DELAYed Reaction
I’ve got a new short project coming out later this year (and a not-exactly-new one too). More on that right after this commercial break.
Support my work
Work-Life Balance is an award-winning prose/comics hybrid that I co-created with Benjamin Chee. Get it from:
Worlds Apart: A Conversation About Mental Health is a comic that I co-created with Nurjannah Suhaimi. Get it in-store at:
Kalibak’s Kave (Singapore)
G&B Comics (Singapore)
Book Bar (Singapore)
Greenlight Comics (Adelaide, Australia)
Making time
I have a new short story in DELAY: A Comics Anthology. The press release-ready description calls DELAY a collection which brings together “Southeast Asian inspired narratives that interpret the theme of ‘delay’ in unexpected ways.”
Together with my wife, Nadia, and my friend, Abs Goh, we’re working on a comic called “Time for That Later”. Abs is handling the art, while all three of us put the script together.
The story focuses on how time can bend and shape for caregivers; how a few hours taking care of their loved ones can feel like a week, while a whole day of rest from their responsibilities can feel like just an hour. It’s a story that’s dear to all three of us, since Nadia was her mum’s primary caregiver, while Abs is currently secondary caregiver for their dad.
We can’t show you any of the pages yet, but let me tell you: I’ve wanted to work with Abs for ages and this is easily their best work yet.
The anthology’s scheduled for release in October, but before that…
New worlds order
If you check out Difference Engine’s 2025 catalogue, you’ll find quietly nestled within its pages a listing for a book called How Are You Feeling?. The book collects the first three issues of Difference Engine’s DE Shorts single issues—including Worlds Apart.
The description for How Are You Feeling? reads:
A girl navigates her first period while a woman anticipates her last. A mother loses her baby before she can hold him. A friend opens up about her struggles with mental health.
The How Are You Feeling? anthology collects the first three issues of Difference Engine’s DE Shorts imprint: A Drip. A Drop. A Deluge: A Period Tragicomedy, Bearing Witness, and Worlds Apart: A Conversation about Mental Health. From humorous anecdotes drawn from difficult conversations, contrasting encounters and shared conundrums, to deeply personal experiences, this trilogy of comics seeks to open up dialogue about relatable issues that remain difficult to talk about.
There won’t be anything new in this edition, except an updated bio. Because this compilation’s bookstore-friendly, it’ll be more widely available too, probably globally.
If you haven’t picked up Worlds Apart already or if it’s not available where you live, How Are You Feeling? will be out in August 2025.
Diamond in the rough
That last “probably” is doing a whole lot of heavy lifting. That’s because Diamond, the international distributor for Difference Engine’s titles, has recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Difference Engine reached out to the creators they work with to assure us that this doesn’t mean our existing books (Work-Life Balance, in Ben’s and my case) will suddenly disappear from shelves overseas. However, while Diamond’s working through this, it does mean that there’s a question mark hanging over DELAY and How Are You Feeling? for now.
I’m keeping my fingers firmly crossed though that, wherever you live, you can easily purchase these books later this year.
Social butterfly
Longtime readers of this newsletter know that I have a very up-and-down relationship with social media. If I could get away with cutting it out of my life completely, I totally would—especially now that companies like Meta are kowtowing to fascists.
I know I talked about being on Instagram in my last edition, but if you follow me there, you’ll notice that I’ve been quiet lately. That’s because I’ve only really been popping in here and there to check my messages, and I’m gonna continue to use Meta’s platforms as little as possible.
I’m still on Bluesky fairly regularly though, but I’m also trying to limit my time there because, really, I don’t need to make up for the lack of Meta in my online diet by gorging on another platform.
Greg Pak, the writer for Planet Hulk, has been talking about recapturing some of what made the early internet special, about cultivating a sense of camaraderie outside of social media’s gated communities. One of the things he suggested was to add a links page to our professional websites—which is what I’ve done.
It includes all the articles I’ve linked to previously under the press section of my site, as well as links to fellow creators’ websites and blogs. Most of these creators are folks whose work I admire, but more importantly, they’re also people who’ve shown me kindness and support.
With so much awfulness in the world, I think it’s important to amplify the voices of good people.
(By the way, if you’ve got my phone number and you’re on Signal, you can reach out to me there instead of WhatsApp too. I mean, I’m still on WhatsApp because as much as I hate Meta, I’m not cutting out 95% of the people in my life, but I’m gonna try to use it less whenever I can too.)
Snuggle bunny
Luca’s started sleeping between my legs now that I’m using his favourite blanket. Yes, I’m not sure how I ever get out of bed in the morning either.
That’s it for now
Remember to support my work.
Get Work-Life Balance from Barnes & Noble, Blackwell’s, Booktopia, and Books Kinokuniya.
Get Worlds Apart in-store at Kalibak’s Kave, G&B Comics, Book Bar, and Greenlight Comics.
Residuals from sales add up and help keep me financially stable enough to continue working on new projects. I’ve taken for granted that everyone understands this, but I don’t think enough people really get the reality of their purchases.
In a time when the arts are getting devalued even more than before, thanks to shit like generative A.I., your purchases are genuinely making it possible for writers, illustrators, filmmakers, musicians and others to make a living doing what they love—by creating works that you love.
And on that note, see you all next time!