SDCC? NOT FOR ME ME
a diary of indolence
I won’t be at San Diego Comic Con this year - I’ll be in the pool instead.
I’m in one of those funny in-between places - I’ve started ramping up on my new projects, but they’re not ready to be announced yet. So, I’m taking the time this year to let myself just…chill. To work on those projects that have a longer tail, enjoy the peace and quiet, and save my energy for Dragoncon, which is always my big end-of-summer hurrah.
Anyway, have a really good time! No big announcements from me to wait for yet, so you can basically ignore the whole event. :)
CATWOMAN #67 came out last week! Selina’s return to Gotham, the penultimate chapter of NINE LIVES and the penultimate issue of my two and a half year run on one of my favorite characters of all time. And if you are paying attention to San Diego Comics Season news, you’ll see you’re in luck -
is taking over with issue #69!
When I say I’m not done with the girls of Gotham, I mean it. More on that soon!
CATWOMAN #67 - 7.17.24
HARLEY QUINN #42 - 7.24.24
BATMAN #151 - ABSOLUTE POWER: HARLEY QUINN - 8.7.24
(my first ever foray into the pages of the BIGGEST BOOK IN COMICS! Hope you check it out.)
CATWOMAN #68 - 9.18.24
HARLEY QUINN #43 - 9.25.24
One great thing about the change in my schedule is I get to include reading into my work week again. One of the best things you can do in any medium where you work is to keep an eye on what’s happening, so in that spirit, I’ve treated myself to enjoying a few new comics lately, and I want to share what I’ve liked. Super standard entry this week - wanna hear about what comics and books I’ve gotten an early look at that I think you should pick up? Here you go!
FINDERS/KEEPERS #1
I’m a huge Vita Ayala fan - they’re one of my best friends, but I’ve also been eager to read their return to creator-owned comics. I’m also a huge Skylar Patridge fan, so this upcoming one-shot, FINDERS/KEEPERS scratched the hell out of that itch.
It's part of The Horizon Experiment, a upcoming series of one-shots from Image Comics and directed by Pornsak Pichetshote. Each of these oversized issues features a new take on a classic adventure genre, with the protagonist's background inspiring the story in new, unique ways.
Vita describes the series as a “reverse Indiana Jones,” and I don’t know if I can do better than that. So fucking cool to see - the perfect book for those of us museum nerds who wonder if all that stuff should really be there…pretty sure this one’s out in January, so ask your shop!
THE POWER FANTASY #1
Dear friend and one of my faves Kieron Gillen let me get an early look at THE POWER FANTASY, his new comic with the amazing Caspar Wijngaard, and it feels so now. Beautiful and hopeful and free but deeply, deeply concerning. Here’s what I had to say to K about it -
And here’s what he said back, so, you might want to heed his words:
DJ Ceiling Cat will never die. The Power Fantasy is out in August!
THE NICE HOUSE BY THE SEA #1
Cinematic, sexy, grown-up, mysterious, brilliant.
All words one could use to describe the devastatingly great
, or also his new book with Álvaro Martínez Bueno, THE NICE HOUSE BY THE SEA.
It’s a sequel to one of 2021’s best, THE NICE HOUSE BY THE LAKE, and while I’ve only read the first issue, I might already be more in than I was on the first. It feels like an elevation of an already incredible concept, and I’m just so in love with Bueno’s art. I’m shuddering for what’s next. Feels expensive and dangerous.
THE NICE HOUSE BY THE SEA #1 is out July 24th, this week!
ALTER EGO
I hate that you all can’t read this one yet, because if you’re skipping the con circuit to lay by the pool, there is no better poolside read. ALTER EGO is the latest novel from friend-of-the-stack and of-mine and the-X-Men
and I’m loving it.I’m only a few chapters in to my early copy (thank you Alex!) and I’m digging it so hard. It’s, like most of Alex’s work, a tight, fun crime thriller that’s running on the machine of the comics industry in hilarious ways that feel real to me, and will amuse the hell out of those who only know Comic-Con from the news.
There’s something so fun about watching someone write something from their natural habitat, so seeing Alex bring his special powers (crime writing) to our world (comic books as an industry) is so, so fun. Soon as I can, I’m taking my copy back to the pool.
Oh also, if you’re keeping an eye on the announcements, you might have read this one today - Alex is gonna be writing the new BATTLE OF JAKKU: INSURGENCY RISING comic, with some artists I love - Phil Noto on covers, and recent Nine Lives collaborator Stefano Raffaele on pencils. Looks so good! Grats buddy!!!
I’ll stop there at the risk of overwhelming you, and come back next week with more suggestions, teasers, and creative ways in which I’ve wasted my time.
As for those of you traveling to SDCC - have fun, be safe, drink water, wear deodorant, and order a club soda in between your bar drinks - you’ll save yourself from a hangover, thank me later.
Stay weird, talk soon,
-TH 7.22.24 16:04
Tini!!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the book! This means the world! Can’t wait until you get to a few especially fun Easter Eggs! 😍😍😍