1. Charlie Manx is back from the edge of death and ready to party in season two of NOS4A2, which premieres on June 21st, 10PM EST, on AMC and BBCAmerica.
I thought a lot about those early James Cameron films while I was writing the novel -- you know the ones, Terminator, Aliens, T2 -- and damn if there isn't a lot of Judgement Day energy in this second season. It runs hard from wire to wire: opens at 70MPH and gets up around 120 by the final two episodes.
There's some spellbinding performances here, too. Ashleigh Cummings plays Vic McQueen as a brave, battered screw-up trying to find her feet as a young mother with a traumatic past; Jahkara Smith's Maggie Leigh comes across like a fourth of July bottle rocket, throwing hot sparks, all reckless glee and dangerous impulses; and Zachary Quinto excavates the darkest corners of Charlie Manx's psyche and past in a performance that takes the character to thrilling new places. Basically, I loved it, and I hope you'll love it too. Go ahead and check out the full trailer and drop in on the NOS4A2 home page for more goodies. Oh, heck, might as well watch AMC's deep dive into season two while you're at it.
Like the Twitterz? I'll be live-tweeting the first episode and hanging out for a while afterward to blab about the show. Think of it as a kind of el-cheapo version of Talking Dead. You can follow along by tracking my account, @joe_hill, or monitoring the #NOS4A2 hashtag.
2. If we called farts "butt growls" they'd be a lot cooler in social situations.
3. The final chapter in the first ever Syd "Shit-Talk" Homes mystery lands in your local comic store this Wednesday. Dying is Easy is what fans of crime fiction refer to as a fair play mystery story... meaning the reader is allowed all the same clues the detective has and so (theoretically) can solve it before he does. I've never tried to write one before and was working outside of my comfort zone. Did I pull it off? That's kind of the reader's call, huh? All I can say is I had fun with Syd and I look forward to spending more time with him down the road. There may even be a forthcoming (if much shorter) Syd Homes story already in the pipeline.
Big thanks to my collaborator, Martin Simmonds, who made every page of this thing such a neon-soaked, grubby delight. And thanks as well to anyone who decided to give this story a whirl. Let's do it again sometime, okay?
4. I was gifted Tom Petty's American Treasure Box Set for my birthday and now I'm gutted all over again that he's gone. Even his most obscure tracks demonstrate his mastery of songcraft and sense of the weird. The Treasure Box is a mess of B-Sides, live takes, and unreleased material, and what kills me is how much fun is packed into each song. I'm angry we were cheated out of another five albums and twenty years with Tom Petty.
5. While you're at your local comic shop (or perusing your favorite online comic book retailer) to grab Dying is Easy don't forget to pick up issue 5 of Daphne Byrne. We're headed into the final lap of the Kelley Jones/Laura Marks ghouls-by-gaslight freakfest, and I have to HAND it to our creative team. This issue is a mouthful!*
*this will be funnier after you've read it.
6. Speaking of comics, you all follow Hannah Hillam on Instagram, right? She might be the heir to Gary Larson.
7. New Plunge on June 23rd. Is it cold in here, or is that just me?
8. At the moment I'm splitting my work hours in two. The first block is for the novel. The second is for whatever comic is next in the pipeline. I recently turned in the script for the third and final issue of Locke & Key: "In Pale Battalions Go", which sets the stage for the Locke & Key/Sandman crossover this winter. Gabe's doing some of his most stunning compositions ever. He's glad to share -- check out his account on Twitter for nearly daily updates.
How long will I need before I'm done with the novel? Man, I don't know. What if I lose courage and don't finish at all? I never know when I finish one novel if there'll be another. After The Fireman the tank was pretty close to empty for a while there.
The comics have helped me recharge. Writing comics always helps. There's something about working in funny books that restores my sense of play. It's not an accident that whenever a form asks for my occupation, I always fill in "comic book writer" instead of "novelist."
9. If you need something to restore your faith in humankind, might I suggest, er, Humankind by Rutger Bregman. We're going through an emotionally punishing moment right now. Someone on Twitter said it was like if the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression, and the 60s era Civil Rights struggle all happened at the same time. But it's not impossible to imagine a society that might be happier, healthier, and fairer somewhere on the other side of all this... and Bregman has some ideas about what that might look like. One of my favorite works of the year, as readable as one of those zippy Malcolm Gladwell books but arguably built on more resilient research. I read it a month ago and haven't stopped thinking about it.
10. And that's all I've got this time out. I know social distancing is hard, but you have to believe we'll get back to Black Masses and orgies in Satan's name soon. Try and stay sane. Use the escape hatches you have at hand when you need a break. A good comic will do; I've found relief reading Paper Girls from BKV and Chiang. Or maybe you can slip free of the tensions of the moment with some good TV. Space Force isn't exactly hilarious, but it IS warm and affectionate, a kind of sitcom comfort food, which is maybe just what some of us need at the moment. If suspense is your preferred way to slough off the pressures of the day, hunt down Das Boot: tense, beautifully wrought, and an excellent reminder that other historical eras sucked too.
Be good to each other. Catch you again soon.