158: That’s all I’ve got.
Hullo.
Stephanie is celebrating her birthday today, so send her your wishes.
Comics
Links
Byyyyeeee!!!
****
Out this week is the return of my two big comics. DIE and Once & Future return.
DIE 11 launches our third arc, THE GREAT GAME, which is kind of our emotionally messy War of the Ring. It involves maps, so people can get how all this merges together. Compared to the second arc’s character-portraits as a portal in a moment in time, this is much more driven, dovetailing between these two main arcs. It’s emotionally grueling as ever, and re-reading this morning I’m shocked by how much it goes for it, in every way. It’s a weird book, DIE, but I’m proud what Stephanie and Clayton create here, and happy – or as happy as DIE gets – that we’re back.
Oh – we also change up the essays, moving to interviewing some interesting figures. This time it’s Alex Roberts, whose For The Queen was probably my RPG of last year and whose BackStory podcast was a crucial survey in the modern form.
You can buy it digitally, or from your local shop. There likely is a preview over on the Image site soon – it’s normally if you just click the cover.
Once & Future 8 picks up after 7, in the second part of the second arc, OLD ENGLISH. After the expansion of the universe in last issue, this is where we dig in and start building some more tension and getting a little more world building. It doesn’t show you everything – it is only the early days, right? – but the scope of the mythology certainly starts to come into play. Dan, Tamra and Ed are basically doing state of the art action comics, and this is a joy to do, and hugely freeing to write.
Preview here, and available digitally and also from your local shop.
Oh – and Ludocrats 2 apparently hits the UK this week too.
*
You know, I think Variance press were the first to publish the first of my own actual-non-WFH-work back in the day. They’re working on a new project, A Matter of Right: The Future of Justice which is an anthology of stories about the future of “policing.” The Kickstarter is here if you want to back it and if you want to be actually involved creatively, the contacts are here.
Jeff posted this time lapse of him drawing the cover for Ludocrats issue 2. This was actually the original cover for issue 1, but we decided that we needed one more to introduce the characters. It’s a joy to watch Jeff work.
Forwarded to me by a friend, this classical piece entitled “When homer envisioned Achilles, did he see a black man?” explores that whole area in fascinating ways.
This article breaking apart the changes between drafts in The Last Crusade is just really strong, in terms of thinking why some choices are narratively more satisfying than others. Taking apart a loved movie to see how relatively late decisions led to huge impact is a useful filter on your choices.
*
It’s normally an update of work. Since last writing, I’ve written a handful of pages on Thursday but otherwise barely managed plate spinning, and otherwise been swallowed by all that’s happening, and the conversations it’s prompted.
Kelly Sue’s Instagram responses to the news about Warren here and here is a rawness I recognise, as well as her trying to put it into a direction forward. I was asked about Warren specifically over on tumblr, and I’m really still not able to go further than what I said there and implied here last week: believe women, examine your complicity in these systems, think of how one can avoid propagating them any further. I’m reading around and thinking. For a sample of things, here’s Harris about the WEF culture and his own response, a lot which I recognise from being around there. Here’s Cheryl Lynn Eaton on the problems with the well meaning but emptiness of pledges, which is useful. There’s a lot and I’m trying to take it in and see what to do with it.
I also am aware that if I did want to say more right now, I couldn’t do it when writing at the end of a day when my brain is chewed up . I want to say useful things, I want to center the people targeted and their desires and generally think what next?
That’s all I’ve got. I’m sorry.
Speak soon.
Kieron Gillen
London.
24.6.2020