Allan Duffin - Writer/Producer

Comic books, Charlton Comics, and how the job gets done

If you're a fan of comic books, head on over to Diversions of the Groovy Kind for lots of info and even scanned artwork to enjoy. I've always loved comic books, and it's nice to be able to look at issues online, appreciating the stories and art that provided fun diversions when I was a kid -- and still do today. Two of my favorite artists, Russ Heath and Pete Morisi , are featured in Diversions. (Morisi, by the way, was an officer with the NYPD who moonlighted as a comic book artist. How's that for variety?)

Diversions of the Groovy Kind includes material from the big companies like Marvel and DC, but also takes the time to feature smaller publishers (many of them defunct) like Charlton Comics, one of my favorites. Charlton was never known for quality printing, but they published a lot of fun books with material by big names in the comics industry, including John Byrne, Mike Zeck, Dick Giordano, Sam Glanzman, Tom Sutton, Steve Ditko, Joe Staton, and others. Many of these luminaries were new to comics and had their early work published by Charlton.

As a kid I visited the Charlton plant in Derby, Connecticut. It was my first real exposure to how the publishing world worked, and it was fascinating -- especially since Charlton was vertically integrated. All functions, from layout to printing to distribution, were under one roof. My visit was a crash course in the publishing process. Later on I worked in a printing plant for awhile. All of this occurred before I became a writer, but I'm grateful that I learned about -- and learned to appreciate -- the industry at such an early age.

(Graphic: A gorgeous Mike Zeck cover for Charlton Comics' Scary Tales. Click here for a closer look.)

History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers

Here's the first mention of my new book! It has a new title: History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers. The publisher is Kaplan, a division of the Washington Post Company. Simon & Schuster is the distributor. Publication date is February 2, 2010. Here's some of the marketing copy:

Spanning 160 years, History in Blue is the first book to tell the riveting story of the uphill struggle for respect and recognition sustained by women in the modern police force. Featuring rare photographs and original interviews with pioneering female officers, this fascinating book chronicles the ongoing fight for equality in the world of law enforcement. In this vivid and remarkable history, Allan T. Duffin tells of the extraordinary women who broke down the barriers of gender so that they—and many generations of successors—could do the work they loved most.

Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement through all of the steps in the process: pitching, researching, writing, editing, design, and now publication. More news as it happens.

Birthing a new book

My new book is in the galley stage -- I've just received the draft pages, which provide the first glimpse at what the actual book will look like.

If you haven't had the opportunity to see a labor of love go through the production process, let me tell ya, it's really an amazing experience. A small team of experts guide you through editing, design, marketing, and all of the other things that wind up with the bound pages peeking out at you from a shelf at the local bookstore (or the virtual shelf at an online merchant).

I have a lot of people to thank for making this happen, and I'll share some more as we head toward the publication date of February 2, 2010.

Handmade for Baby

If you're looking for new clothes for your munchkin, I'd like to introduce you to a friend's business, Handmade for Baby.

"Handmade for Baby" designs begin with the practical needs expressed by my friends and colleagues who are mothers to infants and toddlers. Add concepts based on images from my childhood, observations from nature and studies in childhood development. Then, using ecologically responsible and ethically produced materials, I produce the various pieces you see in this shop.

Custom orders can also be placed via this site.  So, if there's a piece with the right idea but you need it tweaked to suit the little one in your life, get in touch with me through Etsy and let's create something beautiful to welcome and nurture baby.

Anak takes a lot of care in everything she does, so give her online store a look. Thanks! Expanding her line, she'll be introducing doggie clothes in the near future.

Daily Monsters everywhere!

A shout-out to Stefan Bucher, friend and graphic designer extraordinaire, who appears in the current edition of L.A. Weekly. Stefan's ongoing blog and book, The Daily Monster, have garnered a huge following. The plot is simple: draw a monster a day, record its creation, give it a backstory. Here's a clip from Gendy Alimurung's feature on Stefan:

For the past year, Bucher has videotaped himself drawing monsters. The videos, 199 of them, are archived on his Web site, dailymonster.com. This new toucan-beaked critter, Monster 200, is the last of the “daily” monsters for a while. They’ll be going on hiatus while Bucher develops their cousins into an animated TV segment for 2009’s rebooted Electric Company on PBS. His work is also collected in the book 100 Days of Monsters.

Here's a video of Stefan drawing Monster #200:

(From the L.A. Weekly. Photo by Linda Abbott)

Are boys for yelling at?

It's a refrigerator magnet and a t-shirt. You'll also see it on people's MySpace and Facebook pages, and a lot of other places. It's a picture of a pissed-off girl yelling at a really confused guy.

Of course, this is also applicable in the opposite direction, but I can't find any refrigerator magnets that say "Girls are for yelling at." But then, I don't know any guys who would want a magnet like that. Come to think of it, I don't know any guys who collect refrigerator magnets. We're just happy if the light comes on when we open the refrigerator door, because it's easier to find the leftovers that way.

Some writers believe that items like these are harmful to male-female relations. Here's a chunk of an editorial piece titled "Purchasing feminism: Girl power gone haywire," from the McGill University Tribune.

Yay to breeding cynicism in children. The Trendy Wendy and Angry Little Girls clothing lines encourage girls to be self-absorbed and valourize cruelty with slogans like "That's queen bitch to you" and "Boys are for yelling at." For especially irate lasses, Jim Benton's Just Plain Mean line features a little girl kicking the crotch of any boy who dares approach her. And of course, the "Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them"-themed clothing continues to foster positive girl/guy vibes.

Personally, I find things like "Boys are for yelling at" to be funny. Nothing deeper than a fun phrase, just something to laugh about as you go about your day. You can even get a lunchbox with Jim Benton's drawing of a girl nailing a dude in the nuts, ouch. (See photo to the right.) While I wouldn't recommend giving this item to your six-year-old as she heads off to school, it's definitely an interesting conversation piece.

In a way, these products are therapeutic: There are times when we wish we could knee somebody in the groin, or scream at them at the top of our lungs. But when we can't (or don't want to) do such a thing, we can look at our magnet, t-shirt or lunchbox and know that we've still expressed our thoughts in some fashion. And in being able to laugh about it, we make the world a little better for all of us.

"Staging the Perfect Performance" in DramaBiz Magazine

The July/August issue of DramaBiz Magazine features my article about staging equipment for the theatre. I'm always curious about the hardware that makes the magic, and wow is there a lot of available hardware:

A variety of choices are available depending on your theatre’s requirements and available budget. Vendors like StageRight, Inc., in Clare, Mich., create portable staging equipment like choral, band, and seating risers; pit fillers; orchestra enclosures; acoustical shells; and trap floor covers. According to Kathleen Meadowcroft, sales research specialist and trade show manager for the company, the firm benefits from having its manufacturing and distributing operations located under one roof. Similarly, Serapid, Inc., builds equipment like its LinkLift series of theatrical lifts at its facility in Sterling Heights, Mich., a suburb of Detroit.

Read the entire article here.

Farewell, Prof. Pausch

Sad news today from Carnegie Mellon University, my wife's alma mater. You might recall "The Last Lecture," given by Prof. Randy Pausch, who was suffering from pancreatic cancer. It was an inspiring, life-affirming lecture that you can still watch on YouTube. Here's today's press release in its entirety:

It is with great sadness that I inform you that our dear friend and colleague Randy Pausch passed away today, July 25, after a brave struggle against pancreatic cancer.

Randy captured the minds and hearts of millions worldwide with his Carnegie Mellon lecture, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," and his book, "The Last Lecture."

Randy, who earned his doctorate from Carnegie Mellon in 1988, returned to the university in 1997 as an associate professor of human-computer interaction and computer science. Along with Carnegie Mellon Professor Don Marinelli, Randy was the co-founder of the Entertainment Technology Center, a leading interactive multimedia education and entertainment center.

At Carnegie Mellon, Randy was also the director of the Alice software project, a revolutionary way to teach computer programming. The interactive Alice program teaches computer programming by having kids make animated movies and games. A fitting legacy to Randy's life and work, Alice may in the future help to reverse the dramatic drop in the number of students majoring in computer science at colleges and universities. Randy was also known as a pioneer in the development of virtual reality, and he created the popular Building Virtual Worlds class.

An award-winning teacher and researcher, Randy was also a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator and a Lilly Foundation Teaching Fellow. He used sabbatical leaves to work at Walt Disney Imagineering and Electronic Arts (EA), and he consulted with Google Inc. on user interface design. He is the author or co-author of five books and more than 70 articles.

Perhaps the greatest lesson, however, Randy taught us all was how to live, even in the face of great challenges, and how to follow our passion. While Randy's greatest passion was clearly his family, he did not shy from sharing his passion for his work as a professor, for his students, and for Carnegie Mellon. We will miss Randy, but we will carry the memory of him and all that he did to make Carnegie Mellon a better university and each of us who knew him a better person.

A memorial service for Randy will be scheduled at a later date. For more information, visit www.cmu.edu.

Sincerely,

Jared L. Cohon
President, Carnegie Mellon University

Shatner/Hasselhoff '08

Oh yeah. You heard the rumors. You eagerly awaited the kickoff. Now it's here.

If the upcoming 2008 presidential election is confusing to you, check out the newest candidates: Shatner/Hasselhoff. They have the talent. They have the credits. And now they have a website.

I would comment further but I just watched the video below and am too busy laughing my ass off. Kudos to the brains behind this spectacular campaign.

(Via For Your Entertainment)

And don't forget this previously announced candidate:

"The Detail is in the Props," in the new issue of DramaBiz Magazine

The May 2008 issue of DramaBiz Magazine features my article about props in the theatre. One of the things that interested me while researching the piece was how theatres store all of the props that they design and/or collect over the years:

In Chicago, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company has an area for furniture, a separate area for smaller items or hand props, and another area for fabric, bedding and pillows. “We have lots of shelving units full of large clear plastic bins (so you can see what’s inside) with lids (to keep the dust out),” says DiLuciano. Like items are kept in each bin. There’s also a furniture area where items like dining room tables, sofas, and beds are grouped together. While not everything is listed in a computer database yet, DiLuciano notes that it would take an additional full-time staffer to photograph, catalog and inventory everything in the rapidly-changing collection. “As it is now, we have to take advantage of pockets of time when we’re not working on a show to maintain order in these areas,” she says.

The photo above is from the play “Southern Comforts,
” with actors Karen Grassle and Edward Sarafian. The production was staged by TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, California. According to Properties Master Adriane Roberts, “The big project was completely reupholstering the couch and chair. Many of the props in the scene were collected but other things we worked on were lamp repairs, false books on the shelves so the crew could move them in and out easily, and appropriate family pictures on the walls.”