members). We dabbled in a few other things through the years, but we got busy with our lives and never saw anything through to fruition. Mainly we just remained great friends and maintained our creative efforts through our correspondence (one of my favorite gifts ever from anyone is a Donner Party Sno-Globe Wayne made for me ten or so years ago).

After a few years fascinating over the dubious character of many of the men the country has chosen through the years to sit one mortal tragedy away from the highest office in the land, I had a drunken epiphany in the bathroom of my rental flat one Saturday morning in 1999. A previous girlfriend had installed a pattern of alternating 10” x 10” inch vinyl tiles on the bathroom floor. The stark white tiles looked like they were begging to be filled with something visual, and at that foggy moment, for reasons I’ve still never come to properly fathom, it occurred to me that an elegant Vice Presidential portrait, with an off-color fact or quote about each, would fit the bill perfectly. The next week I got to work.

Wayne visited a few years later and was really taken with the misguided but sincere obsession I’d devoted to the project, snapped some pictures of the floor, and stowed them away for a few years.

He had already had a book of his concert poster art that he’d published with Top Shelf Production in 1996 (I’m Totally Helpless). He mentioned to his friend and publisher, Brett Warnock, that we were thinking of putting out a deck of VP playing cards. Brett was excited with the concept and suggested a book instead.

It took a few more years of back and forth, but in January 2007, Brett and Chris Staros at Top Shelf greenlit the book, and Wayne and I were to the races on a long-overdue collaboration. And with a publisher behind us, this was a project we were actually going to see through to completion.

Do you have any future projects that you might like to – or would be able to – share with readers?

Kelter: I don’t want to talk too much about the Chester Arthur musical until we’re a little further along.

I will say that we’re not even letting the ink dry on Veeps before we’re rolling up our sleeves and getting back to work. It took us 20 years for our first collaboration to hit the shelves. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.