:: Monday, December 22, 2003 ::

Back for More

It's been over six months since I lasted posted online or had any more than a passing interest in the Internet. Last April, I 'retired' from GrayHaven and passed the fun, the headaches, the challenges, the excitement and the stress onto Travis and Tim.

I can't say that I've missed it. Semi regular visits to the usual comic related sites show that even with more than half a year away, nothing's really changed and I don't know whether that's refreshing or frightening.

In my own life, I was able to accomplish most of what I wanted to with my self imposed exile from technology. I spent more time with the family and focused greater energy into my career and found myself completely satisfied in both areas.

My one regret over the past 6 months has been my failure to finish out the final phase of Preorder Comics. I had high hopes for my now defuct online comic shop and after I shut the doors on that I had wanted to at least straighten things out with the customers who gave me their trust. Incomplete records, changing email addresses and a lack of focus kept me from fulfilling the final orders but if anyone's out there who is owed product from me, please email me at Grayhaven03@aol.com and let me know how much. I can only assure you that I'll probably be late in responding or sending out payment, but I do want to settle up and reimburse any who were put out by my previous lack of business talents.

For that matter, any of you who haven't heard from me in awhile can drop me an email. If I haven't responded, it's probably because of the email changes. I don't want anyone to think I ignored them.

So what now?

I plan to just keep doing what I've been doing for the last half of the year. I still don't have the desire to get back into the game. It took me close to a week to figure out what I wanted to say in this column entry and even if I wanted to bother with it at all. It's not to knock the history I have with GHM or others who do the same line of work. On the contrary, I've been in the trenches and respect anyone who is able to keep this up on a continuing basis. I'm extremely grateful to Travis and Tim for keeping the ship sailing this long after I left. I just don't have the passion for it yet.

I'd like to maybe do some sort of year in review in January, but I don't want to commit to something I likely won't have time to do. I guess I just wanted to poke my head back out into the 'net, see what was going on and say 'hello' to anyone out there who may be wondering 'what ever happened to that...'

Well 'hello' and goodbye for now.

Be safe and happy holidays.

:: Andrew 12/22/2003 02:00:20 AM [+] ::
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The Week

Where to begin?

I know from the few minutes a day that I was able to actually log on and check emails (not necessarily read them, just see them) that the net community at large, especially some of my friends and comic customers, believed that I had completely disappeared. I�ll begin replying and getting back into the swing of thing in the next week or two, with the help of my partner, Travis.

Some of you know the story behind why I retired from GrayHaven Magazine. If not, scroll down to previous posts.

Two of the main factors which led to my departure came from me wanting to have more free time to spend with my family as we prepared for the birth of our second child and the fact that I had an outside chance to get a big promotion and a terrific opportunity at work if I had more time to put into the job. It all came to a head this week. In 48 hours.

When our first son was born a little over two years ago, I was making more money than I ever had in my life. Almost 50% more. Right after our son was born, I was laid off, along with several other people. Anyone familiar with the economic situation over the past two years might be able to guess that the road to financial security has been different. I�ve always led a pretty comfortable life financially, but for the past two years I�ve had to take out loans, work (at some points) 3 jobs at once and take whatever I could get to keep my family fed.

Early last fall I returned to a restaurant chain that I had worked for over 7 years ago. It was the second job I ever had. I began as a busboy, worked my way up to server and then got into the management program before the director removed everyone from the restaurant. With a new team coming in, I was going back to the bottom of the food chain and decided to go back to college and make my folks proud as opposed to waiting for another opportunity which could take years.

I finished school, met my wife, got into the corporate world.

I loved my time in the restaurant. Even as a server (and I would go on to wait tables several other times over the years for some extra cash) I would do what I could to work my way up to a senior level so I could have a hand in running the front. I like dealing with people. I like making them happy. I�m a big guy and I love my food. It�s the dream job. ;)

So last fall I returned to the company, albeit in a new location, and asked to be a server. Why a server instead of a manager? Well, after being out of the business for so long, I had no chance at getting a job on a walk-in. I also, at the time, just wanted something to stop the financial bleeding and serving was always good for a fast injection of cash. Family and friends questioned why I was going back to this particular restaurant, but I just had a feeling that it�d be right.

During the Winter season, a new General Manager came to the restaurant and some of the existing managers told her that I should be a candidate for manager. My responsibilities were increased. I traded in a uniform for a shirt and tie and became an hourly trainee. It was an unusual move, but they thought it�d be good for me and the restaurant.

When we discovered that Lisa was pregnant again, I knew I wanted her to make her maternity leave permanent this time. Day care is too expensive, I don�t trust sitters and we think it�s important that one of us be home for the kids. For two years it was me. Now it�s her turn. To be able to do that would require that I become a manager. A salaried job with benefits, etc. Time was running out.

Lisa used up all of her vacation time and sick days early to go on leave a month before the baby was due. This allowed me to be able to work anytime they needed me in any capacity, without having to worry about who would watch our little guy. With each week that passed, I got more information that positions would be opening up and I would be considered.

A couple weeks ago, I had my preliminary interview and passed it. This moved me onto the testing phase (extensive math, my weakest link) and another in depth interview. I was supposed to have both last Tuesday and I was scared as hell. I knew the person doing the interview liked me and felt that I knew the job well enough to handle myself in the interview, but the math part was freaking me out.

The other difficult aspect of the whole thing was that our second was due on June 3rd. So if I got the job, when would I begin training? Training is a 14 week even and I wouldn�t want to have to call out because Lisa went into labor. All the while, Lisa and I were trying to get everything ready for the birth. We needed someone to watch our son so my parents and brother in law were going to come up on Friday and stay the week so that all our bases would be covered.

I had quit smoking last Summer and recently started again (Carrie, our former webmistress, I know, you�re shaking your head now. She knew how often I would quit and then start again for whatever reason). It seemed to get rid of the vomit taste in my mouth, another side effect of the building pressure of what could be (for better or worse) a major life changing series of events.

Tuesday came and after 2 sweat filled hours of test taking the results were faxed back and I had passed. The interview went well and I was told that I would be made an offer in the next day or so. I was hoping for a certain amount but doubted I�d get my goal figure. I was just relieved to finally be back in. I wept. They laughed. And then they wept, too.

On Wednesday, the family and I spend the day at the zoo. Liam loves the zoo and he appreciates the different animals more and more each time. The Congo area is simply amazing, and of course he had the most fun at the petting zoo.

Thursday morning Liam woke Lisa up around 5:30am and asked for more milk. She gave him a bottle and came back to bed. At 6am, she told me she thought the baby would be early, this weekend probably. An hour later she told me she was having contractions. The last time she gave birth, it happened about 18 hours after the first contractions. I figured we had at least half that time. I called my parents and brother in law to put them on alert to come tonight.

45 minutes later, Lisa was in more pain and the doctor had told her to go to the hospital. I made the calls again, telling the family to come now.

The hospital was 25 minutes away, we were thinking we had at least 6 or 7 hours till the baby, but I still rushed, nervously and took out another car on the way.

We arrived at the hospital around 10am, after I exchanged insurance information with the other driver and told the police we would have to forgo the report because of my wife. We were given a room and the nurses got my wife ready for the doctor. They were all nervous because Liam, our 2.3 year old was in the room with us. It would take my parents another 2 hours to get to the hospital (plenty of time) so he would have to stay in with us. No big deal we figured, because it would just be plenty of �relax honeys� and drugs.

A few minutes go by and the doctor informs me that the baby is coming soon.

�What does soon mean�, I ask.

�Within the hour�, she replies.

Now this didn�t seem like it could work. We all looked to Liam, who was in the corner playing with some toy cars we brought. Lisa�s only other thought, aside from Liam�s wellbeing was, �does this mean I don�t get the epidural�? Not enough time for that.

The doctor went to go get her supplies but in the 10 minutes she was gone, Lisa needed to push and the nurses got her ready.

At 10:50am, our 7lb 9oz baby boy, Ethan Ryan, was born. Liam was there for all but the last 3 minutes, for his own safety. He was really remarkable. He was curious, but not scared or out of control in the least. He would be playing with cars, only to run over to rub mommy�s back or hold her hand when she called out from contractions out. Lisa did spectacularly well. She had no sense that she was in pain or tired or had just given birth. It was amazing.

When I had some free time, I checked messages and was able to reach the final stage of the job offer. I was given what I asked for. They thought I was worth it. A cap on a crazy couple of days.

Lisa came back with Ethan from the hospital today. Both mommy and baby are doing terrific and Liam seems to be adjusting well to his new baby brother. It was an unforgettable 48 hours in an unforgettable week.

I�m going to have a few days off to spend with the family before heading back to work and transitioning my responsibilities before I go off for training. I look towards the future, cautiously, but maybe just a bit more comfortable in my own situation, and certainly with even more joy at the beautiful family my wife has given us.

:: Andrew 5/31/2003 10:41:45 PM [+] ::
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My EPIC Adventure

Very soon, Marville #7 will hit the stands and with it, the Epic website will likely be updated with all the information one will need to submit their work to Marvel's EPIC line. Soon after that, I'll be sending in my first submissions. I'm not going to lie to you and say that I'm not interested in trying this, because I am. I think most comic fans have one or two Marvel stories that they'd like to tell. Even people who aren't necessarily fans of the Marvel characters are likely to submit to the company their own creations due to the company's recognition. It's a big deal and while the odds of someone getting their dream gig are pretty low, they're a lot better than they were before this idea was announced.

I've had 3 particular ideas specifically using Marvel characters floating around in my head for years now. With at least two of them, I've discussed the ideas with someone at the company previously. Since you haven't seen my name on a title yet, you can guess how it went. But the rules have changed and I've tweaked a lot of the ideas and now it's going to be time to try this officially.

I may be hopelessly optimistic, but I'm also a realist. If Chris Ryall teamed with Steve Niles and a superb artist (now on the upcoming Silver Surfer series) didn't get past the initial stages, I wonder what my odds can be. I have no artist (though the Epic site will have contacts for all creative types). I have no experience putting a comic together on this level. Most of all, my tastes tend to be a little obscure. Bear in mind, my first official rejection letter came from DC 9 years ago when they passed on my 'Wilddog' proposal. I spent the better part of a year retelling Ben Reilly's history. Can you just imagine what 3 stories I'm going to pitch? Another problem is the fact that 2 of the 3 ideas work better as ongoing or limited series and from the looks of it, the Epic submissions are supposed to be for single issue stories only. I can probably tweak one of the 2 remaining into a one-shot but the third will be difficult.

I'm still going to go for it, though. I think I'm a good writer and I think that these ideas are brilliant. I know, I'm my own worst critic. The bottom line is that there is nothing to lose and my rejection letter file folder still has room in it.

To make things interesting, I'm going to document the status of these projects from theory to submission and beyond, beginning next week. Although I won't reveal the exact nature of the stories right now (because they're so fucking cool I don't want you to steal them) we'll work around it and try to come up with an interesting little series of columns here that will end with my heart breaking and the sounds of your laughter or my mock attempts to be humble while signing copies of the book in front of Jim Hanleys next year.

We'll have fun with this, believe me. Or don't.
:: Andrew 4/25/2003 04:17:26 PM [+] ::
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Random Thoughts

- The toddler swearing story yesterday seemed to impress a lot of people, but no, I am not going to teach him new curse words for your amusement. He won't know I find his vulgarity cute until he's old enough to read this ;)

- I don't think the Joker has been used effectively as a character since 'The Killing Joke'. Finished reading Batman 614 and was hoping beyond hope that DC would pull the trigger on this guy once and for all. Unfortunately, he manages to survive his latest adventure with Batman. It's one of the more brutal issues of Batman that I've seen, but Loeb and Lee rise to the occassion. I've really been enjoying the last several issues of their run.

- By requesting that I put in the original Star Wars, or Episode 4, my son has officially completed his long awaited transformation to full blown geek and I couldn't be prouder.

- I'm anticipating the release of 'New Mutants' more than any other Tsunami title from Marvel based solely on the writers. The creative duo responsible for 'Skinwalkers', the best of last year and the recently released 'Three Strikes' from Oni Press have my utmost faith.

- I think Warner Brothers needs to come to their senses and let the cast of Smallville 'graduate' into the Superman franchise of films. It's no secret that WB has had some problems making Superman fly again, especially in regards to casting the Man of Steel. So why not let the people who have been embraced by the viewing public continue their roles in the feature. Tom Welling would do fine in the tights and has there ever been a Lex Luthor or Jonathan Kent with more depth? Let Smallville continue on television for another year or so while you tweak that Superman script and do the right thing.

- Gratuity needs to be manditory. A friend of mine just got fired at work after an incident with a guest. She had the last table of the evening and was given 42 cents on a bill of 49.58. She was given 50 bucks and then the people left the change. It was typical of the night for her so she snapped, went outside after them and threw the 42 cents in their general direction. Needless to say, the guest complained and she was terminated. But this is the type of trash that comes in to dine too often. That same night, I waited with one server an hour and a half after closing because her last table didn't have enough money to pay the bill so one of them had to go get money from home while the other waited at the restaurant. What is wrong with people?

- This time next year Cerebus will be over. I can't still can't wrap my brain around that one and I've only been reading the book since issue 150. I mean, damn, 300 self published issues...This industry needs to throw Dave Sim a party when he ends the run. It's an accomplishment that will never be matched and that needs to be acknowledged.

- I'm looking forward to the Matrix sequels more than anything else this year. The Matrix is one of those movies that I originally only wanted to see because it looked like it might be good. I wasn't really expecting that much and I came away from it with the same feelings that I did when I saw the first Star Wars. I don't know if the Matrix trilogy will be able to compete with Star Wars when all is said and done but the first film so far is the only one that's really come even close. Lord of the Rings is brilliant, but these are on a completely different level.

- Speaking of summer movies, I think the Hulk is going to bomb. And by bomb, I mean it won't reach the 200 million mark. I can't believe that some people are still assuming that this is going to rule the summer. Is anyone excited by this film, other than the die-hards who want to see any comic property turned into a film? Summer kings, in my opinion: Matrix Reloaded will lead, followed by X-Men 2, Terminator 3 (because no matter how bad it looks, people want to see Arnold as the Terminator again and this one should easily pass the 2nd film's box office numbers), Bruce Almighty and Bad Boys 2.

- Speaking of the Hulk, is it cool to suddenly bash Bruce Jones' run? It appears that the comics community has suddenly been taken over by the fellows on the Hulk boards at Comicboards.com. You remember these guys, right? They're the ones who thought that Bruce Jones was buying Hulk issues in bulk to get sales up. Or that Jones was creating online identities to rave about the work? Critics have been praising this book since Jones took over and now the Hulk gets some Eisner recognition (shocking, yet well deserved) and the backlash starts.

- GrayHaven turns 12 years old next week. I can't believe it. Tim's been making some big changes and I can't wait to see what he and Travis do with this site in the weeks and months to come. You're going to be amazed!

- Doing a random thoughts column is a lot easier than having to take the time to actually think of a column with substance and a point.
:: Andrew 4/25/2003 08:44:52 AM [+] ::
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Toddler Swearing

If there's anything cuter than a 2 year old with the mouth of a truck driver, I'd be hard pressed to figure out what it is. A few months back, a member of the family happened to utter the word 'shit' a few times too many. Our son happened to pick up on the word and proudly began claiming it as his own. It was also the first 's' word he mastered, having had difficultlies with it thus far. Not one week later, I was walking in the bedroom and stubbed my toe. The boy learned a new word.

The amazing thing to me was not his repetition of 'shit' and 'fuck', but the fact that he only uses them when appropriate. He doesn't ask for his 'fucking' juice or tell his mother that the mac and cheese tastes 'shitty'. But if he's walking along with a piece of candy and it drops on the floor, he will say, 'oh shit' and that'll be the end of it. It soon became apparent that he was using 'shit' for when something was lost from him. He'd drop a fork or something he was eating, or his stuffed animal would fall off the bed or after he sucked the last drop of milk from his bottle. He reserves the king daddy of curses for accidents and clumsiness. If he's walking along and trips, he'll let off an 'F' bomb.

Last week we had some nice weather and kept the windows open. He was on a stool, looking outside and for whatever reason, started banging his fist against the window and saying 'damnit' to whomever was out there. I don't even know anyone who uses that word. We're an all or nothing family. Perhaps he picked it up from television?

Whatever the case, he recently came up with his own, all purpose curse that I find particularly amusing. 'Shit' is still reserved for the moments where he runs out of something or drops something, but the new backup is the now classic: 'fuckdamnit'. It sounds like it's spelled. One word. Adorable.


:: Andrew 4/24/2003 09:37:08 AM [+] ::
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Walking on Eggshells

Hammer. Hammer. Drill. Drill. Fuck!!!!!!

Living on the first floor of an apartment has it's benefits. Not having to walk up several flights of stairs when the elevator is out is one of them. It also has it's bad points, like the past couple of days when your pain in the ass super decides to do some repairs and remodling to the basement. I don't know what to do at this point. It's impossible to hear myself think, let alone hear the doorbell for this week's comic orders, take a nap, let the little one relax or do anything normally. Of course, we didn't know that they'd be building some sort of atomic bomb in the basement. As it is with everything in this place, the people that live here are the last ones to know about anything. There's got to be a better way.

I've been spending a lot less time online since Tim has taken over things here. I'm still trying to help him out with the transitioning, but things have apparently gone a lot smoother than even I had hoped. My online time has been spent mostly checking out the news and finishing up orders for the Preorder comics sites. I just mailed off a huge batch of books today, some for the orders that came this week and others for sale items and still others from books that weren't sent out when they were supposed to have been. With any luck, I'm all caught up. I'll know for sure in the next couple of days.

'Real' work has become a stressful situation, as well. The clock is ticking on the arrival for baby number two, and with that, all of the life changing responsibilities that it entails. Ideally, my wife will not be working after the little one is born, leaving me responsible for total support of the family. I welcome the idea of the traditional family lifestyle but recognize a signal income for a 4 person family in New York is a tough thing to maneuver. It's especially difficult when the needs of your employer are somewhat at conflict your own needs.

All I know is that there's a small window that's shrinking every day and I have to be hustling to get things done quickly.
:: Andrew 4/23/2003 02:08:05 PM [+] ::
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Now What?

First off, Tim Butler, the new Editor-in-Chief of GrayHaven has updated his column. The first since it was revealed that he�s the new big cheese. Go check it out.

It�s hot outside. Well, it�s only in the 70s (maybe peaking at about 80) but to me, that�s hot. I can respect the Spring and Summer seasons and admire the beauty of the shining sun, the budding flowers and the like, but I�m a sweater. I don�t really care for the outdoors in the summer, which is kinda hard to avoid when you have a 2 year old who loves to play outside. Another seasonal membership to the pool is going to be required for sure. At least the little one seems to have daddy�s genes with respect to the temperatures. He prefers being outside in the snow and cold more than the heat. He�s a sweater , too. See, I was one of the few New Yorkers to welcome the freak storm that dumped 6 inches of snow on us last week. I thought that was cool as anything. Oh well. It doesn�t look like we�ll be seeing anything resembling snow for another 6 months, at least.

I crashed today for a couple of hours. Long days at work finally caught up with me and I passed out sometime between Arthur and Clifford the Big Red Dog. One measures time by the programs your children watch. Sunday started it off with a 14 hour day culminating in an all night cleaning project which lasted till 4 am. Some VIPs were coming in the next morning so it needed to be spotless. I woke up with the little one at around 6am, put in a full day Monday at work and another all nighter last night. Would have gotten home by midnight but someone lost their keys and we had to wait another couple hours till a spare set arrived. I should be taking another nap while the boy takes his, but I�m trying to do some work online and then jump onto schedules for work to make tonight go by fast. Well, I�m off Saturday, which will give me a chance to rest (not) before the big day: Easter. 2nd busiest day of the year.

Marvel had a press conference yesterday to reveal more information on their Epic line. I can�t really find many naysayers when it comes to the new Epic, which is good because for all intents and purposes it seems like a win win situation. Sure, there are still going to be hundreds (or thousands) of fans who get rejection letters, but there are likely to be many many people who get the chance of a lifetime by having their work published by Marvel. It�s a break that didn�t exist for them until now.

I�m going to wait until the official site launches and Marville 7 comes out to brush up on the rules before submitting anything, but I will indeed be taking a crack at it. There�s nothing to lose. I�m not sure how good my chances are, because even if I manage to win them over with my writing ability and creativity (ha) the fact is, the characters that I�d like to take on and the stories I�d like to tell don�t appear to be the type of thing that they�d want to publish, based on what I know. But again, there�s nothing to lose.


:: Andrew 4/16/2003 02:41:23 PM [+] ::
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Introducing the New Editor-in-Chief

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Tim Butler.

Tim is one of the more recent additions to GrayHaven, but in the short time that he�s been on board, he�s proven to be hard working, insightful, deadline friendly and equally enthusiastic. And when it comes to hot button topics, he knows when to speak up and when to keep his mouth shut�something he previous EIC was lacking.

Tim was the first name on a very short list of candidates that I considered to replace me. Thankfully, he accepted. It would have been awkward, to say the least, to go on a huge search for a new leader only to be writing words of confidence and proclamation on choice number six.

Now you may be wondering, why Tim? It was an extremely easy choice, really. I wanted someone internal, but not someone who may have been enveloped by my way of thinking. I wanted someone who was responsible enough to keep this site going, thick skinned enough to deal with the pressures or concerns of any critics, creative enough to come up with new ideas and ways to entertain the readers while at the same time challenging the staff and someone with enough foresight to be able to know what we need, what the readers need and to combine everything into a cohesive unit.

Tim is all those things and he hasn�t been with GrayHaven long enough to be �tainted� by my way of thinking. Every website is a dictatorship, and there�s the risk that any internal successor could be a newer copy of the first. Tim�s still new enough to bring with him a different ideology and instill that in the rest of the team, which I think is important. The last thing I wanted was for the site to go through the challenge of dealing with a change in leadership but when the dust settled for there to be no change of substance. There will be changes and they�re all for the better.

Tim�s column, �Never Ending Prattle�, was one of the more popular features here at the site, so many of you are familiar with Tim already. If not, you�re going to be. We�ve been going through the transitional phase right now and Tim has come up with an amazing assortment of ideas on where we should be headed as a site. He not only understands the fundamental principles and goals that established GrayHaven, but he realizes where we�ve fallen short, where we need to be, and what it�s going to take to get there.

I�m not going to spoil any of the plans that Tim has set up. It�s up to him whether to reveal them in his introduction tomorrow or save it for when the material begins to show up on the site. I do know, that once you�re able to come here over the next few weeks and months, you�ll see a new GrayHaven born of tradition but now given new life under Tim�s guidance.

You won�t see many shake-ups on site, if you see any at all. Travis Howard, my right hand for over a year now, will continue to provide Tim and the staff and readers of this site with the same amount of dedicated work as he has for some time. An old friend, Barry Wolborsky will be back, too, bringing some much needed focus to small press to the site. His first feature should be running by next week and I think you�ll enjoy having him back. And Tim, obviously, will be going through a recruiting period, bringing some new talent here.

It�s going to be a brand new ball game, and I hope you�ll spread the word and take notice of what Tim and the rest of the staff here are going to have in store for you. I know I will.


:: Andrew 4/15/2003 02:35:04 PM [+] ::
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A Kid Named Joe

It was recently brought to my attention that a friend of ours knows a young man who's taken ill. He is suffering from bone marrow disease and lately, one of his sole comforts has been reading comics. From what I know, Joe has been particularly fond of the copies of JLA that have been loaned to him, but I know that he'd appreciate anything.

So I'm asking for all of you readers to check your longboxes for any books suitable for an 11 year old (no MAX or Vertigos, please) and email me to let me know what you can send to the little guy. I'll have an address provided soon for anyone who's able to help.


:: Andrew 4/15/2003 11:27:17 AM [+] ::
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Changing of the Guard

Today looks to be the big day. If everything goes well, we�ll be announcing the new Editor in Chief of GrayHaven. This is the person who�s going to be doing something that no one else has done in almost 12 years: replace me.

All we need to do is coordinate our schedules. If all else fails, we�ll make the announcement tomorrow. The past couple weeks have been very exciting though. I�m getting to watch this individual gather his troops, so to speak, and formulate a plan on what they wish to accomplish during the first few months. The transition so far seems to be going smoothly, at least from my point of view and there have been some ideas shot back and forth that make me very anxious to see what�s going to be happening around these parts.

The full story is coming soon�

:: Andrew 4/15/2003 11:22:54 AM [+] ::
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