It’s the holidays! I wish I were in a holiday mood but I’m not. Maybe I’ll get there. Right now, the world feels like too much of a shit show to really celebrate. I believe deeply in finding joy in the darkest times, and I plan to do just that, one way or another. But joy is not in the room with us right now, as the saying goes, and I’d rather just tell you that than perform some gooey chipper dude who is just a mask. Anyway, I’m probably not alone in that, and hey — here we are!
I do feel deeply grateful though, for so many things. It’s been an amazing year, a wildly fucked up and amazing year, and I’ve loved so much of it, lived so fully throughout it, I can only stand back and honor that, both by acknowledging it and being present, honest, with the current moment.
Really proud of the work I’ve done over the past year, both with the fantastic High Republic team, who always brings me smiles, and on my own. A lot of my own work has been projects I’ve been keeping close still, but there will be a moment when they break out into the world and I let them go and I’m excited for that too. Writing Escape From Valo with my friend Alyssa Wong was definitely a highlight — truly one of the best collaborative processes I’ve ever been involved with and that bar is high! Working with Harvey and the team on Adventures has been another absolute joy and creative thrill.
Feel like this year, I grew as an artist in ways I’m still discovering and understanding. That’s to say, I can tell I’m in the midst of profound creative change, a cocoon, and I don’t fully know yet what will emerge, and I love that. It’s totally ungrounding and I love it. We never stop growing.
Aaaaaanyway I am in the giving spirit even if I’m not festive, so after a few fun announcements… there’s a sneak peak!
Everyone’s reactions to The High Republic Adventures Issue #1 were beyond what I could have hoped for. That was a moment I’d been planning for years and y’all did not let me down hahaha! Thank you to everyone who has been supporting this series, whether you have been here since day one or just picked it up this month, I appreciate you. There are some great theories out there for what’s to come… and oh boy we are just getting started.
In other Star Wars news, Escape from Valo is only a month away! Leading up to the book’s release, Alyssa Wong and I are going to be doing some fun events that are TBA. Our collaboration on recent projects has inspired us in so many ways, and we want to teach what we’ve learned about comics, writing, and collaboration in doing so.
On January 10th, Alyssa and I will be teaching a virtual class on writing comics. You can sign up for the class in my shop here. This class will be two hours long and is open to as many people who want to sign up. My paid subscribers will get a 10% OFF discount emailed to them before the listing goes live.
Along with the lecture class, a virtual workshop will be open to 20 participants—first come first serve! We’ll be giving in depth global and line notes on 10 script pages from each participant and then discussing as a group. This workshop will be on January 24th, and is able to be purchased on the same listing as the lecture class. The listing will go live on Sunday, December 24th at 10 AM PST.
SPOILER FOR ISSUE 1 IN THE SNEAK PEAK OF ISSUE 2 BELOW SO DON’T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET
THRA #2 comes out January 24th. This issue includes art by the wonderfully talented Nick Brokenshire. I’ve been a fan of Nick’s work for a long time — he drew the Phase 1 FCBD issue on Valo — and am so excited to have him on the team. His melodic interiors complement Harvey Tolibao’s art so beautifully, and it’s a thrill to see them join forces on these next two issues.
As always, please don’t share this on socials for the next twenty four hours! Here’s a tiny section of one of Nick’s panels from issue 2, “The Ballad of Tartak Vil, Part I.”
Make sure to subscribe to this newsletter in order to stay up to date on what we’ve got going on next month—the countdown to Escape from Valo is on!
That’s all I have to announce this month! Enjoy your holiday season and happy new year!
—D
LINKS:
Guante’s resource for artists who want to speak out on Palestine but aren’t sure how: https://racketmn.com/for-artists-and-musicians-who-want-to-speak-out-about-palestine-but-arent-sure-how
A moving open letter from Jewish students at Brown: https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2023/11/an-open-letter-from-jewish-students
Writers Against the War on Gaza:
https://www.writersagainstthewarongaza.com/
And more links from
SupportPalestine Action:
Dissenters against the War Machine:
Apply pressure for a ceasefire now:
Take action with Jewish Voice for Peace:
Take action with the Palestinian Youth Movement:
Take action with IfNotNow:
Support Boycots, Divestmest, and Sanctions:
Appreciate your honest approach to these. I hope 2024 will be an easier year all-around, but change is needed to make that happen. What you said about growth really inspired me. And thanks for the preview! 🥹
Sounds like we've had a similar year creative-wise. Hope you enjoy your holidays and happy new year to you too! It's one of my goals next year to write a comic and its gonna be great to learn from two of the best! I'll be here for January 10th but bummed that I'll be on holiday on the 24th and not really able to attend. It's the same for the talk Brittany's doing on historical fiction - don't know if I'd have been able to attend both anyway!