Okay. Let’s go!
Chapter 179: Sneak peeks, Turtles, and Wild Swings...
Another Instagram Account!
Make Your Stories Weirder!
Turtie Time!
A WTFPFH? Sneak Peek!
The Mixtape!
Hey.
A little dumb business first. I made another Instagram account. I don’t particularly like having the first one, but in these final days of social media still vaguely working, I am making a go of it. This new account is just for WTFPFH?. Every day I’m posting a single panel from the book. Is it a good reading experience? I dunno. It’s pretty slow. But there is something very calming about revisiting the start of our little opus and examining it bite by bite. And who knows? Maybe it becomes one of those webcomics the kids (people in their 30’s) really love. In the meantime you can check it out and give a follow if you want a little daily dose of punk rock post-apocalyptic nonsense.
Summer is officially here this week so, like all other times of the year, I will be staying inside to read and watch movies. I had one of those interesting moments this week where different stories somehow connect in unexpected ways. In this case, the unexpected way is by both of them being unexpected.
First I was doing my semi-regular reread of DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN. I got myself a nice oversized edition, which might be the 6th format I’ve owned this story in, and I thought I’d kick the tires and take her for a spin. Obviously it is the work of two of the best to ever do it, at the top of their game, absolutely redefining a character for generations to come. But what struck me the most on this read through was how strange the Nuke sequences are. Real weird.
(THIS IS YOUR WARNING THAT I AM ABOUT TO SLIGHTLY SPOIL A NEARLY 40 YEAR OLD COMIC.) If you don’t know, the story follows Matt Murdock’s fall from grace at the hands of The Kingpin and his ultimate redemption. Obviously there needs to be some fighting and some leveling up as the story progresses, but it takes such an odd shape when the character Nuke is brought in. Nuke goes from popping pills and committing war crimes overseas to attacking New York City to find Daredevil. The story has to jump through some strange hoops to make it work- Kingpin has to know people in the army who owe him favors, he has to also know about this weird pill-addicted super soldier, and he has to decide this is the best way to capture a dude he has basically already beaten. On top of that, the story veers wildly away from this intimate Daredevil story because the Avengers show up, and then there is a whole Nuke Vs. Captain America sequence Daredevil isn’t even in. As I describe it now, it sounds like a fucking mess, right? But it isn’t. It’s perfect. But we’ll come back to that.
(THIS IS YOUR WARNING THAT I AM ABOUT TO SLIGHTLY SPOIL A 30 YEAR OLD MOVIE.) While taking a break from reading BORN AGAIN I decided to watch a movie and threw on PULP FICTION. Sometimes you just want to see a movie you know by heart. We all know how the movie works, I’m assuming. Short stories about bad people that weave in and out of each other’s paths. I was happily watching it when the Gimp section came up. The story up to that point is a fairly straight forward one. Butch the boxer refuses to throw a fight for Marcellus Wallace the crime boss. But Butch bet on himself so now he’s rich if he can just get out of town. Yadda yadda yadda. He is almost free and clear when he sees Marcellus on the street. They get in a fight, chase each other into a pawn shop, at which point they are captured, knocked unconscious, tied up, and subsequently sexually assaulted by the pawn shop owner, his friend Zed, and a man known only as The Gimp.
What happens after that doesn’t really matter for my point. While I was watching it all I could think about was Nuke. Not because the stories are similar, but because where they come from and how they got there are similar. Quentin Tarantino, like Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, was a brilliant young creator with a big win behind him. And he used it exactly as he should. It was a perfect storm of talent, ego, not knowing what not to do, and not giving a fuck. And from that you get these two perfect, genre-defining stories that completely and totally go off the rails in the most bizarre ways. And they are both better for it.
I have spent the better part of the week thinking about these stories. They aren’t the kind of thing that is taught in writing class or in film textbooks. They sort of defy logic on paper. They come from nowhere, shift the tone, the plot, and redirect all the energy of the story in a completely new direction. And I can’t help but wonder how the writers knew they’d work. How did they know that breaking the thing they had so masterfully built would somehow make it even better? And the only answer I’ve come up with is… I have no idea.
The naive part of me thinks the lesson here is that you should always take the big swings, always try to bring the craziest, most wild, most unexpected stories to the table, because those are the ones that change the landscape. The cynical part of me thinks the real lesson here doesn’t apply to most people. It’s simply a matter of if you’re good enough, like once in a generation good enough, none of the rules apply. A great story, great writing, great art, great actors, all of that can carry you through whatever craziness you throw in front of it. And the honest truth is, I don’t know which one to believe. But I’m choosing to think there is beauty in taking the big, weird swings and finding out where it takes me.
I’m not going to do a whole list of all the new cool stuff that’s out this week, but I wanted to give a little shoutout to a book I hope you’ll grab.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: BLACK, WHITE, & GREEN #2 is an anthology book of Turtie Shorts™ by some of the coolest folks in comics. This issue in particular has shorts from the following people- my upcoming collaborator on a new (secret) series- Javier Rodriguez, my previous collaborator on RED HOOD- Nikola Čižmešija, and my current collaborator on WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? and 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK- Tyler Boss! Amazing line up of my collaborators. Guess the Turtle people lost my number.
The issue also has Turtle great Gavin Smith, and famous person Mikey Way for all you fans of New Jersey post-post-hardcore. The book is super fun and worth your time, but I’d urge you to track down Tyler’s amazing cover-
Tyler spent years studying the arts of Ninjutsu, skateboarding, and herpetology to bring you the most accurate comic experience possible. Reward him for his work.
And while we’re here, this week is final order cutoff for TMNT: BLACK, WHITE, & GREEN #3. This issue features a story from my former DC editor David Wielgosz and the great Riley Rossmo. Dave was one of the best editors I ever had. His attention to detail, his thoughtful and kind approach to notes, his collaborative nature, all made him a joy to work with. So it was mildly frustrating to learn he’s also a good writer, but here we are. Their story is a blast and well worth the price of admission. So when you grab #2 this week, make sure to tell your local comic shop you’ll need #3 next month too.
Whether you like the turtles or not, one thing is abundantly clear- the people in charge of their comics really like everything about my comics except me.
While I’m telling you to preorder stuff this week, I should probably take the time to mention that WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #19 is on FOC this weekend too. This is a special and very different kind of issue. The amazing Dylan Burnett of ARCADE KINGS and COSMIC GHOST RIDER fame steps up to draw it, and it’s a joy. Dylan is amazing and we’re honored to have him.
Below is an unlettered preview, because the words would be spoilers.
Suffice it to say, this issue is super fun and it would help everyone involved if you’d tell your local comic shop you want a copy. We all appreciate you, but I appreciate you the most.
Been listening to a lot of hooligan music while I write lately.
That’s it for me.
Stay safe. Take care of each other. Why do we think the turtles hate me so much?
-Matthew Rosenberg
NYC 6/19/24
Hi Matthew. Quick question: when are the subscriber packages going to ship? I am hoping I did not miss out if they were already sent.
As a process nerd, what’s your schedule like?Do you try to hit a page count for every day?