Make Way for the Queens
I knew I forgot something. Turns out a significant project of mine HAD been announced in the period between my prior two newsletters—even if it’s a short one. GIANT-SIZE DARK PHOENIX SAGA is an oversized one-shot coming out this June as part of Kamala Khan’s journey through X-Men history. The main story is brought to you by Ms. Marvel’s current stewards, Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, with art by the ever-exceptional Rod Reis. But your price of admission also gets you a backup “Revelations” story by the sensational Lucas Werneck (Storm) and yours truly, examining the soul-deep bond between Jean Grey and Scott Summers.
As a kid, many of my most formative memories involved Toy Biz action figures and X-Men: The Animated Series. As a preteen, my life trajectory was forever altered by New X-Men. And as an adult, I made the wise decision to get a tattoo of Cyclops (as a cat). So any chance to tell a tale of Scott and Jean is a privilege, especially when Tom Brevoort tasks you with really digging into what makes their romantic bond so unique and enduring. Lucas stepped up to the plate hard when it comes to representing this couple at their best and most swoonworthy.
It’s my understanding that Jean’s one of Lucas’ favorite characters, and by god, it shows. I was really, really tempted to include a sneak peek of the interior art here, but I didn’t get approval and don’t want to get telekinetically blasted into space. I halfway wish they could publish the story without my words just so you could see it in ALL its glory, but then they probably wouldn’t pay me, sooooooo…
Ask your local comic shop to preorder Giant-Size Dark Phoenix Saga or pick it up June 11th to check out our short, as well as the big, boisterous story that precedes it (which Ivan Fiorelli and I teased back in December’s Timeless!).
AND SPEAKING OF QUEENS…
I’ve written comic books, picture books, junior novels, sticker books, video-game erotica, essays, you name it. Until last year, I thought I’d go my entire writing career without venturing into the realm of Tarot, but when drag queens come calling…you answer. So, as of a few weeks ago, you can pick up DRAG QUEEN ORACLE: 40 CARDS TO HELP SLAY ON LIFE’S RUNWAY, as well as a magnet set (!) spinoff.
Technically, it wasn’t a drag queen herself who came calling, but my lovely editor from Running Press, who contacted me out of the blue to ask if I’d be interested in conceiving of a 40-card Oracle deck of drag performers and writing the accompanying descriptive text. I admittedly had serious reservations—I don’t have a background in Tarot, and—crucially—I’m not a drag performer. I didn’t think it was my place to do this project. The drag world is already plagued by non-drag performers with far too many opinions on the art and industry.
But I knew that passing on the gig meant I’d have no say over who did take up the project, and it could land with someone whose knowledge of drag began and ended with the latest season of television. So I proposed an alternative: co-writing the deck with my friend Vander Von Odd, a trans filmmaker and drag queen known for winning season one of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula. Vander and I first met at one of Sasha Velour’s Nightgowns performances and kept in touch, including Vander showing me and my boyfriend around one of Los Angeles’ creepiest corridors when we visited the city a few years ago.
Vander has such a deep well of drag knowledge, respect for the history and breadth of the art form, and clear artistic vision of her own, and getting to conceptualize this deck and write the accompanying text together was an extremely fulfilling project as a queer creator. Making stuff with friends and acquaintances is always a risk—many a bond has been broken that way—but this deck ended up being infinitely richer and more inclusive from her contributions than it ever could have been had I done it alone.
And joining us on art to actually bring the cards to life is Cheyne Gallarde, whose name is probably familiar to many longtime Drag Race fans due thanks to the number of times his art has popped off within the community. Cheyne took our concepts and ran with them, bringing the queens, kings, monsters, and more to incredibly vibrant life.
This was such a different project for me, but a really cool, once-in-a-lifetime way to interact with an art form that I’ve appreciated for years. The deck and/or magnet set makes a great gift for drag fans of all persuasions—my mom has her magnet set on the fridge!—so be sure to snag a set from your local queer-friendly bookstore or online retailer of choice. They’ll also make excellent stocking stuffers this coming holiday season, just saying.
ANYWAY…
All right, now I’ve caught up. I shouldn’t have any other BREAKING NEWS for a little bit. I just started a very fun short that makes for a nice companion with something I previously did—that should be public before too long. A big big big project I’m working on got pushed back substantially to allow the artist room to continue doing some of the most insane pages I’ve ever seen. And a summer surprise will break before you know it. But those are all at least a little while off still.
This Saturday, I’ll be posted at Vault of Midnight Grand Rapids trying to give away my comps for dirt cheap. On the off chance anyone reading this is in the area, this is pretty much the only time I appear in public to sell and sign comics each year, so come on down and say hello and please, for the love of god, take some of these copies of Dark X-Men. I’m still drowning in Maddie Pryors over here.
xoxo