TWO FISTED HOMEOPAPE July/26 - Old Timey Coffee Stained Craft Hour
BLACK BEACON #1 drops this week!
♫ I applied for a rescue dog,
But if I get you dog,
You're rescuing me ♫
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2021 -- beyond.
Coffee stained weekly recap.
Sitting here, thinking about what my week has been like, and I reach for my Bullet Journal. It’s not there. Then I remember that the other morning I knocked my full coffee all over my desk and the ol’ BJ soaked up about 4 litres of the morning brown fuel.
Don’t get me wrong, coffee is there to wake you up, and spilling an entire mug across your desk is one hell of a way to get the synapses firing, but it was also a catastrophe. I might as well have walked into the room and punted the mug at my desk, given the force of how hard I knocked it over - my hand got caught pulling my phone out of my pocket, and the mug was on the edge of the desk, and mayhem ensued.
After 15 minutes of mopping with paper towels, and moving things, I could at least reflect on the fact I completely missed the electrical side of my desk. It didn’t hit my Chromebook, or the electrical power board at my feet. It also missed my row of current notebooks full of story notes and business. And it also missed the stack of #1 issues I have on my desk that would have been expensive, sometimes impossible, to replace. So, all things considered, I think now having a “cool” and “retro” coffee-stained Bullet Journal might be the best possible outcome. If indeed it has dried enough in my window the last few days to not just be mouldy old-timey papier mache.
I’m, honestly, too scared to look.
But, off the top of my head, how has my week been?
Well, mental health-wise it’s been a bonanza, so I’ll take that as the strongest win. I’m trying to work out exactly why - because I’m in the maelstrom of a new term, and I’m pitching stuff, and stressing about 2 projects being released, but sometimes you just gotta accept the W.
I’ve got pitches for [THE SHARP INK PROJECT] and [THE 36 HOUR PROJECT] out with publishers, so I’m crossing all fingers and toes and eyes Ts. I’m stewing over thoughts and notes for [THE BLUEPRINT PROJECT] which continues to bubble along in my brain. I was discussing with a friend how I find it difficult to get the next project running when I’m in the swirl of writing the current one, and it’s just always been true. My brain only has so many pathways it can walk down, so while last year was ended by writing BLACK BEACON in all its 6 issue glory, this year started with writing the second volume of SHE, and while ideas percolated, it’s only been in the past 2 months that I’ve been able to get them pitch ready.
Alongside all that, I’ve also been busy shepherding the release of EVERFROST #2 last week, and BLACK BEACON launches this Wednesday! Sound the klaxon of urgency and anticipation!
I mean, beyond that, who needs to be doing much more?
Answer: Me. The answer is I *need* to be doing much more. But sometimes you get what you get and “you don’t get upset” [spoilers: you do get upset, but you learn how to deal with it and accept it and maybe do slightly better next time].
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BLACK BEACON #1 out this week!
Check with your LCS, because I’m certain you preordered it, right? If so, they’ll have a copy set aside for you, and if not, well, I hope you can find this beauty on the shelf!
This book is a wild, wild ride. It follows Niko, the only surviving human on a trip across the universe who followed a beacon that summoned us to a utopia, and yet all she finds is a meeting ground for every culture from every galaxy who were promised the same, found no such thing, and now are just kind of stuck on this mammoth Dyson Sphere where they all wrestle for control, dignity, and survival - just like on our home world, really.
Sebastian Piriz is my co-creator and artist on this one and he’s bloody phenomenal. This is his greatest work to date, I promise you that much. We’ve got really unique locations, awesome alien designs, and a central story of finding purpose and hope at the end of your life amidst the end of the universe.
It’s a 6 issue mini-series from Heavy Metal, the first two chapters have been released in the magazine so far, but these single issues bring together a lot of extra back matter and world building that I think you’ll all dig.
Here is some interior art:
Tell your friends, this one gets pretty wild.
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EVERFROST #2, out last week.
This second issue slows things down a little, gives us more character interaction after the set dressing of the first issue. It’s a great issue that starts with one of my favourite scenes to write in the book - Van meeting up with her mother, or the digital life support system of that lady. It’s a great chat.
Reviews have been great, which is always appreciated:
Ross Hutchinson at ComicWatch gave us a 9.2/10
Blake’s Buzz absolutely loves the way this sci fi is doled out.
We’ve got the third issue in another month, and I reread #4 just the other day and found I really love our conclusion, so I hope you’ll follow us there.
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ASD&D.
Played again last week. Had a bunch of fun. As always, my gaming goals are: have fun, make some laughter manifest. That’s about it. “Winning” the narrative isn’t always for me, I’m just after moments.
The school club starts playing today. We built new characters last week, and some people got right down into it. Fun.
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PERHAPS YOU'D CARE TO SAMPLE
HAPPY HILL on Kickstarter - the latest launch from ComixTribe, Joe Mulvey, Rich Douek, and the team. This spectacular horror comic is so good, I got a sneak at the issue, and you definitely need to go all in on this one.
Australia’s 2050 socialist utopia - stumbled across this interesting article about what Australia *could* look like in 30 years if we positively followed some socialist ideals. Note: it’s just the positive stuff, so take it all with a grain of salt, but it’s interesting to look at what rises to the top. Universal income, free education right to the top, business support. I know socialism is more nuanced than that, but if it gets you thinking about why we should aim to live in a society that helps others, then I’m all for that as a starting point. Especially the part where it talks about working hours per week just continuing to drive up, even though I’ve read in other places that cutting working hours doesn’t ever really cut into work productivity.
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GRIST FOR THE MILL
TED LASSO S2E1 - it’s back! It was so nice to see all of the characters again, and the first episode is good enough to give some smiles, while you can also see it firmly setting up character arcs for pretty much everyone on the table. Shout out to Roy Kent for the MVP moment with his speech about being worth it. We can all hear that one today, yes, thank you.
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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
Watching Covid in Australia. Because I like entering Stress Towne?
No, I just want to see how it’s handled, and what the outcomes are, so I can best assist when it hits my town. Lucky enough to have Zero Cases. For now. But I doubt that’ll last forever, so I want to be on top of things should it all go the shape of a pear.
For those in Australia sitting in Covid-related areas, or adjacent to such outbreaks, I feel for you. Hopefully we can get on top of it. I’m booked in for my first vaccination very soon. Seeing the death toll start to strike, and it’s all elderly people which I know many will shrug off, but I wonder if the death of someone in their 30s will suddenly make people realise - this is a situation and disease beyond any single person. We need to work together to help others around us, and we won’t always know who we’re helping.
Crossing my fingers the vast vast majority of Australia and Australians are ready to step up and do what we have to in the next six months so maybe 2021 doesn’t become a bigger clusterfuck for us than 2020 was.
All I can do is my best. And write this newsletter. I’m sure somewhere in that is a helpful amount of energy.
Awesome update! Thanks for sharing man. Excited to check out BLACK BEACON. Sounds endlessly fascinating and the art is beautiful!