TWO FISTED HOMEOPAPE January/10 - But why did Frankie never *show* relax?
Let’s wind up and kick 2022 right in the nethers, let’s go!
♫ I applied for a rescue dog,
But if I get you dog,
You're rescuing me ♫
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2022 -- bounce.
New year, new word. Bounce.
Gonna just try to keep up momentum, wherever it points me. Get a set back, a rejection, a broken brain: just bounce away from it as hard as I slammed into it.
Guess it’s my “Just keep swimming!” mantra for the year. Maybe ‘clear eyes, full hearts’ mixed into it. Really, it’s kind of a ‘sink or swim’ type deal, too, but wrapped up in positive energy. Manic energy? Maybe, what’s the difference to ya? :]
I’m keen to bounce into this new year being productive and keeping my chin up and not falling into any old pitfalls and getting stuck there. A week and change in, and I’m certainly maintaining velocity, in a good way.
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How do you plan a year like 2022?
Honestly, who the hell knows what is around any corner? Not me.
I usually start the year off with a job list, and grand plans, and maybe even a timeline. But I don’t even know where to start, expect to start right now and just do what I can. I’ve never been the guy with a 5 year plan, but I can barely stomach a 5 month plan at the moment.
I genuinely did think 2022 might be a little different. And I did not think 2021 would be, so it did not disappoint. But at the end of last year, I was thinking maybe we were prime for a shift. Those thoughts were kinda squashed the moment Omicron became a word people suddenly knew how to pronounce, and it hasn’t stopped since then.
I’m on Summer school holidays, so little actually affects me right now, but as a new school year looms upon me, I have no idea what to expect. One state has already delayed the start of their school year, who knows if mine will follow suit. We’ve got like 2-3 weeks to figure that out.
If we start the year remote teaching, that’ll be a whole new added wrinkle to the mess. But I’ll prepare for it when I have to, and just keep my chin up, I suppose.
But that means I’m kinda living in house lock down now. Cases are on the rise in my area, and there aren’t many in total, but per capita it’s comparable to some other places around here, and we are surrounded by the state getting smashed by Omicron the absolute worst. It’s just a constant thought in my brain, and I didn’t think I’d be this exhausted going into Year 3 of this bullshit.
So, for my writing, I have no resolutions, or huge designs. I just have the want to sit down every day and write, and then enjoy what I’m writing. Small hopes, but also pretty foundational and large.
Right now I’m writing a [REDACTED] one-shot for a good mate and his character that I’m excited about, so the pages have been flowing each morning.
I’ll be launching two comics this year - a miniseries and a graphic novel - and both excite me greatly, so I will do some prep to make sure I’ve got posts and stuff ready to roll out when the time comes.
I’ve got a bunch of pitches in a bunch of places, so we’ll see what lands. If not, I’m hoping to get a greenlight to script Vol. 3 of SHE, which is a story I’m dying to tell.
I’m considering what might come after that, perhaps another DIY comic, who knows? That far into the future starts to get as muddy as a prophecy from 3 witches in the woods.
For now, I’ll write this one-shot, and keep my brain stabilised at the moment.
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Reading in 2022.
I wrote a bit about the reading I plan to do this year, here’s the start:
“I love planning ahead, and planning out reading is just as exciting as reading, which is just as exciting as buying books, which is just as exciting as browsing books, as...well, you get the point.
So, for 2022, I'm thinking about what I'm going to put into my head.
The other day we had a power outage, and lost power for just shy of 48 hours. It was pretty rough. We lost a tonne of food from the fridge/freezer, we had to rock out candles at night [which is tricky when trying to keep rooms lit as children go to sleep, thankfully we had some solar lanterns]. It wasn't too hot so we didn't die without the fans, but learning to live with a new feeling of sticky sweaty slickness didn't feel as sexy as BODY HEAT made it seem.
But one plus was we all had an excuse to dive back into some books.”
You can read the whole thing on my Patreon!
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ASD&D.
Having changed schools, I’ll have no school club to kick off this year, which makes me sad. So I need to make a concerted effort to keep playing with my kid at home, and I’m considering DMing a bit for my mates this year. I’ve been slack on that front for the past year.
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PERHAPS YOU'D CARE TO SAMPLE
Duane Swierczynski writes a short story on his newsletter - this is a Polish Xmas horror story, and the voice in it is perfect to sell the story and the long history sizzle behind it.
THE SUIT comic - this 10 panel online short story was shared to me by a good mate and he hit the nail on the head thinking I’d like it. It’s lean, nasty, and a really interesting concept. Go check it out because the way this plays out is a study in itself.
LADY MAYHEM on Kickstarter - this comic just looks good, fun, crazy. I’m all in.
HULL BREACH on Kickstarter - more MOTHERSHIP rpg stuff.
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GRIST FOR THE MILL
DON’T LOOK UP - I watched this on Netflix, and it was good value. It’s over-the-top satire about how humanity has responded to climate change, and disinformation, and it’s very funny while also being incredibly bleak. Which kinda represents how many of us have gotten through the past decade [our whole lives]. Everyone’s acting is in fine form, though maybe Jonah Hill as the President’s Oedipus-thirsty stand in is my favourite, and most of the most egregious events in this flick you can pretty much draw a direct line to something that’s happened in the past 6 years. I’d be genuinely interested to see what climate deniers think of this flick and it’s portrayal of how people won’t see what’s right in front of them.
ENCANTO - I really dug this new Disney cartoon. I’d need to watch it again to see how the story really flows. There are some moments you can pretty well see coming, but it’s all so enjoyable that I didn’t mind. But it’s the songs I’m in love with. The soundtrack has become an addition to the kitchen listening rotation with the kids.
JASON AARON’S AVENGERS - I’m 4 trades deep into Jason Aaron’s run on the Avengers - with Ed McGuinness, David Marquez, and a few other artists. It’s…okay. There are some great little moments, the overall storylines are…okay, I guess. Every arc feels like it’s aim is to insert one major plot element for this overall thing and I get that this is what long-form superhero runs are about, but it just feels so thin compared to, well, to creator owned comics. The first arc sets up a lot, and is pretty big fun. But the War of the Vampires arc just seems to set up the vampires as a big part…for later…and leaves Dracula in Chernobyl. Which is cool, but also just feels like set up for later. In the actual reading of it, we get some fights, some people move around, there’s a bit of character work, but it’s just moving the ball down the field 3 downs for 10 yards. It’s serviceable fullback line smashing. Which keeps the IP grinding away, but there have been few moments that have blown me away in the ways I know Jason Aaron is completely capable of doing as a writer.
You would then probably wonder why I’m reading it. Well, it’s Jason Aaron, the guy knows how to write, but I also wanna analyse how he does it. But also, these trades are just the power wash cycle on my brain. Other reading is intense thinking, this is just mindless colour and fun. It’s good to have that balance.
Y: THE LAST MAN tv show - I finally finished it. I need to collect better thoughts, because the show deserves it, but suffice to say I really dug this show as an adaptation and extension of the comic [which I also hugely love].
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Be one of the good guys, because there's way too many of the bad.
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POST CREDITS SEQUENCE
Been trying to work out what my ‘relaxing’ activities are.
Reading comics. Trashy ones, smarter ones, whatever. Just sitting down quietly with a comic. See also: novels, and my recent forays back into Empire magazine.
Tending to my worm farms. Just putting scraps in, turning the soil, harvesting worms from one plush bin to put into another one that’s just getting a rev up.
Watching TV. Sometimes. Not something I want to do all the time, but I do tend to recline and switch off a little.
Walking. Just anywhere. Usually while having a chat. Maybe it’s just nice because you literally can’t be doing anything else.
And I think that’s it. Do people have more? I feel like people have more .I feel boring that mine are not exciting or all that interesting…or something.
Been trying to see if I can add to it, so I have options.
But cooking is NOT relaxing for me. Cleaning is, but only in a weird almost-melancholic way. Maybe I could start having a coffee outside in the fresh air and just, I dunno, stare into space - feels like this would be too inside my head, and that’s not a place to relax.
What else can I do? I shall continue to think on this. Be interested to know other people’s relaxation options.