#webcomics vs prose

[emeryleewho]

Just out of curiosity, why did you decide to write A Flair of Fate as a comic, rather than prose?

Hi!

So this is actually a really complicated answer, but I'm gonna try to break it down into the key points.

A Flair of Fate is largely in conversation with shounen anime, so I wanted it to be in a medium that would allow it to embody the tropes it deploys, but also where it could be in open conversation with similar stories.

Prose is a really limited medium in a couple of different ways. It's hard to have really large casts in prose novels because it's hard for people to remember all of the characters when all you have is a name to remember them by, and bc prose typically follows a limited number of POVs, you can only keep up with so many characters in their own time, plus you're limited to only seeing that which your POV characters see/know. In a Flair of Fate, this would be a major issue because Javi is a REALLY unreliable narrator. [Mild spoilers to follow], BUT a recurring theme in this comic is normalizing things that are NOT normal. One example is here in the prologue:

This is just an establishing shot of Javi's best friend's house, but there are all these security cameras everywhere. They live in a dystopian police state, where there's hyper-vigilance, but that's normal to them, so if we were navigating all of this through Javi's head, it would be a lot harder to drop these details that he genuinely doesn't notice. Visually, I can establish these subtle cues throughout as the story builds, which is really important because this story has A LOT to explore that Javi is oblivious to at the beginning LOL.

3. The story is long form, kind of like old TV used to be, in that it's one long story that can be divided into arcs or seasons, but the big villain is consistent until we finally confront them at the end. In prose novels, each book is supposed to be able to stand [mostly] on it's own, with a full plot arc per installment, and that would absolutely not work for this story!

4. The fluidity of an illustrated medium detaches readers from a tendency to take things too seriously or too literally. It adds a sort of inherent humor that allows stories like, say, Avatar the Last Airbender, which deals with war and genocide, to still be incredibly light-hearted and funny most of the time. This was super pivotal for this story too because it does have some really dark moments and some very heavy plotlines. It's a dystopian, anticapitalist story at it's core, BUT most of it is a sort of slap-stick humor/friendship/romance story about all the shenanigans that go down in this superhero sports league, so being able to manipulate the tone of a scene through the artwork makes a HUGE difference!

Ex:

5. And the last big reason is because I have ADHD and reading prose sometimes can feel kind of insurmountable, but the bite-size, visual heavy chunks of webcomic format gives my brain the happy hum feeling, so when I decided that I wanted to tell as story that would embody everything *I* the fanboi would want in a story, I realized it only made sense to let it be a webcomic!

Anyway, thanks for asking! Sorry this was the longest response ever LOL

[thewebcomicsreview]

So, Gunwild, the writer of Cassiopeia Quinn, made a comment on that post about webcomics turning into illustrated prose

gunwildversuseverything said: I was hoping this would prompt a discussion about formats and expression, but no, it’s about artist versus writer workloads and “amount of story” being reduced to equations and word counts and update schedules. Figures.

And you know what, it's a good point. So instead of getting into the Artist vs Writers debate for the millionth time, let's take a look at how you, and artist and/or writer, can get a story told on the internet. For the sake of this discussion, lets assume you don't have any actual preference for a given medium that might influence you, you just want to know what's right for your story and will learn whatever skills you need.

TRADITIONAL WEBCOMIC

Comics are the most visual-heavy medium that a solo project can realistically do. This has several business advantages (pictures do better on social media), but it's also a good fit for stories with a bunch of things that are interesting to look at. Cassiopeia Quinn is a story heavily featuring weird alien races, cool spaceships, and attractive young women with extraordinarily casual dress codes. These are visual things! And visual things can be conveyed super quickly and subtly using visuals. Imagine just the "Cassiopeia doesn't wear pants" gimmick, if this was written out. If Cassiopeia gets a description of her appearance the first time she shows up in chapter one and then it's kind of glossed over, the reader would forget. If every time Cassiopeia entered a scene Gunwild had to go

Cassiopeia sauntered up to the motorcycle rack. Her own rack was barely contained by a dangling strip of black fabric, visible through an open orange jacket. Black elbow-high sleeves, covering her hands, matched her thigh-high stockings, separated from her black panties by her thigh pouch.

Somehow it's a lot less cute when it's written out like this, huh? And it also takes way longer to read that then it does to just look at her on the page, which increases the chance your readers might get bored. Comics are the medium that takes the most time to make and also the least time to read, which makes readers a lot more likely to put up with exposition or a plot tangent that doesn't really connect with them. Even if your comic has bits that don't grip your readers, they can grip themselves if you show them interesting bits.

The main downside of comics is the "equations and update schedules" part. They take a looooooong time to make, even compared to everything else. It's also got issues with how people read it. A comic that looks good on a desktop often looks too small on a phone.

TEXT UNDER A PANEL

This style is so strongly associated with Homestuck that a lot of people who weren't making explicitly Homestuck-themed comics seem to have been scared off it. But it's a perfectly cromulent format. It reads well on both desktop and mobile, and lets you use art for all your visuals while using text for dialogue and character thoughts. It's not, however, the best fit for every story. Because each panel is separate, it can be hard to make an exciting action scene this way, which is part of why this format is also associated with special animated pages (I mean, besides "Homestuck did it"). The panels don't really flow into each other, and there's a constant switching between looking and reading.

ILLUSTRATED PROSE

Distinguished from the Text Under a Panel Style mostly by the ratio of text to art, without a hard line demarcating the distinction between them. This style also reads well in desktop and mobile. Well, it should, but a lot of webcomics who switch to this style tend to stay in their webcomic format, meaning it's a picture of text that doesn't resize legibly, grumble grumble. I don't....I don't know if I need to explain the concept of "text" to people. You know what words are, and if you don't there's nothing I can say to explain it.

VISUAL NOVEL

I'm not going to claim to be a visual novel expert, but the main advantages are that it's the most art-efficient medium of any of these (because you can flat-out reuse art), the main disadvantages are that you'll usually need music, it's maybe not as well suited to long monologues, and most importantly that it's not a good method for drip-feed three-day-a-week updates. You kind of have to release the entire thing all at once, or at least in large episodes.

ALL OF THE ABOVE

A comic like Out-of-Placers is mostly traditional, but uses illustrated prose for lore updates. Prequel is text-under-a-panel but not always, and of course Homestuck is the absolute king of format switching, even ignoring the animations. The upside is that you can use the best format for any given scene, and that you're constantly keeping your readers on their toes. The downside (besides having to learn to do all this shit) is that you kind of have to commit to the bit and get your readers on board early with the idea that you're going to just be doing whatever this week. It's also harder to take full advantage of any one medium if you're constantly switching them up

I'm sure I'm forgetting about two hundred formats, but what are the biggest ones I'm missing?

[duskforged]

State of the Author: January 2024

Normally, I wouldn't do a thing like this. However, because I have not actually updated y'all on my WIPs in a while, I thought I might as well!

We'll start with the thing most of you followed me for: long-form fiction. And I call it that since all of these will be over 15k words (hopefully). There are three novels I'm currently focusing on.

LONG-FORM FICTION

Lodestar is currently stuck in a worldbuilding spiral, since it's a near-future humanity in space. While I do love sci-fi, science and math are not especially my forte. I hope to start drafting by the end of the summer, around September.

Vespertine has started on the first draft, though I'm also outlining still - something of a combined process. I am excited to share more of it with you, though it may be tough since most of it still lives in my head. Such is the woe of the artist.

Unto Summer Kings is in the first draft and currently hovering around 15k words! So far it's the longest I've gotten on a novel, and if I stay on track I could start my second draft by May, and begin beta reading by August.

LONG-FORM FANFICTION

I hesitate a little to touch on this one, just because. However, for the pure self indulgence I will. I have three major fanfics currently posted on my AO3, all of them multichaptered.

The Hanged Man is a Naruto SI!OC as Hatake Sakumo, immediately before his death. I currently have 8 chapters out and the main beats of the fic are fully outlined as of this month, which marks a major turning point in the fic's planning.

The Ever-Growing Gloaming is another self insert, this time into the events of Baldur's Gate 3. Vespere, the main character, whose name is subject to change, has been plucked from August 2023 and has not played the game since early access March 2023. Therefore they know less than you might expect.

Finally I have my Supernatural series, For Want of a Broken Nail (Broken Nail Verse). And I know what you're going to say, it's super meta to have a self insert in that fandom, you're writing SPN fanfic in 2024 what is wrong with you, etc etc. But the concept seized me full on by the balls and I already have the first 5 seasons outlined. Sorry, not sorry? No one is obligated to read it anyhow.

I also have a billion ideas on the backburner, ranging from fandoms like Game of Thrones and the MCU (for some reason) to Avatar: the Last Airbender and Star Wars. I'll post 'em when I post 'em!

ART PROJECTS

Wolf in Shepherd's Clothing is a comic of humanity's first lycanthrope, taking place in ancient Mesopotamia, in what is modern day Iran. The main character, Lahar, is gender neutral/ambiguous. So far, I'm stuck in outlining and drafting but hopefully soonTM.

Witchboy (title wip) is a story I'm working on with my partner @fallenorpheus based on various YA novels we read growing up. So far we aren't super set on the story, but it's definitely about a boy who is (accidentally) a witch, his best friend, his adoring father, and his estranged mother.

Dame-Errant (title wip) is a story that, instead of in comic form, is a story that is illustration snapshots, accompanied by short story prose. It is about a butch knight, Dame Johana Talon, who is tasked by Queen Atossa to find her missing son, Prince Khosrow. Typical 'prince(ss) in the tower shenanigans' but then, politics. And boy does Jo hate politics.

I have other webcomic ideas (mtf vs bbeg accidentally breaking a prophecy, team of bipoc/minority characters getting thrown into a fantasy world for an adventure, etc) so feel free to ask.

PERSONAL

I hesitate to touch on this, really, since it's not something that just anyone needs to know, but I've been struggling to find a good name for myself. Hesperos is a good name, but doesn't necessarily feel like 'me' these days. I do enjoy the h/e sounds... I've considered Ezra, but that's just the name of an OC and I'd rather not get quite that meta.

Ah well, sure it'll sort itself out eventually.

THE END

Anyway, thanks for reading! I know that's quite a lot for this one post to cover, but you stuck til the very end. Not sure when I'll start posting again in earnest but I hope sooner rather than later!

[vincaminor42]

2023 Reading List

A silly thing I've been doing the last few years is making a long list of my reading over the course of the year, month by month. It started as a way to keep track of what I'd read and try to remember it all at the end of the year, but has become a bit of a fun way to look back on my year and what I was into or focusing on over the course of it.

I used to post the results to facebook (which ended for obvious reason), then did a synopsis on twitter for a couple years (which also ended for obvious reasons); plus there's something about putting the whole list up, rather than just a summary, which is very satisfying.

Included on the list are professionally published short stories, novellas, novelettes, novels, graphic novel issues & collections. Not included are fanfic; short fiction posted untitled online; tumblr, twitter & other social media original fiction; non-fiction essays/articles; poetry; webcomics; and podcasts (too many & too hard to keep track of).

During 2023 I read 199 individual works. These consisted of

34 longer pieces of prose (novels and novellas)

118 short prose (novelettes and short stories)

27 graphic novel collections and long form comics

17 short comics and comic issues, and

3 kids books (a slightly nebulous category mostly middle grade and younger, though some middle grade might've been counted in a different category, cause I'm kinda wishywashy about these)

Most read authors for the year were

Terry Pratchett with 26 works (a book of his short stories did most of the heavy lifting there)

Seanan McGuire with 19 works, as she continues to be frighteningly prolific, with 3 active series, several other books a year, and at least one short story a month on Patreon

Kore Yamazaki with 14 works, as I made my way through most of The Ancient Magus Bride manga

Martha Wells with 10 works, mostly Murderbot rereads but also her new fantasy novel and some short stories

and my always favourite author Ursula Vernon (aka T Kingfisher) with 8 works; 2024 might be due for another Great Ursula Reread (last done in 2020, probably been long enough)

Only 28 things were rereads this year, which is a bit low for me (I'm a big believer in comfort rereading).

Actual list of works read under the cut, if anyone's masochistic enough to want to actually read them all, lol

I include anything I read during the month in its list, but if I didn't finish it that month it gets marked as "in progress" (and later "finished" the month it is, natch). Comics are marked with © to help keep track of them (short story comic anthologies make keeping comics vs prose tricky otherwise), and has nothing to do with copyright (though all of the comics read this year are still under copyright).

January - 24 works finished

Rincemangle, The Gnome of Even Moor – Terry Pratchett

If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You – John Chu

How Much Harm – Seanan McGuire

Kindly Breath In Short, Thick Pants – Terry Pratchett

Cold Relations – Mary Robinette Kowal

There's No Fool Like an Old Fool Found in an English Queue – Terry Pratchett

Station Eternity – Mur Laferty (in progress)

Symbiosis – D A Xiaolin Spires

Lost in the Moment and Found – Seanan McGuire

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet – Becky Chambers (reread)

AirBody – Sameem Siddiqui

The Eight-Thousanders – Jason Sanford

Leiningen Versus the Ants – Carl Stephenson

Coo, They've Given Me the Bird – Terry Pratchett

Open House On Haunted Hill – John Wiswell (reread)

This Is New Gehesran Calling – Rebecca Frainow

And Mind the Monoliths – Terry Pratchett

The Cold Crowdfunding Campaign – Cora Buhlert

The High Meggas – Terry Pratchett

A Being Together Amongst Strangers – Arkady Martine (reread)

Sinew and Steel and What They Told – Carrie Vaughn

Justice Calling – Annie Bellet

Twenty Pence, with Envelope and Seasonal Greeting – Terry Pratchett

Incubust – Terry Pratchett

Final Reward – Terry Pratchett

February - 38 works finished

Station Eternity – Mur Laferty (finished)

My Country Is a Ghost – Eugenia Triantafyllou

In This, At Least, We Are Alike – Caitlin Starling

Whalefall – Seanan McGuire

Turntables of the Night – Terry Pratchett

#ifdefDEBUG + `world/enough' + `time' – Terry Pratchett

The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly – Alix E Harrow

Sunrise, Sunrise, Sunrise – Martha Wells

Hollywood Chickens – Terry Pratchett

The Salt Witch – Martha Wells (reread)

Lone Puppeteer of a Sleeping City – Arula Ratnaker

Once and Future – Terry Pratchett

Color, Heat, and the Wreck of the Argo – Catherynne M Valente

FTB – Terry Pratchett

Sir Joshua Easement: A Biographical Note – Terry Pratchett

DIY – John Wiswell

Yellow and the Perception of Reality – Maureen McHugh

Troll Bridge – Terry Pratchett (reread)

Theatre of Cruelty – Terry Pratchett (reread)

The Eternal Cocktail Party – Fonda Lee

The Sea and the Little Fishes – Terry Pratchett (reread)

Towered – Tansy Rayner Roberts

The Ankh-Morpork National Anthem – Terry Pratchett (reread)

Medical Notes – Terry Pratchett

A Closed and Common Orbit – Becky Chambers (reread)

City of Red Midnight: A Hikayat – Usman T Malik

Thud: A Historical Perspective – Terry Pratchett

Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum – Alasdair Beckett-King

A Few Words from Lord Havelock Vetinari – Terry Pratchett

Death and What Comes Next – Terry Pratchett (reread)

A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices – Terry Pratchett

Minutes of the Meeting to Form the Proposed Ankh-Morpork Federation of Scouts – Terry Pratchett

The Ankh-Morpork Football Association Hall of Fame Playing Cards – Terry Pratchett

The Adventure Zone: The Eleventh Hour – Clint, Griffin, Justin, & Travis McElroy, & Carey Pietsch ©

Our Love Against Us – Davaun Sanders

How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub – P Djeli Clark

If You Take My Meaning – Charlie Jane Anders

The Coward Who Stole God’s Name – John Wiswell

March - 13 works finished

On Safari in R'lyeh and Carcosa With Gun and Camera – Elizabeth Bear

Content/Consent – Seanan McGuire

Beneath the Sugar Sky – Seanan McGuire (reread)

A Stick of Clay, in the Hands of God, is Infinite Potential – Neon Yang

Into the Windwracked Wilds – Seanan McGuire (as A Deborah Baker)

On the Hill, the Knitters – Steve Toase

What Moves the Dead – Ursula Vernon (as T Kingfisher)(reread)

The Bahrain Underground Bazaar – Nadia Afifi

The Bone Orchard – Sara A Mueller

To Sail the Black – A C Wise

The Goldfish Man – Maureen McHugh

A House with Good Bones – Ursula Vernon (as T Kingfisher)

Exile's End – Carolyn Ives Gilman

April - 12 works finished

Backpacking Through Bedlam – Seanan McGuire

Unknown Number – Blue Neustifter (as Azure) (reread)

The Mysteries of the Stolen God and Where His Waffles Went – Seanan McGuire

Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade (A Graphic Novel Adaptation) – Kurt Vonnegut, Ryan North, & Albert Monteys ©

Uhura's Song – Janet Kagen

Salt Water – Eugenia Triantafyllou

The Counterworld – James Bradley

Even If Such Ways Are Bad – Rich Larson

Magical Girl Burnout Bingo – Lauren Ring

Nobody Ever Goes Home to Zhenzhu – Grace Chan

Georgie in the Sun – Natalia Theodoridou

Your Slaughterhouse, Your Killing Floor – Sunny Moraine

May - 7 works finished

Slipping – Seanan McGuire

Carmilla: The First Vampire – Amy Chu & Soo Lee ©

Unbreakable – Seanan McGuire (as Mira Grant)

The Ten Thousand Doors of January – Alix E Harrow (in progress)

The Shadow of the Gods – John Gwynne (in progress)

The Honey Month – Amal El-Mohtar

Elegant and Fine – Ursula Vernon (reread)

All These Ghosts Are Playing to Win – Lindsey Godfrey Eccles

A Lovers’ Tide in Which We Inevitably Break Each Other; Told in Inverse – K S Walker

June - 11 works finished

The Ten Thousand Doors of January – Alix E Harrow (in progress)

The Shadow of the Gods – John Gwynne (in progress)

Cursed Cocktails – S L Rowland

A Soul in the World – Charlie Jane Anders

Toad Words – Ursula Vernon (as T Kingfisher) (reread)

Beginnings – Kristina Ten

Dick Pig – Ian Muneshwar

Perhaps in Understanding – Anamaria Curtis

Yinying – Shadow – Ai Jiang

In Time, a Weed May Break Stone – Valerie Valdes

Blank Space – Delilah S Dawson

Bigger Fish – Sarah Pinkser

Space Treads – Parlei Riviere

July - 11 works finished

The Ten Thousand Doors of January – Alix E Harrow (finished)

The Shadow of the Gods – John Gwynne (finished)

The Bookshop and the Barbarian – Morgan Stang (in progress)

Theses on the Scientific Management of Goetic Labour – Vajra Chandrasekera

To Put Your Heart Into a White Deer – Kristiana Willsey

The Big Heavy – Steph Kwiatkowski

The Mausoleum’s Children – Aliette de Bodard

The Infinite Endings of Elsie Chen – Kylie Lee Baker

The Rain Remembers What the Sky Forgets – Fran Wilde

Submissive – Stjepan Sejic ©

Désolé – Ewan Ma

In the Shadow of Spindrift House – Seanan McGuire (as Mira Grant)

August - 12 works finished

The Bookshop and the Barbarian – Morgan Stang (in progress)

The Mighty Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: Alien Nation – Margaret Stohl & Ramon Rosanas ©

Hot New Toy – Seanan McGuire

Camp Damascus – Chuck Tingle

We Built This City – Marie Vibbert

Agent of Chaos – Ursula Vernon (as T Kingfisher)

Murder By Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Age – S L Huang

Erstwhile Vol 1: From the Tales of the Brothers Grimm – Gina Briggs, Louisa Roy, & Elle Skinner (reread) ©

Erstwhile Vol 2: Untold Tales from the Brothers Grimm – Gina Briggs, Louisa Roy, & Elle Skinner (reread) ©

Thornhedge – Ursula Vernon (as T Kingfisher)

Erstwhile Vol 3: A Grimm's Fairy Tale Collection – Gina Briggs, Louisa Roy, & Elle Skinner (reread) ©

A Dream of Electric Mothers – Wole Talabi

The Book Eaters – Sunyi Dean (in progress)

The Book Thief – Markus Zusak (in progress)

The Difference Between Love and Time – Catherynne M Valente

September - 12 works finished

The Book Thief – Markus Zusak (finished)

The Bookshop and the Barbarian – Morgan Stang (finished)

Drown the Lamenting – Seanan McGuire

The Book Eaters – Sunyi Dean (in progress)

Sleep No More – Seanan McGuire

Candles and Starlight – Seanan McGuire

Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation, Vol. 1 – Simon Spurrier & Daniel Bayliss ©

Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation, Vol. 2 – Simon Spurrier, Ryan Ferrier, & Daniel Bayliss ©

Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation, Vol. 3 – Simon Spurrier, Ryan Ferrier, Daniel Bayliss, & Irene Flores ©

The Tea Dragon Society – Kay O'Neill (reread) ©

The Tea Dragon Festival – Kay O'Neill ©

Kaiju Preservation Society – John Scalzi

Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd (reread)

October - 16 works finished

The Book Eaters – Sunyi Dean (finished)

The Tea Dragon Tapestry – Kay O'Neill ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 1 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 2 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 3 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 4 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 5 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Witch King – Martha Wells

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 6 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 7 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 8 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 9 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

Under the Smokestrewn Sky – Seanan Mcguire (as A Deborah Baker) (in progess)

Four Words Written On My Skin – Jenn Reese

We Do Not Eat Much Fish – Grace P Fong

The Ghasts – Lavie Tidhar

The Curing – Kristina Ten

The Coffin Maker – AnaMaria Curtis

November - 24 works finished

The Innocent Sleep – Seanan McGuire

Under the Smokestrewn Sky – Seanan McGuire (as A Deborah Baker) (finished)

So You Want to Be a Wizard – Diane Duane

Doubtless and Secure – Seanan McGuire

The Muki's Deal – Rick Lazo ©

Let Me Cook My Breakfast, Mr Caiman! - Ranpakoka ©

The Bum Who Tricked the Devil – Rodrigo Vargas ©

Pineapple Wishes – Luisa F Rojas ©

The Lizard Prince – Lore Vicente ©

A Girl and Her Bird – Coni Yovaniniz ©

Bookshops and Bonedust – Travis Baldree

The Basenemporo Spider – Brenda Roman ©

Madre de Agua – Shadia ©

The Ring – Francis Francia ©

The Little Shepherd – PD Loupee & Bruno Ortiz ©

Myth of the Condor – Diego Carvajal ©

Yara – Nique ©

The Voice in the Night – William Hope Hodgson (reread)

Toad Words – Ursula Vernon (reread)

Winnie-the-Pooh – A A Milne (in progress)

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 10 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 11 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 12 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 13 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 14 – Kore Yamazaki (translated by Adrienne Beck) ©

December - 17 works finished

Winnie-the-Pooh – A A Milne

Paladin's Faith – Ursula Vernon (as T Kingfisher)

All Systems Red – Martha Wells (reread)

As It Was Told to Me – Elijah Forbes ©

Chokfi – Jordaan Arledge & Mekala Nava ©

White Horse Plains – Rhael McGregor ©

The Rougarou – Maija Ambrose Plamondon & Milo Applejohn ©

Velveteen Presents the Princess vs. the Congressional Committee for Superhuman Oversight – Seanan McGuire

Compulsory – Martha Wells (reread)

Artificial Condition – Martha Wells (reread)

Rogue Protocol – Martha Wells (reread)

Obsolescence – Martha Wells

The Star – Arthur C Clarke

Viral Content – Madeline Ashby

Exit Strategy – Martha Wells (reread)

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory – Martha Wells (reread)

The Plague Doctors – Karen Lord

The Masculine and the Dead – Frank Bill

[king-of-better]

I'm now in the homestretch. Sort of.

Obviously the main thing left to cover is King of Kings: GaoGaiGar Vs Betterman, which was originally published in prose across 3 volumes between 2016 and 2021. It's now also releasing as a manga intermittently, with the 5th Volume coming soon. At least some of the collected volumes have new chapters not included in the serialisation, I don't know yet if those are original, and won't until I look at the manga. I'll be covering the prose version first.

There's also the separate matter of a webcomic I didn't discover until I started this project, Brave Musume GaoGaiGirls. O originally assumed this would be a tie-in to the CrossFrame Girls figure, but apparently not. This launched in 2019, and when I learnt of it, hadn't been updated in over a year, so I planned to cover it before King of Kings, as it's officially set in the period after FINAL. However, after the King J-Der manga it's started receiving monthly updates again.

My current thinking is that I will probably cover GaoGaiGar Vs Betterman in prose form first, followed by looking at both manga and GaoGaiGirls intermixed based on release date.

[mayakern]

I'm so in love with Spitfire!! I've always thought about posting original work on ao3 but been scared that it wouldn't be as "rewarding" as maybe waiting until someday maybe I can make and publish a book. Has it been "worth it" to post original content on a public platform like this?? I use quotes cause obviously it's a bit hard to quantify something like this. But I'm curious for any thoughts you have on this-- you may have already inspired me to go for it!!

hmm, i’m not really sure how to answer this!

i’m not someone who has ever pursued traditional publishing -- frankly, i don’t have the energy for it.  it can take SO many years and even at the end of that tunnel, of getting an agent and going through revisions, etc etc, your book may still never get published! a lot of them don’t! and spitfire is a very hard sell. it’s a big epic fantasy story with explicit sex scenes, it’s unabashedly queer and gender fuck-y. it’s sort of a nightmare for the traditional publishing world imo.

so for me it was less of, like “do i go web self pub or traditional pub?” -- it was “do i want spitfire to exist at all?”

would i be thrilled if in some made up future scenario spitfire got super popular and a publisher took notice and let me publish it without changing the core weirdness of it? yes. do i think that is going to happen? no.

anyway, overwhelmingly, posting on Ao3 has been a good move for me and has been mostly rewarding, but i am also privileged to come into this with a pre-existing fanbase from my other work. sure, most people who like my other work aren’t going to read spitfire -- it’s a huge pivot in terms of my content (unless you know me personally and then you know spitfire is exactly my brand of bullshit) -- but if even 1% of my existing fanbase tries spitfire, that’s better than most people doing self pub original prose start with.

still -- it’s been an adjustment for me. i’m used to webcomic culture, where pages/strips are posted at such a slow rate that pretty much every panel gets held to the magnifying glass and i’d have multiple comments per maybe 5 lines in the script. writing prose is a much harder to sell. it takes longer for the reader to absorb the content, so people are less willing to give it a try because it’s a larger commitment. and because the chunks of story i’m posting at a time are much larger (entire chapters vs a comic single strip), the amount of specific feedback i get is way less, for better and for worse.

[vkelleyart]

Hi!! Do you have a rec list of your favorite lgbtq novels? I’ve been wanting to read a lot more, but I don’t even know where to start. Any suggestions from followers would be great as well! :D (I already have Red, White, and Royal Blue on hold at my library)

Hello there! Oooh, this is an excellent ask. I’m gonna do my best here to give you the rundown of LGBTQ+ novels I’ve read and enjoyed, including quite a number of graphic novels as well, as those speak directly to my field of interest for obvious reasons. (I’m hoping to expand this list quite a bit…)

Ones I’ve read:

Carry On by @rainbowrowell: Because of course. Rainbow’s smart/ hilarious dialogue and heartfelt narrative shines in a subversive homage to the Harry Potter series in which two boys destined to kill each other fall in love instead and save the World of Mages. I’m obsessed. :)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz: There are simply not enough words to describe how much I loved this book. Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s prose reads like poetry, and as a Latinx person, I felt so many of the themes in it very deeply. It chronicles the deepening friendship and love between two Mexican American boys in the 1980s, and one of the aspects about the book that impressed me most was the way it depicted a loving, supportive family dynamic around the queer protagonists. The book wrung tears from my eyes. Highly recommend.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan: This is the first LGBTQ YA book I’ve ever read and I loved. It’s about two boys with the same name (one gay, one straight) whose stories are connected by way of a fabulously confident and charming gay bloke named Tiny. It’s romantic and funny and very creatively executed seeing as each author assumes the voice of one Will Grayson (they alternate chapters).

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: This book was adapted to film, but I highly recommend reading the novel, as Simon’s narration is endearing and funny (and at points, heartbreaking) as he grapples with coming out before a classmate outs him as part of a scheme to blackmail him. This book flew by; there was so much angst happening, I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. And of course, there’s the romantic mystery at the heart of Simon’s story: who is “Blue” and will Simon ever get together with him? 

Kiss Number 8 written by Colleen AF Venable, Ellen T. Crenshaw (Illustrator): A smartly written, beautifully drawn and hopeful graphic novel about a young girl coming to terms with her queerness in the midst of Catholic High School drama. The dialogue alone makes this worth it. Deals with not only sexual orientation/coming out but features a transgender plot line as well. When I finished it, I felt uplifted.

Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang: This graphic novel reads like a subversive Disney fairy tale. It centers on the relationship between Prince Sebastian who secretly moonlights as a fashion icon named “Lady Chrystalia” and his best friend Frances, whom he hired to design his fabulous dresses. I actually read it to my son, and it inspired wonderful conversations about gender fluidity, gender performance, and of course, the power of love to transcend all of the above.

Bloom by by Kevin Panetta, Savanna Ganucheau (Illustrator): Another graphic novel drawn in a manga-esque art style about Ari and Hector, two boys working a bakery together and finding friendship and love in the time they spend together creating confections. It’s light and fluffy and predictably delicious.

Check! Please by Ngozi Ukazu: This is the softcover omnibus of years one and two of the popular webcomic of the same title. Its protagonist, Eric Bittle (”Bitty”) is a pie-baking former figure skater-turned-collegiate hockey player, and his eventual relationship with the team captain is nearly as charming as the hilarious and familial dynamic of everyone on the team. Read it for laughs and a feel good love story. 

Other highly recommended books on my To-Read Queer Lit List:

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (Currently Reading)

Weak Heart by @basic-banshee/Ban Gilmartin (Currently Reading)

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Raven Cycle (series) by Maggie Stiefvater

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki

Anyone have others to add to the list? Give us your recs! ❤️

[comicteaparty]

April 4th-April 10th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble  chat that occurred from April 4th, 2020 to April 10th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What is something you’ve improved with in regards to writing or comic creation thanks to working on your story?

carcarchu

Oh this one i can answer definitively. it's 100% lineart. forcing myself to have to do lineart for hours everyday is definitely a way to force yourself to get better at it while i still don't like it it's something that i can do now without being scared about it

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Colouring. I had to get really creative in expressing emotion and hinting plot devices with colour. Also got much better with drawing gesture drawings due to looking at a lot of references!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Either writing dialogue or drawing/painting backgrounds... I used to be particularly awful at writing dialogue. It was too stiff and formal, and sounded a lot like old prose. Now, because of writing a comic and going through several scripts, the dialogue is a lot more natural, and the pacing is more realistic to actual conversations. And the other: backgrounds. I really used to not even draw them at all, and doing a comic forced me to have to think about environments in scenes. So I went from drawing floating characters to having to consider where they are and how it affects the story/mood.(edited)

Feather J. Fern

Paneling! That was my main focus to figure out how to do good paneling to have clearer pages

Deo101 [Millennium]

Honestly? Everything. It's all gotten better and I've learned so much. I would say my biggest improvement is probably in my time management, and art wise is probably composition and layouts. But it's hard to pick because I've grown so much in every aspect!

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Biggest thing I learned was to keep the story small and focused - and that the smaller, more human struggles are much better in creating tension than the whole default "the world's gonna end!" thing. Mind you, I still love a good "world's ending" story, but you gotta make people CARE about the people in that world first!

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

ohohohoooo I have done more drawing in photoshop in this short time I have worked on Wayfinders, than the rest of my life! That has given me some skills for sure! Coloring is another one, and generally just efficiency and flow in a comic

Nutty (Court of Roses)

For me it's been my use of color, and getting more confident in experimenting with it to really drive home a scene's mood!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

The clearest improvement I always notice is my layouts - I’ve gotten more adventurous with panel shapes and placement as time has gone on, experimenting with more interesting designs for the whole page. Some of those experiments haven’t been totally successful but it always feels like a worthwhile try. I’ve gotten some really, REALLY cool layouts out of these experiments, and I love seeing how dynamic the panels have become compared to my first chapter. Also speed. I’m so much faster now. Thank gooooooodness (edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) I've definitely noticed the experimental panel layouts! They're really cool.

AntiBunny

Planning. Book 2 is when I started using sketchbook thumbnails to plan ahead. The luxury of that first draft meant I could rethink panel layouts and how to best express the events happening if I first had an idea of what was happening laid out.

Also digital art by necessity since I switched to digital during the current arc. I was decent at lineart already, but other aspects have really challenged me to grow as an artist. I had to totally rethink the way I create backgrounds for instance. During this time the background quality actually declined a little while I got used to a new method, but experience has improved my skills greatly as I force myself into new methods.

DanitheCarutor

Hmmm maybe paneling, speechbubbles and backgrounds? My current project is my second real attempt at doing a comic, but I have learned a lot of stuff from the community and general art and story tutorials. Backgrounds and bubbles were the worst for me when first starting out, I only read manga before starting so the speechbubble shapes did not fit with how English is written. Plus I've only drawn wooded fantasy settings before making my comic, so using a ruler, figuring out perspective points and drawing buildings was very new to me. I still hate drawing cities and such, but I've gotten a lot better at it and it is easier to do now. Since I mostly stuck with B&W before my current project, coloring also kind of improved? Depending on who's looking at it. Lmao If I were to think about story/characters/dialogue, I have no idea if I've improved. Honestly, I don't pay much attention to the quality. Also my brain kinda says it's all bad regardless of what I make.(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

For my Improvements: I'm getting better at my comic panels, as I adjust to the vertical style. Before I've always drawn the standard format. It's more than just boxes, I try to keep a variety of sizes. I'm picking up roughly how much 'gutter space' I need per 2-3 panels.etc I'm also improving on choosing colors that fits my love of detailed linework.(edited)

OH! I'm also learning about Clip studio shortcuts, how to use the assets they provide which makes the process, abit easier on me. Things I need to change, is I want to get a good speedy coloring style, without referring to my usual coloring.(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

the more I worked on the comic, the more I feel ambitious in making different angles and perspective. So it's really hitting me out of my comfort zone which is good! lol Though I'm trying to keep in mind of my speed, what I feel like I've improved a bit is trying to keep in mind of paneling and dialogue.

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Process! Space and i have definitely figured out the most productive way to produce content at the rate and quality that also provides us with time for our own projects. Comics are a useful tool that helps you discover ways to better organize your creative workflow for sure!

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I think probably scenery. I used to dread drawing inanimate objects but now I feel more confident in filling in a scene & even look forward to it sometimes. Maybe also page composition and paneling but I still have a lot to learn there

eli [a winged tale]

One of the reasons I embarked on the webcomic journey is to push myself to improve not only storytelling but also utilizing art to create a reader experience that would be difficult to replicate with just words. I’d like to think that 9 months into making A Winged Tale, I’ve improved on deciding when is a good opportunity to invest more into backgrounds vs character dynamics and when should be focused more on sequences of panels and composition. While the comic is written in a four panel format, more and more I’m finding areas where the story could be told by breaking those rules (attached pic). It’s a balance and I hope going forward I will improve more in pushing the limits of panels and find ways to express the story in fun and interesting ways.(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Wow that's a very good description @eli [a winged tale] I look forward to reading more of your story journey

eli [a winged tale]

Thanks so much Joichi! I’m eager to keep learning~

Capitania do Azar

I'm gonna go with planning and actually getting it done. I'm so much faster because now the process is much more streamlined to me

kayotics

My whole comic was started s an exercise to just get better at comics generally so I’d probably say every part I’ve improved at? The biggest things are probably colors and the upfront planning process

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

Ooof hard question. I think my main improvement lies with page and speechballoon layouts and writing natural feeling dialouge. I'd say maybe also character acting?

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I'm slowly learning how to create more engaging comic narrative. I read and research in the polished prem webcomics to see what makes them engaging? Like I'm going to challenge myself by creating a series of short stories with a reoccurring set of characters. Every new comic series I create is an experience, trial and error. Sometimes I skip the writeup and just go in blind, trust my own instincts. I'm glad to reach out and talk about it than in my own head. I hope by this year, I'll have at least 2 chapters of Hybrid Dolls out.(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I've definitely gotten better at planning/ outlining multiple chapters ahead of time. I did not even do this when I was doing the first 10 something chapters. (I did attempt an outline before I began the comic, but the story changed significantly from the outline by the time I started the comic, and I did not try to do it again for a long while.) I can't remember when I started, but I do recall having a lot of trouble the first time I tried to do it. It's gotten a little easier each time, though. In fact, I just spent the past few days outlining the next few very important chapters, de-tangling some big tangles. I'm really glad my outlining (and overall writing) skills had leveled up, because HOO boy, I don't think my 2014-2015 self could have done this!

I also became friends with enviros. I had already become somewhat comfortable drawing perspective when HoK started, but I had a sort of mechanical approach to it, like "oh I need some enviro for these establishing shots, guess I'll draw them." But now I LOVE drawing enviros! (some types anyway...) It's my comfort activity, something I treat myself to after a long day! In the thumbnails for my next few pages, there's a few enviro-heavy panels that I have to remove, because I drew too many of them (and the pacing got too slow as a result). I have to stop myself from drawing too many of these.

My biggest improvement is probably I've come to understand my characters and my themes much better, but that's more of a "I got better at making HoK" than a "I got better at making comics." There's definitely a difference between the two.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) ah I totally understand I tried the outline method before I start but my story changed alot after I drew it. So it start to feel like a waste of time for me, but I'll still write an outline to make sure to plan where my story heads(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah! I needed to draw those first few chapters to understand the direction of my own story.

The drawing part is an essential part of self-reflection, to try to understand what it is that I want out of the story. The answer has always been there in my heart, but I'm not able to see it clearly from the get-go.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I end up breaking scenes and put them in for future episodes, since I want to get a certain flow in the story.

It could be tricky to see what it is you want out of the story until you are in at least 3 chapters in?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I needed way more than 3 chapters -- though granted, my chapters are short, so that could be a part of it

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I see the early first script as testing the water. like a test to figure out the characters personalities. Unless you are bringing in old characters which you knew before?(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Even if the characters have been with you for a while, unless I have made a comic with them, there is a big chance that the characters will completely change, too.

DanitheCarutor

You know, I was thinking about about this, mostly about how I wouldn't have been happy if I was able to finish my comic the day I started. Then I realized I'm happy that I didn't. The first chapter wasn't the best, I was just learning how to coloring a comic, still fleshing out my characters and was still brainstorming small kinks in the story. I also still didn't have as much of an understanding of perspective, or panel and bubble layout. Even though I still have a lot I need to work on, I've gotten a lot better in all those aspects. Even though my use of color is weird, I've definitely gotten much more confident in it, enough so that I experiment and take a lot more risks with style. Even though my panelling can be boring, I have a much better understanding of how I want a page to look. I've improved a lot with my planning as well, like even though my thumbnailing/storyboarding only takes maybe 30, I've learned to step away for a bit if I don't like a layout, or analyzing why I don't like it and brainstorming ways to make it better. If I had magically finished the comic all at once, it would look really bad and may have been less readable.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

That is inspiring to hear about your improvement @DanitheCarutor

Natsu-no-Hikari

Chiming in! Just this week, Miko (my co-creator) and I were discussing how far we've come from when we started our first comic (https://liarsgotoparadise.com/) vs. where we are now. I think there have been a lot of learn experiences, such as art, dialogue, general editing - but especially with pacing and character interaction. We regret that we didn't stop to focus more on that interaction, as we wanted to move ahead in the story...and now we can't change that, except to start now and not allow ourselves to grow impatient. Take our time and enjoy the journey - that's our new motto. There's a time to rush ahead in perilous moments, but there's also definitely a time to catch our breaths and let the characters mingle and speak. It's an improvement that will become more noticeable going forward in Liars and our second comic as well.

[mynerdylockscreens]

lockscreen masterpost

welcome to the masterpost of content for this lockscreen blog! this post will be updated monthly, and can be reblogged upon request. tags are below the cut! this is also its own page on the dropdown menu for my blog, so this post is mostly for mobile users and housekeeping purposes.

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[davidmann95]

Have you read The Metropolitan Man? I don't know what's your policy on fanfiction but it's a "realistic" take on Superman arriving in the 30s.

Haven’t read that one - looking over it briefly it seems pretty damn depressing, though I suppose that’s kind of the point. I’ll probably check it out sometime.

I’m definitely down for fanfiction, but there’s precious little with Superman I’m into - when I occasionally think of Superman fanfic I hope “cool, maybe there’s finally some cool cosmic adventure stuff in here given the comics so rarely go there, or some really insightful character observations of the kind writers too sparsely touch on!” and then it ends up being 7000 pages on a powerless high-school aged Clark’s torrid affair with Jason Todd behind Congorilla’s back or something. But keeping my eyes open, there’ve definitely been some over the years that worked for me:

* Superboy: A great little moment of growth for a young Clark Kent in a short animated comic by @jordangibson.

* All In A Day’s Work: Good chance you saw this floating around on Tumblr awhile back, this is another really great little short comic by Tom Gimlin and Marcellis Wentz, on the weight of the job.

* Superman’s Story: Opposite Number: An excellent short piece by @spectralspices based on an idea he was nice enough to bounce off me, as Superman goes up against a pair of challenges unusual even for him - one comedic, one very much not.

* Pop-Drama: Superman: I don’t know how much this really qualifies as fanfic in the traditional sense - it’s a broad story proposal by @andrewhickeywriter on an ‘end point’ for Superman - but it’s damn fun and satisfying. There’s also a follow-up article where he elaborates on a major plot point.

* Superman Lives: Another short comic, this time by Joe Otis Costello and Des Taylor, where the Superman of 1938 is beamed in a fight with Brainiac into the world of 2014, and Lois Lane naturally gets the exclusive interview with the returned hero, the story being presented in magazine format. The characterizations may or may not work for you - parts do for me, others not - but it’s an interesting exercise nonetheless, and Des Taylor’s work is absolutely gorgeous.

* @ck1blogs: Clark Kent’s reasonably infamous Twitter account. He is not good at the internet, or humans.

* @filmcriticsuperman: Less well-known than its cousin ck1, which is a shame; unlike most “Film Critic X” feeds, it’s actually…well, really good, courtesy of @charlotteofoz. It maintains the voice throughout and perfectly, and while half the feed is indeed movie reviews - always through the filter of Superman - the other half is just Superman talking about his day, and while it was coming out it was probably the best ongoing Superman material of the last several years. If starting at the beginning of the feed to get a feel for it seems too ominous, worth it though it may be, a good sample would be the more traditional short story she did connected to it, a Superman Halloween spooktacular by the name of Yellowfire.

* Kosmograd Blues: A short story by The Quantum Thief and Invisible Planets author Hannu Rajaniemi focused on a Russian Superman analog, it’s a beautifully written, somber story of a superman who’s long since lost what made his own life worthwhile, but knows he still has a job to do. This was to be one part of a series of superhero short stories set in a larger world he had built - he wrote a little more about the details of it once - but to my knowledge this was all that ever came out of it.

* Kahlil: An ongoing webcomic by Kumail Rizvi in which the last son of Krypton landed in Karachi; it’s been awhile since I last checked in on it, but I recall it being very good, with some spectacular artwork making the few moments thus far of super-ness really pop.

* Superman vs. The Universe: A spiritual cousin to Joe Keatinge’s Strange Visitor, this is the story of an all-powerful Superman at the end of time looking back on his existence as he prepares for his last duty; the prose is stilted in places, but there are enough great ideas and emotional moments in here to make it more than worth your time.

* Repairing The World: I’ll admit some bias up front since the author’s a friend of mine, but starlightify’s DCU series of fanfics - largely centered around Superman and Batman - are a lot of fun, very funny and heartfelt. Some good samplers with Superman would be Salutation and Canidae.

* Silver Age Superman: I’ve never gotten my hands on this semi-legendary bootleg 1990 comic by Ed Pinsent and Mark Robinson, but the likes of Al Ewing and phenomenal comics critic Colin Smith have both declared this comic - starring by my understanding perhaps the most alienated version of its title character ever - among their absolute favorite Superman stories, and their word is more than good enough for me; if you see it out in the wild, I’d absolutely say pick it up. And grab a copy for me, would ya?

* Luthor’s Gift/Starwinds Howl: Bizarre as it is to list any Superman work of Elliot S! Maggin’s as fanfiction when he’s one of the characters’ most beloved writers, I suppose that is what these two stories count as given that they’ve only ever been published online and maybe in a fanzine or two to my knowledge rather than with DC’s official sanction, and they’re absolutely of a piece with his novels Last Son of Krypton and Miracle Monday. The latter is his take on how Krypto arrived on Earth; the former shows how Superman finally left Earth around the end of the 21st century the way he often hinted at in his other works.

* Tales of Smallville: Near as I can tell, I’m the only person on the face of the Earth - other than maybe Elliot Maggin, who endorsed these stories himself - who’s aware that on the site supermanthrutheages, Samuel Hawkins posted a series of 4 Superboy stories; him revealing himself to the world, his first big adventure with the Legion of Superheroes, a memorable dinner with a guest, and Martha Kent on her deathbed. On these stories, I know two things. 1. Posterity will unquestionably not validate him. It’s a handful of Silver/Bronze-Age Superboy fanfics on an out-of-the-way fansite, no one will remember them. And 2. He is a Morrison/Ennis/Maggin-tier Superman writer. If I have ever written anything in my life on Superman that you’ve agreed on, for the love of god at least read Martha’s Story, it might honestly be my favorite Superman story other than All-Star.

So along with those recommendations, I do have to throw a request on top: I vaguely recall having once read a short story somewhere online years ago about a Superman-type hero found in a field as an infant by farmers - one’s an alcoholic and one sleeps around, but they clean up their acts for the sake of the kid. He grows up to become a superhero and occasionally fights a Lex Luthorish scientist with an appropriately alliterative name who accuses him of impeding societal progress. Eventually, the hero flies off into space once everyone he knows dies, returning occasionally to Earth as he feels drawn back, to defend it, or rule it, or just wander it in obscurity; his longest and last stay is when he falls in love with a woman who he meets at a restaurant, when she’s the first in all those thousands of years to make apple pie as good as his mother’s. Eventually, he lives to the end of the universe, where he finds himself rocketing back through time and de-aging, crash-landing in a field and completing the time-loop. If anyone could point me in a direction towards it, it’d be very much appreciated; I don’t even recall if it’s any good, but I’ve been trying to find it for years and it’s the principle of the thing at this point.

[pea-green]

August’s books! Prime Suspect by Lynda La Plante, The Passion by Jeanette Winterson, The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal, Pages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg, Nimona by Noelle Stevenson and How to be Both by Ali Smith. 

I borrowed Prime Suspect from a friend I was staying with after I ran out of books, and I never saw the ITV version, so I didn’t know what to expect. It was written in 1991 and I still think of the 90′s as being a couple of years ago but holy shit we’ve come a long way - it feels like The Fall (specifically Stella Gibson’s refusal to ‘divide the girls into virgins and vamps, angels or whores’) was written as an antidote to the attitudes that everyone including the protagonist Jane Tennyson has towards the female victims. The plot’s more of a procedural than a whodunnit, and the story’s interesting enough even though all the characters but Jane (and sometimes including Jane) are utterly unbearable. It’s not gay at all except that a) Helen Mirren, when asked recently about what she thinks Jane’s doing these days, said she’d have gone gay and would be living with a very attractive partner, and b) I read this on the train and for a few stops around Doncaster I sat opposite a girl who was also reading it and we had a ~moment (your NHS nametag said Sophie and you were cute).

The Passion is set (mostly) in Venice, a treat because Winterson’s writing is beautiful, and her descriptions of what her character calls the city of mazes and madmen were so perfect I took half a dozen pictures of my favourite passages:

It rains too, mournfully and quietly, and the boatmen sit under sodden rags and stare helplessly into the canals. On an afternoon when the Casino didn’t want me and I didn’t want myself, I went to Florian’s to drink and gaze at the square. It’s a fulfilling pastime.

The book is split into 4 sections which initially seem unrelated, but the characters and events converge, and the two protagonists are sympathetic and well-developed. Although Villanelle is bisexual and has a relationship with her married neighbour, same-sex romance is a theme rather than the subject of the novel. Also despite the beautiful writing, some of the subject matter is truly awful, and some passages could have been taken straight from Patricia Highsmith’s Little Tales of Misogyny.

The Hare with Amber Eyes is part art history, part family biography. The author comes into possession of a collection of Japanese netsuke and goes on a journey to find as much of their history as he can. My friend lent me this because I loved the nesuke on display at the British Museum but I’m a huge philistine who knows nothing at all about art (I literally liked them because they were cuuute) and have enough of a chip on my shoulder to resent everyone upper-middle-class or above by default. It took a few chapters to overcome my distaste for de Waal’s ability to to just decide to spend a few months travelling the world investigating his family history for funsies, but by the time I hit the segment where it’s WWII and his family is ripped apart by Nazi Germany I took it all back. The times and places jump around a little, but the book took me from knowing actually nothing about art, to knowing one or two things, so I’ll be presenting thinkpieces on BBC4 in no time.

The back of my copy of Pages for You describes the novel as “the story of the beginning, blossoming and falling apart of [a] delirious love affair”, so when I talk about how they break up in the end you can’t shout at me that it’s a spoiler because it’s right there on the cover. Nominally a student/teacher romance, but less creepy because it’s a university student/her TA so everyone’s an adult, Pages for You was first published in 2001, but has been rereleased this year to accompany the publication of its sequel, Pages for Her. I was put off reading this before because I’d been warned about the purple prose, and while it wasn’t as bad as expected, it is pretty florid in parts. Unusually for a YA book (especially one written 16 years ago), there’s little hand-wringing from protagonist Flannery about her same-sex escapades, but although the term lesbian is thrown around to describe their relationship, the word bisexual is conspicuously absent, especially since (having read the synopsis for the sequel) it’s actually the label that applies to both women. The beginning of the book is sweet; Flannery’s hopeless crush on a beautiful older woman gradually becoming less hopeless is gratuitous wish fulfillment and I Love It, but the relationship breakdown at the end was by far the best part.

Nimona is a comic based on the webcomic of the same name by Noelle Stevenson, co-author of Lumberjanes (ps. you should read Lumberjanes). I can’t find the tweet, but I’m 90% sure Stevenson tweeted before that people should “assume all my characters are gay unless otherwise stated” which is a great starting point for any story. Nimona is the co-protagonist, a twenty-something shapeshifter who announces herself to be the new sidekick to supervillian Lord Blackheart as they try and take down the oppressive and mysterious Institution. Stevenson’s art style is adorable and draws you into the tale of dragons and knights and good vs evil before turning the story on its head and making you realise that you care about the characters much more than you’d expected to.

How to Be Both won a ton of awards when it was published, and I’ve never read anything by Ali Smith before, so I figured it’d be a good one to start with (also the title sounded promisingly bisexual). I lent it to my mum who couldn’t get into it because it was ‘too postmodern’ which is a good description; it flicks suddenly between a time before and after the death of the protagonist’s mother, speech marks are eschewed entirely, and the final third of the book is (as far as I could tell) an entirely different story. There’s three full pages at the start of my copy of undiluted praise for the bold creative choices and innovation, so I think the problem is probably my traditional sensibilities (/me being kind of dumb??), but while I enjoyed the story of adolescent love and loss, the weird stuff didn’t really add anything for me. But there is both an incredibly sweet and real romantic friendship between the protagonist and her female best friend, and a strange relationship between the protagonist’s mother and another woman so there is actual wlw content! If anyone has recs for other Ali Smith books please let me know :)

[bangbangboomcomic]

On collaboration

We got an ask from a reader (who wished to remain anon) asking about how collaboration on the comic works for us, so I figured I’d put out some background on how BBB came about.

Del and I have been friends for a few years now.  We met through fandom (The Evil Within), where I became a fan of her art, and she my fanfics.  We have very similar tastes, and right around a year ago started talking about doing a doujin together.  I’d never scripted a comic before, but Del had a lot of experience and helped me adjust from prose to script form.  

While working on that, we saw an ad for the LGBTQA-themed @passionfruitanthology, and talked about shelving the doujin idea for a while to work on an 18 page oneshot for the anthology.  We set out to do something plotty, with romance (since that was the point of the book!) but with some action, to play to both our strengths.  Del is a big fan of vintage and noir, and I had Baccano! on the brain, so we settled on gangsters.  MAGIC gangsters.  Magic STEAMPUNK gangsters.  And once we started brainstorming and writing and drawing, we both got so swept up that we decided to step back from the anthology and make a webcomic series instead.

As for the collaboration aspect itself, the truth is we’ve found working together very easy!  We were both huge fans of each other’s work even before becoming friends, and we’ve been very open with each other from the start about our expectations for the story and the comic itself.  Neither of us are particularly concerned about profit and fame at this point, we just want to share these characters that we created together, and see where it leads.  So far it’s been a thrilling experience, and even if there have been challenges, they weren’t a product of having to work together.

Since this is my first time collaborating like this I don’t have a huge amount of insight as to what makes for a successful partnership vs an unproductive one, but here are some things that apply to us that may be helpful to anyone looking to start their own comic collab:

1. Start low pressure.  Del and I went from maybe a doujin to a one shot to a free-to-read series.  Even with tipping on we’re only making tiny cash and have agreed many times that neither of us is expecting to make it big.  Money and pressure complicate relationships so easily, I suggest that unless you’re both industry professionals that are used to no-strings collab work, start with a small project to test how you work together first.  Once you’ve developed some trust and rapport, maybe then go for more.

2. Be honest and flexible.  True of any relationship, really.  You have to feel like you trust your partner enough to bring up your concerns, knowing they won’t take it personally.  And always be open to receiving critique yourself.  Del and I have been pretty lucky that we have so much in common, we haven’t had any major creative disagreements.  But I know that if I have an issue with a panel structure or an expression or what have you, I can feel comfortable bringing it up.  And she’s certainly kept me honest on continuity!

3. Start fresh if possible.  This is our first time working together, but we’ve both been writing/drawing for a long time, and have a wealth of ideas  and characters.  But with BBB, we started completely fresh, without any bringing any specific characters from our previous work (though naturally some of our favorite archetypes have snuck in).  Jakub and Cheshire didn’t exist until we created them together.  If I had tried to write a comic featuring my existing OCs, I’m sure it would have been much more difficult allowing Del’s art and influence to shape the story.  But it was important to me from the start that whatever project we did together, it was ours, and not a transaction.

4.  Stay ahead of the game.  This approach may not work for every collab, but I have written way more chapters than we’ve gotten to in the art phase yet.  They’re still in flux and could change, but Del says she’s glad we have so much prepared, because it’s allowed us to drop foreshadowy type hints and have specific things to look forward to.  When I write for myself I don’t start until I have an ending in mind, so I wanted to have a whole lot of BBB lined up before we got underway.  I’m sure some artists would find this stifling and maybe feel like I’m resistant to change (really I’m not, I change things as I go all the time), so you need to find the right balance in your own partnership.

Unfortunately I don’t have much advice specifically on how to resolve creative disputes, because our road has been very smooth.  But patience and compromise is definitely key.  Don’t be too attached to certain beats, but don’t allow your voice to be smothered, either. If the idea you’re working on isn’t going smoothly, it could be that it’s simply the wrong idea.  Take stock of the things you *do* agree on and see if you can explore a different theme or setting that’s a better match to what you have in common.  There’s nothing wrong with starting over on stronger footing.

Comics are tough, group projects are tough, together they’re very tough.  Sometimes it’s not meant to happen.  But every story is a puzzle, and if you’re forcing the pieces together, it could be it’s just that you’re trying to complete the wrong picture.

Clumsy metaphors is what got me this writing gig ayyy??

In any case, I don’t know if this is interesting or useful to anyone...!  But between the two of us we stretch from total newb to experienced, so we’re always willing to answer questions or just gab about comics :D

Thank you for following~

[powells]

This Is Not a Kissing Book

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

“The violence of men breeds monsters. But what if this humans in this story are more monsterish? What if it is hard to tell hero from villain?”

The Rock & The River by Kekla Magoon

“In Kekla Magoon’s Coretta Scott King award-winning debut, she tackles with aplomb the tension between the Black Panthers and the more pacifist groups of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of 13-year old Sam.”

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

“Are you looking for a smart, feminist, historical fiction kind of read? Look no further! Faith, our heroine, lives a double life in Victorian England. What secrets does her father keep? A fine read, this!”

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

“Unbelievably funny and a very unique fantasy series with a strong and outspoken female protagonist. Filled with twists and tons of humor.”

The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien

“Infinitely better than the long, boring, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is an excellent adventure for all ages! If you only saw the movies, you MUST read the book.”

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

“This graphic novel is the first in a two volume amazing adaptation of the novel. The artwork is so great and done by some of the best artists in the business, and the prose is faithful to the original story. It’s terrific.”

I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest, and Kali Ciesemier

“Filled with comic pages, this mysery - set in Seattle - is perfect for fans of superhero webcomics or graphic novels.”

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith

“This post-apocalyptic adventure has incredible world building. Welcome to the remnants of the new Gulf Coast.”

Nation by Terry Pratchett

“When a devastating tsunami leaves behind only two survivors, they must rebuilt the Nation while battling starvation, sharks, mutineers, and cannibals.”

Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac

“In a post-apocalyptic future, Apache hunter Lozen kills monsters as a hired gun- but with powers from ancient Legend, what else can she accomplish?”

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

“I devoured this book as a teen. It’s intense and thrilling and all about man vs. wild, as well as near-starvation, and winter in the scary forest.”

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel

“Okay there is the tiniest bit of romance (and a one-panel kiss - I’m sorry) in the background of this inventive graphic novel, but it’s certainly not the point of the story. At its heart, Ghostopolis is about a boy getting to know his grandfather (and himself) while escapign a ghost dimension. Totally normal.”

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

“This wonderfully written book won the National Book Award in 2015. A teenager suffers from mental illness and delves between two realities. Shusterman’s son drew the illustrations in this novel.”

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

“This dark historical thriller is not for the faint of heart, but for those who love a spine-tingling mystery, this book will grip you and not let go.”

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

“The narrator of this book is a 15 year old autistic boy who finds a neighbor’s dog dead one night. He sets out to solve the mystery of who killed the dog. This book will make you think about the world in a different way.”

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds, and Brendan Kiely

“Frighteningly similar to the true and brutal murders of Michael Brown, Alton Sterling, and countless others, this fictional masterpiece uncovers all sides of the story and reminds us that no one is merely a 'bystander' in systemic racism.”

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

“Greed. Genius. Magic. Heists. Blackmail. Artemis Fowl is a ride you will never forget.”

Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola, and Emily Carroll

“Baba Yaga, eater of children, fearsome witch, needs an assistant, and Masha, determined to follow in her beloved grandmother’s footsteps, needs an adventure.”

The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne Jones

“This book is so much more than historical fiction about a Japanese and an American soldier stranded on a Pacific Island during W.W.II. It’s also about a mystery involving the diary kept by the Japanese soldiers and the complexity of the family dynamics of three generations of males affected by this diary and by war.”

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

“Spooky, diverse, and original, Every Heart a Doorway creeped me out, melted my heart, and left me myearning for more from Seanan McGuire.”

[patheticphallacy]

IT’S MAY Y’ALL. Even though I’ll still be doing blog posts in May, it’s not going to be as hectic, as I finally finished my second year of university and have decided to take it easy after a very packed April.

I’m also doing things a little different with my wrap up this month by getting rid of star ratings. I watched a video on it, and I just feel like I’d rather people go by my actual comments on the books than look at the rating and decide that covers all my thoughts. I still have star ratings on Goodreads for my own personal use, but I’m doing my best to start writing proper summaries of my thoughts from now on!

READING WRAP UP

  Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan– a solid follow up to the first book, although there’s a startling lack of dragons in a series about a dragon naturalist! Definitely go into this one expecting a lot more politics than book 1, and Isabella starting a lot of Drama.

The Elementals by Michael McDowell– such an amazing horror novel! McDowell is so underrated for a writer who wrote predominantly in the seventies and eighties, and it’s so tragic how young he died. 

Princess Jellyfish Volume 1 by Akiko Higashimura– such a disappointing read. It’s really problematic, to the point where it drastically impacted my enjoyment of the plot, especially when I’ve got so many other more recent manga I could be enjoying more than this. 

Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 8 by Hiromu Arakawa– speaking of next tier manga… holy shit. I am so scared of volume 9 and finishing this series, it’s meant so much to me and it’s really helped me immerse myself fully in reading manga. 

Lumberjanes Volume 9 by Shannon Watters– Barney is a precious precious bean and I love them! This is a roller derby volume, and it was pretty great: I’ve been a fan of roller derby since I first watched Whip It, and this volume was super entertaining!

Lumberjanes Volume 10 by Shannon Watters– wholesome volume where the parents come to visit their kids. I do feel really sad for Molly, but it was nice seeing everyone else’s parents! 

Lumberjanes: A Midsummer Night’s Scheme by Nicole Andelfinger– this was a fun bonus one shot comic. However, it does get very cheesy and it’s whole message is just so obvious  that them explaining it was very much unneeded. 

Smut Peddler Volume 1 by Various Authors– this is a fun anthology of smut comics that I super enjoyed reading. E.K. Weaver’s comic is by far my favourite, and it’s only after I realised that it was a one shot about a character in her webcomic! 

Rumple Buttercup BY Matthew Gray Gubler– a very cute children’s graphic novel about loving yourself and finding acceptance! 

Smut Peddler Volume 2 by Various Authors– this wasn’t as good as volume 1, but I still read it really quickly and had a fun time looking at the different art styles and methods of story telling!

Dream Daddy by Various Authors– there are so many good moments in this comic, it’s so great. Highly recommend if you’ve played the game, and if you haven’t, check it out, it’s real fun! Damien and Robert’s issue was by far my favourite as they were my favourites in the game too.

Tokyo Ghoul Volume 5 by Sui Ishida– finally, I’m starting to enjoy Tokyo Ghoul. It took a while this volume to actually understand what the hell was happening, but once I did, it really did become something I enjoyed.

Rick and Morty VS Dungeons and Dragons by Patrick Rothfuss– A decent enough read, although there is way too much dialogue and exposition on every page. The font is really small, too, so reading it was a hassle. 

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero– this book was actually terrible and I have a whole review discussing my issues and how harmful it is!

Jackass! Volume 1 by Scarlet Beriko– This is a funny, sweet manga about fetishes and blackmail. It has an age gap romance between an 18 year old and a doctor, and there is some transphobic bullying/weird treatment of bullying being okay if the person has a crush on you, but the main relationship is great, and the MC has a really lovely relationship with his older sister. 

Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka– Chronicles the Alice Batwoman arc from Detective Comics, as well as giving the backstory for Kate. It’s so great having a badass DC hero who is a lesbian, whose storyline also touches on homophobia in the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ era of the military. Glad I finally got to this!

Sparrowhawk #5 by Delilah S Dawson– a really disappointing series conclusion overall. I knew I should’ve just stopped reading after the first issue and I wasn’t feeling it, and I honestly wish I had after such a dissatisfying conclusion. Others may enjoy this, but it really wasn’t for me.

Assassination Classroom Volume 1 by Yusei Matsui— an amazing series starter! Already really moving with a teacher who spends all his time encouraging his students despite being a threat to the entire world they have to kill within the year. I have a feeling this will become a new favourite.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara– really great non-fiction read written by a journalist who played a massive part in the resurgence of talk surrounding the Golden State Killer. You also get some of her life story, and by the end I was almost in disbelief that the author had already died by the time her work was published. I will say it did drag at points, especially in the parts not written by McNamara that had to be finished after she died, but overall a really thorough look into the cases and the victims.

The Woods Volume 5 by James Tynion IV– this series is- dare I say it- picking up? I still have issues with the representation and the fact that most of the main characters to have died, especially in this volume, were POC while the white characters are in the exact same situation and survive. Will have to see if this carries on. 

Backwards & In Heels by Alicia Malone– this started off strong, and I found out so much about women in film and their presence in the industry since the creation of film in the 1800’s. However, by the end it got so repetitive and formulaic in the way information was presented that I started skimming. This is more of a coffee-table, occasional-read book when you fancy learning more about amazing women! Also, even though there is diverse rep and talk of lack of hiring of WOC and LGBT+ women in the industry, we also get the author praising white women earlier on in the book who took on roles where they did blackface and yellowface, which really dulled down the conversation in the latter half of the book. 

My Love Story!! Volume 6 by Kazune Kawahara– so GOOD. I got so emotional reading this volume, I ended up crying. This is by far one of my favourite manga series, I can’t recommend it enough. It follows tough-but-soft boy Takeo as he enters into a relationship with Yamato, cutest girl in the universe, with the support of his best friend Suna. Truly the PEAK of romantic comedy fiction. 

When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry– emotional, hardhitting read about a group of friends who end up with superpowers after discovering a strange alien object. It’s very reminiscent of the film Super 8 in my head, and if you love stories about not only aliens but found families through friendship, highly recommend!

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle– I just don’t think Sherlock Holmes is for me. I love the retellings and adaptations, and in theory, I’m invested in the murder mysteries, but I just think Doyle’s prose weighs it down and there’s always that underlying racism I don’t think is appropriate to even attempt to shake. 

And my May TBR Jar pick is…. MY HEART GOES BANG by Keris Stainton!

TV SHOWS/MOVIES/VIDEOS

At the start of the month, I started bingeing Dead Meat videos, a channel entirely revolving around horror. My personal favourite series is the Saw kill count videos, and the movies that changed horror podcast episode James (the host) does with his girlfriend Chelsea (who is amazing)!

I finally watched season 2 of Stranger Things! I adore Steve, as always, and it was such a solid season (BOB). However I did have an issue with the needless rivalry that festered with Elle towards Max, season 3 better sort that and stop pitting girls against each other for no reason other than because of boys.

Zoe from Read by Zoe was on FIRE this month with some really great read-a-thon videos! I loved her 24 read-a-thon vlog especially, she read only books she enjoyed growing up and it all felt really nostalgic.

This is very much a personal one, but my favourite streamer returned to a podcast with the company he used to work for, and it was just…. so heartwarming to watch. I can’t believe he left four years ago! I’ve been watching this company since I was about fourteen, so it was so nice watching this, a long-awaited reunion.

Kat at paperbackdreams did an amaaaaazing video rant reviewing After by Anna Todd, and I loved it. In general Kat is a top tier booktuber for me, I highly recommend her videos as much as I can!

MUSIC I’VE ENJOYED

Pressure by The 1975

Old Town Road Remix by Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus

The Black and White and I Spend Too Much Time in My Room by The Band CAMINO

I Got 5 On It  (Tethered Mix From US) by Michael Abels, Luniz, Michael Marshall

Soldiers (From Stranger Things) by Kyle Dixon, Michael Stein

REVIEWS I POSTED

Three Romance Reviews: Kulti, The Hating Game and Sunstone

The Elementals Book Review

Meddling Kids Book Review

OTHER POSTS I’VE DONE 

Spring Cleaning Book Tag

Film Friday: Favourite Campus Films

Getting Through Exam and Essays: ADVICE

DISCUSSION: Reading at University, and how I do it!

Music Monday: OMG This Song Book Tag

Top Ten Tuesday: Rainy Day Reads

Top Ten Tuesday: First Ten Books I Ever Reviewed on Goodreads

  April Wrap Up & May TBR Jar Pick IT'S MAY Y'ALL. Even though I'll still be doing blog posts in May, it's not going to be as hectic, as I finally finished my second year of university and have decided to take it easy after a very packed April.