IDEAS DON'T BLEED episode fifty-nine | Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, part one

WELCOME BACK TO IDEAS DON’T BLEED!

This week, we’re joined by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (PanelxPanel / Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees) as we discuss his comics origins, working with Matt and Tyler on What’s the Furthest Place From Here?, his upcoming graphic novel The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber, and more!

IDB is an all-new weekly podcast presented by Ashcan Press and featuring Matthew Rosenberg, the Supple Boiz, and wonderful guests from the world of comic books!

Our theme song is “Where’s the Poison” by Summer People.

Enjoy!

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Hi all.

I’m very excited about this episode and have wanted to make it for a while. In addition to Hassan being one of the people doing some of the most interesting comics Journalism work around, being arguably the best letterer in comics, and being a wonderful person to chat with, he is also now a comic writer. His debut book, THE UNLIKELY STORY OF FELIX AND MACABBER, comes out this very week.

But what is it? Glad you asked.

How are you not going to enjoy this book?! Look at it!

Join a brave young monster and their grouchy mentor on a heartfelt quest for redemption and growth in a world run by fear.

Felix is a shy little beast growing up in a world where monster wrestling is the biggest spectacle there is. Lonely, and constantly bullied by the bigger monsters his age, Felix struggles to prove themselves and find their place in the world. Their fate is changed forever when a dare lands them on the doorstep of one of the scariest monsters in the whole world— Macabber Tails, one of the most famous monstering champions in history.

Felix wants to be big and brave and strong and tough, just like Macabber, and so they decide to do whatever it takes to not be a fraidy little monster anymore. Their unlikely journey together sends them to Macabber's hometown, to the mountains of the colossal flame-wielding Kilnver—a monster able to make an army of knights out of just its own saliva—and to the lair of the dastardly Amaret, the monster that made Macabber the champion they are today.

Together they face some battles for their life, but not always in ways that are physical and by the end, Felix and Macabber may learn a thing or two about being tough.

It is drawn by the brilliant artist Juni Ba and it really is an outstanding and fun read. So make sure you grab a copy after you listen to this episode.

Before we go any further, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t use my time promoting other people’s work to also shamelessly shamefully plug my own stuff. If you want to read some of Hassan’s brilliant lettering work, you can find his name on tons of great books every month. But I’d like to focus on one in particular- WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE?

Issue #15 came out last week, and we’ve generally been referring to it as the calm before the storm that is the next 3 issues. If you haven’t read it, think about doing so. It has a dog, some sex, witty banter, a weird illness (?), a gorgeous snowstorm, and a tearful reunion. Basically all the good stuff.

But today is the last day your local comic shop can guarantee your preorder for WTFPFH? #16.

We have this great cover by Tyler, which is one of my favorites.

And this wild cover by Joe Mulvey and Kelly Fitzpatrick. It’s so good!

I wanted to show a preview of the issue, but literally every page is a spoiler and I’m not trying to spoil my own book for you. So I can just show you this panel.

And look at that sweet Hassan lettering. He’s the best.

Now that I have done my due diligence and disclosed that I work with Hassan on our weird little post-apocalyptic coming-of-age comic, so I have a financial interest in you realizing he is brilliant and wanting to buy everything with his name on it, we can move on. But, in all honesty, I’d be plugging him like crazy even if I didn’t work with him because I love what he brings to a comic and comics in general. Starting with the 70(!) issues of his excellent comics magazine PANELxPANEL.

The magazine is a deep dive into comics, covering reviews, process, and everything else. It’s the kind of journalism every artistic medium hopes for and you can read ALL of it digitally now right here. Do yourself a favor and at least grab an issue.

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But never content to just do a bunch of things really well, Hassan also has a really incredible Youtube Channel called STRIP PANEL NAKED. Here he explores different facets of how and why comics work by focusing on individual titles, issues, and ideas. Always, interesting, often enlightening, Strip Panel Naked does a great job of explaining to you why you love the comics you love.

It’s well worth your time to give them a watch right here.

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And that’s it for me.

Hope you have your costumes figured out. I’m going as “guy who never leaves his house.”

Stay safe. Take care of each other. Pace yourself with the candy. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

-Matthew Rosenberg

NYC 10/30/23