I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you!

Chapter 77: Had some Turkey, now what?

• The Best TV Show!

• Do Some Holiday Shopping!

• Our Next Livestream!

• What’s The Furthest Thing From… Hell?!

• A Piece of Comics History You Can Own!

• The Mixtape! - Which is better, C or K?

Hello there!

Hope you’re getting some rest this holiday weekend (or regular weekend if you’re not American). I am grinding away on scripts because my signing tour was, unsurprisingly, brutal on my schedule so now I am playing catch up. The good news is I’m almost caught up. And I can officially start drinking egg nog now, so I will only grow faster and more powerful.

I tend to not go too much into pop culture stuff on here because I’m not a critic or a pundit and I can’t imagine my opinion on this stuff should be of value to you. Also, I live in fear that some famous director or actor will someday agree to be in the 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK holographic brain opera or whatever they make in the future, and I will be on the verge of being more famous and wealthy than anyone can comprehend. And then, out of the blue, they call me up and read my newsletter back to me where I called JOHN WICK 11: WICK VS. WICKER MAN “the dumbest shit on Earth” and they laugh into the phone as they cancel my hologram movie and my hopes and dreams of being able to afford new teeth dissolves before my eyes.

Anyway, I keep my opinions to myself mostly but I feel compelled to talk about my favorite thing right now- ANDOR.

It’s so fucking good. The tightrope walk of making something so firmly rooted in the lore and aesthetic of one of the most beloved franchises of all time, while not doing a nostalgia play, is breathtaking. Brilliant performances across the board (but especially Syril’s mom), gorgeous design choices, deliberate and tension-filled pacing, whip-smart dialogue, heartbreaking character arcs, and a truly badass origin story about the inevitable need to fight back against the boot on your throat. Every week the show made choices that felt somehow brave, brilliant, and obvious in retrospect. It is a tour de force of craft and genre storytelling, and the standout show of 2022 for me… Maybe of the 2020’s as a whole. Kudos to everyone involved.

If you haven’t watched it yet check out the amazing trailer and get excited to dive in-

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In other news, it’s the start of the holiday shopping season. I was going to put some stuff up in our webstore but we’ve had some hiccups with it so we are fixing those before we add more stuff. And also, if you’re going to go buy some of my stuff, do it at your local comic shop.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that my partner in crime, Mr. Tyler Boss, is having a sale on his original art for this weekend. If you’re a collector you’ll see that these are a steal. And if you’ve never owned any comic art before, you’ll have to take my word on it that these are a steal. Also, comic art makes such a fun and unique gift if you’re looking for ideas. Especially if it’s a steal… Which these are.

So head on over and grab yourself some pages from WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE?, 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK, our story from RAZORBLADES, or I guess some DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH or TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES pages if that’s your thing. No judgements.

And a quick podcast note. Next week it will once again be time for our monthly IDEAS DON’T BLEED livestream. This time myself and the Symphony Kidz will be joined by Mr. Massive-Verse himself- Kyle Higgins!

If you aren’t familiar with Kyle’s excellent writing on books like NIGHTWING, POWER RANGERS, C.O.W.L., or ULTRAMAN, then maybe you know the colossally huge superhero universe that he launched in his series RADIANT BLACK! And if you don’t, it’s time to find out. Join us next Wednesday at 6pm EST for a casual hangout and discussion of his work and career. And if you have questions for Kyle, feel free to send them in here or show up and ask on the livestream. We might even pick your question to win the coveted QUESTION OF THE WEEK which would earn you a free gift from our friends at THIRD EYE COMICS!

So write your questions, mark your calendars, and read some RADIANT BLACK. I’ll send another email on Wednesday with the link but in the meantime you can follow our Youtube channel to stay on top of this kind of stuff.

New WTFPFH? just dropped. Did you get it?

Eagle-eyed readers may notice a connection to 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK.

WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #8 was out this week wherever comic books are sold. It is the 2nd of our 3 “flashback” issues, and a very fun one if I do say so myself. Ricardo López Ortiz does an amazing job of telling the story of the little piggy who got away and what came after. So far reactions have been… Well, people have been a little freaked out if I’m being honest. I would say that is warranted but I know what happens in the next 2 issues, so I would say don’t freak out just yet. The craziest parts are still to come. We got a very nice perfect score from the folks at ComicBook.com, so that’s fun.

Speaking of the next issues, when 1 issue comes out it means it’s time to start promoting the next. Exhausting, isn’t it? WTFPFH? #9 is on Final Order Cutoff this weekend, so if you want it it would be incredibly helpful if you’d let your local comic shop know right now. This issue will be on stands December 21st! Just in time for National Don’t Make Your Bed Day! This is the last of our trilogy of flashback issues and brings us much closer to the “present day” of our series, so expect to see some familiar faces. And those familiar faces are drawn by the incomparable Sweeney Boo! She is amazing and created a gorgeous, somber, and beautiful issue.

And like issues 7 and 8, we wrote it to be a standalone “jumping on point” so you can give it to people as a holiday gift!

Don’t know what to get Grandma? I bet she likes murderous pig-people!

Don’t have something for your grumpy boss? They seem like they might want to know more about the end of the world.

Not sure what to get your neighbors? Slip a post-apocalyptic comic where a frog mutilates people under their door!

Baby brother doesn’t know how to read yet? The fucking thing has pictures!

Buy 1,000 copies! Or give people WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? vol. 1 from your local comic shop or giant, planet-crushing mega corporation. That works too.

Anyway, on top of the above great cover by Tyler, we have continued the theme of “character covers” for these flashback issues. Josh Hixson did one for #7, Ricardo for #8, and Sweeney has one for #9. But, as a special and truly insane treat, comic legend and Image co-founder Todd McFarlane is letting us put his coolest creation on our cover. That’s right, we have Spawn on the cover for WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #9! Tyler drew the hell (get it) out of him! It looks awesome.

And it works as a funny punchline for our little cover motif these last few months. See?

Anyway, if you want a copy let your comic shop know because those ones are going to go faaaaaaaast.

My longtime friend and sometimes editor, Chris Robinson, has an amazing project that is in its final days on Kickstarter. ALL-NEGRO COMICS was an anthology comic of all Black creators published in 1947, at the dawn of the comics boom. But it was pulled from newspaper stands after it’s release and has become a legendary, but almost completely lost, piece of comic history. For the first time ever, the comic has been restored and is being re-released in a beautiful deluxe format. This is your chance to own a copy of what should have been a foundational work of American comics and pop culture.

To call ALL-NEGRO COMICS a must-read for fans of comics and American pop culture is a wild understatement. This comic is a document of historical importance, a glimpse at some true masters who never got their due, and a wild read for any lover of comics. It is amazing that it is finally getting it’s due after 75 years and you can help make that a reality and secure yourself a copy at the same time.

Please consider backing the Kickstarter. There is even a tier where you can get yourself a copy and pay for a school or library to get a donated copy as well.

Every week I struggle to find stuff to say about the songs I pick for the weekly mixtape and why. I am reminded of the old quote, “writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” So I think I will start putting less time into explaining why I chose these songs and more time letting them speak for themselves.

With that said, Stereolab’s French Disko is an absolute banger and brilliant mood piece, but the earlier version from their ep, where it was called French Disco (with a C) may in fact be the better song. It brings more chaotic energy, which is not something I normally associate with Stereolab, but it works here.

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Stay safe. Take care of each other. Make a sandwich from your leftovers.

-Matthew Rosenberg

CT 11/26/22