"Batman & Bill" makes a timeline of Batman milestones

As we Batusi deeper into the yearlong revelry that is Batman's 80th anniversary, I was thrilled to see Bill Finger make a prominent appearance in a special publication celebrating the Dark Knight's history and influence.

Not only did Bill get a full page to himself (a far cry from previous such tributes, where he typically made little more than a cameo)...

...but he also appears on the publication's Bat-timeline three times…one of which is Batman & Bill (final entry).

(One criticism: as has happened many times online, this magazine used a photo of fellow writer Robert Kanigher for Bill.)

The page about Bill kindly mentions both the doc and Bill the Boy Wonder. I believe this is the first time a print publication has acknowledged my Bill Finger efforts without interviewing me first—in other words, this was a total and surreal surprise.

Speaking at Gettysburg College

On 11/3/18, I had the privilege of speaking at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, as part of a comic convention called LincCon (clever). Thanks to all who turned out and to the motivated students who made it possible for me to be there.

There's always one.

Batman, Bill, and Brigham Young

On 2/20/19, I had the pleasure of speaking at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, where your backdrop is this:

I was invited by the Copyright Licensing Office. The topic was Bill Finger framed through the lens of copyright. The talk was open to anyone on campus. The turnout exceeded my expectations—surely in part due to the extensive marketing (which included free pizza).

A touch I especially appreciated: attendees filed in to a mix of songs (including "Philadelphia Freedom" by Elton John) that had all been the focus of a copyright claim. (I did not hear the two I knew of offhand, "I Want a New Drug" by Huey Lewis and the News vs. "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. or "One Fine Day" by the Chiffons vs. "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison.)

After, I gave a 30-minute interview to Julie Rose for Top of Mind, the daily BYU radio program (also available on other services including SiriusXM).

Thank you again to Peter Midgley for making this happen and Julie for your interest.

Best of the blog 2018

This blog launched on 2/19/08.

Every February 19, I share what I feel have been the strongest posts of the previous 12 months.

This year's hit list:

interviews

child actors from classic episodes of The Twilight Zone 
Superman II actress Leueen Willoughby ("The big one's just as strong as Superman!")
Superman II actress Robin Pappas
FairyTale: A True Story actress Florence Hoath
cast of the Budweiser "Whassup!" commercials

speaking

an unforeseen problem when mentioning sexual orientation during an elementary assembly 
brave and heartening responses from kids after an insensitive incident at their school
brave and uplifting public appearance by a same-sex family who were hurt by students during elementary assembly
advocating for diversity at kidlit conferences
inaugural speaker for Pat Scales lecture series at University of Montevallo

miscellaneous

Lyn Simmons (Bill Finger's second wife), 1922-2018
visiting my third of the New Seven Wonders of the World: Machu Picchu
visiting the Beatles sites of Hamburg, Germany
visiting a Mayan ruin in Guatemala that became a Star Wars Rebel base
visiting the real-life Hall of Justice, in Ohio

"Thirty Minutes Over Oregon" an ALSC Notable Children's Books 2019

Thank you to the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) for including Thirty Minutes Over Oregon on your 2019 list of "the best of the best in children's books."

Congrats to all others honored!