Hullo

Gud?
Antiomnishambles
Phonoclub
Facts
Links
Bye

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We’re back on the table, with the second half of DIE: Loaded, entitled “GIT GUD”.

Want a preview? Here you go. This is about a third into the issue, as the opening doesn’t really stands alone as a teaser. But spoilers for the first arc are heavy from the off here, as much as we tried. Press down repeatedly not not read if you haven’t grabbed the first one yet.

Coo! It’s also an issue which, while it builds on all the climax of issue 6, is also digging into some of the characters some more - which is really what DIE is. It’s really a kind of focus on Tommy for half of it. It’s Stephanie’s favourite issue, she said, which says a lot.

Our at cover is from Aleksi Briclot, which is just great.

More details on the issue here, which includes the long promised a letters page and in-game beta rules for another of DIE’s gods. This one is one my favourites. She is awful.

Oh – and just saw a review of DIE: Loaded’s first trade drop this morning, which you can get here.

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Have I mentioned that there’s an omnibus of the whole of ONCE & FUTURE coming out in October? There’s an omnibus of the whole of Once & Future coming out in October. 30 issues of Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain, tearing up the place, for $60. Dan’s gone on to be perhaps the iconic visual voice of current DC comics, so this is a real treasure trove of seeing what he does away from the defined universes.

Do you not know Once & Future? Arthur comes back, and it’s not a good thing, and a retired monster hunter has to bring her naive and unsuspecting grandson into the family business.

Preorder, etc.

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Not 100% sure what the next Script club will be. I want to go and look at some scripts before I decide which is the best to use.

But what I do know is that this month is the 20^th anniversary of Phonogram’s debut. As such, it will inevitably be a Phonogram. The question is which one.

I’ll let you know before the end of the month, but if that intrigues you can sign up here.

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I mentioned Caspar and yours truly did separate AMAs, and I’d include a few answers over the next few months? Here we go. Is this newsletter devoted to highlighting the power of rhetorical questions? Yes, yes it is.

Let’s lean towards the very basic fact ones this time, before I give the essays...

What’s the current status of the book’s length? Do you think you’ll be able to do all the issues you’d like to?

Unless something goes spectacularly amiss we should reach the desired conclusion. There's still a little give in the structure, so we can expand it if we want, but we should get to it. I think it's a strong structure. The issues we've already done are both very Power Fantasy and also completely different.

How long will we have to wait for the next arc?

We're still exactly nailing down the actual month, but I think it's increasingly looking like "this year." It now would be a surprise if not.

I'm surprised it's taken until now for someone to ask me this one!

If you were approached for an adaptation of the comic, what medium would you prefer it to be in and what changed would you expect to be made?

The short answer is: it would depend in many ways. Adaption is transformation and I can imagine it being done in many ways. There's part of me that thinks it would work best as a minimalist set stage play.

How early did you decide on the End of History switchup? Was it from day one or did it evolve as the characters did?

The last panel and the first panel were among my initial thoughts. That was the structure of the thing.

Will there be more Circles or Triangles in the second half of TPF?

STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT, TRUE BELIEVERS.

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• ARC London is this weekend in Peckham – a festival of contemporary comics. As I’m in London on Saturday, I’m hoping I can get in early enough to pop over and have a nose. It looks like great stuff.

• Joe Quesada does at least two essays worth thinking about in terms of writing comics in the latest newsletter. One is the basic truth that when trying to break in, they don’t want your huge idea – they want you to prove you can actually do the basics. The second is about the idea of buying credit with the reader - the more you just show you know what you’re doing, the more they’re willing to go wherever they take you.

• Laurie O’Connel muses over character creation in games, bringing in Thomas Hardy, because of course he did.

• Rae Nejadi is an excellent game designer, and has been going through a health crisis and needs financial support. This bundle has a bunch of his great stuff, and a whole lot more from supportive designers.

• I wrote about going to Pyrkon last time, but RRD write about their experiences too. Their experience involved a lot more doing a pose from Naomi, as is her wont.

• Gods & Monsters of Hengrave is the new graphic novel that’s kickstarting from the folks behind Mugshots, which was a deeply stylist crime comic. This takes the same vibe and applies it to the horror. I am intrigued. Go nose.

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I’m writing on the train in the way to London, to see My Chemical Romance at Wembley. I’m coming in early to see some friends and (basically) just do some London stuff. I’m plotting the second half of The Power Fantasy’s comeback arc in detail at the moment, and I suspect a trip around various museums would do a lot to get my head into focus. It’s a case of having so much material, and lines of attack, you have to choose where to dig, and what to evoke. What’s really important?

However, as I am writing this on the train journey, I realise I should stop here to make sure I send it out before we pull into the station. I’m getting 5G on my phone, so I can tell we’re reaching London.

Speak soon.

Kieron Gillen
Bath
8.7.2026