Panel Discussions
Now you can see the “Comics vs. the Fascists” event on YouTube!
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, on Tuesday March 3rd, I was a panelist on the New York Comics and Picture-Story’s panel for Will Eisner Week, “The Comics vs. the Fascists,” which was live on Zoom. My fellow panelists were Karen Green, Dean Haspiel, and Charles Kochman. And the moderator was Danny Fingeroth. Why am I telling you this? Well, if you missed the panel when it was live, now you can watch it on YouTube! Click on the image below to check it out:
Formula One, Taylor Swift, and “Will Eisner Week” Event
Today’s a busy day! Why? Well, for one thing, today two of my books came out from Penguin Random House. One of those books is 96 Facts About Formula One. The other one is 96 Datos Sobre Taylor Swift, which is the Spanish-language edition of my USA Today bestselling book 96 Facts About Taylor Swift. I wrote both books, they were both illustrated by Risa Rodil, and the Taylor Swift book was translated into Spanish by Ariela Rudy Zaltzman.
Here’s the official publisher description of 96 Facts About Formula One:
Packed with fun facts, quick quizzes, and bonus pages for journaling, this is a must-have for anyone wanting to know more about some of F1’s most famous drivers, including Charles Leclerc, Jamie Chadwick, Lella Lombardi, Lewis Hamilton, Marta García, and Max Verstappen.
96 Facts About Formula One is available HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Here’s the official publisher description of 96 Datos Sobre Taylor Swift:
¡El libro de datos y diario definitivo para fans de Taylor Swift! Lleno de datos curiosos, cuestionarios cortos y hojas en blanco para escribir, es un libro que todos y todas las Swifties deben tener.
And here it is in English:
The ultimate fact book and journal for fans of Taylor Swift! Packed with fun facts, quick quizzes, and bonus pages for journaling, this is a must-have for any Swiftie.
96 Datos Sobre Taylor Swift is available HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!! At 7pm EST today, Tuesday March 3rd, 2026, I’ll be appearing on an online panel discussion, as part of Will Eisner Week. The panel is called “The Comics vs the Fascists – A Will Eisner Week 2026 Event.” The event is FREE, but you have to register, which you can do by emailing comicssymposium@gmail.com
Here’s a description of the “Comics vs. the Fascists” panel:
When fascism threatened the world in the 1930s and ‘40s, comics creators rushed to counter its threat, including through their characters actions. Will Eisner (with The Spirit), Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (with Captain America), and Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (with Superman) were among the prominent writers and artists who used their four-color platforms to combat fascists both at home and abroad. Today, shining a spotlight on the way these creators rose to the challenge, and what lessons may be learned for the present, is an expert panel including:
- Karen Green (Columbia University Curator for Comics and Cartoons)
- Dean Haspiel (The Red Hook)
- Arie Kaplan (From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books)
- Charles Kochman (Abrams ComicArts)
- Danny Fingeroth (Will Eisner Studios) moderator
More info about the event can be found HERE.
Who Wants To See Some Comic Con Pics?
I went to the San Diego Comic Con a couple of weeks ago. How was it? Pretty great. Here’s some stuff that happened:
Okay, so this first thing requires a bit of set-up. Recently I wrote a children’s book titled The Fantastic Four Little Golden Book, which came out on July 1st from Penguin Random House. And at the Marvel booth this year, there were all of these props and costumes (and replicas thereof) from the movie Fantastic Four: First Steps. So on Wednesday July 23rd, Marvel staffers Jim Velasco and Neil Middleton were kind enough to let me do a photo shoot where I held up a copy of The Fantastic Four LGB with FF: FS movie props and costumes (and replicas thereof) in the background. It wasn’t really planned out beforehand, but it sure seems like it was, because I happened to be wearing all blue, just like the Fantastic Four themselves. Even the frames of my glasses are blue! Check out the pics:
Thanks to Neil Middleton and Lawrence Brenner for taking these FF/Marvel booth photos!
And on Thursday July 24th, I attended a mixer for animation writers which was held at Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop, just a few blocks away from the convention center. Everyone who came to the mixer got this super-cool button. It shows a typewriter (something associated with writers) and a mixer (the kitchen appliance). Get it?
Here’s a photo of me and my friend and fellow animation writer Charlotte Fullerton. This pic was taken by Charlotte at the mixer:
On Friday July 25th, I went to another mixer. This one was for animation folk in general, and it was sponsored by The Animation Guild (or TAG, as it’s sometimes known). I had a great time at the TAG mixer. It was SO much fun! But do I have any pics from it? No, I do not. (If there’s anything I realized after SDCC ended this year, it’s that I should take more pictures during SDCC!)
On Saturday July 26th, I appeared on a SDCC panel called “Writing Nonfiction About Fiction: Coffee Table Book Writers Roundtable.” The panel was moderated by Andrew Farago, and the panelists were yours truly and Jerry Beck. I don’t have any photos from that panel, which is just because I forgot to ask someone to take pictures beforehand. Oh, well. I mean, I have the sign-thingie that they put in front of my microphone before the panel started, and I took a picture of that. Does the photo of the sign-thingie count? (No. No it doesn’t.)
But on the good side, the panel was great fun, and I had a fantastic time. (From what I could tell, the crowd did, too!) I think it helped that Andrew, Jerry, and I were all really big fans of each others’ work. Lots of mutual respect there. During the panel, I talked about some of the nonfiction books I’ve written, like From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books and The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions. I also talked about some of the children’s books I’ve written – like The Bad Guys Joke Book – and some of the work I’ve done as a screenwriter for television and video games.
You can find out more about the panel HERE.
That night, I went to the Ignition Press party. Did I take photos while I was at the party? No. Because that’s something a cool person would do, and as anyone can tell you, I am not cool. But here’s an exterior shot of the Ignition Press San Diego Comic Con off-site popup!
And here’s one of the Ignition Press pins they gave you when you entered the party for the first time. If having lots of pins and buttons makes you cool, then I am indeed very cool. (But as anyone would tell you, I am NOT cool. Come on, we’ve been over this already!)
The very next day, on Sunday, July 27th, I attended the ceremony for the Dwayne McDuffie Awards for Diversity in Comics. It was hosted by actor and comedian Phil LaMarr, and the keynote speech for the event was given by Brandon Easton. Here are some pictures from the event:
There were a few other things I did at SDCC 2025, but I’ve got to go work on a deadline right now. So maybe I’ll do a second SDCC post at a later date, where I talk about those vague-sounding “other things” I just referenced.
And before I go, I’ll leave you with this photo of regular Deadpool and “Where’s Waldo” Deadpool. Because…well, just because. That’s why. I mean, do you even NEED a reason for “Where’s Waldo” Deadpool?
PS – if you want to read a similar “SDCC wrap-up” blog post I wrote last year, you can check it out HERE.