4: Look Back, Look Forward
Greetings and Salutations!
Welcome to this month’s episode of The Lemon House Monthly, your home for all things weird and wild from the mind of comic book writer and karaoke expert Andrew Leamon.
Let's get down to business…
Happy Honda Days, everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I thought for this month, going into 2025, I would give you all a little bit of what’s been knocking around in my head as I look back on 2024 and look ahead to the upcoming year.
-/UPDATE
-/2024 + FAVORITE THINGS
-/2025 + CON PLANS
-/PUPDATE
/2024 + FAVORITE THINGS
So for the last two years, my buddy and fellow comics writer, Alex Breen used to spend hours at a co-working space and talk about writing, our careers, and the industry as a whole. It was a great time. At the end of the year, we would pull out a whiteboard and list our goals for the year ahead. My 2024 list looked something like this… (Apologies for the bad handwriting.)
But hey, I nailed every one of these goals! Camera Man #1 was a hit on Kickstarter and we surpassed several stretch goals. People seem to like the comic, which is a relief!
MONOLITH was released to the world AND after getting lots of feedback asking for more… I started working on a new version! I’m deep in the outline for it.
Besides those two comics, I wrote and finished a couple of other scripts. I even decided to write something for the Mad Cave Talent Search. I figured my chances of winning were low, but I wrote something that I was super proud of that got in front of at least one editor. So I ultimately feel like I won even if I technically didn’t. “Rejection” sucks, but it’s just part of the job.
In case you’re wondering about said submission and are interested in what a comic script looks like, I shared the script online months ago. It’s a fun little devil possession story.
Read LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD -Script
I went to my first non-C2E2 comic convention this year, Emerald City in Seattle. The highlight was the very late night I spent on Friday hanging out with friends and comic peers that turned into sneaking into a comic industry gala and meeting comic folks I have long admired.
Then, of course, C2E2 was great. I got to spend time with so many awesome folks. The whole weekend was a highlight, but started with “Batmania!” Local legendary musician, comic writer, and maybe the nicest person I’ve ever met, Joe Clark, led a band playing music from the Batman 66’ television show for his birthday. What a great night!
Altogether, I’d say it was a very good and productive year! Sure, I would have loved to write more comics, have gone to more shows and met more people, but I can only do so much with a full-time dayjob and parenting a dog with problems.
No one tells you that self-forgiveness is part of the job as well.
My Favorite Things of 2024
COMICS: Chainsaw Man, Deep Cuts, Rare Flavors, Radiant Black (“The Catalyst War” arc was outstanding), Who Killed Sarah Shaw?, DanDaDan, and The Pedestrian
MOVIES: Substance, Phantasm 2, Challengers, North by Northwest, Playtime, Red Shoes, Look Back, and Caligula: Ultimate Cut…
Plus, I finally got to watch Orson Welles’ F For Fake on the big screen. <3
TV: DragonBall Daima, DanDaDan, Solo Leveling, Fallout, and the first episode of Uzamaki (IYKYK)
In terms of MUSIC, I was probably most attuned to the Kendrick Lamar x Drake beef. Kendrick continues to be an all-time favorite artist of mine. I’m also obsessed with the opening song to the DanDaDan anime.
/ 2025 + CON PLANS
Weeks back, I posted my biggest goal for the year on my social pages.
In the words of Marvel Comics in the 2000s, “‘Nuff said.”
Here is what my "2025 Goals" whiteboard would say…
Outline and pitch the new MONOLITH project to a publisher.
Finish CAMERA MAN #2 & 3.
Outline and pitch the sci-fi graphic novella to a publisher.
Write more.
Attend more shows.
Table in Artist’s Alley at a con and maybe a Free Comic Book Day retailer.
And on a related note, I will be attending some comic conventions this year! I will likely be walking around with copies of Camera Man #1 in hand.
Emerald City/ECCC - Seattle, WA - March 6-9
Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo/C2E2 - Chicago, IL - April 11-13
I may also attend shows like Heroescon in Charlotte, NC and Baltimore Comic Con in Baltimore, MA, but I have to figure out some logistics.
/ PUPDATE
According to her surgeon, Ruthie is healing up amazingly after her knee replacement surgery! You wouldn’t even know she was in surgery weeks ago. We started her on physical therapy while she's in recovery. Here’s a Ruthie picture from one of the physical therapists:
Thank you for reading this month's “The Lemon House Monthly”!
Be sure to follow Andrew on all social platforms as @aleams.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send him an email at andrew.b.leamon@gmail.com.
See you next month for another exciting episode!