DJO October Newsletter
A note on the world on fire, and then an abrupt tonal shift: Spooky Season is here...
I wrote most of this a week ago, but the world seemed like a very different place than it does now. Massacres on top of massacres fill the news, and I find myself heartbroken and out of words most of the day. I don’t know the way forward, but I know massacres aren’t the answer; empire, colonialism, and apartheid only lead to the illusion of safety and more bloodshed.
Grief, and especially the public expression of it, has become so complicated — really, it always has been. If you’re not careful, even if you are, they’ll weaponize your grief and use it to justify making more people grieve. If you dare raise your voice in protest, demand humanity instead of more bloodshed, they’ll use that too, tell you you’re agreeing with things you abhor, that you’re siding with the enemy.
But we must grieve, all of us, and we must resist. We must say no to the transformation of our grief into bullets and bombs, and we must say no to the demands for our silence, our complicity in more murder. They act like it’s an impossible to space to hold, a contradiction. In fact, it’s the most human thing ever.
I believe the only way for this cycle to end, the only way for all sides of this to be truly safe, is for Palestine to be free. Whatever you believe, I pray you find peace in the spaces they tell us aren’t supposed to exist.
Okay — like I said, this all came from the world before everything went even more to hell, so pardon the tonal shift! I also believe in levity and joy, even in times of chaos. And while you’ll see below that I invite questions and comments, one thing I won’t do in this space is debate the sanctity of human life or the right to be free, not anyone’s, so you’ll have to take the arguments elsewhere.
¡Espooky Sazón!
It’s October, baby! And that means it’s the most wonderful time of the year — spooky season! Here in New Orleans, well, you can imagine…we don’t play. Every third house is its own magnificent living tribute to the dead, especially the famous Skeleton House on State and Saint Charles.
And that has meant making the thrilling discovery that Tito is in fact, a spooky kid!
We’re so proud! Is this what it’s like for jock parents when their kid tosses a football for the first time?? Look, I’m gonna be proud of that bun whatever he decides to do, but it’s nice to have common interests, you know?
Thank you so much to everyone who’s signed up for this newsletter recently! It’s been a steady stream of folks and I’m thrilled you’re here. And thank you thank you thank you thank you also to the paid subscribers!
I’m humbled and honored that you’re along for the ride, and just finished the first commission request yesterday, the one and only Lula Talisolaaaaaa, one of my favorite original Star Wars characters from Phase I of The High Republic.
I have a lot of things planned for this space in the months ahead, but I’d also really love to hear from you about what you’re looking for, what you’ve been enjoying, what you’d like more of. You can either fill out this form or drop me a note in the comments section or in reply to the email you got. Don’t be shy!
Most social media platforms these days are either constantly on fire or a ghost town or just not something I’m vibing with, and I’ve been loving Substack a lot, but it can also feel like shouting into the void sometimes, I think because people don’t think of it as much of an interactive place. But it is! Interact! The more you do the better it gets!
THE COOLEST TRIP EVER
In other news, I went on an amazing whirlwind tour the other day. Did a series of events in Norristown, PA, where the entire town had read one or another of my books — Lost Saints for the adults, Shadowshaper for the kids — and let me tell you: I’ve done events all over the world in the past decade, and this was one of the most incredible experiences an author could wish for. The community painted a mural in honor of Shadowshaper on the wall of one of the high schools. They went all out welcoming me, with events at the schools, community centers, and a local theater where a song and dance group performed traditional Mexican ballads. There was so much love and excitement and great conversations and questions, in English and Spanish! I was just blown away.
See the roundup here!
Then I caught an early morning flight to Chicago, where Rick Riordan and I did an event for his newest book CHALICE OF THE GODS to an auditorium full of EXTREMELY excited young people. Rick is every bit the kind and thoughtful gentleman that he comes across as; truly an exemplary human being and we always have a great time chatting.
And now I’m home, juggling a bunch of this and a little of that, fully in the strange, nonsensical grind of writing life.
STAR WARS STUFF
This hiatus between High Republic phases has been wildly busy for the whole Luminous team, and seeing all of you guys getting hyped for our final phase is so rewarding. Yesterday, Charles’ Shadows of Starlight Issue #1 released and WOW. This comic really is so amazing and I can’t imagine a better way to kick off Phase III. And on a similar note, I just want to say thank you to the incredible fandom that has come together for this series; you guys really look out for each other… just keep it up with respecting spoilers!
In other THR comic news, the blurb for my series THE HIGH REPUBLIC ADVENTURES issue #1 dropped the other week. Let’s go over it together!
“The new ongoing series picks up with the marauders known as the Nihil having claimed numerous sectors of space for themselves. It has been one year since the fall of Starlight; Padawan Lula Talisola and many others are missing and presumed dead. The Force-sensitive Zeen Mrala, an ally of the Jedi, mourns and waits. When an intriguing transmission is received from Tartak Vil, a warlord on the remote moon of Bracront, Zeen, Jedi Knight Qort, and a droid named 5A-G3 must venture once more into hyperspace to repair their fractured team and, perhaps, the galaxy.”
So yeah, we’ll be seeing some familiar (but all grown up) faces as well as a brand new one! 5A-G3, my she/they cosmic horror chaos droid will be teaming up with the kids in their daring adventures through the Nihil infested Galaxy. Returning to this era and this group of young force sensitives has been a true delight.
If you haven’t checked out the High Republic yet, Phase III is a great jumping on point. Yes, a lot has happened but we’ll be re-introducing this era of the Galaxy as we dive back in and we always have an eye toward new readers coming on board even while we continue the stories we’ve been telling for the past three years.
Inkbottle episode five will be out next week, so tune into our chat about Endings, closing out our Beginnings, Middles, and Endings series on Substack, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
In other Substack news this past month:
I wrote about what this new space is all about along with some thoughts on perfectionism and getting in our own way.
And I drew some folks in the French Quarter and some other folks in airports.
Behind The Scenes/Process Vid: French Quarter Sketchbook, Sept 2023
For anyone on their art journey, or even if you’re not — I highly recommend this exercise. It was an adventure and a lot of fun and I learned so much in such a concentrated way. Also, people watching is always a treat. The long and short of it is to sit in a coffee shop and fill 15-20 sketchbook pages with people you see.
That’s all for this month! Make sure to download the Substack app in order to get these posts right to your phone.
—D
Yooo is that top-left photo of Tito in a Primary romper? My 5yo son has the white with rainbow stripes, black/navy with rainbow stripes, and at least one more in a different pattern and he'd wear them every single day if we didn't insist on washing them.
Your way with words in the pre-tonal shift of this post was beautiful. The stuff after the tonal shift was great too! Great to hear about your good times at those events, and the shared interests between you and Tito.