TWO FISTED HOMEOPAPE December/06 - It’s December! Buy some indie comics!
The best gift is the gift of daring, innovative, underpaid indie comics!
♫ I applied for a rescue dog,
But if I get you dog,
You're rescuing me ♫
-------
2021 -- beyond.
SPEED REPUBLIC available for preorder at your LCS.
My next comic launches in February. It’s a future car race through a Europe that’s completely collapsed and people compete in a massive race to see who can win the spoils of money and healthcare and a home at the end. We follow Seb Valencia as he hopes to win so he can help his dying father, but soon realises he just needs to maybe survive, and then learn a few things about himself along the way.
Emanuele Parascandolo is my co-pilot and artist on this story and he’s absolutely knocked it out of the park when it comes to kinetic car chases and emotional beats along the side of the road.
This is a 5 issue miniseries from Mad Cave Studios, who are a small publisher in the States, and they’re good people. This is why I hope you find the time to preorder our comic because small publishers really need every bit of help in a comic shop we can get. Mad Cave continues to do bigger and bigger numbers with each new release and I want to do my part to help make this book their biggest launch ever!
Look at this beautiful cover:
We even got a 4.5/5 early review - leaving Carrie McClain hanging for more of this story!
If you dig my stories, and you’ve got a minute this week, hit up your LCS and tell them you want this whole miniseries set aside for you as it comes out. The pertinent details are here:
---
I was at Oz Comic Con this weekend.
Apart from the fact I’m sweating about Covid constantly when out in public, this was a chill weekend. The show was never too packed, and I avoided any kind of crowded aisles. People kept their distance, I hand sanitised constantly, and I kept my mask on all damn weekend. Most people did. Though I’m always confused why some people keep their mask on and then take it down when talking to someone, as that’s the time when you really need it up, but no one did that at my table, so I was pleased. There were also some people who still went in for the hand shake, but thankfully I so awkwardly keep my hands in my pockets that most could see this was not the option at my table. Only 1 guy tricked me, catching me as I went by, and I hand sanitised right in his face, maintaining eye contact and telling him I’d do it.
Beyond all of the safety measures of cleanliness, it was a great weekend. I had my strongest Sydney show in quite a few years. It was nice to for returning readers to have EVERFROST #1-4 all on the table and ready for them. Many ‘Bought the Table’ and got ETERNAL, SHE, SKYSCRAPER, and EVERFROST - with the first ones in getting the full run of BEAUTIFUL CANVAS #1-4 issues, too, of which I am now completely out of stock.
It wasn’t a huge crowd, but the comic reading crowd always turns up anyway, bless them. I still don’t have any comp copies of BLACK BEACON, which is a shame because many asked. But it was nice to chat with some good comics reading folk and see people walking around with bags full of books and issues and prints and art.
I tabled next to one of my best mates in comics, Louie Joyce, and was stoked to see him hit up for many an original art commission. His Daredevil was awesome, and I was jealous of the buyer. Was good to catch up with him and just talk shit all weekend. Conventions will always be group therapy for me.
I did two panels, and one was in the final hour of a day, so it had tumbleweeds and ghosts for attendance, but the other was in the middle of the day and we titled it ‘10 Steps for Storytelling’ because I thought a listicle of a panel would be successful, and wouldn’t you know it but it was the most attended panel I’ve done in...many years. Was fun, too.
We drove home last night, so I’m tired this morning, but still the energy of the con courses through my veins. Selling comics, and buying comics, and talking about making comics is always a great weekend. Hopefully 2022 allows many more opportunities.
Though before then, I’ll be doing the Geek Markets in Canberra this coming Saturday, so will be selling my comics in my home town for one day only. Hopefully some people are keen, and also want to do some Xmas shopping!
---
The EVERFROST tpb is out this maybe next Wednesday.
[I wrote all of this in advance, but I think the tpb has been pushed back, so I’ll keep you posted...sorry/thanks - just gonna leave this here so I can roll the text over into next week, which means apologies to those who end up reading this spiel twice, but it’s clear most newsletter readers don’t read every single email, so if I double up I have a better shotgun scatter of catching everyone...again, sorry/thanks!].
This is an exciting time. Everything comes full circle. The book is slid in alongside the other ancient RKL texts and the spine locks into place. It is done.
If you were a trade waiter, then wait no longer. May this crazy sci fi bring you good tidings over the festive period. Look for it...whenever the hell it actually lands on shelves :]
---
Why I dislike Joe Rogan.
Okay, so Joe Rogan is a huge podcast host and he’s fairly right leaning in his views. This isn’t why I hate him, though. Reading through a list of some of the worst things he’s said this past year, there are plenty of reasons to dislike the guy and what he stands for, but it’s this one thing that really...well, even more than drawing deep ire, it just honestly bums me out.
He’s the sort of bigmouth loser who likes to pony up with these controversial statements [Covid lies, anti-trans rhetoric, misogyny] and then couch it all in: ‘But, hey, whatta I know, I’m just some guy who says things, I’m no expert, I’m just honest.’
It’s weak. When pushed definitively on things, with proof, he’ll throw up his hands and say ‘I was just chatting.’ or ‘People don’t listen to me.’ when he knows that’s not the truth. [Note: These are not actual quotes, they are meant to indicate his mindset and style of evading responsibility.
If he wants to claim to not be an expert, then shut up and stop spouting shit to millions of listeners. If he wants to say his words hold no sway over people, then don’t claim they do when asking for millions of dollars in advertising revenue, where I guarantee he banks on the fact his listeners will follow his gospel.
If he’s not an expert, then bring on an expert to talk about these things. Instead he brings on other dangerous cronies who just seem to parrot his bullshit, or take it further. But what does Rogan know? He’s just some guy with a microphone who calls it like he sees it, who’s asking questions, who says the things others are saying.
Such. Fucking. Bullshit.
But he’s got his parachute packed for every statement. The back door left unlocked, and slightly ajar, for every quick departure when things get tough. He’ll throw up his hands and pretend like people all think the same way, and that’s what’s scary, because anyone thinking this bullshit just needs to know they aren’t alone, and that’s exactly what Rogan offers. A safe space to know other people also agree with you and you shouldn’t give up the fear.
And it’s all about fear. Interesting that Rogan is never chastised for being too optimistic, no, it’s always taking a minor issue and extrapolating it to the worst possible outcome. Because I’ll tell you, anyone saying something to the tune of “Soon every white man literally will not be allowed to talk” is an idiot. But not idiotic enough because he knows how to tap into that feeling of victimhood in others. He knows how to make people feel okay to feel afraid about the dumbest shit.
The fact he thinks Alex Jones is right 80% of the time is your first alarm. Everything else just falls right into place, but be damned if I know how to sound that alarm with people who listen to this stuff.
-------
PERHAPS YOU'D CARE TO SAMPLE
MR DIG on Kickstarter - this graphic novella comes out of SINK, one of my favourite all time comics as created by Alex Cormack and John Lees. This is a slam dunk, and just a testament to awesome creator owned comics making a splash in the world in the best way. Another reason I love ComixTribe and want to do more and more with them.
-------
GRIST FOR THE MILL
FAHRENHEIT 451 - started rereading this, and I forgot how insanely prescient this story is. Very keen to go through and see the parallels to modern life :|
-------
Be one of the good guys, because there's way too many of the bad.
-------
POST CREDITS SEQUENCE
It’s December.
I’m serious.
Buy an independent comic for a mate for Xmas.
I told a few people at the con to do this and their eyes lit up, realising it’s a great idea. Your nerdy friend might not have an indie comic, and everyone can be better served by expanding their horizons into creator owned comics that do something beyond the superhero punching at the two big cape comic consortiums.
Here’s my online store, but please click through to other Aussie creators and have a browse, there are some immense things being done locally for the comics medium and interesting genre storytelling.