Spring 2020 in List Form
1. NOS4A2 returns to AMC on June 1st at 10PM... and will be simulcast on BBC America. The teaser went up just the other day.
For me, Season Two is a complete rush of blood to the heart. It sets a breathtaking pace early on and never lets up. Not long to wait now.
We obviously can't do the kind of in-person promotion that we did a year ago for Season One. And, hey, some things are more important than selling a TV show. But we're working on a few alternative approaches for getting out there to talk about the program and interact with fans. More details as our plans gel (and the fastest way to find out about them is by following me over on Twitter).
You don't need me to tell you what's going on in the world. Hopefully NOS4A2's outrageous, over-the-top horrors will be a happy relief from the grind of the real world blues.
2. Realization: "Hi/Lo" by the Black Keys is the only rock song in history to feature an elephant solo. Go ahead, try and prove me wrong.
3. My first book, 20th Century Ghosts, a collection of stories, came out in 2005, which means it's now old enough to buy weed and lie about getting laid. The folks at LetterPress Publications are helping to mark its fifteenth anniversary by crafting a new, luxe limited edition with splendid interior art by Vincent Sammy. They'll base the print run on how many pre-orders come in between now and April 30th. We're talking about doing some of the other books to create a whole aesthetically linked set, so the print run on Ghosts will help us get a sense of how many books to do on a hypothetical edition of, say, Heart-Shaped Box. If you think you'd like this one on your shelf, do drop them an order? They stop taking purchases on May 1st.
4. "If I could be half the person my dog is, I would be twice the human I am." - Charles Yu, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
5. The comic business is in the crapper until we get to the other side of the plague days... but while everything is on hold, we're piling up new stories. When the virus season is behind us, I guess you'll have plenty to read.
Gabriel Rodriguez has already polished off the cover and the first five pages of our new Locke & Key story. "In Pale Battalions Go" is a two-parter and sets up the Locke & Key/Sandman Universe crossover. It's also a key storyline in World War Key 0: The Golden Age, the book Gabe and I put together in spare moments over the last decade (Some of the other Golden Age stories include "Open The Moon" and "Small World").
I was a little anxious about returning to Keyhouse for a real, no-bullshit, ongoing storyline. Then I got going and the story took off. The first issue was the easiest, most frictionless writing I've done all year (I haven't started the second issue yet, so no idea how I'll do with the dismount). I guess I'm more comfortable writing tales set in this world than I am doing any other kind of make-believe, and maybe that's no surprise. I've lived in Lovecraft, Massachusetts for almost 15 years now. I know the territory.
6. I spent a lot of 2019 working on screenplays and throwing myself into the business of being a full-time comic book writer. For a while there I was carrying four at once: Dying is Easy, Basketful of Heads, Plunge, and Sea Dogs. I'm glad for the experience. I always wanted to go all-in on comics for a while, immerse myself in the form, the way Brian K. Vaughan or Matt Fraction or Warren Ellis are immersed in it. I feel like it worked a set of muscles that needed working. It re-tuned all my ideas about pacing in the best possible way.
But here in 2020 I've made new rules for myself. I'm just going to script one comic at a time and it's only half of my daily writing. I've got a novel to work on (and it's sizzlin'!). I've promised the book the other half of my work day. I'm saying no to everything else, at least until December: no introductions, no short stories, no film or TV work outside of whatever I can do for the Locke & Key team. I'm doing digital appearances to support indie bookstores and comic shops during a tough time, but that's in no way as energy consuming as appearing at a convention (and if the conventions do get going again, I'll try and hold live appearances to a frugal minimum).
With all that in mind, Locke & Key is my only comic project between now and the end of June, moving from "Pale Battalions" straight into the Sandman Crossover. After that, I've made promises to D.C. to work on this other thing in July and August. And then in September Gabe and I are going to tackle an original that we've been discussing since at least 2012.That ought to be enough to scratch my comic book itch, while still allowing the novel plenty of breathing room
No plan survives first encounter with the enemy and all that, but at least I have a strategy, which is better than no plan at all. Right?
7. We swore Plunge would feature abundant cosmic horrors, but we like to underpromise and overdeliver, so we're throwing in a few cosmic beatdowns to go with it, no extra charge. Here's a peek at some of Stuart Immonen's un-inked pencils from issue 5.
Before the plague -- before we all had to retreat into our private fortresses and pull up our drawbridges -- we had shipped the first two issues of Plunge. I wish I could tell you when you'll be able to get your hands on the third. Stuart I. and David S. are doing mind-bogglingly gorgeous (and appalling) things and we can't wait to share. Here's looking forward to the day when the only thing making you sick is this story. It can't come soon enough.
8. I have a shelf next to the desk of a dozen notebooks, each with its own particular purpose. I use this one to copy out especially brilliant pieces of writing. It's divided into categories: Aphorism, Dialogue, Doing, Feeling, Mood, Setting, Observation, and Writers on Writing. The excerpt above shows a page from "Aphorism."
I operate on the theory that by studying the best writing of others, I can somewhat improve my own. Also, when I really love a turn of phrase, or a well-stated line, copying it out is a way of savoring the taste of it for a moment longer.
9. Personal discovery: you can eat all the fried chicken you like in a dream, it doesn't taste like anything. Dream chicken is a mouthful of nothing. I guess we don't take our taste buds to sleep with us.
10. It's a dirty, tough old time out there and as I've already noted, no one is eating it like the local comic stores and the indie bookstores. The comic shops in particular can't get new issues in and would have a time trying to move them even if they could, what with everyone shut up at home, and only going out for emergency TP runs.
Comic creators are doing what they can to raise $$$ for direct cash payments to shops in need. Using the #Creators4Comics hashtag, they're auctioning one-of-a-kind items on Twitter. Some of this stuff is wild. A class in scripting first issues with protean genius Scott Snyder? Wha-a-a-at? A pile of Stranger Things swag, straight from Matthew Modine's goodie shelf?? I can't believe it. A chance to get horribly killed in a future issue of Lady Baltimore? I'm dyin'!
The Locke & Key crew are stepping up to offer some stunning loot as well. Check out this offering from Chris Ryall: a signed limited of Head Games, a fistful of Skelton Crew collectable keys, and a felt Locke & Key platter for your record player. Or how about this package from Skelton Crew: a glorious glossy photo print of all the known keys, signed by yours truly, and a pristine Anywhere Key for your collection.
Do follow along on my Twitter? I'm sure to put some goodies up this weekend. It's a bitter season all around -- I'm sure you're feeling it too - but anything we can do to help each other out makes it a little easier.
Coming up with ten items worth blabbing about is hard! Writing comics is easier than writing about myself.
Hope there was something interesting here for you... and I'll try not to take four months before sending along the next newsletter. Look after yourself, okay? The Coronavirus will burn itself out eventually and then we'll get our world back. Until then, we'll just have to lift each other up wherever and however we can. Hang in there.