Recap
Hello peeps! You'll forgive the reference to wildfires but it's been a busy and smoky month for me. I'm working on a pitch right now, while getting ready for Comiccon in July. I even find time to save Hyrule at night, can you believe it?
Exactly 22 seconds after Across the Spider-verse ended, I had one goal in mind: draw a picture of Spider-Punk. My friends who had seen the film before me kept nudging me saying “you're going to LOSE YOUR MIND, you’ll see!”. They were so right. I spent two days making a mess of my drawing table and this is what happened.. You can see the unhinged process on Patreon if you are subscribed!
I finally finished my series featuring the old artifacts cluttering my shelves. I'm testing a larger format for the poster and I think it's going to be pretty good! This little project was initially just to keep me busy during my recovery and I'm really happy to have completed it.
It's turbo summer and I'm listening to Cake and Sublime on repeat. All these chill vibes conjure visions of oversized floral shirts and the desire to get drunk at 2 in the afternoon for no good reason. In short, a normal Tuesday for Sam.
Annnouncements
Utown comes out in FIVE DAYS! I’m so freakin’ excited! It’ll be available in bookstores, comic shops and online in Canada, the US and more. There are talks of a signing session at a comic shop in Montreal in August but I’ll keep you posted when I have more info.
Grab your cosplay outfits, granola bars and fanciest lanyards, it's Comiccon time! I'll be there during the entire weekend with ALL of my merch. That means: copies of Utown in English and French, alternate covers and prints, zines, and stickers. Pretty soon I’ll have to rent a U-Haul to carry all of it. You can find me at booth #2732, at the back of the showroom, on the far left, alongside an excellent line-up of local authors.
Analog Luv's large 12x18 print will only be available at Comiccon or in-person pickup for the time being. But most of else is in my shop, ready to ornate your walls!
I’m also making room and clearing some prints, which are discounted in the shop. I can’t hold on to everything (is what I tell myself, surrounded by broken antiques).
That's it for the month of June! I wish for fresh air in July because even if it makes crazy atmospheres for photos, it’s uh… quite worrisome.
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Cool stuff
In my ears:
Wait to Pleasure from Montreal band No Joy, celebrates its 10th anniversary with an re-release featuring two news songs. It's one of my favorite shoegaze albums of all time and I think it's a great introduction to the genre. I warmly recommend it.
Stay Safe! by La Sécurité is finally out! A bilingual album as sharp as the Gilford/St-Denis corner.
You know what sucks? Live shows with bad timing. I discovered Blondshell after learning they were the main act for which Hello Mary is opening on the Comiccon Saturday. In addition to being two good grunge bands, they are all women. If I can’t attend the show, I’ll at least listen to their respective albums on repeat!
Reading:
Genderqueer by Maia Kobabe. It was a fitting read to end Pride month and I really liked it. It’s a touching story, one of confusion and discovery and it hit close to home for many reasons. It was graphically explicit, yes, but it never felt distasteful. It’s a shame it was banned the way it was because I would’ve loved to read this as a teenager.
I re-read the entire Scott Pilgrim run in color and GODDAMNIT, it’s still SO GOOD. I hadn’t read it for years and it holds up perfectly, thanks to impeccable pacing, super inventive layouts and great dialogues. I still think the characters are mostly assholes, but I get it now: they’re YOUNG. I was so stuck-up and deeply unpopular at their age that their interactions always felt slightly off. Scott Pilgrim is really the series that speaks the most to me, for its themes and style. I’m really glad I got to buy it at the Oni Press table during MCAF. I can’t believe they actually compare Utown to SP in their official promo. Aaah!
Cool artist: Do you know Vivian Maier? She’s a photographer from the middle of the 20th century, whose work only saw the light of day in 2007. She took more than 150,000 photos during her life (film stock probably didn’t cost TWENTY-SIX DOLLARS in 1950). Her photos are amazing but just the thought she didn’t actually want to be recognized for her work, still baffles me.
Cool thing: There aren't many working photo booths left in the world. And yet, I still remember the one that was next to the dépanneur at the Berri station. Thank god Fotoautomat exists to restore and preserve them.