November Roundup
Another month really sped by. This one once again was filled by art in all its forms for me, from music to films to comics to novels to prints and probably a lot more. Plus, I had a new book out! I hope you had a great, art-filled November too. I’m thankful for all you reading this. (Especially as it’s another long one! (it may be truncated in email form and need opening in a browser))
As mentioned last month, October finished with a Halloween launch party for Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans’s graphic novel We Called Them Giants.
Before that, though, I visited the incredible Hew Locke: What Have We Here? exhibition at the British Museum, with his artwork intermingled with many artefacts of our colonial past, all in an immersive layout with repeating voice notes and post-it-note-like text. Here's some highlights, although they're not really highlights when you think about where most of the things came from…
That’s barely scratching the surface of the exhibition. There are so many thought-provoking things not covered here (like the earliest surviving depictions of Indigenous Americans and Locke’s own medals) which make the experience well, well worth the visit if you have any interest in any part of world history/art.
I revisited a few other galleries too, seeing some new things like the wonderful late Neolithic/copperworking chalk drums from Folkton, reminding me of figures from southern France…
As well as some more early chess sets and a revamped Aztec/Mixtec display, I had a longer look at wonderful Etruscan artefacts, including these wall panels of the judgment of Paris that have featured in a new short story this month!
And there were more of Hew Locke’s fascinating Watcher figures exploring the Enlightenment gallery too!
After the BM, I ventured into Forbidden Planet and found a few bargains, plus, saw the foil cover for my first issue of Star Wars Insider for the first time, as well as plenty more variant cover stock for the next couple of issues. It was pretty banged up, but still special.
Gosh! comics is a great little shop which I visited for the first time that evening. They had free drinks for the signing, but most people were either collectors who came and went, or friends of Kieron and Stephanie, so I sort of mingled for a while and then split, with the incredible graphic novel and limited edition art card! (Photos in the book section.) The staff at Gosh! were great though, especially the guy dressed as Two Face. Here’s the accidental photo I took of my costume:
And from Vader, to Vader…
My first time at Thought Bubble (the UK’s largest pure comics convention), was a fantastic, if not a little too-busy, experience. So many friendly faces old and new and I’ll probably talk more about the comics in the section at the end. (I took a fair few things to get signed that weekend, but came back, like at Worldcon, with double that amount.) I will share the best banner of any table:
But seriously I’d recommend Chip Zdarsky’s newsletter to anyone. You don’t even need to know a thing about him or comics, it’s just a good laugh! Catching Chip’s spotlight panel was great, as was the thought-provoking panel on Myth vs Folklore moderated by Kieron Gillen.
Production house Tiny Onion, created by writer James Tynion IV, hosted a mid con party which I only lasted a couple hours at before it seemed too busy for me. Still, it was great for a short time to be in the company of so many amazing comics creators, in a club privately hired out with all the screens displaying custom messages, and even comics-specific drinks.
Speaking of Tony Onion, as well as finding out about loads of cool groups and opportunities, catching up with UK presses 77 Publishing and Time Bomb, was portfolio reviews. The first was with Corinne and First Graphic Novel, who carefully read my eight page sample and provided great feedback, which I could then implement when following up with the other portfolio review with Greg Lockard, Tiny Onion’s talent manager and a great creator in his own right. We had such a lovely conversation about the industry and my writing and more.
So it was a late night Saturday and walking around the convention Sunday morning I felt a little zombie-like, but I had a few more great chats, more with Kieron Gillen and some Minecraft comics creators. Si Spurrier, the second writer to take on Star Wars Doctor Aphra (amidst many other things), was great to talk to about the franchise and our love for it and where it's gone, his characters specifically, since he finished his run in 2019.
But then I had to leave before midday - as you may remember in October I won two tickets to Bastille Presents Ampersand, the sold out show at Shepherd’s Bush. I was very lucky to have a friend willing to queue while I made the almost seven hour journey, arriving at a jog about ten minutes before doors opened! Thanks to my parents!
We were 3/4th row from the front, and people's heads aligned in just the right way that I always had a good view of two or more of the eleven amazing artists on stage. I’ll list them all because they’re all worth checking out: Charlie Barnes, Dan Smith, Moira Mack, AK Patterson, Merrick Winters, Florrie, BIM and the quartet Bolt Strings. Speaking of artists, it was great seeing Harriet Bruce's art blown up as the backdrop, after meeting her last month. All the live musicians added so much to each track. It was record-perfect but more so, feeling the real vibrations, drums, vocals. We got to hear the whole album plus Eurydice which Dan wrote for the Netflix series KAOS, a brand new song that'll be on part 4 of the &/Ampersand album, and a couple of oldies, including a version of Good Grief which is now my favourite, where each singer on stage took a part of each verse/chorus and then harmonised at the end.
We had to leave amidst clapping, though, jogging to make our tube and then running through the underground from Charing Cross tube to the station to make the last train home. Stressful, but also pretty fun. When there's nobody clogging those tunnels they can feel pretty roomy and superhero-like to sprint down. Running up an escalator is less fun, though.
Anyway, post Thought Bubble I had a lot of writing to get on with, but also lots of busy days! The following Friday saw me in London again, narrowly missing a media event with the cast and crew of the new Star Wars show Skeleton Crew, like an Amblin movie in space. Luckily Fantha Tracks, led by friend of the newsletter, and the latest A Long Time Ago... contributor, Mark Newbold, was there to cover the event! Hopefully you can watch those on their insta.
By the time I got there, there was only fence and rope left... then I head to the free Petrie Museum, in the UCL campus which was a treat for someone as interested in Egyptian archaeology as myself. They had an amazing collection of stonework and other artefacts, some of which are more of an interest to me and my stories compared to those more photogenic or impressive.
There’s a lot I haven’t shared that makes this well worth the visit, like a whole collection of cats, prehistoric art and Petrie’s chronology of pots… am I selling it?
The UCL campus was great to walk around in the cold too, all the holiday decorations and students my age.
To cap off the day (and the main reason I went THAT day to London) there was an In Conversation with Lorraine Wilson, an author whose newsletter I subscribed to a while ago, then who I met and received a lovely ARC (advanced reader copy) and goodies from at Worldcon, and whose ESFF group I'm now a part of. So I went along to support her and learn a little more about We Are All Ghosts in the Forest, such a wonderful time as it was more of a chat at Waterstones Islington, some great topics, titbits discussed beyond the book, about the state of the world in general to writers to why we should all be more like vampire bats (very social), hosted by local author Claire North, whose just finished a great ancient Greek myth retelling trilogy.
Here’s my review of the book on my instagram from last month, and I might as well link the review of a second Worldcon ARC, Yuroslav Barsukov’s Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory.
I didn't have much rest before releasing my first book in over three years the next day! (And joining a video call with a wonderful group of writers that Friday evening!) But more on the book in writing updates, as anyway that Saturday I was in London again at the O2, for most of the day! Queuing from 11 till 18.30 went quite quickly in the end, and it was worth it to be front and centre at the barrier for The Script.
With all of those voices behind me, all the musicians on stage and feeling and physically being so close to the music made it my best concert experience so far. The power of music to bring that many people to celebrate together was something a lot more impactful to behold from the front. I got to briefly hold (lead singer) Danny's plectrum, kind of shake his hand and he sung a few feet from me against the barrier (but for most of the show he was only a couple metres away anyway!). I only took two photos before the show started. (The support Tom Walker was great too - I even found myself singing along.)
I always have a rough day after such a fleeting high as a concert, but I'll treasure just living that experience, even if I have no proof of it beyond a handful of confetti. I know I appeared a lot in the livestream, as well as videos the band posted. Maybe this screenshot is the best, though.
I'm very thankful for how much I've really lived this year, from that trip round Scotland in January to volunteering with English Heritage and working as a heat pump engineer to all these events this Autumn going into Winter.
After Sunday to recover I was in London again(!) for another event that evening. In the day, though, I took my parents round the British Museum, visiting the new Picasso printmaker exhibition. I learnt a lot about the life of the artist, but despite that, what'll really stick with me is how ancient masks influenced his cubism, and how into Greek mythology he was. In a way it’s nice to know he was inspired just as much, if not more so, than me, by ancient art, from prehistoric artefacts to bronze mirrors as well as other artists. Some highlights, though:
That evening I went to Battersea again, to The Cinema in the Arches this time, for the second Screen Players Film Club podcast recording, a screening of Slumdog Millionaire followed by a Q&A with its screenwriter Simon Beaufoy. My GCSE geography teacher used the film, just skipping through from slum part to slum part, for the case study of Mumbai every year, but it made a big difference to see the film in order, because it's amazingly structured. I told Simon all of this and he seemed to like that fact, there with his kids.
It was lovely to be recognised and included by the organisers of the event, since I was one of the few to attend both so far... seeing Marianne and Leonard last month. I also met some Australian stand up comedians and had nice conversation with actor/writer/producer Leo Oliva and a founder of 30 year-plus vfx company!
The films continued, as my father and I went to see Gladiator II, which I saw as a great feat of filmmaking. I may be a little biased with my interest/writing in that Roman world, seeing the Colosseum and Forum and Ostia all realised, as well as being a fan of most of the actors already. We could say I saw myself in the film beyond those interests though. I don't think it's spoiling much to say I had a flashback experience during the scene when two armies meet at the end. I did even recognise one of the costumers names in the credits!
But that’s enough of that! The next day I was up in London once more, to visit Keane’s pop up shop and pop in a few others. They'd done it very nicely with prints, Christmas things and all the clothes and their new book!
And on the topic of books, Station Books in Tunbridge Wells is a great new shop with a large sci-fi/fantasy section… right up my street, (almost) literally. I had a great conversation with the owner.. plus they’re the only brick and mortar store to stock Inkstone books, special hardcover editions, the Star Wars ones of which I’ve been collecting!
Writing Update
The major thing this month was releasing a brand new book for the first time in over three years! Maybe I should’ve made more of a deal out of it online, but as you know I did release a special post Ten Years… celebrating a decade of writing about DanTDM. I suppose it was as much for me as for any member of my reading audience still out there.
I know I reached at least one of the old guard, the man himself that the books are based on… both from my announcement post on his birthday and the reveal of the physical book on its release day, November 22nd, ten years since I first met Dan.
As you can see, the physical books arrived safely from Amazon, joined by a couple of copies of my old omnibus volumes to complete the collection after some arrived damaged on their release.
It felt a little surreal to see new books again, to see what I’d been working on weeks earlier in print, including my new bio with my achievements since leaving school, all the nostalgic photos of Dan and I on the front, and all the work I put into this Anniversary Edition of The Diamond Dimensions: Volume 4.5: Tales from the Void, a book of short stories.
It was another good month writing for Vlogger Beat (that’s a link to all my articles again - remember, as Tesco says, every little [click] helps!). The NYCC article has had the lovely surprise of being read by two members of the Bad Egg comics team!
I’m hoping to knock out another two or three next month too!
I received another fantastic submission for A Long Time Ago… plus of course two great posts came out this month! Like I said before, I love how varied the submissions have been so far. You’ve only seen three but already I think there’s a great variance in writer and favourite Star Wars story and historical site picks! Next month you’ll get three (starting tomorrow)! In case you missed this month’s:
The offer still goes out to anyone reading this, if you like the format and would like to contribute, please get in touch!
Plus, I’ve written two more fun short stories for a couple more anthologies - one was my first pure dalliance into horror, and the other in my favourite world of timeless myth, stretching from cave art to comics. Speaking of, just a few days ago, I sent off a comic script short story set in someone else’s universe which was a blast to write and I can only hope will be brought to life.
This is all tempting me to do a proper tally of the year’s achievements next month. It seems to have gone by way too quickly with some things unfinished since January, but there’s a lot to celebrate and I need to remind myself of that. We could all do with celebrating achievements more. Anyway, that’ll be next month!
This month's books
This segment showcases the new additions to my research and fiction collections.
This month’s comics delivery. Insurgency Rising is the brilliant post Episode VI miniseries by Alex Segura, the first of three weekly four-parters about the Battle of Jakku. I can’t wait to dive into that series, as well as the Ahsoka adaptation, the now-concluded Inquisitors story. That Qui-Gon figure variant cover was a bonus!
Here’s all the new stuff from Thought Bubble! Time Waits is a fantastic new series, signed inside by the three creators, Chip Zdarsky, David Brothers and Marcus To, plus I’m so happy to own a copy of Zdarsky news! Tons more freebies, an ashcan of two new series form publisher DSTLRY as well as a Tiny Onion coaster below that, so many bookmarks and an anthology from the lovely WIP comics group. Con & On from Paul Cornell is a perfect representation of conventions over the decades, and such a brilliant humanity study. And Breaks from Emma Vieceli is another brilliant character study. As is Ping / Pong, a gaming single issue pixel art story from someone who was new to me, Ahseem Yousuf. Great to get another 77 issue too!
Here’s older stuff I brought to be signed. Great having that w0rldtr33 issue and Dracula (both by Tynion) signed by all the creators now, and similarly that Westernoir is signed by father-daughter duo. I'll call special attention to a couple Star Wars things: Kieron Gillen’s lightsaber on the front of his first Star Wars issue, and after learning about him on Cavan Scott’s newsletter, it was great to say hello to Nick Brokenshire and have him sign that special annual.
Plus, Caspar Wijngaard signed the comic which I included in my second ever piece of traditionally published writing, the Captain Rex Top 10 in Star Wars Insider! And I got the virgin variants cover of jacksepticeye’s The Somewhat Incredible Jackie-Boy Man signed by the actually incredible artist Laura Helsby.
Here’s the other books from my various orders and visits this month, including that graphic novel and limited-to-100 art card from Halloween, a lovely thing to own, and a very special story about communication across great divides. Every panel, every expression was brilliantly conveyed by Stephanie and I think only Kieron could come up with the giants and what they represent. Highly recommend. Behind that are some bonus Kieron single issues my parents found!
After receiving that lovely delivery from Beth Revis last month, I’m looking forward to her sci-fi and fantasy series in display up there, plus two more books from great authors Delilah S. Dawson and another signed Lorraine Wilson!
Lyndsey Croal is another member of ESFF whose newsletter is a great source of inspiration. I found it because of my growing interest in Scottish folklore. After meeting her at Worldcon, when I saw she was doing this amazing deal of her new book, plus a novella and some exclusive art cards for Halloween, I had to invest. I think there's still three of the paperback bundles available for only £15, plus a hardcover bundle too on her shop, both signed and with the potential to be personalised.
I mentioned Inkstone books earlier. I ordered this before knowing Station Books would exist! But here’s their edition of Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss by Stephen Barnes, with lovely sprayed edges and his saber in foil on the hardcover!
And that's the end of this month’s roundup, the eleventh I’ve written. I can’t believe this year’s almost over! Thank you so much to everyone that reads these, all the way to the end. Please share with your friends and family and ask them to subscribe - that would mean the world to me. I do love sharing my various exploits with you all, and would treasure having more people with me on my writing (and life) journey.
Cheers,
Harvey