This is the twelfth edition of The Voice In Your Head Is Mine. The date is August 3rd, 2020. If you're receiving this email and have no idea what's going on, well, fuck. I guess I blew it. Or maybe you blew it. Either way, you're here and this is Zac Thompson's weekly newsletter.
It’s the early morning on Monday. I spent most of the weekend tinkering with an outline for a new thing. It’s a ways off but I couldn’t shake it from my skull – but I’m very happy with how it turned out. Got up this morning and took a long walk around the neighborhood. The streets were empty, the birds were out, and the sun wasn’t too hot. It was so unbelievably calming. There’s something magical about being out when most everyone else is still asleep.
Somehow - I’ve locked myself out of my gmail. My bulk-mailer timed me out, still not entirely sure how it happened, hoping I can respond to people’s emails before the end of the day. But we’ll see.
LONELY // RECEIVER
Lonely Receiver is coming out on September 2nd from Aftershock Comics. It’s perhaps the most me book I’ve ever written. The book is brought to life by Jen Hickman, who drew and coloured the entire thing. And features incredible letters by Simon Bowland. Without them, this weird book wouldn’t exist. So please go follow them, they’re doing insane things in comics right now and deserve your attention.
Lonely Receiver is the story of Catrin. A lonely videographer who purchased an A.I. life partner. The book is set in the future where artificial intelligence is the norm, and modern dating mostly takes place using devices that interface with human biology. For some users it’s merely a way to go on a date without leaving the couch. For others it’s a way to perform sexwork, have orgies or explore kinks shame free. And for the sensitive and empathic Catrin it’s an incredible bond with an artificial person: her wife Rhion.
After ten years with her simulated spouse things are starting to grow stagnant. The cracks of this lifelong bond are starting to become chasms, and tension is spilling through at every moment. After an explosive fight, Rhion suddenly disconnects from the relationship - leaving Catrin alone in a world of connection. Thus sets off a breakup so devastating that it causes Catrin to lose her sense of self and reality. This is a weird horror romance book about that awful thing we all have to do after a breakup – confront the person we thought we were.
So why a horror book about breakups?
A bad breakup forces you explore the person you are against the person you thought you were in the relationship. You have to examine yourself and your choices in the wake of giant upheaval. That’s not always the most enjoyable experience. Like any great horror movie, a breakup can test the limits of your sanity. Especially if you thought you’d be with that person for the rest of your life.
I wanted to do a book about emotional horror just as much as scary monster horror. As with most of my projects - there are pieces of me in here. The pain I’ve felt, the longing that made me isolate myself, and the dissociation I fell victim to at my worst.
It’s a story about the erasure of boundaries and the bubbling addiction and allure of disconnection in service of an entirely digital life. And it’s all reflected through a the lens of weird fiction.
This isn’t set in reality.
As each issue goes forward, the series grows and changes, like the world it occupies.
I tried something new with this book. Each issue is structured over a different period of time. And it plays with that throughout. It’s easily the most surreal thing I’ve ever written. But it takes time to get there, just like how we heal after a breakup. The series structure and issue names are as follows:
ISSUE #1 - A DAY - I’m The Maker of My Own Evil
ISSUE # 2 - A WEEK - You’re the Maker of My Evil
ISSUE #3 - A MONTH - A Month in My Eye
ISSUE #4 - A YEAR - A Year in Myself
ISSUE #5 - A LIFE - Weave The Wind // I Have No Ghosts
It takes its time. But don’t worry - it also gets fucking crazy.
The goal with Lonely Receiver is to give readers an unsettling David Cronenberg movie with the heart of something like Spike Jonze’s Her. I wanted to do something soaked in pastels and neon (like a Nicholas Winding Refn film), set during the day that feels fun, appealing, and absolutely terrifying in equal measure. There is also a long history of romance comics and I wanted to kick the fucking door down with something weird and different. I do hope you’ll join us.
As I said above, issue #1 of Lonely Receiver comes out on Sept 2nd. If anyone reading this would like an advance look at the book, or would like to do an interview/coverage of any sort – please don’t hesitate to reach out.
And please, please, please if you think this book looks good - contact your local comic book store and reserve a copy!
Still not convinced? Check out this preview and interview I did with SYFY.
A Map To The Sun
This weekend, I indulged and grabbed Sloane Leong’s incredible graphic novel A Map To The Sun. It’s about a young girl Ren who meets another girl Luna in her early teen years. They form a incredible bond, but when Luna moves to back to Oahu, Ren’s messages to her friend go unanswered. Years go by. Then Luna returns, hoping to rekindle their friendship. Ren is hesitant. She's dealing with a lot, including family troubles, dropping grades, and the newly formed women's basketball team at their high school.
I’m not even half-done but Sloane’s cartooning is effortlessly unique and beautiful. It’s honestly stopped me dead in my tracks many times while reading, as the use of color and stunning transitions create this weird dreamline quality within the narrative that compels you to keep reading.
Stream it: Soderbergh’s Raiders
Steven Soderbergh is a hero of mine. A chameleon in the world of film whose body of work defies classification. He’s an enigma, overflowing with talent, and his eye for film is unrivaled in the modern era. The dude sees in film.
So this last week I discovered that Soderbergh had recut Raiders of The Lost Ark into black and white and removed all the dialogue. He scored it with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ incredible soundtrack to The Social Network. The goal of the cut is to teach folks about staging and editing. And friends - it’s amazing.
If you work in storytelling, writing, or art and you want to learn more about setting up shots, visual storytelling, or creating a narrative without words - check it out. It’s not perfect but I got a lot out of it.
In Soderbergh’s words “I want you to watch this movie and think only about staging, how the shots are built and laid out, what the rules of movement are, what the cutting patterns are. See if you can reproduce the thought process that resulted in these choices by asking yourself: why was each shot—whether short or long—held for that exact length of time and placed in that order?”
While We’re Here
This week’s playlist.
Goodbye
Another shorter one this week. Lots to do today. Remember, take some time offline. Eat your vegetables. Wear a mask. Remind someone why you think they’re amazing. Give yourself the space you need. Respect the boundaries of others. Wear a mask, practise self care, get yourself a slice of pizza - you deserve it.
Z