I feel like I start every one of these with an “Ugh, that last month was ROUGH,” and this one is no exception. If I’ve done the math right, I’ve lettered fifteen stories of varying lengths over the last fourteen days. But at least two of those made me feel good inside. I lettered the main story for Marvel’s Spider-Man/Superman issue (written by Brad Meltzer, art by my man Pepe Larraz), which was surprisingly wholesome! I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by that. The other was issue #1 of Showdown, the upcoming Ignition Press book written by Dave Wielgosz and drawn by MY OLD KUBERT SCHOOL BUDDY TADD GALUSHA! It took seventeen years, but we’re FINALLY working together! This one feels different in the most refreshing way—nobody else makes art like Tadd, and…I don’t know whether to call this a crime book or a slice-of-life book. It’s an extraordinary situation in that most grounded of settings—the podunk New England village. God, I miss Vermont.

My Make Mine Multiversity episode just went live! As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, we discussed Leinil Yu’s run on New Avengers. I hadn’t read those issues since they were first released, and they were shockingly relevant to The State We’re In.

As for non-comics stuff, I spent much of the last month getting reacquainted with a genre of music I have no hope of ever understanding—jazz. Two of my uncles are jazz musicians—and so is my brother-in-law—but here I am with a rudimentary knowledge at best. Even after watching all of Ken Burns’ Jazz documentary,* I cannot tell you the difference between bebop, hard bop, post-bop, modal, chamber, third-stream, or Dixieland (except that you can’t dance to it). All I can say for sure is that I prefer jazz that sounds like it’s played in a small club before indoor smoking laws. So, I’ve been getting into Bill Evans and his trio. Turns out, it ain’t so easy:

Wish me luck, I guess.

Charity auction:

I’m auctioning off a full run of Young Avengers on eBay! This is the volume of Young Avengers I did with Kieron, Jamie, and others back in the early 2010s. All profits (everything except postage) will be donated to the Trans Continental Pipeline—a U.S.-based nonprofit which helps trans, queer, and other LGBTQ+ individuals relocate to Colorado from states with hostile governments (for example, Kansas). If you win the auction and buy anything else from my store along with it, I’ll donate the profits from those items too. The auction closes on Thursday the 5th!

Sound Effect of the Month:

Community:

• My much-more-outwardly-talented sister Alison Coté has started a newsletter of her own. The subscription link can be found on her website. Give it a read!

• VC comrade Cory Petit was on an episode of X-Men Horoscopes! It’s a fun one. Cory never does podcasts, and he gives an interesting account of lettering in the early 2000s (and working as a Marvel intern). Turns out, it wasn’t so long ago that letterers were getting their scripts via fax machine.

• Comic book writer Paul Allor was recently hospitalized and could use some help. The goal of $15K has already been met, but his situation sounds pretty dire, and more would undoubtedly help. Please give, if you are able!

Recommendations:

• Comic: In Your Skin. Aditya Bidikar gave me an early look at the first issue, and this one had me at page one. Just the art would have been enough, but the themes of celebrity, inferiority, and pedestalization are ones I’m already passionate about, and I’m eager to see them further explored (why yes, nine-year-old Clayton was deeply affected by the death of Princess Di). And, of course, the lettering is on point. Preorders are open! Ask your local comic shop to save it for you! EDIT: Final order cutoff is March 30th, so order it before then!

  

• Non-comic: The Cords. Just two Scottish sisters doing jangly garage pop! What more do you need? Their music would have fit right into a Pete & Pete episode. A song of theirs could play while Little Pete steals an ice cream truck, or Big Pete writes a lovelorn poem…using a lawnmower…in a high school football field. I’ve got that show figured out. Shoutout to Rus at Needle Drop Records for playing “When You Said Goodbye” in the shop so I could stealthily Shazam it.

Stuff with my name in it (March 2026):

3/2:

• X-Men Infinity #8

3/4:

• Batman #7

• Helen of Wyndhorn Deluxe Edition HC

• Moonstar #1

• X-Men #26

• X-Men Annual 2026 #1

3/9:

• X-Men Infinity #9

3/11:

• Absolute Batman #18

• DIE: Loaded #5

• Star Trek: Lower Decks #17

• Venom #255

3/16:

• X-Men Infinity #10

3/18:

• Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman TP

• Wonder Woman #31

• X-Men #27

3/23:

• X-Men Infinity #11

3/25:

• Imperial TP

• Knull #3

• Magic: The Gathering: Untold Stories—Jace #1

• The Power Fantasy vol. 3: The End of History TP

• Predator: Bloodshed #2

• Star Trek: The Last Starship #6

• Uncanny X-Men #25

3/30:

• X-Men Infinity #12

And finally, the cat photo:

Now I’m off to spend the day at the local library with my sweetie. Let’s hear it for free entertainment.

Have a question you’d like me to answer in a future newsletter? Ask away in the comment section!

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*Okay, fine, I skipped the second swing episode. I can only do so much swing.