TWO FISTED HOMEOPAPE Apr/26 - Two New Comics, One Faulty Brain, and a Surprise Deal!
Let's go spend money on comics!
♫ I applied for a rescue dog,
But if I get you dog,
You're rescuing me ♫
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2021 -- beyond.
Why are you like this?
I ask my brain this question on the regular. Or, at least, I try to because it helps me understand what’s happening. Maybe.
For instance: this past week, I’ve felt overwhelmed. Specifically, there’s just so much to do. So much.
When this feeling occurs, I’m learning to take a moment to reflect on it. Why do I feel overwhelmed? A: There’s a lot to do, and it’s not that I’m worried I can’t get it done, it’s that I’m worried I can’t get it done well enough.
Solution: Start getting it done to the best of my ability.
Strategy: Make a list of what needs to be done.
In this case…*inhales*
Keep preparing EVERFROST #1 for launch - hit up social media, email people, prepare FOC stuff
This has included a podcast interview, as well as 4 written interviews
Prep EVERFROST #2 for print - write back matter, prepare other pages of content for the issue, prepare some online resources for publicity
Finalise script passes for lettering for EVERFROST #3-4 - just to go over it one last time
Prepare things for BLACK BEACON launch in Heavy Metal #306 - social media/site/newsletter information, emails to mates/press/retailers
Prepare BLACK BEACON stuff for the single issue editions HM will also release, so a lot of back matter stuff I’m prepping with Seb, issues #1 and #2 on the immediate plate
Finish scripting SHE Vol. 2 - then edit it, then send it to Dan Hill to edit
Add SHE Vol. 1 to my online store - and think of an interesting way to launch its appearance
Prepare new stories for pitching - at present there are two main ideas swirling around in the brainpan
Patreon stuff must roll on - two 300 Flash Fic pieces a month, one D&D character history, any other random process stuff I think of
Going to do a Script Annotation daily blast of EVERFROST #1 for the Patreon in June, so getting that done early, so it’s done for that month, but will hopefully push more eyes to it
Finalise the rest of my D&D story that I’m DMing with my mates
At work, finalise the Drama unit of work I’ve written
Finish the Writing Unit of Work
Stitch together some Maths units of work
Mark the latest writing samples and prep them with feedback for the kids
Create homework materials for parents to use for maths concepts
Write comments about each child for the end of semester reports
Generally keep on top of lesson/day/week planning
Organise workshops to run for the Formative Assessment team I’m helping lead
Continue to map out the weekly lessons I give to staff about new ICT use in their lives
Get this term’s D&D club set up at school - a note to go home, and make sure I know what I’m DMing next
Chase down the school Writing Competition I want to run
So, most of that is swirling in my brain at present. Constantly.
The Bullet Journal helps me focus when I get into the office at 4am, or duck in at any other time. It also helps me be realistic and not try to do all those things. Then it serves as a reflection tool to let me feel productive, and informed - this month the column for Business has well outstripped the Script column in numbers, and I guess that’s gotta be okay. A small fry guy like me needs to push that pedal for launch as much as is humanly possible.
The final thought on all that is - and this is no doubt my undoing, the tether or the curse from my own design - most of these items on that list are things I want to do, things I volunteer to do, and things I really enjoy having done.
It’s a blast to release a comic, or run D&D at school, or water the kiwi plants in the greenhouse [that should also be on the list]. These are tasks I enjoy and want to put my brain power towards.
So when it becomes overwhelming, I just need to accept the swell of everything, let it rise, and hopefully rise with it. If my head goes underwater, then to just know the swell dies down, it always does, and to ride out that moment.
I say it like it’s easy...it’s not. But it’s inevitable, decades have proven that, so I have to trust the process.
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EVERFROST - the cold rolls on.
The final cut off for orders, so a small period where comic shops can tweak their orders, ends on May 10 - so I have one final surge where I can push EVERFROST #1, and then it’s up to fate.
I was pleased to see when I asked people to fill out this survey about preordering the comic that I got this piece of feedback:
“Your preorder campaign is basically a masterclass is building awareness for a new comic, but you're doing it on the back of all the hard work and years of consistent newsletter writing. So I hope you absolutely crush the launch.”
That was really nice to read, having it reinforced that writing this personal and incredibly introspective [indulgent] homeopape every week does do a little something to move the needle.
If you haven’t seen our 5 page preview at The Beat, go scope those good pages out here!
A great review at Soda & Telepaths - some fantastic words dropped on us. Always appreciated.
And if you think I’ll stop because orders are closed for #1, well, welcome to the preorder information for the second issue!
Look at this cover from Sami!
So I guess I’ll have that to talk about now :]
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Okay, you asked about BLACK BEACON.
And to make sure I’ve got plenty of business to tick off in the BJ!
I just got word the serial I’ve created with Sebastian Piriz is finally launching in HEAVY METAL Magazine - for reals this time.
We will be kicking off in #306, which streets this May 12, apparently. It is finally happening. Our first installment is a complete issue worth of story, a full 22 pages, maybe 24, and I think we kick things off with a hell of a bang.
The story is about humanity receiving a transmission to build a ship and travel across the universe for an intergalactic meeting of the minds. But when our team gets there they find the message was pretty much straight up spam, the party has been going on for a long time already, and being late has definitely left us without a seat at the table, not that we’re even sure we want it.
The ensuing insanity involves a Dyson Sphere [a kind of man-made planet formed around a star] a huge variety of alien species, a whole lot of apathy and iniquity, and our sole surviving human trying to work out what the hell to do next after she crash lands there.
It’s pretty epic, and a whole mess of thought has gone into it.
We are in this issue, though I prefer the second cover. Speak to your LCS about getting the magazine put aside for you.
We will also be releasing the series in single issue, they will come on a time delay from the magazine, so I think this first issue is finally landing in July some time, but I need confirmation on exact details. But point your LCS to this if you want the single issue version!
I love the way Heavy Metal are designing these covers, and those gloves in the foil-y design are beautiful.
Here are some little pieces of Seb’s art, too, just for you:
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Okay, that’s probably enough for one homeopape. I hope it finds you well and energised and ready for the season ahead for you, be it Autumn or Spring.
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ASD&D.
I DM’ed for my mates. It was fun, but my brain too often focuses on the parts where I think I got something wrong, but that might be a flow on effect from the aforementioned brain swamp. Dunno.
Did manage to play a Red Cap with a Noo Yawk accent, so that was fun.
Today is a Public Holiday so no school, so no school D&D today :[
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PERHAPS YOU'D CARE TO SAMPLE
DeConnick & Fraction chat about immortality - this is a great podcast where two of my favourite comic writers discuss the concept of immortality.
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GRIST FOR THE MILL
THE FLINTSTONES Vol. 1 - Okay, this came out like 4 years ago, and I remember everyone losing their minds about how good it was, but a small part of me assumed it couldn’t be true. I mean, it’s a gd Flintstones comic, right? I assumed it was good, better than you’d think, blahblahblah, but I didn’t think it would be this good. I thought it was being graded on a curve. I thought it had become cool to talk about how good it was, so the echo got louder.
Happy to admit I’m wildly wrong. Always happy to admit when I’m wrong.
This comic is something else. It’s truly exceptionally powerful in the way it tackles modern themes and makes you see them for what they truly are under the context of this prehistoric story. And it’s not just that “someone tried to talk about capitalism in a comic about a kids property” - no, it’s that it’s done so so very well.
This comic starts off talking about how money and power are woven into our workplaces. And how that power always punches down. Fred is a tool for Slate, a gear in the commercial machine. He does his job and hates it so he can earn money to buy things that someone else did their job to make and also hated that process.
The comic then looks at why people consume on a growing scale within capitalism, and why we turn to religion to fill a hole. Fred opens up about his struggles to keep up with these things and why he continues the struggle, mostly his marriage, which fills him with a kind of fear. Marriage is shown to be new in this society, and as such people hate the concept and they have to fight for it. But once they are accepted, they don’t fight for the two guys to marry - until Fred stands up for them.
Science, and the fear of it, is shown to be ludicrous, but also the process of science is shown to be fallible. The only way to survive is to move with the tilting landscape.
The comic addresses war, and our treatment of veterans, and the lasting impact any of us can have on the environment, the world, the culture.
There must be about two dozen amazing moments/lines in this comic where I thought - gahhhh, how good would it be to write that line?
So, yeah, the comic is good enough for me to write all this. If you haven’t read it, honestly, race out to find a copy. Go to your LCS, go to the library, ask a mate. This is a comic that’s 100% brain fuel, and creative inspiration, and I honestly never thought that would be the case.
Be one of the good guys, because there's way too many of the bad.
POST CREDITS SEQUENCE
Okay, I’ve got a deal for you - who wants a copy of one of my very first published pieces of writing, long out of print?
Long ago, in 2009, I wrote an essay about Aussie crime flicks and it appeared in the back of one of the all-time great comics of our time - CRIMINAL by Sean Phillips & Ed Brubaker
My essay was called AUSTRALIAN NOIR and featured two illustrations by Sean Phillips, both of which I own in my office:
I came across a copy of this issue just the other day and I thought someone might dig this deep cut into nascent RKL territory, so here’s the deal:
If you want this copy of CRIMINAL sent to you, there are 2 things you need to do to become that person:
Go buy a copy of SHE Vol. 1, which I just put up in my online store - GO NOW.
Then I’m going to select the person who spends the most money all up on ownaindi.com in the coming fortnight alongside their SHE order.
The site is a home for Aussie creators to sell their comics, so every purchase gives those creators a nice little windfall of cash. Buy a whole bunch of stuff, including SHE, and send me a pic of your order, and whoever ponies u the most in the coming fortnight, so by the 10th of May, gets a copy of CRIMINAL: THE SINNERS #2 added to their SHE order.
Some tips:
If you already have a copy of SHE, well, order one for a mate and stock it away for Xmas
Buy everything Tatiana Davidson has ever created - she’s the greatest name in horror comics you might not yet know
Buy THE SILENCE by Bruce Mutard - it’s bloody beautiful
Buy absolutely everything Louie Joyce ever put his work into - the guy is Australia’s finest working comic artist. I said it. Get his comics bundle on sight, and then get a sketch commission on the cheapy cheap.
Buy all of GREENER PASTURES because it’s genius and if you dig my work then this is a lock for you to enjoy - and then browse artist Tim McEwen’s stuff, he’s got some great prints and such in there!
You can even just get a taste of a bunch of different creators by signing up to the site’s newsletter and getting a free pdf sampler of loads of A+ stuff, and then just shop from there.
Or you can buy more RKL comics - I’ve got some cool stuff up there like THE JAM SESSIONS, where I chat pop culture with Dan Hill, or copies of ETERNAL or SKYSCRAPER or my all-ages stuff INK ISLAND & EIR
In summary - if you want my old Australian Noir essay, you have to purchase SHE and then be the one who spends the most at ownaindi.com on a bunch of other awesome indie comics.
Send me the pics of your orders once they are posted, the highest spending person gets a free copy of the comic! Have fun!
My take away is... SHE #2!!!