I’m going to regret this!
Chapter 60: Still sexy at 60.
Go to Coney Island and see a spaceship, they said!
I did an interview about this newsletter and then posted a link to it in this newsletter! A newsletter Ouroboros!
The end of the Task Force, the middle of the Vampires!
All the news you could ever want about The Joker and then some more!
Top Secret things!
Hello again.
I’m emailing on a Sunday because I’ve had a busy week and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down.
First of all, thanks to everyone who sent in questions or came out to our first livestream with Ryan Stegman of KLC Press fame. It was a lot of fun and I was really happy with all the questions that came in for everybody. If you missed it you can go to Youtube and find out what Ryan likes on his pizza and where he feels his career shifted. And I’m contractually obliged to say “like and subscribe” to our new Youtube channel. If 10,000 of you subscribe I get like a nickel! In addition to turning our conversation into a podcast eventually, we’re going to have another livestream soon with an even better guest than Ryan! No, I don’t know who yet but the odds are good.
Even though I had a busy work week I still managed to take a much needed afternoon off for a very fun reason. My brother plays in a couple local baseball leagues around the city and I always mean to go out to a game but never manage to. Well this week they happened to be playing so far from my house that I just had to. Because who can pass up a trip to the Brooklyn Cyclone’s stadium on Coney Island?! It was just a recreational game for them, but I couldn’t miss the chance to sit in the good seats, cheer for my bro, and impatiently wait for the chance to go get clams on the boardwalk. It was a perfect day for a game, as you can see.
After the game I got the aforementioned clams, marveled at how truly bizarre so many people on the boardwalk are, and went for a walk on the beach. Rollerblading boombox catman, I’m not talking about you. You’re cool and normal.
And on top of that, while we were on the beach I saw something in the sky that I’d never seen before. At first I thought it was a strange plane or a helicopter, but it was way too high and giving off too much light. A lot of googling later and it was determined that it was a space shuttle that launched from Cape Canaveral shortly before. It was very surreal because it was so bright, but probably barely noticeable on the boardwalk itself. It was also silent. So even though dozens of people on the beach were staring up in wonder, most of the world around us didn’t ever notice. It felt really peaceful.
I didn’t take a picture because I like to live in the moment… Or because I forgot. But here, have this ok picture I did take.
Other people would probably take from a day like this that the world has so many nice and wonderful things to offer, and they should go out more. I’m choosing to take from it that if I wait long enough between trips outside, the world will save up all of the wonderful and magical things for one really fun day and then I can go back into hiding.
Besides the joy of baseball games, fried clams, and spaceships, I also got to speak with the always fun David Harper over at SKTCHD about this here newsletter/publisher/whatever project. David is one of comics most insightful interviews and pundits, so talking to him is one of my favorite things because it keeps me on my toes and causes me to gut check myself on a lot of this stuff. It’s nice when you can leave an interview about your own work, more excited than you went in, and that’s what this was. And if you aren’t a subscriber of SKTCHD you should consider becoming one. There are very few sites in comics offering this amount of must-read content.
I had a few very big releases last week that I am really proud of.
The reaction to our final issue of TASK FORCE Z was really overwhelming. I am so glad our lovable band of monsters connected with some of you. I am sad to see them go but so happy to have gotten the chance to make this weird little book with Eddy, Eber, Adriano, Rob, Dave, Jessica, and Paul. I couldn’t ask for better collaborators. And I can’t ask for better characters to play with. For those wondering where they will land next, I can’t give any hints about Two-Face, but Jason Todd fans might want to check out something I have coming out this week.
We also released the 9th issue of DC VS VAMPIRES and the really gorgeous hardcover collecting issues #1-6.
If you haven’t been reading it you can grab the hardcover and issue 9 now, and you’ll only be missing issue 7 and 8… and the HUNTERS one shot… and the KILLERS one shot… and the first 3 issues of ALL OUT WAR. Whatever. Point is, grab them both from your local comic shop now.
This upcoming week is a big one too! The first issue of my brand new JOKER series with the brilliant Carmine Di Giandomenico and Francesco Francavilla comes out! This is one of the wildest and most fun books I’ve ever worked on. It’s funny and violent and weird and going place I am sure nobody expects. But you don’t have to take my word for it that the book is real wild. DC Comics reinstated the Teen+ rating for this book, something they haven’t used in years. So if you aren’t at least… I don’t know… 14? Maybe skip this next part.
I got to chat with my buddy Andrew at Forbidden Planet this week about my upcoming series THE JOKER- THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING. Watch me hype up the book while being so sleep deprived that I almost spoil a bunch of things before I catch myself. Chatting with Andrew is always a blast and Forbidden Planet in London is one of my favorite comic shops in the world. So watch the interview and then order the book from them at the link right below. That is called synergy. Or it should be.
I also spoke with the good folks over at ComicBookdotcom about the series and what we’re doing with it. So give that a read to help turn your excitement into pure, frothing, mania.
And on top of all that, our friends at AIPT have a little preview of the book so you can try before you buy. But remember, the Ashcan Press mantra- “only cowards read previews.” I will be tracking which of you click that link and I will be judging you for it. (I’m kidding. I can’t actually track who clicks the link I don’t think. So my judgement will be at random.)
And now, for an exciting thing we’ve never done before! A section for our paying subscribers only! Hooray! If you’re not a paying subscriber you can do so here and now to join this very cool and elite club. Perhaps even more elite than I’d like it to be, if I’m being honest.
Otherwise, you’re just going to have to find a rich friend to tell you what we’re talking about down here. I hope we’re not all talking about you. That would be so awkward. And you’d never know what we were saying. Is it nice? Is it mean? Oh, the stress would kill me.
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