The Michael Reisman Chronicles

Blog of Comic-Con Past...

2009-07-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hello, it's the Narrator again, watching - with no small amount of amusement - as Michael Reisman slowly gets ready to head south to San Diego for the 2009 Comic-Con. (As in Comic book convention. Rather obvious, I think.)

This is Michael's 2nd journey for the convention in 2 years. Last year's was rather interesting - especially from a Narratorial standpoint - but I was too busy Chronicling Simon Bloom to tell you about it. Here's a few quick looks:

The bathrooms were for humans only, giving these characters a bit of a dilemma.

Fortunately, there were all sorts of heroes around in case there was trouble.

Michael Reisman met all sorts of amazing people, too. True, he was briefly kidnapped by COBRA (where's GI Joe when you need 'em?)...

...but he also hung out with exciting folks like Alex Winter (director of the BEN 10 live action movies (and Bill from BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE); Peter Hannan (creator of CATDOG and writer of the SUPER GOOFBALLS books); James Owen (author of HERE THERE BE DRAGONS and its sequels - the latest is THE INDIGO KING); fellow LAYA (um, that's Los Angeles Young Adult writer http://www.myspace.com/loslayas ) Dan Santat (creator of THE REPLACEMENTS, illustrator/ author of Many great picture and chapter books); and last but not least, Michael Carroll (writer of the awesome QUANTUM PROPHECY books).

By the way, Michael's favorite costumes may have been these: Triana and the Monarch from VENTURE BROS (on Adult Swim)...

Overall, he had a great time and is looking forward to this year's...if he ever gets going.

In fact, he's going to be on a panel with some great authors on Friday, 7-24-09 at 12:30 - click here for details (http://michaelreisman.com/index.php?page=events) and he's also going to be doing a signing on Sunday at 12pm!

If you're at Comic-con, stop by and say hello to him...

And don't worry - I'll do my best to Chronicle Michael's further adventures at Comic-Con this
year (and I'll try rather hard not to wait so long for it!).

Another Blog? So soon? I Must Be Joking!

2009-06-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

Ah, but I'm not joking - we Narrators take our work very seriously. Perhaps I feel bad that I've been on hiatus for so long, or perhaps I have some pearls of wisdom or glorious comments to share with the world.

No...as it turns out, I'm posting a link to a great video of a shark fighting an octopus to show you all! (No, no, not the one with Lorenzo Lamas and Deborah Gibson...I feel that one speaks for itself.)

I'm talking about a real shark fighting a real octopus that I found on the National Geographic website. (Narrators like to web-surf, you know.)

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/invertebrates-animals/octopus-and-squid/octopus_giant_kills_shark.html?source=sem_G2101&s_kwcid=octopus3246171017&kwid=octopus3246171017&gclid=CNHZuann-ZoCFQ3yDAodtlirdw

I'm certain you can guess who I'm rooting for...go octopus!

Get Busy Blogging, or Get Busy...Not Blogging.

2009-06-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

Hmm. You'd think I'd have come up with a snappier title for my first blog post in over a year. Think again. Yes, it's me, your long-lost Narrator, back to tell you a bit more about Michael Reisman, Simon Bloom, and whatever else comes to mind.

Where have I been? Narrating, of course. I have mentioned the adventures of Simon Bloom in THE OCTOPUS EFFECT, haven't I? It's coming out soon...oh, so very soon...on Thursday, June 11.

Here's what the cover looks like:

(I've also Narrated a third Chronicle of Simon Bloom and his friends. Michael Reisman, the so-called author of the book version of Simon's adventures, is doing more of that revising stuff he does to my historical records. The new Chronicle, by the way, is tentatively titled SIMON BLOOM: THE ORDER OF CHAOS, and it should be ready for you...yes, You...to read in 2010.)

Did I mention that SIMON BLOOM, THE GRAVITY KEEPER has a spiffy new cover? No? My goodness, I am not up to my Narrating best. Perhaps it's because of how bothersome it can get watching Michael Reisman's daily activities. Zzzzzz. Well, here's what GRAVITY KEEPER looks like now:

Pretty amazing, isn't it? Yes, it's a fitting nod to my wondrous Narrating. And, I suppose, a nodto the effort that Michael Reisman and the great people at Penguin and Walden Media have put forth. (But mostly it's my Narrating. Hurrah for me!)

In the meanwhile, Michael Reisman has been up to many, many things (that, to be honest, aren't nearly as interesting as my life):

Juggling in book stores like Mrs. Nelson's Toys and Books...

...making new and interesting friends...

...and glowing with a weird light. (Er, I have no idea how he managed that. Perhaps Simon Bloom knows...)

That's all for now - I shall try to be a more attentive blog-Narrator with more exciting photos, dazzling mini-videos, and tips on how to accessorize with your bathrobe.

Ok, maybe not all of that. Or any of it. We shall see. But thank you for stopping by!

The Blog Must Go On...

2008-04-29T02:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have returned to my Chronicling duties (here I am, looking very Narratorial). I'd just as soon not, frankly...watching this Michael fellow's antics is rather exhausting, but I suppose it's better than just sleeping all the time. Narrowly. So, where have I been, you might be wondering? I was Chronicling the activities of Simon Bloom, of course! That adventure will be available for you to read in February 2009, under the title SIMON BLOOM: THE OCTOPUS EFFECT. Even now, this Reisman fellow is daring to carve up my glorious words in what he calls 'revisions'. Fortunately, he's getting some guidance from his publisher, whose wisdom will hopefully keep him from making too much of a mess of my work.

While I was watching Simon Bloom, Michael Reisman was making a fool of himself on behalf of my first Chronicle - SIMON BLOOM, THE GRAVITY KEEPER. Here he is, hiding behind the book cover.

I'll write more about Michael and the book later, describing how he wandered off to New Jersey and New York, as well as a few places in Los Angeles, to pretend that it was he - and not me - who truly told Simon Bloom's story. But I know the truth, and so do you, oh faithful Chronicle reader...stay tuned for more info...

In the meanwhile, I'll give you a tiny glimpse of what I have to put up with. Here's a brief video look at Michael Reisman on February 14, 2008 -- the day SIMON BLOOM, THE GRAVITY KEEPER went on sale in stores/ on-line. If you like giant robots, flying cars, mutant banana peels and fire-breathing bunnies, then you will surely notice that this video does not have any of that in it. But Michael does have a drawing of a giant robot on his t-shirt. Quite amazing. Really. Cough, cough.

What A Fool This Author Be...

2008-02-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

This is your Narrator, back for another episode of author Michael Reisman's life. This time, our subject has posted a YouTube video of a Physics demonstration I conducted with him.

You can observe his, ahem, grace and skill here:

I wish I could tell you no apples were harmed during the filming of that video. But I cannot.

Observing Michael Reisman's life has its share of interesting moments. Why, just last Thursday he met with an excellent Penguin books publicist and a number of charming Southern California booksellers from Vroman's, Mrs. Nelson's, Mook & Blanchard, and First Page. They had a delightful lunch and wonderful conversation...until Michael decided to ask them about the weirdest things they'd ever eaten. He asked this during the salad course. Oh, Michael...not the brightest bolt of lightning in the storm, is he?

The booksellers were tolerant of this, somehow restraining themselves from clubbing Michael silly with the copies of SIMON BLOOM, THE GRAVITY KEEPER laying around. Conveniently enough, the weirdest-food winner might well have been the people who tried the restaurant's bleu cheese ice cream.

Yes, that's right, bleu cheese ice cream. Michael tasted some and declared that, in his mind, bleu cheese is better suited for buffalo wings than for ice cream. (He and I are in agreement, there.) I wish Michael had thought to bring a camera to the event so there could be action photos of the lunch, the booksellers, and the bleu cheese. But he didn't, so there aren't. (Re-read the title of this blog-post for the explanation.)

The only other news in Michael's thrill-a-decade life is that he's gotten two excellent reviews for his upcoming book. Of course, the accolades really belong to me -- after all, it's My Chronicle. He only had it published. But he's reprinted the reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publisher's Weekly on his website here: http://michaelreisman.com/index.php?page=news

It's fairly amusing to watch him as he reacts to these reviews. Let's just say it involves him dancing around rather foolishly in his apartment. His fish, I might add, turn away in shame when he does this. I only wish I could but, as Narrator, I must bear witness.

That's all for now. But as far as ridiculous dances-of-joy go, SIMON BLOOM, THE GRAVITY KEEPER is being officially released next Thursday, February 14th, so you can bet Michael will be, as they say, shaking his booty. And I will be, as they say, utterly miserable as I watch.

Stay tuned.

And So It Begins...

2008-01-28T02:40:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog. It's not about me - it's about an author named Michael Reisman.

Why? Because I'm a Narrator and my job is to tell other people's stories. I watch and I record and I give my opinions (which isn't in the job description, but I feel it lends a bit of flavor). I don't normally Chronicle the life of Michael Reisman. I spend most of my time telling the tales of a youth named Simon Bloom.

My first Chronicle of Simon's adventures is in a book called SIMON BLOOM, THE GRAVITY KEEPER (it's being released on February 14, 2008 by Dutton/ Penguin and Waldenmedia). Michael Reisman made that Chronicle into a book, so I'll follow his life while I'm waiting to Narrate the next Simon Bloom Chronicle.

As Narrator, I can read some of the thoughts of my subject and can see, hear, smell, taste and feel everything that he does. So if Michael burns the roof of his mouth on a slice of pizza (something he does Every Single Time (he's 35 years old...you'd think he'd have learned how to eat by now)), I'll know. And I'll tell you. Lucky you.

Between you and me, Michael's just some guy. Lives in Los Angeles, has two fish, just got a haircut. Unlike Simon Bloom, Michael can't control the laws of Physics, he has no super-powered villains chasing him and he's not likely to save the universe any time soon. Yawn. (To be fair, it is a nice haircut.) But I'll still write about him; a Narrator who isn't Narrating is sad to behold.

That's it for now. But thank you for stopping by; I'm sure there'll be more blogging soon...