Heylo-heylo,

I've had a hectic month (updates of which you can read at your leisure at the bottom of this newsletter). I only have TWO announcements in the professional artsy realm.

Becoming a Death Doula for the Alexander Romance

(Register)

May 11, 2026 | 12.00 - 1.30 PM BST

Institute of Classical Studies (Online, Zoom)

I am a guest speaker in the online summer series Overlooked/Undercooked: Classical Reception in Colonial and Postcolonial Southeast Asia, exploring Southeast Asian postcolonial reception of classical literature, and hosted by the Institute of Classical Studies and the Classical Reception Studies Network.

I'll be speaking about my motivation and approach to creating the 21st century edition of the Alexander Romance - mainly my position as the death doula for Alexander the Great's restless wandering spirit. Alongside my other position as a Southeast Asian / Australian artist in deconstructing imperial legacy.

Come listen to me yak!! I'll also have a presentation and some speaking points that allude to the future of the comic, so if you want to get a little bit spoilered, this is your chance. ;)

The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya Complete 10th Anniversary eBook

(Up on my online shop!)

All two volumes and 600+ remastered pages of TCM are on sale in one convenient PDF! It's pay as you want (meaning you set your price, even free).

What's Happened Since

I completed my sabbatical at the end of February. I was supposedly meant to return to work after a packed weekend of opening Melbourne Comics Art Jam (our third year!) and Josh Groban Concert: Round 2, Melbourne edition.

Loved the jam, loved the concert even more. Got to sit in the second row - I'd never sat this close for anything or anyone ever* - as a VIP fan (it was mainly for the experience... plus the normal seats in the better views weren't that much cheaper than the basic VIP Superfan package, which I bought as a treat for my birthday month). Got my special tour totebag and wine bottle + charms. Enjoyed Josh's pretty voice up close and seated with older fellow VIP fans while drinking QQ Passionfruit Bubble Tea. The ideal chill concert experience, perfect to close out my 31st birthday.

*the closest I've gotten to Josh was literally right in front of me at stage door for Sweeney Todd in 2023. I passed him a drawing, he said thanks sweetly and then signed my 3 items. A normal mundane interaction.

**despite my lifelong fangirling I experience a form of parasocial aversion where I refuse to be perceived by anybody I am a fan of. It's also tempered by my belief that as an artist/author, I am a professional peer, even if we're not in the same industry. Interacting that one time at stage door is ENOUGH!! I don't want to know anything outside of a professional context.

Then the next morning I had to fly off... to China!!!

I spent a week in Shenzhen to appear for a series of presentations/workshops at an international school, catering to their presechool, primary school and high school campuses. Three days of handling students!! After that experience, I really admire teachers (especially at the primary school level) so much, because I seriously don't have the mental fortitude or most importantly, the voice to corral a group of rowdy kids.

That experience has totally solidified my understanding that I'm too Introverted Soft-Spoken English Academic for large school groups to serve my purpose effectively, which is fine! (It's not the school's fault either; their students were extremely well-behaved across the board, besides the student compulsion of needing to talk. This was just concluding a multi-year suspicion about my capability) I still enjoy teaching: I just feel I am much more suited to smaller groups or one-on-one mentorships, which was also evident during my time at the school. My favourite moment was when a trio of 12 year old girls showed me their fursonas and object-head-sonas after a session - we got to geek out over that shared interest. And then getting to talk individually to the school artists about their art journeys.

Outside of the school appearance... this was my first time in China! Coincidentally, Shenzhen is in the part of China where my ancestors originated before settling in Malaysia in the early 1900s. Besides Shenzhen, my mum and I only managed to see Guangzhou, which is the closest we got to our actual ancestral hometown (a rural somewhere in Foshan).

We sightsaw. We mostly spent money on food. We bought stuff. I got a nice haul of trinkets.

Anyway, that much amount of socialising, running around and travelling did a number on me. I'm so happy to finally be able to work from my-very-cosy home and have days where I do not have to physically speak to people at all.

Been working hard on the new young adult graphic novel. The script is 80% of the way... and the art I've been seeing from Erica for the project is TOO good!!!

More on the comic next time... and an exciting series of panels coming up in May,