Table of Contents
Project & Event Updates
Main Story
Release Info & Updates
Welcome Back
The past few entries of this newsletter have been me selling you something or reviewing how those sales or conventions went. I’ll definitely be doing a lot more of that in the future, but we’ll take a brief respite from that over the next couple weeks.
I’ve had to do some thinking and some launch dates are getting shuffled around. Kickstarter pushing my prelaunch for Big Smoke Pulp a few days out gave me some time to reflect. I can use a bit of runway to make the next three campaigns go a lot smoother if I breathe a bit. If that means moving a deadline that I arbitrarily set for these projects, then so be it.
With that said, I’ve picked dates for all the coming projects and I still have a couple conventions coming up to cap off the year. This is just scratching the surface of things I have going for 2025 - and because of that these newsletters have become unruly.
I’ve added a table of contents (with links!) to try and help you sort through it, but I have a question for you dear readers:
It’s the same amount of effort for me. I’m leaning towards the latter, but I don’t want to fill your inbox with posts if that’s not what you’re expecting from me. We’ve already doubled the count this year and I want the group’s permission before doing that again.
With that, let’s get into it…
Project & Event Updates
Cover Preview for Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1
I shared this first with the backers of From Parts Unknown #1.
My friend and Instant Ink Comic Book Podcast co-host, Roberto Viacava, totally nailed the vibe with the cover. It’ll look even better when it’s coloured and typeset.
I know a lot of the readers in this newsletter joined based on this project, so I’m happy to report that I’m nearly done formatting the book and will be reaching out to the authors soon for final looks and sign-off.
This project is going to be really different and, if it does well enough, it will be something I’d love to do annually.
I’ve set a launch date for Vol. 1 on November 6th.
The majority of backers to all my campaigns are in the United States and I think they’ll have a lot on their minds up until the day before. I’m hoping they’ll be feeling light on their feet and more open to backing the campaign once that stress has passed them by.
More Naked Kaiju Woman In The Works
This book is a little different than From Parts Unknown #1. Though it’s also a five-part series, it is a series of standalone stories with each subsequent entry acting as a sequel to the predecessor.
The rollout will be slower than that of FPU, but it’s also a bigger book.
All to say that Rafael Chrestani is very much onboard for the series. As soon as I’m able to shake loose the funding, I’ll get him started on the sequel. Likely before Naked Kaiju Woman even launches.
And when is that, you ask? January 8th, 2025.
Go to Newmarket and Buy Comics!
I’ve mentioned my love of Wayside Comics & Cocktails before. It’s unfortunately a good 2 hour drive away from me, so I can’t make it my regular LCS, or bar, for that matter. Though, If I lived anywhere nearby, I would.
The owner, Omar, is nothing if not transparent and he shares some hard truths about running an LCS in 2024. Even a beloved one like his has struggles.
If you’re ever visiting the area, add this to your list of must go destinations. Even just to grab a drink and have a chat with the folks there. You’ll feel at home moments after walking in.
If that’s not your style, you can come see me and 40+ other creators at Wayside Creator Con. This will be my first convention hosted inside a brewery and should be an interesting day in Newmarket.
Plus, have you seen the flyer art by Anthony Ventura? I’ve already reached out to him to do a cover for a future project - and he designed a special beer can for the event too. I can’t wait for this event.
Main Story
A Dozen Writers Walk Into a Bar…
During Fan Expo, I took a break from the overload of comics to grab some drinks with folks from the Toronto Indie Author’s Conference. It was a great night and we covered a lot of topics, but the one that stuck with me the most was a conversation about how everything “used to be better back when…”
I’m always up for a good debate and I was firmly in the other camp. I don’t think there was a golden era that we just missed. A time where everyone was at the top of their game and there were no hacks to be found. If anything, the fact that so much mediocre content found its way to the masses through the various filters of publishers, editors, film executives, screeners and the like is astounding to me.
It’s easy to look at something like Joker: Folie à Deux, point your finger and say “this is the kind of awful movie they put out nowadays”. The problem with this is it entirely ignores the advantage provided by hindsight.
The Only True Judge is Time
Megalopolis is another massive gamble that didn’t pay off and, at least from Coppola’s point of view, there’s a hope that tastes will change and the true genius of these works will be discovered.
You just have to look at the Academy Awards for Best Picture over the decades and you’ll see how hard it is to judge what’s going to stand the test of time in the moment.
Was How Green Was My Valley deserving over Citizen Kane? Or Ordinary People over Raging Bull? How about Dances with Wolves over Goodfellas? Or Spotlight over Mad Max: Fury Road?
(That’s just a small sample. IndieWire has a whole list of more.)
Politics and current sentiment has a way of steering how people feel about art in the current moment. It’s more about how the masses want to be portrayed rather than a vision of who they actually are. (Ahem. See: Driving Miss Daisy and Green Book.)
This, of course, isn’t limited to film or awards. It’s across all art forms and media. Only time brings perspective and objectivity. There’s no way to judge in the current moment what is good, bad or timeless. You can always have a feeling, or a misguided hope, that sentiments will remain into the future, but there are no guarantees that time will be friendly.
A hope that Mr. Coppola seems to have for his most recent misfire.
But back to the main point…
Your “Crap” is Another’s Gold
I have a love for genre fiction.
I shied away from going down a literary path in my education because I absolutely hated reading. It was tedious. It was often boring. I just couldn’t see the magic in the prose that I was being forced to ingest by my various educators.
It also amazed me that nothing within the past 3-4 decades was considered worthy of reading. Literature died long ago. Or, at least, that’s I was led to believe by the copyright dates of the books I was handed.
Once I was no longer being force-fed the “classics” and was free to pursue books that interested me, I became a voracious reader. Sci-fi, mystery, thrillers and even romance would be in my regular reading diet.
Nowadays, I’m always “reading” at least three books at a time: one on my Kobo, one physical and (the “reading”) one I listen to as an audiobook. (Thanks, Toronto Public Library!) This is something I never would have done if not for genre fiction.
But if I were to bring this up to my English teachers of old, I would be told I’m reading crap. Garbage. I’m not “really” reading.
Unless, of course, it’s Androids Dream of Electric Sheep or Foundation. Only then was it excusable (see: time).
Genre fiction can be challenging while still colouring within the lines.
You don’t want to go to a hockey game where the rules change for one player because they’re an “auteur”. You’re there to see how far they can push the boundaries within the confines of the rules. You know what to expect at a hockey game; you’re not going there expecting basketball game to break out.
Don’t Get Me Wrong
Crap very much does exist.
Populist work is popular for a reason. Not because the masses love crap. If they did, Megalopolis and Joker: Folie à Deux would be fighting for who would reach the $1 billion mark first.
Not everything that’s out there is good. Hell, majority of it is bad. That’s true of every decade, even the ones you hold most dear. The Beatles weren’t the only band of the ‘60s. You can’t point to them and say “music was better then”.
They are the cream that rose to the top amongst a torrent of musical acts that have been lost to time. Think of all the one-hit wonders. Now think of all those bands that never even made that one hit. They played the bars and local venues, had a decent following but never broke through.
Some may have been unlucky not to be in the right place at the right time. That has a lot to play into it, for sure. It’s just as likely that they weren’t anything special. However, if you were at one of those concerts, you might not know that at the time.
The only way you find out what’s good is by seeing what’s out there. The more you look, the more crap you’ll have to sift through. It’s easy to look back and see what’s good when that sifting has already been done for you.
Does that make it better back then? Absolutely not. We’re getting a curated view into the past.
The Content Elephant in the Room
The internet has taken down many of the filters that would prevent you from experiencing said crap. As we’ve established, a lot of that still got through, but now more than ever you’ll find all levels of work.
Heck, even this newsletter is my unfiltered takes on the world around us. Would it have got past an op-ed editor if I wrote this 30 years ago? Maybe. Maybe not. Now you have the responsibility to be that filter.
With so much out there, there’s more great work to see, read and listen to than ever before. There’s also an exponentially more trash to sift through. I don’t necessarily think this is a bad thing.
Did We Miss the Golden Age?
Without getting into the very many problems posed by Woody Allen as a human, he made a very good point about this very thing in Midnight in Paris.
The whole conceit of the film is that things were so much better in the golden age of literature, when Hemingway, Fitzgerald and others would drink and write with abandon in Paris. It was a time of genius and wonder that was never to be replicated.
Unless you were living in that time.
Are we in a golden age now? It’s quite possible. Never before have so many different and diverse voices been out there. Never has there been such a wide range of tastes and acceptance of genre fiction.
I never could have dreamed of a time where the Iron Man and Captain America was what held up the entire box office on its own for two decades running. The X-Men and Batman animated series were the best I thought we’d get, as far as mainstream acceptance goes.
We’re too quick to try and define what era we’re in. It’s nearly impossible to tell while you’re in the middle of it. It’s also hard to tell what the future holds.
Will AI Ruin It For Everyone?
Maybe.
I really don’t think so though. We can expect an even further exponential explosion of derivative, unimaginative dreck for those too lazy to put the sweat into coming up with something new and original. The barrier to entry has been lowered yet again.
Any writer can recall a time where a friend or family member has said “you should do a story about…” without being able to expand on that thought. Now, they don’t need to. But much like how that conversation tends to die on the vine, that’s how I predict AI created content will go.
The downside is that we’ll need to be the filter for what deserves our time. I already read as much as I can without quitting my job and moving to the woods to read my books. There will be value in those who can be that filter.
But more importantly, and to my point, the bar will be raised for those who hope to stand the test of time. Those who can colour inside the lines while delivering something new and inventive will be rewarded in a world where AI will paint-by-numbers.
If you still think things were better before, just wait until you see the flood of unworthy content that we’ll need sift through to find the gold. It will certainly be easier to look back to what has already been deemed “classic”, but where’s the fun in letting others do the discovery for you?
In The End
Not all content can be good. A vast majority of what’s put out there will be awful. It’s part of the deal. Most artists grow over time, improving their craft with each iteration and reinterpretation. Some artists start hot then gradually decline.
In most cases, we won’t know in the moment.
As much as I love The Departed, was it better than Raging Bull or Goodfellas? We knew at the time that the latter two were classics, after missing the opportunity to honour them properly. I’m sure there was a hope that The Departed would join them at the pinnacle. I’m not sure it has.
There’s no surefire way to tell what will endure until we’re well past when we can appreciate the artist for their work. The best you can do is enjoy what you enjoy, whether or not it’s “crap”.
Go enjoy Joker: Folie à Deux if it’s your cup of tea. It’s not mine, but I don’t begrudge anyone from enjoying it. Or enjoying piling onto it.
Just like what you like. Be unapologetic about it.
Hopefully, you liked this.
Until next Wednesday…
Release Info & Updates
Upcoming on Substack
October 16
Be Thankful
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
October 23
It’s Okay to Start Over
When it comes to your favourite IP
October 30
Fun with Fulfillment: From Parts Unknown #1
The second part of the From Parts Unknown #1 post-mortem
Upcoming Conventions
Pesto Comics Release Calendar
Instant Ink Comic Book Podcast
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