Thanksgiving
Somewhere perpendicular to the material plane lies the Akashic Library, its endless shelves stretching off into the horizon. What arcane lore will we unearth there today? Read on, wayfarer, and find out . . .
I didn’t intend for this installment of the monthly newsletter to come out on the last day of the month but here we are. Time just flew by!
Last time I declared that I would become more creatively productive in November. So you’re probably wondering—DID I?!? The answer is “Yes, though not to an overwhelming extent.” I finished up my part of an RPG project that it’s too early to talk about, and did a nice chunk of work on another mystery RPG project. I also spent a decent chunk of time working on my Etsy store. Speaking of which . . .
I SELL ART NOW, FOR A GOOD CAUSE
The world is a trashfire and, between you and me, I was pretty depressed after this month’s election. After sitting around feeling existential despair for awhile I decided I want to make some kind of contribution, however small, toward improving the world. I’d already planned to relaunch my Etsy store, originally just to make some money. But I decided instead to donate any money I make from selling artwork to charity.
The first charity I chose is TransOhio; I live in Ohio, but if you don’t, I hope you can find it in your heart to help out some Ohioans. According to the website, “TransOhio is dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights of trans, nonbinary, intersex, and gender nonconforming people in Ohio.” You can learn more here.
What kind of art am I selling? Well, earlier this year I drew four B&W illustrations for Million-Colored Sun, the rules-light pulp fantasy RPG from Hex Games. My favorite of them was the Great Eye-Wyrm from Beyond. I’ve put that one on sale, it looks like this:
As of this writing, it’s still available; check it out, supplies are limited.
Back in 2021 I started making sets of index card drawings and giving them away. Each set had 10 drawings and came in a little envelope. People seemed to like ‘em, so after I gave away 60 sets (600 drawings!) I decided I should put some up for sale. These are cheaper than the Eye-Wyrm, a good option for somebody who’s looking to buy some artwork and support a good cause on a budget. There’s a couple of them on sale now; if they sell, I’ll make more.
This is an experiment, to see if I can use these drawings to do something good. I hope it works! I’ll let you know how it’s going. In the meantime, check out the shop, won’t you?
I AM ON BLUESKY
Remember Twitter? Twitter’s old news, daddy-o, I left that sinking ship behind. I’m on Bluesky now, America’s sexiest social media platform. I’m @leightonc.bsky.social; follow me if you dare.
ENTERING THE HALLS OF THE BLOOD KING
At Gen Con 2021 I bought Diogo Nogueira’s Old-School Essentials adventure Halls of the Blood King. It won the ENnies’ Gold Award for Best Adventure; I was ahead of the curve, because I bought it several entire hours before it won.
I bought the adventure because it looked cool and because Diogo does good work, but once I had it, I needed to buy the OSE rules so I could run it.
My kids wanted to play Hall of the Blood King but HotBK is for characters levels 3-5, and the kids and I wanted to start out at level 1. So I bought the 1st level adventure The Incandescent Grottoes and ran it for the kids and a couple of their friends. That adventure was a delight and, my friends, that’s how I fell in love with OSE.
Before you knew it the kids had embarked on an epic campaign that sent them traveling across the continent. I started running OSE for another group of players, and eventually another, and I bought a bunch more OSE books and backed multiple Kickstarters. I was all in on OSE, but I’d still never run that original adventure that caused me to buy the game.
Then a few days ago the kids and I finally ventured into the Halls of the Blood King. I’m happy to report that it's a really good adventure. And my son, who bought garlic for his character in 2021, is glad to finally get a chance to use it.
KINDLE VELLA IS DYING, AND WILL BE DEAD SOON
Just got an email that Amazon will be shutting down their Kindle Vella program; as they say, “We've made the difficult decision to gradually wind down Kindle Vella in February 2025 as the program hasn’t caught on as we’d hoped.” I serialized a surreal occult detective novel through Vella, called The Lobster-Quadrille, so check it out before it’s gone!
BOOKS I'VE READ SINCE LAST TIME
Halls of the Blood King, Diogo Nogueira
GI Joe: A Real American Hero Compendium 1, Larry Hama and various
I spent part of October and most of November reading the GI Joe Compendium, which is a huge chunk of book—1168 pages! It reprints issues 1-50 of the GI Joe comic books series Marvel published in the 1980s. If you want to read these comics, this is the way to do it—the book is thick but surprisingly light; the paper is sturdy newsprint that looks nicer than the original comics but, because it’s not glossy like many reprint books, the colors don’t look too garish.
If you’re not familiar with the series you may be wondering, Why would anyone want to read a comic from the 80s that was based on a toy line? Fair question! The reason is one man: Larry Hama. Hama was an artist and editor who wanted to write comics but no one at Marvel would give him a gig. So when this toy comic came around and no one else wanted the job, Hama took it, and he wrote the hell out of it. He wrote over 150 issues—the original series ran from 1982 to 1994, a shockingly long run for a toy comic.
The legendary Herb Trimpe drew the first dozen or so issues, then was replaced by a series of other artists. These ranged from the solidly competent to the not-very-good . . . I’ll be polite and won’t name any names. Marvel did not put any of their superstar artists on this toy book, no matter how well it sold. As artists came and went, Larry Hama remained the auteur, unfolding his singular creative vision.
The comic is idiosyncratic, nothing like the predictable good-guys-fighting-bad-guys adventure story other writers would’ve given us. Hama used the series as a stage for whatever he was feeling at a given moment, including satire, slapstick comedy, senseless tragedy, plot twists and turns, and working through his experiences as a Vietnam vet.
It’s a fascinating and satisfying hunk of narrative and I can’t wait for volume 2.
TV SHOWS I’VE WATCHED
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5
The Fall of the House of Usher
Twin Peaks
My elder child Blu and I have started watching Twin Peaks, one of my all-time favorite shows, and so far Blu loves it. Hurray!
MOVIES I'VE SEEN SINCE LAST TIME
The Straight Story
Mr. Right
Emilia Perez
Venom: The Last Dance
Big Eyes
Transformers One
I went into the theater to see Emilia Perez knowing only that it was 1.) in Spanish, 2.) a musical, and 3.) starring Zoe Saldana. Knowing nothing about the story made it a magical experience—at no point did I have any idea what was going to happen next. The movie kept me riveted and, friends, it was wonderful. Gave me so much to think about. Was it the best new movie I’ve seen this year? Maybe. I highly recommend you watch it—it’s streaming on Netflix now!—but don’t look up the plot first. Let it be a surprise.
I also loved David Lynch’s The Straight Story, his only G-rated movie, which you can catch on Disney Plus. You can, and you should! There’s no surrealism in this one, no confusing narrative choices, just a whole lotta heart.
If you haven’t already, maybe go ahead and subscribe to this newsletter? It only comes out once a month.
Okay, December’s breathing down my neck, better wrap this up. Happy Holidays! We’ll speak again soon.
Your Pal,
Leighton