Secret Worship
Science describes the least of things.
Good morning from deep within the Burrard inlet. Nestled here at the edge of Vancouver harbour as I look out at the same mountains that have greeted me every morning for the last decade. Each time I look at them, I’m reminded that I’m infinitesimally small and insignificant. So by very definition, this missive is even less significant, thanks for bearing with me here. Hopefully it’ll be worth your while.
This past week has been a little rough. The ongoing pandemic and feeling generally overwhelmed with a ton of stuff pushed me to get out of my head for a few days. Generally, I need to disconnect from social media and retreat for a few days every month. There’s too much noise online and it’s so easy to lose yourself to it.
Anyway, the disconnect was good. Spend a lot of time over the weekend reading and getting outside for a few bike rides. Vancouver becomes a cycling paradise once Spring hits. So it’s been really refreshing to head out without a destination and just ride for a few hours. As a result, I’m pretty sore this week but I’ll power through.
Now, this week is going to be a short one. We’re going to talk briefly about the power of obsession (or leaning into the things that excite you), Brian Evenson’s excellent noir novel Last Days, Seijun Suzuki’s wacky Tokyo Drifter, Devereux Milburn’s new horror movie Honeydew, and the releases of Lonely Receiver - the complete series, and Undone By Blood or The Other Side of Eden #2.
It’s all below! Descend! Descend and rejoice!
Writing Craft
Obsess Over Something
A few months ago, I found myself knee deep in mycology research and completely overwhelmed with my love for mushrooms. I was foraging in the woods with my partner, going on long camping trips with a mushroom identification guidebook and growing mushrooms in my home.
Mushrooms really owned my 2020 and I found myself asking why they didn’t appear in more storytelling. It seemed to me that they were ripe for exploration in comics both as a metaphor and teaching tool about how little we really know about nature. If you’re reading this, you’ll know that most of that made its way into I Breathed A Body.
But toward the end of last year, James Tynion mentioned in his excellent newsletter something akin to this: lean into the things that you’re obsessed with. It seemed to describe my experience as a writer quite succinctly.
I’m currently putting my old journalism skills to use. My next creator owned title is based on a true story and features real people. So I’m neck deep in researching the history of British Columbia. Specifically, a piece of lore about the local islands that I kept bumping into over the years out here and something I couldn’t shake. I’ve been thinking about how to turn it into a book for a while now. Last year, during quarantine things finally clicked. Luckily I had a publisher agree to go down this insane rabbit hole with me. Last week, research began in earnest and I’m so excited I literally can’t stop reading for hours.
Normally I’d just be wasting time reading this stuff on my own dime, late into the night with no one to talk about it with. Now I’m a layer deeper than I’ve ever been and things are getting even more interesting and irresistible. I’m so damn excited to do the work because I’m eager to share what I’m finding out with others.
Which is all to say, obsessing over something is a good way to empower your story with a genuine excitement which can’t be replicated. It’s also a great opportunity to teach yourself about something while getting paid to do it. From there, you’ll probably have a reading list as long as your arm.
My advice is to do the research and let yourself just fall into it.
Eventually you need to pull yourself out and have a plan of attack. You don’t have to learn everything up front. There’s a lot of utility into carving your research subject into manageable chunks that each have a key piece of research attached to them. That way you can get more specific as the story calls for it. And you’re finding a way to communicate some of these topics without overwhelming your audience.
That’s it. Find something that excites you, weave it into your world. I’ve said it before but using non-fiction resources will help imbue your story with a life it otherwise wouldn’t have.
LONELY RECEIVER
The Complete Series
Tomorrow marks the release of Lonely Receiver - the complete series. I’ve spent a lot of time breaking down LR in this newsletter. So I’m not going to belabour the point here. I’ll just say this, Lonely Receiver is something that I’m incredibly proud of. It’s not for everyone but contains a real and painful examination of what it means to be co-dependant and the toxic traits we succumb to when we feel utterly alone. But at the same time, the story’s also about the power of reclaiming yourself. It hurts to become something new, but if you’re willing to shed your skin you can be reborn.
Jen Hickman puts on a masterclass in sequential art and coloring in this book and I believe their work on this series warrants an Eisner! But I’m a little biased here. Working with Jen on this book was a total joy and remains a highlight of my career. I really feel as if we were in sync from the first to the last page.
So please, go forth and devour this weird story.
If it makes you uncomfortable that was by design.
UNDONE BY BLOOD or THE OTHER SIDE OF EDEN #2
Out this week! Our neo-noir meta Western continues with a brazen heist. Two down-and-out mailmen ascend 14 floors into a tower owned by a weird fraternal brotherhood. While our Gunslinger must pull of a train heist where damn near everything goes wrong. It’s a double slice of genre fiction!
Sami and Jason really put on a fucking clinic in this issue. They truly are a dream team and play off one another in some incredible ways. Each page of this book is such a fucking joy to create and watch come to life. Hard to believe this is the halfway point of the story but I promise you, you’ve got no idea what to expect from here on out.
The shit hits the fan! Tomorrow!
Last Days
Last week, I devoured Brian Evenson’s LAST DAYS. It’s a horror/noir novel from 2009 that follows Kline, a detective hired by a strange cult, the Brotherhood of Mutilation, to investigate a murder within their ranks. What unfolds is a genuinely horrifying descent into a cult that determines rank based around how many voluntary amputations a member suffers.
This book floored me. The prose is cold and mechanical without a wasted word. Kline is an incredibly mysterious protagonist that doesn’t divulge much about himself. We’re left to wonder where he stands among the insanity on the pages. But there’s a profound commitment within Evenson’s world to just show the ugly, disturbing images without an ounce of emotion. You’re supposed to feel numb to it but by the end you’re lost in the mania of the cult, unsure of who or what to trust. At 170 pages, it’s an easy and fast read. I can’t recommend it enough.
Spoilers for the book.
There’s a really interesting angle with the Brotherhood of Mutilation literally lopping off limbs in order to gain more information and enlightenment around the cult. It’s a very real manifestation of how much dehumanization happens within cult movements and how many cult members are forced to erase parts of themselves in order to conform. As the story progresses, Kline is literally carved into smaller pieces and the prose starts to alight with newfound purpose and vigor reflecting his inner enlightenment.
I read a lot of horror and not much phases me at this point but this has been with me for days now. Turning over and over in my head, hacking away at my psyche, refusing to let go.
Zac On Cinema
HONEYDEW - I was lucky enough to get an early peek of Devereux Milburn’s new horror flick. Honeydew follows a scientist, Rylie, as she travels to rural Massachusetts with her actor boyfriend, Sam, to investigate an outbreak of an ergot-type fungus that has been devastating local farms.
I found this to be incredibly inspired. There’s a lot of weird, unhinged imagery in this that evokes some of the best of Harmony Korine along with some really fantastic editing and color correction. Visually the movie is absolute treat but I found the third act to be a little lacking and conventional. It didn’t satisfy me but I still recommend checking it out, especially if you’re looking for a new voice in horror.
TOKYO DRIFTER - A 1966 Yakuza film that follows reformed yakuza hitman "Phoenix" Tetsu who is forced to roam Japan avoiding execution by rival gangs.
Seijun Suzuki’s wonderfully weird and jazzy film is quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Bombastic, stylish and comedic. The sets are highly stylized and the action set pieces are incredibly ahead of their time. I found there was a ton of inspiration from Westerns, with Tetsu’s whistling and general attitude evoking that typical cowboy drifter archetype. This film is a lean 80 minutes and doesn’t waste any time. If you’re looking for some stylish Japanese noir it’s streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Tiny Scabs
I’ve been obsessed with the work of Algernon Blackwood lately. Here’s a great writeup on his work from Lithub: How Algernon Blackwood Turned Nature Into Sublime Horror.
Climate change is causing the ocean to eat into the east coast. Depressing but necessary read from Nerdist: Climate Change Is Behind Ghost Forests Along the Coast.
This week’s playlist:
Goodbye
Another week down. Time is weird right now. Take a deep breath, drink lots of water, get outside and feel the sun on your skin. Make time for yourself every day. Quiet contemplation goes a long way.
Z
Awesome issue! Really excited for EAST OF EDEN 2! That first issue was such a great setup and I can't wait to see how bad this train heist goes 🙌🍻🔥
Awesome issue! Really excited for EAST OF EDEN 2! That first issue was such a great setup and I can't wait to see how bad this train heist goes 🙌🍻🔥