Hollywood Reporter Announcement

"The scribe notes that the comic book industry has changed quite a bit in the decade since she launched Bitch Planet."

We’re finally announced! Click here to read Aaron Crouch’s whole piece in the Hollywood Reporter, but here’s a taste —

Issue No. 1 is narrated by Riley, a heavy metal kid who uses his ballpoint pen and notepad to process the horrors of modern high school life — from active shooter drills to social anxiety. Issue No. 2 is told from the perspective of Riley’s mother, an aging punk cartoonist with a true-crime obsession. Together, the two narratives paint a picture of a mother and son trying to survive a Portland plagued by wildfires and the coronavirus pandemic. Against that backdrop, there’s a murder mystery — and even the transformation of a character into a monster.

Oh, and this bit is directly relevant to y’all —

The scribe notes that the comic book industry has changed quite a bit in the decade since she launched Bitch Planet. It’s harder than ever to draw attention to projects, so she is experimenting with new ways to engage readers. She put Easter eggs into her newsletter, including one that directed people to a website for a fictional band featured in FML. A savvy reader even messaged the band, asking to book them for a wedding.

Getting the inquiry about the wedding booking was ::chef’s kiss:: Y’all are the best readers. That’s just all there is to it. Because you’re the best, have a sneak peek at the poster David painted:

…I love it so, so much.

And check it out— story went up at 9:30 this morning and Katie, Proprietor and Lead Comics Concierge at Books With Pictures here in Portland sent me this message at 10:14ap.

Speaking of Books with Pictures, David and I will be at the Eugene Location tomorrow, from 2pm to 5pm for a free signing, hangout and zine workshop. (Aaaand we’re gonna have some of those posters with us.)

There’s more—a LOT more—coming but we’ll leave it there for now.

Feel free to hit me back with any questions. You can comment or reply (if you’re reading in email). And it’s not too late to text FML to 503-738-1029 and play along.

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A Few Things to Call to Your Attention

• Chip Zdarsky did this and it’s so brilliant I almost forgive him for being so fucking prolific. Almost.

• The After Realm: Volume 1 is 200% funded but it’s not too late to get in. I just made my pledge today.

• Also on Kickstarter, Uncanny Magazine is funding year ELEVEN. Lynne and Michael are miracle workers.

• FML is out in November. You know what else drops in November? Anzuelo by Emma Ríos.

  "Emma is a master of her craft, an absolute beast of an artist with the delicate touch of a poet." -- Emily Carroll (Through the Woods)

• The Power Fantasy #1 by Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard is almost here! (August 7th.)

• Mia Zapata & The Gits: A Story of Art, Rock, and Revolution by Steve Moriarty drops August 13th. I’m all about this one.

• Bob Reyer recommended this graphic novel adaption of Medea and then Fraction went and got it for me for my birthday! Speaking of my birthday —

• I posted this thread to Bluesky on my day and the replies and recommendations were so cool, I’m absolutely making it a tradition. THANK YOU.

• My gift to myself was a tattoo of my family on my right leg. There’s a Kipling quote that Fraction and I quite like—yes, I know Kipling was not a good person don’t @ me, it’s not about him—that goes, “For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” A wolf tattoo design is a tough ask if you’re not into furries or irony, but Alice at Wonderland Tattoo did a marvelous job capturing my loves.

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Why Don’t You…

Diana Vreeland helmed BAZAAR for 25 years, during which she very famously had a column called Why Don't You...

We miss the big weirdo fabulist that Diana was, so we are picking up the torch.

Why don’t you…

• Paint eyes on your eyelids before you go to bed and don’t warn your spouse?

• Have your family motto put on a banner and hang it up for all to see?

• Agree on a family motto? Or just a you motto? A motto for your dog? I’m not the boss of you.

• Make a list of all the albatross tasks that have been hanging around your neck for years and start one?

• Now finish one?

• Reread something you loved as a child?

• Have a water balloon fight?

• Buy a piece of art from a kid?

• Leave a pretty postcard in a library book as a present for the next person who checks that book out?

• If you’re a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, make a tickety-tok for the sole purpose of making your kid call you “cringe?” (Be sure to call it a tickety-tok.)

• If you’re a kid, change your parent's ringtone on their phone to “We Didn’t Start the Fire?” I promise you, they do not know how to change it back and it will drive them nuts.

• Do one of the above and tell us about it? We’ll publish any that make us laugh in the next newsletter.

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Why Don’t—OH NO YOU DID!

This week’s OH WAIT YOU DID shout out goes to S. Suzuki who saw this

• Use one of those stickers you’ve been saving? Just put it on something, c’mon. You’re acting like Nana and the good china at this point. IT’S A STICKER. Jesus.

…and did the thing! EXCELLENT WORK.

Bonus points for having a chicken named Penny Rolle. If you know, you know.

xo

Kelly Sue
Yr Shark Mom