Do Not Siege Walled Cities - 301

Zero Hour Approaches

HELLO FROM BUENOS AIRES

A really nice place.

I wanted so badly to talk politics with people. Not normally something on my agenda, but I’ve been fascinated by Argentina’s crossroads moment and I really wanted to hear from people on the ground.

Unfortunately, my voice was shredded. Maybe it’s for the best.

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SOON

Issue one of GEHENNA: NAKED AGGRESSION is entering FINAL ORDER CUTOFF. What that means is, last chance. You either call you comic shop now and ask for the issue to be ordered, or you forever hold your peace.

If you’re here, you know the long and the short of the book. A woman has a contract on her life that’s been sold and resold as packaged debt between criminal organizations. She wants to stop the chain of ownership. Cue gun violence.

And if you’ve followed this newsletter or my Instagram, you’ve seen ample evidence that Maurizio Rosenzweig and Matteo Vattani went hard. The older I get the less interested I am in self-aggrandizement and the more invested in team I become. These dudes SHINE on this book and it makes me very proud.

Give your local comic shop a call today. I promise you’ll be rewarded.

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BEST PANEL IN MY INBOX THIS WEEK

A Pramono panel from a pitch we’re working on. Not sure if I’ve shared any aspect of it before. He really killed this pitch and I’m hopeful we find a home for it.

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NOT A REASON JUST A THING TO NOTE

I reject the idea that there’s any non-artistic reason to read a comic book. The agenda of the book, the creator’s politics, these are superficial and stupid reasons to spend money. I believe it’s fine to try to win over an audience by offering something different, but the facts have to be in evidence. Someone saying, “I’m not like the thing you don’t want” has to make good on that promise with the content of the art.

So, please, don’t read my books simply because I say I’ll never involve you in THIS:

50 Years Later, Marvel Fans Still Don’t Get What The Punisher Skull Logo Is All About, is a recent article from ScreenRant. It’s about Marvel’s struggles to reconcile that the murderous vigilante they turned into a hero has had his logo adopted by people with a great warmth for truck nuts.

I’ve made comment on this before, and the thrust of my argument is art has no responsibility. How a genius takes your work and how a fool takes your work is all the same shit. The art is a product of my volition and what you do with it is a product of yours. The principle of a thing is how it stands up when taken to its logical limit. And the logical limit of art accountability is blaming me for the behavior of a stranger. Not happening.

But, look, creative people are self-important people. They secretly want to believe they can change the world and influence the behavior of strangers. So you might, in the weakest and most arrogant artists, find some purchase for these CYA ideas. But by and large, it’s a corporate brain that lands here.

And THAT’S what you’re never getting from me. Marvel readers can’t pretend the slop pile of committee decisions they buy every month is art. Because art doesn’t consider ‘optics.’ It doesn’t scramble to rewrite itself because, uh oh, someone’s mad.

When you read independent comics, you get independent ideas. Nobody is management is stepping on the product. And I don’t want you to take my word for it. Don’t buy my books because I tell you they aren’t corporate swill. Try them and find out for yourself. This is just bluster. You make the decision.

Brand management = vomit

Making excuses for corporations = eating vomit

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MEDIA CONSUMPTION

Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs is perfection. Not as stylish or stylized as Female Prisoner Scorpion, it puts its energy into being fast, bold, and fun. Most of all, I enjoyed how it moved from one situation to another in the way life seems to. Whoops, I’m here, in this fucked up place with people doing fucked up things. Damn, now I’m in another. Highest recommend.

Inserts isn’t essential. I think I can start with that. But it is interesting. 1/3 of the way through, I found myself googling if it was an adapted stage play. The single-set aspect of the thing would convince you it is. But, nope. Just a story that could give 1/2 its budget to Richard Dreyfuss and still afford to film.

It’s so intentionally and explicitly ‘old Hollywood’ worshipping, I don’t think a single person under 50 would find the premise compelling. Just as kids can’t understand Elvis. But there’s a dialog-driven character story going on that’s enough to keep you. Just don’t expect the camera to leave the room.

Female Prisoner Scorpion Grudge Song is maybe the least ambitious of the FPS films I’ve seen. Less visual, if that makes any sense. But still a blast. You really can’t cross this lady. Maybe call this shit Boderline Personality Scorpion. She’s just not taking any level of betrayal.

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DESIGN FOLDER

I found these pieces compelling not so much for the illustration, but for the way they worked together. For squarebound books in the US, we focus hard on how any design on the spine will work as a larger piece. But covers that can be displayed next to each other for real effect are rare.

Would these work independently of each other? Eh. I’m not so sure. Less appealing for sure. So maybe these aren’t as effective as I first thought. But together? A cool look.

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MAKE THAT CALL

Thanks for your support. I meet people on tour in places as far from home as Chile who would like comics signed. That’s a good feeling and I’m grateful for your eyeballs. GEHENNA: NAKED AGGRESSION issue 1. Call your comic shop. Do for self.