141: “Some”
Hullo.
Someone asked me if I could do regular tracks of the week in the newsletter, but thanks to Tom Ewing I’ve been mainly listening to Enola Gay by Orchestral Manouveres in the Dark, so best I don’t say anything anymore.
Better is a direction
Master
Futureryier
Truth
Byyyyeeee!!!
****
First release of the new year is the collection of this, which I’m going to take as a good omen. I’m in the business for good omens right now.
Anyway – after some delays, the hardcover for PETER CANNON: THUNDERBOLT drops.
Caspar, Hassan, Mary and me basically did a thing. I talked about it a bunch last week, with the thrown off aside that it’s to superheroes what Phonogram does to music and DIE does to RPGs. The more I sit on it, the more I agree with it.
Adventures in Poor taste have supported the book enormously, and did a review of the trade, which gives you a portrait of the series if you haven’t read anything about it. And if you need more, the whole first issue can be read here.
And Caspar has done this delightful animation, which says everything, I suspect.
Anyway, if you like hardcovers, go gets, if you want to buy Peter: Cannon Thunderbolt. Don’t do it if you don’t.
*
I’ve mentioned that I’m doing a Masterclass in Comics Writing with the Guardian. I also mentioned that it switched venues to Amnesty International. What I didn’t realise is that venue has twice as many seats, which means that there’s still some tickets. Yay!
There’s an early unlettered preview of ONCE & FUTURE 6 online. Here’s the first page, where I get Bath Abbey in AGAIN. The second script I ever wrote was about a statue standing on the walls of Bath Abbey, which I last heard was still being drawn by the artist. That was around 2008. Any day now.
Review of preview here, comic out January 22nd.
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Now I mentioned the lovely AIPT review earlier, but Hassan and I were charmed by the solitary down point listed in its round up.
“Some”
It’s both true of the book, and my entire career.
First real week back at work, which means that a regular structure is emerging, and all the work I did plotting last year actually seems to be paying off, in that I now have about 11 or so issues I can just sit down and write. I did a draft on Once & Future 8, and now am working on DIE 12. I’m likely going to change direction tomorrow and start on PROJECT COWBOY, which should actually be cleared for actual script today.
(Which will increase the issues to write whenever I want to 17)
I wouldn’t normally want to leave a script half done, but structurally speaking DIE’s third arc actually is falling into that pattern. Rather than showing each side of the party’s journey separately, I’m juxtaposing them, which really means each is its own thread and can be considered by itself. In other words, when I finish one thread, I can step away without it feeling like I’m leaving something hanging.
Bar that, I’m doing structural work for PROJECT BRIGHTER SHADE OF BLUE, which will should be wrapped up by around midway next week. Plus the usual project plate spinning – the second I finish this I’ll be skiping over to do a lettering draft of Ludocrats 3, and writing to the alt-cover artist for issue 14 of DIE.
This is real nuts and bolts stuff? It’s been a nuts and bolts kind of week. To do list, being done.
The scariest work thing is I pulled the pin on starting an actual DIE RPG campaign, which gives me a weekly deadline to generate what I need to actually make the thing work. While there’s a lot to do before I can give it to someone else to run, I’ve realised that the core driving principle is what I have to dig down into, and that’s best done by running the thing, and writing down the lessons of the experience – which is basically “the Beta was about mimicking the first arc’s structure. The campaign needs to be about mimicking a DIE ongoing series’ structure.” I think I know how to do that now. Fingers crossed.
That’s the scariest work thing. The scariest non-work thing is the world. As a momentary distraction, I was just reminded of the existence of Chris Morris’ Pixies parody, Motherbanger, so will link to it, via a link. I’m glad this exists, and I’m glad you do too.
Speak soon.
Kieron Gillen
London
8.1.2020