381: vibe forward
Hullo
Loaded
Planning
Links
Bye
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Out this week: DIE: Loaded #8, where things are escalating and we do something that readers have been demanding for as long as the comic has been running.
We’re joined by Stéphane Perger for a variant…
Coo!
Finally, here’s the preview of the first three pages…
Look at the colouring in that last panel. Stephanie Hans, she knows what to do.
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We made a decision about The Power Fantasy’s return a while back, which led to me creating a meme when I allused to the truth online .
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Tom Ewing has spent the last three months doing a countdown of his favourite 101 Events, and it’s been great to see. It’s been the best part of my internet for the whole period – a smart person, writing perceptively and funnily about material, and embracing the format. The list is a fallen form now, but it’s great to see one just do it. Also, there’s a lot to pick apart in what Tom does, as a stylist and a critic. The short version is – smart and fun aren’t opposites. If you care enough about your content, you should try to present it in the way that most entertains that doesn’t compromise the content .
This list of future-TTRPG possible discourses is good fun and/or horrific prophecy.
I was at ultra-small indie-comics festival Caption this week, and I ran what was framed as “comic book speed dating”, but was basically a chance for artists and writers to see who was there, and who may align. Its structure was basically feedback on pitch ideas from artists, and a broad conversation around issues. Bleeding Cool recoded bits if you like a taste.
Jay Dragon and Mina McJanda talk to each other about indie TTRPG design. The full interview is over an hour long, but RRD pull out 7 highlights.
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I was going to do the newsletter tomorrow, as it’s the 20th anniversary of Phonogram. Except it’s not. That’s Sunday. I may end up doing an extra newsletter on the date, time willing. Or maybe it’ll wait until next week. But if you’re about on Sunday, raise a glass of whatever fluid you wish to the memory of that particular monster being born, slouching off to stand at the back of a gig, rolling its eyes and generally being embarassing.
I realised the above late in the day, so my scheduled time has already been eaten (much like the sun) so I have to do something petite. Really, the Stephanie preview pages are fantastique enough to justify it, right?
Workwise I’ve been deep in Alien vs X-men, where I handed in the third issue, and figured I should power straight through into the last issue. While the penultimate issue is often hard, the last issue is normally relatively easy – the momentum is in place, the space is limited, as are your options. The ground is approaching, and you just get to tweak your path. I just wrapped the first draft of it today, and I suspect I may actually leave it there, and bounce over to the other WFH project I want to wrap. I’m ahead on that too, so perhaps should roll with the momentum I have. As that’s the last issue too, it’s not impossible that I’ll wrap a first draft of that this week too.
I’ve also managed to carve out time to actually do a rough-layout for the Scions ashcan I’ve been working on, so I can see how much space it’ll take up. And so…
Plus about another 30-40 pages, for all the games’ missions. Now it’s laid out, I can better see certain information flow problems. It’s a game with a relatively unusual structure, so how you introduce the interlocking elements is a battle. It was only when starting it, and flicking through Stonetop did I realise I needed to cut one chapter in two, and put half of it before another chapter the other half after. Writing!
Next step is likely art stuff – I’ve started downloading a bunch of material to start collage weirdness with. I don’t need perfect art for this – it’s an ashcan – but I’d like to have something that’s vibe forward, at least.
Speak soon.
Kieron Gillen
Bath
12.8.2026