Do You Love Bad Stories? (Guts N' Gutters #12, September 2025)
Enjoying bad stories made me a better writer. Letters from the Void launches soon!
TL;DR (Too Long, Don’t (Wanna) Read)
I Participated In Free Zine Week!
Letters from the Void Goes Live In One Week!
Into the Gutters: Two Terrible Stories That I Love
Go support UltraMax & CHUTZPAH! on Kickstarter and go buy GunSmoke Icarus!
WHAT’S THE WORD?
Commiserate - to feel or express sympathy; to feel or express sorrow or compassion for.
Free Zine Week
Just for fun, I submitted two of my zines, Sorting It Out: Behind the Scenes at the Library & Six Reasons I had a Dream About Me Arguing with Stephen King Where Became a Bigot That I Can’t Stop Thinking About (yes, that is the full title X_D) for inclusion in a Free Zine Week bundle on Itch.
Despite being free, the bundle raised over $1700 to be split among every creator, and I was stunned to see my zines downloaded nearly 400 times. Unfortunately, it is no longer available, but my zines from the bundle are still available for free on Itch, or I have nicely printed editions of the long-titled Stephen King zine available on my Ko-Fi.
Letters From The Void Coming Launches In 7 Days!
It’s almost time and things are moving along nicely with Letters from the Void. We reached 50 followers (now sitting at over 70) at the beginning of the month and got to show off our three covers before the campaign launches.
Since Kickstarter now allows updates to pre-launch followers, I’ve been experimenting with sharing behind-the-scenes content to hype up the campaign.
It’s been a lot of fun! I shared the inspiration behind this series and interviewed multiple creators involved with the book.
Because you all are fabulous and subscribe to my newsletter, some of these things you’ve already gotten to see well ahead of time, so I want to thank you even more by announcing that there will be a secret award available only to my subscribers.
One of the tiers for the campaign is a fun swag pack that comes with a special art print by series cover artist Donna A. Black and a stamp sticker. Every one of my subscribers will get this bundle at a 30% discount.
If that sounds good, be sure to follow the campaign so you can snag your bundle on day 1!
We Raised $200 For The Penguins!
Thanks to your support, we were able to raise slightly over $200 to donate toward the Antarctic Science Foundation’s climate science efforts and hopefully get the penguins a jumpstart on their taxes!
Crit One Holiday Songbook Complete & Awaiting Launch!
The Crit One Holiday Songbook has been completed, and it looks fantastic! I think this is one of our most creative releases in this series and I can’t wait to get them printed.
Though we officially launch in November, BackerKit allows pledges before the campaign. Last month, I stumbled on this when I accidentally shared the campaign link instead of the teaser link (oops) and woke up to find we have 3 pledges. So we are technically ⅓ funded already!
You don’t have to pledge now, but if you’re excited about this next installment of Crit One and want to guarantee a copy, then why wait?
Project Spielberg Foundation
Unfortunately, KVGIR had to step away from the project, so we are pausing briefly until we find a new line artist. Stay tuned!
INTO THE GUTTERS
The Thrill of the Terrible
“As a prospective writer, I would urge you to not only read good books. Read terrible books as well, because they can be more inspiring than the good books. [...] by analyzing why they are doing so badly, this will immensely help your own style. You’ll find out all of the mistakes not to make.”
-Alan Moore
This is a quote I have long thought about, and at this point, it’s become standard advice among comics creatives. However, I don’t necessarily think one should read bad books only as an exercise in learning what not to do or for a little ego boost. I think it should be taken a step further. There is also a lot to be gained by allowing ourselves to enjoy “bad stories”.
Even then, I don’t necessarily like calling much a “bad story” as it’s often a less nuanced approach to critique. Sometimes, those few things a story does well may be incredibly engaging and even make it worth watching or reading again.
For this month’s article, I want to walk through two stories I’ve recently watched and read that failed to live up to their respective potentials, but I still found enjoyable. I’d even argue there were thought-provoking, though not necessarily because of the contents of their tales.
Another Simple Favor
Most times, I groan about Hollywood making a sequel that nobody asked for, but Another Simple Favor is an interesting scenario. The first film, A Simple Favor, is based on a book by Darcey Bell that one critic described as “Gone Girl gone nuclear, Gone Girl on steroids, amphetamines and cocaine,” but not necessarily in a good way.
The filmmakers took the absurd premise of the book (the story of a stay-at-home mommy blogger getting embroiled in the fake death of an admired, fabulous mom at her kid’s school that involves infidelity, incest, and plenty of murder) and flipped it into a dark comedy, which I find delightful. It’s a fun, if formulaic thriller, and I love Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively’s chemistry.
Now imagine creating a sequel to this already “nuclear” story, one that isn’t based on another book, but it’s own thing, and ramps up the original story to something beyond absurd.
Another Simple Favor is not well-written, but dear God, did I have a great time. Five years after the events of A Simple Favor, Anna Kendrick’s character has transformed from Mommy blogger to True Crime author, using the events of the previous film and the dramatic past of Blake Lively’s character as the subject of her book. Shit hits the fan when Lively shows up to Kendrick’s book tour and demands she be the maid of honor for her wedding, or she’s going to sue Kendrick for using her likeness and story without permission.
What follows is a plot-driven, high-drama story where nothing matters and every character is carried from beat to beat by wild schemes outside of their control. The film hints several times at a discussion of the exploitative and even dangerous side of True Crime vigilantism, but completely undermines this idea in pursuit of a triumphant conclusion.
At the same time, this film is so absurd and every single character is such a terrible person that I couldn’t help but get engrossed in the spectacle.
Everything about Another Simple Favor is so over-the-top that I think it’s the first example of what performance studies scholar Moe Meyer calls “High camp” that I’ve seen in a while. According to Meyer, High camp is a sort of “decentering of the subject” where the performer or character becomes an object signifying something else (almost always gay male aesthetics, according to Meyer, but I have my misgivings about this narrow view).
The characters in Another Simple Favor aren’t so much fleshed-out people, but necessary, symbolic cogs to tell a comedic thriller. They play their roles and hit their beats, but don’t grow or diminish as people. They are who they are from start to finish. Another Simple Favor also touches on Meyer’s idea of camp being subversively parodic and also Susan Sontag’s idea of pure camp, which is “failed seriousness”. Every costume, set piece, and line of dialogue is made in service of that, but because it also, somehow, takes itself very seriously by trying (and failing) to make commentary on True Crime, it’s still fun to watch.
And I think that’s why I loved this film so much. It’s strange, but mesmerizing, and left me thinking about whether a story has to have a good theme or compelling character arcs to be good. Coincidentally, Magen Cubed recently said in her newsletter, Nature’s Corrupted, “I don't believe that art needs to achieve a specific material goal, especially not an educational or therapeutic one. A story can do whatever it wants,” so it’s a topic that has been on my mind. This film, despite not being “good”, showed me that, sometimes, a story can just be pure absurdity.
Sun Eater
It was the height of the pandemic, I had only been reading comics seriously for a year, and I stumbled upon Sun Eater in a HumbleBundle of Heavy Metal titles. Recognizing the author as one of the twins in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, my curiosity was piqued. Sadly, only three of the nine planned issues were released, likely due to Heavy Metal’s mismanagement, and I’m sure COVID didn’t help.
To be blunt, Sun Eater is a god damn mess, but I can’t help but love it. The book is a dark fantasy tale set in ancient Norway about one man sacrificing his leg to gain power from a god and save his son, only to be given a pelt he can’t remove from his body, which turns him into a fabled werewolf at night. On top of this, the protagonist is addicted to unspecified mushrooms, causing him to be irrational and maybe unable to control his wolf transformations.
The story struggles to establish basic facts about the world, flesh out the characters, and the dialogue is written like an old, poetic epic, making it, at times, unnecessarily difficult to read. These panels in particular illustrate the dialogue’s pitfalls. Something as simple as “a song” has to be “an ear tune”.
The art has a sharp, dramatic style, but struggles to connect with the stiff dialogue, and there are moments where the silent panels are abrupt and mess with the flow. Page construction is a consistent struggle.
With all of that in mind, Sun Eater is one of the most unique comics I’ve ever read, and that’s why I still read it and cry about it never being finished. Sprouse said in an interview with SYFY that the book “couldn't be made anywhere else,” and I 100% agree. It’s the kind of story that could only come from one person’s unique experiences and interests.
Sprouse’s grandparents are Norwegian American and told the twins folktales from their mother country. Every character in the story originates from these tales that Sprouse cherished. In addition, his family has a history of addiction, and the protagonist is meant to represent a version of Sprouse’s mother. In Sun Eater’s introduction, he explains that he was interested in the question “what do our children inherit from us?” and believes addiction was a sort of “curse” on his family.
Combined with his previous acting experience, what results is something messy and theatrical, but also incredibly personal and self-indulgent in a way that resonates from every panel. The messiness is a part of its charm. I enjoy Sun Eater because it’s such an infectiously passionate piece that feels reflective of a specific person, even if its failings outweigh its triumphs. It’s encouraging to see that even with a lackluster execution, something interesting can happen when one strives to make their art something only they could make.
Conclusion
Apologies to the great Alan Moore, but I believe a greater sign of growth in a writer is not learning what makes a bad story, but learning how to enjoy them, how to dance with them. It turns the interaction between writer and writing away from a purely inward examination and into a conversation. Though writing is often a lonely endeavor and always reflects the mind of the artist to a degree, I believe it’s more fulfilling to not engage with writing purely for the sake of “ego” whether that be something mindblowing or something infuriating.
It’s through enjoyment of allegedly bad works that I have asked questions like “does my story always have to have character growth” or “does it matter if no one ‘gets’ this combination of influences I’m using?” Both of these questions, to me, will lead to better stories because I’m focusing less on a self-serving black-and-white endeavor and more on what better serves the craft and my work.
So, go read a shit book with enthusiasm and see where the journey takes you.
GUTTER BUDS
Shout out to these campaigns by friends and colleagues!
A former superhero finds himself locked up and desperate for the drugs that his handlers got him addicted to. Only way the supervillain inmates would be willing to sell to him will be if he takes out his former best friend sitting on death row.
Doug Wood has been killing it lately with his Kickstarter books, and I’m so excited to see this series return. I didn’t get a chance to read it when it was published by Source Point Press, but Doug is one of the few people who have made superhero comics that sound legitimately interesting, even to a superhero curmudgeon like me.
Go support the campaign so the next volume of this series can be unleashed!
Gunsmoke Icarus is a Sci-Fi / Cyberpunk / Crime Drama story set on the far-off planet of Gaia, millennia after humanity had abandoned the Old Earth. Built from the corpse of a crashed Colony Ship, the city of Icarus became home to a large portion of the remaining humans from Earth, and serves as a central hub for culture, commerce, and organized crime on Gaia. Our story follows Shion Juarez, a street kid with a mysterious past, and Leon Estevez, a young Cartel soldier with big shoes to fill. Follow this duo as they do what it takes to make ends meet on the brutal, unforgiving streets of Icarus.
It’s always hard after the Kickstarter to get new eyeballs on the comic, so this week I’m including Gunsmoke Icarus #1, which funded back in August, and I think you all should read! It’s an action-packed story that feels somewhere between manga and older underground comix, so I definitely recommend.
CHUTZPAH! A Jewish Celebration In Comics
Each issue of CHUTZPAH! Will include 3-5 short story comics about Jews from all walks of life—stories that offer a fresh lens on the Jewish experience beyond narratives of trauma and suffering. The comics will be created by a carefully curated group of veterans of the comics industry, expert storytellers and artists who themselves represent a wide range of Jewish identities and traditions.
American comics were made by Jewish voices, so I think it’s important that we have an anthology like this. Support this great book!
