March 2024 - WISH GRANTED

Hello, welcome back, yes, I'm sorry I missed February's update. I had a ton of travel (I was on the road for about half the month between MegaCon in Orlando, the Savannah Book Festival and a long-planned jaunt to Hong Kong) and between that and getting work done... I just missed the month. SORRY, OKAY?

But I'm back now, and wanted to comment on a pretty fab piece of news that dropped last night:

Yep! As reported on Jeff Sneider's Insneider blog, the producers behind MANY incredible stories adapting awesome comics to film - Invincible, The Boys, that groovy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles flick that just came out (plus tons of other awesome movies and TV in general) are helping to shepherd Amazon/MGM Studios' EIGHT BILLION GENIES movie to a screen near you... but that's not all! Rodney Rothman's writing the script - you might know him from a little picture called Into the Spider-Verse, among lots of other kickass flicks. There's other incredible talent involved too (including Ryan Browne and myself as executive producers, natch.) 

While it remains incredibly difficult for ANY movie to be made, especially these days, Ryan and I are pretty damn thrilled about this. Hard to imagine a better team, and if it doesn't work out, well, it won't be for lack of trying.

If you haven't yet checked out EIGHT BILLION GENIES the comic, the premise is that everyone on earth gets a genie and one wish, and we follow the mayhem that ensues over the following eight centuries. It's a bit post-apocalyptic, a bit sci-fi, but absolutely full of heart and a LOT of humor. People seem to like it, and maybe you will too.

I've got a bunch of 8BG stuff up on my webstore, from the single issues of the original series (there were eight comics, and I've got 'em all, including some rare variants and first printings,) the special secret ninth issue called Wishworld that was never available in stores and you can only get from Ryan and me, plush genies, the beautiful deluxe hardcover edition, and more. Click here or on the image below to head directly to the 8BG page to browse to your heart's content!

MUSIC!

The long-rumored, long-in-the-works CURSE WORDS CONCEPT ALBUM is, at last, fully laid out. You could listen to the whole thing right now - and a few people have. However, I have (for reasons I'm not entirely sure of myself) decided that it needs some additional elements that require me to go into a pro studio to do some live tracking - I want live drums instead of sequenced, and I need to re-record a number of vocals in a better setting than I have available in my own studio. Rehearsals and planning will take up the next few months, and then we'll go in to lay all of this down in mid-May. I'll get it mixed and mastered in, I hope, June, and then, well, that's it. I'll get the digital version out to the folks who backed the Curse Words omnibus Kickstarter back in 2020 (oof) and send the music to the pressing plant to create the LP version for the people who ordered that!

And then, this wild journey will come to its next stage. I've got lots of plans for the material - I'd like to play it live, for one thing, which brings to mind an album debut party at a convention - and who knows... maybe there's more to come with it. Writing and recording and performing a full, ten-track concept album about a weird/awesome comic about dumb wizards who are also super cool wasn't ever really on my list of life goals... but actually it probably was. It's been super fulfilling to do this! I used to be a GIGANTIC music person - from college and the years that followed, I played in tons of bands and composed a bunch of music. The Curse Words record is probably my... fifth or sixth album? There's been a huge gap in my music productivity for the last decade and change, because life and a pretty robust writing career just got in the way. So, doing this album was a way to prove to myself that I could still do something like this, that I hadn't lost a step in this department.

I can say that I hit every target I aimed for on this one - it feels and sounds exactly like I wanted it to. Whether that's what you'll consider conventionally "good," or like what you think a record from me would sound like... well, probably not. But that's okay! A plus, even! You'll see. (Or, rather, hear.)

MORE! THERE IS ALWAYS, NOW AND FOREVER, more

In other creative news, THE BLOODY DOZEN continues its relentless stomp to your comic shops! The second Shrouded College tale, with amazing art from Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque, colors by Rachelle Rosenberg and letters from Crank! is in its home stretch. Issue 4 is out TOMORROW, and we're sending issue 5 to press this week. Just one more after that, and then this wonderful tale of space vampires and dysfunctional-but-hopeful families will wrap up. And after that... it's on to Shrouded College III! More about that in a future update. If you've missed any issues of Bloody Dozen, or you'd like to pick up the trade of the first Shrouded College story HELL TO PAY, they're available on my webstore here.

I also particularly loved Alberto's cover for Issue 6, which he posted on his socials in its raw, painted form - which I'd never seen before. Incredible, eh?

Definitely more to share - for instance, I saw that Ryan Browne alluded to our next book together (which will be out later this year) as the second installment in our LITTLE DUDES MESSING WITH HUMANITY trilogy in his own newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. That's... not inaccurate, although it kind of blows the surprise a little! THANKS A LOT, RYAN BROWNE! Well, no one in the business is better at drawing little dudes than Ryan Browne - he'll tell you that himself.

The first issue of that new book is done, and it's amazing. We're taking our time with it to make sure we're getting it right - but you'll probably hear more about it in a month or two. If you like little dudes messing with humanity (and if 8BG's reception is any indication, you do,) you're in for a treat.

My year's starting to fill up with appearances, which is cool! I love getting out there and seeing folks. The next place you'll be able to see me is at the end of the month in Puerto Rico Comicon from March 29-31, though there's another thing I can't talk about just yet that miiiight squeeze in before it. My full 2024 calendar as it stands right now is here, and I'll be adding to it as new events pop up.

THAT OUGHTA DO IT.

Well, them's the scoops. There's plenty I could have talked about beyond what you got here - I've got a dream come true thing happening next Wednesday, I could update you on how TRIALS OF THE JEDI is coming along, talk to you about that long-in-the-works Marvel comic I've been working on for ages, talk about Hong Kong or Savannah or Orlando... but I think this one's long enough as it is.

Enjoy the longer days and the lighter evenings - it's already feeling springy out there. Replies are on if you have questions or comments!

See you next month,
Charles