Post by /\/\att on Jan 22, 2010 12:25:26 GMT -5
Posted on our Gotham Times News Blog
legionsofgotham.org/batmannews/?p=1764
Legions of Gotham had the opportunity to sit down once again with the great Bob Greenberger to discuss his latest book venture. The last time we spoke to Bob he had just released the Batman Encyclopedia…..
LOG: How did you come to work on the Batman Vault?
Bob Greenberger: At the 2008 NY Comic-Con, DC’s Licensed Publishing department said they had some projects they wished to discuss. We had a meeting and they asked me to write the Batman Vault. By then, everyone saw how well the Essential Batman Encyclopedia turned out and enthusiasm was also running high on Marty Pasko’s DC Vault so a character-specific follow-up made commercial sense. In April that year, I received a schedule and we worked out an outline then I got to work.
LOG: At what stage did you get involved with the Batman Vault? What portions did you contribute?
Bob Greenberger: I contributed the manuscript form the beginning. The outline was approved that May and I began writing, delivering the first chapters for review in July. My editor, Chris Cerasi, was quite happy with it and I was free to write the balance. I delivered the manuscript in July and around mid-August, DC was informed by Running Press they wanted some rewriting done, without a specific set of criteria. It was one of those, we don’t like it but we can’t tell you why. At that point, my son was dying and I was in no shape to focus on the book. The deadline was immutable so DC felt they had no choice but to bring on Matthew Manning to do a polish, which Running Press found acceptable.
Matt and ran information by one another, we argued a few points and got the manuscript done to everyone’s satisfaction.
While DC did the picture research, both Matt and I commented on the choices and I wrote all the captions.
LOG: Do you feel that you specifically have a pretty vast bat-knowledge?
Bob Greenberger: I grew up on Batman (and the other DC heroes) and of course, my 20 years on staff at DC drilled the stories deep into my psyche. I am fairly conversant on all the eras of the comics plus his media appearances so actually did my first draft largely from memory before sitting with my resources to fact-check issue numbers and dates.
LOG: What do you feel the fans can gain from a book release like the Batman Vault?
Bob Greenberger: The Vault line is for the mass market fan of the subject matter. Marty did a great job on the overall history of the company, including the Caped Crusader, that my direction was more of an overview of Batman in comics and media as a pop culture phenomenon. As a result, diehard fans at your site may read the book and come away thinking they didn’t learn much new. For them, the facsimiles that make the Vaults a “museum in a book” is where the magic is found. For them, the highlight has to be the Shelly Mayer primer on how to tell a Batman story, something he prepared for Paul Levitz shortly after Paul took over the titles..
LOG: What projects can we look forward to seeing from you in the near future? Anything Bat-related you can clue the readers into?
Bob Greenberger: For Stone Arch Books’ line of young reader books using the DC characters, my second Batman book, Robin’s First Flight, is just coming out. In April, I did a similar treatment to Wonder Woman as a phenomenon in Wonder Woman. Amazon. Hero. Icon. Then in August, The Essential Superman Encyclopedia, cowritten with Marty Pasko, will be out. In between, I’m the writer on DC’s new edition of Who’s Who, 18 48-page issues starting in May. I just delivered the second issue for that, including the various Bats.
……A huge thanks to Bob for taking the time to chat with us and to share with the fans. I wanted to add, as an owner of the Vault and a huge Bat-Fan, I agree with what was said. I didn’t necessarily learn new things, but collectible-wise, its a beautiful piece to own and its fun to look through, especially with the kids. I do recommend it. Watch for our 5 questions with co-author Matthew K. Manning here on LOG soon!
legionsofgotham.org/batmannews/?p=1764
Legions of Gotham had the opportunity to sit down once again with the great Bob Greenberger to discuss his latest book venture. The last time we spoke to Bob he had just released the Batman Encyclopedia…..
LOG: How did you come to work on the Batman Vault?
Bob Greenberger: At the 2008 NY Comic-Con, DC’s Licensed Publishing department said they had some projects they wished to discuss. We had a meeting and they asked me to write the Batman Vault. By then, everyone saw how well the Essential Batman Encyclopedia turned out and enthusiasm was also running high on Marty Pasko’s DC Vault so a character-specific follow-up made commercial sense. In April that year, I received a schedule and we worked out an outline then I got to work.
LOG: At what stage did you get involved with the Batman Vault? What portions did you contribute?
Bob Greenberger: I contributed the manuscript form the beginning. The outline was approved that May and I began writing, delivering the first chapters for review in July. My editor, Chris Cerasi, was quite happy with it and I was free to write the balance. I delivered the manuscript in July and around mid-August, DC was informed by Running Press they wanted some rewriting done, without a specific set of criteria. It was one of those, we don’t like it but we can’t tell you why. At that point, my son was dying and I was in no shape to focus on the book. The deadline was immutable so DC felt they had no choice but to bring on Matthew Manning to do a polish, which Running Press found acceptable.
Matt and ran information by one another, we argued a few points and got the manuscript done to everyone’s satisfaction.
While DC did the picture research, both Matt and I commented on the choices and I wrote all the captions.
LOG: Do you feel that you specifically have a pretty vast bat-knowledge?
Bob Greenberger: I grew up on Batman (and the other DC heroes) and of course, my 20 years on staff at DC drilled the stories deep into my psyche. I am fairly conversant on all the eras of the comics plus his media appearances so actually did my first draft largely from memory before sitting with my resources to fact-check issue numbers and dates.
LOG: What do you feel the fans can gain from a book release like the Batman Vault?
Bob Greenberger: The Vault line is for the mass market fan of the subject matter. Marty did a great job on the overall history of the company, including the Caped Crusader, that my direction was more of an overview of Batman in comics and media as a pop culture phenomenon. As a result, diehard fans at your site may read the book and come away thinking they didn’t learn much new. For them, the facsimiles that make the Vaults a “museum in a book” is where the magic is found. For them, the highlight has to be the Shelly Mayer primer on how to tell a Batman story, something he prepared for Paul Levitz shortly after Paul took over the titles..
LOG: What projects can we look forward to seeing from you in the near future? Anything Bat-related you can clue the readers into?
Bob Greenberger: For Stone Arch Books’ line of young reader books using the DC characters, my second Batman book, Robin’s First Flight, is just coming out. In April, I did a similar treatment to Wonder Woman as a phenomenon in Wonder Woman. Amazon. Hero. Icon. Then in August, The Essential Superman Encyclopedia, cowritten with Marty Pasko, will be out. In between, I’m the writer on DC’s new edition of Who’s Who, 18 48-page issues starting in May. I just delivered the second issue for that, including the various Bats.
……A huge thanks to Bob for taking the time to chat with us and to share with the fans. I wanted to add, as an owner of the Vault and a huge Bat-Fan, I agree with what was said. I didn’t necessarily learn new things, but collectible-wise, its a beautiful piece to own and its fun to look through, especially with the kids. I do recommend it. Watch for our 5 questions with co-author Matthew K. Manning here on LOG soon!