Yes I'm Back

“I've been runnin', I've been hidin', it's the way of the world.
You say it's over, but the world keeps turnin' 'round.
World goes round, life goes on, and on, and on.
You say it's over, but the world keeps turnin' round.”

Way of the World - Cheap Trick

Why I went away

To be honest, I have been very distraught over the past several months over the situation and senseless killing of people in Gaza. Two things can be true: The attacks by Hamas on October 7th were a horror and indefensible and the slaughter of 30,000 Palestinians via genocidal war crimes are horrible and indefensible. The fact that my country is chief financier and cheerleader of said genocide bothers me even more.

As I get older, the one thing that bothers me most is death, especially senseless death. I didn’t feel like enjoying much. Creating content was hard and I felt gulity enjoying anything while witnessing a genocide in real-time. I still feel terrible about the situation and am very much in tune with events on the ground in Gaza but have been able to reconcile being very aware of the events in Gaza with the desire to enjoy some things in life, especially before Biden hands over the country back to the GOP due to his ineptness and being out of touch with 2024 America.

I’m usually the person that other people come to when they have things on their mind and need someone to listen to yet I never like to burden anyone with the things that weight heavy on my mind. But I do want to thank one person (that will hopefully read this) for listening with empathy. That helped more than you could ever know

Also, I’ve come to the realization that there are some things that are better communicated via the written word than either in a video or an IG post. So let’s talk comics and art.

Romero Britto Signing

Brazillian artist Romero Britto had an opening for the new Britto store in Aventura, FL and he appeared for a signing and I, along with my wife, went. We got a coffee table book and I bought a lovely journal and Britto signed both and posted for pics. What I liked most about the event is that (1) there was no snobbery, I was treated like serious patron and (2) I enjoy the accessibility of Britto’s art. Britto is one of the few artists that is prolific and is making money while he is alive. I have enjoyed his work since my wife introduced me to his work in 1997 and it was fun meeting a world-renown artist. Art should be accessible to the people and not caged up like something that is only for the rich and powerful. The art community and artists both are often very guilty of gatekeeping. This definitely happens in comics as well.

Micro-publishing Zine Offer bvy 3T - Told To Tell

Matthew Makman, the brains behind Told To Tell (3T) and one of the deepest thinkers of comics I have ever met, is starting a new venture. For $24 shipped, you get a bi-monthly zine shipped anywhere in the U.S.. 3T has been a micropublisher of independent comics for three years who takes the medium of comics extremely seriously and always puts out a high-quality product. You often see the creators he publishes get notoriety either via their own self-publishing efforts and word-of-mouth or published work via publishers such as Fantagraphics. Please consider giving it a try because you can definitely spend $24 in one year in infinitely worse ways. You can DM @toldtotell on Instagram.

Mark Millar Went Comicsgate and Nobody Cares

I just found out that back in November 2023 Mark Millar went all crazy old MAGA uncle and started ranting about “Cancel Pigs” and gave a shoutout to EVS. I am not surprised because it seems to be a more common occurrence for old white male comics professionals to blame the fact that people today don’t want to read comics that attracted readers 30+ years ago on “wokeness” and “cancel culture” instead of just acknowledging that their work is, in 2024, old and lame. A band that was around in the 1970s can still tour but they aren’t going to have the crowds of their heyday. I am not surprised because Millar supported Brexit (how is that working out for the UK?) so you know he’s the British equivalent of a Trumper, but it’s still disappointing.

The funny thing is that I just found out about it. There was a time when Millar going Comicsgate would be big news in comics. I don’t think the comics community could even muster a wet fart over it. I am not plugged into the superhero comics community at all but I didn’t see any mention of it. I guess that first season of Jupiter’s Legacy really was that terrible.

Al Columbia Has New Work Out and I Really Don’t Care

Al Columbia is a comics genius. When you strip away his personality and actions and just look at his work, that work is effective on so many levels. I often say he is the mirror universe version of Chris Ware. That’s how highly I regard his work. But, he’s too much drama for me and, while it’s common for people in comics to look the other way at the behavior of a cartoonist because he makes comics they like, I am just tired of his act. I’m sure this current book will sell out and will go up in price on the eBay market like all his work does. I just always am a little disappointed at people that will just blow off his actions. If you want to find this, google him, I’m sure you’ll find it.

I STILL Get Spy Reports about the CKRS FB Page

As you know I quit-before-being dumped from the CKRS FB group and posted the reasons why in a post from April 2022. But I STILL get spy reports over this group and their shenanigans to this day from surprising people. It’s funny how identified I was with that group but I really could not care less, especially when it seems like they’re doing the same dumb stuff they did back in the day. The recent beef they got into with Ed Piskor over Piskor disavowing any knowledge of said group really shook them. But I know much of the behind the scenes of that story and I will suffice to say, I don’t blame Piskor. But it’s all so high school.

Joe Sacco is On Fire

Joe Sacco is continuing his weekly installment about the current genocide in Gaza and for this past week he did a single image that speaks volumes.

Au Revoir

What will the scheduling of this newsletter be? I really have no idea. I think when I have enough content that I want to discuss or items to mention, then I’ll do that. But not having a strict deadline seems to make this more fun for me and, I would rather do infrequent, unscheduled posts when I think I have something to say than just cranking out a monthly book just for the sake of a schedule that I create.

If you have read this far then I want to thank all of you for your time. Please feel free to hit me back with any comments.