December
managing to get one last post before the end of the year? Truly, a Christmas miracle ;__;
KILLTOPIA: NANOJAMS
First up- SUPER excited to announce that I’m going to be teaming up with serial-collaborator Oliver Gerlach on a shot for Dave Cook’s KILLTOPIA: NANOJAMS! Dave Cook Comics’ is an absolute diamond and definitely one to keep an eye on in ‘24. Killtopia is his flagship series with Craig Paton, Clark Bint, Lou Ashworth and Micah Myers. If you’re a fan of high-octane cyberpunk, this is a MUST READ.
NANOJAMS is an anthology set in the world and features some of my absolute favourite people in comics- Honestly, being in the same book as these guys is such a kick and i cannot wait to see how this turns out :D
There’ll be more on this next year as we roll up on the kickstarter, but in the meantime I’d highly recommend checking out some of these guys;
DEATH DROP #4
Our penultimate issue is currently slated for 10/01/23 but if i were you, i’d keep an eye on the Lunar Distribution page since that’s actually when issue #3 is now slated for! but David and I are both SUPER pleased with how this issue came out both in terms of art and writing!
On the run and in hiding from the police after the calamitous Revision fundraiser, Death Drop must save her newest ally from an untimely death. Both of their pasts are laid bare. Meanwhile, another Queen makes a grab for power…
here’s a look at some the sequential inside (with letters by the incredible Lucas Gattoni)
I also had the chance to talk to Jimmy Gaspero of the excellent indie-comics website Comic Book Yeti about Death Drop as well as comics in general. If you’ve ever wondered what an over-caffeinated muppet sounds like, you can experience that via the player below;
and finally, a little taste of what’s to come with the final issue (spoilers- it may be an ass kicking)…
CAT FIGHT #6
This month sees the release of the final issue of Andrew Wheeler and Ilias Kyriazis’ CAT FIGHT with Auguste (inks), Dennis Yatras (colours) and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (letters) wrapping up the rest of the team! the globe-trotting heist-caper wraps up with a showdown in the jungle;
When Schrodinger's identity is revealed in a deadly quest for revenge against Felix's grandmother, he realizes that his nemesis is out for blood…and more! Will Felix keep to his selfish ways and look out only for himself and his grandmother's priceless Red Rosette? Do cats really have nine lives? The members of Kitty's Kit Cat Crime Syndicate are about to find out…for better or worse…
Getting to work on this book was an ABSOLUTE BLAST. I cannot thank Heather Antos enough for bringing me aboard for this project and both she and Vanessa Real amazing to work with. I’m also grateful to have been trusted to do a whole run of covers- this is the first time i’ve had a chance to do something like this and it’s career milestone for sure!
Z2- ILLENIUM
Last year Jasminne Saravia from Z2 got in touch asking if i’d be interested in doing interiors on a graphic novel they were producing with Illenium. Z2 were very much on the bucket-list of publishers i’d like to work with so this was VERY exciting email to get. unfortunately, our timelines didn’t quite line up… BUT there was the chance to work on a three-part print that was being included in the boxset for the book which looks like a very tasty production!
The origin of ILLENIUM is revealed in an epic tale that spans across the ages! In a cold totalitarian society where survival of the fittest is the golden rule, a young man named Nick has put his full faith in the warrior way. His only weakness is a reliance on regular injections of Substance, the potent elixir that his malignant overlord rations out to the loyally subservient.A mysterious woman known as Ash exposes just how fragile his worldview is by sharing tales of a time when human and phoenix peacefully coexisted, using their mastery over fire to build a warm and wondrous society. Nick will have to move past the demons of his addictions and open up to Ash so that she might share the secrets of… ILLENIUM.
THE FINE ART OF DESTRUCTION
So as things are theoretically winding down so i can focus on Big Scary Publishing Obligations, it seems as good a time as any to start cranking the hype machine up on that little graphic novel i’ve been tinkering away on in the background for the past five years… especially since there’s roughly a chapter and change till wrapping up Part One. Fingers-crossed i’m HOPEFULLY going to be in a position to run a crowdfunder for that come March but idk, depends on how good a job of plate spinning i manage ohohohoho.
For those who are new to the party, THE FINE ART of DESTRUCTION is a graphic novel about hapless 30-something Sebastian Erskine;
Seb’s got a lot of big ideas, specifically big ideas about directions the family business- a languishing art gallery- could go in. Unfortunately for Seb (and more importantly, Seb’s ego), his father Roy is having none of it;
Tensions have been rising between the two for years, but Seb sees a chance to prove himself on discovering the business is in truly dire straights. Alas, things do not go well.
Watching from the sidelines is Seb’s long-term girlfriend and voice of reason in the relationship, Gloria. As things start to go off the rails, she’s going to find it’s getting harder to ignore that nagging suspicion that maybe, just maybe, this isn’t something worth sticking around for…
and then there’s Seb’s sister, Erin. She’ been doing a top job of avoiding all this family drama (or any heavy emotional retrospection for that matter) for the last few years until Seb pulls her back in. She handles this FANTASTICALLY WELL.
so- those are the major players of the peice. i’m going to start logging process on this in this newsletter along with some process stuff if that’s the sort of thing you all find interesting? i’m also hoping charting process on this is going to give me some sort of accountability since i’m absolutely itching to get this things out there!
RECOMMENDATIONS
I mentioned Amy Chase a little earlier in the newsletter while rattling off all the Very Exciting People involved in KILLTOPIA: NANOJAMS at the top of this post. Amy’s an absolutely ace writer who you may have caught in the pages of Archie Horror’s POP’S CHOCK’ LIT SHOPPE OF HORRORS (fun fact- we were going to team-up on a short for the LET HER BE EVIL anthology that recently took ZOOP by storm, but alas, scheduling😩).
I’d highly recommend signing up for her band new (and excellently named) newsletter Thunderbolts and Writing since she’s had a shed-load of exciting announcements so there’s plenty of exciting things in the pipe-line!
GUIDE TO OBLIVION
GUIDE TO OBLIVION is a brand new webcomic from Kry Garcia which sees a young scribe forced to venture into The Oblivion, a mysterious realm full of magic. I’ve been a fan of Kry’s comics for a long time and the early pages of this do a lovely job of balancing character and world building. I’m a huge fan of how the pages slip between sequential and something torn from The Scribe’s guides to the lands.
GREAT GATSBY: IMAGE IS EVERYTHING
Oh man- I’ve been looking forwards to this one for A WHILE. With his eye for composition and decadent decorative flare, Vincent Cecil ranks pretty highly on my list of favourite illustrators. Several years ago he launching a webcomic adaptation of american classic The Great Gatsby but took the project down in order to give it an overhaul and my god is it back with a bang. Chapter one is now up on Tapas and Webtoons and kicks things off with a dreamy green-light tinted sequence that’ll have your jaw on the floor.
(you can subscribe to Vincent’s newsletter here)
(I’m also delighted to say that Vincent is now also represented by my agent so editors- get in touch with Jas and give this man ALL the cover jobs!)
Right- that’s all for now. see you in the new year ya filthy animals!
So much comic mayhem! Thank you for the recommendations and cant wait to see the new releases!
Happy new year!
Thank you so much for the shoutout, Alex- wishing you a happy new year!!!