Neil
In which I confront some hard truths.
I wasn’t going to write anything. I didn’t want to write anything. Enough people had said enough already. But over the last few days I have come to realize that I needed to write something. Writing is the way I deal with emotion. He taught me that.
Back in the mists of time my first foray into the digital world in the early 1990s was the Comics and Animation forum on Compuserve. He was on there. He was the first professional comics writer I encountered. He was always open to answering my questions. His posts were insightful, and encouraging.
As we moved from one digital platform to another over the decades his was the first name I looked for. I enjoyed his posts, his ideas, his enthusiasm. He may not have known it but he became a sort of un-official online mentor for me, not only in terms of my writing, but in terms of how to act online.
I read and studied his works across different genres. I didn’t always enjoy it, but on the whole I appreciated it, and what I felt he was trying to communicate.
In 2007 I was honoured to be asked to write the entry on him for the Terry Pratchett Encyclopedia. Over the course of several phone calls we had a series of highly enjoyable conversations covering a wide range of topics beyond what I needed for my article. Over the years following we had an occasional email correspondence. When we encountered each other at conventions he would always stop for a quick word even though he was inevitably rushing from one thing to another.
When my eldest daughter was getting married I reached out asking if I could make a few small changes to a poem he’d written as part of the ceremony. Not only did he give permission, he supplied a wedding present in the form of some original new linking material.
I wouldn’t ever say we were friends, although we had several close mutual friends, as one of the other early CompuServe members put it this week, I’d say we were ‘warm acquaintances.’
When the initial reports of his behavior arose a few months back, I was disappointed that his name had been added to a disturbing growing list of people whose work I’d admired and who seemingly didn’t have the respect for other humans that I hoped they had.
But the revelations this week go beyond that. The man I once thought of as a mentor, a teacher, and a positive influence in my life turns out to be a sick depraved monster. And I don’t know how to deal with it. Disappointment doesn’t cut it. I’ve seen others say that they feel betrayed. That is definitely there, but it’s more. I guess I am grieving, and I am definitely in the anger stage.
Others have said “they always knew” he was different and strange. Yes he was. It was what seemed to drive his creativity. But now we know much more, and those works are forever tainted. In all my interactions with him I never saw a dark side. Maybe I was blind to it. And if that’s the case I can only apologize.
Out of all this I must applaud and champion the brave women who came forward to tell their stories and bring the truth to the world.
Living with the result of a sexual assault is an immense burden that impacts the rest of your life in ways you can’t comprehend. It goes way beyond, and way deeper, than the actual event itself.
I say this as the survivor of a sexual assault myself, when another man I trusted and looked up to as a teenager betrayed me and turned out to be a monster. Others around me chose to believe him rather than me, and that hurt almost as much as the assault. - This is something I have never shared with anyone other than my amazing supportive wife, until now.
Maybe some good can come out of the horrors of this week’s revelations. Hopefully others who, like me kept things to themselves, will step forward and know they are no longer alone in dealing with the actions of monsters.
Alan
Other Stuff
Welcome new folks
Each week when I sit down to put one of these newsletters together I’m always grateful to my subscribers. If you aren’t a member of that wonderful group of folks yet, then click the button below and join our growing community of readers and commentators to get these missives delivered directly to your email inbox every Friday.
Brabazon Bits
Well we have made our travel arrangements to be in the UK just after the Brabazon book’s British release. I’m working with the publisher to try and get some release events scheduled during our visit. More on those as things get finalized.
“Bristol Brabazon: The Ocean Liner of the Skies and its Ongoing Legacy” will be published on 30 MAY, 2025 in the UK and 30 JULY, 2025 in the US.
It’s also available for pre-order on both Amazon UK and Amazon US sites.
The book is also now available for pre-order directly from the publisher’s website.
Word Slinging
I sent a good proportion of last week working on the Casino Royale book. In particular on researching and drafting the chapter on the 1954 adaptation. The often overlooked first on-screen appearance of James Bond that aired on CBS’s one-hour drama show, Climax!, starring American actor Barry Nelson as Bond.
And talking of Bond. After a gap of eight months, our monthly James Bond Lexicon newsletter is once again in production.
Podcast Procrastinations
What an amazing week we’ve had with the launch of the Chronological Christie podcast. Our first episode featuring our discussion on Agatha Christie’s debut novel, The Mysterious Affair At Styles, dropped last Sunday on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts on Wednesday.
The feedback has been so positive and humbling. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to listen, comment, and follow the show. And a special note of thanks to those who have reposted and promoted the show on their own social media accounts.
If you haven’t given the show a listen yet, you can find it HERE
Pages and Screens
Books Read in 2025 - “Will Shakespeare: The Untold Story” by John Mortimer.
According to Goodreads, I read this back in 2018, but I must admit I don’t recall any of it. And I’m not sure why.
This is a lighthearted, mildly bawdy, account of Shakespeare’s life in London and his ambiguous relationship with the Earl of Southampton in particular.
It is connected to a 1978 British TV mini-series with Tim Curry playing The Bard, which unfortunately isn’t currently available.
A good light read for business travel with plenty of fun nods to Shakespeare’s works and life without taking any of it too seriously.
On our online bookstore at Bookshop.org I’ve now added a new section listing books read so far in 2025, so you can pick up copies of any that interest you, while also helping out local independent bookstores.
Weekly Web Round-Up
Forest Comics & Books - . Batmobiles, FunkoPops, and action figures continue to be popular this week. You can check out our current active listings HERE.
Batman On The Cover - The journey through Batman’s comics publishing history continues as we move on to November 1969 with new issues of Detective Comics, Batman, Justice League of America, and World’s Finest published by DC Comics.
My pick from this month’s comics from DC would be Batman #216. Although the cover by Irv Novick isn’t that spectacular, I just like the action shot of Batman smashing through the window. Something that would become something of an iconic move for the Dark Knight over the years.
Where on the Web is Alan?
You can now find links to all the places you can find me online, websites, newsletters, social media, and more in a single LINKS page on my personal website.
As always, thanks for joining me this week. If you know someone else who might enjoy the contents of this week’s newsletter, or just my weekly ramblings in general - please feel free to share by clicking the button below.
See you next time
Alan J. Porter
The Can’t See The Forest (TM) newsletter is a production of Megrin Entertainment, a division of 4Js Group LLC
Some powerful stuff that couldn't have been easy to write. Thanks for sharing
It's bad enough that this human monster penned Good Omens works with Sir Terry. That book brought together a bunch of my friends 30 years ago and has inspired me ever since. It's much more painful when I reflect on how his work and career has inspired yours, Rick's, and countless others. The only comfort I find is when good men speak up. Thank you, Alan.