Saturday, April 05, 2008

NoirCon Day Two

Here's a little known fact; the cover of Cashiers du Cinemart #15 was based on a photo of 8th Street, taken outside the front door of the Society Hill Playhouse when I was here for GoodisCon. I sent that and a copy of the famous BIG COMBO silhouette shot to Ashley Zeltzer, the phenomenal artist who created the final image.


Day Two was am exhaustive and exhausting deep dive into the underground. The day began with an appreciation of George Lippard before veering into a discussion of more modern Philly noir. A panel discussion from publishers and editors of sundry publications fell on my sympathetic ears as they bemoaned how tough it is to find an audience in the print world as well as dealing with the nuts and bolts of the sordid business end of things.

Other highlights included an appreciation of Dorothy Hughes (prompting me to put In a Lonely Place on my Amazon Wishlist), a fascinating discussion of the Mafia by reporters George Anastasia and Anthony Bruno, and a rambling (in a good way) hour with publisher Dennis McMillan.

I have to admit, I just about crawled under my chair when I realized Don Herron was in attendance. I'm hoping he never read, doesn't remember, or found some validity in my lambasting of his "biography" of Charles Willeford (back in Cashiers du Cinemart #11). I wonder if it was for that reason that my revised version of Madness in the 20th Century was omitted from the program book.

No word yet on McMillan's reprint of Understudy for Death yet, Willeford fans, though the program for NoirCon boasts his A Necklace of Hickies -- a story as great as its title.

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