Welcome back! It’s been a minute. Here we go.

January has come and gone without a newsletter, due to deadlines and travel and holidays (spent some time on vacation with family, also thinking about comics), but I’ve been busy and now we’re back in action. As I’m sure you may know, it’s already been a pretty busy 2026 — and it’s only gonna get busier.

SOME UPDATES!

So since the last installment, Medieval #3 (the third issue of the Arthurian baseball comic from me, Alex Cormack, and Sarah Litt via Comixology Originals) came out and we’re about a week and a half from the release of issue #4 via our pals at Comixology (more news on them below.) Hopefully you all managed to grab the last issue and are all set for a fun, kicks tournament issue coming your way on February 10th, in which our man Danny Landau—time lost and heartbroken, fighting for his life, his girl, and a way back home to New York—faces off against, well, the Knights of the Round Table in order to win Guinevere…er, Gina Rabinowitz’s hand. Alex, Sarah, and I have put together one heck of a fun issue and it’s got a pretty cool little twist at the end (one that Alex was excited about, I tell you what), so please:

• Preorder issue #4 here via Amazon

• Download the Kindle app and read the issue in the app on Feb. 10th

• And then, you know, please leave us a nice review; maybe tell your friends

• And accept our grateful thanks!

By the way, here’s the cover for issue #4, inspired by the classic Marvel Comics cover to Thor #337 by the great Walt Simonson! I was lucky to meet Walt only the once, at a comic book shop in Nanuet, NY when I was in college, and he was so nice to me (we were the only two in the store, with perusing the racks and latest releases, and we had a nice conversation about Deadman and Manhunter.) I’m thrilled that Alex and I were able to pay him homage with this cover design.

If you haven’t been keeping up, you can also get a Spotify playlist for each issue of Medieval. Here’s the one for issue #3; here’s the playlist for issue #4. Give them a listen as you read, and you’ll get a sense where my head was at when I wrote each issue.

Alex and I did a fun little baseball interview with Tiffany Babb at The Fan Files. Read it here.

Here’s another one I did with Conskipper.

“I think our hero, Danny Landau, is all of us. Maybe not an “everyman,” but he has big feelings and big anger and big loyalty. He’s a guy from the Bronx who loves a girl and a team (in that order) trying to get back home from Camelot after getting hit on the head with a line drive while sitting in the bleachers. I think what’s great about that is that we can all relate to the dude. Alex and I have presented Danny as a man out of time, sure, but despite all the blood and violence, despite all the f-bombs…he is completely human. Danny loves and is loyal, he gets lonely and envious, and yeah, he’s got a mean streak but even when out of his element and reacting badly (often very badly), he’s just a flawed, limited guy trying to do right by his people, his team, his relationship and his country…and when he can, do right by himself.”

There are some nice reviews of Medieval #3 here, from Abstract AF and Fanlight Zone.

And here’s a quick lil Danny Landau sketch I did while waiting for a call to begin. Even the baseball bat is lil! Enjoy!

Other than Medieval, I’m knee-deep in revisions for ‘Project Wonka’, the original prose horror novella you’ll hopefully be reading from me later this year. I swear, I am having a blast working on this book, and you’ll be hearing about it from me as soon as it’s announced.

I’m putting together a brand-new comic book pitch with our old pal John Broglia—co-author of both Savor and Nice Jewish Boys. This one is called ‘Project Main Street’, and it’s another very specific crime story—really unique, and very methodical, in a world I really love. Here’s a sample page from John. More as—and if—it comes together:

Finally, I just finished the pitch document for ‘Project Benjamin’, a 200+ page non-fiction original graphic novel. I sent this over to its subject for their review and approval, and so far its been received quite nicely. Honestly, if I can get this thing going, it may be one of the most important books I've ever co-authored, especially with the right artist/co-author. Keep a Jew in your prayers, folks. 

MEDIEVAL: BEHIND-THE-SCENES

So, as Alex and I began doing interviews and promoting Medieval, we started getting some fun and unique questions about the series: what are its influences, why is it so violent, how much research did we do about King Arthur and sixth-century England, does there need to be so much blood, did we get bogged down in time travel and mythology, and for the love of god, why does that knight have a sword through his tongue?

Violence aside, the biggest thing folks asked us about was research. Alex did a lot of art discovery, but from a writing perspective—after making two emotionally-heavy, dramatic, and personal comic books (The Panic and Nice Jewish Boys), I was really looking to write a comic book more from the gut than from the head. As I said in the essay for issue one, I’m not an Arthurian scholar with a wealth of mythological knowledge regarding the Vulgate Cycle. While for some books I do enjoy knowing enough about a time, setting, or historical period in order to properly give it my own spin…for Medieval, I honestly wanted to write something that didn’t require historical accuracy or faithfulness to characters, canon, or place. To that end, the one rule I adopted for myself when writing Medieval was, essentially, a Danny-esque “fuck research.” Anyone reading our book who knows a lot about the Lancelot-Grail Cycle will be horrified. I’m basically taking a baseball bat to King Arthur— literally and figuratively. 

But what I thought for this edition (and this appears in the back of issue #4) was: let me at least offer to you, Fair and Loyal Readers, a sense of how I went about crafting a spin on these characters that many know and love; how they differ, what I was going for, and how much I was looking to abandon more traditional takes on Camelot. I hope you enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at my thought process. If you aren’t interested, I totes get it. Feel free to skip down to some comic and TV reviews, and the lightning round.

King Arthur
So, obviously for any Arthurian tale you gotta have a King Arthur. I always knew that Artie was gonna be the third leg in the love triangle at the center of Medieval, and so I wanted to present a version of Arthur Pendragon that might be compelling to a modern girl like Gina, while keeping him centered to a heroic moral compass. But…I also wanted to make him prone to jealousy, which makes good men do stupid things. And so I injected him with the flawed, emotional envy that comes from the very human side of us all (especially those of us who have been through the wars, romantically) and I gave him a sense of pridefulness (he’s a hero and a king already, having won his country’s wars and built his empire, so he’s got a lot of yes-men and that changes a guy). A bit Robert Baratheon, a bit Ned Stark, Medieval’s Arthur is slightly older than the hero we’re used to seeing, and both his age and experience are starting to weigh. He still wants to fight, but understands the country needs him to lead. That said, he is not above a night of revelry…or a stolen kiss. But the ladies of the court hold no appeal. Once he sees Guinevere/Gina, Arthur is smitten.

Guinevere
In legends and tales, Guinevere—Arthur’s wife—has been depicted as virtuous and flawed; a villainous betrayer but also a loyal noblewoman. Obviously, the one thing I knew is that her affair with Lancelot leads to Camelot’s downfall. So what I wanted to do here was toss a twist—there is no actual “Guinevere,” but rather Gina either adopting her name…or Arthur (or someone else) mishearing Gina’s actual name and sticking her with this new one when she lands in Camelot, as we saw in this issue. Medieval’s plot cast Danny into the role of Lancelot. This one will obviously end very differently than the legend—but it really let me play with who Guinevere is, or could be, and how (should be allowed to continue our tale) Alex and I might weave the threads of Camelot’s fall in a different way.

The Knights of the Round Table
A surly, independent bruiser like Danny is gonna have beef with any kind of authority or perceived injustice—and in Camelot, Arthur’s knights are basically the cops. AKAB (All Knights Are Bad), yeah? So, for our story, I wanted to play up the tension between knights and peasants, depicting how some knights (not all) are taking advantage of feudalism for their own selfish ends. Naturally, Danny (and my readers, hopefully) will side with the oppressed and besieged, which automatically means that the key conflict of Medieval turns out to be Danny v. Camelot for most of the book. There are a handful of knights written into the narrative that help shine a spotlight on what I’m talking about, most notably Sir Sagramor, who is not only one of the actual knights of Arthur’s Table Round (and a key antagonist to Hank Morgan in Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, upon which Medieval is based) but also serves as a fantastic punching bag and comic relief. Sir Whent, by the way—the knight whose decapitation Sagramor vows to avenge in issue #1—is not part of the Arthurian mythologies; his name comes from a minor knight in Game of Thrones.

Sir Lancelot
Because Danny stepped in to assume his place in the Arthurian love triangle, Lancelot is somewhat relegated to the background of Medieval as an advisor, wingman, and good-time compatriot to King Arthur. As I said, if we do get to tell more of this story, I have definitive plans for Lance. But right now, he simply serves to help move things along and rubber-stamp Arthur’s hotheaded vengeance on Danny.

Sir Gawain
So, in the original pitch for Medieval I’d cast Sir Gawain as one of the series’ central antagonists. Traditionally, he’s famously depicted as a consummate knight, a model of chivalry and loyalty, and a hero. His role in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight positions him as a romantic character who learns humility. What I wanted to do is subvert all of that, and portray Gawain as the complete opposite of how he’s known to be: rude, boorish, petty, scheming. In Medieval, Gawain is pretentious and looks down his nose at Danny, boor to boor. A petty rival, a true chickenshit hero if ever there was. That office colleague you love to hate. I’ve got plans for Gawain…but this time around, he’s just there to piss off our protagonist and prove that AKAB.

Sir Galehaut
With the number of knights I was turning into assholes, I did want to show that there are exceptions to any rule. In the texts, Galehaut is both a half-giant and king, an enemy turned ally—like when the Juggernaut joined the X-Men, you know? Ultimately, I was looking to give Danny not only a sympathetic ally in King Arthur’s court, but also create for him a wingman and best friend in this strange new world. In our story, “Gale” is the son of vanquished giants, wooed by Arthur to the Round Table. A tall, ungainly knight who connects with Danny on a level no other knight manages to do. He becomes a confidant, drinking buddy, advisor, and friend. And though we don’t know it yet…Gale is also a fantastic pitcher, it turns out. For my other fantasy book (Kings and Canvas with Jake Allen), I co-created the character of Argos Dane, a boastful, boorish champion boxer who was also the main character’s best pal. That dude was based on both Marvel Comics’ Hercules (his mannerisms, his style) and Aquaman from DC Comics’ Brave and The Bold cartoon. For Gale, I wanted to create almost a literary kissing cousin to Argos Dane…but make him more of a realist—calmer, more restrained, and somewhat of a straight man for Danny’s humor, violence, and bombast.

Merlin
Of all the characters beside Arthur in the Vulgate Cycle, Merlin is obviously the one with whom I’m most familiar. I mean…there are thousands of representations out there of Merlin (or Maerlyn) in all sorts of media and popular culture. He’s been in Disney films, comic books, novels, and more. Sometimes Merlin is old and befuddled…and sometimes he’s cunning and crafty. He’s been a hero and—like in Medieval—he’s been a villain. Trickster, advisor, wizard, son of the devil, friend to the king. Above all, Merlin’s place has always been at Arthur’s side, ensuring that the reign of his long-time friend remains absolute. He means for Arthur to lead a dynasty, and uses wiles and magic to protect the monarchy. Merlin helped Arthur defeat Picts, Scots, Gauls, giants, Saxons, Romans… but this new threat—an unusual time-lost, foul-mouthed barbarian—confounds the court magician…especially when he suspects that he might be the one responsible for Danny’s arrival to begin with. Curious about this stranger in his strange land, wondering how he can exploit the knowledge of this “knight from the future” to his own ends, Merlin pits all of his cunning and intelligence toward bedeviling Danny Landau…and making sure that Camelot endures.

The Black Knight
Okay, so you haven’t yet read issue #4. I’m going to leave this one REDACTED for now. Come one back after February 10th, and we can definitely chat about this mysterious ringer who shows up at the end of the fourth issue…and makes things difficult for our man Danny in issue #5.

WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING

So, if you haven’t picked it up yet, grab a copy of Joe Hill’s latest novel, King Sorrow. It truly is the goods. Sweet, scary, intriguing, intimate, deep, dark, dense. Give it a read if you have the courage, The book is about a group of college friends who make a deal with a devil—or, in this case, a dragon—and charts the course of their lives from the late 1970’s through to almost present day, and how their ill-considered pact destroys their lives…and the lives of others…and what it really means to have a dragon for an ally.

I’ve also been working my way through old issues of Marvel Comics Presents Vol. 1, one of the best anthology series that I believe Marvel has ever published. Starting in 1988, lasting for 175 issues, it mostly was a way to have Wolverine and various X-Men (but usually Wolverine— sales of the series were always higher for issues in which Wolverine was featured) star in yet another comic book series…but also highlighted many of Marvel’s other characters, some of whom had their own series and many that did not. For instance, there’s a Steve Ditko Captain America serial and also a Wooded done-in-one story; Hulk, Man-Thing, Cloak, The Beast, Machine Man, Ghost Rider…it really was fun to see, when the series was first coming out, who might appear in the next issue. The stories, to be fair, are rather hit or miss. But MCP was where Marvel released Barry Windsor-Smith’s legendary Weapon X serial, and where folks like Ditko, Sam Kieth and other legendary creators came to flex their creative muscles and play with some of Marvel’s best and also their more under-used toys. I don’t believe these issues have ever been collected…but it’s worth your time to dig through a back issue box to give them a chance.

Look, I dig Game of Thrones—I devoured the first series and the novels, and have been enjoying House of the Dragon…but I have really been looking forward the HBO’s adaptation of the Dunk and Egg stories, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. I have to tell you, even with only two episodes out, the show does not disappoint. Earthier, bawdier, A Knight is set some time between HOTD and GoT, and tells the story of Duncan the Tall, a squire who inherits a sword, horses and a knighthood and tries to not only make something of it, but also attempt to do some good. Along the way, he encounters Egg—a stable boy who is more than he seems—and agrees to take the boy on as his squire. The series is currently adapting the first Dunk and Egg short story, but my hope is that they get to the rest, which are quite engaging. 

I also tore through Wonder Man, the latest Marvel Spotlight TV show on Disney+. So, I’ve been a fan of Simon Williams and the character of Wonder Man ever since I started reading Avengers as a kid—as evident by the fact that I wrote a short prose story in which he plays a pivotal role, which was nominated for a Scribe Award in 2022. And sure, the TV show is quite different than the Wonder Man I grew up reading but who the hell cares when the story is this good? This one plays up on the fact that Simon Williams is an actor—both in the comic and show—and offers a fun take on what it means to exist in the Hollywood of the MCU. Great cameos, and a fantastic buddy dynamic between Yahya Abdul Mateen II and the wonderful (ha!) Sir Ben Kingsley, again reprising his role as Trevor Slattery, the faux Mandarin. Wonder Man runs for eight episode each with a running tie of thirty-to- thirty-five minutes. Spend an afternoon or two with it. If you like Hollywood insider shows and film like The Studio and The Player, then Wonder Man is for you. Also? Holy crap who would have ever thought we’d see an entire episode of TV about one of the Great Lakes Avengers?!

Oh, The PITT is back. I’m not a huge medical TV show watched, to be honest. I don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy or any of the many other medical shows people out there devour…but I do like this one. Each season of The PITT focuses on a single day in the life of an ER in Pittsburgh, PA, and stars Noah Wylie (you know him from another medical TV drama, yes?) It’s a pretty compelling watch—each episode covers an hour of the shift for the fast-moving, fast-talking ensemble—and I was surprised to see the third episode of the second season, running now, took the time to respectfully and soberly address the shooting that took place in 2018 at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill. I appreciate how they used it without making it feel shoehorned into the narrative. I used to spend quite a bit of time in Pittsburgh back when I worked with a Jewish youth group during college, and this show does both the city—and its cast, crew and writing team—very proud.

Finally, I went to a showing of the Melania documentary and…
…just kidding. Come on.

LIGHTING ROUND

• Okay, so here’s the first big item. Big old Amazon layoff may mean disaster for the Comixology team. Now, I will say this: I don’t know any more about what’s going on that you do. What I do know is that the rest of Medieval will be coming out on time. Beyond that? I cannot yet say for sure. Will there be a print edition (and one for Nice Jewish Boys, while we’re at it)? Dunno. Will there be more Medieval after this first volume? Maybe. For now, my heart goes out to all my pals and partners over there. I can tell you that my working relationship with the folks at Comixology Originals—the level of engagement and respect, of mutual understanding—has been one of my best working relationships in comics. They pay on time, and are fantastic marketing partners. I truly hope those affected are being taken care of & are snapped up by publishers with an eye for talent. And selfishly, I hope this isn’t the end. If they are still here next year, and will continue to have me, I will happily put out more comic books with the Comixology team.

• Next? Shit, 2026 has already been horrible. I’m just going to say this: ICE has got to go, has to be abolished, and there needs to be justice for Renee Good, for Alex Pretti, and for everyone who has been unjustly detained, harassed, imprisoned, tortured, and murdered. Also…if your actions have prompted either Bruce Springsteen or Weird Al to write a scathing song about you in under 24 hours? Maybe do a little soul searching about how you're living your life.

• I also want to express my relief that finally, all of the hostages and the bodies of the hostages taken, held, and murdered by Hamas on and since October 7th, 2023 are finally home.

• RIP to two legends, the great Sal Buscema and the very talented and wonderful genius, Catherine O’Hara. Our world is much poorer by losing them both. By the way, if you haven't seen it yet, watch The Studio for O'Hara alone. She steals every scene she's in.

• It’s also been a year since my friend Adam passed away. Adam was a big man with a big heart. I miss him a lot, as do many of my friends and folks in my congregation. A year ago on social media, I posted this video of Adam’s process (he loved to cook, and loved to understand the science behind everything he cooked) for making pizza. If you have the time, and find this kind of thing as interesting as I do, give it a look. We miss you, Adam. Fuck cancer.

• I was happy to see that in the end, the demogorgons were just the friends we killed along the way. Honestly, great finale to Stranger Things, which I’ve been watching since Day One. Nice job, Duffer Brothers. Heartfelt, tense, nostalgic, explosive… but no 1989 Batman movie reference in the last episode? The SUMMER of Batman? I don’t know about that. Also, I watched 1989’s Uncle Buck right after watching that finale, and uh major Wheeler family vibes…!

• Big congrats to our men Fraction and Zdarsky! Pick up the comics here from Image Comics, if you haven’t read them yet.

• As we begin the New Year, here's me (down near the middle) opining on the last year and what may be forthcoming for the comics industry in 2026. What was the biggest comics industry story of 2025? I mean, it was Diamond, but I should have said Medieval, right?

• Happy five year birthday to Savor by me, Broglia and Frank Reynoso—a culinary young adult adventure graphic novel that came out from Dark Horse Comics…the day of an insurrection on our nation’s capitol! Sadly, the book is out of print right now…but John and I are making plans to hopefully fix that sometime over the next year or so. Stay tuned.

• One day I'm gonna write a very Jewish fantasy / swords & sorcery book called Minyans & Dragons about a band of nine stalwart adventurers journeying from village to village, complaining about the food, avoiding fighting any actual dragons until they can find a tenth. Publishers and editors reading this? Gimme a challah, er, holler.

• “Yancy Street…between Broome and Grand.” Hells. Yes. Also, I want Cyclops to be the new hero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so go to heck Captain America and oh hey let me write a tie in comic that is really a back door for introducing his father and the Starjammers into the MCU

• Speaking of Cyclops, our man Paknadel has a new Cyclops comic coming out from Marvel. You should give it a shot. Alex and I share an opinion, it seems, that Scott Summers is “X-Men Dad” and as a dad myself, I relate to things like “needing to remain in control of myself / my family’s situation” while grappling with a world often outside my control. Like Scott, I’m “lame” and “square” and bring “pun energy” to the table. I can be strict and severe, but ultimately love my family and would die for them if need be. Cyclops’ energy is my energy (I mean not the force beam energy but you get it) and I am happy that his time has come.

• Thank you, Kathleen Kennedy. I have truly enjoyed all of the Star Wars shows and movies and parks and toys and comics and games under your purview. Looking forward to the next era of Star Wars under Dave Filoni’s purview…also, SOLO remains my third favorite Star Wars movie. Sorry, Kathleen, but it was a great idea.

• Oh, and I am very excited to watch this new Darth Maul craziness with my kids. This is very much in my wheelhouse

• So happy that Dogbert can finally take off those glasses, go out to the park and smell another dog’s butt

• Dave Sim is…a choice. If the Eisner Hall of Fame takes into account work over creator, and doesn’t factor the obvious flaws and scandals of the latter, what’s to stop them awarding this to folks who may be even worse?

• Finally…with the work I’ve been doing on the horror novella, I’m taking a critical eye to my writing output, and I don't know how I don't just pivot into prose for a while. It's really tough to get a comic greenlit these days (especially if you're not a "buzz" name with a "buzz" book) and I'm not sure I have the stomach for crowdfunding. Look, prose writing isn't for the faint of heart either, but there's a lot less creative overhead to tell a story there as a writer before you take it out to both pitch and market. I could technically just write for the Kindle store for a while, if I wanted. I'd be in the same place if I tried to crowdfund. And, i have to be honest: I love the medium and craft of comics, the collaborative nature of it all...but am falling back in love with prose and the written word. And for the most part, until its edited, the act of creation is mine and mine alone. It's like writing and drawing your own comic. Look, I'm still gonna make comics (I'm in the middle of working on that pitch with Broglia, and am the non-fiction OGN, too.) But right now...I'm happy with the prose on my plate.

• I mean, that all being said, please buy and support Medieval if you want me to make more comics…I have no idea what will come my way this year, but I'm just gonna keep on writing and telling stories, working, and hope that talent + good ideas + determination and grit always rises. Join me, huh? Here’s to us. Here’s to the lifers.

Stay safe out there. Watch out for one another.

Back soon,

Neil