Heylo heylo my peeps.

I blinked and suddenly it's August! I hadn't realised how quickly the weeks went by since the last newsletter.

I wasn't joking when I said the period between May to August is always my busiest season of the year, inadvertently and inevitably. Though judging from my calendar, 2026 is going to be a relentless year regardless. (I'm never beating the "why are you always doing so many things" allegations)

👀 Suddenly... a TWIDI update??

(Read Chapter 2)

Somewhat impulsively, I have returned to the primordial stomping ground: my very first webcomic, The World in Deeper Inspection, after a very long hiatus.

The Ending Near the Beginning is a story that was in the making for 10 years. In fact, the idea behind it is actually one of the first from when TWIDI was created in 2010 (16 years ago! Frightening!).

I struggled to write this Chapter (which is a sequel to The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya, which is itself a part of The World in Deeper Inspection) for a long time, due to both its complexity (so much lore! so many character backstories! so many flashbacks!) and my writer's block. Almost immediately after completing the script for Bee's Guide to Applied Romantics I jumped into writing this Chapter while the momentum was still going. As you can see, I did it!! Which means I can finally draw the pages!

TWIDI's Chapter 2 update is currently operating on "as I like" schedule, partly because of my busy period and mostly to get myself used to the rhythm of updating a webcomic again while juggling my fatigue.

There's a healthy amount of Chapter 2 pages up to read if you haven't read them yet! And maybe a reread is in order...?

Relatedly...

I recently updated the cast portraits. The last version was from 2018!

The Carpet Merchant Book 2 is halfway done!

(Read TCM)

Updates every Wednesday and Saturday

We're getting into the meat and potatoes of the story right now, following Zeynel's transformation into a vampire and needing to rely on Ayse.

I don't always reliably announce updates via my newsletter, so if you wanna keep up with the TCM 10th Anniversary Rerun directly, adding it to your RSS reader is the best strat!

Australian Winter Rush

Before I talk about things that happen in the past, I want to shoutout events I will be doing this month.

Comics Craft Talk & Workshop with Aśka

August 13, 6pm, Squishface Studio

I will be speaking and facilitating a workshop with fellow Aussie author-illustrator extraordinaire Aśka in conjunction with the release of her latest YA book, The Friendship Paradox (which I recommend; I even wrote a witty blurb that I am proud of (being witty is not my strongest suit).

Speaking to Pictures: A Comics Reading Night

August 21, 6pm, Pink Ember Studio

(Book your tickets!)

I will be part of a lineup of this comics live reading event to fundraise for my upcoming comics festival... MAKE!!! (Will be talking more about my new pivot as comics festival organiser in a bit) We will have comics and crepes, made by our French-Aussie comics chef Emilie Walsh, and exclusive stickers.

MAKE Comics Festival

(Check us out!!)

I hinted at it last newsletter, but now that it's officially out I can shout out my biggest project this year (and hopefully the rest of my life): organising and launching the inaugural Melbourne Alternative Comics Festival.

In addition to organising, I designed the branding and our CMYK mascots... and the festival poster for this year! Whew!

The pivot into becoming a comics festival organiser seems like a wild swing from the outside, but this festival is a culmination of the way my life has shaped itself for the past decade. I am very lucky and grateful to be building MAKE alongside an amazing and competent team!!

Anyway, there's lots to come with MAKE's programming, and for whoever is in Australia and can attend, I hope to see you there in October!

Pet Portrait Commissions Open!!

I finally found time amongst my busy schedule to provide one of my favourite services: illustrating pet portraits!

Bookings are open until the end of August. Email me ([email protected]) for a quote! Details on commissions can be found below.

(Commission info)

(Pet Portraits Portfolio)

The Bloggening

Haven't had time to write a blog post, save one:

Upcoming Things I Might Announce

✨Support Me On Buttondown✨

Reminder again that I've set up a paid subscription/patreon model for this newsletter. If you'd like to support me with $3/$5/$10 a month, or pay as you want, please head on over to my Buttondown to upgrade your subscription.

Your financial support will help me to continue making webcomics outside of the traditional publishing structure, particularly Alexander Comic and The World in Deeper Inspection, and facilitate ongoing scholarship and maintenance on the Comics Devices Library.

Till very soon,

.