124: Loki is Loki is Loki.
Hullo.
The end of tinyletter. Welcome to an enormoletter, a letter the size of the sun. Actually, from it’s substack, which frankly, makes me want to make off colour BDSM jokes, but my mum reads this. Hi mum, etc.
As this has changed over to Substack, it may mean that the mail is stuck in spam or the wrong folder. Er… maybe there’s something you can do to drag it to a different folder? I don’t know. I’m not Mr Tech in his world of Techyness.
Once and Future-er
Di(vin)e
Low key cameo
Papa’s Got a Not New Fleabag
Byyyyeeee!!!
****
Boom, Dan, Tamra and myself have decided to make Once & Future into an ongoing.
I thought it was a good idea, because it’s going worryingly well (sixth printing of one was announced, I believe) and everyone presumed it was an ongoing anyway. I hate to disappoint.
I originally planned Once & Future as something to work in the Hellboy mode (in terms of these stand alone minis, which build a mythology) or Doctor Aphra (which has a arc-as-movie structure, with each arc kicking forward the status quo.) Basically, it just taking that rough plan and bounding on into it.
Once & Future plays games with folklore, myth and legend from across the British Isles, so there’s enough things to riff on, in addition to the Arthurian aspects which are the core backbone of the book. I’d already told Boom what my rough plans for the first three series would have been, which are now my rough plans for the first three trades.
It does mean that I have to move on the research of various aspects a little quicker, but that suits me fine. Frankly, watching the headlines at the moment is all the inspiration I need. I was mildly worried that the conception of the book as a modular structure would hurt it as an ongoing, in that it was made to have put problems back in the box at the end of an arc. In fact, within a day of the announcement, I’d got the structural Ways To Make This A Really Fucked Up And Compelling ongoing idea which means it should motor, while still giving enough room for the picaresque detours and minor adventures.
Best of all, it means I don’t need to cram everything into issue 6 now. Phew.
In terms of Other Fun Once & Future stuff, Oliver MacNamee did some annotations of the Arthurian aspects of issue 1 which I suspect may be useful to folks who were wondering what we’re specifically riffing on. Also, here’s an unlettered preview here for issue 2. Here’s a page…
Coo!
I promise, there is more than just Bridgette and Duncan in a car, talking.
It goes to press tomorrow.
*
Marvel 1000 is out this week, where Doug Brathwaite and I return to Loki for a page. It’s my last Work-for-hire at the moment, and was a fun time. Any time with Doug is always a joy, and Loki is Loki is Loki.
It’s a fascinating project. Al Ewing holds this monster together by an act of will alone, and has my eternal admiration.
Oh – also out…
The last volume of my run on Star Wars, finishing off the five-part large structure.
The comps for next week – which is The Wicked + the Divine 45 and DIE 7.
The Wicked + the Divine 45 is the last issue, so I’m still not linking the cover here. It’s a spoiler for anyone reading in trades. If you are reading in single issues, I suspect you’ll want to read it quickly, just because we’ve come a long way, and I think you’ll want to take this in at your own speed. It’s an intimate issue.
I also need to do the Writer Notes for WicDiv 44 too. As reviewers will likely get PDFs tomorrow, I’ll try and get them done tomorrow morning. Keep an eye on my tumblr/twitter, and if not, I’ll link them next time.
If you need a recap in the mean time, Comic Book Classroom did a dramatic recreation of the whole series in 45 minutes, which is just delightful, for dozens of reasons. You can listen to it here. It’s very touching.
Oh – the second printing of DIE 6 is out too.
*
I managed to get tickets to go see Fleabag last week, where Phoebe Waller-Bridge reprised her one person show which she expanded to the first series of the show.
To state the obvious, it’s good. Fleabag first came to my attention when a reader tweeted at me about it on the night it debuted, and watched with fascination. As someone who is attracted to writing messes of protagonists, clearly this is something that is My Jam. I found series one frustrating in some ways, and genuinely brilliant in others, while season two is genuinely an astounding piece of television.
Watching the show makes you understand why – the first season is an adaptation of an hour show, which means that things which work exquisitely with that tighter pacing alienate more when stretched out to three hours. The second series, written entirely for the screen, starts from the blank canvas and works better with the space.
In other words, if you get a chance to catch it, do so. It’s strong work.
Also, for the record, Phoebe Waller-Bridge would be the dream casting for Phonogram’s Emily Aster.
Readers, he did not finish Ludocrats 3.
That’s not quite true. I finished a draft of it yesterday, and now it’s just polish (which, for Ludocrats, means adding extra panel descriptions of nonsense.) It was just a case of getting my head down and doing the work. It’s primarily an editing and sequencing job, so can be approached in terms of Achieve Full Momentum. Even so, it’s bugged me it’s taken so long. It’s a dumb thing to procrastinate over.
(Simultaneously, I’m aware I’ve written 4000 words today, not including this newsletter. Even when I’m unproductive, I’m stupidly productive. This is not healthy.)
DIE 8 goes to press next week, which means that there’s been the deep polish on the lettering, which involves explaining the world-buildy stuff to Chrissy (“See, there’s eight soldiers, because the Bronte Children’s took four and…”) which literally no-one other than me will care about. There’s also been writing the back matter – in the second arc, it’s a mixture between essays and extra material for the game. This time it’s a two page essay on systems plus a page of rules. That I’ve somehow got a sideline as a random game designer now is amusing. Also, a rush – If someone had told me how much pleasure there is seeing people take a system for interaction you made and running with it, I’d have done it years ago.
Next week? Working out if there’s an easy way to change image sizes in the e-mail after you’ve uploaded them, or whether you need to rescale before uploading. Also, Ludocrats 3, no, really.
Kieron Gillen
London
29.8.2019