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No regrets

The Who in Detroit
Our view, photo by Kat

I didn’t leap at the chance to see The Who here in Detroit. I’m not a big concert-goer—crowds, decibels, cost, and opening bands all make me think “Nah, I’ll just listen to the album instead.” I’m not proud to say that I often get bored at even good shows, and as my mind wanders I wonder when it’s going to end and please, I’m tired and I have to work tomorrow so I want to go home now so no encore.

There are exceptions, and performers who meant a lot to me during certain periods of my life, but that’s mostly true of solo artists like Lyle Lovett and Aimee Mann. Arena rock, though? It only took a few shows (the Police and U2 back in the day) to make me sure I didn’t need that sort of thing in my life any more.

But…The Who. I started listening to them in the 1970s, via WLS, 89 on your AM dial all night long. I’ve never stopped. But, these days Daltrey and Townshend are all that’s left and is that enough? And they’re…well, they’re old. And because I now know more than John “Records truly is my middle name” Landecker ever told me through my transistor radio about their complicated relationship to each other and touring, that makes them less like the monolithic presence they were to me when I was a kid. (Yes, that was a “Who’s Next” joke.)

So when I saw they were coming to Detroit I said, out loud, to my wife. “Not interested. What’s the point?”

And then I thought about it some more, and read more about the show and how they were working with a symphony orchestra and that this might be the we-really-mean-it-this-time last tour together and I thought about Douglas Adams’ best book, Last Chance to See. And I realized this was probably it for me, and if I didn’t I’d regret it as much as my wife regrets skipping a chance to see Zappa, her favorite artist, when she had a chance.

Long story short, I went. K came with me, even though she’s emphatically not a fan, and neither of us were bored for a moment. Daltrey and Townshend were technically superb, both musically and in the way they put together a show that played to their strengths and mitigated any weaknesses age might have dealt their voices or bodies. When the music demanded their youthful power Daltrey could still deliver a full-volumed and anguished prayer and Townshend could still deliver a series of chords that started and ended with his arm straight above his head. The hair stood up on my arms and neck during more than one number. It was emotional and inspiring in ways the disaffected youths that we all were—or in my case, pretended to be—would have scoffed at as a teen. This is not going gentle into that good night. As Townshend said at one point, “I fucking hate this. But I’m really good at it.” Maybe that’s about playing live and touring or how he and Daltrey don’t communicate well. Maybe they don’t, sort of, in some contexts…but it’s obvious they like being good together. And they were very good together in Detroit.

They didn’t play an encore, and I wanted one.

Ending Hawking

 

Hey, there’s an ARC giveaway of Hawking going on right now! Enter today: https://bit.ly/2ZypPLA

I hope you get one, and in case you do here’s a quick note to say congratulations, thanks, and…we changed the ending. Not much, but enough that you’ll notice the difference between what you’re holding now and what your readers will see in July.

Darwin's Sandwalk(Well, that and the “Hardcover and Full Color Everywhere by Aaron Polk” thing. You’ll love this book in its final form.)

Here’s how that happened: In a television writer’s room there’s a fairly common occurence: someone pitches a plot-twist or a joke, and other writers nod. But if too many nod in agreement and say “right, that’s just what I was thinking” they’ll toss it out and think some more. Why? Because they know they’ve come up with the exact same thing their savvy audience will expect at that point in the story.

Something similar happened to us, and it was brought about by the sad occasion of Hawking’s death. As we revisited our original ending in light of his passing, we realized that what might have worked soon after we first visited Cambridge to meet him** in 2013 was not as good five years later. The imagery that seemed fresh and appropriate then? It no longer did. Our sensitivity reader made this point as well, pushing us further, and we took heed. The result is a closing sequence that’s subtly different from what’s in the ARC.

It’s now more abstract, leaves more to your imagination, and keeps you in Hawking’s mind—in Hawking’s world—for just a little longer. Perhaps even after you close the book.

I hope you enjoy the story, and come back for more on July 2nd!

**And by soon, I mean I came up with the ending, in outline form, while still in England. In fact, I wrote it down in the rain (England, right?) in a tiny notebook while I was on Darwin’s Sandwalk, pictured above. It was a wonderful trip.

What I’ve been up to

 

In addition to Hawking, and besides working with* my pal Jane to revise this website, I’ve written a bunch of books in recent years.

(*”Working with” means asking her to help and then saying what I like and don’t like about what she made happen. It was mostly improv-like** with lots of “yes, and”s.)

(**I also took some improv classes in the last couple of years. Boy, did I learn a lot about what scares me and gives me enjoyment.)

It hasn’t looked like it, because comics take a long time to finish, but in 2017-2018 I sent over 600 pages to editors for their approval. Here are the projects underway:

Hawking

You already know about this, right? It comes out in the U.S. on July 2, 2019. It will come out in other languages and countries too, but not all. China, Japan, Brazil…your move!

Astronauts

Maris Wicks (yes, the Primates team is back together!) is hard at work on the story of the first women astronauts as we speak. I wish I could show you how good it looks, but for now please trust me—it looks fabulous. This is scheduled for a February 2020 release.

Naturalist

This book was a departure for me, in that I didn’t know I wanted to do this project until the publisher of E.O. Wilson’s memoir approached me about adapting it to comics. Huh, thought I. What would that be like? Turns out it was fun, and a challenge as well. Chris Butzer (Gettysburg) is the artist for this, and he’s turning Wilson’s words and my staging into pictures. Side note: an adaptation means I can actually do the calculation of how many words a picture is really worth. (I know the number of words we used from the original text, and the number of panels we’re using, and beyond that it’s simple arithmetic.)  More when the book comes out.

And then there are the monthly comics in celebration of the International Year of the Periodic Table for the Royal Society of Chemistry, but that’s a post for another day.

Hawking, in the house

 

Hi everybody. This book is real, in that you’re now looking at an actual copy…or looking at Hawking looking at a copy, depending on which photo you checked out first. So if you haven’t already, you can pre-order from your favorite retailer now. Because it’s real. Really real.

To celebrate I’d like to give someone an advance reading copy (ARC) of this very book, so here’s the offer:

As mentioned a while back, I also have a new website, and to test out the store here’s an offer to one and all. The first ten orders of any book there will get a free copy of one of my other books. I have Feynman, The Imitation Game, and even a copy or two of T-Minus to give away, not to mention the self-published titles.

So please head over to

https://gt-labs.com/store/

and let me know your preference(s) in the “Order notes,” especially if you’re quick on the draw and don’t want that Hawking ARC. No guarantees I can give everyone the book they request, but I’ll try! And thanks, readers and friends.

Abrams ComicArts: 10th Anniversary!

 

I’ve had the honor of working with many great people and publishers, and Abrams is one of the latter, filled with the former. They celebrate their 10th anniversary this year, and are doing so with some really cool events, like a show at The Society of Illustrators. They’re also doing a cool giveaway, which you’ll want to enter.

So thanks to Charlie, Nicole, Orlando, Pam, Maya, and everyone else there for inviting Leland and me into such good company. And congratulations on ten years of superb books; I look forward to many more decades of great reading!