The List
Man, oh man, that damn To Do list! It can be extremely useful.... if only you had some magical enforcer that made sure nothing else could interfere.
Grab your red pen and get ready to scratch things off! First we'll go back in time to what we've done, then give you the highlights on what's coming up next!
We might as well cover the worst of the news first - the passing of Steve Ditko.
A lot of you reached out asking "what now?"
Over the past few years, Jackie did meet with Steve several times. He politely declined to participate, and after getting to know him a little better it was understandable. Even though he did decline, Steve is part of the story, and like every other member of our documentary, Jackie kept in contact regarding project updates.
I always greeted Steve with "Hi! It's me, that annoying blonde who won't go away" and usually he'd laugh and after a short conversation I'd hand him a letter with all the updates, say goodbye and leave. We didn't want to be one more "fan" asking Steve for something, but since he's part of the Charlton family we wanted his opinion. I only asked that if after reading the updates he felt that we were on the wrong path, that he'd speak up - otherwise I told him he didn't have to write back, and that I'd see him later.
Aside from his initial letter of decline, Steve didn't write back, so I assume we have his approval.
Steve will be included in the project, and we'll do our best to represent him in a way that he would appreciate.
Charlton writer and former Assisting Editor, Nick Cuti did a lovely write up about Steve.
We only have a few more interviews to gather before we can officially start Post Production!
Keith and Jackie are forever grateful and humbled by the all donations we've received that financed everything we've done so far. Earlier this spring we were surprised by two unsolicited donations that will help us get through the last of the interviews!
In light of this, it's probably a convenient time to say that we are always accepting donations and we do offer prizes in exchange. You can check that out here.
Now as for Post Production - this is where the magic happens and the fun stuff begins! We'll be piecing together the interviews, filming reenactments and creating animations to take this documentary from "talking heads" to something really special.
However, Post Production is the most expensive part of the whole journey. Rather than rely solely on our fans to finance the movie, we are applying for grants.
If you know of a grant that we should apply for, suggestions are always welcomed! We've already applied for one, with tremendous help from two of our social media followers, Steve Connor and Carla Rash! This whole documentary journey has been riddled with tasks that we've never done before, and we are beyond grateful to our friends who lend their expertise!
Last month we shared our interview notes from Veronica aka (the first) A. Machine. After we posted about it on our blog we got a hot tip about another woman, Greta, who was probably the last A. Machine, in addition to being secretary to George Wildman.
Unfortunately Greta declined to share her stories with us, and we wanted you all in the loop that we tried, and well, failed on that, but thems the breaks.
So what are we doing now?
Jackie has a short list of local people to talk to. They won't be on-camera interviews, but much like Miss Veronica, they're integral to the movie. We don't mean to be secretive, but none of these people are confirmed, and one might be comparable to getting a cat into a bathtub, so we don't want the info leaked! So if you could, use those eyelash wishes and keep your fingers crossed that we don't get any more "No's"!
If you don't have any plans this weekend, might we suggest trekking up to Boston? We'll be there on Sunday, buuuut John Byrne will be there Saturday and Sunday with panels on both days!
So grab your Doomsday +1, get it autographed then be sure to hit up his panel and ask him some Charlton questions!
How about this heat wave huh?
If you need somewhere to cool off and have heaps of fun, why not check out Terrificon?
We'll have a table at this year's show, so come visit us!
....and for something new and exciting, we're teaming up with Pint O' Comics to do some live steaming. Who know who we'll talk to, but rest assured we'll find some way to steer the conversation to Charlton!
If you need another reason to come, here's some Charlton Alumni who will also be there:
Roy Thomas (Friday and Saturday)
Mike Zeck
Denny O'Neil (Sunday Only)
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Neal Adams
Paul Kupperberg
Roger Stern
That's it for now. Until next time...
Up and Atom!
Jackie and Keith
