Yes yes yes, hello again! For the next three weeks:

That there is the new Detroit Lions football team’s offensive lineman Cade Mays, and it is May, so that’s the joke (attributed to our pals at the Lions social media accounts, long may they roar.

But welcome to May! It’s my birthday this month! Mother’s Day is upon us shortly, so break out your guilt and mom-mosas! And, of course, because it is the first week of May—

MEDIEVAL, VOL.1 IS OUT NOW

Huzzah! The collected digital edition of Medieval, the mature-readers Arthurian baseball adventure comic by me and Alex Cormack (with fantastic editor Sarah Litt), is out and available now from our pals at Comixology Originals. Just, uh…well, sort of in time for the 2026 baseball season (okay, one month later! Sheesh! Unclench!)

If you’ve been waiting to read Medieval until it’s been collected in fancy one-read edition, well, here you are. Follow these steps and get to sixth-century blood-and-cussing in mere moments:

1. Click this link and buy Medieval Vol. 1 (or redeem it for free if you’re a Prime member)

2. Download the Amazon Kindle app to your mobile device

3. Open Medieval Vol.1 on the Kindle app, and read it to your heart’s content or until your battery runs out, whichever comes first.

4. Accept our grateful thanks for reading our book! We know you have many other comics and graphic novels to read, and we appreciate you choosing ours!

5. If you love it as much as we do, maybe return to this link and write a review that tells other people exactly how much you did love it? Reviews and ratings are super helpful for raising the visibility for indie comics and graphic novels like ours.

Yeah, it’s sort of bittersweet now that the collected edition is out. I had a blast writing this book, and working with both Alex and Sarah. Some of you may note that it is labeled “volume one,” which may imply the existence or promise of additional volumes to come.

Well, sure. As I’ve written previously, Alex, Sarah, and I would love to make more Medieval. And maybe one day we will—but not for a bit, and there are no plans right now to do so. First of all, um, this, so the future of Comixology Originals is a bit in flux, it sounds. And because of that, we’re sort of in limbo. Should the folks still steering that ship come back to the table and ask us to do more, we definitely would. If they don’t come back to the table, and we work out the rights perhaps Alex and I could place the second volume elsewhere. But none of that is getting worked out anytime soon, so Alex is off to make other cool comics with other cool people…and I’m working on doing the same.

In the meantime, we’re still exploring a physical collection—the minute I have news about that, I’ll shout it from the rooftop (as will Alex.)

You can check out the Spotify playlist for the collected edition of Medieval right here. Click over, start track one, and read the book all over again—hopefully the soundtrack matches up the way we want it to. I had a blast putting this thing together…and added an extra song at the end which wasn’t on the issue playlists that pretty much sums up Medieval to a tee. Have a listen, have a read and enjoy.

And, of course, you can—and should!—still vote for Medieval in the 2026 Ringo Awards. The deadline to vote is coming up quickly, at the end of May. Please please please take the time and vote for us at this link (recommendations in the graphic above), and if you wouldn’t mind, maybe ask your friends and family to do the same? We appreciate them. We appreciate you. Danny Landau fuckin’ appreciates you all.

RETURN TO THE MOTHERFREAKING FUN FACTORY

Now that Medieval is in the rear view mirror, it’s time to focus on October 2026 — the month for lovers and haunters! —and the release of my first original horror novella by the great folks at Blackstone Publishing.

And hey! It’s May, which we all know means “birthday” to me and also birthday gifts…so here’s my gift to you, pals: the first look at the completed never-before-seen cover for Return to the Motherfreaking Fun Factory! Check this out:

Damn, that thing is gorgeous and creepy and compelling all at the same time. You can preorder it already!

Anyway, the book is one hundred percent written now—I just handed off the copyedits this week, and am already starting to brainstorm with the marketing and publicity folks for how we’re gonna spring it on the world this Fall. Hoping to do, at the very least, a bunch of signings in the Northeast (and maybe in Detroit, too?) So if you have a local bookstore or comic shop and want them to bring me in to sign copies of the novel, let them know…and let me know, too! I really want to get out there once the book is out—a proper book tour—and I’ll publish any details about that as they come together and I know when the time is right.

What’s been pretty interesting is folks have asked me lately if I’m making a full-on pivot to prose going forward—abandoning comics, as it were. I mean, earlier today I realized that the last comic book script I wrote (not a spec sample, but a full and complete script) — Medieval #5 — was completed almost a year ago.

Now, that’s frightening.

But I mean, come on, folks. This newsletter isn’t called “Nice Jewish Words & Prose Books”, right? Comics will always be my first love. (Uh, my second love, that is. Don’t tell my wife. Oh wait. Okay, my sixth love, maybe, after the kids. But the dog can go to hell.)

The point is, I love telling stories via the collaborative nature of juxtaposing words and images with an amazing co-author and a fantastic editor. No matter how much it tries, Comics will never let me go. I’ll always make more comics, and I’m making some, pitching some even now. 

…but, I do have to say that there is something a bit freeing making literally jazz all by yourself, writing without thinking about the limits of the page or the economics of essentially making movies with a crew of more than just one or two (if you include the editor.) With prose…I can just sit down and write. I can build worlds out of words, and conjure up visuals in a reader’s head using prose and dialogue and chapter breaks and there’s something very very appealing about that…especially when you’re in the Comics valley looking up at the peak, trying to figure out how to roll some sequential rocks back up the hill.

I don’t know; writing prose is a whole different muscle, yeah? I get to paint the pictures myself using evocative paragraphs. I like that sometimes, as a challenge, not having depend on how many words and people me and my co-author can fit into three-to-six little boxes. I get to let my stories…my characters and pacing…I can let the scenes breathe. I can get into a protagonist’s head, and let the reader do the same.

Sure, there are still literary economics when it comes to prose — word counts, chapter breaks, that sort of thing. Even with Fun Factory, which had to be brought in under 50,000 words…telling that tale within the constraints of 22 pages over 5 issues, with less than 6 panels a page…it’s a whole other animal, friend-o. Some days I find one case to be draining and restrictive; other days, I hit the wall on the other. And then there are the days when I try to balance both — to let my brain waffle back and forth between a comic or novel, panels and prose, and allow myself to see that context-switching (just like moving between horror and adventure, superheroes or slice-of-life) as a bit of relief, so that I don’t get too frustrated with one or the other. That’s how I work, in general; juggling multiple worlds using multiple mediums, maybe in multiple genres. I like it. It makes things interesting. 

And when one of those mediums, like comics, isn’t as forthcoming in terms of placing projects or satisfying a creative itch, or when a story just has to be a prose novel instead of a five-issue mini-series, well… 

…when that happens, you gotta dance to the tune that’s playing now. For me, right now, I’m vibing without pictures. And there seems to be opportunity waiting for me at the far end of the dance floor, right? 

Next week, next month, who can say? Comics, or maybe movies? More novels—who can say? Right now, I’ve got two spec novels lined up to complete, and I’m considering new, creepy, frightening book ideas to follow up Fun Factory. Right now, I’m sailing a wave of prose, cresting and riding as the pages turn.

But there’ll be more comic books. Freaking of course. Like I said, I’ve got a few I’m thinking about this very minute. It’s a weird fucking time to be a person who just loves making comic books, no matter your level or discipline. We’ll keep doing them, though. Right, friends?

Let’s see where we land when the music changes, shall we?

WHAT ELSE / SO WHAT

I mean, if you want to see some of the comics I am working on, here’s a peek at ‘Project Main Street’, the new bourbon-infused crime story I’m dreaming up with Savor / Nice Jewish Boys co-author John Broglia. Very different; stylistically challenging. Here’s hoping some enterprising and clever publisher snaps us up. I’m ready to start pitching this crime banger, comics editors. Gimme a ring.

Aside from that, with Medieval and Fun Factory off my plate, I’m just burning through the first volume of ‘Project Red’, a long-gestating supernatural crime novel (the first volume of eight) that I am going to finish. I am going to finish it NOW. No more screwing around. I’m at 58,000 words out of a projected 85,000 and with about 1000 words a day, I should finally have a first draft completed in two to three months, all things being equal.

Here’s a glimpse:

Another thing I realized? In the last two years, I've had nearly all of my writing backlist been put out of print due to either a loss of licensing rights by a publisher (The Phoenix Chase) or the inability to sell and warehouse, which has happened to most of my graphic novels, most recently Kings and Canvas, which you can no longer purchase via Outland Entertainment — if you dig through the books on my website, a lot of them are labeled “out of print” even though you can probably find them somewhere online or get them digitally. The Savor surplus was actually pulped, and I bought whatever remained of Brownsville and The Big Kahn at the publisher level; now I've been asked to assume the remainder of Kings and Canvas and figure out how to sell it.

I didn't get into this business to manage and distribute my own books — I just wanna write good stories — and I know that this reads as overdramatic, but every time this happens, it feels like, book by book, my writing career is vanishing. That said, I may have figured out how to add e-commerce capabilities to neilkleidbooks...and will think about how to make available digital copies of any out of print work I own (Ninety Candles, Brownsville, Big Kahn, Savor, Kings and Canvas.) 

Yeah, that feels like a fun summer adventure.

MAY JEWISH AMERICA HERITAGE MONTH BE WITH YOU

Yeah, so the beginning of May is also always a blast because we at Kleid Comics HQ observe three wonderful holidays. The first is Jewish American Heritage Month, during which we celebrate the contributions of all sorts of important Jewish legends and geniuses to the history and culture of the United States. Second, the first weekend of May is traditionally the weekend that comic book stores across the globe get set up for Free Comic Book Day, a one-day extravaganza in which shops give away specially-created comic books by a broad, diverse variety of publishers to anyone who walks through their doors. As an observant Jew who can’t sign or sell or buy on Saturday—the holy day of Shabbat—I never sign at FCBD…but I do walk to my local store, A&S Comics, after synagogue to participate and hang out, and because I know every comic shop is paying forward the free comics they purchase from each publisher, I always stop by on Friday to drop a little coin and pay it back. This year, I picked up a whole bunch of DC comics—including the compact edition of American Vampire—and rolled out a video to encourage anyone going to the store to maybe consider buying some comics by Jewish creators and about Jewish themes. 

I still believe there is room, opportunity, and demand for more well-crafted and spotlighted Jewish representation in mainstream superhero comics BY Jewish comic book creators (yes, me included) and would love to connect with folks and editors at either Marvel or DC Comics about making that happen. Give us your Kitty Prydes, your Ragmans, your Batwomans, Ben Grimms, Doc Samsons, Marc Spectors, your Magnetos, Al Rothsteins, Bernie Rosenthals, Dominic Fortunes, Billy Maximoffs,  R2-D2s (he’s ours! He has a kippah!) and your Vance Astroviks all yearning to be free. I mean, obviously there are a lot more Jewish creators and characters out there - this is just the first matzo ball out of the soup. Let us cook, Marvel and DC.

In honor of both Jewish American Heritage Month and Free Comic Book Day, as I posted last year, here’s the first issue of Nice Jewish Boys for FREE, an intimate crime comic by me, John Broglia and Ellie Wright, edited by Sarah Litt and published digitally via Comixology Originals. Enjoy reading it for free.

(Also, as I consider how to promote my comics and books in the future the more I believe I need to get myself comfortable with making and being in videos and I don’t particularly love that…!)

Of course, the third big early May celebrate near and dear to my heart is… Star Wars Day! May the 4th! Each year at our house we watch a Star Wars movie or show — this year we watched the original, Episode IV: A New Hope, and also dug into the final episodes of Maul: Shadow Lord, the fantastic animated series that went hard into a galaxy far, far away with some excellent crime storytelling that tied neatly into the larger, over-arching drama that is the Skywalker Saga and the broken aftermath of the galaxy following the Clone Wars. No spoilers here, friends, but damn that was a good show.

Last year, I finally got a chance to pitch some Star Wars comics. In the end, it didn’t work out—the publisher lost the license, but Lucasfilm really dug some of my ideas. I pitched my Star Tours idea—Breaking Bad meets Wings on Batuu—and was told “good idea but not any time soon”. I also pitched a Reva comic as a sequel to the incredible Obi-Wan Kenobi TV miniseries titled The Hunt for Yoda. I would have liked to have done this fantastic redemption arc. The note back said, “we like this, but it explains far too much.” BUT they did ask me to pitch more ideas. Nothing got through this time, but I love in hope to one day write for a galaxy far, far away. #LetNeilWriteaStarWar

Look, I have loved Star Wars since I was a kid, but what I love about it is that I’ve been able to share that love with MY kids. It really has brought us closer together as a family in certain ways, and I thank everyone at Lucasfilm, and anyone who has ever made a Star Wars book, film, show, game, toy, or whatever, for helping us do that. You will always be my friends, and remember: I have friends everywhere.

Every Star Wars Day I draw a lil sketch. This yea, it was a sinister, creepy lil' Maul in honor of Maul: Shadow Lord. Here it is, and may the Fourth—er, the Force be with you all.

WHAT ELSE AM I READING AND WATCHING?

Okay, so besides Maul I’ve actually been burning through a lot of TV, movies, and books. Right now I’m completing the final episodes of Daredevil: Born Again, and the last one was beautifully written and shot (great cameo in there, too.) During the penultimate episode, it was insane to see how close in body language and physical expression Michael Gandolfini was to his father. His first scene of the episode, at a table talking to BB: the hunch, the hand gestures…hints of Tony Soprano throughout. Eerie. Also, uh…where was Spider-Man, yo?

I also burned through Gary, a surprise drop by the creators of The Bear, one of my favorite shows on FX—this one was interesting: a flashback episode following Richie and Mike taking a day trip to Gary, Indiana to deliver a box and along the way, well, deal with the shit that’s tearing each of them apart. Haunting, soul-searching, a wonderful short film well worth your time.

I watched Saturday Night, the movie that came out last year which documented the very first episode of Saturday Night Live. I was so inspired by it’s history (though not really the script or performances, apart from Nicholas Braun in a duel turn as both Jim Henson and Andy Kaufman) that I picked up Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by Susan Morrison, a real look at the show’s creator and a more accurate history of the show’s formation, trials and triumphs. I also learned that this fantastic 2024 Beavis & Butthead sketch was actually pitched six years earlier…amazing.

Comics-wise, I’m burning through all of the post-2025 Marvel Star Wars comics again as a laugh, but I also finally read Batman: Dark Patterns by Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman, which was the total package, and maybe included the best Scarface story I’ve ever read. Great job, gents.

I just re-read a bunch of DC Armageddon 2001 annuals over Passover which got me digging around for the other annuals in my boxes. I will say that some are…underwhelming, but some are fantastic. Are they collected as an omnibus? They should be, DC Comics. They should be.

This weekend, I’m digging intoi the first issue of If Destruction Be Our Lot by Matthew Rosenberg and Andy MacDonald, both whom are creators I really enjoy (Andy and I collaborated on “Crucify Me,” a short story about my anxiety for Z2’s Eisner-nominate anthology, Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes.) This book looks to be my jam, and I can’t wait to read it. Here’s the solicitation: Humanity is extinct and all that remains are the robots who once helped us.The robots who once helped us are happier now, doing their work without human interference. But not Abe. He believes there must be something more out there. After nearly getting killed, he's determined to wander the Earth until he finds it—or gets recycled trying. Pick up the first issue when you have the chance!

I also  just read a bunch of Daredevil comics written by pal of the newsletter, the great Charles Soule, and they made me realize I maybe don’t know enough about the law to write a solid Daredevil comic but i could still rock a detailed series about the UX design staff for the Avengers or Stark International. 

LIGHTNING ROUND!

• Last time we said goodbye to the great Sam Kieth, and we’ve lost quite a few comic book geniuses recently, most recently the great and talented Gerry Conway, creator of the Punisher, killer of Gwen Stacy, co-creator of Firestorm, Jason Todd, Power Girl, and writer of many fantastic stories. Gerry started writing comics professionally at nineteen—nineteen!—and he will be missed. Look I’ll just say it: when my time inevitably comes, hopefully a long long time from now, I hope I’ll be spoken of with as much praise for my skill, morals, and demeanor as Gerry Conway was spoken of on the day he passed by both his peers and fans alike. Rest in peace, Gerry.

  

• We also said goodbye to the great Len Strazewski, who co-authored with Rick Burchett and the late Mike Parobeck, one of my favorite runs on the Justice Society. RIP, another genius

• Jim Lee recently spoke about some health issues he’s experienced, and the need to rethink his work-life balance. Good for Jim sharing his struggles - I hope we all feel comfortable enough doing this and as an industry strive to ensure every one of us is healthy physically, mentally and also financially. For what it’s worth, my sleep cycles are completely borked because for a long time I had to write from 10pm-2am (and hold down a day job.) it’s really hard to force myself to cap the amount of time I write each night, but if I overdo it I’m no good to me, my wife, my kids, or my responsibilities. It’s also hard not to fight a mental battle there - worries I’m not doing enough, writing enough, working enough and therefore that’s why I’m not where I want to be with my career. Every day I struggle with this. But if burn myself out, what good am I to anyone? Finding that balance - and being OK with it - has taken a long time. My comics talents aren’t as physically draining as most (I.e, anyone who draws, colors, letters) but I can definitely tax myself physically and mentally if I don’t pull back. It’s a trade off I’ve learned to live with. As I broke 50,  and after facing  cancer, I realized how important it is to take care of my physical and emotional health. Some days are better than others. I try every week. If you’re trying too, I appreciate you. I’m here if you ever need an ear or encouragement. Here’s to us all getting better.

• Speaking of comics and pain and loss, there are lots of great editors I’ve wanted to work with out there looking for work right now due to layoffs at Marvel and Mad Cave, so please some smart and discerning publishers or companies hire those editors. Sure, lots of times it’s about wanting to work on a license or character…but for me it’s mostly about working with cool people whose work and taste I admire and dig.

• Oh, snap, did we miss the whole Artemis II thing here in our newsletter? How can you look at these photos and not be freaking inspired, fam?

• Someone asked me recently why I don't do more comic book conventions, and it boils down to: Cost (flight, hotel, time); not enough consistent work out in print to be a draw/make back the cost; and when the above ISN'T an issue, getting a table often is. I’ve applied to table at New York Comic Con this Fall…and I may do a one day show in Cleveland this July…but that said, I'd love to do more cons, folks. Invite me as a guest. Comic convention organizer pals, please fly me out; put me up! Honestly, my biggest regret now in my career is that i can’t afford to do more conventions to see my network, pals, and folks more often (and you, my faithful readers.) Sure, its fun making comics together...but i miss hanging out with comics peers and pals on the regular.

• I told my kids they can’t watch the Invincible cartoon on Amazon Prime (based on the wonderful comic book by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley) because it’s made for adults and my eleven year old asked “what, is it about going to the dentist?” Kids, amirite? Speaking of kids, four years ago, i co-wrote a Spider-Man story in the car with that same kid—then seven years old— in which Peter Parker ate too many burritos and has gastrointestinal trouble. “Someone get me photos of that wall-farting menace!” J Jonah Jameson shouts gleefully into the newsroom. I gotta say. I still think it’s got legs, Call me, Marvel!
  

  

• There is A COLLECTED KEITH GIFFEN OMNIBUS comic out from DC Comics that collects some of his most offbeat stories and characters, including The Heckler. Who is the Heckler? Oh, friend-o, you NEED this book, more than me.

• I love when I find old sketchbooks and remember that I used to draw. Check out this guy:
  

  

• Oh flark, look at this life-size Cyclops visor I can never buy if I don’t want my kids ripping on me for the rest of my life. But, uh. Should I buy it, seriously? Also why can’t I find a decent Lobot implant headset?!

Okay, friends. I have to get back to writing (and finishing!) ‘Project Red’. Enjoy May, see you in June, which is basically when the world really starts to burn (because of the weather; don’t get dark on me) and starts to wonder how many weeks exactly it is until we can watch the Detroit Lions again.

Love and comics, one and all

—Neil