Shoot For The Stars
Plus! PUBLIC DOMAIN!
I’m in a Calgary airport hotel right now, like a proper businessman doing proper business. What IS that proper business? Signing COMICS! See, this is where all those comics you sent in currently live, so I’m finally getting to drag my greasy Sharpie along all those covers so the fine folks at CSA can send them back to you for inclusion in your wills. Then I’m on a flight to Toronto to sign the Public Domain variants that the fine folks at The Beguiling are looking after! Basically, in the next couple of weeks everyone waiting on books should have them. And all it took was for me to have a shower and leave my weird deep forest life for a bit!
Anyway, I’m in this hotel and last night I was reading a book that referenced the classic saying "Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars" and it was the first time I’d realized that I had the phrase wrong my entire life. I always thought it was “Shoot for the stars. You may just land on the moon.” Which is a much more realistic idea, I think, and sums up my personality. It’s like “aim for a home run. Maybe you’ll end up on first base, but that’s pretty good too, right?” A life of grand plans and satisfying reality. Anyway, this is my public petition to change that phrase. It just makes sense!
IS THIS REALLY YOUR NEWSLETTER THIS WEEK
Look, I’m tired.
My dear Friend Of The Stack Charles Soule once told me that if you suspect you’re on the verge of burnout, you’re actually experiencing burnout, and I’m well past THAT point. It’s hard when you have one of the best jobs in the world! When I meet people and they ask what I do, and I tell them, it’s like telling them I’m an astronaut (who aimed for the stars but hit the moon and that’s okay). But it’s still a job, with frustrations and deadlines and a whole bunch of bullshit surrounding it. It’s a job that can really suck you dry and not in a good way (blowjobs).
But enough of my “whoa is me” shit!!! I may be burnt out on making comics, but I’m still in love with reading them! And I got to check out an advance copy of ONCE UPON A TIME AT THE END OF THE WORLD from Boom Studios and it’s magnificent. Most people, especially those who write for comic companies, recognize Jason Aaron as the best of us. He’s a poetic writer who nails all his emotional beats and can tell great stories both small and grand. And when he steps outside of places like Marvel, those stories get even better.
ONCE UPON A TIME is both small and grand, a post-apocalyptic story at the beginning of love. It’s lyrical and natural and beautiful, thanks to the lovely art by Alexandre Tefenkgi and Lee Loughridge, with support from the legendary Nick Dragotta and Rico Renzi. This is sweet and sad, fun and scary. A perfect issue one and you should let your retailer know to order one million of them. Do it!!!!
OKAY OKAY STOP YELLING
Sorry I’m just tired
Okay! Now for the fruits of my tired! PUBLIC DOMAIN!