Book Complete!

That picture is of my first completed book,Heroes in the Night. I got on the train to Chicago on Thursday and handed it in to my publisher.

Inside that file bin is a lot of work. There is a manuscript (14 Chapters, close to 300 pages) as well as all of the photos and art on a disc and hard copy, signed permission forms and material for the publicity department. 

My first interview for the book was with The Watchman, March 1, 2009. My last was a follow up phone call with Phoenix Jones, November 11, 2012. In between I did hundreds of hours of interviews, research, and field work. I also read a lot of comic books.

My travels for the book took me out on the streets of Milwaukee, Minneapolis/ St. Paul, Rochester, MN, New Bedford, MA, New York, Washington DC, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and San Diego. I revised the book many times.

What’s next? Well, first I am going to take a day off. The book isn’t actually done, now it is in the hands of the fine folks of Chicago Review Press. They’ll slowly be going through with a line editor, the graphic design dept., and a copy editor. I’ll be working with them on any revisions they’d like to see. 

Then, when it’ s closer to publication date, I’ll be talking with them about publicity, media appearances, a book trailer, running excerpts, and events. That will be the fun part– I’ll actually have the book in my hand.

Meanwhile, I’m going to spend the next month or so working on catching up with smaller things- I have a few articles I’m working on that I need to wrap up. After I’ve caught up, I will be writing a solid beginning base for my next book.

But that, my friends, is a different story.

I'm going to take a couple months hiatus on this blog, but I'll be back in 2013 with some book updates and new Hero Profiles. See you then!

Mutual Kombat: Fight!

Its been awhile since I reported on news coming out of Seattle. Phoenix Jones and his crew, the Rain City Superhero Movement, have been running into a stream of street level confrontations lately.

The most dramatic of these happened in the early hours of this morning. The team intervened in an altercation between some men trying to stop another person's vehicle. The men then turned their attention to the RCSM and an angry confrontation started.

"You know Washington is a mutual combat state, if you'd like to agree to fight we can do that if you'd like to," Jones suggests at the 2:05 mark in the video below. He goes on to explain that  "mutual combat" apparently allows people to fight until one of them hits the ground. I'm no legal expert, but this claim seems to be legit because when police arrived on the scene, they allow the mutual combat to proceed (after trying to talk them out of it).

At the 6:25 mark the fight begins. Jones has removed his famous rubber cowl, and the two men begin to circle each other. After a couple of kicks, Jones' opponent attempts a choke-hold but Jones counters with a right hook and knocks the man out. He then quickly exits from the fighting area and at the command of police leaves the scene. The aftermath-- well, you can just watch for yourself. (NSFW-- loud obscenity, racist comments, total chaos)


On a less combative and more congratulatory note, Phoenix Jones' wife Purple Reign was honored by the University of Seattle for her work on the Purple Reign Campaign, which raised awareness about domestic abuse and money for a women's shelter.

HERO PROFILE #94: Crimson Canuck

Operates out of: Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Team affiliation: Trillium Guards of Ontario

Activities: Patrols, homeless handouts, charity events

Current missions: "This weekend I'll be doing the "Superhero Walk" with Matthew House Windsor, a program that helps refugees who escape to Canada.

On Halloween I'm teaming up with Rogue Gallery Comics (a local comic book store) to go to a local hospital and hand out comic books and goodies to children who can't trick-or-treat."

Author's notes: The Crimson Canuck was featured in a recent article by Darryl Gallinger for The Lance, the student newspaper for University of Windsor. Gallinger also quotes me in the article, which you can read HERE.

After the article was published, I got a friendly e-mail from the Crimson Canuck, introducing himself and talking about his RLSH goals, which led to this rare Hero Profile update. Hero Profiles will now be on hiatus for a few months, but will return in 2013 as the publishing date for Heroes in the Night draws closer. For now-- a salute to the maple leaf, Darryl Gallinger for the write up and to the Crimson Canuck, one of the RLSH's most devoted Canadian brethren! 

Knight Owl doc clip

Hey folks, not a lot of blogging lately because I've been working pretty intensely on the book.

I thought I would share this, though-- director Matt Harrison has been working on his doc about famous RLSH of the Pacific Northwest and just release this clip starring Knight Owl:


I'm quite familiar with this character as I met him four different times in four different cities.

1. The Superheroes Anonymous 3 Conference, New Bedford, September, 2009
2. Winter Olympic Meet Up, Vancouver, Feb. 2010
3. HOPE 2011, San Diego, July 2011
4. Infamous trip to Pacific Northwest, Portland, October 2011

The doc's website is: www.citizenheroesthemovie.com

Ok, back to work!

Thanatos Dropping In: FOLLOW UP

Thanatos in training.

Back in February I reported on Vancouver RLSH Thanatos' plan to raise funds for the Easter Seals charity. Thanatos raised the $1600 in contributions to allow him to rappel down the side of a twenty story building in downtown Vancouver on September 11. He'll be wearing his green skull mask and Thanatos gear, of course.

To prepare, he's been practicing his rappelling skills. As we all know from the old Adam West Batman show, this is a key art of the costumed superhero.

"To those who have helped me make my goal, I say a grateful thank you on behalf of some special kids who will benefit from this," Thanatos says.

Thanatos is the star of one of the chapters of my upcoming book, Heroes in the Night. The chapter is titled "The Man in the Green Skull Mask."

Angle Grinder Man- The Legacy Continues

Perth's Wheel Clamp Man in action.

One of the colorful characters I found in my Real Life Super Hero research was a highly disgruntled British bloke that called himself Angle Grinder Man.

Angle Grinder Man operated in London and Kent (his hometown) and his origin story is simple: he snapped after one too many parking violations. In those cities (and others around the world) you will receive what is known as the "boot" or the "clamp"-- a device attached to the wheel of your car-- if you are parked illegally. You then must pay a hefty fine to have someone come around and unlock the device to free your car.

It is aggravating and many angry motorists think it is a racket.

Enter Angle Grinder Man. He first appeared around 2002 or 03, dressed in blue tights and a gold cape, sporting goggles and revving up a gas powered angle grinder. He set up a hotline for frustrated, wheel clamped citizens and would then rush to their side, sawing through the clamps in a shower of sparks. It took him about 45 seconds to saw through a clamp.

"There are not enough parking spaces for people, and no public transport to speak of," Angle Grinder Man declared in a 2003 television interview. "It's a complete joke and yet instead of us suing the government for shambolic mismanagement, we allow them to take back money from us, the very people they have let down."

In 2005, Angle Grinder Man disappeared as mysteriously as he had appeared.

England's Angle Grinder Man

But now, almost a decade later and thousands of miles away, a new superhero has taken on Angle Grinder Man's mission. He is  Wheel Clamp Man of Perth, on the west coast of Australia.

"I'm helping people out," he told Perth's Sunday Times. "I don't feel like I'm damaging property."

Wheel Clamp Man's costume looks like RLSH meets the Village People. He asks for a donation from motorists he helps and reportedly gives the money to the homeless.

Not surprisingly, Perth police aren't happy. They've encouraged the public to turn over the superhero so they can charge him with criminal damage.

--Report from The Telegraph HERE.

Phantom Patriot Protests Aurora

Last post I wrote about a RLSH named Beast who was arrested outside of a Home Depot after observers thought they were witnessing a copycat of James Holmes, the man responsible for the shootings at the Dark Knight Rises premier in Aurora, Colorado. I received an e-mail from the conspiracy theorist RLSH known as Phantom Patriot who informed me that he traveled from his home in Las Vegas to Aurora just to protest at the Century 16 Theater, where the event occurred. 

He held a sign that read "Don't let a mind-controlled , Prozac-popping Joker destroy your freedom !" He says reaction was mostly positive. Police told him to stay on the public sidewalk. 

He further elaborates: 

"I want the RLSH Community to understand that (as crazy as this sounds) one of the (minor) reasons that the New World Order staged this bizarre crime might have been to scare us into inactivity. They don't want a bunch of "Zorros and Robin Hoods" running around and inspiring the common people to take a stand against a corrupt government. More and more , we are being sidetracked into charity events and reality TV. Where's the risk ; where's the heroism in that ? It has become apparent that my previous advice to other RLSHs was correct...don't dress like a Black Blok Anarchist / terrorist. Of course , a protest sign does wonders , to explain yourself to the public. I stuck my neck out (again) to make a point. I challenge the other RLSHs to do the same!"