Someplace between Then and Now lies the Akashic Library, its infinite shelves stretching off past the vanishing point. What long-forgotten treasures shall we find on its sagging shelves? Read on, friend, and find out . . .

When I was in college in the 90s I was not at all goth—in fact, I actively disliked thinking about death, didn’t own many black clothes, and never wore make-up. But I did get roped into playing the Vampire: The Masquerade RPG for a while, and my cool friend Scott introduced me to this song:

Largely because our Vampire game and that vampire song were both set in New Orleans, for spring break of our freshman year Scott and I, along with some other friends, drove to New Orleans. That’s a trip of about 744 miles, quite a drive for my trusty Ford Tempo.

We were pretty broke, so we stayed in a KOA campsite in Slidell, about 35 miles outside of New Orleans, and we mostly lived off a box of snack food and forays to Taco Bell. But when we went into the city, what adventures we had! Lots of colleges were on spring break and many young people had congregated in New Orleans, particularly on Bourbon Street, where they engaged in revelries like I’d never imagined. It also happened to be Saint Patrick’s Day while we were there, and I can’t imagine what Mardi Gras is like, because Saint Patrick’s Day was insane.

We had Jell-O shots; I’d never heard of a Jell-O shot before.

That was 1994 and I’ve loved New Orleans ever since. Scott and I and some friends went back for spring break our senior year, and a couple of years later my wife and I went there for our honeymoon. New Orleans, the Big Easy, the Crescent City. It’s not all just drunken revelries—I really liked the Botanical Garden, for instance, and the food is amazing. There’s so much to enjoy once you expand your horizons past the Taco Bell in Slidell.

Anyway, I’m in New Orleans now as I write this. It’s spring break, the kids and I are out of school, so my loving wife Alice and I brought them and my parents down here for a bit of vacation.

Good news, I still love this place. I’m too old to be roaming around Bourbon Street at night with the college kids but there are plenty of other attractions. Like a good tourist, I got beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde . . .

And I already mentioned the Botanical Garden . . .

My point is that I’m busy traveling this week and I don’t know how much energy I’ll have for writing a newsletter, so this may be a short one. Let’s start with Kickstarter stuff . . .

UPDATES ON MY TWO RECENT KICKSTARTERS
We finished the print version of The Prison Pits of Larubia and I’ve ordered the proof copy. All I have to do now is sit around and wait for it to show up to see if it looks good. I bet it will, since Josh did the layout—I had all those problems with the Beowulf Vs. Grendel printing because I did the layout myself.

Last newsletter I was plugging the Vault of Villainy Kickstarter that I did with Josh. It funded, don’t you worry about that, and raised $700. Josh has finished most of the illustrations, such as Mourtika above, and Stacy and Steve have completed their edits of the text.

The campaign ended but I enabled Late Pledges so, if you missed out, you can still back it!

I’M GOING TO VISIT SPACE
SPACE is the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo held every year in Columbus, Ohio. Some years I’ve made it the focus of a newsletter and been all like, “Come see me at SPACE!” That’s a bigger waste of time than most of what I do in this newsletter—I don’t think I’ve ever managed to convince even people who live in Columbus to come by the show, and most of the people subscribed to this don’t live in Columbus. Self-promotion is hard.

I keep some of the books I make, the comics and the RPGs, on a spinner in my classroom. Every now and then a student will pick one up and say, “Wow, Mr. Connor, you made this?” And soon after, “You should sell these!” and “Why are you a teacher? You should make a living selling these books!” And I appreciate them, I really do. I appreciate all my friends and family who have encouraged me over the years. But the thing is, you can work hard for years, practicing and honing your skills, devoted to your craft, and make the best comic book you can. And then you can make another and another, getting better and better, continually improving over the course of decades. And then you can go to a comics show, a small local one like SPACE that mainly features artists you’ve never heard of, and you will see dozens of cartoonists who are better than you and still not selling any books. You will meet someone who is a hundred times the artist you are, who works a day job and has only made pennies off their countless hours of hard work.

My friends, it has taken me over 40 years of work to become a moderately sub-par cartoonist. Comics is the hardest artform to master; that is why it’s known as The Great Art.

Anyway, I was late to buy a table at SPACE this year so I won’t be setting up as an exhibitor. I’m still going to drive up there and walk around though, so stop by if you’re in the neighborhood!

BUYING ART IS GOOD FOR YOUR SOUL
Whoa! There are 8 original drawings for sale in my Etsy shop, and one book. The book is Lightning Man volume 1, possibly my finest achievement in The Great Art. It took years to make! The drawings are also lovely—they’re all one-of-a-kind, suitable for framing.

As always, all money I make from selling art is donated to help Palestinian children.

I’m reminded of the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. I think we all have a duty to try and help repair the world. You could definitely argue that, instead of spending money on a trip to New Orleans, and stuffing myself with beignets, I could’ve donated all of that to charity and made a bigger difference. I can’t argue with you there; maybe I should have. Maybe I’m selfish, we’re all selfish, but I still believe it’s better to give something than to give nothing. If we all chip in a bit we can at least repair the world a little. If we can help one suffering child that is a victory, because that one child’s life is infinitely precious, and the world is infinitely better with them here.

My Etsy shop is here and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund is here. Thanks.

BOOKS I'VE READ SINCE LAST TIME
Ward D, Freida McFadden
Sweet Thursday, John Steinbeck

I once read Elmore Leonard writing about John Steinbeck’s Sweet Thursday and decided to read it. Then I learned that Sweet Thursday was a sequel to Cannery Row, so I read Cannery Row first. That was in 2013. Last year I picked up a copy of Sweet Thursday on my Fabulous Birthday Bookstore Tour and this month I read it.

First, I want to say that if you haven’t read Cannery Row you should, it’s one of my favorite novels. It’s just so full of life. Sweet Thursday isn’t as perfect a book, but if you only know John Steinbeck as the author of Big Serious Books like The Grapes of Wrath you will be shocked because this book is silly. That’s the most accurate word I can think of. The old man is just goofing around and having fun and sister, I am here for it. This book is mainly concerned with whether Doc, the bachelor scientist from Cannery Row, will find love with Suzy, the new prostitute in town. We all need some silliness and romance in our lives and the book delivered.

Ward D is utter trash but I have to hand this to the author, she kept me hooked and eagerly turning those pages all the way to the end.

WHAT A DEAL!
If you act now, you can subscribe to this newsletter ABSOLUTELY FREE, and get an update from me every month. There’s no set-up fee, no additional charges. You can’t afford to pass up a deal like this! Act now!

TV SHOWS I’VE WATCHED
Star Trek: Deep Space 9 season 3
Star Trek: Deep Space 9 season 4
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury season 2
Strip Law

Witch from Mercury is an amazing show because it starts out being a high school drama mainly concerned with the various kids’ relationships and before you know it, it’s all about war crimes. Recommended!

MOVIES I’VE WATCHED
The Running Man
You Were Never Really Here
The Tragedy of Macbeth
The Bride!

Hey, remember when I was watching all the Coen Brothers movies a few months back? I watched Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth again, alongside teaching Macbeth, and I still loved it. What a movie!

POSTSCRIPT
The dream is over. I started writing this while I was still in New Orleans, but now, as I’m finishing it, I’m back in dreary ol’ Ohio. But New Orleans is more than just a physical place, isn’t it? It’s a state of mind. And in the spirit of New Orleans, you can eat and drink to excess no matter where you are.

Hey, it’s Friday morning! I gotta send this thing out quick. See ya next month!

Your Pal,
Leighton