We may only be at the start of June, but I’m calling it right now: 2026 can kiss my ass.

Nadia getting cancer was—and continues to be—the worst of it. However, life seems to have thought that that just wasn’t quite enough to pile onto our plate and decided to hit me with another round of COVID. The ‘Rona kept me quarantined and ill for a solid week, during which I lost a sizeable amount of money from freelance work.

I’m still dealing with what I assume are its side-effects. Whenever I try to get some work done, I end up nursing a massive headache.

So, y’know… that’s what I’ve been up to since last I graced your inbox.

I’ve been feeling incredibly low and exhausted because of all of this. One bright side though is that my birthday’s coming up and I’m not above asking for presents, so I’m calling upon all of you, my legion dozens of subscribers, to get copies of my books—for yourselves, your families and friends, or hell, even your enemies.

Mr Memphis, in particular, is the one that can most immediately benefit both Ben and me financially, especially if you choose to pay more than the $5 minimum. (The extra helps off-set some of the Gumroad fees.) Granted, unless each of you’s dropping at least a hundred bucks on Memphis, it’s not going to make up for all that lost freelance work, but it’s still very much appreciated. Heck, if you’re picking up any of my books, I’m grateful.

I know there’s nothing really new in this edition, but even writing all of this has knocked the wind outta me. I’m trying to recover as best as I can, by greatly easing up on work and catching up with my comic to-read pile. (Sorry, prose pile. You’ve been neglected to the point that the whole list-the-books-I’ve-read-this-year plan’s in the bin.)

And if there’s any good news to take outta this edition, it’s that: that I’m actually getting some rest. Well, that and…

This angel was meowing sadly outside the room in which I was quarantined throughout a lot of that week, and it broke my heart. When I was finally out, I made sure to let him know just how much I missed him too.

Anyway, that’s it for this edition. I really hope that the next one brings some good news. (How Are You Feeling? is getting its international release in August, so hey, there’s that to look forward to.)

To end things on a bit more of a positive note, I’m currently listening to CHVRCHES and Hayley Williams’s Bury It, and if you haven’t heard it (or haven’t heard it in a while), you should give it a spin. It truly is a musical hit of hopium and I think we could all use that, even if you haven’t personally gone through the ringer recently.

Here’s the music video, as created by my Bluesky buddy, Jamie McKelvie. (I’m exaggerating, of course, but we have had lovely exchanges there.)

(Plus, if there’s one awesome comic creator that I can confidently call a Bluesky buddy—and to tie this all back to my birthday present—it’s obviously Alex de Campi.)

See you when I see you, folks.