Books/Comics I Read + Webcomic Update
Talking about my favourite books read this winter, a comics exhibition, and of course, a bit of Alexander Comic.
Hello all!
As promised, here is my newsletter discussing some of the books and comics I've read.
Reminder! Right now I am using my normal email to temporarily send my fresh new Buttondown newsletters. Future newsletters will eventually come from a “newsletter.reimenayee.com” (or "reimenayee.com") - so whitelist that email address in your settings if you want to make sure you get my news and things.
Before we get to showing off my "Have Read" list:
🙌 Alexander Comic Update
(Book 2, Chapter 8 Page 211 - 214)
I really to stop dropping updates right before an entirely packed social weekend (More on that later!) that blocks me from putting out the newsletter in time. 💀
This update is a fun one! It's nice to be drawing these two again after such a long while, and to fall down into these random rabbit holes that are only opened up by working on this webcomic. Here was me learning my ancient Greek alphabets!
You can read more about the process of translating Alexander's letter from English to Ancient Greek in the update.
Books & Comics I've Read in (Australian) Winter
I'm making good progress on my Yearly Goal: to read 100 books (which includes prose, comics, non-fiction). I'm up to 65! Currently working on the 66th.
Here are some noteworthy reads:
- (Currently reading) The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco: I had wanted to read this Umberto Eco classic for a long time - it's got everything that appeals to me: a murder mystery in a tight-knit community, a niche community, indulgent intellectualist detours and roundabouts into seemingly random and connected topics about art/humanity/religion, all set in an historical era. It is the major influence of one of my favourite video games, Pentiment (which I totally 100% recommend).
- My Broken Mariko, Waka Hirano: A standalone short manga about a lady who robs her best friend's ashes from her abusive father and tries to do good with it. This manga balances humour and heaviness well, and the cartooning is strong and unashamed of its own expression.
- The Silence, Bruce Mutard: My friend's graphic novel! A capitalist-poisoned gallery curator is so entranced by a painting so pure and beautiful that she desperately seeks out its anonymous creator, who only displays and gives away their work for free inside a random empty church in the middle of nowhere. I enjoyed this a lot especially having known now how the fine art scene operates; and the reveal of who (or what) might just be the artist is brilliantly executed.
- Seeing Making: Room for Thought: I've been reading this book of visual essays on and off for the past year and a half and finally finished it last month. This book is what I would describe as a collection of visual montages accompanied by essays about the potential of visual art in expanding conceptions for the past and future. It's directly influenced my approach to my webcomic. Highly recommend it if you can get a copy. (The author's website is just as interesting)
- The Medium is the Message/The Medium is the Massage: One of the stops down my rabbit hole journey into art theory and its relation of history. It's also the ancestor of the previous book in terms of execution, particularly the "Massage" variant.
- Slices of Life, Qu: Qu is possibly among the best cartoonists in my generation and I am so hype for an English edition of her collection of short, experimental comics!! This is a crowdfunded book from Bulgilhan Press and it's coming out soon.
Comics Off the Page @ Pink Ember Studio, Melbourne
(RSVP)
The aforementioned thing that was part of my busy entire weekend!
I'm thrilled to be showing my work at this experimental comics exhibition. The premise of COMICS OFF THE PAGE is experimental comics that go beyond the confines of a 2D space.
My work is a single comic page about process that is itself deconstructed into its layers, and which you have to walk in between in order to piece together the final page.
I spent all Friday afternoon prepping to hang these from the ceiling (with help from friend Aaron Dillings). Each layer represents a stage in the comics-making process: sketch, colours, inks and letters.
The page when the layers are together.
I cut a hole at around this section of the page so that you can peek into the layer behind it. If you angle your head well you can maybe see all of the layers through this hole.
If you're in Melbourne, Australia, come to the exhibition launch and the live comics reading on September 17, 6pm!
Life Stuff
- It's still too soon since my last newsletter (last week) to report of the going-ons of my life. I've been doing rather okay!
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I'm trying something new this week where I'm doing an in-home arts residency: which involves turning off the internet for a large chunk of the day and rewiring my brain towards creative deep work.
My brain's been a bit overcooked by doomscrolling and social-media dopamine addiction, a bad habit that developed as a coping mechanism for the stresses of my ex-dayjob and Masters. It has affected my productivity badly and preventing me from fully coming out of my burnout. My hope is that by going a bit cold-turkey it will put my brain back to normalcy... or at least, regain the focus I used to pride myself over!
- I made my first ever block print / stamp
It's giving me an idea for what I want to do for The Carpet Merchant's anniversary next year... next to the handwoven bookmarks, the self-published artist-edition tome with hand-laid gold foiling, and various ambitious mini-projects. 😂 I may be physically and mentally exhausted but at least my creative drive isn't affected.
🎉 Reminder: Commissions Open
My art commissions for the Autumn & Winter seasons are open!
Commission bookings will be open until December 15, 2025. Please read my commission page for more info and email me for a quote.
That’s it from me! I will return in a couple of weeks when the next Alexander Update drops (and it will be actually ON THE NIGHT ITSELF, I swear!).
Remember to whitelist “newsletter.reimenayee.com” (or "reimenayee.com") so you can keep receiving my future newsletters!
Until then,
