348: Get your dopamine elsewhere
Hullo
Fully Loaded
Ethical
Damn
Seasonaal
AMAforlovebutIwontdothat
Links
Bye
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Let’s go.
DIE returns with DIE: Loaded.
DIE is jokingly referred to as Goth Jumanji, which is both 100% true, and ridiculously undersells what the book is. It takes the place that Phonogram previously did in my work – where things are way too close to home, at the intersection of art and life. It’s a fantasy world as imagined by Stephanie Hans – and that pure idea is something I think the world needs more than ever.
The first DIE was short-listed for a Hugo three times. It’s won awards, and sold lots. I think you’ll like it.
We’ve tried to make it accessible to new readers (though also encourage folk to go and read the old one). I saw a review which expressly called that out, which is pleasing. That DIE was always dropping you into a story in progress helps there, I suspect.
I think it’s a more driven, character-led book than the first one. In an interview dropping later, I talk about how the first DIE was doing basically three things – this character drama, this meditation on the nature of Fantasy and also this big cosmic horror origin-of-DIE plot. The latter is done now, meaning we can give more space to the first two.
More details and preview pages in here.
Anyway – that’s Stephanie’s main cover at the top. The other covers?
I describe them all here – the Peach comes in a much rarer virgin variant, for the collectors.
I also go through everything in the comps for this week in a little instagram video. See me lift a big box and point at stuff.
Initial reviews have been really strong. Away from scored reviews, Armaan Babu at ComicsXF does a spoiler-free one and Scott Cederland at his From Cover To Cover does one with more spoilers.
When you’ve read the issue, go read AIPT’s interview with Stephanie with me – which is full on spoiler-full overview of what’s going on with it. It’s a very long interview, and really worth you attention. I’m probably too honest, again.
Alongside this we also have the comic-format Quickstart for DIE RPG. It’s 56 pages which lets you sit down and a bespoke scenario to play DIE with your friends. The RPG has done really well, but I always wanted to have something expressly on the shelves next to the comic. If you’re at all tempted by RPGs, this is an inexpensive way to try. Also, I suspect it’s the only starter adventure that has two sections named after 1990s indie-rock songs, which is one for the Phonogram heads.
The full DIE RPG is available too from your shop (or other online retailers) or directly from RRD.
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It says how big a week this is that an issue as huge as this one is this far down the newsletter as it is.
I don’t want to say much, except “Read it as quickly as possible” and “Oh, man, Juni Ba’s alt cover is just great.”
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Note for Digital buyers – at the time of writing this, it seems that neither DIE: Loaded #1 or The Power Fantasy #13 are on Kindle/Comixology, with their release listed as the 25th. We’re chasing it. Hopefully it’ll be fixed ASAP.
Probably a good time to plug the Sweetshop Beta, which is accepting sign ups. I’d jump on this - Sweetshop powers the Bindings I’ve been using, and what I’ve seen of the tech they’re using is great and they seem to actively care about comics.
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We’re all off at Harrogate. I’ll be at my table (A-12) when I’m not on panels, eating lunch or probably going for a little wander. As the map shows, Caspar and Stephanie are just by me. We’ll all have lots of things to sell, so bring money, or bring stuff to sign, or just bring yourselves. We’ll like to say hello.
My official schedule.
Saturday
The popular glorious hot mess of a con quiz show. Al Ewing, John Allison and Megan Huang are the contestants. John and Al know what they’re getting into. Come, if only to see Megan realise exactly what she’s said yes to.
Sunday
2-3pm What Does Music Look Like?
I’m one of the people on this workshop, helping people do their own comics about music. I may have opinions.
Sarah Gordon’s also asked me to do a slot at the midshow party, and I said yes. I have no idea what I’m playing, so come to dance and see if I’ve worked it out by then.
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Tomorrow (13th November) I’m doing an AMA at League of Comic geeks. So if you finish any of the above and have a burning question (or a question of any degree of temperature) you can jump over there and ask me. People have been pre-loading questions, so there’s already a bunch.
There’s also always a lot of chat around The Power Fantasy on its issue pages too.
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I was on SKTCHD again this week, which I always enjoy, but did walk away thinking about my lines of conversation there – it is very business orientated, in terms of the mechanics of how we do books and keep them going. David’s next interview is Grant Morrison, and I found myself thinking “the only time I can remember Grant talking about the means of production is when they encouraged their readers to masturbate over sigils to save the Invisibles.” My tendency to demystification led this way, but I don’t think it’s good – or even worse, entertaining – to stay there too long. I should probably be more open about the creative battles, but I know the creative battles and think I can handle them. The problem is the business stuff, which is why it’s very much more on the surface of my thoughts. Still – David tells me folks have told him they really liked this one, so I’m probably overthinking things.
My gravestone will read “No longer overthinking things.”
Oh – the Kieron Gillen Humble bundle expanded for a week due to it going well, I think? I honestly don’t know. But if you want to jump on DIE: Loaded this is a great chance to get the first series digitally, along with everything else.
While the TPF reading group continues as new issues drop, the Alex Segura Discord is now doing a DIE reading group, working their way through the trades. I’ll be doing some chat there too, I suspect.
This was a little memory hole – Kim Justice covers the Amiga Power vs Team 17 feud. This is very much the critical scene I was forged in, and felt involved in, if only parasocially (and by the end, actually involved – I think I bought Alien Breed 3D from the shops for AP, as Team 17 weren’t sending them copies). I loved AP as much as I ever loved anything, as only a teenager can. In the week of DIE returning, I’m surprised I never actually crossed the streams in any meaningful way and included 1991-period videogame culture. I do Angela circa 2018, but not Angela circa 1991. Down the road, I’m sure.
The always-great Leigh Alexander releases a new piece of short fiction, The Hunger. It’s loaded up on my reader, and I’m looking forward to seeing what horroshow is on Leigh’s mind.
Following on from Cannibal Halfing going back to DIE RPG, Aaron Marks looks at DIE and tries to unpack why he’s started writing fiction about his DIE persona, in a way which he rarely experiences with other games. “Over the years I’ve been taught a simple axiom about creating a character for an RPG: The most interesting things that happen to that character should happen at the table, not in the pages of backstory. It’s a simple and effective rule that helps you both to write to the power level of the campaign as well as write a character who is motivated to join in the campaign at hand. DIE very deliberately violates this rule, though in a way that’s very clever.” I think I’ve said as much, but it’s easy to get fooled by a surface look at the manual – DIE is really Persona Gen, embedded in an RPG potempkin village
Want to learn how to do comics from the mighty Emma Vieceli? Here’s your chance. She’s teaching online.
Methodical reports on how modern Twitter’s algorithm is just a machine for pumping the worst right wing nonsense into your brain. I’m rarely say anything this simply, but: folks, you wouldn’t read the Daily Mail, and this is just worse. Get your dopamine elsewhere.
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I’ve come to think of Thought Bubble as the end of the season – afterwards, like Jane Austen characters, we will all retire to the countryside to stare longingly out of windows and write letters to each other. Or, in my case, write letters to my artists in the form of scripts.
It’s also a good time to both start new things and draw lines under others. A before and after.
To that end, I finished a draft of The Power Fantasy #16 on Monday, and sent over to Katie. I sent a script for a new thing to the editor on Monday too. I have a draft of the last of my outstanding RPG writing commitments (my Ex Tenebris scenario) written, and plan to polish and send off tomorrow.
So basically I’ll go to Tbubz, talk to people, and come back and have that clear run to next year.
I’m looking forward to it – both the festival and that space. It’s been a short and long year, and having a gap to fill feels something I desperately need.
Hope you find the space you need too.
Speak soon.
Kieron Gillen
Bath
12.11.2025