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Remember when I used to update this thing? Good times, indeed.
Here's what's going on:
- in rewrites for AMERICAN CAESAR, Act Two. Rehearsals are goin' strong. Show opens on March 10
- Putting final touches on NINETY CANDLES; getting ready to print/send the Diamond packet out
- finishing a play for my synagogue; that goes up on the 28th.
- writing a 2 page pitch called MURPHY'S LAW for a comic book studio.
- revising and continuing DEAD RONIN
- drawing 6 pages for HOUSE OF TWELVE 3
- pitching WALLY MEIERS around to a few people. If you'e at APE this weekend and are a publisher, go talk about this with Tom Beland. Thanks!
- sleeping. Oh, wait. Strike that.
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Mimum Productions Presents
AMERICAN CAESAR
an original play written by neil kleid
directed by mary catherine burke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2004
CONTACT: Elizabeth Renna (732) 766-0672, or SmartTix at or log on to www.smarttix.com
BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH …A FEW DAYS EARLY…
New York, NY- Beginning March 10th Rome will rise again at Theatre 3 in the new play American Caesar written by Neil Kleid. This adaptation is sure to challenge expectations with its witty, offbeat transportation of Julius Caesar into the cutthroat world of corporate America. Intrigue, corruption and deceit are all part of a days work in Rome where the company motto is, “anything to get ahead.”
Neil Kleid is a recipient of the prestigious Xeric Grant to produce NINETY CANDLES, a graphic novella. In addition to his work on numerous comic books, he is writing BROWNSVILLE, a graphic novel about Murder Inc., with artist Jake Allen for NBM Publishing.
Mary Catherine Burke was the recipient of the Drama League Fall Fellowship this year. She has directed new works at: Theatre for the New City, The Directors Company, The Hypothetical Theatre Company, & The Vital Theatre Company. She has assisted on Broadway (Fortune’s Fool, Director: Arthur Penn) and Off-Broadway (The Signature, The Cherry Lane).
With:
William Peden* as Brutus (Storm Theater : As You Like It, Antigone, and Anna Christie), Craig Rising as Cassius (First Folio Shakespeare Co.: The Taming of the Shrew and Illinois Repertory Theater: The Three Sisters), Craig Bridger* as Antony (Dallas Theater Center: Twelfth Night), Ian Oldaker as Casca (Shakespeare In The Wild: Two Gentlemen of Verona), Troy Sill as Caesar/Octavius (Michigan Shakespeare Festival: As You Like It), Niki Sarich-Rising* as Callie (Forst Folio Shakespeare Co.: The Tempest and Taming of the Shrew), Sergei Burbank as Silver, Vassi Spanos as Portia, Alicia Reagan* as Davis, Simon Feil* as LaSalle, Anne Stockton* as Leona Pidus (Inroads Theater: The Patient),
and Scot Carlisle as Lucius/Intern/Sooth/Detective
Scenic Design by Michael Moore, Lighting Design by K.J. Hardy, Costume Design by Anka Lupes, Sound Design by Michael Fortunato, and Choreography by Mary Ann Wall.
Betsy Karic, Assistant Director. Avi Soroka, Stage Manager.
*These actors are appearing courtesy of AEA
For more information about American Caesar, contact Elizabeth Renna (732) 766-0672.
theatre 3
311 West 43rd Street, 3rd floor
New York, NY 10036
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Over at Ninth Art, they say that:
"Seven cartoonists from the New York underground discuss how the 'scene' is changing from maudlin autobiographies to knockabout humour, egged on by indie upstart HOUSE OF TWELVE's publisher Cheese Hasselberger. Ninth Art listens in."
Jenny Gonzalez is quoted as saying in the article: "There's a place for everything. There's a place for, y'know, more crass, crude humour comics, and there's a place for my cute sad bunny comics or whatever. It's just that, I think right now it's popular and it's sorta the thing to do and you're gonna get more favourable attention doing that. Everyone will say, "Oh, you're so sensitive!"
Have a read through to the first of a two part roundtable with Cheese Hasselberger, Brian Musikoff, Chris Radtke, Mike Donovan, Jenny Gonzalez, Kevin Colden and myself as we ponder the state of underground comics and putting the "funny" back in "funny books."
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Off for an extended weekend after a harrowing evening of rewrites. CAESAR is chugging along and the postcard is almost done... BROWNSVILLE is being tightened and altered - yay!
You all be good while I go gamble.
Peace.
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Here's me with my MAULED story. Look how debonair I am.
And here's me with some of the MAULED boys, harassing folks on the streets of NYC.
Rock on NYC Comical Geniuses.
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Hey folks -
Looking for someone to collaborate with on a four issue crime fiction/horror miniseries. 3 of the 4 scripts are written and I'm pushing to finish it by Summer. Plan on shopping it around, but I'm leaning to self publish this one. RIGHT NOW I can't offer pay upfront, but that might change shortly... details to be discussed off boards.
Looking for someone with pulp/noir leanings.
I will be more than happy to send interested parties a more detailed synopsis along with a script sample. Sequential samples can be sent to
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It's all coming together, baby.
Have a gander.
Now to alter the lettering and get it out le door.
woo hoo. I say, woo hoo.
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If you're going to be at Alternative Comics Expo this February, make sure to swing by the Manual Comics table and shake my buddy Brian Musikoff's hand.
Brian will be debuting MAULED: TRUE STORIES OF SURGICAL MALPRACTICE, the second in the line of MAULED books. Featuring a Dave Savage cover, MAULED #2 contains a two page story by yours truly entitled "DUDE, WHERE'S MY PENIS?"
Hilarity Ensues.
Check out a panel here.
32 pages. 16 artists. 1 whopping good anthology.
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NINETY CANDLES, a 48 page graphic novella by Neil Kleid, is set to debut at the MoCCA Arts Festival in Summer 2004 (www.moccany.org). A two time exhibitor at New York's MoCCA Festival, as well as a past programming coordinator, Neil Kleid is proud and excited to unveil his premier book at what is fast becoming the East Coast's most anticipated independent comics convention.
One of the seven recipients of this year's Xeric Grant (www.xericfoundation.com), NINETY CANDLES is Kleid's first fully completed sequential package - from script and art to production and publication. The improvised narrative details the existence of cartoonist Kevin Hall from birth to death - each panel representing a consecutive year in his life.
Printed under a four color cover in a hunter green ink on an off white Cougar stock, NINETY CANDLES will make a proud addition to any comic book enthusiast's collection.
Retailer preview requests and press requests/releases can be obtained by emailing . Black and white preview copies of the book can be obtained via snail mail, emailable PDF (soon available for download) or via FTP.
Distribution information and ordering codes for retail and speciality shops will be available shortly.
To learn more about NINETY CANDLES, please visit rantcomics.com/rant-ninetycandles.html
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I started working with NCSY right after college.
It was tough, jumping into a group where I had no ties, no friends apart from a select few, and no idea of what I was doing. I was pretty shy then.... and not yet at the level where I could simply walk into a room and perform.
So I spent a lot of time sitting by myself.
This went on a bit until sometime around my second year... and I met the Butlers. Gavri and Mikey could not have been more different - Gavri, the talkative, more in your face Butler was always joking with me and mock wrestling... while Mikey, the more introspective, quieter Butler would talk to me about life, jokes and occasional pieces of Torah. Sure - Gavri and I talked about life too...but with Gavri it was more like two dudes just shooting the breeze, With Mikey, everything became an allegory for life.
Mikey and I got to know each other over the years - we'd email here and there to talk about what was going on, and when we saw each other in New York we'd analyze our friends, NCSY and the threads we were following away from both. When I say "we" I mean "me" because there were no threads away from friends and NCSY for Mikey - both those threads led to him.
Mikey, when we were really in contact between my school and work responsibilities, was almost like my conscience. Not that he was sitting atop my shoulder telling me what was right and wrong - far from it. But he was a conscience I enforced on myself. Mikey was an ideal friend. An ideal student. An ideal PERSON. He showed me how to live each day to its fullest and when not doing that, how to make the most of what you could. He had a wicked sense of humor that made me spill drinks at a Friday night dinner and there were many times, while the social world of NCSY was revolving around us, when Mikey and I were content to sit in a comfortable corner by ourselves trading movie quotes.
I say Mikey was an ideal and maybe I'm overexaggerating. But I will say this - the Butler ideals are not overexaggerations. Mikey's parents and grandparents opened their homes to my aunt and uncle when they traveled to Pittsburgh for my aunt's treatments. I find that good people are drawn to equally good people and such was this case. I had the pleasure of staying with Mikey's grandparents during one Shabbaton and they spent hours regaling me with stories about my aunt and uncle - stories I had never heard. Mikey was there too, and as his grandmother discussed stories about hospital visits and medical whatnot, he began to share some of his own. For one like me, whose family sometimes is awash in medical woes, it was eye opening to hear someone discuss hospital stays and treatments with such carefree matter of fact whimsy - almost as if it was someone else.
But that was Mikey.
I worked in Camp Simcha, a camp for children with terminal illness, for 3 summers. In that time, people asked how I could stand it - how could i watch these kids who may not live until next camp season. What made me go and work at this depressing camp? I told them that they were wrong - depressing? Far from it. It was these kids... their smiles, their laughter... that made ME make it to the next camp season. They knew what their situation was and in spite of it they smiled and laughed, living life to its fullest. Some of them even got involved with the Simcha/Chai Lifeline organization to help others like themselves.
And that too, was Mikey.
Mikey was involved with HASC, NCSY and a myriad of other charitable organizations. He was active in Yeshiva University programs and other community activities. Mikey had every reason to be angry, upset and depressed about his situation - life dealt him a rough deck and if situations were reversed, I'm not sure I would have felt the same. He valued his yiddishkeit, cherished his friends and loved his family. He gave of himself even when there was nothing to give - and especially expecting nothing in return.
He was bright, outgoing, friendly, charismatic, erudite and a truly honest friend. And for that I will miss him. I had been looking forward to the day of my wedding, b'ezras hashem, when I could give Mikey the one kavod I had already assigned- the signing of my kesuba.
But I know for sure... that whenever I get to that day, I'll find myself stopping for a second during the hustle and bustle of the simcha by a small, quiet corner off to the side. And I'll smile... because it'd be the perfect place for a moment of insight... an inside joke... and a time for friends to stop and laugh.
And I know I will. And I know somewhere in shamayim he will.
Because that's Mikey.
http://www.ou.org/ncsy/mikeybutler.htm
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So for those who don't know, this March I have my first play going up. It;s called AMERICAN CAESAR and it will be running for a week at the Director's Company in Midtown. More on that later.
Its odd... I'm used to comics where the writer and editor are the puppet masters. Sure I dont actually create the art, but im part of the process every step of the way. Here, I have to hand my work to outsiders who translate it - actors, set designers, etc. The director has been a joy to work with as has my producer, but its a bit jarring not rolling up my sleeves and running things. I usually do that with my work - when I was at Genesis and in local productions. Here I'm just the writer. I'm the guy who does the words. Once the words are done everyone else steps in and makes the magic and I feel...well, a little left out. Sure my name's above everyone on the postcard, but when it comes down to it the audience doesn't care about the guy in the corner who banged the story out on his typewriter.
Y'know there's an allegory here for writers VS artists in the comic book industry.
I just can't put my finger on it.
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Up for air on a Monday and a few things to jot and note.
Another SuperBowl has come and gone and i am no more the wiser. Every year I eat my burger too fast and drink too much, but this year I tried some low crab light beer which wasnt all that bad. The game blew until the last quarter really, and of the commercials only two stood out: The Simpsons one and the "Tomorrow" medley.
Comics wise, I am in love with Darwyn Cooke's NEW FRONTIER. The story and pacing is everything I lke... timing wise, epic wise. Fuck the Hal Jordan thing - this entire first issue could have been about the Losers and I would have popped my wad like the penitent little fanboy I am. Really, truly wonderful.
Looks like BROWNSVILLE might be backed up a bit. NBM has started giving Jake and I some editorial direction and they'd like a page rewritten and some art redone. It won't alter the schedule dramatically, but it does alter it a bit. That's fine - they've taken a risk on us thus far and I am glad they're offering some editorial direction. NBM's treated us well and is continuing to do so, and I'm thrilled we're working with them.
On the downside, the studio that had accepted DUMB LUCK has decided to pass based on the fact that Dabb and I had issues with the direction they wanted us to go in. Que sera. I hope to still work with them on HENCHMAN - they're good guys. Speaking of Dabb, it seems his TRON gig has gone belly up based on sales. Sorry, Andrew - maybe sex midgets will help cheer ya up.
NINETY CANDLES is basically done. I finished the cover last week and now I need to bundle the submission packet off to Diamond. I should start posting the cover on my site soon as I can figure out why my home MAC is being a baby and not working.
The DSL in our building has been shitfired since two weeks ago - Bodie and Jay can sorta get on but me? Nah. I think my MAC is breathing its last. Someone buy me an iBook.
Getting back to DEAD RONIN between working on CAESAR and starting the pages for HO12 #3. Going to AC for the first time with Michelle next week - looking to be a blast.
Hang on - more coming.