Guts N' Gutters #1 (October 2024)
Welcome to the new newsletter of Luke W. Henderson!
TL;DR
Welcome!
A Crack in the Code is now funding on IndieGoGo!
An Article in Archetypes now live on Kickstarter!
Crit One 3 has begun production.
Krazy Kat?
Into the Gutters: Titles and their Layered Meanings.
Go back The Night Farm, Vol. 2, Bump #4, This Immortal Coil #1 & Let Us In on Kickstarter!
WELCOME!
Hello friends!
Thank you for signing up for my new mailing list. Since the future of social media and promotion is a bit dicey these days, I figured I should finally pull the trigger on making this. It’s not like every comic creator I follow has been saying you need one… Or maybe they have.
My plan is to release the newsletter monthly on the last day of each month with occasional short updates blasted out when new campaigns are live or other pressing news happens. Each week will feature behind-the-scenes photos and discussions of what I’m currently working on
I promise not to clog up your inbox and make each entry something worth your time. I’ll go into detail on how this newsletter came about in today’s article.
WHAT’S THE WORD?
Automaton - a moving mechanical device made in imitation of a human being.
A Crack in the Code
Last year I had a story accepted into Mocha Memoir Press’ latest anthology A Crack in the Code. I know it’s a cliche to say, but this story is truly near and dear to my heart. Birds of a Feather follows a young trans kid, Robin (née Cardinal), and an android, KRO-63 but Robin calls them Crow, who works for a party planning company that serves only the wealthy. The two bond through their mutual need to take control of their bodies and lives.
The anthology didn’t make it on Kickstarter, but rides again on IndieGoGo. As of writing, we’re __% to our goal with __ days left; plenty of time for the book to fund!
As a bonus, enjoy this short excerpt for being a subscriber!
“Is there a game you would like to play, young sir?” said KRO, breaking the silence. “I am programmed to perform any number of physical activities within safety parameters.”
Cardinal looked down at his feet and muttered, “Oh, no. That’s ok. I…”
A hover trolley full of people stopped at the front gate. One of KRO’s colleagues hopped off the back to open its door and direct the guests towards the side of the house where they would enter the backyard. KRO watched as the boy’s demeanor changed in an instant. Cardinal gave a small smile as the fancifully dressed people exited the courtyard.
“Did you want to watch the guests?”
“Um, yeah. I wanted to see the dresses.”
This made KRO pause. “Why the dresses?”
“They’re just pretty. I like how the women who come to my dad’s parties dress.”
KRO turned to look at the slow trickle of guests. The women, for the most part, wore frilly floral dresses and massive hats. The android thought the hats wereit silly. I they would wear the hats when it would soon be dark, but humans placed much over function.
Cardinal had been staring at KRO while they stood lost in thought. The boy looked towards his feet, mistaking the android’s silence for judgment. Of course, KRO didn’t have the capacity for that action. They were blissfully unaware that’s how they were being perceived. But then they saw the boy’s downtrodden posture and drooping face.
“Is something the matter, young sir?”
“No. Sorry. Could you forget our conversation? I don’t want anyone else knowing about this.”
The android cocked their head to the side. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the authorization to erase anything from my memory.”
Cardinal was about to explain that wasn’t what he’d meant, but then KRO continued, “However, I don’t need to divulge any information not specifically relevant to a request.”
Archetypes
Geek Collective had a call for original articles to include in the second issue of their magazine Archetypes and I was lucky enough to have my pitch accepted! I dug into James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan’s Acopalytic trilogy focusing on how they successfully crafted a cosmic horror comic despite that genre being difficult to execute with sequential art.
I’m extremely proud of this article, and I’d love your support on Kickstarter!
Crit One 3
ICYMI: For the last two years I’ve been organizing a zine series with members of the Comic Jam which we then launch exclusively on Kickstarter for their annual ZineQuest event. Crit One is a collection of fantasy and DnD-inspired pieces where blunders and failures are spotlighted.
Earlier this month, I officially opened the gates for submissions by the talented Jammers and I can’t wait to see what they create. This year's theme is The Imp Fire Strike Back and will feature comics, stories, and art about marvelous magical failures.
Stay tuned for when pre-launch begins!
Charity Anthology - Krazy Kat Comic
Writer Vince Pavey announced a call for comics to be included in a charity anthology that would raise money for North Carolina hurricane victims. I had told myself that I was taking a break from anthologies, but I’m always happy to donate my time for noble causes.
Vince wanted a collection of stories by royalty-free/public-domain heroes, so my immediate reaction was to craft a Krazy Kat comic. Geo Herriman is one of my favorite comic strip artists and I recently did a one-page story with his iconic characters for the Comic Jam with Jack Van Thomme. Jack wasn’t available for this anthology so I’m teaming up with the talented Claudio Ghirardo, who I’ve worked with in the past, to tackle another romp with Krazy, Ignatz, and Officer Pup.
There’s no official date yet, but I’ve been told it will be soon as they want to get the books out in January.
INTO THE GUTTERS
What’s Underneath a Name?
I went back and forth a lot with the name of this newsletter. I knew it needed to display my personality and set the tone for everything to be included without being too cringe or pretentious. I’m infamous among my friends for overthinking everything and I love things to have multiple layers to them, so titles tend to take me a while unless I’m lucky enough to have a brain blast at the beginning. Though some may think “it’s just a newsletter. Why agonize that much?” I truly believe in the power of a great title. Allow me to explain why.
Last year I read Hannah Grace’s romance novel Icebreaker about an optimistic college hockey player and a grumpy perfectionist figure skater. There were many things I loved about this book, from the inversion of the typical “grumpy/sunshine” trope, to its focus on the emotional development of the male lead and, yes, it was also very sexy. I’m a sucker for a good spicy novel or comic. But by far, one of my favorite things is how the title of this novel works on multiple levels.
In the story, there’s tension between the college’s hockey team and figure skaters, dare I say, things are a bit icy (I can’t avoid the cringe it seems), especially between the team’s captain Nate, and the ambitious skater Anastasia; a classic enemy to lovers dynamic. Things come to a head when one of the college’s skating rinks malfunctions, seemingly from an ill-conceived prank. Now the two groups must split schedules with the other rink. Anastasia blames the hockey players for this abrupt change in her tightly coordinated routine and Nate has no clue how the other rink could have been sabotaged, but he feels responsible anyway.
As one might expect, the forced interactions between these two eventually turn romantic and sensual and they find things in each other that they have desired all along. Ana and Nate become better people by being in love and thawing their preconceived notions of the other. Their relationship even forces them to work through their deeply-held emotional strife between parents, skating partners, and teammates.
The title is brilliant because it works as a one-word summary of the plot and the themes of the novel. The inciting incident is literally the ice breaking, a fact that I find hilarious. At the same time, Ana and Nate have to break the ice between each other and their loved ones.
The title instantly tells the reader everything they can expect, while also becoming more meaningful as one reads. It leaves a great first and last impression.
I chose the name Guts N’ Gutters for similar reasons. A gutter is something dirty that takes digging to see the metal underneath, but it's also the name for the blank space between panels in a comic. Guts obviously refers to internal organs, but it’s also a metaphor for bravery, diving deep into one’s self to overcome the odds. The alliteration of it tickled me, but the layers of meaning made me fully belly laugh (eh, you know what I mean).
I want to dig into the blank, internal spaces and discuss bigger ideas on comics, creativity, and craft. That’s what I hope to imbue with this title and I hope you all will be as excited as I am to ride along this with me.
GUTTER BUDS
This final section is where I’ll shout out friends with current projects I think you should check out!
Welcome to Wylder Wood! The second season of A.L. Davidson's cozy horror BL web novel series "The Night Farm" is coming to print!
Issue 4 of the Eisner award nominated series 'BUMP: A Horror Anthology' by Joe S. Farrar and a number of talented artists.
A 20-page comic about a grieving father's trip through the underworld and his daughter's mission to unravel their weird new reality.
Let Us In: An Anthology by Non-US-Creators
A slice-of-life anthology that shares foreign creators' struggle as they venture into a US-centric comic book industry.