368: sweets and fizzy pop
Hullo.
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The DIE RPG: Metadungeon launches yesterday, and funded within six hours. Hurrah! We’re going to do Gareth Hanrahan’s latest masterwork. Some stretch goals will be posted later, I’m sure, so if you’re slow in reading e-mails, perhaps you can click find out what will happen if you give us more money. Except RRD having more cash for sweets and fizzy pop, obv.
As this is a busy week, I suspect I’ll write more in detail next time – especially the DIE RPG: Demo kit, which is an entirely separate thing we’ve slid of in there.
In terms of the Metadungeon itself, the short of it is this is a full DIE campaign, set in an enormous dungeon, where each level is based around and/or a satire of the period of RPG history. Basically, the sort of playful games the comic does, but used to power a whole campaign. I really douldn’t be more excited.
The Crowdfunder also lets you catch up with all the existing DIE RPG line, so if you were tempted to dive in, this is your chance to grab everything too.
Anyway - You can back it here.
It’s a big DIE week, right? DIE: LOADED #6 is out this week, and it ends the arc, and is a big one. I put out the preview last time, but worth reading before it’s spoiled.
Our guest cover is by Toru Terada, who is doing amazing work here.
We also took part in the celebration of 50 issues of I HATE FAIRYLAND, which was fun, to get a chance to have the wonder that is Lafuente enter our world again.
There’s also the Rude Name variant, which feature swears. Hurrah!
If you want to know more about DIE: Loaded, it’s here. This issue also includes a whole lot about the DIE RPG: Metadungeon. You can see how the cover changed between going to press with issue 6 and the start of the kickstarter too.
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The Sktchd yearbook is available for purchase now. David asked me if I wanted to write the intro, which I did, and I absolutely Kieron Gillen-ed it up. It’s a miracle I didn’t mention Kenickie. Anyway, he liked it, it’s in here, and It’s nice to be part of this. The full content list? Why not.
The story behind how Bone ended up in Disney Adventures Magazine, featuring Jeff Smith, Marv Wolfman, Heidi MacDonald, and Cliff Chiang!
A look inside my Comic Character Name Matrix, with a detailed breakdown of the one true name for many, many of your favorite comic characters!
A massive conversation with the legendary Grant Morrison about their sprawling career, views on comics, and work on DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool, which originally aired on Off Panel!
An exploration of 2025’s comic strip boom, as cartoonists like Beetle Moses, Sarah Andersen, Joshua Barkman and more take me inside what it’s really like to make comic strips in the social media era!
The Entire History of Me, a 10th anniversary piece that finds me sharing my picks for the most personally consequential comics that were released for every year of my life and the reason each made the cut!
A book-only take on my column Comics Disassembled, where I share ten things I love about what I do on SKTCHD and Off Panel!
Art from comics like Bone, Beetle Moses, Sarah’s Scribbles, False Knees, and more!
Cover by my wife Amber!
Sktchd is great. Get a book of the Sktchd, etc.
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I had no idea about this, but I am delighted. SuperChartIsland is basically what Tom Ewing’s Popular is, but for the British Videogame charts. Clearly, this is narrowcast, but I am part of that cast. It’s up to 1986, so it’s exploring stories which I lived through, but lacked the detail. The first one I read was the latest – Paperboy – but of the (few) I’ve read so far, the story behind the Hobbit is full of great detail, and some infuriating sexism.
I actually linked to Adrian Hon’s April Fool’s post about the immersive experience of Austenland last time, having failed to get it was an April Fool’s. I clearly had other things on my mind in 2013 than period drama. Still – it’s funny, and Adrian being Adrian, actually fills it with enough real actual immersive experience criticism to think about.
If you’ve got any crowdfunder coins left, have a nose at The Magic of Inventorying, a short-form party roleplaying game about what to pack in your inventory when leaving a dungeon. We’ve all been there.
Leila Del Duca talks about pivoting away from Crowdfunding the sequel to AFAR when the crowdfunder wasn’t going to fund. This is all good stuff – and I’m excited to hear there’s an AFAR-universe set book Crowdfunding now.
Another good Mindless Ones newsletter, with an Egg based theme. When the Eggs expands to Aliens, we’re sorted. Also, A+ The Fate Of Westlife.
Comic Book Couples Counselling have been interviewing creators live Third Eye Comics about their reccomendations. The latest is Justin Jordan, where he says very kind words about the Power Fantasy, and reveals that I mail him the PDF when he asks. This is a very select service. All his picks are great to explore - in fact, this whole series is just lovely. Matt Rosenberg’s has reminded me I want to re-read all of Stray Bullets.
Wyrd Science 8 is out, which led me to realise, “Wait – I’m not subscribed to Wyrd Science.” So I subscribed to Wyrd Science. I think this is the finest TTRPG magazine being made today.
The In Your Spare Time podcast launches, where creators take turns reading Ursula Le Guin’s blogposts, and talks about their relationship to the work. I did one of these, so don’t be surprised when I turn up some point in the far future.
And a nice review of the Power Fantasy. The release of the third trade seems to be going well.
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With Bank Holiday (and travel), C’s birthday and everything else described in this newsletter, this week has been crunched. As is my brain today.
I went to bed foolishly late, and then couldn’t get to sleep, and then Iris came through before I dropped off, so I had to get her to sleep. And then she woke up three times. So I’ve had less than five hours of broken sleep. This has not rendered me useful. I managed to work out – which feels miraculous – but I’ve been broadly staring into space, and am clearly not good for the real work I want to do.
So instead, let’s just nope out and write a newsletter, perhaps squeeze in a little Scions and write some e-mail. You can’t win them all.
I’m speaking to Professor Emily Freidman’s class later about (er) being tired? I don’t know.
Anyway, this really puts my problems into perspective.
Hope it helps you too.
Kieron Gillen
Bath
8.4.2026