You!
Chapter 156: I guess it's Wednesday again...
Hello again.
I have been waiting for this email heading for a while and now that it’s finally here… A little anticlimactic actually. So it goes sometimes. But here we are.
How’s my week going? Thanks for asking. I spent 10 minutes on the phone confusedly arguing with Tyler about the next issue of WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? because he described a panel he was drawing to me as “a close up on two pig mask guys.” I kept saying there should only be one. He kept asking why there would only be one. Back and forth like Abbot & Costello for a while. Finally I asked him to explain the scene back to me. “You see the two pig mask guys. Then the next panel you find out that it’s Merril.” Baffled, I ask where the other guy goes or how Merril is two guys. What felt like hours later but was probably only a minute we both realized he was saying “Pig Mask Eyes” not “Pig Mask Guys.” After that I just went to bed because the day was ruined. But at least we both agreed that it would have been better if I thought he’d said “Pig Mass Guys” and also Pig Mass is a really good band name.
I also got a chance to go see THE CREATOR before it leaves theaters this week. I am a huge ROGUE ONE loyalist so getting the chance to support new Gareth Edwards was a no-brainer. Lately I’ve been watching more stuff at home than in theaters, but I really wanted to see this one on the big screen for a simple reason. I believe Gareth Edwards does scale better than any other working director today. He truly understands how to make things feel big and epic in a way that I wish more creatives of every type understood. Even going back to his first feature, MONSTERS, I have been in love with the way he positions a camera to handle conveying the massive size of the stories he shoots. And each successive film he has only further refined this particular skill set. I remember the gut punch feeling when the Devastator appears out of hyperspace toward the end of Rogue One. The Creator has multiple moments that do the same.
But really the thing that struck me about his work this time was the way he showcases the destruction. Pulling the camera back to show explosions rather than pushing in makes such a world of difference in the feelings we get and the way we process things. I’ve never been up close when a bomb goes off, and I wish that no one ever was, but my understanding of what it would be like comes entirely through film. Because of that it has a sort of detachment from reality for me. Unreal portrayals of the real world serve to desensitize us to them over time, even if that isn’t the individual intent. But the way I see and process explosions and destruction in reality is almost always from a distance and in the context of the bigger world around them. Gareth Edwards does a breathtaking job of capturing that feeling, the real world size and scope of the destruction we unleash on each other, its relationship to its surroundings, and how horrific all of it truly is. I almost certainly have a heightened sensitivity to portrayals of war and violence from these last few weeks (also months and years) but stretches of the movie were really painful and heartbreaking.
Like a lot of people who do what I do, I have a complicated relationship with portraying violence and sometimes even celebrating it. Or at least excusing it. But I do know, watching a movie like The Creator, I feel like we can all be doing a better job making the violence in our stories feel horrifying and uncomfortable, and part of doing that is attaching them to our understanding of the role of violence in the real world. I don’t think I need to explain why the horrors of violence, war, terrorism, and genocide have been on my mind lately but I’ve spent a fair amount of time wondering how much of an artist’s role is to comfort us in difficult times and how much it is to confront us. I don’t know the answer, and I don’t think Gareth Edwards does either, but I appreciate every time I get to walk out of a movie angry and upset about the world around me. I appreciate every time I consume a piece of art that makes me long for a better world than the one we’re making.
Anyway, The Creator was good. Go see it. Also, really glad he got to use my favorite shot from the ROGUE ONE trailer that didn’t make it into the film.
Speaking of what I love in art, two of my favorite creators have a new book coming out very soon.
I can’t find the words to convey the level of confidence one must have to put out a book called MASTERPIECE. The sheer size of your balls, to use a remarkably gross old expression, to even entertain the idea of calling the book that. You have to be so fucking sure of yourself it defies my understanding of the creative process. If almost any other creators did it, I’d be chuckling at their hubris all the way up to release day. But when you are Brian Michael Bendis (who also named a fucking book BRILLIANT) and Alex Maleev not only does it pique my curiosity, but based on their track records I felt pretty confident that it’s the correct title before I even opened the book.
And I was right. MASTERPIECE #1 is a truly great comic that, once again, reminded me why I devoted my life to this beautiful medium. Gorgeous, stylish, clever, and most of all, fun. Masterpiece is my new favorite book. It comes out in a few weeks so make sure to please tell your local comic shop to get you a copy. We need more books like this to be made. We need to celebrate books like this. And you need books like this in your life.
And remember, if you need even more of Brian Michael Bendis in your life you can always listen to the masterpiece first episode of our podcast here and the brilliant second episode here, and sign up for his also very good newsletter here.
I also have a new comic. The finale to our maxi-series about the lil’ clowns who could- THE JOKER: THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING #12 is out now. I wanted to call this series THE JOKER: IT’S NOT FUNNY ANYMORE, if that gives you insight into how I approach my work vs. how Bendis approaches his.
I’ll probably write more about the series later, but I wanted to say what an honor it was to tell our story about comics greatest villain (I said it!). And to get to do it with such a superstar creative team like Carmine, Romulo, Tom, and our fearless leader Ben Abernathy, has been a true joy.
And I’d be wrong if I didn’t thank all of you who picked up the book and made it a big hit. It means the world to all of us who worked on it. I hope you had even 1/10th as much fun reading it as we had making it.
And apologies to DC’s Standards & Practices team for making them work overtime. You were right about all the jokes you made us cut, and you were wrong on a few you let us do. We appreciate it.
In other news, we are past Halloween so we are inside the holiday shopping season. As always, I encourage you all to give comics this holiday season, I strongly encourage you to give my comics, and I emphatically encourage you to buy them from your local comic shop.
But if your local comic shop doesn’t have my stuff (and won’t order it), there are a ton of comic shops that do mailorder. But failing all of that, we have our little webstore up at FURTHESTPLACE.com to get you the books you need.
Starting with this. We have an exclusive cover of WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? vol. 2 that comes with a signed bookplate from myself and Mr. Tyler “Pig Mass” Boss. These are limited to 100 copies.
We also have a special bundle of our exclusive covers to Volumes #1 and #2 for a discount this holiday season. Both come with signed bookplates and are only available from our web store.
We also managed to get a few copies of WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #2 Deluxe Edition with the split 7” from SCREAMING FEMALES and WORRIERS. So go ahead and grab those if you’ve been looking. They went up to our paid subscribers first, but there are still a bunch of copies left over. And these will ship out a lot faster than the last ones, promise.
Wednesday. New comics came out. Here’s some ones I think you might like.
PETROL HEAD #1 by Rob Williams, Pye Parr, and co. is out today. A post-apocalyptic story about a girl and her talking car. This is a super fun take on the buddy team up. It’s big, fun car-racing madness that has a very 2000AD feel in the best way (despite being published by Image). Action packed art, wild characters, and great world-building make this well worth grabbing.
NICE JEWISH BOYS #1 by Neil Kleid, John Broglia, Ellie Wright, & co. is out today. A really engaging crime story about a down on his luck guy who gets sucked up in his friends… extra legal enterprise. A fun take on some classic crime tropes, done in a classic cartoon style, the whole thing unfolds really well. This book is from Comixology so its digital only (for now) but you can pick it up here.
SANTOS SISTERS HALLOWEEN SPECIAL by Greg & Fake, Marc Koprinarov, & co. is out today. Just because it’s November doesn’t mean you have to stop being spooky. The always weird and fun Santos Sisters return for this spooky special. Equal parts Archie, Love & Rockets, and early Image Comics, this book is never not a blast. This issue has some special guests from around the world of indie comics. Even if you’ve never read a Santos Sisters comic before, this is a fun read. But also, track down all the older issues. Just pure comics fun.
CONFETTI REALMS ogn by Nadia Shammas, Karnessa, & co. is out today. Sort of a Tim Burton-esque take on Narnia, this is a story about a group of spooky kids sent to a magical realm to collect teeth and try to make their way home… or maybe not. It’s a fun read that’s appropriate for younger teens (or maybe even younger. You figure it out. I’m not the kids parent.) I’ve known Nadia for a long time and her work is always smart and insightful, and worth checking out. This is no exception.
DON’T SPIT IN THE WIND collected edition by Stefano Cardoselli & co. is out today. Big day for the post-apocalypse. This book is a real treat. Garbage collectors on the ruined Earth stumble onto a big mystery when one of their own goes missing. Stefano’s gorgeous art really sells this whole post-human Earth so well. It’s weird and such a blast. Definitely check it out if you missed the singles.
W0RLDTR33 vol. 1 by James Tynion IV, Fernando Blanco, Jordie Bellaire, and co. is out today. Simply one of the most disturbing and prettiest looking comics I’ve ever read. If you like horror at all this is an absolute must read.
Stay safe. Take care of each other. Seriously.
-Matthew Rosenberg
NYC 11/8/23
Really enjoyed your comments on Edwards’ sense of scale. My wife is probably sick to death of me saying much of what you put more eloquently here. I’m really hoping The Creator does well on Hulu, the box office wasn’t great, but I’d love it if he had the chance to do a trilogy. (I’m hoping I didn’t just imagine that he said he had one planned out.)
Glad you enjoyed The Creator as well, I thought that was so great.