Recap
Hello peeps! This tropical month of July is giving my tomatoes and my motivation a hard time. Everything is so damp, all the time. Please send a breeze!
It's been a good Montreal Comiccon edition, even if I realize that my recent stuff seems to resonate a little less with the clientele of the event than it used to. I think I’ll apply for my own table at MCAF to try and offload some of the merch that’s been accumulating at my house. We’ll see!
It’s official, Utown is out in English, my job is done. I did all the promotion that was humanly possible for this comic, from the initial announcement of the webcomic in 2019 to posting pictures of the physical book on social media. It now lives on bookstore shelves across the continent. They grow up so fast… sniff!
Last month, I plugged a photographer whose images from the American rust belt towns really inspired me. After going through his entire Instagram account countless times, I decided to do a color study on the photo that initially drew me to his work. It was extremely relaxing and I hope I do the exercise again. I made a nice post on Patreon about the whole process, with the sketch and the reference image.
Oh and I escaped in the country for a couple of days. We came up with fantasy versions of ourselves one night, around the fire and of course, this happened. If you’re wondering, I have both a flying raccoon familiar AND a bard sidekick, who loudly announces all of my appearances. Future D&D character perhaps?
Announcements
To celebrate the arrival of the English version of Utown, Crossover Comics in St-Henri is hosting a launch event on August 19 at 3 p.m. Come say hi and get your copy signed if you're in the area!
I was on a round table called A Whole New World with Gabriel Bà, Wes Craig and Zack Sotto, during this year’s MCAF. It was a huge honor to be able to discuss worldbuilding with these authors, whom I admire a LOT. In English, with an interesting assortment of accents from all over :)
A reminder that my summer sale is still ongoing, with a whole bunch of new stuff.
That's it for July, folks. I want to take a little moment to thank you all for subscribing to the newsletter or my Patreon during these extremely weird, online moments. Social media is failing artists over and over and the threat of AI openly scrapping artwork on Twitter is really terrifying. This newsletter/monthly recap is one of the last places that truly feels safe for me. Thanks for allowing me to share it with you :)
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Recommendations
Watching:
“Tear along the dotted line" And "This world can’t tear me apart”, the animated adaptations of the work of Italian author Zerocalcare. I didn't know him at all and over the last week, I watched the two mini-series and read his breakthrough book Kobane Calling. In short, I became obsessed. The series follows Zero as he talks about his many anxieties in an almost uninterrupted flow (I watched it in the original Italian version and it is WORDY). It's funny, politically relevant, frantic, and moreover very, very touching. Bonus: the animation rocks. Truly an underrated gem!
Listening:
I like tuning into filmed DJ sets on Youtube. I’m digging this Hawaiian-theme playlist right now. The Analog Journal channel reminds me to look for music that isn’t necessarily made by three or four mopey 120-pounds white dudes in Converse shoes once in a while.
Reading and fuming: City for sale: Airbnb scam quadruples rents, replaces long-term tenants with ghost hotel. These scumbags should be put In a rocket heading towards the sun. Support Ricochet/Pivot's investigative work on AirBnB if you can. It is important.
Cool artist: Ailantd Sikowsky draws really cool wobbly future cars and spaceships, amongst other things.