The Magpie #021: Special book sale edition / Truck full of bees
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Magpie, a wire service for the weird compiled from the open tabs of writer Alex de Campi. Here’s what’s going on:
Greetings and salutations. As most of you know it has been an absolute fucker of a week, with publisher Unbound (now Boundless) welching out on royalty payments to authors. I was due about $9,000, of which $5,000 was due yesterday.
As a result I’m a bit short on the old mortgage this month so would anyone like to buy some signed books? (Please?) Because this is me right now:
I’m based in the US; if you are outside the US shipping is likely to be exorbitant—if any of these books catch your eye please order them from your local bookseller or library, that still benefits me in the long run. You can also buy the audiobook of THE SCOTTISH BOY, which—other than ordering direct from me—is the only way I will see a dime from its sales.
You can also buy the following books electronically on Panel Syndicate. All money is split equally between the people listed on the cover:
BAD KARMA (black comedy/action-thriller about two disabled vets / former mercenaries who go on a Christmas road trip to free a man wrongly accused of a murder they did. It goes really wrong. Also the third part of their road trip party is one of the guys’ ex-wife, who is honestly the MVP)
MAYDAY and its sequel THE BRANDENBURG SCHOOL FOR BOYS. Early 1970s action/spy noir.
If you already own my books, thank you—but if I can ask one more thing, please talk about how much you enjoyed them (if in fact you did) on social media or leave a review on Amazon or wherever.
You can also just send me a tip on Ko-Fi.
For new subscribers, this is usually an occasional email where I share links to cool stuff I’m reading (there will be some at the end).
It’s been on hiatus for about a month while I’ve been resizing and reformatting all the art files for my and Duncan Jones’ book MADI ahead of its Image Comics release in July. Check out the cool new Paolo Rivera cover:
Madi is a sci-fi action thriller set in the same world as Duncan’s films MOON and MUTE, and thanks to Image it will FINALLY be available electronically as well as in this refreshed 304-page print edition with 50+ pages of backmatter. Preorder it here in the US.
But whew, producing it destroyed me, on top of being a single mom who has a day job.
Right, on to books for sale. Here’s the deal: $10 flat priority mail US shipping no matter how many books you buy. Payment via Venmo or Paypal. Once you decide what you want to buy, email me a list, I’ll make sure I have everything, ask if you want them signed / dedicated (free) then set them aside for you and give you my Venmo/Paypal.
If you are not a newsletter subscriber and someone sent you this webpage or you found this via a social media link, you can find my email here. Don’t put your book orders in the comments, I won’t see them promptly.
Once you pay, I sign and mail. Books go out Monday. I’ll probably throw in a few random floppy comics too.
THE SCOTTISH BOY: Spicy, queer medieval thriller/romance about young knights caught up in a game of kings. Illustrations by Trungles. I am SOLD OUT of the Unbound hardback version (left) but I still have a few of the paperback version (right, $15).
SMOKE/ASHES: Early (2005!) postmodern sci-fi thriller graphic novel of mine. Great artists: Igor Kordey, Bill Sienkiewicz, etc. I still have a fair few of the cased, signed & numbered hardback (left, $20) as well as the paperback (right, $12). Please make them go away.
More old graphic novel stuff: The Image softcover of MAYDAY (left, its sequel is available for pay what you like on Panel Syndicate, see upthread) and the four volumes of my and Carla Speed McNeil’s teen survival book NO MERCY (right, only volume 1 pictured) are $5 each with any other book purchase.
KID STUFF: THE BACKUPS, a YA drama graphic novel about three teens singing backup on a big star’s summer music tour (left, hardback $15, softback $10) and SCRAPPER, a postapocalyptic animal adventure graphic novel written with Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski (right, hardback only, no animals die/are permanently harmed, $20)
COOL HORROR STUFF: My two graphic novels with Erica Henderson. The Eisner-nominated PARASOCIAL (left, $18) is like a modern-day social-media MISERY. If you’ve ever spent significant time on Tumblr, AO3, or in fandom circles / at pop culture conventions, this book is a must-read. DRACULA, MOTHERF**KER! (right, $15) is a 1970s LA Dracula noir novella with stunning visuals.
BAD TO THE BONE: The gorgeous 328-page (from memory but it’s a chonky boi) plus extras hardback edition of BAD KARMA (left, $25), substantially tweaked and improved from the Panel Syndicate edition (I re-lettered a lot, because I’m a perfectionist). Right, the Eisner-nominated BAD GIRLS (softcover, $20), a late-1950s tropical jazz noir about three women who have $6 million fall into their laps as Castro takes over Cuba. Only problem is, the money is the mob’s.
FINALLY: Another prose novel, HEARTBREAK INCORPORATED ($10) about an agency that breaks up relationships.
And here is the little diva who has been crashing all my photos:
Remember, reply to this email with the books you want to order, and we’ll take it from there.
A few last links before I go:
Truck full of bees! This was not at all an attempt to move Nazi supervillain The Swarm into a new superhero supermax gone horribly wrong.
Amazing profile of Broadway diva, chicken mom, and Rangers fan Patti LuPone with a paragraph near the end (Drop cap, “Since…”) that genuinely made me have so many questions. Which chickens survived? WHOSE VICTORIAS SECRET UNDERWEAR?!
Umberto Eco going ham on CASABLANCA? Yes please. Go off, king.
Older LGBT science fiction database.
Man attends a home match at every one of the UK’s 92 pro football clubs, writes incredibly pure article about it.
I love both Matthew Perpetua (king of amazing Spotify playlists) and Julia Gfrörer, so obviously I’m reading this.
Free/open access eBook of HOW REPUBLICS DIE: CREEPING AUTHORITARIANISM IN ANCIENT ROME AND BEYOND.
I also really like Toren Chenault’s comics work and his next book (Kickstarter, funded, book is finished, campaign ends in 5 days) looks like a must-buy.
Good t-shirts from Tokyo Tiger, Super Yaki, and… the Bodega Cats people. Also a reminder that bestie Jay Edidin has a TeePublic store full of shirts that are great for Pride, and my store has angry political shirts with all proceeds going to trans charities.
What I’m reading right now: WHOEVER YOU ARE, HONEY by Olivia Gatwood which is a very slow-burn beachside tale of alienation and creeping weirdness, and it’s so divorced from everything else in my life right now I’m enjoying it as a kind of escapism.
What I’m cooking: Just made braised lamb shanks, which was mostly this recipe but lmao, we do not throw out the veggies, we leave them in the gravy and serve them over couscous. Also subbed potatoes for turnips.
What I’m listening to: Damn if that first song isn’t my life right now
That’s it. Be well, be kind to each other, and I’ll see you next newsletter.
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