283: Swole Initiative
Hullo.
Immortopowers
Mortocrypto
Links
Bye
One of the things which happens in work for hire comics is that occasionally the release schedule aligns in a certain way and everything comes out quickly. I actually like these periods – I've always had a desire to do a weekly comic, as it seems to maximise the basic pop thrill of the serial form. It becomes part of your life, and gives a unique fan experience. If it wasn't impossibly hard for retailers and demanding of readers (and teams), I'd love for comic minis to be released weekly. So, as we head towards the end of the Krakoan age, I have a lot of work coming out, forming a little sequence. It could be compared it to the three issue insert between issue 6 and 7 in Judgment Day, but it's an even bigger substory.
Anyway – this week is Rise of the Powers of X #4 and X-men Forever #2. If you're reading both, read Powers first. They cover a similar time frame (Powers starting slightly earlier, XMF ending slightly later). They should be able to be read alone, if you're not reading both, but the experience is additional. After this, in two weeks there's XMF 3, and then XMF 4 and then the final issue of Rise of The Powers of X. The whole of those two issues happen between the last panel of rotPoX 4 and 5. Comics are fascinating.
This is also the last issue of Rise which has RB Silva on art, who is one of the definitive artists of the whole Krakoan period, and whose line and vision has given PoX a Sci-fi edge which is both diamond hard and quietly trippy. Characters are human and serious, against this massive canvas. Clearly, any book is better if they have the same artist throughout just for coherence, so it's a disappointment to lose him before the end, but it's been a huge pleasure to work with him for these issues. If these end up being my last Marvel comics, it's been a great way to go.
Here's the preview of the first three issues...
...and you can read X-men forever's preview here. I don't want to link them in the newsletter, as they spoil some beats early on in Rise.
Anyway: two weeks and then we're back. Onwards.
I normally put crowdfunders in the link sections, but I want to draw more attention to this. At the time of writing we're 21 hours before the end of the Who Killed Nessie? Zoop campaign, and it still hasn't funded. However. it's only $1400 off, so there's time to jump aboard and make this happen.
It's by Paul Cornell and Rachael Smith, two creators whose work I always follow. Paul writes about its appeal at length here. Here's how he describes the story...
So there’s this annual convention for cryptids and other mysterious and legendary creatures. The human staff of the hotel go away for that weekend, but they have to leave someone, so they leave the intern, the unsuspecting Lindsay Grockle, who’s getting over a bad break-up with a boyfriend who told her she was too unaccepting of the wonders of the unknown.
She doesn’t know what the convention is, leaves them to it. But then she’s woken up by Bob, the Beast of Bodmin Moor, a talking cat who tells her the Loch Ness Monster has been murdered. The only being on-site the cryptids will trust to solve the mystery is neutral third party Lindsay. And she has to do it before check-out time on Monday.
So Lindsay finds her rationality is needed amongst a community whose very existence she’d denied. As Bob puts it: ‘you may not believe in us, but we believe in you’.
Honestly, I couldn't be more charmed. Well, I could. I could take a look at Rachael's art, and then I'm even more charmed.
Charmed, I tell you. Charmed!
Have a nose, and consider backing. I'd love to see this one happen. If you're in the UK, and postage worries, there's a local pick-up option too, and the digital offer is great.
- Oh – if you're thinking of pre-ordering a copy of Stephanie and my We Called Them Giants, and want to order from a Bookshop, it's up on Bookshop.org for folks in the US and you can pre-order there.
- I ran a one off game of Murders she wrote/Lovecraft mash-up Brindlewood Bay last week, and Jim wrote up some thoughts about its deconstructed postmodern approach to the mystery (that's what I call it – Jim would likely roll his eyes at me. He's the one with a philosophy degree.)
- The Guardian on the truth behind touring in 2024. I've been thinking of this a lot – the gap between what a big star gets and the lower ranks is bigger than ever. Post-Covid, it seems people just don't go to smaller gigs, saving their outings for the big statement, big-price occasions. As such, small venues are closing (Bath Moles, the last iconic venue standing of my personal history, closed this year) (via Eddie Robsonap)
- Andi Watson wrote about an old 1970s science fiction comic short over on his patreon, and you can see how it absolutely turned pre-teen minds to existential black holes. It seems like anything called Threads is going to be bad for your peace of mind.
- Tom Ewing finishes writing about his read of Cerebrus, and discovers in horror that he's written 60,000 words about it. One of the dangers of reading Cerebus seems to be writing something as dense as Cerebus. The whole thing is just great stuff – I saw on the only remaining social media platform, BlueSky, Tom talking about his concern of writing something of this scale about something other than music, and the idea didn't even occur to him once. It's one of my fave critical minds just deploying.
- More DIE actual plays! Swole Initiative Network are three full episodes in (plus chargen) and you can jump on here.
- Lin Codega on Designer X (i.e. Greg Costikyan)'s VIOLENCE, the infamous satirical RPG, now 25 years old. Not one I've read, but I've been fascinated by it. Paranoia (which Greg also worked on) is an critique of classic RPG tropes, but this is that attached to rocket boosters.
- Here's a preview article about the Harrowing, an OGN by comics newcomer Kristen Kiesling and the always great Rye Hickman. It's out now, and I dug it. They asked for a quote. I gave one: “You will shiver in fear and delight. You will want to be held and to hold.”
You'll note it's a rare Thursday newsletter, despite the double release. I had to prioritise finishing the second of the late-period unexpected major rewrites in the non-comics project,. I got it in, so we'll see what they make of it. With luck, it'll be a few tweaks away from being done. It took a little longer than expected because of the family situation – Iris has been very poorly with a stomach bug, which obviously changes commitments. She's thankfully almost back to normal now, and is happily demanding weetabix at every opportunity.
But with that out the way, that's the last bit of major WFH writing out the way. I woke up this morning and basically felt like I was flying I was so free, which is a sign that it's very much the time to concentrate on my own stuff again. That I get to settle down and write The Power Fantasy next is a thrill. Especially as Caspar is just finishing the first issue, which is both inspiring (it's beautiful) and motivating (He needs the next script sharpish). In fact, he's just sent me the final pages, which I'm saving to look at as a reward for finishing this.
Major writing isn't all writing, of course, but even the small stuff is fading away. Rise of the Powers of X #5 and the Mystique/Destiny wedding special are both at the printers. The lettered Uncanny X-men 700's PDF is being passed between Al, Gerry and me with the notes. I believe all the pages of art are in, and are being colored. The bow is being tied on Krakoa.
In terms of my new stuff, It's also interesting how the relationship is working with Caspar – I've worked with him before, of course, but for something where there's so much creation, tossing around approaches is a lot of fun. He's getting good stuff from me. It's something similar to what happened when Stephanie came over recently for a couple of days, where I presented my rough thoughts on something and she asked the right questions and pushed in the places to find new stuff.
She also sent the first character ideas this week as well, and things have been so tight, than I haven't actually got to proper feedback yet, which says a lot. I should get to that.
Actually, one thing I've been meaning to float for a while, to see if there's any interest. Obviously, this mailing list has a cost, and I was wondering if I could offer something to justify a paid tier.
(I've looked before, as I'd love to use the list as an occasional deliverer for fiction or comics, but it only works on a monthly sub, and what I want is a “if I send out a mail, money is paid” functionality. Clearly, up to a maximum number of payments per month.)
Since that doesn't exist, it has to be something that's relatively low maintenance, but still of some worth. So...
I was thinking a script club could be fun? Just once a month, folks get mailed a script of something I've published? That seems do-able, and seems to stradle the gap between “something certain people may want” and “something people won't feel too bad at missing”.
(Also writing this, I realise that Patreon has a PAUSE SUBSCRIPTION function, so if Buttondown does too, I could actively pause subs for everyone on any month if I did want to use it to distribute fiction. That is reliant on me remembering, of course, which means it will never happen.)
Anyway – that's a thought. Any interest?
Speak soon.
Kieron Gillen
London
25.4.2024