1: I blame Superman.
Greetings and Salutations!
I wasn’t going to do this.
When asked, I would always tell folks that I didn’t have time to make a newsletter. I already have a full-time job and work on comics with the rest of my free time.
But here I am.
Frankly, I realized through chatting with friends and fellow comic creators that this is a smart way of letting people get to know me and give me a (better) space to announce or share updates on my comics — without relying on the whim of social media algorithms. I want to keep this simple, fun, and casual…
And on that note, let’s get down to business!
-A PROPER INTRODUCTION
-WHY COMICS?
-THE WHAT'S UPDATE
-PUPDATE
/A PROPER INTRODUCTION/
For those of you who are new to me and my comics, hello! My name is Andrew Leamon (pronounced “lee-min”). I write comics and copy in the big and beautiful city of Chicago. I’m in my 30s and live with my wonderful partner, Ash, and the best babygirl dog in the whole world, Ruthie. The three of us live a nice and lovely life.
SOME FUN FACTS:
I’ve been cataloging every burger I’ve ever eaten (with certain caveats). I’m at almost 300. (And yes, I have very strong opinions about burgers.)
I collect action figures, statuettes, and vinyl records. I nerd out about anime, tokusatsu, Nintendo games, American superheroes, and movies so I have merch representing all of my loves. (I’ll show my collection off another time.)
I do karaoke performances where I sing as fictional characters. (My rendition of Dracula singing It's All Coming Back To Me by Celine Dion is a crowd-pleaser.)
Besides comics, I was a published poet under a pseudonym in college, I was trained in writing sketch comedy at the Second City Training Center, and I won a local award in second grade for my illustrated story, Detective Leamon and the Case of the Missing Bald Eagle.
I was slimed at Nickelodeon Studios in the 2000s. (It was a dream come true.)
/WHY COMICS?/
But I don't think you're here to talk about slime. And if you are, you’re in the wrong newsletter.
One of my favorite comic creator podcasts, Ideas Don't Bleed, starts every interview by asking that week’s guest creator, “Why comics?”
They always have a hard time answering it — usually first responding with a sigh. It's a hard question to answer. While comics have always been a part of my life — my grandpa and I would read the “funny papers” in the newspaper every day — this just made sense to me in a way nothing else did.
It was 2010 and I decided to check in on a friend. I knocked on his door. A gray cloud poured out. He was finishing up an email and suggested I sit back and flip through some books while I wait. He had a stack of comics nearby, so I picked up All-Star Superman vol. 1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.
I don't know if it was just the delightfully weird book, being hot-boxed in a room, or some combination of the two, but I’m convinced I experienced nirvana. Time stretched out and it felt like I was meant to be there at that moment… Okay, maybe the “being hotboxed in a room” played a role, but it was an unforgettable moment.
Like the simulated thunderstorm that lit the fire in me to be a writer in the first place (that’s a story for another time), I felt such a joy and sense of purpose flipping those pages. I used to pray to Superman in high school, and finally I see the Superman I’ve kept in my heart all along in full color. There was an optimism and heart in plain view that I had been trying and failing to capture in my poetry (and in my life) at the time.
I said to myself, “If I could make someone else feel how I feel right now. Even just once. That would be everything...”
And that’s when I fell in love with comics. The more comics I read, the more I fell in love with the medium as well. Sequential storytelling is unlike anything else in the world.
Another friend of mine who was a published comic writer would suggest I give writing comics a try. I never considered it, but once it was in my head I couldn’t get it out. Finally, in 2015, I adapted a poem of mine into my first comic, HOPE VALLEY, with artist Steven Charles Rosia.
Since then, I've self-published my own short stories with the best collaborators a writer could ask for, I’ve been published in the Taco Bell Quarterly (and yes, that literary magazine is as awesome as you think it is), and I wrote a one-page backup in an issue of Radiant Black from Image Comics. Earlier this year, I helped realize someone's epic passion project and got to experience my first-ever Kickstarter. I’m doing things I never imagined possible.
I’ve been able to make amazing stories with amazing people. I’ve found community in so many of you, and I’ve found a creative home in this medium. How could I not want to do that for the rest of my life?
So, why comics?
[sigh] Because comics.
(And maybe in no small part thanks to Superman.)
/THE WHAT'S UPDATE/
It’s been a wonderfully busy month.
CAMERA MAN
CAMERA MAN #1 is so close to getting in your hands! I just did a lettering pass of the entire book last week. It looks amazing. I love it. During this latest pass, I couldn't stop smiling. This comic really does feel like an action cartoon from the 2000s. Xander Arnot, Nathan Kempf, and Claire Napier did outstanding work on this. I can’t wait to share the finished work.
I’m optimistic that we will have digital copies out to backers sometime this month. (But don’t quote me on that in case something happens. haha)
That said, Xander and I are also hard at work on CAMERA MAN #2! Last week, I sent Xander a draft of the outline and we're rolling. In fact, as soon as I finish writing this newsletter I will be working away at the outline some more.
PITCHING
Outside of CAMERA MAN, I’m still hard at work on my own stories. I’ve been plotting a miniseries I will be pitching to publishers. It’s big. It’s heavy. It’s the most serious thing I could write about at this present moment, but it all needs to be said. For now, I’ll give it the codename MINISTRY.
I’ve also been plotting out a short sci-fi one-shot (codename SPACE), and I think it’s ready to start outlining then I will be drafting the pitch doc. That project will either be pitched out to publishers or crowdfunded.
/PUPDATE/
Let me tell you all about my puppy in the first installment of a recurring segment I’m dubbing “PUPDATE”.
Ruthie is a two-year-old pitbull mix we adopted in 2022 from a local Chicago rescue shelter. She loves long walks, attention from humans, playing with dogs, her snicky snackies, annoying her dad, and naps. Not necessarily in that order.
Her mom is out of the country on vacation, so she is having a hard time. But her dad is there to annoy her and smother her with love.
JUST LOOK AT HER.
Next month, I’ll share some of my favorite things…
Thanks for reading!
If you don’t already, be sure to follow my social media pages (linked below) for the latest updates and nonsense.