♫ I applied for a rescue dog,
But if I get you dog,
You're rescuing me ♫
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2021 -- beyond.
Change.
So Friday was my last day at the school I’ve been teaching at for 13 years [minus one year as an acting assistant principal elsewhere].
13 years is a third of my life. Spent in the same institution. The only thing that dwarfs that run is my relationship with my wife.
Leaving was a strangely sad affair - we are in lockdown, so I’m remote teaching, and so it mostly felt like a whimper, not a bang. I wished my class well in our video meeting, I emailed with staff, and then I just logged off at the end of the day in my home office.
Granted, I’d already gone into the school many times, with a mask, keeping to myself, to empty my room of all my personal stuff. I’d said goodbye to a few people in person. I got enough closure to say goodbye to these 13 years, I think.
It’s been an amazing place to work. I’ve taught hundreds of kids, met just as many parents and families. I’ve run creative writing workshops, held comic book reading clubs, started a D&D club. I’ve run workshops for parents, and other teachers, and I’ve been allowed to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in creating an ICT structure that suits the needs of teachers and students learning deeply in the 21st Century.
I’ve had a blast, and now I leave still riding a high of so much that I love about the school. It’s sad, but lovely, but strange. Change is hard, and weird.
I’m leaving because I was offered the chance to teach English at a local college. So instead of pre-teens, I’ll be teaching students just as they hit adulthood. Instead of teaching reading/writing/spelling/public speaking/maths/science/history/geography/civics and citizenship/health/PE/design and tech/computers/visual arts/media arts/singing/dance/drama and everything else we touch upon as it arises, I’ll be teaching literature analysis and creative writing.
It’s going to be a big change. But it’s one, when I scratch away at the worry and uncertainty, that reveals a whole mess of excitement and opportunity. Which is why I’ve jumped at it, and in doing so leaving a place I’ve loved for a third of my life.
I’ve been thinking about it, a lot, and it’s making me realise that I can’t get myself hung up on images of what I think is the/a truth. I thought I’d be at my school for at least another 3 years, that was always the plan. I did not see this new offer coming, and it’s been a big year thinking about it - the offer came around April/May, from memory, so it’s not a decision I’ve made lightly. It’s also not a perfect decision, where every single box is checked down to the finest detail.
It just feels like the right choice, and I’m more excited to try it compared to the possible regret I’d have that I didn’t say yes. That I let fear hold me back.
So today sees me start at a new school, in a new sector, in a new role. From Primary Classroom Teacher to College Teacher in the English Faculty. I’m excited, and ready.
All of which has made me think about my writing, too. Am I locked into too much of an image that’s becoming a cell around me? Am I allowing my hopes and workflows to change with the times? I don’t know. But I’m thinking about it.
I’m currently waiting on a bunch of stuff - things to release, editors to respond to pitches, artists to weave their magic - so in that space I’m cooking up some new ideas, and thinking lots, and I’ve also dusted off [THE NOVEL PROJECT] for another pass.
I think knowing I’m going to be teaching some prose creative writing has got me back into the feeling for some words, so I’m about a third of the way through a new draft of this one and I’m definitely still enjoying the story, the voice, and the pace.
It’ll give me something to focus on while I’m waiting on everything else, which is fine by me.
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EVERFROST gets a Foreword by Lonnie Nadler.
Hyped to announce that I managed to get Lonnie Nadler to write the Foreword for the EVERFROST tpb! Read my announcement here!
Lonnie is a good mate, and an amazing writer, so it’s a huge honour to have him in as part of the EVERFROST Family. I love pairing my comics with the one key person who would be perfect to write the Foreword, and sometimes I get lucky and they agree - and sometimes it doesn’t work out and so the book goes without a Foreword.
I hope you preorder EVERFROST with your LCS, we close orders soon, and comic shops will lock in their numbers for this early December release. It being the start of the holiday season, I’m hoping stores will stock up on this sci fi tale for some present shoppers, or perhaps you are already planning one of your preorders to be a present for someone. It’s an absolute pro move, you should do it.
ALSO: if you’re more of a back issue hunter, I have all 4 issues of EVERFROST available through my digital store, as well as some other oddities from my office, so feel free to browse around and pick up all 4, and anything else that catches your eye!
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ASD&D.
Nothing on this front. No brain to play anywhere, home or away, and nothing for school.
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PERHAPS YOU'D CARE TO SAMPLE
A GQ feature on every FRIDAY THE 13th movie - I haven’t read all of these yet, but I cannot wait to dive in!
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GRIST FOR THE MILL
NINE INCHES - I’ve been reading this short story collection by Tom Perrotta [he wrote THE LEFTOVERS] and it’s just an easy delight to read. Every story a suburban vignette full of kinda-horrible people and deeply hidden emotions. Each story is very easy to dive into, and I’m looking at each one and wondering if I could teach it. The characters are all broken, some horrible, and I think that’s fascinating to unpack because we take a few pages to get a sense of who these people are and how we’re supposed to view them.
SWAMP THING by Moore and Totleben and Veitch - was browsing through my old Swampy hardcovers and reread “The Graden of Earthly Delights” and “My Blue Heaven” - the first sees Swamp Thing take over Gotham City and turn it into a floral playground so he can get his wife back. In doing so, Swampy comes up against Batman and completely takes him down. It’s an interesting look at the bigger superhero universe being stepped into by this strange character and run. The second issue there looks at Swamp Thing having left earth and landing on a random planet where he accesses all of the local flora and creates his own world, down to specific details, as well as his wife. It’s a strange ass tale, but the writing in it is so fluid and I got carried away in it. Everything there is blue and so the colour is used for many a turn of phrase and it is a delight to read.
STAR WARS: VISIONS - these 15 minute Star Wars shorts are created by a handful of anime masters and I’ve only watched the first two, but I can confirm that the first one - a samurai showdown in a small village - is absolutely baller. The cinematography, the short narrative, the moments and reveals, and even the scratchy animation style all had me completely hooked.
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATIONS - this Kevin Smith lead MotU cartoon on Netflix was good value. It definitely sets about hitting a lot of nostalgia beats, but manages to do so as the background and not the primary aim of any scene. I saw a lot of my old toys on the screen, which was cool as well as corny as some of them look janky af floating about, but the actual narrative of the plot was well done. Not groundbreaking, you could see each flashback weaving into the present every time, but it was a fine lockdown distraction for lunch time with the kids.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG - Jim Carrey really is swinging for the bleachers in this one. The film is a pale DETECTIVE PIKACHU, but it’s still fun.
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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
Today feels like the first day of a whole new chunk of my life and I’m doing my best to look at that as an exciting thing.
Wild times ahead. Though not too wild, because much to my chagrin, I don’t get to take the title of College Professor, so I can pack away any images of this in my head:
Happy for you! Your reflections and analyses on the practice and structure of specific works and writing in general have been so thoughtful and enlightening that this has always seemed like a natural direction for you to go. I hope you love it as much as you’ve clearly loved the last many years.
BTW, if not “professor,” what? Adjunct? Lecturer?
Congratulations! So excited for your success. Change is always uncomfortable but generally well worth the discomfort. You're going to be awesome!
Pretty excited to hear Nadler took you up on the foreward for EVERFROST. I read #3 yesterday and then wrapped with #4 this morning. Love the style and delivery of this series. Very meta in a non-direct way, sort of like the recent CHICKEN DEVIL from Aftershock.
My review of EVERFROST 1 was basically that "I love the way this feels like the world has been crafted down to every detail even though we are only getting a window to view it through." It goes back to how a lot of stories feel like the writer only knows what they are telling us and I really appreciate a story that feels like it is taking place in a much bigger world.
I am often quoted as saying "I like new shit." Which simply means I'm not one for sequels and ongoing efforts. I like to get in, play with the characters and the world, and get out. It's rare that I want to spend extra time somewhere when we could just make a new world with a different mix of characters.
But the way that EVERFROST is told in these short story style chunks leaves a lot to explore. And that compounds with the fact that the world and environment feel so completely built and fleshed out. I'm happy with Van's story that was told here, but for once I wouldn't be opposed to a more origin-y story or even exploring other bits of the world with different characters (tell me about eight please).
Maybe I'm projecting here. Maybe all you have planned is what we got. But whatever it is, I'm here to voice my opinion and dollars for more EVERFROST stories at some point. This run was a blast and very unique in the current comic zeitgeist. Now to add BLACK BEACON to the "To Read" pile so I can overshare about that.
Thanks for all the awesome stories and content. Best of luck on the holidays and new career path!