Update 7-24-24

Signing, sketching copies of Beasts of Burden for Patreon customers (thank you all!).

Packing up book orders. First batch should be going out tomorrow before I go to therapy.

Very happy to be able to talk about the Beasts of Burden Omnibus after the recent announcement.

Not supposed to talk about "the other omnibus" but I trust you folks. I'm working on the cover. Which is why you're seeing a Milk & Cheese rough sketch up there. Editor Daniel Chabon helped me pick a name for it, which was stupidly holding me up (I could have still pushed the cover along, but I felt stuck, and didn't know what the title would look like on the art). I don't love the title. It's dull. But it got me going again. At this point "A Bunch of Old Fucking Comics" would have suited me, because every "clever" title I came up with was cringe city. Now...now I kind of like "A Bunch of Old Fucking Comics". Not very commercial.

Drawing as much as I can. Drawing hand isn't doing great, unfortunately. I get my second steroid shot this Saturday from my pain management doctor (who's a comics fan, I gave him a copy of Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory at my last appointment). Really hoping this one does something for my hand. My arm feels better from the first shot, but my hand is not doing great because I have to draw and type and resting and stretching (and meds) isn't enough to lessen the inflammation. I should get a third shot for my neck and shoulder after this one. Here's to hoping.

Pulled some stuff to scan for the Patreon.

Pulled the notes and materials for the next Beasts of Burden series, which I am chomping at the bit to get back to. The first issue wasn't far from completion, and I have been adding ideas to the next two issues and firming up the fourth in my mind. Need to get that back on track, among other things.

Working on a new Fun Strip with an old character for the Patreon.

Sold some art. With the duel sigh of relief and wistfulness. Some pieces I'd prefer to save, but to be honest, a good scan is just about as good. And I have a good scan of the barfly cover. Which I think ships in a few weeks, for issue #2 (?). I was very happy with that one.

Prices went up on the remaining Eltingville Club originals. They're slowly disappearing, my next best-selling art after M&C, and once they're gone, that's the end of 'em. I'll do commissions and drawings of the Club in the future, but I'm not making more of those comics. Unless a nerd billionaire waves a big billfold at me, which ain't gonna happen.

Might be doing some podcast interviews in the coming months. I've been pushing requests off until after the Summer because I'm just too backed up.

Still haven't heard back from a publisher about the stories they asked me to pitch. I'm not complaining (I still owe people stuff for way longer) but I was hoping to get a job from it.

Sarah's going to help me on out how to do the videos again, which I never followed up on even after she got me a stand and a mic to solve the issues I had with that first tryout (which she had to spend time sound finagling). They've been sitting on the side of the desk for over a year, or so, I'd bet. If I don't do something for a while, I forget how to do it, and I'm bad at following instructions. I get fogged up inside. I try to watch Youtube videos, sometimes it works (Photoshop problems, I almost cried after I "solved" something, but Winky would have laughed at me so I sucked it up). Sometimes it doesn't. I don't know why my brain doesn't "see" how things work well. From computers to cooking to cars to whatever. Sometimes comics.

Had some more discussions about a fun project a friend of mine came up with, and I am hoping we can do.

Paul Yellovich and I are looking to have another Tear Them Apart Podcast live hangout soon, possibly with a cartooning guest, to just yap about the horror movies (and whatever else, maybe old NYC movie-going stories and whatnot).

Last week I saw a lightning strike across the street while I was carrying groceries into the house. An omen, perhaps?

More, soon. Later.