Happy October!
Hi, friends, and happy October!
One of my favorite months is finally here, and I'm so excited for everything that's here and everything that's coming up! 😃
🎃 A Couple of Treats 🎃
I've gone ahead and published a few blog posts early this month for you to get in the Halloween mood!
Here's 45 New Comics and Graphic Novels for October 2023! There are some good looking horror comics in here that I wanted you to be able to see and order early in time for Halloween 😁🎃
If you're eager to dig into some horror comics for Halloween coming up soon, Issue #8 of More Comics Please! is out several weeks early just for you lovely newsletter subscribers as a thank you for being here! There are two 5 star reads in here that I think you'll especially enjoy very much!
In the Studio
Ahhh, the studio-- the poor thing has been quite neglected these last few weeks, I'm sad to say 🥲 I found myself overwhelmed with admin and volunteer work in September, as well as my partner's and my Fall Cleaning spree, and I didn't have enough energy to make art or even make my skirt as I had hoped. (The apartment is soooo nice and clean, though 😌✨)
Now that that's largely taken care of, I hope to spend October working on a few short comics and scripts for my portfolio and for some upcoming pitches. I'm also considering participating in a drawing challenge this month-- it's always fun to join on one and see what everyone's making!
I do, however, have a one page comic I can share with you! And I'm very curious to hear from you-- what are some things you think of as fairy tales for adults? I personally think Pinterest is full of them 😂
ShortBox Comics Fair 2023!
The ShortBox Comics Fair has officially opened for 2023!
If this is your first time hearing about the fair, you are in for a treat! The ShortBox Comics Fair comes around every year for a whole month in October. It's run by ShortBox, a comics publisher based in the UK and run by the absolutely lovely Zainab Akhtar.
For the whole month of October, the comic artists involved receive 100% of the sales (minus processing fees, of course), so when you buy a comic through the fair, you know it's directly supporting the creators! The creators also retain all rights to their work, so this is truly a creator-oriented event. (Gosh, I'm getting weepy! 🥲)
I've also made a round up of 137 New Comics from the ShortBox Comics Fair 2023, talking about the fair itself, the sole founder, organizer, and director Zainab Akhtar, and the comics, including highlighting the twenty I got just yesterday morning! (...I may or may not be getting more later this month 👀) I'm very excited to have some new works from some of my favorite artists and to have some new works from artists I haven't read before, too! You can expect to see some reviews in the coming months 😁
A Quick COVID Note
If you haven't heard, US residents are once again able to order 4 free rapid test kits per residential address! You can head over to covid.gov/tests to place your order. Current standards for rapid kits include 3 rounds of testing to ensure that a negative result is accurate: a second test 48 hours after the first one, then your third test 48 hours after the second one!
The new COVID vaccine formula is officially approved for use and slowly making its way around the country, so be sure to check your local pharmacy or other places that offer the vaccine for the new formula and keep in mind that it takes about 6 weeks for it to be at maximum protection level. You can also get it safely at the same time as your flu shot (and RSV shot if you're eligible)!
Also, if you're fat like me, it's worth asking your vaccine administrator to use a 1.5" needle instead of the standard 1" needle to ensure it's properly injected into you! And my fellow asthmatics, it's always good to ensure you're up to date on your pneumonia vaccine, too. Expect some pushback from your doctor or pharmacist who may be ignorant to the need for this protection for adults who aren't yet seniors, but it's recommended by the CDC that all asthmatics have a pneumonia vaccine to keep us safe!
There's also this helpful info for anyone worried about their insurance not covering their shot or for those who don't have insurance! Stay safe out there, y'all, and don't forget to include KN95 and N95 masks, air cleaning practices, and other tools for keeping yourself, loved ones, and community protected! 💖
Feel free to share this info with others, too!
Also on the Blog
There's a couple of blog posts from September for you, too!
I talk a little about the process of designing and creating Fairy Tales for Adults in this post Behind the Design: Fairy Tales for Adults!
We're spoiled for choice this fall with so many wonderful comics coming out! Here's 52 New Comics and Graphic Novels for September 2023.
And finally, here's Issue #7 of More Comics Please! where I review The Last Session TP: Roll for Initiative, Made in Korea, and This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America.
✦ Read The Last Session if you love a good group dynamic filled with queer young adults figuring out where they fit in this world as life changes all around them with a delightful dose of TTRPG! (And also one of my favorite comics!)
✦ Read Made in Korea if you enjoy a scifi adventure that tackles the transracial adoption industry, mass violence, the ethics of AI, and trans identity. The comic tackles a lot of heavy topics in an accessible and wonderfully illustrated way.
✦ Read This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America if you'd like a beautifully complex memoir about a Middle Eastern American man and his young family as they settle down in a very rural part of the US, navigating racism and the culture of rural US life while also finding awe in nature and building their own home, dealing with fertility issues, and more. It's an emotional and rewarding journey!
Comics in September
Here are some comics I read in September-- I think all the reading in August must have been preemptive make-up for September 😂
A Few of My Favorite Things
cool enough air to wear sweaters (that takes colder temps for me than most 😂)
a cleaner home thanks to Fall Cleaning
Grandbaby Cakes' Jiffy Cornbread Recipe (delicious!)
New season of the Halloween Baking Championship
And this is still chilling in my fridge as I type this, so I dono if it'll be a favorite or not yet, but don't they look tasty?? Turtle Cheesecake Brownies from Back for Seconds!
See You Next Time!
That's all for today! I hope you have a fun October, and I hope you get lots of treats (Halloween, comics, or otherwise!) this month 🎃💖 Talk to you soon!
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Thanks for reading! 💖
With love,
they/them
