We're doomed!
Chapter 23: Going to sleep for a little bit now...
I’m magnetic and the government knows where I am! And thank you!
A book you should support!
A cover you should buy!
A song you should listen to!
I got a vaccine booster shot recently. About 6 hours ago actually. Why does that matter to you? Well it shouldn’t in a real sense, but the first 2 shots kicked my butt all over the place. So any minute now I’m expecting to get so tired and groggy that I will be writing complete nonsense. If you’re lucky I will tell you how how DC VS VAMPIRES ends or the pin to my bank account. But more likely I will write something like “Dogs are pretty coolsllflkdsnflsknfdsfnskfskfn” and then hit send. Either way, should be a good time.
Well it’s been a crazy couple of weeks here at the Fortress of Solid Dude. Last week WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #1 came out… sort of. Some shops are only just getting it now. But either way the reaction was overwhelming to say the least. The book was way sold out at our distributor. It sold out at shops across the country. It was the best selling indie comic on on digital comic shop/Amazon division Comixology. And it was one of the best reviewed comics of the last few months.
Does that all feel incredible? Honestly? It just feels kind of weird. First of all, this is a deeply personal project to me and has been something that has only existed in the minds of Tyler and myself for a few years now. We’ve been living in it, alone together, this whole time, like ghosts haunting an abandoned house. And then we woke up last Wednesday and thousands of people had moved into our empty house and of course they did, that’s what houses are for. But it still feels weirdly like people are going through all my stuff and trying on my clothes.
Also there is a level on anticipation that comes from making a new thing like this. It becomes all consuming and overwhelming, and then the actual release can never payoff the amount of hours and energy you’ve put in. You end up with real adrenaline withdrawal that feels like the minutes after a car crash. That’s not to say that I am not overwhelmingly grateful and touched by the response, and so incredibly thankful. 100% I am. But the body becomes kind of numb to the response only because the other option would be to overdose on emotions.
All that is to say thank you so much to everyone who picked up the book. It means everything to us, even if we’re awkward about showing it. You have our eternal gratitude and we’re going to do our best to keep making it fun and weird and intimate
Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t say hello to a bunch of new subscribers. I know some of you are only here because you want to know if we’re going to be putting up more rare variants and exclusive things in our webstore. The answer is yes, 100% we are. Very soon. We have some cool stuff planned, including some deals on some neat rare things we have laying around. And I really want to reward folks who subscribe here, so you will hear about first. And if you missed it last week we still have some copies of our exclusive “connecting” cover for WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #1.
It’s neat for you because it’s a book that just says “WHAT’S” on the cover, defying this growing and quite obnoxious trend of long comic book titles. And it’s neat for us because we’re hoping you will feel weird about owning a comic cover with a sentence fragment on it, so we can keep getting money from you every issue for the full set. That in turn helps us pay for the stuff we like, such as food and shelter. I get points for honesty, right? Or maybe that’s just the Moderna talking.
We also have some signed covers, a fun shirt, and some other stuff Tyler and I worked on like WE CAN NEVER GO HOME, 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK, and DEAD DOG’S BITE up there. If there is other stuff you want to see in the shop let me know and I’ll try to make that happen. All at FurthestPlace.com.
We actually bought a few hundred copies of the main cover of the book so we’d be able to offer those for the duration of the series to help out people who wanted to check out the book but couldn’t get it at their local shop. But it seems we wildly underestimated and those all sold. But we still have all of the other excellent covers by folks like Skottie Young, Brian Michael Bendis, Marcos Martín, Courtney Menard, Martin Simmonds, and Jenny Frison are all still available. We’d always prefer you try to get the book from your local comic shop first though. But if they’re sold out, we got you. For now.
And thanks to everyone who came out to Tyler and my signings at Midtown Comics and Third Eye Comics last week. It was very fun to see so many smiling (masked) faces, sign books for folks, and just not be in our houses for a few hours. Plus Tyler and I got to eat at the legendary Grease Trucks and Mama Theresa’s Pizza, which are two of my favorite spots in the whole world. And we bought a lot of comics, listened to a lot of Taylor Swift, Billy Joel, and The Weakerthans, and we talked about football. Well I talked about football. Tyler just listened.
If you missed us and wanted to get Tyler to write his name on your stuff you still have one more chance this year.
Tyler will be at 3D Comics in Lancaster, NY tomorrow for 4 hours (!) signing their exclusive cover of WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #1 that he drew. It’s one of the few variant covers Tyler did and it’s his hometown show. So go show him and the shop some love.
And if you want me to sign your stuff… You have to catch me!
So this week we’re doing things a bit different here. I’m not going to talk about a book you can read right now. But it’s one you will be able to read very soon. The comic is called FOUL BROOD and it is by writer Christopher Sebela, artist Claire Roe, along with colorist Hank Jones, letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and editor Jasmine Walls.
I am a huge fan of Christopher’s work, going back years. If I’m being totally honest, in a lot of ways he’s the writer I wish I was. His brain works on levels that mine can’t get to. I think he is simply one of the best high concept writers working in any medium today. How he doesn’t have a development deal at Amazon or Netflix is beyond me.
I’ve lost count on number of times we’ve chatted and he’s casually told me about some new project where the basic idea is one of the best things I’ve ever heard. Want to read a future where everything is crowdsourced through apps, including assassinations? Check out the brilliant CROWDED. Want to visit a future where the bodies of the rich people who cryogenically froze themselves to stave off death have been sold off to be awoken, placed in giant mech suits, and forced to fight in a world war they don’t understand? Read COLD WAR. Want to read about murder, drugs, and conspiracies as they unfold on Mt. Everest? Read HIGH CRIMES. But here’s the kicker- most high concept writers rest on the idea. It’s enough. But Chris writes great characters, rich worlds, and keeps you glued to the pages. He really is the full package.
But we’re here to talk about FOUL BROOD. It is a crime story set in the world of bee farming. Yeah. Is there a lot of crime in the bee community? I have no idea. But Chris does an amazing job of immersing you in that world, making you care about the characters and the stakes, and making you believe the story. It is honestly one of the most fun crime books I’ve read in a long time even if it didn’t have the bees. But it does.
Add to that Claire Roe’s gorgeous art that makes the world feel real, and vibrant, and lived in. The rich colors, great lettering, all of it makes this one of my favorite comics of the year. And you can help make it a reality by backing it on Kickstarter right now.
Want more? Friend of the newsletter Tyler Boss drew an awesome cover for it that you can grab for yourself. So go back this excellent book by a creative dream team and reward yourself with some great comics. A win/win if ever there was one.
Going back to WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE?, I wanted to highlight a couple really special covers made by a friend for some other friends.
Cape & Cowl Comics in Oakland is one of my favorite comic shops in the world. Great store, great people. It’s a must visit for comic fans. But they make a point of getting exclusive covers for their shop that are more than just “cool art” or whatever. Like everything they do, there is a connection to the story, the creators, and their own community that goes beyond just transactional. So when they reached out and said they wanted to do something with a connection to the book and also a connection to the East Bay’s rich legacy of punk music, I got really excited.
Enter my buddy Lauren Denitzio. Lauren is a longtime friend going back years from their time as the frontperson for the legendary NJ punk band THE MEASURE (SA). Now Lauren fronts another formidable outfit- WORRIERS - who are doing a song on the second WTFPFH? 7”. But Lauren is also a great artist and graphic designer. So this seemed like a no-brainer to put them in touch. What resulted are 2 covers I love so much.
For those of you who didn’t grow up dreaming of going to Gilman St. these are tributes to legendary bands OPERATION IVY and THE DEAD KENNEDYS. Both covers are available for mailorder from them signed and unsigned. Pick your poison. But they’re going fast so if you want them go get them.
Since we’re talking about Worriers I figure I’d leave you with a song off an album I listen to a lot while writing.
“You love me like a sibling that you hate a little bit. It don’t mean much to me if you mean well. Cause I’ve got plans for me.” is an all-time sing along anthem.
I’m going to sleep now. Please take care of each other.
Rest in Peace Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber.
-Matthew Rosenberg
NYC 11/19/21
Dogs are pretty coolsllflkdsnflsknfdsfnskfskfn