Howdy Brave Being,
Welcome, dear readers! It’s been a while. I’ve just returned from a much-needed vacation and I’m back to work, the good ol’ grind of writing about comics, reading them, and making them on the side! Here’s the latest from yours truly.
Where have I been?
Mostly, I’ve been traveling with my husband Ross and two of our friends/family on a trip that was roughly three years in the making. It was one of those things canceled it in 2020 because of the pandemic. We were finally able to go thanks to modern medicine and a drop in Covid numbers, which we monitored closely before we left. We even spent two weeks quarantining so we could ensure safe travel. It worked! We traveled to London, Edinburgh, the Isle of Skye, Inverness, and Paris.
London, England
Going to London was like going home for me. I spent a semester abroad there back in 2008 and so once my feet hit the cobblestones, the winding streets with a pub on most corners threw me back into that time of my life. But this trip was a completely different experience. Back then, I was a poor college student living off of peanut butter and jelly every day and ordering half pints of cider because it was cheaper. Well, I still ordered half pints because it turns out cider is too sweet for me now, haha! This time, I was able to be more relaxed. It helped that I’ve had a whole career in between now and then and saved my money for such a big trip.
Isle of Skye and Inverness, Scotland
My favorite part was traveling around Skye with our Rabbie’s tour guide Willy, who was a wealth of information about Scottish history. I learned about the Highland Clearances, where Scottish tenants were forcibly removed from their homes and replaced with sheep so the landlords could turn a better profit. Now the sheep outnumber the human population in Scotland, which is rather apparent everywhere you look.
There’s also stunning scenery to take in and I made sure to soak up the serenity that it offered. Some of my favorite spots included An leth-allt, Kilt Rock, and The Fairy Glen, all of which I documented on my Instagram @brittanymatter for those interested in seeing more photos. I also thoroughly appreciated that Willy played appropriate music on our little bus, including Adelle’s “Skyfall” (and yes we stopped in Glen Etive where some of the James Bond spy film Skyfall (2012) was filmed), John Williams from the Harry Potter movies, and traditional Scottish music of course. Inverness was a sort of respite for us, a small town where we enjoyed delicious food, scotch, and live traditional Scottish music by a wonderful 9-person band at a local haunt. One night, we passed by a group of blokes stomping down the streets singing, “Inverness! We have a castle! We have a bridge! Inverness!” I don’t think they intended it to be adorable, but it was.
Paris, France
Paris, the City of Light. This part of our trip was dedicated to drinking espresso and eating as many croissants as possible. Like London, which has a pub on every corner, Paris has a brasserie. They’re full of pastries, espresso, and hearty food. You’d recognize them by all the classic French café chairs that they have out front. We also checked out the world’s largest antiques market, the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen. Imagine antique shops, one after another after another, ranging from Victorian-era and retro furniture to European impressionist-style paintings (literally one booth was packed to the brim and we could barely get around it). The Puces, as it is colloquially called, had everything you can possibly imagine. There was even a shop chock-full of classic toys, comic book figures and art, and antique arcade games. I didn’t buy anything there though because everything was so perfectly stacked and placed that it looked like a museum and I didn’t want to disturb it.
Throughout our trip, it was interesting to see that next to no one where we traveled wore masks, reminding me that I live in a bit of a bubble here in the Pacific Northwest. I wore my mask diligently indoors but I was thankful that we were largely outside for the bulk of our trip, walking an average of 16,000 steps a day. We all had wicked bad hay fever during our trip, but allergy meds, nasal spray, and something called Olbas Oil got us through—a Swiss blend of natural oils to aid in breathing easy. It was scary though because now whenever anything happens to our bodies we think Covid, but then seeing the pollen whip through the air prompted me to look up the pollen counts, and sure enough, they were decently high. We all got tested, too, before we came back to the U.S. and were deemed “fit to fly” as they say (ICYMI: testing negative was a requirement by the U.S. up until late last week when they lifted it). But still, stay safe out there everyone.
What I’m Working On
I recently saw that the OFF INTO THE SUNSET anthology’s editor Brentt Harshman is collecting surveys from all backers, so if you supported it on Kickstarter, be sure to check your email and fill out the survey, which asks for your home address if you ordered physical rewards. Filling it out is the ONLY way you can get your book and rewards. If you recall or missed it, I have a fantastic short in the anthology called Burn the Breeze with Rye Hickman and Taylor Esposito, along with 55 other creators who worked so hard to bring you this Western anthology. Read more about it below:
I’ll soon be editing the queer dark fantasy thriller HELLBENT II, which is now live on Kickstarter. From co-writers DJ Wooldridge and Jayna July, artist Heather Vaughan, colorist Francesca Cittarelli, and letterer Haley Rose-Lyon, HELLBENT I & II follows Jezi, a trans woman with supernatural powers, and it’s freaking rad! It’s got occult assassins, flaming swords, and a doomsday cult. If you missed the first volume, don’t worry, it’s available to pick up in the physical and digital reward tiers and be sure to check out the variant covers by Jenn St-Onge and Davi Go, which are fantastic!
It’s fully funded so backers are guaranteed their rewards! Hope you check it out:
Over the past few years, I’ve been editing the adventure superhero series SUPER BEST FRIEND, written by Jason Inman with art by George Kambadais, and letters by Taylor Esposito. My time on it has been incredible, and I couldn’t be more grateful to Jason for bringing me onto the team. I’m about to receive the third and final script to edit before the upcoming Kickstarter. I’m both excited that it has come this far and also sad that it’s almost over. I guess, as they say, all good things must come to an end. In case you missed the first two issues, get caught up by ordering them here!
DEAD DREAMS: THE LUCID CHRONICLES #1, my comic that was successfully funded on Zoop in March, is coming out of production soon. That means it’s at the printer, I’ve approved the proofs, and it’s being printed! Check out the full update here. In case you missed getting a copy, I’ll have extra and may be hosting an online pop-up shop in the fall. Stay tuned.
Tips and Tricks of the Trade
I’ve discussed being your own advocate as a freelancer, and today, I’d like to talk more about freelancer rates. If you don’t have set rates, determining them can be an awkward push and pull between the client and freelancer, which boils down to two questions:
Client: What are your rates?
Freelancer: What’s your budget?
While the second question is considerate and works well sometimes for business development, it doesn’t take your overall expenses and taxes into account. Furthermore, it doesn’t drill down to what the client really needs, and sometimes they don’t know what they need until you have a conversation. Take my experience, for example: I’ve had set rates for many years, all listed on my website. These rates are accompanied by a handy button that says “Learn more” and leads to descriptions of my editing services. Not all my clients come upon this page before they reach out, so when entering the rates discussion with potential clients, it’s been convenient to have this page to refer to and I’d recommend having one. It makes the rate conversation a bit easier since it offers a baseline and allows the client to better understand the services you offer or even clarify for them what they’re seeking.
Also, thanks to letterer Ariana Maher, I’ve been recently made aware of this blog from 2020: A Short Guide to Freelance Rates by Xavier Coelho-Kostolny, an artist in the gaming industry. If you’re not so hot at math, Xavier has some slick formulas to check out when determining your freelance rate. It’s something I may use since I haven’t updated my editing rates in many years. With inflation and the crazy times we live in, it’s probably time to re-evaluate.
If you’re looking for more info on work-for-hire page rates as it relates to the comic book industry, check out Creator Resource!
Things I’m Digging
Weeds…and being home. Y’all. Traveling is awesome but I love my home and I’m glad to be back. Although…my husband and I came back to a jungle. Imagine tons and tons of beautiful flowering plants. But then imagine them surrounded by weeds, which is daunting as all get out. Most days before work, at lunch, or after work, Ross and I are digging out the weed roots to prevent them from coming back. Our grass is also a foot high, too, somehow. I’m so sore in my legs from squatting, and I’ve got to get some environmentally-friendly weed killer because weeding is incredibly time-consuming. I’ve lived in apartments most of my life, so this whole weeding business is new to me. Here’s what our garden looked like before we left:
Here’s what it looks like now, which my husband adorably refers to as the Secret Garden, which is one of my favorite stories. What can I say, he knows me well. The pictures are taken from slightly different perspectives but the dinosaur-like rhubarb greens in the bottom left will ground you…badum-tsh.
Merry Musings
Speaking of perspectives, traveling always renews my outlook on life or whatever issues I’m facing no matter how far I go away from home. This trip was particularly enlightening when contrasted with the last two years of the pandemic, which of course required us to exist at home or if not close to it. It was at first quite overwhelming to be in crowds, even outdoors. But it reminded me of the sheer number of people that exist in the world. While we may all live separate lives, we’re also doing the same kinds of things—surviving, working, spending time with friends and family, going to movies, eating together, etc. As different as we can be in general, we’re all similar in our desires and needs…after all, we’re all made of the same star-stuff.
Thanks for reading!
Mercy buckets,
Brittany