This is the fourteenth edition of The Voice In Your Head Is Mine. The date is August 17tb, 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. These days, I’ve been getting up early and going for a long bike ride in lieu of doom scrolling through Twitter. And you know what? It’s made writing so much easier. I’ve finished an incredibly complex script this past week thanks to my daily cycling trips. Now, just sixty pages between me and a week long break.
I’m in the final days leading up to when I’ll hear news about my new novel, The Verdant Swell. Any and all good vibes you could toss my way would be much appreciated.
Undone By Blood
Last week we announced Undone By Blood is coming back for a second arc. You can get the full story at The HollyWood Reporter but I just wanted to talk about this for a second.
This is the first time Lonnie and I have been afforded the opportunity to do a second arc on an original book. With everything as crazy as it is right now, we recognize how lucky we are. This is the first book I’ve done where I can see the audience growing from issue to issue. To everyone who read the first story and helped spread the word: thank you, thank you, thank you.
Who knew a meta-Western revenge thriller was the thing people desired?
Anyway. About the second arc. Undone By Blood is a series meant to comment on the legacy of violence in American media, particularly the Western genre. We want every arc in the series to tell a complete and satisfying story that doesn’t require any prior knowledge going in. We’ve got ideas for dozens of these, so as long as they let us keep going, we’ll keep making them. Think Fargo or True Detective, that kinda thing. But with one exception: Solomon Eaton will be the recurring character in every arc.
Sami Kivela’s incredible design for young Sol.
The idea is to look at contemporary issues by looking backward. Every storyline will look at a person who’s reading a Solomon Eaton western novel and is motivated by the mythological cowboy to take justice into their own hands. Evey story will contain two separate but thematically connected adventures.
Okay, so for Undone By Blood or The Other Side of Eden we’re going to depression era Texas to tell the story of a postal worker who’s decided to take back from the country that’s took so much from him.
Meet Silvano.
His story starts in 2021.
The World Outside Your Window
So the world’s going to shit. And I can’t help but think of Superheros in this whole mess. Mostly fixated on Marvel’s old mantra that they were “the world outside your window”. The basic gist being that superhero comics were these publications where real-world issues got tackled in real-world cities providing enough verisimilitude that the fantastic elements seemed like "the real world -- and more”.
Today, this mantra no longer holds true. That much is apparent in the types of stories they’re telling and it’s been that way for a long time (post Civil War?). I’m not going to dive into the behind-the-scenes of writing for Marvel here. That’s not what this is about. Rather, me wondering what relevance superhero fiction might be in if it actually started to deal with the world outside our windows…
Because the world outside is looking pretty fucking bleak. America is a place where corrupt politicians thrive, billionaires and their ilk exist above the general populace and harsh systems of oppression exist to hold down the marginalized (take your pick: police, health care, prisons, food scarcity, big tech… the list goes on).
So during the peak of COVID-19. In the early months where things were shut down and New York City was being ravaged, I couldn’t help but think of NYC being the literal cornerstone of the brand. This is the place where Marvel heroes live and thrive but also the city in which the people who create these comics call home. The entire staff (and many of the freelancers) is surviving this radical life changing experience in New York, simultaneously. I waited and hoped Marvel would announce some sort of special looking at this from the ground level. Even though the old manta of “the world outside your window” was dead - this had to be the thing that brought it back, right?
Wrong. Now, before we get into this next section I should briefly diverge. I believe superhero comics can occupy any genre and should be free to tell any type of story. With the caveat being that I also understand/believe superheroes are a genre unto themselves and certain concessions have to be made due to audience, readership, corporate interest, etc. I don’t mind these things and it’s part of the deal when you sign up. Always has. Always will be.
With that being said. It feels like a pivotal moment for these books and the genre. There’s a world that’s suffering in real time. People are dying every day. Dumb as it may sound, we need these heroes. They’re the faces of billion dollar branding deals and they’ve been entertaining moviegoers for a decade. To ignore their power right now is to ignore reality. So, I wish and I hope and I long for a world wherein these heroes could actually fight for real people. Where they could address some of the things people are facing right now with vulnerability and authenticity. (The longstanding exception to this seems to be IMMORTAL HULK - a book everyone should be reading).
I feel sad imagining how much that could mean to people. The power of that recognition. I know it’s boring to think of Captain America dealing with the subversion of the United States Postal Service of Spider-Man watching Aunt May die of COVID-19. But those things would hold weight for people. For some it could even be an bizzare form of affirmation that these things are happening right now in America.
I don’t know… maybe this all seems like bullshit to everyone else. But I can’t help but think about that.
No One’s Rose #4
This week marks the release of No One’s Rose #4. I’ve been dying for people to read this issue. It’s the heart of the story, containing multitudes and really encapsulating the themes we’ve been scratching at for the entire series. If you’ve been following along, nothing will prepare you for this one.
If you’re reading this and not following my incredible collaborators on this book. Fix that now. Co-writer Emily Horn, artist Alberto Albuquerque, colorist Raul Angulo, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou - they’re all doing phenomenal work on this series. I’m just the dud along for the ride. 🙃
Here’s a preview. Full (oversized) issue out Wednesday!
Tiny Scabs
Here’s an article about some resilient fungus found in Chernobyl and how it could (maybe) protect astronauts from deadly radiation.
I highly recommend checking out Sun Don’t Shine on Criterion Channel. It’s a moody noir that’s deceptively simple but so confidently made. It’s emotionally harrowing. Go in knowing as little as possible.
Lovecraft Country’s first episode premiered on HBO last night. I really dug it. A very interesting subversion of Lovecraft’s problematic legacy. Just don’t go in expecting creeping dread. This ain’t that.
This week’s playlist:
Goodbye
Another week gone. Be good to one another. Schedule down time for yourself. Call a friend, get some exercise, and ride out this hell year whatever way you can.
Z