The Blogboard Jungle

How the NJ Horror Scene Helped Get My Second Book Done It took almost 10 years to get it done, but in 2024, I self-published my first book , “ Brush Fire: A Bow & Arrow Mystery .” It’s a work of fiction, what I consider to be the most fun writing, and what I write when I’m not writing about combat sports or the fight business. So, of course, since last year, I have been working on the latest Bow & Mystery, and I’m happy to announce that it’s out, up, and live on Kindle and Amazon for your reading pleasure. The Father of Evil: A Bow & Arrow Mystery You may recognize the face on the cover. Photo: Ed Carbajal That’s Father Evil , whom I have known since I was a kid. You can navigate this site to see that I’m a fan of Horror and have attended (and continue to attend) the NJ Horror-Con . Father Evil is an always-present and prominent figure at many Horror conventions, and every time I left one, I’d think, “I gotta write another story.” After a while, I wrote an outline and thou...

Brush Fire is the first of many stories that I hope to write. Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash Some years ago, in 2015 I attended the NJ Comic Expo . I was covering it for this site, to gain experience and get my feet wet covering events since it was something I knew I wanted to do for my freelance work. Writing is something I never thought I would get into, but I fell into it through my love for martial arts, reading, and film. It's why I made this site, so I can write about the things I love. By looking for things to write about, I found that my love for reading balances out with my love of writing. Usually, I do one, then the other but a lot of the writing I do is inspired by the work I do for combat sports. I don't want to be a one-trick pony. I want to evolve my writing and I'm always looking for ways to get better.  Some of my favorite stories in various mediums come from Stephen King . So, when I went looking for instruction on how he writes, I found his book ...

These aren’t instructionals or “how to” books on MMA, these are books about the sport’s history and culture that I have read over the years as a fan and covering the sport. I had the pleasure of meeting, training with, and interviewing some of the authors and I always recommend the books to folks in conversation. With the holidays coming, I figured I would compile a list for folks looking for something a bit deeper than an MMA DVD or tee shirt.

Anyone that has ever been to the movies for anything Marvel related, thought about "great power" and the responsibility that comes with it got the sad news that one of the greatest storytelling minds of out time has passed away. His ideas are what has driven and influenced what folks refer to as Marvel's Universe and he has made a cameo in nearly all the films related to the characters he had a hand in creating. Mr. Lee passed away on November 12 and his influence has reached many people that have built a career on an industry he could be considered the father of. One of the most touching sentiments on his passing was from one of his biggest fans, that got to work with Lee. Kevin Smith's Instagram post on Lee's passing is probably the best words written, that describes how many Lee's fans feel.

Dave Greenberg is an author of the self-help book, "Sit Down, Shut Up, You're Going to Win This Thing". I have had the pleasure of meeting two other authors of books related to martial arts and MMA with Jim Genia's " Raw Combat " and Duane Finley's " In the Cold Distance " but what makes Greenberg's book exciting to read is that I trained with him early in my journey with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and specifically remember him telling me he was going to write it. Well, the book is written and I am currently reading it and even though it already is a best seller on Amazon I was excited to talk to Greenberg about the book once again to help get the word out on his story of overcoming the things he went through. Check out the whole interview here: I will do a fair review once I am done with it but the reviews from here for MMA relates books may be a little biased since I keep getting lucky meeting talented writers in the landscape of mart...

I have been pretty lucky when it comes to martial arts and the people I have met through my passion for it. I happened to figure out my own experiences training for over 20 years could add some insight to covering the sport of mixed martial arts and the fighters. When I started, I saw it was more than analysis on technique, previews, announcements, and interviews. Every fighter has a story to tell, but not all of their stories are told well. That’s where Duane Finley comes in to do what he does better than anyone. His book, In The Cold Distance , includes a lot of fighters and their stories but it is more than a journey through MMA history. It is a roadmap for those that want to cover MMA and a look at the man known as Ol’ Bo (Finley) and how he became the best story-teller in the game. There’s a lot of MMA news out there that folks can read, mention in conversation and forget about, but Finley is not a guy that produces those “click-bait” type of articles. He made his name in the...

One of the great things about the New Jersey Comic Expo is that it is a great place to find up and coming talent in the medium of comics. Not only are there panels that help those trying to fine-tune the craft of storytelling, drawing, lettering and other details on how comics are made, but the undiscovered grinders in the world where folks can self-publish and build their brand are always present. Enter Isaiah Puga who was selling his four-part series Jagged that looks like a story he has built up from genres that news headlines in small-town papers helped him write. Corrupt school officials, affluent teen athletes that enter the realm of psychotic, and underdog heroes that get pulled into situations by circumstance are the building blocks of Puga's story. There is more than one bad person in the story, but when Puga was speaking with us the main villain of the story is a serial killer. Like many true crime stories, it is never the one you expect and Jagged will take reader...

Of all the things that go on during the New Jersey Comic Expo, one of the best reasons to go are the panels. Creatives in the area should look at the schedule and plan to sit in on some of these inspiring and instructive panels featured at this year's Expo November 18 and 19. DYNAMITE comics is holding their second panel this year on making comics to kick off the weekend. The last one they held had Garth Ennis as a special guest who spoke with readers about his creative process and things he is working on with DYNAMITE. Cosplayers are always welcome and have had some of the best and most popular panels in the past so it should be no surprise that the weekend's programming includes Armor Making and professional cosplayer's answering questions about the craft and culture of cosplay for comic-cons. See the weekend program below: See anything you would like to attend?  Sound off in the comments below and be sure to check out the New Jersey Comic Expo's of...

Movie Poster If you are or have ever been a fan of The Justice League than this year's New Jersey Comic Expo (NJCE) is one you cannot miss. Not only is the film coming out on November 17, right before the NJCE and the co-creators of the most famous group in the DC universe will be on hand November 18. Keith Giffen and Kevin Macguire will be in attendance Saturday to hold a panel where they will discuss their history with the franchise, from their debut on the JUSTICE LEAGUE series in the 1980’s and their work on JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL , JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE , and JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA , as well as their more-recent work with the team. Past guests have held some memorable panels such as Jeff King's last year, and Garth Ennis the year before who is also back for the 18th.  If you want to tap into the mind of two men involved with what could be one of the best DC comic movies ever, you might want to plan your weekend in New Jersey. Check out...

Photo: Ed Carbajal The New Jersey Comic Expo (NJCE) is back in Edison, New Jersey November 18 and 19 and this year's cosplay contest will feature several categories for cosplayers to win in. Those categories include: -Best in Show -Best Fabrication (Sculpting & building) -Best Construction (Sewing & use of fabric) -Best Hero -Best Villain -Best Sci-Fi -Best Anime -Best Group or Couple -Best Kid THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER WILL RECEIVE A SPECIAL GIFT FROM NJCE SPONSOR BERNINA! The event has been held every Fall and is the biggest and best of its kind in central New Jersey. It features all your favorite creators and artists from pop-culture, comics, TV, and film as well as some great panels for up and coming creatives. For information on tickets, exhibitors, and guests check out the NJCE's official website .

Some of the best books are made into horror films and the authors at The NJ Horror-con and Film Festival are bringing the creativity in hordes. Zombie hordes according to Neil A. Cohen and his book Exit Zero. A zombie outbreak that starts in New Jersey. If ever there were one, New Jersey is a certainly a realistic place to set the scene for a story about the zombie apocalypse. At least that's what Cohen thought when he created his latest series. An outbreak, a battle down the parkway for survival all based in New Jersey. There's a lot more to see at the NJ Horror Con, check out Mr. Cohen's interview:

It is no secret that the success of any Comic-con, Expo, or Film Festival is the gathering of like-minded individuals to come together to network, entertain and inspire. This year's Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) is no different. This year, the art of Sophie-chan will be on display courtesy of TOKYOPOP according to a recent press release. If you are a fan of manga, you can read the details in the full release below which has the schedule information: Self-Taught Canadian Manga Artist To Appear In Booth #441 April 21-23 Los Angeles, CA— TOKYOPOP announces today that the first volume of the fantastical shojo manga series, Ocean of Secrets by artist Sophie-chan will debut at next week’s C2E2 convention in Chicago, IL. “We're thrilled to showcase such a talented creator at Chicago's go-to pop culture convention C2E2” says TOKYOPOP founder, Stu Levy. “ Sophie-chan is living proof that anyone and everyone can make their dreams a reality, and ...

Photos: Ed Carbajal Something noticeable at this year's New Jersey Comic Expo was the collectibles made from 3D printers.  Sure, they've been making news for a while now in the things that can be made. Which is, pretty much anything if you do a Google search. But with a small investment and a good imagination you too could open up a booth at the next Comic-con or collectible show and sell things to fellow fans of whatever genre you're into. The one of display and that seemed in use and best suited was the M3D printer. It seemed perfect to make small busts of iconic characters from comic books and figures from pop culture. The printers were being sold at a different booth but you could see in others the idea is catching on. In the video below you could hear the M3D representative explain some details while seeing it in action. At the time it was making game pieces and you could see what completed ones look like just below it. Kind of makes you wan...

Photos: Ed Carbajal Ideas are great, everyone has them but if you can't put pen to paper what good is it?  The New Jersey Comic Expo featured some of best new creative minds pushing their latest ideas. Conventions like this serve not only as a good way to market those ideas that become stories and characters but a lesson in getting started is always present.   Just ask Jeff King, Mario Rivas, and Paul Jenkins about how they got their start. Nothing is about luck and everything is about hustle.   Maybe some luck played a part but that's always up for debate, what is not is the drive and faith required to make it as a writer. In the panel, “Comics to Hollywood (and everything in between)”, the three creators shared their stories on how they found themselves where they are today.  Rivas spoke of his days working as a “go for” in an animation studio and how it exposed him to art and storytelling to drive him to create Fernanda along with h...

Photo: Ed Carbajal The New Jersey Comic Expo is in Edison this weekend and returning to the expo is Joe Caramagna, writer for many Marvel titles such as  Guardians of the Galaxy and Ultimate Spider-man . However, one of his more unique works may tickle the fancy of fans of one of the oldest genres in fiction, the western. Part biographical and part fiction Caramagna takes people on the journey of Wyatt Earp's life beyond anything seen in the films about events leading up to the O.K. Corral story many know so well. His series "The Further Travels of Wyatt Earp" take you to Earp's adventures after the O.K. Corral and show what a man with the reputation for justice and a clear understanding of right and wrong can lead to. Men like Wyatt Earp have been written about for a long time and he will likely continue to be in stories like Caramagna has given us here. If you are in central New Jersey and can make it out to the Expo come check out Caramagna and all...

We were there last year, we'll be there again this year and if you're fans of cosplay and The Walking Dead you will want to be there with us this year. You can read about all the awesome stuff that went down when we were there last time here . See their full press release below: NEW JERSEY COMIC EXPO RETURNS TO EDISON IN ONE WEEK Comic Creators, Celebrities, Panels, Movie Cars, Cosplay, Interactive Exhibits, Kids Love Comics Area & More Coming Back To NJ Expo Center in Edison, November 19 and 20 , For Comic Book and Pop Culture Fans of All Ages EDISON, NJ, NOVEMBER 9— The state has been buzzing about the upcoming New Jersey Comic Expo , and the time has almost arrived for the family-friendly event to make it’s return to the NJ Expo Center in Edison, at the crossroads of Jersey, in just two weeks on November 19 and 20 ! The New Jersey Comic Expo (NJCE) has lined up another exciting weekend of celebrity guests, legendary and top creators in the comic...