A Matter of Many Updates
My trip to Japan, a job announcement, comics editors, and Kickstarters!
Howdy Brave Being,
Welcome back! Longtime no newsletter, right?! I’ve been busy working away on many things and I’m here to reveal some work and life updates.
Where I’ve been
Since my last post, I traveled to Japan and fell in love with the country, its traditions, and its people. My husband and I traveled with our dear friend Marie and on our adventure, we visited numerous shrines and temples where we collected goshuin (seal stamps and calligraphy) at each one in a special book called goshuincho. We also went to DisneySEA and Tokyo Disneyland, rode as many rides as possible, ate as much food as we could across the country, and walked our socks off.
After Japan and some serious jet lag, I got back to work, still freelance writing for Marvel.com and editing comics in between. I also had the absolute pleasure of helping out with Post Malone’s Big Rig—a stunning supernatural survival comic by Post Malone, Adrian Wassel, Nathan Gooden, Jim Campbell, and Der-shing Helmer with Tim Daniel and Adam Cahoon on design and published by Vault Comics.
The Dark Ages…Demon hordes plague Europe as Hell invades Earth. The Six Petals, a secret sect of The Knights Templar, pray for a holy weapon to drive back the scourge. What crashes to earth instead is The Rig, a fully loaded tractor trailer. In the aftermath of its arrival, the only man left standing is an enigmatic former priest. He will become Trucker and lead the fight against Hell—with 25 tons and 18 wheels of demon-slaying machine.
Think “Evil Dead” meets “Mad Max: Fury Road.” I helped the team project manage the release schedule and the first chapter debuted on Free Comic Book Day. If you missed it, subscribe to updates on the bottom left of their site. Something special is coming TOMORROW so says their site. Hope you check it out!
During the spring months, my family and I worked on our yard. We live on half an acre and we started calling ourselves “Three Stooges Landscaping” because we aren’t landscapers…so there were some learning curves on how to care for our yard. Plus, we have this flagstone path that was nearly covered in overgrown grass and we spent a good chunk of time removing it to reveal the rocks underneath. Worth the blood, sweat and tears. Well, just sweat really.
What I’m working on
I’ve been working on a few things, of course, always juggling a lot. But something amazing happened. After working as a freelancer for Marvel Entertainment/Disney for the last seven years writing for their website, I was recently converted to a part-time recurring employee!
What does this mean? Basically, I’m an official employee and my job writing about Marvel characters largely stays the same. I also get perks like a pass to Disney Parks. The position also allows me to continue freelancing, too, which is wonderful.
On the editing comics front, I worked with award-winning New York Times journalist Dan Sanchez on his horror noir Julie Grimm: In Search of Demons #1, which is drawn by R.L. Black and it’s a deliciously good detective story! It’s live on Kickstarter now!
Julie Grimm: In Search of Demons is a supernatural horror comic about a down-and-out occult detective who's forced to confront the demons of her past—both literal and personal—on a hellbound journey through 1980s New York and the black sand shores of Iceland.
I have also continued writing as much as I’m able. Earlier this year, I submitted to a couple comic book anthologies and got into one! It’s the second volume of Faster Than Light and it just went live on Kickstarter TODAY!
Faster Than Light Vol. 2 is a 60-page saddle-stitched anthology, which collects 9 brand-new stories by 20 talented creators about how families maintain their bonds in a fast-paced, futuristic world and how they struggle to do so.
The story that I wrote is called Universal Language, and the art is by Dom Monette with letters by Lydia Monette. We had an absolute blast making this mini space opera. Here’s a sneak peek and a little bit about it:
A family, who fights robots and helps the galaxy’s helpless, faces a monster that just might tear them apart. Lost in Space meets The Jetsons.
I also worked closely with Faster Than Light’s Editor Sarah Cooke ahead of the campaign launch as well. The whole team has worked so dang hard on this anthology and we cannot wait for y’all to have it in your hands! Hope you support us today!
Tips and Tricks of the Trade
Okay, so this section is going beyond my trade in the comics industry for a hot second, but I’ll come back to it right quick.
Travel Tip: Use air tags in your baggage.
In Japan, we used a famous luggage transport service, Yamoto Transport, to take our bags from the airport to our hotel. The first time, it worked beautifully. However, the second time we used it at the end of our trip, one of our bags was lost!
Yamoto spent a month looking for it but they couldn’t locate it, so they reimbursed us for most of the value of what was in the bag, which was all souvenirs. Ross and I do not typically buy souvenirs on trips, but Japan was a special place. We found so many amazing textiles, from hand-dyed indigo yarn and tapestry wall art to vintage kimono and haori jackets, an abundance of delicious candy and never-before-seen cosmetics, and Omamori—Japanese lucky charms—which we picked up at the shrines. The bulk of these souvenirs were meant for our friends and family. We even bought an extra luggage case to transport everything, but we didn’t think to buy a luggage tag for it. However, Yamoto put a tag on it with my husband’s name and email on it, but alas, it wasn’t enough and we did not have an air tag in the bag, which could have helped us locate it, so it is likely lost forever. C'est la vie!
Comics Tip/Trick: Hire an editor.
Back to the comics industry: If you’re unsure about your comic, whether it’s the script, the pitch, the thumbs, the layout or the letters, or even your crowdfunding campaign, hire an editor as a second set of eyes to help ease your worries and ensure it’s all buttoned up. I, personally, am a bit booked but I’ve been recommending some colleagues of mine that y’all should definitely consider hiring.
First is comics writer and narrative designer Ricardo Andrés Acevedo, who was also a Negative Space Comic's Fall 2023 Finalist for his comic, Bird Turd, with artist Chandler Misseijer. Find Ricardo at SDCC with copies of Bird Turd next week!
An unmotivated zoo janitor with the bizarre ability to talk to birds finds himself the target of a New York pigeon mob after an encounter with an annoying woodpecker.
Second is Wells Thompson, a prolific comic book writer of such titles as MechaTon, The Catskin and the Rose, and Frankenstein the Unconquered, all of which have been published on Kickstarter. He’s managed 16 projects on the crowdfunding platform, so he’s most definitely experienced on that front! He’s currently running Frankenstein the Unconquered - Special Edition Hardcover on Kickstarter, so be sure to check that out!
500 years in the future, Frankenstein's monster thaws from the ice to discover a world as violent and broken as him.
Third is Michele Aboundader, editor of critically acclaimed anthologies, such as When I Was Young, Sharp Wit & the Company of Women, and The Color of Always. Michele is also the editor on Matt McGrath and Merissa Mayhew’s A Journey Into the Abyss, which is live on Kickstarter. Michele is offering an Editing Consultation reward within the campaign, so get in on it in the next 9 days before the campaign ends!
A JOURNEY INTO THE ABYSS is an 80-page LGBTQ2S+ science fantasy graphic novel for audiences of all ages!
Things I’m digging
Well, I finished a book! I read A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall, which is a family drama/thriller. I loved it. I don’t typically read thriller prose but I am changing my tune on that front.
A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret—and that she’s been there before, by the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods.
I’ve also been digging the Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast, who is hosting weekly videos on Tuesdays of comic book industry professionals picking their favorite comics from The Stacks at Third Eye Comics in Annapolis, Maryland. It’s basically like “The Criterion Collection” for comics! Here’s the first one featuring David Brothers and Chip Zdarksy:
Now my post is too long for email, so it’s going to get truncated. I’ll leave you with a gentle reminder to take care of yourselves in this crazy world and support your local comic book shop and library because they are the persevering purveyors of stories that help us get through this thing called life!
Thanks for reading,
Brittany
Love all this, congrats! xoxo susan from zully ;)
Love the update! And congrats on the new position!!