Do Not Siege Walled Cities - 306
Taking L's Left and Right Over Here
DAVE
I’m at my friend’s house. He died unexpectedly last week. He was one of the people I’m closest to, and it had been that way since the 90s.
I was uncomfortable eulogizing my father in this newsletter, and I’m even less comfortable eulogizing my friend. I will just use this opportunity to say something I may not get a chance to at his memorial.
People are not their careers.
Even when they are brilliant in those positions. Even when they were passionate about their jobs. Even when they accomplished big things.
Your family, friends, and -in whatever literal or metaphorical sense- St Peter, don’t care about your accolades. There is a depth and a heft to a man’s private life that people in his professional orbit never experience. And that’s as it should be. You’re not obliged to show your full self to anyone, so for most of us the act is meaningful.
I understand when someone is exemplary and a credit to their craft, it’s natural to celebrate that fact in death. It feels like you’re honoring that person.
But it’s just noise to those who lost their friend.
Eulogies are lists of a person’s qualities. They are all limited by language. And, in any case, there is more to a person than the kindest thing that can be said for him.
Regarding my friend of almost 30 years, I will simply say, “he was my man.”
It’s not a summation of Dave or his life. It’s just the broadest expression of a feeling I don’t have the words for.
MORE DEATH
Peter David passed. I did not know him beyond his work and interviews. At this moment, where I am particularly reticent to reduce a man to his labors, I will spare you the talk about what a ‘comics man’ Peter David was.
But I will say I enjoyed his work. I felt his X-FACTOR was the best team book of its era. I reread The Death Of Jean DeWolff, his Big Two material, last night and I understand how he was able to jump from the advertising side of Marvel to creative.
Peter David, you could argue, never updated his career to meet the moment. He was a prolific writer across multiple mediums, but in comic books his bibliography is overwhelmingly corporate-owned. And given my orientation, I think that’s a shame. But the counter-argument that he elevated a number of Big Two titles, and there’s value in that.
He had a wife and four daughters. Rest in peace.
CRASS CONSUMERISM
We got our sales numbers for GEHENNA: NAKED AGGRESSION #1 and I’d like to thank all of you for making it a success. When I’m on the other side of this trip, I will write retailers individually and thank them. But be sure you, the customer, have our gratitude.
The numbers for each individual cover are interesting. I’d like to break it down for you and get some talk about what appeals in each or what it may say about trends, but talking about numbers in comics is like talking about your income. It’s invitation for jealousy by those operating below you and derision by those above. It sucks to not be able to talk about the means by which we feed ourselves. I’ll try to find a way that allows for some discussion but doesn’t get specific.
Until then, order ISSUE TWO. It’s even better than issue one and guaranteed fun.
PUNISHER IS BACK I GUESS
New THE PUNISHER comic is coming. Frank Castle. Classic skull logo.
So I guess it begs the question: was all that “we a subsidiary of the largest entertainment brand on the planet but are somehow are scared that rednecks have Punisher stickers on their F150s” nonsense a work? Were we all conned into a marketing scheme?
They give us limp versions of the character we know until we’re sick of him. Then they ‘reinvent’ him into something boring and toothless. Then they replace him with a character holding fucking laser guns.
Now, they bring him back to fanfare(?). Seems like they conned themselves.
I’d be somewhat excited for a new Punisher series, but they’ve already led with “he’s gonna scold hayseeds for liking the logo, don’t worry” and “he’s got amnesia.” The latter typically a mechanism by which writers can deconstruct a character’s established motivations.
“I… I… believed it was good to shoot criminals? How? Since joining the crime community, I’ve learned criminals are great. I denounce my old self! I don’t even recognize him!”
So, I’ll pass. Wake me when spines are back in vogue.
RACE WAR! not really
Race discourse is consuming the online comic book space, at least partially sparked by an Alex Graham strip.
This piece was responded to in strips by other creators, mostly critical of Graham. There are two ways to read Graham’s strip. One is that white ‘allies’ are subject to a mob mentality fueled by white guilt. That feels to me, a white fella, to be the very obvious thrust of the thing. And Graham has come out and said as much. But, if you chose, you could also read it as a broad attack on the quality of work from marginalized creators.
As a tangent of sorts, I need to mention: there’s an element of dishonesty to professional comic books, period. The guys who push their peers’ books on social media are privately candid about the fact they haven’t read them or even actively hated what they read. Are they dishonest scum? They think they’re doing something kind. Is it condescending? Maybe.
I know this is a thing someone would lob like a grenade into a conversation, but sometimes blunt sentiments have a core worth exploring: Graham’s strip hits mediocre creators with shrapnel. If you are not a mediocre creator, why would you take umbrage with the strip?
Also, and this is the part you can kill me for if you’re bored and have run outta targets: what happens in this strip, happens. I mean, it really just does. I’m not using this fact as cudgel for some culture war argument. I’m not even weighing in with any personal feelings about it. But it just fucking happens.
Look, my mother refused to get me tested, but I’ve gotta assume there’s some autism flowing through my synapsis. Because I’m missing a social cue here and am approaching this from a very literal position. A is A. It’s manifestly true that white allies will lie about their own tastes to prop up the work of marginalized creators. It is not open for debate. It happens. So why can’t Graham say this? What exactly is the harm done by stating the obvious?
To me, this seems like a matter of what you consider important. To some readers/listeners/etc, the value of a piece of art is what it means to the larger world. To others, it’s what it means in and of itself. I’ll give you an example nobody in comics can find offense in.
In the type of music I enjoy, there was a short-lived band called G.L.O.S.S.. The topline on the band is that they were trans. This was 2014, when the trans discourse was not where it is today, and the band being ‘important’ wasn’t the usual music press nonsense. Their message was more blunt and severe than anything an ‘ally’ band could offer. They inspired trans artists and they inspired trans kids to feel more comfortable in spaces they may not have before that. The band, some would say, were “the real deal.”
But it wasn’t good.
You can say art is subjective, and true enough thank you for adding nothing to the conversation. But quality actually is not. If you’re young and the message appealed to you, the band could truly mean something to you. But that’s not the same as good, and in their heart everyone understands that. People who love the genre of music G.L.O.S.S. made will tell you G.L.O.S.S. was ok. Not terrible; not good.
When I make a distinction between what art means to the world vs what it means to itself, it’s all to say: G.L.O.S.S. was worth talking about and it is a good thing the band existed. And at the same time the band was not great. These two things are not mutually exclusive.
I did not need the band to help me form opinions about trans people and I could not identify with it. So, to me, the value of the band falls on the quality of the music. But to someone who learned something from the band, or identified with its message, the value falls outside the music itself.
Do you see the difference? Is it not fair to acknowledge a difference? Often white ally types will praise work they know is not good, because they believe it has a purpose beyond the work. I think it’s ok to confront that very simple and obvious truth. Graham, a cartoonist, doesn’t have to like the truth. You can if it suits you.
No reason to fight.
MEDIA CONSUMPTION
The death of Peter David had me searching out the material that let him run free a little. SACHS & VIOLENS is essentially SIN CITY if directed by Rob Reiner. It has no bite, but is still a good time.
It is also my favorite George Perez work. I consider his DC work brilliantly sturdy but, in that way, a bit stiff. In this title he allows for the hint of something else.
FROM THE DESIGN FILE
The eyes are goofy, yes. The hand is… odd. But there’s something about this low-quality crap poster for a crap adult film that grips me. I can’t guarantee I would buy a book with a cover like this, but I would certainly pick it up.
I think we’re at the point in comic book covers where literalism might have to take a backseat for a minute. I’ll try to make it my motto for 2026: Literate, not literal.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME
Vibes were not good this week either. Sorry. I didn’t expect my friend to die. Have a productive week. Do for self.
With the utmost respect to the heaviness of your recent life events, thank you for sharing, Pat. Can't wait for Gehenna and congratulations on the initial success!
Very encouraging news about Gehenna sales. I’ve ordered 3 of the covers myself!