The Final Word - 2023

Dear Friends,

This has been a year of loss and rebirth. I lost my beloved mother in January at the age of 96, and my cats Nora and Neely in May and November, respectively. At least they all enjoyed long, joyful lives. And, having relocated from Southern California to the Boston area two years ago, I was able to drive to Pennsylvania for my mother’s funeral. 

RIP Gladys Krell, age 96

Meanwhile, this year I re-established my publishing business in my adoptive home of Haverhill MA, and finally published “Arena Takes Manhattan,” a spinoff of my main “Jayson” series starring Jayson’s roommate Arena Stage – my tenth graphic novel and my first in ten years. 

With the help of the Haverhill Museum of Printing, where I am a member, I located a printer in Lowell to produce the book. With publication slated for April 1, I listed the book for pre-sale on Amazon, and pre-orders were so robust that I tripled the press run for the first edition. The book arrived on March 17 and I have been filling orders ever since. 

At last, Arena Takes Manhattan

I launched my “Arena tour” in support of the new book on April 1 at Lehigh Valley Comic Con, close to where I grew up dreaming of someday working in comics. I even headlined a solo panel called “From Lehighton to Manhattan… and Back,” which my brother Tom and his girlfriend Rebecca were gracious enough to attend. That day the local paper, the Times News of Lehighton, profiled me on page 1 of their Spotlight section. Despite the usual errors and omissions, it was a positive take on my career in comics (thus far). 

On April 22-23, I tabled at Wicked Comic Con Boston, with special guest Joy Jartman, sister of Andrea Jartman, who inspired the Arena Stage character. It was Joy’s first convention, and she quickly got into the spirit. The convention was well run and sales were brisk, especially on Saturday.

Having a “Wicked” time with Joy Jartman

When it was announced that “New York, New York,” the 1977 movie starring Robert DeNiro and Liza Minnelli and featuring original music by Kander & Ebb, was being turned into a Broadway musical, I was immediately interested. When it was announced that the arresting Colton Ryan was cast in the DeNiro role, I immediately bought my seat for the Friday, May 11 performance and planned to spend the weekend in Manhattan. 

I booked 2nd row center, which is awfully close, which turned out to be perfect. In the final scene, Jimmy and Francine finally stop fighting long enough to agree that she will front his jazz trio as their girl singer. We know the big number is coming, but what we don’t expect is for the entire orchestra to hydraulically rise out of the pit and integrate with the band on stage – with Francine and Jimmy performing directly above me! I sat THIS CLOSE to Colton Ryan. What a finale!

On Saturday, my old friend Giulia Hamacher invited me to a matinee of “White Girls In Danger,” the new off-Broadway show by last year’s Tony winner for “A Strange Loop,” which Giulia and I saw last October. The premise is a fictional soap opera set in the town of Allwhite, where the black characters are relegated to the background (or “blackground,” as they call it) and never get their own stories. With a serial killer loose and threatening to kill all the cool (white) girls in town, a young black girl yearning to break free from the blackground and claim the spotlight needs to first get the serial killer’s attention. 

As I posted my adventures on Facebook, my former co-worker Jeff Maddocks took notice. He moved to Chicago decades ago, but he was coincidentally in Manhattan with his wife Steph for their anniversary. He reached out via Messenger to see if we could meet. All that I had left was Sunday morning, so I made reservations for brunch – which proved difficult since it was Mother’s Day. We ended up at Peachy Keen, a ’70s-themed restaurant that played ’70s TV shows and music wall to wall. It was a fun time and great to catch up with Jeff & Steph. 

I soon learned that my application to the New Hope Vendor Fair on Saturday, May 20 was accepted. The weather forecast looked threatening, but at the last minute the forecast turned from rain to clouds, so I decided to chance it. In fact it ended up raining hard most of the day, but that didn’t deter the crowds from showing up or from buying. I sold more books in 5 hours than I usually sell in 2 days! 

Sadly, while I was in New Hope, my older cat Nora became ill. Kurt informed me that she had grown listless and was not eating or drinking. I rushed home right after the fair, took one look at her and rushed her to the emergency room. They ran a blood test, gave her an infusion, and gave me medicines to administer at home. She seemed to perk up for a day or two, but the end was obviously near. Nora died peacefully on May 24. RIP Nora Scott-Krell, age 18.

Taking spring cleaning to heart, but having no time to actually do it, in May I hired a cleaning company called 46 Cleaners to give my house its first real cleaning since I moved in two years ago. When the van pulled up, it read “46 Cleaning & Construction.” Diogenes and his wife Josie did a great job on the cleaning. More importantly, when I bought the house, the two main floors were move-in ready, but the basement and the attic were unfinished. So I had them start with the most urgent matter, which was replacing the window in the unfinished basement with a door, for the safety and convenience of being able to exit to the back yard without having to open the garage door. 

Basement wall – before

Basement wall – after

After succeeding with the door, I offered them the rest of the basement to finish – which turned out beautifully. As they were finishing up that project, I showed them the attic. On one side, the previous owners had started but abandoned a project to turn it into a livable space. The other side offered bare studs and insulation. It was this side that I decided to turn into a new, larger bedroom for my tenant Kurt, while on the semi-finished side I would add shelves for storage, with flooring throughout. 

Attic wall – before

Attic wall – after

My next scheduled appearance was at San Diego Comic-Con on July 19-23. I arrived right on time; unfortunately my bag did not. I did without my clothing and my promotional materials for two full days, before my bag, which went missing in Newark, finally resurfaced. This is why I try to avoid connecting flights, and why in the future I will avoid Newark at all cost. 

That said, the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes meant that many of San Diego’s big panels were cancelled, or they soldiered on without their main attractions, which was actually a boon for those of us who create and sell comics. 120,000 attendees had already bought their badges and made the trek to San Diego, so with nothing else to do, many of them wandered over to our booths and rediscovered comics! Since Prism Comics did all the advance work, my books were already on the premises. All I had to do was show up, even if my clothes were a bit musty, and launch into my pitch. As a result, I sold well and won a few new fans. And by Day 3 I even got to wear the new shirt I had packed for the occasion. 

When I returned home without incident, I started preparing for Fan Expo Boston. They had offered me a panel on LGBT creators, but had not offered me any booth space. I refused to moderate the panel without the booth. At the 11th hour the relented and offered me a free table. I sold well on Saturday, far less so on Sunday. The panel, which included Jarrett Melendez (Chef’s Kiss) and Steve Orlando (Wonder Woman et al.), was well attended and well received, which made the weekend worthwhile.

Next I appeared at the Haverhill Museum of Printing to speak about what I learned while self-publishing a graphic novel. I offered lots of stories and more than a few cautionary tales! 

Lecturing at the Haverhill Museum of Printing

On September 21, my hero Barry Manilow broke Elvis Presley’s record for the most performances at the International Theater at the Westgate (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton) – 637 and counting. Of course I went to cheer him on. And of course I got a photo with him afterwards!

Hanging with Mr. Manilow

I always attend New York Comic Con, but this year I applied for the first time for a table in Artist Alley. By the time I learned that I didn’t make the cut, it was too late to buy a 4-day pass to the Con; so I settled for Friday and Sunday, affording me plenty of time for Broadway shows. I saw “Merrily We Roll Along” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” I found the former to be overrated and the latter to be so tedious that I walked out at intermission. 

But at the Con, after making the rounds in Artist Alley and the main floor, I visited the Pride Lounge sponsored by GeeksOUT, a promoter of LGBT creators. No sooner had I sat down to enjoy a creators’ panel when the person in charge recognized me and offered me space at the table in the back of the lounge. I hadn’t brought a lot of books with me, since I was floating and didn’t expect to set up shop, but I put out what I had and I sold it all. 

Next thing I knew, it was Halloween. I thought I was better prepared this year, having prepped 56 bags each containing a comic book, a set of Pokemon cards, and some candy; plus a plastic pumpkin filled with candy to handle any overflow. Last year, you may recall, I prepared 35 bags and ran out after 40 minutes. This year, I ran out after all of 45 minutes! And like last year, I turned out the lights and drew the curtains for remainder of the two-hour event. Afterwards, I went on eBay and found a set of 75 gently used Archie Digests for a reasonable price, which I purchased for use next year. Hopefully that will be enough! After all, I am now known throughout the neighborhood as the guy who hands out comic books. 

In early November, my remaining cat Neely became blind and disoriented, stopped eating and wouldn’t stop drinking water. Turns out she was suffering from Stage 4 kidney disease—she was at Stage 2 in May, and for years before—and she passed on November 18. RIP Neely Scott-Krell, age 17. 

This year I wanted Thanksgiving to be as stress-free as possible, so I ordered a complete, pre-cooked dinner from Market Basket, picked it up Wednesday night, left it in the garage overnight, and reheated it on Thursday afternoon. Then Kurt and I watched the Barbie movie and started season 2 of The White Lotus. This approach proved so efficient that I even found time to put up the Christmas lights that day. 

Over the Christmas break, I will heading back to Broadway, to see Barry Manilow’s long-gestating original musical “Harmony,” which has finally transferred to the Great White Way; and “Little Shop of Horrors,” which may or may not still be starring Corbin Bleu by the time I get there. As always, I’m sure Manhattan will prove to be magical. 

Happy Holidays from my house to yours!

Sadly, as this year’s Final Word was going to press, I learned that Sue Bielenberg, my talented artistic collaborator on “Arena Takes Manhattan,” passed away suddenly on December 5. The losses have certainly been piling up this year. So please, this holiday season and always, remember to choose kindness.

Love, Jeff