Deus ex Comica Goes to College

I’ve known Mark close to 35 years now, somehow always managing to keep in touch as life has taken us in various directions. If you’ve read Deus ex Comica, you know Mark and I shared a love of comic books as kids – discovering fantastic characters inhabiting these alternate universes, reading them at campsites together while with our families in the summer, and basing adventures with our G.I. Joe action figures on the Marvel Comics stories we devoured.

Mark is now an Assistant Professor of English at George Mason University, and he has been trying to come up with a way to get me on campus to speak to his ENGL 493: Graphic Novels class since I published Deus ex Comica earlier this year. The university’s Fall for the Book Festival has finally provided that opportunity. So now one of the Fall for the Book events is my visit with Mark’s class! My talk will be during that class’ regular scheduled time, Tuesday, September 22, at 3:00pm, but will be held in Grand Tier III inside the Center for the Arts on the Fairfax campus, and it will be open to the public.

The Fall for the Book Festival is an annual event in the Northern Virginia, D.C., and Maryland area that is now going on its 11th year. Headlining the week of author talks and special programs this year are E.L. Doctorow and Sherman Alexie, but it looks like there’s a little something on the schedule for everyone... from poets to novelists to children’s writers, to talks on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall to the Obama presidency to writing and publishing in the 21st century. Good stuff all around, and I am honored to have been invited to participate in this great event!

I’m still putting my talk together, but I plan to touch on subjects like my love of comics, my rediscovery of the medium as an adult and parent, how I consume comics now versus as a young teenager, the writing process, and the self-publishing experience. So if you’ll be in or around the area next month, please consider coming out to the festival, sitting in on my talk, and joining the conversation!



Details
What: Deus ex Comica Fall for the Book Festival Author Talk
When: 3pm, Tuesday, September 22
Where: Grand Tier III, Center for the Arts, George Mason University
Cost: Free and Open to the Public