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Chapter 158: WildC.A.T.S. get tamed, Elaine gets wild, and other stuff you should read...
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Hiya.
Hope your week is going well. We’ve gone from “come outside and have a cocoa” weather to “fuck you, I’m not leaving my house again” weather real fast. Or maybe it’s just that I basically dress the same year round and it takes my body a little while to adjust to 40 degrees. Anyway, I still love it. Winter in NYC is my favorite time of year so I’m excited.
But Winter does remind us that all things end (look at that segue), and it’s as true for years and plants as it is for comics. This week sees the final issue of our WILDC.A.T.S. run land on shelves.
When I first returned to DC, my very conversation with Executive Editor Ben Abernathy was about what I might like to do. I didn’t just yell out WildC.A.T.S. right away because I thought that was bad form, so I waited a full minute before it came up. To say getting to write one of my all time favorite comics has been a thrill would be such an understatement it would basically be a lie. It has been an honor and a blast to tell our little story with comics best team of weirdos, killers, and screw-ups. I owe the hugest thanks to Ben for steering the ship. And I have to send so much love to Stephen, Elmer, Ferran, Danny, and Tom for letting me put my name on their beautiful book. And to Jim and Brandon, and all the other WildC.A.T.S. creators for letting us play with their toys. But most of all, I wanted to send my sincerest thanks to all of you who picked up the issues or the hardcover, or had nice things to say about it. It meant the world to us.
And yes, I know that every time I finish a book I go on like I just won some kind of award. But the truth is I don’t know the proper way to express the luck, gratitude, honor, and joy I feel at getting to write these books and having people actually read them. So forgive my awards speech nonsense, but it’s the greatest honor I can think of. So thank you all.
On that note, I saw this yesterday and now you all get to see it.
On the surface I love it because obviously Elaine Benes is a national treasure and should always be celebrated. And anytime she can dance around while she wins a golf tournament, calls Michael a chicken, gets ready for a kickboxing match, or just tortures a cop, we can all take some pleasure in that.
But more than just how funny it is, I was sort of shocked by how well done it is. Obviously it’s not seamless, but for taking 30 year old sitcom footage and dropping it into a dozen different scenes across 50 years of tv and film, it looks pretty damn amazing.
But watching it my mind immediately went to recently ended WGA and SAG strikes. At first glance this feels like it cuts to the heart of what some of the strikes were about. Actors being moved around and put into new scenes and locations with neither consent nor compensation. Obviously I don’t think anyone really expects the dudes who make Youtube gag reels to license the rights to Seinfeld, but it speaks to the thing, right? But really what this drove home for me, and it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot, is not the fear that writers and actors have in being digitized, reused, and replaced. Really, it’s the fear of the Studios. I think much of what the strikes were about was major movie studios realizing that the field-leveling power of technology doesn’t just come for crafts people, it comes for everyone. If a bunch of folks in their home can make this for fun, what can they do for a few hundred dollars? A few thousand? As A.I. improves, camera equipment continues to get cheaper and more affordable, the power studios hold over the industry diminishes. I truly believe that so much of what we witnessed these last months was some very scared people trying to embrace their would be destroyer in hopes of staving off their own destruction.
Anyway, that might be a lot to get from a clip of Veep dancing with Urkel, but that’s how my dumb brain works.
If you also have a dumb brain (there’s those segue skills again) but want to make it smarter, boy do I have a cool thing for you.
Literal comic legends Howard Chaykin and Mark Waid are teaching people how to make comics. I’m not joking when I say if I was in L.A. I would 100% go to this. Well, 95%. We all know there is always a 5% I will just choose to stay home no matter what is going on. But 95% is still really high. If you are at all interested in making comics, or listening to master craftsman speak, this is a no-brainer.
If you do go, make sure to tell me what they say.
Since I’m leaving my precious WildC.A.T.S. this week, it seemed like a good opportunity to dip into the old mailbox and see who is writing me. Oh, look at that, it’s Batman on Vacation.
He writes-
“Will you have any other books taking the space of Joker and WildCATS? I can't just have What's the Furthest Place From Here be the only book I'm picking up with your name on it!
Loved the ending of Joker. You write such a good Jason and how his story, as well as the Jokers story, comes to an end is perfect. That last page is my favorite page turn I've read in years and I am only mildy peeved. One could almost call this whole series... a Masterpiece©️... by Bendis & Maleev.”
Did I run this letter just because B.O.V. really just smothered me with flattery? Sure did. But did he also ask a relevant question? I guess. Let’s dive in.
First of all, thanks B.O.V. Glad you liked the end of THE JOKER. We went back and forth a lot on how to end the book and I’m very happy with where we landed. But I have to say, nothing made me more sure it was right ending than getting shown this not very happy review-
Maybe I’m being too method here, but I felt genuine amusement at someone being caught off guard that a book about a deranged clown called THE JOKER might, in fact, be a big joke. Sorry reviewer. My next book will be less fun, promise. But glad you liked it, B-man on Vacay.
And also so happy you’ve been liking WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE?. Next month’s issue is a real turning point for the whole book. So far the only review we’ve gotten of it was just “Holy shit!” We’ll take it.
As for other stuff from me, fear not. Starting next year myself and the all powerful Otto Schmidt will be launching the second chapter of DC VS. VAMPIRES. Otto sent some layouts today that were so gorgeous I wish I could share them. But I can not.
Beyond that, we are hard at work here at Ashcan Press on quite a few top secret things. Some will be getting announced in the next few months. Some you will even be able to read right here. And some are further out. But rest assured, I am not in any way enjoying a healthy work/life balance.
New comic day! Time for me to tell you to try some new comics.
THE DEVIANT #1 by James P. Tynion IV, Joshua Hixson, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is out today. Maybe my favorite book from James, and that’s saying a lot. It’s subtle, clever, and devastating. Josh continues to get better every single time he draws and he has transformed into an absolute master artist. Creepy serial killer story, told through a smart lens, just in time for Christmas.
LOTUS LAND#1 by Darcy Van Poelgeest, Caio Filipe, and co. is out now. If you read Darcy’s award winning book LITTLE BIRD you should have an inkling of what you’re in for. Beautiful, surreal, artistic visions of a dystopian world on the brink of salvation or collapse, and the one person who might be able to figure out which.
MONSTER FAN CLUB #1 by Jason T. Miles and Shaky Kane is out today. If you’ve ever read a Shaky Kane comic you know what you’re in for here. I also don’t have to tell you to buy it, because you already know. If you haven’t, I don’t have much to add other than get this comic. A guided tour through a city filled with Frankenstein gangs, drug addicted wrestlers, giant monsters in 3 piece suits, and more. It’s pure visual insanity on every page.
EX MACHINA: THE COMPLETE SERIES by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, and co. is out now. Is Ex Machina my favorite comic of all time? Depends on my mood, but many days the answer is yes. If you’ve never read this story of superhero turned politician Mitchell Hundred it really is about as good as our medium gets. A brilliantly devastating comic that hits every bit as hard as when it came out.
DEAD ROMANS collected edition by Fred Kennedy, Nick Marinkovich, & co. is the jaw-droppingly gorgeous story of love and rebellion in the Roman Empire. It’s so rare that we get swords & sandals stories in comics (or anywhere) anymore, and it’s so rare we get a comic that looks as badass as this. It’s a ton of fun and worth your time.
ACTION PHILOSOPHERS vol. 1 by Fred Van Lente & Ryan Dunlavey is out now. Fred and Ryan always do a brilliant job of making comics that are so fun and funny you don’t even notice you’re smarter when you finish them. Don’t believe me? Pick up ACTION PHILOSOPHERS to learn about the fights (and ideas) of folks like Plato, Nietzsche, and Derrida. Watch them battle and learn about deconstruction at the same time. What more could you want?
FEEDING DANGEROUSLY by José Andrés, Steve Orlando, and Alberto Ponticelli tells the true story of Chef Andrés World Central Kitchen, who travel the globe in order to feed people in times of crisis. A remarkable organization and remarkable story, and $5 from every copy sold is donated to the World Central Kitchen. Read a good book and do a good deed at the same time.
And if you want to donate directly to World Central Kitchen you can do so right here. This month alone they are feeding families in Mexico hit by Hurricane Otis, feeding families in Ukraine affected by the war, and working to get food into Palestine to feed the people starving after being cut off from food and supplies.
”I would like to see the tyrant's daughter, so upset by what her father taught her. I would like to see the tyrant's son, so outraged by what his father's done. I would like to see the tyrant's mother, so regretful she did not smother. I would like to see the tyrant's dad. I'll bet he's glad”
I guess that’s it again.
Stay safe. Take care of each other. Sweet fancy Moses!
-Matthew Rosenberg
NYC 11/15/23
Hey, that me!
Thank you for some fabulous, weird, funny and clever books the past few years. I found your work via Future State and when I started looking at your older stuff, I couldn't believe how much you'd put out! Maybe it's a good thing you are slowing down at DC and (currently) just have the one ongoing indie. There is a lot I haven't read...
Thanks for the Machina love, Matthew!